08.22.10 Domingo Newsbytes

Photo via MeanlittleBumbleBee

We had a fantastic Proyecto Latina this past week at Catedral Café featuring guest curator Sandra Treviño who decided to spotlight some Latina artists she was very excited about including:  Elizabeth Colin of Grupo Atroz, Mariel “La Gitana” Zavala, the women of bomba group Buya.  For a full recap we encourage you to read MeanLittleBumbleBee’s blog.

Next month, in light of a special program, we are having an opening night for our first featured visual artists–also our first featured artists via an art exhibit– we will be deviating from our normal Monday night schedule and hanging out on the weekend instead!  So mark your calendars and come out to join us.

Date:  Saturday, September 11, 2010
Why:  Jenny Priego presents Adelita Pata de Perro
Where:  Carlos and Dominguez Fine Art Gallery, 1538 W. Cullerton St.
Get the full scoop here…

I’m working on a piece about anchor babies and it’s made me reflect on moms, fertility and how women of color are often criminalized for it. Michelle Chen, a writer, for Colorlines decided to explore this when she wrote The Right’s Long, Racist History of Calling Moms Criminals .

Also, this week the Southern Poverty Law Center today filed a federal lawsuit against Mississippi authorities who took a newborn baby from a Mexican immigrant mother Baltazar Cruz. Apparently the reason they took the child was because Cruz speaks limited Spanish and virtually no English but she does speaks Chatino, an indigenous language in Mexico.  Turns out that the child was placed with a white couple  and since then Cruz has finally been able to get her child back.

Why is there more focus on stigmatizing Latinas and pregnancy than empowering Latinas to manage their fertility? asks Silvia Henriquez, Executive Director of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. In her write up Latinas and the High Cost of Birth Control she calls for more affordable access to birth control.

Moving on to Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) released a study on Latina bloggers. The report looks like an interesting read so download it today and check out the latest trends in Latina Bloggers!

On a personal note FELICIDADES to the beautiful bride and Proyecto Latina contributor Ericka Sanchez! Yesterday she got married,  we wish her lots of happiness with her new hubby!

Lastly, a little special something for your two cents this Sunday. Anyone leaving a comment on this Domingo Newsbytes post will be  entered in a raffle for a free book.  Its a new title by University of Arizona Press, and debut poetry collection by Carmen Giménez Smith, Odalisque in Pieces.

When leaving your comment make sure to leave a way (email/link to a blog) to contact you in case you win.  Raffle will close on Friday, August 28th, 2010 at 11:59 p.m.  Winner will be announced in next week’s Domingo Newsbytes.

09.11.10: Adelita Pata De Perro

“Memory in Mexican culture extends beyond the personal. Ancestral legacies and historical events before and after the Conquest impact the Mexican creative mind and those of Mexican background who reside outside the country of their heritage. Jenny Priego as a Chicago performance artist has begun an exciting self exploration through her self-portraits with photography and video, from neo-Mexican Revolutionary soldadera who breaks borders by appearing in unexpected locations around the globe…” –Ana Castillo, June 2010

We invite you to join us for  Adelita Pata de Perro by Jenny Priego in celebration of the 2010 Mexican Bicentennial.

OPENING RECEPTION

Saturday, September 11, 2010 from 6PM to 10PM – FREE

CARLOS & DOMINGUEZ FINE ARTS Gallery
Arts of the Americas
1538 W. Cullerton St.
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Questions about this event? Contact Diana Pando, info@proyectolatina.org

About the Artist:
Jenny Priego is a visual and performance artist who draws inspiration from her existence as a feminine being. She uses several forms of media to interpret her self exploration, such as technology, her body, voice and formal fine art technique.

Adelita Pata  de Perro is an ongoing project  based on the Mexican Revolution’s soldaderas.  Priego sees the early 20th century rifle-toting revolutionary as a 21st century Wonder Woman breaking borders throughout the planet.  Using herself to represent this image she intervenes in world spaces from posing at the Royal Palace of Bangkok, Eiffel Tower, and the Coliseum, among others.

The spirit, courage and strength that embodies Adelita lives on in the many women that impact their community through the arts and beyond in Chicago. Proyecto Latina wanted to create an event that amplifies the voices and spirit of those women that fought in the Mexican revolution and the new generation of Latina women in Chicago that are making strides and impacting the city of Chicago.

Free and Open to the public. Q&A with artist Jenny Priego accompanied by an open mic of local writers and poets on the theme of what it means to be a modern day Adelita.

Mil gracias to our Venue Sponsor:

many thanks also to our Madrinas de Vino: Chicago Foundation For Women’s Latina Leadership Council.

© Contents of this site are Copyright 2010 by PROYECTO LATINA. 

7.25.10 Domingo Newsbytes

Cast of Thirst: Left-To-Right: Claudia Martinez, Josie Dykas front Diane Herrar and Diana Pando in the back

I woke up this morning  reflecting on this week  and I can’t help but be blown away by the amazing amount of Latina talent and creativity that is emerging. Here are some quick highlights:

This week our reading series was packed over at Café Catedral. Folks got to see our feature writer Cristina Correa read her work and hear some new emerging Latina talent during the open mic portion like Awilda Gonzalez and Laura Nuñez.

Later during the week, I had the opportunity to see Aguijón Theater perform Soldaderas at the Goodman Theatre. The play is based on texts by Elena Poniatowska and performed in Spanish. Yesterday, my ten-minute play THIRST was performed by Josie Dykas, Claudie Martinez and Diane Herrera and directed by Nilsa Reyna at Teatro Luna’s first 10×10 play festival.  These ladies spent hours in the sweltering heat with no a/c rehearsing and one of them even came as far away as Elgin. Mil gracias! With all of these things in mind I encourage all of you to continue to keep creating and making sure you find an outlet to tell your story.

In August we will be hosting Sandra Treviño, guest curator for Proyecto Latina, she is lining up some musical features that will be performing at Café Catedral. Also, coming up the pipeline in September is Adelita Pata de Perro by Jenny Priego at the lovely Carlos & Dominguez Fine Arts Gallery in the Pilsen neighborhood. Check back for more details this week!

Finally, we are starting to draft up the schedule for our 2011 reading series, if you know someone that deserves to be nominated let us know and tell us why? Send your recommendations to info@proyectolatina.org

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Felicidades to Carmen Giménez Smith her memoir Bring Down The Little Birds is coming out on August 5. The book asks, “How does a contemporary woman with a career as a poet, professor, and editor experience motherhood with one small child, another soon to be born, and her own mother suddenly diagnosed with a brain tumor and Alzheimer’s? Sounds like a good end of summer read!  Preview an excerpt.

While the Latina population continues to rise our visibility in mainstream media is pretty slim. A perfect example of this is the new CBS daily talk show that’s being lined up. The six hosts include: Julie Chen (CBS Morning Anchor), Holly Robinson-Peate (actress), Sara Gilbert (actress), Marissa Jaret Winokur (actress), Leah Remini (Actress) and Sharon Osbourne (Reality Star, Wife of Rocker). Why are there no Latinas on this daily talk show? I’m sure there is a Latina that is more than qualified to do this job. Drop the folks at CBS a line and ask them why there are no Latinas on the show?

CBS
51 W. 52nd St.
New York, NY 10019

ph: 212-975-4321

Online feedback page.

This week I was wandering around the Macy’s store on State Street when I passed by the MAC counter and cringed at their distasteful makeup line based on Júarez. While both MAC/RodArte have issued apologies and will change the name of the new makeup line it’s a great story of a bad marketing idea gone wrong and viral.  Latinas used their voice to give it a big thumbs down! We hope MAC keeps it’s promise and donates $100,000 to a cause in Juarez. Our friends over at Wise Latinas Linked also had an opinion on the MAC/RodArte makeup line fiasco. Here’s what they had to say…