NACCS Tejas Regional Conference a big success
Author of Tejano Roots Dan Arellano meets with South Texas College student Jessica Mirelez during the NACCS Tejas Regional Conference Cultural Night at the McAllen Convention Center. South Texas College played host to the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) Tejas Regional Conference this spring and the event was a huge success.
With more than 400 attendees from across the Rio Grande Valley, Texas and the nation, the event offered a forum for the open exchange of ideas about the status and future opportunities in Mexican-Americans, focusing sharply on the need for expanded Mexican-American history and education opportunities.
“This event has been highly energizing,” said Maria Ramirez, an instructor with Ohlone Community College out of California. “It has been terrific to connect with people from different generations. I know that younger Mexican-Americans will keep the missing chapters of our history alive and that is very exciting. I have been so impressed with the energy and interest in Mexican-American heritage and history from this community. It has been a remarkable experience.”
STC hosted more than 40 conference session for attendees, offering prolific Mexican-American scholars and authors from across to share their ideas. Participants included professors and authors from New York University, Notre Dame, Rice University, The University of Colorado at Denver, The University of California at Santa Cruz, California State, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University to name a few..
“The conference has been pretty interesting with lots of networking opportunities and chances to connect on a different level with others from across the nation,” said Kevin Gonzales, South Texas College speech major. “I have learned a lot from scholars and students in other fields of study. It has been very positive and I would love to see STC offer more of these events in the future.”
Community members and students from college across the Valley also had the opportunity to participate.
“I have gained a lot of information about indigenous and Chicana history and that has been the most interesting part of the conference,” said Hector Guzman, University of Texas-Pan American philosophy major. “The panels on women’s’ history and the networking opportunities have been great.”
In addition to the panel sessions, the college also hosted two keynote speakers at the McAllen Convention Center. Rodolfo F. Acuña, the author of Occupied America: The History of Chicanos, and Martha P. Cotera, the author of Diosa y Hembra: The History and Heritage of Chicanas in the U.S., discussed their experiences in studying, teaching and writing about the Mexican-American experience. They shared their perspectives on the opportunities for Mexican-Americans in the 21st century and how education has and will continue to be a foundation for the exploration of Mexican-American culture.
A Cultural Night Celebration recognized the important contributions of Mexican-American, Chicana and Latina women with a performance by The University of Texas-Pan American Folkloric Dance Company and a special reading of the poetry of the late Gloria Anzaldúa by members of the Gloria Anzaldúa Legacy Project.
For those who missed this great conference, attendees had an experience of a lifetime,” said Esmeralda Moheno, founding member of the Colegio Jacinto Treviño and renowned Mexican-American scholar. “We got to see our Chicano philosophy at work. The event was organized by an outstanding group of young Chicano instructors and students. We were surrounded by young Chicanos truly appreciate our efforts to drive Mexican-American education, opportunity and documentation of our history. It was the realization of a dream.”
“This is honestly the best NACCS conference I have attended during my tenure with the organization,” said Norma Cantu, past NACCS president.
The next NACCS Tejas Regional Conference will be held in spring 2008 at The University of Texas-San Antonio. For more information about NACCS visit www.naccs.org. For more information about South Texas College visit www.southtexascollege.edu.