During our discussions
of possible topics for this issue, we came up with a variety of ideas, but a
common thread was our interest in discussing what we saw as significant changes
across society. Topics of interest ranged from elections in the U.S. and Latin
America, immigration policy at the national, state, and local level, art and
social transformation, and the role of Latin America and Latin@s in framing
those changes and upheavals. As we started to narrow down our topics, many of
the themes and shared concerns helped us better understand the relationship
between our personal and academic lives, and our role as USF students and
citizens of the Americas. Something that became clear during this process was
the role of our generation in affecting social change and the importance of
learning from that which came before us. We are changing the conversation; but
as Freire said, in order to achieve true transformative dialogue we must make
our actions and our consciousness become one. This is an exercise in presenting
a true word based on our commitment to remembering the past, having a voice in
the present, and becoming subjects of history in the making. To achieve this we
need to have the courage to share our stories with our peers, to have the
curiosity to look at the world around us, and to have an open mind to
comprehend everyone’s point of view even when they do not coincide with our
own.
Connecting historical
legacies with recent shifts in political participation, Amanda Savasky’s
article seeks to situate the changes in voter participation by Latin@s in the
past decade and discusses the harsh opposition such participation has received.
In a time of many important changes, she presents this article as an example of
the strength people hold when they demand to be heard and counted as
participants in the conversation. Marisela Esparza’s article focuses on the
realities that the immigrant community face today and how immigration policies
in the Bay Area have changed and are harming innocent people. She hopes her own
story will allow those who resonate with it to be able to take courage and
share their own story. We have been silent too long and now our voices
need to rise up and make a change; the time for action is now. Monica Alcantar writes on education and Latinos: When I was in high school, I witnessed one of my closest friends struggle to find the financial resources to cover the cost of her college education because of her legal status. At that time, I did not know how to help, but as time progressed, I realized that she was not alone and neither was I. There are many people who want to help undocumented students reach their goals and this article focuses on how their hopes and needs are being met through the California DREAM Act, private universities, and other organizations, specifically "College Track", the non-profit organization which helped my friend to reach her dreams. Marcelo Rios
Muñoz’ article features an interview with Arizona native, author, activist, and
Huffington Post contributor Jeff Biggers. Marcelo re-iterates the strength of
solidarity, and what is necessary to preserve Ethnic Studies in Arizona. This
includes re-gaining a sense of respect and dignity to the communities of color
affected by state laws.
Lisa Giarratano’s
interview with activist, writer, and playwright Cherrie Moraga is based on her
own studies and interests in transnational feminist and queer solidarity. Marie Shier’s article
focuses on something that is a part of San Francisco and was inspired by her
art history courses at USF. She chose Muralismo as her subject to bring ideas
and concepts together. In her article, she gives a brief history of how
Muralismo has changed and discusses where it is headed in the future. In her article titled “Welcome the Brazilians,” Cindy Venerio
discusses the recent changes made on Brazilian tourist visas. The changes are
aimed at helping the economy of the US, mainly in the South Florida area. She
shows how the rise of Brazil as an economic force has translated into their
invitation to spend money in the US. Residents of other Latin American
countries are not receiving the same treatment and this shows the change that
economic interest can bring. Genesis Ibarra’s article on Latina Feminist Theology gives a new
perspective on Latinas and their relationship with their religious beliefs. She
demonstrates how the equation of women plus religions does not necessarily
always equal religious life. The piece also gives insight to how Genesis herself was attracted to Theology and Religious studies and the importance of
having Latinas studying theology.
We would like to thank
the writers, artists, USF professors and staff (including Father Privett!) who
offered their time to be interviewed for this issue. We also want to thank the
Latin American Studies Program for creating a space where we could come
together and share our work with the larger community.
Finally, we would like
to thank Tom Henke and Web Communications & Services for helping us change
this conversation into digital form and for all their work and advice during
the semester.
--
Monica Alcantar, Marisela Esparza, Lisa
Giarratano, Genesis Ibarra, Marcelo Muñoz, Amanda Savasky, Marie Shier, Cindy Venerio
and Prof. Karina Hodoyan.