The Stars Shone Bright At Hispanicize 2014

Riding With Crafty Chica And Curves And Chaos

Hispanicize 2014 was filled with surprises, interesting people and turbo charged events. Here's a photo of me with Kathy Murillo Cano, otherwise known as CRAFTY CHICA. I was delighted when I boarded the open air bus that would take us to see Cesar Chavez and saw an empty seat next to her. Kathy's accomplished so much between her crafting books, novels, and branded products, that discovering she's as kind and gracious, as she is successful, is refreshing. Also, that's none other than Monique Frausto, the founder of Blogs by Latinas and Curves and Chaos photobombing us.

 

Here's Monique, again, on the right. Funny story about the lovely young lady sitting to her left. A lot happened on top of that bus, funny stuff. Sooooo, I thought the young woman was being silly when every few minutes she'd tap Kathy on the shoulder and say, "Mom, look ..." Knowing what I've shared about Crafty Chica's personality, I thought Kathy was being nice to another fan, when every few minutes she'd turn, smile and answer the young woman. Well, it turns out Kathy is her mom. Yeah. Open mouth. Insert foot.

I Saw Cesar Chavez. In Spanish.

 

It made me happy to learn that Cesar Chavez, the new film directed by Diego Luna, would be screened for us at Hispanicize. Before watching the movie, I had very little knowledge of  Chavez, the United Farm Workers Union, and the hunger strike that won migrant farm workers fair wages. Sadly, this chapter of American history was missing from my history books. I found the movie to be a good introduction to Chavez's greatest accomplishment.

Apparently, there was a mix up and the theater only had the Spanish version of the movie for the screening. We didn't find out until they were about to shut off the lights. For a second I panicked. Then I was, like, "Wait. I know Spanish. Vamos." After a few minutes the novelty wore off. To be honest, it felt no different to me than watching a movie in English. Though, I have to admit that it filled me with pride to watch it and understand everything. Awesome, really.

Now to do a little research of my own.

Friendly and Familiar Faces

Here are some peeps that brightened up breakfast the next day. Deldelp Medina (center) is a brainiac app developer and president of @Latino_Startups, Laura Aiello (right) is author of El Cofre de Mis Deseos, and the guy on the left with the big smile is Fernando Rodríguez of Moore Communications Group.

The Nueva Latina Monologues

Prior to attending Hispanicize, I'd not heard of The Nueva Latina Monologues and did not know what to expect when the actress shown above stepped out on stage. The performance took place during one of our lunches, and had they shown the entire show (that I hope to see!), I would've stayed glued to my chair.

The Nueva Latina Monologues is a series of skits written by Linda Nieves-Powell that dig deeply into the psyche of bicultural (ambicultural^®) Latinas. The women acted out scenes that could've been taken from the home I grew up in. I have to admit that I got emotional. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a clip for the skit involving a girl whose two cultures, American and Latina, argue with each other over which of the two she should choose to be. It's a clever reenactment filled with humor and sadness.

Here's one of the skits ...

 

Living The Good Life

Miami was a lot of fun. It was also exhausting. Although I wasn't able to completely chill due to homework, the trip reminded me of all the wonderful experiences and good friends I've made because of this tiny blog. I have a lot to be grateful for and feel blessed to have the love and support of my family and friends, as I continue on my journey.

If you can believe it, my last day of class is Tuesday, May 6th. I'll be walking for my MEd June 1st. Here we go.

Taking deep breaths.