Celeste Cruz/Vaquero Radio
The Siempre con Nosotrxs: Día de los Muertos Communal Altar & Convivio event held Tuesday gathered students to honor Gloria Anzaldúa and commemorate their loved ones in respect to Día de los Muertos.
Kimberly Grimaldo, a Mexican American Studies graduate student and vice president of the Mexican American Studies Club, explained who Anzaldúa was.
“Gloria Anzaldúa was actually a student in UTRGV at the time when it was UTPA,” Grimaldo said. “And she graduated from here early on and moved on to do future graduate studies across the country. And she began publishing and sharing her work in presentations and conferences. And today we try our best to honor her legacy.”
Anzaldua, a queer Chicana poet, writer, and feminist theorist, was born in Harlingen in 1942. She earned her bachelor’s degree from legacy institution University of Texas Pan American and master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, according to poetryfoundation.org. She passed away in 2004.
Taylor Seaver De La Fuente, a Mexican American Studies graduate student and president of the Mexican American Studies Club, spoke about the roles Anzaldúa had.
“Gloria Anzaldúa was such a powerful woman,” De La Fuente said. “She’s an amazing scholar, researcher, Chicana. She has opened so many doors for us.”
She added Anzaldúa’s work has influenced her cultural identity.
“She talks about being from the border, right,” De La Fuente said. “An open wound, that’s how she describes the border as. And that also describes being both Mexican and American. And I’m biracial, so I’m white and I’m Mexican. So, that really resonated with me when I first read her book, ‘Borderlands,’ because she’s describing being in a nepantla, in a in-between space, which is what the border is. So that specific book is vital.”
She said Anzaldúa encouraged women to empower themselves by writing.
“Through writing, [she] found her voice and that’s what she influences women to do,” De La Fuente said. “That’s what she encourages women to do, is [to] use writing, and use art, and use space and community like this to empower yourselves.”.
Grimaldo explained how these events help the community come together.
“Events like this help create awareness and just create a sense of community where people can share their stories and remember our loved ones,” she said. “And, especially share our other experiences that may not be shared often, and also just creating this safe space where we can gather and just convivir.” – 2;25
Samantha Lopez, director of La Unión Chicana de Hijxs de Aztlán, hopes to keep this event a tradition and make improvements for the future.
“We hope to continue this tradition,” Lopez said. “We want to keep improving not just the altar, but improving the event. Having, maybe, workshops leading up to the event so students can learn more about their culture while they are here, so we hope to make it bigger next year.”
Students may visit V Link for upcoming events by La Unión Chicana de Hijxs de Aztlán.
