Chef, others also take part in Mexican American Studies program event
Del Mar College’s Mexican American Studies program held its ninth annual summer seminar on July 29.
The six-hour event took place in Heritage Campus’ General Academics and Music Building, with a keynote by Alberto Rodriguez, director of the Mexican American Studies Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The event also hosted special guest and local author Diana López as well as multiple performances by folklorico dancer Teresa Saldivar.
Local artists, writers and organizations filled the halls with booths, selling their work and merchandise to attendees. Paintings and handmade informative posters decorated the space outside of the main lecture hall and inside the music building skyway.
The event opened with Rodriguez’s keynote, detailing the history of Mexican American studies and the program’s role in the Hispanic civil rights and Chicano movements. He also addressed present and future concerns, such as the past year’s legislation related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Rodriguez argued that the mission of MAS programs and institutes remain constant despite the political environment.
“We can’t get caught up in the language to stop doing what we’re already doing,” Rodriguez said.
He said emphasis should be placed on student success, recruitment and retention, as well as on serving the community.
Rodriguez commented on the value of events and gatherings such as the summer seminar to that mission.
“It brings out the community,” he said. “It brings out people who are not necessarily engaged with Mexican American community every day.”
Between the general sessions, the MAS program also hosted other speakers, including multiple Del Mar College professors and alumni, covering topics such as art, politics, Mexican and American history and Chicano culture.
The event also included multiple speakers from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Kingsville, including Professor Marco Iñiguez, who spoke at Del Mar College for a Dias de los Muertos event last autumn.
In the afternoon, Chef Cody Fitzpatrick gave a presentation on the history of tortillas as well as a from-scratch demonstration of the art, with a chance to sample his culinary work.
Local author and Del Mar College alumna Diana López returned as a special guest at this year’s MAS Seminar. Known for her children’s novels as well as her work on the novelization of Pixar’s “Coco,” López has been promoting her new release, the first book in her “Los Monstruos” series, “Felice and the Wailing Woman.”
López held a book signing at the college last autumn for National Hispanic Heritage Month. This year at the seminar, she read an excerpt from her new book and discussed its reinterpretation and representation of Mexican and Chicano folklore. She concluded the session by holding another book signing.
She also teased the release of the next book in her “Los Monstruos” series, set for early 2024.
