1990_05 The Daily Collegian May 1990

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MAY, 1990
LAVQZDEAZTLAN
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-SVJ
FRESNO
PAGE 7
Juan Felipe Herrera
HERRERA
Continued from page 2
Barbara.
From 1972 to 1975, he went back to Logan Heights to
work in the Chicano community at a cultural center.
There he helped develop theaters, poetry organizations
and music groups about La Raza.
In 1970-1973, he helped with the foundation of
Chicano Park in San Diego. He was specifically
responsible for placing murals around the park with
the help of local Chicano artists.
He said. This was an artistic and spritual rebirth for
the Chicano. A movement from oppression and
segregation to the glorification of the Chicano. It also
gave the Chicano community, something tangible,
something that we owned."
. In 1977, he went back to school at Stanford University.
In 1982, he obtained his Masters of Arts in Social
Anthropology. He will be receiving his Ph.D. soon in
the same field.
Herrera, along with his teaching experience at the
University of Iowa, has taught at Stanford University,
New College in San Francisco, and De Anza Community
College in Sunnyvale.
He has also lectured on Chicano studies at UC
Berkeley and the University of Texas, Austin, as well
as on the Ea3t Coast.
V I.
Herrera has gained national recognition for his work,
He received awards from the National Endowment of
Arts in 1980 and 1935. "I only mention this to draw
attention to other Chicanos who haven't been recognized
and are as deserving of these awards as I was then.
"I am not the only Chicano writer in the U.S.," he said
while remembering the time he received his first award.
"I was all dressed up, with no other Chicano faces to
look at. I was nervous, but I was proud. When a man of
the white persuasion walked up to me aud asked me
what nation I was from? I told him that I was from thr-
nation of California.
"I have two goals, and with the help of the CLS
faculty and the voices of the Chicano students, I would
like to start a [master's in fine arts| program here."
Nationwide, there are 328 MFA programs and less than
5 percent of those deal with Chicano studies.
He said that for the last two decades, "the Chicano
writer has gone underground, but the "90s will bring
out Chicano artists publicly. The Chicano will issue a
new challenge to society with our unique and creative
style of writing. We will be at the national and
international centers of literature circles.
"Chicanos will no longer be held down, pushed back,
or stiffled. The Chicano voices will be heard around the
world and no longer just around the room," Herrera
said.
Herrera said his plans as CSUF professor includ.-
developing a writing workshop here.
Education students form group
i
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAPF WRITER
Last September, six CSUF students set out on the
long road to forming, a new organization. March 8
marked the end of their six month trek.
After hours of preparation, the first meeting of the
Chicano-Latino Education Student Association was
supported by wide student interest. Nineteen students
attended the introductory meeting.
Founders of the organization, Ralph Avitia, Amelia
Vasquez, Porfirio Lopez, Daniel Salinas, and Eddie
Perez, said they saw a need for an organization which
concentrated on students interested in pursuing
educational careers.
Vasquez said she thought the idea of the group was
good because she was lost when she first came to CSUF.
She and the others expressed a desire for C.L.E.S.A. to
be an avenue of support, guiding students in their
academic progress. *•"   ,   " #
Perez said the main purpose of C.L.E.S A. is to "guide
students" in the process toward graduation.
The three original objectives, said Salinas, are to
teach survival skills and to provide career tounseling
and group support. Workshops, speakers, study teams,
and general information are just a few of the planned
activities.
The organization is very open to change and student
input, said Perez. "We don't want to leave any needs
untended to."
Cecilia Maciel, a psychology major, said at the first
meeting. "[C.L.E.S.A.] seems to provide a good support
system for anyone involved in education or anyone with
similar problems within the academic system," she said.
Officers have not been elected, though a constitution
and by-laws have been drawn and adopted. Dr.Hisaui,,
Garza, a faculty member in the Chicano-Latino Studies
Program is the group's advisor.
Chicano literature
gets exposure
i
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
"Our voices have not been heard," said Mark
Anthony Alvidrez, a senior English major and
a member of the new Chicano Writers and
Artists Association.
CWAA is one of the newest Chicano
organization on campus and the only one of its
kind. Andres Montoya, a junior history major
who co-founded CWAA with Alvidrez, Dan
Chacon and Victor Canales said, "When we
started this group, our intension was to provide
an outlet for Chicano artistic expression.
, "There are a lot of Chicano artists out there
and they don't have an avenue to express
themselves. Because they are Chicanos they
are usually locked out of the mainstream
literature and art in this country."
Chacon, a graduate English major, said,
"Being Chicano, our literature is unique and
because of that uniqueness, it is not always
accepted by the conventional literary circles.
So when we started CWAA, we just wanted to
give ourselves a forum where we can show each
other our work and get it out to the people."
Because of the mixed use of language and its
subject m atter, Chicano literature has not been
fully accepted as true literature.
Chacon said, There's a certain amount of
conservatism in traditional literature that
doesn't like to accept things that are new, things
that are different We're saying we don't care,
were going to do it anyway. And if weVe not
scceptod by literary critics, that"■ okay because
were bringing ours directly to the people.
"We need to bring this literature out to the
people. Let the people evaluate it, let the people
reject it, let the people accept it;" Chacon said.
Guerilla poetry is a technique CWAA has
used this semester to do exactly that. They
have held two poetry readings infront of the
bookstore. The last reading was held April 25.
Some 30 people sat on the steps of the
bookstore and listened to poems from members
of CWAA as well as that of non-members.
"Our concept of guerilla poetry, of going out
and taking it to the people has worked great
for us this semester," said Chacon. Alvidrez
added that the group having regular readings
was helping him be more consistent in his,
writing.
"I've always been writing short stories and
poems but this has helped me to be more
consistent. The last reading was a weak ago so
know I have to produce more. I have to come
up with some new material," Alvidrez said.
CWAA also held a poetry reading on April
18 as its first official event, where Luis Omar
Salinas, considered by many to be theafiodfather
of Chicano poetry, Leonard Aaame, an
instructor at Fresno City College, and Pedro
Ramirez, a former CSUF student read their
poetry.
As for the future, Chacon said they will
continue their style of guerilla poetry. CWAA
also plans on putting together a play next year
and bringing theater to the people as well.
CWAA will also hold workshops where they
will bring professional Chicano writers to read
students' work and possibly work with them.
Another of the'ir goals is to start chapters at
the high school and junior college levels.
"You'll be surprised how many Chicanos are
writing on the the high school *n*d junior
college levels," Chacon said.
"Chicanos are always writing. Chicanos have
a lot to con tribute... the next literary movment
that comes out of American literature is going
to be Chicano Literature," Chacon said.
I WILL. I WILL. •
Trees that line the asphalt path        S
are blooming purple flowers.
They smell sweet, like bathroom tissue,
perfume, the breath of the woman I love.
Soon the flowers will sway in the wind,
cropping their peddles, they will sail
to the ground, and dot the path.
I will walk between the trees
the peddles will fall against my body
like confetti from God—as if he were
celebrating my arrival
saying, See? See?
See how important you are?"
Sunlight will leak through the branches
I will be like a movie star
a dancer in the spotlight
I will extend my arms
twirl on my toes
dance tike David danced.
I don't care who sees me and I will ask many to join me.
Sweat will squirm down my body
pedals will stick to my face
I will be hot and cold
naked and clothed
in love and not in love
with friends and alone
Indian and European
in all places at one time
dancing on my grandmother's cement porch i
as red lights race across the treetops
and my handcuffed uncle is pushed head-first into the backseat,
dancing on the dark river bank with La Llorona
and we will swim together in the nude,
dancing on the balcony of my apartment    *
and The Malaysian girls across the path will think I'm nuts,
on the too fresh grave of my mother
and she will rise from the dead and dance wiftbme too.
In The anteroom I will dance on The oak floor;
and God, pleased with me, will let me in.
by Daniel Chacon