Raza Heritage Month

Raza Heritage Month presents:

Raza Reflections, Reckonings, and Resiliency

September 15 - October 20

The Raza Heritage Month Committee invites you to a variety of performances, presentations, and more.

Tuesday, Sept. 15
5:30 – 6 p.m. Early Bird Pre-Panel Fun Facts Show

6 – 8 p.m. SOY YO (IT’S ME): The Many Complexities of Identity 
Bond with folx/folks of various backgrounds as we open the month with some fun games (prizes included) and a multigenerational plática (conversation) about identities within the Latinx community. We promise an enlightening evening!

YouTube link: http://bit.ly/SoyYoRHM

Tuesday, Sept. 22

6 – 7:30 p.m.  Afro-Mexican Verdades (Truths) and Black-Mexican American Truths
An intimate reading and dialogue about Blackness, healing, and queerness with poets Alan Pelaez Lopez and Ariana Brown. 

YouTube link: http://bit.ly/afromexican

Thursday, Sept. 24

6 – 7 p.m. Zumba with Alessandra Sanchez

¡Vengan a bailar (come and dance)! Let loose and rebuild your spirit!
Zoom link: http://bit.ly/RHM2020Zumba

Thursday, Oct. 8
6 – 7:30 p.m. A Conversation with Pansy Pachanga: Explore the roots of the LGBTQ+ community of the Rio Grande Valley

Gain insights in resisting repression and generating resiliency from the filmmakers behind this excellent film that chronicles an “untold and under-documented history.”

Youtube link: http://bit.ly/PansyPachangaRHM

Friday, Oct. 9

6 – 8 p.m. Student VOICES: A Gathering of Student-Led Organizations

Connect with student organizations from across the nation! Student leaders from the University of Arizona’s V.O.I.C.E. organization recount their mission to empower Indigenous voices on their campus and lead a charla (an interactive dialogue) with other student organizations.

Zoom link: http://bit.ly/RHMStudentVoices 

Tuesday, Oct. 13

6 – 8 p.m. Resiliency in the Time of COVID-19: Will our Culture of Abrazos survive this Pandemic? 

Enlighten yourself on Tejano (Texans of Mexican descent) healing traditions and family caregiving attitudes before and during the pandemic through a lecture, testimonio (first-person stories, often about social injustices, expressed by marginalized peoples), and student-created corridos (folk songs).

Zoom link: http://bit.ly/RHM2020Resiliency

Thursday, Oct. 15

6 – 8 p.m. A Reclamation: Resisting the Ranger inside of us

Dr. Cesar Cruz, community organizer and founder of Homies Empowerment, facilitates a consciousness-raising dialogue on how to address the systemic oppression that surrounds us.  Participants will select a topic of interest to discuss in small groups and will learn about enacting change through fostering unity and recognizing the interconnectedness between us.

Zoom link: http://bit.ly/RHM2020Reclamation

Tuesday, Oct. 20
6 – 8 p.m. Good Trouble: The History of the Change the Ranger mascot campaign

Join the SAC student group Somos La Gente as they share “How we got here” and “What comes next” in the momentous Change the Ranger mascot campaign.

Digital Exhibit link: http://bit.ly/ChangetheRangerRHM

ALL-MONTH EVENTS: Sept. 15 – Oct. 20  

SAC Raza Scavenger Hunt
Discover local Raza history through a public art scavenger hunt. Learn a little history and have a lot of fun! Prize giveaways for SAC students. Please contact Carrie Hernandez of the Office of Student Life (OSL) for a list of local Raza public art sights and full contest instructions at chernandez@alamo.edu. Deadline: Oct. 15, 2020.  

SAC Stories
Participate in and/or listen to this oral history project. During the entire month, former and current members of the SAC community will be invited to reflect, reckon, and relate moments of resilience during their time at SAC. For information on how to participate, please check the Raza Heritage Month web page alamo.edu/sac/RHM20. Instructions will be added to this ambitious project once details are finalized.

Why “Raza,” not “Hispanic,” Heritage Month?

• The RHM committee voted in 2018 to change the name because "raza" ("the people" as it's commonly translated) honors "Dia de La Raza," which is what many Latin American countries celebrate instead of Columbus Day.
• “Raza” was also part of a common refrain – Viva La Raza! – during El Movimiento (Chicano/a Movement, 1960s-1980s)
• ”Raza" is a common, Spanish word that has been used for over 100 years. It is a bottom-up word.
• Under the Nixon presidential administration, federal officials, Latin American and Mexican American organizations, and other leaders came together to create "Hispanic" in the 1970s. “Hispanic” is a U.S.-specific, newer, and top-down word.
• We recognize that “raza” is not an all-encompassing term (and neither is “Hispanic”) so we will continue to strive to find a word that captures our community’s varied and nuanced experiences. We understand that in future “raza” may not be the best term for us to use either.

To be part of this ongoing conversation, please join the RHM committee next year. Be on the lookout for an announcement in the SAC TALK newsletter in late spring-early summer.