Art at Gallista Gallery / Café Citlali in San Antonio, TX

Ofrenda a Gloria

Viva Gloria Anzaldúa, Super Queerid@

Hope to see you at the Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa Conference in San Antonio!

Society page: http://www.ssganzaldua.org/

A Queerid@ reading of La Mission (2009) directed by Peter Bratt

First, I would like to thank Michelle Tellez for first alerting me to Peter Bratt's film La Mission (2009) last spring as it was playing in several festivals throughout the US.

There are so few representations of Chican@s in film that all portrayals become part of a "necessary theater" as Jorge Huerta aptly describes it. La Mission is not only a necessary theater, it is also one of the few recent portrayals of Chicano masculinity that tries to convey a complex set of identities amidst changing demographics and traditions.

In this post, I will discuss the film and its portrayal of what I label a "queer cholo" identity. Spoilers abound, so be warned.

Queerid@s, an introduction

So after many years of saying I will do a blog, the time has come for it to appear. I will address you, my readership, as "queerid@s" as my dear super smart colleague and friend Armando Garcia suggested. Armando tells me that he first encountered the term as an undergraduate and that it might have been first coined by Jorge Huerta, professor of drama and scholar of Chicano performance extraordinaire.

I decided to use the name "Tenured Chicana" in honor of my friend Alicia Muñoz, amazing literature and culture scholar, who gave me a mug with that phrase when I was awarded tenure. As there are so few of us in academia, and even fewer of us with tenure, this was one of the best gifts I have ever received. I take my mug to class and meetings with pride.

My intention with this blog is use it to discuss relevant issues in Chican@ and Joteria Studies, mostly focusing on film, popular culture, and television. I welcome your comments and suggestions on possible topics and approaches.