Program Description
Event Details
Hispanic l Latina l Latino l Latine l Latinx
Join us for a thought-provoking community discussion on Latinidad and identity featuring an esteemed panel of speakers: Isidro Ortiz of SDSU Chicano & Chicana Studies, Cris Sotomayor of San Diego Pride, Jade Power-Sotomayor of UCSD Theatre & Dance, Francesca de Vera of San Diego Public Library.
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A bipartisan nationwide coterie of municipal, state, and federal elected officials of diverse Latina/o heritage wish to ban the term “Latinx” for being an Americanized word that is “ethnically insensitive”, “doesn’t have wide acceptance” in Latino/a communities, and “disfigures the Spanish language”. Others argue that “Latinx” is an act of cultural appropriation, was imposed by outsiders, and is offensive and unnecessary. What is it about the word “Latinx” that gets some people so riled up?
About the speakers:
Dr. Isidro Ortiz teaches in the Department of Chicana/o Studies at SDSU. Their areas of research include community organization, political movements, educational practice and reform, college student retention, and Chicano/a nationalism and its relationship to oppression. During their long term tenure at SDSU they have mentored countless students toward achievement and excellence.
Cris Sotomayor is a community speaker, organizer, and educator. As San Diego Pride’s Program Manager, Cris coordinates programing for LGBTQ+ youth and the Latinx community. In their personal time, you can find Cris playing with their pup, cooking, and practicing healing through meditation, yoga, and brujeria.
Dr. Jade Power-Sotomayor teaches in the Department of Theatre and Dance at UCSD. Her research interests include Latinx theatre and performance, dance studies, nightlife, eco-dramaturgies, epistemologies of the body, feminist of color critique, bilingualism, and intercultural performance in the Caribbean diaspora.
Francesca de Vera is a librarian and the Youth & Engagement Coordinator at San Diego Public Library overseeing youth library initiatives and programs. They are the co-chairperson of the library’s LGBTQIA+ Library Services Committee which fosters connections to knowledge and library materials and resources.