Thursday, June 10, 2010

Mexican Women, KING, NCLR & Habana Blues

UT Press announces the publication of:

Mexican Women and the Other Side of Immigration: Engendering Transnational Ties

by Luz María Gordillo

Weaving narratives with gendered analysis and historiography of Mexicans in the Midwest, Mexican Women and the Other Side of Immigration examines the unique transnational community created between San Ignacio Cerro Gordo, Jalisco, and Detroit, Michigan, in the last three decades of the twentieth century, asserting that both the community of origin and the receiving community are integral to an immigrant's everyday life, though the manifestations of this are rife with contradictions.

Exploring the challenges faced by this population since the inception of the Bracero Program in 1942 in constantly re-creating, adapting, accommodating, shaping, and creating new meanings of their environments, Luz María Gordillo emphasizes the gender-specific aspects of these situations. While other studies of Mexican transnational identity focus on social institutions, Gordillo's work introduces the concept of transnational sexualities, particularly the social construction of working-class sexuality. Her findings indicate that many female San Ignacians shattered stereotypes, transgressing traditionally male roles while their husbands lived abroad. When the women themselves immigrated as well, these transgressions facilitated their adaptation in Detroit. Placed within the larger context of globalization,Mexican Women and the Other Side of Immigration is a timely excavation of oral histories, archival documents, and the remnants of three decades of memory.

[From the UT Press website]

AND if you read Spanish, here's my review of that awesome novel, KING OF THE CHICANOS by Manuel Ramos.




Cuban Film Series, Summer 2010

"Habana Blues"


This will be the first screening in the Bildner Center / Cuba Project's Cuban Film Series,Summer 2010. Professor Jerry Carlson, Senior Producer for City University Television (CUNY-TV), is the curator for this summer’s Cuban Film Series and will also be presenting the films.

WHEN: Friday, June 25, 2010, 6:00 PM
WHERE:
Segal Theather, The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue (@ 34th Street)


About the Film:

Director: Benito Zambrano

Actors: Roger Pera, Alberto Yoel Garcia Osorio, Roberto San Martin, Yailene Sierra, Tomas Cao

Year: 2005

Run time: 110 minutes

Synopsis: A love letter to life on the 'crazy isle' of Cuba, 'Habana Blues' follows a group of musicians struggling to make the big time. If that sounds like Buena Vista Social Club: The Return, be aware this is fiction – these young stallions play a vibrant hybrid of soul and rock, and their goal in life is to leave behind the politics of their impoverished island. Ruy and Tito are the Mick and Keith of the band who spend their days flogging everything from cigars to sombreros out of the back of Tito’s delicious red ‘52 Chevy. When their long-awaited break arrives in the guise of Spanish record producer Marta, their lives are thrown into turmoil by the tantalizing prospect of a one-way ticket to Spain. For once they’ve left Cuba, they can never return. Tito can’t wait to break free but Ruy stands to lose his wife and kids. [World Cinema Showcase 2007 synopsis]

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
To reserve, email cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

For information about the upcoming films in this summer’s Cuban Film Series and for information about all upcoming events, please visit www.bildner.org (click “Events”).

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http://web.gc.cuny.edu/bildnercenter/images/gc_logo.gifBildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies
The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5209
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212.817.2096 | Fax: 212.817.1540
Email:
bildner@gc.cuny.edu

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