In 1973, USC hosted the Flor y Canto literary festival, a three-day event that featured dozens of emerging Mexican American poets and writers in the nascent Chicano movement. One of the recurring themes was the contrast between great Mesoamerican civilizations of the past and the indignities suffered by those chasing the elusive “American Dream.” This year, which marks the centennial of the Mexican Revolution and the bicentennial of Mexican independence, the university will reprise the event, inviting prominent participants from the previous festival—including Alurista, Juan Felipe Herrera, Rolando Hinojosa, José Montoya and Ron Arias—to share the stage with a new generation of Chicano and Latino writers.

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

1:00 p.m. Welcome and introductions by John Carlos Rowe (USC Professor of English), Sy Abrego, Mary Ann Pacheco and Michael Sedano

1:30 p.m. Alejandro Murguía

1:45 p.m. Ernest Mares

2:00 p.m. Enrique Lamadrid

2:15 p.m. Estevan Arellano

2:30 p.m. Verónica Cunningham

2:45 p.m. Rolando Hinojosa

3:00 p.m. Ron Arias

3:15 p.m. Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin

3:30 p.m. Roberto Vargas

3:45 p.m. Dorinda Moreno

4:00 p.m. Frank Sifuentes

4:15 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Break for refreshments and book signings

5:00–6:15 p.m. Readings in Spanish, introduced by Gloria Arjona, USC Dept. of Spanish

5:15 p.m. Alurista

5:30 p.m. Marco A. Domínguez, Sr.

5:45 p.m. Juan A. Contreras

6:00 p.m. Juan Felipe Herrera

6:15 p.m. Jose Montoya

6:30 p.m. Richard Montoya and members of Culture Clash present One More Canto, a short documentary on a 1978 Flor y Canto festival

Thursday, September 16, 2010

1:00 p.m. Welcome and introductions

1:15 p.m. Conrad Romo

1:30 p.m. Daniel Acosta

1:45 p.m. Melinda Palacio

2:00 p.m. Amarilis Mari Martinez

2:15 p.m. Danny Romero

2:30 p.m. Gloria E. Alvarez

2:45 p.m. Estella Gonzalez

3:00 p.m. Manuel Ramos

3:15 p.m. Reyna Grande

3:30 p.m. Luis Rodriguez

3:45 p.m. Adelina Anthony

4:00–5:00 p.m. Break for refreshments and book signings

5:00–6:00 p.m. Readings in Spanish, introduced by Consuelo Sigüenza-Ortiz, USC Dept. of Spanish

5:15 p.m. Francisco Alarcón

5:30 p.m. Xánath Caraza-De-Holland

5:45 p.m. tatiana de la tierra

6:00 p.m. Olga Garcia

6:15 p.m. “Celebrando Chicana Poetry,” sponsored by Letras Latinas and introduced by Rob Casper, Poetry Society of America

6:30 p.m. Maria Melendez

6:45 p.m. Diana Garcia

7:00 p.m. Emmy Pérez

Friday, September 17, 2010

10:00 a.m. Welcome and introductions by William N. Vela (Director, El Centro Chicano) and Michael Sedano

10:15 a.m. Karen Cordova

10:30 a.m. Odilia Galvan Rodriguez

10:45 a.m. Ruben R. Mendoza

11:00 a.m. Mónica Teresa Ortiz

11:15 a.m. Sarah R. Garcia

11:30 a.m. John-Michael Rivera

11:45 a.m. Special presentation by Juan Felipe Herrera, honoring Cuca Aguirre with the UCR Tomás Rivera Lifetime Pioneer Award

12:00–1:30 p.m.: Lunch break

1:30–2:30 p.m. Student poetry section introduced by William N. Vela

2:30 p.m. Marco Domínguez, Jr.

2:45 p.m. Lisa Alvarez

3:00 p.m. Daniel Olivas

3:15 p.m. Daniel Cano

3:30 p.m. Rigoberto González

4:00 p.m. reina alejandra prado (aka Santa Perversa)

4:15 p.m. Nancy Alcala

4:30 p.m. Javier Huerta

4:45 p.m. Rakel Delgado (aka La Pocha Catalana)

5:00 p.m. Exhibition reception for Sueños by the Sea: Celebrating Los Festivales de Flor y Canto at USC, ground floor of Doheny Library

Organized by Tyson Gaskill (USC Libraries), Barbara Robinson (USC Libraries) and María-Elena Martínez (History and American Studies and Ethnicity). Co-sponsored by El Centro Chicano and the Latino Student Assembly.

For further information on this event:
visionsandvoices@usc.edu