Sí, Se Puede

Today is a two-post day.  Post #1

Today is Cesar Chavez Day.  The movie depicting his life came out last Friday.  As far as I know it did reasonably well for a picture that was made for a budget of about 10 million dollars.  Big budget for you and me, tiny budget for many films.

The movie is clearly about the man and how he, and those around him, responded to the needs of the workers in the field.  It includes a brief nod to the Filipino workers who were on strike and who had been involved with protesting for some time prior to the involvement of the Mexicanos and Mexican Americans.  It also gave little time to Dolores Huerta.  In the film its clear that she is strong willed and smart.  What doesn't get developed in the film is the partnership that they develop over the years.  

Its often shared that Cesar was the spokesman.  In a way, you could think of his as the front man.  Dolores led the boycotts and negotiated contracts - often being the only woman in the room.  Well, maybe there were female secretaries...

Cesar's work and his commitment to better working conditions in the fields as well his commitment to non-violence is being recognized in the State of California.  Someday Dolores will get her due.

Here is artist Favianna Rodriguez' image with quotes from each.

They were a team.  

Favianna Rodriguiez - http://favianna.com

Oh, a small note.  Dolores spoke at Oxy last week.  In the course of the talk she mentioned the "Si, se puede" quote.  She shared that President Obama "used" her quote during his campaign.  Ever Dolores she replied, "Yes, you did".  Most likely with a big smile on her face.  In the movie it is Cesar who "uses" the phrase.  

I don't have the source for the two images in the main body of the text at the moment.  I'll add them tomorrow.

Here's a link to a column that draws out more of the "other story" that could have been told and that hopefully will be told in the future.

http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/03/the_neglected_heroines_of_cesar_chavez.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Since last Friday

The last couple of weeks have beens spent with a lot of the dull excitement of getting the house back into some sort of order.  The recliner still sits in the box it came home in from Costco, but the stacks of papers that sat on top of it are now mostly put away.  The boxes for the Beta versions of the TV show are half done; not good enough, but better than it was last week.

More exciting has been the addition of Eulalia to our small herd of critters.  I like to refer to them as a herd since it's a monosyllabic word and is used for deer.  They are that to me.

Allow me the joke; Larry thought it was funny.

Monday - resting underfoot while I worked.

Monday evening social time.

Spring

Spring beckons.  

If we are lucky we find her

Indoors at Baby Showers,

Outside on our porch,

Surrounded by the perfume of an acre full of wistaria

Or in the color of the clothes worn

by vendors at the Wistaria Festival.

If we are ready, new beginnings also come in the form of four paws and a waggly tail.

Eulalia will soon be coming to our home.  

Thanks to the Pasadena Humane Society.

Leading the Way since 1912

There are a couple of days during the year when I find it easiest to write. Any day that is connected to my family and those days that are set commemorate events or organizations that have had a deep and positive impact on my life.  

Today I celebrate Girl Scouts birthday.  

When I was little I probably looked a bit like the little girl in the photo.  I still have my Brownie uniform.  Being a Scout in the 50s was about being comfortable with learning about living in America and being a part of an organization that appreciated the cultures of the world.  International Day was meant to explore the latter.

Mixed in with proficiency badges, sit-upons, s'mores, and square knots was the idea that all of the girls in the troop could develop leadership skills.   Apparently this is still a part of the scouting experience, although it is approached from a more contemporary approach.  

Girl Scouts working with Leanin.org have produced a series of PSAs with Jane Lynch, Jennifer Garner, Condoleezza Rice, Sheryl Sandberg, Diane Von Fustenberg, and Beyonce that share this message.  

Girl Scouts' CEO, Anna Maria Chavez, shares lots about the benefits from being in Scouts and her own experience that led her to current position.  She is among those featured in the series Makers: Women Who Make America.  

All images are from the Girl Scouts Facebook page 

https://www.facebook.com/GirlScoutsUSA

http://blog.girlscouts.org/2013/04/makers-women-who-make-america-new_3.html

Community Organization of Pasadena for Advancement in Education

The other day I wrote about Mrs. López de Lowther.  In addition to the accomplishments I mentioned in the earlier post, I could add that she was involved with the redevelopment (RDA) in the City of San Gabriel.  Part of her accomplishments in that capacity was to make sure that the adobe that is a part of the history of her family, the city, and the mission was not torn down.  I suspect her having had the benefit of her higher education was helpful.  She was lucky to have the support and the encouragement to attend college.

I present to you the ladies of COPA; a group established in 1981.  Their purpose was, and is, focused on disseminating news and information regarding Latina/Chicana issues.  They promote programs, provide resources, and financial support through scholarships for young Latinas.  

Lots of groups suffer from mission creep.  You know, when the group begins to alter what they do to find financial support, which too often leads to a loss of the original purpose or mission.  

Not this group.  They have remained resolute in their work and have given scholarships to deserving Latina Seniors in each of the five PUSD high schools.  They will begin to interview students soon.  Scholarships will be given at the PUSD Latino Recognition Ceremony set to take place on May 18th.

In the spring of 2013 the women were recognized by the Pasadena Mexican American History Association through the dedication of bench in Gwinn Park.  

 COPA

http://www.copapasadena.org/index.html

By, for, and about our stories

History, her story, our story.

WE have so many stories to share; sometimes it's cool to have the larger links in our stories highlighted and other times it's great to have the focus on a particular group.  Our experience in the 20th Century, our experience as women in the 20th century.

March is Women's History Month and is an opportunity to share the stories that should be woven throughout the rest of the year, but often are lived on the editing floor.  Lots of reasons for this, but also lots of reasons to take the time to share work done by women.  You know the whole thing about holding up half the sky, right?

Locally there are lots individuals to highlight.  There are also lots and lots of groups to highlight.

Some of the older groups in the area were established as sister organizations - YWCA is a prime example of this.  Other groups were established because women were not welcomed into groups like
Rotary.  It was a sign of the times.

Zonta was established in 1919.  It was a place where a woman's skills were seen as an asset.  It was a "service organization of executives in business and the professions working together to advance the status of women".

One of the charter members in Pasadena was Grace Nicholson; a person with a passion, and developed great knowledge of, Asian and Native American art.  Her home studio has become the USC Pacific Asia Museum.

Zonta is still active - "Advancing the Status of Women".  How you ask.  Well this weekend, right here in Pasadena at the Laemmle Theater, Lunafest will take place.  There will be a series of short films: the tagline  - short films by, for, and bout women.  Lots about the stories that are told from different women's experiences.  70 Year old women playing basketball, a young woman dealing with Tourette's, a young female wrestler prepping for her first co-ed match, a woman dealing with blind dating: not usually the focus of any blockbuster but certainly stories worthy of our attention.  

AND for only $20 you get to see the films

AND you help to raise money for Zonta - the scholarships they award - and for the Breast Cancer Fund.  

The links follow the post.  Perhaps I'll see you at the Laemmle this weekend.

Click on the link below to see the trailer for the films - 

http://www.lunafest.org/overlays/video/73181619

http://www.lunafest.org/index.php?/attend-an-event/details/pasadena0308
http://www.lunafest.org/the-films
http://pacificasiamuseum.wordpress.com/2013/03/

Casa Martínez, más y más

Sometimes I'm really good about remembering anniversaries.  Sometimes.  Last week I had an anniversary that was meaningful and I forgot all about it.  On February 28, 1998 I taped the first show of Casa Martínez, Música y Más.  My first guest was the great mezzo soprano and television host,  Suzanna Guzmán.  Second guest was the musician and visual artist, Willie Loya.

The format was clearly talking head - you know, two folks on screen chatting about something.  But the content was fairly unique.  We had guests that talked about everything from performance art, to ethnic and racial identity, how they came to find sobriety, how they identified themselves culturally, ethnically, and racially.  There were others who spoke about playing the guitarrón, how one should choose a school (private or public) for their children, and others who shared stories about their lives in Pasadena in the 1930s and 1940s.

Friends Ed and Rita Almanza put together the set that was supposed to feel as if the guest and I were sitting on the porch.  The Coffee and El Portal donated the food that we had was eaten by the crew and by the host and her guest.  The magic of the eye of the camera made the set work and the magic of the crew made the show fun to do and interesting to watch.

We taped a little over 100 shows.  In our first year, some titles included:
Bicultural names, Bicultural lives, Meso-American music, El Pachuco 1943, The San Patricios, Literacy, Theatre, and Self-esteem, Sephardi music, How do you say danza in Nahuatl?

Some of the guests had names that most folks know or whose work is well known.  Tony Plana, Raul R. Rodriguez, Herbert Siguenza, Dyana Ortelli, Valente Rodriguez, Val Zavala, Cris Franco- what a long list.

And there were names that might not be as well known - Oscar Castillo, Kevin Bruce, Rosie Guerrero, Rick Krzyzanowski, Sasi Magallanes,  Ginger Varney,  Cy Wong.


In the mix was a "creative", a folkloric teacher, an investigator, a person with expertise in paper cutting from several different cultures, an actor, and a producer who studied at the American Academy of the Dramatic Arts.

We taped on beta, 1/2 inch vhs, and mini cassettes.  Two copies for every show.  All the shows are in our house.  We have lots and lots of tapes.  These are the keepers from the first batch.

There's the rub.  Part of the work that I am doing is getting the tapes in order and trying to make sure that I have a good copy.  We'll need to transfer it to a current form.  In the meantime it's about organizing and storing.

Easier said than done.  Ask James.  He knows exactly what I mean.

Maria Guadalupe Evangelina Lopez de Lowther

In 1995 the City of Pasadena published an extensive report researched and written by Carson Anderson.  His "Ethnic History Research Project" has chapters focused on lots of ethnic groups that have lived in Pasadena.  Mexican, Black, Japanese, Chinese, Jewish, Swedish, German and more; it's a long list.  A fine read accompanied by some old school xeroxed images.  Lots of insight into the complexity of the history of our city.

I learned about the document in about 1998.  I was excited to be able to use his work in my research.  In the section where he reports on the Mexican community I was struck by a name and a fact.  The name: Maria Guadalupe Evangelina Lopez de Lowther.  The fact: she graduated from Pasadena High School and was the youngest teacher at USC in 1903.    

I don't know about you but give me a fact and a name and I want an image.  So I began to look for a photo of the woman who was known alternately as Eva or Maria.  After looking at countless images, I found her name listed in a group picture taken in1907 at Los Angeles High School. The photo is part of the Digital Library/The California Historical Society Collection.  Getting closer.

But where was she was in the group picture.  Given the complexity of the heritage of Latinas and Latinos, I couldn't be sure who she might be in this photo.  Dark hair, light hair, dark skin, light skin, curly hair, straight hair???????  Something in between?  The possibilities are endless given the heritage of the Iberian peninsula, Africa,  and meso-America.  Let's not even begin to remember the Irish Mexicanos.  Only wild guesses as to where she might be in the picture.

And being a historian this bothered me.  It's been very much like the where did I put my glasses routine.  I know they're around ... but I still can't find them.

Somewhere in the image below is the face that goes with the last name Lopez de Lowther.  I had hoped that if I could see the back of the image there might some hint that would give me insight to lead me to ... an answer.  

In the last ten years I've never had a chance to explore the USC archives and see the back of the photo.  This fall I got a chance and discovered the image and the legend of numbers and names.

And

so I 

present:

María Guadalupe Evangelina López de Lowther.

Graduate of Pasadena High School in 1897, with a B.S. and M.A, lecturer in Spanish at University of California, Southern Branch (later known as UCLA), and translator of various papers that relate to the 19th century.   She was related to Claudio Lopez, Mayrodomo at the San Gabriel Mission at the same time Eulalia Pérez de Guillen was La Llavera.  Her husband Hugh Lowther was a Professor at Occidental College.  Mrs. López de Lowther spent her last years active in the City of San Gabriel.