Derrotando Fronteras: A week of cultural celebration

By Jennifer Re

David Castro from PROLatino, a non-profit organization centered in San Jose, captured the undivided attention of a student crowd as he shared the somewhat atypical story of his "coming out."

The first person in his family he disclosed his sexual identity to was his youngest son as a way of making the boy feel comfortable about his own sexual orientation. At the time, Castro's older transgender son had his full support, but not that of his wife, whom Castro said "didn't want anything to do with homosexuality." However, now that she knows the truth about her sons and husband, she too has come out of the closet as a lesbian.

Castro said that his story demonstrated, in a rather unexpected way, how one man can break through barriers to reach new understandings. The theme of the annual weeklong cultural celebration organized by the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan El Frente (MEChA) club has similar goals, but with specific reference to awareness of Mexican-American culture.

"We used to call it 'Cinco de Mayo' week, but we changed the name to 'Derrotando Fronteras' this year to include more countries and more issues," said MEChA member Claudia Avila-Mart'n.

Gema Navarro, also a member of MEChA, said that sheis proud to be from Nicaragua and that Monday's event, "Ties that Bind," was particularly important to her because it showed the common links between Mexican-Americans and other minorities at Santa Clara University.

"We're a big minority," said MEChA President Manuel Perez, "and we're not going anywhere, so people might as well start learning about us ... the only way to understand a culture is to learn about it."

Derrotando Fronteras champions education as much as it does the celebration of culture. Beyond traditional explorations of culture such as Aztec dancing, salsa performances, and Spanish mass followed by the Cinco de Mayo dinner, MEChA included lectures and discussions about Latinos in the media and politics, the gay Latino experience, and the history of mural art in California in the program.

Viviana Montoya-Hernandez, a social chair for MEChA, said that this year's weeklong celebration is a chance to do something bigger and newer than previous events.

However, the audience that attended such events as the historical and interpretive lecture by Associate Professor Ana Maria Pineda in Shapell Lounge was comprised mostly of MEChA members. Many said that the art was stunning, progressive, and rich with meaning, but many of the people watching the slides had already been exposed to this kind of art.

Montoya-Hernandez encouraged new people to join or become involved with MEChA regardless of ethnic background.

"People need to take the risk of coming into the Multicultural Center; it's not really even a risk. We have had lots of people come to MEChA through organizations like SCCAP," said Montoya-Hernandez.

According to the Mission statement of MEChA, the organization "exists to ensure the proper education of students on Latino issues" in addition to fostering a family setting for Latino students at SCU.

The group attracted to the PROLatino discussion was much more diverse than that of Tuesday's lecture, and many council members of MEChA were happy with the diverse turnout. Thanks to participants from a gender studies class, the Williman Room was filled with students and discussion.

Some said that the only downside of the crowd was that it was too large for the intimate sharing about personal sexual orientation and that the discussion became centered not on students seeking a safe space, but rather on Castro sharing his own personal story.

The discussion also included an angle at understanding why being homosexual in the Latino community is particularly difficult. Playing a central role in this difficulty, Castro said, is the belief within organized religion that God does not accept homosexuals. Castro offered his own idea in faith, which included a belief in God, but an accepting God.

"The hardest part about coming out of the closet," Castro said, "is not just saying 'I'm gay;' it's accepting yourself as gay."

PROLatino is not the only organization outside of MEChA involved in the weeklong program. The Arrupe Center immersion programs put on a discussion Wednesday evening to present and field questions on workers' rights and low-income housing in the Central Valley of California and Immokalee, Florida.

According to Lorenzo Gamboa, the organizer of Wednesday's event, the week is about not just seeing the borders that separate people, but breaking them down and educating each other.