Velasco's life lends to unorthodox style

By Caroline Mooser

With course registration for next year approaching, Professor Juan Velasco's classes appeal to students that appreciate his unique teaching methods.

A professor in both the English and Spanish departments, Velasco provides his students with valuable life lessons based on his own experiences as a student, Zen practitioner, world traveler and social activist.

For alumna Erin Stratta '05, Velasco's class left a lasting impression that extended past her college career.

"In his life writing class, he read some of his personal stories to show students that the (writing) process doesn't have to be so scary, and that we were all working in the class as equals, as a family," she said. "The class changed, and continues to change, my life."

Many of Velasco's lessons stem from his belief in the Zen faith, a school of the Buddhist tradition. "The combination of writing and meditation becomes a way of getting to know yourself better," Velasco said.

"It's a reflection on who is this 'I' that is speaking, who is this 'self' that identifies with a certain name or position. I don't think we give ourselves enough time to reflect on this sacred nature of our own experiences," he said.

Velasco sees this form of writing as a path toward self-empowerment in which students can establish who they are and come to terms with their past and present experiences.

Velasco combines the Zen philosophy of being "contemplative in action" with the Ignatian tradition of responding accordingly to the state of one's environment.

"That is what an activist is all about: Discernment, reflection, mindfulness, meditation," he said. "If you cannot proceed with clarity, then you cannot help other people."

Junior Krystal Wu said she benefited from taking Velasco's life writing class and enjoyed the meditations that began every class.

"Juan is the most mindful person I know," she said. "He taught me, and continues to teach me, how to be present to others and how to find joy in the little things in life."

Velasco grew up during the Franco regime in Spain. He was in high school when the dictatorship ended in 1975, and he soon grew quite interested in Spain's transition to democracy.

Because of the influence of magical realism and literature about the Mexican Revolution on his life, Velasco began to notice a connection between events in Latin America and his own country.

Velasco also witnessed firsthand what he calls the exciting cultural "explosion" Madrid underwent in the late 1970s.

"You could go to a café at 4 a.m. and you would meet (filmmaker Pedro) Almodóvar and punk rock kids and incredible musicians and activists and poets and writers and students," said Velasco.

During that time Almodóvar and others tested ideas and projects that had not yet been fully explored in Spain.

"Those moments when you're in a political transition -- for artists it's the best because everybody's experimenting, and as a student I was learning from filmmakers and writing my own poetry," said Velasco. "I was sharing with artists and philosophers and workers."

Velasco likens his experiences as a student to those of students involved in Santa Clara's immersion and community-based learning programs because they are able to develop a deep concern for what is going on around them. Though from Seville, Velasco was drawn to California because of his interest in Chicano Studies. After completing his dissertation entitled "Labyrinth of Mexicanness: The Construction of Ethnicity in Contemporary Chicano/a Autobiography," Velasco received his second Ph.D. from UCLA.

Velasco also taught life writing in El Salvador as part of the Casa de la Solidaridad program.

In this context, students were able to compare their personal suffering with the suffering of the Salvadorans.

"All of a sudden you take it personally," he said. "These people are my brothers and my sisters. This old lady who is hungry is my grandmother. This family without running water and electricity is my family, too.

In the process of being there, the liberation of the people is bound to your own liberation. It totally connects with writing."

Wu remembers when she and other students spent two nights with Velasco in El Salvador:

"We cooked together -- Juan made us paella -- drank wine, lit candles and read aloud our life stories. Those two nights were such a moving experience for me, and I think they really show how much Juan cares for his students, as human beings."

Velasco plays the role of counselor as well as college professor. "Dr. Velasco is the type of person students run to for advice and insight during any one of many college breakdowns," said Stratta. "His calming presence and definite Zenness mixes well with his genuine compassion. It's hard to leave his office not feeling better and a little more clear-minded."

Velasco advises his students to always live in the moment.

"I think that people who are always rushing and running and multi-tasking and planning and worrying eventually get sick," he said. "Mindfulness will make you efficient, and in the process you're going to live in a deeper and more passionate way."

Velasco will teach courses on Chicano and Latin American literature next fall

Contact Caroline Mooser at (408) 555-4546 or cmooser@scu.edu.