Chicano Week Flyer - page 1

Jorge Arrendondo, Publisher Benito Alcalá, Editor Hector Gonzalez, Logo Artwork

Chicano Week Celebration at the University of Houston

Chicano Week will be observed at the University of Houston during the week of Sept. 13th to Sept. 17th. Organized by the Concilio de Organizaciones Chicanas, the week-long celebration will include academic discussions, cultural performances, and artistic presentations.

Since its inception over 20 years ago, Chicano Week has been a commemoration of the Chicano and Mexicano communities' experiences and struggles for cultural, social, and political equality. In addition, it is a reaffirmation of those struggles within American society today.

This year's theme, "Reflections of Aztlan in American Culture," is intended to highlight the uniqueness of Chicano culture, rooted historically in the American Southwest, and which was at one time Mexican territory. The week's events are also intended to discuss future patterns of Chicano cultural and political development.

According to Lorenzo Cano, Associate Director of the Mexican American Studies Program, Chicano Week is unique because it is part of the legacy of the 1960's, where some in the Mexican American community began to espouse cultural autonomy rather than assimilation within the greater American society.

Another part of that legacy was a desire for community control of the social institutions that exist in barrios throughout the Southwest. According to Cano, "It is important to note that these issues are not dead. Chicano Week is intended to discuss these issues with the broader community and determine how today's generation should deal with the unique situation faced by the Mexican American community today."

Jorge Arredondo, a 21 year old University of Houston psychology major and one of the organizers of Chicano Week states, "It is important that the youth of today reflect on the ideology of the Chicano Movement and continue the work that was started by the generation of the 1960's. This is especially important since our community still continues to face many profound social and economic problems. For example, the school system today continues to exclude the history and contributions of the Chicano people and does little to prepare young Chicanos for the future."

The Concilio de Organizaciones Chicanas is an umbrella group for the various Mexican American student organizations on the campus. This will be the '20th anniversary of Chicano Week's sponsorship by the Concmo.

Chicano Week is free and open to the public. Visitors can enter through entrance number 1 off Calhoun street and park in the Visitor's parking lot or at the University Hilton Hotel parking garage.

 

Originally posted Saturday, November 22 2003 @ 11:05 PM UTC