The Voces Nuevas Latinx Author Series features an eclectic mix of up-and-coming Latinx authors from multiple Latinx communities—with an emphasis on LGBTQI+ and AfroLatinx artists—in order to highlight the diversity of the Latinx community and support and promote new artists from Latinx heritages not regularly featured in arts programming. At the same time, this project seeks to bridge the gap between the “town and the gown” by providing access to high quality, bilingual English and Spanish literary events in accessible contexts to underserved, low-income barrio community members, as well provide writing workshops in proximity to their homes. This author series is interlinked with multiple UCSB and broader off-campus community centers such as the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, the UCSB Multicultural Center, and El Centro Santa Barbara barrio community center. Each author featured in our lineup participates in events, which include: 1) featured author reading at the UCSB Multicultural Center; 2) round-table discussion with artists, scholars, and students at UCSB; and 3) bilingual reading and creative writing workshop at El Centro Santa Barbara barrio community center. This initiative has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts with support from the Global Latinidades Project and the Robert and Liisa Erickson Presidential Chair in English, as well as the UCSB Multicultural Center.
Chicanx author and professor Jesús Rosales (event in Spanish)
Raised in Santa Barbara, CA, (born in Durango, Mexico) Jesús is a Chicano novelist and professor committed to recuperating and preserving Chicanx writing in Spanish. He will be reading from his novel Marco Solís: El hombre de arena (2020), the first Chicano novel about growing up in Santa Barbara. The novel addresses racism, gentrification, various forms of alienation, and much more. The reading and discussion will be in Spanish.
Jesús (nacido en Durango, México) creció en Santa Bárbara, CA y reside en Arizona. Es un novelista y profesor universitario que se dedica a preservar e investigar la historia de la literatura chicana escrita en español. Platicará de Marco Solís: El hombre de arena(2020), la primera novela que trata sobre crecer siendo chicano en Santa Bárbara. La novela incluye temas como el racismo, la gentrificación, varias formas de alienación, y entre otros muchos. Su charla será en español.
Carmen Aguirre, Chilean-Canadian author, actor, and playwright, will visit UCSB January 11-12, 2023
We are thrilled to announce that Carmen Aguirre, Chilean-Canadian author, actor, and playwright will visit UCSB on January 11-12, 2023 for two events. Much of her writing has been autobiographical and unabashedly left wing, exploring themes of exile, loss, alienation, and isolation, but also hope and resistance. A campus reading and discussion will take place on Jan 11 at the at the MCC Theater from 7-8:30pm and a community centered mini-reading and workshop on Jan 12 from 6-8:30pm at the MCC Lounge. Both events will be led by Carmen Aguirre. Free dinner will also be provided for all participants.