In this panel, we celebrate the contributions of Latinx student writers. We will hear poems from Linda Nevarez and Jennifer Castrejon, a dramatic excerpt of Sofia Olvera-Sandoval’s play-in-progress, and narrative speeches from first-year students, including Sofia Batres, Luis Nieves and Karina Moy.
Sofia Batres, Karina Moy | CRWS 102 | Tina Taylor-Ritzler
My Community
Students from our CRWS 102 course this Spring 2022 semester will share narrative essays that describe our experiences of community. Sofia's presentation is titled "Cutting Across Communities" where she will describe the struggles and joys of being part of two distinct communities. Karina's presentation is titled "It was only the first day..." where she will describe an experience that gave her hope when entering her new high school community. Through storytelling, our presentations explore themes of belonging, identity, family, community, and education.
Linda Nevarez, Jennifer Castrejon | Capstone Course | Gema Ortega
Nuestras Verdades: The Latinx Experience in Poetic Forms
This panel expresses the life experience of two Latinx poets who find inspiration in their everyday life as 1st generation, multilingual women. They overcome their adversities and liberate themselves from la carga cotidiana through poetic expression. They will read and analyze their work in the context of their capstones in Translation and English. Their poetry speaks on the duality of their lives as part of the Latinx community. Some themes in their work include faith, family dynamics, gender, and the sense of cultural identity. Their work is a glimpse into their verdades knowing that their lives as Latinx writers will not end at graduation.
Sofia Olvera-Sandoval | Movemento | Jose Blanco
Broken Glass
Sofia Olvera-Sandoval wrote her play Broken Glass in Sandra Delgado’s Scriptwriting class taught at Dominican University in Spring 2021. The play follows two sisters who receive an ominous letter causing them to return to their childhood home. Inspired by the too-often hidden and normalized domestic and emotional abuse in households, Sofia explores the strength of sibling bonds and the differing experiences of children growing up together. Depicted through the lens of a Mexican-American family, Sofia highlights the conflicts that influence a dual-identity across multiple generations demonstrated in the characters' experiences with language use at home, food expression, and the pressures of women in a patriarchal society. Today she will be presenting an excerpt of Scene 2 of Broken Glass. Featuring students Manny Salgado, Kamil Orozco, and Lupe Perez.