BY LETISIA MÁRQUEZ
UCLA Today
There are no borders between educators and artists
— even if they live in neighboring countries, say organizers
of a new UCLA program.
UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center
and the University of Veracruz in Mexico have started a cultural
and research exchange program that will bring together professors,
students and artists from both universities. They plan to work
together on various academic and scientific activities including
research projects, conferences and courses, as well as to foster
the exchange of professors, researchers and other educators.
The UCLA/Veracruz project will “not look
at the border as one that exists between culture, language and
the arts, but rather as an area that has significant overlap,”
said Chon Noriega, director of the Chicano Studies Research
Center.
Already, the universities have started a Chicano
short-film program that will be presented in the cities of Veracruz,
Xalapa and Mexico City this month. Six Chicano short films and
“Luminarias,” a feature film directed by UCLA School
of Theater, Film and Television Professor Jose Luis Valenzuela,
will be presented as part of the program.
This month, Arturo White, foundation president
of the University of Veracruz, and Felicidad Góngora
Berlín, the university’s assistant director of
cultural affairs, visited UCLA and signed an international agreement
between both universities. UCLA officials, including Claudia
Mitchell-Kernan, vice chancellor of Academic Affairs and dean
of the Graduate Division, signed the agreement with the Xalapa
campus. Program organizers also will work closely with four
other campuses in the state of Veracruz.
Like UCLA, the University of Veracruz is a public
university. It serves 48,000 students in the southern coastal
area of Mexico. The state of Veracruz boasts splendid beaches,
art-filled coffeehouses and a culture that’s a blend of
African, indigenous Mexican and European influences.
Góngora Berlín hopes the UCLA/Veracruz
project also will make people aware of the diverse cultures
that exist in Mexico.
“We have a very rich culture, and it is
what we want to promote here,” she said.
