Santa Monica College Celebrates Latinx/e Heritage Month

Santa Monica College Celebrates Latinx/e Heritage Month

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica College (SMC) will celebrate Latinx/e Heritage Month with a series of informative talks by artist Julio Salgado and architect Ronald Rael, a documentary screening and audience Q&A with director Marcos Nieves and his subject Karyna Jaramillo, and a poetry reading and discussion with Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Yosimar Reyes.

All of the events are free and will be held in locations on the main campus of Santa Monica College (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). Seating is strictly on a first-arrival basis.

The events are:

• Sept. 25, 12 p.m., in Student Services Center, Orientation Hall (SSC 183): Julio Salgado: “Good Immigrant, Bad Immigrant: The Art of Julio Salgado” — Julio Salgado, a visual artist of color whose work explores themes of immigration and queerness, will talk about the influences on his work over the past 15 years. Salgado is an undocumented and queer artist who uses his art to combat racist, anti-immigrant, homophobic, and transphobic narratives. He is the co-founder of DreamersAdrift and the Migrant Storytelling Manager for The Center for Cultural Power, where he co-created The Disruptors Fellowship for emerging television writers of color who identify as trans/and or non-binary, disabled, undocumented/formerly undocumented immigrants. His work has been displayed at the Oakland Museum, SFMOMA, and the Smithsonian. Sponsored by the SMC Associates, Dream Resource Center, IDEAS at SMC, Pride Center, Student Equity Center, Ethnic Studies Program, Art Department, Dream Program, The Latino Center/Adelante, Black Collegians/UMOJA, and EOPS/CARE. 
• Oct. 2, 6:30 p.m., in Student Services Center, Orientation Hall (SSC 183): Ronald Rael: “Working with Muddy Robots” — Award-winning designer, activist, architect, and author Ronald Rael will talk about his experience and design perspective, which not only challenges conventional architecture, digital fabrication, and materiality, but also integrates a cultural and political dimension unusual in the built design professions. Rael is currently the UC Berkeley Eva Li Memorial Chair in Architecture and Chair of the Department of Art Practice, and directs the printFARM Laboratory (print Facility for Architecture, Research and Materials). He is the author of “Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary” (University of California Press, 2017) and “Earth Architecture” (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008). Sponsored by the SMC Associates, SMC Communication and Media Studies Department, SMC Design Technology Department, and SMC NOMAS (National Organization of Minority Architects) Student Club.
  

  

• Oct. 3, 11:15 a.m., in Stromberg Hall (HSS 165): Marcos Nieves, Director, and Karyna Jaramillo: “My Queerceañera” Film Screening and Q&A — Director Marcos Nieves and his film subject, Karyna Jaramillo, a Mexican transgender woman living in Arizona, will screen and discuss “My Queerceañera.” The documentary explores Jaramillo’s life and her determination to fulfill her teenage dream of celebrating her Quinceañera with a twist: when she turns 50. The film dives into her life — as a construction worker, coming to terms with her identity, battling alcohol addiction, and family challenges at home — and her resilience to thrive against adversities in her fight for equity, diversity, and inclusion. Nieves, whose projects include the 2022 short documentary “Zoila” and 2018 short documentary series “The Right to Thrive,” is a member of the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective and co-founder of La Producción, a production company run by undocumented immigrants. An audience Q&A follows the screening. Sponsored by the SMC Associates, Dream Resource Center, IDEAS at SMC, Student Equity Center, Ethnic Studies Program, Dream Program, The Latino Center/Adelante, Black Collegians/UMOJA, and EOPS/CARE.
  

  

• Oct. 17, 11:15 a.m., in Student Services Center, Orientation Hall (SSC 183): Yosimar Reyes: “Venimos A Triunfar” (“We Came to Be Triumphant”) — Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Yosimar Reyes will present an insightful talk about how his poetry is inspired by his community. His goal, as the first undocumented poet to reach this position, is to help people find poetry in their everyday lives. Reyes was chosen to be a 2024 Creative Ambassador by the City of San Jose, The Advocate named him one of “13 LGBT Latinos Changing the World,” and Remezcla included him in “10 Up And Coming Latinx Poets You Need To Know.” Reyes has been awarded a NALAC Catalyst for Change Grant, a Gerbode Foundation Grant, and most recently, a Walter & Elise Haas Creative Work Fund Grant. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including “Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry”; “Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings”; and the forthcoming “UndocuPoetics.” Sponsored by the SMC Associates, Dream Resource Center, IDEAS at SMC, Student Equity Center, Ethnic Studies Program, Dream Program, The Latino Center/Adelante, Black Collegians/UMOJA, and EOPS/CARE.
  

  

Programs are subject to change without notice, and new speakers may be added to the series. Up-to-date details are posted at smc.edu/events and available by calling the SMC Office of Public Programs at 310-434-4100.

Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).

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