Nuestras Raíces: Film Festival

Join us for films celebrating Mexican-American culture.

Friday, March 2, 2007

7:00pm-10:00pm

Community venue

Screening Room, 127 E.Congress Street

Join us for short films (Homegrown) at 7 pm, followed by local filmmaker Q&A. At 8:30 pm, enjoy the feature film Los Lonely Boys Cottonfields and Crossroads by Hector Galán.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

6:00pm-9:00pm

Community venue

Screening Room, 127 E.Congress Street

Join us for the following student films:

• 6 pm: Short films (Beyond Tucson)
• 7 pm: A Second Final Rest: The History of San Francisco's Lost Cemeteries a film by Trina Lopez
• 8 pm: Quinceañera a film by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (this film is rated R, parental guidance is encouraged)

Nuestras Raíces: Mercado and Tamal Fest

Join us for crafts, music, dance and art demonstrations for all ages. Book, art and food vendors will sell their wares. Student muralists from the University of Arizona will work on the plaza all day.

Here is the day's schedule of events:

10:00 - 10:30 AM Our Lady of Guadalupe Folklorico, Director Debbie Elkins

10:30 - 11:00 AM Mariachi Los Aguilitas de Davis, Director Alfredo Valenzuela

11:15 - 12:15 PM Sonido De Mexico, Director Andrea Gallegos

11:15 - 12:15 PM Rita Maria Magdaleno reads from her new bilingual children's book, My Backyard Garden, in the Main Children's Meeting Room. The illustrator is Sue Betanzos. The book was published by the Tucson Botanical Gardens.

12:30 - 1:30 PM Tamale-making demonstration.

1:45 - 2:45 PM Entertainment by Salsa Band, Makako, performing music that will make you move!

1:45 - 2:45 PM The puppet show, "Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story," adapted by our own librarian, Sol Gomez, will be in the Main Children's Meeting Room.

2:45 - 3:15 PM Storytelling by Elva Smithwhite.

3:15 - 4:00 PM Entertainment by Salsa Band, Makako, performing music that will make you move!

3:15 - 4:00 PM The puppet show, "Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story," adapted by our own librarian, Sol Gomez, will be in the Main Children's Meeting Room.

4:00 - 5:00 PM Our featured author, Christine Granados, will share an intimate reading from her collection of short stories titled, Brides and Sinners in El Chuco, in Main Lower Level 1 Meeting Room.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

10:00am-5:00pm

Joel D. Valdez Main Library

Nuestras Raíces: Tardeada Dance Party

Bands from Tucson's Golden Age of Mexican American Rock-And-Roll will come back for one afternoon only! Dancing will be encouraged. Sponsored by Pima County Public Library, Friends of the Pima County Public Library, and REFORMATucson.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

2:00pm-6:00pm

Community venue

Historic Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. in Downtown Tucson

Nuestras Raíces: Writing Workshop with Rita Maria Magdaleno

Local author and poet, Rita Maria Magdaleno, will present two writing workshops, one for adults and the other for children, on two separate dates.

Ms. Magdaleno received her Master of Arts in English and American Literature. She lives and works in Tucson, where she has published numerous books and poems.

She has received the Award of Excellence from the Arizona Museum Association along with various other grant and acknowledgements. Ms. Magdaleno is actively involved in the community and especially with young people.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

6:00pm-8:00pm

Quincie Douglas Branch Library

During this workshop for adults, Ms. Magdaleno will present, "Poems from the Garden (& other beautiful places)"

Adults will be encouraged to share their memories of gardens & other special places. The goal is to focus on "sense of place" and to use that "place" as a starting point for writing a poem.

We'll look at gardens and the images within. We'll explore other "beautiful places" where special memories can be "visualized" to inspire a poem.

The main objective will be two-fold.

1) Use the memory of a "place" as the starting point for a poem, and

2) Write a narrative poem - one that "tells a story."

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

2:00pm-4:00pm

Woods Memorial Branch Library

Ms. Magdaleno will present this writing workshop for children, "My Nana's Garden: Poems & Stories."

Children will learn about creating a special garden. They will explore words and images related to "things that live" in a garden. Children will consider a special garden - one from their nana (grandmother) or other special family member.

The goal will be to draw that "special garden" and to write a small poem or story about it. Then, the children's drawings and their writings will be made into story books.

Children can then share these books with their families, and add more stories and drawings with the help of family members.

Nuestras Raíces: Writing Workshop with Silviana Wood

Silviana Wood, Tucson playwright, actress and director, will facilitate a writing workshop for teens titled, "Quien soy yo?" or "Who am I?"

"Quien soy yo?" is a bilingual journal writing workshop. It will challenge teens to write brief, fast-paced exercises that will allow them to examine, explore and reinforce their feelings about their unique culture.

The writing will focus on the positive components of: language, history, the Arizona/Sonora desert and the environment, the family and its traditions, and the participant's goals and ambitions.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

2:00pm-4:00pm

Sam Lena-South Tucson Branch Library