Hispanic Heritage Month at the YMI
Student Action with Farmworkers
Recollections of Home/Recuerdos de mi Tierra
An Exhibition celebrating the rich cultural practices, beliefs, and
values that Latino and immigrant farmworkers bring to North and South
Carolina/Una exposición que celebra las ricas costumbres culturales,
creencias, y valores que los trabajadores agrícolas inmigrantes
y Latinos traen a Carolina del Norte y Sur.
September 1 - October 31, 2003
1 Septiembre - 31 Octubre, 2003
Gallery One
Quinceañera. Photo by / foto por Erin Barker, 2001
During the summers of 1999 and 2000, 40 college student
interns who participated in Student Action with Farmworkers' Into
the Fields Summer Internship and Leadership Development Program documented
folk traditions of North and South Carolina's farmworker and immigrant
Latino communities.
The SAF interns worked directly with farmworkers through
health clinics, legal and immigration organizations, Migrant Education
Programs, and community organizing groups in rural North and South
Carolina. By working with community-based organizations, interns had
direct access to the isolated farmworker population.
The interns learned about farmworkers' patterns of life
andn work, observing how farmworkers define community in North and
South Carolina. Through the survey, interns used audio recording and
photography to document verbal, material, and customary traditions.
The verbal traditions documented include songs such as rancheros and
románticos and stories about La Virgin of Guadalupe. The material
customs documented include traditional foods, crochet, folk, healing
traditions, and piñatas. The customary traditions documented
include home altars, quinceañera celebrations, weddings and
festivals.
Part of SAF's mission is to increase interaction, communication
and understanding among people of different cultures. This exhibit
recognizes and records how farmworkers, Latinos and their families
transport and recreate aspects of their native traditions as they
migrate in pursuit of agricultural work or settle into communities.
The photographs represent the value of face-to-face interaction between
interns and farmworkers. In many instances, farmworkers reveal the
dynamic process of the shaping and reinvention of traditional expressions
through the forces of new settings and circumstances.
Farmworker literature and advocacy often focuses solely
on work-related issues. This exhibit gives farmworkers a chance to
communicate outside of this limited frame - to convey a sense of pride
and value in their culture. As SAF identifies those who maintain the
songs, stories, and craft traditions of their native cultures, opportunities
arise for sharing our fieldwork with community members, students,
and the general public. By highlighting the traditions and creative
lives of farmworkers with those outside their occupational and cultural
group, we hope to bring their humanity to the forefront
Join us at the YMI for the Opening Reception
October 3, 2003/ 3 Octubre, 2003
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Thursday, September 11
7:30 - 9 p.m.
Join us at the YMI for an
Argentine Tango Dance Workshop
Experience the passion, mystery, and drama of the tango! With
dance masters Harby Gonzalez and Emilie Tobias.
$10 general public
$5 area high school students
Free for UNCA students with I.D.
Fun for all Ages. No dance partner or experience required!
No prior registration
Session limited to 40 participants
Please call 828-232-5000 for additional information.
October 3 / 3 Octubre, 2003
Fiesta Latina! Kick Off Party at the YMI
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
October 4, 2003/ 4 Octubre, 2003
Click the logo for more information!
