ALTAR-- Documentary Film Features Local artists, Activists & Scholars



Gloria Anzaldúa

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center and Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa presents a screening of a "Altar," a documentary on the life of Gloria Anzaldúa

Thursday, November 4, 2010, 7pm
Esperanza Peace & Justice Center,
Documentary on Gloria Anzaldúa Features Interviews with SA Artists & Scholars

"ALTAR: Cruzando Fronteras, Building Bridges" is a documentary film by Italian directors Paola Zaccaria and Daniele Basillo, is a visual portrait celebrating the life of Gloria Anzaldúa (1942-2004).

During her lifetime, South Texas Chicana lesbiana writer, poet, professor & cultural theorist Gloria Anzaldúa explored concepts of border-crossing, borderlands, sexuality, education, spirituality, queer identity & cultural work, through writing, teaching & speaking.

Anzaldua coined the term “Nepantlera,” to describe cultural workers and activist as “threshold people” who move within and among multiple worlds, and use this movement to transform themselves and create broader, more inclusive communities.

This loving ofrenda to the legacy of Gloria Anzaldúa takes shape in the texture of women’s border art(ivism) and in the cultural and political centers committed to creating bridges across differences, documenting Anzaldua’s creative and visual mind, her interest in art, and her influence on women artists. Her work on border-crossing is particularly important now, in the midst of widespread attacks on immigrants, such as Arizona’s SB1070.

The documentary includes interviews with Liliana Wilson, Santa Barraza, Juana Alicia, Amalia-Mesa Bains, Antonia Castañeda, Betita Martinez, Graciela Sanchez, Gloria Ramirez, Irene Reti, and others. Much of the film was recorded at San Antonio’s own Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Music for the film was provided by Lourdes Perez.

This is a free public event presented by the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in collaboration with the El Mundo Zurdo Conference and the Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa. Please call Esperanza for more information at (210)228-0201. You may also contact the director, Paola Zaccaria for interviews at mestiza@libero.it. The DVD will be available for purchase at the screening. For more information on the life and work of Gloria Anzaldúa, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_E._Anzald%C3%BAa or http://voices.cla.umn.edu/artistpages/anzaldua.php.

Paola Zaccaria is an activist and professor of Literary and Visual Anglo-American Cultures at Bari University, Italy. She has published books and essays on Poetry, Feminist Criticism, Latina and African American Literature, Border and Diaspora Studies, Transnationalism, Literary and Film Theory. She edited Borderlands/La frontera in Italian (Bari 2000) and has written many essays on Anzaldúa’s work and vision.
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