We are thrilled to share with you the latest news and events from the Central American Historical and Ancestral Society of California.
THE LATEST
NEW PARTNERSHIPS
It's official, folks! The Museum of Social Justice has partnered with CAHAAS to hold an art exhibit and artist talk next year. We greatly appreciate Executive Director, Domenica Castillo and Board of Director Secretary, Michelle Dragoo's efforts for making this possible. Planning is in progress, so more details will come soon.
August 2024 CAHAAS is now part of the LA2050 grant challenge. LA2050 is a community-guided initiative that supports organizations working to make progress in building a stronger, smarter Los Angeles. Please consider supporting CAHAAS and LA2050 today!
IN THE COMMUNITY
May 4, 2024 CAHAAS was invited to the Central American Studies Showcase to both participate and celebrate the recently completed Central American Studies curriculum by local educators. We shared our biographies, stories, book selections, and more with teachers and the community. This UCI History Project is a regional branch of the California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP), a statewide umbrella organization that promotes university-public school collaboration. We would like to thank the project's director, Cindy Mata-Villalta, for connecting us with this project and its community of highly needed "evangelists" for Central American studies.
EDUCATORS
Teachers! CAHAAS has added a teacher's resource for the oral history interviews. Find the "Resource" button on the top navigation menu, and when you click on the "Education" button, you will see a free teacher's resource and sample lesson plan.
EVENT
Visit the new student curated exhibit now on display at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library Special Collections and Archives at Cal State Los Angeles that highlights the story of Dora Magaña, a Salvadoran refugee who endured the unimaginable in her country and in the United States. CAHAAS supported the student project with a presentation on our digital archives and how they can be used.
This was a collaboration between the Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, Azalea Camacho, archivist coordinator, Karina Cardenas, and Professor Ester E. Hernández with students [Briza Arias, Melissa Bowers, Queena Duong, Anthony Garcia, Adam Kerr, Jerusalem Miramontes, Colin Moy, Christopher Rico, Josue Salgado, Christopher Serrano Cortes, and Nathan Zamora] from her course 'Learning in the Community' Anthropology 3200-01.
The 100 Central American Historical
Biographies Campaign
New Bio: Our digital archive is growing. Last year, with the help of volunteers Angie Crouch, former NBC news reporter, and filmmaker Jacob Castillo, we interviewed Nelson Grande at his Los Angeles production company, Avenida Studios. In 2024, we published two videos from his interview, which are now available for free on CAHAAS and our YouTube channel. Learn more about this dynamic and charismatic Hollywood businessman who is moving mountains for Latinx creatives with the launch of a new streaming channel, A+.
Classroom Resources: Learn how to incorporate this oral history into a lesson plan. For example, students can write a narrative based on the oral history interviews and demonstrate how personal testimonies contribute to students identities and understanding of Central American contributions to society.
UPCOMING BIOS
We are adding 6 to 9 new oral histories by the end of 2024!
Behind the scenes, we have been interviewing "artivists" with footprints in community art, Central American foundations, and social justice movements in Los Angeles. These are some of the #untoldstories, and people that reshaped areas of Los Angeles in the 1980s. CAHAAS is preserving and amplifying their voices in order to change the dominant narrative to one that represents a more inclusive and dynamic Los Angeles history.
Some of last year's activities included...
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IT TAKES A VILLAGE! For many of us at CAHAAS, committed to amplifying Central American stories, this short video was a labor of love. We started the video in 2023, yet we conducted the research significantly ahead of that year. Some team players included Jacob Castillo, who edited the video, and Zac Chartouni, who narrates the story. We were also incredibly lucky to have found Mr. Pineda's niece, Francine Sosa-Lewis, who shared family photos and stories with us. Find more volunteer names and credits in the video. | Dora Olivia Magaña was born in Santa Ana, El Salvador, in 1961. Claudia A. Portillo and Ester E. Hernandez interviewed Dora for CAHAAS' oral history project in 2023. The oral history interview paved the way for the publication of a short video, showcasing her tenacity, determination, and the bravery of the human spirit. It also served to teach about the Central American experience, digital archives, and exhibits resulting in a student exhibit now on display in the JFK Library in Special Collections and Archives at Cal State LA. |
Watch the video or read the blog! Let us know what you think. | Watch the video and visit the student exhibit about Dora at Cal State LA. |
We would like to thank volunteers Dr. Ester E. Hernández and Steven DeMille for their commitment and continuous support in amplifying our Central American voices.
Consider giving today in the name of facts, truth, and a hopeful future!
We are a fiscally sponsored project through Empowerment Works.
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