Latina poet Maya Chinchilla performs at the Latinx Monologues in Prince George’s Room in Stamp on Oct. 1.
In front of about 40 people Thursday night, junior Juan-Felipe Pataquiva shared his life story and what it’s like to identify as a Latino.
“Being a Latino is more like a culture. One cannot describe the feeling; you just know what being a Latino means,” he said. “You get to have two completely different cultures and share the same language, but sometimes a language that can be completely diverse within the same culture.”
Pataquiva, along with seven other performers, shared music, personal stories and poems that allowed people to express their pride for Latin culture at the University of Maryland’s third annual Latinx Monologues. The event also included a guest appearance from Guatemalan femme writer Maya Chinchilla.
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“We needed to uphold this tradition of creating a space for Latinxs who started out with nothing,” said Mariuxi Pintado, a junior American studies major who helped organize the event. “Before organizations like PLUMAS, [Coalition of Latinx Student Organizations], there was nothing for the Latinos who were on-campus. They had no place to go because there weren’t organizations who focused on Latinos.”
Attendees gathered in Stamp Student Union’s Prince George’s Room for the event, hosted by this university’s chapter of Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society.
Walter Suarez, a 2015 university alumnus, performed music from Peru, his native country. Jocelyn Nolasco, a freshman government and politics major performed the poem “I Am a Latina.”
Nolasco performed at last year’s monologue event and was invited back this year. In her discussion, she said she was always proud of the mother who raised her, even though people would discredit her at times because of her heritage.
“I come from a mother whose beauty is not mentioned enough in a textbook, and why? Because she is trying to teach her children values of hard work and dedication,” she said.
Chinchilla, an educator, video artist and author, shared her perspectives on what it is like to be a Latina. She read poems from her book “The Cha Cha Files: A Chapina Poética,” addressing her Central American roots as well as being a woman.
“I was told once by a Latina that she had never read any literature written by a Latina,” Chinchilla said. “I wanted to show how Latinx is a powerful statement for all Latinos who are more than one category, and to show our Latin pride, since this month is Latinx Heritage Month.”
Yvette Lerma, the coordinator for Latin@ student involvement and advocacy with event co-sponsor Office of Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy, shared her thoughts on the event as well.
“MICA is an organization that promotes cultural identity and pride,” Lerma said. “With this event, you get to hear people of the same culture share similar and different narratives through different models of art.”
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story stated Jocelyn Nolasco was enrolled in letters and sciences. She is a government and politics major. The article has been updated.
