Spring 2020 - San Francisco
Exhibition
Why the Immigrants Come: Contemporary Maya Paintings and Textiles from Guatemala
EXTENDED THROUGH MARCH 4, 2020
City College of San Francisco
Ocean Campus
Rosenberg Library - Hours
50 Frida Kahlo Way
San Francisco, CA
(formerly 50 Phelan Ave.)
Reception with Artist Paula Nicho Cúmez
September 18, 2019
Wednesday, 4:00 to 8:00 PM
6:00 Mayan Poets, featuring Pedro Uc Be
Calvary of the Immigrant, Samuel Cumes Pop
9:30 AM Opening Ceremony and Program
10:30 AM Concurrent Workshops
Women - Earth: Stress Reduction for Women Using Motion and Art
Paula Nicho Cúmez, a Kaqchikel Maya from San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, is an internationally known artist whose work is included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Delia Cúmez Nicho, her daughter, is a performance artist.
Maya Languages: Mam, Yucatec, K'iche'
Native speakers, members of Maya Cultural Exchange and Asociación Mayab, will introduce three of the 26 living Maya languages, and talk about the importance of language justice. Each is involved in translating indigenous languages for immigrants in U.S. court proceedings.
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Pedro Tuyub
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Henry Sales
Defending Land and Human Rights in Guatemala and Yucatán
Prof. Pedro Uc Be is a prominent Yucatec Maya poet, essayist, and activist defending indigenous land rights in the Yucatán Peninsula.
NISGUA, the Network in Support of the People of Guatemala, works to build ties between the people of the United States and Guatemala in the global struggle for justice, human dignity, and respect for the Earth.
Fleeing the Mouth of a Shark: Supporting Mayan & Central American Asylum Seekers Locally
Learn about the conditions forcing migrants, many indigenous Mayan, to flee their home countries and what they experience once they arrive at the US/Mexico border. Hear about the many ways we can share our resources to support them.
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Ricardo Sarmiento, Clínica Martín Baró
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Jason Juarez-Wallach, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
Immigrants--Know Your Rights!
PODER (People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights), Mission Promise Neighborhood, and other community organizations will explain how immigrants and their alllies can defend their rights.
11:45 AM Lunch - Art Exhibit
12:15 PM Maya Fashion Show, Ancient & Traditional Dances
Mam women from Mayan Cultural Exchange, and Yucatec women from Asociación Mayab, will model a wide variety of traditional handmade blouses and dresses from Yucatán and from different Guatemalan towns.
Dancers from Mayan Cultural Exchange and a Yucatec Jaranera dance troupe will perform ancient and traditional dances.
1:45 PM Concurrent Workshops
The Artistry of Maya Textiles
Mam and Yucatec community members from El Circulo Tejido, Maya Cultural Exchange and Asociación Mayab will share their knowledge about the arts of backstrap weaving and hilo contado embroidery.
The World of the Ancient Maya
Prof. Edgar Torres, Chair of Latin American and Latino/a Studies at CCSF, will introduce the Classic Maya and give an overview of their accomplishments. He will also discuss the major contributors and institutions that have been involved in archaeological research.
Services for Immigrants
Leaders of PODER, Mission Promise Neighborhood, and many other community groups will introduce themselves and talk about the services and resources they can provide to immigrants.
The Mayan Calendar
Francisco Icala, Kich'e' Maya, will discuss the Tzolkin, or sacred calendar, which consists of 20 periods each with 13 days, for a 260-day count.
2:45 PM Closing Ceremony
More Maya Events at City College of San Francisco!
Maya Poetry Prof. Pedro Uc Be
September 19, 2019 - Mission Campus
Thursday, 6:30 PM, Room 109
Prof. Uc Be is a prominent Yucatec Maya poet and essayist who uses the pen name Lázaro Kan Ek. He contributes to training and reflection projects in Maya culture and identity in many indigenous communities of the Yucatán peninsula, through consulting and facilitation of workshops in Mayan language.
The Creative Artistry of Maya Textiles Margot Blum Schevill, Jan Hudson, Paula Nicho Cúmez
September 23, 2019 - Ocean Campus
Monday, 11:10 AM to 12:25 PM, Rosenberg Library, Room 305
Margot Blum Schevill is a museum anthropologist, curator, weaver, and author of many publications about Maya textiles. She conducted field work in Guatemala and wrote about the persistence of backstrap weaving in the Guatemalan highlands. She has made documentaries, and was the editor for the Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, Vol. 2, Mexico, South and Central America, and the Caribbean.
Jan Hudson is a weaver whose love of handwovens and appreciation of "women's work" led to 10 textile tours of Guatemala. She has developed an extensive collection of Maya huipiles and other textiles, primarily from her travels to the Guatemalan highlands. She is a retired teacher in Spanish bilingual programs and urban settings.
Paula Nicho Cúmez, a Kaqchikel Maya from San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, is an internationally known artist. She began as a weaver, and then became a painter whose works include elements that symbolize important parts of the Maya culture and cosmovision. Her work is included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Artistic Mentoring Across Cultures Prof. Kryssi Staikidis, Northern Illinois University
September 23, 2019 - Ocean Campus
Monday, 1:40 to 2:55 PM, Rosenberg Library, Room 305
Dr. Kryssi Staikidis’s research interests are indigenous research and pedagogy, art studio practice as a site for research, and visual culture/critical pedagogy in the classroom. Her decolonizing ethnographic research practice takes place in two Guatemalan Maya painting contexts. She is currently co-editor for the anthology Transforming Our Practices: Indigenous Art, Pedagogies, and Philosophies (2017).
The Maya and their Territory Today Prof. Pedro Uc Be
September 24, 2019 - Ocean Campus
Tuesday, 9:40 to 10:55 AM, Rosenberg Library, Room 305
Prof. Uc Be is a prominent Yucatec Maya poet and essayist who uses the pen name Lázaro Kan Ek. He contributes to training and reflection projects in Maya culture and identity in many indigenous communities of the Yucatán peninsula, through consulting and facilitation of workshops in Mayan language.
This presentation focuses on the pedagogical, historical, economic, therapeutic, and spiritual relationship that Maya men and women still maintain with nature, with the land, and with their territory.
Contemporary Maya Art in Guatemala Paula Nicho Cúmez, Joseph Johnston
September 24, 2019 - Ocean Campus
Tuesday, 11:10 AM to 12:25 PM, Rosenberg Library, Room 305
Paula Nicho Cúmez is an internationally known Kaqchikel Maya artist from San Juan Comalapa. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Joseph Johnston is Director of Arte Maya Tz’utuhil. He has assisted the indigenous artists for more than 25 years. By creating a marketplace for their work, he has enabled many of these subsistence farmers to spend some of their time creating art. In so doing he has made their unique vision accessible to an international audience.
