Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage

Houston Hosts 12th Biennial Conference

HOUSTON, TX—Scholars from around the world will convene in Houston to explore the history and literature of Latinos at the 12th biennial Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Conference taking place October 19-20, 2012, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (1700 Smith) in downtown Houston.

Focusing on the general theme, “LITERATURES OF DISSENT / CULTURES OF RESISTANCE,” sessions will include “Revolution and Religion,” “Colonization and Race,” and “The American Latino Theme Study of the National Park Service: Recovering Latina/o Historical and Cultural Sites.”

Conference attendees and local literature aficionados will be treated to a presentation by award-winning playwright and author Josefina López (Real Women Have Curves) and special readings by acclaimed novelists Graciela Limón and Lyn Di Iorio at a fundraising dinner on Friday, October 19, 2012 at 7 pm.

Sponsored by the University of Houston, Rice University, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Consulate General of Mexico, Bank of America, Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston, and the Houston Arts Alliance through grants from The City of Houston, the registration fee for the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Conference is $60 for professors and $30 for students and community members. Tickets for the fundraising dinner to benefit Arte Público Press cost $100.

THE RECOVERING THE U.S. HISPANIC LITERARY HERITAGE PROJECT is a comprehensive program to reconstitute the literary and historical legacy of Hispanics in the United States from colonial times to 1960. As a result of this project, hundreds of thousands of essays, autobiographies, historical and journalistic writings, novels, diaries, and letters are being integrated into textbooks and curriculum from K-12 as well as graduate programs. Project organizers foresee the impact of this effort as reforming education and culture to more appropriately reflect Hispanic contributions.

JOSEFINA LÓPEZ is best known for authoring the play and sharing a screenwriting credit for the hit movie Real Women Have Curves. The work, a coming-of-age story about Ana, follows a first-generation Mexican American torn between pursuing her college ambitions—a personal goal—and securing employment, which is a family expectation. Born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico in 1969, López was five years old when she and her family immigrated to the United States and settled in the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights. She is the recipient of a number of awards and accolades, including a formal recognition from U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s 7th Annual “Women Making History” banquet in 1998 and a screenwriting fellowship from the California Arts Council in 2001. She has had more than 80 productions of her plays throughout the United States. Her first novel, Hungry Woman in Paris, was published in 2009. She wrote a play to protest SB1070 titled Detained in the Desert, which she adapted into a film. López is working on her next novel, The Ave Maria B & B.

ARTE PÚBLICO PRESS is the nation’s largest and most established publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by U.S. Hispanic authors. Its imprint for children and young adults, Piñata Books, is dedicated to the realistic and authentic portrayal of the themes, languages, characters, and customs of Hispanic culture in the United States. Books published under the imprint are designed to serve as a bridge from the home culture to that of the school, as well as to support family literacy and elementary school education. Based at the University of Houston, Arte Público Press, Piñata Books and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage project provide the most widely recognized and extensive showcase for Hispanic literary arts, history and creativity. For more information, please visit WWW.LATINOTECA.COM.