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Trinity University Press

Mestizaje

Mestizaje

SKU:9781595343154

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Mestizaje

The Feminist Art of Kathy Sosa

by Kathy Sosa

Foreword by Sandra Cisneros

Commentaries by Ricardo Romo

A rich visual exploration of the blended cultures of women in the Mexico - U.S. borderlandsDerived from the words miscere and genus in Latin, mestizaje refers to a mixing of the races. In the book Mestizaje, internationally acclaimed artist Kathy Sosa presents a cross-sectional view of Mexican American culture as it is practiced in the centuries-old blended culture of the Texas-Mexico borderlands. She documents and projects the effects across generations of peoples and cultures meeting, overlapping, and organically blending into something new. The richness and beauty of mestizaje come from a place where people speak Spanglish, eat Tex-Mex food, and dance to Willie Nelson and Flaco Jimenez—sometimes all at once. Sosa foretells what much of the United States has become or will be like before long.

The imagery and symbolism of puro mestizaje (total mix) figure prominently in Sosa’s work, and it is a mix unique to the borderlands’ historical traditions and myriad cultures. Sosa derives inspiration from and reflects a bold palette of strong female figures. Celebrating what the women of these borderlands think, feel, and revere culturally, she explores the roles of indigenous traditions, colors, and textiles. Family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances—real and imagined—participate in the spirit of mexicanidad, though most were not born in Mexico and some have never visited. Supplemented with dual-language essays in English and Spanish by art critics, collectors, and historians, Mestizaje rejoices in feminist notions of blended cultures and opens readers’ eyes to the lessons they offer and what they tell us about America today.

Kathy Sosa is an artist and educator. She received national recognition for her traveling exhibition Huipiles: A Celebration, which debuted at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C., as part of the Smithsonian Latino Center. Her work has been featured on CNN and in other media nationally. She is the coproducer of the documentary series Children of the Revolución: How the Mexican Revolution Changed America’s Destiny, which chronicles the history of the Texas-Mexico borderlands. She is the author of Mestizaje: The Feminist Art of Kathy Sosa and the coeditor and illustrator of Revolutionary Women of Texas and Mexico​: Portraits of Soldaderas, Saints, and SubversivesShe lives in San Antonio, Texas, and Querétaro, Mexico.  <p></p> 

Sandra Cisneros is internationally acclaimed for her poetry and fiction, which have been translated into twenty-five languages. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including NEA fellowships in poetry and fiction, a MacArthur fellowship, the Texas Medal of the Arts, the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. She lives in San Miguel de Allende.  <p></p>

Ricardo Romo is an urban historian and the author of East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio. He writes a weekly column for La Prensa Texas and blogs for Latiopia. He served the president of the University of Texas at San Antonio from 1999 to 2017.

 

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