The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects 2017 Folklórico Testimonios: Identity, Community, and Agency as Social Justice Cultural Performance for Dancers of Mexican Folklórico Manuel Alejandro Perez University of San Francisco, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Dance Commons, Education Commons, and the Folklore Commons Recommended Citation Perez, Manuel Alejandro, "Folklórico Testimonios: Identity, Community, and Agency as Social Justice Cultural Performance for Dancers of Mexican Folklórico" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations. 340. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/340 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! The University of San Francisco FOLKLÓRICO TESTIMONIOS: IDENTITY, COMMUNITY, AND AGENCY AS SOCIAL JUSTICE CULTURAL PERFORMANCE FOR DANCERS OF MEXICAN FOLKLÓRICO A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education International and Multicultural Education Department In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Manuel Alejandro Pérez López San Francisco May 2017 ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Dissertation Abstract Folklórico Testimonios: Identity, Community, and Agency As Social Justice Cultural Performance for Dancers of Mexican Folklórico Mexican students in higher education have few opportunities to learn about their heritage and history outside of Ethnic Studies courses. Some students seek alternative opportunities to learn about their identity and to build community with other Mexican students through folklórico. In Mexican folklórico, dancers learn the techniques and skills to communicate stories about their history, culture, and heritage through movement, song, and dance. This study is the story of Mexican students and folkloristas on their journey to (re)discover identity, community, and agency as they move through higher education. This study uses testimonio to capture the voice, the struggle, and the inspiration of Mexican students as they seek opportunities to learn about identity, community, and agency through folklórico. This study includes the testimonios of 10 folkloristas from the Sacramento, San Francisco, and San José areas of Northern California. Each of these dancers identifies as Mexican and is also a student at a college or university. The folkloristas share their stories as individual testimonios and as part of two small group testimonios, or colectivas. Each of the testimonios are analyzed through Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth and a hybrid of key literature about the performance of cultural memory and imagination. I refer to this framework as social justice cultural performance (Haiven and Khasnabish, 2014; Rich, 2006; Taylor, 2011). ! ii!! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The testimonios reveal that folklórico is a means through which dancers build a strong connection to their cultural heritage. Through this community, folkloristas develop deep bonds of kinship and familia with other dancers. In light of the shifting social and political climate in the United States, folkloristas use the performance of cultural memory, movimiento, and heritage to heal the pain of violent messages about the Mexican community. This agency is a way for folkloristas to empower and inspire their community with positive self-image and self-confidence. Lastly, this study adds to the body of research on testimonio through the addition of spatial testimonio as a new framework. Spatial testimonio moves beyond individual and collective stories to allow spaces and places to author their own stories of Truth, struggle, and resistance. ! iii! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This dissertation, written under the direction of the candidate’s dissertation committee and approved by members of the committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. The content and research methodologies presented in this work represent the work of the candidate alone. Manuel Alejandro Pérez May 12, 2017 ______________________________________________ __________________ Candidate Date Dissertation Committee Dr. Emma Fuentes May 12, 2017 ______________________________________________ __________________ Chairperson Dr. Shabnam Koirala-Azad May 12, 2017 ______________________________________________ __________________ Dr. Roberto Gutiérrez Varea May 12, 2017 ______________________________________________ __________________ ! iv! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! para mí amá y mí apá, who work so hard so that we don’t have to . to my brothers and my babies, who make my días llenos de color . to all of my folklórico familia, who make my corazoncito smile and dance . a el tigre que me cautiva esto, esto es para ustedes. ! v!! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Este trabajo jamás hubiera sido posible sin el apoyo de mi amá, de mi apá y de mis hermanos. Gracias por entenderme, quererme, y apoyarme en momentos de risas, batallas, locuras, y payasadas. I love you. Este trabajo es nuestro. A mi nana y a mi padrino que me vigilan desde arriba - thank you. You were right there with me on each those late nights of writing and pouring my corazón into my palabritas – allí estaban conmigo. Siempre estaban conmigo. My best writing, creativity, and imagination have always ignited more passionately within community. For this, I must thank my higher education SOULdiers, amigas chingonas, my Raza camaradas, all other comunidades, and especially un Tigre – gracias for pushing me onward when I felt like I just could not take another step. To all of my familia en la danza, les doy las gracias. En la danza encontré otro idioma para expresar amor – for this I will be forever grateful. A final gracias to my mentors and guides through this entire process, my Profes: Emma Fuentes, Shabnam Koirala-Azad, and Roberto Varea. Your wisdom and experience spoke volumes to me. I am eternally grateful for your sage advice. En especial, un agradecimiento sincero y cariñoso a mi Profe, mi madrina en este doctorado, y mi camarada en la justicia social, Emma. I do believe that paths cross for a reason and that there are no coincidences in life. I believe that you were truly mi angelito de la guarda through this process. Many, many thanks to you for all that you did to support my journey. ! vi! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION .....................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi We say nosotros los mexicanos ...........................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM .....................................................................2 Introduction: Mi testimonio de folklórico ................................................................2 Background and Need for the Study ............................................................7 Reframing Language ..................................................................................12 PurposeStatement ...................................................................................................14 Research Questions ................................................................................................15 Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................16 Community Cultural Wealth ......................................................................17 Social Justice Cultural Performance ..........................................................19 Educational Significance .......................................................................................21 Limitations .............................................................................................................24 My Experience as a Limitation ..................................................................24 My Experience as an Assett .......................................................................25 Time, Place, and Manner ...........................................................................26 Folklórico, Danza, or Bailables .................................................................27 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................29 Community Cultural Wealth ..................................................................................29 Reframing Realidades ................................................................................30 Critical Practice ..........................................................................................35 Social Justice Cultural Performance ......................................................................38 Mexican Folklórico