by Jesse Esparza and Samantha Rodriguez, NACCS Tejas Foco Co-Chairs
A. Report on NACCS Tejas Foco 2019:
- The 2019 NACCS Tejas Foco was held at Houston Community College System, Eastside Campus, from February 14-16th. The conference theme was “Semillas de Poder: Honoring Chicana/o/x Movements & Mapping 21st Century Resistance”.
- Many thanks to the conference chair, Dr. Natalie Garza, and the hosting committee for putting together the 13th consecutive NACCS Tejas Foco. The entire HCC community was welcoming to the NACCS Tejas Foco Conference presenters and participants. Many Foco members commented that the conference was well-organized. With the assistance of community organizations, universities and colleges as well as HCC deans, the chancellor of instruction, and faculty from various divisions, the conference organizers were able to cover the costs. We had approximately 300 people register for the conference and the conference was free for HCC students.
B. Awards Committees and Reports:
- Non-Fiction: Samantha Rodriguez serves as chair. Dr. Monica Muñoz Martinez won for her work entitled The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas. Honorable Mention was given to Dr. Melita Garza’s They Came to Toil: Newspaper Representations of Mexicans and Immigrants in the Great Depression.
- Young Adult/Fiction: Reyes Ramirez serves as chair. Alex Temblador won for her young adult novel Secrets of the Casa Rosada and Daniel Peña won for his debut novel Bang.
- Dissertation: This is the only monetary award (approximately $500 this year); Jaime Mejia serves as chair. Dr. Miguel Juárez won for “From Concordia to Lincoln Park: An Urban History of Highway Building in El Paso, Texas,” a dissertation from the University of Texas, El Paso.
- Premio Estudiantil: No awardee this year; Students and professors can nominate; Leo Treviño and Tiffany González serve as co-chairs. Efforts have been made to ensure that student nominations are put in place so that this award is distributed.
- Poetry Book: Isaac Chavarria serves as chair. Rubi Orozco Santos won for Inventos Míos.
- Premio Estrella de Aztlán: Former premio winners serve on the committee; Beto Calderón serves as chair. Graciela Sánchez and Eddie Arellano won this award for the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center and the Discover College Life Project respectively.
C. K-12 Meeting Report:
- Third Annual Free MAS Summit: June 15, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas at Our Lady of the Lake University. Approximately 300 teachers and community leaders attended this year’s summit.
D. Report on NACCS Tejas Foco 2020:
- The 14th consecutive annual conference was set to be held at South Texas College, Pecan Campus, in McAllen, Texas from March 5-7th. The chair of the planning committee is Dr. Trinidad Gonzalez (tgonzale@southtexascollege.edu). The theme of next year’s conference is Chicanx Praxis.
- Specific information about the 2019 conference, including the CFP, can be found on our website: https://naccstejasfoco.wixsite.com/tejas
- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NACCSTEJAS2019/
- Texas A&M University, Kingsville is interested in hosting the 2021 NACCS Tejas Foco.