Changing Chican@ Identity in the 21st Century

National Association of Chicano and Chicana Studies

Tejas Foco Regional Conference

Texas State University, San Marcos

March 1, 2, and 3, 2012

On March 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd, The 2012 Tejas Foco Regional Conference of The National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) convenes, like in years past, to celebrate and promote Chicana/o Studies. This year, Texas State University, San Marcos is fortunate to host senior and junior scholars, writers, and artists from across Tejas as well as from beyond who have come together to share their scholarship, art, and knowledge of our culture with each other, the greater university community, and with the public. This year’s theme, “This Is Us: Cómo Nos Ven, Cómo Nos Vemos / Changing Chican@ Identity in the 21st Century,” has indeed drawn speakers and artists who address this theme from a wide variety of perspectives. The topics being addressed at this year’s conference extend beyond the conference theme to include issues important to us all during the early part of the 21st century. Besides live musical performances and readings by fiction writers and poets, participants and members of the university and local communities will be able to enjoy a dance with Conjunto Aztlán, from San Antonio, Tejas, performing. The scholarship of more than 200 conference participants in over 60 panel sessions, in the end, is what brings us together to celebrate the many perspectives which form the many varied aspects of who we are.

The Tejas Foco conference begins on Thursday night, March 1^st, in the LBJ Student Center's Ballroom with the screening of the impressive documentary film, ¿Cuándo te vere?, by Liz Colunga about the fate of many undocumented workers in the US who are separated from their family members in Mexico. On Friday, March 2^nd, the conference once again picks up at the LBJ Student Center with a morning plenary session featuring noted scholars. This session is then followed by three concurrent sessions of panels, with a plenary luncheon in between. The evening brings an awards ceremony and ends with a dance with Conjunto Aztlán. On Saturday morning, March 3^rd, the conference moves to Flowers Hall where participants will find a live musical performance, a film screening, and many more panel sessions, ending with a reading by poets & fiction writers honoring Texas State University Distinguished Alumnus Tomás Rivera.