Yavapai College’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) of Sedona & the Verde Valley is proud to present two unique cultural experiences highlighting the Mexican experience. The Arizona Humanities Council and Yavapai College OLLI are sponsoring a special program on Wednesday, April 6 2011, by author Elena Dias Bjorkquist. Her topic is entitled “Growing up Chicana in Morenci AZ.” The program is a platica (informal talk) about Chicanas who lived in the mining town of Morenci.
Through readings from her books and from oral history interviews conducted for an Arizona Humanities project, Bjorkquist portrays the lives of girls and women of Morenci in their own voices. An accompanying slide presentation will show what Morenci looked like before its destruction in the late 1960s. The presentation is an accurate picture of the life of Mexican Americans in a segregated copper mining town from the 1920s to the late 1960s.
Attendees should find the program to be an inspirational tribute to four generations of Chicanas whose lives depict how their unique cultural spirit was the “glue” that kept the family units together, and how their courage and strength gave them the “si se puede” (it can be done) spirit to persevere in spite of discrimination.
The story of Morenci and Phelps Dodge parallels, in multiple aspects, the story of Jerome and the Verde Valley. The presentation will ring true to our local inhabitants, inform recent citizens, and provide an opportunity for the Verde Valley Mexican American community to reflect on their rich and important heritage in the early mining towns of Arizona.
Ms. Bjorkquist is the author of a collection of short stories about Morenci entitled Suffer Smoke, and a collection of young adult stories entitled Water from the Moon. She is co-editor of an anthology Sowing the Seeds, una cosecha de recuerdos. Bjorkquist is also a Chautauqua performer, an artist, and a historian. She is a scholar and research affiliate with SIROW at the University of Arizona. Her webpage is at http://www.elenadiazbjorkquist.net/
The program will begin at 2:00 PM at the Yavapai College Clarkdale campus, Building M Room 136. It is open to the public and free of charge.
On April 16, members of OLLI and members of the community at-large are invited to join OLLI for a trip to the heart of the Mexican sector in Phoenix and visit the Art Institute’s collection which includes over 400 works of art from the 18th through 20th centuries. A local guide will lead the tour to discuss the history and culture with a stop at a Mercado, a marketplace, for lunch and a special tour of a private home featuring unique Mexican art, furniture, and sculptures. Participation is limited to 30 people. This excursion is $54 for members of the community and includes transportation from Camp Verde and Cottonwood. For more information, please call OLLI at 928-649-4275.
OLLI is a dynamic organization within Yavapai College created to meet the needs of intellectually active mature adults. What makes OLLI a unique learning experience is that there is no pressure of tests, grades, or papers. It is a warm gathering of people who are endlessly curious and love to learn.
Visit OLLI on the web and view the spring 2011 catalog at at www.yc.edu/lifelonglearners.
