By Bryan Perez
A cultural void. A disconnect. A lack of interconnectedness.
Such feelings have typified much of my time at UC Santa Barbara as I have grown more conscious of my Latinx identity. Strong gender norms and expectations in Latinx culture, the reinforcement of machismo, and strong ties to religion, all drew me away from my culture as I tried to reconcile it with my identity of being queer and non-binary. With this, I have sought out social groups that share the challenges and internalized anxieties that come with having multiple identities.
Last month’s Literary Skulls workshop, hosted by Las Maestras Center, offered me that understanding.
A painted mural that sits at the entrance of UC Santa Barbara’s Las Maestras Center for Xicana[x], Indigenous Thought, Art and Social Praxis.
It featured the art and practice of verse and rhymes originally from Mexico in honor of Día de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Conducted by fourth-year student Vanessa Estrada Saldana, this literary exercise of calaveritas literarias (literary skulls) deepened my understanding of cultural consciousness and the meaning of community.
The Center, affiliated with the English Department, strives to cultivate writer-artists of different intersectional identities, such as xicana, queer, indigenous, and two-spirit. I was able to engage with others of my direct community through literary readings and writing workshops. This allowed me to return, as an artist, to my home culture of being Mexican.
“La muerte es algo serio, pero en la literatura puede ser divertido,” said Saldana. Death is something serious, but in literature it can be fun.
The literary exercise of calaveritas literarias (literary skulls) mediates how we talk about the dead and loss. This fun and creative way to burlarte de la muerte (make fun of the dead) is done through la personificación de la muerte, the practice of personifying the concept of death. The concept of la muerte can be a looming presence, a figure that comes and goes, or a spark that takes someone within your verse.
UCSB students listen to Vanessa Estrada Saldana, a fourth-year student, as she goes over the verses, rhymes, and structure of the literary practice called “Literary Skulls.” This workshop was held in conjunction with Las Maestras Center as it examined cultural celebrations leading up to the holiday Day of The Dead.
During the workshop, many participants shared their experiences of being first generation students, of their family’s migration to the United States. They spoke of cultural preservation or preservación de cultura, their use of Spanglish, and the goal of reclaiming an indigenous identity, experiences that resonated with me, personally and socially.
“There are no borders en un mundo espiritual,” a spiritual world, said Angelicía, a student and active member of Las Maestras Center. Angelicía recalled this celebration as a strong family tradition in her home, that incorporated the altar setup where children picked bright orange flower petals off the floor to put on the altar. She plans to set up an altar for her grandmother, both at UCSB, and also back home, expressing her ties to both places.
In that community space and shared ritual, I was surrounded by people who had the same desire for cultural preservation and a great pride in their cultura. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace during the workshop, the ambience of the warm, cozy energy filling the air as the bright orange decorations brought a joyful spirit. Oh, what a feeling.
It was a fun mix of culture, literary practice, and community, all efforts that Las Maestras Center brought forth, illuminating my path towards a deeper understanding of my history, my identities, and myself.
Bryan Daniel Perez is a fourth-year Sociology major at UC Santa Barbara. They wrote this personal reflection on a recent HFA event for their Writing Program course Digital Journalism.