The U.S.-Mexico border is a complicated mosaic of unpredictable policies and shifting economic tides. A patchwork of man-made and natural barriers spanning four U.S. states and almost 2,000 miles, the stretch is usually defined by the things it separates.

But at the Arizona-Sonora Colloquium, academics aimed to challenge that notion by reconnecting the area’s historic ties and forging a more sustainable future for both lands. ASU School of Transborder Studies Regents’ Professor and Founding Director Emeritus Carlos Velez-Ibanez moderates a panel discussion of social scientists from Arizona and Mexico at the Arizona-Sonora Colloquium. Photo by Alisa Reznick Download Full Image

The biennial event convened for its latest session April 4–5 at Arizona State University and gathered researchers, university presidents and public policy representatives from across Arizona and Mexico’s northern state of Sonora to discuss how knowledge exchange can be used as a tool to build resiliency.

Rethinking the borderlands

Launched in 2015 by The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ School of Transborder Studies with support from the ASU Office of the President, the international conference and its parent initiative Program for Transborder Communities (PTC) spotlight the common ground of Arizona’s south and Mexico’s north.

Where others see a delineating borderline, PTC’s program director  Lara-Valencia sees a transborder megaregion.

“This is a multidimensional space with cultural connections, economic interactions and environmental linkages that extend far beyond the border itself,” said Lara-Valencia, also an associate professor in the School of Transborder Studies. “Through research and knowledge sharing, we are trying to find ways to overcome the barrier effect of the border and facilitate the processes of interaction that happen on a daily basis here.”

One example Lara-Valencia points to is in the twin cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, a border zone that sees around 10 million people each year passing through its two entry ports. In addition to being an active trade and familial corridor, both cities are sustained by the Santa Cruz River. The survival of each place depends on its ability to manage resources effectively, meaning collaboration is imperative.

“Institutions on both sides must work together to ensure they have that water supply for generations to come,” Lara-Valencia said. “If they do not, they risk the future of their entire communities.”

The situation is not unique to Nogales. Several urban centers across the region may face daunting futures without electricity, food and water resource management that works for both countries.

“Relations at the federal and national level are at a complicated place, but there is more uniting us than dividing us,” said Manuel Valenzuela, director of innovation and internationalization at the Universidad de Sonora. “By gathering ideas, we can strengthen and amplify collaboration.”

Valenzuela was one of several institutional leaders, including ASU President Michael Crow, Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng and University of Arizona President Robert Robbins, at the colloquium. Held in either Tempe or Sonora’s capital Hermosillo, the event is the staging ground for the cross-border scholarship Lara-Valencia and other PTC founders originally envisioned.

“The colloquium and PTC as a whole are both mechanisms to create narratives of understanding, cooperation and commonalities between the U.S. and Mexico,” Lara-Valencia said. “I think it also challenges what you normally see in the media about this region to help people see that the reality of the border is much more complex.”

Funding impactful research

Still, creating a platform for meaningful discourse is neither easy, nor free. In 2014, the Office of the President helped bridge the gap by allocating over $1 million to PTC’s research grant initiative to fund research projects partnering ASU faculty with academics from institutions in Sonora and other border regions.

The grant program has since expanded to include funding and participants from several institutions in Mexico and the University of Arizona. Through the Arizona-Sonora Interuniversity Alliance, the money has helped fund over 20 projects so far. A call for research proposals for the 2019 cycle is forthcoming this spring, and now also includes Northern Arizona University, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte and Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora.

At the two-day colloquium, participants and seed grant recipients had the chance to discuss research barriers face-to-face and plan for the future. 

Angela Arzubiaga, an associate professor in The College’s School of Social Transformation, is one of the 2018 grant recipients. Arzubiaga and ASU colleagues Jessica Solyom and Nicholas Bustamante will partner with El Colegio de Sonora’s Gabriela García Figueroa, Valentina Glockner Fagetti and Nohora Constanza Niño Vega for a project following the journeys of Central American children through Mexico and the U.S. as they apply for asylum.

When speaking with young writers, Chicana essayist, playwright and poet Cherríe Moraga has a perennial piece of wisdom — for an authentic voice, go home.

“People think that they have to spiritually, emotionally, psychologically and physically leave home in order to become a sort of official member of society,” she said. “But your native culture, language and traditions, all of that is actually your body of knowledge and what you bring to the world.” Writer and activist Cherríe Moraga will present "Native Country of the Heart" at a reading event hosted by The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on the Tempe campus. Download Full Image

Moraga, who co-edited the trailblazing feminist anthology, “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color,” has produced writing and theater work challenging the dominating gender, race and sexuality narratives of American society to far-reaching acclaim over the last four decades.

She has continued that legacy as a teacher — first as an artist-in-residence at Stanford University’s theater studies department, and now as an English professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

In her latest work, Moraga is applying the same advice she gives her students, to herself.

Released this April, “Native Country of the Heart” spotlights Moraga's mother, Elvira Isabel Moraga, who grew up working as a laborer in farms along the border and as a “cigarette girl” in Tijuana before becoming the matriarch of Moraga’s family home in California’s San Gabriel Valley. Interlaced with the story of Elvira's life and eventual descent into a painful battle with Alzheimer’s disease is Moraga's own journey coming out as a queer woman and defining herself in the American culturescape. The resulting text is a deeply intimate look into the experiences of Mexican Americans, through the multi-generational lens of one family.

For Moraga, the work was a chance to give life to her mother's stories, and her own.

“I’ve been telling my students for years in order for their work to be original, they have to be familiar with themselves,” Moraga said. “And while I’ve written about some of these subjects before, it’s never been quite from this vantage point, so I hope that the book also serves as an example of that.”

Moraga will present the memoir in a public reading Wednesday, April 10 at 5 p.m. at the Memorial Union on Arizona State University's Tempe campus. Refreshments will be served. The event is organized by The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, with support from the Department of English, the School of Social Transformation, the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, the School of International Letters and Cultures, and the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies.

Ahead of the event, she answered a few questions about the new book, her work as an educator and activist, and the young voices she’s listening for today.

Question: “Native Country of the Heart” is a departure from some of the work you’ve done in the past. What prompted you to write about your mother in this way and to interlace it with your own experiences?

Answer: In a lot of ways, the book itself was really initiated by my mother and her illness. From the time I first began to realize she was losing her memory, to her finally being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in her late 80s, I began to just be present with her.

Of course it was very hard, but I felt like I also learned a great deal from it. All of her siblings were also passing during that period of time, and I felt like I was seeing the end of a specific period of time for Mexicans in the United States that was not going to be repeated. The process really made me think about issues of Mexican American assimilation and our own cultural amnesia, generation after generation. That brought a lot of larger questions for me.

Q: The book delves into your childhood in California and how relationships with your mother and family at large affect your sense of self. How do you think your concept of identity has changed throughout your life?

A: Well at 66 years old, I have seen a lot of changes! On some level, I see my life being about continuing to evolve year by year, decade by decade, and I also feel like my writing has kept me honest.

Being a first-generation college graduate is one main difference between my mom and me. Because I had that education, I had the opportunity to reflect, to contemplar, to analyze. I also think being queer put me in a position to question everything from religion and nuclear family, to the concept of patriarchy. Many of those things informed my feminism too. Especially in the beginning, it allowed me to connect gender with issues of race and class.

So I think all of these things have forced me to consider the interconnections between sources of identity and create a path toward liberating myself.

Q: The relationship between Mexico and the U.S. is very present in the news and our national conscious. What has it been like to detail your own journey in that environment?

A: That was actually one of my interests in doing the book as well. I think in the popular imagination of the U.S., Mexicans are always kind of perceived as being immigrants.

But there are also the stories of those of us who aren't really immigrants and not even the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of immigrants. Many of us have been here since the beginning of time.

This book shows that there are people of Mexican heritage who believe the classic American dream is too high a price to pay if it means losing our culture. I think the book has that intention — to let people know that it is OK to keep our home cultures. There is such a limited understanding of all the different people who make up the country. I’d like to think this work helps bring that to light.

Q: “This Bridge Called My Back” is over three decades old now, but the work has been a cornerstone for generations of writers. How does it fit into today’s discourse about topics of class, race and feminism?

A: It’s almost 40 years old now, you’re right, but I think the work was at once personal and political, which has a lot of value for people who are trying to understand the multiplicity of oppression today. I think it also introduced the whole concept of women of color feminism. This was a concept that had been in the works since the mid-1970s, but the book kind of articulated that common cause. It specified the women who were behind this movement at that period of time, which has of course changed a great deal since then. Today it encompasses many, many more voices.

Q: How do you think young writers today are adding to that knowledge base and changing that conversation?

A: Many of the writers I’m working with or following now are not necessarily largely recognized quite yet. Some are working in academia or another sphere. There is also this burgeoning of coming-of-age work that I think is really powerful and important. I have also been watching work that looks at how colonization continues to affect us. These people may not be getting published, necessarily, but they are very important thinkers.

In terms of how writers today differ from those from my generation; something they have that we didn’t is the work that we have already done. And I don’t say that to aggrandize myself, but just to say that there was simply no body of text for us to look to, especially in regard to feminism or queer identities. That being said, I think I also look for the writers who are a little bit dangerous. We need them to be there to challenge us.  

Sun Devils enrolled in the largest and most diverse Arizona State University class are finishing their first year, and their demographics forecast a changing higher education landscape within Arizona.

Among the class of 2022, 45.5% are from minority backgrounds, and 62% are from Arizona. Of the first-year students from Arizona, 54% are from an underrepresented group. Students at the 2019 AVID conference at ASU's Tempe campus. AVID is one of many K–12 programs and initiatives at ASU. Download Full Image

Arizona currently lags behind other states in the number of adults earning postsecondary degrees or credentials, and the fastest-growing population in Arizona — Latinos — are underrepresented in higher education.

According to the Helios Foundation, 20% of Latino Arizonans earn an associate degree or higher. Since Arizona will soon be a “minority-majority” state, with the Latino population projected to show the most growth, the gaps in access to higher education are becoming an even more urgent problem to address.

Advancing the freshman class at ASU represents a step toward some of the ambitious inclusion and community goals of ASU’s charter. The college readiness and outreach work of Access ASU and community partnerships reach students across the state and in many different ways: in classrooms, at on-campus programs and when students are enrolled at ASU.

Carolina Solis is part of the current, historic freshman class, and she’s also working to expand higher education access to underrepresented Arizonans. An accountancy major from Yuma, Solis has loved being among high-achieving students within the Leaders Academy, an initiative of the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU.

Solis said she especially appreciates the leadership opportunities provided to program participants and being surrounded by motivated peers.

“I am surrounded by students who want to do well in school and want to pursue great careers,” said Solis, who plans to pursue forensic accounting.

Her feeling of belonging was enhanced even more when she started working for Access ASU and realized the diversity of the populations the office serves. Solis is a summer programs mentor who works with the Barrett Summer Scholars, a residential program that provides academically talented eighth-10th grade students with the opportunity to experience college firsthand and prepare for successful enrollment. She also serves as a resource to Barrett Summer Scholars program alumni as they complete their journey from high school to college.

As a Latina from Yuma, Solis said she appreciates working in an atmosphere that seeks to include underrepresented and rural students from all corners of Arizona.

“I found my people, in other words, at work,” she said.

Access ASU programs have been more intentionally focused in places like Yuma, hosting in-school programs such as American Dream Academy, an eight-week college literacy program, as well as bringing current ASU students from the SPARKS program to Yuma to provide outreach to K–12 students for the past three years. ASU Prep Digital has also worked with the Yuma Union High School District on an adaptive math curriculum to support students’ academic growth.

Efforts like this are all part of building up degree attainment for rural and underrepresented Arizonans and opening up access to higher education.

“Ultimately we are focused on growing the K–12 student population in Arizona who are prepared to enter and succeed at ASU,” said Lorenzo Chavez, assistant vice president for outreach within Educational Outreach and Student Services at ASU.  

“We are focused on making access to education a priority for all students, and we are committed to helping them succeed once they get here to the university.”

Chavez said ASU’s K–12 programs and initiatives have served nearly 127,000 students, families and educators to date with plans for continued growth, thereby positioning the class of 2023 and beyond to be the biggest and brightest classes in ASU history.

Ever heard of a woman performing in a mariachi band? How about an all-female mariachi group?

Desiree Figueroa, an alumna of Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University who graduated in 2018, established an all-female mariachi group, Las Chulas, with her best friends recently. Figueroa has earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary arts and sciences, with a minor in nonprofit leadership and management with honors from Barrett. Desiree Figueroa, a 2018 ASU graduate, plays the guitarrón, a large, six-string bass instrument, in the all-female mariachi band Las Chulas. Photo courtesy of Desiree Figueroa. Download Full Image

“I started playing mariachi my sophomore year of high school,” Figueroa said. “I had already been playing classical music on the violin for years, but I started playing mariachi as a way to explore and celebrate my Mexican heritage.”

Figueroa began studying violin while in the fourth grade. In seventh grade she started taking violin classes at Rosie’s House, a music academy for youngsters in central Phoenix. From eighth to 12th grade she attended Arizona School for the Arts, a public charter school in downtown Phoenix that provides college preparatory and performing arts education.

For years, Figueroa and her friends played with mixed-gendered groups, including Mariachi Juvenil de mi Tierra, a youth mariachi ensemble. They officially started practicing and performing as Las Chulas at the beginning of this year.

Mariachi, a distinct Spanish-language musical genre, is thought to have originated in the Mexican state of Jalisco around the 19th century. Mariachi is traditionally all-male groups dressed in charro uniforms — tight decorated pants, short jackets, silk ties and wide-brimmed sombreros — performing with stringed instruments such as violin, guitar, guitarrón and harp, as well as the trumpet.

Mariachi has survived for centuries and become popular around the world among performers and fans alike. Well-known mariachi bands include Mariachi las Vargas de Tecatlitlán, established in 1897, and Mariachi Sol de México, established in 1958. Female mariachi groups have come into their own in recent years. Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, an all-female band established in 1999, has won two Grammy Awards and is an official Disneyland mariachi group. Another Grammy-winning band, Flor de Toloache, was founded in 2008 and bills itself as the “first and only all-woman mariachi group from New York City.”

“In general, the mariachi genre is very male-dominated, which is why we wanted to perform with only women to showcase diversity and female representation,” said Figueroa, who in addition to the violin, plays the guitarrón, a six-string acoustic bass.

Her honors thesis, titled “A Chicana Feminist View on Mariachi Music in the United States,” focuses on the influence of Mexican-American culture in the Southwest, the ascendance of mariachi music and female mariachi performers.

The Phoenix native said she has always lived about 20 minutes away from both ASU’s Downtown Phoenix and Tempe campuses and observed the university’s involvement and contributions to the community, so she is especially proud to be a Sun Devil.

Question: What was your “aha” moment, when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in?

Answer: My “aha” moment was after my freshman year at ASU. At the time, I was majoring in journalism. Even though the courses were really great, I discovered journalism wasn’t really for me. I sat down with my parents one day and together we went through the entire online catalog of the majors that ASU offers. When I started reading more about the field of interdisciplinary arts and sciences, it sort of just clicked that an interdisciplinary approach to my education was exactly what I needed.

Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you and that changed your perspective?

A: I think something that surprised me was how much information was in my immediate reach. ASU provides us with so many resources, whether it be books, online articles and even our professors with their combined years of experience and intelligence.

Q: Why did you choose ASU?

A: I grew up always around the campuses. Even when I was younger, I loved the general atmosphere and feel that I got when I visited. In addition, I have an uncle and a close cousin who graduated from ASU, and they always encouraged me to attend as well. While I looked into other universities around the country, nothing compared to ASU for me.

Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?

A: Dr. Monica De La Torre in the School of Transborder Studies. She was my thesis director and I also took multiple classes with her. I learned so much in her classes, which were among my favorites. Throughout my honors thesis process, she showed me that even intimidating things like a thesis can be made to be fun and inspiring.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?

A: Reach out to people! Your professors are always willing and ready to help, whether it be about your coursework, career advice or school in general. Reach out to your classmates as well and make meaningful connections with anyone you meet.

Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life?

A: I loved being in the MU. I always went there to eat lunch, and when I needed a place to study, there was always a quiet spot downstairs to sit and work.

Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?

A: I would build more animal shelters with staff who would not rest until every animal is relocated to a permanent home, so that no other potential pets are euthanized.

Written by Ranjani Venkatakrishnan of Barrett, The Honors College and Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication

On April 27, 1994, just four years after spending nearly three decades in prison, Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s new leader in the first all-racial democratic election in its history.

In the wake of almost 40 years of state-sanctioned apartheid by the country’s white ruling class, the election was a critical turning point that is honored in the annual celebration and national holiday, Freedom Day. Vada Manager, an alumnus of The College and ASU Hall of Fame inductee, will speak about his time in South Africa as a consultant to Mandela's newly-formed cabinet at The College's panel in April. Photo courtesy of Vada Manager Download Full Image

Mandela’s victory marked a new beginning for South Africa and ignited human rights causes all over the world. On the ground, the new president was facing the unprecedented responsibility of holding the reins of the first multiethnic cabinet the country had ever seen and seeking to unify what many saw as an irreversibly divided population.

Twenty-five years later, those efforts are globally recognized. But Vada Manager, an Arizona State University alumnus, saw them in real time at the helm of an international development team charged with helping the fledgling government take form.

“Many younger students and faculty see the election of President Barack Obama as the most consequential of their time,” said Manager, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1983. “But Mandela's release from Robben Island prison and his transformative election arguably had an even farther-reaching global impact in a pre-social media age.”

This month, Manager will discuss his work and the election at large during a panel at Arizona State University titled: “ASU, Mandela and the Dawn of a New Democracy: South Africa Then and Now.”

He will be joined by Thato Seerane, a South African student in her final year in The College’s Department of Psychology, and Norris Barker, an Arizona-based entrepreneur who witnessed Mandela’s campaign while living in the country in the 1990s.

Organized by The College, the event celebrates Mandela’s legacy and his profound effect on South African generations, even years after his death in 2013.

Seerane, who grew up in Johannesburg, came to ASU in 2015 through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, a $500 million, 10-year initiative empowering African youth leaders to spur change in their communities by participating in educational opportunities abroad. ASU was selected as a higher education partner to the international program in 2012.

Set to graduate this spring, she plans to one day return to South Africa to improve reading comprehension in low-income communities and support victims of sexual assault with psychological counseling.

The three figures will bring their unique perspectives to the table to examine how the election reshaped South Africa and continues to inform today's most pressing social issues in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world.

On display will be historic memorabilia including official election ballots; a trademark, African-style tunic worn by Mandela and a copy of Newsweek signed by the South African president upon his release from Robben Island prison in 1990.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 18, on the Tempe campus at Armstrong Hall. Refreshments will be served following the panel. The event is free and open to the public.

The Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at Arizona State University welcomes Eric H. Holder Jr. at its annual Delivering Democracy Lecture on Saturday, April 6, at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in downtown Phoenix.

The center's Delivering Democracy Lecture is a platform for visionary individuals to discuss key challenges that surround the issues of race and democracy. A facilitated dialogue led by new Center for the Study of Race and Democracy Director and ASU Foundation Professor of English Lois Brown will follow the lecture. Eric H. Holder Jr.

“The decision to invite Eric Holder is really rooted in the work that he’s been doing with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee,” said Brown, whose research revolves around reshaping the understanding of race, class, gender, faith and place in America. “There’s no way to think about race and democracy without thinking about the connection between race and voting rights.”

Holder, a Columbia-educated attorney, served as the first African American attorney general of the United States from 2009–2015. He currently serves as the chairman for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which aims to create fair redistricting that reflects the will of the voters. Holder has also been an advocate for public policy and civil rights issues, taking a stand on same-sex marriage and voting rights.

Brown believes that Holder can provide a different perspective on the role race plays in democracy.

“Since leaving office, he has dedicated himself to really thinking about the connection between race and voting rights,” she said. “We want a chance to think with him about the real pathways towards democracy and how race informs that journey.”

Holder is scheduled to speak at 4:30 p.m. following a community resource fair featuring local organizations and a mini-concert by the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church choir. For registration and parking information visit csrd.asu.edu/DeliveringDemocracy.

Contact Kelley Karnes at Kelley.Karnes@asu.edu or 602-791-8278 for more information.

From hip-hop to fashion and narrative art to indigenous urban pop culture: The seventh annual Phoenix Indian Center Youth Leadership Day on Feb. 23 had it all. The program included two internationally known Native women whose work inspires youth to embrace their own indigenous cultures. More than 100 young people were in attendance.

Arizona State University’s Red Ink Indigenous Initiative secured a project grant from Arizona Humanities to bring Lisa Charleyboy (Tsilhqot’in-First Nations Canada) from Toronto, Ontario, and Cinnamon Spear (Northern Cheyenne-Montana) from the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop to Phoenix to help youth find their voices as indigenous people. The goal was to share important cultural knowledge that can solve many of the world’s problems. Download Full Image

“The theme that came out of the day was ‘I am here, and I have something to say!’" said Fawn Tahbo (Colorado River Indian Tribes), program manager for the Phoenix Indian Center. "The young people had so many good things to say about Cinnamon and Lisa’s presentations, confirming what a great treasure it was to have them here. Much of the conference dealt with self-respect and respecting others, and Ms. Charleyboy and Ms. Spear underscored the power of self-respect.”

Charleyboy, named by the Huffington Post as one of three important indigenous millennials to watch, is co-editor of “Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices.” Her blog, Urban Native Girl, revolving around indigenous contemporary life and popular culture, evolved into Urban Native Magazine and now “Urban Native Girl TV,” a POV-documentary series geared toward creating connections for indigenous youth in urban environments. Appropriately, Charleyboy’s sessions were centered on "indigenous pop culture.”

Lisa Charleyboy and Cinnamon Spear.

Spear, soon to graduate from the prestigious University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop MFA program, broke onto the national scene with her documentary film “Pride and Basketball,” a cutting-edge look inside Native reservation sports culture. She has just finished a book with Native youth characters (out soon) at the request of the acquisitions editors at Scholastic, Inc., who liked her work so much they solicited another book from her on Maria Tallchief (Osage), the first American and Native American bestowed the rank of prima ballerina. Spear’s presentation was “Healing the Trauma,” a hands-on workshop for addressing historical, familial and emotional/psychological hurt.

Spear and Charleyboy are on the curl of a great wave that is bringing, shaping and advocating for a new future for indigenous peoples around the world. This is the second indigenous cultural series for teens on which ASU Red Ink has partnered with Arizona Humanities. The series allows local Native youth to interact directly with Native artists, authors, poets and filmmakers.

The Red Ink Initiative at ASU is an interrelated set of campus, regional, national and international projects, including an international journal, to achieve its mission and goals in collaboration with indigenous communities. Red Ink is based in the Department of English, an academic unit of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and welcomes participation from any interested students, faculty, and community members with affiliations both inside and outside of ASU.

Written by Jim Blasingame

Photo of Lisa Charleyboy is courtesy Annick Press. Cinnamon Spear photo is courtesy Spear.