7pm Thursday October 29, 2009, Resistencia Bookstore, 1801-A South First St., 416-8885

Red Salmon Arts presents a performance reading of Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice: Voices from El Barrio featuring Vicki Grise, Lilia Rosas, and other Xicana artist/activists.

Drawing on Dr. Díaz-Cotto’s research, performance artist Vicki Grise, historian Lilia Rosas, and other Xicana artist/activists will breathe life into the oral histories in Chicana Lives, crafting a riveting performance from the life histories of incarcerated Chicanas.

Juanita Díaz-Cotto is the director of the Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies Program at SUNY-Binghamton and an associate professor of women’s studies and sociology. For the past 30 years, Dr. Díaz-Cotto, whose family emigrated from Puerto Rico to the U.S. when she was eight years old, has researched and written about the contours of gender, immigration, and ethnicity in U.S. society. Her books include Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice: Voices from El Barrio, Gender, Ethnicity, and the State: Latina and Latino Prison Politics, and Compañeras: Latina Lesbians, an international anthology published under the pseudonym Juanita Ramos.

*These two events made possible through the generous support of Humanities Texas, and UT Austin Community Engagement Center.*