We Are Proud to Announce the Launching of the Tamejavi Cultural and Art Series 2015

Date: March 18, 2015

The series runs from March to August and culminates with a grand finale in September, includes eight separate events in four Central Valley cities: Fresno, Madera, Livingston and the unincorporated town of Tonyville in Tulare County.

The Tamejavi Culture and Arts Series (TCAS) consists of public, story-based events featuring the visual arts, theater, dance, spoken word and cultural celebrations of local immigrant communities. It allows us to show the public firsthand how new immigrants are building a sense of place and belonging by demonstrating the wealth of art and culture they have to offer.

The events are the culmination of the Tamejavi Cultural Organizing Fellowship Program. Fellows' presentations illustrate stories of resilience to war trauma, cultural colonization, social inequity, intergenerational cultural gaps and immigrant youth identity definition.

The Tamejavi Culture and Art Series is presented by the Pan-Valley Institute of the American Friends Service Committee, a Nobel Prize-winning organization committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Thanks to the support of the James Irvine Foundation, all events are free to the public.

TCAS launches with  the event Ashamed No More to be presented by the TCOFP Fellows Genoveva Vivar (http://www.tamejavi.org/fellowship.php?page=about_fs&f=8). It will take place Saturday, March 28, from 12 – 4 p.m. in  Tonyville, CA  Tulare County

During the Ashamed No More event, Mixtecos from Copanatoyac, Guerrero, Mexico impart the value of celebrating and acknowledging their cultural traditions and heritage for building a sense of place and belonging in a new country.

During this one-of-a-kind day, Mixteca women from the unincorporated town of Tonyville share their culinary knowledge and their efforts to preserve the authentic flavors of the mountain region of Guerrero, Mexico. Women will prepare, exhibit and serve a variety of traditional dishes like mole, pozole and memelas using distinct Mexican native ingredients like chile, frijol, corn, epazote and more.

Ashamed No More resembles the indigenous tianguis, or outdoor market – the public space where people gather to tell stories, discuss public matters, display their crafts and artistic talents, and where children play and learn their cultural past and present. The streets of Tonyville will be decorated with papel picado and filled with the traditional musical tones of chilenas.

This event will provide a safe, intimate environment where immigrant Mixtecos from Copanatoyac, Guerrero can display their cultural traditions.

A complete program booklet of the series will be available soon.

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