Day of the Dead Altars – San Antonio artist Jane Madrigal invites ACC students to create Day of the Dead Altars for ACC’s Big Read Closing Ceremony and Day of the Dead Celebration. Contact Rosa Davila at [email protected] to sign up. Limited attendance.
3:00 p.m., Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St., Austin
Tuesday, October 27
Day of the Dead Altars – San Antonio artist Jane Madrigal invites ACC students to create Day of the Dead Altars for ACC’s Big Read Closing Ceremony and Day of the Dead Celebration. Contact Rosa Davila at [email protected] to sign up. Limited attendance.
1 p.m., Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St., Austin
Friday, October 30
ACC Faculty and Staff Book Club – Faculty and staff are invited to discuss “Sun, Stone, and Shadows.” This week’s suggested readings include “The Night of Margaret Rose” by Francisco Tario, “The Mist” by Juan de la Cabada, and “The Dinner” by Alfonso Reyes.
12:30 p.m., ACC’s Highland Business Center, 5930 Middle Fiskville Rd., Austin, Room 221
Friday, October 30
The Aztec Mummy Returns – Austin Parks and Recreation and ACC’s The Big Read present The Aztec Mummy Returns, a film festival and Halloween event.
6 p.m., Camacho Recreation Center, 34 Robert T Martinez Jr St., Austin
Sunday, November 1
Big Read Closing Ceremony/Day of the Dead Celebration – The Mexican American Cultural Center and ACC’s The Big Read present the Dia de los Muertos Celebration.
4 – 10 p.m., Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St., Austin
Monday, November 2
Day of the Dead Altars Exhibit – Spanish Professor Patricia Fernos and her students exhibit Day of the Dead altars.
All day at ACC’S Rio Grande Campus, 1212 Rio Grande St., Austin
Visit The Big Read website for a full calendar of events.
ACC hosts seven weeks of great Mexican authors and events
Diez y Seis de Septiembre isn’t just for Mexican Independence Day anymore. This year, the official anniversary also marks the kick-off of The Big Read in Austin.
Austin Community College has joined the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to bring the national Big Read initiative here this fall. The ACC Arts and Humanities Division has organized seven weeks of events showcasing the book “Sun, Stone and Shadows,” a collection of short stories by 20 Mexican authors.
ACC organizers invite everyone – readers and non-readers alike – to participate in this collective journey through great Hispanic literature beginning September 16 and ending November 1. Major events include panel discussions, author readings, film screenings, and theatrical readings devoted specifically to the book.
“The influence of Mexico in Austin is in our everyday life from music to food, and this is a book that will bring people together under literature,” says Rosa Davila, ACC Spanish professor and The Big Read organizer.
Participants can purchase “Sun, Stone and Shadows” at Resistencia bookstore, which is participating in The Big Read. Resistencia is located at 1801-A S. First St. Copies also are available from other booksellers. Cost is $10 plus tax.
ACC is hosting a preview party 8-10 p.m. September 15 at the Mexican American Culture Center (MACC), a beautiful facility at 600 River St. Those who attend can register for local reading groups and receive a free copy of the chosen book in English or Spanish.
Official events begin September 16 at the Riverside Campus, 1020 Grove Blvd. Organizers will promote the Big Read at a noon-1 p.m. Diez y Seis celebration. An opening ceremony follows at 6 p.m. in the Building G Auditorium and features a discussion “Sun, Stone, Shadows: Cultural Connections in Texas and Mexico,” with Davila and Dan Arellano, author of “Tejano Roots.”
ACC recently launched The Big Read website for participants. It includes reading guides, author biographies, teacher resources, and a commentary blog. It also features a calendar packed with events.
“We are sponsoring events for adults, teens, and children on our campuses, at the Mexican American Cultural Center, at Austin Public Library sites, in various Austin area schools, and at Lorraine ‘Grandma’ Camacho Recreation Center,” Davila says.
“We want to build community and bring the community together of people from all walks of life, including interracial and inter-generational.”
Don’t miss actor-readings of the book with special guest Jorge F. Hernandez, editor of the anthology, Wednesday, September 23 at the MACC.
October 30 offers moonlit excitement at the Lorraine “Grandma” Camacho Recreation Center with a film festival and Halloween event celebrating the book.
The NEA launched the Big Read initiative in 2006 in an attempt to restore reading to the center of American culture. It brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. This is the first time Austin has been chosen to participate in The Big Read, and the NEA selected both ACC and the UT-Austin Harry Ransom Center for separate Big Read events.
“We are trying to use reading as a tool to reach communities that have been neglected,” says Davila. “We want to light the fire in people the desire to read.”
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