Preserving Chicana History

Las Chicanas — a group of San Diego State University women dedicated to preserving and representing Chicana culture — invite members of the SDSU community to a special event to preserve Chicana history.

The fundraiser, "Past, Present and Future," will provide funding for the online "Las Chicanas" exhibit at Love Library.

"When women come together with a collective intention, powerful things can happen," said Rita Sanchez, an SDSU alumnas and founding member of the exhibit.

"Women’s stories are being uncovered, protected for perpetuity and made public in new ways as technology demands. The SDSU Chicana Archive mission statement describes its efforts as building a state-of-the art Chicana collection."

Event details

The fundraiser will run from 4 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3 at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park. 

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. To purchase tickets, mail a check made out to SDSU Campanile Foundation (with Las Chicanas on the memo line). The mailing address is Special Projects, SDSU Library, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA, 92182.

Checks must be received by July 26 to confirm reservation.

Program highlights

In addition to preserving the existing exhibit, new pieces will be donated to the expanding collection. 

"New archival collections will be dontated to the Chicana/o Archive at SDSU," Griswold Del Castillo said. "A hallmark of this archive are the records of Latinas and Chicanas who have worked for social justice issues for the past 50 years."

The evening includes a buffet dinner, cash bar and music from the Puerto Rican band, Pachanga.

"The Chicana event is an important step towards preserving the activist Latina histories here in San Diego," said Richard Griswold Del Castillo, chair of the Department of Chicano and Chicana Studies. "The proceeds will go towards providing an online resource of historical materials about the Chicanas in San Diego."