Danzantes Unidos presents its annual gathering, Danzantes Unidos Festival (DUF) 2014 “Honrando el Pasado, Creando el Futuro” on April 11, 12 & 13 at Clovis West High School in Fresno, CA.  We are very pleased to announce the participation of Dr. Olga Najera-Ramirez at the DUF Lecture Hall (CWHS B-1) on Saturday, April 12 and Sunday, April 13.  On Saturday, she will present a lecture “La Tercera Raiz: Los Afromexicanos.” On Sunday, her film “La Charreada: Rodeo a la Mexicana”, will be screened followed by question and answer session with the audience.

La Tercera Raíz: La Afromexicanos  (A brief history of Black people in Mexico)  

Saturday, April 12, 2014 – 9:40 a.m. – Lecture Hall                                                                                          

La Charreada: Rodeo a la Mexicana A film by Olga Nájera-Ramírez       

Sunday, April 13, 2014 – 9:15 a.m. – Lecture Hall

Reservations are not necessary but seating is limited.  For the complete DUF Lecture Hall Schedule, please visit www.danzantes.org .  These lectures are FREE and open to the public.

About Dr. Olga Nájera-Ramírez

Olga Nájera-Ramírez, Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Austin. As an anthropologist specializing in folklore, she has concentrated on documenting and critically examining expressive culture forms such as festivals, dance, rodeo and music as practiced by Mexicans living in the United States and Mexico. In particular, she examines the ways in which expressive forms are invested with meaning, transmitted, experienced, and otherwise employed by members and non-members of a community. Author of La Fiesta de los Tastoanes: Critical Perspectives in a Mexican Festival Performance (1997), she also produced the award-winning video, La Charreada: Rodeo a la Mexicana (1997) and a bilingual documentary that traces the transnational development of Mexican folklórico dance through the experiences and artistic productions of the internationally acclaimed choreographer Rafael Zamarripa titled Danza Folklórica Escénica: El Sello Artístico de Rafael Zamarripa (2010). She is co-editor of several anthologies, including Chicana Traditions: Continuity and Change, (2002), and Chicana Feminisms: A Critical Reader (2003) and Dancing Across Borders: Danzas y Bailes Mexicanos (2009).