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8th Annual Frank C. Paredes Lecture

The Chili Queens of San Antonio:

Domestic Space, Consumerism, and Citizenship in the Haymarket and Alamo Plazas

Marci R. McMahon, Ph.D.

Friday, June 10, 2011

3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health

8310 Ewing Halsell Drive

at the corner of Wurzbach

San Antonio, Texas

Sponsored by the San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies

"The Chili Queens of San Antonio" is the title given to Mexican American women who cooked pots of chili on makeshift tables in the plazas of San Antonio from 1880 to 1937, when their stands were shut down due to health regulations. Amidst touring theatrical groups and Spanish minstrel shows, the Chili Queens set up tables and dished out chili to customers who sat on wooden stools. Through analysis of archival photos, newspaper articles, tourist brochures, and interviews with descendants of the Chili Queens, Dr. Marci R. McMahon situates their act of making chili in the public sphere as a complex negotiation of domestic ideologies that regulated women's proper place within the home and public narratives of consumption and citizenship. Dr. McMahon's lecture argues that these female entrepreneurs challenged turn-of-the-century assertions of a monolithic American identity by asserting their right to embody a dual identity in the public sphere. The Chili Queens' public display of Mexican food and culture within the plazas of San Antonio contrasted sharply with an increasingly hostile anti-immigrant rhetoric and Americanization programs intent on assimilating Mexican Americans into nativist definitions of U.S. identity. McMahon also suggests that the commercialized aspects of a San Antonio tourist industry that lauded the "revelry and gormandizing" of the "dark-eyed Mexican" Chili Queens to lure potential travelers to San Antonio in the 1890s indicate how these women's culinary acts of Mexican American cultural affirmation were often undercut by mainstream consumption and exoticization.

Dr. Marci R. McMahon is an assistant professor of Literature in the Department of English at the University of Texas, Pan American, where she teaches Mexican American and Latina/o literature, theater and performance; gender studies; and feminist theory. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Southern California and is the recipient of fellowships from the Irvine Foundation and the Latin American and Iberian Studies Institute at the University of New Mexico. Her recent essay on Chicano/a movement artist Patssi Valdez is forthcoming in Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies. She serves on the editorial board for Chicana/Latina Studies: The Journal of MALCS.

About the Frank C. Paredes Lecture

Frank C. Paredes (1949-2000) was a psychologist in private practice in San Antonio. Born and raised in San Antonio, he always remained close to his roots. Frank made many contributions to his profession and to his community. He was involved in the leadership of a number of state and local professional organizations. He served as President of the Bexar County Psychological Association, Chair of the Division for the Study of Ethnic Diversity of the Texas Psychological Association, and was a founding member of the San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies. Dr. Paredes was deeply interested in understanding how culture shapes an individual’s sense of personal identity. This lecture series is named in honor of his life and work.

Continuing Education

Program approved for 2.0 contact hours continuing education credit by SASPS. Continuing education hours approved by SASPS are recognized as meeting the CE requirements for psychologists, licensed psychological associates, licensed professional counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists in the State of Texas.

Directions

The Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health is at the corner of Ewing Halsell Drive and Wurzbach, in the Medical Center area. Please do not park in areas reserved for clients of the Center.

This lecture is free and open to the public. The program is made possible by support provided by the San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies. The Frank C. Paredes Annual Memorial Lecture provides opportunities for scholars, professionals, and members of the community to explore questions about how culture contributes to and shapes a sense of personal identity. We hope that this lecture series provides a forum for intellectual inquiry and practical application.

Donations

Donations are graciously accepted in support of this series, and may be made to the San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies. The Society is chartered as an affiliate of Division 39, Psychoanalysis, of the American Psychological Association.

P.O. Box 12128 San Antonio Texas 78212 Phone/Fax: (210) 733-7669

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