Inventing the Fiesta City:
Creating Community and Identity in San Antonio
Laura Hernández-Ehrisman, Ph.D.
6th Frank Paredes Lecture
Friday, March 27, 2009
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Mabee Library Auditorium
University of the Incarnate Word
4301 Broadway
San Antonio, Texas
Sponsored by the San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies
Inventing the Fiesta City:
Creating Community and Identity in San Antonio
Fiesta is a celebration, and also a ritual. It is a big party, and it is also an exercise in which the competing narratives that define a community’s history come together in a process of recalling, and rewriting, collective memory. It is a dramatic enactment of the forces at play in the creation of civic and personal identity, as well as social change. San Antonians celebrate their city in many ways, but none as elaborate as Fiesta. The story of Fiesta is a rich, difficult, and joyful tale of San Antonio’s cultural history. During the ten-day festival, families camp out on Broadway for the Battle of Flowers Parade, young women dress up in elaborate gowns for Coronation, and thousands take over downtown to party during NIOSA, among hundreds of other events. In her book, Inventing the Fiesta City: Heritage and Carnival in San Antonio, Laura Hernández- Ehrisman explored how this festival came to be so important to so many San Antonians. Drawing on the research from her book, Dr. Hernández-Ehrisman’s lecture will trace Fiesta’s development from a late-nineteenth century flower parade to the ten-day Texas-sized bash that it is today. She will discuss the festival’s origins among the Anglo and German elite, and also shed light on the stories of women asserting distinct roles in the public sphere, and Mexican Americans challenging Anglo political and economic control of the city. In her story of how Fiesta came to be, Dr. Hernández-Ehrisman shows how the festival became a space to transgress the boundaries of home and segregated neighborhood, and later, a celebration of a multicultural middle class.
Dr. Laura Hernández-Ehrisman is an assistant professor of University Programs at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Clements Center for Southwestern Studies at Southern Methodist University, and received her Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. A San Antonio native, much of Dr. Hernández-Ehrisman’s research is about the diverse communities of this city, and the expression of cultural identity in public space.
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 t the State of Texas.
Directions: The UIW Campus is at the corner of Broadway and Hildebrand. Enter from either Broadway or Hildebrand, park in any of the lots available. Walk towards the Clock Tower at the center of the campus; the Habee Library is located near the Clock Tower, at the center of the campus.
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.