Children at Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary in Edinburg huddled close together Thursday, engaged with and wowed by author and illustrator Steven Weinberg sketching characters from his book, "You Must Be This Tall."
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High school and junior high mariachi students gathered at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Performing Arts Complex Saturday as part of FESTIBA, the annual celebration of the arts."
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BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - The theme of empowerment was on full display on the UTRGV Brownsville Campus Friday, March 1, as part of FESTIBA 2019 with a special book talk with the authors of "Chicana Movidas: New Narratives of Activism in the Movement Era."
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An Afro-Latino Spider-Man may have won the hearts of critics and audiences alike with "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," but the depiction of Miles Morales as the famous web slinger is a relatively recent phenomenon - people of color telling their own stories in mainstream comic books.
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For every iconic moment that defines a social movement, there are many more small moments that make them possible.
Those smaller movements are the subject of the anthology "Chicana Movidas: New Narratives of Activism and Feminism in the Movement Era," which will be the subject of two book talks this week during the Festival of International Books & Arts at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campuses.
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![FESTIBA 2019 includes Chicana Movidas](https://i1.wp.com/riograndeguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Screen-Shot-2019-02-22-at-2.16.26-PM.png?resize=696%2C899&ssl=1" "FESTIBA 2019 includes Chicana Movidas")
BROWNSVILLE, RGV – Former librarian at UT-Pan American Virginia Haynie Gause is recommending a program taking place as part of UT-Rio Grande Valley’s FESTIBA 2019.
The program is titled 'Chicana Movidas – New Narratives of Activism and Feminism in the Movement Era.' It is happening at the both the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses.
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RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – Lessons about the Underground Railroad often focus on escaped slaves heading north to free states and Canada.
But many people don’t know they also headed south – to the Rio Grande Valley.
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RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – Spanish-speakers often refer to a person with light hair, eyes and complexion as "güero" - a term of endearment free of cultural or racial overtones.
Dr. David Bowles, an assistant professor in the UTRGV Department of Literatures and Cultural Studies, grew up “half-and-half” in the Rio Grande Valley with the nickname granted from his father’s Mexican-American heritage.
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Hundreds of Rio Grande Valley middle school students got to hear from an author speaking their own language Wednesday morning at The Arts Center on the Texas Southmost College campus during an event to kick off FESTIBA 2019 at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
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The Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library announced plans to host the Ninth Annual International Book Discussion between the Saint Matthew’s Episcopal School of Edinburg and the Oxford School of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
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EDINBURG, TEXAS – Gloves on, case open and an instructor telling students to be careful as they lift a historical rifle to be placed inside a glass case: It’s the beginning of bringing a Civil War exhibit to life.
The UTRGV Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) program, in conjunction with students from the courses “The Civil War in the Rio Grande Valley” and “Museums and Heritage Tourism,” have put together a traveling exhibit called “War and Peace on the Rio Grande.” The exhibit will be available from Feb. 4 to June 19 at the UTRGV Visitors Center on the Edinburg Campus.
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Anyone who lives in Texas knows that we’re in mariachi competition season right now. Among a slough of these events going on throughout the state, one of the most exciting is the one hosted by the University of Texas Río Grande Valley (UTRGV) under the name FESTIBA (February 25 – March 3). Now in its 13th year, FESTIBA promotes literacy, culture and the arts while recognizing and honoring individuals and organizations who have significantly touched, enriched and impacted lives in the community. The highlight of this celebration is the Mariachi Festival spearheaded by Dr. Dahlia Guerra, UTRGV Assistant Vice-President for Public Art, codirector of the UTRGV Mariachi Program and director of FESTIBA. Dr. Guerra comments:
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McALLEN — From divergent angles around a gown crafted purely of salt, five individuals dressed in black crawled to the center, swooping the mineral with their palms into a single mound.
This piece created by artist Giannina Coppiano Dwin titled “Like the Ocean” was part of FOLD — a collection of contemporary work inspired by a book written by philosopher Gilles Deleuze — at the International Museum of Art & Science.
The students knew they were in for a treat one recent morning in the library at Morningside Elementary School: the Reading Rock Stars were back in town.
Morningside is in the final year of a three-year Reading Rock Stars grant from the Texas Book Festival. The grant has brought notable children’s book authors, and this year an illustrator, to the school to read their books to the children and then give them each a signed copy.
EDINBURG - When one thinks of resources to improve literacy, comics might not immediately come to mind. There is more to literacy, however, than classic novels. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is on to that.
On day two of the 12th annual FESTIBA celebration, six academic sessions discussing comics as literature and art were hosted inside the Shary Room in the University Library on the Edinburg campus.
Jean Braithwaite, an associate professor of creative writing, presented a Powerpoint presentation titled "Sneak Preview of Jean's groundbreaking research," during the fifth forum of the day on "Point of View in Comics."
An award-winning Latina children's author shared her passion for writing with students in the age group she writes for Wednesday morning at the Texas Southmost College Arts Center.
Some 200 students in the GEAR UP program in Brownsville schools attended a keynote address by Angela Cervantes that turned into a hands-on workshop about her newest book, "Me, Frida and the secret of the Peacock Ring."
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EDINBURG, TEXAS – MARCH 1, 2018 – For Chilean author Alejandro Zambra, there are multiple ways to get home. The feeling of “home” is up to the interpreter – the reader.
“Literature gives you the possibility of talking about many different things at the same time,” Zambra said. “That idea of facing the past – it’s not that you will solve it by writing a book. A book is about what happens when you try to write a book.”
Zambra’s latest book, Ways of Going Home, is a self-reflexive vehicle about dealing with the past, exploring heritage and the idea of belonging.
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RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – MARCH 10, 2017 – Four Latina poets and writers donated material to the Special Collections and Archives Department of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley during FESTIBA, the Festival of International Books and Arts.
Writers Sheila Maldonado, Wendy Ortiz, María Palitachi and Estrella del Valle each presented her donations to Sean Visintainer, head of Special Collections and University Archives, in the Reading Room of the Brownsville Campus University Library, on Thursday, March 3.
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This year’s Reading Rock Stars program brought three children’s book authors to Morningside. René Saldaña Jr. read “A Mystery Bigger Than Big” to fourth- and fifth-graders, Juana Medina read “Juana and Lucas” to second- and third-graders, and Emma J. Virján read “What this Story Needs is a Bang and a Clang”.
Read the story on The Brownsville Herald.
What originally started at the University of Texas-Pan American now has become a University of Texas Rio Grande Valley tradition.
The UTRGV Brownsville campus will kick off the Festival of International Books and Arts at 8 a.m. Monday at Rusteberg Hall by featuring works of faculty from the school of art..
Read the story on The Brownsville Herald.
EDINBURG — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s new medical school building may seem like an odd choice to announce the school’s Festival of International Books & Arts (FESTIBA) schedule, but it was perfect for the festival’s theme.
Read the story on The Monitor.