Noticias
CALSTATE Dominguez Hills: Central American Conference
April 11, 2025 Community collaboration brings CAHAAS + GAMOLA + LA PIEDRA to “Semillas de Resistencia” Conference at CSU Dominguez Hills. Together they presented the importance of preserving our collective memory through community and culture. Guest got to explore LA-based stories from CAHAAS' 100 Central American Historical Biographies initiative, specifically focusing on community efforts to preserve heritage through art and music with painter Francisco Mejia and the Garifuna Museum of Los Angeles.
CAHAAS lends support to local art talk at MSJ
March 13, 2025 The Museum of Social Justice facilitated a discussion on art and dignity with visiting students from Notre Dame University. Professor Geneva Hutchinson is visiting LA as part of their course entitled Arts of Dignity. Artists Dora Magaña and Ricardo O'Meany led the conversation, sharing their experiences navigating both their art and the art world through the lens of social justice.
Esa Terca Resistencia: Art Exhibit
Press Release: Social Justice Art Exhibit
February 15, 2025 Los Angeles, CA – Welcome to La Piedra’s That Stubborn Resistance, a group exhibition organized by CAHAAS and the Museum of Social Justice. In today’s polarized political climate, where debates about immigration, equity, and human rights dominate the national discourse, the power of art to inspire empathy and understanding has never been more crucial. Art is not just a reflection of society but a catalyst for change—a way to amplify voices, challenge injustices, and imagine a better future.
CAHAAS + Art & Archive Talk
June 23, 2024 CAHAAS facilitated an art & archives discussion at La Casa Roja in Mid-city for local artist members of the La Piedra artist collective. Azalea Camacho, Head of Special Collections and Archives at CSULA volunteered to share her expertise on the subject and La Piedra introduced their work in support of exchanging community knowledge with cultural and educational institutions. As a result, an art exhibit is in the works in 2025.
Central American Studies Showcase - UCI HISTORY PROJECT
May 4, 2024 CAHAAS was invited to the Central American Studies Showcase along with other organizations such as Teaching Central America and the Garifuna Museum to celebrate recently completed Central American studies curriculum by local educators. CAHAAS displayed its resources for teachers and community by sharing its biographies, stories, books, and more. Director Cindy Mata-Villalta heads this UCI History Project that is a regional branch of the California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP), a statewide umbrella organization that promotes university-public school collaboration.
Cal State LA: Student Curated Exhibition
April 9, 2024 CAHAAS' co-founder, Claudia A. Portillo, presented at CSULA on community-based archives featuring the biography of Dora O. Magaña. She is an alumna whose narrative is helping students curate an exhibit about her life and times to better understand the complexities of immigration from Central America. CSULA anthropology professor, Dr. Ester Hernandez and Azalea Camacho, Head of Special Collections and Archives are spearheading the exhibit and display due Fall 2024.
Central American Studies: K-12 Professional Development Series
January 11, 2024 CAHAAS co-founder Claudia A. Portillo shared the stage with CAHAAS humanities advisor and CSULA anthropology professor, Dr. Ester Hernandez to talk about the Central American experience in the OC and the importance of representation in educational resource for Central American students.
Central American Studies: K-12 Professional Development Series
July 1, 2023 CAHAAS co-founder Claudia A. Portillo presented Critical Family History to Los Angeles teachers at the Jane B. Eisner Middle School, part of the Camino Nuevo Charter Academy network, who are taking part in a professional development program through the UCLA History-Geography Project, a site of the California History Social Science Project.
CSUN: Conversation with artist Francisco Mejia
March 22, 2025 CSUN's Professor Elizabeth Perez Marquez invited Los Angeles-based artist Francisco A. Mejia to present his 30-panel art exhibit titled The Bridge and speak about its representation of Salvadoran transnational history. CAHAAS was there to support the Los Angeles-based artist and highlight the importance of preserving Central American history and contributions in Los Angeles.
Sponsored by The Department of Central American and Transborder Studies and College of Humanities and the Academic Programming Fund.
IXOQ: Matrix of Beauty, Creation, and Resistance
March 22, 2025 Dora Magaña and Rossana Perez organized a panel discussion on the remarkable achievements of Central American women in Los Angeles with an emphasize on historical memory. As part of a commitment to preserving this history, they highlighted the role of Lil Milagro Ramírez and other influential women in Central American struggles. Additionally, they explored the connection between past movements and the ongoing fight for justice today.
Speakers
1. Leisy Abrego (UCLA): Of loves and traumas between families and the state. 2. Magda Estrada (GuataMaya LA Mujeres en Resistencia): Breastfeeding and food sovereignty. 3. Ester E. Hernández (CSULA): Frameworks for Teaching Central American Studies in the Southwest. 4. Dora O. Magaña: Methodology for establishing Historical Memory workshops. 5. Karina Alma (UCLA): (R)embodied Memory and Artistic Expression in Central American Immigrant Communities. 6. Rossana Pérez (CSUN): Literature, memory and violence. 7. Claudia Portillo (CAHAAS): Preserving Central American Legacy and Memory in Los Angeles. 8. Leda Ramos (CSULA): Art Solidarity and Resistance of Historical Memory. 9. Carla Macal (GuataMaya LA Mujeres en Resistencia): It wasn't the fire, it was the state: Justice for the 56 girls of Guatemala.
Sponsored by: Museum of Social Justice
Teach Central America Week
October 10, 2024 the Central American Historical & Ancestral Society of California (CAHAAS) and the UCI History Project on Thursday, October 10th, from 6-8 PM, celebrated Teach Central America week with the Latin American Studies program, Cal State LA Central American Studies Faculty Committee, and the University Library Special Collections & Archives at CSULA the various community efforts aimed at documenting and celebrating Central American history in Los Angeles. This year we highlighted the community work of artists and activists, and the evening's guest speakers Dora Magaña and Ricardo O’Meany. Participants toured a student-curated exhibit about Dora’s life as well as explored additional primary sources housed in CSULA’s special collections.
MENDOLATINO
Septiembre 01, 2023 En este programa de MendoLatino, entrevistamos a Claudia Portillo, Ester Hernández y Cindy Mata sobre la importancia de la memoria histórica de los y las inmigrantes de Centro America que ahora viven en California. Todas son educadoras que han luchado para que se incorpore material curricular sobre Centro America en las escuelas de California.
Ancestry TV Commercial
Claudia A. Portillo participó en un comercial de televisión de Ancestry para contar la historia de su tía Amalia, una enfermera salvadoreña de la Segunda Guerra Mundial que vivió y trabajó en San Francisco en la década de 1940 cuidando a los soldados que regresaban a casa de la guerra. Amalia era parte de un grupo de enfermeras minoritarias a las que se les permitió unirse a la fuerza laboral estadounidense para aliviar la escasez de enfermeras durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
LOS LAZOS FAMILIARES
Historias que Inspiran es un proyecto de Historia de la Comunidad Raíces, y parte de las iniciativas del proyecto Historias de los Ancestros, Historias de Sanación.