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Performing Queer Latinidad: Dance, Sexuality, Politics PDF

272 Pages·2012·2.781 MB·English
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performing queer latinidad performing queer latinidad Dance, Sexuality, Politics Ramón H. Rivera-Servera the university of michigan press Ann Arbor Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2012 All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid- free paper 2015 2014 2013 2012 4 3 2 1 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Rivera- Servera, Ramón H., 1973– Performing queer latinidad : dance, sexuality, politics / Ramón H. Rivera- Servera. p. cm. — (Triangulations: Lesbian/Gay/Queer Theater/Drama/Performance) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0- 472- 07139- 5 (cloth : acid- free paper) — ISBN 978- 0- 472- 05139- 7 (pbk. : acid- free paper) — ISBN 978- 0- 472- 02864- 1 (e- book) 1. Gay theater— United States. 2. Hispanic American theater. 3. Homosexuality and theater. 4. Gays and the performing arts. I. Title. PN2270.G39R58 2013 792.086'640973— dc23 2012019745 The Northwestern University Research Grants Committee has provided partial support for the publication of this book. We gratefully acknowledge their assistance. For Joel, In celebration of the Grand Pas de Deux that is our life together. acknowledgments Performing Queer Latinidad is a project written in travel throughout the United States during the 1990s and into the early 2000s. I first ventured into this research as a doctoral student in theater at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and then at the University of Texas at Austin. I continued fieldwork and archival research while on the faculty ranks at Arizona State University and Northwestern University. Critical support for this project was provided by fellowships and grants from the Ford Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Herberger Col- lege of Fine Arts at Arizona State University, and the School of Commu- nication at Northwestern University. The preparation and publication of this manuscript is made possible in part by a publication subvention grant from Northwestern University. Across the terrain I have encountered an incredibly generous, cre- ative, and inspirational community of artists, scholars, activists, and friends who have become my extended family. This project would have been impossible without their presence in my life. Arthur Aviles welcomed me to Hunts Point with open arms and gen- erously shared with me his passion for the neighborhood and his faith in how the arts could help this embattled but resilient pocket of creativity feel like home. His artistic work and his vision for the role the arts could play in his community inspired me in the first place to pursue the re- search that became this book. I thank Charles Rice- González, Elizabeth Marrero, Jorge Merced, and the many fierce dancers, performers, and teatreros who have graced the stages of BAAD!, the Point, Pregones, and many other gathering spaces in the Bronx with deliciously queer humor and intelligence. A little bit farther south, between Loisaida and Fourteenth Street, I came to know a world of art practice and queer community that sustains viii acknowledgments me to this day. Among the many artists that populated my experience of the Lower East Side, Alina Troyano and Marga Gómez articulate for me the politics of pleasure and laughter. In 1999, the good people of the Esperanza Center, especially Graciela Sánchez, opened the doors of their cultural center. They allowed me ac- cess to their extensive archives, introduced me to key collaborators in their struggle to protect their funding and their dignity, and taught me that feminist and queer politics and Latina/o politics can coexist in cre- ative friction. Esperanza staff and volunteers, especially Antonia Casta- ñeda, Virginia Grise, Peter Haney, Amy Keastly, Herminia Maldonado, René Saenz, and Manuel Solis, were generous with their time and stories. Their conviction and enthusiasm made hope for justice palpable, even possible. I thank Adrián, Clara, Gerry, Gina, Héctor, José, Josué, Juan, Lena, Linda, Luis, Marisa, Michael, Néstor, Nilda, Rosalinda, Tomás, Yadira, Victor, Wilbert, William, and the many other club patrons, dancers, bartenders, bouncers, promoters, and performers I have talked to and danced with in New York, Rochester, San Antonio, Austin, Phoenix, and Chicago over the past two decades. I am especially grateful for those who agreed to participate in this study. You have not only taught me a step or two on the dance floor but have transformed my life with your comrade- ship and creativity. I am fortunate to have worked with an incredible group of mentors throughout my academic career. At the University of Rochester, Michael Ann Holly, Douglas Crimp, Claudia Schaefer, and Sharon Willis offered a strong foundation from which to build my scholarly, artistic and po- litical interests. Allen Topolski taught me how to integrate theory and practice in the arts. Lisa Cartwright introduced me to the field of perfor- mance studies and offered critical early encouragement and guidance. Rosemary Feal challenged me to think interartistically and interdiscipli- narily and was an enthusiastic endorser of my venture into a scholarly career. Ondine Chavoya, Tina Takemoto, Karen Kosasa, Tarek El- Ariss, and Briget R. Cooks served as role models and allies. Rishad Lawyer and William Estuardo Rosales became my brothers, Jessica Gerrity my sister. Garth Fagan, Norwood Pennewell, Steve Humphrey, Bit Knigh- ton, Natalie Rogers- Cropper, Valentina Alexander, Christopher Mor- rison, Lavert Benefield, Sharlene Shu, Sharon Skepple, and the rest of the dancers at Garth Fagan Dance became and continue to be my dance family. At the City University of New York, Marvin Carlson, Jane Bow- acknowledgments ix ers, and Eve Kosofsky-S edgwick were transformative pedagogues who pushed my engagements with performance. At the University of Texas at Austin, Ann Daly, Stacy Wolf, Charlotte Canning, and Richard Flores provided key methodologies for the development of my research agenda and many hours of dedicated mentorship. I began my career as a university professor at Arizona State Univer- sity, where Tamara Underiner was an incredibly supportive and gener- ous collaborator. Our work together on Theatre and Performance of the Americas has been as intellectually generative as it has been pleasur- able. Stephani Woodson, Margaret Knapp, Linda Essig, Lance Gharavi, Guillermo Reyes, Roger Bedard, Johnny Saldaña, Amira de la Garza, John J. Leaños, Arthur Sabatini, Chris Danowski, Shelly Cohn, Colleen Jennings- Roggensack, and Jeff Macmahon made a social and artistic oa- sis out of the Arizona desert. Many scholars have influenced and supported my career over the course of this research. I am especially indebted to Ric Knowles and Di- ana Taylor for being scholarly models and generous senior colleagues. I have been inspired by the work of many other scholars and friends. Among them: Marlon Bailey, Melissa Blanco Biorelli, Bernadette Marie Calafell, Ernie Capello, Harry Elam Jr., Licia Fiol- Matta, Cindy Garcia, Marcial Godoy, Patricia Herrera, Josh Kuhn, Larry La Fountain- Stokes, Jill Lane, Irma Mayorga, Raquel Monroe, Shane Moreman, José Esteban Muñoz, Deborah Paredez, Rachel Perlmeter, José Quiroga, Ricky Rodrí- guez, Jon Rossini, Margaret Savilonis, Susan Tenneriello, Maurya Wick- strom, and Tomás Ybarra- Frausto. Eng- Beng Lim, Josh Abrams, and Jennifer Parker-S tarbuck have been anchors throughout this journey. Their intellectual engagements and friendship have meant the world to me. Amelia Malagamba-A nsótegui has been a constant presence in my life since I first enrolled in her doctoral seminar in Austin. The many hours spent conversing about the arts over a home-c ooked meal have sustained me over the past decade. Gracias por hacer familia conmigo. Marvette Pérez is a brilliant scholar, curator, and artist. I thank her for bringing humor and hopeful anger into my everyday. Emma Velez- Lopez has been listening to my ideas, both academic and artistic, since we were sixteen years old. She has always provided perspective on where we come from and encouragement when the going gets rough. I am honored to be part of her life. Jennifer Brody, Dwight McBride, Alejandro Madrid, Agnes Lugo-

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