Viva Arriba

“I realized that we have different struggles on different levels and in different forms and that all of them are important and must be honoured and celebrated,” says Susana Vargas, one of the organizers of this month’s Arriba La Panocha! festival. Billed as “a feminist festival of health, art and politics,” Arriba La Panocha! pretty much covers the spectrum of events, with lectures, workshops and art shows covering women’s issues and culture.
Organized by partner organizations Elle Corazon, Bloodsisters, Coalition Zone Rouge and Zona Roja Mexico, Arriba will also feature a pair of guest speakers from Mexico, where reproductive awareness project Zona Roja is getting off the ground. Also on the bill of events is Martha Sanchez Nestor, an activist from the beleaguered indigenous community of Mexico’s Guerrero province; she’ll be giving a talk on March 8 to “raise consciousness and awareness of a different kind of women’s struggle,” according to Vargas. A week later will be Kay Morales, a former student activist in Mexico and union organizer in Minneapolis now involved with Mexican reproductive rights issues. She’ll be sharing her uniquely urban/Latina/activist/immigrant perspective.

Other events will include Cunt author Inga Muscio delivering an “open letter to the president” (of the U.S., presumably); an info session on endometriosis; a clothing swap; and a dance party at La Sala Rossa on March 7. For detailed information and an event schedule, check out www.bloodsisters.org or call Elle Corazon at 273-3933. :
—Mark Slutsky