Books, Music, Arts and Fun
By University Relations
Wed May 21, 2008 8:29am CST
With more than three million Texans considered illiterate, The University of Texas-Pan American hopes to put a slight dent in that statistic by hosting their second annual Festival of International Books and Arts (FESTIBA), March 24-29.
This year FESTIBA 2008, titled "Reading Other Worlds: Storytelling Through the Arts," will not only highlight the arts and humanities at UTPA, but also emphasize the importance and joy of reading and writing for people of all ages in South Texas. To spread the joy of reading, one of the nation’s premier literary festivals in the country, the Texas Book Festival, and Reading is Fundamental (RIF), one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit children’s literacy organizations will join forces with FESTIBA to distribute more than 34,000 books to local school districts.
"Our goal is to increase interest and appreciation for reading and improve success in secondary and postsecondary education through FESTIBA," Dr. Dahlia Guerra, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and FESTIBA coordinator, said.
The Texas Book Festival for a second time, in collaboration with UTPA and the Region One Education Service Center, will provide six area elementary schools with the opportunity to visit with some of the nation’s premier children’s authors through its Reading Rock Stars program, formerly known as the Author! Author! program. The schools were chosen out of 70 applications from the Rio Grande Valley area.
Authors such as René Saldana Jr., Carmen Tafolla, Diane Gonzales Bertrand, René Laínez, Lee Merrill Bird, Xavier Garza, and Amada Irma Perez will be meeting with more than 3,500 South Texas children March 25-26. In addition, the authors will discuss their literary works and present each child attending the event with an autographed book said Clay Smith, literary director for the Texas Book Festival. Also, all participating schools will receive a set of books from the authors for their school libraries.
"Reading Rocks Stars is wonderful because it goes one step further. The program is for lower-income elementary schools whose students may not read books on their own. We choose authors for the Reading Rock Stars program who are brilliant presenters and can bring the books to life. We are looking forward to FESTIBA," Smith said.
In addition, FESTIBA will partner with RIF in the distribution of more than 30,000 books to local schools to encourage reading among students in grades pre-k-sixth.
"We expect it to be a long-term partnership that is not only about FESTIBA, but is really more about empowering our families with reading as a fundamental part of their lives," UTPA President Dr. Blandina Cárdenas said about the partnership.
According to Stephen Leach, director of government relations and community outreach for RIF, the organization assists 4.6 million children throughout the country and 100,000 are served in South Texas. Leach said the main goal of RIF is to provide books and other literacy resources to parents, teachers, and other professionals who work in the literacy environment.
"We are involved in this South Texas initiative to help with erasing the student dropout rate because we understand that it is at an alarming rate right now. We are hoping to do a lot of work here in South Texas to help raise the graduation rate and we are excited about the opportunity. Through this partnership we will be successful," Leach said.
Joining FESTIBA 2008 will be Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) who will host the first ever Congressional Roundtable on Literacy to be held during FESTIBA on March 28, a day scheduled for South Texas librarians. Hinojosa said numerous congressional leaders including Henry Cuellar and Solomon Ortiz will join him to discuss and find solutions for the nation’s high illiteracy rates.
"One of the goals of the Congressional Roundtable is to draw more attention to this alarming rate of illiteracy that we have in America. Literacy statistics in Texas alone are a cause for serious concern. More than three million Texans are considered to be functionally illiterate, while one in four Texans lacks reading and writing skills, and our state of Texas has the unimaginable distinction of ranking 47th lowest among the 50 states in reading and writing literacy. We have got to do something and that is why your congressmen have made it one of the highest priorities in congress," Hinojosa said.
In continuing with the theme of encouraging reading and writing, the University’s Distinguished Speaker Series will conclude the year of bringing dynamic speakers to campus during FESTIBA with an appearance by leading Chicana playwright and novelist Denise Chávez. Chávez, who will speak March 25, 7:30 p.m. at the Student Union Theater, has written and produced numerous one-act plays since the 1970s; and is best known for her fiction, including "The Last of the Menu Girls," and "Face of an Angel."
FESTIBA, which originally started as a three-day event, has expanded to a week to offer the public a variety of events such as concerts, workshops and lectures, exhibits, and a Community Day. The weeklong event is a spin-off of UTPA’s Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) Week, which is geared toward promoting science literacy and careers in science, engineering, mathematics and technology.
"FESTIBA 2008 will be an exciting event and a unique cultural opportunity for our University and South Texas," Dr. Dahlia Guerra, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and FESTIBA coordinator, said.
A major highlight of FESTIBA will be Community Day, March 29 on the UTPA grounds that will offer the public numerous entertainment and educational events including a free concert by Grupo Duelo, an international band with a norteño sound who got its start in Roma, Texas, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the UTPA Quad.
One of the top mariachi groups in the country, Mariachi Sol de Mexico de José Hernandez, who are known for mesmerizing audiences with their dynamic energy reflecting México’s rich cultural heritage will perform during Community Day. The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium, and an admission fee will be required. In addition to their performance, Mariachi Sol De Mexico will host a workshop for South Texas middle and high school mariachi groups March 28, which will lead up to a mariachi competition concert featuring the groups during Community Day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium.
FESTIBA Community Day is an opportunity for families to come out and enjoy a number of free musical concerts, poetry readings, documentary films, and art and photo exhibits performed and provided by UTPA’s own students and faculty as well as other masters in the field of arts. Several tents will also be available for Community Day attendees including one featuring cooking demonstrations, a book fair with local authors signing their literary works, a Scholastics Book tent with television characters "Maya and Miguel," a RIF tent with a children’s computer lab, and storytelling tent with Texas Book Festival authors.
Other FESTIBA 2008 partners include Region One Education Service Center and UTPA GEAR UP, Scholastic Books, The Monitor Newspapers in Education, H-E-B, National Endowment of the Arts, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, IBC Bank, International Women’s Board, and Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society in education.
For a complete schedule of FESTIBA events visit http://www.coah.utpa.edu/festiba/ or call 956/381-2175.
This year FESTIBA 2008, titled "Reading Other Worlds: Storytelling Through the Arts," will not only highlight the arts and humanities at UTPA, but also emphasize the importance and joy of reading and writing for people of all ages in South Texas. To spread the joy of reading, one of the nation’s premier literary festivals in the country, the Texas Book Festival, and Reading is Fundamental (RIF), one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit children’s literacy organizations will join forces with FESTIBA to distribute more than 34,000 books to local school districts.
"Our goal is to increase interest and appreciation for reading and improve success in secondary and postsecondary education through FESTIBA," Dr. Dahlia Guerra, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and FESTIBA coordinator, said.
The Texas Book Festival for a second time, in collaboration with UTPA and the Region One Education Service Center, will provide six area elementary schools with the opportunity to visit with some of the nation’s premier children’s authors through its Reading Rock Stars program, formerly known as the Author! Author! program. The schools were chosen out of 70 applications from the Rio Grande Valley area.
Authors such as René Saldana Jr., Carmen Tafolla, Diane Gonzales Bertrand, René Laínez, Lee Merrill Bird, Xavier Garza, and Amada Irma Perez will be meeting with more than 3,500 South Texas children March 25-26. In addition, the authors will discuss their literary works and present each child attending the event with an autographed book said Clay Smith, literary director for the Texas Book Festival. Also, all participating schools will receive a set of books from the authors for their school libraries.
"Reading Rocks Stars is wonderful because it goes one step further. The program is for lower-income elementary schools whose students may not read books on their own. We choose authors for the Reading Rock Stars program who are brilliant presenters and can bring the books to life. We are looking forward to FESTIBA," Smith said.
In addition, FESTIBA will partner with RIF in the distribution of more than 30,000 books to local schools to encourage reading among students in grades pre-k-sixth.
"We expect it to be a long-term partnership that is not only about FESTIBA, but is really more about empowering our families with reading as a fundamental part of their lives," UTPA President Dr. Blandina Cárdenas said about the partnership.
According to Stephen Leach, director of government relations and community outreach for RIF, the organization assists 4.6 million children throughout the country and 100,000 are served in South Texas. Leach said the main goal of RIF is to provide books and other literacy resources to parents, teachers, and other professionals who work in the literacy environment.
"We are involved in this South Texas initiative to help with erasing the student dropout rate because we understand that it is at an alarming rate right now. We are hoping to do a lot of work here in South Texas to help raise the graduation rate and we are excited about the opportunity. Through this partnership we will be successful," Leach said.
Joining FESTIBA 2008 will be Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) who will host the first ever Congressional Roundtable on Literacy to be held during FESTIBA on March 28, a day scheduled for South Texas librarians. Hinojosa said numerous congressional leaders including Henry Cuellar and Solomon Ortiz will join him to discuss and find solutions for the nation’s high illiteracy rates.
"One of the goals of the Congressional Roundtable is to draw more attention to this alarming rate of illiteracy that we have in America. Literacy statistics in Texas alone are a cause for serious concern. More than three million Texans are considered to be functionally illiterate, while one in four Texans lacks reading and writing skills, and our state of Texas has the unimaginable distinction of ranking 47th lowest among the 50 states in reading and writing literacy. We have got to do something and that is why your congressmen have made it one of the highest priorities in congress," Hinojosa said.
In continuing with the theme of encouraging reading and writing, the University’s Distinguished Speaker Series will conclude the year of bringing dynamic speakers to campus during FESTIBA with an appearance by leading Chicana playwright and novelist Denise Chávez. Chávez, who will speak March 25, 7:30 p.m. at the Student Union Theater, has written and produced numerous one-act plays since the 1970s; and is best known for her fiction, including "The Last of the Menu Girls," and "Face of an Angel."
FESTIBA, which originally started as a three-day event, has expanded to a week to offer the public a variety of events such as concerts, workshops and lectures, exhibits, and a Community Day. The weeklong event is a spin-off of UTPA’s Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) Week, which is geared toward promoting science literacy and careers in science, engineering, mathematics and technology.
"FESTIBA 2008 will be an exciting event and a unique cultural opportunity for our University and South Texas," Dr. Dahlia Guerra, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and FESTIBA coordinator, said.
A major highlight of FESTIBA will be Community Day, March 29 on the UTPA grounds that will offer the public numerous entertainment and educational events including a free concert by Grupo Duelo, an international band with a norteño sound who got its start in Roma, Texas, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the UTPA Quad.
One of the top mariachi groups in the country, Mariachi Sol de Mexico de José Hernandez, who are known for mesmerizing audiences with their dynamic energy reflecting México’s rich cultural heritage will perform during Community Day. The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium, and an admission fee will be required. In addition to their performance, Mariachi Sol De Mexico will host a workshop for South Texas middle and high school mariachi groups March 28, which will lead up to a mariachi competition concert featuring the groups during Community Day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium.
FESTIBA Community Day is an opportunity for families to come out and enjoy a number of free musical concerts, poetry readings, documentary films, and art and photo exhibits performed and provided by UTPA’s own students and faculty as well as other masters in the field of arts. Several tents will also be available for Community Day attendees including one featuring cooking demonstrations, a book fair with local authors signing their literary works, a Scholastics Book tent with television characters "Maya and Miguel," a RIF tent with a children’s computer lab, and storytelling tent with Texas Book Festival authors.
Other FESTIBA 2008 partners include Region One Education Service Center and UTPA GEAR UP, Scholastic Books, The Monitor Newspapers in Education, H-E-B, National Endowment of the Arts, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, IBC Bank, International Women’s Board, and Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society in education.
For a complete schedule of FESTIBA events visit http://www.coah.utpa.edu/festiba/ or call 956/381-2175.
