Update: Public Scholar Publishes in Boom California

“Danza de Los Superhéroes: Zapotec Immigrant Tradition in Transnational Transfer”

This is the title of Leopoldo Peña’s new article in the online journal Boom California. Leopoldo joined our Public Scholars cohort from UC Irvine this year.

He describes this project as “the result of combining research, photography and community involvement…and it gives hope I can continue doing public scholarship along my personal interests and in service to the communities I relate to.”

His Public Scholars project extends these interests into the museum setting. He is currently working with the Laguna Art Museum to coordinate an installation by Mexican artist, Pablo Vargas Lugo. He works closely with the artist, the education curator and a group of naval engineers, who are designing the piece.

“It is a good experience for me, the whole process is new and allows me to venture outside a strictly academic setting. Thus far, I have also linked the art education non-profit I work with in Los Angeles with the educational department at the museum. I am hoping something productive will turn out from this.”

Credit: Leopoldo Peña

Angel Sáncez, as Captain America, and Antonio Mazas, as Holk, take a break between performances during the annual celebration of the Yalalag community in Los Angeles