Stories & More

MiHistoria started out as Adios Amor’s sister storytelling project, but quickly took on a life of its own. Co-founder Albertina Zarazúa Padilla developed a traveling storytelling workshop, partnering with community groups like Lideres Campesinas, Oakland Public Library, MALCS (Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social), and T4SJ (Teachers for Social Justice) to serve Latinas from all walks of life. I produce our bilingual website, which features a story archive, artists gallery, blog and a Tell-Your-Story upload feature.

Volver is my photo book documenting the 2013 return to Argentina of human rights activist Olga Talamante. A Chicana born to a farmworker family, Olga had traveled to Argentina to do anti-poverty organizing. In the lead up to the 1976 military coup she was tortured and imprisoned. The high point of Olga’s 2013 return was the premiere of Observando el Observador, a documentary featuring testimonies by Olga and Patricia Erb, two Americans kidnapped by the Argentinian military. Olga’s return was a moment to reconnect with friends who had survived the dictatorship, and honor those who had not.

Women at Farah: An Unfinished Story is based on oral histories conducted with Chicana and Mexicana garment workers who went on strike against Farah Manufacturing. The Farah strike became the first successful organizing drive of women garment workers in the American Southwest. I co-authored the book with Gail Hershatter and Emily Honig. The book was subsequently released in Spanish and featured in numerous anthologies, including Prentice Hall’s Women and Power in American History.