Kirstin Erickson (University of Arkansas)
This paper explores the contestation of monuments that commemorate Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate. Using Diana Taylor’s theory of the archive and the repertoire (2003), I suggest we view such monuments as an “archive,” and dramatic performances of interrogation as “repertoire.” I first analyze the recent defacement and removal of Oñate monuments as a performative subversion of the archive. Then, I examine a spoken word performance by a Hispana poet who challenges a-critical memorialization. Through these two modes of vernacular performance, Nuevomexicano actors re-inscribe cultural memory, confront authoritative representations, and offer nuanced understandings of both the past and the present.
Part of 05-13 Material Narratives, Friday, November 03, 10:30 am–12:30 pm