A Taste of History

Movements Without Borders: Expanding the Story of Belonging

Taste of History March 2026 Banner

Saturday, March 21, 2026 | 4 - 7 p.m.
California History Center, De Anza College

This 16th annual A Taste of History fundraising event brought us together for food, wine, entertainment and fellowship as we considered how a shared commitment to freedom, dignity and a belief in the value of every voice expands democracy and strengthens the community we all depend on.

Attendees were invited to consider the history of immigration and sentiments on democracy and belonging from student writers and artists:

  • Poetry by students of De Anza instructor Jill Quigley
  • Portraits by students of De Anza instructor Julie Hughes
  • Liberty Van and exhibit design by CHC intern Ashley Sanchez
  • Posters by CHC Staff Anya Nazarova

Click on arrows to advance gallery. Click on any photo to view in full size.

Also on the program:

Presented in partnership with the Foothill-De Anza Foundation. Refreshments generously provided by Bun Me Up with wines from local producers. Special thanks to winery coordinator Laura Ness.

Proceeds from A Taste of History support De Anza student multimedia and archival projects that preserve and share our local history.

Liberty Van:

In addition to a gallery of panels showcasing student poetry and artwork, the exhibit prompted visitors to consider "What does it mean to be an American?" and walk through an immersive display leading to a model Liberty Van. Several additional displays were installed within and around the model van.

Caught Between Currents

Inspired by Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza and the history of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, this installation explores identity as something shaped by tension movement, and memory. Fabric moves through air currents without settling, reflecting the ongoing negotiation between forces that both constrain and transform. 

Chingonas Chicanas: We Were Never Meant to Dim

Chingonas Chicanas

This piece honors the women who refused to be silenced, erased, or simplified. Each candle represents a Chicana voice — writers, activists, and thinkers — whose work continues to shape identity, resistance, and belonging.

The candle, often used in spaces of remembrance and reverence, becomes a here a symbol of living legacy. These are not figures of the past, but ongoing presences — guiding, challenging, and illuminating the paths we walk today.

Set against layered textures and vibrant color, the work reflects the complexity of Chicana identity: rooted in historym shaped by struggle, and alive with creativity. The flames do not mourn — they persist.

This is for you

This installation invites viewers to lean into a narrowing tunnel shaped by light, sound, and text. Phrases like "survive" and "live sin fronteras" reflect the pressures placed on Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities to adapt within systems that have historically demanded assimilation. As the space constricts, the phrase "smile more" emerges, referencing everyday expectations and microaggressions that regulate behavior and identity. 

The work draws from histories such as indigenous boarding schools and racialized expectations placed on Chicanx and immigrant communities, where survival often required cultural erasure. Layered voices of educators offer affirmation in contrast, highlighting the tension between survival and selfhood.

Historical Videos

Playlist of historical videos of protests, murals, walkouts, and documentary interviews set the tone of protest, cultural pride, and community.

Poetry Readings

Claudia Meléndez Salinas

Claudia Melendez
Claudia Meléndez Salinas is an award-winning journalist, poet and author. Her first book, “A Fighting Chance,” was published by Arte Público Press in 2015. In 2017 she cofounded Voices of Monterey Bay, a bilingual internet magazine for California's Central Coast. Her poetry was included in “Somos Xicanas,” a national anthology of Chicana poetry published in 2024. Her poem “Transitioning” was the recipient of the 2022 Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Award, and her poem “Abuelita” the recipient of the 2022 La Raíz Magazine Award in Spanish.
 

Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour

Joseph LaCour

Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour is a Filipino and French Creole spoken word poet and hip-hop artist from the Midwest now living in Santa Cruz. You can find him most weekends at Sacred Mud Henna and Tattoo Studio at the Tannery Arts Center offering workshops, coaching and henna and jagua hand art by appointment.

Foothill Beats

Foothill Beats

Foothill Beats serves as a healthy outlet for the community focused on generating joy, camaraderie and appreciation of other cultures through the universal language of rhythm. They seek to transcend human-made borders by exploring a range of drumming styles from West Africa and the African diaspora, including Brazilian and Afro-Caribbean genres.

The student drummers playing at the event are Gabby Teles, Arthur Garcia, Felipe de Albuquerque, Victor Feldman, Reed Knight and Sodai Matsumoto.

About the California History Center

The historical record resides not just in traditional archival records and books, but also in the minds of living people, expressed through forms of social connection and interaction. The California History Center is now exploring how to create openings in various communities to find new knowledge that will come out of dialogue and interaction.

This effort centers the CHC as part of a shift in paradigms of how we see "doing" local history work. CHC's model is not a passive, one-way process of downloading knowledge into minds. It does not objectify and essentialize concepts into historical factoids. It is a way of educating through open dialogue utilizing a framework that social and community spaces provide, and the minds and spirits of the community members that inhabit those spaces.

Back to Top