Visual and Performing Arts

Creativity takes many forms. And while all of this was happening, we never separated it. We didn't put people into categories of artist, it was just all there. And we encouraged everybody to participate. We did we did crafty things, but we also did stuff like the photography course and writing. Just a lot of possibility, even around food. We did a lot of making tortillas and making piñatas. Now that I look back, I think for me in my body, it made me realize that it's all there for all women, for all people-- our human capacity. We work, we raise children, we do all kinds of things, and we create and we reflect. So I would say it was really anchored in discovery and creativity and possibility at that time.                                                                                                                                               -Diane Avila, Festival Coordinator, May 25, 2022 

Unlike many White-dominant organizations that address violence against women, akin to the Mexican Revolution and the Chicano movement, Mujeres Latinas en Acción (MLEA) saw creativity and the arts as vital to women's empowerment and social change. Thus, arts—visual, written, and performance-- were central to the organization and the Festival. The festival featured visual arts, artesanías and performances of poetry, music, Chicano street theater, and payasas (women clowns) for adults, children, and families by women cultural workers across races and Latina ethnicities. 

Children smiled with Jean Parisi, in her stovepipe hat and wig, brightly flowered shirt, polka dotted tie, and oversize striped pants (Photo above). Parisi led a women’s clown troupe that day and had co-founded Pros Arts Studio at St. Procopius Church the year before, bringing visual and performing arts to schools, parks, and other community institutions to “unlock the creative abilities of children and teachers,” according to their artistic statement. Parisi’s husband, Lionel Bottari, also entertained in his clown garb. Bottari, who grew up in Pilsen, worked at the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation, which rehabbed the first building purchased by MLEA in 1976. 

Like many grassroots feminist organizations of the time, the office walls of MLEA displayed compelling silk-screened posters produced by the Chicago Women’s Graphics Collective and other artwork by women addressing women’s issues. Also displayed at the office was work by local artist, Holocaust survivor, and Pros Arts Studio co-founder Ruth Baumann and photos by Diana Solís, the young Pilsen photographer who was Festival co-organizer. A staffer at MLEA in 1979, Solís also led photography classes there and produced its newsletter.

MLEA hosted arts events including a 1980 concert at their office by Chispa, a music group formed in 1978 by the three Negrete sisters (Juanita, Santa, and Rosa). Chispa performed at the Festival, and their songs about social justice recharged many activists at Chicago political events, including Chicano and worker rallies.