Written by: Victoria Rajkumar & Davis Yahn
On Sept. 21 and 22, performance artist Guillermo Gómez–Peña pre-sented an audio-visual lecture for the NSU community as part of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences (FCAS) Distinguished Speakers Series. The lecture was hosted by the Division of Performing and Visual Arts.
Each year, the Distinguished Speakers Series brings prominent leaders in their fields to speak on campus. The series reflects the college’s annual theme. This year’s theme is truth and power. Some of the notable past speakers included: Spike Lee, Jack Kevorkian and Desmond Tutu.
“I thought his artistic message was amazing and he did crazy things most people would die to do,” said Caesar Martinez, senior psychology major.
The performance artist presented an audio–visual lecture titled Multiple Journeys: The Life and Work of Gómez–Peña. Using text and historical photographs to chronicle his life’s work, Gómez–Peña discussed the evolution of his field and current political and social events.
Martinez said, “I especially thought it was amazing how he held his own wedding on the Mexican border. How wild is that?”
Gómez–Peña presented parts of his lecture in Spanish, which left some students culture-shocked.
Wallace Jean, junior, theatre major said, “It made me feel like an immigrant in a sense because other people could understand him and I could not. It was an unusual but eye-opening experience,” he said.
However, others embraced his bilingual speech.
Vanessa Ramos, junior theatre major said, “I loved his poem. He read it with feeling and by switching up the language, it made what he was saying so much better.”
To engage students in his lecture, Gómez–Peña had a question–and–answer segment.
Many students were quick to ask Gómez-Peña questions.
Alexis Dobson, sophomore, theatre major said, “It was nice of him to let us ask pretty much anything that came into our heads. He seemed to really want us [students] to understand his movement and what he was about.”
Gómez–Peña also performed on Thursday Sept. 22 in the Performance Theatre of NSU’s Visual Arts Wing in the UC.
The performance featured visual and vocal entertainment and was presented to an auditorium of over two hundred students, faculty and guests.
“The beginning was the best part,” said Emily Maines, junior marine biology major. “His performance was very relevant to modern times. I thought it was striking, daring and relevant,” she said.
On Oct. 26, Oscar–winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, hosted by the Humanities Division, will be the next Distinguished Speaker Series. Dreyfuss will discuss his role as an American activist and a community leader.
