THE ART OF BROWNSVILLE - COMMENTS

I was in Brownsville this past weekend for the first student seminar for ArtsReach:

It's been a while since I last blogged, but preparing for the seminar was time consuming and I tried to tunnel my focus last week to preparing for the symposium on Border Art and Civic Engagement. All in all, I think the symposium went well but not all the students attended, so that would be the only downer about the event. It's okay. They had only known about it for maybe a week or so. But about 10-12 students did go and for the most part I think the students enjoyed the guest speakers' presentations and I think the guest speakers had fun sharing their passions with the students. What I am most interested in seeing is how these students will translate what they learned at this seminar to art. My excitement alone about these creative prospects make me look forward to visiting them in 3 weeks.

I also attended Symphony in the Park at UTB because my brother-in-law plays with the Rio Bravo symphony. I loved the event and I think our $2 bring your own blanket on the lawn seats were the best seats in the house. I was laying on the lawn with my family, watching children play and people socialize, being merry and friendly. I got to hear live music and enjoy the nice, spring weather. The scene resembled a French Impressionist painting! It was great! I also got to visit the new buildings at UTB and I was very, VERY impressed. I think it was even more beautiful than UT-Austin architecture. Afterwards we went to eat tacos. I was so happy, full and sleep deprived (because the night before I didn't sleep preparing the symposium packets) that as soon as I hit the bed I fell asleep.

I miss Brownsville now. I ran into an old friend of mine at the concert and she asked me why I would ever want to return to Brownsville rather than stay in Austin. I didn't know quite how to answer her. Austin is an awesome place and I have pretty much made a home here. But my real home, where my heart is, where my family is and where I will always look to wherever life will take me, is in Brownsville. If anything, Austin helped me appreciate Brownsville so much more. It is through my experiences here that I was able to reflect upon Brownsville life. And it's not like I am going back to chain myself to the walls of the mall or something of thaat nature. I will continue to travel and visit other cities and countries, maybe live in some for a while. I will always look to stretch my own perspectives and to learn about different people and cultures, but Brownsville will be homebase. It's where I will always return to. And maybe for this reason, I am leaving Austin, I am just ready to move on the next phase of my life, to continue my evolution. I am a different person because of Austin since 5 years ago, but Brownsville is a differnet place because of time. When I return, I don't expect to be returning to the same place I left and I look forward to finding my place in my hometown as a new person.