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Loida Casares Ruiz

Wife, Mother, Writer, Advertising Manager

Loida Casares Ruiz grew up in Northeast Houston. She graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Minor in English. She received a Master of Arts in Communication in 2001. She works in advertising by day and is a mother, wife, and writer by night. She has al...

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Sor Juana Festival Comes to Houston

Loida Casares Ruiz

Houston is celebrating the, now annual, Sor Juana Festival for the second time. The festival is a great celebration of the Mexican woman and since Houston’s Hispanic population is 80% Mexican, it is only fitting that this festival will be celebrated here.

It all started in Chicago, another very Mexican-American city, a few years ago. This city has a National Museum of Mexican Art, something we don’t have in Houston. The museum started this festival there and then last year they brought it to Houston. It was such a success last year that other cities, San Antonio and Austin, became interested in joining in on the fun. So this year instead of the Houston Sor Juana Festival it is the “Texas” Sor Juana Festival.

If you’ve never heard of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, she was a 17^th century Mexican nun who valued education for women. In her time a woman could only become educated if she became a nun and that’s how she chose her profession. She was a celebrated writer, poet, playwright, and mathematician. She is considered the first feminist of the Americas.

The festival started with “La Feria de la  Mujer” on Sunday, March 16, but this Wednesday, March 26 is the official kick-off. Wednesday’s ceremony at the Museum of Fine Arts will honor six Mexican women leaders from Texas. This event is by invitation only and I am very excited that I’ll be there. By coincidence, my cousin, the fabulous celebrity chef Sylvia Casares-Copeland of Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, will cater the event.

There are many other activities planned throughout the month, right in time for Women’s History Month. There will be a “Divinas” concert at Miller Outdoor Theater Friday night. There’s an exhibit of photography by Latina women at MECA. Also at MECA there is a modern ballet about Frida Kahlo. A night of music and stories at the Museum of Fine Arts and much much more. There will be many activities in Austin and San Antonio as well. For a full schedule go to the National Museum of Mexican Art website and click on the pdf of the brochure for the Texas festival.