“Yo Soy el Poder del Cambio:
Family Violence Prevention and Beyond”

Alianza National Conference Provides a Different Forum to Create Change

“I loved the care and thoughtfulness that went into the conference. We are a brilliant conglomeration of people from different places, speaking many languages, coming with our various histories and colonization. There was room for all of me here. I felt held, I felt cared about. I felt like it mattered what I had to say. Thank you.”— a quote from a conference attendee.

This quote summarizes a general sentiment Alianza staff and board members heard from participants during our 5th National Conference: “Yo Soy el Poder del Cambio: Family Violence Prevention and Beyond” which took place in beautiful San Antonio, Texas on November 18 and 19, 2005. The event co-hosted by the P.E.A.C.E. Initiative, a local anti violence organization was attended by approximately 135 survivors, healers, youth, and service providers from all over the country.

The conference planning committee, realizing that while there is still much to be done in terms of family violence prevention, at the same time recognized having achieved some of the outcomes set out for the gathering: To create conciencia of the importance of developing new approaches for creating peace in our homes and communities. The passion and commitment from the planning committee to organize a different event that would challenge “formulas” from the past, became evident throughout the conference.
By proposing a different format and content, Alianza challenged itself and hoped to raise the bar to look more deeply at the complex root causes of family violence and the challenges of exploring new prevention strategies and approaches.

The conference was officially opened by Adelita Medina and Fernando Mederos, Alianza Executive Director and Board Co-chair, respectively, who set the tone by summarizing the goals of the event. Plenary speakers included Gabriela Lemus, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) director of Policy and Legislation, a national civil rights organization and one of Alianza’s Public Awareness Campaign partners. She spoke of the importance of collaborations and alliances; Christine Ortega, Regional Manager, Southwest Airlines Multi-Cultural & Community Affairs, one of the conference’s sponsors, spoke of her role as a Latina in the company, providing support for community based organizations and Latino college students. Other speakers included Virginia Ortega, from Lideres Campesinas, who shared some of the important work her organization does with women farm workers. Closing the plenary with a moving presentation, Ruby White, from the National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges, shared her personal account of the consequences of family violence and the work she carries out to end it.

A strong aspect of the conference was the cultural and spiritual components which reaffirmed the use of Latino best practices as vital tools for healing and inspiration. Among the healers were: Jerry Tello and Sacred Circles who engaged the audience in reflection, using Indigenous traditional ceremony with drums invoking the Four Directions and all of Our Ancestors. Sacred Circles later on conducted a workshop focusing on helping those who work with survivors. Alianza’s welcoming reception struck a deep cord among participants through an art exhibit depicting powerful and moving images of violence and healing. The stirring portraits and other art pieces were created by local San Antonio artists, including art students. During the Arts for Healing Cultural event at San Antonio College, the audience enjoyed and was blown away by the works of poets such as Women of Ill Repute, Refute and Genevieve Rodriguez and mural artists Jose Cosme and Jane Madrigal. All of them rendered powerful testimonials of the importance of the use of art and culture as an instrument to heal the wounds of violence.

A powerful moment during the event was the Listening Project. Five women survivors shared the impact of domestic violence on their lives, as well as their journeys of healing and creating new lives free of violence. This activity helped the audience learn what had been effective in the lives of women getting the assistance and support they needed through their respective crisis situations. The audience was deeply moved by their testimonies.
The core of the conference were the interactive workshop sessions, which were divided into two major theme sets: The first focusing on assessing the obstacles and challenges to doing violence prevention, included:

• La Familia: Myths and Realities. Latino Family, a Model for Relationships or a Site for Conflict?
• La Pareja: What’s love got to do with it?Violence in Intimate Relationships
• Yo Soy el Poder de Cambio. Change Starts with Me
• Latino Youth, Date Violence, Gang Life and Art. Trauma of Colonization
• Healing the Healer. Meeting the Challenges of Doing Violence Prevention
• Theater as Tool for Inquiry
• Women and Violence at the U.S. Mexican Border

The second set of workshops carried similar titles as those above, however, these explored innovative approaches, strategies or solutions that have worked or that can be developed.
While a conference can never please or meet the needs and interests of every participant, written evaluations revealed an overall high mark, with many encouraging quotes and good suggestions for improvements. Some of the comments made:

• "I really appreciated that conference was fully bilingual."
• " The Listening Project and the Opening Ceremony were amazing!"
• "I loved the care and thoughtfulness that went into the conference, I felt held, like I mattered, what I had to say counted, I don’t get that out in the world."
• "The binder of materials will be useful as references and the opportunity to network with others was very valuable.”

Some of the suggestions for improvement included: “Alianza needs to align their vision when they establish their framework for their next conference and include the historical, socio-economic and political framework to guide the discussions. Poets and muralists drew the connections, between oppressive forces and domestic violence which was absent from the workshops.

At the closing, the participants made a circle and shared some of the things they took with them. One woman said: “I take with me new knowledge. I was transformed right here in this conference.”

Alianza hopes that the old and new connections made between presenters and participants helped to feed their spirits and strengthen our collective resolve to challenge ourselves to find ways to carry out innovative and more effective family violence prevention strategies.

Back to top

©2006. National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence. All Rights Reserved.