Señora Power Podcast

Ven a platicar with us about señoras Maria Jimenez (HTX) and Alicia Escalante (LA). We’ll talk about welfare, student activism, and the difference between being a leader and being an organizer.Content warning: police violence, racism, sexism.

Listen to learn about Alicia Escalante, a Chicana who fought for welfare rights in California and whose activism drew the attention of her community members, the Catholic Church, and police alike. Content warnings: Intimate partner violence, drug use, racism, sexismReferences from the episode:Alicia Escalante UC Santa Barbara archivesChicana por mi raza profile on Alicia EscalanteNational African American Museum, Alicia Escalante Oral HistoryDr. Rosie Bermudez's chapter regarding Alicia Escalante

In this episode, we learn about Maria Jimenez, a señora with a long activist history in Houston. She lived from 1950-2020. We focus on how señoras have organized their communities, taking on the role and identity of an activist.

This episode is about the many ways in which señoras participate in political communities. Gaby provides definitions for the terms intersectionality, respectability, and political consciousness. Sonia also mentions the Teen Post Program, created by Lupe Anguiano, another one of the señoras we’ll feature in this season of Señora Power. Stay teen posted for more!

In this part of the Social Señoras episode, we will be talking about Gloria Arellanes. She lived and organized in California throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. This episode is in memory of Señora Arellanes who passed away in October of 2024, to hear more about her amazing life, listen to her oral history here: https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655427/

In this episode, we learn about Carmen Cortes, a señora from Houston, who lived from 1913-2001. We focus on how señoras have used social clubs to build community.You will hear lots of acronyms and references, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), still the largest and oldest Hispanic organization in the U.S. Also, you will hear about Club Femenino Chapultepec and Club Cultural Recreativo Mexico Bello— two Houston-based Hispanic social clubs.We will also cite Dionne Espinoza, María Eugenia Cotera and Maylei Blackwell’s foundational text, Chicana Movidas (2018).

In this episode, Sonia, Gaby, and Sophia talk about the broader context surrounding the idea of a "church señora." They discuss religion in the Mexican American community and the ways in which this has affected women's survival strategies in the past.

In this episode, we learn about Petra Guillen, a señora from Houston, who lived from 1919-2015. We focus on how señoras have used church resources to build community. Many thanks to the Petra Guillen Foundation for their support. Visit petraguillen.com to learn more.In memoriam of Linda Kay Guillen Duron.Correction:At 8:48, it is Petra's grandmother (not her mother), who was ill.

In this episode, we learn about Josefa Serna, a Los Angeles señora, who lived from 1911-2007. We focus on how señoras have used church spaces to create community and kinship.

Welcome to Señora Power! In this Introductory Episode we talk about the origins of the podcast, its structure and what to expect from Season 1.