The overfilled lecture hall was silent as students not only listened to a short story but experienced the emotions written in its pages.
Manuel Muñoz, a native born and raised in California’s Central Valley, is a renowned author who identifies as gay and explores how Chicanos struggle with poverty, family and identity.
Muñoz is the author of three books, two collections of short stories and one novel.
“Manuel exposes the relationships between the queer self, religion, community and family while at the same giving a queer person of color agency for their own identity. This is liberating when so often queer characters are absent or fall flat in literature,” Chicano and Latino Studies lecturer, Griselda Suarez said.
Muñoz also spoke to a class of composition students and held a workshop earlier in the day.
“I told the students to listen and how much listening is just as important as writing. We talked about how we can generate and refine stories in our own families,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz visited Cal State Long Beach last Thursday to speak during the second annual Helena Maria Viramontes Annual Lecture, a collaboration between the Chicano and Latino Studies and the English departments of CSULB.
Muñoz was a student of Helena Maria Viramontes and considers her his mentor.
The Helena Maria Viramontes Annual Lecture was created by a committee that wished to make a space where faculty, students, staff and the community could come and engage with and discuss Chicano/Latino literature and art.
Its members include Suarez and Anna Sandoval, Chicano and Latino Studies professors as well as Araceli Esperanza, Kiki Shaver and Dennis Lopez from the English department.
“Manuel tells important stories that are very much based on stories about his community and Central Valley and [the committee] knew his voice would resonate with many of our students,” Sandoval said. “The issues he tackles with his writing and his language, include issues like sexuality, poverty, love and family.”
Muñoz’s literary work comes from the many experiences and stories of the Central Valley.
“Manuel has a keen ability to capture the emotional experiences that many Latinos and Latinas and anyone that reads his work is able to identify their experiences but also can begin to understand some of the broader social and political issues that face Latinas and Latinos in the United States,” Lopez said.
Muñoz explains how every family has a story and how important it is to listen to their stories because they may have much more important stories that anyone gives them credit for.
He shared a short story that was inspired by his mother called “The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA”.
Muñoz is currently working on his new collection of short stories that he hopes to finish soon.
The committee hopes to expand on the lecture and create a two-day symposium full of different panels and featured guest speakers.