By Christy Andersen/reporter
South Campus students and staff received a visit from historical figures during The Last Supper: For Women Lonely April 1.
Part of the Women’s History Month celebration, the one-of-a-kind presentation featured South students portraying Frida Kahlo, Barbara Jordan, Mother Teresa, Artemisia Gentileschi and the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Carlos Antonio Rovelo, a South Campus government instructor, and Dr. Sherry Dean, Richland College executive dean, honored and celebrated the cultural and historical contributions of women.
“The objective of tonight is to show how these women have influenced the arts, religion and politics,” Rovelo said.
Rovelo passed a microphone to each character who gave a brief history of her life and death. A multimedia presentation followed with photos of each woman.
Ruth Ramirez, who portrayed Frida Kahlo, dressed in traditional Mexican clothing, spoke of the painter’s tragic upbringing and admiration in the Hispanic community. She prepared for the role by watching the 2002 movie Frida, starring Salma Hayek.
“I watched the movie and realized how dedicated she was to her craft even though she had horrible things happen to her,” she said.
Ramirez, an aspiring artist herself, is a graphic arts student and created the promotional flyer Rovelo used for the event.
Another historical figure, Mother Teresa, was portrayed by Olga Nowlan, who immediately volunteered for the task, saying she felt a connection with the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
“I can relate to Mother Teresa because I volunteer with the less fortunate like she did,” she said. “I am an outreach worker and see how much a difference I can make in people’s lives.”
Even though she was a last-minute addition, Elizabeth Olmos had a great time connecting with the other women. As the Virgin of Guadalupe, she researched her character to find out as much information about her before the presentation started.
“It was a great experience,” she said. “These women inspired me.”
Dean offered a perspective on the modern-day women. Along with her past and present students, she helps Senegal, a nation in Africa, where the average woman is denied anything past an elementary school education. They are raising money through car washes and bake sales to send young Senegalese women to junior high.
“It only costs $500 for one girl to go to junior high for a year,” she said. “Small things like this can make a difference. You just have to find out where to plug yourself in, and, for me, this was it.”
Dean showed slides of her trips to Senegal, one from December. While there, she witnessed something that brought her to tears. Four Senegal women were able to stand up and read a paragraph in their native tongue.
“Something for the history books,” she said.
Up until about 10 years ago, a written language did not even exist for this nation. Dean said a group of linguists spent years living with the people of Senegal to create both a verbal and written way of communicating with the outside world.
“For these women to be able to stand up and read their native language from paper, there was not a dry eye in the house,” she said.
Dean said the audience could visit www.girleffect.org for information on the social and economic benefits of women who achieve higher education.
“As we celebrate these women tonight, I challenge you as women and as men who love women to take advantage of the opportunities that you have,” she said. “Even though we are going through a tough economic time, there are millions of women around the world who would trade places with us in a second.”
