LAC Days: June events dedicated to the role of women in Mexican literature, cinema and society

SLOVENIA, June 14 - The Vodnik Homestead hosted a presentation of the Slovenian translation of the First dream, a book by Mexican poet and intellectual Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. After the presentation, there was a discussion about de la Cruz's life, work and visionary nature, as she was one of the first progressive feminists in the region during her time. Carlos Pascual, a Mexican and Slovenian writer and translator, moderated the debate and later also sat in conversation with Miklavž Komelj, the translator of de la Cruz's poetry into Slovenian. This event was organised as part of the Vodnik Homestead series entitled A Leap into Latin American Literature.

In cooperation with the Embassy of Mexico and the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE), the Slovenian Cinemateque organised a screening of two short Mexican documentaries. The first film, The Guamúchil Seeds, tells the story of five women prisoners who discover the power of poetry as a tool for self-expression and personal transformation within the Hermanas en la Sombra group. The second film, Women of Earth, unveils the lives of a female community in Hueyapan, Puebla, who are changing their role in the traditional Mexican rural environment through embroidery, resistance and mutual support. After the screening, Dr. Mojca Terčelj, the guest of the evening, reflected on the lives and challenges of indigenous Mexican women, who are at the centre of Mexico's attention in 2025, declared as the Year of the Indigenous Woman in Mexico.

This year, Mexico is celebrating the Year of the Indigenous Woman, and next year, the country will mark the 110^th anniversary of its first feminist congress. In 2024, Mexico hosted the third Global Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy, which Slovenia also participated in. Through Latin American and Caribbean Days (LAC Days), Slovenia aims to promote better understanding and connections between different communities in which women play a vital and irreplaceable role.