When Mar铆a Torres-Guzm谩n walked into a room, you felt her presence immediately. Mar铆a lit up any space she walked into, whether a friend鈥檚 home, one of her graduate classes at TC, a 4th grade classroom, a dance party, or an conference session. Mar铆a didn鈥檛 look for attention; it just naturally came to her. I suppose it was her enthusiasm for life, the way she embraced it in spite of all its warts and imperfections, that drew so many people to her. We were lucky to be in her orbit.
In my remembrance of Mar铆a, I choose to focus on the totality of what she brought to this world. Yes, of course, she was a stellar scholar who relished discussing the knotty issues of the day, including inequality and injustice and the promise of education for liberation. Her scholarly contributions to our field are more than a testament to her intellectual commitment to these concerns. I think I met Mar铆a at an AERA conference, probably in the early to mid-1980s. In fact, I had been at an AERA conference in 1980 to present my dissertation research and I swore never to return. I found it to be an alienating environment for several reasons, not the least of which was the almost total absence of scholars of color and people who shared my scholarly interests. At the time, AERA was almost exclusively White and male. It was an intimidating space where, I decided, there was no room for people like me. I returned only because of Mar铆a: in 1989, she told me she would be receiving the AERA Early Scholar Award from the Committee on the Role and Status of Minorities in Educational Research (now the Committee of Scholars of Color in Educational Research) and she sent me an invitation to attend the reception where she would be honored. It was an inspiring event, not only because my friend Mar铆a was receiving this prestigious award, but also because I met other scholars of color who were doing exceptional work. I finally felt I belonged. I credit Mar铆a for helping me see that perhaps AERA was a place for people like me. Except for the years where I鈥檝e been on sabbatical, I鈥檝e returned to AERA every year since.
But Mar铆a was also fun. She exuded playfulness and joy. There were so few Latin@s in AERA in those early years that Mar铆a, ever the organizer, along with Luis Moll, Esteb谩n D铆az, and a few others, decided to organize a Latin@ party at the conference. A party at AERA was unheard of in that staid, serious, scholarly space, but Mar铆a was undeterred. With her partners-in-crime, they organized the first AERA Latin@ Party, which for the first several years was held in the suite of the Executive Director. He had agreed to host it but obviously didn鈥檛 know what he was letting himself in for: the party grew from a couple dozen to hundreds within a few years. I remember Mar铆a and the others sneaking food and drink up to the suite (only food catered by the hotel was allowed), choosing the stairs for part of the trek so they wouldn鈥檛 be noticed. Imagine not noticing a bunch of Latin@s with cartloads of food trying to be unobtrusive 鈥� impossible! The party was always a joyous event and, from the start, it attracted not only the few Latin@s at the conference, but also our Black, White, and other friends. It had a typical Latin@ flavor: food, dancing, lots of talk, and cari帽o. It鈥檚 still the only party of its kind at AERA and it has endured. Now in an off-site venue, it attracts hundreds of people, Latin@s and friends. It鈥檚 probably the most multicultural event at AERA. Attendees at the conference probably wonder why there鈥檚 a Latin@ party in the first place 鈥� there鈥檚 no such party for other groups at the conference 鈥� and this is where it started. I think of Mar铆a now dancing in heaven and organizing a Latin@ party there as well.
In those early years when Latin@s were a rare sight at the conference, and Puerto Ricans were nearly invisible, especially Puerto Rican women, Mar铆a was also instrumental in organizing another event that has become a yearly staple: The Puerto Rican Women鈥檚 Brunch. One year, probably in the early 1990s at another AERA conference, Mar铆a, Ursula Casanova, and I met for brunch, as we tried to do whenever we were at a conference together. We had a great time catching up, as we always did, and I suggested we start this as a yearly tradition. I remember people laughing at us when we shared the idea: 鈥淏ut you鈥檙e the only Puerto Rican women here!鈥� they would say. That probably wasn鈥檛 completely true; I think Carmen Mercado, Mar铆a Fr谩nquiz, Iris Olmedo, and perhaps a few others were there in the early years, but there hadn鈥檛 been any organized activity for us. I offered to organize the first official Puerto Rican Women鈥檚 Brunch at the next AERA conference. We saw this not only as a great way to get together with other Boricua women but also as a way to mentor young scholars. The yearly event (now organized by Sandra Qui帽ones who volunteered to do so a few years ago) now attracts upwards of 25 women a year, sometimes fewer and sometimes more, but it鈥檚 a far cry from 3 lonely Boricua women looking for a space to honor our compa帽eras at AERA.
As we honor Mar铆a for her intellectual brilliance, let鈥檚 also remember her love of family, friends, and colleagues, her spirit of solidarity, and her joyfulness. And let鈥檚 remember Mar铆a sneaking up the stairs at an AERA conference bringing food to the Latin@ Party, dancing, singing, and celebrating life.