Jovita Idar Honored on the U.S. Quarter

Introduction

This post is made to honor joey lopez’s great great aunt, Jovita Idar, who raised his father’s mother, Jovita F. Lopez (maiden name, Jovita Fuentes.) joey’s grandmother Jovita F. Lopez would always tell him stories of his aunt and uncles, their family businesses and how at the core discussions over the kitchen table that would drift out into the hallways of the house where she would hear them. As you will learn through this blog post, Jovita Idar’s recognition on the U.S. 2023 Quarter has depth and meaning that draw on moments in her life that show her humanity and personal drive. We hope you enjoy this post, please share it with others.

Ceremonies of a lifetime

From September 14th-17th in San Antonio, the U.S. Mint, Smithsonian, UTSA, Mexican American Civil Rights Institute, National Women’s Museum and the Idar descendants convened to celebrate the release of the 2023 Jovita Idar American Women Quarters.

The events included a Thursday opening ceremonies, Friday community mural project, Saturday Jovita Idar Symposium and a Sunday Mercado stage celebration and Smithsonian interactive exhibit at Centro De Artes.

The Organizers

The organizers of the event programing was critical for the festivities to take place. Here is some information about each organization and the people who played roles in formation of the events:

United States Mint –

The U.S. Mint provided materials and programing throughout the weekend. They provided Jovita Idar quarters for various events, performed a quarter pour durning the Thursday ceremonies at UTSA. They also distributed the 2023 U.S. Mint Coin Coloring Book. They were represented by:

Kristie McNally, Deputy Director, U.S. Mint (link)

University of Texas San Antonio

The University of Texas San Antonio provided programing on their campus for the Thursday evening events. They also played a seminal role with the symposium held at the San Antonio Public Library downtown.

Gabriela González, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, UTSA (link)

Teresa Niño, Vice President for University Relations, UTSA (link)

Heather Shipley, Ph.D., UTSA Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, UTSA (link)

National Women’s History Museum

Jennifer Herrera, Vice President of External Affairs, NWHM (link)

Mexican American Civil Rights Institute

Sarah Zenaida Gould, PhD, Executive Director, MACRI (link)

Idar Family Members –

Marti L. Aki, Retired Educator

Rev. Dr. Elizabeth A. Lopez, Retired Methodist Minister,

Thursday

Panel: The Historical Significance, Public Impact, and Legacy of Jovita Idar

Thursday began at UTSA downtown where an early evening panel The Historical Significance, Public Impact, and Legacy of Jovita Idar featured representatives from the U.S. Mint, National Women’s History Museum and members of the Idar family.

Keynote Speaker: Maria Hinajosa

Maria Hinajosa of “Latino U.S.A.” then delivered the keynote about Jovita’s impact on America through Journalism and Activism highlighting multiple aspects of Jovita Idar’s life. The night ended with a ceremony where Jovita Idar’s quarters were poured into an Altar, a tradition of the U.S. Mint.

Friday

San Anto Jovita Idar Mural at Dress for Success

Friday’s activity took place at Dress For success where San Anto Cultural Arts facilitated a community mural project based around the life of Jovita Idar. The lead artist for the mural, Rosalinda Alvarez Turuda, did an amazing job facilitating community involvement. For Friday she delineated all the areas to paint by outlining them with the main color to be used to color the area. I have attended many mural events and it was neat to see this approach as it lent itself to younger children’s ability to participate easily.

Saturday

Jovita Idar Symposium

MACRI-US Mint-Smithsonian Jovita Idar Symposium was the Saturday event. The event explored multiple aspects of Jovita Idars life with scholars, poets and family members participating in panels and presentations. Scholars from all the over the nation were present, it was amazing to see how Jovita Idar’s life was explored not only through her journalism journey, but also her involvement with women’s suffrage throughout Texas and her involvement with the Methodist church.

KSAT coverage:

Live Stream:

Sunday

Centro De Artes Gallery Smithsonian Event

Two events took place on Sunday at Mercado Square in Downtown San Antonio. One was hosted at the Centro de Artes Gallery, the other took place on stage in the market itself. The Centro De Artes Gallery hosted the Smithsonian Latino Museum’s interactive historical display. They had reprints of the Idar family’s newspaper El Progresso and had a cool interactive type setting workshop for kids. They also were handing out the official U.S. Mint Coloring book.

Jovita Idar Stage Hour – Market Square Univision Stage

In addition to he Centro de Artes Gallery event, the Market Square Univision Stage hosted the Jovita Idar Stage Hour with opening remarks by Erika Prosper, First Lady of San Antonio, Dr. Tey Marianna Nunn, Smithsonian & Joseph Lopez, Idar Family. These remarks contextualized the celebration of the Jovita Idar Quarter and it’s significance on a national and local level.

The Guadalupe Dancers & Mariache Azteca De America debuted a Jovita Idar corrido by Gino Rivera along with an original choreography by the Guadalupe Dance Company interpreting Jovita Idar’s life.

KSAT Videos:

U.S. Mint Quarter Information

The Jovita Idar U.S. Mint Quarter’s art was created by John P. McGraw. It takes her inconic photos and stylizes it with a “word cloud” makes up her blouse. The word cloud exudes words and statements that embody the spirit of Jovita Idar. Roughly 34.6 million Jovita Idar quarters are in circulation. There are also special U.S. Mint Set’s available through their site commemorating the quarter, ranging from double stamped proofs, to ornaments to silver proof sets.