Abstract
Paper presented within the symposium "Reclaiming Memory, Rendering Futures: VR Chicana and Latina Testimonios and Archival Justice in Stockton, CA" (session 30.036, SIG-Latina/o/x Research Issues) at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Los Angeles, April 9, 2026. Symposium chaired by Ricky Gutierrez-Maldonado (Cosumnes River College); discussant Sylvia Mendoza (University of Texas at San Antonio). Co-authored with Miguel Ortiz Ulloa, professional cinematographer.
The paper addressed the design and production of virtual reality testimonios for public engagement, drawing on the VR Chicana Testimonio Research Project in Stockton, California. It examined how immersive media production choices (capture, spatial design, embodiment, and presentation for public audiences) shape the way Chicana and Latina testimonios are experienced, preserved, and mobilized for community archival justice. The symposium brought together four papers on testimonio, archival research, Chicana feminist futuring, student praxis, and public memory.