Puro Lecture 2: La Raza Cósmica, 101 Years Later | John Phillip Santos

Puro Lecture 2 Presents:

Featuring John Phillip Santos

Big ideas don't belong only in classrooms. They belong in our communities, our conversations, and yes, even our neighborhood icehouses.

Puro Lecture is back for round two!

Puro Lecture is a San Antonio-grown, community-driven lecture series where culture, curiosity, and critical thinking meet. We bring together scholars, storytellers, and curious minds for thought-provoking conversations that blend academic insight, lived experience, and a little puro San Antonio flavor. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just big ideas, good company, and meaningful conversation.

For our second lecture, we're excited to welcome John Phillip Santos, award-winning author, poet, filmmaker, and professor of Borderlands Humanities at UT San Antonio.

In One Hundred Years (+1) Since La Raza Cósmica: How Cosmic Are We?, Santos revisits José Vasconcelos's influential 1925 work and its vision of identity, culture, and humanity. More than a century later, what does it mean to be cosmic? How have our understandings of identity and belonging evolved, and what might this vision still offer us today?

Join us for an evening of storytelling, critical reflection, and community conversation as we explore the ideas that shape who we are and who we might become.

Event Details

Tuesday, October 20, 2026
6:00–9:00 p.m.
River North Icehouse
317 W. Jones Avenue
San Antonio, TX 78215

Come curious. Bring a friend. Stay for the conversation.

Puro Lecture. Where culture, curiosity, and critical thinking meet.

Amanda Ramirez, PhD is a higher-education leader with doctorate in psychology, working at the intersection of human behavior, careers, and community. She helps people navigate uncertainty, make meaning out of non‑linear paths, and build lives that don’t always follow the plan, but usually make a better story.

Mario Vela is a higher education leader and doctoral student who’s endlessly curious about careers, big life choices, and why the messy paths are usually the most meaningful. He helps people make sense of uncertainty, lean into values-driven decisions, and collect stories that may not look planned, but tend to be worth it.

Puro Lecture is a San Antonio–based event series bringing smart and accessible ideas into social spaces. Our goal is to create room for learning, conversation, and connection without a classroom.

Info: Arrive early, grab a drink, and connect with fellow curious minds.

Info: An introduction to Puro Lecture and the evening's featured speaker.

Info: Audience Q&A + Community Conversation
Bring your questions and reflections on identity, culture, belonging, and the ideas explored in the lecture.

Info: Keep the conversation going with optional prompts, good company, and drinks.

Event venue & nearby stays

River North Icehouse, 317 West Jones Avenue, San Antonio, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

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