The Life and Legacy of Adult Film Icon Vanessa Del Rio

Laura Helen Marks is a Senior Professor of Practice in English at Tulane University in New Orleans. Her work on pornographic genre and hardcore adaptation of the mainstream has appeared in Sexualities, Porn Studies, Salon, Feminist Media Histories, The Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, and many edited collections such as From Porno Chic to the Sex Wars and Menstruation Now. Join Dr. Marks as she discusses the life and work of Vanessa Del Rio. Born Ana Marie Sanchez in the South Bronx, Vanessa Del Rio exploded onto the adult film industry in 1974, rapidly becoming a cultural sensation and the adult film industry’s first Latin star. Through her unapologetic cinematic personae, Del Rio was and remains a key figure in the lived experiences of Latinx and Black actors and artists. Through this interactive lecture, audience members will explore the impact Del Rio’s legacy had on the sexually explicit arts and the Black and Latinx communities. Please contact Campus Health/The Well for Health Promotion at whp@tulane.edu at least two weeks in advance of the event if you have accessibility needs and need a disability-related accommodation to participate.