Latino arts, history and culture
I got my first library card at the Benjamin Franklin library on East First Street in Boyle Heights. Then we moved to Lincoln Heights–nearby but a whole new neighborhood. One of the first things I did … [Read more...]
I never really appreciated the Fourth of July until I was 11 years old. That’s when my teacher, Mrs, Rosewell, invited me to her home in South Pasadena for a bar-b-que dinner, to meet her two kids, … [Read more...]
When I was 13 I became acutely aware of the need to have a zombie role model. By then my mom had moved us from the run-down house in Boyle Heights. The house was infested with cockroaches (which I … [Read more...]
Pearl González giving me back my dollar bill and telling me that she didn’t need money to be my friend made me realize, in my eight year old mind, that perhaps romance was not out of the … [Read more...]
As I may have mentioned before, it’s not easy being a Mexican and a Zombie. It’s caused me to be a bit of a loner–not out of preference, mind you, just kind of the way things turned out. I think it … [Read more...]
LATINOPIA EVENT - 1932 WHITEWASH OF AMERICATROPICAL MURAL. The Mexican muralists vsiited Los Angeles, CAlifornia in 1932 and was commissioned to paint a mural on the theme of "Tropical … [Read more...]
(Everyone’s favorite funky audacious auntie!). Dear Tia Tenopia: I have what may seem to be a stupid question. How do you pronounce "Latinopia?" Kay Seyo Burque, … [Read more...]
THE RAID. We left the secret La Familia zombie training camp at Joshua Tree at two in the morning. Filomino Brancos, our combat trainer, estimated that the drive to the Oñate zombie compound at Big … [Read more...]
WHO IS MY FATHER? It took a moment for me to realize that I had collapsed onto a chair in the main cabin of the secret Joshua Tree zombie training camp. The impact of seeing Juan de Oñate’s photo … [Read more...]
SCHOOL AGAIN? It was first good sleep I’d had in several days. I awoke to the sound of someone jamming a piece of paper, loudly and persistently, under the sill of my bedroom door. For a moment I … [Read more...]
ATTACK OF THE RED SASH. I was awakened by the blaring of a loud and persistent wailing alarm. I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the door. Alarm? What was going on here? I could hear … [Read more...]
SCHOOL AGAIN? It was first good sleep I’d had in several days. I awoke to the sound of someone jamming a piece of paper, loudly and persistently, under the sill of my bedroom door. For a moment I … [Read more...]
GENETIC RIDDLES. “A zombie dog?” I asked. It was a few minutes after our arrival at the underground chambers of the Mano Poderosa laboratory, secretly situated underneath the Los Angeles County … [Read more...]
VIDA. “Just remember, you’re here to visit a sick relative. If anyone asks, it’s your uncle José on your mother’s side.” Having narrowly escaped the bombarding metal darts of the Oñate zombie … [Read more...]
ESCAPE! We had been walking steadily for about a half hour. Lazaro De La Tierra, boy zombie, Pearl Gonzalez, the most beautiful zombie woman in the world, were being led by the mysterious Mr. Nez … [Read more...]
ON THE RUN. News that someone could actually kill a zombie by destroying the brain was a shock to me. I had always thought it was just a Hollywood story ploy that allowed the movie heroes to win. … [Read more...]
MR. NEZ After Pearl told me she was a zombie like me all I wanted to do was spend long hours with her, comparing notes, finding out about her zombiness and about my own. I had a million questions! … [Read more...]
THE OPEN PALM PENDANT. After seeing the Open Palm pendant around Pearl Gonzalez’s neck, my first impulse was to chase her down the hall and immediately ask her about it. But then my zombie … [Read more...]
WILSON HIGH AND A DISCOVERY. Finally, the day came when I was to try out my new zombie appearance– daring to go to school without make-up to cover my pasty pale skin or Patchouli to cover the scent … [Read more...]
My search for La Señora Falcón, the woman who raised me from the dead and transformed me into a zombie, began with a trek to the old neighborhood–Boyle Heights. I figured that if this bruja had once … [Read more...]
I was fifteen and attending Lincoln Middle School when by total accident, I met my first zombie. I mean, a zombie other than myself. Here’s how it happened. One Sunday afternoon, after church … [Read more...]
