Latino arts, history and culture
The current brouhaha in the Confederate South over the Confederate Battle Flag attests to the ferocity of our beliefs in the flags of our fathers, right or wrong the sentiments. The strongest … [Read more...]
The Chicanada and the Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead is upon us. Millions of people in Mexico and many Mexican Americans/Chicanos in the United States will be observing the day, an … [Read more...]
CINCO DE MAYO by Francisco X. Alarcón ________________________________ First of all, Cinco de Mayo is not at all the official Mexican Independence Day, nor does it commemorate the … [Read more...]
ELIZABETH "BETITA" MARTÍNEZ, POLITICAL ACTIVIST The daughter of a Mexican immigrant, Manuel Guillermo Martinez, who arrived in the United States in 1917 with only $10 in his … [Read more...]
EMMA TENAYUCA, LABOR ORGANIZER Born on December 21, 1916, Emma Tenayuca was the eldest of eleven children who was raised by her maternal grandparents in San Antonio, Texas. Perhaps best known … [Read more...]
100 YEARS OF CHICANO/LATINO LITERATURE 1900 Gregorio Cortéz, a Tejano, kills a deputy who attempts to arrest him unjustly and flees for his life. Cortéz is eventually captured, tried by an … [Read more...]
March 27-31, 1969 PREAMBLE TO PLAN DE AZTLÁN PROGRAM OF EL PLAN DE AZTLÁN CONTEXT: In March of 1969, Chicano activist leader Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales convened a National Youth Liberation … [Read more...]
In 1973 Washington Square Press—a Division of Simon & Schuster—published a Pocket Books edition of We Are Chicanos: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature, first critical anthology of Mexican … [Read more...]
WW II GENERATION GETS IT DONE! It is beyond ironic that teaching young people about the patriotism of the Mexican American community—e.g., that Mexican Americans/Latinos have earned more … [Read more...]
LATIN BLACKS IN BASEBALL BEFORE JACKIE ROBINSON. The start of the Major League Baseball season is just around the corner and that seems like a good time to look back at some of the very early … [Read more...]
First and Boyle This corner in the Boyle Heights area as always been a special hub for community activities. But on this day, it was just a nice quite drive through. Continuing from my Instagram … [Read more...]
In a recent episode of The View, co-star Kelly Osbourne attempted a riposte to Donald Trump’s bellowing in a clip about shipping all illegal Mexicans back to Mexico: “If you kick every Latino out of … [Read more...]
MAKING SURE POLICE ACTUALLY “PROTECT AND SERVE” It’s been a year since the killing of Michael Brown by a cop in Ferguson, Missouri set off a firestorm of rage and demonstrations. It gave rise to … [Read more...]
Barrio self-determination An underlying principle of all Liberation movements—labor, women, civil rights, etc.— is the most fundamental civil right, self-determination: the right of people to … [Read more...]
The secret “leaders” amongst us… Circa 1988 I wrote an essay entitled “Why are we so mean to our heroes and heroines and so nice to the vendidos?” in which I lamented the tendency of many … [Read more...]
A título personal y (osadamente) a nombre de esa masa grande de Boricuas que padecemos de Pasión Histórica, expreso agradecimiento a Nelson A. Denis por su libro War Against All Puertorricans: … [Read more...]
As a personal expression, as well as daring to speak for the large contingent of Boricans that live with Pasión Histórica, I express gratitude and appreciation to Nelson A. Denis for his book: War … [Read more...]
IT'S NOT JUST RACISM THAT BREED POLICE BRUTALITY It’s not only racism that’s behind the recently documented cascade of violent police abuse cases in the United States. There’s a kind of … [Read more...]
"Texas trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood on the root, Brown bodies swingin' in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hangin' from the pecan trees." Adaptation of "Strange … [Read more...]
HOW TINDER HIGHLIGHTS AUSTIN’S RACIAL HIERARCHY Dating seems to suck in general. No matter where I live or who I talk to, there’s always something: in LA everyone is self-centered, in Austin … [Read more...]
