• Home
    • Get the Podcasts
    • About
      • Contact Latinopia.com
      • Copyright Credits
      • Production Credits
      • Research Credits
      • Terms of Use
      • Teachers Guides
  • Art
    • LATINOPIA ART
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Film/TV
    • LATINOPIA CINEMA
    • LATINOPIA SHOWCASE
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Food
    • LATINOPIA FOOD
    • COOKING
    • RESTAURANTS
  • History
    • LATINOPIA EVENT
    • LATINOPIA HERO
    • TIMELINES
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • EVENT PROFILE
    • MOMENT IN TIME
    • DOCUMENTS
    • TEACHERS GUIDES
  • Lit
    • LATINOPIA WORD
    • LATINOPIA PLÁTICA
    • LATINOPIA BOOK REVIEW
    • PIONEER AMERICAN LATINA AUTHORS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Music
    • LATINOPIA MUSIC
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Theater
    • LATINOPIA TEATRO
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Blogs
    • Angela’s Photo of the Week
    • Arnie & Porfi
    • Bravo Road with Don Felípe
    • Burundanga Boricua
    • Chicano Music Chronicles
    • Fierce Politics by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
    • Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz
    • Political Salsa y Más
    • Mis Pensamientos
    • Latinopia Guest Blogs
    • Tales of Torres
    • Word Vision Harry Gamboa Jr.
    • Julio Medina Serendipity
    • ROMO DE TEJAS
    • Sara Ines Calderon
    • Ricky Luv Video
    • Zombie Mex Diaries
    • Tia Tenopia
  • Podcasts
    • Louie Perez’s Good Morning Aztlán
    • Mark Guerrero’s ELA Music Stories
    • Mark Guerrero’s Chicano Music Chronicles
      • Yoga Talk with Julie Carmen

latinopia.com

Latino arts, history and culture

  • Home
    • Get the Podcasts
    • About
      • Contact Latinopia.com
      • Copyright Credits
      • Production Credits
      • Research Credits
      • Terms of Use
      • Teachers Guides
  • Art
    • LATINOPIA ART
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Film/TV
    • LATINOPIA CINEMA
    • LATINOPIA SHOWCASE
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Food
    • LATINOPIA FOOD
    • COOKING
    • RESTAURANTS
  • History
    • LATINOPIA EVENT
    • LATINOPIA HERO
    • TIMELINES
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • EVENT PROFILE
    • MOMENT IN TIME
    • DOCUMENTS
    • TEACHERS GUIDES
  • Lit
    • LATINOPIA WORD
    • LATINOPIA PLÁTICA
    • LATINOPIA BOOK REVIEW
    • PIONEER AMERICAN LATINA AUTHORS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Music
    • LATINOPIA MUSIC
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Theater
    • LATINOPIA TEATRO
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Blogs
    • Angela’s Photo of the Week
    • Arnie & Porfi
    • Bravo Road with Don Felípe
    • Burundanga Boricua
    • Chicano Music Chronicles
    • Fierce Politics by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
    • Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz
    • Political Salsa y Más
    • Mis Pensamientos
    • Latinopia Guest Blogs
    • Tales of Torres
    • Word Vision Harry Gamboa Jr.
    • Julio Medina Serendipity
    • ROMO DE TEJAS
    • Sara Ines Calderon
    • Ricky Luv Video
    • Zombie Mex Diaries
    • Tia Tenopia
  • Podcasts
    • Louie Perez’s Good Morning Aztlán
    • Mark Guerrero’s ELA Music Stories
    • Mark Guerrero’s Chicano Music Chronicles
      • Yoga Talk with Julie Carmen
You are here: Home / Blogs / TALES OF TORRES 6.30.13 “NOT CINCO BUT CUATRO”

TALES OF TORRES 6.30.13 “NOT CINCO BUT CUATRO”

June 30, 2013 by Breht Burri

NOT CINCO DE MAYO BUT CUATRO DE JULIO.

Celebrations of the Fourth of July and this country’s Independence Day are booming all around us. In my neighborhood that’s literally the case, with mocosos exploding firecrackers at all hours of the day, scaring the hell out of my cats. Benchmark occurences such as Independence Day give us a chance to step back and evaluate the significance of events in this country and how they have historically shaped our socio-political consciousness and our cultural and historical frame of reference.

Stick with me; I intend to get to the point.

When we look at Independence Day it conjures the notions of what this country presumably stands for and strives to achieve. We hear words and phrases such as “liberty” and “freedom” and “equality” bandied about. Nice words, but what about the actual context associated with them? To me, the story of the United States is the story of a country strugglingJustice for la raza to live up to the noble ideas upon which it was presumably founded. It’s a constant struggle and it has often been a losing battle for those who are oppressed and marginalized in this society – today and throughout this country’s history.

Three developments in the last few weeks help illustrate that, I think. First, there’s the passage by the U.S. Senate of the immigration reform bill. Second, there’s the 60th anniversary of the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for supposedly giving “the secret of the atomic” bomb to the Soviet Union, occurring as the world plays “Where’s Waldo” with NSA leaker Edward Snowden. And, finally, there’s the publication of an excellent, meticulously and exhaustively researched book on the U.S.- Mexico War of 1846-1848. It may not seem so at first glance, but there are links among all of these events and issues that give us a look at what often drives this country, its attitudes and ultimately its policies.

IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL.   

Amnestia for ImmigrantsA lot of folks were surprised that the Senate passed the current version of the immigration reform bill. For people who want a genuine revamping of the nation’s immigration laws this was a pretty weak bill that doesn’t come close to providing a fair deal to the nation’s estimated eleven-million undocumented workers and their families. Still, getting half a loaf was seen as an achievement. The ridiculous emphasis on spending 50 billion additional dollars to “beef up the border with Mexico” was an inevitable part of the package. How about beefing up the border with Canada? At this moment, it looks like passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House of Representatives has a snowball’s chance in hell.Immigrants

Underlying all of this, especially if you listen closely to what right wing Republicans and Tea Party types are saying, is the fact that Latinos are still regarded as “other.” They are regarded as inferior and somehow unworthy of being full-fledged United States citizens. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to detect that reality.

THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR.

Battle of VeracruzThe just-published book “A Wicked War” by historian Amy Greenberg gives us an evidence of how long that attitude has persisted. Like the war in Iraq, the U.S.-Mexico War was launched by a president’s lies and was kindled by what can politely be called “official misinformation.” George W. Bush claimed there were weapons of mass destruction. James K. Polk claimed, “American blood was shed on American soil” by Mexicans. It was all bullshit. But back to the attitudes toward Mexicans.

Greenberg’s book is bursting with examples of the racist attitudes toward Mexicans – an attitude which drove the imperialistic notion of Manifest Destiny and was used as justification for the invasion of Mexico. She quotes Sam Houston as saying simply, “Mexicans are no better than Indians.” A newspaper of the time blithely states: “The people of Mexico are clearly facial inferiors, but little removed above the Negro.” And Greenberg summarizes the prevailing attitude of the populace: “They saw Mexico as an immoral nation and Mexicans themselves as an inferior race practicing a suspect religion.”

Those attitudes are still beneath the surface today when issues such as immigration reform come up.

SPY vs. SPY. 

Another intriguing notion from the era of the U.S.-Mexico War is the way the White House regarded newspapers that provided information about the atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers in Mexico and the speeches made by politicians opposed to the war. President Polk lashed out at them, saying they were “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.” Not too far removed from today’s attitudes toward whistle-blowing leakers such as Edward Snowden and presumed “spies.”

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed at Sing Sing Prison in New York state on June 19, 1953. Among other crimes, they were charged with “conspiracy to commit espionage.” Edward Snowden is also charged with, among other things, “conspiracy to commit espionage.” A look at those cases, although very different from each other in crucial ways, highlights the paranoia of the U.S. government when it comes to secrecy and the government’s interference with the right of citizens to their privacy.

Atom bomb explostionFundamentally, the Rosenbergs were convicted of “giving the atomic bomb to the Russians,” as preposterous as that sounds. The evidence at the trial included crude rudimentary drawings. Scientists have said there is no way something as sophisticated and complicated, as a plan to build an atomic bomb could be hand-scrawled on a napkin. The Rosenbergs, like Snowden, were a symbol. They had to be punished and made an example of.

The Rosenberg case is complicated. Writers Walter Schneir and Miriam Schneir spent many years researching the case and produced two solid, comprehensive books on the case. Basically, the U.S. government used prosecutorial sleight of hand to convict the Rosenbergs. However, information made available from Soviet sources after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. seems to suggest that Julius Rosenberg did hand over some materials to the Soviets, even though they were certainly not “the secret of the atomic bomb.”

Yet, the anniversary of that case – caught up in anti-communist hysteria, government paranoia and possibly racism (the Rosenbergs were Jewish) creates an opportunity for us to closely examine the way the government operates. Independence Day is a good time for reflection on all of that, it seems to me. This country’s state apparatus routinely gives lip service to citizens’ rights that are supposedly protected by the Constitution. Protections of free speech outlined in the First Amendment. The guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizure outlined in the Fourth Amendment. Those and other presumed protections go right out the window cuando les conviene. A careful examination of events in the news will confirm that. So, we must be ever vigilant and we must keep up the struggle for the protection of Constitutional rights.

Oh, and one other thing: Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they ain’t comin’ after you.

_______________________________________________________________________
Luis TorresCopyright 2013 by Luis R. Torres.

Luis Torres, a journalist and writer from Pasadena, California, is at work on a book that examines the 1968 East  Los Angeles high school student walkouts. He can be reached at:  luis.r.torres@charter.net

Filed Under: Blogs, Tales of Torres Tagged With: 2013 Immigration Bill, Edward Snowden, immigration legislation, leaks of government secrets, Luis R.. Torres

POLITICAL SALSA Y MÁS 03.17.23 “IRISH VS KKK: THE IRISH WON “

March 11, 2022 By Tia Tenopia

Irish vs. the KKK: the Irish won… St. Patrick’s Day is nigh upon us. For many, St. Patrick’s Day is a fun day, a time to wear green, drink green beer, and eat corned beef and cabbage. But it’s actually a serious holiday. St. Patrick’s Day celebrates Ireland’s patron saint and national apostle, St. Patrick, […]

RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT 03.17.23 THE CHEECH

March 17, 2023 By wpengine

Texas Chicanos Shine in New Cheech Marin Museum in Riverside, California As you enter the new Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture—be prepared. The two story glass sculpture by the de la Torre brothers will take your breath away. The glass and plastic installation, homage to an Aztec deity Coatlicue, silently greets visitors. […]

RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT 03.08.23

March 10, 2023 By wpengine

Gini Garcia attained international status with several significant glass works: a commission work for the Vatican;  a one thousand pound chandelier for the Lingner Castle in  Dresden, Germany valued at $250,000, and  a prodigious glass wall for a Marriott in Aruba.  She has completed 50 site artworks worldwide, including 150 pieces for the Harry Potter […]

RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT 2.17.23 – JESSE TREVIÑO, AN ENORMOUS LOSS

February 17, 2023 By wpengine

Jesse Treviño: The Latino Art Community Suffers an Enormous Loss By Dr. Ricardo Romo Jesse Treviño, one of America’s premier Latino artists, passed away on February 13, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. He was 76 years old. Treviño had been ill for the past year following a surgery for cancer. His monumental tile mosaic sculptures […]

More Posts from this Category

New On Latinopia

LATINOPIA FOOD “JALAPEÑO SODA BREAD” RECIPE

By Tia Tenopia on March 14, 2011

Jalapeño Irish Soda Bread The sweetness of traditional Irish soda bread ingredients—raisins, buttermilk, some sugar—are richly complimented by jalapeño heat. Here’s a soda bread recipe from Ireland brought to the USA from Galway by Mary Patricia Reilly Murray and later transformed  with her blessing by her daughter, Bobbi Murray, who added jalapeño chile.  A real […]

Category: Cooking, Food, LATINOPIA FOOD

LATINOPIA EVENT 1966 UFW PEREGRINACIÓN (PILGRIMAGE) MARCH

By Tia Tenopia on March 19, 2013

The effort to organize farm workers under a union contract has been a long and difficult struggle. In 1965, César Chávez and Dolores Huerta created what would become the United Farm Workers Union. From the onset they  faced many obstacles, not the least of which was how to get dozens of California grape growers to […]

Category: History, LATINOPIA EVENT

LATINOPIA MUSIC ANGELA ROA “TOCO DESAFINADO”

By Tia Tenopia on June 22, 2014

Angela Roa is a Chilean singer and lyricist residing in Los Angeles, California. Her songs are about the Latino experience in the United States and in Latin America. Here she performs an original song, “Toco Desafinado” (Out of Tune). She is accompanied by Fernando Losada, Rich Silva and Thiago Winterstein..

Category: LATINOPIA MUSIC, Music

© 2023 latinopia.com · Pin It - Genesis - WordPress · Admin