“LOVE ARCHITECTURE? THANK THE GREEKS.” National Geographic Society Advertisement Washington, D.C. Metro Train I’m not one for getting too riled up over commercial advertising. … [Read more...]
The Sunday after the recent presidential election was particularly special at All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C., where I worship. Aside from Easter, I have never seen the church so … [Read more...]
It is astonishing the lengths to which a person, or a people, will go in order to avoid a truthful mirror. —James Baldwin Recently, I visited the San Antonio studio of artist Vincent … [Read more...]
Sports have been a major presence in the lives of Mexican Americans since the early 20th century. This has been particularly true of Mexican Americans in the Midwest, where sports such as baseball … [Read more...]
The mestizo and the queer exist at this time and point on the evolutionary continuum for a purpose. We are a blending that proves that all blood is intricately woven together and that we are spawned … [Read more...]
“I never knew anyone else like me, going through the things I went through, not fitting in, always having to choose...” Kip Fulbeck, The Hapa Project Hapa is a term that emerges from … [Read more...]
Simone was able to conjure glamour in spite of everything the world said about black women who looked like her. And for that she enjoyed a special place in the pantheon of resistance. That fact … [Read more...]
The artist's sacred trinity of life, struggle, and death is not a moralistic tale; it is a representation of the Chicano experience. —Curator Selene Preciado, from the catalogue José Montoya's … [Read more...]
In 1598, a defining Spanish expedition, led by conquistador Juan de Oñate, departed Zacatecas, Mexico. The Spaniards and their indigenous servants, following trails previously blazed by Native … [Read more...]
Born to a poor Mexican farmworker family in Southern California, Robert Dávila contracted spinal meningitis at age eight, which rendered him deaf. Medical studies indicate that young children with … [Read more...]
And what should I say? That I am tired? That the road is long and the end is nowhere in sight? I did not come to sing because I have such a good voice. Nor do I come to cry about my bad … [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...]
No hay mal que por bien no venga Translation: There is no bad from which some good doesn't result. Transcreation: The bitterest trials are often blessings in disguise. Jim Estrada uses this … [Read more...]
A NEW SHADE OF GREEN: THE ANTHRPOCENE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND LATINOS. "Climate change is a defining issue of our time and there is no time to lose. There is no Plan B because we do not have Planet B," … [Read more...]
THE NUEVO SOUTH: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE. Having arrived in Pelham, Alabama, several years ago and establishing a construction business, Joel Rivera walked into a small Mexican grocery store looking … [Read more...]
I recently visited the Brooklyn Museum, eager to see Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties. The exhibition is organized into eight sections and features 103 works by 66 artists. It was … [Read more...]
CÉSAR CHÁVEZ: AN AMERICAN LEGEND REMEMBERED. “We need a leader, not a martyr!" pleads the brother of beloved labor leader César Chávez in a memorable scene from the film of the same name. The … [Read more...]
FIRST VOICE, OUR VOICE. I recently attended the opening of Galería Sin Fronteras (Gallery Without Borders), an exhibition at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. The show features 92 … [Read more...]
MIAMI’S HUGE LEAP. "Miami is the capitol of Latin America!" I'm hopeful that this boastful statement by Javier Souto, Miami-Dade County Commissioner, resounded clearly with the civic and cultural … [Read more...]
WHAT'S NEW UNDER TONATIUH? My mother would occasionally remind me that: "There's nothing new under the sun." I think she said it to keep it real when I thought I had come up with some cockamamie … [Read more...]
THE “I” WORD. The Arts and Industries Building is that grand one located just east of the iconic Smithsonian Castle, on the National Mall. It's been shuttered for several years due to some … [Read more...]
