I was eight years old when I was became aware that the universe I inhabited in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles included people who were Latino but not Mexican like me. When I asked … [Read more...]
Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, a social earthquake in which dozens of people were killed and over a thousand buildings burned. Even before it erupted, the … [Read more...]
NOTES ON THE IRISH/MEXICAN FRONTIER by Ernest Hogan A lot of people have a hard enough time dealing with the complicated reality of Mexican Americans – when you add Irish to the mix, their … [Read more...]
Any comparison between the history-making 1978 production of Zoot Suit with its 2017 retelling would be unfair to the latter. It’s not the same Zoot Suit We are older but the audience is younger. The … [Read more...]
In the current revival of Luis Valdez’s play Zoot Suit at L.A.’s Mark Taper Forum, the iconic El Pachuco character (played by Demian Bichir) admonishes the rebellious character of Henry Reyna, played … [Read more...]
Ay Cuba Los derechos se toman, no se piden; se arrancan, no se mendigan. José Martí a Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz Le llegó la muerte al viejo … [Read more...]
Diane and I attended a very special White House ceremony last week. Diane, my wife, is a member of the National Council on the Arts for the National Endowment for the Arts, we were honored to … [Read more...]
Following the surprising concession by Donald Trump that President Barack Obama was indeed born in the United States of America (a fact embraced by most Americans during his two-term presidency) Trump … [Read more...]
Intersectionality & Orlando: 4 Things To Consider The horror of the Orlando shooting was made all the worse by the fact that the targets of the shooter’s rage were already part of marginalized … [Read more...]
TO BE YOUNG, GAY, LATINO & INVISIBLE It’s hard to process with any gravitas the Orlando tragedy. The first reports made little mention of the names of the dead and the wounded. Instead, the … [Read more...]
It's Latino Queer Night at Pulse or Steps Ahead of Tragedy When we dance, we both lead. My tía laughs when I tell her I don't know how to dance. Not every song's a … [Read more...]
The Pulse of Life It was the twelfth of June another hot and humid Florida night. In Orlando young people gathered at the Pulse Club, enjoying camaraderie, the dance floor … [Read more...]
The Cesar Chavez Service Club of San Diego founded by Carlos & Linda LeGerrette sponsored a “Tribute to Helen Chavez”. What a wonderful idea, and long, long overdue in my estimation. This Tribute … [Read more...]
Syria’s Children The tyrant is mad! The tyrant is mad! He rains bombs on innocent children! Stop! I pray and watch on TV as Syria is destroyed, cities laid Waste. Dust and the … [Read more...]
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, it is easy for many of us to return to other issues that consume our attention daily. Women have been extolled throughout this special month of honoring, … [Read more...]
In the United States we name buildings, roads and geographic landmarks after individuals whose accomplishments we, as a society, deem meritorious, beneficial to our society and worthy of recognition. … [Read more...]
To UCLA and Back A Good Idea at the Time It all started when my husband, David, got an e-mail announcing Jesús Treviño is to be at UCLA for a book talk on his new book Return to Arroyo … [Read more...]
“Two nights ago, a group of Mexican Americans picketed the Academy Awards presentation. The picket was in protest over the caricatures and racist representation of Mexicans in motion … [Read more...]
Undocumented immigrants in this country can't get a break. While Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump fantasizes about creating a deportation force and building a huge border wall, … [Read more...]
The Irish say that there are times and places on our planet when the “veil” lifts or, at the very least, grows thin. The veil refers to that which separates the dead from the living. Whatever you may … [Read more...]
We moved! The first day two “packers” came and put our possessions into boxes, but ran out of boxes. The packers assured us the “haulers” would bring boxes the next day. The “haulers” arrived with … [Read more...]
