Mijos and mijas! Oh what exciting footage we have for you to see this week! In 1969 your Tia Tenopia  was just a gleam in her parents eyes, but my Uncle Braulio tells me that one of the most important events of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement took place this month 42 years ago.  I’m talking about the National Chicano Youth Conference held at the Crusade for Justice in Denver, Colorado from March 27 through the 31st.  This week we are posting footage from this historic event produced and directed by veteran filmmaker and television director Jesús Treviño, hay he was just a little chavalito in those days!

His cameraman, also wet behind the ears,  was Martín Quiroz and the soundman was young Bobby Romero. These three buscaruidos filmed this historic  meeting convened by civil rights activist Rodolfo “Corky ” Gonzales.  More than 1500 Mexican American and Puerto Rican youths came from throughout the United States. My uncle Braulio, who attended, tells me that the group discussed decades of discrimination and injustice in the United States  and came up with the term “Chicano” to use instead of referring to themselves as Mexican Americans–hay, talk about self-definitional, pues!  They discovered that the indigenous ancestors of today’s Mexican Americans were Mexica indios who came from a place called  “Aztlán,” located to the north and west of what is today Mexico City. Pues,  el Southwest, que no? They decided that from now on, they would refer to the  American Southwest as “Aztlán,” the ancestral home of their ancient ancestors. No more “go back to Mexico where you came from” for them–Chicanos have always been here in the United States!   So check out this exciting footage in Latinopia Event 1969 Denver Youth Conference!

Shifting gears and jumping right into the internet and new media present, we also showcase this week the Latino podcast Elusive Minds. One of the founders of this firme venture, Michael Centeno, tells us about the how and why of podcasting to Latinos. Your Tia is so proud of what these young vatos are doing for our community! Check it out!

And of course, Dan Guerrero returns with another insider’s look at what’s going on in the world of Latino arts and entertainment with his weekly blog, Out And About with Dan Guerrero.

Great fun, Latinopians….ENJOY!

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What up mis queridos Latinopians! Lots of cool stuff this week on your favorite website for cultura and arte. Fijense, last Wednesday I saw a lot of foreheads smudged with ash so I know we’re into the Quadragesima–yes, Lent is upon us! If you’re wondering what non-meat recipes to cook in the coming weeks, we bring you three Mexican classics. We’re reprising the Cocina Hernández recipes for Shrimp Tortas (Shrimp Fritters) and Capirotada–yummie! Diane Velarde Hernández returns this week with a new recipe, this one for Chile Relleno.

In Literature, we visit with author and publisher Mario Picayo as he reads to us from his children’s book, “A Caribbean Journey from A to Y (Read and Discover What Happened to the Z)” This is a widely popular book among teachers and Michelle Obama has a copy! The First Lady of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Cecile deJongh gave her a copy for the Obama girls! Check
out this cool book.

And, of course Dan Guerrero returns with his weekly blog, Out and About with Dan Guerrero. Dan has visited the Grammy Museum this week where there is an exhibit of Latino music. Legends. Find out all about it!

On other fronts, keep your eyes and ears open for the librotraficantes Book Caravan which will be traveling through Texas and New Mexico to end in Tucson Arizona where our Latino children are being denied knowledge of their history and heritage. Whaa? Yep, Arizona passed a measure that outlaws the teaching of ethnic studies in schools. To comply with the new law, the Tucson school system has removed classics of Latino literature from the school libraries. But the librotraficantes (book traffickers) Caravan will be bringing these banned books to the children of Tucson! Watch for events in San Antonio, El Paso, Mesilla, New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico and, of course, in Tucson!

Oyo! On other fronts, advance warning for Children’s Day/Book Day, an annual celebration of books for children originated by author Pat Mora and now celebrated throughout the Southwest on April 30th.

Bueno, your Tia is off to the mercado to purchase pasilla chiles for tonight’s dinner of Chiles Rellenos!

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Hola Mis queridos! Big news at Latinopia this week is the upcoming Librotraficantes Book Caravan, Que es, you ask? Pues, the Tucson Unified School System recently outlawed the teaching of Chicano studies in the Tucson schools and took the books used for those classes out of the school libraries. Whaaa? Si, palabra! Tony Díaz, who founded the Nuestra Palabra radio program in Houston, Texas, is responding to the banning of books written by such luminary Latino authors as Rudolfo Anaya, Sandra Cisneros and Dagoberto Gilb. He is leading a caravan of buses and cars loaded with the banned books from Houston, Texas to Tucson, Arizona with stops in Austin, San Antonio and El Paso, Texas, Mesilla and Albuquerque, New Mexico and of course ending in Tucson. Cuando? The Caravan leaves Houston on March 12th and arrives in Tucson on the 16th. And, yes, Latinopia will be there documenting this historic fight for the children of Tucson to know their history and culture.

This week on Latinopia we have videos in Food and Literature and a new blog by Dan Guerrero.
In Food, Diane Velarde Hernández returns with Cocina Hernández. This time she’ll show us how to make that Mexican meal staple, Spanish Rice! In Literature we visit we Michael Sedano, co-founder of the Latino literature blog, La Bloga. Michael explains to us how La Bloga got started and who contributes to this inspiring website. Check out these videos, mijos, and be sure to read Dan’s latest on doings this week in Los Angeles art and entertainment.

Abrazos! Tia Tenopia

Hola Mis Queridos Latinopianos! Breaking News! Your Tia is rete alborotada to announce a new blog on Latinopia.com featuring the wisdom and wit of multi-talented actor, producer and director Dan Guerrero. Now your Tia has just gotten to know Dan recently and I decided to find out more about this vato. Well! I visited Dan’s website (www.Danguerrero.com) and. found out these exciting things about Dan. He is the son of legendary songwriter, musician and big band leader Lalo Guerrero, considered by many as the father of Chicano music (see Latinopia’s 100 Years of Latino Music). Dan has acted on the New York stage (see Dan’s Latinopia video Gaytino).  Although raised in East Los Angeles, Dan started his entertainment career in New York where for many years he was a successful theatrical agent with clients in the original casts of countless Broadway musicals. He returned home to Los Angeles for an equally successful time as a casting director for stage and television before turning his talents to producing and directing. He has produced diverse programming for NBC, PBS, HBO, FOX, Univision and Telemundo. Y ademas, Dan has produced staged spectacular events at such firme venues as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque and the Cite de la Musique in Paris, France. Se avienta este vato! So say welcome to Dan and check out his weekly blog “Out and About with Dan Guerrero.”

On other fronts, we have two exciting videos for you. In history, we have celebration of the life of legendary mathematics teacher Jaime Escalante (1930-2012). You probably will remember that his teaching success with Latino students inspired the motion picture Stand and Deliver. When he passed away last year, the entire East Los Angeles community came out to pay him respects. Check out Latinopia Event 2010 Jaime Escalante Memorial. In Literature, we visit with Tejano author Rene Pérez whose first collection of short stories, “Along These Highways” was just published by Bilingual Review Press. Check out his short story “Closeness to Taste” and if you want to buy his book follow the link to Bilingual Review Press.

Bueno, I’ll le tyo get on to Dna’s Blog and to the videos! Abrazos! Tia Tenopia

Hola Mis Queridos! This week your Tia Tenopia brings you videos in Latino theater and Latino history. In Teatro we have an original production out of Laredo, Texas. Playwright Roberto Gutíerrez has written a probing play about life and death, good and evil, and moral conscience. Check out “Las Mascara del Chivo” (The Mask of the Kid). As most of you know (and as I constantly hear from my Tio Braulio), many of the gains and benefits we experience as Latinos in the United States today, are the result of the hard-fought battles for our civil rights waged in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2009, activists who were a part of what is known as el movimiento, (including my Tio Braulio), reunited in Dallas, Texas to celebrate 40 years of struggle and social advancement. Our Latinopia cameras were there to document the event. Today we post the first of our reports on the 2009 Activists Reunion.

Y hablando de…With laws recently passed in Tucson, Arizona that ban our children from reading classics of Latino Literature like Bless me Ultima, we need to be on guard and defend the advances we’ve made over the past few decades. There’s always some menso out there who will try to take away our rights if we let them! Ojo, por favor!

And your Tia hopes you profes out there have had a chance to check out the Latinopia Teacher’s Guide The Latino Voice in American Society. What’d you think? Give us feedback and if you are using Latinopia to augment your teaching, let us know what your doing.

Bueno, your Tia has to run off and confer with our Latinopia webmasters. We are planning new improvements to our site and homepage in the next few weeks! Watch for the new Latinopia look!

Abrazos, Tia Tenopia

Hola Latinopians! And welcome to February of 2012!

As you will see, your Tia Tenopia has a whole new batch of Latino cultural events in major U.S. cities listed in February Events. Also this week, we are posting our first Latinopia Teacher’s Guide for secondary school teachers and university professors who want to use Latinopia as a resources for their classroom instruction. This first Teacher’s Guide is titled The Latino Voice in American Society and utilizes the timeline, biographies and videos you will find on Latinopia to teach a course which will allow students to identify and find their own creative voice. Check it out! And by the way, those of you who are using Latinopia as a classroom resources, leave us a message and let us know how so we can pass the word on to other instructors.

Also more news in February. Watch for a new Latinopia blog written by Dan Guerrero, one of the pioneering Mexican American television and stage producers whose credits include the Paul Rodriguez Show as well as major stage events in New York and Los Angeles.

And last, but not least, we showcase a new film by Mexican director Roberto Olivares who brings us an exciting Mexican musical group, Grupo Xime, in concert with a Macedonian musical ensemble, “Kokani Orchestra.”  Check out this cool and zany music!

Abrazos,  Tia Tenopia

Hola mis queridos Latinopianos! How’s the new year treating you? All well I hope. Here at Latinopia the new year is ushering in great additions to Latinopia which your Tia will be announcing next week.. Preparense! For this week, however, we have renowned poet Pat Mora returning with a poem about how difficult it sometimes is for Mexican Americans and other Latinos who live in the United States. Though bilingual and bi-cultural they are often viewed differently by other Americans and even by their own people. Check out Pat reading her poem, “Legal Alien,” y dime si no es verdad! And in history, we continue our exploration of the possible geographic site of Aztlán, the mythic homeland of the Mexica people. Por Dios! All this talk of Aztlán makes your Tia want to put on her Indiana Jones hat, jump in a four-wheel drive jeep and go searching for Aztlán herself. Any takers? In Moment in Time. we have a poignant historic photo of President John F. Kennedy in Houston, Texas on the night before he was assassinated. What does this have to do with Latinos? Check it and find out. Hey, if any of you Latinopians out there have photos of key events or moments in Latino history, please pass them on so we can post them on Moment in Time. Well, enjoy this week’s postings, and remember the words of the great Spanish director Luis Buñuel, “Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling even our action. Without it, we are nothing.” OO XX Your Tia Tenopia

“Bailar La Bamba, Bailar La Bamba…” Hola Mis Queridos! Yes, this week we’ve got music in the form of that popular folk song “La Bamba.” But watch out! This version, performed by the ensemble music group Las Cafeteras, is an updated version with contemporary lyrics that link an old song to current day realities faced by Latinos in the United States. In History, we have another Latinopia Event. For this one we go way back to the year 1325 A.D. when the Mexica people, ancestors to today’s Mexicans and Mexican Americans, left their ancient homeland of Aztlán. Something that has always puzzled your Tia: after more than 500 years why has the site of this ancient dwelling never been uncovered? If, as some people think, it was somewhere in the American Southwest, where could that have been? Pues, miren no más, in an excerpt from the video “In Search of Aztlán” we get some provocative clues. Oh and this is the first of a two-parter. And speaking of Aztlán, this week’s Moment in Time photograph documents the Becas de Aztlán (Aztlán Scholarships) program which allowed dozens of Mexican American students to study in Mexico from 1972 to 1982. So check out all of our great postings and have a great week! OOXX Tia Tenopia

Mis queridos! Welcome to another week of Latinopia and do we have fun videos for you this week! Our Latinopia Showcase highlights a new documentary work-in-progress that you can help complete. “Juanito’s Lab” is a true labor of love by San Antonio filmmakers Enrique Lopetegui and Guillermina Zabala who are documenting the music of an extraordinarily gifted blind musician Juanito Castillo. Check out this amazing talent and help out if you can by going to the link and contributing to the completion of this important film. In literature, we visit with four stellar Latino authors convened at the El Paso Juntos Arts and Literature Festival in April of 2010. Check out what Sergio Troncoso, Benjamin Sáenz, Christine Granados and Dagoberto Gilb think about how labels such as Chicano, Latino, Hispanic and Fronterizo affect the reception of their work in mainstream society. Your Tia hopes the next year is being good to you and that you have made that New Year’s Resolution to visit Latinopia at least once a week!
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Happy New Years and Feliz Navidad to all you Latinopians! Your Tia is just a wee bit cruda this week from all of that partying and New Years revelry. No, I didn’t make it to Times Square this year. Hay, standing up for 12 hours straight and they won’t let you get to a restroom? Olvidate!

But great news, Latinopians. This week marks one full year of Latinopia being on-line and your Tia thought we would celebrate by posting our THREE MOST POPULAR LATINOPIA VIDEOS OF 2011 AS VOTED AND VIEWED BY YOU! And, as they say in Hollywood, the envelope please…yes, the top three most viewed Latinopia videos were in literature, music and art. Topping the list is José Montoya reading his classic Chicano poem, “El Louie,” next is Flaco Jimenez, showing off his wide range of musical stylings and another most viewed video was the profile of our friend, mentor, and visionary art innovator, Gilbert “Magu” Lujan who passed away in July. These are all videos that are never dated. If you haven’t seen them before, you have a treat in store. If you have, you’ll find they still deliver. And that’s why people keep coming back time and again.

Also be sure to check out the January Events. We’ll be updating the January Events as the month progresses.

What’s that? Did I make a New Years resolution? Yes, indeed I did. No, its not getting more things done, or more exercise, or losing weight (Hey, what are you saying about your Tia?!) No, my New Years Resolution is just to spend more time enjoying and appreciating the company of my familia and my many friends. Life is short and we must make the best of it. So here’s wishing each and every one of you Latinopians health, happiness and prosperity in 2012!

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Hola and happy holidays from your Tia Tenopia to all of you rambunctious Latinopians! So we’re winding down the year and this week your Tia has been pretty maxed out on Christmas shopping and parties and all those things that take up so much of our time in December. Yet, we have a new video this week–music! Yes, it’s Los Pochos returning with their rendition of “Paso del Norte.” This is a classic corrido about the many immigrants who have passed through El Paso, Texas on their way into the United States. Coincidentally, Los Pochos are celebrating their fifteen year in the music business and you are invited to party with them on New Year’s Eve at a smash out party at the VFW Post- 1944, located at 16157 East Gale Avenue in the City of Industry, Califas. This is a rocking group not to be missed! Check out details on their website: www.lospochos.com. Also this week, we are reprising traditional Christmas recipes such as how to make tamales and capirotada from our Latinopia chef-in-residence, Diana Velarde-Hernandez. Check out our videos and have a rocking New Year’s Eve! Mucho carino y amor and see you next year, hay caray 2012 is on us! Your TiaTenopia.

Feliz Navidades and happy holiday cheer to all you Latinopians! Your Tia Tenopia has been busy this week with shopping and all those Christmas parties you can’t get out of–hay, I don’t think I could stare another margarita or mojito in the eye! Well, you Tia has some fun videos for you this week. In Music, we visit with Louie Pérez, the songwriter and drummer for the celebrated Chicano music group Los Lobos. Louie tells us about how the group came to record their Grammy award winning soundtrack for the 1987 movie “La Bamba.” And in Art, we visit

with a classic car club that goes back to the 1940s! Check out the Eagle Rock Trompers and

their passion for classic American cars. A real treat for the eyes as you will see. And in Literature, Dr. Thelma Reyna returns with a review of Beautiful Maria of my Soul, a novel by Cuban American author Oscar Hijuelos. And as you go about your holiday shopping remember to support the arts–books, painting, prints, CDs and other cultura by Latinos make for excellent gifts! Oops, hay me llaman to yet another party…abrazos! Tia Tenopia

Mijos, the Holidays are on us! This week your Tia Tenopia has been busy trying to get her Christmas shopping done y hay que lata!   But speaking of Christmas shopping, here’s an idea from your Tia: why not give Latino culture as a Christmas gift? For readers, try Rudy Anaya’s latest novel Randy Lopez Goes Home, or Sergio Troncoso’s novel From this Wicked Patch of Dust or Dagoberto Gilb’s latest, Before the End, After The Beginning (reviewed this week by Luis R. Torres). For you cinema fans, check out Our Story, Jets & Sharks, Then and Now, remembrances by María Henley and other dancers and actors who participated in the classic movie Westside Story. For you teatro folks, check out Teatro Chicana, this collective memory by Laura Garcia, Sandra Gutierrez and Felicitas Nunez and other Chicanas who performed teatro under the banner of Teatro de las Chicanas is inspiring reading! If its art, crafts, jewelry your interested in there are at least two major art sales in the next two weeks, one at the Frank Romero Studios and one at Avenue 50 Gallery. Check the DECEMBER EVENTS page for details. The holidays–I love this time of year pero tambien I hate it! I love the fact that familias come together and we enjoy good eating. But I hate the shopping, the commercialization, and if I don’t hear “Winter Wonderland” for another ten years that’ll be just fine with me! Anyway, give cultura for Christmas–something to think about.

Andale con this week’s postings? Okeh, okeh, pues! This week, we’ve got cultura in the form of teatro, art and literature. In theater, we visit with Cesar Flores, director of the 1970s Chicano theater company Espiritu de Aztlan. This theater company was one of dozens inspired by the success of Luis Valdez’s El Teatro Campesino. Flores explains that for the at-risk students the theater experience was transformative (your Tia just loves that word, muy intelectual, que no?)  In Art, Latinopia asked a number of our leading artists why the concept of “Aztlan” was so important to them in the early years of the Chicano Art movement–check out what Gilbert Lujan, Ester Hernandez, Jose Montoya, Zarco Guerrero, Amalia Mesa-Bains have to say about this. And in Literature, we have another interview by Luis R. Torres, this one is on Dagoberto Gilb’s latest collection of short stories, Before the End, After the Beginning. The collection, written after the author overcame a debilitating stroke,  is creating quite a stir in literary circles. Hope you enjoy this week’s postings and be sure to sign up for the newsletter if you haven’t already!

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Por Dios, mijos! What a wind came through Los Angeles last week! Yes, your Tia Tenopia was one of the 350,000 residents of Los Angeles that lost power due to the most disastrous wind storm to hit Southern California in thirty-five years. We were out of power for two and a half days! For that reason we’re running a little behind on our weekly postings. But bear with us and we’ll be getting back on track soon. For now, here’s our line-up of Latino cultural events in major U.S. cities for this month, our December Events. And in ART, we have an interview with influential art historian and critic Dr. Shifra Goldman who passed away earlier this year but who has left an impressive legacy of writings and influence. And if you haven’t already done so, sign up for the Latinopia newsletter which will go out in the couple of days. Oh, oh, I can hear that wind starting up again. Por Dios, not again! Tia Tenopia

Hola Mis Queridos! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Your Tia is still recuperating from too much pavo and margaritas and too little sleep. Pero como dicen, “I”ll have plenty of time to sleep when I’m six feet under!” But this week–pos hay me ves– I am in a writing mode. Sí, I have decided to open up the laptop and do some original poetry! And what’s all this about, you ask? Well, old friends are joining this week on Latinopia.com an, in Literature,  one of them is Arizona poet Alberto “Tito” Ríos. You’ve seen him read his poetry on Latinopia:  “Returning to the Cat” and “Theater of Night.” If you haven’t eye-boned these videos yet, check them out on the literature page.You won’t be disappointed. But this time Alberto tells us how he goes about writing a poem y púes me inspiro! Nothing like hearing it from the master himself to get your creative juices flowing. Check out his awesome comments on how to go about writing a poem. Y dale chanza–don’t be bashful!

In Cinema, celebrated actor Danny De La Paz returns to tell us about his role as “Puppet” in the iconic movie “American Me.” Danny had a real challenge ahead of him when he undertook this complex role and he carried it off brilliantly–check out the back story! And also in Literature, we have a book review of the classic 1967 coming of age saga Down These Mean Streets by Nuyoriican Piri Thomas. Now as you probably know, Piri Thomas passed away last month but his ground breaking novel continues to inspire and illuminate. The review is by a profe, no less, Dr. Thelma Reyna from California State University at Los Angeles.

So lot’s of good cultura on Latinopia this week.  Enjoy! OOXX Tia Tenopia

Hola mis queridos Latinopianos!

This week–Turkey Day! And we have some great videos for you on Latinopia! In Literature, poet Sara Rafael García, reminds us of the importance of giving thanks to family and those people whom we dearly love in a remembrance of her father titled “In All My Memories”–reminding us of the importance of giving thanks as we sit across each other at the Thanksgiving Day dinner. Let’s remember our departed and embrace and appreciate those still with us (por supuesto, that includes ourselves!)  In Art, we visit once again with Chicana artist Elsa Flores Alamaráz. This time she tells us about her one-woman show at the Fremont Gallery in South Pasadena, California and her 30-year one woman retrospective. Stunning work! And in History we have a unique Moment in Time when two celebrated Chicano activist leaders, Dr. Ernesto Galarza and Reies Lopez Tijerina, met for the first time.

Mijos, the Thanksgiving holiday always inspires your Tia Tenopia to think about all those many things for which we need to be thankful. Yes, it’s true, de vez en cuando, I do get philosophical and thoughtful–no se rien! Now I don’t want to get overly sentimental here, so put away your handkerchiefs–no voy ‘pa ese camino.  But it does seem to me that in spite of the recession and harsh economic times in which we find ourselves, in spite of the continual attacks on us as a Latino community (yes, I’m talking about recent laws passed in Arizona and Alabama–I do read the papers!) and in spite of the long road still ahead of us before Latinos can claim equality across the board in American society, I think we’re allowed a little time to reflect and be thankful for the good things we do have.

Y eso que es?  You’re probably asking yourself. Well for starters, we can be thankful for the rich creative life force in our national Latino community–so many wonderful people giving of themselves, sharing their art with others and making us all proud to be who we are. And how about the amazingly talented and gifted artists, poets, writers, musicians, performers, actors, dancers, directors and creators you will find at Latinopia.com? Not to mention the many dedicated Latino doctors, lawyers, social workers, teachers, scientists, community activists and students who all give back to our community and make us all the better for it..  Viendolo asina, I’d say there’s a lot we can be thankful for and of which we can be muy, muy proud.

Okay, enough or your Tia’s soapbox soliloquies–on with this week’s videos. Enjoy! OOXX
Tia Tenopia

Que Pasa you fabulous fantastic fanatics and fans of Latino culture and art! And don’t forget literature, cine, teatro, musica y comida–all the great themes you’ll find on Latinopia.com

Well, this week we have great postings from the world of cinema, art and literature. In CINEMA we visit with Mexican filmmaker Roberto Olivares. He works with the film collective “Ojo de Agua” (Eye of Water) in Oaxaca, Mexico. They make documentaries about indigenous communities but also teach people from these communities how to operate video cameras and edit so they can tell their own stories. In ART we have the first of a two-parter on Chicana artist Elsa Flores Almaráz. Elsa is the widow of renowned artist Carlos Almaráz (1941-1989) and an artist in her own right. In this first interview she speaks about what life has been like managing the Carlos Almaráz estate and raising their daughter while trying to sustain her own creative output. Next week we post the second part of the interview, visiting her one-woman show that covers more than 30 years of awesome artistic work! And in LITERATURE, we have another review by Luis R. Torres, this time on the book,“The Chinese in Mexico: 1882-1940.”

Before signing off I must tell you about an awesome performance reading by three extraordinary Chicanos that your Tia attended. I’m talking about “The Three Louies” at the Vincent Price Museum at East Los Angeles College on Saturday, November 12th. The three Louies are Louie Pérez drummer and songwriter of the legendary rock group Los Lobos, Luis J. Rodriguez author of “Always Running” and other important works, and Luis “Benny” Torres, award-winning journalist (who also reviews books for Latinpia). The performance conversation by the three Louies was rocking, at times poignant and sad, at times hilarious. A whos who of cultura Latina was in the house: authors Ricardo Acuna and Harry Gamboa Jr., musicians Ruben Guevara and John Densmore, producer and performer Dan Guerrero, theater director and actress Rose Portillo, artists Judith Hernandez and Wayne Healy. If you don’t know some of these folks, just look them up in Latinopia–they’re all represented here! Enjoy this week’s postings! OOXX Tia Tenopia

Hola mis queridos and welcome to another week with your Tia Tenopia!

This is a special week. On November 11th we remember those many veteranos who have enlisted and fought in times of war. This Veteran’s Day your Tia tips her hat to those Latinos who fought in past wars with the Latinopia Showcase film “Meet Julian Gonzalez”– part of  the on-going video documentation project headed by Prof. Maggie Rivas Rodríguez out of the University of Texas at Austin. For years Dr. Rodríguez has been documenting the stories of veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam as part of the Voces Oral History Project. To find out more about the project visit:  http://www.lib.utexas.edu/voces/  And to see more veterano videos check out www.vimeo.com/vocesoralhistoryproject

But we also remember those brave men and women who are still in Iraq and Afghanistan with a reprise of documentary filmmaker Liz H. Colunga’s moving film “They Are Still There.” Both important videos that you should see.

In literature we have a new video featuring acclaimed author Luis. J. Rodriguez. Luis will be part of a reading at the Vincent Price Museum at East Los Angeles College on Saturday, November 12th. “The Three Louies” and features Luis Rodríguez known for his searing memoir “Always Running,” Louie Pérez, founder and member of the Los Lobos rock group and Luis Torres, award-winning journalist and radio reporter. All three will perform. For further information check out: http://www.vincentpriceartmuseum.org

Whether you can make it to the Vincent Price or not, be sure to check out Luis’s reading of the title poem from his collection of poetry “Concrete River.”

And lastly, we are have another Luis Torres book review. This time it’s a book about Pio Pico, the book is titled “Pio Pico: the Last Mexican Governor of California.” And please note that we will now be featuring Latino cultural events in major cities of the U.S. on a regular basis. Check out our new “November Events”posting and watch for events in coming months.

Bueno, Enjoy! TT

Hey queridos—this is such a big week—Halloween and Día de los Muertos both. I’m already exhausted just thinking about it! But I gotta tell you–I’m up to here with everyone being all—oh isn’t Día de los Muertos the same thing as Halloween? I’m all—no—completely different!

And it is—but now I’m discovering some history that tripped me out. Did you know that the immigrantes irlandeses brought Halloween over to these shores in the late 1800’s? The Irish are the ones that came up with jack o’ lanterns. Over in Ireland the tradition at this time of year was to carve turnips into faces and put a candle inside—the ancient religion in Ireland saw the head and skull as a source of power.

So when the Irish got over here, they said, pues, no turnips? We’ll carve pumpkins—and everybody liked it and joined in. The Old Ones, the ancestors in Ireland, believed that on October 31st the veil between the living and the other world grows thin so we can commune with our dear departed and our ancestors.

But here’s the thing—at this time of year Latinos celebrate Día de los Muertos. And this tradition has its origins in another ancient people. The Día de los Muertos goes back to the celebration of the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, the goddess of the underworld. And , of course, over the centuries Mexicans and now Chicanos have transformed Día de los Muertos into the Day of the Dead celebration we know today.  But isn’t it cool that the Irish ancestors and our ancestors here in the Americas understood the power of remembering our loved ones at this powerful time of year! Que cosa!

So this week, we have a video precisely on Dia de los Muertos. We asked installation artist Amalia Mesa-Bains to tell us all about Día de los Muertos and why it is so important to Latinos.

Also this week we conclude our story of the birth of El Teatro Campesino with “El Teatro Campesino 3,” the factors that led to the group splitting from the United Farm Workers Union and creating their own Centro Campesino Cultural in 1967. And in literature we have another Luis Torres book review, this time it’s a book that takes on the topic of whether graffiti is art or vandalism, the book is “Cholo Writing: Latino Gang Graffiti in Los Angeles” by Francois Chastanet and Howard Gribble.

So have fun–and don’t forget to celebrate the Ones that went before us!

What up Latinopians! Your Tia Tenopia here with lots of great stuff this week: food, literature and history! In food we visit again with Diane Velarde Hernández, known to us for her Cocina Hernández. This week’s recipe is really tasty– “Tortas de Camarón con Nopales,” (Shrimp Fritters with Cactus). The recipe is a little complicated but well worth the effort. We’ve divided the recipe up into two videos. Shrimp Tortas 1 covers how to cook the prickly pear cactus and make the chile sauce. Shrimp Tortas 2 shows how to make the shrimp fritters and put the whole thing together. My grandma used to make something like this for Lent but you can enjoy this recipe year round.

In literature we have some sad news. This week we lost a great literary voice of Latino letters, the Nuyorican author Piri Thomas. When I was taking a Latino Literature course in college I read his memoir “Down These Mean Streets” about his experience growing up in New York Spanish Harlem. Although it was written in 1967–way before your Tia’s time, it still holds up so try to check it out.

And speaking of  literature we have another Luis Torres book review. This one is on the memoir “Tattoos of the Heart by Father Gregory Boyle. For the past twenty years Father Boyle has been working with gang kids in East Los Angeles. He founded “Homeboy Industries” to provide jobs for unemployed youth, THE Homeboy Industries motto is “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.” His memoir is based on the twenty years of his outreach work. Check out the review and check out the book!

In history we add to our growing cache of Latinopia biographies by adding the Biography of Dr. Rudy F. Acuna. Best known for authoring the landmark history of Mexican Americans in the United States, “Occupied America,” Dr. Acuna is considered the “Father of Chicano Studies.” He has been teaching at my ‘ol alma mater Cal State Northridge for the past 40 years and, yes, your Tia took one or two courses from him.

So check out this week’s offerings! OOXX  Tia Tenopia

Hola Latinopianos Tia Tenopia here with some another weeks’s eclectic stew of tasty Latino culture–this week it’s history, literature and music! Sabroso!

In music, we present a performance by long time Chicano rocker, Ruben Guevara. Now even though he is a bit before my time, I have heard of Ruben and his cool music–if it’s good people keep coming back to it.  He has a new group out now, called “Ruben Guevara and the Eastside Luvers” and he performs regularly throughout Los Angeles. The group has just released a new CD “The Tao of Funkahuatl.” But our musical selection this week is a music poem he wrote called “Con Safos.” Now your Tia must admit, as hip as I am I  was a little uncertain about what “Con Safos” really means. So I asked my Tio Braulio and he tells me that it’s a barrio phrase you often see accompanying graffiti on barrio walls. It means, “Whatever you say about me or do to me, right back on you!” Anyway, on this performance Ruben takes the concept to another level–he is accompanied by John Densmore who was the drummer for the rock group “The Doors.”

In history we revisit Houston, Texas in 1969.  No, your Tia was not there (Por Dios I was not even born yet!). But, again I go to my Uncle Braulio (he knows so much!) and he tells me that in 1968 Chicano students had walked out of high schools in East Los Angeles to protest the inferior education they were being given. In those days, me dice, 50% of the Mexican American students who entered high school never graduated! And those that remained in school were “tracked” into taking shop courses and agricultural rather than college preparatory classes. Well, as I understand it, news of these students standing up for better education spread throughout the Southwest. And a year later, at Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, Texas, when the principal told a model student  that if she continued to speak Spanish on campus she would be expelled, things started to get really hot! Check it out all in this week’s Moment in Time photo, “1969 Houston High School Walk-Out.”

Y hablando de walk-outs, in literature, we have another Luis Torres book review. This one is on the book, “Blowout!,” which tells the story of Sal Castro and his efforts of educational reform in East Los Angeles high schools. You’d think when a Chicano teacher speaks out for better education, that he would be commended. In Sal’s case, he was arrested and charged with conspiracy to disturb the peace! Check out Luis’s book review of this chronicle written by Prof. Mario Garcia and Sal Castro himself. Oh, and if you want to learn about the seven-day sit-in by community activist and parents who came to Sal Castro’s defense and resulted in Sal being reinstated to his teaching post, just check out the LATINOPIA EVENT “1968 SCHOOL BOARD SIT-IN.”

Bueno, on to this week’s postings! Abrazos, from your keeping it suave y firme Tia Tenopia