Latino arts, history and culture
I first learned about MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán) during UCLA’s Freshman Summer Program (FSP) in 1985, as a 17-year-old freshman. Many moons later, when I became a member, I … [Read more...]
In November, the urban planning community in general and Latina/o community in particular experienced a devastating blow with the death of Leo Estrada. As one of the few Latina/o urban planning … [Read more...]
President Donald J. Trump represents an existential threat to immigrants in the United States. Trump’s immigration rhetoric and policies consist of racist, xenophobic, enforcement-only and … [Read more...]
I Am Not Your “Wetback” “Anti-Mexicanism is a form of nativism practiced by colonialists and their inheritors. —Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones (2017) To borrow—more like steal—from the great James … [Read more...]
Part I I have always been nervous about visiting my old neighborhood. One day, my brother Salomon—an acclaimed artist—invited my younger brothers (Noel and Ismael) and I to meet him at our old … [Read more...]
If Democratic leaders make a deal with President Donald J. Trump on his "s---hole" border wall, they will secure his re-election in 2020. (Here, I’m borrowing a word, "s---hole" or “shithole,” from … [Read more...]
The "War on Immigrants": Racist Policies in the Trump Era President Donald J. Trump and his administration’s immigration agenda centers on draconian, enforcement-based policies and executive orders, … [Read more...]
I'm the son of Mexican immigrants, but I ain’t no anchor baby. My late father, Salomon, first migrated to the United States during the 1950s via the Bracero Program, in which more than 4.6 million … [Read more...]
After failing to predict the 2016 U.S. presidential election, I recently attended and returned from our monthly Mexican meeting in Los Angeles, California. At these monthly meetings, all individuals … [Read more...]
“Global Migration Represents a Universal Human Right” In life, as the saying goes, nothing is certain except for death and taxes. I propose another: migration. Migration represents a … [Read more...]
