Latino arts, history and culture
When I received the email alerting me that there were only a few spots left on the tour, “The Route of Hernán Cortes: The Collision of Two Empires & the Forging of the New World,” I was puzzled … [Read more...]
“Today, the old oak tree in the courthouse square in Goliad provides welcome shade from the south Texas sun. Once, however, it served another, more sinister, purpose. A historical marker reveals that … [Read more...]
“Outside Robledo Family Winery, south of Sonoma, on a cool April Sunday, the U.S. and Mexican flags whipped up a stiff salute in the wind blowing off the San Pablo Bay. A third banner bore the winery … [Read more...]
“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 Valdez. … [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...]
“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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
"Chicanos are Mexican Americans who aren't kidding!" —Dan Guerrero I love that Dan Guerrero came up with this shorthand definition of Chicano; it succinctly captures both a personal reflection … [Read more...]
LATINOS IN ATYPICAL DESTINATIONS. Annually, as the eve of Hispanic Heritage Month dawns, I field around 10 requests to speak on a variety of Latino cultural topics, to groups representing … [Read more...]
THERE, BUT FOR THE MAMBO, GO I... The Mambo craze had reached an apogee in Los Angeles in the 1940s, when my Mexican parents first met and found love. My parents, now 96, always danced well and … [Read more...]
