Latino arts, history and culture
Proud Yaqui Gabriel Ayala is multi-layered yet simple... I was thrilled to have a front-row seat at a recent performance by Gabriel Ayala, award-winning, internationally known and acclaimed … [Read more...]
When are we Mexican … indigenous? Recently I’ve witnessed two spirited debates. One revolved around terminology, that is, what do we call ourselves? The other one revolved around the question of … [Read more...]
Carnalismo is alive and well… “Si sangra mi hermano, yo también sangro … la herida es igual…” (If my brother or sister bleeds, I too bleed … I also am wounded) Chicano Movement song “Yo soy tu … [Read more...]
Liberals: a strong force in history… The mid-term elections are over. No more annoying, lying ads. And no more “Friend” emails. For some inexplicable reason, the right-wing Trump cultists—who … [Read more...]
History is not a spectator sport… I taught Chicano history at the University of Arizona, and to make the material more relevant, whenever I could I gave a Tucson perspective to historical dynamics. … [Read more...]
Where is the love? And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. Saul of Tarsus, aka Paul the Apostle (First Letter to the Corinthians) “Charity,” which … [Read more...]
If you swim in the sewer… “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with … [Read more...]
Spanish is a lovely tongue... Some recent incidents involving the use of Spanish (more on these below) brought to mind an essay entitled “Saints and sinners all agree…” I wrote several years ago. I … [Read more...]
WW II GENERATION GETS IT DONE! It is beyond ironic that teaching young people about the patriotism of the Mexican American community—e.g., that Mexican Americans/Latinos have earned more … [Read more...]
The Republican party, aka Trumpian cult... I’ve written on this topic before, but I’m not being repetitious mindlessly. I believe that every time the phenomenon I discuss here emerges we need to … [Read more...]
Democrats-liberals and Republican-conservatives may be on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but if the dozens of political emails I receive daily are any guide, they seem to use the same … [Read more...]
Listen to the children… As I write this, young people are in the frontlines of political change. High-school students, survivors of the Feb 14 massacre in Parkland, Fla., are confronting … [Read more...]
Special-ed placements: we get it from both sides As they say: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” The Trump administration is looking to delay an Obama-era rule meant to counter … [Read more...]
The times call for action, not platitudes… The times we live in—when innocents are being slaughtered by the dozens—demand leadership and decisive action to prevent future horrific events. Instead, we … [Read more...]
The arc of the moral universe is long … Arizonans recently experienced two doses of good news. One was the determination by a federal judge that the banning of Tucson Unified School District’s … [Read more...]
Whom would Jesus stand with? One would think that denouncing racism and murder in the service of white supremacy and denouncing those who defend such things would be a super easy call for truly … [Read more...]
Sacred Goals—The MAS struggle in Tucson My son Salomon (aka Sal, Jr.) and his colleague Fausto Olmos (more on them below) are producing a film, “Sacred Goals,” highlighting the fierce and inspiring … [Read more...]
The war against the working class and poor… A multi-faceted war is being waged on the working class and the poor. On some of the fronts in this war, Democrats are holding hands with Republicans. … [Read more...]
For the Mexican American-Chicano community St. Patrick’s Day is—or at least should be—more than a day to have fun and drink green beer. By way of their Mexican heritage, Chicanos/as have an historical … [Read more...]
Honoring MLK and Chávez correctly… It’s the season to honor two human-rights icons and role models who put into practice the Gospel instruction: Insofar as you do this unto the least of my … [Read more...]
The recent passing of Chicano music icon Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez generated many accolades commenting on his musical activism. Indeed, Chunky epitomized the trovadores (singers, musicians) who have made … [Read more...]
