Hola Mis queridos Latinopians! You’re not going to believe all the good stuff we have for you this week–ancient Aztec history, Dylanesque Tex-Mex music, classic firme Chicano art, and the green chile harvest! Check it all out on Latinopia!
Most of you have probably heard of the term “Aztlán,” and many of you probably know to what this term refers. Yes, it’s the name of the ancient homeland of the Mexica people, the ancestors of today’s Mexican and Mexican Americans. Now, my Tío Braulio tells me that back in the days of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, Mexican Americans were fed up with being told they were foreigners in the United States and tired of hearing, “Go back to your homeland.” And, when they discovered that their indigenous ancestors probably originated from what is today the American Southwest, pués they totally embraced the concept of Aztlán. Muy awesome, no? As my Tio Braulio tells it, “Heck, our ancestors were here before there ever was a United States of America. So we already were in our homeland!” Prof. Fermín Herrera from California State University at Northridge is an authority on Mesoamerican civilizations and teaches nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, at Cal-State Northridge. Here he explains in-depth the concept of Aztlán. It’s easy to see why it has become so important to many Mexican Americans and Chicanos. In a future posting, we’ll also look into where the historic Azltan might have geographically existed!
From Austin, Texas we visit once again with song writer and performer David Garza (se acuerdan de su canción, “I-10 Charm?”) He sings for us his original composition, “Minority Boys Got Cash.” Now this is a canción pesada, where the words really mean something so we went ahead and subtitled the performance so you won’t miss out on any of the cool lyrics. And your Tia Tenopia must confess, entre nosotros las chavalas, isn’t David just dreamy?!
And in the world of Art, we have a new interview with the grand daddy maestro of Chicano art and poetry, Don José Montoya. The Maestro is known for his acclaimed poem “El Louie.” Yes, you can view him reading this poem on Latinopia literature page. In this interview he explains the origins of that legendary art collective from Sacramento, The Royal Chicano Air Force. You didn’t know Chicanos have their own air force? Well check out this interview and you’ll learn all about it!
And of course, September is harvest time and that means the harvest of green chiles! Throughout the Southwest, in towns, villages, and big supermarkets of the big cities, you’re going to see people buying and roasting green chiles. And of course, the place where they all come from is Hatch, New Mexico! Hatch is known widely as the Chile Capital of the World. How did that get to be? Find out as we reprise three videos from the Latinopia archives: Chile Capital of the World, which tells you all about Hatch and how Chile got to be so popular there. And then, La Pelada, a tradition which is on-going and will be held in Los Angeles this coming week-end. And then, what do you do with green chile? Well, how about Green Chile Recipes!
Bueno, enjoy this week’s offerings! Abrazos, Tia Tenopia