THIS WEEK ON LATINOPIA: ANGELA VALENZUELA ON CENTERING ON SURVIVORS NOT SYMBOLS; STATEMENT BY DOLORES HUERTA FROM THE DOLORES HUERTA FOUNDATION; ERNESTO GALARZA AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE; RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT ON NEW CUBAN MODERNIST WILFREDO LAM EXHIBITION AND EL PROFE QUEZADA ON THE COVERING OF MIRRORS.
Your Tia and all of us were dismayed to learn of the painful and apparently truthful accusations against civil right icon Cesar Chavez– that he raped Dolores Huerta and molested underage young girls. This is truly a tragedy whose repercussions will echo for years and perhaps decades to come. Not just because of the obvious mistreatment of young girls and the rape of a Chicana civil rights icon– but also because of its potential to diminish all the great things that Chavez was able to accomplish on behalf of farm workers in America along with the harm it has done, and will do, to generations of Latinos who believed in him as a standup leader for our people. What are we to make of this horror? Prolific blogger Dr. Angela Valenzuela gives us a considered assessment of how we should think of going forward in her article, “Centering on the survivors not symbols.” Please check it out.
To contextualize the situation and give the facts as we know them, we also post a statement by Dolores Huerta herself on what must be an excruciating revelation. To her credit, this courageous woman, a lifelong fighter for women’s rights, explains the tragedy of her attack by Chavez and her support for the victims of Chavez’s abuse.
Also this week, we post the final episode in our profile of labor and civil rights activist Dr. Ernesto Galarza which focuses on his years as a student at Occidental College in Los Angeles during the 1920s.
Ricardo Romo returns with his Tejano Report . This week he tells us of a recent exhibition of the art work of Cuban modernist painter Wilfredo Lam. Lam has long been recognized as a world class artist and Ricardo’s survey of his works highlight this fact.
And don’t miss El Profe Quezada’s report on the tradition, in both Mexican and Jewish household, of covering a mirror with a cloth on Fridays. Fascinating to appreciate how traditions from different cultures merge over time.
Lots for you to see on Latinopia this week.
Tia Tenopia