THIS WEEK ON LATINOPIA: CHICANO BASEBALL SEASON IN 1949 AND WHAT A SEASON IT WAS! ALSO THIS WEEK, A.P. GONZALEZ’S DOCUMENTARY ON LATINOS IN BASEBALL: EL BÉISBOL AND LUIS TORRES ON BLACK BASEBALL PLAYERS BEFORE JACKIE ROBINSON.
This week Latinopia welcomes in the 2018 baseball season which began on March 29th with a look back at baseball in Texas in 1947. The state of Texas had just announced the first statewide high school baseball competition and a scruffy band of teenagers from Bowie High School in the poverty-stricken Segundo Barrio section of El Paso, Texas, decided they’d compete. Well, they won the city-wide championship, and then the regional championship and pretty soon they were up against affluent Austin high school in the final two-team competition. So poor they had no uniforms, only the clothes on their backs to travel and compete, barred from motels and restaurants because they were Mexicans, the Bowie Bears nonetheless stunned the people of Austin and the state of Texas by winning the first Statewide competition. Check out this amazing true story at: Bowie Bears 1 and Bowie Bears 2. This week on Latinopia.
And, sticking with the baseball theme, check out the exciting excerpt from filmmaker A.P. Gonzalez’s documentary on Latinos in Baseball, El Béisbol. A labor of love, A.P.has been working on this doc for some time, bringing awareness to the crucial role that Latinos have played in advancing America’s favorite pastime. Don’t miss this one!
And Luis Torres reminds us that many Latino baseball players have African roots. In his blog “Black Baseball Players Before Jackie Robinson,” he reviews the important role played by early Latino Black baseball players like Adolfo Luque and Roberto Estalella. before the time of Jackie Robinson.
And don’t miss this month’s Chicano Music Chronicles with Mark Guerrero. This month Mark interviews Chicano singer and musician, Steve Salas, co-founder of the legendary Eastside band, Tierra. Every night in April at 7PM on the Chicano Music Network, listen to Mark’s interview with Steve Salas. Not to be missed!
Enjoy your week on Latinopia!
Tia Tenopia