THIS WEEK ON LATINOPIA: ERIN GO BRAGH! SAL BALDENEGRO ON HOW IRISH CATHOLICS BEAT THE KKK, BOBBI MURRAY’S JALAPENO SODA BREAD RECIPE, RICARDO ROMO ON MAGGIE RIVAS RODRÍGUEZ, MARK DAY CELEBRATES THE SAN PATRICO BATALLION AND WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS: EASTER, 1916.
Hola mi gente! This is Saint Patrick’s Day week on Latinopia and we’re celebrating with a special blog by Salomon Baldenegro who goes beyond the leprechaun stereotypes and green beer to remember how real Irishmen and Irishwomen fought for justice and human dignity by taking on the KKK. What? You didn’t know this? Sal did some serious homework here and this blog is very worthy of your time. Check it out!
Also this week, Latinopia reposts Bobbi Murray acclaimed recipe for Irish Soda bread, estilo Mexicano, with jalapeños. This is really a scrumptious treat check it out and don’t be afraid to do a little experimental cooking. And, although we’ve posted it before, we’re reposting an excerpt from Mark Day’s documentary on the legendary San Patricio Battalion, the Irish soldiers who began fighting in the Mexican American War of 1848 on the U.S. side but when they realized they were fighting fellow Catholics like themselves, they went over and fought on the Mexican side of the war instead.
Another Chicano/Mexicano link to the Irish is to be found in the poem Easter, 1916 by William Butler Yeats. On Easter Sunday of 1916, Irishmen rebelled against the British empire and set into motion events that would result in their freedom from England and the creation of today’s present day Irish nation. In the same way, the actions of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata set into motion events that would free the Mexican people of their oppression. The final line of Yeat’s poem applies to both, “A terrible beauty is born.”
This week Dr. Ricardo Romo’s Tejano Report highlights the incredible contributions made by scholar and media activist Maggie Rivas Rodríguez. Maggie has been a journalist and author and has been in the forefront of chronicling the contributions of Latino war veterans through her web portal Voces. Our community is so lucky to have such a firme hermana leading the charge for justice and equality in our communities.
Enjoy your week on Latinopia!
Tia Tenopia