Aztlán Reads

“At one time, I was a member of the Democratic Party. I worked through the Mexican American Political Association in 1964 registering voters in conjunction with the California Democratic Council. I tried to change the Party and was a delegate for Eugene McCarthy during the 1968 California Democratic Party Presidential Primary.  However, something called principles and desire to give back and represent unrepresented Mexican Americans led to a break. In other words, I grew up.”

sj-rivera:

Read Xicano author Luis Urrea’s response to the Tuscon Unified School District’s take on his appearance on the Bill Moyers Show. Urrea puts the smackdown on the TUSD, puts them in the camel clutch and makes them humble…old country way.  

Well said, Luis! 

“With this said, like in the days of the Romans, we don’t have to worry. Our cores will get fat and flabby as we get free bread and circuses during Cinco de Mayo. People will celebrate it without knowing its historical message which was that Mexico was not open to foreign colonialism and that the separation of church and state was the law of the land.

But, this is too much exercise. Too much to think about. Let’s bring on the beer; enjoy the jarabe tapatio; and let the mariachis blare. Enjoy the smiling politicos and the Obamas talk about how Americans are exceptional.”

sj-rivera:

This article and its follow-up are the biggest bunch of horseshit I’ve read in a LONG time. I’m dumbfounded by the blatant ignorance in it as well as pride behind that ignorance in the follow-up. This is something that should be published on Stormfront.  

In the follow-up, this clown admits that not only did she NOT read the dissertations she trashed but she doesn’t feel she should have to. 

Wake the fuck up people - they already banned Chicano studies, they are going after Chicano studies at the university level now and there are recent reports that they are trying to ban even music. Now you have idiots mouthing off about eliminating Black studies as well? 

This. Is. War. 

This is a must read. Please share…and wake up!

sj-rivera:

Signal Boost needed plz. 

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The Last Brown Beret is the story of four Brown Berets, who gather for the funeral of a fifth Brown Beret.  It has been over 20 years since these four have seen each other.  Twenty years since they were politically active in the East Los Angeles High School walk outs, as well as the little known take over of Catalina Island.  They also participated in the Chicano Moratorium rally and March in 1970.  They were there when the Moratorium turned into a riot, fueled by the aggression of the sheriff and police.  This was the same riot in which a Los Angeles sheriff killed bilingual journalist Ruben Salazar, as he attempted to cover the events that occurred that fateful day.

These four Brown Berets talk about all these events and more as they reminisce about the good old days in the garage that one of them has maintained as a shrine to the “Chicano Movimiento” and the Brown Berets.  As they talk, we are allowed a rare glimpse into who and what the Brown Berets were and what they were trying to accomplish.  With flashbacks, these men’s stories are revealed to each other and the audience.

Their story is funny, dramatic, strange and very Chicano.  The spirit of their activism, though tattered, remains alive.  At story’s end, these four characters will make you laugh, cry, think and ultimately challenge you to learn more about the Brown Berets and their legacy.