At San Diego Comic-Con and Chicano Con, a good toon was had by all (photos)

San Diego Comic-Con International 2018 is one for the books — a glorious cosplay and comics extravaganza.

A personal highlight for POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz was his first-ever spot on the Quick Draw panel, said to always be the funniest panel at Comic-Con. This year’s group featured the rapid-fire Sharpies of comics god Sergio Aragones (photo ^^) and “has drawn everything” cartoonist Scott Shaw:

Mas…At San Diego Comic-Con and Chicano Con, a good toon was had by all (photos)

NYC profe visits East Los, eats tacos, takes photos, buys Doyers shirt

From #PueblaYork to #OaxaCalifornia

I live in NYC, and I have to admit, it had been a long time since I spent time in L.A., close to a decade.

In 2008, I visited my tía abuela who lived in Orange County. She drove me up to L.A. to see Olvera Street and a quick drive through Boyle Heights. It’s been a decade since then, and this summer I had a few days and a rental car, so I saw some things. I had some taco literacy work to do, but more than that, I wanted to learn more about the gente, to visit some places that have been mythologized for me, a Chicano from rural Arizona.

Califas, as I heard y’all refer to yourselves, I had come to get to know you better.

Mas…NYC profe visits East Los, eats tacos, takes photos, buys Doyers shirt

Chicano Park Autodefensa: ¡Victoria!

They came, on Saturday, they saw, and they were escorted out, as the home team chanted “fuera”… Once again.

Attempting to re- ignite the alt-right revolution with greasy pizza, local hater Roger Ogden and the Border Town Patriots, Inc. (sic) came down to San Diego’s Chicano Park to host “Patriot Picnic 2.0” promising to bring in a large number of supporters — all 25 of them — to stand up against the hundreds from the Chicano Park Autodefensa.

Unlike their response during the first confrontation last October, San Diego Police Department closed Logan Avenue and placed barricades, insuring that both “Patriots” and Autodefensa members remained separate (keeping the “Patriots” enclosed for a few hours until once again escorted out by SDPD).

Mas…Chicano Park Autodefensa: ¡Victoria!

The time MLK sent a telegram to Cesar Chavez (photo)


“I am deeply moved by your courage,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, wrote to UFW founder Cesar Chavez in 1966.

“As brothers in the fight for equality,” he wrote, “I extend the hand of fellowship and good will and wish continuing success to you and your members. The fight for equality must be fought on many fronts –- in the urban slums, in the sweat shops of the factories and fields. Our separate struggles are really one — a struggle for freedom, for dignity and for humanity.”

See more at Stanford’s King Encyclopedia.

Kids aren’t born racist. Hate is something they learn (photo)

Nick and I told Sophia that after 1 whole month of going poop on the potty, she could pick out a special prize at Target. She, of course, picked a new doll. The obsession is real. While we were checking out, the cashier asked Sophia if she was going to a birthday party. We both gave her a blank stare. She then pointed to the doll and asked Sophia if she picked her out for a friend. Sophia continued to stare blankly and I let the cashier know that she was a prize for Sophia being fully potty trained. The woman gave me a puzzled look and turned to Sophia and asked, "Are you sure this is the doll you want, honey?" Sophia finally found her voice and said, "Yes, please!" The cashier replied, "But she doesn't look like you. We have lots of other dolls that look more like you." I immediately became angry, but before I could say anything, Sophia responded with, "Yes, she does. She's a doctor like I'm a doctor. And I'm a pretty girl and she's a pretty girl. See her pretty hair? And see her stethoscope?" Thankfully the cashier decided to drop the issue and just answer, "Oh, that's nice." This experience just confirmed my belief that we aren't born with the idea that color matters. Skin comes in different colors just like hair and eyes and every shade is beautiful. #itswhatsontheinsidethatcounts #allskinisbeautiful #teachlove #teachdiversity #thenextgenerationiswatching

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The Barrio Nostalgia of ‘Veteranas and Rucas’ on Instagram


The internet is so much about what to look at.

For me, that’s weird. You see the bulk of the first part of my life was bound up with reading—which is all about looking at things, reading words, but has little to do with seeing, with reading pictures.

It is true that as a kid, I was all about reading while seeing, with Richie Rich, Mad Magazine, Vampirella, Batman, Eerie, and Plop! infecting the technicolor corridors of my imagination.

But after that came college and graduate school with a major in literature—so novels took over (that and critical theory), so words came to dominate the scene of my life.

Mas…The Barrio Nostalgia of ‘Veteranas and Rucas’ on Instagram