community

Chicano Park Autodefensa: ¡Victoria!

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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!

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Gentrification Notes from Technotopia, SF:
 On the Cruelty of Indifference


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taxtherich

By GUILLERMO GÓMEZ-PEÑA

Dear Ex-local artist, writer, activist, bohemian, street eccentric, and/or protector of difference…

Imagine a city, your city and your former “hip” neighborhood, being handed over by greedy politicians and re/developers to the crème de la crème of the tech industry. This includes the 7 most powerful tech companies in the world. I don’t need to list them: their names have become verbs in lingua franca; their sandbox is the city you used to call your own.

Mas…Gentrification Notes from Technotopia, SF:
 On the Cruelty of Indifference


What are you doing? What am I doing? Be careful out there!

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sanclementetags“What are you doing?” I asked the teenage boy who was gleefully tagging a repainted space at Santiago Park in Santa Ana. Alarmed, he jumped down the small ledge to look up at the bridge where I was standing.

Others emerged from beneath the bridge to see where the stranger’s voice was coming from. There were probably five or ten of them altogether.

They looked so fresh-faced, ranging in age from perhaps 15 to the early 20s. A young adult with shoulder-length crimped hair appeared to be a leader. He wore a wide grin on his face.

A wave of sadness and great disappointment washed over me. These kids belonged in a boy band, or on a soccer team, or part of a visionary group that would put a person on Mars. Instead they were misusing their talents and potential to deface public property.

Mas…What are you doing? What am I doing? Be careful out there!

Write, shoot, draw for POCHO and become rich and famous*

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You could be rich and famous*

That’s right — you sitting there in your PJs, bunny slippers and Frida Kahlo unibrow.

After all, you know better than other people on the Internets, and if you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?

Donut despair! You can turn your Aztlan acumen into fame y fortune in a matter of weeks, and

It’s easier than you think.

These are the factoids:

This is a proven method that

  • propelled openly-Chicano Lalo Alcaraz and Gustavo Arellano to writing gigs at a new Fox sitcom,
  • zoomed actor and comic Al Madrigal to The Daily Show and
  • teleported NYC standup Elise Roedenbeck from dimly-lit stages in the East Village to the bright TV lights of the new FUSION network in Miami.

Mas…Write, shoot, draw for POCHO and become rich and famous*

Chicanos: How did we become America’s new slave culture?

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Chicano_Pride_by_fokrWho are we?

In my journey as a community activist and Chicano advocate, I’ve experienced many fascinating elements that have inspired me but also scarred me to my very soul.

I have fought the Chicano politician who capitulated in the selling out of his community, broke bread with the “Old Man” whom lent the little he had but gave unselfishly of his wisdom, and have shared space with our sons who have fallen victim to a privatized prison system.

I have fought the white dragon of racism and today… today will begin the telling of those many travels.

There are many obstacles preventing the Chicano people from achieving American uni-culturalism, but none more profound than the many differing points of view available within the Chicano community itself on what it means to be Chicano.

Mas…Chicanos: How did we become America’s new slave culture?

Contribute to POCHO, get discovered, become rich and famous*

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You could be rich and famous*

That’s right — you sitting there in your PJs, bunny slippers and Frida Kahlo unibrow.

After all, you know better than other people on the Internets, and if you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?

Donut despair! You can turn your Aztlan acumen into fame y fortune in a matter of weeks, and

It’s easier than you think.

These are the factoids:

This is a proven method that

  • propelled openly-Chicano Lalo Alcaraz and Gustavo Arellano to writing gigs at a new Fox sitcom,
  • zoomed actor and comic Al Madrigal to The Daily Show and
  • teleported NYC standup Elise Roedenbeck from dimly-lit stages in the East Village to the bright TV lights of the new FUSION network in Miami.

Mas…Contribute to POCHO, get discovered, become rich and famous*

Mi corazón esta con mi gente, my heart is with my people

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My heart is with my people as I await my procedure.

I await my procedure, Mi Gente. I await it this overcast Sunday morning, surrounded by the bells of the Churches, by my Angels, and the people whom I love. Yeah, I ended up in the hospital the other night. Which one….does not matter. I know people here, Mi Gente is here, and I make friends kinda easy, too.

I just got the word about a lady, who comes into the area, every Saturday, to sell her homemade tamalitos. I know where she will be next Saturday, she and her esposo. And I plan to be there, too.

I am going to get my tamalito de rajas, my fave. Maybe I’ll carry the travel coffee deal my sister gave us. Too cool for school. And I’ll bring my “whatta chair” and hang out in the area, under the beautiful trees, and see mis amigos e amigas.

Mas…Mi corazón esta con mi gente, my heart is with my people

Local Latina activist tearfully faces reality: ‘I can’t save the world’

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(PNS reporting from EAST LOS) Vanessa “Coyolxauhqui” García (photo, right) underwent a nervous breakdown at the Boyle Heights Community Development Council’s final 2012 meeting Wednesday night.

After several snotty tissues, García faced up to the vast distance between her dreams and reality.

“I can’t save the world! I can barely save myself!” she cried, wiping her tears on the sleeve of the Mexican peasant blouse she bought on her second trip to Chiapas in ’97.

“I’m, like, trying here. I just want to give back to my community, but it’s hard, you know? Not everyone is as dedicated to la causa as I am.”

Mas…Local Latina activist tearfully faces reality: ‘I can’t save the world’

Documentary: ‘Zoot Suit’ knows the way to Monterey (video)

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In 2008, Monterey County education officials (Central California) mounted a massive effort to stage three separate productions of Luis Valdez’ epic play, Zoot Suit, featuring combined casts and crews of kids from all their high schools. This documentary follows the teachers, Valdez, local volunteers and student actors from planning through auditions to show time.

The next time someone complains that arts education programs are a waste of money or that teachers are ripping off taxpayers, ask them to watch this video. They probably won’t watch, but if they do, and still don’t think Monterey County did a good thing, un-friend them on Facebook. With friends like that, you don’t need enemies!

If they agree, then let’s all bailar to Lalo Guerrero’s Los Chucos Suaves!

Mas…Documentary: ‘Zoot Suit’ knows the way to Monterey (video)

Eye of the beholder: A day in the life of an Eames chair (video)

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DIEZ tells the story of a molded plywood Eames chair and its journey over the course of a few days in San Francisco, a journey that starts when the chair is momentarily left in front of an upscale gallery, and an older Mexican woman takes the chair, mistaking the modern design icon for trash. This random event sets in motion the chair’s journey and surprising transformation.

DIEZ deconstructs; literally and figuratively – an Eames chair. The story illustrates in a whimsical fashion how the value of material objects can have different, but no less important, meaning to different people. DIEZ shows the many different realities that exist in the same neighborhood and the contrasting values that accompany them. Ultimately DIEZ asks the question; when divided into its DIEZ (ten) basic components, what value does an Eames chair really have?

— Filmmaker Immanuel Martin

Lupe Ontiveros (1942-2012) RIP

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Funny and talented Mexican-American actress Lupe Ontiveros passed away last night in Whittier, CA. Lupe was an accomplished actress and community activist and will be missed.

Born in El Paso, TX on Sept. 17, 1942, she appeared in numerous films and television shows, including Selena, Real Women Have Curves, Southland, Desperate Housewives, Rob, Family Guy and many more.

Always ready to crack an off-color joke, Lupe was genial and hilarious and also brutally honest about her time in Hollywood.

Mas…Lupe Ontiveros (1942-2012) RIP

Mea maxima culpa: The Pocho Ocho top Chicano sins

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It’s rough being a Chicano, one little misstep and you can crap all over the sanctity of your Chicanismo. Here’s a list of the top eight Chicano sins you want to avoid, just in case you have trouble keeping track.

8. Changing your name to an Aztec name: If you’re Rosa, don’t pretend like you’re really Xochitl just because you joined MEChA. And that goes for you, too, Nezahualcoyotl, I mean Erick.

7. Confusing Emiliano Zapata with Pancho Villa: Yes, they both had mustaches, but not all Mexicans look the same. One of them was a revolutionary or something, right?

6. Talking shit about RATM: Every Chicano loves Rage Against The Machine, without question, everyone knows this. How dare you?!

Mas…Mea maxima culpa: The Pocho Ocho top Chicano sins