Immigration
We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us.
Oral History: ‘I came to the U.S.A. in 1962 as a bracero’ (videos)
When labor was short in 1950s and 60s, the American and Mexican governments worked together to import laborers across the border to work as “braceros.”
The American Friends service Committee explains:
Mas…Oral History: ‘I came to the U.S.A. in 1962 as a bracero’ (videos)
When stopped by La Migra, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! (photo)
[Public domain photo by Customs and U.S. Border Patrol.]
Encyclopædia Britannica: Immigration to the U.S.A. (1946 video)
This 1946 educational film from Encyclopædia Brittanica presents a period look at immigration to the New World. “Negroes” are mentioned once, Native Americans are invisible, and Mexicans don’t show up until the very end, but it’s an interesting film pitching the “nation of immigrants” meme. Good public schools are important for the Melting Pot, they note, the quest for freedom brought many persecuted refugees here, Congress started blocking “undesirables” (Asians, Southern and Eastern Europeans) in 1924, and yet there’s the Statue of Liberty who lifts her lamp beside the golden door. History: You’re soaking in it.
Watch the commercial that won the Super Bowl: 84 Lumber
You didn’t see this on FOX! A mother and daughter make their way to El Norte in the long version of the commercial that won the Super Bowl. Thank you, 84 Lumber!
How will Mexicans deal with Trump’s border wall? (video)
Mexican cartoonist Patricio mocked the idea of a border wall in 2009 with this episode of La Enchilada Completa — the Whole Enchilada. [Those voices at the end? A happy customer sure does like that high quality scrap metal and our hero remarks that thousands more kilometers of metal are available.]
Donald Trump to Mexico: This is a Declaration of Wall! (toon)
[Max Espinoza toons for the BabyLonBros.]
Can Donald Trump use his own resources to pay for a wall? (toon)
[Payton Hoegh toons regularly at Weekly Political dot com.]
Mariachis vs Pink Floyd: Another brick in the wall? Nunca! (video)
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, for example Mariachi Cabos vs Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In the Wall. Winner: MARIACHI CABOS!
Lalo Alcaraz on WGBH/PRI: ‘U.S. is becoming Mexico’ (audio)
POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz stopped by WGBH in Boston today to record an interview (audio and video) for Public Radio International’s The World with Carol Hills.
It sounds like he made some new friends in Boston:
Alcaraz is a strong believer in laughing during hard times. And that’s where satire comes in. Coping with humor is something he learned from his Mexican parents. “It’s kind of the Mexican national pastime. I was just telling my Uber driver that the US has become Mexico. That’s why we all have 10 jobs.”
Here’s the audio:
Mas…Lalo Alcaraz on WGBH/PRI: ‘U.S. is becoming Mexico’ (audio)
LatinoUSA NPR Audio: The 1% and 99% of Mexico meet in NYC
LatinoUSA’s Antonia Cereijido writes the intro:
If you go to a high-end restaurant in New York City, there’s a good chance that you’re dining among some of the wealthiest Mexicans in the world and being served by some of the poorest. This story was produced in collaboration with Round Earth Media. Tyler Kelley is a co-reporter on the piece.
[Mariachi Restaurant in Astoria, Queens, NY, photographed by Aude. Some rights reserved.]
Mexico fears Trump means deportations, end of remittances (video)
As the inauguration of Donald Trump gets closer, our friends and families south of the border are getting increasingly concerned.
Mas…Mexico fears Trump means deportations, end of remittances (video)
#TBT 2007 Video: Latino Comedy Project “300”
A new age is dawning. We will never retreat. We will never surrender. Mexicans, tonight we dine… in SAN DIEGO!
DREAMer from Georgia, back in DF, tries to fit in (NPR audio)
Yovany Diaz was brought to the U.S. without papers when he was only seven, and he grew up in Georgia, speaking English. When his mom’s health issues required him to move “back” to Mexico City, this all-American ice hockey loving pocho found himself in a strange new world, even though it was “home.” James Frederick of NPR’s Latino USA has the story.
Boyle Heights’ The Tracks want you to ‘Go Out Tonight’ (video, lyrics)
Go Out Tonight is the debut release from Boyle Heights band The Tracks. The noir-looking video — with visuals from the 1961 film The Exiles — sets a contrasting stage for the band’s poppy high energy sound and escapist lyrics:
Mas…Boyle Heights’ The Tracks want you to ‘Go Out Tonight’ (video, lyrics)
Dear Trump Voter Ashley: We are real people, not your ‘Taco Tuesday’
Dear Ashley,
I don’t really know you very well. I met you for the first time when my family and I travelled to Rogers, Arkansas to see you marry my nephew. I knew my nephew at some point. I saw him grow up here in Los Angeles until my brother and his wife thought the streets of Woodland Hills too gang-infested and uprooted their entire family to the enclaves of my sister-in-law’s home state.
Shortly after, sometime in the 1990s, my mother and I travelled to Arkansas on an Amtrak train for two days (don’t ask – I still haven’t forgiven my mother for refusing to fly) to visit and see our family’s new dwellings.
You weren’t in the picture yet – your husband was still a teenager. Despite the torturous train ride, we relished the opportunity to spend time with my brother and his family. We were even excited to see a new part of the country.
Mas…Dear Trump Voter Ashley: We are real people, not your ‘Taco Tuesday’