Editor: In the February issue (under Cuentos), Grandfather Ernesto
Uribe shared the adventures of his son August, and his 17 year old
grandson, Oscar.
"I
grew up hating myself as a Mexican because of negative portrayals I
saw on TV and in films. I have devoted my life to opening up
opportunities for Latinos in media so we can create positive,
realistic portrayals of who we are."
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Xicana Typewriter. Credit: asu.edu
Photos can be a valuable tool to fill-in this timeline. For example, students often email me a photo taken from their cell phones to establish that they attended certain events. To this end, I often have students construct a storyboard of photos beginning with their infancy, and I then have them explain the story behind the photo, which they often can do only with the help of a parent, family member, or photographer.
The
need to pursue this point was underscored in examining the photo
collection of José Reyes García, a former San Fernando Valley
State College MEChista and for thirty years a high school teacher at
San Fernando High School. The photos brought back memories that
conflicted with the mendacity of the libelous blogger. I determined
that I had to say something about the attempt to libel students who
contributed a great deal to the success of the SFVSC Chicana/o
Studies program.The first photo is of Mechistas picketing a Safeway Market. The young woman in the middle is Cece Espinosa who worked hard. She was from Santa Rosa Elementary in San Fernando and Bishop Alemany High School. Cece was a model student; she died last week. She was representative of so many of the students who believed in education and wanted to help farm workers. Often when marching in front of the local super markets, by-passers hurled scurrilous epithets but they kept marching on and off campus.
Cece
Espinoza, at a Safeway picket in support of farm workers.
Chicana/o students at a 1971 meeting at CSUN. Toppy Flores walking on the left. Acuna sitting, second chair on left from bottom.
The photo recalled other memories – good and bad. On the left is
the image of Lorenzo “Toppy” Flores who was from Santa Monica.
He often used to say that he was from the Westside. Toppy left an
indelible mark on all of us – he remained at CSUN for 30 years. He
was later a part time instructor and based on a Master of Arts
degree after a six year tenure period the department submitted his
name for tenure. The administration turned it down, and Toppy
returned to the university and earned an MFA, which is considered a
terminal degree.
Based on his publications and years of service, he was again
advanced to candidacy and served four years of the required six for
tenure. Toppy died of cancer.
The photo also brought other memories. In 1971 we had just over 300
Chicana/o students. Nevertheless, it was not unusual to have 200
plus students at MEChA meetings. There was a feeling of community;
not everything was perfect; we lost many students because of a lack
of high school preparation, and we always felt that students had the
right to succeed but they also had the right to fail. These early
students were special; they were part of a first generation of
college students. They were idealistic and thought about community.
To
avoid administration interference we established a department
committee comprised of full professors from Chicana/o studies and
the other departments and the Chicana/o committee. I was usually the
chair of the former. The decisions of the real committees controlled
by students were then rubber stamped by the de jure
committee. I don’t recall a committee that I headed ever holding a
meeting; indeed, I pledged that if the students wanted me to resign
they had the power and I would comply.
During
the colonial period in Mexico, the clash between the Western and
indigenous worlds was not just about land but also about the
way 
One
of the main reasons curanderas remained influential in Mexican
culture was because curanderas encompassed holistic ideals that look
at a person’s mind, body, and spirit. They recognize that the
mind, body, and spirit are interconnected and one cannot be healed
without the other. The mind is healed through pláticas, which is
the interaction of talking about what’s going in the ill person’s
personal life, with the curanderas. Pláticas are conversations that
“allow us to self-discover who we are in relationship to ourselves
and others”.5 The pláticas serve as a way to identify the problem
as a whole and as a healing method for the patient. These talks heal
because they allow the patient to orally describe their pain and
emotions, similar to a therapy session. With this new information,
the curanderas then turn to heal the body though powerful remedios
and/or massages. During the entire session, the curanderas are also
healing the spirit through prayer. Prayer is a big part of what
makes this healing method so powerful because it gives the patient a
sense of oneness with the healer and with him or herself. Prayer
allows patients to know that they are not alone in combating their
ailment.
Western
medicine became the dominant healing method when midwifery (parteras)
was overtaken by white, male doctors. Traditional midwifery was
diminished because “parteras” weren’t seen as qualified to
assist in childbearing. The truth is that men wanted to take
over this profession because they believed women were beginning to
have too much power over their bodies. At the time of the takeover
of midwifery by doctors, women were still considered property. They
had no rights and had no way of fighting back. Along with the church
and the government, Western medicine practitioners repressed women
in hopes of controlling their rights. Eventually people accepted
this shift because they were convinced to trust the authority of
science. For Mexico, the push for Western medicine came at a time
when the country wanted to be seen as modern. They believed that
adopting Western medicine would help shape this new image: a
Western, industrial, and more prosperous Mexico. As Western medicine
advanced, the basic knowledge of herbal medicine dwindled. Only
those whose who still have a connection to their indigenous homeland
have carried along remedies for illnesses. For example, the people
of Mexican descent living in the United States still use the basic
remedies to cure a sore throat, such as the following recipe:
It
is now apparent that the dominance of Western medicine has
effectively reduced our knowledge of traditional medicine, such as
those practiced by curanderas. The loss of this once common
knowledge allows Western medicine to be the authority figure on
health, especially women’s health. A passage from Speaking from
the Body by the authors Angie Chabram-Dernersesian and Adela De
La Torre, perfectly sums up the effect of Western medicine on
women and their health:
Aside
from politics, nothing sparks a more passionate debate among
Spaniards than a discussion about Paella.
Differences usually center on whether the elaborate rice dish
has meat, seafood, or both. It’s a no-win argument that’s
been raging since it emerged from the Valencia region more than
a century ago.
He
is a graduate of CIA’s flagship culinary school in Hyde Park,
N.Y. In fact, Hernandez may have been the inspiration for the
prestigious institution’s decision to open a third campus in
San Antonio at the Pearl Brewery site in 2008. Aside from New
York and Texas, the CIA also has a California campus.
Paella
is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. The diversity of
seafood contained in many of the spectacular creations is worth
the wait while chefs prepare it before your eyes. Last year,
chefs and student chefs displayed unparalleled creativity. One
paella pan had shellfish clinging to the sides while another
sported corn husks.
The
truth is that a chef from Valencia, Rafael Vidal, has
insisted for many years that a true blue Paella Valenciana has
only a few select ingredients. Those cherished ingredients
include Valencian rice. The Valencian dish actually began as a
humble entrée, which included rabbit and the region’s
in-season vegetables. The dish evolved from there, and began
including seafood from the Valencia coastline.
Another serious contester for the title of "artist
least likely to enjoy a major career re-estimation,"
the story of cult enigma Rodriguez is nonetheless
characterized by recurring moments of renaissance, sprawled
over four decades and as many continents. Hopelessly obscure
in the United States during his formative years as Detroit's
answer to Dylan via Motown and Bacharach, in South Africa
the artist notoriously remains a nostalgic reminder of
apartheid. As Dutch national newspaper NRC Handelsblad
discovered in 2005, young white South Africans who had been
enlisted with the national service had embraced Rodriguez as
their own counterculture Hendrix. However politically
incorrect this must seem, their longing for the Vietnam era
-- when smoking grass and listening to Rodriguez'
thought-provoking lyrics was viewed as a means of rebelling
against their own ultra-conservative government -- comes
across as perfectly imaginable. As a consequence, much of
his repertoire remains a big favorite of singalongs at an
average "Braai", or barbecue party.
It's
a quiet, non-taqueria/non-mariscos/Cal-Mex kind of joint, filled
with harmless gabachos from the courts and offices downtown during
lunch and a mix of locals and folks willing to make the drive from 
Five
days a week, 88 year-old 
When
pressed for the reasoning why he and so many of his friends
volunteered to serve their country, he simply stated, "It was
quite the thing to do. It was patriotism and this was our
neighborhood." He added "and this was a real barrio, don't
forget that. You know what that is, right?" 
On August 7th 1812 Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara and Augustus Magee cross the Sabine River flying the Emerald Green Flag of Liberty; and it would fly over Texas for a year and 11 days. On April 6th 1813, after a year of bloody warfare Gutierrez de Lara declared our independence. This was a real revolution, a revolution of the people, by the people and for the people. Short lived it may have been, never the less Texas was a Republic with a written Declaration of Independence and a written Constitution. 
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The year 2001 brought “The Majesty
of Spain” exhibit to the city of Jackson, Mississippi. As an
enthusiast of Spanish Colonial History, I relished with great
anticipation the opportunity to have such a collection available for
viewing within an easy car ride from my house. And my hopes certainly
were not disappointed. The many artifacts well represented the splendor
of the much-maligned Spanish Kingdom who, despite its small population
and limited resources, ruled one of the largest empires the world has
ever known with remarkable efficiency given the circumstances. On
completing my tour, I was advised that the state capitol was also
sponsoring its own exhibit dedicated to the Spanish Colonial Period of
Mississippi’s history titled, “Mississippi, Outpost of Majestic
Spain.” Indeed, the exhibit was small but well constructed and
designed. Still, something about it bothered me. Although there were
many fascinating artifacts, replicas, and illustrations brought together
relating to the Spanish presence in the Natchez and Vicksburg area, the
Spanish presence on the Mississippi Coast and Sound was missing. On
inquiring of the caretaker, I was informed that they simply did not have
any information to display. The indication was that none was available
for the Coast period of Spanish rule. This seemed strange to me in view
of the fact that, although the Coast would not have been as valuable to
the Spanish as Natchez or Vicksburg, the period of Spanish rule over the
Coast stretched over more than thirty years, some 12 years longer than
in those two cities.
)
Members of the French Jewish community soon
after the Toulouse attacks