chicago
In Chicago’s Pilsen barrio, the molé is made with love (video)
The Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago’s West Side — in the middle of a fierce battle against gentrification — is the center of the Windy City’s Mexican-Americam community. The recent Molé de Mayo fiesta highlighted the classic Mexican magical slow-cooked sauce of many ingredients: Molé. [Video by the students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.]
White Sox manager Rick Renteria visits Chicago’s South Side (video)
Southern California homie Rick Renteria, manager of the Chicago White Sox, visits Tours the South Side Mexican-American Culture in this video from from the team’s SoxTV.
Artist Carlos Barberena: Nicaragua to Chicago in Calacavison (toons)
Nicaraguan-born Chicago artist and printmaker Carlos Barberena mixes up traditional calacas and current events. Wall Street, Mickey Mouse, McDonalds, Halliburton, British Petroleum and other icons look better as muertos, don’t you think?
Mas…Artist Carlos Barberena: Nicaragua to Chicago in Calacavison (toons)
Chicago craft brewer greeted Trump with a special cerveza
The anti-Trump forces in Chicago didn’t just march last week — they drank a specially-brewed anti-Donald cerveza in protest too.
Mas…Chicago craft brewer greeted Trump with a special cerveza
Another toon from Chicago’s anti-Trump demonstration
Last week, when Chicago students organized to protest a Donald Trump campaign rally, some demonstrators carried big prints of this image, by Carlos Barbarena. Our Spanish isn’t perfect, but apparently Carlos was making a point about the Donald and his hair.
PREVIOUSLY ON TRUMP IN CHICAGO:
QDEP/RIP Jose Guerrero, El Maestro de Chicago (toon)
The Chicago Reader shared an excellent obituary of artist Jose Guerrero.
Eat goat tacos to help the Chicago Cubs post season (video)
In Chicago, baseball fans love their loser Cubs. Some say the Cubs’ bad luck is the result of the 1945 Curse of the Billy Goat that has thwarted the home team’s dreams. Now a local bar is urging patrons to fill up on goat tacos before going to Wrigley Field to defeat the evil curse. Is this witchcraft or wishful thinking?
Mas…Eat goat tacos to help the Chicago Cubs post season (video)
Prickly City by Scott Stantis: Maybe we’re in the wrong hood (toon)
Chicago cartoon star Scott Stantis, creator of Prickly City, had changing demographics (and gentrification?) on his mind when he drew and wrote this two years ago:
For those of you who may not recognize the characters with Winslow and Carmen, they are from the comic strip La Cucaracha by my friend, Lalo Alcaraz.
Cheap Chinese chanclas choke Chuy’s Choo Repair
(PNS reporting from CHICAGO) Chuy’s Choo Repair on Ashland has been fixing heels, stretching boots and giving new soles to tired oxfords since 1956, but owner Eddie Calderon doesn’t know how long he can keep his shop open.
Calderon (photo, right), whose father opened the business when he returned to Chicago after the Korean War, says he can’t keep up with cheap imported shoes flooding the country.
“Look at the pinches chanclas on sale at the Dollar Store!” Calderon told PNS as we toured the neighborhood (photo, top.) “If people can buy new Chinese chanclas for 60 cents at the stupid Dollar Store, why would they want to get them repaired if a strap breaks? It’s not worth it!”
Subcommandante Marcos retires, will work on restaurant
(PNS reporting from CHIAPAS, MX) Subcommandante Marcos, leader of the Zapatista rebels (EZLN) in southern Mexico, has announced that he is leaving the group’s leadership.
He said he no longer spoke on behalf of EZLN but will instead focus on his restaurant empire in Chicago.
Mexican immigrants wash Chicago’s glass houses in ‘Paraíso’ (video)
Dangling from ropes on the sides of Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers, a crew of immigrant Mexican window washers faces death every working day. That’s why they embrace life. They’re both Paradise (Paraíso.) [Spanish with English subtitles.]
Forget that ‘Duck’ guy, Steve Yamamoto is a Free Speech Hero (video)
You can exercise your First Amendment rights as a homophobic racist fool on A&E or as an anti-corporate viral video dude on the Internets. You be the judge.
A Chicago employee of the Safeway/Dominick’s supermarket chain (which is closing 72 stores eliminating 6000 jobs) was suspended after he posted this YouTube video — Thanks, Safeway — portraying the store closings as a vicious attack by space aliens.
Steve Yamamoto was suspended Saturday, when he showed up for his last day at work.
Mas…Forget that ‘Duck’ guy, Steve Yamamoto is a Free Speech Hero (video)
Rebel Diaz: ‘I’m An Alien’ [music video]
From Chicago to the Bronx, Rebel Diaz makes music that fights racism and celebrates indigenous people. Is there something familiar about this song’s chorus? I’m An Alien includes a sample from Sting’s Englishman in New York.
- PREVIOUSLY ON NEW JACK CITY:
Rick Bayless is National Council of La Raza’s ‘Mexican of the Year’
(PNS reporting from GRINGOLANDIA) After being awarded the prestigious Order of the Aztec Eagle by the Mexican government in June, culinary guru and TV star Rick Bayless has been selected by the National Council of La Raza as their 2012 Mexican of Year.
“Generalissimo” Bayless (as he has been dubbed by NPR’s Scott Simon), famed for swooping into indigenous communities, stealing their recipes and making millions from them, is pumped:
It is an honor to represent La Razza and I intend to make them muy, muy, MUY proud of me.
“I am absolutely floored by this, guys! Really! I mean, when I got the Aztec thing, I was like: ‘Whoa!’ But this? Man…this will really up my street cred! Viva La Razza!” Bayless said.
Mas…Rick Bayless is National Council of La Raza’s ‘Mexican of the Year’
Young undocumented immigrants line up to apply for Deferred Action
(PNS reporting from CHICAGO) Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children are applying today for a deportation reprieve under a new program established by the Obama administration.
DREAMers will receive a two-year deferment of deportation proceedings. If approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, those DREAMers can also apply for a work permit and later reapply for another deportation deferment.
Some of the details of the program are still being ironed out. Eliseo Medrano of Aurora, who was lined up (photo, left) at the Chicago FCIS Office said, “I didn’t know there was going to be a talent portion to the application today. I suppose I can sing “Volver” or something.”
Mas…Young undocumented immigrants line up to apply for Deferred Action