chicano

I didn’t know I was a poor Mexican until the day I started junior high

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salomon_y_carmenWhen you grow up in a segregated community and poor, often times, you’re not aware of your ethnicity and class status. Growing up in tight-knit Mexican communities, from Tijuana, Mexico, to East Los Angeles, I didn’t realize that I was Mexican and poor until my first day of junior high school.

As part of federal integration programs, I — along with classmates from Murchison Elementary School in East Los Angeles — was bused to Mt. Gleason Jr. High School in Sunland-Tujunga. Nervous about leaving the notorious Ramona Gardens housing project or Big Hazard projects for a strange place, I braced myself for the unknown.

Mas…I didn’t know I was a poor Mexican until the day I started junior high

Take back Latino Heritage Month and #EndHispandering!

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hispanderingOn September 14 a Latina friend of mine who’s also a college professor said to me, “Brace yourself for Hispanic Heritage Month, I’m already getting phone calls about recommendations for mariachi bands.”

I laughed a bit, but her comment stayed with me. See, she’s half Colombian and I’m Puerto Rican, and the idea of becoming the “go to” people about such things struck me as, well, just another example of how stereotypes about Latinos often work.

The fact that people are asking her about mariachi bands reveals how U.S. society usually lumps us together under the umbrella label “Latino/a” or “Hispanic” despite our cultural differences and diversity.

At the same time, her warning (“brace yourself”) fittingly captured how many Latinxs/Hispanics feel about Hispanic Heritage Month (which I prefer to call Latino Heritage Month because I find it more inclusive, less Spanish-oriented).

Mas…Take back Latino Heritage Month and #EndHispandering!

Here I am, POCHO Jefe-in-Chief @LaloAlcaraz, at #SDCC 2016

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CCIBanner_v3laloselfieLALO ALCARAZ SD COMICCON SCHEDULE

San Diego International ComicCon starts tonight, but tomorrow is the Historic! First! Ever! Chicano Comic Art panel at ‪#‎SDCC‬! Join us! Also, ChicanoCon is in effect Saturday at BorderX Brewery in Logan Heights. See you there!

THURSDAY

Chicano Comic and Public Art in San Diego, Thursday, 7/21/16, 6-7PM, Room: 25ABCA Panel discussion on San Diego’s vibrant popular arts scene in Barrio Logan, SDSU and UCSD. Discussions on Chicano comics and strips, public murals, Chicano superheros, magic and mythology. Moderated by Peruvian muralist and Chicano Park curator Mario Torrero, with me, Lalo Alcaraz, Border X gallery owner David BorderX and POCHO’s Chicano Punk Rock Artesano Junco Canché.

Mas…Here I am, POCHO Jefe-in-Chief @LaloAlcaraz, at #SDCC 2016

My SUNY Senior Thesis: Ritchie Valens and the Creation of Chicano Rock

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ritchiestamp640[Editor's Note: When we shared our Happy Birthday Ritchie Valens story on Facebook last Friday, FB user Danna Carina commented, "Ritchie was the subject of my senior thesis and I graduated with my Bachelors yesterday ON HIS BIRTHDAY. Good omen I suppose!"

We wanted to see what she wrote, and to share it with you.

She agreed, and noted, "Writing this paper was a very intimate and intellectual experience, so it makes me very happy to share it with Pocho.com and the Chicano community."

Thank you, Danna Carina, and congratulations on your graduation from SUNY Purchase.]

Mas…My SUNY Senior Thesis: Ritchie Valens and the Creation of Chicano Rock

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Here’s what I thinko about Cinco in one ranty, illustrated post

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chipssalsa
White folks in sombreros and serapes. Spanglish beer commercials every few minutes. Yup, pretty ridiculous, señor.

I agree with most of my friend Gustavo Arellano:

He says it’s ridiculous, only serves some limited purposes as far as educating about the evils of Imperialism, or the promotion of self-determination, y todo eso. Battle of Puebla my ear. Sure. OK, guey.

However, I think Gustavo misses one big fat burrito-sized point:

☞ We’ve got to celebrate with the holidays we have,
not the holidays we want ☜

Mas…Here’s what I thinko about Cinco in one ranty, illustrated post

@SaraChicaD gets her Cinco de Mayo ¡Grito! on (videos)

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gritoscreencapIt’s time again for Cinco de Mayo, the holiday whose popularity no one really understands, except for the beer companies.

But now you can celebrate by getting your Grito on with the ¡Grito! app. Get it here.

What is the ¡Grito! app? It’s an app a native Texan and lover of her Mexican heritage Kathryn Gonzales made in order to celebrate — not mock — the culture of Gritos.

The app lets you play gritos at appropriate times, teaches about the history of gritos, and even lets you create your own. Here’s one I made for everyday usage:

Mas…@SaraChicaD gets her Cinco de Mayo ¡Grito! on (videos)

It’s Time to #EndHispandering! Take Back Latino Heritage Month

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hispanderingOn September 14 a Latina friend of mine who’s also a college professor said to me, “Brace yourself for Hispanic Heritage Month, I’m already getting phone calls about recommendations for mariachi bands.”

I laughed a bit, but her comment stayed with me. See, she’s half Colombian and I’m Puerto Rican, and the idea of becoming the “go to” people about such things struck me as, well, just another example of how stereotypes about Latinos often work.

The fact that people are asking her about mariachi bands reveals how U.S. society usually lumps us together under the umbrella label “Latino/a” or “Hispanic” despite our cultural differences and diversity.

At the same time, her warning (“brace yourself”) fittingly captured how many Latinxs/Hispanics feel about Hispanic Heritage Month (which I prefer to call Latino Heritage Month because I find it more inclusive, less Spanish-oriented).

Mas…It’s Time to #EndHispandering! Take Back Latino Heritage Month

Pocho Nerd Pride Alert: The Maya counting system is awesome (toon)

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articles-31071_recurso_jpgThe Maya, as we all know from Stand and Deliver, were bad ass – one of few ancient civilizations to create the concept of zero.

Since I am an awesome Latina nerd myself, I must share this awesome official Chilean government education ministry photograph of an actual ancient awesome Maya dude counting some stuff out in front of a chart of the awesome Maya counting system.

Mas…Pocho Nerd Pride Alert: The Maya counting system is awesome (toon)

Pocho Ocho best ways to bait a Chipster (Chicano + hipster) Trap

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hipstertrapIn New Jack City, proactive pranksters have set Hipster Traps to snare unwary hipsters. The NYC traps are baited with Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, American Spirit cigarettes, a bike chain and neon-pink Wayfarer sunglasses.

When trapping chipsters (Chicano hipsters), our experts recommend these Pocho Ocho Best Ways to Bait Your Chipster Trap:

8. Suavecito® Pomade and Beard Wax

7. Venti horchata latte, half skim, half leche de cabra, with agave sweetener

6. $60 huaraches from Urban Outfitters

Mas…Pocho Ocho best ways to bait a Chipster (Chicano + hipster) Trap

BREAKING: Sean Penn set for Cesar Chavez keynote speech

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seanpenn(PNS reporting from MALIBU) Sean Penn will deliver the keynote address at the City of San Jose’s annual Cesar Chavez Day celebration March 31, friends of the actor say. The ceremony honors the late Mexican-American icon and civil rights leader on his birthday.

Penn told dinner companions here Tuesday night that he plans to open the speech at the San Jose Civic Center with some humorous anecdotes.

Mas…BREAKING: Sean Penn set for Cesar Chavez keynote speech

Al Madrigal is a coconut on a quest for identity: ‘Half Like Me’ (video)

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alcoconutPOCHO Migrant Editor Al Madrigal’s epic quest for identity — Half Like Me — debuts on FUSION next Thursday.

Coconut Madrigal (white inside, brown outside) knew turning an intensely personal journey into a docu-comedy wouldn’t be one easy trick, but he never anticipated what happened next.

“I set out to dial down my pocho level from a ten to a five,” he told POCHO in a text message Tuesday night, “and ultimately something much greater and unexpected happened. I ended up not giving a shit.”

“I encourage others to try it, feels great.”

Al got some help from three mostly-reliable sources:

Mas…Al Madrigal is a coconut on a quest for identity: ‘Half Like Me’ (video)

1940s Style: Orquesta de Don Ramon ‘Chicano Boogie’ (video)

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It’s not much of a video but it rules as a wild examplar of 1940s pachuco “boogie-woogie jitterbug” (like Lalo Guerrero’s Los Chucos Suaves.) This performance features unstoppable rhumba-flavored proto-rock-n-roll beat-me-eight-to-the-bar-boogie-woogie highlighted by shouted Spanglish insanity. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a nice welcoming round of applause to Orquesta de Don Ramon as they perform Chicano Boogie. [The artwork is from the Arhoolie compilation album. Yes, the track ends abruptly.]

Can’t rock harder than Lalo Guerrero’s ‘Los Chucos Suaves’ (video)

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Lalo Guerrero is the Father of Chicano Music. His amazing musical legacy (he died in 2005) includes the classic Spanglish “boogie-woogie jitterbug” Los Chucos Suaves – the kick-ass dance-tune inspiration for Zoot Suit (the musical.) We especially like the abstract piano solo that goes off into outer pachucostan and comes back in the nick of time. ¡Que suave!

 

  • [EDITOR’S NOTE]: That’s Pete Alcaraz burning up the keyboard with an insane piano solo. No relation to POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz as far as we know.