In Tijuana, Chef Javier of Tacos El Poblano on Boulevard Diaz Ordaz las Huertas serves up tacos with style and flair. [Recargado (“recharged”) is slang for “kick-ass” or “awesome”.]
mexico
Why we fight for immigration reform and a ‘path to citizenship’ (video)
Donald Trump and the GOP haters want to split this beautiful family up and send the parents back to Mexico. We can’t let that happen. The President’s DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) initiative is now stalled because the Republicans won’t vote on the Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, a judge who could potentially end the body’s 4-4 deadlocks.
All about the ‘Maiz’ (video)
Corn — Maiz — is central in the Mexican food culture and was first cultivated over 100 centuries ago. Here is a short tribute to maiz, the golden gift of Mother Nature. [Video by Marysol.]
¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Emiliano Zapata! (music video)
Mexican revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata was born on this day in 1879. POCHO amigo Eric Holland tells one of Zapata’s stories in a song. Eric is on the Feisbuk.
Welcome to 2040 and life on ‘The Other Side’ (video)
Exterior, day: Destitute desert town in the year 2040. Audio: Spanish newsradio tells the story — unemployment is 86%, gangs are everywhere and food and water are getting scarce.
There’s only one thing a father can do — smuggle his family across the border to the prosperous country on The Other Side.
WANTED FOR MURDER! The notorious Pancho Villa (1950 comic book)
“Western” adventure comics, true crime comics, and gringo-written history all came together when publisher Avon gave birth to a Pancho Villa issue as part of their notorious outlaws series:
Mas…WANTED FOR MURDER! The notorious Pancho Villa (1950 comic book)
Watch: Pregnant mujer crossing border gives birth to ‘Alien’
Locked in the back of a van, desperate migrants must cross the Mexican border into the U.S. before one of them gives birth to an illegal alien. The Birth of an Alien (El Nacimiento de un Extranjero) is from Sumiko Braun.
MADåPPLE goes down to ‘Mexico’ — they still got respect for the dead
Los Angeles-based analogelectroclash blues band MADåPPLE — the insane lovechild of Stevie Wonder and Tom Waits — goes down to Mexico in this music video. Why Mexico? They’ve still got respect for the dead. New Orleans, too.
To win playing BORDERS, you need to beat La Migra (video)
BORDERS is a game from Gonzalo Alvarez where players walk in the shoes of an immigrant to endure the danger of a journey across the desert. You only win if you can avoid La Migra and beat the heat by hiding under bushes and staying hydrated. Many make the journey towards the border with the promise of a better life, but only the fittest survive.
Mas…To win playing BORDERS, you need to beat La Migra (video)
Deported moms in Tijuana long for families, work for reform (video)
In Dreaming in Tijuana deported mothers fight for immigration reform in the United States. The anguish of family separation has turned them into activists who promote the U.S. Latino vote from the Mexican side of the world’s “most transited” border. [Video via Univision.]
Philosophy for kids: English y Espanol in El Paso and Juarez (video)
Philosophy for Children in the Borderlands is an educational program in El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, designed to lead children in philosophical discussions related to the ethics and philosophy of the borderlands region. The El Paso Herald Post has the story:
Mas…Philosophy for kids: English y Espanol in El Paso and Juarez (video)
Chicago to Mexico City: We stand with the teachers of Oaxaca (posters)
Chicago artist CHema Skandal! is standing with the teachers of Oaxaca and designed these posters in support. “OaxaCAN!” he notes. Multiforo Alicia — a DF cultural center — is printing and distributing them in Mexico City.
Mas…Chicago to Mexico City: We stand with the teachers of Oaxaca (posters)
Visit Mexico! It’s easy, inexpensive and pleasant! (#TBT 1930s toons)
Crank up your art deco time machine and set it for the 1930s, because Mexican tourism officials want you to come on down!
There are 3 three THREE Mexicos to visit, tu sabes:
- Indian Mexico
- Spanish Mexico and
- Modern Mexico!
Mas…Visit Mexico! It’s easy, inexpensive and pleasant! (#TBT 1930s toons)
Yanga: African slave who rebelled in Spanish ‘Mexico’ (video)
Gaspar Yanga was stolen from West Africa to work as a slave on a Spanish plantation in colonial “Mexico.” But not for long.
Mexican farmer built pyramid because space aliens from Orion (videos)
Raymundo Corona built a stone pyramid on his farm near the Mexico-U.S. border on orders from a tall alien from the Constellation Orion named Herulayka, who had honey-colored eyes and white hair, like many Orionians, except for those other Orionians with honey-colored hair and white eyes, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Mas…Mexican farmer built pyramid because space aliens from Orion (videos)
The Daily Show: Can Trump change his image with Latinos?
On the new Daily Show, new Senior Latina Contributor Eliza Cossio explains to Trevor Noah how Donald Trump can change his image with Latinos.
Out of the night when the full moon is bright: La Llorona (video)
La Llorona? It’s just a legend, mijo, a ghost story told by a traveling puppet show. Still, if you think you hear a weeping woman in the night, don’t come running. [Video by Matthew James Tebbutt.]
PREVIOUSLY ON LA LLORONA:
Mas…Out of the night when the full moon is bright: La Llorona (video)
Mexican immigrant parents: From my shame to my pride
When I first applied to UCLA, I wrote in my personal essay that I didn’t have any positive role models in my violent neighborhood.
Having grown up in East Los Angeles’ Ramona Gardens housing project, I wrote that most of the adults represented gang members, drug dealers, thieves, tecatos (heroin addicts), alcoholics, felons and high school dropouts (or push-outs). I also wrote about my disdain for housing authority officials and government workers for behaving like prison wardens and guards toward us: project residents who depended on government aid or welfare.
Moreover, I decried the police abuse that I had witnessed and experienced, like the time when a cop pointed a gun at me. My crime: being a 15-year-old making a rolling stop while learning how to drive.
@SaraChicaD gets her Cinco de Mayo ¡Grito! on (videos)
It’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:
How greedy miners poisoned a city: ‘El Corrido Del Rio Sonora’ (videos)
Michael J. and Peter D. Ronstadt — of Ronstadt Generations — perform their song El Corrido Del Rio Sonora, about the 2014 Buena Vista Mine Spill in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. The spill released copper sulphate acid that flowed down the Rio Bacanuchi to the Rio Sonora.
The river supplies water for the capital city of Hermosillo. There is still no agreement on damages nor have there been any efforts to take remedial and preventative measures for the future.
Mas…How greedy miners poisoned a city: ‘El Corrido Del Rio Sonora’ (videos)
A young family, divided by the border, lives ‘Through the Wall’ (video)
Undocumented immigrants Abril, brought to the U.S. as a child, and her 2-year-old boy Julián live near San Diego. Julián’s father Uriel was stopped by police for a minor traffic ticket and deported to Tijuana. In order to see each other, Uriel, Abril and Julián must cross difficult terrain to reach the border to spend time together the only way they can — Through the Wall. [Video by Tim Nackashi.]
Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano spews large column of ash (video)
Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano spewed a large column of ash and vapor Tuesday afternoon. The eruption took place at 16:40 PM (22:40 GMT) and reached a height of 3,500 metres (11,482 feet), according to Luis Felipe Puente, the national coordinator of civil protection.
Mt. Popo lies just 50 miles (80 kilometres) southeast of Mexico City, and it is one of the country’s most active volcanoes. [Video by The Netherland’s BNO News.]
Mexican artisan preserves, extends tradition of papier-mâché (video)
Carlos Arredondo is a 24-year-old self-taught artisan who crafts papier-mâché figurines. He sees his creations as counterweights to crime and violence; there is beauty and enchantment in Mexico, he says.
Elvis joins the Army, has ‘Fun In Acapulco’ (#TBT photos, videos)
Today marks the day in 1958 when Elvis Presley (for you kids: he was the Justin Bieber of his day, including the hair) entered the United States Army.
Mas…Elvis joins the Army, has ‘Fun In Acapulco’ (#TBT photos, videos)
‘Meet an (orange is the new black) Immigrant’ (video)
Thought experiment? Guerrilla theater? A prank?
When Sergio Mieja (he’s @SMieja95 on the Twitter) got the idea for this video, he didn’t know exactly what the message was. He just wanted to see who supported Donald Trump.
“But as I was filming it,” he explains, “many of the people I met expressed their feeling and emotions towards this subject and it was then I knew what the purpose of this video was and realized it had a much more significant meaning. Please share this message with your friends and family.”
Narco corridos are so over! El Chapo has a narco juego (video)
Was it inevitable? Nevertheless, here it is: El Chapo Fat ‘n’ Furious, a new smartphone video game.
We’ll let the creators tell the story:
In a 16-bits graphic vintage style, which perfectly syncs to the shifted-tone gameplay, the player finds himself in the shoes of El Chapo on the day of his escape. As he gets on his bike the mad rush begins!
Mas…Narco corridos are so over! El Chapo has a narco juego (video)
Sal and Isela’s song for a farmworker: ‘Sudor (Sweat)’ (video)
It’s hard work, but somebody’s got to do it. Califas balladeers Sal and Isela tell the story of a farmworker in Sudor (Sweat).
Mira los lyrics:
Mas…Sal and Isela’s song for a farmworker: ‘Sudor (Sweat)’ (video)
Artisanal organic Oaxaca mezcal? Take my dinero please (video)
Alberto Martinez, an agave farmer and mezcal distiller in Oaxaca, makes his traditional liquor the old fashioned way. Nikki Vargas (photo) has the story.