Friday January 26 – Patricia developed cold or flu like symptoms: soar throat, aching body, fortunately no fever was present
Weekend of January 27-28 – Rested those two days
Monday January 29 – The symptoms were still very strong
Tuesday January 30 – Since the symptoms wouldn’t go away, decided to visit the office of Dr. Eischel – was attended by FPPA Paula Price who diagnosed a viral infection and that Patricia should go home and rest. Prescribed ibuprofen 600mg.
Wednesday January 31 - The symptoms were still very strong
Thursday February 1 to Sunday February 4 – Situation slightly improved
Monday February 5 – At midday presented a fever; couldn’t take temperature though as Patricia was in her office and did not have a thermometer. The symptoms were: warm or even hot eyes, very tired in general, aching body, red eyes, plus when swallowing there was a click on the right ear. Could hear perfectly; no pain whatsoever in right ear. Made an appointment to visit FPPA Paula Price next day.
Tuesday February 6 (around 10am) - FPPA Paula Price saw Patricia and sent her for blood lab tests to get a better picture of what was going on, though mentioned that it might be only a very tough virus. Saw both ears and said both were full of wax so she ordered a lavash, a procedure that Patricia had gone through in the past in the same doctor’s office, with no problems whatsoever . The nurse proceeded to wash both ears and began with the right ear. After the first two or three seconds of the procedure a very sharp, unbearable pain in the right ear was felt by Patricia, she began to cry since the pain was just too much. The nurse said Patricia was very pale. Patricia began having problems with her balance (though she was seated) and was asked by the nurse to lie down while she called FPPA Paula Price. At the same time a weird noise, kind of static initiated in the right ear. When Paula showed up she decided to manually clean the ears. The right ear was very irritated and in lots of pain but Paula said everything was going to be fine.
Tuesday February 6 (around 4pm) -The pain in the right ear kept on increasing during the day so Patricia called Dr. Eischel’ office, left a vm with one of the people in the desk, was said Paula was going to get back to her. Patricia took two aspirins to mitigate the pain but the pain didn’t subside. Paula didn’t get back to her.
Wednesday February 7 (early morning) -Patricia called Dr. Eischel’ office again, talked to another person in the desk, told them she’d been waiting for Paula and hadn’t heard from her yet, told them about the symptoms. The pain in the right ear continue to increase.
Wednesday February 7 (around 2pm) -Paula finally called Patricia, who described the pain (plus al the noises and the fact that she could not hear now) in the right ear she was suffering. Paula asked her to come to the office whenever there was an opening available, which turned out to be next day @ 10:30am. At around 6pm same day Patricia noted there was discharge coming out of her right ear, this discharge was brownish. Patricia tried to get out this brownish liquid; once she couldn’t get more the pain began to slightly subside.
Thursday February 8 (10:30am) - Paula saw Patricia and diagnosed infection in the right ear, also mentioned there was a “hole” in the eardrum, a hole she hadn’t spotted on Tuesday 6 previous to the lavash. She diagnosed ibuprofen 800mg and amoxicillin (2 500mg capsules per day, during ten days). Told her the eardrum would be healing by itself. Asked her to get an appointment next week to follow up on this.
Wednesday February 14 (9am) -Paula saw Patricia and told her the hole in her eardrum was not healing so she decided to send her to a specialist. But before this she requested Dr. James Eischel’s opinion, he agreed to send me to a specialist.
Thursday February 15 -Appointment with Dr. Robert Wu, ear specialist.
The appointment was good, with a very professional and knowledgeable specialist -- he did a procedure in my right eardrum which consisted of applying a patch to the hole to help it grow - the problem was that except for the hole the rest of the membrane was pretty much healed so he had to scratch it again to sort of stimulate it -he said the window for a membrane to heal itself is between two to seven days after it has been broken and in my case yesterday was the 10th day. So, there's ONLY 20% chance this procedure will work!! Thus there is an 80% chance that I have to go thru real surgery!! And all this because of medical malpractice!
...........................................
Pues resulta que el timpano de mi oido derecho estaroto!!
El 6 de febrero fuí a consulta con el medicopues la infeccion en la garganta no cedía (normalmente solo me dura maximo siete dias, pero esta vez ya llevaba doce dias), me revisó los oidos y dijo que tenia que lavarlos. Cuando apenas habian empezado a lavar el oido derecho sentí un dolor de lo mas horrible que se puedenimaginar, inmediatamente empecé a llorar y dice la enfermera que me puse muy palida y que estaba a punto de desmayarme. Si hubiera estado parada me caigo pues inmediatamente perdí el balance.
En este momento fue cuando ellos me rompieron el tímpano al aplicar el agua con demasiada fuerza. La enfermera llamó al médico y este continuó con el proceso solo que en forma manual, es decir sin agua, solo con una especie de pinzas. Me dio pastillas para el dolor y me dijo que dentro de poco me iba a sentir mejor. Pero no fue asi, en las siguientes 48 horas desarrollé una infección en el mismo oído, regresé el jueves 8 de febrero, esta vez me recetó penicilina (primera vez en casi diez años que tomo penicilina) y me dijo que tenía un hoyo en el tímpano pero que se iba a cerrar pronto. Aquí debió haberme enviado con el especialista pero no lo hizo.
El miercoles 14 regresé a revisión y el hoyo famoso no habia cerrado nada, asi que esta vez si me enviaron con el especialista. Yo le dije que ellos mismos me habian roto el tímpano con la lavada pero ellos lo negaron, solo se disculparon de que yo he estado pasando por todo esto. Ayer jueves 15 finalmente fui con un especialista quien confirmó que el hoyo si fue hecho durante la lavada del oído. El procedió a ponerme un parche en el tíimpano para ayudar a que se recupere el mismo, pero me dijo que como ya han pasado muchos dias de la rotura inicial (diez dias del 6 al 15 de feb) solo hay un 20% de probabilidades que este procedimiento funcione.
Asi que tengo 80% de probabilidades de que si no funciona tenga que hacerme una operacion en el oido para restituir el timpano. En esta cirugia tomarian parte de mi piel y esta la injertarian en el timpano. Me dio veinte dias para que el parche haga su trabajo, pero si el 16 de marzo el hoyo no ha cerrado entonces voy a operación.
Hoy vine a trabajar normal pero no puedo hablar mucho pues la vibracion de mi voz afecta mi tímpano, el cual después de cuatro horas continuas de trabajo ya esta muy molesto asi que ya me voy a casa. Jason y yo estamos muy enojados con el medico que me hizo esto y vamos a ver si podemos aplicar una accion legal en su contra, sin embargo, el especialista nos dijo que esto sería muy difícil pues los abogados cobrarian mucho dinero y nosotros ganariamos muy poco.
De cualquier manera vamos a ver si por lo menos logramos que nos pidan una disculpa formal y por escrito y que paguen los gastos en los que tenga que incurrir si me operan. Bueno, pues yo pensaba celebrar mi cumpleaños bailando todos los dias (danza azteca, danza africana y un poco de salsa y merengue), pero el otorrino me dijo que por lo menos por diez dias debo dejar que mi oído descanse. Y no debo hablar mucho pues la vibracion de mi voz molesta a mi oído.
De cualquier manera lo que me reconforta es que el especialista dijo que no es daño irreversible, lo peor que puede pasar es que me tengan que operar pero después de eso voy a estar bien. Asi que mejor me alegro que no tengo algo mas serio y celebro mi cumpleaños meditando sobre la vida (en vez de bailar TODOS los dias - a lo mejor tomo Tai chi o meditacion, como ven? Algo tengo que hacer, no?).
Friday, February 16, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Articulos sobre inmigración
San Francisco Chronicle
Museum celebrates Mexican death themes
Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The house of the dead awaits your arrival.
Just off the courtyard of a former Carmelite convent here, half a dozen clay sculptures of the dark Aztec underworld lord Mictlantecuhtli fix you with voracious grins and hollow eyes. In a next-door gallery, scores of miniature skeletons strum instruments, cavort in beery fiestas and enlace their bony limbs in fervid love making.
If the mood at Mexico's 2-month-old National Museum of Death feels more celebratory than sepulchral, that's hardly surprising. Although most Western cultures tend to treat death with fear and loathing, Mexicans prefer to embrace it.
San Francisco Chronicle
Study says more minorities ended up with high-cost mortgages
Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Minorities were far more likely than whites to be given high-cost subprime mortgages last year, according to a study to be released today by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, an advocacy group.
In the Bay Area, the disparity between high-cost home loans made to minorities and whites was particularly pronounced, even among borrowers with similar incomes, the study found.
San Francisco Chronicle
Judge stays rule requiring employers to fire illegal immigrants
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, September 1, 2007
A federal judge in San Francisco blocked the Bush administration Friday from imposing a rule requiring employers to fire workers identified as illegal immigrants in government records or face possible prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney granted a nationwide temporary restraining order sought by the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions to keep the government from sending letters to employers demanding that they clear up workers' citizenship status.
The order will be in effect until Oct. 1, when another federal judge will consider whether to grant an injunction that would block the rule until a trial on the unions' lawsuit against the government is held.
San Francisco Chronicle
THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE
Legality of local anti-immigrant laws in doubt
There are few court rulings to serve as guidelines in field long considered federal turf
Karin Brulliard, Washington Post / San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
(08-29) 04:00 PDT Washington --
As local officials from Missouri to Texas to Pennsylvania increasingly respond to public discontent over illegal immigration by passing ordinances, law scholars say a key question remains: Are local regulations legal?
The validity of the measures, designed to regulate an area long considered part of the federal domain, is among the murkiest territories in the already-byzantine field of immigration law, they say, largely because local leaders have never before felt impelled to act, and so there are few specific court rulings to offer clarity.
"You have this complex overlay of statutes and regulations and court cases, and you've got this federalism question of ... what has traditionally been federal power and what the states can do," said Jan Ting, a Temple University law professor. "There could not be an area of law that is less clear than this, I think."
San Francisco Chronicle
Jon Carroll, Friday, June 1, 2007
------------------------------------
Good morning, I understand that you're illegal. Or rather, your status is illegal. That is, you're in the wrong place. Yes, you're in your home, but your home is in the wrong place.
------------------------------------
One way to get clarity on foreign policy issues is to turn the dynamic around. Pretend you are a citizen of the other country; what would you think and what would you do?
If you were an Iraqi, four years after you were invaded by a foreign power because it had been attacked by people who shared your religion and general geographic area but not much else (sort of like the United States retaliating for Pearl Harbor by attacking Korea), and you had seen your cities destroyed and your friends either dead or displaced, what would you do? Better yet: What would most members of the current administration suggest that you do? What would be the patriotic thing to do?
------------------------------------
San Francisco Chronicle, viernes abril 27, 2007
The human face of immigration raids in Bay Area
Arrests of parents can deeply traumatize children caught in the fray, experts argue
Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, April 27, 2007
Immigration agents arrested siblings Victor and Elvira Mendoza, 21 and 17, when it turned out the fugitive they were looking for no longer lived at the Mendozas' home. Officers detained 6-year-old U.S. citizen Kebin Reyes for 12 hours when they arrested his father as an illegal immigrant.
..........................................................................
San Francisco Chronicle, jueves abril 26, 2007
OAKLAND
Measures to oppose U.S. raids
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Measures to oppose U.S. raids
Oakland city officials Wednesday announced two new resolutions condemning recent federal immigration raids and formalizing the city's intention not to cooperate with the U.S. government effort to deport undocumented residents.
The resolutions, one by Mayor Ron Dellums and the other by Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, both condemn the recent raids, including one Friday at an East Oakland manufacturer.
...........................................................................
San Francisco Chronicle, miércoles febrero 21, 2007
A SHARED GOAL
Divided by class, soccer rivals united by love of the game
David White, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Richmond High's boys soccer team spends winters playing behind the poorly lit corner of 23rd and Maricopa streets, where the corner-store windows are protected by bars, the pavement is cracked and potholed, and the temporary street sign touting a revitalization project is obscured by graffiti.
Monte Vista High's soccer team plays in Danville, off to the side of Stone Valley Road, where the rolling hills are green with damp grass and oak trees, the mansions are double-decked and garage doors come in threes at the end of winding driveways.
......................................................................
La Jornada, martes 13 de febrero de 2007.
México, campeón de la inmigración: 11 millones de expulsados a EEUU
El TLCAN y la apertura indiscriminada detonaron el aumento explosivo de la migración, advierte red internacional
Sólo entre 2000 y 2005 se perdieron 900 mil empleos en el campo
ISRAEL RODRIGUEZ
México se ha convertido en el campeón de la migración mundial, superando a países como India, Filipinas, Marruecos y Turquía, con 11 millones de connacionales en Estados Unidos, y 28 millones de personas de origen mexicano en aquel país, aseguró Raúl Delgado, director de la Red Internacional de Migración y Desarrollo.
.............................................................................
Identity theft probe results in raids in 6 states
Federal agents arrest illegal workers at meatpacking plants
Nicole Gaouette, Los Angeles Times
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
(12-13) 04:00 PDT Washington -- Federal officials raided six meatpacking plants across the country Tuesday in the culmination of a 10-month investigation triggered by allegations that illegal immigrants were using the stolen identities of U.S. citizens.
The raids, all at plants operated by Swift & Co., resulted in arrests of workers on immigration violations and some existing criminal warrants, with charges of aggravated identity theft possible at a later date, officials said. The number of arrests was not immediately known. The company was not charged.
.............................................................................
Gringos turn tide crossing border
Boomer retirees invading Mexico
Mike Davis, San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, October 15, 2006
The visitor crossing from Tijuana to San Diego thesedays is immediately slapped in the face by a hugebillboard screaming, "Stop the Border Invasion!"Sponsored by Grassfire.com, the same truculent sloganreportedly insults the public at other bordercrossings in Arizona and Texas.
The Minutemen, once caricatured in the press asgun-toting clowns, are now haughty celebrities ofgrassroots conservatism, dominating AM hate radio aswell as the even more hysterical ether of theright-wing blogosphere. In the heartland as well as inborder states, Republican candidates vie desperatelyfor their endorsement. With the electorate alienatedby the dual catastrophes of Baghdad and New Orleans,the Brown Peril has suddenly become the Republicandeus ex machina for retaining control of Congress innext month's elections.
...............................................................................
Influx of English learners a challenge for California
Tyche Hendricks, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/29/06
Almost 30 percent of the non-English speakers in the United States live in California, many of them in households that are "linguistically isolated" because they lack adults or teenagers proficient in English, according to data from the 2000 census...
.............................................................................
San Francisco Chronicle
THE BAY AREA'S MINORITY MIGRATION - POPULATION SHIFT: Inner cities shrinking as nonwhites seek better schools and lives
Leslie Fulbright, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/15/06
After spending most of his life in Berkeley, Peter Wilson packed up his family last year and moved to Antioch, one of the Bay Area's fastest growing cities. "Berkeley was getting really expensive," said Wilson, 49, who lives with his wife, Yvette, three...
San Francisco Chronicle
THE BAY AREA'S MINORITY MIGRATION - U.S. IMMIGRANTS: Census data find 16% rise in 5 years -- many go to new destinations
Rick Lyman, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/15/06
The number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent over the last five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, according to fresh data released by the Census Bureau. And increasingly, immigrants are bypassing the...
.............................................................................
San Francisco Chronicle
Cheaper China taking business away from Mexico
Jeans factories face increasing competition
Monica Campbell, Chronicle Foreign Service
Thursday, April 6, 2006
(04-06) 04:00 PDT Tehuacan, Mexico -- Down an alley, past Doberman-guarded factories, Reyna Rodriguez sits behind a tall, unmarked metal gate sewing 1,400 pockets a day onto Abercrombie & Fitch designer jeans for $70 a week.
The constant pressure to produce keeps her from chatting with co-workers or taking as many restroom breaks as she feels she needs. She leaves her station only after a floor manager, who checks her progress every two hours, hands her an exit pass -- proof that the petite, bespectacled Rodriguez has met her daily quota.
.............................................................................
Grapes of Wrath, Revisited - Napa Valley celebrates the good life -- but things aren't quite as rosy for the workers who pick the grapes
Glen Martin, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/19/04
To arrive in the Napa Valley, as either resident or tourist, is to have -- well, arrived. It takes an impressive cache of ducats to buy a home in St. Helena or Calistoga, where modest cottages fetch close to a million and anything with any real elbow room...
.............................................................................
Museum celebrates Mexican death themes
Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The house of the dead awaits your arrival.
Just off the courtyard of a former Carmelite convent here, half a dozen clay sculptures of the dark Aztec underworld lord Mictlantecuhtli fix you with voracious grins and hollow eyes. In a next-door gallery, scores of miniature skeletons strum instruments, cavort in beery fiestas and enlace their bony limbs in fervid love making.
If the mood at Mexico's 2-month-old National Museum of Death feels more celebratory than sepulchral, that's hardly surprising. Although most Western cultures tend to treat death with fear and loathing, Mexicans prefer to embrace it.
San Francisco Chronicle
Study says more minorities ended up with high-cost mortgages
Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Minorities were far more likely than whites to be given high-cost subprime mortgages last year, according to a study to be released today by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, an advocacy group.
In the Bay Area, the disparity between high-cost home loans made to minorities and whites was particularly pronounced, even among borrowers with similar incomes, the study found.
San Francisco Chronicle
Judge stays rule requiring employers to fire illegal immigrants
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, September 1, 2007
A federal judge in San Francisco blocked the Bush administration Friday from imposing a rule requiring employers to fire workers identified as illegal immigrants in government records or face possible prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney granted a nationwide temporary restraining order sought by the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions to keep the government from sending letters to employers demanding that they clear up workers' citizenship status.
The order will be in effect until Oct. 1, when another federal judge will consider whether to grant an injunction that would block the rule until a trial on the unions' lawsuit against the government is held.
San Francisco Chronicle
THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE
Legality of local anti-immigrant laws in doubt
There are few court rulings to serve as guidelines in field long considered federal turf
Karin Brulliard, Washington Post / San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
(08-29) 04:00 PDT Washington --
As local officials from Missouri to Texas to Pennsylvania increasingly respond to public discontent over illegal immigration by passing ordinances, law scholars say a key question remains: Are local regulations legal?
The validity of the measures, designed to regulate an area long considered part of the federal domain, is among the murkiest territories in the already-byzantine field of immigration law, they say, largely because local leaders have never before felt impelled to act, and so there are few specific court rulings to offer clarity.
"You have this complex overlay of statutes and regulations and court cases, and you've got this federalism question of ... what has traditionally been federal power and what the states can do," said Jan Ting, a Temple University law professor. "There could not be an area of law that is less clear than this, I think."
San Francisco Chronicle
Jon Carroll, Friday, June 1, 2007
------------------------------------
Good morning, I understand that you're illegal. Or rather, your status is illegal. That is, you're in the wrong place. Yes, you're in your home, but your home is in the wrong place.
------------------------------------
One way to get clarity on foreign policy issues is to turn the dynamic around. Pretend you are a citizen of the other country; what would you think and what would you do?
If you were an Iraqi, four years after you were invaded by a foreign power because it had been attacked by people who shared your religion and general geographic area but not much else (sort of like the United States retaliating for Pearl Harbor by attacking Korea), and you had seen your cities destroyed and your friends either dead or displaced, what would you do? Better yet: What would most members of the current administration suggest that you do? What would be the patriotic thing to do?
------------------------------------
San Francisco Chronicle, viernes abril 27, 2007
The human face of immigration raids in Bay Area
Arrests of parents can deeply traumatize children caught in the fray, experts argue
Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, April 27, 2007
Immigration agents arrested siblings Victor and Elvira Mendoza, 21 and 17, when it turned out the fugitive they were looking for no longer lived at the Mendozas' home. Officers detained 6-year-old U.S. citizen Kebin Reyes for 12 hours when they arrested his father as an illegal immigrant.
..........................................................................
San Francisco Chronicle, jueves abril 26, 2007
OAKLAND
Measures to oppose U.S. raids
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Measures to oppose U.S. raids
Oakland city officials Wednesday announced two new resolutions condemning recent federal immigration raids and formalizing the city's intention not to cooperate with the U.S. government effort to deport undocumented residents.
The resolutions, one by Mayor Ron Dellums and the other by Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, both condemn the recent raids, including one Friday at an East Oakland manufacturer.
...........................................................................
San Francisco Chronicle, miércoles febrero 21, 2007
A SHARED GOAL
Divided by class, soccer rivals united by love of the game
David White, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Richmond High's boys soccer team spends winters playing behind the poorly lit corner of 23rd and Maricopa streets, where the corner-store windows are protected by bars, the pavement is cracked and potholed, and the temporary street sign touting a revitalization project is obscured by graffiti.
Monte Vista High's soccer team plays in Danville, off to the side of Stone Valley Road, where the rolling hills are green with damp grass and oak trees, the mansions are double-decked and garage doors come in threes at the end of winding driveways.
......................................................................
La Jornada, martes 13 de febrero de 2007.
México, campeón de la inmigración: 11 millones de expulsados a EEUU
El TLCAN y la apertura indiscriminada detonaron el aumento explosivo de la migración, advierte red internacional
Sólo entre 2000 y 2005 se perdieron 900 mil empleos en el campo
ISRAEL RODRIGUEZ
México se ha convertido en el campeón de la migración mundial, superando a países como India, Filipinas, Marruecos y Turquía, con 11 millones de connacionales en Estados Unidos, y 28 millones de personas de origen mexicano en aquel país, aseguró Raúl Delgado, director de la Red Internacional de Migración y Desarrollo.
.............................................................................
Identity theft probe results in raids in 6 states
Federal agents arrest illegal workers at meatpacking plants
Nicole Gaouette, Los Angeles Times
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
(12-13) 04:00 PDT Washington -- Federal officials raided six meatpacking plants across the country Tuesday in the culmination of a 10-month investigation triggered by allegations that illegal immigrants were using the stolen identities of U.S. citizens.
The raids, all at plants operated by Swift & Co., resulted in arrests of workers on immigration violations and some existing criminal warrants, with charges of aggravated identity theft possible at a later date, officials said. The number of arrests was not immediately known. The company was not charged.
.............................................................................
Gringos turn tide crossing border
Boomer retirees invading Mexico
Mike Davis, San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, October 15, 2006
The visitor crossing from Tijuana to San Diego thesedays is immediately slapped in the face by a hugebillboard screaming, "Stop the Border Invasion!"Sponsored by Grassfire.com, the same truculent sloganreportedly insults the public at other bordercrossings in Arizona and Texas.
The Minutemen, once caricatured in the press asgun-toting clowns, are now haughty celebrities ofgrassroots conservatism, dominating AM hate radio aswell as the even more hysterical ether of theright-wing blogosphere. In the heartland as well as inborder states, Republican candidates vie desperatelyfor their endorsement. With the electorate alienatedby the dual catastrophes of Baghdad and New Orleans,the Brown Peril has suddenly become the Republicandeus ex machina for retaining control of Congress innext month's elections.
...............................................................................
Influx of English learners a challenge for California
Tyche Hendricks, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/29/06
Almost 30 percent of the non-English speakers in the United States live in California, many of them in households that are "linguistically isolated" because they lack adults or teenagers proficient in English, according to data from the 2000 census...
.............................................................................
San Francisco Chronicle
THE BAY AREA'S MINORITY MIGRATION - POPULATION SHIFT: Inner cities shrinking as nonwhites seek better schools and lives
Leslie Fulbright, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/15/06
After spending most of his life in Berkeley, Peter Wilson packed up his family last year and moved to Antioch, one of the Bay Area's fastest growing cities. "Berkeley was getting really expensive," said Wilson, 49, who lives with his wife, Yvette, three...
San Francisco Chronicle
THE BAY AREA'S MINORITY MIGRATION - U.S. IMMIGRANTS: Census data find 16% rise in 5 years -- many go to new destinations
Rick Lyman, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/15/06
The number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent over the last five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, according to fresh data released by the Census Bureau. And increasingly, immigrants are bypassing the...
.............................................................................
San Francisco Chronicle
Cheaper China taking business away from Mexico
Jeans factories face increasing competition
Monica Campbell, Chronicle Foreign Service
Thursday, April 6, 2006
(04-06) 04:00 PDT Tehuacan, Mexico -- Down an alley, past Doberman-guarded factories, Reyna Rodriguez sits behind a tall, unmarked metal gate sewing 1,400 pockets a day onto Abercrombie & Fitch designer jeans for $70 a week.
The constant pressure to produce keeps her from chatting with co-workers or taking as many restroom breaks as she feels she needs. She leaves her station only after a floor manager, who checks her progress every two hours, hands her an exit pass -- proof that the petite, bespectacled Rodriguez has met her daily quota.
.............................................................................
Grapes of Wrath, Revisited - Napa Valley celebrates the good life -- but things aren't quite as rosy for the workers who pick the grapes
Glen Martin, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/19/04
To arrive in the Napa Valley, as either resident or tourist, is to have -- well, arrived. It takes an impressive cache of ducats to buy a home in St. Helena or Calistoga, where modest cottages fetch close to a million and anything with any real elbow room...
.............................................................................
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Tomates y anginas
Este es un remedio náhuatl/mexicano/azteca que se usa cuando las anginas se encuentran irritadas. Mi papá me aplicó ese remedio cuando yo era niña y era muy efectivo, además de ecológico y muy sano. Hace unos días me dio una super infección viral en la garganta y yo extrañaba muchísimo este remedio. Por esos días hablé con mi papá, le pregunté sobre dicho remedio, cómo lo había aprendido, de quién, etc. y esto fue lo que me contó:
Una vez cuando yo era un niño como de ocho años mis anginas se me irritaron muchísimo y mi mamá me llevó con la Tia Petra (de parte de mi papá Rafael Juárez), esa tía me quería mucho, yo era su sobrino consentido. Cuando ella me vió llegar le dijo a mi mamá: "¡pero mira como esta mi muchachito, mira nadamás que enfermo está! ¿Porqué no me lo habían traido?"
Entonces la Tía Petra dijo que me iba a curar, así que tomó un tomate, lo partió en dos, tomó una mitad y le quitó las semillas y todo lo que tiene enmedio, la volteó, la tomó entre sus dedos de modo que sus dedos tocaran la parte externa del tomate (1), me dijo que abriera la boca bien grande, y con esta mitad de tomate me sobó las anginas, tan fuerte, tan fuerte y tan bien hecho que hasta sentí que me alzaba al sobarme. Hasta me quedé profundamente dormido después de la sobada, y al despertar ¡ya me sentía muy bien!"
Tiempo después de esa primera sobada mi papá le preguntó a su tía sobre cómo se le hacía para sobar así y ella le enseñó su manera de sobar con tomates. Mi papá aprendió tan bien que al poco tiempo el también sobaba a sus hermanos, aparte de sobarse el mismo cada vez que le dolían las anginas.
(1) La mitad del tomate se toma con dos dedos (el medio y el indice), el tomate tiene que estar como cazuelita, con la carnita se soban las anginas, con la otra mitad se soba la parte del cuello donde estan las anginas.
Mi mamá me contó que para aliviar las anginas también es bueno sobar el brazo, pues esto ayuda a desinflamar las anginas. La palma de la mano tiene que estar hacia arriba, y se soba justo antes del doblez del brazo.
Una vez cuando yo era un niño como de ocho años mis anginas se me irritaron muchísimo y mi mamá me llevó con la Tia Petra (de parte de mi papá Rafael Juárez), esa tía me quería mucho, yo era su sobrino consentido. Cuando ella me vió llegar le dijo a mi mamá: "¡pero mira como esta mi muchachito, mira nadamás que enfermo está! ¿Porqué no me lo habían traido?"
Entonces la Tía Petra dijo que me iba a curar, así que tomó un tomate, lo partió en dos, tomó una mitad y le quitó las semillas y todo lo que tiene enmedio, la volteó, la tomó entre sus dedos de modo que sus dedos tocaran la parte externa del tomate (1), me dijo que abriera la boca bien grande, y con esta mitad de tomate me sobó las anginas, tan fuerte, tan fuerte y tan bien hecho que hasta sentí que me alzaba al sobarme. Hasta me quedé profundamente dormido después de la sobada, y al despertar ¡ya me sentía muy bien!"
Tiempo después de esa primera sobada mi papá le preguntó a su tía sobre cómo se le hacía para sobar así y ella le enseñó su manera de sobar con tomates. Mi papá aprendió tan bien que al poco tiempo el también sobaba a sus hermanos, aparte de sobarse el mismo cada vez que le dolían las anginas.
(1) La mitad del tomate se toma con dos dedos (el medio y el indice), el tomate tiene que estar como cazuelita, con la carnita se soban las anginas, con la otra mitad se soba la parte del cuello donde estan las anginas.
Mi mamá me contó que para aliviar las anginas también es bueno sobar el brazo, pues esto ayuda a desinflamar las anginas. La palma de la mano tiene que estar hacia arriba, y se soba justo antes del doblez del brazo.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Ceremonia Azteca
Estoy muy emocionada pues mañana voy a participar en una ceremonia de danza azteca por primera vez. Empecé a bailar danza azteca desde el 2 de mayo del 2006, exactamente un día después de que ocurrieron las grandes marchas por los derechos de los inmigrantes en este país.
Ese día yo asistí a la marcha en San Francisco y vi que al frente de todos iba un grupo de danzantes aztecas quienes bailaban sin descanso y a quienes todos los inmigrantes apoyaban con muchos aplausos y porras. Yo llevaba mi cámara y les tomé muchas fotos. Yo había querido bailar danza azteca desde hacia mucho tiempo pero por una cosa o por otra no lo habia podido hacer. Pero al ver a los danzantes en la marcha decidi que ya era tiempo asi que el siguiente dia me presenté en el Centro Cultural de la Mision de San Francisco y ¡grande sería mi sorpresa al descubrir que el grupo que bailaba al frente de la marcha era el mismo grupo que bailaba regularmente en el Centro de la Mision!
Desde ese día he tratado de asistir a la danza lo mas seguido posible pues no solo me gusta mucho sino tambien siento una especie de paz espiritual cada vez que bailo, ¿será el humo del copal, los tambores, el llamado de la concha marina, la energía de todos los danzantes ... ? No lo se, pero al terminar la danza me siento muy en paz conmigo misma.
Estoy muy emocionada porque va a ser la primera vez que participe en una ceremonia así, en una ceremonia igual a las que asistían y en las que participaban mis ancestros, mis bisabuelos, mis tatarabuelos ... Voy a usar ropa de manta bordada de Oaxaca, cinto de Chiapas tejido en telar de cintura, chachayotes de Puebla (los caracoles que van en las piernas abajo de las rodillas) y el ayacachtli (guaje) que me regaló Ceci en Navidad.
El grupo con el que bailo, se llama Mixcóatl-Anahuak, es el organizador y anfitrión de esta ceremonia. Hace unos momentos hablé con el maestro del grupo y me comentó que invitó a cerca de veinte grupos de danzantes quienes vienen a bailar con nosotros. Ellos vienen de San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Salinas, etc. Dice que esperamos alrededor de cien danzantes y sus familiares. Tambien esperamos a gente de la comunidad. Y como buenos anfitriones a todos, absolutamente a todos les vamos a dar de comer.
Va a ser muy impresionante ver bailar a cien danzantes, todos juntos, muchos con plumas y penachos, todos con indumentaria azteca, con chachayotes.
Ya me voy, tengo que preparar mi ropa para la gran ceremonia de mañana. Deseenme suerte.
Ese día yo asistí a la marcha en San Francisco y vi que al frente de todos iba un grupo de danzantes aztecas quienes bailaban sin descanso y a quienes todos los inmigrantes apoyaban con muchos aplausos y porras. Yo llevaba mi cámara y les tomé muchas fotos. Yo había querido bailar danza azteca desde hacia mucho tiempo pero por una cosa o por otra no lo habia podido hacer. Pero al ver a los danzantes en la marcha decidi que ya era tiempo asi que el siguiente dia me presenté en el Centro Cultural de la Mision de San Francisco y ¡grande sería mi sorpresa al descubrir que el grupo que bailaba al frente de la marcha era el mismo grupo que bailaba regularmente en el Centro de la Mision!
Desde ese día he tratado de asistir a la danza lo mas seguido posible pues no solo me gusta mucho sino tambien siento una especie de paz espiritual cada vez que bailo, ¿será el humo del copal, los tambores, el llamado de la concha marina, la energía de todos los danzantes ... ? No lo se, pero al terminar la danza me siento muy en paz conmigo misma.
Estoy muy emocionada porque va a ser la primera vez que participe en una ceremonia así, en una ceremonia igual a las que asistían y en las que participaban mis ancestros, mis bisabuelos, mis tatarabuelos ... Voy a usar ropa de manta bordada de Oaxaca, cinto de Chiapas tejido en telar de cintura, chachayotes de Puebla (los caracoles que van en las piernas abajo de las rodillas) y el ayacachtli (guaje) que me regaló Ceci en Navidad.
El grupo con el que bailo, se llama Mixcóatl-Anahuak, es el organizador y anfitrión de esta ceremonia. Hace unos momentos hablé con el maestro del grupo y me comentó que invitó a cerca de veinte grupos de danzantes quienes vienen a bailar con nosotros. Ellos vienen de San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Salinas, etc. Dice que esperamos alrededor de cien danzantes y sus familiares. Tambien esperamos a gente de la comunidad. Y como buenos anfitriones a todos, absolutamente a todos les vamos a dar de comer.
Va a ser muy impresionante ver bailar a cien danzantes, todos juntos, muchos con plumas y penachos, todos con indumentaria azteca, con chachayotes.
Ya me voy, tengo que preparar mi ropa para la gran ceremonia de mañana. Deseenme suerte.
Monday, January 15, 2007
No a "Apocalypto"
La Jornada: "Mel Gibson nos debe pedir disculpas" afirma Jorge Miguel Cocom Pech, escritor maya
La Jornada: La gloria de la cultura maya no puede figurar en una película de persecuciones: Earl Shorris
La Jornada: Apocalypto refuerza ideas erróneas sobre los mayas: Rosado May
San Francisco Chronicle
'Apocalypto' does disservice to its subjects
Zachary X. Hruby, Special to The Chronicle
Monday, December 11, 2006
La Jornada: La gloria de la cultura maya no puede figurar en una película de persecuciones: Earl Shorris
La Jornada: Apocalypto refuerza ideas erróneas sobre los mayas: Rosado May
San Francisco Chronicle
'Apocalypto' does disservice to its subjects
Zachary X. Hruby, Special to The Chronicle
Monday, December 11, 2006
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Organización para el bautizo
Así es como la familia se organizó para contribuir al bautizo del BBtín:
Pa - va a pagar la comida: 13 pollos, tamales, refrescos, alcohol (brandy, cerveza)
Ma - pagó la misa ($500), el arroz, el mole (5 kilos para cien personas, 1 kilo alcanza para 20 personas), las flores ($1,200), ponche, las servilletas bordadas
July - donó dos borregos
Ceci - compró las canastitas, saleros, servilleteros para cada mesa
Paty - las invitaciones hechas en Oakland!
Paco - paga la carpa y los meseros
Sandra - Centros de mesa y portada de globos
Abuelita de Janett - dos guajolotes
Mamá de Janett - música
Pa - va a pagar la comida: 13 pollos, tamales, refrescos, alcohol (brandy, cerveza)
Ma - pagó la misa ($500), el arroz, el mole (5 kilos para cien personas, 1 kilo alcanza para 20 personas), las flores ($1,200), ponche, las servilletas bordadas
July - donó dos borregos
Ceci - compró las canastitas, saleros, servilleteros para cada mesa
Paty - las invitaciones hechas en Oakland!
Paco - paga la carpa y los meseros
Sandra - Centros de mesa y portada de globos
Abuelita de Janett - dos guajolotes
Mamá de Janett - música
Friday, December 22, 2006
Tequila, my golden rules
Recently a friend of mine asked me about what to keep in mind when buying tequila. Here's my answer:
Here are my golden rules that I use when buying tequila:
• The tequila has to be añejo or reposado, which means it has aged and looks yellowish, not white at all. The white tequila is very young and though it tastes really good –pretty much all margaritas are prepared with this kind of tequila- it hasn’t yet fully achieved the more complex and sophisticated flavor the aged tequilas have. Añejo is the oldest thus is more expensive but it’s the best. To fully enjoy añejos and reposados you have to take them on a straight shot.
• The tequila has to be made of 100% agave (some labels say “100% blue agave”)
• The tequila has to come from Jalisco, Mexico. Similar to Champagne, which has to come from that specific French region to be called Champagne, if it’s made elsewhere it’ll be called “sparkling wine”. However, Tequila a town in Jalisco, Mexico is the ONLY place on earth with the kind of soil needed to plant blue agave and create tequila. We in Mexico have lots of other alcohol drinks that come from agave but they are not tequila, they are mezcal (from Oaxaca), or pulque (from Central Mexico), etc. These are as good and complex as any good tequila (if I could tell you about pulque, you’d forget about tequila!), just they are not tequila.
The regular and well known brands that I prefer in Mexico and that strictly comply with my rules (I think you can find them here too) are: El Jimador (reposado, not expensive at all but darn good!), Sauza Conmemorativo (reposado/añejo though it’s Sauza is also good), Cazadores (both white and reposado are good), Don Julio (reposado, good!), Herradura Añejo (Yummy! I love it!), Corralejo Añejo (only for very special occasions).
Then there’s a plethora of new and very sophisticated tequilas (like the one I brought to Trish’s party) which names I don’t remember (maybe “Milagro”?) so in these cases I just follow my three rules above.
Note that I’m not a connoisseur so I’m only passing on info that I’ve gathered during the years from my own experiences and from friends and family. Somebody from Jalisco or from the “PhD” program that Elaine mentioned last night might give you more or better info.
Hope I didn’t sound too academic (boring! …)
Salucita!
-----------------------
Also see:
A new name in Tequila
San Francisco socialite provides the cash; Southern California woman, the image
Linda Murphy, Special to The Chronicle
Friday, September 15, 2006
(09-15) 04:00 PDT AMATITAN, Mexico -- Drive 30 minutes northwest of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city, and a periwinkle carpet of blue agave plants begins to unfold, at first in patches, then eventually covering entire hillsides of red soils deposited 200,000 years ago by the eruption of Tequila Volcano.
Look closer and the lavender-blue plush shag becomes jagged and severe. The blue agave's razor-sharp, barbed, 6-foot-long leaves pierce the sky -- and any gringa foolish enough to get too close.
Here are my golden rules that I use when buying tequila:
• The tequila has to be añejo or reposado, which means it has aged and looks yellowish, not white at all. The white tequila is very young and though it tastes really good –pretty much all margaritas are prepared with this kind of tequila- it hasn’t yet fully achieved the more complex and sophisticated flavor the aged tequilas have. Añejo is the oldest thus is more expensive but it’s the best. To fully enjoy añejos and reposados you have to take them on a straight shot.
• The tequila has to be made of 100% agave (some labels say “100% blue agave”)
• The tequila has to come from Jalisco, Mexico. Similar to Champagne, which has to come from that specific French region to be called Champagne, if it’s made elsewhere it’ll be called “sparkling wine”. However, Tequila a town in Jalisco, Mexico is the ONLY place on earth with the kind of soil needed to plant blue agave and create tequila. We in Mexico have lots of other alcohol drinks that come from agave but they are not tequila, they are mezcal (from Oaxaca), or pulque (from Central Mexico), etc. These are as good and complex as any good tequila (if I could tell you about pulque, you’d forget about tequila!), just they are not tequila.
The regular and well known brands that I prefer in Mexico and that strictly comply with my rules (I think you can find them here too) are: El Jimador (reposado, not expensive at all but darn good!), Sauza Conmemorativo (reposado/añejo though it’s Sauza is also good), Cazadores (both white and reposado are good), Don Julio (reposado, good!), Herradura Añejo (Yummy! I love it!), Corralejo Añejo (only for very special occasions).
Then there’s a plethora of new and very sophisticated tequilas (like the one I brought to Trish’s party) which names I don’t remember (maybe “Milagro”?) so in these cases I just follow my three rules above.
Note that I’m not a connoisseur so I’m only passing on info that I’ve gathered during the years from my own experiences and from friends and family. Somebody from Jalisco or from the “PhD” program that Elaine mentioned last night might give you more or better info.
Hope I didn’t sound too academic (boring! …)
Salucita!
-----------------------
Also see:
A new name in Tequila
San Francisco socialite provides the cash; Southern California woman, the image
Linda Murphy, Special to The Chronicle
Friday, September 15, 2006
(09-15) 04:00 PDT AMATITAN, Mexico -- Drive 30 minutes northwest of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city, and a periwinkle carpet of blue agave plants begins to unfold, at first in patches, then eventually covering entire hillsides of red soils deposited 200,000 years ago by the eruption of Tequila Volcano.
Look closer and the lavender-blue plush shag becomes jagged and severe. The blue agave's razor-sharp, barbed, 6-foot-long leaves pierce the sky -- and any gringa foolish enough to get too close.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Trying to move on (my rap) / II
I wanted to talk to you because I wanted to make a proposal; the position I'm in right now is way below my capabilities and I feel I need something bigger and more important to be a part of. Which is why I thought of talking to you. What I'd really like is to be a complex problem solver and being challenged every day.
I really feel everywhere I've been I've performed beyond my expectations and would consider myself in the top 5% of people I've worked with, so I'd appreciate it if you consider me for a current open position in your area or even for a created position so that I can contribute at a higher level that I'm able to now.
Despite having a temporary contract many people have told me that my work is at a higher level than many permanent employees
....................
I need a position with more responsabilities or challenges whether is here or somewhere else but I need a position like that.
I've been in the top 5% though I haven't had the chance to work with you and you haven't been able to see me directly
I really feel everywhere I've been I've performed beyond my expectations and would consider myself in the top 5% of people I've worked with, so I'd appreciate it if you consider me for a current open position in your area or even for a created position so that I can contribute at a higher level that I'm able to now.
Despite having a temporary contract many people have told me that my work is at a higher level than many permanent employees
....................
I need a position with more responsabilities or challenges whether is here or somewhere else but I need a position like that.
I've been in the top 5% though I haven't had the chance to work with you and you haven't been able to see me directly
Trying to move on (advice) / I
Hoy hablé con B al cuadrado y me dio los siguientes consejos:
You are really smart, I wish I had a job for you, if I had one I'd hire you immediately. Your resume looks really good and shows your analytical skills and how good you are.
- To stay in the campus and learn about it apply for a lower job that you'd like, ie, AA3, here you could easily shine and demonstrate them (this is what you need to do, demonstrate to others that you can do this kind of work) that you know how to do Bairs and analytical stuff
- Write your work products: if you have done analytical work, write it so that you can show it in your interviews
- Apply for jobs even if they don't look interesting because when you go to the interviews that's where you'll learn more things about the job that are not posted and also you can tell them you can do more and they can offer you more things to do
- It takes about five years to get to a level you want or to move up the ladder, but even if you are comfortable in one position don't stay there for more than two years, you always have to look for more challenging stuff and move on
- Look for analysts positions in departments
- Get references not only from supervisors (maybe not in this case since they don't have to know you are looking for other places) but also from:
* Users that you have worked with
* Co-workers
* People that you have worked with in special projects
- Just keep on doing it, apply for as many jobs as you can
También me dijo que cuando yo solicité un trabajo con ella el año pasado ella realmente quería que yo obtuviera el puesto pero yo estaba compitiendo contra alguien con mucha mas experiencia que yo en el área de presupuesto si esta persona no se hubiera presentado el trabajo me lo hubieran dado a mí.
You are really smart, I wish I had a job for you, if I had one I'd hire you immediately. Your resume looks really good and shows your analytical skills and how good you are.
- To stay in the campus and learn about it apply for a lower job that you'd like, ie, AA3, here you could easily shine and demonstrate them (this is what you need to do, demonstrate to others that you can do this kind of work) that you know how to do Bairs and analytical stuff
- Write your work products: if you have done analytical work, write it so that you can show it in your interviews
- Apply for jobs even if they don't look interesting because when you go to the interviews that's where you'll learn more things about the job that are not posted and also you can tell them you can do more and they can offer you more things to do
- It takes about five years to get to a level you want or to move up the ladder, but even if you are comfortable in one position don't stay there for more than two years, you always have to look for more challenging stuff and move on
- Look for analysts positions in departments
- Get references not only from supervisors (maybe not in this case since they don't have to know you are looking for other places) but also from:
* Users that you have worked with
* Co-workers
* People that you have worked with in special projects
- Just keep on doing it, apply for as many jobs as you can
También me dijo que cuando yo solicité un trabajo con ella el año pasado ella realmente quería que yo obtuviera el puesto pero yo estaba compitiendo contra alguien con mucha mas experiencia que yo en el área de presupuesto si esta persona no se hubiera presentado el trabajo me lo hubieran dado a mí.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Where am I?
It was a crisp and sunny fall afternoon. After a shitty day at work (too much politics, too much "reorganization") I was exhausted and headed back home. Walking as usual along Fulton street I was just thinking about the new changes in my office, what would they bring for me? What would I do next? How soon should I look for another job? How should I "sell" my excellent set of skills to get a better position or a better salary, a raise? What, how, where ...?
As I was totally embeded in those thoughts I could feel the chilly wind in my face and at the same time I could feel the sun nicely touching my cheeks. I could not completely enjoy seeing the trees or the foliage that adorns Fulton street because I was so absorbed in my thoughts, but I saw them and knew they were there.
Suddendly, after crossing Carleton street a very different thought and question made me stop, this thought brought me to a screeching halt: Where am I? Is this Mexico or the US? I mean, I know I'm not lost I know I should continue walking south and I know how to get to my home, but ... is this street in Mexico or in the US?
I couldn't make up my mind. I couldn't remember exactly where I was. I didn't know which one of "my" two countries this street was in. I had to literally shake my head but the answer wouldn't come. This numbness lasted maybe for a couple of minutes but it seemed like an eternity to me. It felt like I was frozen in time and space with no available answer to my question.
Suddendly, as fast as this thought came I remembered: this is Fulton street in Berkeley, this is the US. Duh!
But, but ... Why did this happen to me? Was it because I was so embeded in my thoughts? Because I was tired? Or maybe because Fulton street is as part of my life as José María Mata or as Fco. J. Macín or as Espiridion Moreno?
Or maybe all of the above?
More transformations, more changes, more movements as time goes by. I'm a witness of my own changes, some of them I can see them wide open, some others are very subtle.
I feel at ease here, I feel at ease there. I have friends here, I have friends there. I dance here, I dance there. I have Jason here, I have dear family there.
Where am I? Where is my home?
I think I should be where my love is. I think my home is where my love is. My love is here in Berkeley with Jason. My love is there with Don Marce, Doña Paulita, Naty, Vira, July, Mary, Ceci, Paco y Janett, Sandra, Jorge, BBtin, Mayra, Ariana ...
But wait, don't I love to dance at Malonga? Don't I love Mama Naomi and Papa Zak? Don't I love taking their classes at Laney? Don't I love la danza azteca con el Güero en la misión? Don't I love being a tour guide for children and youth and showing them with pride art from my culture?
You bet I do!
Creo que mi corazón es como un pichonero, y ahí le caben muchos amores. Y como un pichonero, mi corazón tiene muchas casas.
As I was totally embeded in those thoughts I could feel the chilly wind in my face and at the same time I could feel the sun nicely touching my cheeks. I could not completely enjoy seeing the trees or the foliage that adorns Fulton street because I was so absorbed in my thoughts, but I saw them and knew they were there.
Suddendly, after crossing Carleton street a very different thought and question made me stop, this thought brought me to a screeching halt: Where am I? Is this Mexico or the US? I mean, I know I'm not lost I know I should continue walking south and I know how to get to my home, but ... is this street in Mexico or in the US?
I couldn't make up my mind. I couldn't remember exactly where I was. I didn't know which one of "my" two countries this street was in. I had to literally shake my head but the answer wouldn't come. This numbness lasted maybe for a couple of minutes but it seemed like an eternity to me. It felt like I was frozen in time and space with no available answer to my question.
Suddendly, as fast as this thought came I remembered: this is Fulton street in Berkeley, this is the US. Duh!
But, but ... Why did this happen to me? Was it because I was so embeded in my thoughts? Because I was tired? Or maybe because Fulton street is as part of my life as José María Mata or as Fco. J. Macín or as Espiridion Moreno?
Or maybe all of the above?
More transformations, more changes, more movements as time goes by. I'm a witness of my own changes, some of them I can see them wide open, some others are very subtle.
I feel at ease here, I feel at ease there. I have friends here, I have friends there. I dance here, I dance there. I have Jason here, I have dear family there.
Where am I? Where is my home?
I think I should be where my love is. I think my home is where my love is. My love is here in Berkeley with Jason. My love is there with Don Marce, Doña Paulita, Naty, Vira, July, Mary, Ceci, Paco y Janett, Sandra, Jorge, BBtin, Mayra, Ariana ...
But wait, don't I love to dance at Malonga? Don't I love Mama Naomi and Papa Zak? Don't I love taking their classes at Laney? Don't I love la danza azteca con el Güero en la misión? Don't I love being a tour guide for children and youth and showing them with pride art from my culture?
You bet I do!
Creo que mi corazón es como un pichonero, y ahí le caben muchos amores. Y como un pichonero, mi corazón tiene muchas casas.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Tlacuil-something
Creo que ya soy todo un caso (lingüístico-social) para Chomsky, George Lakoff, Ilan Stavans, etc. Bueno, no es que yo sea única porque creo que esto les pasa a todos los inmigrantes que tienen que usar un idioma diferente a su idioma natal.
De cualquier manera, no deja de ser fascinante para mí el hecho de observar, de atestiguar con mis propios ojos (y con mis propios oídos) la transformación lingüística por la que estoy pasando.
Yo ya estaba muy consciente de que uso espanglish en muchas conversaciones en mi vida diaria en mis interacciones con Jason, que es con quien hablo exclusivamente español o en mis interacciones periódicas con otros hispano-parlantes. Por ejemplo, Jason y yo usamos la palabra "chicudo" para referirnos a bebés con mejillas gorditas, o incluso usamos el derivado "chicudín" cuando el bebé de marras es muy "cute" o sea, es muy tierno y bonito. Cuando vemos un bebé con estas características decimos "ay, ¡que cute está ese chicudín!"
También estoy consciente de que uso otras palabras o construcciones del idioma inglés cuando hablo español. Claro, trato de no decir "aplicación" en vez de forma o solicitud, y ¡mucho menos digo "te hablo pa tras"! ¡Esta frase realmente se me hace horrible! Aunque entiendo porqué y de donde viene.
Pero este "self-awareness" (y sigo con lo apochado) no me preaparó para lo que me escuché decir en un video-caset que grabé en julio del 2005. Resulta que yo estaba entrevistando a mi mamá y a mi tía Agustina en la casa de mi tía de San Esteban Ecatitlán. Me estaban contando cómo preparaban un mole y cuando terminaron yo les pregunté: "no entendí una parte, ustedes mencionaron un ingrediente, ustedes dijeron algo como, algo como tlacuil ... tlacuil ... " y mi mamá y mi tía decían, no, no dijimos eso, pero yo insistí y les dije, sí, si dijeron algo así, dijeron "tlacuil-something".
¿¡Qué!?, respondieron las dos, y yo seguí insistiendo pero ellas siguieron diciendo, no, no. Así que llegó un momento en que dejé de insistir. Esa vez no reparé en su sorpresa cuando yo dije "tlacuil-something", bueno, ni siquiera reparé en que YO había dicho eso, ni siquiera me dí cuenta. Hasta hace unos días que estaba revisando dicho casete.
Creo que los cambios lingüísticos siguen y seguirán operando en mí y yo voy a notar algunos, pero está claro que no voy a poder notarlos todos.
Aquí voy en el camino a apocharme y a usar dos lenguajes que son muy diferentes entre sí.
De cualquier manera, no deja de ser fascinante para mí el hecho de observar, de atestiguar con mis propios ojos (y con mis propios oídos) la transformación lingüística por la que estoy pasando.
Yo ya estaba muy consciente de que uso espanglish en muchas conversaciones en mi vida diaria en mis interacciones con Jason, que es con quien hablo exclusivamente español o en mis interacciones periódicas con otros hispano-parlantes. Por ejemplo, Jason y yo usamos la palabra "chicudo" para referirnos a bebés con mejillas gorditas, o incluso usamos el derivado "chicudín" cuando el bebé de marras es muy "cute" o sea, es muy tierno y bonito. Cuando vemos un bebé con estas características decimos "ay, ¡que cute está ese chicudín!"
También estoy consciente de que uso otras palabras o construcciones del idioma inglés cuando hablo español. Claro, trato de no decir "aplicación" en vez de forma o solicitud, y ¡mucho menos digo "te hablo pa tras"! ¡Esta frase realmente se me hace horrible! Aunque entiendo porqué y de donde viene.
Pero este "self-awareness" (y sigo con lo apochado) no me preaparó para lo que me escuché decir en un video-caset que grabé en julio del 2005. Resulta que yo estaba entrevistando a mi mamá y a mi tía Agustina en la casa de mi tía de San Esteban Ecatitlán. Me estaban contando cómo preparaban un mole y cuando terminaron yo les pregunté: "no entendí una parte, ustedes mencionaron un ingrediente, ustedes dijeron algo como, algo como tlacuil ... tlacuil ... " y mi mamá y mi tía decían, no, no dijimos eso, pero yo insistí y les dije, sí, si dijeron algo así, dijeron "tlacuil-something".
¿¡Qué!?, respondieron las dos, y yo seguí insistiendo pero ellas siguieron diciendo, no, no. Así que llegó un momento en que dejé de insistir. Esa vez no reparé en su sorpresa cuando yo dije "tlacuil-something", bueno, ni siquiera reparé en que YO había dicho eso, ni siquiera me dí cuenta. Hasta hace unos días que estaba revisando dicho casete.
Creo que los cambios lingüísticos siguen y seguirán operando en mí y yo voy a notar algunos, pero está claro que no voy a poder notarlos todos.
Aquí voy en el camino a apocharme y a usar dos lenguajes que son muy diferentes entre sí.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Odio hacia lo tropical
Artículo de Víctor M. Toledo publicado en La Jornada el viernes 15 de diciembre del 2006
Todos somos mesías tropicales
"Durante siglos, las regiones tropicales del mundo fueron, para el imaginario de la civilización europea, las porciones más enigmáticas, paradisiacas, inexpugnables y peligrosas del orbe. Y no se trataba solamente de las zonas intertropicales del globo, que aloja montañas, sabanas y aun regiones áridas, sino especialmente de las áreas tropicales húmedas de las bajoplanicies, ahí donde la lluvia y la temperatura alcanzan sus valores máximos. La percepción fue, como casi siempre sucede, contradictoria. Por un lado el atractivo de un paraíso desconocido; por el otro el rechazo hacia un mundo que resultaba inhóspito e incomprensible."
.........................................
Después de leer este artículo me pregunto, ¿será por eso que mis amigas las "blancas" odian, pero realmente odian (and this is kind of freaky) y desprecian al Peje? Pero si ni lo conocen, ¿cómo pueden odiarlo? Una cosa es odiar a "dubia" pero bueno, este cuate ha cometido genocidio, así que no odiarlo ya sería mucho. Pero, ¿el Peje? ¿Qué les ha hecho?
Ahora, aclaro que el multicitado no es mi héroe favorito pero yo definitivamente no lo odio. Además el ayudó a mis papás al darles dinero para despensa, cosa que NUNCA ANTES NADIE había hecho. Y claro, los papás de mis amigas "las blancas" obviamente no necesitan dicho dinero, ellos siempre han tenido dinero (si hacemos una investigación histórica sería interesante encontrar la fuente de sus ingresos) así que no necesitan unos quinientos pesos del Peje.
Hay otras culturas que son igualmente odiadas por ser tropicales (porque son expresiones fuertes y enérgicas de vida, porque sus danzas son como torrentes de vida, como explosiones de vida que nada ni nadie puede detener, no tienen miedo de su cuerpo y están orgullosos de el). Estas culturas han sido golpeadas, destrozadas, perseguidas ... pero con todo y esto siguen adelante y defendiendo orgullosos su cultura y sus tradiciones.
...................................
La interpretación de Víctor Toledo, una caricatura: Krauze La Jornada domingo 17 de diciembre del 2006
Víctor Manuel Toledo responde a Enrique Krauze La Jornada martes 19 de diciembre del 2006
Todos somos mesías tropicales
"Durante siglos, las regiones tropicales del mundo fueron, para el imaginario de la civilización europea, las porciones más enigmáticas, paradisiacas, inexpugnables y peligrosas del orbe. Y no se trataba solamente de las zonas intertropicales del globo, que aloja montañas, sabanas y aun regiones áridas, sino especialmente de las áreas tropicales húmedas de las bajoplanicies, ahí donde la lluvia y la temperatura alcanzan sus valores máximos. La percepción fue, como casi siempre sucede, contradictoria. Por un lado el atractivo de un paraíso desconocido; por el otro el rechazo hacia un mundo que resultaba inhóspito e incomprensible."
.........................................
Después de leer este artículo me pregunto, ¿será por eso que mis amigas las "blancas" odian, pero realmente odian (and this is kind of freaky) y desprecian al Peje? Pero si ni lo conocen, ¿cómo pueden odiarlo? Una cosa es odiar a "dubia" pero bueno, este cuate ha cometido genocidio, así que no odiarlo ya sería mucho. Pero, ¿el Peje? ¿Qué les ha hecho?
Ahora, aclaro que el multicitado no es mi héroe favorito pero yo definitivamente no lo odio. Además el ayudó a mis papás al darles dinero para despensa, cosa que NUNCA ANTES NADIE había hecho. Y claro, los papás de mis amigas "las blancas" obviamente no necesitan dicho dinero, ellos siempre han tenido dinero (si hacemos una investigación histórica sería interesante encontrar la fuente de sus ingresos) así que no necesitan unos quinientos pesos del Peje.
Hay otras culturas que son igualmente odiadas por ser tropicales (porque son expresiones fuertes y enérgicas de vida, porque sus danzas son como torrentes de vida, como explosiones de vida que nada ni nadie puede detener, no tienen miedo de su cuerpo y están orgullosos de el). Estas culturas han sido golpeadas, destrozadas, perseguidas ... pero con todo y esto siguen adelante y defendiendo orgullosos su cultura y sus tradiciones.
...................................
La interpretación de Víctor Toledo, una caricatura: Krauze La Jornada domingo 17 de diciembre del 2006
Víctor Manuel Toledo responde a Enrique Krauze La Jornada martes 19 de diciembre del 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
La ruptura familiar en México causada por la inmigración
Artículo publicado en New Yor Times (inglés) el martes 19 de diciembre de 2006.
Three sisters: Making a Life in the U.S., but Feeling Mexico’s Tug
Chapter 1: Raquel
by Julia Preston
SAN ANTONIO — It is the fourth quarter, with South San Antonio High School holding a narrow lead over its archrival in the biggest football game of the year, and most everyone in the bleachers is standing and hollering. But not Raquel Rodríguez.
Artículo publicado en La Jornada, jueves 14 de diciembre de 2006.
Soledad y carencias, legado de las esposas de migrantes
Matilde Pérez U. enviada
Pánuco, Zac., 13 de diciembre. Todas las mañanas, antes de iniciar las labores de su casa y después en el campo, María de Jesús pedía al Niño de las Palomitas y al Santo Niño de Atocha que protegieran a su esposo y que ''tentaran su corazón'' para que regresara a su pueblo, con su familia; así lo hizo durante cinco años. Pero se cansó.
Three sisters: Making a Life in the U.S., but Feeling Mexico’s Tug
Chapter 1: Raquel
by Julia Preston
SAN ANTONIO — It is the fourth quarter, with South San Antonio High School holding a narrow lead over its archrival in the biggest football game of the year, and most everyone in the bleachers is standing and hollering. But not Raquel Rodríguez.
Artículo publicado en La Jornada, jueves 14 de diciembre de 2006.
Soledad y carencias, legado de las esposas de migrantes
Matilde Pérez U. enviada
Pánuco, Zac., 13 de diciembre. Todas las mañanas, antes de iniciar las labores de su casa y después en el campo, María de Jesús pedía al Niño de las Palomitas y al Santo Niño de Atocha que protegieran a su esposo y que ''tentaran su corazón'' para que regresara a su pueblo, con su familia; así lo hizo durante cinco años. Pero se cansó.
Like dogs
On the morning of December 12, 1531, it is said that the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec or Náhuatl Native while he was walking on the Tepeyac Hill located in what is now known as México City.
When he first saw her he cried and confided to her that the recently arrived Spaniards treated all Native people with contempt and cruelty and asked her "why is it that all of us Natives are treated like dogs?". The Virgin replied that she was there to help all of them, that Juan Diego was her xocoyotzin (my dear son, in Náhuatl), that she was Tonantzin (Mother Earth) and that BOTH Spaniards and Náhuatls were equal and equally valuable to her and that all of them were her children. Since then millions of people in Mexico and abroad seek her guidance, help and protection and revere her as our Mother.
This occurred 290 years before slavery was officially abolished in Mexico and 334 years before it was abolished in the US.
Fast forward 475 years later, move north of the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande as they call it here).
On the morning of December 12, 2006, while more than five million Mexicans were celebrating our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe in the outskirts of Tepeyac Hill, more than ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED immigrant workers, working in the plants of the meat packing company called Swift located in six different states, were raided, handcuffed, arrested and sent to undisclosed locations. To this day no lawyer has been able to contact them. They were arrested under the premise that they were using either false social security numbers or numbers that belong to other people. According to the corresponding authorities they were after only 170 individuals. Why did they arrest more than 1,300 then?
The immigrant communities in those states (Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Iowa and Minnesotta) have been terrorized and shattered, this will bring unknown consequences to all. Among the known and immediate consequences is the fate of the innocent victims of all: the children. According to reports from immigrant and human rights groups in Colorado, there are AT LEAST hundred children that have become orphans instantly in that state. They don't have parents anymore as their parents have been arrested and nobody knows their whereabouts. Or worse, even if they knew about them, their parents will most likely be deported to their countries of origin. A headline from a Colorado newspaper reads "breast-feeding mother missing in raid", she had left her new born baby at her home with a baby-sitter. What will happen to this baby?
According to the law when an employee is not officially allowed to work here but was anyway hired by a company, the enforcement (arrests) should be applied to the employers, not the employee.
What kind of punishment is this? This is a dirty war against immigrants, correction, this is a dirty war against BROWN immigrants. This is a demonstration of hate, nothing to do with security or la chingada, as immigrants come here looking for jobs because in their countries of origin and due to the infamous IMF, World Bank, Nafta etc. (organisms that are controlled by this country) there are no jobs. And also, because the employers here like to hire them as these immigrants represent low costs for the companies.
Most of the thirteen hundred arrested come from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Peru and most of them are Native American (Maya, Aztec, Mixtec, Zapotec, Inca, Quechuas, etc.) or of Native descent. This is their land. They have inhabited this land for thousands of years, not only for two hundred years or less.
This happened exactly 475 years after a Native American asked "why are we treated like dogs?". Unfortunately today, the question still applies. WHY ARE WE TREATED LIKE DOGS?
...................................
I already called my representatives here in California and asked them to take a critical stand against these horrible events and that they STOP this human tragedy happening in those six states and to STOP the raids. I called the representatives below and to my dismay, nobody knew what I was talking about, I had to give them lots of details and even mentioned newspapers articles and radio programs to them.
I urge you to call your representatives too and ask them to stop this war against colored immigrants.
Barbara Lee (510) 763-0370
Barbara Boxer (415) 403-0100
Diane Feinstein (415) 393-0707
For more information:
La Jornada, jueves 14 de diciembre, 2006.
Redadas en plantas empacadoras en EUA
Democracy Now, Thursday, December 14, 2006.
More than 1,200 arrested in six state immigration raid (READ transcript)
(READ transcript)
(LISTEN to interview - go to minute 42:16)
Rocky Mountain News, Thursday, December 14, 2006
ICE accuses Swift & Co. of skirting deportations
The fallout: At least 100 kids parentless
San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Identity theft probe results in raids in 6 states / Federal agents arrest illegal workers at meatpacking plants
Marta Granillo (right) cries for her husband and others arrested by federal officials at a Swift meat processing plant in Greeley, Colo. Rocky Mountain News photo by Ahmad Terry via Associated Press
When he first saw her he cried and confided to her that the recently arrived Spaniards treated all Native people with contempt and cruelty and asked her "why is it that all of us Natives are treated like dogs?". The Virgin replied that she was there to help all of them, that Juan Diego was her xocoyotzin (my dear son, in Náhuatl), that she was Tonantzin (Mother Earth) and that BOTH Spaniards and Náhuatls were equal and equally valuable to her and that all of them were her children. Since then millions of people in Mexico and abroad seek her guidance, help and protection and revere her as our Mother.
This occurred 290 years before slavery was officially abolished in Mexico and 334 years before it was abolished in the US.
Fast forward 475 years later, move north of the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande as they call it here).
On the morning of December 12, 2006, while more than five million Mexicans were celebrating our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe in the outskirts of Tepeyac Hill, more than ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED immigrant workers, working in the plants of the meat packing company called Swift located in six different states, were raided, handcuffed, arrested and sent to undisclosed locations. To this day no lawyer has been able to contact them. They were arrested under the premise that they were using either false social security numbers or numbers that belong to other people. According to the corresponding authorities they were after only 170 individuals. Why did they arrest more than 1,300 then?
The immigrant communities in those states (Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Iowa and Minnesotta) have been terrorized and shattered, this will bring unknown consequences to all. Among the known and immediate consequences is the fate of the innocent victims of all: the children. According to reports from immigrant and human rights groups in Colorado, there are AT LEAST hundred children that have become orphans instantly in that state. They don't have parents anymore as their parents have been arrested and nobody knows their whereabouts. Or worse, even if they knew about them, their parents will most likely be deported to their countries of origin. A headline from a Colorado newspaper reads "breast-feeding mother missing in raid", she had left her new born baby at her home with a baby-sitter. What will happen to this baby?
According to the law when an employee is not officially allowed to work here but was anyway hired by a company, the enforcement (arrests) should be applied to the employers, not the employee.
What kind of punishment is this? This is a dirty war against immigrants, correction, this is a dirty war against BROWN immigrants. This is a demonstration of hate, nothing to do with security or la chingada, as immigrants come here looking for jobs because in their countries of origin and due to the infamous IMF, World Bank, Nafta etc. (organisms that are controlled by this country) there are no jobs. And also, because the employers here like to hire them as these immigrants represent low costs for the companies.
Most of the thirteen hundred arrested come from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Peru and most of them are Native American (Maya, Aztec, Mixtec, Zapotec, Inca, Quechuas, etc.) or of Native descent. This is their land. They have inhabited this land for thousands of years, not only for two hundred years or less.
This happened exactly 475 years after a Native American asked "why are we treated like dogs?". Unfortunately today, the question still applies. WHY ARE WE TREATED LIKE DOGS?
...................................
I already called my representatives here in California and asked them to take a critical stand against these horrible events and that they STOP this human tragedy happening in those six states and to STOP the raids. I called the representatives below and to my dismay, nobody knew what I was talking about, I had to give them lots of details and even mentioned newspapers articles and radio programs to them.
I urge you to call your representatives too and ask them to stop this war against colored immigrants.
Barbara Lee (510) 763-0370
Barbara Boxer (415) 403-0100
Diane Feinstein (415) 393-0707
For more information:
La Jornada, jueves 14 de diciembre, 2006.
Redadas en plantas empacadoras en EUA
Democracy Now, Thursday, December 14, 2006.
More than 1,200 arrested in six state immigration raid (READ transcript)
(READ transcript)
(LISTEN to interview - go to minute 42:16)
Rocky Mountain News, Thursday, December 14, 2006
ICE accuses Swift & Co. of skirting deportations
The fallout: At least 100 kids parentless
San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Identity theft probe results in raids in 6 states / Federal agents arrest illegal workers at meatpacking plants
Marta Granillo (right) cries for her husband and others arrested by federal officials at a Swift meat processing plant in Greeley, Colo. Rocky Mountain News photo by Ahmad Terry via Associated Press
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
La (otra) Historia
Serie de artículos, entrevistas, ponencias, etc. sobre la historia y sus usos y abusos. Algunos en español otros en inglés. Algunos en texto, otros en sonido.
Democracy Now, martes 19 de diciembre del 2006
From Bolivia to Baghdad: Noam Chomsky on Creating Another World in a Time of War, Empire and Devastation
(to listen go after headlines)
World-renowned scholar and linguist Noam Chomsky spoke this weekend at an event sponsored by Massachusetts Global Action. The event titled, "What's Next? Creating Another World in a Time of War, Empire and Devastation" was held at the Emmanuel Church in Boston. Chomsky, who is a professor of Linguistics at MIT, returned from Latin America in October. He talked about the recent elections in the region, which have brought leftist, governments to power that are challenging U.S foreign policy. Chomsky also spoke about Iraq and Iran in the context of Latin America.
Democracy Now, lunes 18 de diciembre del 2006
Howard Zinn on The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism
(to listen go after headlines)
Howard Zinn is one of this country's most celebrated historians. His classic work "A People's History of the United States" changed the way we look at history in America. First published a quarter of a century ago, the book has sold over a million copies and is a phenomenon in the world of publishing - selling more copies each successive year
Artículo publicado en La Jornada el miércoles trece de diciembre de 2006.
Javier Aranda Luna
La otra historia cuenta
"Generalmente la historia es un inventario de fechas y de nombres donde los cambios ocurren en unos días y sus protagonistas son unos cuantos. Y la historia la cuentan, nos enseñó en México Miguel León-Portilla, los vencedores. La historia cuenta pero no siempre nos cuenta el cuento de la verdad. La historia más completa está hecha de matices, es un prisma cuya imagen mejor retrata la cultura de todos los días, la minucia cotidiana que nos forma sin darnos cuenta y de la que formamos parte."
Democracy Now, martes 19 de diciembre del 2006
From Bolivia to Baghdad: Noam Chomsky on Creating Another World in a Time of War, Empire and Devastation
(to listen go after headlines)
World-renowned scholar and linguist Noam Chomsky spoke this weekend at an event sponsored by Massachusetts Global Action. The event titled, "What's Next? Creating Another World in a Time of War, Empire and Devastation" was held at the Emmanuel Church in Boston. Chomsky, who is a professor of Linguistics at MIT, returned from Latin America in October. He talked about the recent elections in the region, which have brought leftist, governments to power that are challenging U.S foreign policy. Chomsky also spoke about Iraq and Iran in the context of Latin America.
Democracy Now, lunes 18 de diciembre del 2006
Howard Zinn on The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism
(to listen go after headlines)
Howard Zinn is one of this country's most celebrated historians. His classic work "A People's History of the United States" changed the way we look at history in America. First published a quarter of a century ago, the book has sold over a million copies and is a phenomenon in the world of publishing - selling more copies each successive year
Artículo publicado en La Jornada el miércoles trece de diciembre de 2006.
Javier Aranda Luna
La otra historia cuenta
"Generalmente la historia es un inventario de fechas y de nombres donde los cambios ocurren en unos días y sus protagonistas son unos cuantos. Y la historia la cuentan, nos enseñó en México Miguel León-Portilla, los vencedores. La historia cuenta pero no siempre nos cuenta el cuento de la verdad. La historia más completa está hecha de matices, es un prisma cuya imagen mejor retrata la cultura de todos los días, la minucia cotidiana que nos forma sin darnos cuenta y de la que formamos parte."
Monday, December 11, 2006
Tonantzin en San Juan Bautista
Anoche, Jason y yo tuvimos oportunidad de asistir a la escenificación de La Vírgen del Tepeyac, puesta en escena de El Teatro Campesino dirigida por Luis y Kinan Valdez en el pueblo de San Juan Bautista.
La noche estaba fresca y agradable, hacía un frío húmedo muy rico, olía a tierra mojada, las estrellas estaban muy brillantes y el ambiente a pueblo tranquilo nos hizo sentir muy a gusto. Encontramos estacionamiento a dos calles de la misión y el camino del auto hacia la misión me recordó mucho el camino de la casa de mis papás a la iglesia del pueblo de San Francisco Molonco (Estado de México). Un cuatro de octubre en las fiestas de San Francisco, el camino mojado, recién acabado de llover, yo caminando del brazo de mis papás y junto a mis hermanos hacia la iglesia para oír la misa en honor del santo patrono del pueblo. Que recuerdos.
Aquí, al norte del Río Bravo en vez de caminar junto a mis papás yo caminaba junto a Jason. Cuando llegamos a la misión ya había mucha gente formada, y aunque se escuchaba gente hablando en español el idioma mas usado era inglés. En la entrada nos recibieron muy amables preguntándonos de dónde veníamos, Jason dijo "Berkeley" y yo sin pensarlo dije "Mexico City", después pensé que hubiera dicho Tenochtitlán o aún mejor Tepeyac, pero bueno, eso será para la próxima ocasión.
Nos tocó sentarnos en las bancas que corren paralelas a la nave de la iglesia. Aquello estaba lleno. La maestra de ceremonias nos dió la bienvenida, se apagaron las luces y comenzó el espectáculo con los danzantes aztecas cantando en círculo. Después fueron a bailar justo frente al altar mayor y de repente una muchacha azteca llegó corriendo a avisar que ya habían llegado los españoles.
Una mujer azteca les dió la bienvenida a los españoles pero les advirtió que no esperaran que creyera en sus dioses europeos y les pidió que ya la mataran, pues ellos ya habían destruído a los dioses aztecas y para ella ya no existía razón de vivir.
Los actores desempeñaron muy bien sus papeles, todos en perfecto español mezclado con un poco de náhuatl. Se ve que sentían muy hondo el sufrimiento azteca o el desdén y desprecio español hacia nosotros, dependiendo de a quién interpretaban. Vimos a Juan Diego, a su tío Juan Bernardino, y a otra gente sencilla del barrio de Cuautitlán. Cuando llegaron los españoles a bautizarlos, unos aceptaban y otros se negaban rotundamente a ello.
Una vírgen morena con voz bellísima se le apareció por primera vez a Juan Diego diciendole "Juan Diego, mi xocoyotzin", y cuando el le preguntó "¿porqué a los indios nos tratan como perros?" lo hizo con tanta vehemencia y sentimiento que practicamente se me salieron las lágrimas y tuve que hacer un gran esfuerzo para no soltar el llanto. Juan Diego en cambio, si estaba llorando.
Después, al terminar la obra ya saliendo de la iglesia, me enteré que yo no fuí la única del público que lloró pues caminando atrás de nosotros venía un grupo de chavos chicanos y escuché que uno de ellos les dijo a los demás "you know, though I know this story and I've been here tons of times, I always get emotional, especially when la Vírgen talks to Juan Diego and I can't avoid crying" los demás asintieron y le dijeron que ellos también habían llorado. Pensé, bueno ahí está, unos nacimos al sur del Río Bravo, otros nacieron al norte, pero los dos lloramos por lo mismo.
Ver también:
- Programa especial (inglés/español) de KPFA Radio del doce de diciembre del 2006 celebrando a Guadalupe-Tonantzin
- La Jornada reporta (español) el trece de diciembre del 2006: Más de cinco millones de peregrinos
- Bernado Barranco a través de un artículo en La Jornada del miércoles trece de diciembre del 2006 pregunta: ¿Dónde quedó Juan Diego?
" ... los antropólogos hablan de un desfase entre la imagen católica que proyecta a un indígena sumiso y la creciente actitud contestataria y reivindicatoria de los pueblos indígenas."
Friday, December 08, 2006
Te Coatlaxupeh-Tonantzin
Duh!!! Como dirían los gringos. Pues si, me acaba de caer el veinte. Y es algo obvio, lo cual yo ya daba por hecho y tal vez por eso no lo había examinado con mas detalle.
Hace unos momentos durante la comida le platicaba a unas compañeras de trabajo que este domingo Jason y yo vamos a ir a la misión de San Juan Bautista a ver una pastorela o escenificación sobre las apariciones de la Vírgen de Guadalupe. Estas puestas en escena son llevadas a cabo por el El Teatro Campesino. El Teatro Campesino es un grupo de actores chicanos que dirige Luis Valdez, un muy imporante lider chicano.
Bueno, pues les contaba, entre otras cosas, que en verdad la Vírgen de Guadalupe es una diosa azteca, la madre tierra, Te Coatlaxopeuh-Tonantzin, pero como obvio, los españoles no pudieron pronunciar su nombre pues se les hizo fácil cambiarle su nombre a Guadalupe en vez de intentar pronunciarlo tal como era. Les comenté que si los católicos de ascendencia europea supieran esto, es decir, si supieran que la Vírgen de Guadalupe en realidad es una Diosa Náhuatl y que además millones de nosotros la veneramos, creo que a algunos esto no les iba a gustar. Y por dentro pensé: ándele, cómase eso; estos pensamientos obviamente dirigidos a los europeos, españoles de preferencia.
Lo que quiero decir es que nos "convirtieron" a sangre y fuego al catolicismo y hasta tuvieron el descaro y cinismo de usar a una de nuestras diosas para convencernos. Pero, ¿se dan cuenta que a pesar de todos los pesares, a pesar de que destruyeron nuestra cultura nosotros AUN seguimos venerando a una DIOSA AZTECA?
Claro, ahora ya no hacemos sacrificios humanos y una de las razones es porque el gobierno los hace por nosotros (leáse Acteal, Atenco, Tlatelolco, etc., por cierto, ¿qué coincidencia que los nombres de estos modernos sacrificios humanos están en náhuatl, no? ¿Porqué los sacrificios nunca se llaman "Iturriaga" o cosas por el estilo?). Aunque dicho sea de paso esos sacrificios modernos no son para Huitzilopochtli o alguna deidad de ese rango sino en cambio para las deidades modernas de muy bajo rango con nombres como Globalización, Libre Comercio, etc.
Y aunque las veneraciones no se lleven a cabo como se hacían hace más de quinientos años la verdad es que millones de mexicanos seguimos venerando, respetando, creyendo, pidiendo ayuda a Tonantzin. Mi mamá me enseñó a pedir y rezar a "Mamá Lupita", nunca a Chuchín, aunque claro, el respeto se le tiene (y más después de saber que el realmente fue como un guerrillero moderno, ¡pues oiga usted!). Pero a la que siempre nos acogemos es a Tonantzin. Y no puede ser de otra manera, ella es nuestra madre tierra, si no nos acogemos a ella, ¿a quién?
Ahora, también se venera a Huitzilopochtli, a Tlaloc y a otros dioses, y estas veneraciones se llevan a cabo por mexicanos que están muy cerca de sus raíces, como los danzantes aztecas, los orgullosos y valientes guardianes y partícipes de la cultura viva, los únicos que llevan a cabo rituales que son parecidos a los que celebraban nuestros ancestros. Ellos defienden a capa y espada nuestra historia, nuestra cultura, nuestras tradiciones y al hacerlo ellos víven en el amoroso regazo de Huitzilopochtli, de Quetzalcóatl y de muchos mas.
Pero la población en general (y aquí me incluyo yo), los que no hemos podido reconectarnos con nuestro pasado o con nuestras raíces, los que desgraciadamente tenemos un gran desconocimiento sobre dichos dioses, nosotros, aún descobijados como estamos de nuestra propia cultura, aún en nuestra triste ignorancia, nosotros tenemos a Tonantzin. A lo mejor sabemos poco o nada de los otros dioses, pero Mamá Lupita siempre está ahí para nosotros. Ella es la única. Ella es nuestra única conexión con nuestra verdadera cultura. Sin ella estaríamos perdidos. Claro, porque sin ella, sin una liga a la madre tierra, ¿qué sería de nosotros? Solo estaríamos flotando en el inmenso universo, sin rumbo.
Así es que para mi es motivo de mucha alegría el saber que de alguna u otra manera la mayoría de los mexicanos aún tenemos una conexión, que además es muy fuerte, con Te Coatlaxopeuh-Tonantzin, con nuestros orígenes.
Ojalá algún día también seamos orgullosos y valientes guardianes y partícipes de la cultura viva, como los danzantes aztecas.
Hace unos momentos durante la comida le platicaba a unas compañeras de trabajo que este domingo Jason y yo vamos a ir a la misión de San Juan Bautista a ver una pastorela o escenificación sobre las apariciones de la Vírgen de Guadalupe. Estas puestas en escena son llevadas a cabo por el El Teatro Campesino. El Teatro Campesino es un grupo de actores chicanos que dirige Luis Valdez, un muy imporante lider chicano.
Bueno, pues les contaba, entre otras cosas, que en verdad la Vírgen de Guadalupe es una diosa azteca, la madre tierra, Te Coatlaxopeuh-Tonantzin, pero como obvio, los españoles no pudieron pronunciar su nombre pues se les hizo fácil cambiarle su nombre a Guadalupe en vez de intentar pronunciarlo tal como era. Les comenté que si los católicos de ascendencia europea supieran esto, es decir, si supieran que la Vírgen de Guadalupe en realidad es una Diosa Náhuatl y que además millones de nosotros la veneramos, creo que a algunos esto no les iba a gustar. Y por dentro pensé: ándele, cómase eso; estos pensamientos obviamente dirigidos a los europeos, españoles de preferencia.
Lo que quiero decir es que nos "convirtieron" a sangre y fuego al catolicismo y hasta tuvieron el descaro y cinismo de usar a una de nuestras diosas para convencernos. Pero, ¿se dan cuenta que a pesar de todos los pesares, a pesar de que destruyeron nuestra cultura nosotros AUN seguimos venerando a una DIOSA AZTECA?
Claro, ahora ya no hacemos sacrificios humanos y una de las razones es porque el gobierno los hace por nosotros (leáse Acteal, Atenco, Tlatelolco, etc., por cierto, ¿qué coincidencia que los nombres de estos modernos sacrificios humanos están en náhuatl, no? ¿Porqué los sacrificios nunca se llaman "Iturriaga" o cosas por el estilo?). Aunque dicho sea de paso esos sacrificios modernos no son para Huitzilopochtli o alguna deidad de ese rango sino en cambio para las deidades modernas de muy bajo rango con nombres como Globalización, Libre Comercio, etc.
Y aunque las veneraciones no se lleven a cabo como se hacían hace más de quinientos años la verdad es que millones de mexicanos seguimos venerando, respetando, creyendo, pidiendo ayuda a Tonantzin. Mi mamá me enseñó a pedir y rezar a "Mamá Lupita", nunca a Chuchín, aunque claro, el respeto se le tiene (y más después de saber que el realmente fue como un guerrillero moderno, ¡pues oiga usted!). Pero a la que siempre nos acogemos es a Tonantzin. Y no puede ser de otra manera, ella es nuestra madre tierra, si no nos acogemos a ella, ¿a quién?
Ahora, también se venera a Huitzilopochtli, a Tlaloc y a otros dioses, y estas veneraciones se llevan a cabo por mexicanos que están muy cerca de sus raíces, como los danzantes aztecas, los orgullosos y valientes guardianes y partícipes de la cultura viva, los únicos que llevan a cabo rituales que son parecidos a los que celebraban nuestros ancestros. Ellos defienden a capa y espada nuestra historia, nuestra cultura, nuestras tradiciones y al hacerlo ellos víven en el amoroso regazo de Huitzilopochtli, de Quetzalcóatl y de muchos mas.
Pero la población en general (y aquí me incluyo yo), los que no hemos podido reconectarnos con nuestro pasado o con nuestras raíces, los que desgraciadamente tenemos un gran desconocimiento sobre dichos dioses, nosotros, aún descobijados como estamos de nuestra propia cultura, aún en nuestra triste ignorancia, nosotros tenemos a Tonantzin. A lo mejor sabemos poco o nada de los otros dioses, pero Mamá Lupita siempre está ahí para nosotros. Ella es la única. Ella es nuestra única conexión con nuestra verdadera cultura. Sin ella estaríamos perdidos. Claro, porque sin ella, sin una liga a la madre tierra, ¿qué sería de nosotros? Solo estaríamos flotando en el inmenso universo, sin rumbo.
Así es que para mi es motivo de mucha alegría el saber que de alguna u otra manera la mayoría de los mexicanos aún tenemos una conexión, que además es muy fuerte, con Te Coatlaxopeuh-Tonantzin, con nuestros orígenes.
Ojalá algún día también seamos orgullosos y valientes guardianes y partícipes de la cultura viva, como los danzantes aztecas.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Oaxaca en llamas
Serie de artículos sobre los acontecimientos en Oaxaca:
Oaxaca, la advertencia
Fernando Gálvez de Aguinaga / 2006-12-18
Uno de cada cinco mexicanos ha escapado en busca de trabajo hacia los Estados Unidos, dato que por sí solo refleja la incapacidad del gobierno federal y los gobiernos estatales en México para generar políticas de desarrollo real para nuestro país. Es claro que el movimiento social oaxaqueño es expresión del hartazgo de la ciudadanía ante esta instrumentación de la política que sigue desmantelando el campo, el mercado interno y, en general, las posibilidades de un bienestar mínimo para las familias mexicanas.
De Guantánamo a Oaxaca: ausencia de ley
John Saxe-Fernández / 2006-12-07
De Guantánamo a Oaxaca, el ejercicio de la violencia de Estado, incluyendo la tortura, la suspensión del habeas corpus, principio garantizado por la Constitución y las convenciones de Ginebra, se realiza en medio de un "vacío de ley", pivote del Estado de excepción auspiciado en EU por la Casa Blanca desde el 11-9 por medio de la Ley Patriota, la Ley de Comisiones Militares, la Ley Marcial y varios decretos. Con la guerra antiterrorista de Bush este fascismo se vuelca al resto del orbe y hacia México y Canadá, a través de la Alianza para la Prosperidad y la Seguridad de la América del Norte. Al sur del Bravo se da como una radicalización de la "mano dura" que, en nombre de la "legalidad" y con el manejo y manipulación monopólicos de los medios electrónicos, reprime a las fuerzas sociales desatadas por el neoliberalismo, sofoca los derechos humanos y políticos e inhibe el desahogo no violento de los conflictos.
Del pacto de Huatulco a la dictadura
Fernando Gálvez de Aguinaga / 2006-12-07
Apenas 20 días después de las cuestionadas elecciones federales, Felipe Calderón se reunió en Huatulco con Ulises Ruiz en un encuentro que podemos leer como el amarre de una alianza entre el PRI y el PAN para sostener la gobernatura de uno y la entrada a la Presidencia del otro. La alianza ha sido estratégica e incondicional en los momentos más críticos para ambos, por lo que se desprende que el ruiderío provocado por declaraciones de panistas cuestionando a Ruiz o de priístas fintando inasistencia a la toma presidencial, no fueron más que una cortina de humo, un show para no perder simpatías de sus correligionarios.
De la mano dura al choque de trenes
Luis Hernández Navarro / 2006-12-05
Más de lo mismo, pero peor. Así se resume la posición de Felipe Calderón frente a los graves problemas sociales que sacuden al país. El choque de trenes entre un movimiento social radicalizado, un movimiento ciudadano agraviado y un gobierno federal torpe y endurecido es inminente.
Toledo: Oaxaca está al borde de la guerra civil
GUSTAVO CASTILLO, OCTAVIO VELEZ ENVIADO, CORRESPONSAL / 2006-12-07
Para el pintor Francisco Toledo, en esta entidad existe "un gran desorden, y la población vive con un gran miedo, porque las últimas semanas han sido terribles. Lo percibo casi al borde de una guerra civil".
Para el artista juchiteco, "tendría que desaparecer la clase política oaxaqueña para cambiar la situación del estado".
Oaxaca, la advertencia
Fernando Gálvez de Aguinaga / 2006-12-18
Uno de cada cinco mexicanos ha escapado en busca de trabajo hacia los Estados Unidos, dato que por sí solo refleja la incapacidad del gobierno federal y los gobiernos estatales en México para generar políticas de desarrollo real para nuestro país. Es claro que el movimiento social oaxaqueño es expresión del hartazgo de la ciudadanía ante esta instrumentación de la política que sigue desmantelando el campo, el mercado interno y, en general, las posibilidades de un bienestar mínimo para las familias mexicanas.
De Guantánamo a Oaxaca: ausencia de ley
John Saxe-Fernández / 2006-12-07
De Guantánamo a Oaxaca, el ejercicio de la violencia de Estado, incluyendo la tortura, la suspensión del habeas corpus, principio garantizado por la Constitución y las convenciones de Ginebra, se realiza en medio de un "vacío de ley", pivote del Estado de excepción auspiciado en EU por la Casa Blanca desde el 11-9 por medio de la Ley Patriota, la Ley de Comisiones Militares, la Ley Marcial y varios decretos. Con la guerra antiterrorista de Bush este fascismo se vuelca al resto del orbe y hacia México y Canadá, a través de la Alianza para la Prosperidad y la Seguridad de la América del Norte. Al sur del Bravo se da como una radicalización de la "mano dura" que, en nombre de la "legalidad" y con el manejo y manipulación monopólicos de los medios electrónicos, reprime a las fuerzas sociales desatadas por el neoliberalismo, sofoca los derechos humanos y políticos e inhibe el desahogo no violento de los conflictos.
Del pacto de Huatulco a la dictadura
Fernando Gálvez de Aguinaga / 2006-12-07
Apenas 20 días después de las cuestionadas elecciones federales, Felipe Calderón se reunió en Huatulco con Ulises Ruiz en un encuentro que podemos leer como el amarre de una alianza entre el PRI y el PAN para sostener la gobernatura de uno y la entrada a la Presidencia del otro. La alianza ha sido estratégica e incondicional en los momentos más críticos para ambos, por lo que se desprende que el ruiderío provocado por declaraciones de panistas cuestionando a Ruiz o de priístas fintando inasistencia a la toma presidencial, no fueron más que una cortina de humo, un show para no perder simpatías de sus correligionarios.
De la mano dura al choque de trenes
Luis Hernández Navarro / 2006-12-05
Más de lo mismo, pero peor. Así se resume la posición de Felipe Calderón frente a los graves problemas sociales que sacuden al país. El choque de trenes entre un movimiento social radicalizado, un movimiento ciudadano agraviado y un gobierno federal torpe y endurecido es inminente.
Toledo: Oaxaca está al borde de la guerra civil
GUSTAVO CASTILLO, OCTAVIO VELEZ ENVIADO, CORRESPONSAL / 2006-12-07
Para el pintor Francisco Toledo, en esta entidad existe "un gran desorden, y la población vive con un gran miedo, porque las últimas semanas han sido terribles. Lo percibo casi al borde de una guerra civil".
Para el artista juchiteco, "tendría que desaparecer la clase política oaxaqueña para cambiar la situación del estado".
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Overlapping societies
Funny, weird, interesting how life is (duh!). I just began reading a book I had read when I was about ten years old (this is, almost three decades ago), a book that I loooved! I guess I was too young to understand the meaning of lots of the things it said so I guess I just took the meaning in a direct way as opposed to on a metaphorical way, but I really loved this book. Over the years the memories I had of this book were of happiness and maybe some challenges and problems, but mainly of a man in search of his happiness through the hardships that life had presented him with, a man with hope, a man that was, in spite of his calling himself old man, still able to enjoy things like children do (maybe that's why I liked it so much? maybe because at ten I was obviously still a little girl that so much enjoyed doing simple things like watching the clouds against the Mexico City -then- blue sky, or how about watching a simple wall, simple painted, but that reflected the sun in the afternoon in such a way that just that simple image made me feel happy, safe, peaceful?), such as enjoying some patterns in an old wall, or also, a man that didn't like lots of things that so called normal adults do, like going to theaters, trendy bars, etc.
So I was beginning to read Hesse's Steppenwolf again (this time in English as I had originally read it in Spanish) when I came across the following paragraph, which is part of a conversation that occurs when the preface's author and the Steppenwolf talk about the horrors of the so called Middle Ages, the Steppenwolf says: "Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and ugliness; accepts certain sufferings as matters of course, puts up patiently with certain evils. Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures and religions overlap".
I immediately thought to myself, this is one of the many things that I missed in my first reading, or maybe I didn't understand it because I was not yet living in overlap societies, or better, I was not yet aware that I was living in overlapped societies. But three decades later I read with different eyes and I thought, way a minute! What does it mean that societies accept certain sufferings as matters of course and puts up patiently with certain evils? What does it really mean? Does it mean that the native people of this continent patiently put up with genocide? Or that Africans patiently accepted the evils of slavery? Or maybe they didn't patiently accept things but because they were in overlap societies they went through hell? Actually, I don't think that servants in the Middle Ages did patiently put up with their so called masters. And actually I think that pretty much through the whole history of mankind all the time it's being an overlapping of societies and overlapping of cultures. Why? Because even if we talked about the same group or same city or same town there always were different layers in those towns or cities, different classes, different races. Rich and poor belong to two different societies even if they "live" in the same city (but not in the same part of the city of course). Thus history of human kind has always been hell? Maybe so, and I know I should not compare sufferings from a group of people to sufferings from another group of people, but I cannot even for a second imagine the horrors, the terrible pain my ancestors went through when their world collapsed because the despicable conquistadores destroyed it! I can only compare it to actual extra-terrestrial invading our planet earth today, taking over, raping the women, smashing the children and then destroying our culture. I don't want to see that.
Then, as usual one thing leads to another, and soon after having read the previous paragraph from the Steppenwolf I came accross an article from the LA Times written by UC professor Lydia Chávez (Caught in the overlap of two societies). In this article Lydia Chávez says that:
"In 1998, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, Mexico's former ambassador to the United Nations, spoke at a conference called "Alternatives for the Americas" at UC Berkeley. He understood reality. "Mexico is in the United States, and this has tremendous implications for the future of migration," he said. "It's not a question of labor markets anymore. It's a question of two societies that are overlapping." And will continue to overlap. If 11 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S. illegally during what was supposed to be the greatest crackdown in history, how many more will arrive -- and want to stay -- in the next 20 years? And the next?"
While I don't agree with Lydia Chávez' usage of the term "have arrived illegally" I agree that currently and only from a Latin American point of view, there are at least two big macro-societies overlapping in the US.
I called them macro-societies because in Latin America there are lots of different societies with lots of commonalities yes, but with lots of differences too. Let's take my example. I was born and raised in Mexico City, got all my (excellent) education there, worked in several places, built a very respectable resumé, learned about arts and culture and moved to the US eight years ago. Then I came face to face with the national holiday called "Thanksgiving" (I call it Thankstaking).
So once I was chatting with one of my friends from Mexico City about this holiday and told her it was (is) very difficult for me because of what it means. It hurts a lot because it means the genocide of my ancestors, the selling of our mother (the land, Tonantzin), the destruction of our culture and our way of live (don't they currently send soldiers and drop bombs abroad so as to keep their "ways of live"?), our subjugation to Europeans and so on. When I told her that I was hoping for understanding and compassion but what I got was a very different reaction.
She accused me of being incendiary, of trying to overthrow the status quo, "what? do you also want to get rid of all the Spaniards and Spaniards-descent people in Mexico?" And so on and so forth. I didn't know that expressing my feelings would throw such a reaction from one of my friends ... until I realized we both are from very different societies, though we both lived in Mexico City, we both spoke Chilango, we both loved to dance, we both loved Madredeus ... but we are from two very different societies: upper and lower classes. She got all what she has (houses, vacations in Europe, weekend in California ski resorts, trips all over the world just to meditate) just because her family has always had money. I got all what I have because my grandparents, my parents, my sisters and myself fought and worked very hard to earn what we have (education, appreciation of our culture, appreciation of our Náhuatl history, dignity). So here it is, two women from same country, same city, different societies.
In the US the issue is the same as this country not only has a big society (wasp) but it actually has hundreds or more societies besides this one, cohabiting next to each other, overlapping. So, are we going through hell right now? I think some societies are indeed going through hell, but maybe not all of them are.
So I was beginning to read Hesse's Steppenwolf again (this time in English as I had originally read it in Spanish) when I came across the following paragraph, which is part of a conversation that occurs when the preface's author and the Steppenwolf talk about the horrors of the so called Middle Ages, the Steppenwolf says: "Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and ugliness; accepts certain sufferings as matters of course, puts up patiently with certain evils. Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures and religions overlap".
I immediately thought to myself, this is one of the many things that I missed in my first reading, or maybe I didn't understand it because I was not yet living in overlap societies, or better, I was not yet aware that I was living in overlapped societies. But three decades later I read with different eyes and I thought, way a minute! What does it mean that societies accept certain sufferings as matters of course and puts up patiently with certain evils? What does it really mean? Does it mean that the native people of this continent patiently put up with genocide? Or that Africans patiently accepted the evils of slavery? Or maybe they didn't patiently accept things but because they were in overlap societies they went through hell? Actually, I don't think that servants in the Middle Ages did patiently put up with their so called masters. And actually I think that pretty much through the whole history of mankind all the time it's being an overlapping of societies and overlapping of cultures. Why? Because even if we talked about the same group or same city or same town there always were different layers in those towns or cities, different classes, different races. Rich and poor belong to two different societies even if they "live" in the same city (but not in the same part of the city of course). Thus history of human kind has always been hell? Maybe so, and I know I should not compare sufferings from a group of people to sufferings from another group of people, but I cannot even for a second imagine the horrors, the terrible pain my ancestors went through when their world collapsed because the despicable conquistadores destroyed it! I can only compare it to actual extra-terrestrial invading our planet earth today, taking over, raping the women, smashing the children and then destroying our culture. I don't want to see that.
Then, as usual one thing leads to another, and soon after having read the previous paragraph from the Steppenwolf I came accross an article from the LA Times written by UC professor Lydia Chávez (Caught in the overlap of two societies). In this article Lydia Chávez says that:
"In 1998, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, Mexico's former ambassador to the United Nations, spoke at a conference called "Alternatives for the Americas" at UC Berkeley. He understood reality. "Mexico is in the United States, and this has tremendous implications for the future of migration," he said. "It's not a question of labor markets anymore. It's a question of two societies that are overlapping." And will continue to overlap. If 11 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S. illegally during what was supposed to be the greatest crackdown in history, how many more will arrive -- and want to stay -- in the next 20 years? And the next?"
While I don't agree with Lydia Chávez' usage of the term "have arrived illegally" I agree that currently and only from a Latin American point of view, there are at least two big macro-societies overlapping in the US.
I called them macro-societies because in Latin America there are lots of different societies with lots of commonalities yes, but with lots of differences too. Let's take my example. I was born and raised in Mexico City, got all my (excellent) education there, worked in several places, built a very respectable resumé, learned about arts and culture and moved to the US eight years ago. Then I came face to face with the national holiday called "Thanksgiving" (I call it Thankstaking).
So once I was chatting with one of my friends from Mexico City about this holiday and told her it was (is) very difficult for me because of what it means. It hurts a lot because it means the genocide of my ancestors, the selling of our mother (the land, Tonantzin), the destruction of our culture and our way of live (don't they currently send soldiers and drop bombs abroad so as to keep their "ways of live"?), our subjugation to Europeans and so on. When I told her that I was hoping for understanding and compassion but what I got was a very different reaction.
She accused me of being incendiary, of trying to overthrow the status quo, "what? do you also want to get rid of all the Spaniards and Spaniards-descent people in Mexico?" And so on and so forth. I didn't know that expressing my feelings would throw such a reaction from one of my friends ... until I realized we both are from very different societies, though we both lived in Mexico City, we both spoke Chilango, we both loved to dance, we both loved Madredeus ... but we are from two very different societies: upper and lower classes. She got all what she has (houses, vacations in Europe, weekend in California ski resorts, trips all over the world just to meditate) just because her family has always had money. I got all what I have because my grandparents, my parents, my sisters and myself fought and worked very hard to earn what we have (education, appreciation of our culture, appreciation of our Náhuatl history, dignity). So here it is, two women from same country, same city, different societies.
In the US the issue is the same as this country not only has a big society (wasp) but it actually has hundreds or more societies besides this one, cohabiting next to each other, overlapping. So, are we going through hell right now? I think some societies are indeed going through hell, but maybe not all of them are.
Te Coatlaxupeh
Mamá Lupita, la patrona de todos los mexicanos, la madre tierra, Tonantzin, la que camina sobre la serpiente, a la que cuando muy niña mi mamá me enseñó a pedirle y rezarle, la que nos cobija con su mirada y con su manto, a quién regresamos cuando dejamos este ciclo, Mary y mis abuelitos (Panchito, Loreto, Rafael y Margarita) ya están con ella.
Te Coatlaxopeuh, ¿cuál es su relación con Coatliclue?
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