In the past week we have been discussing about segregation and discrimination by the superior "White men" to Mexicans and other minorities. I came came across these videos that introduces black history in the United States and the accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr. After MLK Jr. was killed Jane Elliott, a third grade teacher came up with an experiment where she would classify her students by their eyes from brown or blue. She then states that one color is superior to the other meaning that if your eye color is the superior color then you are a well educated individual and everyone else should be like you. Were if you were to be an inferior color then you are uneducated and you must be taught how to do things the right way. It is interesting to see how a classroom of third graders, who are all friends, can go from being friends to completely having a chaotic classroom where students discriminate among st one another. She then conducts the same experiment with an adult aged group. Here is the link to the videos so you guys can check them out. I found this very interesting and if you do too, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of this experiment. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02p66&continuous=1 -David Padilla David, I watched the video that you put on the blog. never heard of this before. It was probably one of the most interesting lecture i've watched. I give a lot props to the teacher who taught the third graders of how it feels to be superior one day then the next day your not. Probably one of the best examples i've seen to demonstrate racism in itself. When the reunited after 14 years, what stood out to me was when one of the girls told ms.elliot she hated her for what she did to them, because the girl never felt so low in her life and felt along and picked one, but now growing up she views the world differently than maybe if she never had that lesson taught to her. I recommend jorge to play this video to the class, its an eye opener to everything we been talking about. i love it.
Lily Campos
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Going off of what Abi said after having the discussion in class I also started thinking about the things I see on Spanish TV and I started realizing how true it is. In shows the white complected Latinos are the ones with power. Specifically on the novelas the rich land owners are the while complected people and the servants are the ones who look a lot darker in their skin tone and you can see that they are dressed completely different. The white complected people are in nice clothes and the darker skinned people are in more "native" clothing. It amazes me how true these things are. Going back to the Casta system were the white Spaniards have all the power, that is still somewhat true today, from what I see in the Spanish media. - Anita Mendoza
Not too long ago, it was mentioned in class that Latin American media only shows those that appear to have lighter skin. Since this idea had been brought up, I found myself more and more interested in what exactly this Spanish speaking media showed the public. I recalled the Mexican telenovelas I watched as a kid and came to realize that they all showed socio-economic mobility’s relationship to light skin tones. In any given show, those who were wealthy and sophisticated were or appeared to be of Hispanic ancestry. Those who were not were of a darker skin tone. Almost all shows began with one of the protagonists being poor who, with the help of a rich “white” friend, lover, or adopted/long lost parent, was able to move up in society and achieve success. Even when the poor protagonist was representing of the dark skinned lower class, they were able to move up socially because they were whiter than their lower class peers. The idea that skin tone is so important among not only American society but also Latin American, and by connection the Chicano community, seems to be another byproduct of the colonization.
-Abi Rosales As I began to read the articles: Manifesto and The University and The Chicano Community it came to me as second nature to easily relate the articles with the film we recently watched in class (Edward Olmos.) In many respects the film represents the power of knowledge amongst Chicanos to pave the way for their own people just as the articles do. While reading I came across a quote. I believe “Man is never closer to his true self as when he is close to his community” summarized the whole entire reading! The articles take that quote further to give light to Chicanismo in the university setting. After all “knowledge is power,” but how much more powerful would it be if all Chicanos came together to take part in change and unite as one?
-Lionor Galindo The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
One of the most popular corridos described a real-life figure, Gregorio Cortez, who killed two sheriffs in south Texas in 1901, and who gained folk hero status when he eluded capture by the Texas Rangers. Born in Matamoros, Mexico in 1875, Cortez toiled as a cowboy and farmer in Texas. In 1901, local authorities in south Texas began searching for a horse thief, described only as a “medium-sized Mexican.” Lawmen confronted Cortez and confusion ensued, since neither the sheriff nor his deputy understood Spanish. The sheriff wounded Cortez’s brother and Cortez responded by shooting and killing the sheriff. Pursued by a posse, Cortez escaped, but not before killing another sheriff and a landowner. When he was finally apprehended, Cortez was nearly lynched. Many trials took place. A Texas appeals court later reversed Cortez’s conviction for murdering the landowner, and was finally pardoned for the murder of the second sheriff in 1913. Source: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/mexican_songs/cortez.cfm I posted this song due to the readings we have been doing, this song reminds me a lot about my father because as the song says "cuando cruce la frontera se lo prometi a mi viejesita sacarla de la pobresa" I know a lot of family's can relate to this song and its meaning. A lot of people leave in search of a better future for themselves and their families and even through the journey to the United States isn't easy they are doing it for their future. Response to video: The beginning of the song sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics to follow. He describes in his song how he was setting forth at 17 for the U.S. He had dreams that were bigger than himself, which many migrants can relate to. Dreams as such come with a price. The price of leaving behind what they most treasure: family, land and “freedom.” However, when viewing the music video it does not look like freedom. To achieve what they never had they had to be willing to do what they have never done before. This music video depicts just that. Many cross over to the U.S. some make it while others do not. They risk everything to achieve something that is not guaranteed. -Lionor Galindo Response to the video: I actually really love this song and it's not because I listen to Mexican music. I love the message that this song portrays because that's the reason most people come to the United States. A lot of people come here because of the jobs and because they are hungry for an opportunity. The song also mentions how tough work is but even then people don't give up. One of the struggles mentioned is leaving the family and how hard that is. When I heard this song for the first time it reminded me of my dad because those are the same struggles he had to go through to get his family where it is now. I just hate it when people say that Mexicans or immigrants don't work hard enough, I bet that if those people were to go one day and work as hard as my parents do they wouldn't last half of a day. -Trino Apenas tenia 17 cuando cruce la frontera se lo prometi a mi viejesita sacarla de la pobresa me quemaban las noches de frio por poquito me hogaba en el rio y aquellos que sufrieron lo mismo les dedico este corrido... Soy uno de tantos Mexicanos que trabajan dia con dia para darle futuro a mis hijos y ayudar a mi familia como extraño mi rancho querido mis amigos que no los olvido y a mis viejos que hace varios años que no los he visto... Piensan que por que brinque la linea soy un narcotraficante ya basta de mil humillaciones nomas por ser "Inmigrante" estoy cantando por toda mi gente no lo olviden tenganlo presente que aquellos a los que no querian hoy los hacen presidentes... Y haunque les duela a muchos somos mayoria El trabajo aqui ha sido muy duro pero nunca me he rajado y las cosas que yo he conseguido con esfuerzo me he ganado y aquel que se fue pal otro lado y dejo en su pais su pasado quien pensaba de aquel muchachito y miren lo que a logrado... Nos han prometido tantas cosas y no nos han dado nada igualdad, respeto, y tolerancia es lo que pide mi raza estoy cantando por toda mi gente no lo olviden tenganlo presente y aquellos a los que no querian hoy los hacen presidentes... while Taking this class and reading the first reading "Homeland" the frontera. I thought about this song because the reading talked about immigrants and their struggle. this song is about immigrants crossing the border to come the United States. It has a strong message stating that " that mojados are people without any permission, why does the mojado have to prove with visas, that he's not from neptune " here are the lyrics to the song and the video is below as well "Mojado" Empacó un par de camisas, un sombrero, Su vocación de aventurero Seis consejos, siete fotos, mil recuerdos. Empacó sus ganas de quedarse Su condición de transformarse En el hombre que soñó y no ha logrado. Dijo adiós con una mueca disfrazada de sonrisa Y le suplico a su Dios crucificado en la repisa El resguardo de los suyos y perforó la frontera como pudo. Si la luna suave se desliza por cualquier cornisa Sin permiso alguno, por qué el mojado precisa Comprobar con visas que no es de neptuno. El mojado tiene ganas de secarse, El mojado esta mojado Por las lágrimas que brota la nostalgia El mojado, el indocumentado carga el bulto Que el legal no cargaría ni obligado. El suplicio de un papel lo ha convertido En fugitivo y no es de aquí porque su nombre No aparece en los archivos ni es de allá porque se fue. Si la luna suave se desliza por cualquier cornisa Sin permiso alguno, por qué el mojado precisa Comprobar con visas que no es de neptuno. Mojado sabe a mentira tú verdad, Sabe a tristeza la ansiedad De ver un freeway y soñar Con la vereda que conduce hasta tú casa. Mojado, mojado de tanto llorar sabiendo que en algún lugar Le espera un beso haciendo pausa desde el día en que te marchaste. Si la luna suave se desliza por cualquier cornisa Sin permiso alguno, por qué el mojado precisa Comprobar con visas que no es de neptuno. Si la visa universal se extiende el día en que nacemos Y caduca en la muerte, por qué te persiguen mojado Si el cónsul de los cielos ya te dio permiso. ______________________________________________ he packed a couple of shirts, a hat his adventure vocation six advices, 7 pictures, a thousand memories he packed his will to stay his will to become in the man he dreamed and he hasnt archieved he said goodbye with an expression faking a smile and begged his jesus crucified in the shelf the protection of his family. and he crossed the border as he could if the moon softly slips trough any cornice without any permission, why does the mojado has to prove with visas, that he's not from neptune the mojado wants to dry out the mojado is wet because of the nostalgic tears the mojado, the illegal carries things that the legal wouldnt carry even if he's forced to the torture of a paper has turned him into a fugitive, and he's not from here cos his name is not in the files and he's not from there cos he left if the moon softly slips trough any cornice without any permission, why does the mojado has to prove with visas, that he's not from neptune mojado, your truth tastes like lie the anxiety tastes like sadness to see a freeway and dream about the little road that goes to your house mojado, wet because of all that crying because you know there's a kiss waiting for you since the day you left if the moon softly slips trough any cornice without any permission, why does the mojado has to prove with visas, that he's not from neptune if the universal visa is for everyone since the day we born and ends with the death, why do they chase you if the heaven's consul, has already given you permission The videos are very powerful, the first one caught my attention, it really shows what color of people went through. It shows the real story of what happen to OUR land. And of course who doesn't like the tigres del norte. Another interesting video was where things come from, we dont realize most things dont come from america, and how people are treated or paid while doing the things we sometimes throw away.
-Lily Campos In the epilogue of "Is Antonio Banderas a Chicano" left me second guessing myself about the vague term "chicano". According to the reading it continues to evolve. We ultimately construct what it means to ourselves through what we surround ourselves with. Such a term gives off our identity, an identity we create. Acuna does a great job in putting the whole term of being "chicano" into perspective, specifically when he mentions about loving gang kids while hating gangs. We must do what we can to continue to develop our identity so that we have a better understanding of our history as well as our future.
-Lionor Galindo |