a piquant blend of cats, foxes, dolls, beautiful people and whatever else may tickle my fancy.
What is a Chicano?
Who the hell knows?
To me, you have to declare yourself a Chicano in order to be a Chicano. That makes a Chicano a Mexican-American with a defiant political attitude that centers on his or her right to self-definition. I’m a Chicano because I say I am.
But no Chicano will agree with me because one of the characteristics of being Chicano is you don’t agree with anybody, or anything. And certainly not another Chicano. We are the only tribe that has all chiefs and no Indians. But don’t ever insult a Chicano about being a Chicano because then all the other Chicanos will be on you with a vengeance. They will even fight each to be first in line to support you.
—Cheech Marin on What is a Chicano?
I’ve always had issues with identity, especially growing up in the United States. Mexicans from Mexico didn’t think you were ever mexican enough to be Mexican and Euro-centric America made it clear that you were not one of them. But to me, the word Chicano, whether I chose to identify with it or not, gave me the option or rather introduced me to the idea that it was I who had the authority to label myself however the fuck I wanted.
Anyway, I’ll leave you all with my favorite part of Cheech’s story:
…A bunch of relatives had come over for dinner and everybody was sitting around gabbing and drinking beer. My Uncle Rudy was in the middle of a story: “So, I took the car into the dealer and he said, ‘Yeah, the repairs gonna run you about $250.’ Two-fifty? Estas loco? Hell, just give me a pair of pliers and some tin foil. I’ll fix it - I’m a Chicano mechanic. Two-fifty, mis nalgas.”
And that was the defining epiphany. A Chicano was someone who could do anything. A Chicano was someone who wasn’t going to get ripped off. He was Uncle Rudy. He was industrious, inventive, and he wants another beer. So I got my Uncle Rudy another beer because, on that day, he showed me that I was a Chicano. Hispanic my ass, I’ve been a Chicano ever since.
(via thereverseracist)
For anyone who wonders why I might come across as grumpy all the time, I submit:
“one of the characteristics of being Chicano is you don’t agree with anybody, or anything.”
also, seriously, if you think I’m grumpy all the time, you’re not paying attention.
(via thatneedstogo)
Banned 500 Years of Chicano History offered free to AZ students by ABQ publisher
500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures, edited by Elizabeth Martinez and published by the SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP), is included in a set of primarily Chicano and Native American books that have been banned by the Tucson Independent School District. The school district says it’s not a ban, but the books were removed from classrooms after the Mexican-American Studies program was eliminated, and teachers in that program have been instructed to not teach these books through the lens of ethnic studies. To us, this is a ban.
The SouthWest Organizing Project, in response to the current ban and the overall climate of fear and scapegoating of people of color in Arizona, is offering the book at a 50% discount to Arizona residents, and will give it for FREE to any Arizona Student who requests the book by sending a letter describing why they think the teaching of Chicano and Native American history accurately to young people is essential. Many Arizona students have already shown their disapproval of the ban, as hundreds walked out of class and marched on the Tuscon Unified School District’s headquarters earlier this week.
(via fuckyeahchicanawriters)
(via queerandpresentdanger)
From La Voz de UC Berkeley’s (Chican@/Latin@ Newspaper) Spring 2009 Issue: “Undocumented Students in Higher Education. Read full issue here.
this is so dope!
(via tierracita)
“Last Supper of Chicano Heroes” by José Antonio Burciaga
(via cristinalovesthis)
When Fernando Meza is asked about his identity, “I tell them that I am Indian,” said Mr. Meza, a parade participant from the Tlaxcala tribe. “They say, ‘But you’re Mexican.’ And I say, ‘But I’m Indian.’ ”
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“Hispanic is not a race, ” said Mr. Quiroz, whose ancestors were the Quechua people, of the Central Andes. “Hispanic is not a culture. Hispanic is an invention by some people who wanted to erase the identity of indigenous communities in America.”
“We don’t believe we have to accept this identity just because we speak Spanish,” Mr. Quiroz added.
^^^^^
<3 <3 <3 <3
