The Questions
"Miss, don't you ever get mad?"
"Miss, does a crime record hurt you for college?"
"Miss, you're wearing different shoes! Does that mean you got a place to live?"
Every day students ask me the unexpected. Every day I answer as honestly as I can.
We're in our fourth week of school. The familiarity of routine is established. We're a lucky school in that we don't have fights; the staff is always vigilant for any signs of tension or dispute between students so that we can glide in and intervene before something gets hot. Because of this vigilance, we all cultivate techniques for keeping kids engaged. We give them the space to ask and express what may be bottled up inside, even if it's "off-topic" or seemingly disconnected from classwork. Usually our adult responses involve mild banter. Effective teachers have learned not to use sarcasm or threats. Students don't take to either, and in fact they will drift out of our orbit of influence if we are not mindful.
Bringing a student closer to graduation is much harder than you would think. Right now I am very excited about the turnaround of one young man who used to bedevil me no end. Last year I could not convince him to sit all period; he hovered by the window "Looking out, Miss," so regularly that I nicknamed him VENTANA. He scowled at me for that, but gradually he began to smile a little. He's the one who called our word game "Scramble" despite my puny insistence that it be Scrabble. His pacing, the intractability, the attempts to slip out of class that colored last year have all vanished this fall. What happened? Because even our summer school time remained a struggle of wills. I wanted this student to work through an English text and he was hellbent on tracking the World Cup. I know we met in the middle and he wrote me an armload of soccer essays while I tried to step back from hovering and micromanaging.
In our school lexicon we have a small category called "Superseniors." These are kids who are in the fifth year of high school, so the stakes are high. It is expensive to keep Superseniors in the system until they can graduate, but it's even costlier to cut over-18s loose without doing everything possible to help them earn diplomas. Superseniors can be tough to work with--some drag it out and some just have had such a tortured school history that it's a slog to the final credit. The happy news is that some Superseniors rekindle the spark they may have felt in kindergarten. This is what happened with my soccer fan. It was not my doing. It lay hidden within him, and in some inexplicable way, we've gotten to witness the change. This boy is my right-hand man right now. One of my coworkers got him to organize, photograph, and issue the school ID cards. We entrusted him with necessary school tasks and gave him the freedom to move about campus to accomplish them. We got the blessing of the school principal to put him to work in an unorthodox way. We listened to his concerns and we accepted his suggestions. During these past four weeks I've checked with his other teachers to see how he's doing. Each teacher has marveled over his ability to knuckle down. One teacher remarked
By: Manuel Ramos,
on 7/15/2010
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: SB1070, Tobias Rene, El Centro Su Teatro, Reyna Grande, Wings Press, Add a tag
Borderlines: Drawing Border Lives / Fronteras: Dibujando las vidas fronterizas
Steven and Reefka Schneider, Introduction by Norma E. Cantú
Spanish translation by José Antonio Rodriguez
Wings Press, 2010
From the publisher:
Borderlines/Fronteras brings together images and stories, sights and sensations, in an aesthetically beautiful series of bilingual poems and drawings that portrays the people of the borderlands as they are seldom seen, peeling back the layers of fear and mistrust to reveal an rich and vibrant culture.
From the Introduction by Norma E. Cantú:
The Schneiders have crossed the bridge with charcoal, pastel, and conte, and with words. And we are better for it. We peek into the lives of characters and learn how to look beyond to the stories. ... Through images and words, this book invites us to reflect, to consider the stories, the lives and the realities of life on the U.S - Mexico border. But it also impels us to dwell on our own work, asking us to tend to the wound that will not heal, to do work that matters.
Kathleen Alcalá:
These compassionate portraits, from the accordion player to the bead seller, show their everyday public lives, la gente decente on whose backs we have constructed the vast, complicated economy and culture that is the border today. In the discussions of walls, guns, drugs and abstract policies, we need to remember that ordinary individuals live here too, and always will.
Ed Conroy (review in the San Antonio Express-News):
At a time when Arizona's new immigration law has created an intensified national controversy over the value and worth of the people of our border regions, one new book has the power to make us pause to reflect on the stories and conditions of their lives. ... These faces come to life in the charcoal and pastel drawings of Reefka Schneider, who fascinatingly captures both the graphic details and emotional truths etched into faces young and old by the harsh social and natural realities of border life. And those faces breathe with life in the poems of her husband, Steven P. Schneider, crafted clearly with the intention of creating a narrative that captures a moment in life and its emotions for each person. ... The result of their work is a series of 25 poignantly moving vignettes of border people and their lives, expressed as a page of poetry in English and Spanish, and, opposite, the portrait that is integrally joined to the poem.
By: Manuel Ramos,
on 7/8/2010
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: El Centro Su Teatro, Martin Espada, Demetria Martínez, MALDEF, SB1070, Ry Cooder, Add a tag
LOS ANGELES, CA – Ry Cooder created his new single Quicksand in response to anti-immigrant law 
SB 1070 and the ongoing Arizona immigration battle. SB 1070 requires police to demand "papers' from people they stop who they suspect are "unlawfully present" in the U.S. As described by Cooder, Quicksand is a slow-burning rocker that tells the story of six would-be immigrants making their way from Mexico to the Arizona border. Ry Cooder's Quicksand went on sale exclusively on iTunes, and Cooder has pledged to donate all proceeds from the song to MALDEF.
Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel, stated that Defeating Arizona's SB 1070 - and the potential copycat laws that have since been announced by unscrupulous legislators around the nation - will require a broad national community effort to reinforce the constitutional principles and values that characterize our nation. Our heartfelt thanks to Ry Cooder for being a leader in that necessary community effort.
Cooder produced the 1996 album Buena Vista Social Club, followed by solo projects with Ibrahim Ferrer and Manuel Galban, of Los Zafiros. Quicksand features Cooder's son Joachim on drums, with backup vocals by Lucina Rodgriguez and Fabiola Trujillo of the Mexican roots band Los Cenzontles. The artwork for the single features the piece Nuthin' To See Here, Keep On Movin'! by frequent collaborator Vincent Valdez.
The Devil’s Highway has been used by migrants traveling on foot for over 100 years, says Cooder of the journey depicted in the song. You should try it sometime. Out there, temperatures can get above 130 degrees. If you fall down, you have religious hallucinations, then you die, cooking from the inside out. If you get lucky, you might make it to Yuma, but then what?
You can find a link to Ry Cooder’s page featuring “Quicksand” here.
To show your support for Ry Cooder and MALDEF, visit the iTunes store to purchase Ry Cooder’s Quicksand here.
Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the
By: msedano,
on 6/22/2010
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: SB1070, poems, Arizona, guest writers, Add a tag
"Lightning On a Black Night Over The Chuska Mountains" by Kristopher Barney
"The Stone Garden" and "I Am" by Luis Ascencio-Cortez
"To the Poets / A los poetas" by Edith Morris-Vásquez
“A.R.I.Z.O.N.A” by José Gutiérrez
"Rubbish" by Luzma Umpierre
“Kokopelli Pauses” by Alma Luz Villanueva
"Prayer For The Civil Disobedient" by Iuri M. Lara
"Rimas contra las cárceles de papel" by Octavio Merecias Cuevas
"Broken"- Rosa Escamilla
---------
LIGHTNING ON A BLACK NIGHT OVER THE CHUSKA MOUNTAINS
By Kristopher Barney
yaaishjaach'ili'.7.10
there’s a part of me that becomes alive
becomes deadly aware of everything
in all the insane moments of my life
in every cloud shape
in the shapes of my homeland
in the faces
in the rough texture of brown bodies
where one can find
trails of beauty
parts of the eternal
passions ignited in the sensuality of the touch
that gives me goose bumps
the magic that happens
too sudden and less often and
yes i miss you and my mind
runs a separate road of longing of
absorbing beauty through silence and the
internal dialogue over the value of life and
words & actions given to
souls lost somewhere between
this world and the next
a dual battle between gods and men & the
gentle children who
walk in the first days of freedom
we still have it inside of us
this sense of freedom
everything before Columbus
before all the bullshit
this fragrance
this look in the eyes
in bodies tanned by desert wind
and blue sunned skies
beautiful brown bodies that
fit right into scenes of
red canyon bottomlands
brown eyes
black hair
the beauty that only Native can appreciate
this spirit that brings songs to me
in this early morning
all that i take in
when i’m on a journey
hell bent on easing the lonesomeness and
momentary heartbreak of coming to terms with
this life
with seeing
the organs of the earth split open
the trembling nature of anger taken hold
when i walk through this land
see coal trains and trucks hauling
coal to power plants and hear the endless rhetoric
and debates of NDN politicians
hear the worthless discussions over
how life contains so little value next to pleasing
the greed of corporations and
the shadows that implode
as shareholders withhold their investments
as the world of Wall St. becomes
covered in seaside oil sludge
when all so called transparency gets fogged
by the smoke stacks of power plants and cities
the death
the black winds that cover us all and yet
all i can think of is you this morning
the restless night
the wrestling to sleep
this wind that surrounds me in this a.m. moment
the images fading through overcast and sun’s
first light and the silent wishing to be
somewhere else
an escape from the torture of this life
the responsibility those like myself face
this road
this song
this act of pure resistance
this dance with eagle plumes and clouds
the lightning that strikes
through a black night over
the Chuskas……..
(c) Kristopher Barney
By: Rudy Garcia,
on 5/29/2010
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Arizona, musica, SB1070, Los Jornaleros, Add a tag
In an effort to raise funds for the organizing and litigation effort in Arizona against SB 1070, Los Jornaleros del Norte, the people's band, have released a 10-track CD titled, "Que No Pare la Lucha," their third album release. With their new album, Los Jornaleros again put music to life, work, struggle and hope.
The release of their album could not be more timely. With the upcoming National Day of Action on May 29th in Phoenix, AZ, Los Jornaleros will once again lend their talents and passion for music and social justice to the march and rally, uniting the immigrant community and their allies under a common goal: Peace, Dignity and Justice for All.
Because the organizing efforts do require lots of resources, personnel, and legal fees, Los Jornaleros have decided to donate all of the proceeds of their album to the AltoArizona campaign. We are encouraging your support to this effort by going to the AltoArizona music site, purchasing the album (only $10, or more, if you wish) and sharing the link with family and friends on your social networks.
AltoArizona has made it as easy as possible to preview the album, purchase and share links to the music online. The title track, Que No Pare la Lucha, is available for free download.
The following are the names of the 10 tracks included:
1. Que No Pare la Lucha (free) 02:41
2. El Cochinito 04:12
3. Dónde Está la Justicia 04:34
4. La Movidita 02:38
5. Deportación Expres 04:49
6. No Dejes de Luchar 02:12
7. Acordeoncito 05:20
8. Traguito de Dignidad 03:52
9. La Redadas 06:27
10. Carwashero (Lava coches) 06:01
Included with your purchase, you will receive front and back CD cover art, liner notes, and 2 hidden bonus tracks!!
Click here for preview & album purchase.
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) thanks you for your support in this critical moment in history. We look forward to seeing you at the march in Phoenix on the 29th and to your local solidarity actions being planned on the AltoArizona shared actions/events page.
Please feel free to forward this message on to your networks to support our efforts in Arizona
In Solidarity,
Pablo Alvarado
National Day Laborer Organizing Network
By: Manuel Ramos,
on 4/29/2010
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: headRush, Stevon Lucero, Juan Felipe Herrera, El Centro Su Teatro, SB1070, Yolanda Cruz, 2501 Migrants, Tim Z. Hernandez, Add a tag
Stevon Lucero has a new mural that will be unveiled on May 1 up in Laramie, Wyo. Stevon's mural is a "depiction of Latinos in Wyoming." He calls it Paredes Hablando: Walls that Speak. Stevon's work is full of energy, color and spirit, so this mural should be something. Plus, there's also a film, 2501 Migrants by Yolanda Cruz. An excellent trailer for the film can be found here. All of this is in support of Laramie's Radio Montañesa: Voz de la Gente, 93.5 FM.
A poetry reading by Juan Manuel Patraca at 2:00 p.m., May 8, at the Boulder Public Library at Broadway Street and Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder. At the free public event, Mr. Patraca will read in English and Spanish from his new book of poems titled 32 Biographies of Humble People. The Mexican-born Patraca mops and vacuums Denver area offices by night and jots down ideas for his poems while riding the bus to and from work. His poetry tells the stories of those who have contributed to the struggle for social and immigrant justice as well as his own reflections on his experiences with injustice.
NEW BOOK FROM TIM Z. HERNANDEZ
Breathing, In Dust
Tim Z. Hernandez
Texas Tech University Press
[publisher's text]Deep within California’s golden agricultural heartland lies a rotten core: the fictional farming community of Catela, where the desperate realities of poverty, drug abuse, violence, and bigotry play out in the lives of cucarachas and coyotes, tweekers and strippers, wetbacks and white trash. Seventeen-year-old Tlaloc, namesake of the Aztec god of fertility and destruction, has grown up among the migrant-worker communities that follo
two wonderful honors. juan felipe's guggenheim and luis' edgar. some parts of our world are as they should be. then there's arizona.