VivirLatino

Hm. This video was really interesting to me, but I’m not sure I have an opinion of it at the moment.

What it is: Tyra Banks has a group of women who all claim to be bi/multi racial–but who only “claim” one racial identity. A clue for those who don’t watch talk shows–of *course* the women only claim their “less offensive” side (aka their white side).

As a multi racial person who does not identify as multi racial (I claim mestizaje or mestiza)–I have to wonder why so many people are so offended that there is so much ambiguity and even rejection of particular racial identities. I mean–look at Tyra Banks. As she berates and sits judgment on a girl who ‘rejects her black side,’ Tyra is wearing her blond straight haired wig and has been famous for changing her eye color and even race (and requiring others to do so as well), on her other show, America’s Next Top Model. Ostensibly, Tyra is looking more white and can more easily pass than the girl on the stage can. And yet…she’s the one who feels she can sit judgment on everybody else.

If you “change your race” to look cute and hip and make money–is that different or less problematic than “changing your race” because you want to be white?

Without saying too much more about the video, I do have to say that this is why I so strongly favor the identity of “mestizaje” and “mestiza,”–it allows for a fluidity of racial identities. SUch that you are no longer claiming “I like my white side better” (etc). Because all the sides are mixed together to create a whole new “thing.” Not necessarily the best solution, but better, I think, than completely walling off entire familial backgrounds and histories.

If you thought that all the University protests in California ended already, you’d be wrong. Students at SF State University continue to blockade buildings on campus with people and objects. (picture is of a stairwell at SFSU).

The logic behind the blockade is that the educational “space” a university setting provides does not belong to administrators or government officials–it belongs to the people who use the space:

Reclaiming a space is not merely borrowing and then giving back. Reclaiming implies previous or deserved ownership, the taking back of what is understood as inherently belonging to someone or someones. We have maintained the occupation of Bu$ine$$ for 18 hours, our barricades not so much a threat as the extremely important work of agitation and political defense from our comrades on the outside occupation.

I have a lot of complicated feelings about university student protests–many times I think that the students who are protesting are acting more on impulse and desire to look “cool” than anything else. I’ve been a part of protests that broke up the *minute* things got a little sticky–leaving people who truly cared or who are affected by the thing being protested to deal with the fall out of protest–while those who only showed up on an impulse caused trouble and ran away.

So, one school and one group of students doesn’t usually get me feeling hopeful–I know how quickly things can change once things get tough.

But–at the same time, I trust the California activist community like crazy. California is the home to Xican@s, Zoot Suiters, the UFW, the Alcatraz protests and so many other amazing movements and people. I am hopeful that the response to these very serious demands will be other students throughout the U.S. taking up the call to action.

It is with much humor that I offer this post. Over and over and over again, we mujeres at VL get nasty vindictive evil comments that have nothing at all to do with the posts that comments are left on. An example: we write a post about Mexicans Picking Their Boogers, and we get every far right Libertarian in Internetville leaving comments asking about why we don’t write about Jews Picking Their Boogers or The Latino That Raped Five Kittens in La La Land or How Latinos Have A Secret Plan (to do…pick your poison).

The thing is, I live embedded in a community of Libertarians. And I really don’t mind them so much in real life. They stick to themselves and I stick to myself. And we do just fine. I even have several fine conversations with Libertarians that are in the family. In real life, Libertarians are not so scared to carry on a conversation that they don’t dictate the rules to.

So. I offer this thread as a place for all Libertarians (etc) that wish to ask comments or leave commentary about this VL site that seems to bother so many of them. I have a sneaky suspicion that not one Libertarian that seems so intent on “getting answers” will leave a comment here (Real Conversation??? What’s that???), but I don’t care. It’ll be good to have a place to refer Lib’s to when they get uppity on other threads.

If you have the guts, leave a comment Libertarians. I’ll answer you in the spirit that you leave your comment.

Do you have the guts?

The latest Pedro Almodóvar film is very much what we expect, but it’s also what we don’t expect. One of the many things I love about Almodóvar is that he has normalized some of the most marginalized and oppressed people in our society in his films (i.e. Transgender Latinas, mentally ill communities, and queer communities). I also love that he creates relationships with all the people in his cast and allows them to demonstrate their acting range as he cast them in other projects in completely different roles. I will let you know that Almodóvar is one of my favorite screenwriters and directors (Takashi Miike and Karyn Kusama are also on that list).

As a result, Almodóvar’s “usual suspects” are cast in Los Abrazos Rotos: Penélope Cruz (Volver) as Lena, a sex worker turned secretary who seeks to become an actor, Lluís Homar (La Mala Educación/Bad Education) as Mateo Blanco/Harry Caine a screenwriter and director, Blanca Portillo (Volver) as Judit García the agent of screenwriter Mateo/Harry; José Luis Gómez (Goya’s Ghosts) as Ernesto Martel a wealthy Spanish man who produces Mateo’s latest film, Rubén Ochendiano (Che Part 2) as Ray X, Ernesto’s gay son whom he ignores, and Tomar Novas (Goya’s Ghosts) as Diego, Judit’s son who helps Mateo/Harry.

Read more…

The following vigil information comes from LGBT activist in Puerto Rico, Pedro Julio Serranom, who also takes the time remind the world of all the other unanswered LGBT murders in Puerto Rico:

Por otro lado, el portavoz de Puerto Rico Para Tod@s exigió que se continúe la investigación del brutal asesinato de Michael Galino hace dos semanas cuando su cuerpo fue hallado en una playa del Condado. De encontrarse que fue motivado por prejuicio a la orientación sexual de la víctima, que también se procese como un crimen de odio. También exigió que se investiguen los asesinatos de Lonrry Lemus, Sandro Díaz Maysonet, Víctor Rodríguez, Jammal Torres, Ramses Flores, Leonardo Gamallo y de toda aquella víctima que aún su crimen no se haya esclarecido y que pudo haber sido un crimen de odio.

If you are in PR:

Vigilia contra los Crímenes de Odio – miercoles 25 noviembre

ASISTE, DIVULGA, TODAS/OS A LA VIGILIA.

NO CABEN LAS EXCUSAS.

ESTA SERA UNA DE LAS MANERAS DE REPUDIO ANTE LA BARBARIE COMETIDA

Amigos y amigas:

El próximo miércoles, 25 de noviembre de 2009 a partir de las 6:00 p.m. se llevará a cabo una actividad de marcha y vigilia en memoria del joven Jorge Steven López y en denuncia contra los crímenes de odio. Todo el País está convocado a este acto. Les esperamos y agradeceremos que pasen este mensaje a sus contactos.

Fecha: 25 de noviembre de 2009
Hora: 6:00 p.m.
Lugar: Salida desde el Departamento de Justicia en Miramar y Llegada al
Parque Luis Muñoz Rivera en Puerta de Tierra

Exijamos justicia y detengamos los crímenes de odio…

Evento en Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180095818897

Grupo Justice for Jorge Steven Lopez – End Hate crimes: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=320548070102

Once you engage honestly with a post–that is, take up the argument/main thought of the post and reflect upon it in your own way, we will approve your comments.

Yours,
The VLatin@ team

P.S. If you feel your comment is so good it needs to have its own copyright or if your comment is just a huge post you wrote for another website or if you really don’t give a shit about anything the post in question says, you just want the opportunity to spew your own intellectual jism all over our blog with a link to your own blog, your comment will also not be approved.

Add to the dialogue.
And you shall be rewarded!

~~VLatin@Team

My friend posted this on her facebook page today and I immediately went to the story. This is one of the first studies I’ve seen in a very long time where “[p]articular attention is paid to high-school graduation rates, infant mortality rates, unemployment rates, juvenile justice incarceration, and the amount of jobs created in relation to funds received by the Recovery Act.”

The creators of the list, ScoopDaily, identifies as a “groundbreaking news outlet that features original reporting by, for, and about America’s youth regarding politics, culture, and opinion trends.” They have partnered with Zogby International, a marketing research and polling company to provide their research. The first line of the study states:

in its commitment to calling attention to the Obama Administration’s continued neglect of urban America, ScoopDaily has compiled a list of the 5 worst cities for urban youth.

As La Macha wrote about experiences in the Midwest, this list is telling as Detroit, Ohio, and President Obama’s hometown, Chicago are included with Atlanta and Baltimore concluding the top 5 list. Now, I’ll admit that the list that was created focused exclusively on people who racially identify as Black in the US. So, I wonder how the term “urban” is being defined and used. Can we assume that similar findings crossover to Latino, Asian, working class White, and other under-resourced communities that may also be overrepresented in the areas of focus?

Another interesting aspect was the use of graphics when re-reporting this story. My homegirl posted a like from ABC News and after reading the story there I then went directly to the story on ScoopDaily. You’ll notice that ABC News chose a Getty Image to accompany this story of three headless, inked, light skinned people, who I read as biological men, walking in front of a graffiti mural. The caption under the foto is about FBI efforts to “dismantle” gangs in Chicago that have become “full-fledged criminal enterprises.”

What does this image invoke? I’ll admit that for me I read the images of the young people as Latino. However, when I read the story I realized that Latinos were not specifically represented. That’s when I went into my hardcore media literacy mode and asked myself: What messages and values does ABC News want to send that may not have been ScoopDaily’s original focus, as ScoopDaily did not have any fotos accompany the story? What message has ABC News constructed with the use of one foto? How are people with different perspectives going to read this article and interpret this foto?

What do you think?