JUAN GONZALEZ: And, Alex, the fast going that’s been going on in Los Angeles, could you tell us who has been involved in it and why?

ALEX SANCHEZ: Well, IDEPSCA has taken a big lead, and RISE. Homies Unidos also took part. And other people, other community leaders, such as Angelica Salas from CHIRLA, and others that took part, individual students, there were elder community leaders, there were people undocumented, there were people that were documented, there were citizens. They all participated, from all realms, because it is an important issue.

We participated because we know that there’s these policies in place that have really made it difficult for individuals to present asylum cases in immigration courtrooms under the assumption that they’re deported—they’re deportable gang members, and that limits the opportunities they may have to seek a real asylum case and be heard.

So, the fast was to bring this awareness into the communities, but also to awake this giant monster that was awakened before but went back to sleep. We’re trying to wake him up and really taking it to the steps of the White House now under a new administration of Obama, in which he is committed himself to really looking out for the immigrant community. And that’s why we’re asking for the demands that we’re asking, for this new administration to actually make—help Obama be successful in legalizing our people, our immigrant people, and keeping our families together in the US.

Listen to the whole thing.

A Los Angeles-area McCain supporter has removed a Halloween effigy of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama hanging from her balcony with a giant butcher knife through its neck.

Lisa Castañeda of Redondo Beach put up the blood-covered figure on Wednesday. A placard read “Nobama.”

Emotions stirred in a Redondo Beach neighborhood Wednesday when a resident hung an effigy of Sen. Barack Obama from her balcony with a meat cleaver slashed through his throat as a Halloween display.

“I disapprove of him, period,” she said. “I am appalled by a man who is so close to being our president who won’t put his hand on the Bible, who won’t wear a flag pin.”

Castaneda included the effigy in a larger Halloween display and says she didn’t mean to be racist or offensive. But the display drew immediate criticism and she took it down Wednesday night at the request of a McCain campaign representative.

Via / Adventures of the Coconut Caucus

This weekend, Trouble the Water, a film that follows a New Orleans couple through and after Hurricane Katrina, opens in New York City and Los Angeles. It won the Grand Jury prize for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival and serves to remind us all that Hurrican Katrina was one horror, how the U.S. government treated its own in the aftermath was another.

Inspiring a movement and a movie wasn't enough for L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who supported the farm, has received a nice sum of money from the clothing company with a history of poor labor practices.

He has received nearly $1.3 million in contributions and commitments from Forever 21 and its executives over the past two years for initiatives ranging from tree plantings to his own reelection campaign

Via / Feministe and LA Times

The local city council is banning fast food outlets in the less than privileged neighborhood of South L.A.:

A law that would bar fast-food restaurants from opening in South Los Angeles for at least a year sailed through the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday.

The council approved the fast-food moratorium unanimously, despite complaints from representatives of McDonald's, Carl's Jr. and other companies, who said they were being unfairly targeted.

Councilwoman Jan Perry, who has pushed for a moratorium for six years, said the initiative would give the city time to craft measures to lure sit-down restaurants serving healthier food to a part of the city that desperately wants more of them.

"I believe this is a victory for the people of South and southeast Los Angeles, for them to have greater food options," she said.

Dear Urban Jibaro,

I work in the toy department of a major retailer in a pretty diverse part of Pennsylvania. I see a lot of Latino families and I am curious about something. Whenever a kid throw a tantrum in my department, I hear their mothers threaten them with "John Kletter" and they immediately start behaving in most cases.

I have 3 kids myself and I would love to know how John Kletter can help me when they act up.

My question is "Who is John Kletter, and why are Latino children so afraid of him?

"Gracias" (thats all the Spanish I know)

Misty (Lancaster PA)

***************************************************

Ok...so being that fact that I am completely new at this, I honestly did not know what the hell Misty was talking about. I googled "John Kletter" and did not find much...and was about to move on to our next submission...that is until I mentioned the question to one of my friends (she made me swear not to reveal her name) who has a thick accent and she said "que eso de jon kleta?"and then it hit me me like a ton of bricks...we had a phonetic translation issue here....John Kletter doesn't exist...at least not in the Latino universe what Misty actually witnessed was the power of the almighty "CHANCLETA".

This whole ASK A LATINO thing is gonna be fun...

So now that we got that squared away...Click below to read my official response to the first "ASK A LATINO" question.

The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community.
But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.
The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers:
Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public?
And the powers-that-be have the same response: “The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do.”
If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up?

For more information visit The Getty Website

Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu on Wednesday rejected arguments that the city’s policy — under which most suspects are not asked about their immigration status — conflicted with federal and state law.”

We already know that big cities, like L.A. and NYC engage in racial profiling practices. Hopefully this law will set a precedent that won't allow LAPD to stop people based on them looking like "an illegal", which has been racialized to mean looking Latino.

Via / Hispanic Tips

The original song, like many Mexican songs, is about lost love. La Sinfonia's version deals with the struggles of an immigrant family, specifically, a son looking back at his father's sacrifices with gratitude but also with sadness for not recognizing them sooner.

Check out la Sinfonia and their track No Merezco Tu Perdón (Idiota).

I am being fired because I am trying to ensure that my curriculum is relevant to my students' daily lived experiences, and in the process, create a space for them to be critical of Eurocentric society and curricula that only serve to reinforce their dehumanization, subjugation, and oppression. Many of you have been forwarding messages about the Arizona bill that seeks to end Raza Studies and MEChA, and while my situation is not as large scale, it is still an attack on the quality, culturally-relevant education Students of Color deserve.

I have been harassed by administration since last school year for my alleged encouragement of "militancy" among students. Last year there was a group of students, called the Watts Student Union, who began organizing themselves and created a list of demands they presented to the school and district. The administration did not think students were capable (smart enough?) of organizing themselves and articulating their demands on their own, so another colleague and I were accused of being the real "masterminds" behind their work.

This year, administration has continued their vendetta against me. I have been observed in the classroom and evaluated by administration over a dozen times (almost twice a month) this school year, whereas in comparison, most teachers are observed and evaluated 1-3 times per school year. The evaluations claim that I am creating "militancy" within students, promoting my personal political beliefs, and presenting a biased view of the curriculum. It has also been implied that I have been teaching students "how to protest."

Three weeks ago, things began escalating when I was again observed, and in his evaluation, the administrator accused me of "brainwashing" my students and "forcing extremist views" on them. The class had been reading a 3-page excerpt of the Autobiography of Malcolm X (an LAUSD-approved text, of which we have several class sets in our school bookroom), in which Malcolm describes the first time he conked his hair...My contract is being terminated because according to the principal, I am "indoctrinating students with anti-Semitism and Afrocentrism." The anti-Semitism accusation comes solely from the fact that I have an Intifada poster hanging in my classroom (a symbol of support for a free Palestine), and the Afrocentrism accusation comes from the fact my culturally-relevant curriculum reflects the demographics of my students, though I am surprised I am not being accused of Raza-centrism as well.

The stories and novel excerpts sandwiched in between “Kid Zopilote” and the excerpt from Chicano bring us to modern-day Latino denizens of Los Angeles and the city’s surrounding communities. And what a complex and diverse group of people we observe: young and old, gay and straight, rich and poor, the newly arrived and the well established. There’s a Cuban American screenwriter trying to pitch the “real” story behind the Bay of Pigs fiasco. We see a Mexican woman struggling with barrio life who believes she’s seen a miracle. There are youths trying to avoid gang life and others embracing it. And we’re introduced to aggressive journalists, cement pourers, disaffected lovers, drunken folklórico dancers, successful curanderos, teenage slackers, aging artists, wrestling saints, aimless druggies, people made of paper, college students, and even a private detective hot on the heels of a presumed-dead gonzo writer.

I haven't read the book but I plan on it, it sounds like a great and interesting contribution to the Latino lit community. It features writers such as Salvador Plascencia, John Rechy, Sandra Ramos O'Briant, Luis J. Rodríguez.

Celebrating Latinos in Lotusland: Reception and Book Signing! WHERE: Patricia Correia Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., E-2, Santa Monica, CA 90404 WHEN: Sat., May 31, 5-8:00 p.m. CONTACT: Gabriela M. Corchado, Gallery Manager TELEPHONE: 310.264.1760 WEBSITE: http://www.correiagallery.com/index.html

Via / LA Observed

Los Angeles bloggers at LA Eastside and Intersections have discussed Salazar's important legacy as both a journalist and in the Chicano Movement.

The LA Times have a wealth of coverage on Salazar, including some of the ground-breaking columns he penned in the 1960s. From Ed Fuentes' View From A Loft:

On August 29, 1970, at age 42, the Los Angeles Times and KMEX [a Spanish-language television station] reporter was shot in the head and killed by a tear gas canister fired by a deputy sheriff during the Chicano Moratorium March protesting the Vietnam War. Outside the Silver Dollar Cafe, where Salazar was struck, was Cal State Northridge Professor Raul Ruiz and his camera.

At the time of his murder, Salazar was called a "militant" by Time Magazine. Now, he's honored by activists and journalists alike.

The Associated Press reports this morning that Los Angeles County has passed a law making it a misdemeanor crime for taco trucks to stay in a spot longer than one hour. The reason?
“Many restaurants are forced to close their doors because they cannot compete with a catering truck’s prices,” said Louis Herrera, president of the Greater East Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. “It’s unfair competition.”

One of those is the fact that the LA Philharmonic will be led by 27-year-old Venezuelan, Gustavo Dudamel, next year. Apparently, I'm not the only one who is psyched about this. Pink's hot dog stand, an LA institution known for it's celebrity dogs, has named a hot dog after Dudamel, "the Dude Dog... a stretch hot dog topped with American and Swiss cheese, "fajita mix" grilled veggies, jalapenos and tortilla chips."

Of course, fitting in well to LA celebrity culture doesn't make one a good conductor of classical music. If you're wondering if he's any good, check out the video below:

In the video, Dudamel conducts Venezuela's Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra in Danzón No. 2 by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez.

Not only is his "direction f---ing amazing" (in the words of Astrid at Pues Nada), but the young musicians are equally impressive. The LA Times describes the link between the youth orchestra and Dudamel's own training as a classical violinist and conductor:

The orchestra, whose members are all under 25, is the flagship of El Sistema (the System), Venezuela's 32-year-old program of social action through music, which has provided musical training for more than 250,000 children and teenagers, many from impoverished backgrounds.

Dudamel is perhaps the most prominent product of El Sistema. Born in 1981 to a trombonist father and a voice-teacher mother in Barquisimeto, Venezuela -- where he reportedly conducted orchestras of toy soldiers -- he joined El Sistema at age 4 and has said that through it he received his first violin and conductor's baton, his "gifts from heaven." He began studying violin and conducting at age 10.

For more Dudamel conducting and an interview, check out YouTube. Who can resist those curls bouncing around as he makes classical music exciting?

Via // Pues Nada and LA Times