After reading the Holly Cashman article for today, I agree with Aubrey that this article provided a lot of insight that I needed as well (even having lived in NM for 15 years). As I was reading, I remembered a website that Miguel showed me a few weeks ago titled Librotraficante (www.librotraficate.com). They have a video on the home page of the website of a Latino from Houston, Tony, talking about how "Arizona had the audacity to ban Latino studies". He and his fellow librotraficantes are going to smuggle contraband books back into Arizona during Spring Break: March 12-18. In the video, he introduces a few new words to Arizona: "librotraficante", "wetbook" which are books to be used in underground latino classes, and "dime-book" which are now invaluable books that were once valuable because of "Arizona's fascist laws". He holds up The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and reiterates that this book is banned in Arizona now. Realizing that that book in particular is banned in Arizona really got my attention. I loved reading that book in middle school here in Albuquerque, as well as Bless Me Ultima.
He is attempting to recruit as many librotraficantes as he can to travel from Houston to Tucson next month. Many of the banned authors like Sandra Cisneros and Rudolfo Anaya (author of Bless Me Ultima) are joining him in the caravan, either by hosting them along the way or by joining them in Tuscon. They have many donors as well, including many of these famous Latino writers.
Take a look at the video and the website. It is engaging and entertaining.
"V for victory, vatos."
Nice! I just posted it to my facebook. If I had money, this is something I could give to.
ResponderBorrarHi Christi.... You know, my brother just moved his family to Phoenix. I am probably going to go visit them soon.... and you better believe that I'm going to support this movement. And let me tell you why.....
ResponderBorrarAs my wife and I dig deeper into my side of the family, we've been finding so much astounding information about my past that ties me directly to everything we are reading about in class. Turns out that my grandfather on my dad's side was born in Las Cruces New Mexico. The whole family was moved to Chihuahua Mexico, there my grandfather married, three times, and had 14 kids. Eventually my parents moved us here... and you know some of my history now (the illegal part n stuff). ...
well all of this crap that happened in New Mexico with the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty and the War of Mexico is just a generation removed from me!!!! And you better believe that I want my kids (when I have them) and this generation to know EVERYTHING my family has had to go through because of these "Americans" trying to "Americanize" my ancestors.
Now more than ever, I will not let go of my Spanish language.
And, speaking of labels, I guess that now I can classify myself as a LIBROTRAFICANTE.
-Rubén.
Right on !!!
ResponderBorrar