Más de lo mismo...

So, I was walking down the plaza and I ran into a wall the other day.... NOT A JOKE!!
I don't know what was going on that day on Campus, but there was a lot of activity going on and there were quite a few make-shift murals with some very impacting messages. Among them I found this great one that I took and picture of and have added here just for you.




I know that in my last Blog as pretty long, so I'm keeping this one short.....

The attendant discourses around immigration reform are sometimes hurtful and hateful.
We need immigration reform, but we need solutions, not nastiness.

It's signs like these that give me a ray of hope.
-Gava.

Condoms in your food

La semana pasada estuvo aquí mi familia de México. Siempre que están aquí me siento como un pocho ya que mi abuelos no hablan ingles y me veo forzado a comunicarme completamente en español. El problema es que estoy tan acostumbrado al codeswitching o spanglish en mi conversación diría que se me dificulta hablar solo en español. Cuando estoy en medio de la conversación se me van algunas palabras y me toma un rato para recordar como se dice o tengo que pedir ayuda a mi mamá para traducir. Otra cosa que me pasa es que por tratar de hablar solamente en español me salen algunos cognados falsos ya que la palabra que estoy tratando de decir en español regularmente la uso en ingles. Un ejemplo que no se me olvida es cuando estábamos hablando de la diferencia de sabor entre la comida aquí y en México (por supuesto que todo, especialmente las frutas y vegetales saben mejor en México). Yo quería decir que la comida sabe mejor en México porque toda la comida es natural y no tiene “preservatives”  así que dije “la comida de aquí tiene muchos preservativos y allá toda es natural ” y todos se soltaron riendo. La palabra es “conservadores” ya que un preservativo es otra palabra para condón. Cuando lo recordé me dio mucha vergüenza pero el daño ya estaba hecho. Después de ese incidente comencé a poner más atención a lo que decía y no tuve otro momento tan vergonzoso. Este problema no suele sucederme cuando estoy hablando en ingles. Tal vez sea porque el ingles es el lenguaje dominante en mi vida que ya estoy muy acostumbrado al vocabulario. Aun así, no debo mentir, a veces que estoy hablando con algún monolingüe  en ingles se me sale decir “pero” en vez de “but” o “bueno” en vez de “well o OK”. Cuando se me sale alguna palabra en español con un monolingüe en ingles no me da vergüenza ¿Por qué será?

In response to Valdes (aunque ya me conocen)

Ya saben que estoy bien convencida que los programas de dual-language son los mejores que hemos visto acerca de la enseñanza de los idiomas aquí en este país. Les pongo aquí un artículo que expone un estudio longitudinal y los resultados sumamente positivos para los estudiantes de varias herencias, incluyendo a los heritage language learners.
  While reading Valdes, it struck me that teaching language at a younger age solves many issues such as developing literacy and multiple registers AND creating communities wherein the non-dominant language has more opportunity for use in various contexts (case in point: the NHCC is hosting a series of events for bilingual students next week, including a Spanish spelling bee, a concert, and elementary students presenting poetry in Spanish, among others). I think these programs could effectively raise the status of Spanish in their communities, but of course, they must be located where heritage learners have access to them. Fortunately, many of them are.
   These schools do not solve the issues Valdes brings up for current students, nor for the many who do not attend dual-language schools, and I'm sure if we could make every U.S. elementary school dual-language (one of my far-fetched life goals...) we would find a new set of issues to deal with. Nonetheless, we might have a functionally-bilingual population to help do it.

De todos modos, el artículo se llama "The Astounding Effectiveness of Dual-Language Education for All"

http://njrp.tamu.edu/2004/PDFs/Collier.pdf

Mojado...

Meniconé esta canción en la clase la semana pasada. AMO a Ricardo Arjona, es un gran escritor y músico, y esta canción cada vez que la escucho me hace llorar. Él es un gran orgullo para Guatemala y Centroamerica! Pues espero que les guste.

La letra que mencioné fue: "No Es De Aquí Porque Su Nombre No Aparece En Los Archivos, 

Ni Es De Allá Porque Se Fue." 

Música latina, indígena, cajún y la polka fuera de los Grammy en 2012

Típicamente, estas cosas de la cultura popular no me interesan, pero este artículo sobre los Grammy’s y la música latina se me hizo interesante.  Básicamente lo que pasó fue que varios géneros de música, entre ellos música latina como el jazz latino o el regional mexicano, se quedaron fuera de los premios Grammy.  Hmmmm, me pregunto ¿por qué? Siendo los hispanos un grupo enorme de los Estados Unidos es interesante que su música esté afuera de unos premios que representan supuestamente la cultura del país entero. No digo que la cultura popular aquí sea mala, o no digo que la música de Justin Beiber sea disonante por ejemplo, sino que prefiero la música con un poquito más de sabor, saben como les digo. Además, hay otras masas de gente que se están quedando fuera de la cultura popular porque no se identifican con muchos artistas populares. ¿Por qué hay un Grammy latino y no un Grammy que contenga varios géneros de música latina, indígena, cajún o polka? ¿Qué estamos diciendo a estos grupos de gente? Pues, parece que estamos viendo actualmente un acto de americanización. ¿Qué les parece?

http://www.listindiario.com/entretenimiento/2012/2/7/220840/Artistas-latinos-se-manifestaran-contra-los-Grammy-por-excluir-su-musica

Census Data: Pro Obama or Republican Candidate?

So after looking at the Census data the other day I started thinking about the upcoming presidential election. Im not really a fan of politics at all but just thinking of what these numbers can do when combined with politics is crazy!

Arizona sparked some interest because of the huge rise in hispanic/spanish population over the last ten years. This being said, I figure that Obama's campaign team will put much more effort in their efforts to win a state that is traditionally republican.

Could this also be an early sign of who wins its all?

What about the data showing an overall growth of "hispanics" in the United States?

Does this mean Obama has a higher percentage to be re-elected because it is "said" that hispanics are generally Democrats?

(FYI) I do not vote so dont take me to seriously on this post! lol

OK.... So Someone Said Something.... OMBERS!!

So, more towards the beginning of the semester several of my colleagues and I sparked a conversation before class.... or after class..... I just remember that it was cold..... and it was about the illegal Mexican immigrant's demanding of rights... 

The basic argument: They're here illegally, why are they demanding "rights"... They don't have rights. 

Well, this has been the problem all along, they are treated as if they have no rights whatsoever... not even basic human rights. 

The issue is that the people out demonstrating out in the streets, in spite of being here illegally, have been imbedded in the American economy, American society, the American Internal Revenue System, American Pop Culture, American Work Labor, and every single aspect of the American Life. 

And this embedment has been a lasting one. The majority of the people that are demonstrating have been here for decades. They have paid taxes, they have had children that are now graduating and going on to college... And Even More So... They have been law-abiding residents.. with the exception of not having legal status. One of the main arguments is that they... actually "we", because I is one... reformed, but I'm still a wetback.....   are leeches and a drain in the system. This has given rise the Jan Brewers and the Arpaios of America to commit horrible and unconstitutional acts against us, just because we are seen as leeches. 

Well, if it wasn't for people like "us"... then very many businesses would not exist today; El Taco Tote, El Camino Radio Station (95.9), Alamo Transmissions, Healthy People Gireh, Above & Beyond Crime Scene Clean Up, and countless other businesses that have been established by immigrants that started out as illegal and eventually pushed through to legal status. 

So the atrocities that have been committed against my people have not stopped us... and we just want to recognition for our contributions. 

So.... just to add to the crap that "Americans" are talking about people like me...  then check this out... 

Ralph DeMattia says:

May 16, 2010 at 6:35 am

If they are here illegally, I DON’T CARE who takes advantage of them! They’re criminals and should be tossed out. We spend billions each year on them, taking away money from Americans, then we have to watch these pieces of filth prding down our streets, waving MEXICAN flags and complaining about our immigration laws. THEY AREN’T TOUGH ENOUGH!
Illegal immigrants, usually mexican, must be harshly dealt with or legal immigration will vanish and all we’ll have left is THEM

Taken from:  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=956280693484866476#editor/target=post;postID=6740145727408609847

And just balance this nasty and negative article, let's talk about the contributions, and not only focus on the costs: 

http://www.illegalimmigrationstatistics.org/illegal-immigration-pros-tax-paying-illegal-workers-contribute-to-the-economy/

So..... I'm sorry that I was here illegally... 

I'm sorry that I broke your laws.... 

I'm sorry that my family is "filth".... 

But at the end of the day... I'm Here... and We're not going away.... if you don't want me.. then don't take my money. 

What if we lived in "Lincoln State" and not "New Mexico"?

In our research pertaining to language attitudes in NM we are coming across some interesting information. This is an article I found on the New Mexico Genealogical Website. Here's just a segment...

"Many reasons have been suggested why it took New Mexico so long to become a state. Early efforts were hampered, in part, by a general ignorance about the territory and suspicions towards its people. Statehood was opposed by those who felt that New Mexico's predominantly Hispanic and Indian population was too foreign and too Catholic for admission to the American Union. There was even periodic debate as to whether a new name for the territory would help the cause of statehood. Names such as Navajo and Lincoln were suggested and seriously considered." BAHAHAHAHAH foreign?  Full article can be found here: http://www.nmgs.org/artcuar7.htm  Also I've heard it was proposed to combine New Mexico and Arizona into one big state because it was thought NM would have an easier time "assimilating" because of the greater Anglo influence in AZ. I'm about to run out the door and thus cannot find a good source for this right now but.... All of the above information was told to me by Professor Anna Nogar, who is a wealth of information on New Mexico.  Credit where credit is due.  MY OWN THOUGHTS: Wow, history more times than not, has a GREAT effect on our present day situation. Imagine that! Who would have thunk it?

Un día en Abiquiu con los hermanos penitentes

It was a fascinating day! I did not grow up hearing anything about the Penitentes, so I didn't have any perceptions to shift, just new ones to form. One thing about the group that stands in COMPLETE contrast to U.S. culture is their concept of time--there are no limits! The discipline, dedication, & patience they demonstrated and demanded of participants was far beyond anything most of us experience in our daily lives. Like trying to do yoga all day! It was so cool to meet people who came up from Santa Fe or ABQ to spend the day with the hermanos because they love the traditions. One gentleman, an artist and teacher at St. John's college, told us he visits different moradas every year. "I'm a morada hopper," he said with a big smile. With any luck, we'll get an interview with him. He told us that his abuelos, tíos, & father were all penitentes.

It strikes me that the Penitentes are perhaps filling a void in modern U.S. culture. They offer a space and time to sit, listen to singing that is reminiscent of the Gregorian Monks, and touch a culture so far removed from daily experience, that I can only compare it to sitting in cathedrals in Europe. There, mysticism, spiritual struggle, peace, strong bonds of community, and love flow through everything they do. I am not saying I want to become a penitente (nor would they allow me to since I am female), but their sincerity   was unquestionable, even admirable. It was a powerful reminder to me that we may disagree on many levels, but there is no room for judgement.

Also--we went to observe language use, but it is impossible not to process this experience in multiple ways! It was a full cultural immersion, a home-stay on steroids! Thanks, blog, for being my sounding board :)

Dear Latinas: You are not allowed to make fun of yourselves

Dear Latinas: You are not allowed to make fun of yourselves

Hmm..  I never thought people would take Sofia Vergara so seriously. In this article, it says that "she can hardly be imagined credibly portraying an intelligent and sophisticated Latina". But she is an actress! I wonder what they would have to say about Will Ferrell. Has he ever done anything intelligent and sophisticated? Intelligent and sophisticated Latinas can have thick accents and curvy bodies too!!

It looks like no one will be allowed to make fun of themselves in order to make good television because it might be politically incorrect. What do you think? Is she offensive?