A system that was historically intended to mold you into another factory worker. A system that humiliates you by forcing you to implicitly re-enact the murder of your ancestors every November… by dressing you up as the Indian or the Pilgrim. Or by making you rebuild what your ancestors built years ago to later be […]
Five songs from Latin American rock bands (and one of their colonizing countries, *cough* Spain *cough*) that everyone needs to know. Because who says Latin@s can’t rock out!? 1. La Célula que explota by Caifanes Nopales and Saul Hernandez’s hair blowing in the wind… perfect combination. 2. Lamento Boliviano by Enanitos Verdes Enanitos Verdes offers […]
Intellectual masturbation. I first heard this phrase from a student who spoke at a demonstration against police brutality at Meyerhoff Park in UCLA. The student who spoke these words expressed that the gathering would only be productive if the work against these injustices committed on People of Color continued outside that immediate space. He described […]
Jorge Lopez, originally from East Palo Alto, recently moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of his educational and artistic goals. He studies Sociology at Santa Monica Community College and hopes to transfer into the University of California, Los Angeles. Jorge developed a deeper appreciation for education after leaving high school, as one of his songs […]
On November 2, 2014, the community of Boyle Heights honored those who have passed in spaces like Espacio 1839, Mariachi Plaza and Self Help Graphics. At the store and autonomous radio station, Espacio 1839, various altars decorated its sidewalk, giving life to the street as the dead were commemorated. One of the altars was […]
On November 1, 2014 Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles hosted a free Dia de los Muertos celebration, with live music, art and food! An entire space was dedicated for the display of various community altars, with participating organizations such as Inner-City Struggle. Some performances included Los Angeles-based band, La Chamba and from Colombia, Palenke […]
On October 22, 2014 Black and Brown UCLA students joined forces to stand against police brutality and to demand justice for the 43 disappeared students of Mexico. The students met in Meyerhoff Park in front of Kerckhoff Hall at around noon. The rally began with a brief introduction to the issues being discussed and was […]
On October 22, 2014, the Stop Mass Incarceration Network from Southern California led a march against police brutality from Olympic and Broadway to the Los Angeles Police Department in Downtown Los Angeles. The Stop Mass Incarceration Network is a project of the Alliance for Global Justice and is a registered non-profit organization. However, the origin of the […]
Today is Mexico’s Independence Day from Spain and yesterday marked the first day of the Latin@ Heritage Month in the U.S. However, last month I had the privilege to visit Mexico City and I found out about a line of events that took place in the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico), […]
“Hagan lo que los hace feliz. A veces se tiene que hacer cosas que no nos hace feliz para después poder hacer lo que sí nos hace feliz…pero no se mueran haciendo lo que no los hace feliz.” Esto dijo el vocalista René Pérez del grupo musical urbano, Calle 13, en su concierto en el […]