Back to Mango Street: After 25 years, Sandra Cisneros' coming-of-age novel still builds bridges connecting ... everyone

[Sandra Cisneros © John Dyer 2008]

By Connie Ogle
cogle@miamiherald.com

Sandra Cisneros had not yet been introduced to the writings of Virginia Woolf when she began her remarkable novel A House on Mango Street, but she instinctively understood that desperate longing for a space, a place, a room of one's own.

''Not a flat. Not an apartment. Not a man's house. Not a daddy's. A house all my own.'' Cisneros wrote. ``With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobody's garbage to pick up after. Only a house quiet as snow, a space for myself to go, clean as paper before the poem.''

''Of course,'' says Cisneros, now 54 and chuckling at such youthful audacity. ``I didn't want a room of my own. I wanted a whole house.''

The dissatisfied, fearful and, yes, angry young woman who wrote Mango Street -- just released in a 25th-anniversary Vintage paperback -- is a slightly strange but not unpleasant memory to Cisneros, who will discuss the book and its impact on the literary world Tuesday at Coral Gables Congregational Church.

''I began the book at 21 and finished it in my 28th year,'' she says from a Minneapolis hotel room while she searches for an outlet to plug in an iron. (``This is what you do on tour -- look for outlets.'')

``Imagine if you looked at the yearbook of your 20s. Imagine the things you're thinking. But for me the book has aged well. I do see a lot of wisdom. I see myself asking the right questions. I'm pleased I asked those questions in my 20s.''

Back then, the Chicago-born Cisneros had doubts about ''the expectations society and Latino fathers had for women.'' Her father, she writes in a new introduction, didn't understand why she wanted her own apartment or wanted to be a writer: ''The father wants his daughter to be a weather girl on television, or to marry and have babies.'' Teaching impoverished students caused her to ponder art's role in social change -- ``I felt a sense of impotency at being an educator with a whole class of girls who couldn't live my life. I was privileged compared to them, and I just felt overwhelmed by my sense of powerlessness to change their lives.''

GROWING FURY

And, privately, her fury was growing over entitled, would-be writers she met -- ''privileged with trust funds -- I didn't even know what a trust fund was til I was in grad school!'' -- who could casually call themselves artists and presume to decide what counted as literature.

From these roiling thoughts and emotions emerged bright, observant Esperanza Cordero, a young Chicana who lives with her family in a series of rented houses and apartments in Chicago. She longs for a real house, away from her neighborhood and her school where ``they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth.''

Readers responded enthusiastically to Esperanza and the colorful neighborhood figures to whom she introduced them: Cathy Queen of Cats, Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays, and Louie, His Cousin & His Other Cousin. A slim novel in 45 evocative vignettes, The House on Mango Street has sold more than four million copies in the United States and been translated into more than a dozen languages, most recently Greek, Thai and Serbo-Croatian. It is often the focus of community-reading initiatives in such places as Miami (in 2002), Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Fort Worth and El Paso, and this spring in Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and Santa Ana, Calif.

''It's such an important book, because it's the first encounter many non-Latinos had with Latino culture,'' says Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban and The Handbook for Luck. ``This is one of those books that's a bridge to the culture, and there's a Latina girl at the heart of it, the most forgotten of characters. No one put them center stage literarily or otherwise. For Esperanza to be front and center of our consciousness, a tiny ambassador to the Latino world, with her wonderful humorous and very specific observations, is a great gift.''

UNIVERSAL APPEAL

But the book has a universal appeal as well, says Cisneros' friend, author and playwright Denise Chavez.

''Sandra captured the essence of young womanhood,'' Chavez says. ``The book is based in the tradition of Latina culture but also has become a universal coming-of-age story. The writing is beautiful, the images profound. . . . Sandra was able to tap into the lushness and fecundity and grace and beauty of being a young woman. I told her I wish I'd written the book!''

Mango Street is taught in high schools, middle schools and even elementary schools. Vintage publisher Anne Messitte says it's the bestselling title on her backlist and that the company used the book to kick off its Spanish-language imprint in 1994.

''Over the years it has proved itself,'' says Messitte, who adds that her third grader's class has the book on its curriculum for next year. ``It renews itself with new audiences, and that's the definition of a classic -- to do that year after year, decade after decade, finding that connection with readers across a wide age range.''

Sue Rodriguez, lead teacher for the International Baccalaureate diploma program at Ferguson High in south Miami-Dade, taught Mango Street at Coral Gables and Coral Reef high schools throughout the late 1980s and '90s and says students always responded positively, especially at largely Hispanic Gables High.

''It's simple to read, though it's melodic and beautiful. But it's not a struggle for students, so they can think about it a lot,'' Rodriguez says. 'If I think back to what I was teaching in previous years before I read the book and started teaching more modern writers, we were still using that old lexicon of the so-called classics and yet not realizing that a lot of those books did not appeal to kids. As the world changed, and as technology burst onto the scene, we weren't going to get kids' attention with those books. The House on Mango Street has saved many an English teacher's sanity.''

Miami novelist Diana Abu-Jaber taught Mango Street at the college level in Oregon.

''There's magic in its brevity,'' she says. ``It's a little crystal of a book, and you can read through these fragments, these pieces, and get such a big, big story. . . . Its simplicity is deceptive. The child is able to look at hard, complex issues -- poverty, abuse -- and render them in this incredibly innocent, beautifully nonjudgmental form. I guess that's what a lot of us are looking for, to talk about the hard stuff in a really clear, simple way.''

MOSTLY A POET

Cisneros had viewed herself mostly as a poet when she started work on Mango Street, and her exquisite mastery of language is apparent in Esperanza's budding feminist voice. She is now author of the poetry collections Bad Boys, My Wicked Wicked Ways and Loose Woman; a story collection, Woman Hollering Creek; and the hefty novel Caramelo, about a Mexican-American family much like hers. But as a young woman at the Iowa Writer's Workshop -- she had previously earned an English degree at Loyola University -- Cisneros at times foundered.

''I was stumbling and bumbling around,'' she says. 'I didn't know about feminist Latina authors. I was hacking my way through thickets, thinking, `I know there's a path here somewhere.' What helped is when I realized there were no other working-class people, especially Latina or Americans of color, telling the story I needed. Emotion got me through. I was depressed. I got angry. . . . We saw a flood of viewpoints from people with power, and people who wrote other kinds of stories were made to feel as if they didn't count and made to feel inferior. So I wrote the book I wanted to read.''

Other writers were emboldened by her trailblazing.

''Twenty-five years ago there was no Latina literature,'' says novelist and memoirist Esmeralda Santiago. Mango Street 'was something we were looking for. I didn't know I was a writer then, but I was certainly looking for that story, that experience that was so particular to my life and the lives of people that I knew and loved. I grew up in public schools in New York, and we read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Carson McCullers and To Kill a Mockingbird, and those are wonderful books. However, they were at a remove from my experience. Sandra was able to show us that our stories, our lives, our experiences, were worthy of literature. Many writers like myself all of a sudden said, `OK, yeah! My life is interesting! I don't have to live in the Deep South to write!' ''

These days Cisneros, who lives in San Antonio with (at last count) six rescued dogs -- you can see them on her website, www.sandracisneros.com -- finds that assisting fledgling writers is paramount. She's writer in residence at Our Lady of the Lake University and president and founder of the Macondo Foundation, a group of writers, journalists and artists with an eye toward community-building and social change. The organization, incorporated in 2006, started in Cisneros' kitchen.

INTEREST IN ACTIVISM

Cisneros' attention may be drawn to new voices -- ''I want to use my energies now that I'm older to work with writers who are engaged in community building and activism'' -- but circumstances indicate readers will remain enchanted with Mango Street for years to come.

''It speaks to such a common experience for immigrants but also for people in general,'' says Haitian-born Miami author Edwidge Danticat. ``She writes about the Virginia Woolf premise taken to everyday life, people wanting their own roof over their heads. In this time when all we hear about is foreclosure and growing homelessness, and people living in cars, her book is even more poignant. It's more relevant than ever, given the climate. It's going to have another 25 years, at least. Each time you can read it differently, depending what stage you're at in your life. I read it when I was almost 20, and now I can imagine reading it to my daughters. All these little milestones in it are milestones in a young girl's life.''

For Cisneros, the fact that Mango Street continues to inspire and entertain is gratifying, but still she marvels at its effect.

''This book empowers readers,'' she says. ``And I wrote it from such a powerless place! That it has done that is amazing to me.''

-30-

George Lopez brings heat and spice to late night chat, the interview

TBS announced a new late-night talk show hosted by George Lopez that will premiere November 2009. This show will air on the network Monday through Thursday at 11:00 pm.

Lopez promises a "blended" late-night TV show that will hit needed pockets of the country starved for non-white comedic entertainment perspective.

Lopez spoke to assembled journalists on a conference call last week and joked with one from Miami, ''We're gonna have a Castro death-watch clock in the corner of the screen!''

The TBS talk show promised to be pure Lopez- said with jest and goodwill - to an audience who wants a more ethnic slice of celebrity life.

Lopez is a Mexican-American of humble origins married to a Cuban American, his wife Ann the donor of his life-saving kidney a few years back.

Now Lopez's 11 p.m. show, which will debut in November, will have more "sabor" and heat than his paler counterparts, Jay, Dave, Conan and Jimmy.

''For whatever reason, I have the ability to connect with people regardless of color or age,'' says Lopez of his comedic gifts, who took his stand-up comedy act and created a sitcom that ran on ABC from 2002-2007.

Lopez spoke to Monsters and Critics and some other online journalists the day of the announcement last week and shared his thoughts, and answered our questions.

What unique things do you see yourself bringing to late night chat?

George Lopez: Well, first of all, I’m not a white male. So I’m of color already. You put me and Craig Ferguson right next to each other and you’ll see a huge difference already.

I’m going to bring a more eclectic group of actors, a more eclectic music from Mana to Santana to Slash to Garth Brooks and all of them it’s –I know some pretty high profile people in Hollywood and in music and in comedy and actors and actresses. And they all seem to be pretty supportive of the idea.

And there’s just an audience that is beyond The Hills and Gossip Girl and I feel like I can pull those people to TBS and they can watch a show that is –I’m trying to be completely inclusive to bridge a gap that I think exists that – I watch TV and I’m a fan of TV. I’ve been watching it my whole life.

I think it’s still very much black and white. And what I do is I throw myself and my hat into the ring. And there’s the largest growing demographic of people in the United States are Latinos. And unfortunately a lot of the news regarding Latinos is all very negative.

Well, this today is a good story.

Is TV chat ready for you, will you be much different than what we have already?

George Lopez: Here’s the beauty of that. All of those shows have been on ABC, NBC, or CBS. Now, I don’t know if you are going to regret saying this to me because I am a little bit out there when it comes to standup.

But the head of TBS said, “Listen, George, we’re cable so take some liberties with the language.” I think they may come back to bite him in the ass.

So there’s certain – I think what Bill Maher – you look at Bill Maher on HBO. Incredibly funny and it does have some bite to it because of language. And you know you don’t have that option on NBC. I have the option on TBS and I’d rather have that bullet in my gun than not have it.

I’m sure a motherf*cker will slip out now and then.

Are you watching Jimmy Fallon on late night?

George Lopez: I’ve been aware –I know Jimmy. I know Jimmy pretty good from Saturday Night Live and I’ve talked to him a few times over the years. And I invited him to the Bob Hope golf tournament that I hosted last year and he was amazing. I mean, really, I mean, a talented cat.

I, unfortunately, am sleeping at that time, and I haven’t TiVo’d it because I didn’t want to be influenced by what he was doing or I didn’t want to say anything because I’d rather not know and only speak of him as trying to get his feet on a show taking over for somebody, which can’t be easy. You know what I mean?

Like I know he’s working hard. I know it’s a difficult job to do and I didn’t want to either have an opinion or give an opinion either way because I know it’s difficult to step into somebody, especially Conan O’Brien’s shoes.

Was that a good answer?

Also I’ll say to my benefit, I’ve never been happier not to be a white male than I am today.

You were the first guy to say, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” at a NASCAR race in Spanish.…

George Lopez: Actually, I didn’t say, “Gentlemen, start your engines.” I said, “Is there anybody out there who has an extra (churro),” but it just – nobody understood what I was saying at a NASCAR race.

They didn’t notice.

Do you feel like, with this show, that you will be perceived as a trailblazer in another way?

George Lopez: Well, I feel that Arsenio was the original trailblazer. I was fortunate enough to be on his show from June of 1989 to May of 1994. I think I made 16 appearances.

He and I became very friendly during that time. And in that time, I did The Tonight Show in 1991 on November 21, one of the last comedians to do The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

And Johnny Carson was very nice to me not only during the show but after the show. And I’ve been on The Tonight Show a couple of times with Jay Leno. And you know I’ve been on nine times on Ellen and I think ten times on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. And it’s all been great.

You know I’ve watched The Tonight Show and Letterman and you know Mike Douglas, like everybody, man. You hear everybody talk about Mike Douglas and Dinah Shore and Dick Cavett, fantastic.

And those shows – because I was a child of TV. I was an only child and I wanted to be a comedian...this year’s my 30-year anniversary of being a comedian.

Now what I feel with this talk show is that there’s an audience, obviously even just by looking at the people that I’m going to talk to in the next 40 minutes, that’s incredibly diverse and ethnically enhanced now that wasn’t there 30 years ago, 20 years ago, even 10 years ago.

So, we’re in a position now where it was tough to have a Latino guy who would cross over and appeal to everyone. With the success of George Lopez on Nickelodeon and for the 6 years it was on ABC, I have that luxury of – it’s almost become like one word, George Lopez, it’s never just George. I mean, I’m actually thinking about having the space removed and have it just be GeorgeLopez, one word.

I’m not afraid of a challenge. I’m not intimidated by having a camera on me. And over the last 10 years of being in Hollywood, I’ve made some pretty good high profile friends. You know Samuel L. Jackson was in my production pilot because I called him and so was Eva Longoria and Dane Cook and I used Shakira’s band.

So I’ve already been endorsed by some pretty high profile celebrities as wanting to be on this show. So I think those are all pluses in my favor.

Who would be your top five must-have guests on your show? And why?

George Lopez: Well, I’d love to have Michael Jackson on because he’s black and white. So he would appeal to a universal demographic.

Now he’s doing shows again. I was thinking about actually going to London to see one of his shows. I testified in his trial because I knew the accuser because I was his coach at a comedy camp at the Laugh Factory. And if Michael Jackson is performing it becomes a huge musical act.

But also, I’m a huge fan of Mana, they’re like U2, that politically relevant and that socially relevant. And I can’t remember the last time I saw Mana on English speaking TV. Now they have an opportunity to do that. I mean, they’re one of the biggest bands that’s ever performed and an incredibly successful, popular group for all fans.

But why not Latinos? Why shouldn’t Latinos have a show where they can see Denzel Washington and Mana on the same show?
I became friendly with Barack Obama because I was out there campaigning with him. And I went from Texas to Michigan to Virginia to Miami the day before the election.

So he helped me with a little piece that we did for the production pilot. So you know I’d love to have Barack Obama on.

But also, I’d love Michelle. You know Jay Leno had Barack but I’d love to have Barack and Michelle at the same time, baby. Why should only 60 Minutes get that? I’d love to have his mother on (too).

So yes obviously from Juanes to Santana to will.i.am to Garth Brooks, they’re all – everybody’s in play, except maybe Erik Estrada.

Why not?

George Lopez: Not a fan.

Will you delegate the monologue writing or do it all yourself?

George Lopez: What’s beautiful – even though it doesn’t work in basketball, I think it works in comedy. Player coaches never work in basketball. Like when Michael Jordan, I think, tried to be a player coach it didn’t work because you’re not going to take yourself out of the game or be objective.

I actually love collaborating because I have my own path now, and I’m not going to say something that would be something that I wouldn’t say. I mean, that’s to be organic to me and the edgier the better. And I’m not afraid to take on somebody or say something that somebody will find offensive because unfortunately in comedy, you can’t say anything really good without offending somebody.

How did this all come together at TBS? Do you prefer it to sitcoms?

George Lopez: I’m out of the sitcom business. I love the fact that I never thought I would get a sitcom nor did I ever think I would be in syndication nor did I ever think the show would be more successful in syndication than it was in production.

But that’s been kind of the way my career’s been where it’s all been unexpected. You know George Lopez can’t do this and I get nominated for two Grammys. I haven’t won, but I still got nominated for two Grammys, completely unexpected. I was number 9 on the top 10 Harris Poll and been on the Forbes list. I grew up dirt poor so I’ve exceeded my own expectations.
I’m not afraid of this challenge nor am I afraid to try to be a little – a little edgier nor am I afraid to take something and just make it my own. I’m not sure if you can reinvent the talk show format, but I think you can paint with different colors. And already we’re going to use more, obviously, brown and taupe and mauve and more colors than I think are being used right now in late-night.

When I was doing the show, I got a push by Jim Paratore who worked on Rosie O’Donnell and who’s working on Ellen. And this was – I probably was in my episode - in the 30s, and I met him and he said, “Would you consider doing a talk show?” And I said, “Look, I’ve got a show.” And he said, “Well, it’s not going to run forever, but when it’s over, at least please keep it in the back of your mind.”

So over the last 5 years that I would see that guy he would always mention it to me. And I’ve been out for 2 years. One of the reasons I find this challenge so interesting is because I believe that there’s an audience out there that’s not – that’s not being serviced. And it’s diverse.

It’s really what got Barack Obama elected. Barack Obama didn’t get elected solely on the white vote. And he got people to the polls who normally wouldn’t have voted and they voted and they stood in line for hours.

So seeing that inspires you to know that those people all have TVs. And especially being Latino I know that sometimes there are three TVs on in our house and two of them might be in Spanish and one of them’s in English, or two of them might be in English and one of them’s in Spanish. And that’s fine. And that all counts.

But I don’t think that’s represented by particularly the numbers that come out in Nielsen. I think we’re under-looked. And if you look at the newscast, I think that Spanish news and novellas beat the hell out of ‘How I Met Your Mother.’

TBS states there will be a “street party atmosphere”, elaborate please.

George Lopez: Well, when I shot my pilot in August, I shot it outside. And I used the entrance to ER, that whole ambulance entrance with the L train and we lit those pillars and we made – it had a depth and we used a (jumbo mart) from ER and we shot it out in the street.

And we didn’t use chairs. We used kind of an amphitheater feel and we had people pretty much almost not 360 but pretty – 240 around me.

And since I’m a standup, I’m not put out by people being right on top of me. And they were excited to see me because they know me already. And you know I used (Sam) Jackson. I called (Sam Jackson). He was on my show.

I called Eva Longoria. She was there. And I know Dane Cook, he was on. And I called Kaley Cuoco. I’ve known Kaley Cuoco since she was 16. And I used Shakira’s band.

So in that presentation outside, it already looked different. And then I didn’t use a desk. And I really don’t want to use cards. I don’t want to have to read what’s going to happen next. I mean, in 7 minutes I don’t think – I mean, if you do your work, I don’t think you need cards.

Where do you shoot the show?

George Lopez: I will be in L.A.. I’ll be at Warner Brothers.

It’s fantastic because it’s 3 minutes from my house, not that I’m opposed to drive but you know the closer to the house, the better.

How does the audience interact with you and the guests?

George Lopez: You know what I did is when I interviewed Eva for the pilot, I’d have the audience ask like three questions.
I don’t know if the people do that. And what I did is we didn’t screen the questions. So that’ll be different, you give a mic to somebody. I think you have to pay somebody every time they talk, but TBS has got some bank. They’ll be all right with that.
I’ll be funny and joking around and then slip in if they’ve ever been convicted of a felony. Now you know at that hour, after long days, I’d like to just have it be funny. I’d like to bring out the best in them and for me to have a good time with them. You know what I mean? I don’t want it to be heavy because that’s what Anderson Cooper’s for or Lou Dobbs.

What I want to do is sometimes do interviews in the middle of the people or put them 360 sometimes. I don’t think that there has to be like this kind of imaginary wall. I mean, look, I’m a Latino so I’m not four walls.

I don’t think there needs to be this kind of disconnect. I feel like it can all work and all work kind of together. You know we’re kind of together. I mean, I had a standing room only section on the pilot, and I intend to recreate that on the show in November.

So inclusive, closer, they can ask questions, I don’t want them to heckle but I don’t want them to feel like they’re not part of it just by coming and just watching and like they’re watching a movie. It’s not going to have a movie feel. It’ll have like you’re really there, like we’re going to be present.

I don’t know if we’ll use applause signs but if we do, they’ll be bilingual. I think that would be the first time you’ll have English and Spanish applause signs.

So I just, at that hour, 11 o’clock, just have it be a little – have some shit happen that is not on a card, that’s more spontaneous or an answer that you didn’t expect to get or a follow-up question that – I can’t say most of those guys would be afraid to ask – but a follow-up question that comes from my mind which thinks differently.

So, unique to my own sensibility and my own humor but ultimately they’ll understand that there’ll be a certain aspect of it that’ll be off the cuff. I think that is different already.

Will you cut your touring for this show?

George Lopez: I was on the road last week and then I was at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta and the marketing people and advertising, some of the – all of the marketing people and the head of TBS came to the show. And they’re very excited, as is Telepictures, as is Warner Brothers and you know as I am.

So I don’t intend it to cut into my tour schedule. As a matter of fact, in August on the – August 8 I’m doing a live HBO special from the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

And the weekend after that, I think I’m doing Radio City Music Hall in New York and then I’m going to take a little bit of a break and concentrate on getting the show ready in November.

So I intend to go full bore not only with the talk show but with the schedule and creating the next HBO special.
Does your audience at the standup gigs expect a “clean” TV George Lopez?

George Lopez: Well I didn’t like when kids came because they thought they were going to see the ‘Nick at Nite’ George Lopez. It’s almost like having two brothers and one is the bad brother when you come over you have to hide like your valuables and then one is the good brother that drives the Beamer and doesn’t tint his windows because it’s illegal.

So I managed to gradually and – although I think there’s been some people who have walked out, unfortunately. But they brought kids. And now it is posted everywhere, “For Mature Audiences and Over 18 Only.”

But I love my young fans. What I’ve done sometimes, too, is if there’s a couple of kids, like maybe seven kids, I’ll pull the kids out of the audience, give them their money back and then give them sweatshirts and t-shirts and meet them after the show. And they’re happy with that.

What do you think is the secret to any great late-night talk show?

George Lopez: Well, I’ve been on a lot of those shows, but I think what I – what appeals to me more – I mean, I love the energy of Ellen’s audience from the time they get in.

And I was telling Ellen the last time I was on – which was like a month ago – that I had a meeting and they had her show on and the sound was off and through the sound being off, those people looked like they were having a great time.

You know what’s going on in this country and what’s going on in the world and what’s going on economically and what’s going on with people financially is something that hasn’t happened in our lifetime. And there’s enough heavy shit out there.
So these people looked like they were happy. And I would like to continue that. And I was around Arsenio from ’89 for the 5 years he was on, and I don’t think I’ve ever stood on the side of a stage in the beginning of a show where there was more excitement than before Arsenio came out. And that was 20 years ago, so that audience went to him in droves.

And I believe that there’s an audience but kids of that audience and that’s bigger and more ethnically diverse which makes me want to be more inclusive and really makes me want to show TV that all of that is viable, that those dollars that people – that those people spend, that the money that African-American people have, and the Latinos have and that Asian people have and that everyone is branded.

Nothing is black and white anymore. You know Barack Obama has a white mother and his father’s Kenyan.

So it isn’t black and white anymore, man. It’s just – you know if anybody should know blended, it’s people now because every drink we have is blended. Everything’s blended

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Crean Archivo Digital de Antiguas Canciones Mexicanas

[Click headline to go to UCLA The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings]

Por E.J. TÁMARA © 2009 The Associated Press

El primer mariachi grabado, las canciones de un supergrupo pionero de lo que ahora se conoce como música norteña y las interpretaciones de la primera "Reina de la música tejana" son parte del archivo más grande de su tipo, 41.000 antiguos temas mexicanos que ahora están disponibles al público en formato digital.

Las joyas musicales del Cuarteto Coculense, Lydia Mendoza y el dúo precursor de música norteña Los Alegres De Terán son algunas de las piezas digitalizadas a partir de discos de 78 rpm grabados entre principios de 1900 y la década de los 50, bajo varios sellos discográficos.

"Este legado musical que nos dejan con esta colección no se compra con dinero", afirmó el jueves Hernán Hernández, integrante de Los Tigres del Norte, banda de música norteña que en el 2000 donó medio millón de dólares a UCLA para el estudio, investigación, adquisición, mantenimiento y diseminación de música tradicional y folclórica latina.

Pero debido a restricciones de derecho de autoría, la Colección Strachwitz Frontera de Discos de Música Mexicana y Mexicoamericana, disponible en la Universidad de California en Los Angeles (UCLA), cada una de las canciones sólo puede ser escuchada en su totalidad en computadoras del centro superior. Desde fuera de la UCLA sólo se puede escucharse los primeros 50 segundos de cada canción por internet.

Los discos originales de la colección, incluyendo los de 45 y 33 rpm que están por digitalizarse, pertenecen al alemán Chris Strachwitz, presidente de la Fundación Arhoolie, quien dijo que se enamoró de la música regional mexicana por la pasión que dejan traslucir las voces e instrumentos.

"Tiene el mismo tipo de soul y fuerza y agallas que vi en lo mejor de jazz, blues y country ... puede ser muy bonito. Es fuerte pero bonito. No sé como decirlo pero me sobrecoge", indicó Strachwitz, quien coleccionó música durante unos 60 años.
El Cuarteto Coculense es identificado como la primera banda urbana de mariachi. Conocida también como "La Alondra de la Frontera", Lydia Mendoza grabó más de 200 canciones en más de 50 álbumes durante su carrera de 60 años que comenzó en 1928. Los temas de Los Alegres De Terán, formado por Eugenio Abrego y Tomás Ortíz, fueron transmitidos por radio en Nuevo León alrededor de 1947, pero sólo acapararon audiencias grandes luego de comenzar a grabar en McAllen, Texas, de acuerdo con http://www.arhoolie.com

"La Colección Frontera será un recurso invaluable para estudiantes, investigadores y el público en general que quiera aprender más sobre la herencia musical en español de Estados Unidos", dijo Chon Noriega, director del Centro de Investigaciones de Estudios Chicanos.

Otros artistas incluidos en el archivo son: el Marichi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Los Hermanos Chavarría, de San Antonio, y los dúos femeninos Dueto Río Bravo, Las Hermanas Mendoza y Las Norteñitas.

En internet:

Colección Frontera en UCLA: http://frontera.library.ucla.edu
Fundación Arhoolie: http://www.arhoolie.org
Fundación Los Tigres del Norte: http://www.lostigresdelnortefoundation.org
Centro de Investigaciones de Estudios Chicanos: http://www.chicano.ucla.edu

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UCR Class to Investigate Documentary Photography

[Photo: John's Furniture, Globe, AZ Series, Click image to make larger. Copyright 2009 Jesús Manuel Mena Garza.]

California photographer Jesús Manuel Mena Garza will illuminate his and other documentary photographers work in a class offered at the University of California, Riverside, Extension. The course is titled, Documentary Photography and is scheduled for May 5 through June 2, 2009.

Garza explained, “The new class will give students an opportunity to explore how photography interprets our society. As a photographer, I feel it is important to capture a vanishing America before it inevitably disappears. The beauty of our communities and people should be immortalized on photographic paper.”

The photographers adds, “Students in the course will learn the art of visual storytelling — whether for a single editorial image, for feature stories or books or for creating a personal record of things observed. Students will explore ways to execute photos through a range of styles and subjects and create a story line from concept to final print.”

The class will inform students on diverse photographic processes. Students will learn to take better images with strong, sensitive and effective visual qualities by producing several themed projects. These same projects can work as a portfolio.

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Language, Culture & Global Studies in Education

The College of Education and Integrative Studies (CEIS) at Cal Poly Pomona invites applications to a tenure-tract position as an assistant professor in “Language, Culture & Global Studies in Education.

DEPARTMENT

The Department of Education seeks an Assistant Professor in Language, Culture and Global Studies in Education

POSITION TITLE AND DESCRIPTION

The Department of Education seeks a scholar/practitioner in supporting the education of English learners in the teacher credential and masters programs and invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position to begin fall, 2009.

The position presents an outstanding opportunity to develop and coordinate the department’s Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) certification program and contribute to a dynamic masters program. The successful candidate will be responsible for coordination, development and accreditation of the BCLAD program and will take the lead in monitoring the embedded Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) component of the single (secondary education) and multiple-subject (elementary education) credential programs. Opportunities exist to contribute to the Masters Program in Language Culture & Global Studies, in planning and curriculum development; course implementation; advisement and recruitment of candidates; chairing MA project/thesis committees and assisting in building collaborative partnerships with local school districts. The successful candidate must demonstrate commitment to serving students in the department as well as campus-wide initiatives such as student-centered instruction, service learning, and obtaining external funding. . The successful candidate will be expected to supervise preservice teachers in the credential programs. The successful candidate will also have opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in the Ethnic & Women’s Studies Department and will be expected to maintain connections with emerging Asian BCLAD needs for the region. Applicants whose work incorporates a global perspective and a demonstrated commitment to diversity in higher education are particularly encouraged to apply.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Earned doctorate in multicultural or multilingual education or closely related field in language, culture and global studies in education prior to September 1, 2009.
• Expertise in English language development among K-12 students, second language acquisition and literacy, and language policy.
• Demonstrated fluency in speaking and writing in academic Spanish.
• Knowledge of current research and best practices to raise the achievement of English Language Learners in K-12 schools.
• Evidence of emerging professional and scholarly productivity that aligns with the college’s commitment to social justice.
• A minimum of 3 years successful teaching experience or equivalent in diverse K-12 schools with English language learners.

PREFERRED/DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in university teaching, supervising preservice candidates and advising of graduate students.
• Active participation in professional associations or networks related to area of expertise.
• Engaged scholarship agenda and professional practice (e.g., critical race theory, Freirean pedagogy, popular education, etc.).

APPLICATION DATE and HOW TO APPLY

To be considered for the position, applicants are required to submit a letter that includes a statement of their teaching philosophy within a multicultural environment (please give examples), a completed application form, curriculum vitae, a transcript showing highest degree earned from an accredited educational institution (unofficial copy allowed for initial screening), and the names and contact information of five references. Official copy of transcript and three recommendation letters will be required of finalists. Completed packages submitted by April 6, 2009 will receive first consideration. The position will remain open until it is filled. Materials submitted by the candidate will be available for examination by all tenured and probationary faculty of the department. Applications may be downloaded from our website at:
http://academic.csupomona.edu/faculty/docs/application.pdf

Electronic submission of application materials is encouraged

Please submit applications to

Language, Culture and Global Studies Search Committee
c/o Ms. Lisa Lee
College of Education and Integrative Studies 
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 
3801 West Temple Avenue 
Pomona, CA 91768-4016
Telephone: (909) 869-2318 Fax: (909) 869-4963
E-mail: lklee@csupomona.edu

The Department of Education is one of four departments within the College of Education and Integrative Studies. The Department is organized into two divisions: Educational Leadership and Teacher Education, and Graduate/Pedagogical Studies. Additional information is available at the University’s website, http://www.ceis.csupomona.edu.


THE UNIVERSITY: Cal Poly Pomona is a public university and one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The campus is located approximately 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and is part of one of the most dynamic economic and cultural regions in the country. The university is noted for its scenic and historic 1,400-acre campus, once the winter ranch of cereal magnate W. K. Kellogg, located within an hour’s drive of beaches, mountains and the desert. Within a 20-mile radius of the university is a multi-ethnic population of nearly 3.8 million people. Cal Poly Pomona has a rapidly growing student population currently at 19,000 (approximately 68% ethnic minorities). Students are enrolled in 62 baccalaureate and 18 master’s degree programs with approximately 1200 full-time and part-time faculty. The University is committed to diversifying its faculty and staff to better serve its multicultural student body, and has made educational equity one of its highest priorities.

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. The University seeks to recruit and regain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of California, to maintain the excellence of the University, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives and ways of knowing and learning. Cal Poly Pomona subscribes to all state and federal regulations and prohibits discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital status, age, religion, or veteran status. The University hires only individuals lawfully authorized to work in the United States. As required by the Clery Disclosure Act, the university’s annual security report is available at http://dsa.csupomona.edu/police/securityreport.asp.

http://academic.csupomona.edu/faculty/position.aspx?p_id=18

Desperate homeowners easy prey for scammers

Carolyn Said, SF Chronicle Staff Writer

Exiled Nigerian princes are old hat. The hottest come-on these days, clogging e-mail in-boxes, voice mail and radio airwaves, goes something like this: "Are you struggling with your mortgage? President Obama approved the new federal loan modification program. We can help lower your mortgage payment."

It's the foreclosure-rescue scheme, given up-to-the-minute credence by the fact that the president has in fact endorsed loan modifications, the reworking of home loans to make them more affordable.

Scores of individuals and companies have sprung into action, marketing their services to help homeowners stave off foreclosure. They charge thousands of dollars and promise to deliver huge monthly savings on mortgage payments.

With a record 5.4 million U.S. homeowners behind on mortgage payments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the pool of people desperate for help is huge.

But the services these "loan negotiators" provide generally are steps homeowners could take themselves, with little or no help. Those steps include contacting their lender, assembling their financial documents and writing a letter demonstrating hardship.

For those who want assistance, free help is available from counseling agencies supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the industry-backed HOPE hot line. And no one other than a lender can guarantee that a homeowner will qualify for reduced payments.

"People are in such a desperate place that it's low-hanging fruit," said Lisa Sitkin, an attorney with Housing and Economic Rights Advocates in Oakland. "We get calls (all the time) from people who paid someone to modify their loan" and never got the assistance.

Last week, Attorney General Jerry Brown warned homeowners to avoid mortgage scams masquerading as foreclosure assistance.

"Californians should be deeply skeptical of anyone who demands money up front and makes extravagant promises that they can save their home," he said in a statement.

Legitimate operators

Some loan modification consultants legitimately do try to negotiate lower payments. Many are former real estate agents, mortgage brokers or title agents. Craigslist last week had 61 help-wanted ads for loan mod reps throughout the Bay Area. Many ads pitched it as a patriotic way for people to help consumers, the country and themselves.

Aaron Ralls, a former corrections officer, works as an account executive for RJV Modifications, a Roseville (Placer County) company that charges $3,885 for a loan modification. The 17 account executives who handle loan modifications are paid on commission. He declined to state the amount.

Ralls said his company returns clients' money if it cannot secure them a lower mortgage payment, and turns away clients who seem unlikely to qualify for a modification because they don't have enough income.

"Whenever clients ask if they can do it themselves, I tell them, 'You absolutely can, but it's very hard because you get the runaround,' " he said. "You're calling the phone centers, getting the runaround, chasing fax machines. We do it all for the client."

Nasim Pakmanesh, production manager at Help-U-Mod in Walnut Creek, said his company's business model is to provide "forensic loan audits" for $1,500, then to refer clients to affiliated attorneys who charge about $1,000 to pursue a loan modification. He said the audit looks through the original loan documents to discover errors made when the loan was originated.

With the audit, "the attorney has more ammo to work with to negotiate for their clients," he said. "Instead of going in and saying, 'My clients can't afford the home and have a hardship,' they're saying, 'You guys approved a loan you shouldn't have - so what can you do for my clients?' Our audit will definitely increase the chances" of getting a loan modification.

'A feeding frenzy'

But Sitkin of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates said she doesn't think forensic loan audits accomplish anything beside sounding impressive.

"People are really proud when they tell me that they got it, but it's a false hope that it will stop foreclosure," she said.

Norma Garcia, senior attorney at the West Coast office of Consumers Union, said she is troubled that the loan-mod services are basically unregulated.

"Often it's not illegal to do what they're doing, but our concern is that some of the people who caused the mortgage meltdown are now profiting from it," she said. "It's a feeding frenzy in a loop. They're taking advantage of uninformed consumers to get money out of their ignorance."

Some loan-mod agents are out-and-out scammers.

"A lot of sham companies and con artists promise these vulnerable homeowners that if you just give us some money, we can do a loan modification, you can stay in your house and get your payment reduced," said Tom Pool, a spokesman for the California Department of Real Estate. "It is troubling that they're preying on those who don't have money to begin with. In many cases, the consumers use their credit card to pay the fees."

2 sent to prison

Last week, two loan-modification operators in Southern California were sent to prison for up to six years for grand theft.

"Ring members promised victims they would renegotiate their mortgages and reduce monthly payments," the attorney general's office said in a statement. After collecting up-front fees of $1,500 to $5,000, they "pocketed the money and did nothing to help victims."

Up-front fees, in fact, are one clear sign of a potential fraud, Pool said. California law strictly regulates how real estate professionals can collect advance fees, including a requirement that they have a contract approved by the Department of Real Estate. Homeowners can check the department's Web site (www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv_fees.html) to see whether that is the case.

"What we find is the rogue operators have flimsy contracts that don't meet the standard of current law," Pool said.

Gary Kishner, a spokesman for mortgage giant Chase, said he couldn't comment directly on loan modification services but added: "We encourage our customers to contact us directly."

Beware of loan modification offers

• There is no fee to talk to your lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor about a loan modification. A list of counseling agencies is at links.sfgate.com/ZMW. You can also call the HOPE hot line at (888) 995-4673 or online at www.995hope.org

• Beware of paying for housing counseling or loan modification assistance. The California Department of Real Estate offers advice on loan mod companies at www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv _fees.html. Check out attorneys at the State Bar of California's Web site, www.calbar.ca.gov

• Beware of anyone who offers to save your home if you sign or transfer over the deed to your house. Do not sign over the deed to your property unless you are working directly with your mortgage company to forgive your debt.

• Never make your mortgage payments to anyone other than your loan servicer without its approval.

• Read full details on the administration housing plan at www.financialstability.gov

Sources: Financialstability.gov, California attorney general

E-mail Carolyn Said at csaid@sfchronicle.com.

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Just Another Repeater Radio Station

[Photo: Opie Taylor of the Andy Griffith TV Show... not radio]

Radio For the Rest Of Us?

I’ll keep this article brief. Most NPR stations are just repeater stations. They focus on programming that I consider East Coast highbrow. They rarely offer any local programming.

Here is how the NPR monolith works. Most NPR programming is produced at their flagship station, WGBH Boston. Before we get news and information, it is filtered (they have to make sure it isn't too progressive or contaminated by minorities) through a "sophisticated" Boston and New York filter. That is why NPR affiliates often blast the same material over the airwaves and dominate the left side of the radio dial. It gets awfully redundant.

Again, this bleached material has a definite East Coast bias. After listening to this corporate yammering (programming) you learn that East Coasters wouldn’t know a Chicano from a hole in the ground. This is not good news for us West Coast Chicanos. Changing NPR’s focus from YUPPIE news and features to more diverse fare is practically impossible. This is where the dinero (money) is and they are sticking to their network guns. But there is hope. The corporations don't own the future because Internet radio is on the rise.

Why is Internet radio so great? Apparently, production costs are relatively low, corporate donors aren't quite as important and you don’t have to own a big-fat production facility. In the interim, local repeater stations present vacuous programming like Boston Pops and A Prairie Home Companion. My wife loves this show.

Acculturated and somewhat assimilated, I also occasionally enjoy what the repeater stations offer, but I am not yet a clone of the famoso (famous) Opie Taylor - see photo above. I still like Tejano (American) music and an occasional story about people of color. The confluence of Chicanos and Internet radio will take place. Maybe the new paradigm shift has already taken place. It just isn't as obvious and as easy to access as the NPR stuff on the left side of the dial.

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A Horse of a Different Color Divides Denver

[Photo of Luis Jimenez's Horse Sculpture at the Denver Airport - Click on photo to view larger. Click on headline to go to the WSJ and see more photos and original article]

Blue Mustang Sculpture Shocks Visitors, Perturbs Poets; 'Because of This Thing, People Think They Are in Hell'

By STEPHANIE SIMON

Wall Street Journal

The mustang rears on splayed hind legs -- his nostrils flaring, his eyes glowing red, his taut body a slick, sweaty sheen of blue. Anatomically correct -- eye-poppingly so -- the 32-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture makes quite a statement at the gateway to Denver International Airport.

But that begs the question: What kind of statement, exactly?

"It looks like it's possessed," says Denver resident Samantha Horoschak. "I have a huge fear of flying anyway, and to be greeted at the airport by a demon horse -- it's not a soothing experience."

Many people here agree, calling the muscular steed a terrifying welcome to the Mile High City.

Now a local developer, Rachel Hultin, has launched a campaign to get the wild horse moved so it isn't the first thing visitors to Denver see. In the past month, Ms. Hultin has signed up about 7,600 supporters on her Facebook page, Bye Bye Blue Mustang. This week she dropped off 200 protest haiku at the mayor's office. (Sample verse: Because of this thing / People think they are in hell / Instead of Denver.)

But uprooting public art turns out to be quite tricky. Especially a piece as emotionally freighted -- and as critically acclaimed -- as Mustang.

The Denver airport commissioned the sculpture in 1992 from Luis Jimenez, a widely honored artist known for melding Chicano themes and Western history in exuberant sculpture. The airport is full of public art, most of it much tamer -- silver pinwheels in a tram tunnel, a fleet of sky-colored paper airplanes. The mustang was to be a symbol of Denver and the West.

Mr. Jimenez was killed working on the sculpture. In 2006, while he was hoisting pieces of the mustang for final assembly in his New Mexico studio, the horse's massive torso swung out of control and crushed the 65-year-old artist. Mr. Jimenez's widow and children helped finish the sculpture, and it was installed last February at the airport, at a cost to the city of $650,000.

'Built With Love'

"You look at the piece and you just know it was built with love," says the artist's widow, Susan Jimenez.

The jabs flung at the mustang by amateur critics -- who have described it as "mean," "scary," and "like the Ringwraith horse from 'Lord of the Rings' " -- perplex Ms. Jimenez. She says she's disappointed that people don't seem to grasp her husband's intent.

The eyes are light-emitting diodes, which burn red like taillights. They are an homage to Mr. Jimenez's father, who ran a neon-sign studio in El Paso, Texas, she says. The well-articulated body, laced with bulging black veins, pays tribute to a mighty breed that Mr. Jimenez saw as a symbol of freedom, strength and the American West.

When she looks at the mustang, framed against the wide prairie sky, Ms. Jimenez thinks of her husband petting his beloved appaloosa, Blackjack. "I know he didn't mean anything demonic by it," she said. "I'm sorry if people are afraid of ribs on a horse."

Mr. Jimenez's sculptures grace museums and public squares all over the country: rugged Mexican cowboys, or vaqueros; dancing señoritas in ruffled skirts; a huge purple ox; weary migrants. His "Southwest Pieta" -- which depicts a Native American bent over the body of a woman with flowing hair -- was designated a national treasure during the Clinton administration.

Awash in carnival colors, the sculptures may look like they've popped out of a comic book, but they're imbued with deep emotion and stamped with the history of a people and a culture, says Betsy Broun, director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington.

"His is not a quiet, meditative, reflective art," Ms. Broun says. "It's an art that says, 'This is important!' and reaches out to grab your attention."

Firm Support

Most cities have had controversies over public art, but Ms. Broun says she's shocked to hear that anyone opposes the Denver Mustang. "It's fabulous," she says firmly.

Many Denver citizens beg to differ.

"When they unwrapped it, I was just horrified," says Dena McClung, who watched from the airport tower, where she worked as an air-traffic controller until her recent retirement. "It makes me feel like I'm looking at something out of a science-fiction movie."

A list of nicknames suggested last year by readers of the Rocky Mountain News ran from Beelzebub's Blue Bay to Satan's Stallion. The protest haiku drew on similar themes, as in this one:

Ugly devil horse
horrifies the traveler
shames our fair city

"It's disturbing," says Nancy Harris, a Denver painter. "As an artist myself, I totally respect the artist's vision. But I don't think it's representative of the Denver community."

Mr. Jimenez's stallions have sparked uproars before. A much smaller (and more muted) version of the blue mustang "caused quite a stir" when installed at the University of Oklahoma's art museum in 1997, says Susan Baley, a curator. "It just didn't fit peoples' definition of public sculpture," she says.

Mr. Jimenez appeared on the campus to respond to the complaints in person, drawing an audience of 700, a record crowd for the art museum. The sculptor's charisma, passion and humor won over many of his detractors, Ms. Baley says. (It didn't hurt, either, that the museum moved the sculpture to a less-prominent location.)

"It's become a local landmark," Ms. Baley says. "People have adjusted."

Denver officials are hoping for a similar response. City rules require any public-art installation to remain in place for at least five years, to honor the artist's intent and give the work a chance to grow on the public.

Resigned to looking at it for at least the next few years, Ms. Hultin, the leader of the anti-Mustang campaign, now plans to launch a public-education effort to demystify the sculpture.

Art Workshops

She envisions brochures in the Denver airport, articles in in-flight magazines, and plaques describing the artist's style and intent mounted along concourse walls. She'd even like to hold workshops for taxi and shuttle-bus drivers so they can respond to startled comments from visitors coming across the mustang for the first time.

Her goal: Instead of being scared, "when people see it, they'll be like, 'Oh, that's interesting,' " she says.

Erin Trapp, director of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, hopes for more enthusiasm than that. She says the city has logged plenty of nasty calls about the statue, but also many glowing comments from fans who find it clever and powerful. The passion on both sides thrills her, and she hopes it doesn't fade.

"The point of art is not just to make beautiful public spaces but also to engage people," Ms. Trapp says. "That's when we know we've had a success -- when people care."

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Write to Stephanie Simon at stephanie.simon@wsj.com

Photographer's work informed by culture, childhood

By DANIEL FOSTER
Special to The Press-Enterprise

Few photographers in the Inland Empire have as prolific a body of work in fine and documentary photography as Jesus Garza, a resident of Riverside. Garza has pursued his love of critically observing and documenting the world around him since he was eight years old -- almost a half century.

As a photographer, artist and organizer, Garza's photography has been informed by his upbringing in the migrant labor camps of the Santa Clara Valley in the 1950s and '60s.

Reflecting on his cultural roots and the inherent power of a photograph to communicate and educate the public, Garza said, "From the beginning, my images have as their source my migrant farm worker heritage and my immersion in the dynamic political and artistic culture of El Movimiento, the political movement that emerged during the mid-60s seeking social justice. ... Through photography, I explored the dynamic Chicano culture of the (19)70s."

Over a long photographic career, Garza has turned the camera's eye toward many subjects -- always with a confident and insightful view about the "truth" within the subject. Garza's documentary photos are included in national exhibitions in addition to books, publications and collections.

Garza came to the Inland Empire when his wife, Dr. Ann Marie Leimer, accepted a professorship at the University of Redlands with expertise in Latin American/Hispanic/Chicano art in 2005. Previously, Garza lived in San Francisco and Austin, Texas.

Since arriving in the region, Garza has mounted two photographic exhibitions at San Bernardino Valley College and University of Redlands in the past two years. For more information about Jesus Garza, visit his Web site at www.jmmgarza.com

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For more information about the Artist Spotlight, please contact Daniel Foster, The Community Foundation at 951-684-4194 or DFoster@thecommunityfoundation.net.

Chicanas: Loud and Proud

Photo: Self Portrait Speaking Fire and Flowers by Maya Gonzalez

Chicana Badgirls: Las Hociconas at 516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM

By Erin Adair-Hodges

Self Portrait Speaking Fire and Flowers by Maya Gonzalez part of her desire to “demonstrate the history of Chicana artists.” A photographer, Montoya co-curated the show at 516 Arts with Laura E. Perez, a professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley. They noted a legacy of several generations of artists that was largely unknown. “What I wanted to do,” Montoya says, “was bring in those women of the first generation and then the subsequent generations.” The result is a show that sees contemporary Chicana art as the latest permutation of a conversation that began with the civil rights and feminist movements.

Las Hociconas translates as “large” or “loudmouthed.” It's fair to say that much of the featured art is exactly that, swelling with how much it has to share. Part of what Montoya calls the “extension of the vocabulary” of how we talk about sex and race is the examination of a group's central icons. For Chicanas, that icon is la Virgen de Guadalupe. Guadalupe is often seen as not only a religious figure, but the ultimate role model for Hispanic women.

The difference between the generations becomes apparent in their interpretation of the Virgin. Montoya describes it as such: For the first generation, she is largely untouched, kept in altar spaces, intact. It was Yolanda Lopez' portrayal of Mary in running shoes, sprinting from her altar, that signaled the arrival of a second generation. Guadalupe was a significant force in the shaping of the identities of this next generation, and they tended to recast Mary from an icon of impossible purity to one of modern strength and attitude. The third generation still holds the Virgin as an important cultural touchstone but seems more concerned with the introduction of new faces. That's why, as part of the Chicana Badgirls show, you'll see depictions of Ugly Betty, Selena and Sandra Cisneros alongside la Virgen of Guadalupe.

Along with wall art and installations, Chicana Badgirls brings in fabric work. “Fabric is a large part of Chicana domesticity,” Montoya says. “[Sewing] was very much a part of how Latinas learned to be women.” As part of this focus, the opening reception will feature the work of fabric artist and clothing designer Elisa Jimenez (Season 4 of “Project Runway”). Models styled by Inspire Salon will catwalk through the gallery wearing Jimenez' creations, each of which will then be hung and sold, with a portion of the proceeds going to support 516 Arts.

When I ask Montoya how she sees Chicana art 15 years from now, she laughs and says, “Cyberspace.” Younger artists, such Tina Hernandez and Rosa Zamora, are using technology and the Internet as a lens through which to view the world and shape their expectations, resulting in work that asks different questions than that of two generations before. Montoya holds that “an artist takes in where they're at—time, place ... influences.” And so, the range of work in Chicana Badgirls is stunning.

“This is a show that had to happen,” Montoya says, and she thanks Suzanne Sbarge, executive director of 516 Arts, for hosting the exhibit. “Not everyone has a voice, and that's what this show wants to do. We can look at ourselves now.”

For more info, call 242-1445 or go to 516arts.org.

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Chicana, Chicano studies has grown with UCLA

Now a full-fledged department, the field has developed through many years of student support

By Neha Jaganathan

When Carlos Manuel Haro stepped into the Rieber dining hall in 1965 and noticed that he was the only minority student, he was motivated to join a newly born cultural and academic movement which now puts UCLA in the position to be the third university in the country to offer master’s and doctorate programs in Chicana and Chicano studies.

“Once you have an undergraduate major and graduate program, you can say the department has now fully arrived,” said Alicia Gaspar de Alba, current chair of the César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies.

Gaspar de Alba said that two weeks ago, the proposal for the graduate program cleared the first of many steps in the academic review process after being unanimously approved by the Faculty Executive Committee.

Haro, a postdoctoral scholar at the Chicano Studies Research Center, has been at UCLA since 1965 and said the academic field has come a long way since that time.

“Given that my initial introduction to UCLA was a sense of being a bit lonely ... where I could identify one or two (other Chicano students) as I walked around campus, that’s a dramatic change to today.”

But the birth of the César E. Chávez Department, as well as the creation of the Chicano Studies Research Center, was not without several challenges and obstacles, all of which were overcome by student activism.

In 1966, Haro attended the first ever meeting of Chicano students, which was organized after another undergraduate student manually sorted through information cards in Kerckhoff Hall to find individuals with Spanish last names.

Haro said the meeting, though only attended by 11 students, gave rise to the larger full-fledged organization United Mexican-American Students, which started in 1967.

“The organization, although initially one of social interaction, became much more important as we started to take on issues that were of concern,” Haro said.

The organization began to focus on issues such as under-representaton of minority groups on campus, mentoring support and increasing financial aid, Haro said.

Reynaldo Macias, currently the acting dean of the Department of Social Sciences, was also a student at UCLA in the late 1960s, and as a member of UMAS, was involved in the Chicana/o movement on campus.

Mecias said the summer of ’68 saw several meetings of planning- and agenda-setting committees, one of which resulted in what was then called the Mexican-American Research Center.

In particular, the research center was the result of an intra-university effort called the Plan de Santa Barbara, when students from several campuses met at UC Santa Barbara to lay the foundations for a research center, Haro said.

The research center, which was created in 1969, eventually led to the formation of an interdepartmental Chicana and Chicano studies program in 1973, according to the research center.

But the interdepartmental program had several deficiencies, Gaspar de Alba said.

In an interdepartmental program, faculty members have other primary commitments to the departments in which they were actually hired.

The interdepartmental program underwent significant change in 1993, when student protesting followed a refusal by Chancellor Young to grant full department status to Chicana and Chicano studies.

The protest involved a hunger strike and sit-in in May of 1993, during which time more than 90 students were arrested, according to the research center.

As a result of the hunger strike, Chancellor Young created the César Chávez Center in June of 1993, Gaspar de Alba said.

The Center acted as a quasi-department, able to perform most of the functions of a department without the legitimacy of the label, Gaspar de Alba said.

“It was an experiment by the administration to see whether (Chicana and Chicano) studies would hold up as an autonomous unit,” she said.

She furthered that this quasi-department faced a lot of initial challenges, including poor leadership and resistance from student organizations which wanted a different set of faculty members.

“It’s a phoenix department because it rose from the ashes of its previous incarnation.”

In June of 2005, Chicana and Chicano Studies officially became a department, Haro said.

“That was historical, not only because the administration was finally meeting the primary hunger strike agreement, but because we were fleshing out the vision of students in 1969,” Gaspar de Alba said.

But she said the department was originally named the Undergraduate Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies and only since 2007 has been known by its current name, the César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies.

While most scholars agree that the field of Chicana and Chicano studies has come a long way in the last 50 years, they also feel that it still has many goals to accomplish.

“At the college level, programs have to expand. They are limited in terms of the number of students they can accept,” Hora said.

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