The Opportunity Issue

lagente.org

The Opportunity Issue Fall 2011 | Vol. 42 Issue 1

Drug War:Mexican middle class refugees

Designated Drivers:Driving privileges for undocumented drivers

Reel Politiks: Film fes-tival focuses on Central America

LA CAUSA: Unconven-tional students re-engage in their education

UCLA student with Tempo-rary Protected Status struggles

through the lines of immigration

Seeking Opportunity

PAGE 12

La Gente Newsmagazine is for the UCLA student interested in Latino issues. We want to represent the diversity of our culture and cultivate pride in our community. We’re a forum for con-versation hoping to inspire readers to get involved and make their voices heard.

By Long Beach artist Jose Loza. Inspired by depres-sion era artwork, he cre-ated this issue’s cover us-ing an art deco/futuristic design with a geometric styled cityscape of Los Angeles and a current UCLA student as a mod-el. To view more of Loza’s work or to contact him, visit lpmurals.com

ABOUT THE COVER

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the La Gente editorial board. All others columns, cartoons, and letters represent the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial board. The UCLA communications board has a media grievance procedure for resolving grievances against any of its media. For a copy of the complete procedure contact student media at 310.825.2787. Copyright 2011 ASUCLA Communications Board

contents

Contributed by Jose Loza. lpmurals.com

Contributed by artist Armando Silva. aisgarts.com

18 |

11 |

featured art

OUR MISSION:

2 LA GENTE fall 2011

arte y cultura need we say more?

comunidad local insights

expresiones all things creative

LaGENTEdotORG online preview

latinoamérica transnational vista

nuestra joteria LGBTQ

sigan luchando for those inside

tarado del mes the not-so-hot tamale

¡topen esto! all things opinionated

universidad exclusively osito

La Gente Lingo

By Armando Silva. He sought to capture his nephew’s fascina-tion, using a bird as a symbol of imagination and its wings as symbols of possibilities. To view more of Silva’s work or to contact him, visit aisgarts.com

ABOUT THE COVER

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the La Gente editorial board. All others columns, cartoons, and letters represent the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial board. The UCLA communications board has a media grievance procedure for resolving grievances against any of its media. For a copy of the complete procedure contact student media at 310.825.2787. Copyright 2011 ASUCLA Communications Board

17 | World Cup Burdens Brazil-ians Brazilians gripe at the waste of taxes on superficial needs of hosting the

latinoamérica

9 | Are Immigrants Finally Cali-fornia Dreamin’ Their Way into College? Dreams come true for future students, but the nightmares remain for current students in California

universidad8 | A Day in the Life of Undocu-mented Student A student wonders how his days would have been different if he would have been adopted by a US citizen

6 | Unifying Diversity Through Activism Despite the criticisms of the movement, people are coming together through diversity for a different future7 | Memories Fading on Pico and Union Repainted Mural Lacks Commu-nity Ties to Those Lost to Gang Violence

comunidad

20 | Photo Essay: Behind the Scenes with Grupo Folklórico de UCLA21 | Bringing Central American culture to life through film UCLA holds its first Reel Politik Film Festival

arte y cultura19 | Losing the Mother Tongue Spanish Language Loss Among Latinos in the US

15 | From Within Contributions from our incarcerated readers

sigan luchando

LaGENTEdotORG

tarado del mes4 | September Jennifer Lopez

4 | October Hermain Cain

¡topen esto!

14 | Religious Secularization Sec-ond-generation Latinos move away from being devouted to culturally Catholic

16 | Narco Refugees Drug wars in Mexico cause Mexican middle class migration

11 | Shifting Towards the Middle Ground On the road to drving privi-leges despite legal status

17 | Looking Back to a New Peru My Unwavering Roots and Affinity towards Peru

feature12 | No Soy de Aqui, Ni Soy de Alla: Temporary Protected Status UCLA student struggles to establish legitimacy in the United States


Start a conversation!La Gente accepts outside submissions of all sorts for review and possible publication. Email [email protected] with “Submission” in the subject line.

Join the conversation! Comment on our articles online, like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter. What should La Gente cover of the Latino student community? #estudiante

22 | Video Preview: Bike Shop Re-stores Abandoned Bikes and Provides Safe Place for Community22 | Video Preview: Grupo Folklórico de UCLA Practices for Dia de los Muertos

5 | LA CAUSA: Causing Students to Get Involved Changing the face of a community through education 15 | What is Wrong with the

Police? A call for us to hold the police accountable to their actions

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFHelga Salinas

MANAGING EDITORMarcos Osorio

MARKETINGJon Ssnabria

MANAGING ASSISTANTHelen Alonzo

COPY EDITORHelen Alonzo

STAFF

Emerson BaikArmando Bustos Jr.

Magaly ChavezDiana Cuevas

Jacqueline Espinoza Gabriela Garcia

Jeanelle HorcasitasAlma Huitron

Monica Ponce de LeonJacqueline Luna

Aranzazu MedellinMichelle Moreno

Blanca MunozHaidee Pacheco

Samuel TembladorCharlene Unzeuta

DESIGNHelen AlonzoHelga Salinas

GRAPHICS & ILLUSTRATIONSJose Hernandez

Jonathan HorcasitasMaria Renteria

Samuel Temblador

PHOTOGRAPHERSMagaly ChavezMelissa MerrillJose Orellana

STUDENT MEDIA DIRECTORArvli Ward

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERAmy Emmert

LA GENTEVOL. 42 ISSUE 1

Community profiles, arts, culture and politics for the Latino college student

Campus Progress works to help young people — advocates, activists, journalists, artists — make their voices heard on issues that matter. Learn more at CampusProgress.org.

118 Kerckhoff Hall308 Westwood Plaza

Los Angeles, CA 90024

[email protected]

Facebook: La Gente Newsmagazine

This magazine was made possible with the support of Campus Progress, a project of the Center for

American Progress, online at CampusProgress.org.

fall 2011 LA GENTE 3 fall 2011 LA GENTE 3

Throughout my time at La Gente, I have seen the staff change from year to year, providing a variety of perspectives as well as showcasing common concerns of the Latina/o student community.

Finding opportunity through education is a theme that the writers ex-plore in their stories. Opportunity is in between limitations and choice, between societal and legal expectations and the individual.

Behind the sentiment that everyone deserves an education despite legal status or class, writers address how this will come to be on the legislative and human level, whether via the California Dream Act or the Occupy Movement.

The feature focuses on a UCLA student with Temporary Protected Status, a gray area not quite in the shadows like that experienced by the undocu-mented students but neither on a path to a bright future as privileged by American citizens.

Other pieces talk about the most visible pillars of cultura: language and religion. These bring to mind questions like what defines cultura as the Latina/o community becomes more rooted in the United States.

These questions come up because of our transnational connections. This includes the drug war in Mexico as it endangers families and the upcoming World Cup as it inspires ambivalent emotions in Brazilians.

However, we still appreciate and seek out these connections by attending UCLA’s Central American film festival and by continuing to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.

In light of the LA Xicano exhibitions, Chicano art has been closely intersected with the history and aesthetic of the newsmagazine. For this issue, artists Armando Silva and Jose Loza have contributed art, adding to the print quality of the newsmagazine, hopefully encouraging you, the reader, to keep it.

We hope that our stories inspire you to seek out a forum of action, be it a poetry, art, or protest.

Thank you for picking up this quarter’s issue of La Gente,

Letter from the Editor

Helga L. Salinas


tarado del mes

September: October: Je

nnife

r Lop

ez

Her

main

Cain

ta ra do. .

#taradodelmes

Dicen que el amor es ciego, but after seven years of mar-riage J.Lo regained her sight. She saw the non-existent

appeal in Marc Anthony and she left him in July 2011. Pero pobrecita. In September of the same year she lost

her sight again and spent the weekend with Marc Anthony in Miami celebrating his birthday. I understand that they have twins, 3 year old Max and Emme, who should spend qual-ity time with their dad, but J.Lo didn’t have to celebrate the birthday of the man who didn’t respect her as a woman or as she said in Vanity Fair’s September issue, “I didn’t love myself before...To understand that a person is not good for you, that that person is not treating you in the right way, or that he is not doing the right thing for himself - if I stay, then I am not doing the right thing for me.”

Thank you J.Lo for giving us Latinas confidence lessons, yet not setting the example. Yes, you did love yourself enough to walk away, but then returned to the man that was not “treating you the right way.” He treated you like a prized pos-session and yet months after they made their decision to split up public, J.Lo took some time off from filming in LA to go to Miami just to celebrate Marc’s birthday.

He is not even handsome. ¿Que le ve? Of course! Perfect example that love is blind. Marc Anthony is not blind. He sees J.Lo’s beauty just like the world is able to see her. She was named 2011 People’s Most Beautiful, and made me proud of our raza and how Latinas were no longer seen as these exotic women but rather hardworking, family orientated, beautiful, talented women.

I can see how she still respects Marc Anthony as the father of her children and wants her twins to have a close relationship with their dad, but please, J.Lo, practice what you preached in Glamour magazine, “You’ve got to be OK on your own before you’re OK with someone else. You’ve got to value yourself and know that you’re worth everything.” Set the example for us young Latinas to not to go back to men who do not value or respect us. Don’t get back together with Marc because if you do you’re no longer “Jenny from the block.” Instead, you’re Jenny la Tarada del mes.

“I value my character and my integrity more than anything else,” Cain said, in a recent interview adding, “that voters

have voted with their dollars, and they’re saying they don’t care about the character assassination. They care about leader-ship and getting this economy going.”

Then the issue present at hand is do Americans care about the character of their President?

Lets take a walk down Cain Lane for a moment. Writer Alexandra Petri, from “ComPost” calls him “a perverse en-ergizer bunny” that keeps going and going even after every scandal. The interesting part of it all is that Cain doesn’t get out of a scandal when he immediately steps into another. I can his idea about building a great electric fence.

“I just got back from China. Ever heard of the Great Wall of China? It looks pretty sturdy. And that sucker is real high. I think we can build one if we want to! We have put a man on the moon, we can build a fence! Now, my fence might be part Great Wall and part electrical technology...It will be a twenty foot wall, barbed wire, electrified on the top, and on this side of the fence, I’ll have that moat that President Obama talked about. And I would put those alligators in that moat!”

I wonder if Herman Cain is aware that over three million Chinese died building it? And one more question, who would build the fence? Cain should just join forces with Joe Arpio and see what other brilliant anti-immigrant laws they can come up with maybe branding immigrants with a “Virgen De Guadalupe” and sending them to labor camps.

Yet, when asked about the Wall hurly-burly Herman stated, “That’s a joke. That’s not a serious plan. That was a joke. I’ve also said America needs to get a sense of humor.”

Really, I forgot to LOL…Har har har. Cain, following suit with his colleagues, has made bold

statements on immigrant issues and on the popular miscon-ception that all immigrants come from south of the border.

Not only are there four sexual harassment cases surround-ing Cain, but now he is even exposing himself as a conde-scending misogynist by sarcastically referring to Nancy Pelosi when she was House speaker as “Princess Nancy.”

It may not have been the wisest move for a presidential candidate to disrespect a woman like that, but of course you know Cain. He later regretted his comment saying “that was a statement that I obviously should not have made, but I was trying to make a point.”

Voters, do we care to even label Cain as a presidential candidate? someone, something,

or some action that does not help the Latina/o community

Do you know one?tweet using

fall 2011 LA GENTE 5

comunidad

Little Frankie wrote his first essay at age 16. He was so proud, “Can I print it out? I want to

show my mom.” After being pushed out of the LAUSD pub-

lic school system, Little Frankie ended up at Los Angeles Communities Advocating for Unity, Social Justice, and Action (LA CAUSA), an alter-native charter high school in East Los Angeles, to not only finish his high school diploma, but to be introduced to the possibility of going to college.

LA CAUSA from its origins has implemented a different environment and curriculum that is rel-evant and beneficial to the community. As stated in their mission statement, LA CAUSA “engages historically disenfranchised young people and their families from East Los Angeles to take action against the injustices that impact low-income communities of color.”

Alejandro Covarrubias, now a professor in the UCLA César E. Chavez Department of Chicana/o Studies, was the first executive director of LA CAUSA. “LA CAUSA was more than just a school, I know right now it’s running primarily as a school, but it has always be seen as a creative center that is interested in developing local leader-ship so then those young people can become active members of actions for change in their own com-munity,” he said.

The culturally relevant curriculum has been essential to create active members of change. The curriculum includes topics such as the prison industrial complex and oppressive relations of power. As professor Covarrubias states, “Education is ultimately about getting people to understand their reality so they can contribute positively to their reality.”

Ely Flores, a 2005 graduate of LA CAUSA, agrees. After facing 3 years of prison and waiting for the arrival of his baby, he came to LA CAUSA and graduated. He now works full time bringing solar and renewal energy to low income com-munities with GRID Alternative. He has also started his own non-profit organization, Leadership through Empowerment, Action, and Dialogue (LEAD), where he educates youth about public policy.

LA CAUSA takes advantage of its close-knit environment. The current executive director Rob-ert Zardeneta states, “We actively went out and recruited these students to become reengaged in their education. We are a small enough school that we can do that.”

Currently, LA CAUSA has 147 students en-rolled. But will it get bigger and replicate prob-lems such as over crowdedness?

“Internally, we have battled with the question of ‘when are we getting too big?’ So now I think that from where we are is as big as we should get before we break off into other satellite programs,” said Zardeneta. He added that they plan on creat-ing programs in Boyle Heights and other parts of East LA because “every community needs a LA CAUSA”

LA CAUSA’s focus has shifted to getting students exposed to college with the goal for them to apply to college. To do this, LA CAUSA has partnered up with local colleges and universities such as UCLA, LA Trade Tech and CSULA, giving their students the opportunity to get college credit while at LA CAUSA.

Robert Zardeneta exclaims, “What’s more radical than taking a young person who is a ‘drop out’ and bringing them to CSULA? To me that’s pretty radical.”

The new College Career Center has been bene-ficial for the shift of college readiness to take place. Rogelio Medina, the director of Post Secondary Education and the College Career Center, felt it was a disservice not to implement career develop-

ment and college awareness into the program. Medina credits the establishment of the Col-

lege Career Center to the community leadership group called Presente. This group of students was first established as a Community Leadership Proj-ect (CLP). Presente’s mission was to get everyone at LA CAUSA to graduate. “This group was the one who led the movement in LA CAUSA to pro-mote college and graduation,” said Medina.

In 2009, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis visited this community leadership project, prompting awards from the White House. After that, Rogelio made the moves to open the College Career Cen-ter. Rogelio says, “This is were you see the genius of having young people in charge. They go large. These young people are powerful.”

Though LA CAUSA has undergone many changes since its early days, the main priority is still the same: offer the community what other public schools have not succeeded.

Professor Covarrubias states, “When you work with a population, your responsibility as an organization is to ensure that that population feels served by your organization. Schools should do that as well.”

LA CAUSA: Causing Students to Get InvolvedChanging the face of a community through education

Diana Cuevas [email protected]

LA CAUSA students visiting UCLA through the UCLA Green Site partnership.

What should La Gente cover from your comunidad? Share it with us at [email protected]


comunidad

The space of city hall is filled with hundreds of people looking for change. They want to change the corruption of greedy corporations slowly taking

away the livelihood and dreams of the American people.Spectators claim that protesters are fighting for “change,” but in reality

do not know what they wish to change. The Occupy movement seems to be split into many different sections. People want multiple changes out of this movement, but the question is whether people will be able to come together to decide the change they truly want for America.

“There are too many different agendas from the Occupy LA movement, some of the changes people want are completely unrealistic. I myself want for the removal of any persuasion from politicians that being in monetary value, tangible object, or flesh. We need dedicated public servants, that is how we will begin to see a change in the entire system,” said a self-employed LA art-ist who wished to remain anonymous.

In 2010, Councilman Richard Alarcon proposed the Responsible Bank-ing Initiative. The initiative is said to allow LA to score and judge financial institutions on their community investment and lending practices, allowing LA to evaluate whether that financial institution would benefit the commu-nity. The legislation stagnated on the council’s agenda. Occupy LA managed to push government officials to support their movement to take another look at Alarcon’s proposal as reported by the Huffington Post.

“What good does it do Los Angeles if the banks in which the bulk of our tax dollars sit in are reinvested in another City, far away?” said Councilman Richard Alarcon in his blog.

The Occupy LA movement has inspired Bruins to take the future of America into their own hands and fight for the 99%. In the past weeks a group of students have risen on campus, calling for Occupy UCLA.

“The Occupy UCLA movement is meant to politicize the student body of UCLA, and revive the spirit of activism on this campus to a level that rivals any other college in the nation. And in the process change our economic con-ditions in which we live and set a different course for our future,” said Byron Barahona, a third-year Political science student.

In a short period of time this group has grown and have called for action days on campus supporting “Bank Transfer Day.” A day created to cancel bank accounts with some of the big banks that were bailed out in 2008, and invest money in more local banks, and credit unions.

Overall the purpose of this group is to educate students about the move-ment, and to recruit students to be more politically involved, specifically within Occupy LA.

Past the politics and disagreements about the movement it is important to look at what the movement truly represents, all people being more in-volved in the actual problems of the nation.

A participant of Occupy LA states, “People are becoming more aware of the problems. Actually taking the initiative and paying attention, gaining more knowledge, instead of just listening to the media.”

Not only are people becoming active, but they are also putting aside their differences of religion, gender, class, and overall background to fight for what they truly believe is right, and take back America from the greedy corpora-tions that have been suffocating the American Dream.

The Occupy movement represents stepping away from a feeling of apathy that has consumed our nation and to begin a new wave of dreams and hope.

Unifying Diversity Through Activism

Magaly Chavez [email protected]

Activism can start at any age, protester Hailey Ava Lopez, 3, at the Occupy LA movement on October 16 2011.

MAGALY CHAVEZ

Despite the criticisms of the movement, people are coming together through diversity for a different future

Protesters at the Occupy LA movement create their own slogans showcasing their anger on October 16, 2011.

MAGALY CHAVEZ


comunidad

The paint is peeling and fading on a mural amidst signs in Spanish and local super markets in the barrio community on Pico and Union. The

Catholic images and names that are written across mural hint at la historia behind it. Que onda con los nombres? What do they mean? Digging led to Burlington Homeboy and Homegirls Industries, a partial history of Pico and Union, and an art group named Earth Crew.

Touched by the tragic death of one of their friends, the vision of Earth Crew was born. “We all kinda wanted to show the muralists; hey this is what we can do with a spray can. This is what our generation can do,” says Joseph Montalvo.

Better known to his Earth Crew members as Nuke, Montalvo is a graffiti writer who tells a story through the power of his can as well as a muralist of Boyle Heights. Behind a strip mall on Pico and Union in 1990 is where the story of this mural begins.

They included highly influenced Catholic images, expressing the “L.A. cholo culture aesthetic,” said Montalvo.

The wall became the canvas for local gang members, transforming into a homage for community members who died in gang crossfire by writing their names across the mural.

“Three or four names that we added of people who got killed while we were there. One of those names is of a ten year old girl who was killed due to gang violence in the community,” Montalvo said.

However, the L.A. gang culture aesthetic has faded. The sense of commu-nity that the mural carried is no longer felt. Que onda, why has the graffiti mural to begin to disappear?

Mothers and grandmothers of the community decided to have an image of La Virgen de Guadalupe along the right hand wall of the strip mall.

Today the original Virgen de Guadalupe no longer resides on the wall. It has been redone, but not by Earth Crew and not with their permission. For them, this is a violation of integrity and disrespect.

“We’re still here. We’re alive!” Montalvo said.The dedication that reads “Dedicado a todos aquellos que no tuvieron la

oportunidad de disfrutar la vida en paz y a la esperanza que témenos de evitar más muertes” is halfway gone.

The Burlington Homeboys and Homegirls mural is in need of restora-tion, or else the story and community history it carries will be lost as the paint fades away. The mural carries with it the beginning of not only Earth Crew, but also of the role and effect it had on the local gang youth who par-ticipated in its making.

“It played a cathartic role in those guys who were painting it. It reflected the violence that was all around them, and that they had probably caused themselves,” Montalvo explained.

While speaking to Montalvo, he expressed the influence of Helen Samu-els, Earth Crew’s mentor and guide once on the crew. Seeing their passion to create art through graffiti, Samuels always sought to help Earth Crew carry out its purpose such as finding locations for the murals or filing paperwork.

“Helen was always making sure that we knew the type of role we were playing in the neighborhood. That we were there as medicine people,” Mon-talvo said.

Earth Crew struggles to survive, but as Montalvo kept emphasizing, it is still very present.

Aranzazu Medellin Guerrero [email protected]

Memories Fading on Pico and UnionRepainted Mural Lacks Community Ties to Those Lost to Gang Violence at Pico and Union

Courtesey of SPARC

JOSE ORELLANA

A picture of the mural in 1990.

A picture of the mural today with paint fading.

Another section of the mural featuring La Virgen de Guadalupe.JOSE ORELLANA


universidad

Jesson Canul had the opportunity to be adopted, but that meant leaving his family.Jesson and his parents immigrated to the

United States from Yucatan, Mexico when he was two years old. He had the option to become a US citizen when his middle school teacher Cindy Moriel wanted to adopt him, but in order to get his papers, he had to live with her.

Moriel had good intentions providing Jesson with what he needed, but when his grades started to slip she asked, “Do you want to be like your dad?” His dad was not a criminal and had done nothing wrong. He did not understand why Mori-el always brought up his father in a negative way. Jesson knew he did not want to work at a carwash like his dad, but he respected his dad’s strength, determination, and positivity.

Jesson did not appreciate these remarks, rebel-ling against the path she had set out. Moriel can-celled the process for his adoption and citizenship, and Jesson returned to his family.

6:30 a.m.Jesson wakes up at home, where he lives with

his parents, Rosa Cuk and Mateo Canul, and his siblings, Diana, 17, Alely, 10, Mateo, 7, Valerie, 4, and Dahila, 2.

He remembers his parents talking one night if there would be enough money for the next semester. Though his family have been limited on money, they have always made his edu-cation a priority. “Even though they aren’t educated, they know the importance of education in my life,” said Jesson.

He helps his family by turn-ing his paychecks over to his mother, who does the family’s finances. He realizes that helping his family ultimately helps him.

8 a.m. until 12 p.m.Every weekday, Jesson helps prepare cases and

deal with possible clients by interning for the legal department at the Mexican American Legal De-fense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). He learns about civil litigation and law language from the cases he goes through.

“I’ve seen a lot of books on discrimination, but at the internship you get to witness actual people who are being discriminated against,” said Jesson. This affirmed Jesson’s decision to help the com-munity.

12 p.m until 6 p.m.As Jesson balances working, an internship and

school, he keeps his parents in mind. He is thank-ful for all the sacrifices and support his parents give him.

“Every morning, every time he drops me off at school, every time he sees me doing my home-work, he says ‘echale ganas’ and those words are with me every time I write an essay, every time I have a test, every time I’m faced with anything,” said Jesson.

At the California State University of Los An-geles, Jesson studies Criminal Justice with a minor in Woman Studies, a decision that was determined by an event that happened when he was a senior in high school.

His siblings Diana, Alely, and Mateo were coming home from the park when a drunk man grabbed his sister. Fortunately, they were able to get away, but when they got home Jesson heard his sister crying, so he went after the man. When he found him, Jesson got into an altercation and was arrested. Being in court is what incited his curios-ity with the criminal justice system.

9 p.m. until 4 a.m.At night, Jesson is a paid

musician at clubs and parties, owing his musical beginnings to his father.

When he was twelve, he was introduced to the accordi-on, soon after he learned to play from the accordion player in his dad’s band. He remembers practicing until early morning, while waiting for his dad to fin-ish playing music at the clubs.

“Being on stage and watch-ing people sing and dance is a good feeling and makes you want to practice more,” says Jesson.

While Jesson enjoys being a musician, he ad-mits that there are temptations like women, drugs, and alcohol, as well as working late nights and having run-ins with gun shootings and violence. A year and a half ago he and his father created their band Conjunto Libertad. They travel together, since it is convenient and safer, because they can take care of each other.

Jesson realizes that having his legal status fixed would have made his life easier. He questions the kind of person he would have been had he stayed on the path that Moriel had for him. He could not

accept the situation he was in, where his family was looked down upon for their lack of education, income, and social status.

Years later when he runs into Moriel, he thanks her for trying and apologizes for rebelling. “It’s taking me a little more time, but I’m learning a lot about myself and what kind of man I want to be.”

A Day in the Life of an Undocumented StudentA student wonders how his days would have been different if he would have been adopted by a US citizen

Charlene Unzuta [email protected]

JOSE ORELLANA

“[My dad] says ‘echale ganas’ and those words are with me every time I write an essay, every time I have a test, ev-ery time I’m faced with anything.”

Are you an undocumented student who wants to tell your story? Write to Charlene at [email protected]


universidad

Are immigrants finally California dreamin’ their way into college?Dreams come true for future students, but the nightmares remain for current students in California

Jeanelle Horcasitas [email protected]

Imagine that you immigrated to California when you were ten years old. You have attended California schools, taken all of the same classes and

teachers as any other US citizen. You are the top of your class and getting ready to apply for college…when you come to a disturbing halt. You can’t apply for college. Why? Well, there is absolutely no way that you or your family can afford it, and you don’t qualify for financial aid because you aren’t an US citizen.

Now, visualize the heart-break and frustration that these hard-working students must feel who can’t improve their future because they can’t go to college. Society today has taught us that a college education, more impor-tantly a college degree, will ensure a bright and stable future. However, what happens to the immigrants who work hard in high school and are stop short of their dreams and future?

To put it simply, nothing happens. Thousands of immigrant students don’t go farther than high school, and cannot overcome the socio-economic barriers without a college education.

It is a known fact that college is difficult. It is difficult to get accepted, difficult to graduate, and most importantly, difficult to afford. As a result of

the recession and growing debt, college has gotten even more impossible to get into – especially in California.

As a transfer student, I have experienced the overflowing classrooms and tuition hikes at my community college in Sacramento. Luckily, I spent count-less days and hours ensuring that I took all of the necessary steps to make it to the university of my dreams. But, I couldn’t have accomplished this without the help of financial aid. As a result of the financial aid I received, primarily grants, it helped me to accomplish my goals and pursue a higher education. Therefore, it brings me to the question: what source of aid do im-migrants receive? The answer is: nothing, nada, zip.

However, October 8th, 2011 marked a pivotal moment in history for immigrant students in California. The California Dream Act has been a hot topic since July 2011 when Gov. Jerry Brown originally signed the first half of the bill. Now that Gov. Brown has signed the second component of the California Dream Act, the future of immigrant students will be changing dramatically in the coming years.

According to the Los Angeles Times, illegal immigrants that are accepted by state universities will now be eligible to receive financial aid through Cal-Grants. Additionally, students attending the colleges in California will be eligible for grants and fee waivers. However, this act is not set to go in effect until 2013.

Although the California Dream Act appears to be a wonderful program for the improvement of immigrant students, there are many opposed to it. There is a belief that this act will attract even more people to immigrate here for an education. In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Assem-blyman Tim Donnelly stated, “We have just created a new entitlement that is going to cause tens of thousands of people to come here illegally from all over the world.”

The Los Angeles Times states that according to Gov. Brown, an anticipat-

ed amount of 2,500 students will be eligible for Cal-Grants. Therefore, only increasing Cal-Grant funds to 14.5 million, which is only about one percent overall of Cal-Grant funds.

In my opinion, this program will benefit California greatly because the top students in California (even if they are immigrants) will be contributing to our society by getting a well deserved education. However, my only ques-tion is: what is going to happen to the current immigrant students that are still ineligible for aid for another two years?

It appears that this question has not yet been answered, and it can only be assumed that current students will either have to pay out of pocket for their education, or wait until the California Dream Act has been executed com-pletely so that they too can receive financial aid.

Although the California Dream Act marks a great moment in history for immigrants, it is still not time for grand celebration. The current immigrant students in California are still dealing with the nightmare of being able to afford college, and until 2013, they must patiently wait so they too can be eligible for all of benefits of a US citizen. So, can this act really be a “dream come true,” or is it really just a “dream come 2013?”

“What source of aid do immigrants receive? The answer is: nothing, nada, zip.”

JONATHAN HORCASITAS

What do you think the effects of California Dream Act for both documented and undocumented students alike? Share it us at [email protected]

10 LA GENTE zall 2011


¡topen esto!

Shifting Towards the Middle GroundOn the road to drving privileges despite legal status

Jacqueline Espinoza [email protected]

I’m helping set-up for a sobriety checkpoint; I have my safety vest on over my uniform and bulletproof vest. That was me two summers

ago volunteering as a cadet explorer at my local Police Department. I took pride in being a cadet since I felt a strong connection to my community through my volunteer work.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 353, which will become effective January 1, 2012. According to the Official California Legislative Information, AB 353 will prohibit law enforce-ment to tow an unlicensed driver’s vehicle during a sobriety checkpoint if the driver’s only offense is not having a valid driver’s license. Instead, law

enforcement must release the vehicle to a licensed driver whether it’s the registered owner or any licensed driver without the owner’s consent.

My pride was shaken recently in my Chicana/o lecture. My peers had negative sentiments towards law enforcement from their personal experiences, or through their studies. It was the first time I heard that sobriety checkpoints target immigrant communities, specifically, undocumented individ-uals. I was shocked; this never crossed my mind. In my eyes, police officers were approachable, caring, mentors and most importantly friends. My peer’s comments disturbed me and made me feel guilty. I worked alongside police officers and I too was being associated with these negative feelings. I knew that whatever I said was not going to change my peers’ opinion.

Protesting for AB 353, Yesenia, an undocu-mented student, said she looks forward to learn-ing how to drive. She restrained for fear like her unlicensed brother that she would be stopped, have her car towed, miss a class exam, and forced to pay a quarter’s tuition for a class she will no longer receive credit for, as well as pay impound fees to retrieve the car. According to UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program and the Califor-nia Watch, 17,419 vehicles were towed during the 2010 fiscal year. At most 70 percent were from undocumented unlicensed drivers.

Anti-immigrant groups state that driving will become more “dangerous.” Though many undocu-

mented drivers do happen to be unlicensed drivers, this is not by choice. In 1993, California passed SB 976 requiring residents to provide a Social Securi-ty number and proof of valid California residency.

California will probably adopt Utah’s Driving Privilege Card (DPC), allowing undocumented individuals to drive after completion of a driver’s test. However, the card cannot act as a form of identification. In red-bold capital letters it states, “Not valid for identification driving privilege only,” along with a red outline around the driver’s picture that reminds us that driving is a “Privi-lege.”

As a cadet, I see this benefiting undocumented individuals and law enforcement. Undocumented individuals who have DPC will be able to obtain car insurance and register their car. Through DPC police officers will be able to identify all driv-ers and determine whether an individual has any warrants, felonies, or a criminal history. This will allow officers to determine how to approach a person. The fear of approaching or letting go an unidentified dangerous individual will be elimi-nated since every driver will have some form of identification through a driver’s license or a DPC.

California needs to shift its attention from the racist undertone of citizenship-status point of view and focus on whether undocumented drivers actually know how to drive. AB 353 along with the adoption of a DPC will keep our roads safe. It

will allow undocumented individuals to live an ef-ficient life without the fear of getting one’s vehicle towed and the economic hardships that follow. Ultimately, everyone will feel more comfortable living in one’s home.

“I see this benefiting undocu-mented individuals and law enforcement.”

JOSE HERNANDEZ

What do you think about AB 353? Wrtie to Jacqueline at [email protected]

States that allow undocumented individuals to drive:1. Washington2. New Mexico3. UtahPrior to AB 353, unlicensed drivers: -are arrested if he/she has never been issued a DL-their vehicle is impounded for at least 30 daysSOURCES: US Department of Transportation, Fox News

Did you know:


feature

The recent passing of the California Dream Act is a victory to many undocumented students giving financial aid to all students.

Despite this victory, there are students outside of these two categories.

Liliana Leon, a second-year comparative litera-ture student, has lived in the US since she was five months old. She came with her mother through political asylum that was granted to her when she fled El Salvador due to persecution.

She had the typical Latino American life grow-ing up with her two younger siblings who are both citizens. Liliana was not fully aware that she wasn’t a citizen in the country she has called home.

In 2001, her mother was already trying to get Liliana out of asylum by applying for residency through her grandfather. In 2006, she realized that she was not a citizen. Her mother told her that their political asylum was going to be negated because the government would decide that the threat to her mother was not imminent. They would become un-documented if they didn’t find another alternative.

Immediately Liliana and her mother applied for Temporary Protected Status to remain in this country. Her mother believed that having Tempo-rary Protected Status would be much better than being undocumented, because her daughter would not have to struggle. However, Liliana never foresaw the problems this new knowledge or her new legal status would bring her.

Temporary Protected Status, commonly known as TPS, was created under the Immigration Act of 1990. TPS allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant temporary immigration status to residents from selected countries that face environ-mental disasters, armed conflicts or extreme tempo-rary conditions. Currently, these countries include El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia,

Sudan, and South Sudan. Individuals with TPS are in the country legally

and do not have to fear deportation by the govern-ment. However, they are not a legal resident or citizen of the US and have no opportunity through TPS to obtain residency or citizenship.

“From the stories I’ve heard it’s difficult to be in TPS because there is not a lot of information on it. [Other undocumented students] assume TPS indi-viduals have more rights or privileges and it creates divisions,” said Professor Leisy Abrego of the UCLA César E. Chavez Department of Chicana/o studies.

They are allowed to work and pay taxes but do not receive any government aid, including financial aid to attend a university. Individuals on TPS have to continuously make sure their paper work is in order. They renew their application every nine to twelve months paying $515 to get a piece of paper stating they have Employment Authorization.

Lawyers have not been able to help Liliana and her mother pursue residency under TPS. They have now gone through two different lawyers who have taken their payment without furthering their ap-plication through the immigration system.

Almost everyday Liliana faces trouble due to the complexity of her status. She has to explain count-less times what it means to have TPS.

This becomes difficult when dealing with office workers from the Registrar’s Office and the Financial Aid Office have never heard of TPS. This was especially true when applying to UCLA, paying for UCLA and applying for scholarships. Liliana has no way to label her situation. On official documents, there is no box to check for TPS. On her UCLA student file, it says residency pending. Several times she has had to argue with the Financial Aid office to not charge her out-of-state fees.

When the California Dream Act passed, Liliana

was hopeful that she would be able to receive financial aid previously unavailable to undocumented students. However, these scholar-ships, including one from UCLA Academic Advancement Program (AAP), are only avail-able for students with AB 540 status.

When I interviewed AAP assistant director Chante Henderson, she stated that AAP will award scholarships to an estimated 70 students, each with a value of $2,500. How-ever, since Liliana’s UCLA status says residency pending, she does not meet the qualifications of the scholar-ship.

Liliana will still apply for the scholar-ship, but there is no guarantee she will be given one.

“The Financial Aid Office said they had to be AB 540. It had to be a quick turnaround to give the scholarships but in the future, when there is more time to organize, it will hopefully change in the future for other statuses,” Henderson said.

The director of the UCLA Financial Aid Office Ronald Johnson echoed the same sentiments when asked about students with TPS and financial aid.

“The financial aid office is only desig-nating scholarships for AB-540 students. If she has AB-540 on an application, she

No soy de aqui, ni soy de alla: Temporary Protected Status

UCLA student struggles to establish legitimacy in the United StatesHelen Alonzo [email protected]


feature

should be able to apply. We are trying to help

students who are undocu-mented. Since I am not an immigration specialist, I am not sure how financial aid will work. There is a re-ally fine line and she may be eligible,” Johnson said.

Henderson and Johnson hope that the financial aid process will become open to more statuses in the future. Despite the passing of the California Dream Act, both individuals were not previously aware of TPS and how it affects obtain-ing financial aid.

Recently, the Registrar’s Office has asked Liliana to re-

clarify her residency status for winter quarter. Under TPS regu-lation, she can claim AB 540 status. An action that Liliana is considering in order to avoid the confusion of her residency as well as make it easier to ap-ply for scholarships.

“I have to show my work authorization card to co-workers so they can see I have a legitimate status and every time I apply for a scholarship or other jobs the question about my legal status pops up and every time I become self-

conscious of how different I am.”When I asked associate registrar Cathy Lind-

strom via email about statistics regarding UCLA students with TPS, she responded that UCLA does not keep records of students with this status. Their residence deputies have not dealt with students of this status for the last year.

When I interviewed Liliana, she expressed a common sentiment many Latinos feel, “No soy de aqui, ni soy de alla,” as composer Facundo Cabral once said.

“I feel I am being labeled as an outsider. Not just because I was born in another country and have a different cultural experience from everyone else, but I am physically being labeled and targeted as different,” said Liliana.

Her citizenship may belong to El Salvador, but in her own opinion she has no connection other than

her mother to her native country. She has lived in the US her whole life, but she cannot claim Ameri-can citizenship.

If for some reason their TPS is not renewed they will become undocumented and easily deported because ICE has records of them.

“I’ve heard of many cases where individuals with TPS who are one day late with their renewal application are immediately deported because the government has all their information,” said Profes-sor Abrego.

For Liliana, it leaves her struggling to figure out how to pay for school without any aid, having to commute and work long hours, as well as having to justify herself to people who do not understand.

“My situation is so obscure I feel a bit marginal-ized because people label things. Either you are here legally or you are not. They don’t see the gray area that immigration system has created. They don’t understand that they can’t send you back because you feel political persecution but at the same time they don’t want you, so they put you in a marginal-ized place where you don’t have a lot of political representation.”

My situation is so obscure I feel a bit marginalized because people label things. Either you are here legally or you are not. They don’t see the gray area that immigration system has created.

“”

INS has made it clear that information it collects when an alien registers for TPS may be used to institute exclusion or deportation proceedings upon the denial, withdrawal or expiration of TPS.

Are you a student with Temporary Protected Status? Share your story.

Email Helen at [email protected]

Did you know...

El Salvador 248,282March 2, 2001 - September 9, 2006

Honduras 81,875December 30, 1998 - July 5, 2006

Nicaragua 4,309 December 30, 1998 - July 5, 2006

How many have TPS?

SOURCE: financialaid.gmu.edu


¡topen esto!

The cross of Christ hanging from a gold necklace is being Catholic. For many second

generation Latinos, this is as far as their relationship with God extends, a tendency that epitomizes their gradual move towards an evanescing faith in God.

While a growing number of Latinos identify themselves as non-religious, most say they still retain certain cultural aspects of Catholi-cism and thus consider themselves “culturally Catholic.” According to Ace Prensa, secularity among Latinos increases from 8 percent in the first-

generation immigrants to 14 percent in the second-generation.

For these second generation Latinos, Catholicism is not a way of explaining their faith in God, but rather a cultural identifier. Though they do not practice it through the reception of all the sacraments, they still claim ties to Catholicism.

A young man who wished to re-main anonymous said, “I don’t know much about the actual religion. It’s just how I was raised. I go to church occasionally, I have a rosary in the rearview mirror of my car, and I help my mom set up of the ‘nacimiento’ for Christmas and I really enjoy the big celebration my family does for the Virgin Mary. But as far as my relationship with God...well I guess that is my relationship with God.”

For Latinos like him, the connec-tion between Catholicism and culture is much stronger than that of Ca-tholicism and faith. Religion is not a matter of establishing a faith-based communion with God, but a matter of inheritance.

Their parents are Catholic and by default, they too inherit this

religion. While this bestowal of Catholicism teaches them that babies should be baptized and that taking the Eucharist is the most sacred mo-ment during Sunday mass, it does not teach them the spiritual mean-ing behind these practices.

This lack of spiritual knowl-edge is especially evident during the celebration of holy days such as Ash Wednesday. Many, from de-vout Catholics to cultural Catholics, gather on this day to have ashes imposed on their foreheads. But, the presence of so many new faces raises questions about the knowledge and

credence in the paramount doctrines of their religion.

Upon asking a UCLA student, who identifies himself as Catho-lic, what the significance of Ash Wednesday is, he responded: “It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I have no idea. It’s just something I’ve done most of my life.”

He, like many other Latinos, chooses to be marked with the ashes of repentance on this Wednesday, but do not know why. Stripping this sacred practice from its spiritual meaning and transforming it solely into a cultural practice, makes the ashes on their forehead less a symbol of mourning and repentance and more a symbol of a deteriorating faith in God.

Moreover, for the increasing number of non-religious second-gen-eration Latinos, Catholicism has be-come one of the many aspects of their culture that is only ritualistically part of quotidian life, an inclination that does not accord with my defini-tion of spiritual faith. Though they religiously obey Catholic practices, they are devoid of the fundamental

characteristic on which religion is based: an absolute and walking faith in God.

“I don’t know much about the actual religion. It’s just how I was raised.”

What do you consider a rela-tionship with God to be?

Write to Michelle at [email protected]

Religious SecularizationSecond-generation Latinos move away from being devouted to culturally Catholic

Michelle Moreno [email protected]

Around 70% of Latinos identify as Catholic

By the Numbers

39% of Latinos who said they had no religion were former Catholics

MELISSA MERRILL


¡topen esto!

What is Wrong with the Police?A call for us to hold the police accountable to their actions

Jonathan Sanabria [email protected]

As a young male of color from the urban com-munity of Los Angeles, I have been bred to be

weary of the police. From the time I was a young teenager able to drive, I have been pulled over numerous times without any probable cause.

I am not alone. The overwhelming number of stories of racial profiling and repulsive abuse of power are enough for me to live in a state of alarm.

I have witnessed the brutal assault on our civil rights by police from the Rodney King Beatings to the revelations of the Rampart Case in 1999 to the more recent Oscar Grant slaying at a BART station in Oakland.

Most of these officers were not put to trial and many walked away with a slap on the wrist. One exception is the officer that shot Oscar Grant in the back of the head. While he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, he only served 11 months in jail much to the chagrin of the Grant family.

These kinds of atrocious acts are permitted to occur because the police officers’ statements are

not investigated. The word of the police officer is taken over the victim.

Recently in the city of Fullerton, the police department has come under fire because of their heinous attack on a homeless and mentally ill in-dividual. Six officers brutally attacked a man who they presumed to be a perpetrator, while a group of citizens watched.

According to reports from the Huffington Post, a homeless man was sitting when the police approached him and he ran off. When they caught the homeless man, the police began to pound his face on the curb, beat him, and hog-tie him.

The man would later die from his injuries and the police department is now under investigation by the FBI.

There were 6 police officers present but only two were charged with any wrongdoing. Officer Manuel Ramos and Corporal Jay Cicinelli were the two officers who most viciously attacked Kelly Thomas. Ramos beat him while Cicinelli tasered him. Since being charged with the death, both

men have been freed on bail, although Ramos is facing stricter charges.

How is it that the other four police officers are not charged? They are just as guilty as their peers because they witnessed the murder of an indi-vidual.

These police officers are paid to protect and serve the public, but that night they refused and were rewarded with paid leave. They stood there as a man was beat, tasered, and choked.

What is wrong with the police? Have they lost their human perspective?

I propose that we start holding the police of-ficers to the same laws to which they hold everyday citizens. If a police officer kills an individual, there should be no reason why a thorough investigation should follow. If any misconduct is found, then I believe that police officer must face a jury.

Too often their authority goes unchecked and citizens suffer the consequences. Until their power is checked, there is nothing protecting us from their abuse.

sigan luchando

16 June 2010

Corcoran, Ca.

To all editors and staff of LA Gente,

Utmost of greetings are conveyed…I hope my concise note finds you all at its best and blessed in all aspects. With my dues paid, just wanted to drop by with a token of appreciation for your magazine (newsletters) by saying “Thank You” for having me in your mailing list.

Back in 98-99, I was a construction worker who helped build the 3 new buildings there in UCLA, which were supposed to be the new dorms. (Don’t know if the project finished there yet.) And honestly, there wasn’t much Raza going there. The most I’ve seen were whites, asians/koreans, and a few blacks.

So I’m kind of baffled that not only do I (or we) have raza there volunteering and helping our people and community, but also orient-ing themselves with your newsletter about the ideologies, thoughts, and knowledge of our culture. And also have my peoples going there, ”Mexi-can Americans,” since education isn’t so cheap nowadays, que no.

Anyhow, I’m in a place call the SHU (Security Housing Unit), basi-

cally a jail within a jail, where we’re required to spend twenty-two and one-half hours per day in our cells.

So, yup, reading is the only way to keep our sanity. I sure have a lot of solitude, for introspection, que no.

I lived in West LA all m life. And since I’ve been away from home, I’ve been getting the LA Times just to catch news of my hometown. But they don’t cover much as your newsletter do, so I wanted to say, gracias, and keep up the good work. For some of us do appreciate your diligent work you put into your articles (as well as studies).

Once again, thank you for having me on your mailing list and the enlightenment with all the pragmatic, dialectical dialogue. Thank you for your time in reading this note, con permiso.

Sincerely, Jesus Alberto Fonseca

Letter From A Prisoner


latinoamérica

The Vasquez fam-ily is on the run. It is not from the

endemic poverty, lack of job oppor-tunities, or deficits in government aid,

which have historically driven Mexicans across the border. They are running

from war. Mounting violence induced

by Mexico’s drug war has dis-placed 230,000 Mexicans thus far, according

to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center.After gaining political asylum and fleeing to the US, Jose Vasquez con-

tacted my father who agreed to shelter him and his family who are my distant relatives.

I had begun to hear pieces of their harrowing story from various fam-ily members. They were shaken from their ordeal and understandably in no condition to disclose their story in an interview.

The Mexican drug war hardly crossed my mind before then. It only ex-isted in the snippets of media stories I heard from time to time. Meeting Jose Vasquez and his family last month brought the reality of the drug war much closer to home.

Back in Mexico, the Vasquez family owned a small business and three cars. Jose Vasquez worked as a mechanic, while Maria Vasquez ran the local neighborhood grocery store. The children enjoyed comfortable lives.

They were living the “Mexican Dream,” but in an American graveyard. As the body count rose, their comfortable lives shattered, leaving behind shards of their once happy lives for the wind to scatter across the border.

Jose received a call from police asking him to identify a corpse, that of his brother Martin, which had been discovered at a crime scene. Martin had been involved in the drug trade, fueling speculation that cartel assassins murdered him.

According to the Guardian, the Mexican government has placed the death toll for drug-war related violence at just over 34,612. There seems to be no end in sight.

Martin was survived by his wife who had given birth sometime after his funeral. She was then under the care of Jose’s other brother Joel. Sometime after Martin’s wife had given birth, the assassins arrived and finished the job: murdering Joel, the young wife, and her newborn baby.

Drug trafficking and cartel warfare have shaped the destinies of Mexico’s “Ninis”

generation, the wasted youth que “ni estudian, ni trabajan,” who neither study nor work, according to the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. From the age of 11 years old, they make their living as sentries, traffickers, and hired guns for the warring cartels, as reported by International Business Times.

The rising tide of violence and corruption has even managed to pollute the dwindling reservoirs of justice and morality within the police force. Ac-cording to the L.A. Times, 3,200 Mexican federal police officers have been investigated and fired for links to drug cartels.

Distraught over the massacre of his relatives, Jose yelled at the officer, asking him when the violence would end. The officer retorted that it would end when none of his family members were left. Profoundly aware of this rampant corruption, Jose promptly took his family to Tijuana to ask the American Embassy for political asylum.

In 2008, only 13 percent of Mexican political asylum requests were granted according to Paul R. Kan of the Strategic Studies Institute. Fortu-nately for Jose, the family was granted 6 months of asylum, time which he hopes to use to secure his family’s residency and safety.

After staying in my family’s home for a couple of days, the Vasquez fam-ily left for Chicago where they will have their residency hearing, and where they may finally begin rebuilding their lives.

How many images, how many sensations, how many unspoken horrors have resurfaced in their memories since then?

*The names mentioned herein, of the family and its individual members, have been changed in order to respect their privacy and maintain their safety.

Narco RefugeesDrug wars in Mexico cause Mexican middle class migration

Samuel Temblador [email protected]

SAMUEL TEMBLADOR

How has the Mexican drug affected you? Write to Samuel at [email protected]

a


latinoamérica

World Cup burdens BraziliansEmerson Baik [email protected]

Brazil, the home of the football lovers, is hosting the FIFA

World Cup in 2014. This “miracle”, as many Brazilians call it, hasn’t hap-pened since 1950, and many soccer fans are excited for it. I feel honored that my home country is able to host the most important international sports event. I am excited to go back to Brazil, in 2014, especially to visit my hometown, São Paulo, where the opening of the World Cup will be held.

Morumbi, a soccer stadium, was where the opening game of the World Cup was supposed to be held at and I only lived fifteen minutes away from it. The only memory I have with Morumbi is from when my dad took me to my first soccer match with him when I was eight years old. Unfortunately because of São Paulo’s financial situation, Morumbi is not able to hold the opening game of the World Cup because of the lack of renovation funds. The FIFA fed-eration decided to move the opening game from Mo-rumbi to the “Cor-inthians New Stadi-um” where less money is needed to bring the sta-dium to safe conditions. Guilherme Macedo Silva, says that “the ‘Corinthians new stadium’ renovation is undergoing a lot of construc-tion, and at a very fast pace. It will probably be the most mod-ern stadium, and hopefully the most beautiful one in the country. A lot of other stadiums are going through constructions too, but the pressure on aesthetics remains on the Corinthians stadium.”

While hosting the World Cup is a very exciting thing for Brazilians, not all of them are pleased with the constructions. “The problem right now is that constructions are very superficial, and a lot of public money

is going to waste,” says Guilherme.“Superficial” construction isn’t

the only problem. Another unsatis-fied Brazilian, Fernando Bicudo, says that Brazil needs to “improve subways, bus and airport systems and also create hotels for tourists…the national image of Brazil is in the hands of the government and I feel like too much money is being taken from citizens in order to accomplish this. We have our own financial wor-ries too.”

Although hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup is a blessing and an honor for Brazil, there is a lot of lo-cal and international pressure on the government to ensure that Brazil’s image is not blemished. I feel some-what of a “free-loader” compared to my childhood friends, since I am not experiencing raised taxes and prices in everything, yet I will still get to enjoy the experience of the World Cup when I go back for the first time since I immigrated in 2004.

Looking Back to a New PeruMonica Ponce de Leon [email protected]

I remember those days when I thought my life as an eight year

old was normal. It only took to look back a few years later to see I was living inside a bubble of terrorism in Peru.

I never understood why my mother would put tape on the win-dows that formed an “x,” blackouts that made us decorate the house with candles, or why our block was a meeting point for security guards with enormous guns.

In 1985 President Alan Garcia campaigned for hope, yet Peru fell into economic turmoil during his presidency. Garcia left the country with hyperinflation and Peruvian cit-izens were not able to afford anything since the currency was not worth anything. This economic crisis led to the emergence of The Shining Path, a terrorist group with a communist ideology that bombed electrical tow-ers to provoke major blackouts in the city to inflict terror in the citizens.

A once overpopulated city with cars and traffic, restaurants, movie theatres and other forms of entertain-ment became a ghost town.

Peru was becoming a country with no hope and the violence was getting to close to our family for us to stay there, but my roots never left my foundation.

As a young woman living in the US, I became fascinated by Peruvian politics. The news I read indi-cated the steady rise of the Peruvian economy. I began to realize why my windows were taped as a child. After ten years and roots too deep I decided it was time to go back to Peru and see the changes with my own eyes.

The day I got on the plane, I felt anxious. I did not want to relive those moments in my childhood, but I had to go back to my roots and to the place that I once called my home.

I arrived at the Jorge Chavez Airport and felt I never left LA. The only thing that reminded me I was

in Lima were the pictures of Macchu Picchu. The streets of Lima were illuminated and people were walk-ing happily on the streets and there was no evident presence of security guards like before.

The changes didn’t come eas-ily. Yet, without a doubt, it is easy to see the positive change in Peru in contrast to the depressing record of the 1990’s.

The perseverance of the people helped the economy flourish. Busi-ness owners go out to the streets to sell what their land or hands provide. Lima, the capital of Peru changed to invite tourists from all over the world. This changed what Lima used to look like into a modern city. Foreign owned restaurants run the weekend life and modern infrastruc-ture make tourists feel home. Still, Peruvian traditions still fight to live and attract tourists.

Despite all the positive changes, poverty is still an issue; “ceros” or hills are covered with “barrios jo-venes” or slums in which people live inhumanly. Several feeding stations have opened so children can at least get one meal a day. Most walls are painted with political campaign slo-gans that only make the streets more unclean rather than give hope to the poor.

Similar to our ancestors, the Incas, the Spanish were able to take their land but not their culture. Pe-ru’s economic growth is modernizing the country, yet Peruvians will not permit our culture to disintegrate. This can be the reason why my roots never let me go and will make me continue to come back to the Land of The Sun.

Do you have an experience about latinoamérica? Share it with us at [email protected]


arte y cultura

Losing the Mother TongueSpanish Language Loss Among Latinos in the US

Gabriela Garcia [email protected]

“You don’t speak Spanish?! But you’re Mexican!”Too often, many second-generation Latinos are confronted with this

question, to which they reply, “Yeah, I know…”They think, “How could I forget? What happened?” But the reality is

that many of them don’t know why they don’t speak it.Spanish language loss among second-

generation Latinos, those with immigrant parents, has been widely studied. Research and Statistics show that “98 percent of second-generation respondents [reported] flu-ency in English and 88 percent [indicated] a preference for English over their mother tongue.”

What leads to this preference?“I was born and raised here, so to me [Spanish] was more of a second lan-

guage. The more English I learned, the less Spanish I spoke. Today, I feel, it’s more common to find Latinos in similar situations,” said Andres Berumen, a senior at Eisenhower High School born to Mexican parents.

His answer is not far from what most would guess is the reason for the lack of Spanish retention in the US: we assimilate to the English language because it is all around us. The environment that surrounds us dictates the language we speak, right? Yes.

The US has been referred to as a graveyard for foreign languages. The pro-cess of losing the mother tongue was found to be most rapid here in the US when compared to that loss in other countries. Interestingly enough, this loss was less rapid among Spanish-speaking Latinos.

Among Latino groups, there is also some disparity. Mexican-Americans were found to retain their mother language the best, but were reciprocally the worst at English proficiency over time when compared to Dominicans,

Cubans, Colombians, Nicaraguans, Central and South Americans. So what factors lead us to lose the language of our culture?“If I would have balanced them out somehow instead of choosing one

[English] over the other [Spanish], that would have made a difference,” Beru-men reflects. However, research has proven otherwise.

Maintaining Spanish proficiency is most directly correlated with the language that is modeled by the parents in the household, not one’s own individual preference or what they feel about the language. The home environ-

ment and the language used by parents and close relatives have been found to have the greatest effect on this retention.

According to a report out of Harvard University by Van C. Tran, Spanish is spoken at home with parents more so than others in and outside of home. Second-generation Latinos lose the language because of a lack of practice outside the home.

It had also been found that in communities where there is a majority of Spanish-only speaking people push the second generation to use the lan-guage, which allows for retention rate.

The same Harvard report stated that “first-generation immigrants learned some English but preferred the use of their mother tongue; the second gen-eration developed a preference for English but continued to use the minority language at home; and the third generation spoke only English,” showcasing the eventual loss of the Spanish language in later generations of Latinos in the US.

If it weren’t for the continuing influx of immigrant peoples across US borders that replenish the Spanish speaking environments for later genera-tions of Latinos, this mother tongue would dissipate that much quicker.

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arte y cultura

Melissa Merrill [email protected]

The student group performs at the Hill for Dia de Los Muertos Behind the Scenes with Grupo Folklórico de UCLA


arte y cultura

UCLA’s Latin American Institute held the Central America and

Reel Politik film festival at the Main Conference Room in the Charles E. Young Research Library from Wednesday October 19 to Friday October 21.

Attracting over three hundred people throughout its run, the festival featured work from rising artists that showcased a region that is typically understudied.

The Reel Politik film festival was organized by Gloria Chacon, a fellow at the Council on Library and Infor-mation Resources (CLIR). The term Reel Politik refers to the German term Realpolitik, referring to politics that is based on power and sometimes of coercion. The term highlights the effort to shed light on the political, eocnomic, and social issues of Central America through film.

She organized the festival in part “to really showcase the vibrant culture and different points of views and people trying to tell their story. Or trying to recuperate the story of their past.” She wanted to take part in the slow but growing study of Central America.

“To educate, to showcase, and to inspire,” Chacon said, explaining her hopes of using the festival as a way to inspire students to begin telling their own story through film.

The festival took around one year to organize, and it fell solely on the shoulders of Chacon with one student aid for help.

A few years back, the Icaro Film Festival in Guatemala impacted her by showing documenta-ries and films produced in Central America.

Chacon set out to collect a film archive for the UCLA library. However, the difficulty in obtaining films not easily available to the public meant each director had to be contacted directly. Her estab-lished contacts allowed her to bring attention to the event throughout the planning stage, resulting in full support by the administration.

The Central American community fully em-braced the festival. At the film festival, many local consulates participated with Beliz and Guatemalan

representatives providing small discourse on their respective country.

For Chacon, the involvement of the local com-munity allowed the possibility of many to connect with others. Understanding people’s history is a necessary step in pushing diversity, especially on a college campus, she says.

At the event itself, the education of the countries was on full display. Books were sold to further touch upon the issues raised in the films. Students from diverse backgrounds participated in the Q&A. Different films provided insights into current social problems, and the effects past events currently have in society.

Although this was the first year the festival was held, Chacon hopes to do it again, but with some modifications. She would like to include short films by students and give awards to the best

documentary, feature, and student films shown at the festival.

Regardless, this year the UCLA library gained a rich variety of films to provide commentary on Central America, a region that is currently grow-ing among the fields of study. This gives the school an opportunity to become one of the emerg-ing locations that are aiding the growth of Cen-tral American scholars. These films will become resources for all those students and community members that wish to focus on the region.

Every film showed, and many more, will be available for regular checkout at the Charles E. Young Research Library.

Bringing Central American culture to life through film

Alma Huitron [email protected]

UCLA holds its first Reel Politik Film Festival

Ana Ruth Castillo, Los Angeles based artist with roots from Guatemala, contributed this artwork to the festival. Inspired to reflect culture and ancestry, the beauty of the natural world, and the sacred feminine, she paints on walls and canvas to share and connect. A college gradu-ate from UC Santa Cruz, she dedicates her life and career to working with youth.

Watch out for Alma’s reviews for the films featured at this festival online at lagente.org


LaGENTEdotORG

Armando Bustos [email protected]

Haidee Pacheco [email protected]

Bici Libre translates to “Free Bikes,” but in actuality it “frees bikes” that are left to rust on bike racks.

Bici Libre located at 6th and Lucas Ave in Los Angeles is a bike work-shop organized through the Los Angeles Bike Coalition. Bici Libre wrangles abandoned bike from different institutions like surrounding universities and MTA to repair and redistribute abandoned bicycles to low-income communi-ties where bicycles are a major source of transportation.

Mostly volunteer-run, Bici Libre is funded by a grant from the LA Coun-ty Health Department through the Center of Disease Control. Bici Libre also functions as a venue for bike workshops and a space to for people to fix their bikes under the guide of mechanics for a marginal donation.

This year Bici Libre collected 9 bicycles from UCLA. Rafael Guerrero and Edwin Aguilar, volunteers, on a appreciate having a safe place and an in-expensive alternative for bike repairs, or in case of a bike theft, an inexpensive replacement. Roger Mora, also a volunteer, uses Bici Libre as an alternative to being on the streets.

Bici Libre is continually looking for volunteers, donations, and aban-doned bikes. It’s a bike shop for the amateur and the advanced, and for the socially conscious and anyone who wants to help the community.

Bike Shop Restores Abandoned Bikes and Provides Safe Place for Community

Visit lagente.org to watch the video

If you walk by the McClure Stage on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8 pm, you will see a group of students dancing their hearts away. This group of

students is known as Grupo Folklórico de UCLA, a student club recognized for its celebrations honoring the Mexican culture through a Mexican tradi-tional dance widely known as Ballet Folklorico.

Grupo Folklórico has been putting on performances both on campus and off since 1966. As their mission statement says, “Our goal is to create positive Chicana/o role models, promote cultural awareness throughout our surround-ing communities, and encourage the youth of Los Angeles to celebrate their cultural roots and to continue on to institutions of higher learning.” With Grupo Folklórico, students are able to take a break from their studies, shake their bodies to some fun music, and meet some new people, while learning about the culture of Mexico.

Ballet folklorico incorporates its different styles of dance from differ-ent regions of Mexico, including Veracruz, Nayarit, and Guerrero. Over the course of the year, they learn the different steps and skirt works to prepare for their biggest and most important performance of the year, Fiesta Mexicana in UCLA’s historic Royce Hall. Any student can be a part of Grupo Folklorico, because as the group emphasizes when recruiting new members, “No experi-ence necessary!”

Grupo Folklórico de UCLA practices for Dia de Los Muertos

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