Congratulations to Miss Mexico, Jimena Navarrete, who was crowned Miss Universe on Monday night! She’s the second Mexican to win the pageant for her country, although...
An LA Times blog alerted me to the Saturday passing of one of Mexico’s greatest:
"He was known as Mexico’s finest chronicler, its "last public intellectual," its "conscience," and as the only literary figure around who was said to be recognized by regular folks on the street. With the death on Saturday of Carlos Monsivais, Mexico lost a voice that for nearly 50 years was considered unrivaled in his ability to cut to the core of the issues and personalities of his day...
Monsivais was a journalist, a critic, a cinephile, a collector of historical and pop ephemera (which led eventually to the founding of a museum) and a tireless activist for minority rights and the political left. In hundreds of articles and columns, more than two dozen books, countless appearances on television and radio, at conferences and demonstrations, Monsivais represented for many Mexicans an enormously erudite man of letters who never lost touch with ordinary people, or with the tragicomic nature of life here."
If you are not familiar with Monsivais or his work, it is because he is not well known outside his home country. And his scope of work revolved around his hometown, Mexico City, which he even gifted with the
noted his political leanings: "Examining his own country like a pop anthropologist, Monsivais chronicled Mexico’s historic upheavals, social trends, and literature for over 50 years. He was also known as a tireless and ubiquitous activist for leftist causes."
Even President Felipe Calderon’s office issued a statement, summarizing his passing as follows: "He was a chronicler and witness for his era...We Mexicans will miss his critical, reflective and independent vision."
Perhaps I’m way behind and simply stating what everyone else already knows, but I’m starting to think that the World Cup could very well be bigger than the Olympics. Every time I am on facebook, a flurry of statuses in my news feed tell me that this is all anyone cares about right now. Today I read "All I have to say is: MEXICO,MEXICO,MEXICO!!!!". Another friend posted this image as his profile pic:
ESPN’s online coverage is phenomenal, and I found myself getting sucked into the Mexico page, which also includes a comprehensive history of the country at large, news feeds from major Mexican newspapers, and much more.
Nike has once again gone above and beyond with one of the most incredible, emotional ads of all time. If you aren’t a fan now, you will be after watching this one:
I'm never one to say no to a reason to party, but let's make sure we know what we're celebrating. For most of my life, like millions of other Americans, I thought Cinco de Mayo was Mexican Independence Day. Then one year someone asked me, "Then what's El 16 de Septiembre"?
Realizing I was no historian, that feeling of embarrassment due to my ignorance began to creep in, and I decided once and for all that I'd get to the bottom of this. And every year since doing so I've made it my mission to explain what this holiday really means. Having done my civic duty, I then feel free to indulge in a cold one. So here we go.
An MTV article does a great job of explaining a day that has actually become much bigger in the U.S. than it ever was across Mexico:
The holiday owes its origins to the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when the Mexican army overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to defeat invading French forces from conquering the state of Puebla. The victory remains a cause for commemoration nearly 150 years later.
Interestingly enough, Cinco de Mayo isn't celebrated in Mexico nearly as much as it is in the United States, as the country's most widely recognized national patriotic holiday is actually the Mexican Independence Day on September 16. But Cinco de Mayo gets plenty of attention in the U.S. not just from Mexican-Americans, but also from anybody interested in seeking out new forms of cultural exposure — largely due to the efforts of liquor companies and Mexican restaurants.
Comedian Cristela Alonza summed up 5 de Mayo's significance, saying "What's important is to remember the meaning behind the holiday...It's about freedom and to celebrate those who had the courage to defend it."
The article ends on a wise note:
So as you immerse yourself in today's festivities, make sure to put your ice cold cerveza down for long enough to acknowledge the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo, a holiday built on the foundation of freedom.
Amen. Because freedom is always worth fighting for.
Want a more detailed explanation of 5 de Mayo? Read all about it
According to an article in today’s BusinessWeek, Mexico’s economy is showing strong signs of recovery, with Mexican economists predicting an expansion of 3.87% in 2010. And this past December, retail sales increased for the first time in 16 months.
This is great news for Mexico, considering the hit it took due to the U.S. recession:
"Latin America’s second-biggest economy is recovering on increasing exports and improving domestic demand after it contracted 6.5 percent in 2010, the worst annual slump since 1932. The recession in the U.S., which buys about 80 percent of Mexico’s exports, crippled the $1.09 trillion economy last year as a decline in exports led to job losses and falling production...
The central bank said in a Feb. 19 statement that manufacturing was recovering “with greater strength” and improving industrial activity was helping boost domestic demand."
This news also is promising for the U.S. economy as a whole, since our two economies are so interdependent. We’re on the road to recovery.
It is widely known that Hollywood celebrities such and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Geroge Clooney, and other big names donated substantial amounts of money to relief efforts in the wake of the disastrous hurricane that struck Haiti on January 12.
What is not as widely known, at least in the U.S., is that Mexico has also jumped in to lend a hand to the ailing nation. Carlos Slim, a Mexican businessman and the reported third richest person in the world has stepped in big.
Over 120,000 Mexicans donated a total of 32.8 million Mexican pesos (2.5 million U.S. dollars) to earthquake victims in Haiti through the Carlos Slim Foundation, said the foundation on Wednesday.
The foundation, run by Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim, doubled the figure as it has promised to give out another peso for each donated peso from Mexican citizens.
The money collected will be used to assist the reconstruction and modernization of Haiti, said the foundation,
Immediately after the earthquake, Mexico sent 13.8 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, vegetables, clean water, power generators and satellite telephones to Haiti.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that "Slim’s foundation said it would match donations for Haiti made by customers of his Telefonos de Mexico company."
I came across this very interesting piece from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The "Latino Civil Rights Timeline, 1903 to present", documents important civil rights events affecting the U.S. Latino community. It’s a nice resource, easy to read, with nice historical snapshots.
A short explanation from the site is as follows:
When reading this timeline, it’s important to remember that the fight for civil rights doesn’t happen in a vacuum. In many cases, the events listed below have fueled – and have been fueled by – other social justice movements, like the African American Civil Rights Movement and the fight for equal employment and education among Chinese and Japanese immigrants.
The Latino civil rights struggle did not begin in 1903 and will not end in September 2006. Watch the news and listen to politicians, and you will see the fight for equal rights for ALL people is not over.
I first heard about Fuerza Unida two years ago when my stepmother Kathy Sosa was working with them to make beautiful one-of-a-kind purses. She told me the story about how the organization empowered women in San Antonio to earn a living by putting their sewing talent to work.
Eager to learn more I came across the following description and video:
Twenty years ago one of Texas’s Levis Strauss factories closed leaving behind hundreds of workers, mostly women, without their livelihood. To many, it was the only job they ever had. From their loss, a support group was born. A group that later became a center to empower women in San Antonio, Texas through education, social work and community activism: "Fuerza Unida".
Fuerza Unida has given these women, the majority of whom are Latina immigrants, the chance to shine doing what they do best. According to the web site:
Fuerza Unida’s mission is to empower women workers and their families to achieve social, economic and environmental justice through education, organizing and advocacy. The Fuerza Unida’s vision is for workers and their families to actively participate in society by voicing their opinions and concers while keeping their cultural traditions and values.
Besides offering a variety of quality garments, purses, and other woven goods, the organization also takes custom orders.
To the uninitiated, making tamales can seem overwhelming. But with some time, love, and patience anyone can do it. Here's a really cute video explaining how its done, narrated by two little Mexican-American girls:
The Christmas Eve tamalada was something my own family did every year. Grandma Dahlia, Aunt Linda, Mom, me and my baby brother Vincent would spend an entire day mixing the masa, with Grandma instructing us to add mind-boggling quantities of lard, paprika, pork stock, and other seasonings to the huge mountain of cornmeal dough that sat overtaking the kitchen table.
Once that process was complete, we lovingly spread the deep orange mixture onto pieces of corn husks using the back of a spoon (I guess my family didn't hear about the silicon spatula technique, as described in this "how to make tamales" web site.) This proved nearly impossible for a six-year-old me, who will never forget the struggle it took to spread the masa thin enough without tearing up the husk. I always felt so satisfied when one came out looking great. Last step was spooning a very generous mound of tender seasoned and cooked shredded pork onto the husk and rolling it up. A dozen down, twenty more to go!
As the years passed by, my skills improved. By ten I was an expert. Make pork filling December 23rd, spend all morning of the 24th in the tamale assembly line, steam a few dozen, devour Christmas Eve. Freeze the rest (uncooked!) and enjoy at our leisure.
It's been a few years since we've all been together to make tamales on Christmas Eve. My grandmother passed away eight years ago, and I left San Antonio over a year ago to start a business in West Texas. But now that I have my own daughter, who is just three months old, I long to restart the tradition here in the small west Texas community of Alpine where I now live.
This year, we're driving home to San Antonio on Christmas Day to spend a few days with family. With a little nudging I hope to convince my mom to revive the tradition. Because it's just not Christmas without Grandma's home-made tamales.
Immigration has in many ways become overly-politicized in America, with the heated arguments overshadowing the fact that immigrants are people too, whether they came to America legally or not. For this reason, I’m always looking for positive stories to share, those that show the individual tales of strength, perseverance, and optimism that have always drawn people to this country.
The Immigrant Archive Project is dedicated to telling the stories of Latino immigrants, recording interviews and sharing them via multimedia.
Here’s a description from the site:
The Immigrant Archive Project is an independent national initiative dedicated to preserving the life stories of America’s Latino immigrant population. We accomplish this by recording, in their own words, the intimate stories of Latino immigrants of all nations. The content of these interviews will be shared with listeners via radio, internet, and traveling educational as well as art installations.
Through this initiative we hope to preserve the struggles, dreams and accomplishments of America’s vast and diverse Latino immigrant population so that future generations may learn from their collective experience.
