Tlatelolco

This weekend was the Portland Latin American Film Festival at the Hollywood Theatre in NE Portland. The major feature was Tlatelolco, based on the political upheaval in Mexico around the preparations for the 1968 summer Olympics. The year was a year to remember, particularly because the games were hosted for the first time by a "third world" country. Amidst the societal tension, two students from different classes fall in love and join the student-led rebellion. Sitting in the packed auditorium, I had an overwhelming feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself. Hearing the buzz of the audience, I realized Tlatelolco had built a 120-capacity community in an evening. Tlatelolco ability to move is just as powerful as it its ability to gather people and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to see it.

After the viewing, there was a question and answer session with the director, Carlos Bolado. He has received numerous awards and nominations internationally including two Emmys. During the session, many of the audience members spoke in Spanish and Bolado responded in English. It was fascinating to hear about his thoughts of the film. Bolado spoke to the concerns for the younger generations losing interest and knowledge about Mexican and Mexican-American history. He advocated for more programs and events that would highlight historical events as well as culture. Bolado said he made the film as a seed to put out in the world that might grow into something bigger, something more useful. I appreciated his response because it is how I came to view the film - my friend invited me to go and I accepted because I had recently taken a class on Latin American revolutions in the 20th century and was interested in how the events surrounding the summer of 1968 were portrayed.

Director Carlos Bolado at the Q&A session.

From Left to Right:
Me, Carlos Bolado, and my friend.

I am still in the process of defining my identity as a Mexican-American. There are so many things that set me apart from many other Mexican-Americans my age, however, my interest in Mexican history and supporting the community helps me make connections. My friend and I had a great conversation following the events which reinforced my feelings of being a part of something larger. I have newfound enthusiasm for my position in the college's Hispanic/Latin@ club and I cannot wait to share it!

Latino Americans: PBS Documentary

My first time taking the tram! I was so excited - it had such beautiful views of the surrounding area.

This evening I had the opportunity to attend a screening of the PBS documentary Latino Americans. A group from Linfield and I made our way via streetcar, shuttle bus, and tram to an OHSU auditorium where we were greeted with food and drink. My goodness, the food! (I know, I know, always with the food.) They served tamales, beans (ugh they were DELICIOUS), rice, chips, and salsa. There were alcoholic beverages available, but I obviously opted for horchata.

The screening showed about 45 minutes of excerpts from the documentary. I encourage you to look it up on PBS.com and watch it. It brought up much of the history and many of the struggles faced by Latino Americans through the last century, from the conception of Texanos to the picketing of East Los Angeles schools. It highlighted a few persons of interest including Juan Seguin, a Texano and former mayor of San Antonio; Guy Gabaldon, a soldier credited with over 1,500 Japanese prisoners captured; Herman Badillo, a former U.S. Congressman; and Sal Castro, a former Los Angeles school teacher. These people and their struggles were news to my peers and I!

We had a quick debrief/discussion after the film (over flan and coffee, nonetheless) and realized that we do not know a lot about our history as Latino Americans. We each shared a part of the screening that stood out most and talked about parts that we wished the documentary would have expanded upon. For instance, there was a brief segment about the rise of Latin music and stars such as Gloria Estefan and Ricki Martin. We wanted to know more about how that came to be - the struggles they faced in producing songs, marketing songs, and dealing with their increasing fame.

We discussed the changes we wanted to see in society and talked about certain changes we felt were possible within Linfield to accommodate and welcome underrepresented students. We talked about how many students felt cut off once reaching the nursing campus because the Latin@ group was not as strong as the one back in McMinnville and talked about the changes the one in McMinnville was experiencing. We have come up with some ideas as to how we want to expand and incorporate nursing into the club and I am very excited to implement them this year.

As we were heading back, I felt extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to see the film and be able to discuss it with a group of people that was not only concerned by what we saw, but wanted to act on our collective concern.

One of my friends sent this to me in an email once and I think it definitely applied to our discussion tonight: Unity makes us stronger- La union hace la fuerza.

Tram by nightfall. Still beautiful. 

Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast

I don't know if I forgot to mention, but I'm Latina. This morning I had the opportunity to attend the Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast in Salem, Oregon with some of my fellow Latina schoolmates. I was completely underdressed for the occasion, but I didn't let that ruin my experience. The breakfast itself was delightful - scrambled eggs with sausage, roasted red potatoes, pico de gallo, salsa roja, corn and flour tortillas, and fruit were some of the items offered. The featured speakers included a business associate, lawyer, the executive director of Latino Network, and a doctor.

The first to speak was Frank Garcia who works in the office of the governor. He proudly reminded us of legislation that recently passed, including tuition and drivers' license equity in the state of Oregon. He encouraged us to continue being active politically.

The second featured speaker was Alberto Moreno, who is a part of the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs. He discussed the positive impact of migrant workers on Oregon's economy and the average life expectancy of a migrant worker as compared to non-migrant workers. Moreno spoke of the prenatal care act that was recently passed that made prenatal care available to all pregnant women regardless of documentation.

The third featured speaker was Jose Gonzalez, president of the Latino Business Alliance of the Willamette Valley. His speech on supporting local Latin@ businesses was inspiring and thought-provoking.

Following Jose Gonzalez was Carmen Rubio, executive director of Latino Network. The master of ceremonies including in her introduction several more organizations she was involved with. She spoke of her commitment to those organizations and introduced a colleague, Nancy Ramirez Arriaga. Both women worked on the short film "The Oregon Latin@ List" along with many others present at the breakfast. We then proceeded to watch the film; I was surprised at how succinctly everyone spoke about childhood and families and the connections I was making with my own experiences.

After the film, I mentally prepared myself for the presumably long, emotional speech given by the keynote speaker. The keynote speaker was Dr. Yara Delgado and her speech was quite the opposite of what I was expecting. She spoke briefly about her childhood, but mostly about her education and vaguely about the struggles she faced during it. Amidst her 17-minute long speech (she timed herself), she uttered a statement that struck me as being so truthful it almost hurt - "I was a mutt." She was referring to her experience in being seen as Americanized by her Puerto Rican peers and vice versa.
I oftentimes feel the same way, although I might add to her statement, saying instead, "I am a mutt, stuck between both breeds, wanting, but never willing to be either."

Dr. Delgado concluded her speech saying, "...find yourself becoming a leader." I like the idea of not intentionally becoming, but discovering a leadership role. It signifies that one does not simply become leaders because one wants to - one becomes a leader when the situation arises.

Anyway, I could go on about my experiences and my thoughts and opinions about the morning, but I will end here and leave more to be discussed than not.