The first article I have chosen is, “Juncture in the road: Chicano Studies Since: “El plan de Santa Barbara” by Ignacio M. Garcia. I have chosen this particular article for various reasons. One is because reading the first few paragraphs of the article stirred up many emotions within me. I found myself growing angry and once, again, repulsed by the United States discrimination system. The more knowledge I obtain on the United States, on its past and how it develops today, I can finally say that I resent everything it stands for and embarrassed being part of it. I would rather say that I am a country of one…myself. The second reason for choosing this article, was because it was an easy read for me as well as the topic being discussed was intriguing. The first paragraph gives the readers and idea of the growing interest on Chicano Studies. It’s has developed over the course of twenty-six years and obtaining more non-chicano intellectuals that have absolutely no connection thus having no clue if studying the history of Chicanos. Part of the reason for everyone’s sudden interest in Chicano Studies is to integrate it into a larger ethnic study programs. The downfall of integrating the studies is that it places limitations on other courses that intervene with the major academic departments. The new development of Chicano Studies is really an excuse to teach genuine studies and to allow teachers to implement connected programs to receive a permanent status within their careers. Another part of keeping Chicano Studies in succession is to deliberately undermine its true meaning as well as keep it understaffed and under financed. This situation diminishes the programs ability to do community service for further future developments. This is critical for the readers to know the show the bias, injustice, and premeditated ignorance of the United States educational system. It also demonstrates that Chicano Studies is not important regardless of the Hispanic population in this supposed “free” country. It seems as if the Chicano Studies was made only to fail by keeping it under funded and understaffed. By doing so, it has an affect on keeping away good scholars to maintain the historical development of Hispanics in the United States as well as its own history. When the Chicano programs do get a minimal break such as receiving enough funding, gain departmental status, and have courses be part of the general education requirements, there would some body in the shadows sneering at the progress.
Chapter eight form the book From Indians To Chicanos by Diego Vigil, talks about the intact and stable social order. There are three subtopics in this chapter the first one is the industrialism and urbanization in classes. The second one is assimilation vs acculturation and the third one is the color of the intergroup that has to do with racism. All these subtopics are important because it was what made the social classes get united or separated.
Their style and actions were deemed inappropriate because it did not adhere to the school standard of conduct. Thus, they were left on their own, without support or comprehension from the school staff. Because of this belief held by the school personnel, las chicas would be placed on a vocational tracking system. Once placed on this track, las chicas were essentially denied any chance of escaping their current socio-economic class. Las chicas and other hard-living girls were often told that college courses would be too difficult for them. Many of las chicas actually had high grades in their classes, but the grades didn’t matter because the courses they took wouldn’t qualify them for a four-year college. For many, the prospect of college dwindled, and with it, any hope for escaping their class in the future. They would head either to community college or straight to work in low-wage jobs. They were systematically excluded from any chance of improving their
8. Meyer, Michael C., et al. The Course of Mexican History, 7th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
My secondary sources include “Occupied America: A History of Chicanos” by Rodolfo F. Acuna. Occupied America is thought to be one of the most influential and highly-regarded voices of Chicano history and ethnic studies. This book illuminates the struggles and decisions that frame Chicano identity today. I will also be using the secondary source “Chicano!: The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement” by F. Arturo Rosales. This book is the most complete account of the laborious struggle by Mexican Americans to secure and protect their civil rights. My third secondary source is “Chicano Empowerment and Bilingual Education: Movimiento Politics in Crystal City, Texas by Armando L. Trujillo. This book looks at the relationship between the mission for Chicano
Many people that were indigenous to New Spain and latter, Mexico had settled in Texas when it was a northern State of Mexico. Many contributed in an effort to tame the wild paradise and bring civilization to the region beyond what the Spanish missionaries had begun a century before. In 1821, Mexico gained independence from Spain, and began to actively recruit people to populate the land north of the Rio Grande with far more urgency that did Spain. The residents were both of Spanish decent as well as Euro-American. Those delegated the authority to organize these settlements were called Empresarios. The Empressarios applied for huge tracts of land and then had the authority to sell to those that wished to settle it and swear an allegiance to Mexico---- agreeing to become citizens as well as become Catholics. Mexicans that moved north to Texas were known as Tejanos ( Tejanas for the females) .In 1836, when Texas acquired independence from Mexico, Tejanos remained concentrated in settlements founded during the eighteenth century, namely Nacogdoches, San Antonio, Goliad, and Laredo. Other communities with a primarily Mexican descent population in 1836 included Victoria, founded by Martín De León in 1824, and the villages of San Elizario, Ysleta, and Socorro in far west Texas. ( Arnoldo De León,).
Keen, Benjamin. 1969. The Black Legend Revisited: Assumptions and realities. The Hispanic American Historical Review. volume 49. no. 4
The Spanish began their movement to Southwest America in the late sixteenth century. From that point on, their influence both on the Native Americans and the environment was extraordinaire. The goal of the Spaniards with regards to the Native Americans was to transform them “into tax-paying Christians.” This is in contrast to the idea that their goal was to eradicate the Indians form the Americas. Consequently, the Spaniards took many Indians so that they may plant their religion in the Natives and to use them as cheap labor. This led many Indians to learn the customs and language of the Spaniards so they could to be able to thrive in the Spanish culture. Thus, some Natives acquired Spanish, which was the main source of their Hispanicization; this was the notion of Indians becoming encompassed by the Spanish society. Furthermore, Indians gradually learned skills, obtained land, and sometimes found Hispanic spouses, thus furthering their Hispanicization. They now began to live in a Spanish manner and blend into the bottom of the Spanish societal ladder. This “acculturation” of the Native Americans was in contrast to the models of early English colonization. Spanish goals and plans sought to involve the Indians so that they may live in their society even if at the lower end of it’s ladder. English colonies viewed the Natives as savages and looked to them for slave labor or to rape their women. They did not plan to take the Indians into their society as the Spaniards did so throughout this era.
Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire a History of Latinos in America. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc, 2000.
Latino grassroots politics in the academic realm has been considered as predominantly Chicano in nature. However, the geometry of this academic sector is no longer one dimensional, due to the formation of a Chicana feminist consciousness; the rise of an identified gay community within the Chicana/o student populace; and the emergence of “Latinos” in era of Chicanismo, The abrupt growth of Latinos (e.g. Spanish speaking of Mexican, Central or Latin American decent) in the United State’s educational system led the general population to characterize them as subjects on the cusps of political power and influence. But this widespread depiction of Latinos as an untapped potential is intrinsically linked to an impression of civic cohesion within the Latino student population. Although there is a correspondence between these parties in terms of the alienation they have felt and the discrimination they have endured throughout their academic careers, there is a minimal collective effort in confronting against their oppressive status. This is mainly a result of conflicting ideologies and social agendas within the Latino student community, as well as the relegation of Hispanic subgroups into the lower echelons. Latino students, nevertheless, have demonstrated their capacity, when both Chicanos and the marginalized Hispanic subgroups join efforts to reach a communal objective. This debunks the historical notion that Chicano students are the only group of Hispanics in the academic sphere that have been actively challenging the processes of social exclusion, and also displays the capacity of a collaborative effort.
Chicano!--the History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. Dir. Moctesuma Esparza. PBS, 1996. Tv.
Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.
This book as mentioned before is a great addition to academia; Dr., García’s thorough research, and vast amount of statistics, give new light to the Mexican immigration into the United States in the nineteenth century, As well as the many contributions of the Mexican people in this country. Which has many times been overlooked by scholars, who choose to focus on immigration from the other side of the Atlantic, as the greater contributor of talent and greatness in this country. García’s book not only includes the struggle of men but also the struggle of the many women who sacrificed much, and had to endure even more while working as domestics for many racist patronas. Dr., Mario García obtained a PhD. At the University of California in San Diego, and is currently a professor of Chicano/Chicana studies at the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Again we would see the celebration of Dia De Los Muertos. In the 1970s, Self Help helped encourage the art that participated. It helped bring to community together and create large ensemble of art, parades, and festivals revolving around in the Chicano community.
In schools, students are being taught wrong information. “Our gods were vanquished after the fall of Tenochtitlan as were our traditions. Our warriors and nobles were eradicated, our children starved and our women ravished by the white conquerors and their allies.” (157). In books across America, the Spaniards were said to be good people, but the way that Huitzitzilin described what happened, shows the complete opposite of how the Spaniards actually were.
There are many different types of green technology and the most common ones are solar, wind, and hydro-power. There are many reasons why this renewable source of energy is better than these other sources. Wind energy is produced by turbines that have rotating blades they can harness the kinetic energy. These turbines have generators that whole onto the kinetic energy from the movement of the blades and currently has enough electricity through these turbines to power about 24 million homes. There is a problem with turbines and for a typical turbine for residential use would have to be about twenty stories tall. There are three separate blades that are about two-hundred feet long from one end to the other that span out from the inside portion of the turbine. The average wind speed needs to be about twelve miles per hour in these zones to produce enough energy to harness for a typical resident (Aggarwal). If you live in an area with a lot of wind and open space with a few obstructions that could block the path of the wind, then installing wind turbines would be a great renewable energy source. But, many people that love the environment with enough money to install turbines live in suburban areas around a city. Compared to solar panels, wind turbines have a lot of moving parts that can result in more wear and tear and there will be a lot of maintenance visits to these turbines. Solar panels