ESPIRALITO

"A lot of people don’t like me for the very reason some people love me—I made it out of the..."

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:58:00 -0400

““A lot of people don’t like me for the very reason some people love me—I made it out of the ghetto,” she replies. “[My critics] are usually the people who didn’t grow up in the hood, who think that there should be no intermixing between Mexican and American ideas. But you know what? I’m tired of uppity people who try to sing banda and corridos. They don’t even know what it is being in the hood, what it is growing up poor. They don’t realize that that’s how my generation grew up. And my generation is the majority [of Latinos] in this country.””

- Jenni Rivera

"You start dying slowly if you do not travel, if you do not read, If you do not listen to the sounds..."

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:50:11 -0400

“

You start dying slowly
if you do not travel,
if you do not read,
If you do not listen to the sounds of life,
If you do not appreciate yourself.

You start dying slowly
When you kill your self-esteem;
When you do not let others help you.

You start dying slowly
If you become a slave of your habits,
Walking everyday on the same paths…
If you do not change your routine,
If you do not wear different colours
Or you do not speak to those you don’t know.

You start dying slowly
If you avoid to feel passion
And their turbulent emotions;
Those which make your eyes glisten
And your heart beat fast.

You start dying slowly
If you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love,
If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain,
If you do not go after a dream,
If you do not allow yourself,
At least once in your lifetime,
To run away from sensible advice…

”

- Pablo Neruda (via noterajeschicanita)

Estos ovarios que me cargo…

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:55:15 -0500

Estos ovarios que me cargo…

"Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year. - Malcolm X"

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:18:00 -0500

“

Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.

- Malcolm X

”

Photo

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:00:55 -0500

Nadastrom.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:04:54 -0500

Nadastrom.

Gente analizando las palabras “pocho” y...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:28:22 -0500

Gente analizando las palabras “pocho” y “naco” Uno dice “la gente de EEUU es mas Mexicana que la gente de Mexico por que cuando estas afuera de tu patria te amarras mas a tus raices.”

-Arlene Mejorado, una guerrillera de amor

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:56:00 -0500

-Arlene Mejorado, una guerrillera de amor

“Did you hear? It is the sound of your world collapsing/it...

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:12:00 -0500

“Did you hear? It is the sound of your world collapsing/it is our world coming back.” -Zapatista statement on December 21, 2012

“The number of times I have fallen down is the number of...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:03:00 -0500

“The number of times I have fallen down is the number of times I have gotten up.” - Jenni Rivera aka. La Gran Senora aka. La Reina de la Banda aka. La Chicana Jalisciense

on point.

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:40:29 -0500

on point.

COMUNICADO DEL COMITE CLANDESTINO REVOLUCIONARIO INDIGENA: Comandancia General del Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:37:00 -0500

EN NUESTROS PUEBLOS, LA TIERRA QUE ANTES ERA PARA ENGORDAR EL GANADO DE FINQUEROS Y TERRATENIENTES, AHORA ES PARA EL MAÍZ, EL FRIJOL Y LAS VERDURAS QUE ILUMINAN NUESTRAS MESAS.

NUESTROS NIÑOS Y NIÑAS VAN A UNA ESCUELA QUE LES ENSEÑA SU PROPIA HISTORIA, LA DE SU PATRIA Y LA DEL MUNDO, ASÍ COMO LAS CIENCIAS Y LAS TÉCNICAS NECESARIAS PARA ENGRANDECERSE SIN DEJAR DE SER INDÍGENAS.

LAS MUJERES INDÍGENAS ZAPATISTAS NO SON VENDIDAS COMO MERCANCÍAS.

LOS INDÍGENAS PRIÍSTAS VAN A NUESTROS HOSPITALES, CLÍNICAS Y LABORATORIOS PORQUE EN LOS DEL GOBIERNO NO HAY MEDICINAS, NI APARATOS, NI DOCTORES NI PERSONAL CALIFICADO.

NUESTRA CULTURA FLORECE, NO AISLADA SINO ENRIQUECIDA POR EL CONTACTO CON LAS CULTURAS DE OTROS PUEBLOS DE MÉXICO Y DEL MUNDO.

GOBERNAMOS Y NOS GOBERNAMOS NOSOTROS MISMOS, BUSCANDO SIEMPRE PRIMERO EL ACUERDO ANTES QUE LA CONFRONTACIÓN.

TODO ESTO SE HA CONSEGUIDO NO SÓLO SIN EL GOBIERNO, LA CLASE POLÍTICA Y MEDIOS QUE LOS ACOMPAÑAN, TAMBIÉN RESISTIENDO SUS ATAQUES DE TODO TIPO.

Revolutionship. Oyeme pero que es eso? When we take on social...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:33:08 -0500

Revolutionship. Oyeme pero que es eso? When we take on social movements “out there” we are not numbers for a revolutionary agenda. We must re-humanize ourselves and the bodies in our presence. In a revolutionship you are the other me. What if I became a guerrillera de amor? She commits to the creation of another world through loving others and herself as it is the foundation of social change. What does this look like? Its not easy and we don’t always know how to take on this carga, this responsibility. But we can dream, we create it as we walk juntitos. “How is your heart?” A guerrillera de amor knows that only through the perpetuation of dignity, respect, love, and compassion will we stand a fighting change because too many times we eliminate ourselves in the process of fighting the revolution outside of ourselves.

Resistencia cultural contra los medio que te lavan el coco

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 00:29:02 -0500

Resistencia cultural contra los medio que te lavan el coco

I was honored to be a part of this very special piece by Ernesto...

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 15:56:00 -0400

I was honored to be a part of this very special piece by Ernesto Yerena Montejano. It came at a time when I was in the process of deep healing and remembrance of a resistance that existed before me. It takes corazon and compassion to find peace in this process, it takes speaking to yourself, loving yourself and listening to spirit. I thank my abuelas everyday. Hecho con ganas! - una guerrillera de amor

We are not a “sleeping giant” all the establishments slept on...

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:45:00 -0400

We are not a “sleeping giant” all the establishments slept on us. La gente sigue construyendo su vida y fortaleciendo su comunidad. “Another world is posible because I am already living in it” Somos artistas de la sobrevivencia con sueños mas ricos y de mas audacia y mas imaginación que el “American Dream” Este movimiento, que muchos no ven ni alcanzan, sigue una corriente natural que nació con cada abuela como la mía (mi querida Abuelita Lala) cuando soñó mejorar la vida para sus diez hijos y cruzo la frontera. En días nublados como hoy, me llegan los sueños mas grandes que los míos y me acerco a las memorias de momentos que practicamos como vivir en otro mundo. Todo sigue adelante.

Autorretrato con la mujer que quiero, 1984 por Albert...

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 02:06:38 -0400

Autorretrato con la mujer que quiero, 1984 por Albert Garcia

Writer Junot Diaz dropped a bomb with his book! This Is How You Lose Her makes me see deeper at how youth in migrante communities of color have their sex and love development morphed by the survivor mentality, racial marginalization, urban poverty, sexual objectification, emotional abandonment by overworked parents and how ultimately “sucio lovers” damage pure corazones twisting relationship dynamics and leaving scars of bitterness in our comunidades. Seeing first is a process to healing ♥

Photo

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:22:29 -0400

These models for a new calendar promoting a workout business...

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:04:00 -0400

These models for a new calendar promoting a workout business have been accessorized with plumed headpieces, copaleros, and chachayotes (rattle seeds). Why would a woman have any business lying on top of this huehuetl (ceremonial drum) on a sandy shore? Because it is sexy and sex sells to the ignorant and superficial consumer. These images become the popular representation of women of color and the producers are washed clean of responsibility or accountability to the communities that are constantly damaged by sensationalized and inaccurate reflections of themselves.

Because there is nothing contextual in the apparel they wear, it is treated like costume.
Because it is a calendar of fit women in exaggerated dramatic and sexual poses, it perpetuates the notion of exoticism and hyper-sexualization of women in an indigenous culture, thus perpetuating colonial views on Aztec, African and mestiza women as being deserving of sexual and physical violations.
Because most of these women in the photos are glammed up with whitened version of native beauty, they are good enough to steal and sell Mexica culture but the inherent womyn of the culture are not pretty enough for the western standard.

Photo

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 04:05:27 -0400