Avatar retreads tired racial stereotypes
Posted December 29, 2009 6:38 pm (about 71 days ago)
As with most futures not envisioned by people of color, the human population will still be predominately White. Beyond a few tokens, the rest of us still show up as the “others.” More
Living History: Allensworth, CA
Posted October 11, 2009 2:35 pm (about 151 days ago)
Allensworth was founded by African Americans at the turn of the 20th Century. Although it is not currently a functional town it’s a state park and has several events each year to keep its legacy alive. For this year’s annual commemoration Oakland Unity High School and Our Family Circle teamed up to make the four-hour drive. Three generations of Oaklanders joined the celebration, along with yours truly. More
Latinos in Taiwan Pt. 3: Chicano hip hop scene
Posted September 22, 2009 1:48 am (about 170 days ago)
It’s no secret that people in Asia are fascinated by hip hop, with countries such as Japan cultivating a massive scene including sub-genres such as Chicano rap. Although Taiwan’s scene is not as developed, it’s steadily growing and makes huge strides every time I visit. As far as I can tell, there’s relatively little that’s been written about this scene so I wanted to explore a little bit. But to properly address this issue, I need to set up some personal context. More
Latinos in Taiwan Pt. 2: El Gallo Restaurant and Brass Monkey Salsa Night
Posted September 12, 2009 6:30 pm (about 179 days ago)
This may be the shorter of my three postings on this topic as my conversations with Isa, one of the owners of the El Gallo restaurant, and Jorge, the founder of Latinos Taiwan, were super short. However, in my effort to learn more about the Latino community in Taiwan, every little bit of information counted! During my brief visit I wasn’t focused primarily on finding out everything Latino so I took whatever I could get.
Latinos in Taiwan Part 1: Eddy’s Cantina
Latinos in Taiwan Part 1: Eddy’s Cantina
Posted September 10, 2009 12:44 am (about 182 days ago)
As a Taiwanese Mexican, it should come as no surprise that during my visits to Taiwan I’ve often sought out “my people.” To be clear, I’m not a Mexican who grew up in Taiwan, nor a Taiwanese who grew up in Mexico. My mother is Taiwanese and my father is Mexican American. As such, I’ve been particularly interested in exploring the topic of Mexicans and Latinos in Taiwan specifically. Although I was born in Taipei, except for a brief stint in elementary school I’ve only returned in short spurts to visit family as my immediate family spent time in Italy and throughout the U.S.
In my past visits to Taiwan I’ve tried out Mexican restaurants, salsa nights, and even trying to track down a guy by the name of DJ Chicano. I had some good conversations with Taiwanese locals who told me about Mexicans living in Taiwan, including their own spouses at times, but for a number of reasons I was just never able to connect with anyone beyond a handshake or two. However, in recent months I became aware of not one, but TWO restaurants in Taipei owned by actual Mexicans, as well as a Bolivian-owned one in Kaoshiung. This was unlike the other restaurants I had sampled, which were not Mexican owned. Furthermore, I came across a new organization called Latinos Taiwan. This new information proved to be the final push I needed to book a flight home ASAP!
Due to the wonders of the internet I was able to contact both restaurant owners and the founder of Latinos Taiwan. Unfortunately, time was limited and I was only able to have a proper conversation with Eddy, of Eddy’s Cantina, and even that was too short. Nonetheless, all three were friendly and open and I will be back to learn more about the Latino Taiwanese community. There is so much to explore: the experience of Latinas, the experience of their children, visa and language issues, the role of race (having stronger African or indigenous features versus more European)—to name a few. At any rate, here’s part one of this most recent visit. More
You can't make this stuff up!
Posted August 19, 2009 9:16 am (about 204 days ago)
Armed robber leaves with tail between legs. One of those stories that makes me question my own manhood! More
Visit to Veracruz, Mexico
Posted August 1, 2009 2:11 am (about 222 days ago)
Even though I know of no direct connection to Veracruz for my family, after much thought on different regions of Mexico I finally decided to go there. One reason was its reputation as a heavily-Caribbean influenced region with noticeable African roots, as well as broader cosmopolitan feel due its role as a key port city for hundreds of years. In fact, it was the primary port for the Spanish empire. There’s quite a bit of history here, including piracy, attacks by the United States, and pre-Colombian traditions. More
Inauguration Report 2
Posted January 25, 2009 3:56 am (about 410 days ago)
More tales from the street during the 56th Presidential Inauguration Ceremonies for Barack Obama. Check out Days 1-3 here.
Click here to see the photo gallery. More
Inauguration Report 1
Posted January 24, 2009 3:08 am (about 411 days ago)
A frontline report from Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States. Although I never realistically thought I’d be able to do real time updates, I’m finally getting this posted after some intense days in D.C. Celebration is the key word here, but the three survival tips for anyone in attendance would be patience, be ready to stand in long lines, and dress in layers! Considering how many people were in town, I didn’t experience any major problems. I knew lots of people coming into town, but with things being so hectic I didn’t really plan on seeing too many folks. I started out from the Bay with my friends Ernie and Andrew and bounced around Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Pennsylvania over six days. The night before I left I got a call from Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office that they had a ticket to the Swearing-In Ceremony. I was juiced! Back in November, when I bought my plane tickets I really had no idea of what I was going to be getting into, but the experience was nothing short of fantastic. Click here for the photo gallery. More
Oakland Teens Discuss Oscar Grant
Posted January 16, 2009 9:43 am (about 419 days ago)
Several days have passed since the protests regarding the shooting of Oscar Grant in Oakland, California. But while there has been quite a bit of commentary from all sides of the issue, I thought it would be worth sharing some of the discussion that has taken place in at least one school in east Oakland. This of course, would be the school I work, Oakland Unity High School. Many of our students live in the Fruitvale district, the area in which Grant was shot. I was hoping to post this in a more timely manner, but alas, other duties called. Note that in them time since I wrote this and the time it was posted, there have been major developments, including murder charges against the cop and a second large protest.-Written 1/9/09. More
