From The Unapologetic Mexican: “AS HISTORY IN THE USA pointedly picks favorites and leaves some of us out of the books and movies and stories and truths unless we are positioned as lessors, or alternately kick up hella ruckus, it is very important for raza to continue to tell our own stories through art, poetry, song, and performance. This is one of the reasons that arte is so integral to nuestra cultura. My own familia has been a part of this, and I do my best to carry it on today.”

…read full articles of "Chicana Art and Experience: Mujeres con Garbo"

~ Altar de Muertos ~ on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

In this half-hour, our historical scavenger hunt locates and explains the stories behind: the elaborate catafalque constructed to support President Lincoln’s coffin, which was subsequently used for the state funerals of three other assassinated Presidents–Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy; the little guitar that Elvis Presley’s mother purchased for his 11th birthday at the Tupelo Hardware Company; and the death mask of the Mexican revolutionary hero and bandit Pancho Villa.

…read full articles of "Pancho Villa’s Death Mask."

San Antonio is rich in Hispanic culture. Throughout the year, there are many annual events celebrating Hispanic culture which take place around the city. These are some of San Antonio’s top Hispanic cultural events.

…read full articles of "San Antonio Hispanic Cultural Events - Hispanic Culture in San Antonio"

Mexican Director, Bill Melendez dies at age 91.  Known best for directing the 1965 Classic, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS as well as his skills as an animator for Warner Bros.  An activist and a former President of the Cartoonists guild his death is truly a loss for the Latino Community.

…read full articles of "Bill Melendez dies at age 91"

N.J., may be a portrait of urban despair. But one neighborhood in this downtrodden city is slowly coming back to life.

…read full articles of "Camden, Immigrant Haven?"

From sbsun.com:

When Sal Castro looks back on the 40 years since he led historic walkouts with Chicano students in Los Angeles, he sees a mixed bag.

On the one hand, more Mexican-Americans are graduating from college, earning better wages and gaining business and political stature.

On the other hand, Chicano culture and history remain underplayed in the media and in educational texts, he said.

…read full articles of "Focusing on ethnic unity"

In 1992, construction workers retrofitting UCLA’s undergraduate library discovered many dusty boxes hidden behind a bookshelf in the basement. The boxes contained research materials and questionnaires from a pioneering 1965 study on Mexican Americans.

Sociology professors Vilma Ortiz and Edward Telles skimmed the surveys, which included names and addresses. That’s when they decided to embark on an ambitious project: re-interviewing the families and assessing the integration of Mexican Americans over time.

“We stumbled onto something,” Ortiz said. “That was the beginning.”

…read full articles of "New study builds on old one to track Mexican American progress"

It’s become painfully obvious that the Latino contribution to our military is growing daily.  Our people give their lives on a daily basis for a country that can, at times, be racist,  hateful and discriminatory.  Yet we continue to sacrifice our our brothers, cousins, sisters, and mothers to defend their very freedom to do so.  We may not like what the racists say, yet we continue to fight to the death to protect their rights to say it.  This article from Hasta Los Gatos Quieren Zapatos delves into the, often overlooked sacrifices made by our Latino warriors for our country.

From: Hasta Los Gatos Quiren Zapatos:

“….a heartfelt essay comes via email from Gus Chavez co-founder of Defend the Honor. It’s long but worthy of your time to read.

Memorial Day is almost upon us and on Monday, May 26, our nation will celebrate and pay tribute in honor of our fallen men and women warriors. This day of honor has been around since the American Civil War and over the years has gained importance and significance to generations of families whose sons and daughters made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. While questions remain over the wisdom of engaging in particular wars, there is no question over the patriotism, participation and ultimate commitment exhibited by the U.S. Latino and Latina warrior community.

This has been most evident when we see that over 500,000 Latinos fought and were involved in World War II and thousands more in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

…read full articles of "Memorial Day: A Latino Perspective"