LA Eastside » Pachuco 3000

How Many More Hoods Before One Murrieta?

Pachuco 3000 — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:56:05 +0000

Every time I see a trailer or ad for the retreaded Russell Crow “Robin Hood” it pisses me off!
I mean this story has been told at least 15 times!!!!! We get it.

When are we going to get the Joaquin Murrieta story?!?!?! Come on Robin Hood had to ditch arrows but Joaquin was dodging bullets and the largest man hunt of that era. This poet breaks it down pretty good. Like all good legends there are slight variations in the story that add to the myth of this man who died “because somethings are worth fighting for.”

In this era of racist States, we need some Joaquin’s to remind people what is worth fighting for.

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Chicano Jewish School to Open in Boyle Hts.

Pachuco 3000 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:28:32 +0000

The Breed Street Shul in Boyle Hts. has announced that they will soon begin classes for local residents to convert to Judaism. The goal is to tie Latinos to Judaism so that when Latinos have more political power they will continue America’s support for Isreal.

Ricardo Montoyiswich a recently converted Chicano Jew said, “This will help re-establish the Jewish presence in Boyle Hts. and hopefully lure Canters back to the heights!” Montoyiswich, who will be teaching several classes at the Shul, said his life has changed for the better since he made the switch. “As an actor I was having a hard time getting work, but out of no where, once I converted, I started getting all these cool gigs.”

Some of the classes that will be offered include: “Putting Down Those Whiny Santos,” “How To Leave La Virgen and still Love Your Mom,” “Circumcising The Chile: Grin and Bare It,” “Menorah and Dradle Care for Chicanos (Don’t smoke it and it’s NOT Pon),” and “How To Trace Your Distant Jewish Roots.”

Sleepy Tonatiuh, a next door neighbor to the Shul and proud Aztec dancer said, “This ain’t right. They should be teaching people about the people on this land and how this land was stolen, just like the Isreali’s stole Palestine.” He plans to protest the classes once they open by having his danza group do ceremonies during class time. When asked for a response, Montoyiswich said, “Sounds like that indio needs to see the play “Palestine New Mexico” and learn how Indians are Jewish.”

Will there ever be peace in the mid Eastside?

Jaime Escalante school proposal

Pachuco 3000 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:36:26 +0000

Ron Unz announced that he was planning on opening an elementary school in the MacArthur park area to be named after his good friend and fellow Republican Jaime Escalante.

An Unz spokesman Will Garglio, stated that this will be called Jaime Escalante Westside Elementary School (JEWES). Unz plans to open a similar school on the Eastside.

JEWES curriculum will be total English immersion with a focus on media manipulation. Plans include having a student run television station just like professional Latino TV stations. They plan to staff the station with the lightest and blondest of the community, even if they have to import them all the way from Miami to do so. Will Garglio said, “We want these youth to feel like they are in the real world and that world doesn’t look or speak like them, so they need to get used to it now.”

Textbook orders have already been filed and include texts that exclude Sal Castro, Che Guevarra, Rudy Acu~a and other Chicano/Latino heroes that might instill pride in the students, something that must be avoided, according to textbook publisher: Bendover for Texas Press.

The savages

Pachuco 3000 — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:55:56 +0000

The savages would gather in their main plazas, men, women and children, to watch the sacrifices as families.
They made great speeches and had lots of rituals read from their sacred texts.
The crowds would sing ceremonial songs.
They would grant final requests to those about to be sacrificed for their gods named money, private property and the law.
And they believed God had blessed them above all others.

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CSUN Protest

Pachuco 3000 — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:07:08 +0000

In the end, 6 students were arrested and one 72 yr old professor was pushed by police, and fell on her arm, breaking it.

We had a month build up on campus for this day. Chicana/o Studies had a teach in on Feb. 3 and began telling our students that today, March 4th the whole State was going to protest.

I couldn’t have paid anyone to make this happen. During my 11 am class I just finished showing them the 10 minute version of “Storm At Valley State” the 1985 documentary that looks at student activism on our campus 41 years ago. I was explaining how many in that generation protested because they demanded more from their country. They expected more for offering their lives and bodies in wars. They expect America to live up to its promise.s And they loved themselves. They felt they deserved more and asked for it. They loved themselves and were moved by love for a better future, like true revolutionaries always are. Moved to act out of love. I asked my students how many loved themselves? How many of you feel you deserve better than what they are offering and cutting away? I asked them if they were ready to start demanding satisfaction.
And like it was a sign from the Goddess, protesting students kicked open the doors out in the hallway and were yelling “Walkout!!!
I looked back at my students and said “They are calling you. Are you going to act? Or be like a good slave and not piss off the master, not rock the boat?”
“WALK OUT” you could hear the students coming closer to our door.
“They are calling you, what u going to do?”
One of my students put his fist in the air and yelled “Walkout” and boom they all jumped up and out the door.
Like I said, I couldn’t have paid for that to be more perfectly timed.

The wait for the big meet up in the quad had various groups walking campus asking other students to ‘walkout.’

One scene that was an ‘only at CSUN’ moment was when a small group of marchers came upon one of the CSUN choir’s impromtu performances they hold in the breezeway of Jerome Richfield. I walked over to see if the choir was really doing their singing thing today, a day of protest. I was hoping they would be doing protest songs.

When the marchers came up on them I half expected the marchers were going to get up in the face of the choir and ask them to join the march and stop the singing. It was the “american idol” generation facing its burgeoning activist other half, would they clash? No.

The choir said “We are singing this one for you.”

The marchers stopped their chanting and listened for a few minutes then, while the choir kept singing, the marchers just turned around and continued on recruiting other students to join them with another chant and marched away.

When 2pm finally came around there were about a core of 300-400 students throughout the quad in front of our library. Speeches were made, people inspired. We lined up on Matador Way and it looked like the 3-400 swelled a little more. Teachers and students from local schools came to join the march. By the time the march hit Prairie we had at least 2,000 people.

At Prairie and Reseda we went south to Nordhoff. Cars were stopped and honking in support. People got out of their cars and were taking pictures and video. There were no negative Nellies to be seen or heard.

As we went East on Nordhoff the long line of protesters was split in half by CFA ‘march leaders.’ These were the adults in charge. As faculty we tend to hang back and support our students, but not take any leadership or guiding roles. We advise before hand and if anything gets crazy, but its the students who are doing this, its theirs. CFA did play a major role in organizing this day of protest on a State level and they obviously did a great job of getting people out. At one point they cut the protest in half by letting half the column proceed down Nordhoff to Zelzah and turning the other half back in to campus at Lindley. I stayed with the front half knowing this was going to be a long walk.

We kept going down Zelzah and stopped briefly at Plummer. Some students tried to sit -down there, but the mass wanted to keep moving. At this point I got my homey Nelson’s djembe from him. He said he was tired and I love drums. I carried and banged that sucker all the way around campus back to Reseda and Prairie where we had Thee Sit Down, you see in the news.

(post script: I tried to upload video here but it says the file is too big. I put it up on my blog

pachucoville if you want to see it.)

CSUN Chicana/o Studies Furlough day and teach in

Pachuco 3000 — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:48:14 +0000

This past Wednesday at the big N, we took a department wide furlough day/walkout/teach-in. We are multi disciplinary so are our actions.

I didn’t call for a furlough day because then none of my students would have gone to campus, unless they had other classes, and they would have missed the march and teach in.

The weird thing about it all was that very few of the students knew what to do at a rally or march. Most had never been to a march. They grew up in an era of grotesque lies, conservativism, fear mongering and resistance to dehumanization but had never participated or seen what people did in the streets.

I met with my later class and asked “what will it take to get you angry and into the streets?” none could answer. I hope they come back with something on Wednesday.

hike in the rain

Pachuco 3000 — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:18:44 +0000

After work today I stopped by the Army Surplus in Lincoln Heights and got me a pair of rain boots, a big umbrella and an orange poncho. I put on the boots and poncho then headed up into the hills of Lincoln Hts. Here are two shots. I used my iPhone so they aren’t the best quality, but you get the idea. It was fun walking in the rain able to step in puddles without worry. Only my knees got wet because they were the only part of me exposed. I felt refreshed walking uphill in the oxygen rich air.

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In the spirit of identity…

Pachuco 3000 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 07:32:21 +0000

I wanted to share these two videos so we can all know who we are, in way but not really, and who we might become someday, but not really.

Mexican American: droppinshorts v2.04 – watch more funny videos

Poverty Porn or Of Course You’re Concerned

Pedro Pans

Pachuco 3000 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:54:32 +0000

Recently I was advised to detach myself from the issues and dramas of this reality and focus on my higher self in order to evolve.
Ok what does that mean?
Don’t sweat the little stuff? What is the little stuff? Is paying my bills little stuff?
Is being responsible with my time and making sure my mind is not always on my money and my money doesn’t take over my mind, or something like that?

Then the other day I was riding with a homegirl and she started telling me about a friend who is not responsible at all. He is into his 40s, keeps getting younger and dumber girlfriends that last less time than the last one, and basically doesn’t give a f@#$. She called him a PETER PAN. Funny thing is two years ago I began writing a piece about Peter Pans in my life.

Peter Pans or PEDRO PANS, as I titled my piece (and yes I know about the Cuban kids who were called this, but anyways), are men who refuse to grow up. They live at home with parents or in dorm like situations, don’t have no bills, kids, cares or credit. They live day by day. Sometimes they may have a part time job, most times money comes in through alternative economies. They usually party everyday and can sleep in most days. Some work out to stay in shape for the partying, others struggle with weight issues and do little about them. Most believe they have a higher purpose or are sitting/working on a project that they just need ‘this’ to happen in order for it to all come together. They are a jolly bunch, usually the life of the party. They view the typical responsibilities everyone else has as beneath them. They believe they are beyond caring for job, work, relationships with the opposite sex (even though most are lotharios), and see themselves as serving a higher purpose.

Obviously this is not limited to Latino men, most of the recent guy films are about men who need to grow up, step up and get their act together because they got “Knocked Up” and a “Hangover” on “The Pineapple Express” and need to stop being “Funny People” or they may end up being a “40 Year Old Virgin” of life.

I recently had several conversations with other men about this issue of responsibility, standing on your own two feet, being able to support yourself, finding your purpose, keeping a focus and overall being a man in this day and age. Some of these conversations went well, others not so much. I know men with the house, cars, wife, three-four kids, jobs, hobbies, and they love it. I know Pedro Pans and they love it. I kind of fall in the middle of the two and I love my life.

So my dilemma is how do I detach, in order to evolve more, without becoming more of a Pedro Pan?

Happy ThanksTAKING

Pachuco 3000 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:28:07 +0000