Edward R. Roybal – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ed Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was an American politician.
Inspired by El Chavo’s post, on the resistance to the Gold Line route on the Eastside being called the Edward Roybal “Linea de Oro†. I just shake my head a have another drink of wine. Here you have a route named after the great Edward Roybal who was one of the founders of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA), who was the first Mexican American LA City Councilman since 1870 or something, first Chicano US Congressman, the first Congressman to get bilingual education into the schools as law, a spokesman for all minority people and probably the greatest Mexican American political leader of the 20th century, from the LA Eastside, (and Roosevelt High), the Honorable Edward Roybal.
But no sir, wait just a minute, we don’t want to piss off Lou Dobbs, Walter (my car radio is speaking to me in Spanish), Moore, The Minutemen, English only nabobs, and the fearful of Latino power, lying sanganabeetches, who oppose any Spanish language in public. Because in reality they fear to their bone marrow the rise of Latino Americans and see the name “Linea de Oro†as a threat.
What bullshit! Even though they live in a city called Los Angeles, in a state called California, have next door neighbors (Mexico), who speak the Spanish language, they piss their pants if anyone dare propose any further Spanish language inroads into the holy grail of Anglo America. Funny, because if you go to the ancestral mountain pueblo, high in the Sangre de Cristo Mtns.  of that great American, Edward Roybal, in Pecos, New Mexico, (where I was last week btw), and where his and other familia’s go back literally hundreds of years, you will still be greeted in the Spanish language, Hola! Que Tal Señor? Bienvenidos Señor, de donde viene? Ah Los Angeles? Oh, tengo mucha familia en el este de de Los Angeles, no quieres una helada Mano? Como se llama Primo? Gee how dangerous the Spanish language is!
And on the subject of the Spanish language here’s an ambassador of Español that instead of fear and loathing, as in some parts of Los Angeles, brings happiness and brotherhood all around the world.
La Bamba!
Como le gusta cantar en Español in Senegal Africa, Apurate Brotha’s!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53T3IANMFSs
They’re down with La Bamba in Germany too, Jalale Mano’s!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmUsGKalUdw
In India, Bollywood is jamming La Bamba, hmmm the lyrics on the screen are familiar but that music doesn’t sound like “Yo no soy Mariñero†, who paid that fucking translator for the musical score? Pinchi Pelado!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y4wztlmN5A
Don’t forget our Japanese brothers and sisters, Arigato! They can bogaloo with the best of them. Baila!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8GYK9QhLuY
Of course our own Los Lobos from East Los got down with La Bamba in the movie†La Bambaâ€, and made lots of lana too, they even helped Johnny Carson and America get down with some Español, and the Karaoke fans of the world pa muchos año’s have been gritandole con gusto to that macho sailors ballad. But what’s up with the background set behind our Los Lobos? That doesn’t look like the Eastside to me, was there a Mexicano wearing a serape and a sombrero sleeping under a Sahuaro cactus on Carson’s show? Orale Homeboys, con gana’s ranas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZPqhV1_FpQ
And back to where it all came from, the Son Jarocho from VeraCruz Mexico. Pero Espere, did it all come from there? Don’t you hear the sounds of Africa, the Moors of North Africa, the Spanish Gypsy Flamenco wail, the Mexican indigenous falsetto voice, the European violin and harp?
Grupo Estanzuela from the raice’s, Vera Cruz. Sorry about the sound and picture but asi es los de Mexico, tu sabes, los de mas o menos. Chingale!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z0w1CT3YDM
Man, what a great group and that beautiful Morenita dancing, Yikes! If I was a younger single man! Oh well that’s another whole story.
OK, here’s another Jarocho group with a little better sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDMyZMj5WPo
Pa La Linea de Oro de Edward Roybal.
Y para los Hater’s, throw a linea on their ass’s.
La Bamba!
The whole “spanish/mexicans are diluting Americana” BS is merely a cover for the insecurity they feel knowing that they depend onus for everything and that OUR latino culture is the cornerstone of their own American self image.
When the pilgrims or euro folks first came here they had to incorporate MUCH of the native customs and behavior in order to survive a harsh alien environment. This absorbing of culture is what eventually created the cultural rift that differentiated the colonists from europeans and started the revolution. Then their ancestors moved to the american southwest and had to absorb much of the mexican-indio culture to survive in that alien environment.
I dont think toomany of those mouth breathers understand that much, but it obviously is the underlying catalyst for such emotional ignorance.
I fully agree. Furthermore, I’d like to state,that as an Angeleno who speaks English, Spanish, French, German & Portuguese and fears no language, I’d welcome the renaming of any segments of our public transportation lines to any language locally applicable. I for one, would love to see our train routes renamed in Korean, Chinese, Russian, Gaelic, Hebrew, Farsi, etc. I think that would be seriously cool and it would really make me proud of the city and improve our unique global image. In fact, I feel it would even improve the overall ethnic & cultural tolerance levels in our city, except of course, for those out there who will scream bloody murder anytime they’re reminded of our ethnic diversity or when America stops resembling “Mayberry” from the ol’ Andy Griffith Show.
“Gee how dangerous the Spanish language is!”
Don’t forget,
A sus ordenes,
Vaya con Dios, and
Mi casa es su casa.
Yes, Spanish is a chancy, menacing, perilous language!
Art, you get it man, the whole anti Spanish, English only protestations are just a smoke screen, something for the xenophobes and nativists to hang on to. It isn’t so much the Spanish language that is the issue it’s the growing power of Latino’s that makes these Neanderthals nervous.
I’m older than you Art so maybe you have never experienced this phenom , but I remember as a kid many Chicanos would refer to the Anglo’s as “Americans” such as, “the manager of the store on Griffin Ave is that American guy” or “the new kid in our class is an American girl”. Strange I used to think, some of us Chicano families have been in this country 400 years and yet we still refer to anglo’s as Americans, but even stranger was the fact that we Chicano’s were referred to as just “Mexicans” no matter how long we had been here.
Al, holy shit man talk about multilingual, five languages is some acheivement.
And I totally agree with your premise that LA would be advised to embrace it’s many ethnic communities instead of complaining about it. It’s one of the great benefits of living in a Los Angeles or New York, the cultures, the foods, the chance to know and be friends with people whose roots are from the other side of the planet. And I’m always pleasantly surprised at how similar we all are when the suspicion and language barriers are stripped away.
Santiago, your treading on dangerous subversive ground using those filthy Mexican curse words. Hell it just ain’t Christian! Hide the white women!
Don Quixote, I can’t agree with you more. You could ask me, “What the fuck is WRONG with the white idiots who are so terrified of Mexican Americans and anything in Spanish?!,” and I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything more. I can’t figure them out either.
Since you brought up music (great stuff in the links!), let me put it this way: when I lived in Portland, I found a record by the amazing group “El Amor,” and finally had my first glimpse of the Avandaro-era hard rock of early 70’s Mexico other than Three Souls and Dug Dug’s. That lp was en Ingles (as were many releases from Mexico at that time), so my friends at the time were OK with it. But…most of the rest of the music I have collected since then is en Espanol, and believe me when I tell you, nearly everyone got very nervous, saying things like “You’re just listening to this to be cooler than everybody else, why don’t you listen to music in English?” At least here in Los Angeles, I have met all kinds of people who really dig music and culture no matter the language.
But shit, if they’re scared of pop and rock music from 40 years ago, God help them if they had to actually deal with a person speaking Spanish or a sign in Spanish, right?
And while I’m sure there must be many, many Caucasians in Los Angeles who aren’t “xenophobic,” blinkered, cowering, reactionaries (dear God, I hope so), I sure don’t find that many of them so far, I swear a lot of white people cannot even handle the reality that Los Angeles was founded by Mexicans, let alone that it is a majority Mexican-American city. Me, I just don’t understand, but then I moved here because of the diversity that Los Angeles offers and because it is majority Mexican American.
So yes, as far as I’m concerned, it is La Linea de Oro, and fuck the fools that cannot handle that! America is probably already a majority “Minority” country, and if the white folks are scared of that, too bad, it’s their loss. But they are the same people who moved out to bumfuck en mass instead of having neighbors with brown skin in the first place, so I can’t say I’m very surprised.
Thanks Dave, you seem like a right on guy that is able to consider others as fellow human beings and who like myself enjoys the diversity that a place like LA affords, I really dig the multi ethnic atmosphere and all the benefits this entails, if one is interested in culture and humankind.
I have found that the happiest white folks I have had the pleasure of being around have been expatriates who live in Mexico full or part time and who dig the culture, learn the language and accept others as fellow human beings, they usually have a great sense of humor and a real joie de vivre that makes for a long and interesting life.
Thanks again Dave.
That’s what I always wondered, if Walter Moore had his way and espanol was illegal, how do we say Los Angeles?
The Angels!
“Where you going on your vacation?”
“The Angels, then maybe some surfing in Saint James (San Diego…oh yeh, spanish to english translator in another tab, cause I never would have guessed that one). ”
Ordering banana daiquiris will really be a challenge, too. I’d have a lot of fines.
“I’ll have a chicken burr..I’m sorry, I mean, a torti….damn. OK, Uhm, I’ll have a flat white bread thing with chicken, beans, and sals….damn, with a mix of peppers, and cilant….damn! Uhm, some herb that’s like from Italy or something? Wait, Italy is not spanish, it’s oh, fuck it. I’ll have French Fries…Sorry, sorry, freedom fries. And a large Pepsi. Pepsi a spanish word? No, didn’t think so. Good. That’ll be my order.”
As you could see, things would just run smoothly in this state if Moore and his ilk had their way…
BTW, isn’t it a trip that The Angels, the baseball team, are literally named after Los Angeles? Does give them a little leverage in the debate as to what team is really LA’s team.
If Walter Moore had won, we would have to call the Los Angeles Angels the The Angels Angels. Oh, how about The Angels Angels of Anaheim? Play ball!
Interesting thought Rob, and how would music lovers refer to La Bamba? BTW, the Angels were originally the LA Angeles who played in Dodger Stadium and old Wrigley Field on Avalon Blvd until they moved to Anaheim. When I was a little kid, before the Dodgers, we used to watch the LA Angels at old Wrigley Field, when they were part of the old Pacific League, a Triple A club. Our hero was Steve Bilko who one year hit 60 home runs.
That’s a trip, DQ. Did you know Sparky Anderson is from South Central LA? A lot of baseball history in LA, that’s for sure.