tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112581392007-08-29T15:47:38.305-07:00Mark VallenBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-9729235252927339102007-08-28T21:48:00.001-07:002007-08-29T15:47:38.337-07:00

From the blog of Luis J. Rodriguez--www.luisjrodriguez.com/blog It will be thirty seven years today after the Chicano Moratorium against the Viet Nam War was first held in East Los Angeles -- at the time the largest anti-war demonstration in a community of color in the country. Some 30,000 people came from all over Los Angeles, the Southwest, and other parts of the country to proclaim, "Ya Basta

Luis J. Rodrigueztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-4627710413017608972007-07-22T11:49:00.000-07:002007-07-22T11:56:37.760-07:00

The following letter was sent to us in February. It's from Margot Pepper, one of Xispas' good friends and an long-time activist for social justice and immigrant rights. We apologize for taking so long to put this on our blog. Still, we feel it's very pertinent and important even now. So here it is. Thank you, Margot. February 14, 2007 To: The Honorable Immigration Judge, I’m a 2nd grade

Luis J. Rodrigueztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-71773039762714918282007-05-15T10:52:00.000-07:002007-05-15T12:25:20.841-07:00

Indigenous people and their elders have reacted angrily to remarks Pope Benedict made during his trip to Brazil, calling the conservative leader of the Roman Catholic Church "arrogant and disrespectful" for saying that Indian people "willingly" converted to Christianity. Pope Benedict XVI made his first official visit to the Americas with a four day visit to Brazil, where he railed against

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-62244108255052344092007-05-11T20:26:00.000-07:002007-05-11T20:34:16.376-07:00

From the weblog of Luis J. Rodriguez: All good things must come to an end. Today, I ended my week of guest hosting on the Front Page talk show with Dominique Di Prima on KJLH-102.3 FM. It was a wonderful experience. According to Dominique, I was the first Latino guest host on the show. I commend her and KJLH for having me and allowing me this opportunity to speak on some crucial issues

Luis J. Rodrigueztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1175307553663439322007-03-30T20:17:00.000-07:002007-03-30T20:19:13.673-07:00

We are very excited to inform you that Academia Semillas Del Pueblo’s charter has been renewed for another 5 years! On Thursday, March 29, 2007 over 1,000 parents, students, educators, community members and supporters walked from Plaza Olvera to LAUSD headquarters to attend the history-making board meeting for Academia Semillas del Pueblo. If you didn’t have an opportunity to watch the LAUSD

Luis J. Rodrigueztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1175125440575609422007-03-28T17:32:00.000-07:002007-03-28T17:44:00.593-07:00

Academia Semillas del Pueblo is a vital indigenous-centered educational institution. Based in El Sereno, it was created five years ago by members of the greater East Los Angeles community for the community, which for decades has suffered with some of the worse schools in the LA Unified School District. Tomorrow, March 29, the LAUSD will decide whether or not to renew the school's charter. Please

Luis J. Rodrigueztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1174946677549521772007-03-26T16:03:00.000-07:002007-03-26T16:04:37.563-07:00

From the weblog of Luis J. Rodriguez, March 26, 2007: I'm glad to invite everyone to the grand opening of Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural this Saturday, March 31, from 4 to 8 PM. It will be at the new space that we've finally painted and organized after we were forced to vacate our old store/center in Sylmar (the new location is only 10 minutes away from there). This will be an easy-going evening

Luis J. Rodrigueztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1172968051655251722007-03-03T16:25:00.000-08:002007-03-03T16:27:31.683-08:00

From a blog post by Luis J. Rodriguez at www.luisjrodriguez.com/blog/ Wow, we’ve had a crazy month – with the benefit event on February 17 that brought around 600 people (we also raised $10,000 – thanks to everyone) – and Tia Chucha’s move. Let me tell you—it’s extremely difficult to tear down a café, bookstore, and cultural center (it was hard enough to create it). My wife Trini organized the

Luis J. Rodrigueztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1168467960765042702007-01-10T14:01:00.000-08:002007-01-10T14:26:00.903-08:00

[ On January 9th, 2007, Luis J. Rodriguez, the co-founder and creative director of Tia Chucha's Cafe & Centro Cultural, gave us the following sad news, Tia Chucha’s Café at its present location is closing - permanently. Here's Rodriguez's statement on the closing: ]"Tia Chucha's must move--but our Spirit, Creativity, and Unity are intact. Just after the holidays, Tia Chucha's Cafe & Cultural

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1168466351241506652007-01-10T13:51:00.000-08:002007-01-10T13:59:11.243-08:00

Bert Green Fine Art presents, Smoking Mirror, a solo exhibition by Ecuadorian artist Eduardo Villacis which posits an alternative history following the landing of Columbus on the shores of the Americas. Instead of a European conquest of Aztec culture, Villacis envisions Columbus taken prisoner, his navigational tools examined and used to embark on an adventure to subdue and colonize a new world

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1168465733952030342007-01-10T13:39:00.000-08:002007-01-10T13:48:54.003-08:00

[ Purepecha Lemon Picker - Photo by David Bacon. The Purepecha are Native Americans from Western Mexico. In this photo Bacon portrays the hands, gloves and clippers of Erbino Mateo, a worker at a lemon orchard near Ventura, California. ] Famed author and social critic Mike Davis, wrote in his book, Planet of Slums, that Photojournalist David Bacon is "a nonfiction Steinbeck, the foremost

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1167629301336081012006-12-31T21:15:00.000-08:002006-12-31T21:28:21.356-08:00

Specialist Dustin Donica became the 3,000th U.S. soldier to die in Iraq when the vehicle he was riding in was blown up by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Saturday. An estimated 3,000 Iraqi civilians died just this month alone. December was the deadliest month for U.S. occupation forces in the past two years, with 111 dead. Around 35,000 thousand G.I.'s have been wounded - so far.

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1167440309490558432006-12-29T16:54:00.000-08:002006-12-29T16:58:29.500-08:00

[ ¡Zapata Lives! ¡The Struggle Continues! ] Thirteen years ago, on December 31, 1993, the Zapatista Nacional Liberation Army (EZLN) took up arms and said, "Enough is Enough!" It was time to stop being robbed of a life without dignity. Today, Mexicans from Chiapas, Atenco, Oaxaca, the rest of Mexico, as well as those living on the other side, unite with the Zapatista demands for our right to work

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1165958178597252582006-12-12T12:37:00.000-08:002006-12-12T13:16:18.696-08:00

William Booth wrote a brilliant critique of Gibson's film for the Washington Post, titled Culture Shocker: Scholars Say Mel Gibson's Action Flick Sacrifices the Maya Civilization to Hollywood. The December 9, 2006 article reveals what archaeologists and scholars of the Maya are saying about the Hollywood version of Mesoamerican history - and by all accounts, Apocalypto gets failing grades. To

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1165955613460952082006-12-12T12:25:00.000-08:002006-12-12T12:33:33.476-08:00

The Avenue 50 Studio and the Arroyo Arts Collective in Los Angeles, invite the community to join us in a Candlelight Posada for Immigrant Rights, Sunday, December 17, 2006. In the spirit of the season, and in celebration of the United Nations International Day of the Migrant, walk with us through one of Los Angeles' oldest, most diverse neighborhoods, singing together to the accompaniment of

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1165446790120423682006-12-06T14:50:00.000-08:002006-12-07T09:45:06.263-08:00

Traci Ardren, is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Miami. Dr. Ardren has studied the Maya for over twenty years and has directed excavations at Chunchucmil, an ancient Maya trading center in the northwestern Yucatán peninsula that dates to the Classic period (200 - 900 A.D.) Dr. Ardren is well aware of the violent aspects of the ancient Mayan Kingdoms, but she takes Mel

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1165445342754547642006-12-06T14:36:00.000-08:002006-12-06T14:49:02.943-08:00

Every year the Tate Gallery in London awards it prestigious Tate Prize to those it considers to be the very best contemporary artists living in England. The controversial awards have international implications and help set the trends for artists around the world. The Tate seems to prefer giving its award to artists who do installation, video, conceptual, and other types of modern art -

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1165009035886302682006-12-01T13:25:00.000-08:002006-12-01T13:37:15.976-08:00

Felipe Calderón, the right-wing presidential candidate of Mexico’s conservative National Action Party (PAN), a leader fraudulently "selected" by Mexico’s Federal Electoral Tribunal, has now been officially sworn in as President in the halls of the Mexican Congress building - but not without fist fights and shouts of protest by opposition Congressmen and women. [ Members of congress shout, blow

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1164992821151436932006-12-01T08:55:00.000-08:002006-12-01T09:07:02.166-08:00

A new documentary movie about artists in Southern California, American Beauties: In Pursuit of Art, will have its premiere on Friday, December 29th, 2006, at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA.) Featured in the film are Michael Maas, Patrick Maisano, Gregg Stone, Mark Vallen, and Emigdio Vasquez. Shifra M. Goldman, the famed Art Historian who has written extensively about Latin

Mark Vallentag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11258139.post-1164839317231129432006-11-29T13:48:00.000-08:002006-11-30T09:04:57.976-08:00

How accurate is the cinematic fantasy, Apocalypto, a film by Mel Gibson that presents his version of the end of Mayan civilization? Scholars on the Maya and other Mesoamerican civilizations are not holding their breath. Despite the Hollywood movie’s dazzling look, the film contains numerous factual errors. If you want an accurate examination of Mayan civilization, there are many absorbing