What is a
Chicano?
In an article written for The Huffington Post, comedian Cheech Marin answers this question with a resounding, "Who the hell knows?" perfectly capturing the ambiguous connotations of the label.
Chicano
isn't a word embraced by all Mexican Americans, but those who identify by it do
so with a deeply held pride for their own heritage.
The
designation first grew in popularity during The Chicano Movement, or El
Movimiento, a period of social protest that occurred alongside the Civil Rights
movement in the 1960s for the purpose of self-empowerment among
Hispanics.
It focused on eliminating stereotypes, expanding educational opportunities for students, and improving working conditions for Californian migrant and seasonal farmworkers, an effort led by Cesar Chavez and the UFW, United Farm Workers of America.
It’s a
movement that has echoed through time, spawning its own untapped well of
culture, and inspiring a new generation of Mexican American artists, advocates,
and educators.
These are
three short accounts from two self-identified Chicanos, and one Chicana.
***
Picking
Oregon strawberries as a child is Diversity Achievement Center Director Javier
Cervantes’s earliest memory.
“I did
that for many years of my life, I realized I didn’t want to do that for the
rest of my life, so I went to school,” said Cervantes. “I had been doing it
since I was conscious, on and off from when I was 4 to when I was 16 years old.”
It’s a
backbreaking job he inherited from his mother, a farmworker at the age of 8
picking fruit and vegetables in California.
Though
her circumstances were dire, she was fortunate enough to have a very
politically active family, one that did not hesitate to protest the
mistreatment of Mexican American laborers.
She would
accompany them as they marched alongside Cesar Chavez himself, participating in
history in a way few are afforded.
Even
though her association with the Chicano Movement was so integral to her youth,
she never discussed the topic with her children.
It
remained a secret to Javier until around 2006, when his mother noticed a
t-shirt he was wearing depicting Chavez.
So of
course, she decided to casually mention her involvement in the most pivotal
time in Mexican American Civil Rights history.
“I asked
her why she never told me,” said Cervantes.
Her
response, “You never asked.”
***
As a tool
for change.
Raised by
Margaret F. Stewart, a single mother and Rosie-the-Riveter-type, Fuentes’s
connection with the Chicano Movement is direct and sincere.
Her
half-sister Yolonda Lopez was a recognizable female voice of the
movement in the late '70's, making waves by creating art that challenged both
ethnic and gender stereotypes.
“She
became an icon of the Chicano Movement and the woman’s movement for her
portrayal of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a runner,” said Fuentes. “It was very
controversial at the time, as there were very few female Mexican American
role-models in art. Most depictions were passive, like maids or servants.”
The
movement has equally affected Fuentes’s own art.
She cites
works like her “Cruzundo La Frontera,” a view of skeletons crossing the
U.S./Mexican border through binoculars, as directly influenced by Chicano
ideals.
“Even in
death we will be crossing the Mexico/California border!” said Fuentes.
But
Fuentes’s affinity for Mexican American art and culture has not always been met
with enthusiasm.
In
October 2013, LBCC hosted an art gallery in celebration of the Mexican Day of
the Dead. The holiday has been a great source of artistic inspiration for
Fuentes, and the event was meant to be a way of showcasing cultural diversity
and understanding.
Apparently,
someone didn’t get the memo, as the school received a letter from a concerned
citizen who felt the display was “catering” to Mexicans.
Fuentes
recalls a postcard riddled with ignorant racist clichés, like “Go back to where
you came from.”
“I was
born in the United States,” said Fuentes. ”Do they want me to go back to San
Diego?”
***
The
Albany Public Library hosted a screening of the PBS Chicano documentary “Prejudice
and Pride” on Tuesday, April 5.
The event
featured guest speaker Chicano historian Ronald Mize, an associate professor at
OSU and the director of the campus’s Center for Latino Studies and Engagement,
CL@SE.
Born in
Denver in 1970, Mize’s introduction to El Movimiento came in the form of the
ever-present photos of Cesar Chavez hanging on the walls, and the union
magazines littering the floor of his grandparents' home.
His
grandfather was part of the Mine Mill Union, an almost militant socialist labor
organization that fought against wage-slavery.
Mine Mill
is possibly best known for their involvement in the 1954 film “Salt of the
Earth,” a pro-union, pro-feminism, and pro-socialism picture released during
the height of McCarthyism.
The
controversy surrounding its release resulted in the deportation of its lead
actress, Rosaura Revueltas, as well as the blacklisting of director Herbert J.
Biberman, producer Paul Jarrico, and writer Michael Wilson.
Mize’s
cousin married the godson of Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzáles, a radical
figure in El Movimiento whose advocacy for self-determination among Chicanos
through his group, Crusade for Justice, caught the attention of local law
enforcement.
Mize
recalls barbeques as a small child with the Gonzáles family, where food and fun
were interrupted by police surveillance.
“Every
time we had a barbeque, Denver cops would drive by, stop and stare at us,” Mize
said. “Corky’s family had become accustomed to this. When they went to the
grocery store they were tailed by police.”
He later
added, “I was too young to be part of the movement at the time, but when
looking back I realized I was always in the movement. Just by the virtue of the
family I had.”
***
At a
Glance:
Chicano
Movement is a period of empowerment for Mexican Americans
The
experiences of three people who identify as Chicano.
A few definitions of Chicano.
Ron
Mize: “I think of it as a political label. To claim it is to identify with
past struggles, and to connect with a community.”
Analee
Fuentes: “For me, it’s always been a Mexican American who has ties to and
identifies with their culture. Being socially and politically aware of what it
means to be an American in this day and age is what it means to be a Chicano.”
Javier
Cervantes: “For me, it’s been a political awakening for my consciousness
and my commitment to social justice. My commitment to my political ideology, my
commitment to the community, and my commitment to what’s just is what makes me
Chicano more than anything else.”
Something
like the Chicano Movement, that has effected the lives of so many Americans,
has surely created countless stories just like these.
It's not
just history that’s been overlooked, it’s history that’s being written every
day in the lives of the people who relate to its culture and philosophy.
View "Prejudice and Pride"
Javier Cervantes
Diversity
Achievement Center
Forum:
Room 202
cervanj@linnbenton.edu
541.917.4461
Analee Fuentes
Office
SSH 11
fuentea@linnbenton.edu
Ron Mize
Waldo
Hall on OSU campus
Email @
instructor website
http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/users/ronald-mize
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