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Strong Dreamers, Love On!

2011-01-23T03:58:00.003-03:00

No words. No tears. Dont know when theyll come. He's so strong. They are all so strong and i get strength from them.

But for this vote, i detached. I did. Dont want it to be such a big blow. I avoid and put up defenses. It matters so much, that its internalized. And for all the Dreamers. No se ni que decir- dont know what to say, how to react- ni como reaccionar. So much hope that we built up, we encouraged. Asi es la lucha. That's how it is.

But in a few years, decades, we'll get what we want. Strong people always get what they want because they are persistent and continue to build. You cannot stop a tidal wave, you cannot hold back what is destined to happen. You can put up walls and fortify them with cement and metal, but year after year year, moment by moment, nature will chip and wear it away. You cannot hold back a people in search for justice and what is right.

You cannot hold back love.

Love doesnt need weapons or violence or barriers. It engulfs and absorbs everything, it is the great equalizer. The pen and actions- true actions from a place of understanding and love- are what will make this world a better place.

They neutralize, sterilize, stigmatize because they do not love.

And its hard being a lover in this world, it's been hard in every day and age. Lovers are killed, disappeared, criminalized, delegitimized and have been all throughout time. But the true sets us free. And in love, there is truth and sacrifice.

Lovers, Dreamers- we will prevail! If not today, tomorrow, in a decade, a century. Every action we take in the name of love and what's right is a glimpse into and a step closer to that day. Let's keep on dreaming, loving, and moving forward always!

Reposted from NYSYLC

5AM RANT TO CHC: PASS THE DREAM ACT NOW!

2010-09-13T06:48:00.006-03:00

You have the power to secure a WIN for the immigrant community, YOUR COMMUNITY. The Dream Act is the first and only real step (currently this close to becoming a law) towards TRUE HUMANE immigration reform. The next 4-5 years will be a void of any positive legislation in immigration, as you probably can forsee as well. Please do not continue to put you political agendas ahead of young people's lives and the lives of every single person in their families and community. You can be leaders and counter the anti-immigrant sentiment that is growing across the nation fueled by a nativist few. I know I am just ranting because I know none of you will read this. Maybe an intern, maybe. It's just so frustrating to know that my best friends and family members cannot live their lives fully, their aspirations, needs, dreams. They are being driven into pyschological treatment and desperation for not being able to see their dying grandparents in their native countries; Will not go to college, will not graduate will not work in their profession...This is my desparate letter in a wavering moment because I WILL CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE for MY DREAMS AND THE DREAMS OF MY LOVED ONES. You can ignore us now, but it wont be long before you reap what you cultivate. Even if I cry now it doesn't matter because tomorrow is another day. We will pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. The Dream Act is only the beginning, and if you're smart, you'll realize that we're growing. That we'll keep organizing and WILL DETERMINE THE DIRECTION OF THIS COUNTRY SOMEDAY.

It has taken us 200 years to get here, and they're still dividing us. We give them their power. But we also gave you your power. Make it right and just, economic and humane. Make the DREAM Act a reality this year and immigrant (US of) America will back you up. Let this chance go by, and leave us to deal with more underhand enforcement while we wait for the right time in 4, 5, 10 years for HUMAME IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION and we'll be crushed. But like the moon gives way to the sun, we'll rise. Hasta que los apaguemos.

Photo Credits: A.A.

Palante 'Cause It Gives and it Takes Away

2010-05-17T01:23:00.007-03:00

It's been a whirl. Familia, relationships, graduation, Dubai, immigration.Life, Death, and somewhere in between. The spiritual, the sane, the new beginnings and the porques. But just remembering to breathe, that each moment matters- and always with those you love by your side, regardless of how cheesy that sounds, is enough to keep on forth, to know that there is more than the seemingly insurmountable.

So I say, Palante! 'Cause it gives and just as swiftly it takes away. It's whimsical like that and if you miss the train, it's gone. Freeing two birds with one stone,as the Zapatistas say, this is my breif recap of the last 4 months and blogging comeback. I'll leave you with the reknowned Brazilian writer and warrioir of light, Paulo Coelho:

"And there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever even knowing what you are fighting for", in By the River Piedra, I Sat Down & Wept

Home. Or Reflections.

2010-02-23T04:47:00.003-03:00

Back in NYC, home.

Been back for two months now and haven’t been up for writing but it’s time. To reflect on living and experiencing a different country while being away from everything I care and love at home.

How was Buenos Aires? It was interesting, is how I always answer.

It was learning about a different culture and lifestyle, seeing different and yet related struggles and getting to know myself that much more. Meeting very courageous people fighting for a different world and others whose concerns were limited to putting others down. It was experiencing the majesty of the Cordillera de los Andes and visiting el Museo de Solidaridad Salvador Allende in Santiago. Dinner in the dark when the lights went out and flooding in Palermo when it rained the day we left Argentina. It was skyping with my grandmother, who I rarely speak with from home and drawing again, a boat on the Tigre, the view from my window.

Being away has put things into clear perspective, how I choose to live my life and where I want to be and even return someday. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know exactly where I’ll work after graduation (2nd top question) or have a precise career plan but I know I’m heading in the right direction, with my family as my mast and a vision for a better world, my compass.

Cocalero

2009-12-13T13:01:00.004-03:00

SUNDAY MOVIE MATINEE

"Si la piedra cae sobre el huevo, mala suerte para el huevo. Si el huevo cae sobre la piedra, mala suerte para el huevo..."

Eloísa Cartonera

2009-11-29T22:37:00.025-03:00

/elo-iza kahr-ton-e-ra/ (f) noun

1. a publishing cooperative in La Boca (a working class barrio in Buenos Aires) that produces hand-painted books covers from cardboard that Cartoneros collect.

2. ‘Eloisa’ from the name of a founders’ crush; ‘Cartonera’ from or belonging to cartón~ tb, persona que hace o vende cartones u obras hechas en cartón.

3. see Cartoneros; ~individuals/families who collect recyclables from trash on the sidewalks at night and sell it for a living esp. after the 2001 economic crisis in Argentina, when the price of paper and carton increased drastically.

4. “literatura latinoamericana de los autores más bellos que hemos conocido en nuestra vida de trabajadores y lectores…”

5. 3x más de lo que les pagan a los cartoneros en otros depósitos.

6. “El trabajo como transformación social”~Washington Cucurto, Argentine writer & one of the founders.

7. $5 pesos/libro; $30 handmade shirts; $10 notebooks; $20 libro especial (1 U$S = Arg $ 3.7)

8. a challenge to neo-liberal political and economic hegemony.

9. catalyst for the creation of other publishing houses throughout América Latina (See: Sarita Cartonera: Lima, Peru. Est. 2004; Animita Cartonera: Santiago, Chile. Est. 2005; Mandrágora Cartonera: Cochabamba, Bolivia. Est. 2005; Yerba Mala Cartonera: El Alto, Bolivia. Est. 2006; Dulcinéia Catadora: São Paulo, Brazil. Est. 2007; Yiyi Jambo: Asunción, Paraguay. Est. 2007; La Cartonera: Cuernavaca, Mexico. Est. 2008.

10. Literature to the people

Origen:
2003; See Eloísa Cartonera.

Image Credits: Anne Johnson

Me Enamore

2009-11-24T00:34:00.010-03:00

Cruzando la cordillera de los Andes hacia el oeste, me enamore y sé que regresare algún día.
Casas coloridas sentadas en olas de cerros, mirando hacia el mar, frio, pacífico:
Amarillas y verdes, rojas y azules, desde el ascensor se acercan, quieren llegar hacia la cumbre.
Valparaíso, Cinderella de mis ojos —facha y mugre-
Eres linda aunque a los gringos asustes con tus callejones de serpiente muralados,
tus vendedores de herramientas y calzoncillos ajustables, tus milagros que nadie recoge,
tus barros locos de carne, papa frita, queso y grasa pura.
Paseando por los sueños del pasado y del presente
Prometí volver algún día y entenderte.

Aires de America Latina

2009-09-27T12:18:00.000-03:00

I’ve been living and studying in Buenos Aires for one month now, and in this short time I’ve come to learn so much about this land and its people, dispelling many myths and preconceptions about Argentina and its so called ‘Paris of Latin America’.

At first it was hard getting used to hearing and seeing light-skin, hair and eyes in Español. And little other people of color in general. Pretty much all the indigenous populations were wiped out in Argentina and the (now) romanticized gauchos, cowboy-like mestizos and criollos were as well.

Like its creators intended, the myth of Buenos Aires as the ‘Paris of Latin America’ is kept alive by the post-independence desire of its ruling elite to integrate European culture, architecture, and people into its essence- to choose “civilization” over “barbarity”, in the words of one of its founding fathers, Sarmientos. That said, most porteños (what people from the city of B’s A’s call themselves to distinguish each other from those in ‘el Interior’- aka the rest of the country) are descendants of mostly working class Italian and Spanish immigrants from the 1800s.

Today, wrought iron balconies overlook green and orange kioskos, papelerias, cafes as uneven sidewalks have you tripping over, forcing you to look down or risk stepping on dog poop. The city feels incessantly under construction, a chaotic order amidst chic boutique shops, McCafe’s and condos in certain neighborhoods, reminiscent of México D.F. It craftily hides its class conflict and its marginalized. These are pushed to the outskirts of the city and the country, written on its walls, and felt in the remnants of Peronismo and its ongoing impunity for its desaparecidos.

A good portion of Buenos Aires’ recent (and undesired = Paraguayan, Bolivian, Peruvian) immigrants today live in villas miserias, barrios on the outskirts of the city where little to no infrastructure exists even though they’re situated next to large media corporations. The spread of Paco, a residue drug of cocaine and glass, is affecting the lives and safety of these communities and has been compared to the crack epidemic of the ‘70s. While a few amazing people are doing much-needed work, it’s an uphill battle with very little government interest and resources.

I didn’t really know what to expect, and I still don’t know what to make of it all sometimes – but like many big cities, B’s A’s paradoxes are more stark and force one to rethink government, ‘development’, dignity, life and pueblo. This is not a Paris (or whatever that means). Buenos Aires, if anything, is an extreme example of the consequences of colonization, indigenous extermination, extreme Western ‘modernization’ and of course persistent US econ-military intervention, in and properly of America Latina.