#ethnicstudies

Latinx pop art does not allow itself to be limited by a single origin nor a single narrative this is perfectly explained through different muralisms, graffiti, tattoos, street art, and more. This art is created out of the lived realities of respected communities and experiences which is why so often we see this correlated with civil rights work. It calls upon justice against, racism, classism, patriarchy, white supremacy, touches immigration, environmentalism, and more. And while all these concepts might be social construct these pop artivisms are a reminder that they have real consequences to the bodies that wear said labels and shows a sense of community. Type lettering was able to unite communities across the country from its origins in New York all the way to the LA barrios. And just as the artist has been said lettering or graffiti began to be racialized and criminalized classified as dangerous gang activity; instead of what they were really trying to say which was the signifier of a community of pride of knowing where you belonged as opposed to where you felt excluded. Yet through that, they became even more ostracised and targeted by the already existing police presence. The best part about graffiti and other street arts is that it becomes accessible to anyone in the area and can create inspiration in another person to pursue their passion regardless of what it was. Something otherwise impossible had it not been for street art and its criminalized origins. Streetart isn't always something plastered on the side of a building it can also exist in the ways of performance as explored through in the Asco interviews a group of Chicanos during the movement and the ways in which they too were criticized both by those inside and outside their own community. Classified as not real art, as either too masculine, feminine, or just plain weird now in the very museum they were kept out of. These artivisms are needed to push the narrative of what we consider to be normal both in terms of art and social norms.

I forgot what I was doing here... but I won't forget to sign your copies of my new book, if you pre-order today! 😉😉😉 >> tinyurl.com/preorderBLBF << _ 📸: @diwamalaya _ I’m accepting signed pre-orders until my 30th birthday on November 18th. If y’all would like to send your love & support, please get a copy of “Black Lives & Brown Freedom: Untold Histories of War, Solidarity, & Genocide." Proceeds will go towards establishing scholarships for marginalized and impoverished bright young students in the Philippines 🇵🇭 ♥️📚 _ #KnowHistoryKnowSelf #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesAndBrownFreedom #BlackLivesBrownFreedom #ProjectBulosan #AsianAmericanStudies #AfricanAmericanStudies #EthnicStudies #Filipino #FilipinoAmerican #AfricanAmerican #Kapampangan #KirbyNoodle (at Robert & Margrit Mondavi Center For The Performing Arts) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqMP9TTnqSY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=183b3nnhkssr1

Today, on his birthday, we celebrate the legacy of our dear ancestor, Ronald Takaki. Takaki was an American academic, historian, ethnographer and author. He also helped pioneer the field of Ethnic Studies. #KnowYourHistory #AAPI #AmericanHistory

Existing in the United States as the othered non-white has caused detrimental effects to various different racial, ethnic, and religious minorities however when considering not just the perseverance of culture but the creation of culture is not just an act of resistance but activism as well. Lowrider culture rose out of the streets of Los Angeles as a way for Mexican Americans to express themselves, find community and fight against oppressive systems. The Lowrider life is not just a hobby but just as previously described a lifestyle, a key player in their identity, a reclaiming of expression, attention, and most importantly a source of empowerment. Crews soon began to emerge with different clubs and names and symbols that distinguished one from another, a good gang as one described, but these crews and cars were a healthy outlet to avoid getting roped up into the gang life. These cars were an unapologetic demand for attention screaming into the silence that white supremacy has created screaming "THIS IS ME Y QUE?!" and they did just that. Upon the popularization of cruising, a designated get-together for those in the community to ride along a long stretch of land together, legal systems began to crack down first with the handing out of various tickets: too low, too loud, too whatever the cops would say code for what they really wanted to say too Mexican. Then to the complete outlawing of cruising, a criminalization of Brown bodies, as they feared for so-called gang suspicion when these were members of the community, often serving as leaders in their community as well as. This movement gave birth to not just Chicano Park, a park in San Diego that now serves as a place to host the community but to transnational trends in low riding. As riders searched for cheaper parts they traveled down to Tijuana and there came an exchange of pop culture but it's not just there as we more popularly see Mexican pop culture, better yet folklore pop culture, transcend into the U.S. La Llorona for many Latinx children is a popularized folklore about a weeping woman who lost her kids and weeps for them to come back sometimes going so far in her mourning she kidnaps others; this is something that unless told orally or by research not many would know until we saw the release of "The Curse of La Llorana' an American film premiering in 2019. This movie along with countless television episodes involving a Latina's quinceñera, their 15th birthday and coming of age party, dedicated barbies, like Frida Khalo or the special edition XV, and Disney films based on our folklores, Coco and Encanto, shows the shift in the white majority's view of the value of Latinx culture and peoples allowing them to exist more freely and embrace themselves (although some policy change would be nice too). Lastly, cultural joteria, as created by those caught on the intersection of Latiné and queer, has expanded the ways in which those in the community and pushed societies boundaries of how they should exist. From the very name cultural joteria, a Spanish phrase loosely meaning "gay culture" has been molded to allow them more space to exist as they felt the term queer didn't allow room for their Latinidad. Culture is important and its creation and perseverance show the resiliency of people to continue existing on their own terms because time and time again it has proven successful.

The occupation of white spaces is something that as Latinx peoples are always struggling to break through. As mentioned in the previous blog post within sci-fi and comics it took a lot to break through same as we see with performing arts, having to break through typically and predominately white spaces, such as broadway, to create a counter narrative and shed light on something once hidden. This is powered through the performance os Mestizaje and Indigeneity. Mestizaje a framework working to highlight the ways in which a hybrid way of being is constructed upon both mind and body. Indigeneity highlights the ways in which we understand spirituality, empowerment and liberation through the practice, representation and creative expression of said bodies. These works drive conversation of inclusion, diversity and civil rights. Zoot Suit written by Louis Valdez, the godfather of Chicano culture, had notably won a medal of arts granted by the Obama administration with its highlights of Chicano, Pachuco, culture and the ways in which they faced discrimination during the riots of the 1940s. Mexican Americans in 1940s would be racially discriminated against by the police due to their fashion, Pachuco fashion, a more loose and baggy fitting clothing style type casted as gang wear who were met with violence from sailors at bay ending with some Chicano kids behind bars. Telling a story of resistance as the infamous Pachuco character serves as the spiritual component letting us know that in the hopelessness there must be hope that while things changes they stay the same and we can constantly overcome this sense of none belonging. Entertainment with a purpose, a purpose to educate, open eyes, inspire, and demonstrate how we haven't made as much progress as we think all reminding us that Valdez's work began at its roots causes in migrant farm worker fields. Performance is done anywhere it is needed on a stage of any level even individual.

The Latinx identity is very complicated as is with so many overlapping identities so deeply embedded into our culture, from the Indigenous cultural practices that continued their way into Spanish Catholic religion or the ways in which African and Indigenous beats have created countless Spanish genres of music. The expression of such blending is still seen within media and language tools within the United States and how they reach cross-culturally and nationally. Pinto poetics describe the ways in which generational evolution forms of expression about mass incarceration. Maiz narratives dive deeper into the ways in which we navigate not feeling wanted or without belonging. Radio has served as a great driver of this as it is one of the earliest forms of television that can be done in between commutes to work and reach a large spanning audience. Piolin por la Mañana is not only a national hit amongst Latinos within the U.S. but internationally as well, growing up I would hear this show every day on my way to school as my father dropped me off. And while yes a lot of it was funny and scandalous hits it also played the latest Latinx hits but most importantly he created a community amongst Spanish speaking, heavy immigrant communities in the U.S. He informed the masses where health clinics would be, what lawyers are good or are scamming people and many other opportunities. And now with the help of different social media, other creatives are also able to explore the ways in which they are able to explore their hybrid identity. Take for example Snow tha Product, a Mexicana rapper, who first blew up a few years back on Facebook for her single "Waste of Time". Hip-hop has often served as a catalyst for change and Snow the Product demands just that both directly and indirectly, she calls upon the breaking of generational curses, calls out the Obama administration for its record-breaking numbers of deportations, and proudly flaunts her culture as she often raps in both English, Spanish and Spanglish. All while being a queen Latina she truly speaks for a community, she further proves the validity of a hybrid sense of being. Spanglish has often been discredited as a broken language but it proves itself to be a hybrid language that serves the masses and builds bridges instead of barriers. Those who understand Spanglish understand two language contexts and that should be admired and further used not shunned like how we have sadly seen in schools and communities alike.