Erlinda Castanon-Long wrote:
I want to thank everyone for the input on double surnames and y versus
de... I had forgotten that I use a double surname too! I felt I
didn't want to give up my Hispanic maiden name so just hyphenated it
with my married name. That makes me Castanon-Long, I guess in Latin
America that would make me Castanon y Long ... I found at the family
reunion that most of my female cousins from my generation did the
same. Many of us did not marry Hispanic but would have kept our
maiden name regardless. Just like someone said, it's a matter of
family pride..
One more question.. which is 'politically' correct to designate our
nationality of origin if we or our ancestors were from Mexico...
Hispanic, Latino, Mexican-American or American-Mexican?
http://www.historynothype.com/deaddialog.htm
DIALOG of the DEAD—An
Interactive One-Act Play
By
Rubén Sálaz Márquez
© Copyright 2005 by Rubén D. Sálaz
Dramatis Personae
Narrator (female),
Chicano, Above-It-All, María (female), Latino, Immigrant (female),
Hispano.
Heckler, Policeman,
Immigration Officer (female), Army Soldier, Sheriff, FBI Agent. Two
male stage hands.
Dual roles:
Heckler/Sheriff; Policeman/Stagehand.
Scene: The stage
is dark and bare except for the Narrator standing behind an upstage,
brightly spotlighted (overhead) podium. Behind her in the dark are six
seated individuals: Chicano, Above-It-All, María, Latino, Immigrant,
and Hispano. All are dressed in ordinary clothes of their choosing. The
only thing they have in common is a luminescent cross-hair target
painted on their foreheads.
PART I
NARRATOR: Ladies
and Gentlemen, Damas y Caballeros, Bienvenidos. Welcome to this
presentation on ethnic identity. Let me advise you immediately that the
viewpoints presented here will not leave you unmoved. We encourage your
sincere participation and we wish for everyone to consider what will be
expressed, even if you don’t happen to agree with the various points of
view. The effort is to reach a rationale consensus of opinion, despite
the fact that we realize some people destroy unity by denigrating
everybody else. There are also those who believe they must be the
center of attention so they argue about everything. We are here to
dialog, not argue. We have a right to disagree but we have no right to
destroy. Please keep that in mind.
In hopes that we
will make progress in our communities, we will now begin our dialog.
Speakers may use the podium or the entire stage. We conducted a drawing
to decide on the order of presentations and as it turned out, the
Chicano will be our first presenter.
CHICANO: Thank you.
I am a CHICANO. That means I recognize who I am: a mestizo,
mostly Indian, part Spanish, part Mexican. I am proud to say I am
descended from the Aztecs of the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs came from
Aztlan, a faraway place in the northland. They kept migrating south
until they saw a sign, an eagle devouring a serpent atop a cactus and
that became their home in the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs became
masters of a rich and sophisticated empire before it was destroyed by
Spaniards.
Chicanos are the
mestizo race. We are proud to be who we are, no matter what anybody
says, because we believe in self-determination. We have forged our own
identity and have cut away the Spanish fantasies that plague our
people. Chicano and Chicana artists often incorporate images of Aztecs
like Quetzalcoatl and Cuahtemoc because they are proud of their
indigenous roots. We have a history that goes way beyond the arrival of
Europeans, Spanish or otherwise. We demand that this be respected and
we show the way by respecting it ourselves.
We realize we have
been repressed since the United States took over the northern half of
Mexico, today called the Southwest. People didn’t want to be called Mexicans
because to the oppressors that was equivalent to greaser, wetback,
or illegal alien.
Nomenclature is a
factor in our Southwestern reality. A whole menagerie of euphemisms
cropped up and everybody could take their pick. Chicanos picked their
name from the Aztec under classes, an offshoot of Mexica,
combining Sheeka with the Spanish “ano” to form CHICANO,
a distinct identity that recognizes our proud Mexican past that racists
would deny us. We will not be forced into being ashamed of our
indigenous roots nor our present working class realities. Most
importantly we openly reject repression by dominant societies, whatever
their origin. We acknowledge our deep cultural, racial, and linguistic
differences from Anglo-Americans. We will actively seek social justice
for our people as we widen their awareness of our history as natives of
this land..
We have also
endeavored to open the university ivory tower to the community. We
demanded that courses be taught about our people and our communities.
We demanded that courses be directed toward Mexicans in the United
States. Subservience would not be the foundation for Chicano courses.
Universities didn’t favor the movement but we forged classes because we
struggled, channeled student indignation, and united with other
non-white minorities. I think we’ve made progress.
By necessity we are
activists. First and foremost we will not reject our indigenous
heritage. It doesn’t matter that we are attacked on all sides. We know
who we are and we stand proud. We chose to use CHICANO as our
name. Nobody shoved it down our throats. We chose it for ourselves.
Self-respect starts
with yourself. Look at how everybody else scurries around, toadying up
to the powers that be. They’ll say and do almost anything to get
accepted. That’s true everywhere but especially on the college campus.
Chicanos or Chicanas will be or might not be accepted, but it’s under
our own terms. And there is nothing to apologize for. Thank you.
NARRATOR: Thank
you. The Chicano seems to be saying “Know thyself.” As I mentioned at
the beginning, our participants have deep-seated beliefs and we advise
everyone to weigh and consider them.. Our next presenter is
Above-It-All.
ABOVE-IT-ALL: I am
an American, first, last, and always. It doesn’t matter where my
ancestors came from. The only important thing is that they came HERE,
to America, the good old U.S. of A.
So what’s the
problem? This is our homeland, this is where we live and are going to
die. This is where we pay our taxes. This is where we get an education.
This country, whether you think it is good, bad, or indifferent, is the
basis for our culture. What came before, whether from Spain or Mexico
or Timbuktu, is of no importance to me.
When we go to war
we wear the uniform of the USA. If we die on the battlefield it’s for
the USA. I hope our country is always on the side of right, but right
or wrong, it’s my country.
Will we get
veterans’ benefits? Social Security? Medicare? I sure hope so. But I’m
damned sure of one thing: nothing is coming to me from Spain or
Mexico, Aztlan, or any place else.
Let me tell you
what you already know. The language of the USA is English. Speak it,
speak it well, then use another language if you want to or see a need
for it. But don’t expect the rest of the country to fall into step with
you. It won’t happen because you can’t change a country’s language or
culture. It hasn’t happened in the entire history of the world. Don’t
bother me about having another language, Spanish or otherwise. If I
don’t need it for business or daily living there’s no need for it and
that’s not an insult. That’s not racism because the language of this
country is English.
You say you’re
being targeted by the police? Then why behave in a way that draws
police attention to you? Why dress like gang members if you don’t want
racial profiling? You tattoo yourself then you resent being treated
like convicts? That makes no sense. Some people think they can cuss
out the police and nothing should happen to them. You think that’s
acceptable in some other country? Let me know when you try it.
Are you going to be
accepted in America? Maybe so, maybe not. It’s up to you to work on it
because it’s a free country. That holds true for everybody. If you
don’t like your neighborhood you have the right to move. That’s part of
our freedom. That’s part of being an American. Do you think you’re
going to be accepted by doing graffiti, fighting the cops, dropping out
of school, doing drugs, or going on welfare? That’s downright sick.
Let’s wise up. If
you don’t like this country nobody said you had to live here. Be what
you are, an AMERICAN, and learn what you have to learn to live
a good life. What other country offers you anything better? Just about
everybody wants to come here. We’re here and you don’t appreciate it?
Wise up. You’re just making a lot of trouble for yourself. Thank you.
NARRATOR: Thank
you. Above-It-All believes we should recognize our American culture.
Next we will hear from María, la Mujer.
MARÍA: I am not
particularly concerned with labels so I am here as your grandmother,
mother, daughter, granddaughter. I have seen our communities torn apart
by people like you who don’t realize we are viewed as one and the same,
whatever your label. Women give us life but you, all of you, are
responsible for our death, figuratively and often literally. What have
you people done for your communities other than tearing them apart? We
give you life then what do you do with it, THIS?! Where are the
heroes and heroines of our people? Where are YOU?! I’ll bet you
can’t even agree on that. You people will lead us to the grave. I
believe hope will come from women. Thank you.
NARRATOR
(nervously): Ah, thank you. María, la Mujer, who believes we should,
ah, recognize our responsibilities to community. Next we will hear from
the Latino.
LATINO: I call
myself a Latino because that is what I heard growing up in Texas. Valid
history tells us we are from the Latin branch of the human family. I
believe many Americans shy away from history because they don’t want to
face reality. Greeks and Latin Romans laid the foundation to what we
now refer to as Western Civilization. People in Europe and the Americas
are the beneficiaries of that civilization. Latin people can be justly
proud of the civilization they created. We should be encouraged to be
proud of our heritage, but valid history isn’t taught in the schools.
The Germanics, Anglos as they usually call themselves, were
the destroyers of civilization. When the Anglo barbarians finally
conquered Rome our world was plunged into the Dark Ages. We didn’t get
out of the Dark Ages until the Roman Empire resurfaced in Europe.
The greatest king
during the Middle Ages was Charlemagne but ordinary people know next to
nothing about him, even after taking a high school course in World
History. We are bombarded with stories about King Arthur, who was never
a real person, and the Knights of the Round Table, who never existed
either. The movies make you think he was the King of England when in
fact he was always and is now only fantasy, along with his knights of
the round table. This fantasy heritage is pervasive in the minds of
most Americans and some get angry when you tell them King Arthur was
never a real person.
You might say: So
who cares? What happened a thousand years ago doesn’t matter
now! That’s a standard reaction. But if you rely on fantasy
instead of valid history you have other fantasies that skew your life.
Take the fantasies of the West about people like the Texas Rangers or
Wyatt Earp. Yes, now we’re hitting closer to home, aren’t we? The Texas
Rangers were ruthless killers who would shoot you down or in the back
before they asked any questions. And being unarmed didn’t matter to
them. They were Nazis on a smaller scale but people won’t say that
because they are afraid of the consequences. I have often wondered why
our people accept all the abuse that is directed at them. One of the
few to fight for his rights was Juan Cortina, who is still being
vilified in warped Texas histories. But how many Latinos know Cortina’s
story? I’ll bet most of us don’t know much about him.
Why don’t our
people stand up for their dignity and self-respect? Why are they
constantly tolerating insults? Why don’t we promote valid history about
men like Juan Cortina and Elfego Baca instead of accepting the
Hollywood dream factory of sheer fantasy? Take Wyatt Earp as an
example. He was a pimp and back shooter. Yes, that’s the historical
truth. The “glorious” thirty-second fight at the OK Corral was over who
would control the prostitution industry in Tombstone. They don’t
mention that in the movies or even most books. Let it be said once and
for all that Wyatt Earp worked in the prostitution industry of
Tombstone, Arizona, was a back shooter, a bushwhacker who finally had
to flee from Arizona because he shot down his enemies in the back as
they were riding by.
Americans get their
sense of history from the movies. The nonsense about two gunmen walking
toward each other on main street is Hollywood fantasy. Most of those
guys in the West were back shooters but now they’re made out as heroic
gunmen. Earp and Doc Holiday were anything but heroic yet they continue
to make movies about them. Movies make you think that John Wayne
created the West. He didn’t and neither did anybody else from east of
the Mississippi. Tejanos created western ranching in Texas, Californios
did it in California, and Hispanos in New Mexico.
Why don’t you see
to it that your children study about themselves and their valid
history? Yes, you and me, the whole community is to blame because we
don’t bother to educate our kids. We leave it to the schools, and all
they really get there is that Latinos are vile people while the heroes
are individuals like Davy Crockett who came from east of the
Mississippi river, all speaking English. Incidentally, Crockett at the
Alamo is about as big a myth as King Arthur.
If you don’t study
your real history you are confused or lost. I’m sure you’ll see what I
mean just by being here tonight. Stay tuned. Thank you.
NARRATOR: Thank
you. Our Latino seems to be saying that we have to know our history in
order to know ourselves. Next we have perspectives from the Immigrant.
IMMIGRANT: I am in
this country because I like it here. I’ll bet you’ll never guess what I
like the best. It’s BOOKS. This country is fabulously wealthy
in BOOKS and that’s what I like best of all.
Most people think
immigrants are out working in the fields or in construction. That isn’t
the case for everyone. I started in the fields as a little girl then I
got a janitor’s job in a library then I worked my way into different
aspects of library work. Someday I hope to finish college work in
Library Science, si Dios quiere. It hasn’t been a piece of
cake by any means and I’ve encountered people who don’t think I have
the right to work in a library. They didn’t mind when I was cleaning
toilets but some sure resent me now. I guess that’s the way it’s always
been with immigrants in this country. I love it anyway. But I’m aware
of very real dangers. For example, it has been documented that a total
of 4,742 Americans were lynched between 1882 and 1968. Of these 3,452
were African Americans. No one has studied how many Hispanos were
lynched. That is still to come. So living here isn’t just a piece of
pie.
Another of the
things I like about American life is that you have to rely on yourself.
Let me start by saying we immigrants have paid the price for coming to
the United States. Let me set the record straight on what immigrants
are doing for this country. Immigrant workers, legal or otherwise, will
pay around $500 billion into the Social Security system during the next
twenty years. Immigrants collectively earn $240 billion a year, pay $90
billion a year in taxes, and only claim a return of $5 billion per
year. That’s an 85 billion dollar profit for this country. If you don’t
believe me check out People for the American Way.
We’re get accused
of taking away American jobs! ¡Mentiras! We do the work
Americans won’t do. Now that I’ve worked my way up the latter, now I’m
taking away an American’s job? Don’t kid me. Nobody wanted to start
with janitor work so they gave me the job. I did the job and I’ve
climbed up the ladder of opportunity. We immigrants are the work ethic
of this country. Now that’s what we do for Americans like you and for
your wonderful country. Muchas gracias.
.
NARRATOR:
Thank you, señora. That
information is very interesting and certainly a revelation to me
personally. Next we have the Hispano.
HISPANO: Thank
you. There are any number of ethnic labels used locally, regionally,
and nationally. Some are positive, many are derogatory. This applies to
all ethnicities which comprise the population of the USA.
Despite the belief
of some to the contrary--“It’s their name for us” they like to
say--the label used historically for New Mexico’s Spanish speaking
population is and has been Hispano, Hispanic in English.
Is it really “their
name for us”? No, it isn’t. I agree with Latino that we don’t study our
history. And by the way, I don’t believe HISTORY is boring. The
word HISPANO has its roots in a history that is more than 3000
years old and it goes like this: at around 1200 B.C. the Phoenicians
were the first to record visiting a land which they referred to as Hispalis,
the Iberian Peninsula, and to the people living there as Hispani.
So Hispani is the name given to us some 3000 years ago. When
the Romans conquered the area they named it Hispaniarium which
later became Hispania and the people were referred to as Hispano.
To this day, the people who came out of Spain and Portugal are referred
to as Hispano, as are those Latin Americans who became products of the
basic cultures of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Portugal. And no one
speaking English gave it to us.
Yes, we all
recognize that we are AMERICANS. Everybody knows that, but that
isn’t the point. The reality is that we are not accepted as equals by racist
Americans. Notice that I am singling out ONLY racists.
Furthermore, be aware of differences which exist amongst our people:
we Hispanos of New Mexico didn’t come to the USA, the
USA came to us. We’re not immigrants coming to the United
States. We didn’t change out names so we could be “Anglos” the way so
many Ellis Island immigrants did. We had a long history before we were
made citizens of the USA. Indeed, our Spanish history is longer than
our USA history. Understand the point that I’m making: historical New
Mexicans are not immigrants who came to the USA.
Some people recoil
against the idea that New Mexicans are Spanish. You know why
they do that? Because they have bought the racist concept that “one
drop” of blood can make you inferior. So if you have “one drop of
African blood” that makes you a black person. If you have one drop of
Indian blood that makes you an Indian. And so on down the line. The
“one drop race theory” is ludicrous on all counts but it is basic to
racist American psychology. And some of our people have bought it.
That’s why they ridicule anyone who refers to himself as Spanish or
Hispanic.
I’m sure you can
make a case for use of Latino. We are part of the Latin family,
but so are Italians, Portuguese, French, and Romanians. How come they
don’t refer to themselves as Latin Americans? That’s what they
are, just like us.
The label Chicano
doesn’t exist in any historical document as far as I know. There is no
reference to the label used by any historian before the twentieth
century, as far as I know. Being barrio slang, it was used sparingly in
the 1940s but became a rallying point during the Civil Rights struggles
beginning in 1964 to 1970. The Chicanos, often militant, some people
referred to them as militontos, made demands at the college
level and some new courses were initiated because of the pressure.
That’s about as far as it went because the community didn’t embrace the
militancy or the idea that anyone who didn’t use CHICANO was a
phony, a “Tío Taco” sellout, someone pretending to be “pure Spanish,”
which Chicanos ridiculed as ludicrous fantasy. A fratricidal situation
developed that is recognizable to this day. Maybe that’s why we’re here
right now??
Chicanos laud their
Indian blood, which is fine, but at the same time they denigrate the
Hispanic past. Put succinctly, Chicanos became as virulently
Hispanophobic as any racist Skinhead racist who hated Spain and its
Catholic Church. For example, in Albuquerque some so-called Chicanos
worked against honoring Juan de Oñate in observance of New Mexico’s 400th
anniversary. That’s a historical fact.
Despite the fact
that Indians don’t consider Chicanos to be blood brothers, Chicanos,
seemingly omniscient, promote the idea that Hispanos are more Indian
than Spanish. How do they know? “Well, one drop of Indian blood
makes you an Indian, that’s how.” That’s American racism, pure and
simple.
Like American
racists who fancied they were fighting for purity of the white
race, Chicanos have made demands in favor of the “mestizo race”
where race mixture is the all important reality. Land grant swindles,
failing public schools, the hell of drug abuse, grinding poverty,
illiteracy, poor academic achievement, all are subordinate to
acknowledging race mixing. And in the mixture the Aztec
Indians, who by the way came from Siberia if you have studied
anthropology, not some fabled Aztlan, are claimed and lauded as
progenitors of Chicanos. How is it possible that Chicanos from
everywhere came only from Aztec people? What happened to the hundreds
of other tribes? There was no mixing with the other tribes who lived
all over Mexico and the Southwest?
The truth be told,
the Aztecs were conquered by Spanish-led Indians who hated the Aztecs.
Why isn’t that historical fact acknowledged? Why do we ignore
historical realities like the fact that the many Indian tribes in the
Valley of Mexico hated the Aztecs as war mongering cannibals who
believed in daily human sacrifice? Why aren’t we aware that the flesh
of sacrificial victims was sold in the market place as food? The Aztecs
are now often portrayed as heroic while Cortés and his Christian
handful of men are villainized, the latter of which fits nicely into
“Tree of Hate” American psychology which has always been used against
us. Are Chicanos in league with American racism?
Speaking
historically, the people of California referred to themselves as
Californios, those of Texas as Tejanos, the New Mexicans as Hispanos.
Genome testing has now proved that human DNA is 99.9% exactly the same
throughout the human race so racist ideas of “purity” or “mixing” are
invalid, in reality more social than science. Furthermore, use of the
label Chicano was doomed from the start because there is not
now nor has there ever been historically a Chicano community. The
effort came from individuals at various universities, especially in
California, and never became the fabric of community life. Latino
is still the preferred label in Texas, as is Hispano in New
Mexico. Take a quick look at the various organizations in Albuquerque:
the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Roundtable, the Hispanic
Culture Preservation League, American G.I. Forum. None of them employ
the Chicano in their organizational name.
Individuals can use
whatever name they wish. My feeling is that hate should not be fomented
by anyone. Live and let live. We all hate war, disease, ignorance,
racism, and all those ugly things, but we should not hate each other or
we could wind up in crematoriums, one group at a time. I invite you to
read the short story, THE WALL, which has been published on
various websites. Thank you.
PART II
NARRATOR: Thank
you, Hispano. Now we will have a short rebuttal period—
HECKLER: (seated
in the audience area and yelling) WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO DISCUSS THE
NAMES THEY REALLY CALL YOU??
NARRATOR:
(startled but peering into the direction of the voice) Excuse me?
HECKLER: I said
why not discuss the names they really use?
NARRATOR: (trying
to be accommodating) Sir, I don’t know what you mean. Like what?
HECKLER: Like
GREASER. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard it!!
NARRATOR: Well,
yes, of course, but sir, at this juncture you would have to be on stage
in order to raise such questions.
HECKLER: (Taking
it as an invitation he strides onto the stage and into the spotlight.)
OKAY, it’s time to tell it like it is. When are you going to face
reality?? You say you’re Chicanos, Latinos, Mexicans, Spanish and all
the rest, but what you really have to confront is when they call you a
greaser, a spic, a pocho, a surumato, a hodge-podge of mixed-blood
mongrels of the human race but little removed from savagery, on par
with Indians and blacks.
NARRATOR: Sir, I
meant to say we will open it up for questions at the end. And the first
thing I would require is respect for all people.
HECKLER: Let’s not
waste anymore of my time. Address the real issue: why do Americans
think of you as degenerate GREASERS?!
NARRATOR: Sir, you’re going to have to leave
the stage but let me say that we are not responsible for racist
societies that have targeted Amerindians, Africans, and Mexicans.
HECKLER: There you
go again, avoiding reality. Why not say redskins, niggers, and
greasers? Afraid to look the situation in the face?
NARRATOR: Sir,
that’s enough. (Looking to the wings.) Some one get this person out of
here.
HECKLER: Face
American reality: a white skin symbolizes the light of knowledge,
religious purity, the beauty of innocence, faith, true joy, and life
itself. That’s what people believe and you guys haven’t even touched
upon it. Integrity is the key, along with humanity and high
chastity in women.
CHICANO,
ABOVE-IT-ALL, LATINO, HISPANO: Are you kidding me?!
HECKLER: A dark
skin is the sign of darkness, wicked mongrelism, punishment and
suffering, ignorance and superstition, a lack of hygiene, pervasive
squalor, laziness and misery, decadence and death. Those are the real
issues that you have to discuss if you really want to face reality.
[Two burly stage hands come on stage and
forcibly drag the Heckler away to the wings while he continues to
express himself until his voice is suddenly silenced.]
You stand here and
laud your mestizo mongrels?! [To the stage hands as they drag
him offstage.] GET YOUR GREASY HANDS OFF ME!! You’ll hear from
my attorney!! When will you people ever learn?! You’re nothing but
rejects like everybody says! You’ll hear from real AMERICAN LAW!!
PART III
NARRATOR (slightly
shaken): I apologize, ladies and gentlemen. We didn’t intend that
scene, it’s not part of the program. We’re back to normal again. As I
was saying before we got interrupted, we will now have a short rebuttal
period in which our presenters can clarify their commentary if they
wish. We will maintain the order of presenters by beginning with our
Chicano.
CHICANO: Thanks.
As you have seen ladies and gentlemen, that’s what we have to confront.
How are we going to do it? The racist practices witnessed on this
platform are symptomatic of stubbornly held ideas that include, first,
denying there is a war at home along with today’s wars abroad, and the
two are intimately connected. Second, denying that both are racist
wars, as well as apparently forgetting that U.S. foreign policy is
fundamentally rooted in American racism. In 1500 the invaders arrived
to take the land and the woman, and then systematically worked to
destroy the culture. The Europeans came from Spain and later from
England. Then came the Dutch to sell slaves, and even the Russians
came.
The Chicano has a
history of activism and cultural survival or we wouldn’t be here. It
was the Chicanos who organized the Mexican American Civil rights
movement during the late 60's and early 70's.
So how should we
activate today? The same as yesterday: you’ve got to have huevos. Do
you really think these eunuchs here tonight are capable of providing
you with leadership to face the realities of this country? You have to
come to grips with who and what you are. Only then can you face reality
and work for your goals. And let us admit that we have to study our
history if we are to succeed in American society, despite its penchant
for fantasy as reality. But you don’t have to be Euro-clones to
be happy or fulfilled.
Chicanismo always
was, and is, an idea. We all know, of course, that you cannot kill an
idea. Today, in widespread educational circles, the idea lives. We see
the elements of El Plan de Santa Barbara bearing ripening fruit, such as bilingual
education, multicultural perspectives, and the recognition that Chicano
history is very relevant for today's well-rounded education and for the
self-esteem of Chicano and Chicana students. Chicanismo, therefore, is
not dead. It is our best weapon against American racism. Thank you.
ABOVE-IT-ALL: I
believe in American progress. I believe in improving what went before.
This does not include being “different,” not even being perceived as
different. When you belong you want to be like everybody else.
Being different is antagonistic, a threat to security of the whole. It
is dangerous and calls for incarceration, deportation, or being put on
a reservation. If you want to be happy, if you want salvation, ACCULTURATE.
If that means being Germanic in the British sense, so be it. The
professor at UCLA had it right when he said acculturation, through
education or the work place or whatever, was the key. IT’S WHAT ALL
OTHER IMMIGRANT GROUPS HAVE DONE. Why should you people be the
exception?
Furthermore, it’s
time we started talking like AMERICANS to everybody here
present and the rest of the world. You know what I would like to
hear coming out of Americans from here to the White House? That America
is for AMERICANS. It’s time to hear that since Congress does
not want to spend any more money on the current war, that our mission
is complete. All American forces and personnel will be out of the war
zone within 30 days!
We should create
two lists that include all of the industrialized nations of the world.
The short list contains the names of countries who went into the war
zone with us. The longer list contains the names of countries who did
not. So be informed that, effective immediately, countries who did not
help us in time of war will no longer be eligible for any kind of
foreign aid from the USA. We figure the money saved will pay for the
war on terror, which we thought all countries wanted to combat.
In the future, together with
Congress, American leaders will work to redirect this foreign aid money
toward solving the heavy social problems we still have at home. On that
note, a word to terrorist organizations. Mess with us and we will hunt
you down and exterminate you from the face of the earth, along with all
your friends. That’s a promise!
It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own
citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying,
"damn right." America should be first and foremost for AMERICANS.
Nearly
a century of trying to help people like you and around the world has
only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet.
The world can now take care of itself. It is time to eliminate hunger
in America. It is time to eliminate homelessness in America. It is
time for America to take care of its own. And if you don’t like it, no
one will stop you at the border when you move out.
If you want to
progress, be an American. If you don’t want to be one, there’s
plenty of transportation out of here. If we want the same rights
and privileges as every other American we have to be true Americans.
When in Rome, do as the Romans. Well this is America and we’re as
American as anybody else. GOD BLESS
AMERICA. This is my country and no one is going to
take it away from me. NO ONE! And that includes everyone here.
MARÍA: We ARE here. The United States finally took count and
found out that within the last ten years our people have crossed the
borders into America not only fulfilling the American dream, but more
importantly fulfilling the destiny of our becoming the entire majority
in the Southwest There is nothing on this earth that can stop a
movement of
people whose history revealed that they would once more govern not only
their lives, but their land.
We must have the heart, courage, and concern for the well-being of our
people. We must never forget that in some fashion or another we are
related. We are all Mexicanos -- different names, different
places, different native languages, but at the end we are Mexicanos.
The states within the borders know that it is a matter of time before
we become the majority. Those who doubt this may study the U.S. census
of people at the borders. The battle cry for many centuries has been
about life and death for justice, liberation, and land. As a people and
a race, we have returned to those times once again. The land itself
cries for us.
It is our
responsibility to undo the mental brain washing imposed on us, making
us believe that we who reside in the United States of America are
different. We are not different but we are one. "Nosotros somos uno."
We are the same
Mexicanos/Mexicanas that at times we see at the borders -- barefooted,
hungry, and chained. They are our sisters and brothers. These Mexicanos
are related to all of us. We are one, and there is no river, no border,
no agents or Minutemen that can ever stop the process of evolution.
Being a woman
hasn’t absolved me from any responsibilities to God, country, family or
community. I call for all women and men to join together to pay respect
to mother earth and to women for being life givers and keeping our
cultural traditions alive. Thank you.
LATINO: We need to
learn to appreciate each other. Most people do not realize that many
doors were opened for la Raza because of the sacrifices of many of our
past leaders. Corky Gonzales was one of those leaders and a personal
inspiration to me. I remember him fondly because he told me once If
there ever was a fight for rights, to invite him and he really
meant it.
Corky was one of
the leaders during the Mexican American Civil Rights Era during the
late 60's and early 70's. He did much to improve conditions in Colorado
and to promote communications. César Chávez improved conditions in the
farm fields. Others worked valiantly to improve conditions in the
cities in California, Arizona, the Mid-West, Oregon and Texas. There
were leaders like José Angel Gutiérrez and Reis López Tijerina who also
did much for the people, even if the ordinary Fulano doesn’t
know it.
An organization
that has not received its due is the Brown Berets. The Brown Beret
National Organization of 60 chapters had to take a lot of the
reactionary flack, but because of its sound structure, they contributed
to much of the youth development and safety in the field. The Berets
were able to organize many events across the nation despite disruptors,
and police provocateurs. The Berets went to jail more than anyone
because they were effective and not afraid to practice their civil
rights on the streets.
We must ORGANIZE.
You can’t wait for white activists to do it for you. We all know that
white activists can wage passionate campaigns against oppression and
human rights abuses in Chile, El Salvador, South Africa and such, but NOT
in the ghettos and barrios of their own cities. WE have to do
it. Thank you.
IMMIGRANT: I am
shocked beyond belief at what I have witnessed on this stage. What
is wrong with you people?! In my native country poor people don’t
get their kicks by fighting each other. They realize the oligarchies
and global corporations are keeping them underfoot and poverty
stricken. Why do you hate each other so much?! Do you really think
that blood is the thing that matters? So you are Chicano or Hispanic or
Spanish or Mexican or Indian, so what, if you’re poor and uneducated?
So you’re a mestizo! What of it?! So you’re Indo-Hispano or
Mexican American or Spanish American. I’ve heard one person say he was
no longer a Chicano but rather an Aztlano! Who cares if you can
hardly read or write English or Spanish? I’ve met tons of ordinary
people who don’t respect anybody and numbers of university professors
who think they’re gods!
You are the only
people I have ever met who fight each other over labels or blood
instead of oppression, crime, poverty, exploitation, lack of education
and all those things which most people value. What planet have you
people been living on?
You have millions
upon millions of brothers and sisters in this country but for you
people I guess they are just someone to fight with instead of for.
I have lived next to Indian villages and there isn’t a single person on
this stage whom I would consider to be an Indian. Neither are you
Spanish unless you were born in Spain, and I doubt that too. The people
I have met in this country are German, Irish, Italian, Polish and all
the rest from all over the world. They came here for a better life but
all you people want is to fight each other. Get ready. We, all of us,
will soon be obsolete, irrelevant, or dead.
HISPANO: I don’t
believe that everything that came before is “dead, obsolete, and
irrelevant.” Neither do I believe that Chicanismo is the only
key to “the good life” because we all have a right to pursue whatever
we believe is the essence of happiness. Acculturation is “one size fits
all” but so is “Chicanismo,” whatever that is. Maybe Aztlanismo
is next?! Maybe the Chicano will tell us. For my money, all its done is
fragment our communities with all kinds of animosities. Look at what’s
happened right here on this stage.
NARRATOR: We will
now open up the discussion to any presenter who wishes to add something
by way of summation.
CHICANO: El
Movimiento is who and what we are, beyond our
heart into our very soul and being por vida. Like Che said,
every true revolutionary is motivated by LOVE, and that is what the
Movimiento is, was and will always be, about eternal love.
Yes, there are many
vendidos and tapados among us but whatever they are, they were never
Chicanas or Chicanos, in the first place. Race, color, nationality,
culture and tradition do not a Chicana or Chicano make; Chicanismo
comes from the heart, and it grows from there, outward throughout your
mind forever. Anyone who thinks you can quit the Chicano Movement was
never in it in the first place.
LATINO: I believe the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo has to become a
basic factor in our reality. In that treaty, signed after years of war
between the United States and Mexico, Mexico was forced to cede about
half of its territory, the lands that would become the states of Texas,
New Mexico, Arizona, California and parts of Colorado, Nevada, and
Utah, ceded to the American government in exchange for $15 million in
hypocritical reparations, conscience money probably, for war damage.
Our people in 1848 were Mexican citizens, and the U.S. promised to
respect their rights as such, whether they chose to remain Mexican
citizens and relocate, or if they chose to stay where they were and
eventually become citizens of the United States. The federal government
also set about determining how much land belonged to Indian peoples
under the terms of the Treaty. In California, they asked the people in
1851 to provide proof of their land grants and pretty much accepted all
of the land claims that were filed. The federal government lost half of
California and realized that it had made a mistake. If you really have
Article VIII rights, real property rights, you as individuals and as a
people have superior rights. If we can establish that you have Article
VIII rights, you are the sovereign. If you are the sovereign, you can
say, 'I don't care what you pay; we will not sell.” Indians are in a
good position for court cases. All Latinos have the obstacle of proving
they were defrauded out of their lands. The crux of the struggle is for
the LAND. If you don’t see it, your head is buried in the sand.
MARÍA: Our basic
focus has to be the family and especially our children. The military
are trying to sign up our kids to go fight poor people from some other
nation. We must recognize reality. Across the country, parents,
teachers, and activists are taking action to protect students from the
lies, manipulation, and abusive tactics of military recruiters who are
going into the poorer communities and trying to recruit our young
people to fight their hateful wars. Rich kids aren’t targeted, just the
poor.
Recruiters have no
place in public schools. They are predators who
lie to young people and manipulate their economic situation in order
to drag them away to fight bloody wars of conquest and occupation. We
have a right and an obligation to demand that they not be allowed to
use schools to recruit cannon fodder for their illegal, immoral wars.
HISPANO: It’s time
to act. If you lived through the struggles the 60's and 70's you know
what price has been paid. It's our youth that doesn't know. They have
it easier than we did, thanks to all those paladins that opened the
doors of opportunity. To continue the struggle is the ultimate
sacrifice. We must combat historical amnesia. It's more complex than
just plain amnesia. Perhaps it should be characterized as cultural
amnesia or cultural schizophrenia because the fatal flaw in our armor
is the fight over European or Indio roots. This fight is destroying all
of us, whether we admit it or not.
IMMIGRANT:
Education is the key. According to the U. S.
Department of Education, 37% of Hispanics do not finish high school,
compared to the national average of 15%. In fact, overall statistics
show that Latino students do not succeed as well as non-Hispanic
Whites, African Americans or Asians. They have higher dropout rates,
lower test scores, and fewer college graduates, leading to less
involvement in community affairs. We must stress education to all our
people. Without education we will
always be viewed with contempt and we won’t be able to defend ourselves.
NARRATOR: I am
privileged to be able to draw this dialog to a close. Like everyone
here present, I too have something to say by way of summation, even
though that really isn’t a Narrator’s role. I have my commitment to our
people so let me just state this generation is being put into
competition with workers from all over the whole globe by the giant
corporations. The trend is a race to the bottom for the young of the
world, including the USA, and especially the barrios and ghettos. What
you did for your kids está a todo dar. My entire family has
achieved lots and I assure you, not one of my children, nieces or
nephews has ever had to shine shoes in downtown Los Angeles to help the
family make ends meet.
I hope I'm not
speaking for myself, that I'm not the only one that made a better life
for my children and the children of others. That would be a
disappointment. But the next generation will likely have a harder time
doing the same for theirs over time. My hope is that whatever we do to
make a good life for ourselves -- whether we become teachers, or
social workers, or business people, or lawyers, or poets, or
scientists, or artists – my hope is you will devote part of your life
to making this a better world for your children, for all children. My
hope is that the next generation will demand an end to war, that future
generations will do something that has not yet been done in history and
wipe out the national boundaries that separate us from other human
beings on this earth.
I will now give our
presenters a brief moment for one short, final comment.
PART IV
[The four males
step forward boldly, each wanting to make his last comment before the
others. They jostle and push each other disrespectfully until finally
each one has the following to say.]
ABOVE-IT-ALL:
When I write the Chicano version of ROOTS, you know what I’m going to
call it? GRASS!
CHICANO: I am a
Chicano from Califaztlan and I’m going to nominate each one of you for
a “Purple Shaft with Barbed Wire Cluster”!
LATINO: If I’m a
Pachuco from Pachucoville…¿al cabo que anyway what?
HISPANO: Get rid
of the confusion and fratricidal blood letting. Get a life!
ALL Four Males: WE
HAVE MET THE ENEMY [each one pointing at the others] AND THEY ARE YOU!!
NARRATOR: (Trying
to prevent the four from coming to blows.) Please: let us maintain our
composure. Think of what kind of example you are setting!!
[The lights flicker
in a strobe effect as the men begin fighting in slow motion, punching
and kicking, the Narrator, Immigrant, and Maria in the middle but
unable to stop them so the women scream. There now enters into the
front of the audience the Policeman, Immigration Officer, Army
soldier, Sheriff, and FBI Agent, all brandishing lethal rifles. The
lights go up in strobe surrealistic fashion and remain throughout the
following scene.]
POLICEMAN:
Everybody STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING or you will suffer the full force of
the law. You characters know I mean it. I SAID STOP!!
[Everyone on stage
stops and peers confusedly toward the audience.]
FBI AGENT:
[Addressing the audience.] This audience is under protective custody
until everything can be sorted out. [The lawmen point their weapons at
the audience.] Don’t try to leave the scene without prior approval.
[The lawmen now
focus on members of the audience, pointing their weapons at
individuals. They respond in character to whatever comments are made by
individual audience members.]
SHERIFF: You, let
me see your ID…I said let me see your ID.
ARMY SOLDIER:
Of what nation are you a citizen? What proof do you have?
IMMIGRATION
OFFICER: Do you have a passport? What do you have to prove your
identity?
POLICEMAN: Do you
speak English? Speak up now! What kind of an accent is that?
NARRATOR:
(Addressing the lawmen.) Hey, this is not part of the program. What are
you doing?
ALL MALE
PRESENTERS: (Standing in a row on stage.) You can’t do that. THIS
IS AMERICA! This isn’t a police state. We’ve got
rights!
[The lawmen all
turn toward the stage, form a straight line, lift their rifles and when
the POLICEMAN hollers “Ready, Aim, FIRE!” all rifles boom out in
unison. All presenters and the Narrator fall down dead. The entire
theater goes to black and we hear the song “Mañana” by Peggy Lee, sung
in its entirety, as the finale.
At the
end of “Mañana” the house lights come up and all characters in the play
engage the audience, with NARRATOR as MC, in a
commentary-question-and-answer session.]
Rubén Sálaz M.
10401 Central N.W. #131
Albuquerque, NM
839-4849
saljustin@...
I find I
really upset some people when I call myself Hispanic. I'm told that
excludes my Indio blood... People ask me what my nationality is
because I'm just brown enough to not be Anglo but have light green
eyes, my sister get's the same thing and she has blue eyes and
freckles. I still laugh when told I don't look like a Mexican... what
does a Mexican look like!!!!
Linda in Everett
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