Mexican English Translation

The bright colors caught my eye and the image reminded me a little of my hometown. Where I come from there's a large range of ethnicity and when I saw this lithograph it brought back old memories. Of when, I guess you can call them thugs, would drive up and down the streets of Dumas in there decked out lowriders thinking they were the coolest thing since sliced bread. In my opinion I always thought low riders were absurd and that they were a mark down to the cars real stature. Luis Jimenez's lithographs show a true style in which some people portray beauty with there cars.

Growing up in an area with a large Mexican community I never really understood how much my culture means to me. I grew up with the stories my dad and grandfather would tell me about my ancestors. My people were the raiders from the hills of Mexico City and that we were a family of warriors. I never held much weight to the warrior part of my grandfather’s stories but I did know that my great grandfather was a fighter. He left Mexico and rode the train up to Denton Texas and sold tamales on the square his entire life. He fought to give my grandfather a better life here. I don’t talk about my dad’s side of the family much, in this day in age being seen as white has more advantages than being seen as Mexican. This thought changed as I came to

Through the voice of Palo Alto, a mesquite tree, Elena Zamora O’Shea relates the story of one Spanish-Mexican family’s history, spanning over two hundred years, in South Texas, the area encompassing between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. As the narration of the Garcia’s family history progresses through the different generations, becoming more Mexican-American, or Tejano, peoples and things indigenous gradually grow faint. In her account of South Texas history, Elena devalues the importance and impact of Indians, placing a greater precedence on the Spanish settlers.

Moreno asserts that ““Too many times, we have read our history books that have been written by Europeans, and it has had a tremendous impact in the way we view our culture and listen to our music. I do think that our identity is lost with it and at some point, we try to find it again later in life” (7). Students are able to see a different point of view rather than only the perspectives of textbook writers who at times deprive students from the full truth and the media who exaggerates or embellishes the truth. Many artists and musicians express their anger and oppression through music and students are able to listen to this and get the complete synopsis of problems happening in the world. For instance, in “The Embodiment of Salsa: Musicians, Instrument and the Performance of a Latina Style and Identity,” Patria Roman-Velasquez argued that the embodiment of salsa develops through specific practices whereby instruments, performance techniques, vocal sounds, bodily movements and ways of dressing are encoded and experienced as part of a particular Latin identity. Therefore, this expressing that music has much of an influence in Latin identity and the construction of identity and

Foreigners have more trouble understanding Dia de Los Muertos than any of Mexico's other celebrations. At first glance, they see Day of the Dead decorations which are colored paper garlands, little skeletons performing daily tasks and sugar skulls inscribed with names, which remind them of Halloween. Other tourists discover that much like Memorial or Remembrance Day in the US, families here visit, clean and decorate graves of loved ones for the

There are multitudinous types of Chicano music that include all types of instruments, verses, backgrounds, and purposes. According to Tatum (2001), “The popular Hispanic folk music has deep roots in Spain and Mexico, but it is a living cultural form that is forever changing and adapting to new social conditions and musical currents (Robb 1980, 5)” (p.15). Modernization also plays a key role in the diversion of Chicano music. For example, as new instruments were being invented, they were then incorporated into the music, making it sound more different and attractive. The types of Chicano music range from romance which could narrate an event, corridos, which was a form of cultural differentiation, alabanzas, which were specifically religious, and the canción, in which lovers expressed their deep adoration for each other (Tatum 2001). If a man who was lost in his woman’s eyes wanted to choose a song for their

After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, a nationalistic sentiment spread throughout Mexico as they sought to form a unified identity under its new constitution. Under the new organization of the country, Mexico underwent many political and social changes, many of them violent. At the turn of the 20th century, Mexican nationalism was of the utmost importance. Finally, the masses of Mexican poor began to have a voice in their own destiny and began to seek out a national identity. In order to be fully immersed in an identity that seemed ambiguous due to centuries of colonization, Mexico looked to the arts to help mold Mexico’s new character as a country. Muralists like Rivera, Siqueiros, Orozco and Khalo portrayed the struggle for freedom and democracy against the oligarchs that had exploited the poor for decades. Music also played a pivotal role in expressing nationalistic views and ideas through movements such as the traditional and the “indigenismo”. One of the composers who was at the forefront of the “indigenismo” movement was Carlos Chávez. Chávez strived to distance himself from romantic influences and practices, and searched for new methods to create pieces that were for everyone, not just the elite. Chavez’s investigation of indigenous Indian cultures, native folk elements, and dance forms brought an unprecedented vigor and visibility to 20th century Mexican Music. Chávez traveled to Europe and the United States to gain recognition beyond Mexico’s border, thus catapulting his influence on Mexico’s musical style and cultures.

From January 20 to 23, I went to Santa Fe and San Ildefonso in New Mexico with Dr. Laughlin and my classmates. I was totally surprised by the architecture of the housing and the rich collection of Native American cultures. I expected to see traditional suburbs but instead I found almost everyone has built houses resembling traditional adobe homes which I had never seen. Houses, businesses, government buildings including museums are almost built in this style. The colors seem to blend in with the desert. One of the most exciting events I attended in New Mexico was the museum presentation of the Zuni tribe. Although we actually did not meet the Zuni tribe, we learned a lot about them because Dawn Kaufmann who is a guide at the Museum of

Throughout the Mexican revolution, songs from northern Mexico emerged telling stories of heroism and defeat. Moreover, these corridos, translated into English meaning ballads, were influenced by 14th-century romantic Spanish notes. Further, these ballads, commonly performed by individuals who lack formal musical training and embrace the use of the accordion and tuba in the melody (Madrid 2013, 92). The result of these factors is a musical genre considered unrefined and unsophisticated by most of Mexico until the music’s growth in popularity in the 1970s.

Cozumel was next on the itinerary but we had no clue what we were going to do there with no excursion booked. When we arrived everyone was running off renting jeeps or taking a taxi but we just stood there looking clueless. This being our first cruise we really didn't know anything about things to do in Cozumel. I stood there thinking "I should have done a little more research on Cozumel". Paul and I were discussing our options when this older couple approached us and introduced themselves, "hello I'm Bill and this is my wife Jennette, we could help but over hear that you are first time cruisers and being unsure of what to do." I laughed and said "Yes we're a little nervous about wondering around in a place we've never been before". The conversations went back and forth for a little while until Bill spoke up and said "why don’t you guys just come with us for the day? "We know of a place you guys can swim at the beach". We we're a little apprehensive to accept their offer at first but we did decided to go. There's way several thoughts running through my mind like "are these people going to take us off and kill us or leave you without a way back to the ship. We took a taxi through town to this ravishing little resort named Occidental Cozumel. It was a burnt orange stucco building decorated with local Mexican décor laced in copper. There was vibrant colors all throughout the breeze way leading to the beach. As the beach came into view I whispered into Paul ear "this look

Anachronologically deemed a feminist for her writings, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz stood in the New World as a defiant, female Catholic. Through her work, she displays her head-strong character, illuminating the hypocrisy that was flourishing in patriarchal Mexico while simultaneously creating metaphors that clearly showed how she viewed her situation. Moreover, through extenstive allusions, she displays her aptitude, proving that she had one true love in life: the love for learning. Perhaps doomed from the start because of her sex, any time Sor Juana delved into her passion she was bound to hear insolence from a traditional member of society, namely the Bishop of Puebla,

Through the combination of these issues along with the bands background, we can conclude that there is a different dynamic as to the complexity of immigrant influence in music. There has been a new era of migration, in general, many migrants continue to seek strong ties with their homeland, that is through the perseverance of their culture, food, traditions and music. Through such connections we form a form of religion aside from our spiritual beliefs, trough this religion we seek to educate about the struggles of our community. This is the theme that La Santa Cecilia portrays through their music, the song is a melancholic rendition of the challenges that undocumented immigrants face in the United States. Rather than being angry or bitter, the song seeks to tell the facts of the life of an immigrant and the everyday fear that runs through their minds when they leave off to work, their families suffer as they face constant fear, “lloran los ninos loran al ver que no llegara mama,” the children cry when they realize their mom isn't coming back. This is the everyday struggle of an immigrant, this struggle needs to be heard, especially in times like this, where theres a constant need for community unity following new rules made by our government which discard the struggle and hard work faced by immigrants in this

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, popular music and culture became significant influences on the lives of many individuals within the city of Los Angeles. East Los Angeles (“East L.A.” or “the Eastside”), in particular, was a center of flourishing musical, cultural, and social scenes with strong connections to the changing Chicano/a identity. Under this environment in which the Chicano movement (moviemiento) continued to prevail, a large number of socially aware and politically active, Latin-fusion “Chicano” bands were developed. One of such was the Ozomatli band, who strived to express their activist viewpoints through popular music. The spatial context of the band’s emergence, their links to past musical movements, and their implementation of a wide array of musical styles and genres all define their impact on Chicano identity in Los Angeles. Through their music, the Ozomatli band has showed much about the importance of the changing Chicano culture and served as the framework for cultural and social dynamics of present-day Los Angeles.

I hope you are doing well. This first link will take you to the digital version of Diego Mexía's Parnaso antártico de obras amatorias (1608):

As I stepped off the gargantuan, snow white cruise ship, I gazed at a colorful sea of retro-style cars zipping through the narrow streets littered with potholes. The day I had been anticipating and fearing was finally here. I was in Cuba. The customs office at the end of the ship terminal was institutional looking, with stark white walls and bright lighting. Eventually, my family left customs and officially entered Cuba. Before meeting our tour guide, we located a restroom. Outside, there was a rugged and dirty looking man selling toilet paper to American tourists, who forgot their own roll. However, the cruise line had forewarned us, so we bypassed him.