THINK MEXICAN (original) (raw)
50 Years On, Tlatelolco Survivors Continue the Fight for Truth and Justice
Today, October 2nd, marks 50 years since the Tlatelolco massacre of 1968. In commemoration, thousands marched throughout Mexico.
After a long summer of protests, students insisted on having their demands met and gathered at the Plaza de Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco in an act of defiance days before the Mexico City 1968 Olympics Games were to be inaugurated.
The images of massacred students remains an open wound for millions who lived through this repressive era. For survivors who continue to fight for justice for their fallen comrades, Tlatelolco is hallowed ground. For all Mexicans who want to see a Mexico of peace and justice, October 2nd is a date we must never forget.
To learn more about the Massacre or Tlatelolco and the Mexican Student Movement of 1968, visit our archive.
Mexican workers shut down plant; black man fired for posting video
In Indiana, Mexican and other Spanish-speaking workers walk off job site, shutting down plant in protest of mistreatment. Black man who uploaded video of it is fired
When Antoine Dangerfield showed up to work on Tuesday, the last thing he expected was that his co-workers would walk off the job and that he’d be fired for recording and uploading it to the Internet. But that’s exactly what happened.
In an interview with us earlier today, Antoine told us how it all went down.
Antoine, who is a welder by trade, worked at CRI (Contractor’s Resource Inc.) in Plainfield, Indiana, a company contracted by UPS and others to build conveyor systems. They’re based in Texas, but have plants throughout the United States. Most of his co-workers at this site were Mexican, while some were Guatemalan. Almost all Spanish speakers, which is why he tells us the company has their daily safety meetings in both English and Spanish.
The problems on this day started when the company’s interpreter did not show up and the safety meeting had to be done all in English, which became the pretext for the plant’s safety officer — a white guy named Bill — to write up the mostly Mexican workforce for minor violations.
After six workers were sent home early, their compañeros had had enough of his bullshit and decided they would all walk off in protest, effectively shutting down the plant. All of this happening before noon.
“They sent a couple of them home; they all packed their shit up and shut this motherfucker down,” Dangerfield says in his video, which has amassed more than 2.2 million views on Facebook as of Thursday. “This is what black people need to be on, man. I swear to god, I love this shit.”
Dangerfield told us he posted the video because he simply wanted to share it with his friends, but that it quickly went viral and has now taken on a much more serious meaning in his life. As of Thursday, Antoine had been fired, telling us that at least 3 of the men seen in the video will also be fired after completing their suspension. He plans on getting a lawyer to fight this injustice and hopes other workers are encouraged to stand up for their rights, he said.
Cesar Chavez’s Legacy Must Be Re-examined
The Angels Who Bring Water
The Border Angel’s next water drop is March 17th. If you’re interested in participating, please RSVP here.Participation is limited. If you’d like to help at a future date, follow them on Facebook for updates.
For any other questions or comments, please email Jacqueline Arellano at jacqueline@borderangels.org. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit borderangels.org.
LA RAZA: Photos From the Chicano Movement of the ’60s and ’70s
The ‘LA RAZA’ photo exhibit runs through February 10, 2019 at the Autry Museum in Los Angeles
Published in Los Angeles from 1967-1977, the influential bilingual newspaper La Raza provided a voice to the Chicano Rights Movement. La Raza engaged photographers not only as journalists but also as artists and activists to capture the definitive moments, key players, and signs and symbols of Chicano activism.
The archive of nearly 25,000 images created by these photographers, now housed at the Chicano Studies Research Center at UCLA, provides the foundation for an exhibition exploring photography’s role in articulating the social and political concerns of the Chicano Movement during a pivotal time in the art and history of the United States.
LA RAZA is the most sustained examination to date of both the photography and the alternative press of the Chicano Movement, positioning photography not only as an artistic medium but also as a powerful tool of social activism. Read more here.
Photos: La Raza archives, The Autry Museum
Music: El Chicano, “Viva Tirado”
Video edited by @thinkmexican
Capturing Mexican Beauty as an Act of Self-Love
Dorian López’s MexicanoMX is more than a photo project, it’s a defiant act of self-love.
By capturing the beauty of everyday Mexicans, López’s photos destroy the false and archaic notion that only light-skinned people are pretty.
In MexicanoMX, brown skin, black hair, Indigenous eyes, noses and lips are celebrated — and in doing so, restores for many a positive self-image. And that’s a beautiful thing.
El Mexico Que Se Levanta
En 2017, un sismo golpeó de nuevo a Mexico. Y de nuevo, Mexico y los Mexicanxs se levantaron.
Un saludo a los rescatistas que entraron a edificios derrumbados, excavando entre los escombros para rescatar vidas. Son un orgullo Mexicano. 🇲🇽
Foto 📸 Alpha Leilani
Mexico’s 1940’s Anti-Nazi Posters
2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year
Grand Prize Winner: “The Power of Nature”
Photo and caption by Mexican 🇲🇽 photographer Sergio Tapiro Velasco
A powerful eruption illuminates the slopes of Mexico’s Colima Volcano on December 13, 2015. I was in the town of Comala when I suddenly saw incandescence above the volcano’s crater and started shooting. Seconds later, a powerful volcanic explosion expelled a cloud of ash particles and a massive lightning bolt illuminated most of the dark scene. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life.
Category: Nature
Location: Rancho de Aguirre, Colima, Mexico
See all winners and submissions at National Geographic
“Estoy más y más convencida de que el único camino para llegar a ser un hombre, quiero decir un ser humano y no un animal, es ser comunista”. - Frida Kahlo
“I am not sick, I am not broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.” - Frida
On this day, July 6, in 1907, artist Frida Kahlo is born in Coyoacan, Mexico City. Known as the “Heroine of Pain,” Kahlo’s art captures both her anguish and indomitable spirit. Her courage and creative genius remains an inspiration to Mexicans and the world.
Frida Kahlo: Heroine of Pain
Cartoonist Gavin Aung Than of Zen Pencils has followed up with another beautiful comic strip dedicated to the late, great Frida Kahlo. This time, the comic is a brief and poignant yet optimistic biography of Kahlo, in classic Aung Than form.
From Zen Pencils:
“Frida began painting self-portraits, something she would do for the rest of her life, constantly examining herself and looking inward. After the tragedy of the accident Frida was reborn and had found new life in painting: ‘From that time my obsession was to begin again, painting things just as I saw them with my own eyes and nothing more.’ It’s an origin story befitting a superhero, and Frida continued to live a heroic life despite decades of more agony and suffering.”
See Zen Pencil’s “Strange like me” comic
See Think Mexican’s Frida Kahlo archive
‘My Abuela and Abuelo Can’t Be Scared Anymore’: the Story Behind the Brave Girl Who Stood Up for Her Grandparents
Sophia is only four years old, but when she learned about the number of deportations happening under the Trump administration and the fear amongst members of her own family, she had something to say.
Sophia’s mom, Erika Reyes, was on social media when she read there would be a May Day march happening in downtown Los Angeles earlier this month. Erika had never been to a march, but this was something she and her daughter could experience together, she thought.
“I started explaining to her about the march and how our people were getting arrested and taken back to Mexico,” Reyes told us. It was then that Sophia began to ask questions.
“Mom, si se llevan a mi Lola y mi Roque, can we go with them?,” Sophia asked her mother.
“My parents mean the world to Sophia and imagining our life without them was just too hard for me to answer, Reyes said.” “I was a teenage mom. As Sophia grew older, my parents were like her parents as well. This is why the question she asked hurt my heart,” she added.
Although it may have been painful to explain to a child the harsh reality of having family members live in fear of deportation, it was Sophia who didn’t hesitate in speaking up for her grandparents.
“I asked if she wanted to make a sign for her grandma and grandpa. She said, ‘Yes, because my abuela Lola and abuelo Roque can’t be scared anymore,’” Reyes recalled.
Sophia’s big heart was evident as photographer Erik Omar-Campos walked through the crowd in front of Los Angeles City Hall at the end of the march.
“As I was walking towards the stage, I was struck by what I witnessed: a young girl, holding a sign up high, standing poised and strong a few feet in front of her mom,” Campos told us. “Sophia engaged the camera directly with a fierce conviction as if to say, ‘I know why I’m here, what I’m here for and who I’m here for.’ “Immediately, I was overcome with a sense of immense gratitude for having the privilege of bearing witness to this young sage and her potent message. She brought to mind all the reasons and people for whom I was present for. Thank you, Sophia.”
And thank you Erik for having captured this image and for allowing us to share it with the world.
_Sophia will be starting Pre-K next year. She’s interested in art and is learning to read. From cooking to writing to skating, she loves learning new things. _Her favorite activities are going to the park and talking to her dad on the phone. Her family is from Torreón, Coahuila and Guadalajara, Jalisco. They reside in South Central Los Angeles.
Photographer Erik Omar-Campos was born in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles. As a Nicaragüense, documenting the story of his family’s journey and of those fighting for justice is very important to him. He’s a cook by day and began photographing during an action at the South Central Farm in 2006.
Mexico’s National Indigenous Congress Appoints Presidential Candidate
The EZLN and the Mexican National Indigenous Congress nominate María de Jesús Patricio, a practitioner of traditional medicine, as an independent candidate in Mexico’s 2018 presidential election.