The Afro-Latino Festival of New York, circa 2014. (Image: oogeewoogee.com)
Welcome to Hispanic Heritage Month, which in the US runs from September 15th to October 15th. During this month I try to do some posts having to do with Latin America, particularly Latin Americans in the US.
Some post ideas (listed in alphabetical order):
- Afro-Latinos: a brief history
- Afro-Mexicans
- Andalucia
- Are Hispanics becoming White?
- Arizona: a brief Chicano history
- Bartolome de Las Casas
- Catholicism and racism
- Cesar Chavez
- chicanismo
- criollos
- DACA
- Dascha Polanco
- Day of the Dead
- Doctrine of Discovery
- Dolores Huerta
- Dominican Americans
- Dum diversas
- Eduardo Galeano
- immigrant
- Is Latin American Western?
- Joseph Arpaio
- Latino Trump voters
- Mexican American mass deportations
- Mexican Americans
- Mexican War
- Moors
- Pope Alexander VI
- United Fruit
- Zapata
Here are the posts I have done so far (to be filled in as I do them):
- Romeo Santos: Propuesta Indecente
- DACA
- Hurricane Maria
- Lin-Manuel Miranda: Puerto Rico (A Hundred Miles Across)
- Cesaria Evora: Sodade
- Guanahani
- Trump and Puerto Rico
Suggestions are welcomed!
– Abagond, 2017.
See also:
Abagond 
Just show me where the women are at so I can hang out with them.
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Reblogged this on Geeking Out about It.
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A poem from the great Pedro Pietri:
Puerto Rican Obituary
By Pedro Pietri
They worked
They were always on time
They were never late
They never spoke back
when they were insulted
They worked
They never took days off
that were not on the calendar
They never went on strike
without permission
They worked
ten days a week
and were only paid for five
They worked
They worked
They worked
and they died
They died broke
They died owing
They died never knowing
what the front entrance
of the first national city bank looks like
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
passing their bill collectors
on to the next of kin
All died
waiting for the garden of eden
to open up again
under a new management
All died
dreaming about america
waking them up in the middle of the night
screaming: Mira Mira
your name is on the winning lottery ticket
for one hundred thousand dollars
All died
hating the grocery stores
that sold them make-believe steak
and bullet-proof rice and beans
All died waiting dreaming and hating
Dead Puerto Ricans
Who never knew they were Puerto Ricans
Who never took a coffee break
from the ten commandments
to KILL KILL KILL
the landlords of their cracked skulls
and communicate with their latino souls
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
From the nervous breakdown streets
where the mice live like millionaires
and the people do not live at all
are dead and were never alive
Juan
died waiting for his number to hit
Miguel
died waiting for the welfare check
to come and go and come again
Milagros
died waiting for her ten children
to grow up and work
so she could quit working
Olga
died waiting for a five dollar raise
Manuel
died waiting for his supervisor to drop dead
so he could get a promotion
Is a long ride
from Spanish Harlem
to long island cemetery
where they were buried
First the train
and then the bus
and the cold cuts for lunch
and the flowers
that will be stolen
when visiting hours are over
Is very expensive
Is very expensive
But they understand
Their parents understood
Is a long non-profit ride
from Spanish Harlem
to long island cemetery
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
Dreaming
Dreaming about queens
Clean-cut lily-white neighborhood
Puerto Ricanless scene
Thirty-thousand-dollar home
The first spics on the block
Proud to belong to a community
of gringos who want them lynched
Proud to be a long distance away
from the sacred phrase: Que Pasa
These dreams
These empty dreams
from the make-believe bedrooms
their parents left them
are the after-effects
of television programs
about the ideal
white american family
with black maids
and latino janitors
who are well train—
to make everyone
and their bill collectors
laugh at them
and the people they represent
Juan
died dreaming about a new car
Miguel
died dreaming about new anti-poverty programs
Milagros
died dreaming about a trip to Puerto Rico
Olga
died dreaming about real jewelry
Manuel
died dreaming about the irish sweepstakes
They all died
like a hero sandwich dies
in the garment district
at twelve o’clock in the afternoon
social security number to ashes
union dues to dust
They knew
they were born to weep
and keep the morticians employed
as long as they pledge allegiance
to the flag that wants them destroyed
They saw their names listed
in the telephone directory of destruction
They were train to turn
the other cheek by newspapers
that mispelled mispronounced
and misunderstood their names
and celebrated when death came
and stole their final laundry ticket
They were born dead
and they died dead
Is time
to visit sister lopez again
the number one healer
and fortune card dealer
in Spanish Harlem
She can communicate
with your late relatives
for a reasonable fee
Good news is guaranteed
Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable—
Those who love you want to know
the correct number to play
Let them know this right away
Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable
Now that your problems are over
and the world is off your shoulders
help those who you left behind
find financial peace of mind
Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable
If the right number we hit
all our problems will split
and we will visit your grave
on every legal holiday
Those who love you want to know
the correct number to play
let them know this right away
We know your spirit is able
Death is not dumb and disable
RISE TABLE RISE TABLE
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
Hating fighting and stealing
broken windows from each other
Practicing a religion without a roof
The old testament
The new testament
according to me gospel
of the internal revenue
the judge and jury and executioner
protector and eternal bill collector
Secondhand shit for sale
learn how to say Como Esta Usted
and you will make a fortune
They are dead
They are dead
and will not return from the dead
until they stop neglecting
the art of their dialogue—
for broken english lessons
to impress the mister goldsteins—
who keep them employed
as lavaplatos
porters messenger boys
factory workers maids stock clerks
shipping clerks assistant mailroom
assistant, assistant assistant
to the assistant’s assistant
assistant lavaplatos and automatic
artificial smiling doormen
for the lowest wages of the ages
and rages when you demand a raise
because is against the company policy
to promote SPICS SPICS SPICS
Juan
died hating Miguel because Miguel’s
used car was in better running condition
than his used car
Miguel
died hating Milagros because Milagros
had a color television set
and he could not afford one yet
Milagros
died hating Olga because Olga
made five dollars more on the same job
Olga
died hating Manuel because Manuel
had hit the numbers more times
than she had hit the numbers
Manuel
died hating all of them
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
and Olga
because they all spoke broken english
more fluently than he did
And now they are together
in the main lobby of the void
Addicted to silence
Off limits to the wind
Confine to worm supremacy
in long island cemetery
This is the groovy hereafter
the protestant collection box
was talking so loud and proud about
Here lies Juan
Here lies Miguel
Here lies Milagros
Here lies Olga
Here lies Manuel
who died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
Always broke
Always owing
Never knowing
that they are beautiful people
Never knowing
the geography of their complexion
PUERTO RICO IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE
PUERTORRIQUENOS ARE A BEAUTIFUL RACE
If only they
had turned off the television
and tune into their own imaginations
If only they
had used the white supremacy bibles
for toilet paper purpose
and make their latino souls
the only religion of their race
If only they
had return to the definition of the sun
after the first mental snowstorm
on the summer of their senses
If only they
had kept their eyes open
at the funeral of their fellow employees
who came to this country to make a fortune
and were buried without underwears
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
will right now be doing their own thing
where beautiful people sing
and dance and work together
where the wind is a stranger
to miserable weather conditions
where you do not need a dictionary
to communicate with your people
Aqui
Se Habla Espanol
all the time
Aqui you salute your flag first
Aqui there are no dial soap commercials
Aqui everybody smells good
Aqui tv dinners do not have a future
Aqui the men and women admire desire
and never get tired of each other
Aqui Que Pasa Power is what’s happening
Aqui to be called negrito
means to be called LOVE
Pedro Pietri, “Puerto Rican Obituary” from Selected Poetry. Copyright © 2015 by Pedro Pietri. Reprinted by permission of City Lights Books.
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@ Abagond
No suggestions, but seconding these:
Afro-Latinos: a brief history
Afro-Mexicans
Arizona: a brief Chicano history
Bartolome de Las Casas
DACA
Doctrine of Discovery
Joseph Arpaio
Latino Trump voters
Mexican American mass deportations
Moors
United Fruit
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Hello, Abagond. Thank you for doing your blog. Reading the blog is part of my task of educating myself.
I’ve traveled extensively through southern Mexico and I’m particularly fond of Chiapas. This state is the home of the modern day Zapatista movement, a land and Liberty/anti-capitalist movement. This may make an interesting post.
I have visited a particular caracol (government center that functions sort of like a county seat). You are only admitted after they interview you (or you could turned away altogether). They are very leary of potential spies, as they have an uneasy truce with the Mexican government. You are allowed to tour this small village with a masked guide, who makes sure you don’t take a picture of something sensitive. They seem to want to share their philosophy with outsiders, though they are extremely cautious. This particular caracol, called Oventik, has amazing political murals on every building, which you are allowed to photograph.
I will describe two that I really liked. One had a picture of bar of soap that says (in Spanish) that it is “for avoiding capitalism, is effective against bad government, and cruelty free.” Another has a picture of the sacred heart in the middle, with a doubleheaded eagle behind it in the background. On one side is a jaguar, symbol of the state of Oaxaca. Underneath the jaguar is the slogan Para todos todo (for everyone, everything). On the other side is a black panther with the slogan Black Lives Matter (in English). Beneath both of these is the slogan La Lucha Sigue (the fight continues). If you’re interested in seeing more of these, I can send you some pix, although you can probably google it, as well.
The place is about an hour north of San Cristobal de las Casas (partly named after Bartolome de las Casas).
Thanks, Susannah Willms
Sent from my iPad
>
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I would like to see more posts on
the pre-Anglo history of what is now the USA.
eg,
the SW USA pre-1848
Florida pre-1819
Guam pre-1898
The Chesapeake Bay pre-1607. I understand that the original European “settlers” were from Spain.
When we study the history of USA, it seems to begin only at the point of Anglo control.
the expulsion of Mexicans from the SW USA post-1848.
Asian Latinos in the USA.
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Oops – Jaguar is the symbol for Chispas. Oaxaca is the neighboring state – also one of my favorites.
Susannah
Sent from my iPhone
>
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@gro jo thanks, wow that was a great poem!
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Humm…
About Afro_Latinos… can we include the descendants of Cape Verde in the USA or Canada? Because they are obviously Afro and … obviously Latino (Portuguese speaking and acculturated, etc…)!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Verdean_Americans
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I would love to see posts on these topics! Particularly Zapatismo and Latino Trump voters.
Afro-Latinos: a brief history
Andalucia
Are Hispanics becoming White?
Catholicism and racism
Is Latin American Western?
Latino Trump voters
Mexican War
Moors
Pope Alexander VI
United Fruit
Zapata
My suggestions are Sephardic Jews, Che Guevara and Mexican Americans with pre-1848 ancestors.
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I would love to second:
Cape Verdeans. Love, love, love the music of their most famous daughter, Cesaria Evora.
Arizona: a brief Chicano history. White Arizonans were so threatened by Chicano history that they banned certain Chicano history textbooks in 2010. According to writer, Kristian Wilson of of the website, Bustle:
https://www.bustle.com/p/10-banned-books-from-arizonas-mexican-american-studies-program-why-it-matters-67282
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Today’s Google doodle is quite lovely it celebrates the 100th birthday of dancer and choreographer of Ballet Folklorio of Mexico, Amelia Hernandez it’s founder.
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@Abagon: Since you live in New York City a post on a the beloved staple of New Yorkers the Bodega would be cool. Heard a piece on NPR podcast how these former guys from Google want to create a vending machine type of bodega and put the original convenience stores out of business with this new technology. This stinks just like gentrification of people of color communities.
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Read a piece sometime ago about the colonized minds of the people of Cape Verde were denying their African heritage even though they speak Portuguese. They remind me of the Afro Brazilians with their internalized racism.
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@Mary, Afrobrazilians are far from internalized with self hatred. They in fact have the closest ties to the customs of our ancestors who were brought to Latin America, according to Anthropologists, as Brazil not only trafficked the most but also has the highest populations of Black folk in the Diaspora, even more than many African nations. They experience police brutality at an exponentially higher rate than we do here in the Union, among a host of other things their gov’t likes to hide behind a veneer of postracialism.
Re: the OP. It would be nice in the discussion on Afrolatin@s to see some of the customs and traditions we maintain from the Motherland covered since little of that is discussed in scholarship, as well as pivotal figures in the Union’s history that are otherwise little known. Arturo Schomburg, for example, was a major player in the cultivation of Black History during the Harlem Renaissance.
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@Mwatiangi: Thank you for that information very enlightening.
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@ Mary Burrell
Africans and people of African descent worldwide deal with racism against them in different ways, for example: denying being Black; or denying any connection, even remote, to Africa; telling to themselves that they are something else, like “indios” (=Native Indian descent) as people in Dominican Republic do; saying that some amount of mixture from other non-Black race is what they are; or in the case of African immigrants to USA, telling that they are from x- or y-ethnic group and, therefore, not Black per si (sic!); etc.
These are all cope mechanisms to evade a harsh reality!
In former Portuguese colonies people of mixed African and European blood were taught to see themselves as not Black but mulattoes. The same for people from African and Asian (mainly, South Asian) blood: they were named mulattoes. And mulatto was seen as closer to European than the unmixed African. And therefore superior. This sense of superiority as somehow diminished after the Independence of those countries but has not disappeared totally and some mulattoes will take offence if you call them Black.
In the case of Cape Verde the amount of mixing is the highest in the former Portuguese colonies and there, even some persons with a clear African appearance (dark skin, specific face traits, etc) will claim that they are mixed and therefore not Black. A similar race-setup to this one, is the case that you see in the Dominican Republic, to a certain extent (not identical!) although I don’t know if there is in independent Cape Verde – which is an African nation – a color hierarchy too. See https://abagond.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/race-in-the-dominican-republic/
When I look at the picture at the head of this thread, what I see are mainly mulattoes with one or two exceptions, and I ask myself if for some people in the USA the Latin American identity is not, somehow, an attempt, a way of not being identified as Black American!
This is a weird world of ours!
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Correction in my last comment:
Where is:
This sense of superiority as somehow diminished
should be:
This sense of superiority has somehow diminished
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See following link with an interesting testimony of an American of Cape Verdean descent:
http://notevenpast.org/passing-portuguese-one-familys-struggle-race-and-identity-america/
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@munubantu: I concur with your post.
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@ Mwatuangi
Abagond has done a post recently on Mr. Schomburg:
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/arthur-schomburg/
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@munubantu
“When I look at the picture at the head of this thread, what I see are mainly mulattoes with one or two exceptions, and I ask myself if for some people in the USA the Latin American identity is not, somehow, an attempt, a way of not being identified as Black American!”
One interesting thing to note is that the post photo caption states:
“The Afro-Latino Festival of New York, circa 2014″.
This festival seems geared to a healthy celebration of both their African and Latinx identities. Great concept.
At least they are acknowledging their connection to the African Diaspora.
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@ Afrofem
I think that you are right in your observation!
Anyway, during this month, as Abagond develop themes related to Hispanic heritage, it would interesting to see some reflections about how Afro-Latinos(as) relate to (other) Black Americans.
I have one curiosity: is/was there a region in the USA where French influence was particularly strong? I see sometimes people with names like Belafonte, Al Jareaux, Beyoncé, etc, which belong clearly to the French family of names, so, the question is – are these people considered Latino(a) or are so much integrated in the Anglo sphere that their Latin bond is more apparent than real?
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@munubantu around New Orleans, Louisiana.
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@ munubantu
v8driver is correct. Louisiana is the epicenter of French influence in the USA. The French also claimed Native American land from Michigan down to Louisiana as New France. New Orleans was their largest colonial city and Saint Louis was their second largest city.
New Orleans was established in 1718 and became a part of the USA in 1805. African and multi-racial people have been important parts of New Orleans since it’s founding. Many Black people in New Orleans have bloodlines that go back more than 10 generations.
To my knowledge, Francophone people in the US are not considered Latinx like
people with Spanish and Portuguese backgrounds. Americans of all backgrounds tend to put the French on a pedestal and look down on Iberians. The Spanish and Portuguese direct from Europe are considered among the “darkest White folk” in the US and are treated accordingly.
I found an informative website that goes deep into the French/African/Creole experience in Louisiana:
http://www.frenchcreoles.com/CreoleCulture/creoleexperience/creoleexperiencenew%20orleans.html
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Afrofem, I wouldn’t take the info on that site as gospel. They are pushing a “mulatto” agenda. Audubon is turned into a person of color whose mother was killed during the Haitian Revolution, when in fact, the woman was white and died from a tropical disease.
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Belafonte’s real name was Bellanfanti, probably of Spanish origin since his grandfather was a Dutch Jew. The Netherlands was part of the Spanish empire.
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@ gro jo
Thanks for adding more information. I noticed a heavy “mulatto” agenda, also.
I have met a few Creoles from Louisiana. Most have been insistent on not identifying as Black and blathering endlessly about their White relatives, etc.. That website did not seem out of the ordinary based on past observations.
The Netherlands also had independent overseas “possessions” in the Caribbean and Central America. To my knowledge, they still hold these Caribbean islands:
They had their fingers in a lot of pies throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and South America. Par for the course.
http://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Spinoza/Texts/UMB/Spinoza/Dutch%20Capitalism.htm
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@ munubantu
Regardless of how they might think of themselves, people of French Creole descent are not considered Latin@/Hispanic in the way our government defines those terms. In the U.S., that means specifically Spanish/Portuguese, especially from Latin America. It doesn’t apply to other Romance-language nations like France or Italy (or their former colonies).
To confuse matters a little more, a person doesn’t need to have any Spanish or Portuguese blood to be officially classified as Latin@/Hispanic. It refers more to the culture and the language of their country of origin. For example, an immigrant from Guatemala who is of 100% Native American descent would be considered Latin@/Hispanic in the United States.
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Listen to songs by Susana Baca, a famous Afro-Peruvian singer. She has a beautiful voice. She sings a song about Jose Leonardo Chirino, who led a slave rebellion in Venezuela.
You might also like Gabriel Palatchi, Pistolera, San Lazaro (band of South American immigrants in Australia on HopeStreet Records), Buyepongo, Eljuri, Boogat, Todos Tus Muertos (Argentine reggae), Troker, Los Aguas Aguas, ChocQuibTown, Grupo Fantasma, Mariachi Flor de Toloache, La Santa Cecilia, Spanglish Fly, El Chicano, Mala Rodriguez, and Quitapenas.
Do an entry on Augusto Cesar Sandino, the namesake of the FSLN, or Sandinista Front
Also Juan Gerardi, a bishop assassinated in Guatemala, or his colleague, the anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang. Oscar Romero was an archbishop assassinated while delivering the Mass. Ignacio Martin-Baro, Segundo Montes, and Rutilio Grande were priests killed by death squads.
There’s also a movie called IXCANUL that takes place in rural Guatemala with mostly Kaqchikel dialogue.
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@ Para
Here is my post on Che Guevara:
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/che-guevara/
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Why hasn’t Trump sent the FEMA and the Naval ships to get food and supplies to the people in Puerto Rico? He hasn’t acknowledged Mexico that’s still in crisis from the earthquakes. And i noticed he add Venezuela in the travel ban I guess because they are Mexico adjacent. And he also wants the DACA people deported. Trump has no love for brown people or any people of color.
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Prayers up for Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 🙏🏿
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Thanks Mary! Much appreciated.
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