#I don’t CARE if you say that it’s ’la cultura’ I don’t CARE!! ITS BAD!! CHANGE IT!! BE BETTER!!

[thiagodasilva]

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embarrassing, embarrassing, embarrassing all around.

like clockwork, all of the rats are crawling out of the woodworks to double down and remain ignorant to the issue at hand. THIS is why publicly calling out an ALREADY public incident is permissible & encouraged even. it’s embarrassing the way they keep showing their ignorance.

so many of them defending what happened by claiming it to be a “cultural” thing and everyone else just doesn’t understand. so many of them saying Wesley and others were wrong to take to social media to condemn even though that livestream was also very much public, so no. they weren’t wrong. they just didn’t like being publicly called out on it.

when they say it’s cultural, they want it to be overlooked, and that’s one of the biggest problems with why racism like this continues to have such a stronghold in our society, and ESPECIALLY in Latino culture. It shouldnt matter if “that’s just the way it is” if it is has been and always been harmful to a whole group of people. that “cultural” defense is such a pathetic way to keep disgusting and harmful behavior around and to CHOOSE to remain that way instead of learning to be better is so incredibly detrimental. calling it out for what it is is probably the least anyone can do when being witness to it. they have to choose to be better or else they will continue to look like the pathetic and malicious clowns they are.

[therealpolyglot-blog]

Lessons I Learnt As An Exchange Student

A couple weeks before I turned 17 I has the opportunity to embark on the greatest adventure of my life. I decided to cross the atlantic all the way from my never ending summer country, Venezuela, to the land of waffles and fries, Belgium. Even at such a young age I knew that this was more than just about going far away to learn a language, I knew I was going to change but I guess I didn’t know that how much,

So here I have 12 lessons I learnt during my exchange year, one for each month I spent there.

August: Anything could happen.

Be aware, be happy, be in the moment. You don’t know when but something will happen, good are bad, it can be life changing. My exchange helped me to understand the value of the now and it helped me accept anything that comes my way with grace and strength.

September: Empathy is the most beautiful thing.

Is the language we use to understand feelings, the tool we use to connect without judging. Empathy is looking someone in the eyes and say: “I might not feel the same but I want to help others get through it.”

October: Family has little to do with blood and a lot to do with love.

My host family took me as their own, they care for me just as my biological family would. For some people this is unbearable, how can I have another family, but they are an important part of my life and I am incredibly lucky to be part of their lives.

November: No expectations, no disappointments.

Anticipation and anxiety makes us create fake scenarios in our mind that don’t necessarily would happen. Do not expect too much or too little, let life surprise you, if you don’t know what to expect you can’t be disappointed.

December: My body will change and I will age.

By Christmas time I gained 12kg, I was always super skinny before and thought that it was impossible for me to gain weight. It wasn’t. This makes me realize that I wouldn’t stay 17 forever, my body will change and I will age, I learnt to be ok with these changes and accept me no matter how I look. I just have to stay healthy and happy.

January: Being prepared actually helps.

Before going on an exchange I was prepared by my organization to embrace a new culture, language and family. This allowed to me to spend more time enjoying and less time worrying about culture shock. I was ready from day one to enjoy and learn as much as I could.

February: Learning languages is about the process.

Not being able to understand my surroundings nor to communicate properly, helped me realized that the fun part was learning. The natives loved teaching me new words and I loved learning them. They would feel so proud of me when I spoke Dutch and we would laugh every time I made a mistake.

March: Nothing is good or bad just different.

It doesn't mean that the rest of the world is wrong only because you do it in a different way. Good and bad are relative concepts, of course we can agree morally that some things are universally bad and good. But when it comes to cultures and even relationships, everyone has its own way of living and most of the times you just have to accept it.

April: You decide how you want to live your life.

I had a sample sized example of how life can be during my exchange. Some students would party all day all night, some others would have tons of friends, some would only spent time with their hosts families. Everyone made out of their exchange what they wanted to. As long as they were happy and didn’t hurt others it was fine. Real adult life is the same, some never stop partying, some others have a thousand kids and some people just want a simple life. We must stop judging.

May: We are what our experiences make us.

Related to the one before, the decisions we make and the lives we lived are what shape us as members of family, groups and society. We have to embrace these different lifestyles and understand that the wonders of humanity is diversity. How boring it would be if we all had the exact same experiences.

June: Not all friends are forever, so enjoy them as much as you can.

Let’s face it, friendships come and go. As a teeanger you want to believe that nothing will change and your friends will be your friends for ever and ever. This was a hard one, but I learnt to let go of people, of places, of situations. Now I know that my current life won’t be the same forever. Some friends are gonna be there at all times but not many and it doesn’t mean that they don’t care anymore, it just means that life is busy and everyone will make their own path.

July: Don’t be sad because it is over, be happy because it happened.

This is one of the most important ones. Saying goodbye has never been easy. Especially when you don’t even know when the next encounter will be. I’ve said the hardest goodbyes in my life, not one but many times. I try to stay positive and think: “well, at least I got to live it and I can still remember it.” Sad tears might come up but they will get carried away by all the good tears that the happy memories brought me.

Some time has happened since I was a crazy exchange student in Belgium but the lessons I learnt will stay with me forever, and I hope that you can learn from my experience as well. Mari

Lo que aprendí como estudiante de intercambio

Un par de semanas antes de cumplir 17 años tuve la oportunidad de aventurarme en una de las mejores experiencias de mi vida. Decidí cruzar el Océano Atlántico, fuí desde el eterno verano de Venezuela a la tierra de las papas fritas y waffles, Bélgica. Incluso a esa edad estaba consciente que no solo me iba lejos a aprender un idioma, yo sabía que iba a cambiar pero nunca me dí cuenta de cuánto cambiaría.

Así que aquí les tengo 12 lecciones de vida que aprendí como estudiante de intercambio. Una por cada mes que estuve ahí.

Agosto: Todo puede pasar.

Se feliz, disfruta del momento, conecta con el presente. No sabes cuando algo va a pasar - bueno o malo- que cambie tu vida por completo. Mi intercambio me preparó para entender el valor del ahora y para enfrentar con fortaleza y dignidad todo lo nuevo que se me presente en el camino.

Septiembre: La empatía es lo más hermoso que existe.

Piensa en la empatía como el idioma que usamos para entender los sentimientos, es una herramienta que nos permite conectar sin juzgar. La empatía es mirar a alguien a los ojos y decir: “ Quizás no sienta lo mismo pero quiero ayudarte a lidiar con ello.”

Octubre: La familia no tiene que ver con la sangre sino con el cariño.

Mi familia anfitriona me tomó como parte de ellos, cuidaron de mí como lo haría mi familia biológica. Para muchas personas aceptar a otros padres y hermanos es imposible pero para mí ha sido como ganarme la lotería, tengo muchísima de suerte de poder formar parte de sus vidas.

Noviembre: Sin expectativas no hay decepción.

Anticipar ansiosamente es algo que nos hace crear escenarios en nuestras cabezas que lo más probable es que no pasen. No esperes demasiado o muy poco, deja que de vez en cuando la vida te sorprenda, si no te creas expectativas no te decepcionarás.

Diciembre: Mi cuerpo cambiará y yo envejeceré.

Después de navidad ya había ganado 12kg. Antes del intercambio era super flaca y pensaba que nunca engordaría. Pero no es así. Esto me hizo darme cuenta que no tendré 17 por siempre, que mi cuerpo va a envejecer y que tengo que aprender a aceptar lo cambios y llevarlos con orgullo. Siempre debo intentar mantenerme sana y feliz.

Enero: Estar preparado es de mucha ayuda.

Antes de irme de intercambio tuve preparación departe de mi organización para ayudarnos a enfrentar una nueva cultura, idioma y familia. Esto me permitió pasar más tiempo disfrutando y menos tiempo preocupándome por el shock cultural. Estaba preparada desde el primer día para disfrutar y aprender al máximo.

Febrero: Hay que disfrutar el proceso de aprender idiomas.

No poder entender lo que decían a mi alrededor ni poder comunicarme adecuadamente me hicieron darme cuenta que la parte divertida de los idiomas es el proceso. Los nativos amaman enseñarme palabras y yo aprenderlas. Se sentían muy orgullosos de mí cuando hablaba en holandés y nos reíamos juntos cuando cometía un error.

Marzo: Nada es bueno o malo, sino diferente.

No porque tú lo hayas hecho de otra manera significa que el resto del mundo esté equivocado. El bien y el mal son conceptos relativos, claro que en ciertas cosas acordamos que moralmente algunas cosas se consideran globalmente buenas o malas.Pero cuando trata de culturas e incluso relaciones interpersonales, cada uno tiene su manera de vivir y muchas veces simplemente tienes que aceptarlo.

April: Tú decides cómo quieres vivir tu vida.

Yo tuve una versión de prueba de cómo es la vida mientras estuve de intercambio. Muchos estudiantes iban de fiesta día y noche, otros tenían muchos amigos, algunos solo pasaban tiempo con sus familias anfitrionas. Cada quien creó el intercambio que deseaban. Mientras sean felices y no le hagan daño a nadie, todo está bien. La vida adulta es muy parecida, algunos nunca dejan de ir a fiestas, otros tienen muchos hijos y muchos solo quieren una vida simple. Debemos dejar de juzgar.

Mayo: Somos lo que nuestras experiencias nos enseñan.

Relacionada a la anterior, las decisiones que tomamos y la vida que vivimos es lo que nos forma como miembros de una familia, grupos y de una sociedad. Tenemos que aceptar estos distintos estilos de vida y entender que las maravillas de la humanidad yace en su diversidad. Qué aburrido sería que todos tuviéramos las mismas experiencias.

Junio: No todos los amigos son para siempre, disfrutalos cada vez que puedas.

Seamos honestos, las amistades van y vienen. En la adolescencia queremos creer que nada va a cambiar y que nuestros amigos serán los mismos por siempre. Esta fué una de las lecciones más difíciles, pero aprendí a dejar ir a personas, lugares y situaciones. Ahora sé que mi vida actual no será la misma por siempre. Algunos de mis amigos estarán ahí por siempre pero no serán muchos y eso no significa que ya no me importe, solo significa que la vida es así y cada quien está creando su propio camino.

Julio: No estés triste porque se acabó, alégrate porque sucedió.

Esta es una de las lecciones más importantes. Despedirse nunca ha sido fácil. Especialmente cuando no sabes cuando será el siguiente encuentro. Yo me he enfrentado a las despedidas más difíciles en numerosas ocasiones. Intento mantenerme positiva y pienso: “Por lo menos lo pude vivir y ahora puedo recordarlo”. Quizás igual llore un poco pero siempre será mayor la felicidad que llevo por dentro.

Ha pasado algún tiempo desde que fuí una estudiante de intercambio en Bélgica pero las lecciones que aprendí desde entonces se quedarán conmigo por siempre, y espero que tú puedas aprender también de mis experiencias. Mari

Die Erkenntnisse, die ich als Austauschschülerin gewonnen habe

Einige Wochen bevor ich 17 geworden bin, hatte ich die Gelegenheit das größte Abenteuer meines Lebens zu beginnen. Ich entschloss mich den Atlantik zu überqueren, von meinem niemals endenden Sommer-Land, Venezuela, in das Land der Waffel und Pommes Frites, Belgien. Selbst mit einem so jungen Alter, wusste ich, dass dies mehr war als nur weiter wegzugehen, um eine Sprache zu lernen, ich wusste, dass ich mich verändern würde, aber ich wusste nicht wie sehr.

Also, hier habe ich 12 Erkenntnisse, die ich während meines Austauschjahres gewonnen habe, eines für jeden Monat, den ich dort verbrachte.

August: Alles könnte passieren.

Sei vorsichtig, sei glücklich, lebe den Moment. Du weißt nicht wann, aber etwas wird passieren, gutes oder schlechtes, es kann das Leben verändern. Mein Austausch hat mich darauf vorbereitet den Wert des Jetzt zu verstehen und alles mit Anmut und Stärke zu akzeptieren, das auf meinem Weg liegt.

September: Empathie ist die schönste Sache.

Es ist die Sprache, die wir nutzen, um Gefühle zu verstehen, das Werkzeug, das wir nutzen, um uns zu verbinden, ohne zu beurteilen. Empathie ist jemanden in die Augen zu schauen und zu sagen: “Ich fühle vielleicht nicht das Gleiche, aber ich will, dass andere da durch kommen”.

Oktober: Familie hat so gar nichts mit Blut zu tun und viel mehr mit Liebe.

Meine Gastfamilie nahm mich als eine der Eigenen auf, sie sorgen sich um mich, wie es meine biologische Familie tun würde. Für manche Leute ist das untragbar, wie kann ich eine andere Familie haben, aber sie sind ein wichtiger Teil meines Lebens und ich unglaublich glücklich, dass ich Teil ihres Lebens bin.

November: Keine Erwartungen, keine Enttäuschungen.

Erwartungen und Angst bringen uns dazu ausgedachte Szenarios in unseren Köpfen zu erschaffen, die nicht unbedingt eintreten würden. Erwarte nicht zu viel oder zu wenig, lass dich das Leben überraschen, wenn du nicht weißt, was du erwarten sollst, dann kannst du auch nicht enttäuscht werden.

Dezember: Meine Körper wird sich verändern und ich würde älter werden.

Bis zur Weihnachtszeit hatte ich 12 kg zugenommen, ich war vorher immer sehr dünn und dachte, dass es für mich unmöglich wäre zuzunehmen. So war’s nicht. Ich kam zu der Erkenntnis, dass ich nicht für immer 17 Jahre alt sein würde, mein Körper wird sich verändern und ich würde älter werden, ich habe gelernt mit den Veränderungen klarzukommen und mich zu akzeptieren, egal wie ich aussah. Ich muss nur gesund und glücklich bleiben.

Januar: Vorbereitet sein hilft wirklich.

Bevor ich zum Austausch aufbrach, wurde ich von meiner Organisation darauf vorbereitet eine neue Kultur, Sprache und Familie anzunehmen. Das gab mir die Gelegenheit, die Zeit mehr zu genießen, ohne über den Kulturschock besorgt zu sein. Ich war bereit vom ersten Tag an, um es zu genießen und so viel zu lernen, wie ich könnte.

Februar: Beim Sprachen zu lernen geht es um den Prozess.

Nicht fähig zu sein meine Umgebung zu verstehen oder richtig kommunizieren zu können, hat mir geholfen zu realisieren, dass der spaßige Teil daran das Lernen ist. Die Muttersprachler liebten es mir neue Worte beizubringen und ich liebte es sie zu lernen. Sie waren sehr stolz auf mich, wenn ich Niederländisch sprach und wir lachten jedes Mal, wenn ich einen Fehler machte.

März: Nichts ist gut oder schlecht, einfach anders.

Es bedeutet nicht, dass der Rest der Welt falsch liegt, nur weil du es anders machst. Gut und schlecht sind relative Konzepte, klar, wir können uns darauf einigen, dass manche Dinge universell schlecht und gut sind. Aber wenn es zu den Kulturen und auch Beziehungen kommt. Dann hat jeder seinen eigenen Weg es auszuleben und die meiste Zeit musst du das einfach akzeptieren.

April: Du entscheidest, wie du dein Leben leben möchtest.

Ich hatte nur eine Kostprobe davon, wie das Leben sein kann, während meines Austausches. Manche Schüler machten Party, die ganzen Tag, die ganze Nacht. Manch andere hatten eine Menge an Freunden, manche verbrachten nur Zeit mit ihren Gastfamilien. Jeder macht das aus seinem Austausch, was sie daraus machen wollten. Solang sie glücklich waren und niemand damit verletzten, war es gut. Das echte Erwachsenenleben ist das Gleiche, manche hören nie auf damit Party zu machen, manch andere haben eine Menge an Kindern und manche Leute wollen nur ein einfaches Leben. Wir müssen aufhören andere zu verurteilen.

Mai: Wir sind das, wozu unsere Erfahrungen uns machen.

Passend zu dem Vorherigen, die Entscheidungen, die wir treffen und die Leben, die wir leben, sind das, was uns als Mitglieder der Familie, einer Gruppe und der Gesellschaft formt. Wir müssen diese verschiedenen Lebensstile akzeptieren und verstehen, dass die Wunder der Menschheit, die Vielfalt ist. Wie langweilig wäre es, wenn wir alle genau dieselben Erfahrungen hätten.

Juni: Nicht alle Freunde bleiben für immer, also erfreue dich an ihnen so viel du kannst.

Seien wir ehrlich, Freundschaften kommen und gehen. Als ein Teenager möchtest du glauben, dass sich nicht verändern wird und dass deine Freunde für immer und ewig deine Freunde bleiben werden. Das war hart, aber ich habe gelernt Leute gehen zu lassen, sowie auch Orte und Situationen. Nun weiß ich, dass mein jetziges leben nicht für immer so sein wird. Manche Freunde werden immer da sein aber nicht viele und das bedeutet nicht, dass sie sich nichts mehr aus dir machen, es bedeutet nur, dass man im Leben beschäftigt ist und dass jeder seinen eigenen Weg gehen wird.

Juli: Sei nicht traurig, weil es vorbei ist, sei glücklich, weil es passiert ist.

Das ist das Wichtigste. Auf Wiedersehen zu sagen war noch nie einfach. Vor allem, wenn du nicht weißt, wann die nächste Begegnung sein würde. Ich habe die schlimmsten “Auf Wiedersehen” in meinem Leben gesagt, nicht einmal sondern öfters. Ich versuche positiv zu bleiben und zu denken: “Nun, wenigstens habe ich es erlebt und ich kann mich immer daran erinnern”. Traurige Tränen werden aufkommen, aber sie werden von den glücklichen Tränen davon getragen, die mir die guten Erinnerungen bringen.

Es ist etwas Zeit vergangen, seitdem ich eine verrückte Austauschstudentin in Belgien war, aber die Erkenntnisse, die ich gewonnen habe, werden für immer bei mir sein, und ich hoffe, dass du auch von meiner Erfahrungen lernen kannst. Mari

[samjgrasso]

The world’s first LGBT Mariachi: a story that never was

Photo via arcoirisdelosangeles/Facebook

I’ve always been scared to pitch stories. Selling myself has never been my strong suit—if I had a story idea, I didn’t have the confidence to think I could report it, and if I had the connect, I never had a story. So when I pitched a profile of the first LGBT Mariachi of Los Angeles, Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles, at my first Big Time Magazine internship a little more than two years ago, I was ecstatic my editor accepted the pitch and assigned it to me, no questions.

I finished the story while I was in California but didn’t receive feedback months later, when I was finishing up my second-to-last semester in college. I’ll be the first to admit that my writing has grown a ridiculous amount in the past year, and that initially when I received the edits I was overwhelmed. So I reinterviewed Mariachi Arcoiris’s director in an attempt to get the process rolling, but I let the story fall through the cracks—I was burned out from school, and from what I can recall, I didn’t send back my edits, though my editor followed up. A month later I checked the magazine’s masthead and found out she had left the publication. 

I was off the hook for the story, but I felt awful—I really wanted this piece to work out, but it didn’t. I thought it was decent, with strong historical and societal context on why an LGBT mariachi is so groundbreaking. I still think it’s decent. It's not the best written, but the narrative itself is so immensely important to share. So I’ve fixed the piece up and I’m sharing it on my blog, because I never repackaged the piece to shop around, but I think the story is valuable itself, regardless of price or merit. 

Mariachi Arcoiris: Paying Tribute to, and Expanding Inclusivity of, Mexican Culture in Mariachi Music

Written in Aug. 2015 by Samantha Grasso

Carlos Samaniego is a self-proclaimed mariachi purist, a stickler to detail. He sits in a bright living room in East Los Angeles, Thursday night after Thursday night, listening attentively to his semi-circle of six musicians surrounding the rehearsal space. 

In between balancing the sound of his own violin arrangements to the ensemble, he stops rehearsal, addresses rhythm and intonation issues with prompt solutions, and counts the group off with a tight, “ONE-two-three.” Samaniego pauses, critiques and repeats. The band plays on.

As the director of Mariachi Arcoiris De Los Angeles, the first LGBT mariachi in the world, Samaniego says he feels the mariachi is already scrutinized for its inclusive take on a century-old Mexican tradition. Strict weekly two-hour rehearsals aren’t overkill—they’re necessary to keep up impressions.

“I feel like we’re always under the microscope in…the mariachi world—they’re going to say things anyway. They’re going to make fun of us, they’re going to talk badly about us,” Samaniego says. “I don’t want them to say bad things about how we play. I want to sound really good, so we can shut them up.”

Mariachi Arcoiris, which is Spanish for Rainbow Mariachi, performed for the first time on Valentine’s Day 2014. With this ensemble, Samaniego sought to create a safe space for LGBT-identified mariachi players. 

This isn’t Samaniego’s first organized gay mariachi—his previous group was a short-lived ensemble initially prepared for a pride week event at California State University, Los Angeles. But this mariachi is his first to actively challenge the masculinity of the mariachi world.

“I wanted a safe haven [for people] who identify as LGBT to perform the music that we so love to do,” Samaniego says. “Here, no one’s going to make fun of me. No one’s going to talk smack…to each other. Nothing about like, ‘C’mon Carlos, check her out, you got to like her,’ forcing that on me. Or…[straight mariachis] trying to ask ridiculous questions…Things that are none of their business.”

Photo via _nataliamelendez/Instagram

To give you a sense of the mariachi environment, here’s a brief: From 1969 to 2007, mariachi enthusiasts in Los Angeles could catch fine-tuned performances by Nati Cano and L.A.’s Mariachi los Camperos at Cano’s restaurant, La Fonda. 

In addition to Los Camperos, Grammy Award-winning and –nominated ensembles including Mariachi Sol de México, Mariachi Reyna De Los Angeles and Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea brought distinction to both the genre and the city. Mariachi music classes offered through the Los Angeles Unified School District, and facilities such as The Mariachi Observatory and Mariachi Heritage Society preserve the tradition with the youth of the city.

Even women of Los Angeles punctuate the mariachi scene, including notable pioneers Rebecca Gonzales, the first female mariachi of Los Camperos, and the late Laura Sobrino, the first female mariachi of many groups in the ‘70s and ‘80s, among other titles. And yet, even with the integration of women in the profession, mariachi itself still holds deeper cultural impressions. In the 20th century, mariachis portrayed a model of machismo: strong, aggressive, prideful masculinity.

“Sobrino admits that being a Latina in a macho mariachi mundo is exactly what propels her to push harder, talk faster, stay a step ahead, stand tough,” a 1995 article from the Los Angeles Times states in a profile about the former director of Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles. 

The article continues: “Again and again she has heard the same refrain: ‘You have no place here. Your place is having babies.’” Samaniego, who has performed in numerous mariachis over the last 20 years, said these ideals of masculinity, of being tough, macho or womanizing, are ingrained in Mexican culture. Samaniego says these impositions from other mariachis in former groups felt uncomfortable and taxing.

“Now there are a lot of women in groups, but even then, a lot of these hardcore traditionalists are like, ‘Women…don’t have the same kind of feeling in the music,’” Samaniego says. He lists examples of this mentality: “Most of Mexico is Catholic, and they’re against homosexuality…Sort of putting a woman in her place, where she needs to serve her man or take care of the children…Old school traditional conservative. These mariachis are just a product of that.”

Samaniego’s skepticism of being accepted by this pervasively masculine mariachi community almost prevented Mariachi Arcoiris from participating in an annual Los Angeles tradition. 

In November 2014, the mariachi was invited to perform at the Mariachi Festival at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights. While the mariachi has straight allies, Samaniego says he worried about security of his musicians, including Natalia Melendez, the first openly transgender mariachi in the country. With the support of festival organizers, Mariachi Arcoiris performed at the festival and received an overwhelming ovation.

“I said, ‘Well, I’m really concerned about our safety…I don’t want nothing, no violence, no verbal abuse…The organizer who reached out to me made it clear that we…would be protected,” Samaniego says. “I was told that not until we performed had [the audience] wanted more, like ‘Otra, Otra,’ or an encore…With us it was like they wanted more, more, more.”

While challenging cultural normality, Mariachi Arcoiris maintains the integrity of mariachi traditions with their full-bodied, emotive renditions of songs such as “Ella” and “No Vale la Pena.” They display their pride for the culture with their own personalized trajes, clean-pressed suits embellished with silver and gold, with rainbow flags adorning the belt buckles, rainbow fabric bowties, and rainbow horseshoes pinned to the sombreros.

Still, between preserving the culture and expressing modernity, it’s a balancing act. Samaniego emphasizes being inclusive in his careful attention to masculine and feminine pronouns when selecting songs to perform. While some traditional mariachi songs don’t specify gender, others are heteronormative, or only have men singing to women and vice versa.

“I’ve got to be careful that if I’m going to sing a love song, or a song about betrayal. I’m not singing it to a woman. I need to sing it to a man,” Samaniego says. “To our gay audience, they really enjoy it because these guys—who have grown up seeing and listening to mariachi and have witnessed how the mariachi serenades sings to the girl—they always wanted that. Like, ‘Oh man, they’re never going to sing to me.’ And finally with our group, they get that.”

Though Mariachi Arcoiris is but a short year-and-a-half old, the mariachi’s distinctive mission has already garnered attention from outlets such as L.A. Weekly, Telemundo and NPR’s Latino USA. Even the Mexican American culture museum La Plaza De Cultura Y Artes in Downtown L.A. requested to include Mariachi Arcoiris in their six-month-long exhibit “Corazón de la Comunidad: A Story of Mariachi in Los Angeles.”

Samaniego aspirations to round out the mariachi’s second year don’t fall short of the group’s present success: Mariachi Arcoiris is accompanying Mexican singer Sheyla Tadeo in August, performing at Oceanside’s “Pride by the Beach” in October, and recording their first album. In the meantime, “purists” like Samaniego and avant-garde audiences alike can find Mariachi Arcoiris De Los Angeles performing every Sunday night at Club Tempo in Hollywood, where they’re navigating the celebration of culture among the nuances of self-expression, one guitarrón strum at a time.

“We’re here to perform for everybody, but especially for our community,” Samaniego says. “We’re a mariachi who’s true to itself… We’re there to perform and to put on a good show, and for [Mariachi lovers] to see something they’ve never seen before.”

[aion-rsa]

Immigration Nation Asks How Do We Fix The Unfixable?

https://ift.tt/2Cy03zW

There’s a moment in the trailer for Netflix’s docuseries Immigration Nation that’s understandably garnered quite a bit of attention. In it, camera operators sit in the back of a van filming an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on the job. The agent’s superior calls and says via speakerphone “I don’t care what you do but bring at least two people in.”

After the call ends, the agent says to the documentarians in the back, “He knew you guys were with me, right? Because that’s a pretty stupid thing to say.”

As developed by Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz, Immigration Nation isn’t an exercise in “gotcha” storytelling by any means. Clusiau and Schwarz set out to capture a comprehensive picture of the United States’s broken immigration system and how it has changed in recent years. But due to the near totality of their access to ICE and its detention centers across the country, there are quite a few “gotchas” thrown in there all the same. 

Schwarz worked with ICE previously in 2011 while making his first documentary Narco Cultura about drug smuggling. Schwarz reached out to his ICE contact in 2017 with this concept and he and Clusiau were granted unprecedented access to the inner workings of the controversial division of DHS. If this seems like a bad decision for a governmental agency whose employees engage in people-snatching quotas, ICE eventually agreed, with the Department of Homeland Security trying to intimidate the couple into not releasing the series. 

But Immigration Nation is now out on Netflix all the same. And it’s about much more than merely ICE’s questionable PR tactics.

The six-episode series was shot over three years and seeks to understand the story of modern immigration in America through the daily workings of ICE agents, activists, attorneys, and undocumented immigrants. Contextualizing a nation of immigrants fear of immigrants is a tall task but it’s a task that Immigration Nation’s six installments are certainly up for. 

We spoke with Schwarz and Clusiau about the experience of bringing their project to life. 

DEN OF GEEK: When developing this concept, did you envision it as a feature or an episodic experience?

Christina Clusiau: From the beginning on this one we definitely wanted it to be an episodic series. We knew we had access to ICE and we really wanted to take an approach from an inside-out lens. Because when you’re inside the system, you get access to both the enforcement officers and to the individuals who are caught up in it. We were trying to create an arc of their lives from when they’re inside, to when they leave the system and the effects on their families that are left behind, those that have been separated, and the reunification of families in all of this.

Shaul Schwarz: The vision was episodic and was exactly what came out of it. From the moment we had access to ICE, we did not intend it to be a Cops kind of show only. We wanted to be a fly on the wall, inside the system, that tracks immigrants in quarantine and tells the stories of both the enforcers and the enforced. I think that just actually came pretty much exactly how we had hoped it is. 

What consideration went into deciding what topics would be introduced in each episode? It seems like there’s the overarching story of ICE and DHS throughout the series, but, in almost Wire-style, each episode introduces a new element to the system.

Shaul: To the Wire thing: our tagline opened up with, “In a Wire-like look at the immigration system…” Literally, that was the initial idea. What was hard about it was there was so much ground to cover because it’s such a complex issue. To that effect, there’s been so much change (within the system) as well that we have to balance that and figure out how to make a show out of it. We wanted to open with episode one “Installing Fear”, that shows how enforcement has radically changed, because I do think that was what set up the understanding of today’s immigration landscape. 

Usually you tell people “immigration” and they’re like, “So how was it on the Southern border?” But we were filming in New York in the beginning. ICE is actually the enforcement that is not protecting the border. It’s dealing with immigration inside the country. That was very important for us to, right off the bat, change that up and key you into the new reality and how that has pushed people into the shadows. Maybe an average New Yorker doesn’t understand that this cat-and-mouse atmosphere that’s been set is played in LA, Chicago, and many other places. 

Christina: Each area of the nation we profiled was different from one another, and we are approaching different issues within all those. New York was more about enforcement. El Paso, Texas is a detention center story of family separation, which is happening there. Charlotte was a worker’s story and delved more into local politics. I remember very early on we had a cut-out construction paper back on the wall of different places we were looking to go. 

You mentioned this is quite the sprawling endeavor. Practically, how did you go about filming? How many people did you have involved? How many cameras did you have? What was travel like?

Christina: Logistically, it was chaos. We had to be very nimble. We had to be able to jump at a moment’s notice. As for the team, overall, there’s around six of us shooting about 75%, 80% of the series.

Shaul: Christina and I both come from photography so with our prior films we shot almost everything. Here, it was not possible. So many things were just breaking in a moment. You never know when a detainee is moved. Now you can get access. Now, this operation is happening. In a weird way, we started to get more disciplined about what we run after, but you also have to stay extremely open minded.

For example, we met six parents who were separated from their families in El Paso Detention Center in the first few days that we spent there. Only three would make the show because of our ability to track their stories for a long time and not just make it about one strong moment. A lot of that was like that. It’s like working in this unknown because the drama is unfolding over a long time. We had great access to ICE, but we can’t go everywhere all the time. 

This is a question that you’ve undoubtedly gotten a lot already and will continue to get, but I feel compelled to ask it myself. Why on earth did ICE go along with this? Why did they think that this was a good idea?

Christina: That’s a really good question and I’m always conflicted by that. I think at the beginning, it was because of a previous connection that [Shaul] had with a spokesperson at ICE, and working on another story with him.

Shaul: Regardless of headlines or our fight at the end, we came in at a moment when the spokespeople knew they would come under fire. ICE is a law enforcement agency and that’s already a sensitive issue, as we can tell very clearly today, of police accountability. Under this administration, they understood that they’re going to come under a lot of heat. I think they wanted to let someone show what their real daily life looks like. We’re very grateful for that and we’re not cynical about it, and I think we did just that.

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Sure, there are moments that are uncomfortable, I hope the viewer doesn’t just come away and say, “Oh my God, that cop is such an ass.” It’s bigger than that. Sure, maybe there are some bad apples, but a lot of ICE officers we saw were actually put into this incredible, difficult position. I’ll give you an example. Judy is an officer in episode one who is going to a house to take the target of her investigation, and suddenly the man has a child. That is just inherently part of her job and it’s an extremely hard position to be in.A lot of people will ask that question, a lot of people maybe will be cynical, but if you think about it deeper, we can’t just throw those individuals under the bus, and I don’t think the show does. We have to think about our broken immigration system. And every person in ICE agreed that it’s broken, whether they were right wing or left wing. 

Christina: As filmmakers, too, we like complexity. We like taking issues that are challenging, polarizing, and divisive and have the viewer question what they thought they knew. I think that’s something we expressed very early on. From our previous work, we felt that we were able to take an issue that was very polarized and make people question it.

Shaul: Christina’s referring to Trophy, which was about trophy hunting. People expect that in Trophy we just shame these people. But, the truth about trophy hunting, and generally the idea that animals have some kind of value that equals money, and that could be part of conservation, is complicated. That is part of our journalistic and director style, to take that issue and flip it on its head and, quite frankly, often anger you as a viewer so you will be moved enough to dare to ask questions. I think that’s what we did with this law enforcement agency.

Obviously, the follow-up there is that ICE didn’t necessarily go along with it afterwards, What was it like to go through that experience – where DHS is trying to block your film as you cut it together.

Shaul: We can’t dive into the legal for obvious reasons, but I don’t wish it on my worst enemy. It’s haunting. We didn’t do a “got-you” piece and it didn’t change even after we were attacked. We didn’t fight to put more. If we wanted to do that, we could have done six hours of that. At the end of the day, we did get to tell our story, pretty much in full. It’s about the story and not about us, and I hope the show speaks to that. It’s a hard position to be in. I truly mean that from, unfortunately, our experience.

We are lucky enough to have a status, to have an amazing legal team. Most undocumented people don’t. I think we saw some parallels in systemic abuse of the system and I think they have a lot less tools to deal with. In their case, it literally destroys lives and families. 

While watching, I couldn’t help but wonder how hot, sticky, and uncomfortable it must be in a lot of these facilities by the border. Though the visuals from the series are striking, film is still limited to visuals and audio. Were there any lingering sensations, smells, or experiences that you recall from filming this and you don’t think the film could fully capture? 

Shaul: I don’t think anybody would understand what it really means to walk through the desert for days. That is definitely something that’s hard to capture. Also when you are taken into 26 Federal, the (ICE) headquarters in New York, you could go to anywhere – more than 200 holding facilities. You’re constantly moved and it is impossible to track you. It was impossible for us to keep up with that. For a family or for legal representation to actually be able to just stay in touch is so overwhelming. Those are the two that immediately come to my mind that were so hard to convey.

Christina: The desert. Just the vastness, the heat, and all what Shaul just said. But also the feeling of being detained. I think it’s something that is very hard to visualize and imagine – the actual emotion that goes into it for many people. To be in those facilities for such a long time, I think there’s a lot of feeling of hopelessness, a lot of feeling of loss, and a lot of feeling of trauma that was very hard for us to bring forward.

The tagline of the series asks “how do we fix a system that seems beyond repair?” As people who just spent years experiencing it and documenting it, do you have any insights on what are the first steps that we could take to fix that system?

Shaul: I think that this is an issue that’s been over-polarized. It’s complicated and we certainly don’t agree on some things, but I think we can all agree on more than you’d think. I’ll give you examples. Are there really many people that want to deport our veterans? I truly don’t believe that. I don’t believe that American people will think that’s right. I also don’t believe that the American people will think that we should abolish ICE and have no immigration police. I don’t believe that we should have a court system that’s backed up with a million cases of people who sit in private funded detention centers for upwards of a year. It’s just wrong. There’s a lot of examples like this. I think the first thing we have to do is educate the people that this is what’s happening. It’s gone bad under this administration but, in all honesty, it’s been bad for a while. Latinos called Obama “deporter-in-chief.” Bill Clinton created a lot of laws that mak\de people like these veterans deportable. 

This issue is that it’s become emotional for people and I just want to remind everyone of something very basic. Unless you’re Native American, somewhere down your line maybe recently, maybe further back, your people came here. People came here. Some of them were legal, some didn’t have “papers”, but ultimately it has made this country better. I truly believe that. We have to take some of this heated rhetoric out of and be able to say, “You know what? On this 50%, we don’t agree, but on this, we do.” We should fight to make it better because it makes us better, it’s the American way and we treat people with dignity. We need to bring that back. 

The post Immigration Nation Asks How Do We Fix The Unfixable? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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HOHOHHOOOHOHO you returned hello friends! Same rules as always i provided the Important partS for the skimmers but im also not apologizing for the length anymore. Let me hear you thoughts ON THE BLOG AND NOT IM MY MESSAGE INBOX XD.

June 21

the longest day in the year came and it sure felt like it. most of my day i was frustrated so that tells me a thing or two about myself. but my day started with the talk about picking weeds but that didnt happen instead we did pictures for the children all day. then i came back home and the lesson came. i listened to J. Coles verse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6atNwE-uOfE&t=7m14s on the documentary and had a great discussion about this with the baby fathers chat…. no we is not baby fathers. And no we are not plotting on you young women in the chat. they helped me work through alot of what he was saying in that we listen to the music differently just being christians. Important part people can be lead astray if they aren’t developed christians and founded in the truth. their idea of what christianity is looks like a temporary thing and not needed in the long term but instead helped the people in the days of old but now we might need something new to help the people who are having a struggle understanding the intentions of what the bible is trying to communicate. in addition its frustrating because i knew this was coming from the talks of the 2 Timothy 3. This has been a new way for me to think about music in general since its such an integral part of my life. The thats going to be my next personal study. in addition i was completely frustrated at VBS not because it was a bad day or the kids did a bad job but it started with the parents. And how they could teach their children to hate and be complete unashamed and not give a second thought the view of certain people was not only disgusting but almost pushed me over the edge. Important part i want to stay this fired up at injustice but need to find a way to convert my passion to love and not anger. I also made a resume and cover letter shout out Kalane.

June 22

while every day this week i felt like i knew when God was going to pull out the sunday school crafts and make me learn something this thursday was not the same. I was so ready to talk to take notes when we rode in brother Jeff’s car today because those cross the city rides i really have been known to catch a gem riding with my hand out the window. but it wasnt until Kenny made his way into our car at 3 an hour before we got “off”. Kenny gets in the car heated about whats going on in his community and how things arent going right. Kenny works closely with Brother Jeff in 10:12 sports with the kids but stays in the projects right across the street from a “newly opened” rec center. the frustration came from the communities exclusion from what they thought was a glimmer of light for them. the center technically opened monday but only is available to the children below the age of 5 who are enrolled in the summer camp there. Important part what was supposed to give the community an outlet for jobs, support for kids, and escape from a depressing reality at home is being forfeited because many of the kids are “two old” and too far down the path at this point so they are throwing out the whole bunch. to think the problem area in these communities were the ages 13-21 and to hear that the city is going to give them a way out. so you pull out you political boots and start getting about 6500 community petition signatures and they actually build the thing. just to find out the community wont be getting access to it in the heat of the summer and talking to the mayor of the city just to hear them tell you they “will see”, or that “they will look into it, send me an email” is extremely disheartening. especially for kenny who was out there preaching hope to these youth and their parents just to be told later. the exploitation and lack of urgency pains me and the city. the longer these kids are stuck in these pissy stairwells the faster their will for “a future” deteriorates. but after we go back to take him home and the kids all run out to greet him i can see the power 1 man has who refuses to let his light be put out even the darkness is all so much easier to live in.

then i went to dinner with my family group and we talked about understanding poverty and what different types looked like. keep your eyes peeled for the rules of operation because what doesnt seem like anything to you can actually cost you more than a black eye. Important part dont forget the only way to address these generational curses of poverty and situational poverty alike is through relationships. people need to know that you care. they dont need solutions. the reason they are telling you is not for you meet their need. do them the justice of addressing their spirit not just their need. my favorite quote from dinner was that the only way you will not be in poverty any of these resource areas is when you have a community like the church in acts freely giving and supporting one another.

June 23

And then it was Friday. I was so anxious for today before it even started I was ready to get it jumping. Every morning we have prayer I haven’t been talking that much about but don’t get me wrong it’s not a waste of my time at all. I still have my reservations about the group aspect but Important part there hasn’t been a bad morning and or day yet because I believe in the power of setting time aside to do God before getting into anything else that I might consider important. But I was geeked to get up and go to Red Emma’s after brother Jeff, Leslie, and I rode past it yesterday. but when i get in there my brain starts racing. not only is it a place of love but its a place right off north Ave and right in the middle of the art district. this was an area many people dedicated to a no judgement zone and a place where all are welcome. but what i wanted to study is what a christian environment would look like under this philosophy. they served the community and provided a space where the thirsty are given free drink and the hungry are fed. a space where all are welcome and given the liberty to be who they want to be. Important part but what i cant figure out is if that would be a good space for a church. to let people walk all over it and do whatever inside its walls. i want to say yes but i also hold such a high standard to how a church should be maintained. with their single open door bathroom policy and allowing people to “loiter” as they wait for the bus gave me a hope and a vision maybe that id have a service like that one day. where id host community outreach meetings. sell books in our library. sell food and drink and if we’re lucky and it’s on a corner as busy as red emmas ill call it sabbath or something corny. where id anoint the chairs every morning and id hire the homeless to assist me in being my prayer warriors of the city. but who knows maybe this is all just a fantasy to me. June 24 my day started like 3 times before i got fed up and time stopped moving backwards so i went on my first run. I didnt get dropped off because I ran by myself so no one could leave me in the dust and my tears. After we got back around to the city we started our bible study which slightly aggravated the kid because we went backwards to study Nehemiah again. but this time we looked at it from a different lens. Important part what i couldnt get over was how passionate he was and prideful about a people group he knew he belonged to but had never been to visit, see, or experience. but he was not only upset at their state of living up also prayed and fasted when he heard the news of the shameful city. but it didnt stop there. this man dropped everything he was doing because he saw a life better for them then the one they were living. keeping this simple we wanted to come into baltimore the way he did, not looking to turn the city from jerusalem to nehemiahville. but to empower those living and working there. the jews, nobles, priest, and everyone in between. it seemed like he also wanted something from them before he could give them what he wanted to give them. he wanted their help as well as their knowledge. literally this man has never built a wall before and someone is going to have to help him out. Important part thats how i want to be always seeking to learn the culture of the place im visiting and getting into. i never wanna feel like i have it right and others need to be like me. when infact thats not the case on this side at all. things were good after that. then I went to latino fest. and it was people watching central. la musica y la cultura fue incredible. i really felt bad because all i wanted to do was walk back and forth between the stages and listen to the live bands play and watch the folks dance but it seemed i was more interested than my counter parts. its okay tho they i halfway like doing life alone better. i videotaped some strangers for the road and spent hours trying to differentiate between which dances were salsa, bachata, and Merengue but i might need a little more help with that later. On the bus ride home my friends all decided they wanted to ditch Darius and make him walk home alone while they went to get frozen cups. One day they will like me. June 25

im getting used to starting my sunday with the farmers market. i dont know what ima do once i get home. mannnnn plus its only been my second sunday here. i walked less and knew exactly how i wanted to spend my morning, with a chocolate chip cookie. I pulled out my book as i sat right down and started doing what i do best, reading both folks and pages. i read through The Reason for God i wanted to give the people what i have and things are starting to look forward. then i went to service and we spoke about the person who was missing. in our spaces and even from the church. how what we look like and imagine heaven to be isnt what God has planned. there are going to be folks who we would have never placed there and how we can do that even in our church spaces. just to make things more bareable to the people we want to worship our God with . Important part we can say and do things to shape Gods people into our will and that is dangerous. People are made in Gods image and do not need correcting. to end my day i spent big time talking to Nao and in the park. Sabbath was a time for rest but while i was resting the city was hurting as well. i witnessed a man be almost stabbed in the street so there is still work left to be done in baltimore. im just glad God is here using me to provide a safe space for those around me.

June 26

I feel like my day took forever to get started but once it did I was cool. Editing photos for hours on end sucked the first 8 hours down the drain then it was time for the neighborhood association meeting. 6 o clock came whether I was ready or not. I actually never thought I’d end up at once of these community neighborhood watch association meetings especially after seeing them on tv and the boondocks and laughing along about how comical the whole situation is. But that was far from the case or intention of this meeting. The councilmen came and heard the immediate needs of the people and pretty much told everyone be patient and send me an email and I’ll get back to you. Between this man and the police officer they grilled I honestly Marvel at how they spun the same response with such patience with these people bringing systemic issues to their neighborhood officer from squatters, to prostitution, to education reform this man was supposed to answer them all. But this is really why I could never find myself at one of these meetings. After pouring out their hearts to the councilmen and him orchestrating who to contact to get the needs met he leaves and the meeting should be over here. Instead they continue to address their concerns with the officer asking his opinion on how to communicate with the kids and how to avoid getting robbed for the next hour and change. This isn’t a bad thing to get advice but the officer in my opinion made it very clear that he didn’t have answers that they were looking for, And that by playing his part and communicating with the association that the job would get done. But they weren’t taking this answer. They needed more. His “solution” was not going to help them stop the terrorizing happening on their streets and right in front of their homes. The desperation in the voices was heart breaking because as a spectator of this meeting and a spectator of this community I know that exactly the kind of searching for protection they were doing can only be provided by our Lord and Savior. Important part By trying to fill the God sized void in Baltimore with the agents of change that knew they were inadequate to grant change burned me on the inside. I was stuck between standing up and screaming yah gotta stop going around in circles what you’re doing is wrong is clearly fundamentally wrong. The answer is Jesus. But that couldn’t be received from me and I can’t tell if it’s because I wanted to use the cop out of “I want to just pray for the community and that’ll be doing enough” or if I was too selfish to put myself out there as an unashamed disciple of the gospel. I don’t know and it is always easy to see from your perspective but it’s harder to watch.

June 27

And it started my day with more photos and edits but then we made a trip to MND. Where we worked as a volunteer to help the guests with their resumes and things. After our trip back I saw the city and went through west Baltimore. Accidentally. My younger brother Lestle wanted to go for a trip and so we missed our stop and went for a nice little trip. The navy line took us all the way to Mondawmin mall. Which if you don’t know was one of the inciting points of the Baltimore riots in 2015. Reliving for a short time before heading home helped to really put what the community was feeling into perspective. Between the school Douglas, the mall, and the poor communities around it hurts to see what’s “the machine” distrust can do to a group of people. As relationships aren’t getting much better in these neighborhoods there is hope for others to possibly move in and change the climates of these areas. But who would want to move right next to a mall and bus depot and one of the underperforming high schools in Baltimore. Doesn’t sound too appealing at first glance. Or ever. Important part But what I see is a people in need for God and who are crying out for help. How much longer will we allow our pride and self righteousness prohibit us from being Gods instruments of change. What I noticed from the ride actually the neighborhoods leading up to mindoman mall are growing communities and not just hoods. There is hope. Some have caught to Gods vision while others are still working to it . now we just need some labors to get it off the ground

Yeah so i made it 2 weeks and im sad because it almost over and i feel like i havent learned enough. And im getting one of those feeling when God is about to tell me something i dont wanna hear so maybe we just pause this whole BUP thing until i have time to learn everything and then do what Jesus will have me do with the rest of my life. XD. you knew this blog needed at least one. Important part My last impressions would be this learning is not an arrived place and anyone can learn from a teacher, but what can you learn from a boarded up home? My challenge would be to tell you mother twice a day with at least 3 hours in between that you love her! And im thankful for all the responses to my last question you guys are smarter than me. This question would i need an answer ASAP. the city smells in some places. What can i do to make these city streets more enjoyable for everyone walking them?