Arizona SB 1070

Arizona SB 1070...also know as racial profiling law.  Arizona SB 1070, is a U.S. federal law that requires aliens 14 years old or older who are in the country for longer than 30 days to register with the U.S. government.  They must have registration documents in their possession at all times too. 

Some are for it ...

Others are highly against it....

This law has caused a lot of controversy and has received national and international attention. I am definitely against it. What do you guys think? Should this really be a law in Arizona?

Santeria

Santeria is a syncretism religion of West African and Caribbean origin, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi brought by the African slaves. These slaves carried with them various religious traditions, including a trance for communicating with their ancestors and deities, animal sacrifice and sacred drumming. Many U.S families practice this religion. From those who practice this religion in the United States come from Latino’s communities. Many are fully committed priests and priestesses, others are godchildren or members of a particular house-tradition, and many are clients seeking help with their everyday problems.

A lot of people seek Santeria as any other religion. People usually follow it because it’s a religion that their ancestors practiced and want to keep their values. Different types of people follow it from doctors, lawyers, politicians, thieves to pimps. All those who seek the power to control their own lives and want to lead them in accord with the deepest parts of their beings are candidates for initiation into Santeria. As the traditional belief systems of the Western world cease to provide a direct emotional involvement with the mysteries of life, more and more people are turning to the throbbing of the Santeria drums.

Santeria has no written canon. Its traditions are passed on orally to the initiates. The initiation to Santeria is the “ asentado” ceremony which is when you get your Orisha also known as your parent. The rituals of Santeria are you first get your necklaces also known as Elekes. Then you get your warriors, Elegua, Oggun, Ochosi, and Ozun, which the purpose is to resolve conflicts in a person’s life and to provide protection. The third part is Ifa, then Olokun and then rayamiento. The ceremony last for about 7 days. Once it’s over the sacrifice of the animals happen. The killing of the animals establishes a strong bond between the novice and the Orishas. The same benefits extend to those that participate in the sacrifices. "You have to feed the Orishas. The blood gives strength to the Orisha and the novice. It makes you stronger. People can't do bad 'work' against you.” Then for a year you have to wear white clothes and reflect on your life. You can’t visit sick people or go to funerals. It seems like a lot but overall it’s the time you need to reflect on your life and to think about how to live a better one.

Santeria is usually viewed as a bad thing. The media in the United States tend to show Santeria as a bad religion or the devils religion. As seen in movies people supposedly use Santeria to make people fall in love or to harm someone with witchcraft, but in reality that’s not the case. In 1993, the issue of animal sacrifice was taken to the U.S Supreme Court in the case of Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah. The Supreme Court ruled that animal cruelty laws targeted specifically at Yoruba were unconstitutional; the Yoruba practice of animal sacrifice has seen no significant legal challenges since then.Those that do not practice it, don’t really know much about the religion and base their beliefs on what others say.

There has also been a few highly publicized cases where injuries allegedly occurred during Lukumi rituals. One such case reported by the NY Times took place on January 18, 1998 in Sayville, where a 17 year old was suffocated to death with a plastic bag, by her mother and sister, after attempting an exorcism to free her from demons. In the Santeria religion there is no such thing as demons. But the police found the women chanting and praying over the prostate body. They believed it had to do with her religion. But in reality it was more due to her insanity.

In the end Santeria is a well commonly known religion in the Latin communities all over the world and isn’t a bad thing to practice. It originated in Nigeria and has traveled with the African slaves. It’s a part of who those people are and is like any other religion a part of their culture. It's a way to remember their ancestors and remember the past, as to looking forward to the future.

Salsa

Salsa also known as "sauce" in the United States doesn’t exactly mean that. It means a mixture of influences of Latin music. It brings something extra to the songs and movement from variety of beats and rhythms. Salsa’s birthplace is unknown because many try to take credit for it but in reality it comes from everywhere. If you had to pick a place many would say Cuba since its similar to Son but it’s still very different. You can safely say that it began in New York. When people migrated to the United States from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and so on, many had their own language and understanding of their music: son, rumba, danzon, plena, and cha-cha-cha. They needed something to put all those varieties in to one. That’s when the term “Salsa” meaning Latin American rhythms became the new word and dance.

In the 1970’s New York was getting a taste of Salsa. An upcoming record label Fania created by Jerry Masucci, was introducing variety of musicians to the people, like Celia Cruz, Willy Colon, Tito Puente, and Hector Lavoe. The label took its name from an old Cuban song by the singer Reinaldo Bolano. The label started out as a small venture, but gained popularity after the success of its first official record, Pacheco's "Cañonazo", leading to the expansion of its talent base. It promoted Salsa all over and made it well known in the United States as to all over the world. Every culture salsa comes in contact with has influenced the music in some way, and will continue to contribute to the evolution of the genre.

                
                                                              QUE VIVA SALSA! 

Diego Rivera Mural draft

DiegoRiveraMural @ ccsf

The Pan American Unity mural at city college of San Francisco by Diego Rivera shows the comings of the South mixed with the North. The mural shows different periods of time and the great people who were involved in that time with the community. While walking into the theater where the mural is located, it is hard to get a good look of the whole mural. It is in a tight spot where you have to look at each panel to get a feel of what it's all about. They have a second floor where you can go up to take a better look at the mural as one. The second floor seemed to work best for me.

 The mural shows how the world is transformed and seen over different period of times. It shows amazing people who have impacted the world in a positive way or negatively.  But who have made a big difference in the world. I will summarize what I saw from my visit.

When I look at the mural I saw that it starts from the left side to the right. The first panel consists of México City. It was during the Aztec times. The top part shows the mountains and how the city was built during the Miso-America times. It has temples and shows religion in the mural. Where you see a priest giving a ceremony and to the right of that, is the tribe people dancing and playing their instruments which is a ritual they use to do for the Gods. It shows how in time religion has evolved. 

Then it goes to the people working on figurines like the Olmec. Which shows they're carving skills. In the picture it also shows that they used bright and lucent colors like red, blue, and green as to many more to make the statues stand out. Then it goes to the late years of that period of time when they start doing things with tools like jewelry with gold. The one thing I liked from this panel the most was the left corner where it shows the Netzahualcoyotl, which was a poet, king, and inventor who made the flying machine which was similar to the bat that is under his feet as a model. It shows how talented he was and how created people were back then. 

The second panel shows elements from the past to the present. It takes place from the 1700’s to 1920’s. At the top of that panel you see a lady diving into the clouds and you see the beautiful city of San Francisco. The lady is actually a national diving champion named Helen Crlenkovich, and the buildings shown are important because their lobbies are decorated with Mayan motifs. Then it shows an important Mexican sculptor, sculpturing the head of the serpent. To the right of that, Rivera paints in his assistant Mona Hofmann at a table looking up at the lady diving. The bottom part of this panel shows the craftsman’s of Mexico making pottery, baskets from weaving and sculptors. Then you see Rivera painting the liberty tree. It goes on to show Simon Bolivar, Miguel Hidalgo y Castillo, Morelos y Pavon, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and john brown who all where very important to their country from a priest of the revolutionary times to the president of United States.

The third panel is my favorite piece of the whole mural. It shows the creative power of the northern mechanism to the plastic tradition of the South. On the left side you see an Aztec god be combine to a god machine. It also shows a head which is half flesh and half bone resembling life and death. On the left bottom you see Frida Kahlo painting and to her right is Diego Rivera again holding hands with Paulette Goddard and the Mayan tree of life. Which I like a lot because it shows the root of life and how it keeps growing. Then you see kids sitting on the trunk of the tree, symbolizing generations to come and the mixture of the race. Lastly, you see the San Francisco architect who worked with Rivera on this mural, holding the plans of where exactly this mural would take place for people to view it. 

Panel four shows a lot of women working. For example on top you see a woman swimmer, a lady in a business attire directing the men on the architecture and a woman painter. Which is amazing to see because during that time it was mainly men doing those type of jobs. 

On the bottom portion of the panel you see a lot of aggression and darkness in the painting. You see an airplane getting attack and explosions all around it. Then theres a hand with the Hitler sign on it holding a knife, Hitler him self is present. You see Charlie Chaplin and many other actors of that time, portraying films like the Nazi spy. Lastly,  a soldier from world war I is shown laying across barbed wires with a gas mask on. 

The last panel is about the developing of the North. It shows the gold mining, industries and factories. You see how the people are at work looking for gold. You have a sense of how the mining changed  life styles and  improved them. What’s odd about the top part of this panel is that in the middle it shows a little girl with a lady who seems to be showing her how to write but everything else is about working. That part throws me off , but I guess Rivera wanted to include education in there. The bottom part shows industrial people who are important.  For example, the founder of Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford, the man who created the light bulb, Thomas Edison, and Samuel Morse who created the telegraph. 

The mural has a lot of details that I’m sure I missed, but those seem to be the most important things that stood out to me.  From reading the descriptions, it seems that Rivera's heart went all into this painting. If you guys like art like I do, you should check it out. Its located at the City College of San Francisco......

Visiting the Motherland

The first time I ever went to El Salvador was in 2000, I was about 11 years old. I was excited to meet my family and see the country my parents were born in. When we first landed, I was amazed by all the green I saw out the window. It looked like a big jungle and smelled like fresh air, but once I walked out the airport, I got hit by the humidity and smog. I felt very sticky, nasty and I could taste the smog. I felt disgusted and wanted something sweet to take the taste out. The airport was crowded with people waiting to see their families. It looked like a packed stadium, which made it hard for us to get out. All I heard were people speaking in Spanish with major accents. We finally made it out and off to my family’s house. I never knew that this trip was going to be an eye opener for me. Going to El Salvador made me realize how I took things for granted and how I should be thankful for the luxuries I have.

The life style in El Salvador was something that I was not accustomed to. 

The scenery changed drastically, from the air port to the city. It went from seeing a lot of green everywhere to seeing a lot of dirt and smog. I could see shelters along the road made out of wood, bamboo and or tin foil. Those houses didn’t seem stable at all. If an earthquake struck it, the house would be demolish in a heartbeat. I couldn’t believe people lived in them, I thought they were abandoned, but I was wrong. I compared those houses to the ones here in California, they were nothing like them in comparison. A house here had a backyard or a front yard and it wouldn’t be affected too bad if an earthquake hit. These houses in El Salvador had nothing but dirt around them and weren't stable. They would collapse in a heartbeat. 

I didn’t see a place for kids to play in either. What was the fun in that? It made me sad to think that people could live like that without the luxuries we have back home. There's parks at almost every corner and playgrounds kids can walk to with out a problem. There were a lot of differences from back home. 

Finally we reached my family’s house and it was a culture shock to me. I thought at least it should be somewhat better than the ones I saw on the road. I was puzzled to see that the kitchen was half inside and half outside. 

That my family would wash their clothes outside in the “pila” and would also wash dishes there. It didn’t seem sanitary to me. Back home we had washers and dryers; we didn’t have to use our sink to wash clothes. They also didn’t have closets in the rooms to hang clothes in. I instantly whispered in my mom’s ear about there being no closets for my clothes. She started to laugh and said “hunny they don’t have closets here, use a table or leave it in your luggage.” I was embarrassed that she blurted that out in front of my family I just met. I didn’t want them to think I was materialistic or snobby. We settled in and by that time, we were starving. I couldn’t wait to have some traditional food ‘pupusas’, which is the main thing El Salvador is known for. It’s a big tortilla stuff with cheese, beans and sometimes even with pork. A piece of heaven. We finally went out to get our grub on. They were only 25 cents i thought that was a bargain since back home they cost about 2 dollars. Little did I know that the economy was bad and they had to survive with what ever they could make. 

On our way back, I saw a lot of people walking on the highways to reach their homes instead of driving. I asked my family why? They responded that they were not fortunate to own a car or make enough money for a taxi ride. The buses didn’t run everywhere and some didn’t have the money for that either. Back home we are able to have transportation from buses to cars or even bikes, unlike the people in El Salvador. It made me think twice about things I owned and things I complained about. I couldn’t imagine walking everywhere. I would be tired and exhausted. Life was not easy for them but they still seemed to be happy.

Another thing that intrigued me was that they are a community based place unlike the United States. We tend to not communicate well with others. I hardly saw people on their phones. Instead they are usually walking around with a friend or family member and enjoying their company. Every neighbor seemed to no one another by names. As we all know here, no one talks to there neighbor unless they have a complaint to make.  The families seem to enjoy one another company that you see them hanging out enjoying the sun on the curb. You would definitely not see that here.  

Even though they struggle to survive in El Salvador, the people don’t seem to let that affect them. The Salvadorians that i have encounter tend to be happy all the time. The people were all good neighbors and seemed to have a ball whenever they got together. They interact with one another and they took care of their neighbors homes when they left for trips. When we left my aunts neighbor told us who had gone to visit and gave us a package they left. At the time I thought they were being nosey but in reality they were just looking out for one another. I was amazed that they could have so much trust with each other. Because I would not leave my package with a stranger. Back in the U.S most people wont even say hi to you, even after living next to you for 15 years. It goes to show that we are into ourselves more than others and that they are more down to earth.

This trip was a very good experience for me and made a significant impact on my life. Because I now see the differences between the two countries. It showed me not to take things for granted. It doesn’t matter if I am rich or poor, I should just be thankful for having a wonderful family and life. Give thanks for living in a stable home even if it’s in a small apartment, It beats living in a hut that can collapse at any second. It made me realize that you don’t need much to be happy in the world all you need is your family, friends and love.

Salvadoran legends passed on

Legends and myths are an important part of El Salvador's culture and tradition. Grandparents or older relatives usually tell them to young children and they often have a didactic or moral purpose. Many love to tell these myths and legends to scare children and to make them behave. There are many legends, but the most famous ones that many remember are "La Carreta Chillona", "La Siguanaba" and ,"El Cipitillo".

   

I interviewed a family friend to tell me what it was like to grow up in El Salvador and have these legends told to her. Sandra Luna, while growing up in El Salvador her grandparents would tuck her in and her siblings and tell them stories of their country. The main one that stood out to her the most is "La Carreta Chillona". The story is about a cart also known as a wagon. It had no driver or horse pulling it. It passed by at night and it is said that it makes noise. The wagon is told to have dead bodies in it and you can find skulls on its poles that is said each skull has red eyes that shine. Sandra was told that the children had to be in bed and asleep by midnight or else the wagon would pass by to pick them up and take them away. Sandra was not to look out her window or ever follow it because if she did she would go crazy or die the next day. Her grandparent said that it only passed by los campos and that one of their friends went crazy after trying to follow the wagon.

Until this day it has created fear in her. Now all of the time when it gets dark she closes her windows and doesn’t like to look out of them because she feels that she would see la carreta chillona and go crazy. So she doesn’t take any chances. She says that now she understands why her grandparents would tell her that story. They wanted the kids to fall asleep early and not bug after dark. She is now telling her daughter the same story since she likes to stay up late. In her case her grandparents used it to make them go to bed early and not want to stay up and play all night. But for others as I did research, it was to keep nosey people out of ones life and to not be a chismoso. It also said it would come to take the liars away. So it made people think twice about lying and talking bad about others.

Another famous Salvadoran legend is "La Siguanaba". The story that my mother would tell me when I was little. Its about a pretty attractive women called Sihuehuet. She was married to a son of a God ,Tlaloc. But when her husband went away to fight in the war, she cheated on him with other men. She had a son, Cipitio. She would leave him unattended and would neglect him so she could run off with her lovers. Once Tlaloc found out he condemned her and gave her a new name, Sihunanba, meaning horrible woman. He also cursed her son too. 

She is described to be seen in Salvadorians creeks, rivers and lakes during the night. She is a woman with long nails, long eye lashes, big long boobs and appears to be wearing all white. Men fall in love with her blindly. She traps you and screams horribly and loud. When her scream sounds close it means that she is far away but when the sound seems to be far it means that she is closer then you think. She is seen as a beautiful woman at first sight, but she turns into a horrible abomination after luring her victims to isolated gorges. She was forced to wander the countryside, appearing to men who traveled alone at night. She is supposed to be seen at night washing clothes and always looking for her son. Her victims are usually single or unfaithful men. Who then are said to have fevers, lice in their hair, and scratches all over their backs and arms. It is said that the only way to prevent her from attacking is to bite a cross or a religious medallion. Or pull on her hair and say a prayer to repel her.

The concept that many get from this story is to not cheat on their partners or bad things can happen to you. For women it shows that you should be a faithful wife and to not leave your children unattended for adultery or anything bad. For the men it shows that being unfaithful can cause you harm and that you should be home at night with your family and wife and not doing foolish things.

The other legend is about her son "El Cipitio." who because of his mother’s malnourished treatment was also cursed and condemned to live forever as a young boy. About 7 years old, his feet are said to be in a backward position, he has a huge belly and wears a large pointy hat like a sombrero. He has the ability to tele-transport. He likes to eat bananas and ashes. Although according to the legend he is not harmful, he likes to bother people especially pretty ladies by laughing boisterously, throwing things, or whistling. He also confuses people by leaving foot marks that many follow into no where and are confused since his feet are position backwards. He is a trickster that likes to play a lot of games. He behaves as a mocking spirit, laughing a lot, dancing around the victim, and always leaving behind traces of his small footsteps.

These legends are going to be passed on from generation to generation.  It’s a part of the Salvadoran culture that many are trying to keep alive.  Which I think is a great idea. I think its important to keep traditions going to keep the culture alive. It helps one understand morals, values and beliefs. It gives people a sense of what boundaries they should have. These stories aren't just told to pass time but to set examples on how to act socially. It makes one think about their actions and know from right and wrong. Lastly, it helps that it entertains people so we will keep hearing them through out the years, even if they are changed a little over time they still have the same meaning one can take in.

Pan Con Pavo Recipe

    One of my all time favorite dishes is having pan con Pavo. We usually make it for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. My mom makes the best sauce for it. She learned the recipe from her grandmother in El Salvador. I can honestly say it's the best one I will ever have in my life. This recipe is really awesome, not because it's just that good, but because it's passed down from generations. A home dish that even though you might be able to get it at other places it does not taste the same. This one is going into my recipe book, that I will be sharing with my love ones and children someday to keep our culture and traditions alive. 

Ingredients needed: 

20-30 french bread rolls                                            1 lettuce bunch

1 medium sized turkey                                               15 tomatoes 

1 bag of  relajo (or especies para Pavo)                   1 butter bar

1 cube of Pollo maggie                                               2 large onion

1 green pepper                                                            1 garlic

salt & pepper                                                         

Pan Con Pavo Recipe:

First you should prepare the turkey. Make sure it is clean and take all the nasty stuff out of it. Thats the one part I won't be looking forward to doing, but it has to be done. Then you add some condiments to the turkey, a cube of pollo de Maggie ( found in any near fruteria store)  and some butter. Lastly you stick a big onion where the stuffing goes with the pieces of garlic to give it some flavor and you put it in the oven for it to cook. Now we can get to the good part, the sauce my family makes that it's to die for.

                         

Sauce Recipe:

You take the bag of relajo or especies para Pavo and you toast them in the pan without any oil or butter. Then you boil 10 tomatoes and you peel them. Once that is done you take the blender and add the especies and the tomatoes into it. As well as an onion and a green pepper, then you blend it all together to get the lumps out and turn it into a smooth sauce. Once it's smooth you put it in a pot and boil it until it's hot and ready to be served.

Pan Con Pavo Dish Preparation:

toast the bread

spread some mayonnaise to the bread

add a slice or two of turkey

add a piece of lettuce

two sliced tomatoes pieces

apply the Pan Con Pavo sauce on top

Lastly, add some potato salad on the side and you have the best dish in town.

Well, at least I think it's the best dish in town.

Now you're an expert on a Salvadorian dish! Enjoy! And don't be ashamed to admit that after eating one you went and got seconds.