#111 - Exploring Aztlan: From Myth to Insurgency
This presentation was given on August 15, 2024, over Zoom. It is a collaboration between the Chicano Liberation Committee of Denver, CO., and the Partido Nacional de la Raza Unida. Below is a description of the talk. This file is the presentation. Another file with the discussion will also be uploaded. The video of this meeting will be uploaded to YouTube and we will put the link to that in this description when it is.
"Aztlan represents more than a political stance; it is a declaration of Xicano identity and a call for resistance against settler colonial oppression. Aztlan embodies Xicano heritage, struggle, and a political vision for a future where our people are free from the constraints of a system never designed to serve us."
Join our next discussion on the narration of Chicano culture by Malaquias Montoya. Are you familiar with his story?
Cesar Chavez and Ernesto Mireles
An idea I've been kicking around. Xicana/o/x spend so much time examining history - which is important. I think sometimes we forget that we're tomorrow's history. What happened 50 years ago is important but so is what's happening right now.
Be in the moment, right?
Counterinsurgency and the Xicano Movement
This episodes talks about how the current narratives questioning Xicano Indigeneity most likely originate with long term U.S. domestic counterinsurgency campaigns designed to depoliticize indigenous populations.
Insurgency and Aztlan
Insurgency is defined as a form of resistance against colonial or occupying forces.
The Anti Aztlan Psyops
Could those who label Aztlan as a tool of settler colonialism actually be long term government agents running a very sophisticated psyops in the Chicano community because they are worried about changing demographics in favor of Mexican Americans in the US and are trying to find a way to eliminate irredentist moves within the borders of the US.
From Aztlan to Palestine
From Aztlan to Palestine is a presentation that examines the intersections between the Palestinian liberation struggle and the Chicano liberation struggle in the United States. Using first hand experience and documents from the Raza Unida Party archive Ernesto Ayala describes in detail the similarities between both peoples histories and social movements showing how Aztlan and Palestina are closer than one would ever imagine.
What is the Raza Unida Party?
In the context of the Xicano national liberation movement and the ideology of Aztlán, the Raza Unida Party (RUP) was a political party founded in 1970 in Crystal City, Texas. It emerged in response to systemic discrimination and the political disenfranchisement of Mexican Americans. The RUP aimed to achieve self-determination for the Xicano community through political representation, education reform, and economic justice. It sought to build a unified front advocating for the rights and interests of Xicano/as, emphasizing cultural pride and grassroots activism to challenge and dismantle colonial structures within the United States.
#99 - Dr. Vanessa Bustamante
In this episode of The Reality Dysfunction we talk with Dr. Vanessa Bustamante the Vice Chair of El Partido Nacional de la Raza Unida about her life and activism on behalf of the Xicana/o/x community. About growing up a first generation Xicana in Southern Califas, the educational struggles on her way to a Ph.D., and why she is proud to call herself a chola.
#98 - Veronica Garcia
In this episode of The Reality Dysfunction we talk with Veronica Garcia the Texas state director for the Partido Nacional de la Raza Unida. We talk about plans for Raza Unida to expand across the country and in the great state of Texas.
#97 - Enrique Cardiel
In this episode of The Reality Dysfuncton we interview Enrique Cardiel a long time Raza Unida Party activist and community organizer in Alburquerque, NM., he recently ran for a state rep position in that state. We talk about his campaign, and the state of Xicana/o/x politics in the United States.
#96 - Human Cicada The poetry of Carlos Cumpian
In this episode of The Reality Dysfunction I talk with Chicago based poet Carlos Cumpian who has been writing and publishing poetry from the Windy City for the last 40 years. During our conversation we talk about his latest book Human Cicada and the importance of Xicana/o/x expression.
ORDER THE BOOK HERE
Part One - The Struggle for Ethnic Studies in California
In this segment of The Reality Dysfunction we talk with Sean Arce, Lupe Carrasco Cardona and Elias Serna. Three leaders in the struggle for Xicano Studies in California K12 schools. Arce was also a leader in the struggle for Mexican American Studies in Tucson after the state of Arizona passed HB 2281 outlawing the teaching of MAS in public schools. Please listen to the first part of this conversation as these three layout the recent history of struggle for Xicano studies and the issues surrounding the fight in Califas.
Juvenile Life without Parole: Efren Paredes and the fight for his life
In this episode of The Reality Dysfunction we talk to Efren Paredes Jr, who at age 15 was convicted of a murder he did not commit. He has been incarcerated for the past 31 year. He battled tirelessly to overturn the Juvenile Life Without Parole Laws in the country, which changed in 2012. After battling the Berrien County prosecutor for 10 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that youth should not be sentenced to life without parole Efren will finally be entering the court room next week on Oct. 5 for his last chance to appeal to the Berrien County court to stop pursuing a sentence of life and give him a term of years. Which would make him eligible for parole immediately after the resentencing hearing. In effect he has been held in the MDOC system without a legal sentence for 10years, on top of already having served 21 years for a crime he did not committee.
Sign the petition to free Efren Paredes Jr.
Why can't 50 million "Latinos" force an immigration amnesty?
In this episode of The Reality Dysfunction your panel discusses immigration, someof the recent successes and the importance of getting involved and a little bit on why we cant get this amnesty done.
Space + Time = Will: Insurgent Aztlan and National Liberation
Dr. Ernesto Todd Mireles (host of The Reality Dysfunction) discusses his recently published book Insurgent Aztlan: The liberating power of cultural resistance. Dr. Mireles currently works at Prescott College as faculty in the Social Justice Community Organizing Master’s program. He is closing in on three decades as an organizer.
As Xicanos navigate the first two decades of the 21st century, the Xicano Movement has arrived at a critical crossroads in terms of national identification. The process of indigenization that began in the 1990s is reaching a critical moment in the political development of the Xicanada. As a national community we are faced with grim political, economic and cultural decisions founded in the assertion the Xicano Movement is dead. Nationally, Xicanos must reflect on whether that description is accurate and means an actual political and cultural end or the evolution of the movement to an elevated level of resistance that could encompasses larger sections of Mexican Americans than ever before.
This session of Mexicanos 2070 webinar was recorded on June 18, 2020.
