Homelessness, Gangs, Latina Literature
Homelessness, Gangs, Latina Literature
In today’s Daily Chela newsletter….
Spotlight: Luis Rodriguez
Top 10: Chicano bands
Francisco Soler
Podcast: Conservation
López de Santa Anna
More News and Links
Rodriguez: California Is Waging War On Its Most Vulnerable Residents
A society that cannot fully and safely house its people needs to be overhauled. Not with violence or strident acts. But also, not with billions of dollars wasted on inadequate agencies, schemes, and scams that only skim the surface of the problem.
In California, which has the most unhoused population in the country, Governor Gavin Newsom on July 25, 2024, used the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision to issue an executive order directing state agencies to remove homeless encampments, although with some social services and alternative housing, even if temporary.
This has massive ramifications. For example, soon after Newsom’s order, Sacramento, the state’s capitol, closed Camp Resolution, an experimental encampment run by the unhoused themselves. The camp was created on city land with the help of the National Union of the Homeless after years when people, mostly women, were pushed away and criminalized from previous encampments.
“People are realizing they’re gonna have to fight for this housing,” said Anthony Prince, lead organizer and general counsel of the state’s Homeless Union.
Following months of City Council meetings, media interest, and negotiations, the city in April of 2023 signed a lease with the nonprofit Safe Ground Sacramento that also provided for “individual permanent durable housing.”
A year after the agreement, however, the city failed to establish such housing except for two persons among some fifty camp residents. “These people [were] guaranteed housing, and the city [was] nowhere to be found,” said Crystal Sanchez, regional director of the National Homeless Union.
Instead, the city manager declared to Safe Ground Sacramento that Camp Resolution’s lease would be terminated, citing possible liability due to the land being a “toxic dumpsite.” Residents had to leave by mid-May. Safe Ground Sacramento later told media sources the focus on contamination was “bogus.”
Litigation efforts tried to keep the camp open. But, after Newsom’s order in July, Sacramento shut everything down. Tow trucks removed vehicles and dump trucks removed trash and personal belongings. Police arrested four advocates who supported the camp.
California is waging war on its most vulnerable residents.
What happened at Camp Resolution is indicative of how a state with a GDP of $3.8 trillion, making it the world’s 5th largest economy, larger than India or the United Kingdom, is failing its people. Despite its economic prowess, California lacks the political will to eradicate homelessness. Instead, it’s eradicating encampments with anti-encampment directives and police sweeps. Not the same thing.
Like the rest of the country, the state needs fully funded public housing and other means for affordable living conditions. For years, obscene rising costs to rent or own a home in California, due to hedge funds, corporate housing developers, and gentrifiers, has forced more and more people into the streets, prisons, or to leave the state entirely.
This is a man-made disaster, as devastating as any wildfire, earthquake, or flood. State and national sharing of public resources must be activated as well as blocks to large private entities profiting amid the misery.
Our social wealth, technology, and governance should align to meet people’s needs. Yes, fight for democracy. But this is inexorably linked to end poverty, social injustices, and a debilitating climate, as well as for peace at home and abroad.
Luis J. Rodriguez
Contributing Opinion Writer
More Informative Things For You…
Lists: Top 10 Chicano Bands
From Ritchie Valens to El Chicano, we explore Chicano music and break down 10 of our favorite Chicano bands. What Chicano bands are on your list? Let us know!
The Unforgettable Songs Of Francisco Gabilondo Soler
Once upon a time there was a 19-year-old boy who left his home in Mexico to become a linotypist in New Orleans, but he found music instead. He went back to his country to create an artistic opus—innocent in appearance, but imbued with shrewd social observation—that should be declared as national heritage.
The name is Francisco Gabilondo Soler, also known as “Cri-Cri,” his artistic moniker (a French vocable for “cricket”). He wrote more than 200 songs that several generations of Mexican children grew up with, from the days when radio was king to the era of CDs and streaming.
Weekly Podcast: From Gang Member To Wildlife Conservationist
On this Episode, Brandon sits down with Anthony Prieto to discuss how he went from being a gang member to a wildlife conservationist who advocates the elimination of lead bullets because of its environmental impact. Listen now!
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The Man Who Fought For Mexican Independence & Invented Gum
Like no other leader, the name Antonio López de Santa Anna remains forever united to the history of the United States. As the only General who posed a real military threat to a country considered to be impassable, Santa Anna is probably the only Mexican who has caused headaches to America.
I will lay Washington City in ashes,” he said on one occasion. The man wasn’t boasting—he had fought (and defeated) the Spanish and French armies, the most powerful at the time.
He is also the star of hundreds of songs, movies and even comic books, a feat no other Mexican has accomplished.
Celebrating 30 Years Of “Blood In, Blood Out”
Since its wide release in April 1993, the film “Blood In, Blood Out” aka “Bound By Honor” has achieved both cult crime movie status and distinction in the Chicano Cinema canon.
It’s endlessly quotable, eternally cool, and even after repeated viewings, stands as an achievement in the hearts and minds of its audience and creators.
For screenwriter Jimmy Santiago Baca, there’s both simple and complex reasons the film continues to resonate with new generations four decades after its release.
“It’s a Chicano movie,” said Baca, who granted an exclusive interview with Daily Chela prior to the film’s anniversary. “We don’t get that many movies. It was about their lives.”
Baca said he wrote every word of the film, and was happy to share credit with co-screenplay writers Jeremy Lacone and Floyd Mutrux, two veteran Hollywood professionals.
Opinion: Stop Ignoring Latinas In Literature
Not much is said about Latinas in literature. Perhaps because the opinion of so many is that these escritoras just don’t compare to their male counterparts. But while some may think this, I beg to differ.
Having had this conversation, it’s become obvious to me that Latina writers simply aren’t as well known as Latino writers. Unlike Latino writers, those who are familiar with Latina writers tend to have a prior knowledge of Latin American history or literature.
For those who know their basics, names like Gabriela Mistral and Isabel Allende are usually mentioned. But beyond that, most probably couldn’t name the first Latina author without deeper research.
Watch now: American Homeboy Movie
American Homeboy explores the complex origins of pachuco and cholo culture which sprouted from American soil more than 100 years ago in response to wartime sentiment, social alienation, and government discrimination only to become a pop culture phenomenon.
More Links From Daily Chela
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