Yo soy Joaquín,
Perdido en un mundo de confusión.
I am Joaquín,
Lost in a world of confusion.
In his poem, “I am Joaquín”, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez expressed the disillusionment of many Latin Americans at the time. In the face of social and economic injustices, Hispanic Americans united to combat the prejudice they were facing. They began to challenge their assimilation into the white-dominated society and in the process reclaimed a derogatory term for their people – Chicano – as a symbol of pride. Though the social climate of America is improving, Chicanos still face much of the intolerance and xenophobia their ancestors tried to leave behind.
A revitalized interest in partitioning the US from Mexico, the separation of children from their illegally immigrating parents, an unshakable association with the drug war for the whole of Hispanic people – these issues are real and constant. Many of the Latinos I know seem to meet these issues with indifference. Whether that’s due to fatigue (these issues are long standing, with no ready compromise in sight) or general disinterest, I feel more than ever that it has to stop. We need to become interested in these issues, in our culture and its preservation.
This blog will be dedicated to propagating and preserving Hispanic News, History, and Culture from a Chicano point of view. Yes we have to assimilate, but we must also learn how to keep ourselves intact.
Chicano Beat 