The Legendary Art of Jesus Helguera

Growing up in East L.A. meant the New Year started with a calendar from the menudo stand in Grand Central Market or the panaderia on Brooklyn Avenue. On that calendar would be an image created by Jesus Helguera which would hold my attention for the whole year. The calendars were my first glimpses into the greatness of my Mexican culture. They portrayed beautiful men and women of ancient Mexico. With warriors, princesses, pyramids and temples, the calendar pictures took me to a time when we were not foreigners in our own land. They told me I was special.

Votes Supporting SB1070: a Starting Point for Voter Education

The elections are coming up faster than any of us would like. I hope you are feeling uneasy about what's ahead because I don't think the support against SB1070 is going to be strong enough to make the changes many Arizonans would like to see. It's all up to us to make the change we want to see. One way to start thinking about how you will vote is to look at how your senators and house members voted on SB1070. It's a pretty easy task, in this case. If they are Republican, they supported Russell Pearce and his tragic SB1070. Look at the list and see who is up for re-election. Look to see if they are running for a different office.

Happy Birthday Frida Kahlo

Happy Birthday to beautiful Frida Kahlo. I discovered her 50 plus years ago when I visited her home "Casa Azul" in Coyoacan with my father. She was my muse and inspiration from that time forward to embroider art into my life. Her portrait sits over my desk where she watches me with stern eyes pound out my novels, paint my dreams and create a "juicy" theology of life. Frida inspires us to never be afraid of who we really are even though it may makes others uncomfortable. She never apologized for being real.

Worst Racist This Week: Barry Wong

Congratulations Barry Wong. You made it! The First Person on the True Mexican “List of Who is Not Worthy of the Latino Vote in Arizona”. Warning sign number one is demonizing a racial minority and using that to power your campaign. Barry must really be in dire straights to use this technique. This is politics at its lowest and filthiest. In the AZ republic there was a great editorial about this, an Open Letter from Glen Hamer who is the CEO of the AZ Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a column by Mr. Montini. Please take time to read them. They really say it all. Barry really needs to re read the history of the Chinese Immigrant in America.