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.

Bottoms Up !

cc photo of Flor de Jamaica courtesy of Omarsan on Flickr

Happy Summer Solstice everyone! I actually took a vacation in Cali by the ocean while my partner in crime was back here in Aztlan fighting the good fight! Well, still no update on that appropriation money for the Santa Rita Center. Never fear True Mexican will not give up on getting answers. We are just getting warmed up.

While on the beach and drinking lots of fermented blue agave, I started thinking about all the amazing plants we use in our culture and decided to do a little “Marta Sanchez” moment. We having been dealing with such intensity and before we start drilling candidates about why “Latinos” should vote for them I thought a bit of whimsy and a recipe might help.

Shame on Who?

Reading Vivi’s excellent article on racism stimulated lots of pain and shame in me. I feel our culture and our people are trying to be shamed in Arizona. Shame has really been part of our history since the earliest days of the Spanish conquest. Our mestizo ancestors were seen as a “bastard” race. That does not go a long way toward instilling pride and nurturing self-esteem! We have carried that in our generational programming for the last 500 plus years. Such programming about shame keeps us from our greatness. It keeps us back. We must reverse this or we will not be able to stand up to the Civil Rights assaults that are being thrown at us now.

Quetzalcoatl: who the hell is this and why is it important to me in 2010 ?

“One faces the future with ones past” Peal S. Buck


This is just a start of a long conversation about Quetzalcoatl. Volumes have been written about this God/hero/priest/ king of our culture. His name means the Plumed Serpent. I have been engaged for the last 50 plus years in the pursuit of what Quetzalcoatl means to me as a Mexican-American I can wager the regular “carnal” on the street would be unable to give any information about our cultural hero yet the land of Mexico is dotted with magnificent archeological sites and temples dedicated to him. The Hopi tribe is awaiting his return, the Mormons think he was Jesus and some in New Age Circles think he was a space visitor.

I Swear I'm Mexican

That is how I have had to reply to people all of my life. My light skin and hazel eyes drawing nothing but skepticism when most people ask, "What are you?"

My Uncle Ardy, who is no longer with us,  use to laugh and call me "the Jerk" relating my dilemma to Steve Martin's character in the 80's film which had a white guy consider himself a part of black culture. When I worked in Head Start classrooms, Mexican parents would ask how I spoke Spanish so well and I would tell them that I am Mexican. In shock they would ask where I was from. I replied, "Mesa, Arizona". I went on to explain that my Nana Grandma came from Mexico in the early 1900's but my soul, "mi alma",  is Mexican.