As a camera crew captured Sheriff Joe Arpaio walking through Maricopa County’s infamous “Tent City,” Guillermo Pérez Aguilar, 36, decided to speak up.
“Señor Arpaio,” Guillermo said as the sheriff walked passed him.
“Yeah,” Arpaio replied as he stopped and turned to Pérez.
Pérez began with a simple question: “Why not give us a chance?”
After Arpaio gave pat answer about how there are laws and a right way to come into the country, Pérez suggested he was overreaching as a local official and going above federal authority in enforcing his laws.
“No, nobody is higher than me,” Arpaio said in his typical belligerent manner.
“And many of these people,” pointing to inmates observing the exchange, “come with the marijuana,” Arpaio said later as he shifted his glare.
When Pérez said it was unfair to judge everyone on the acts of a few, Arpaio responded, “No, I judge those who break the law…and it just so happens, because we’re so close to the border, we get more people from Mexico.”
Pérez responded with a common Mexican saying, “O sea, el no busca quién la debe, sino quién la paga,” which roughly translates to “So, in other words, he’s not looking for who did it, but rather, who will pay for it.”
Pérez went on to say that he’s been in the United States for 16 years without any problems, adding that he’d like a legal way to pay insurance for his car, but that Arpaio seems more interesting in picking on the little guy.
“Why not start at the root? Why start at the branches?
“You’re killing thousands when, really, you can start here,” Pérez said, referring to the root of the problem.
“Why? Because it’s harder, or because you like attacking us over here?”
Thank you, Guillermo, for speaking truth to power!
Javier Sicilia Announces US Peace Caravan Set for August 12
Javier Sicilia of Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) announced plans for a US Peace Caravan to raise awareness of the role American guns and drug consumption plays in Mexico’s drug war.
The caravan will begin in San Diego, CA on August 12, and will travel to Arizona, Texas, Illinois, New York, ending in Washington D.C. Further dates are not yet set.
“This initiative will seek dialogue with the American [people] and its government on the need to stop the trafficking of arms and the criminalization of drugs,” Sicilia said earlier today in a press conference from Los Angeles’ historic Placita Olvera.
Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio went out of his way this weekend to suggest his teammate, Kevin Love, looked “even worst” than a Mexican.
“Ok, he doesn’t look like a mexican anymore but I think he looks even worst… Here is our superstar,” Rubio tweeted Saturday in reference to his teammate’s new clean shaven look.
As pointed out by Marlen Garcia of USA Today, what Rubio meant to say was, “even worse.”
Earlier in the week, Rubio tweeted, “To learn spanish u dont need to look like a mexican u just need to study,” again, referencing Kevin Love, this time with a mustache.
At this point, you realize it wasn’t bad English, it’s exactly what it sounds like: Racism.
This isn’t the first time Ricky Rubio has offended a nation of people.
In 2008, Rubio and his teammates from the Spanish national team, including the Lakers Pau Gasol, appeared in a full page ad for a courier company in Spain’s largest sports daily, Marca, making “slit-eye” gestures for the camera.
And there are several other examples of Spain’s problem with racism in sports and society.
Rubio’s comments shouldn’t surprise anyone. He knew what he was saying, so much so that he felt comfortable enough to say it twice. And if this is what he says on Twitter, imagine what he says about Mexicans in private.
Ricky Rubio, you should’ve left your racist tendencies in Spain. But since you didn’t, you need to apologize to the Mexican community for your comments.
Feel free to contact us on Twitter at: @ThinkMexican.
Alto Arizona’s Creative Resistance campaign gave artists a platform to raise awareness and take collective action in opposition to SB 1070.
The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow on SB 1070’s constitutionality, two years after it was signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.
Culture has no borders, and Dwayne & TexMeXplosion are proof of that.
Hailing from the Netherlands, Dwayne & TexMeXplosion have been performing Conjunto and Norteño music as a band since early 2009.
Inspired by the music of Flaco Jiminez, Dwayne Verheyden began playing the accordion when he was seven years years old.
Although not done with the same style and flair as, say, Chalino Sánchez, Dwayne and his band show us that our music and traditions are alive and well and very much appreciated by people from around the world.
Friday night, Need to Know aired “Crossing the Line,” an investigative report on the death of Anastacio Hernández. Most revealing was information that shows Mr. Hernández’s death was likely a premeditated murder in retaliation for an abuse complaint he filed earlier while in custody of the United States Border Patrol.
San Diego County’s own medical examiner ruled Mr. Hernández’s death a homicide, saying it was caused by a heart attack due to a “physical altercation with law enforcement officers.”
That physical altercation was recorded (see video below) by several eyewitnesses who saw more than a dozen Border Patrol agents surround Mr. Hernández as he was repeatedly beaten and tased the night of May 28, 2010.
In official statements, authorities contend Anastacio Hernández “became combative” after his handcuffs were removed, whereupon officers used a Taser to “subdue the individual and maintain officer safety.”
However, this statement, which is critical to the agent’s justification of force has been refuted by the many eyewitnesses, including those who videotaped Mr. Hernández’s beating, and who attest that his hands were handcuffed the entire time.
In an interview with Need to Know, Hernández family lawyer, Eugene Iredale, revealed information further damning to U.S. Border Patrol: agents admitted to investigators Anastacio Hernández was never unhandcuffed as stated in official press releases.
A lawsuit filed in federal court by Mr. Hernández’s family alleges he was driven alone to the San Ysidro Port of Entry by the same officer who had earlier kicked and injured him while in custody, information corroborated by Need to Know’s investigation.
Anastacio Hernández requested medical attention and the wish to file a complaint against the agent who kicked and injured him, but was denied by federal officers at the Border Patrol’s “Barracks Five.”
The fact that Mr. Hernández was driven alone and separately to the San Ysidro Port of Entry by the same Border Patrol agent who is alleged to have kicked and injured him, and who he filed a complaint against, points to the likelihood that this agent conspired to assault, and likely, cause death to Mr. Hernández, which is ultimately what happened.
Testimony from the agents involved that says Anastacio Hernández’s hands were handcuffed throughout the entire incident adds further credence to the assertion from Mr. Hernández’s family, lawyers, and community members that feel that this was not an accident.
Anastacio Hernández was a 42 year-old construction worker, husband, and father of five. Originally from the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, Hernández had lived in San Diego County for 27 years, since the age of 14, when he died on May 31, 2010.
For those who have never been to San Diego’s Chicano Park, this is a must see video.
Chunky and Los Alacranes Mojados tell the story of how the residents of Barrio Logan resisted attempts to build a CHP substation in the heart of their community back on April 22, 1970.
Artists and community members have since turned this empty lot under the Coronado Bridge into a beautiful outdoor museum, filled with murals and other art pieces. The park also serves as a community gathering point and a playground for local kids.
This video was part of a school project on environmental racism at UCSD titled “Architects and a Dream: A History of Displacement and Reclamation.”
A big saludo to everyone who went to Chicano Park Day!
Since 2010 Border Patrol agents have killed at least seven members of border communities and several others have been seriously injured. The Border Patrol has taken no known action against any of the agents involved. There also has been no investigation made public that will help families understand why their loved ones were killed or injured.
On Friday, April 20th, PBS’s Need to Know will air a half hour segment that will expose the excessive use of deadly force that has become routine for the Border Patrol.
An artistic look at the power and beauty of nature. In this case, Mexico’s most well-known volcano, Popocatepetl, which literally means “Smoking Mountain” in the Nahuatl language.
El Popo remains active. Visit CENAPRED for updates.
Early reports stated 8 comuneros were killed by gunmen linked the La Famila Cartel.
In a communique posted online earlier today, Cheran’s traditional governing council clarified that 20 comuneros were heading to patrol the forest when they were ambushed by a group of men from nearby Rancho Casimiro Leco y Tanaco, killing 2. Reports indicate 6 of the dead are loggers.
On Wednesday, comuneros detained 11 police officers and 5 government officials in an act of protest. Cheran’s governing council is asking for immediate intervention from Mexico’s PGR (attorney general) and CNDH (National Human Rights Council).
UPDATES:
The 16 police officers and government officials detained by comuneros on Wednesday were released late Thursday night.
Cheran’s High Governing Council met Friday morning with Michoacan’s governor to discuss security concerns.
200 state police officers, with support from the federal police and army, were brought in to secure Cheran Friday afternoon.
The Movement for Peace With Dignity and Justice is calling on state and federal officials to prosecute those responsible for Wednesday’s attack on Cheran’s comuneros, stop the harassment of Cheran by illegal loggers from neighboring communities, and for them to respect the autonomy of Cheran’s traditional P’urépecha governing council.
Cuando el sistema de Ecobici se apaga para los usuarios, comienza el reacomodo de las bicicletas, conocido como `balanceo´ para que estén en las ciclestaciones que más se necesiten la mañana siguiente.
![Javier Sicilia Announces US Peace Caravan Set for August 12
Javier Sicilia of Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) announced plans for a US Peace Caravan to raise awareness of the role American guns and drug consumption plays in Mexico’s drug war.
The caravan will begin in San Diego, CA on August 12, and will travel to Arizona, Texas, Illinois, New York, ending in Washington D.C. Further dates are not yet set.
“This initiative will seek dialogue with the American [people] and its government on the need to stop the trafficking of arms and the criminalization of drugs,” Sicilia said earlier today in a press conference from Los Angeles’ historic Placita Olvera.
More information at Animal Politico
Photo Credit: Cuartoscuro
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