El Laberinto

Dia De Los Muertos

2010-10-19T18:33:00.006-04:00

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday in which family and friends gather to remember and pray for friends and family members that have died. Usually an altar is made honoring the friend or family member that has passed. The altars are set up with many things such as sugar skulls, flowers, and food that the deceased loved. Continuing with this Mexican tradition, Chicano Caucus will be having a Dia de los Muertos celebration on October 28th on the steps of Low Plaza right by Alma Mater. We will be having an open mic where anyone can come up and share anything. Along side the open mic there will be free pan dulce(Mexican sweet bread) and arroz con leche. An altar will also be made by the Chicano Caucus which will be set up with candles and sugar skulls. Hope everyone can come out and have a fun night with us.

Celebrate César Chávez

2010-03-24T18:24:00.006-04:00

On Tuesday March 30th, Chicano Caucus is co-sponsoring Celebrate César Chávez an event which commemorates the achievements of César Chávez through spoken word, music, film, dance, and art. This event will held at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe NYC from 7-9pm. Entrance fee is $7 and all the proceeds will go to the César Chávez Foundation. Come join us to pay homage to César Chávez achievements and see great performances.

February 2010 Chicano Caucus Newsletter

2010-02-23T16:40:00.003-05:00

Febrauary 2010 Volume 1, Issue 1 of the Chicano Caucus of Columbia University Newsletter is now out. The newsletter shows how successful our events were last semester and you can rest assured that we will continue to provide great events every semester. Let's thank Rebecca Martinez Barnard '10 , Ann Fernandez Barnard '12, Nataly Sauceda CC '12, and Angelica Duron CC '12 for their hard work in putting this amazing newsletter together.

Census Outreach = FUN

2010-02-22T21:12:00.003-05:00

In the kickoff event for our Census initiative, the Chicanos went out
to Jackson Heights to participate in an official 2010 Census Road Tour
event, ensuring to all who came that the Census is safe, easy, and
important!

For more information about the 2010 Census, the Census Road Tour, and
how you can take part, visit
http://2010.census.gov/2010census/index.php

As the year comes to an end ...

2009-12-13T14:59:00.022-05:00

let's reminisce on the time we've spent together :

Main Events

- Retreat at Homecoming! Awesome job on the poster, guys!
- DREAM Act event. The start of one of our big projects this year!
- Dia de los Muertos. Pan de muerto, pan dulce, arroz con leche, hot chocolate, and people's thoughts.
- Quinceañera. party of the year, hands down! the practices, the decorations, the cake, and lots of people!
- Posada. This was our last events and quite a success. After having a huge quinceañera we ended the year with this small get together. Look around at the pictures. We were even mentioned in the Spec article "Student groups deck the holidays with cultural diversity"

Some other informal gatherings...
- LHM events ... go Rosario!
- ECCSF. yay Georgetown :)
- Halloween parade in the Village .. the misery of cold rain!
- Alternative Thanksgiving provided by Lucha and NAC. yum!
- Thanksgiving at either Jonathan's (mole!) or at Casa Latina (tostadas!)
- Las Mananitas a la Guadalupe

Meteor Shower

2009-11-19T02:17:00.005-05:00

For those of you who met at the sundial in the wee hours of Tuesday morning craving abuelita hot chocolate, praying to la virgencita to move the clouds, and swearing you could see flashes of light out of the corner of your eye ... Well, it seems like we weren't the only ones disappointed with the meteor shower that night.

Just click here BBC reports on meteor shower

Mexican Film Series

2009-10-22T10:41:00.002-04:00

So as some of you know, there's a big chunk of us taking a class called Mexico From Revolution to Democracy. Anyways, as part of the class, our TAs will be screening a series of movies. Professor Piccato said it was fine for us to invite other Caucus members. So if you're interested, just show up! There's one tonight. Here's the info:

Mexican Film Series: From Revolution to Democracy
International Affairs (room 802)

El Hijo Desobediente (1945)
Thurs, Oct 22nd, 8pm

Los Olvidados (1950)
Thurs, Nov 12th , 8pm

Los Ladrones Viejos (2008)
Thurs, Dec 3rd. 8pm

La Ley de Herodes (1999)
Thurs, Dec 10th , 8pm

LHM Opening Reception

2009-09-30T11:34:00.005-04:00

The Latino Heritage Month Opening Reception was held last night in Roone Artledge. The LHM Committee supplied us all with great food (mmm, maduros!) and a great program. Speakers reminded us of those who have paved the way for our success and our responsibility to do the same for others. La Bruja shared some spoken word that left us all thinking about our abuelitas. She ended with a twist on Rihanna's "Umbrella". It was great! Those of us there that night will now be singing "arroz con habichuela, ella, ella" every time we hear it. So don't miss out and make sure to check out the other events this month. It's a great time to meet more Latinos and engage in all aspects of our culture.

Click here for the LHM schedule of events.

just for fun

2009-09-14T00:30:00.002-04:00

Found this youtube video randomly. Miguel and I agreed that you all would find it funny. Perhaps because we could see members of Caucus engaging in this type of silliness. haha
Enjoy!

THE UNOFFICIAL FAREWELL

2009-08-12T13:53:00.004-04:00

Luis made this video as his unofficial farewell to the Caucus.
And for all of us to realize how much we'll miss him. <3
Enjoy!!

Recent News ...

2009-07-12T22:39:00.008-04:00

SOTOMAYOR HEARINGS
The confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor begin tomorrow Monday, July 13 at 10:00 a.m. EST. If confirmed she will be the first Latina to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. The site will be airing the hearings live. So if you want to check in and see what's going on during work, home or wherever, go for it. Here's the site:
http://sotomayorforjustice.com/news/livestream/

HORNE v. FLORES
MALDEF or the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund helped win a case in which the Supreme Court upheld a student's right to learn in English. Read it here:
http://maldef.org/news/releases/supreme_court_upholds_students_rights_to_learn_english/
If you're interested in the details of the case, let me know and I'll forward you the email containing the official decision and the Amicus Brief.

LUIS RAMIREZ HATE CRIME
Some of you may have signed a petition to demand justice for the murder of Luis Ramirez, a Latino living in Shenadoah, Pennsylvannia who was beaten to death. In order to raise more awareness on this case and hate crimes in general, Univision did a special called "Odio a Muerte." Here's the page on it with videos to click on if you want to watch it:
http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=3&schid=160&secid=166&cid=1984837#p

Rudo y Cursi

2009-05-21T14:57:00.003-04:00

diego and gael would have been at cinco de mayo like we said
but they had some unforeseen filming for this movie
haha
i'm not sure when it comes out but here's the trailer:

El Tao Tao

2009-05-13T18:56:00.002-04:00

perfect for celebrating the end of finals or giving you that extra boost to finish them up.

SNL - Motherlover

2009-05-13T00:42:00.001-04:00

if you haven't seen it yet ...

don't bring me down

2009-05-12T03:01:00.001-04:00

[because this is what I do for study breaks]
ENJOY!

Update: Joint Statement

2009-05-07T20:37:00.001-04:00

An update from the earlier statement that was realease ...

Joint Statement from the 2010 Clear Party and Representatives of Concerned Student Groups:

During the recent CCSC election campaign, the 2010 CCSC Clear Party posted flyers around campus that read "Two Asian girls at the same time". Concerned students approached the Clear Party, the CCSC Elections Board about the flyer two weeks ago and met with representatives and Deans Taylor and Aquino last Monday, April 27th. A diverse group of student groups including LUCHA, Proud Colors, the Asian American Alliance Political Committee, the Chicano Caucus, the United Students of Color Council, Students for a Democratic Society, Take Back the Night, and the Columbia Queer Alliance added their organizations' names to a statement that was brought to the meeting. From the meeting came important agreements between all the students present to enact institutional changes aimed at heightening the awareness of the ways in which hierarchies of power and privilege are reproduced by student council candidates and members.

While all parties understand that there was no malice behind the flyer, we all recognize that regardless of intention the flyer brought up painful histories and realities. While it has no explicit sexual language, "Two Asian girls at the same time" connotes a sexual fetishization of Queer and Asian women. We understand that these fetishizations emanate from racial and sexual hierarchies that place Queer people and people of color on the margins of society. These hierarchies and the corresponding ideologies of racism and heterosexism have contributed to the invisibility of communities and justifications for American imperialism. The Clear Party understands that the flyer was problematic for these reasons and apologizes deeply for bringing up these hurtful references. We agreed that since CCSC candidates and the Elections Board do not want to perpetuate these oppressive hierarchies, institutional changes are necessary to ensure that student council candidates and Elections Board members have clearer and more specific way of judging campaign materials so that divisive, insensitive or demoralizing materials can be identified easier in the future.

We are now working together to enhance the language of Elections Board rules regarding what constitutes an offensive flyer so that situations like this may be avoided in the future. We are also collaborating to brainstorm and execute ways in which ideas of power and privilege may be introduced to incoming student council members within the elections process. Together we are making student council more accountable and responsive to Columbia College's diverse communities.

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-06T19:21:00.007-04:00

So we celebrated 5 de mayo on the 2nd. This post comes on the 6th. And Obama celebrated it on the 4th.

check it out: http://la.remezcla.com/re/blog.jsp?a=1041

Seems time is a little off this year ...
but then, when have we ever been good with time?

Que viva Mexico!
Que viva la raza!

Statement co-signed by the Caucus

2009-04-28T23:42:00.002-04:00

The following was co-signed by Chicano Caucus as a statement of solidarity with those - both individuals and groups - that were offended by a flyer issued by the Clear 2010 Party in the recent CCSC elections.

We the undersigned express our concern and outrage.

As CCSC elections approached this past week, many students began to see a particular flyer from the "Clear 2010 Party" campaign that read "Two Asian girls at the same time".

While we understand it was meant to be a joke, we also understand that the humor was predicated upon racist and heterosexist ideas and stereotypes. Not only is it a play off of a fetishization of Asian women that directly corresponds with the effeminization and invisibility of Asian men, as well as American imperialism, but it is also a heterosexist and patriarchal male fantasy that has contributed to the invisibility of Queer women, and the devaluation of lesbian sex as a mere spectacle for a male gaze.

Many students were shocked and appalled by this flyer for obvious reasons. This is particularly disturbing as it is commonly understood that student council members are not only our representatives, but our advocates. We think that student council members and the elections board should have a responsibility to take a critical stance on the various hierarchies of oppression in our society, working to undermine them, not reproduce them. In doing so, they strive to improve our university by creating a more just and inclusive campus culture, rather than simply accepting the use of offensive language. This is what we believe constitutes an ally.

For these reasons, we ask that the Clear 2010 Party release an apology for their flyers, explaining how and why the references they called upon were so hurtful and marginalizing. We also ask that an honest investigation be conducted to critically analyze the structure of student council and the elections board so that we may proactively create avenues of greater understanding and awareness about power and privilege on Columbia's campus.

IMMIGRATION SERIES

2009-04-23T17:24:00.001-04:00

A WORLD ON THE MOVE:
Emigration and Immigration
In Europe and the Americas

Thursday - Saturday, April 23-25, 2009

For information contact:
www.columbia.edu/cu/lehmancenter
Pre-registration suggested (seating is limited):
lehmancenter@columbia.edu

THURSDAY APRIL 23, 2009
2:00 pm Welcome: Barbara Faedda, Acting Director, Italian Academy for Advanced Studies
Opening Remarks: Michael T. Ryan, Columbia University
Session I: Two Aspects of Jewish Migration
2:15-3:45 pm
Chair: Owen Gutfreund, Barnard College, Columbia University
- Rebecca Kobrin, Columbia University: Jewish Immigrants, Financial Failure and the Reshaping of American Capitalism,1914-1930
- Hasia Diner, New York University: "Our Newest Immigrants": Holocaust Survivors and the Work of American Jewry on Their Behalf

Discussion

4:00-5:30 pm Plenary session
Speaker: Jacques Toubon
Chair of the Advisory Committee of the National Center for the History of the Immigration, Paris; Member of the European Parliament; Former Minister for Culture and Justice in France

European Immigration Policies Through the Lens of History
5:45-7:00 pm Public Reception at the Italian Academy

FRIDAY APRIL 24, 2009
Breakfast 8:30-9:00 am

Session II: Perspectives on Italian Immigration
9:00-10:30
Chair: Maurizio Vaudagna, University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy
- Donna Gabaccia, University of Minnesota:Immigrants, Neighborhoods, and Urban Tourism in New York: The Case of Little Italy
- Simone Cinotto, "Piero Bairati" Center in European-American Studies and University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy: One Third of a Nation: Public Housing and Cultural Pluralism in Italian Harlem, 1934-1950

Discussion

Session III: The Future of Immigration in the Age of Globalization
The Immigrant Republic in the 20th Century
10:45-12:45
Chair: Philip Kasinitz, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
- Kenneth T. Jackson, Columbia University: Empire City: The Immigrant Role in Defining New York
- Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, New York University: Global Vertigo and the End of Migration
Claudio Remeseira, Columbia University: Hispanic New York and the Redefinition of a Hemispheric Identity

12:45-1:45 Lunch break

Session IV: The Economic View: Laborers and Entrepreneurs
1:45-3:30 pm
Chair: Alice Kessler-Harris, Columbia University
- Nancy Green, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, France: Sweatshops and Elite Migrants: Two Examples Beyond the Industrial/Postindustrial Divide
- Jan Rath, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands: The City and Immigrant Enterpreneurship

Discussion

3:30-3:45 Break

Session V: Immigration and Exclusion
3:45-5:45
Chair: Adam McKeown, Columbia University
- John Foot, University College of London: Foreign immigrants in Milan: representations, exclusions, memories and politics
- Mae Ngai, Columbia University: Chinese exclusion and the racialized immigrant interpreter
- Barbara Faedda, Italian Academy for Advanced Studies: Emerging Trends: Immigration Law and Lawyers in Italy

Discussion

SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009
Breakfast 8:30-9:00 am

Session VI: The View from the Americas
9:00-10:30 a.m.
Chair: Jaime Rodriguez, St. John's University
- Jose Moya, Barnard College, Columbia University: European Immigration and Socioeconomic Development in the Americas
- Claudio W. Lomnitz, Columbia University: US-Mexico Border and the Origin of "the Mexican race", c. 1900

Discussion

10:30-10:45 break

VII. Roundtable for All Particpants: The Future of Immigration in the Age of Globalization
10:45-12:00 p.m.
Moderator: Lisa Keller, Purchase College, SUNY
Closing Comments: Kenneth T. Jackson

Saturday Afternoon
Bus Tour
1:30-8:00 pm
Harlem, Flushing, Steinway and Astoria
Visit to the Panorama of NYC
Reservations required; seating limited

Jointly sponsored by
The Herbert H.Lehman Center for American History
Interuniversity Center for European-American History and Politics (CISPEA)
The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies
The University Seminar on the City, Columbia University

Chicano/a Cures

2009-04-22T13:19:00.004-04:00

Well, we all know that Vicks is the solution to everything: stuffy noses, burns, etc. And if you've seen Ann's status, you've seen Jessica's and my comments about home cures. So I was thinking, maybe we can see what other home remedies you guys have for stuff. Let's start a list! I think it'll be fun :) Just comment with something you use to take care of an illness, cut, or whatever needs curing.

Screenings

2009-04-08T00:20:00.005-04:00

From Other Fliers

From Rosario ... Threat to Journalists in Mexico

2009-04-07T16:37:00.002-04:00

i found this article on the danger and increased vulnerability that journalists are facing in mexico due to the drug cartels.

http://cpj.org/2009/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2008-mexico.php

Tomorrow Night

2009-04-02T19:53:00.001-04:00

Rosario's performing in this!
Come and support :)

CARIBBEAN CONSCIOUSNESS: ROOTS. ROCK. REGGAE.

Date: Friday, April 3, 2009
Place: Roone Arledge Auditorium (Alfred Lerner Hall)
Time: 10pm to 12am
Damage: $7.00

PERFORMANCES BY:

Lyrical Circle, Ana Perez (Barnard College '09), April Simpson (Columbia College '11), Poetic Musician (SEAS '10), CU Gospel, Clefhangers, Mambo Bravo, Marsha Jean-Charles (Wesleyan University '11), Orisha, Carnival Scene (Columbia University/ Barnard College Students), Marguerite Hemmings (Columbia College '08), SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE: BUSHMAN!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n8BhVJvbRs&feature=related

MOVIE SCREENING: Jamaica for Sale (Director: Esther Figueroa)

A DELECTABLE BUFFET STYLE DINNER PROVIDED BY:

A Taste of Seafood, Golden Krust, Havana Central, Columbia Catering

MUSIC BY: DJ ME

SOCA, REGGAE, DANCEHALL, KOMPA, ZOUK, SALSA, BACHATA, MERENGUE

FACEBOOK EVENT:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=59433576049

Co-Sponsored By: The African Students Association, The Black Students Organization, The Haitian Students Association, Student Organization of Latinos, The United Students of Color Council, President & Provost Fund

MARTIN RAMIREZ: THE LAST WORKS

2009-03-26T00:53:00.006-04:00

MARTIN RAMIREZ: THE LAST WORKS
American Folk Art Museum
[45 West 53rd Street
New York NY 10019]
October 7, 2008 - April 12, 2009

As I mentioned at the meeting, this Museum is having an exhibition on newly discovered works by Martin Ramirez. They had an exhibition earlier in 2007 (http://www.folkartmuseum.org/default.asp?id=1805) Click this:
FAM Ramirez Exhibition if you want to find out about this exhibition. I recently read about his background. Apparently, Martinez was originally from Jalisco, from a very religious area with dominant Spanish roots. He migrated to the US to earn money to pay off debt for buying his farm and worked on building railroad tracks in the US. Shortly after coming to the US, he heard about the violence of the Cristero Rebellion. His brother sent him a letter explaining that his farm had been ruined because of the fighting and that Ramirez's wife had saved him from being executed. But Ramirez misinterpreted the letter and thought that his wife had betrayed him and helped the secular government, which would have been a deep blow to him since he was deeply religious. Anyways, he refused to go back with his friends to Mexico, even though he had four kids there. Later on, he was put into a mental institution and eventually landed up in one in Northern California. A psychologist saw the various drawings he would create and saw his natural talent. He also became intrigued by the connection of Ramirez's drawings and his pyschological problem. He started saving his works and even put on shows.
To get a better account of his background and of his work in general click here.

Some things to think about: How did being in a completely different country affect his sanity. Is it that people just thought he was crazy because they couldn't communicate with him (since all he knew was Spanish)? Did his isolation in the mental institutions only cause him to become diagnosed with schizophrenia?

So I think I've blabbered on about it but I just wanted to share with you all!
Point is, if you're really interested in art or psychology, you might want to check this out!

Politics and/or Baking

2009-03-24T15:05:00.003-04:00

If you didn't get Julia's email, she wanted to share that there's an interesting event going on tonight, we all might be interested in attending:

“Barack Obama and the New Racial Politics”

Discussant: Farah Griffin, Manning Marable
Moderator: Robert O’Meally
Tuesday, 24 March 2009 6:15pm
Second Floor Common Room, the Heyman Center

Baking for Lucha
There will also be baking tonight at Julia's
to help Lucha fundraise for their health fair
show up at her place between 9:00-9:30 pm to start baking
If you need her info, just email her