que onda, carnala

awhile ago, nadeen, wanting to polish up her gangster spanglish, asked me what is the female equivalent of "carnal" as in "que onda, carnal"? jejeje! she made me laugh ;) but that reminded me of the daily texican! to clear up the "carnal" question i pointed her to one of my favorite blogs that isn't around anymore, daily texican, and his cholo word of the day. i highly recommend dt for all those who want to improve their chicano slang :)


this is from one of my favorite posts:

Cholo Word Of The Day - Chota

La Chota is very similar to La Jura a previous word of the day. It seems we have a good number of word to describe the fuzz.

Word: Chota

Meaning According To DT: police, jura, fuzz, 5-O

Used in a sentence: "Meli, si vez a la chota, run porque sino te meten a el bote." "Porque chingados me van a encerrar, si I haven't did nothing."

Translation according to DT: "Melinda, if you see the nation's finest, run because they will incarcerate you!" "Why would those civil servants put me in jail, I haven't done anything?"


**




pachucas & police (east l.a.: 1940s)


and in honor of the pachuc@s, who left us a great & rebellious legacy (and a lot of excellent slang), a little maldita vecindad...

pachuco : maldita vecindad



The pachucos are youths, for the most part of Mexican origin, who form gangs in southern cities; they can be identified by their language and behaviour as well as by the clothing they affect. They are instinctive rebels, and North American racism has vented its wrath on them more than once .... Their attitude reveals an obstinate, almost fanatical will-to-be, but this will affirms nothing specific except their determination . . . not to be like those around them.

octavio paz : the pachuco and other extremes (the labyrinth of solitude), 1950

daily texican, come back que te extraaaaño!
nadeen, carnalita, ay te wacho ;)

Futbol for the People...y Maldita Vecindad

Ya pronto viene el verano...

pinche u.s. government, stealing from us again

mierda. mierda. mierda. this makes my stomach turn...

...the Border Patrol now has migracorridos that sing of the danger immigrants face when crossing the border illegally...What Mexican listeners don't know is that the migracorridos are the U.S. government's latest effort to convince migrants to stay home.

: san antonio express-news

foto : sf chronicle

it's not enough apparently to steal our land and our labor. also now our music.

not enough to build a 3-tiered fence, extend it all the way into the ocean, put floodlights and barbed wire on it, and set armed men and dogs to guard it. not enough to enact policies that separate families, that force transnational workers to cross further into the desert where they are more likely to die. no, the migra has to try to disguise state propaganda as popular music and infiltrate the mexican radio airwaves as well. but a song cannot go up against the desire to feed a family... a todos los inmigrantes: que dios los proteja en el camino...

culture is a weapon (thank you, amilcar cabral). time for us to use it against them. ¡la tierra es para quien la trabaja!


**

and now for some corridos de verdad (as opposed to the fake migra-sponsored variety)...

here is amparo ochoa's version of a famous corrido which dates from the days of the mexican revolution:

adelita : amparo ochoa



victor jara (chileno) had such an affection for the corrido that he recorded a mexican revolution one too:

el corrido de pancho villa : victor jara



also here is the obligatory narco-corrido, perfected by los tucanes:

niño de oro : los tucanas de tijuana



and, of course, any proper discussion of these songs should include the beloved corridos of los tigres del norte. and since it's awhile since i posted any rock en español, here are 3 corridos from the tributo a los tigres del norte album, a great compilation of roqueros covering tigres songs.

la tumba falsa : ely guerra



el circo : maldita vecindad



contrabando y traición : la lupita



these lines are from el circo, about political corruption in mexico & the pri party/salinas family despotism. i think they also work for the above-mentioned migra scheme. que se vayan a la chingada esos running dogs.


pura tranza. puro circo. pura farsa.
la misma tranza, la misma farsa, es pura tranza, la misma farsa
pura pura tranza, puro puro circo, pura pura pura pura farsa!

¡la tierra es para quien la trabaja!

the land belongs to those who work it!


en el campo está el patrón,
los finqueros y asociados,
guardias blancas y matones,
nomás explotando pueblos,
van sacando nuestra tierra.
y allá en las ciudades
los policías corruptos,
los mafiosos y banqueros,
nomás chupando la sange
a la gente, a los obreros.
es por eso que zapata
ahora cabalga de nuevo
la revolución civil
¡viva el autogobierno!

**

in the countryside lives the boss,
the landowners and their associates,
the paramilitaries and thugs,
they go around exploiting people,
and taking away our land.
and over there in the city
live the corrupt police,
mafiosos and bankers,
there to suck the blood
of our people, the workers.
and so zapata mounts again
a revolution against the state
we can govern ourselves!

: el barzón (versión maldita vecindad)




workers in the san joaquin valley, california : 1958
photo by george ballis




clandestine union meeting in the san joaquin valley, california : 1938
photo by dorothea lange




el barzón : amparo ochoa



el barzón : maldita vecindad

nuestros muertos no se olvidan

¡feliz día de muertos!

**

nuestra historia hay que escribir
nuestra vida tiene raíz
desgraciada la nación
sin memoria, sin historia



2 de octubre : maldita vecindad

**

we honor & remember our dead

our antepasados...
our fallen freedom fighters...
our people stolen from us by armies, borders, and wars...



* this illustration by josué, based in méxico, df. see more of his beautiful work here at: el meszcalito. muchísimas gracias, josué ;)