REPOSTED FROM July 29, updated: HERE’S THE UPDATE first, Tuesday night Aug. 11 will be a big deal!
From the Frida’s social media:
“Just added: our friends at Libromobile will be joining us in the lobby for the 7PM screening on August 11th, along with our friends at Suavecito selling their exclusive AMERICAN PACHUCO pomades AND bringing some rad classic cars to display! That same evening, legendary local writer/journalist Gustavo Arellano will be joining us in person to introduce the film!
“AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ is the first feature documentary about this American original, narrated by Edward James Olmos reprising his legendary El Pachuco role, featuring Cheech Marin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dolores Huerta, and Linda Ronstadt. The film weaves 4K-restored archival footage, including over 80,000 feet of deteriorating 1970s celluloid rescued and digitized for the first time, with the story of a man who proved that Chicanos have always been America. 
“
Vern’s original July 29 article:
Last night JULY 28 Donna and I went to the Orange AMC and watched this great new documentary about Luis Valdez, and every minute of the 93 minutes was priceless. It’s only got two more showings there, TONIGHT, at 7:45 PM and 10:35 PM. So what are you waiting for, get your tickets HERE before it’s too late!
Have you heard of Luis Valdez? He’s most famous for writing/directing Zoot Suit in the 80’s and La Bamba in the 90’s, but that’s just a fraction of it. I’d been following him as a playwright since the Teatro Campesino – my first wife starred in one of his plays in Texas, entitled “I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges!” and I’d sometimes see his surrealistic takeoffs on Latino traditions like The Posadas featured on PBS.
This star-studded film features Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Cheech Marin, and Dolores Huerta, with cameos by Mick Jagger and Little Richard! I didn’t realize till last night that the iron-fisted (and now radioactive) labor leader Cesar Chavez had kicked Luis and his Teatro out of the farmworkers union movement for having too much fun and being too RASQUACHE!
Rasquache or Rasquachismo was an important word we learned from the film: I see AI knows it though, according to whom it is a Chicano cultural aesthetic, a resourceful survival attitude, and a working-class perspective that means making the most from the least.
The Core Characteristics of Rasquachismo:
- Bold Style: Favoring bright colors, rich textures, and an exuberant, flamboyant look over simple or severe designs.
- Resourcefulness: Making things with whatever materials are close at hand, such as reusing coffee cans as flower pots or turning scraps into art.
- The Underdog View: A resilient perspective from los de abajo (those at the bottom) that turns economic and social limits into creative power.
So yes, David Alvarado’s film was muy rasquache. And it also covered several tragic episodes of late 20th century California history – the 1970 LAPD killing of Ruben Salazar at the Chicano Moratorium in East LA (my buddy Agustin Huerta from the Democrats Club was there when that happened AND he was there with his wife Camelia last night);
and the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots (which really shouldn’t be called “riots” as it was just white racist Navy boys beating up Chicanos – just like Little People’s Park Riot of 1978 shouldn’t be called a riot when it was just Anaheim cops beating up Mexicans.) But moving on, here’s another trailer…)
Donna’s favorite part was the archival footage of all the little campesino kids staring in awe at their first experience of theater. And Luis’ Vietnam-era play depicting a Chicano who gets drafted and refuses to kill the Asians who look more like him than the folks who sent him do that. And Luis’ depictions of “VENDIDOS” (partly exaggerated version of his big brother) who try to pass in the white world and forget their roots.
Camelia grew up in those Central California towns in the late 60s and 70s, picking crops with her parents, and all that archival footage really took her back. Her husband Agustin was 8 years old in East LA when the Chicano Moratorium and Salazar killing happened – he hopped on his bike and watched all the LAPD assaults and burning buildings. He got a real tongue-lashing from his worried parents when they got home. He didn’t know who Ruben was but his dad did – he was on TV and wrote for the Herald-Examiner, and had been writing about police corruption at the time so it was hard for people to believe his killing was an accident. At school, Agustin’s teachers (all but one of em white) told them to be careful and stay away from these Chicano trouble makers. “But WE WERE FIRED UP,” says Agustin, and this was the beginning of Chicano Power, fighting for a better education and against the meat-grinder of a war.
Donna, Agustin and Camelia all loved how the film used Luis Valdez’ life and career as a vantage point to tell a panoramic story of California history. And have you got your tickets yet? TIME’S A WASTING!
Director David Alvarado and Victor Payan of MASA (Media Arts Santa Ana), in front of last night’s audience.
There’s Agustin & Camelia from the Anaheim Democrats Club standing at the right,
the Pachuco’s linen jacket poking out from behind David’s hat, and Vern & Donna seated behind him.
I’m not going to hang out with Gus. Deal killer. No thanks.
Jajajaja
There has been some turnover at the OC Human Relations Commission. There are currently two vacancies – I believe Wagner and Sarmiento appointees – and American-Israel Ilana Meirovitch appears to have replaced Ada Briceno. Now this circles back to “the Farrah Khan is an antisemite campaign.”
Ms. Meirovitch is the CEO of JCAN (pro-Israel lobby) that has led the charge of the Khan is an anti-semite campaign under the direction of JCAN member and Irvine resident Julie Heiman. So pro-Israel lobby Rabbi Dicky steps down from the commission and Is immediately replaced by another member of the pro-Israel lobby.
The ochr meets tomorrow at 11:00 am.
You can crash the Democrats of Greater Irvine’s fundraising bbq this Sunday in Irvine at Bill Barber Park from 1:00 – 3:00
P.M.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1506348788199100&id=100064719791171
I think I saw Lauren Johnson Norris tonight at a lawyer function in Irvine. If it was her and I’m pretty sure it was, she looked like she may have shat herself.
I see that you are staying the coarse.
Course?
She basically sprinted out of the event after she saw me.
I believe Greg used that spelling on purpose. It was a good pun.
You know me so well.
Yes, I’m accusing Eric of being coarse — and making this a more unpleasant place for readers. “Course” is not that same as “coarse,” and “course” is not the same as “harsh,” and “harsh” doesn’t begin to approach accusing someone — yeah, especially a sober women, of shitting herself without splendid proof.
This is not a brief for Lauren, whom in my opinion has been actively unpatriotic and arguably seditious in abetting the Democratic Party’s slavish obsequiousness to AIPAC and Netanyahu. (I’m deliberately not mentioning Israel itself, because to me that’s complicated to explain.) — against what polls suggest is a sea change of opposition among Jewish voters (and more so the public generally, with the notable exception of evangelicals who need us Jews around to satisfy the prophecy of Tribulation in the Book of Revelation.)
In one sentence, I’ll opine that Lauren is also a traitor to the Democratic Party: and, yes, thank you, I’m in an excellent position to judge that, lest any descendent of Slavic pogram-inflicting terrorists passes by, because AIPAC largely donates to Republican political electoral interests, because the Republican Party (especially under the Trump-Roberts regime) is much more likely to be amoral with respect to foreign human rights (especially to Muslims and people of color generally), while many Democrats (largely outside of and undermined by our party leadership) include a healthy faction of those who would reject Cato the Elder’s “Carthage delenda est” (usually translated as something like “Carthage must be destroyed”), which Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben-Gvir et alia translate as “anyone who threatens Israel’s security as we define it — including all Palestinians who don’t support Israeli control over contested land in Palestine. anyone in the region who might be in a position to disrupt that control, and foreign actors who oppose continued propping up of the Israeli military, intelligence, and propaganda efforts, including all political candidates and donors in the U.S., Canada, Europe, etc., which position would make Jesus’ historical model Rabbi Hillel, who asked “if I am not for myself, who will be for me; if I am only for myself, what am I; and if not now, when?” grimace and plotz with shame.
(And yes, I would like the immediately preceding paragraph written on my tombstone — but bear in mind that I want to be buried at sea, so writing in on rice paper with soy-based ink and then tossing it into the wine-dark sea will do me just fine!)
[Note to Vern: you can make that paragraph and its immediate predecessor a new post, if you’d like.]
Yeah because I’m the harsh individual in all of this. Not quite.
Why don’t you ask Lauren what happened to her Democrats for Israel – Orange County schtick??
What happened to the Muslim Latino collaborative and taco
Stands at every mosque? Just saying. Wasn’t that a dpoc pitch during Ada’s tenure. Pretty prescient under the circumstances. How much has the dpoc raised. I bet you Ali taj raised as much.
That was Rida Hamida. Nice lady. We see her rarely.
No it was Ada Briceno bro. Get your ish straight meat. Not a Gus or Gabe article but Gabe is hungry. He loves doner kebab. Especially when it’s free. Ada is quoted numbnuts.
https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/tn-wknd-et-muslim-latino-collaboration-20170203-story.html
I don’t care if Ada hogged the interview, numb nuts. I know Tacos For Every Mosque and that was a Rida Hamida project. Case closed.
Well Ada was a figure head. Wasn’t she?
Not for Rida. For other Local 11 leadership, in my opinion she was, but that’s not relevant to this. I don’t think that Rida was part of DPOC, but I’ve kept blissfully unaware of most aspects of the late Ada and ongoing Florice regimes.
And Santa Ana current councilmember Ben Vazquez.
https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-arab-latino-adv-20160609-snap-story.html (All three in this article)
I’m thinking they were acting in concert.
I think I may have been hasty in absolving you of being a “harsh individual.”
Wait? Now you are Catholic?
Ironically if it weren’t for the disintegration of the Palestinian mandate or marginalization of Christians in that region, al pastor may not have become part of the Mexican diet when it did. And practicing Muslims ain’t eating no authentic Al pastor.
Trompa is doner. Halal tacos my toochas.
How come no one is interviewing pencil-necked parrot Pearlman about Tupac or enlisting him as a commentator about the trial. Prolly cause he is newsroom poison.
Parrots don’t have pencil necks, goombah!
Pearlman is the exception.