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Experiencing Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 Outside of My Community [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-09-26

Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone of Hispanic heritage a joyous month of celebrating our history, cultural and legacy. For the supporters of our heritage, you are welcome here too!

Come read along – there are Mexicans here… there is food here… there is bourbon here… there is jazz here… there is the beautiful state of Kentucky here… there is hope here….

I wrote about my fears here earlier month. I genuinely fear an extremist with gun ending the lives of innocent people. One loss in our community is too much and whether it is a woman, someone identifying as LGTBQIA+, an indigenous person, someone of African descent, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indian/South Asian, a migrant to the USA, and so on, it is not acceptable.

Please recognize that I use Latinx as a self-identifying term. As a faculty advisor to several student groups, our university students voted several years ago to label ourselves by this term, partially to reject the gender affiliation (as most people will generally use Latino for our community) and partially in solidarity with those who reject gender identifications. Stories of hate directed at individuals identifying as LGBTQIA+ spurred our discussions and decisions. Please read Ed Morales’ (no relation) book, Latinx: The New Force in American Politics and Culture, for a clearer understanding of this word. I respect any self-identification and reject any narrow rejection of our identification by those outside of our community.

Traveling to Kentucky

Back in the spring, my younger daughter who lives near us in Southern California suggested a family trip to Kentucky in the fall. Two years ago, she was living in the north suburbs of Chicago and a friend had suggested a trip to Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill near Harrodsburg, Kentucky.

In September 2021, my wife and I hosted her doble quinceañera there. Now, two years later, she had reconnected with an old boyfriend, moved back to California and had a child with him. (He has proposed at least a dozen times, and she refuses: she rejects the institution even though they live as a family. So I call this fellow Carlos, her guy or her man.) She suggested a trip back to Kentucky to Shaker Village for several special events in the area.

The days she picked coincided with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month and Día de la Independencia de México.

The colors of our flag. You learn all about our flag when you grow up in a town called Veinticuatro de Febrero (translated as the 24th of February - Día de la Bandera (Flag Day) in Mexico),

Growing up, Día de la Independencia (days really, because we celebrate September 15th and 16th) was always my favorite holiday. Unlike the other fiestas based around religious events, this one was free of serious ceremony or dressing up or even having tasks or roles (although I did have to clean up after the horses after an independence parade one year!). We heard all of the stories of Hidalgo (El Grito de Dolores) and the emergence of our nation. We heard about Benito Juárez, our first indigenous president. We also talked about the Revolution and the impact on our heritage of legendary leaders. Us children loved the exploits of Pancho Villa, the righteousness of Emiliano Zapata, the evilness of the Porfiriato, and so on. Some also revered Lázaro Cárdenas (my mother wanted to name my older brother after him): he instituted a number of reforms, improved the educational system and nationalized the oil industry. Cárdenas was a symbol of Mexicans standing up to outside powerful interests. On this holiday, we didn’t have to worry about ripping our clothes or paying proper respects to the saints and the savior. The pageants were fun and playful, not two hour passion plays where a giggle might lead to a caning.

And it went on for days. You could smell the cooking and baking and brewing and distilling from house to house. Smiles were genuine. At sundown came the fireworks. The sky was full of bright lights. The air was dense with sulfur. The noise filled your ears like you were in some kind of combat zone (at least as imagined from the 2nd World War films on television). Once the setters of fireworks got too drunk, things got sloppy and a little dangerous. Usually, cool heads (and a nearby garden hose) prevailed when needed.

More to celebrate in this month: During this month, we also celebrate Central American Independence when the five countries that now comprise Central America broke away from Mexico to initially form their own loose federation before eventually going independent on their own. September 18th is also Chile’s Independence Day.

Kentucky Heritage Jazz Festival

Outside Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill

For the trip, my older daughter decided to fly in from the east coast with our other two grandchildren. (Her husband could not make it due to work commitments.) So five adults and three children (from ages 1 to 7) checked into our rooms on the grounds of Shaker Village for a long weekend of family fun and togetherness. My grandparents were excellent role models for family gatherings: they worshipped their fifteen grandchildren and set up wonderful foods, fun games and various events for all of us to enjoy. That is the kind of abuelo I wanted to be.

One of the reasons for picking this weekend was our family’s love for jazz music. This weekend, Shaker Village was hosting the the Kentucky Heritage Jazz Festival. We spent most of the day Saturday immersed in the festival. We rented lawn chairs and spread out with the grandkids to have a good time. Many families were doing the same. Around 6pm, a jazz fusion band from Cincinnati called Spherical Agenda changed the mood from classic jazz to something to take us on the journey. As a fan of many styles of jazz, I wondered if the rock-jazz fusion might not be right for the crowd. I was wrong! Not only were they loved, but they were also fantastic. Wonderful flowing sounds mixed with intricate solos and flights of rhythm and melody. They were tight: not a missed note in the batch! They were scheduled for 2:30pm – I am glad that they started later because we got a gorgeous sunset with our space jazz.

Kentucky Heritage Jazz Festival 2023

On a break to get my grandson some ice cream, Carlos and I took him to one of the food trucks. We alternated holding the sleepy one-year old. Now Carlos is my grandson’s father and my daughter’s guy. They have been together for two years but have known each other since he came by the house as a teenager as a friend of my son. My daughter is a year older than him. They dated for two years before she went off to college. Carlos is probably a third or fourth generation man of Mexican descent. So us two Mexicans with our little Mexican baby walk to get ice cream. After getting our cups, we sat at the table and gave dear Lucas a tiny taste while chatting about the music or the sites or some other casual conversation. An older couple (a white couple in their sixties) stopped by our table and complemented us on what an adorable family we made! I wasn’t going to correct the relationship dynamic: I just love hearing acceptance of any kind of family out there as long as it is loving. We thanked them and they moved along.

The two weekends we were in Kentucky, two larger music festivals were held in Louisville: Bourbon and Beyond and Louder Than Life. During our travels, we met people who had attended these events. What was striking about the lineups for these large festivals was the different generations of performers that were appearing.

Sunday was the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in beautiful Bardstown.

From my wife’s work contacts, we had been invited to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival as guests of one of the distilleries attending the event. (In the interest of full awareness, she has not had any business relationship with any companies mentioned in this article.)

Drink up! Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY

Despite a 40-minute rain shower, it was a day of smiles and waves and good attitude. A few mudholes in the park from the rain made everyone respectful of each other. We loved visiting the craft side: the whole expanding distilling industry is impressive. There were so many new businesses (or newer — if they distilled their own bourbon, it was at least two years old, if not four) that are putting their juice out there for the world to try. Some are good (some are great!) and some are still working on it. A good reminder for us all that I read on a tee-shirt: Taco Tuesday is followed by Whiskey Wednesday!

Two years ago, my wife and I bumped into Kaveh Zamanian, the founder of Rabbit Hole Distillery in Louisville. His product was not in all fifty states until he signed a deal with a major (in this case Pernod Ricard) to give up a majority share of his company but retain creative control. These types of partnerships are not new to the liquor industry, but I wonder about the long term effects of creative control when sales might flatten. Zamanian is smart enough to have planned for that — I hope some of the smaller craft distilleries swallowed up have the same foresight. There are a lot of good people getting involved and I love discovering a new spirit to add to my bar.

There was an area for goods related to whiskey as well, from food products to arts and crafts with a bourbon theme. These seemed best suited for those not flying home: you really can’t take a barrel on an airplane!

Lexington — Immigrants and Refugees Welcome Here

The Mexican Flag at the corner of Triangle Park in Lexington

After the festival, we drove to Lexington to see off my daughters, Carlos and my grandchildren.

My wife and I drove to downtown Lexington to Triangle Park and what is waiting for me on the corner of South Broadway and West Main Street? The flag of my homeland — the flag of Mexico hanging on the street corner.

On a nearby parking garage is a banner stating Immigrants and Refugees Welcome. The complete sign is Immigrants and Refugees Welcome Here. (One would have hoped it was in Spanish, or even Swahili as that is the third-most spoken language in Lexington, but maybe the message is directed to Kentucky natives as much as anyone.) Welcoming may start with a sign but it extends to opportunities and feeling included in a community. I figured that in the next two days I’d get a chance to experience a little of that.

Many businesses displayed this sign in Lexington, KY. Other signs displayed supported the LGBTQIA+ community.

I spent a day with colleagues at a major University talking about a possible role here. I have been working at my current school for almost 30 years where the plurality of students are of Asian descent and the second biggest groups are Latinx. Here at UK, it is 75% white, 7% Black, 6% Hispanic, 3% Asian according to the US Department of Education. Could I fit in here? Outside of the Economics school, they have a fine Latin American, Caribbean & Latino Studies program run by one of my former students!

My former student and several colleagues took my wife and myself to dinner at Corto Lima, a nice restaurant specializing in a food and drink mix of Latinx cultures: yes, I’ll have the Abasolo (Mexican whiskey) and Peruvian chicken. The guacamole was as fresh as if they picked the avocados themselves. And even staples like rice and beans reminded me of the freshness and spicyness of my abuela. (This is the kind of restaurant she could have opened – and since she had a German father, she would have mixed in hints of German-style sauces, breads and seasoning along with our traditional Oaxacan fare. I believe that there are food-themed trips to Mexico that put Oaxaca at the center. Eva Longeria did an episode on CNN about it earlier this year in a series of food-themes shows about different cuisines of Mexico. Since that is part of my roots, I am partial to that, but living in Yucatán for over thirty years, I have another favorite style.)

Mama Tequila’s tribute to Frida Kahlo.

At the corner of S Broadway and W Short was a beautiful series of Frida Kahlo-themed portraits on the side of Mama Tequila’s. We didn’t eat there but we still stopped and did the tourist thing: took some pictures! Her art as well as Diego Rivera’s masterful murals are a shining reminder of my heritage. Whenever I am in CDMX (Mexico City), I try to visit Museo Mural Diego Rivera, across the street from the Hotel Del Prado that was demolished in the 1985 earthquake. September 19th, 1985 is a day of sadness this month. At least 10,000 died in this disaster. Just a month before, I had been through the capital to fly out to school in Ecuador. Little did I realize that the capital would be changed forever. My sister had been living there and had left a couple months before to work for my uncle on a restaurant venture in San Antonio, Texas. One of his CDMX restaurants was destroyed as well.

Andy!

One of many ANDY signs we saw.

When traveling, my wife and I explore the area. In Kentucky, we went to historical sites, horse farms, distilleries (of course), cemeteries (in Lexington and in Louisville – to Cave Hill to see Muhammad Ali’s grave) and other spots that remind us of the beauty of this world and the history of the sites. We drove a lot as well and I started to see yard signs throughout the state that said ‘Andy’. Are they advertising Andy of Mayberry? No: there is a state election coming this November: Governor Andy Beshear is running for re-election. And I saw many Andy Beshear signs in places like Lawrenceburg and Bardstown and places in between. I didn’t see too many for his opponent, the Trump-endorsed David Cameron (no, not the former British PM). On television, I saw a lot of Cameron commercials (those soft, family-oriented spots that seem to introduce him to the electorate). I also saw a lot — many, many, many more — of anti-Beshear ads. Especially anti-transgender surgery ads. When we watched the local news almost every evening, that was the most common commercial I saw (and it would air two or three times in those 30 minutes).

I will leave the analysis of the Beshear-Cameron campaign to the local contributors here, but I was very surprised to see the amount of yard signs for Beshear even in the rural areas. (In 2021, we saw a few ‘Trump won’ signs but did not see any this time.)

Cancelling Cancel Culture

I still got reminded of US imperialism: ‘Texas independence from Mexico’?? One can write about these events without the xenophobic overtones.

On several Facebook groups that I follow regarding the whiskey and bourbon industry and its fans, I have read a lot of vile right-wing comments over the years about ethnicity and sexuality and open sexist comments directed at the few women to brave the groups.

Two years ago, someone posted (correctly) that a downtown distillery in Louisville required displaying COVID vaccination cars upon entry. People reacted by claiming they would be dumping their products that they had already owned and would never buy their products again. During the Bud Light ‘controversy’, much open hostility toward this product and its brewer was visible. We seem to be in an atmosphere that gives businesses pause about making a stand for something: whether it is Black Lives Matter, Migrants Welcome Here, pro-LGBTIA+, even signs to indicate that guns were not allowed at the establishment. That being said, seeing distilleries and whiskey-themed businesses display these signs is welcoming. Driving by Justins’ House of Bourbon in Louisville, an expensive retail shop that sells bourbon and whiskey to well-informed (and well-off) drinkers, I saw that they had draped the rainbow flag behind their logo in the front window. You can’t miss this – it was probably 4’ x 6’! Cancel this, haters!

I’m Not Going to Talk About Horse Racing

I know a lot of people with strong opinions against the horse racing industry, especially in light of recent tragedies in Kentucky. I respect that and endorse it. I only bring up horse racing in terms of its Latinx legacy. You can read about some of that here.

Many jockeys of Mexican descent have had success in the USA, none more legendary in my youth as the Valenzuela brothers. From Yucatán Magazine

Ismael Valenzuela’s hand prints outside a Louisville hotel The creation of hit Latin riders can be traced to two brothers, Angel and Ismael (Milo) Valenzuela. They have been born in Texas, raised in Mexico, and started their racing careers on bush league tracks in Arizona. Even though they were not born in Mexico, they spent most of their professional journey as jockeys in this country. Their involvement around horses was based in Mexico after returning to the US to win some races. In 1952 the older brother, Angel, started his career as a jockey in California at Hollywood Park. Milo followed his brother as a hot walker and a strong hand. In a course of a year, Milo has just started riding and has already surpassed his brother Angel in winnings. In 1958 Milo won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and endured prevailing. He rode the mythical Kelso to twenty-two graded stakes wins and has become the number one cash winner in thoroughbred racing history. In 1963 Milo won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award given to North America’s pinnacle thoroughbred Jockey. In 1968 he once again managed to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Before he retired, Milo had amassed over 2,500 wins. In 2008 he became inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. https://yucatanmagazine.com/best-mexican-horse-jockeys-of-all-time/

Crossing the Border

Have you ever crossed a border with the intent of not going back? Have you ever walked it? Sold all of your possessions to do it? Do you know someone who had migrated? Have they told you what the experience was like?

Have you ever visited Ellis Island? I have always advocated that understanding migration in the 21st Century might be better explained by connecting the experience with migration in the 19th and 20th Centuries through places like Ellis Island. The closest connection many people in the USA may have to modern immigration starts with their own heritage — the economic and cultural upheaval people face when leaving their home and exercising that basic human right of freedom of movement. Ellis Island was full of resources to help migrants who came to the USA not knowing English, not having previously applied for citizenship, traveling in harsh conditions and needing medical care.

An event in Louisville this past weekend was called “Walk a Mile in my Shoes.” This description is from the Louisville city government site from an event scheduled in 2017:

Students playing the role of immigrants and refugees receive new cultural identities representing one of the region’s six main immigrant populations. These small family groups travel together through the simulation where they will encounter the hardships that are common to migrants and refugees. The experience begins with participants fleeing their home country and encountering an obstacle course at their “national border." Those who successfully enter the new country will then proceed to a holding area, where they will be interviewed to determine their states or they will move directly into a Refugee Camp, where they will face the following challenges: registering their family as refugees at the UNHCR tent

getting a health examination at a medical tent

obtaining and purifying water

securing food at distribution area

learning a new language Participants will have to successfully navigate each of these stations (which will be staffed by trained community volunteers), possibly having to barter their few possessions and/or evade security to avoid “jail” or being forced back to their home country. The camp comes to a close at an interview with a USCIS officer who informs participants the grim facts of resettlement. Because less than 1% of the 16.7 million refugees in the world are chosen for resettlement, almost every family will be informed that they are not eligible to be resettled in a third country and must return the camp. One family will be chosen to represent the 1% who will be resettled in a third country. A debriefing, facilitated by trained staff from local refugee resettlement agencies, will conclude the Refugee Camp Simulation and allow participants the opportunity to reflect on their experience and share new insights.

Last week, a similar event was held (emphasis added):

Participants in ‘Walk a Mile in my Shoes’ take on a character in this simulation. Everyone is from the eight countries which have the largest refugee population in the community, including Cuba and The Republic of the Congo. “Ultimately, it instills that sense of how can we help? You know, how can we assist those that are coming into our community that may not speak the language, they don’t understand our culture, they have to navigate really complex systems,” Hendrix says. Yesterday, nearly 500 fifth through eighth grade students participated in the event, and in the afternoon, several adults had their chance. “I would encourage anyone to come do this because it just puts you in a different perspective and a different set of shoes. I think having the set scenarios and families really helps give it a dynamic and direction,” Kincheloe says. Interfaith Paths to Peace hosts the simulation at schools and employers besides the large simulation event annually.

No wonder the Rand Pauls of this world think that students are being indoctrinated in school! No wonder Republicans hate public education! Understanding different perspectives? Awareness of the hardships? Oh, the humanity of it all.

Signs of Hope?

Absolutely.

Let’s keep it going!

Thank you for reading

Alejandro Morales

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/26/2195477/-Experiencing-Hispanic-Heritage-Month-2023-Outside-of-My-Community

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