New Latinx generation embraces the code-switching identity once derided as ‘pocho’

By |

EL PASO –For some young borderlanders, pocho is a word that unites two cultures. “El Paso and Juarez is its own culture. We are neither entirely American and we are neither entirely Mexican so pochismo would be somewhat some of our language,” said Antonio Villaseñor, 23, a University of Texas graduate student and editor of the online magazine Con Safos. With outlets like Buzzfeed and we are mitú featuring videos on Youtube describing the experience of being a pocho in the United States and new clothing lines like the L.A-based Pocho wear, the term is being embraced by a new generation of Mexican-Americans. “I see it as something positive.

Spanglish works against preserving cultural heritage by degrading language

By |

In the early morning, I usually listen to the news as I drive to school. This route takes 20 minutes, and I stay fixed to the radio listening to bad news mixed with humor in order to start the day with a laugh. But then, my program goes into a break and the first thing that comes out is an advertisement for Tecate Light using Spanglish. We are exposed to this dialect in advertisements, music, television, and radio and in our bicultural communities it is not uncommon to hear Spanglish and that is how some companies aim their campaigns at young Hispanic consumers. The problem with Spanglish

Spanglish is a linguistic phenomenon that occurs by taking parts of English words and mixing them with parts of Spanish words.

A Starr County se le denomina "El País de las Colinas del Valle del Río Grande”. (Sergio Chapa/Borderzine.com)

El condado de Starr y La Frontera “Olvidada”: Las colinas del valle de Texas, la presa El Azúcar y una guerra en (por) la Cuenca de Burgos

By |

Después de cruzar el Río Bravo hacia el municipio fronterizo mexicano de Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas en un ferry o “chalán” que se mueve jalado por hombres, regresamos a los Ébanos en la parte americana y salimos del condado de Hidalgo para adentrarnos a otro condado: Starr, Texas. Esta región pertenece a la denominada zona estadística “micropolitana” Rio Grande City-Roma, que cuenta con cuatro ciudades principales: Escobares, La Grulla, Rio Grande City (que es la sede o cabecera del condado) y la ciudad histórica de Roma. La mayor parte de quienes viven aquí son considerados latinos o hispanos. Starr es uno de los condados más pobres de la Unión Americana y ha ocupado siempre los primeros lugares en la lista de los más pobres en el estado de Texas. En el condado de Starr cerca de la mitad de la población vive por debajo de la línea de pobreza.

San Pedro, Texas. The West Brownsville Rail Project is laying the groundwork for the future. The international railroad crossing is expected to be open by the end of the year. (Sergio Chapa/Borderzine.com)

Camino al desarrollo en la zona fronteriza de Tamaulipas, México y el condado de Cameron, Texas: Infraestructura comercial, una plataforma de lanzamiento espacial y descubrimientos de petróleo en el Golfo

By |

BROWNSVILLE-MATAMORROS – El viaje comenzó en Brownsville, la ciudad más al sur de Texas, que colinda con Matamoros, Tamaulipas del lado mexicano de la frontera. Brownsville es la sede (o cabecera) y la ciudad más grande del condado de Cameron. Este condado fronterizo está formado por las ciudades de Brownsville, Harlingen, La Feria, Los Fresnos, Palm Valley, Port Isabel, Rio Hondo y San Benito. El condado de Cameron es en realidad una zona pobre, de muchos contrastes, pero que hoy en día presenta un importante dinamismo económico. Yo creo que esta región del Valle de Texas se desarrollará en los próximos años como ninguna otra en los Estados Unidos.

I am not a “coconut” and proud of my Mexican American heritage

By |

Editor’s note: This blog is part of a series of first person essays about identity written by UTEP honors students during the spring 2013 semester. EL PASO – All my life I have had problems with identity. I identified as a Mexican-American, but was always wondering what makes me Mexican-American. Is it because I am dark-skinned, or because I eat Mexican food? What constitutes Mexican food anyway – Taco Bell or Chico’s Taco’s?

Actresses (from left), Andrea De Anda, Lluvia Almanza and Paloma Pelayo are las vecinas, three characters that represent Chicano culture familiar to El Pasoans. (Kimberly Garcia/Borderzine.com)

Electra is a vieja from ancient Greece, suffering like a Chicana in East LA

By |

EL PASO – Las vecinas walk in, brooms in hand, gossiping about neighborhood happenings like a scene straight out of a novela, only this time the situation comes not from television but from ancient Greek drama. This rendition of the Greek classic tragedy Electra, opened at the Theatre and Dance Department at the University of Texas at El Paso March 13 for a four-day run with a twist. According to director Rebecca Rivas, playwright Luis Alfaro used the Greek tragedy as a skeleton for Electricidad, his Chicano rendition of the classic, by placing it in an East L.A. barrio and infusing Chicano culture into his work. “He allows our culture to bleed in,” said Rivas, “and it forms it’s own really funny and heartbreaking play.”

The plot of Electricidad is the same as its ancient counterpart. The themes of revenge and family are there, but there are a few differences.

(Jose Luis Trejo/Borderzine.com)

Spanglish – El lenguaje de la frontera

By |

 

Spanglish – El lenguaje de la frontera

Nota del editor: Ana Cecilia Varela, reportera de Borderzine.com, conversa con linguistas expertos y nativos de la frontera sobre el Spanglish como resultado inevitable del cambio cultural en la frontera.