Mexican-American Speaks Heritage In Bronze

American Mex Mexican and you're American now yes good [Music] laa De Los Angeles with the largest Spanish speaking population in the US with other large Latin populations in New York Chicago Miami El Paso and so on I was born in the city of toon I was born in Mexico I'm Mexican yukatan to Mexico in the state of alisco I was born in San Nicolas Argentina mexo I was born in Mexico City I'm from Colombia I'm Costa Rican Mexico City Mexico we Latin Americans are all related Indian descendants are the first settlers of this continent our hair is dark our face is bronze we're the second largest minority in the United States our heritage is old and Rich and yet there are some people just learning to be proud of it some people are even rejecting it because they don't know themselves but I think we we cannot know ourselves until we know our past nobody knows when our Indian ancestors settle this continent we see only the remnants of their forgotten glory in one century from the early 14th to the early 15th a small tribe of Aztecs built an empire in Mexico as brilliant and Powerful as any in the old world [Music] [Music] there was a legend among the Aztecs that a white God would come and take over the ASC Empire he came from Spain across the ocean and conquered but only the empire fell my Indian ancestors asked Mayans Toltec and their tribes and Nations suffered but they [Music] survived we go back also to those Spanish cones who came from the old world into the new long before Jamestown and Plymouth Rock from the slaves and the conquerors something new was born the myo some Indian some Spanish indeed my name is Rodriguez maybe the blood of the Spaniards is in my blood maybe the blood of pz conqueror of our Aztec ancestors or Pon the Leon the Seeker after the Fountain of Youth or Coronado the Seeker after the mythical golden Seven Cities of Cibola we also go back to those Spaniards who did not take but tried to give like that missionary For Whom the Indians were God's children father barol de lascas builder of missions Shepherd of souls all my ancestors our ancient gods and their Christian God melted into the Christianity of the [Music] Latinos the conquerors asked for and receiv received the blessings of the soil in the beginning it was an exchange we gave our native crops to the new Masters in return the Spanish brought European farming to the natives of America horses cattle sheep and goats Vos chickens but they took the wealth of the earth and they took the fruits of our labor during the 300 years of Spanish rule conditions grew steadily worse for the Indian land grants grew in size and so did the power of the owners the aalos the Indians became surfs and slaves attempts to better their lot brought harsh punishment local revolts culminated in general dissatisfaction with foreign rule throughout the Americas Simon Bolivar led the Victorious revolt against the Spanish in South America while the parish priest of the village Dolores Father Miguel idalgo SED the first outcry for Mexican freedom [Music] while Mexico was struggling to free herself from European domination things began to change Texas across the Rio Grande was part of Mexico but the frontier was open land white colonists crossed it and were welcomed at first until they took away our land [Music] the Mexican Governors fought the newcomers the annexation of Texas was followed by an unpopular Mexican-American [Music] war it was unpopular even in the US yet the westward March was was not to be stopped wrote A New York editor in 1845 our Manifest Destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of Liberty and Federated self-government the whole Southwest became American for $15 million that was paid to Mexico the fate of our people was clear we were to become Americans in Mexico they still remember the 15 million dollar they speak of us Mexican amans as our brothers who were sold yet we believed in our new country we were ready and willing to Die For It Civil War World War I World War II Korea Southeast Asia [Music] we paid the price for citizenship in blood but did we get it we fought with honor but did we become first class citizens our fathers died so that the promise of Liberty and self-government would be passed on to their children has the promise been [Music] kept Christianity and family ties are a precious Heritage to the Mexican-American La Familia means not only the children but also the extended family the grandparents Aunts Uncles cousins and in-laws many of whom live across the border in ancestral Villages and towns which were once all part of one country many live in poverty and long for the promised land across the border Promised Land the ancestrial land in which they were not wanted wetbacks they are called reros unwanted [Music] exploited the illegal immigrant faces instant deportation if he gets caught fear of Discovery forces him to live in constant anxiety and sometimes to suffer silently under discrimination and unfair labor [Music] practi it is said that hundreds maybe thousands of illegal immigrants live secretly in the southwest why why illegal why exploited why in fear of deportation when all we want is work up from elro and San Bernardino Bak Fresno M mer and stock up to Sacramento Santa Rosa and red BL and on back again 100,00 thousand men women and children flow on the highway The Young and the old an UND but the SoCal Latino has changed as conditions became more difficult a new kind of leader arose like Cesar chais supported by Americans of all colors they're poor uh they don't have many spokesmen in Washington they don't have many people fighting for them there's nobody that's terribly interested in them or in their problem and the effort that they're making so the result is they've been ignored the result is they've suffered tremendously so that there is this frustration and there is have to be this explosion out of these frustrations arose strikes boycotts protest marches demanding equal treatment this successful action called attention to the Grievances of the Mexican American who demanded equal opportunity in education in the administration of Justice in employment in housing and in political representation [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] am [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] suddenly there was a dramatic surge of Pride and power we looked around and we saw as if with new eyes the gifts we gave to this continent the churches that bore the mark of our Spanish Heritage our Spanish language our Indian languages gave names to Rivers and Roads to states and cities [Music] Rees the American Cowboy is part of the Mexican cultural past the rodeo is part of the same tradition we as Cowboys today have taking up many many things from the Mexican buckett first thing would be our chaps for brush protection on riding out in the in the country another thing of course our Saddles the toe fenders then we also have gotten our ropes that we call them today the pageantry of the Southwest has its orig in the Mexican and Spanish [Music] Traditions colorful fiestas celebrate religious or historic events like the liberation of Mexico the music and Mexican dances enriched the American way of life even the Mexican food was readily adopted and became part of the American diet the faces of stars of Mexican-American origin are familiar to audiences the world [Applause] [Music] over men and women of Latin desent have gained prominence in politics and education a new generation of mexican-americans is growing up carrying the heritage of the Indian and Spanish genius for art the painters of our suffering [Music] zeros Rivera Orosco led to a rebirth of the Colossal mural art of Mexico Brothers in spirit and art of the great Spaniard Picasso in himself nurtured Ang Goya Velasquez Cervantes who in literature out of the soul of Spain created Don kote and Sano pansa Nobel Prize winners Gabriela Mistral from Chile Juan Ramon gimenez from Puerto Rico Miguel Angel Asura from Guatemala Luis Federico leir from Argentina and Pablo from Chile a proud Heritage indeed I believe very firmly that the ancient Mexican heritage has a a direct relevance to us we are descendants of the anywhere from 3 to 30 million peoples living in central Mexico at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards now there is no doubt that the majority of us are Indians descendants of Indians the a possessed probably the the largest and the best organized City to be found in the Western Hemisphere and in Europe at the time the atics had developed highly Advanced forms of Psychiatry they were already able to classify various forms of mental illness and were involved in psychos surgery 500 years before Freud they were already delving into dream interpretation and the unconscious yet while their cultural heritage is much the same mexican-americans don't all think alike many uh Mexican amans or Americans of Mexican descent as I prefer to call them have done very well for themselves they live in uh very fine homes they have uh fine businesses they have cars there are the the thousands the hundreds of of thousands of people that that very clearly you know have have suffered from from exploitation from racism the term Cho denotes a progressive political movement that is primarily spearheaded by Young mexican-americans the aims of the CH movement are to seek better education better housing better employment I disagree totally with the methods of attempting to achieve those goals I feel that they are giving an improper image of themselves in order to break the Vicious Cycle of programmed poverty we identify as chos not as Mexican amans I think we must move beyond the itic or Maya Heritage the one way you can exploit people and use them for semi kinds of slavery is to take away their history take away their culture I think we must go back to the Spaniards who were great explorers the only relation I really hold to my Spanish Heritage is that I can speak Spanish many children and many parents speak Spanish and many teachers do not so the teachers are unable uh very often to communicate with parents and with children you know one of the the things that really is most insulting is that people try to put us down say you're a minority we have no say in our destiny we're not a minority movement because we're the majority of the people here on this hemisphere from the tip of Alaska down to the the bottom of South America many in the U Cho Community have asked that Mexican-American studies be included in the elementary and secondary schools I feel this would be important there are many points of view within the Mexican-American community and one should not expect otherwise why should the Mexican-American community be any more homogeneous or unified than any other similar group of people nonetheless for survival for the well-being of our people we should be United and I'm sure that in time we will become more united the future that is here in this country cannot be equaled by any other country I think we're living in a privileged area if people people would only learn to take advantage of the many things that are offered to them or that are available to them undoubtedly the opportunities are here so are the barriers we must work together to be sure that these opportunities become equally available to all tell us what you will chos Latinos Mexican amans we are on the Move how far and how fast we will go is up to the young [Music]