I am but I'm not

Father Returns To Mexico; Should Son Follow?

Luis Sierra-Campos — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:33:19 +0000

My fathers last day in the U.S.

By: Luis Sierra-Campos

For decades, bad economies abroad forced the separation of families as people left loved ones to seek better opportunities in the United States. Now that the U.S. economy is faltering, some immigrant families are being separated again as some family members decide to return to their home countries, and others continue to hold onto the American dream. Often, these difficult family decisions come down to generational differences, as Youth Radio’s Luis Sierra reports.

This is my father, a few minutes before he left on a plane to go back to Mexico, for good.

“I’m leaving. I’m going to Mexico, my beautiful Mexico, and I’m leaving by myself. I came by myself, and now I’m leaving by myself”

My father has been living in the States since the seventies. He’s always gone to Mexico occasionally for vacation. But this time, he’s not coming back, even though it means leaving his family behind – me, my older brother and sister. And what’s happening with the economy has a lot to do with it.
“If it was up to me I would want all of us together, but you all don’t want that. I’ve been telling you that you can go there, and finish your schooling there. And maybe someday you can return back to the U-S and work. But there are jobs there too, people don’t starve there.”

Ten years ago, my dad would never have been so optimistic about my opportunities in Mexico. But now that he sees that recessions can happen anywhere, he figures he might as well re-invest in his home country. He’s been trying to wire most of his money back to Mexico.

And my father’s rants about moving to Mexico with him make a little more sense these days financially speaking. I’m a struggling student with no job prospects out of college. A place like Mexico, where people don’t have to deal with crazy mortgages and high gas prices, sounds pretty good.

Like my father, Sara Castillo is going home. When she leaves for Guatemala, she’ll leave her daughters behind. Sara has lived and worked in the U.S. for over thirty years. But in recent years, things have not gone as planned. In the late nineties, she lost her job at a sewing factory. And now she has to short sell the family house because the mortgage payments have become too high. Here’s her daughter, Ana:

“For people who have immigrated, yes it’s always been a struggle, it’s always been a challenge. But those challenges have always been there. And that hasn’t changed. Maybe it’s changing for the middle class.”

(Sounds of restaurant music)

The night before my father left for Mexico, we had dinner at the restaurant we always went as a family, when I was younger. This time, it was just the two of us. His friends, a group of musicians he has known for years, surprised him with a song called “Camino de Guanajuato” — Journey to Guanajuato, the state where my father is from. The song speaks of a traveler going home, and the road that triggers memories of joy and pain.

(Song: Camino de Guanajuato)

It’s sad to see my Dad leave, and to disappoint him because I’m not going along. But I am determined to follow my own path: finish college, work, save money, and hopefully by the time I reach my 30′s, I’ll be able to invest in the American economy and buy a house of my own.

If that plan doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll follow in my father and Ms. Castillo’s footsteps.

Aired on NPR news Morning Edition, December 26th, 2008.

Spanglish is the New Ad-lingo

Luis Sierra-Campos — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:17:54 +0000

Spanglish By: David Garcia

By Luis Sierra-Campos

What’s the new what? Spanglish is the new ad-lingo.

Spanglish is what marketers are using to sell everything from the War in Iraq.

To Burger King’s fusion food “Chicken Fries”

But don’t get it twisted, Spanglish, code-switching between English and Spanish, has been around for a long time. And you can hear it everywhere Spanish speakers live and communicate with one another. I mean, the last time I was driving through my school parking lot with a friend, I found myself saying:

“Hey! –There’s un Parquiadero, just step on the brekas”

When meaning to say “Hey Look! A parking space, step on the brakes.” But, according to Catarino Lopez, Creative Director for Bromley Communications, and maker of the BK Chicken Fries Commercial, no one will be stepping on the brakes of the Spanglish Ad craze any time soon.

Catarino Lopez: In a high school you always have an incoming class of freshmen and you always have an outgoing class of seniors, and the Latino market is exactly that—there is always an incoming class of immigrants and who are coming fresh from other countries, to find jobs and better opportunities.

And as immigrants become what Lopez refers to as sophomores and juniors, the products advertisers try to sell them get more and more expensive. Like this Toyota commercial.

Kid: “Papá, why do we have a hybrid?”

Dad: “For your fuuuutuuure.”

But this ad isn’t just selling a 30 thousand dollar hybrid car. It’s selling something more, assimilation!

It runs on gas and electrical power.

Dad: Mira aquí. It uses both.”

Kid: “Like you, with English and Spanish.”

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies estimates that Latino purchasing power will grow to over a TRILLION dollars by 2010. But Ilan Stavans, the editor of the Spanglish Dictionary, and Professor at Amherst College, believes the financial impact of Spanglish will be minor when compared to the way it will rewrite culture.

Ilan Stavens: Spanglish is not likely to disappear in the next 10 to 20 year’s. Just the opposite. It will become the much more frequent in media that not only targets Latinos but targets the country as a whole ultimately shaping the way we used the English language and used the Spanish language.

Yeah that’s right? ¿eso era lo que yo pensava? Spanglish is about my hybrid identity, not my hybrid car- because, well, I just can’t afford one! So it’s nothing new to me, but for those marketers who think it’s el ultimo grito, “Spanglish is the new Ad-lingo.”

Aired on NPR news Day to Day, June 19th, 2008

Police Misconduct: MacArthur Park Immigration Rights Rally

Luis Sierra-Campos — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:24:10 +0000

"May Day melee" Photo by David McNew/Getty Images

By Luis Sierra-Campos

Latest news about investigations into police misconduct at the MacArthur Park immigration rights rally. Luis Sierra sent us this reporter’s notebook.

I went to both of LA’s immigration rights rallies on May 1^st, and it wasn’t just the rubber bullets and tear gas that made the MacArthur Park demonstration different. MacArthur Park is located in a working class Latino neighborhood, and the rally there was the only one catering to young people. It was scheduled during after school hours, organizers recruited heavily from South LA and South East LA high schools, and even the march to the park was strategically located to maximize student involvement.
I noticed a clear distinction between the way the Los Angeles Police Department handled the two rallies. When demonstrators arrived at MacArthur Park, they were greeted by a large number of officers in riot gear, whereas LAPD officers at the downtown rally wore regular uniforms.

Many youth of color find plain clothes police officers unsettling. Too many of us are used to being harassed by the cops because we’re guilty of being Latino, Black, and young. But for young people at the MacArthur Park rally, the riot ready cops were downright scary – it was like they were expecting a fight.

I can’t say that I was surprised by LAPD’s overreaction to a small number of rowdy kids throwing plastic water bottles and rocks – the organization has a long history of over-reacting to youth of color. When former Police Chief Daryl Gates announced a war on gangs, he promised to “take the little terrorists off the street.” And less than a decade later, it was discovered that the Rampart Division was doing this by any means necessary, including perjury, intimidation, and falsifying evidence.

This type of renegade policing makes it difficult for youth of color like me to trust the police in this town. I’m always a little worried that a cop giving me a sideways glance might decide that I look like a young terrorist who needs to be put away.
Since I shaved my head, LAPD officers have pulled me over twice in three months. When I asked the cops why they stopped me, both times they told me that they wanted to insure that my paperwork was valid.

There isn’t any question in my mind why the MacArthur Park demonstration ended in violence – police in this city don’t trust youth of color. If it was a rally full of white youth at a park on the west side, I absolutely believe that the police would have reacted differently.

I resent the LAPD for beating up my friends and fellow demonstrators, but I resent them even more for robbing us of the May 1^st message. I’m glad there has been an investigation, but it’s the first time the police department has released a report like this. I just hope this time the police department implements reforms that make future reports unnecessary.

For KCRW, I’m Luis Sierra.

Aired on KCRW’s Which Way LA, November 1st, 2007