La Gente Newsmagazine's Resilience - Winter 2023: Volume I

La Gente newsmagazine

Contents Editor’s Note

By Renee Grange

By Jorge Cruz

By Evely Torres

By Sarah Mejia

By Lesley Gonzalez

La Gente Newsmagazine is published and copyrighted by the ASUCLA Cornmunications Board. All rights are reserved. Reprinting of any material in this publication without the written permission of the Communications Board is strictly prohibited. The ASUCLA Communications Board fully supports the University of California’s policy on non-discrimination. The student media reserve the right to reject or modify advertising whose content discriminates on the basis of ancestry, color, national origin, race, religion, disability, age, sex or sexual orientation. The ASUCLA Communications Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints against any of its publications. For a copy of the complete procedure, contact the publications office at 118 Kerckhoff Hall @ 310-825-9898

La Gente de Aztlan was founded in 1971 in response to the mistreatment of students of color here at UCLA’s campus. The first issue of La Gente De Aztlan covered Chicano protests happening on campus, setting the precedent for La Gente being a politically charged publication.

For generations, we have historically been pushed aside and disregarded as lesser members of society due to our ethnic backgrounds. Members of our respective diasporas have fought hard in order to gain equal rights and strive to receive adequate

representation that can truly display how diverse and rich our cultures truly are. In order to ensure members of our respective communities are fairly and accurately represented,not only is it important that we look at external forces which prevent our people from flourishing, we must also look within and see how we sabotage ourselves internally.

By implementing intersectionality into how we view ourselves, we fight against mindsets and stigmas that plague our communities from within such as homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, anti-Blackness, anti-Indigeneity and the portrayal of cultural homogeny. While La Gente continues to stay true to its political roots, we have branched out and expanded our topics of interests since then. La Gente has continually served as a platform that allows Latine creatives to express themselves through newswriting, personal narratives, poetry, storytelling, opinion pieces, historical analysis and art.

Our team has continued to fight for the greater Latine community by not only expressing our own views but by advocating for and amplifying the voices of those who seek to help improve our communities here within the diasporas of the United States and within the countries of origin for our respective ethnicities. Through all the trials and tribulations Latin American communities have endured, our people have refused to lie down and allow ourselves to be stepped on. No matter what challenges we have faced, we remain resilient.

La lucha sigue, Karim Isaac Hyderali | Editor in Chief

Marking Identity

The Queer Latinx Tattoo Art of Luis Valencia

By Jorge Cruz

Tattoos have been a staple of Los Angeles counterculture for decades, from East Los punks rocking black and white skulls with mohawks on their forearms to Chicano gang members permanently marking their bodies with the names of the neighborhoods they grew up in. For many Chicanos, their ink symbolizes community, a sense of belonging and masculine identity. However, for

queer Mexican-American tattoo artist Luis Valencia, tattoos are a way of expressing what it means to be both queer and Brown in spaces traditionally dominated by heteronormativity.

Growing up in LA and the Inland Empire, Valencia saw that tattoos were pervasive among the Latinx community in his working-class neighborhood. He

observed tattoos of family surnames imprinted on brown skin, old-English style renderings on torsos and Nahua imagery used to honor one’s Indigenous roots. As a result, Valencia developed an early admiration for tattoos and what they could depict, realizing it was about more than just ink on skin.

“Tattoos can tell a story, a history…a moment in our lives,” Valencia said. “They encapsulate so much—it can be a source of confidence, empowerment, beauty and art.”

As a child, Valencia enjoyed art, and he was encouraged to draw often by his mother. Throughout his public-school years, art increasingly became his favorite subject. As he grew older, he learned that the creative medium could be a platform, where his feelings and emotions could come to life on a blank canvas.

Resolved to further explore his interest in art, Valencia completed two years of community college where he took painting and drawing courses.

Although he considered enrolling at the Savannah College of Art and Design, he decided to transfer to UCLA instead due to the large art scene and higher concentration of Latinx students.

Once at UCLA, he was initially intimidated by the advanced artistic ability of students who had been here since their freshman year. However, he eventually overcame his insecurities and grew confident of his own ability to prosper in the creative environment.

Valencia majored in Fine Art and took courses in ceramics, painting, art history, photography, gender studies and Chicano studies. At UCLA, he took a course on Queer Latinx Art History taught by renowned queer Chicana artist Alma Lopez. The course introduced Valencia to the diverse work of queer Latinx artists, whose art transcended traditional notions of what it means to be both queer and Latino. The class inspired Valencia to center his art from his own personal experience.

After graduating, he began to work as a tattoo artist and gave himself the artist name of Siobhan, which

Artist: Megan Martinez

Photos from Luis Valencia

Neon Dreams by Luis Valencia

Luis “Siobhan” Valencia

was inspired by the song “This Beard is for Siobhan” by Venezuelan-American musician Devendra Banhart. His art explores homoerotic desires, a topic often rendered silent and invisible in Latinx culture.

During his childhood, Valencia said his machista stepfather would often call him a p*to, a slur used to insult queer Latino men and describe someone who is perceived to be weak or engage in promiscuous sexual activity.

Likewise, Valencia recalls being bullied for being queer. Some of the neighborhood kids called him a maricón or maría, a derogatory Spanish word used to denote a homosexual man or refer to someone who deviates away from masculine norms. For Valencia, honoring his queer Latinx identity means reclaiming the words once used to hurt him and insult who he is.

“Being Latino, you grow up thinking a man should act a certain way,” Valencia reflected, “but I didn’t want that for myself. I wanted to embrace who I was… [to] reclaim these negative connotations and implement them in my work.”

Fittingly, in his Cry Baby Flash designs, the artist created a series of tattoos inspired by the prison

system. Traditionally, some of the tattoos featured in the series were used in prisons to brand a homosexual man, most of which would be forcibly imprinted on an inmate’s body. The artist recreates the symbols not as markers of shame, but as a source of empowerment.

Furthermore, some of the tattoos were inspired by queer historical events in Mexican culture, such as the inclusion of the number 41 which commemorates an event that took place in Mexico City. On November 17th of 1901, police raided a private party where 41 men, half of whom were dressed femininely, were arrested for dancing with each other. The event caused such a scandal at the time, since many men in attendance came from prominent Mexican families, such as the son-in-law of then President Porfirio Diaz. In Mexican culture, the number 41 came to symbolize dishonor. As a result, the military excluded the number from battalions for a time, certain hotels did not use the unit, and many men skipped their 41st birthday out of fear of being labeled as homosexual.

Ultimately, as a queer Latinx tattoo artist, Valencia acknowledges how the profession is shifting from a white male, hetero-dominant field to one that is more inclusive of women, people of color, and

queers. The artist works at a tattoo shop in LA that is woman-owned and celebrates the diversity of its artists. Valencia said that the response to his art has been overwhelmingly positive, and many Latinx queers find solace and community when they get his designs on their bodies.

His work has decidedly helped him become more comfortable embracing who he is, and he takes pride in the possible domino effect it can have on his community: “I know my younger self would feel a sense of hope, seeing a grown man proudly walking down the street sporting a fresh tattoo reading ‘Maricon.’ I wouldn’t feel so alone. That’s something I would love to give to young queer kids that may be growing up in a similar situation – a sense of hope.”

Check out more of Valencia’s work via his Instagram @ siobhansbeard.

Blue Boy Series by Luis Valencia

Cry Baby Flash by Luis Valencia

1 Irwin, Robert McKee, et al. The Famous 41: Sexuality and Social Control in Mexico, 1901. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Venezuelans: The Journey Continues

By Evely Torres

When their country did not offer the life they wanted, millions of Venezuelans embarked on a journey towards a better life. In an effort to escape food insecurity, violence and the lack of access to healthcare in their country, the Venezuelan exodus is the largest displacement of Latin Americans in the world. After oil prices declined in 2015 an economic crisis struck Venezuela, causing thousands of Venezuelans to immigrate to new countries every day. However, many are struggling to find a home outside of their motherland – essentially making the life of a Venezuelan immigrant a continuous journey.

When being interviewed by Univision, Yindri Gúzman, a 19-year-old single mother, described the life of a Venezuelan as a life mostly spent on foreign territory. Yindri traveled with nothing but her two small children from Venezuela to Ecuador. When she arrived at the Ecuadorian border, she was sent to a refugee camp even after she cried and begged authorities to let her through. Like many Venezuelan migrants,

Yindri had no power over where authorities would place her and whether or not she would be able to continue her journey across borders.

In her 2021 case study, Elizabeth Torres described the ‘Chilean Oasis’ that Venezuelan migrants are enamored with. In an effort to understand their motives, Torres interviewed seven Venezuelan women who migrated to Chile. Suti, a 43-year-old teacher, migrated from Venezuela to Colombia where she lived for two and a half years before moving to Chile where she intended to reunite with her son who remained in Venezuela to complete his studies. She believed Chile would offer better job opportunities for her son and knew Venezuelan migrants were welcome.

In 2018, Chile offered a Democratic Responsibility Visa (DRV) for Venezuelan citizens which according to the International Organization for Migration resulted in Venezuelans now constituting 23% of Chile’s migrant population. In 2019, Venezuelans were able to apply for a DRV in any Chilean consulate in the world as opposed to only being available in Chile. The DRV grants Venezuelans permission to reside in Chile for a year with the opportunity to extend their stay by 12 months.

Surrounding countries have reacted to this massive influx of migration in a variety of ways. For instance, Colombia offers a Border Mobility Card to Venezuelans which helps

them to cross their border and gain access to basic goods and services in Colombia for up to seven days.

Initially, Peru offered work permits and afterschool programs to Venezuelans and their children. However, a lack of space and resources led them to start requiring visas to enter the country in June 2019. Ecuador followed suit in July 2019 with the Ecuadorian Executive Decree 286.

Faced with border closures, migratory restrictions or unemployment in a foreign country, Venezuelans keep moving forward in search of a new home—showcasing the resilient nature yielded by all migrants.

Leon, Edu. 2018. “En su propia voz: 10 venezolanos narran el éxodo a través de los Andes.” Univision. https://www.univision.com/noticias/ crisis-en-venezuela/el-exodo-venezolano-en-diez-historias.

2 Torres, Elizabeth Z., and Noel B. Salazar. 2021. “Searching for the ‘Chilean Oasis’: Waiting and Uncertainty in the Migration Trajectories of Venezuelan Women.” Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies.

3 Ramos, Natalia, Hugh Bronstein, Tom Brown, and Daniel Wallis. 2019. “Chile offers ‘democratic responsibility visa’ to Venezuelan migrants.” Reuters, June 22, 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-venezuela-immigration/chile-offers-democratic-responsibility-visa-tovenezuelan-migrants-idUSKCN1TN0MN.

4 Welsh, Teresa. 2020. “Colombia to expand temporary legalization measures for Venezuelans.” Devex, January 16, 2020. https://www.devex.com/ news/colombia-to-expand-temporary-legalization-measures-for-venezuelans-96373.

5 Dupraz, Paula. 2019. “In Peru, tougher rules set to push Venezuelan migration underground.” The New Humanitarian, July 9, 2019. https:// www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2019/07/09/peru-tougher-rules-venezuelan-migration.

6 reliefweb. 2019. “Ecuador Situation Report - July 2019 - Ecuador.” ReliefWeb. https://reliefweb.int/report/ecuador/ecuador-situation-reportjuly-2019.

Venezuelan migrants at the Rumichaca International Bridge this past week.

Photo by Daniel Tapia/Reuters

Photo by John Warren / 2019 World Vision

Preserving Plant Medicine

by Sarah Mejia

The medicinal practices of a community are representative of their philosophy towards healing. Examining how these philosophies have evolved and endured over time gives us insight into the culture they stem from. When considering Indigenous communities throughout Latin America, biodiverse regions and respect for nature are highly correlated with organized methods of herbal and spiritual healing.

These beliefs directly contradicted the Westernized approach to medicine which was introduced to the Americas by colonizers, which prioritized a Christian and physical understanding of illness. By delegitimizing the Indigenous approach towards health, colonizers asserted control and power over these populations.

A prominent example of such a philosophical debate is demonstrated through the writings of Juan de Cárdenas who was a Spaniard physician living in the Americas in the 16th century. In his book titled “Problemas y secretos maravillosos de las Indias,” published in 1591, de Cárdenas equates herbal medicine to witchcraft, paying special attention to plants containing psychoactive properties.

De Cárdenas explains that “Esto natural es al medicamento frigidísimo hacerlo, pero que mediante la yerba se hagan las brujas invisibles y que se vayan en un momento por todo el mundo y que penetren los cuerpos y tornen a volver al lugar do salieron, todo esto se ha de presumir antes ser

por arte del demonio que por virtud que haya en la yerba.”1 Translated loosely, de Cárdenas relays to Spaniards that the psychoactive effects experienced by the person who ingested the herbal medicine (who he refers to as a witch) is induced “by the art of the devil.” These effects, then, are created by the witch, whereas prior to being consumed, the herb had “virtue.”

De Cárdenas also states that “Con mal fin usa de dichas yerbas, como lo usan algunos indios e indias que llaman hechiceras, porque como estos tales sólo toman a fin de ver al demonio y saber cosas que no sabían, a estos tales permite Dios que se les represente el demonio y les declare lo que les estaría mejor no saber. Pero como digo, esto no es ya por virtud de la yerba, pues excede sus límites.” Again referring to someone who has ingested a psychoactive plant, de Cárdenas concludes that God must have allowed the Devil to present himself to the “witch” because no herb in itself could induce this type of effect.

By mixing theology into his analysis of herbal medicine, de Cárdenas was able to persuade other colonizers that herbal medicine was anti-Christain and to be avoided for its dangerous effects.

These efforts against herbal healing, while having devastating effects in healthcare access and the allocation of resources to Indigenous communities in the centuries to come, were not entirely successful, as the use of herbal remedies persisted through the generations to come. While such remedies were invented by doctors and healers from Indigenous communities, they were not limited in use to them and remained popular among mestize populations who continued to utilize many of these remedies.

This type of intermix between traditional and modern medicine can be exemplified by Mexico, a country that is composed of approximately 68 different ethnic groups of Indigenous

1 Álvarez, Matías. 1970. “Las Plantas Psicotrópicas Americanas En La Obra De Juan De Cárdenas. Nueva España, 1591.” Instituto Colombiano De Antropología e Historia. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=83333379001.

Visuals by Esiselda Linares

Peoples.2 Mexico is a populous country housing approximately 130 million people and more than 35 million of these people lack access to healthcare services, according to Statista.3

Carlos Zolla explores this dynamic between the need for medical attention and the lack of such resources in his article Traditional medicine in Latin America, with particular reference to Mexico. Zolla argues that since these Westernized medical centers are inaccessible to many, “the existence of a widespread traditional medicine, supported mainly by the use of medicinal plants, represents a therapeutic alternative which has its basis in the knowledge gained from ancestral popular experience.”4

Zolla continues “The most frequent therapeutic alternative in Mexico, as in Latin America, is the use of herbal medicine before people can reach official medical attention.” Clearly, herbal medicine has not only been preserved because of cultural beliefs but also due to its accessibility as compared to its Western alternative.

Even in places outside of Latin America, there is a renewed respect for herbal medicine. Recently there has been an emphasis on extracting properties from plants native to an area to treat the diseases unique to that region. One example of this is the research being conducted on leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease caused by sandflies in the tropics and subtropics.

In the article “The Potential of Traditional Knowledge to Develop Effective Medicines for the Treatment of Leishmaniasis,” Luiz Felipe D. Passero acknowledges that (1) there are few options for treating this disease and (2) the people most vulnerable to contracting it have limited access

2 IWGIA. n.d. “Indigenous peoples in Mexico.” IWGIA. https://www.iwgia.org/en/mexico.html.

3 Mendoza, J. 2022. “Number of people without access to health services in Mexico 2020.” Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1042175/mexico-numberpopulation-lack-access-health-services/.

4 Zolla, Carlos. 2002. “Traditional Medicine in Latn America, with Particular Reference to Mexico.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://www.sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/0378874180900288.

to hospitals. This means that these patients must “use local natural products as alternative medicines to treat this infectious disease.”5 Now, his work is focused on researching which plants are being used to treat leishmaniasis with the hope that this can reveal common properties found among the various herbal remedies to eventually extract such a property and create distributable medication.

To ensure the preservation of herbal medicines, efforts are being made to grow such plants in sanctuaries, one example being the Orito IngiAnde Medicinal Flora Sanctuary. In 2008, the Colombian government sectioned off 26,565 acres of the Amazon rainforest rich in plants used by Indigenous Peoples in traditional medicinal and cultural practices to protect this natural resource.6

The Belize Association of Traditional Healers, in collaboration with the Belizean government, has managed to create a 6,000 acre reserve called the Terra Nova Forest Reserve.7 This sanctuary is meant

to protect the plants used by traditional healers from the negative effects of deforestation and to encourage scientific research into the medicinal properties of the plants being grown.

The creation of sanctuaries within the last couple of decades has helped to protect biodiversity, increase the amount of research on herbal remedies, preserve cultural practices, and save the lives of the millions of people dependent on such treatments. Traditional medicinal practices have been successful in overcoming the challenges it has faced throughout the centuries, proving itself to be resilient against opposition.

5 Passero, Luiz Felipe D. 2021. “The Potential of Traditional Knowledge to Develop Effective Medicines for the Treatment of Leishmaniasis.” Frontiers in pharmacology 12 (Jun). 10.3389/fphar.2021.690432.

6 Selibas, Dimitri. 2022. “Indigenous communities in Colombia’s Amazon move closer to self-governance.” Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/ indigenous-communities-in-colombias-amazon-move-closer-to-self-governance/.

7 Dold, Catherine. 1994. “Medicinal Plants Get Sanctuary in Rain Forest.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/19/archives/medicinal-plantsget-sanctuary-in-rain-forest.html.

Mexican Americans vs. The White Architects A Battle for Educational Equality

By Lesley Gonzalez

For decades, the Mexican-American community has been engaged in a prolonged battle for educational equity. The mistreatment of MexicanAmericans in the public school system requires a critical analysis of the dominant class’s irrational prejudice towards this marginalized group. In short, the gradual increase of the Mexican-American population placed immense pressure on White society’s attempts at barricading minorities’ path to success. Throughout the 1900s, several school districts across the nation focused on alienating Chicanx students–in which a UCLA professor, David G. Garcia’s historical research, Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Educational Equality, will be used to provide an overall perspective of the Mexican-American schooling experience.

Garcia’s research hones in on a neighborhood called La Colonia in Oxnard, California, and its history surrounding segregation. From 1903 to the 1930s, Oxnard’s formative years were spent perfecting their practice of mundane racism. In sum, Garcia claims “White Architects” (influential white community members) tested the lengths of their political power and exercised four strategies of segregation: “1) establishing a racial hierarchy, 2) building an interconnection between residential and school segregation, 3) constructing a schoolwithin-a-school model of racial separation, and 4) omitting a rationale for segregation”1.

The elite White class managed to establish a racial hierarchy by placing themselves as the superior race. Essentially, they engaged in deficit modes of thinking through a genetic and cultural

Visuals by Haven Jovel Morales

Students protest during a walkout at Roosevelt High School, Devra Weber, 1968; from the La Raza Photograph Collection, courtesy of the photographer and the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, ©Devra Weber (Photo provided by LA Plaza) Source: https://www.latinousa.org/2018/07/03/yabasta/

1 García, Diego G. “Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Educational Equality.” University of California Press, January 5, 2018, 2.

determinist lens. From a eugenics point of view, the genetic determinist model blames the students’ deficiencies on their genetic and biological structure, whereas the cultural determinist model blames the students’ cultural upbringing as the cause for their perceived inferiority. In either ideology, the oppressive and inequitable schooling conditions were never at fault. For example, Oxnard Unified School District superintendent and first mayor, Richard Haydock, was the first to assume that Mexicans were an inferior class and found it justifiable to segregate them from “the superior class.” This racist and xenophobic assumption endorsed by Haydock was one of the many ideologies used when implementing school policies. This drew Haydock to integrate White and East Asian children into classes that were separated from the rest of the student population as they were perceived to be of higher intellect. Additionally, he claimed that the Mexican-American way of living was atrocious and would lead to contagion. Supposedly their “lack” of proper hygiene was an acceptable reason to alienate them even when “he approved plans for substandard housing and neglected to extend basic municipal services such as sewage, electricity, and paved roads to [their segregated residential area]” 2. Haydock believed that the Mexican-American community chose to live in filth and linked their terrible living conditions as a practice of their culture.

Thus, La Colonia became the underdeveloped and underfunded part of the city that was separated from the White community by a set of railroad tracks. These railroad tracks were representative of a color line that demonstrated which side of town was treated with indifference. Moreover, Garcia argues that the misguided belief of Mexican Americans being filthy residents

“enabled school officials to feverishly work toward complete segregation” 3. Mexican-American students could intuit a sense of White supremacy and unwelcomeness within these restrictive covenants when crossing over to the exclusive White neighborhood. Additionally, well-resourced schools were placed within the wealthier side of Oxnard, purposely limiting educational access for La Colonia residents. The few Mexican-American families who were financially able to purchase a home on the affluent side were legally refrained from doing so as property deeds explicitly stated: “a person whose blood is not entirely that of the Caucasian Race” cannot purchase property 4. Hence, Mexican-Americans were not only segregated academically, but socially as well.

In terms of segregation within the school, officials masterfully fabricated a school-withina-school model to ostracize Mexican-American students subtly. In essence, schools implemented “segregated classes, distinct recesses, and staggered release times for Mexican students” within elementary schools, and similar trends followed these students into junior high. The classes in which Mexican students were enrolled in were taught by disengaged and racist teachers, leading them to face significant academic barriers in their future schooling experiences. Moreover, predominant Spanish-speaking students were further alienated through the establishment of an elementary school within La Colonia. The school board of trustees believed that building a school on the poverty side of Oxnard would “benefit” the Mexican students – when in reality, it was just a method for complete school segregation.

Amidst all the decisions made in favor of

segregation, the school board of trustees records did not disclose any expressions of dissent nor rationale for segregation. More importantly, none of the decisions were communicated to the Mexican parents – they were completely shut out of all school board meetings, and their concerns were immediately disregarded. The precise tactic to avoid noting any explicit discussion of segregation was the school board’s way of avoiding accusations of unfair treatment. They wanted to give off the notion that the unequal schooling and residential structures occurred without their recollection.

The years between the 1900s and 1930s may have been filled with constant degradation of MexicanAmerican identity, but the emergence of resilience and agency took over in the 1940s to the 1970s. Mexican parents took it upon themselves to petition the school board to move their children out of Mexican classes and into the White classes. These parents demonstrated a concern for their children’s future and advocated on their behalf. Additionally, Garcia obtained oral histories of past students who experienced first-hand segregation. One particular interviewee, Atonia Arguelles DiLiello (one of the few Colonia students to graduate high school), recollects her time in these segregated schools and mentions how she became aware of the “substandard schooling she and her peers had received” 5 .

She states, “I used to think [white kids] were better than me [and] Mexicans were not the same,” and as she matured, she abandoned this internalized self-hatred. Thus, Antonia produces a counterstory that exposes the racism that explicitly singled out Mexican-Americans in the school system. Counterstorytelling became a form of resistance that the community of La Colonia utilized in order to challenge majoritarian stories told by the white elites that omit and distort the histories and realities of oppressed communities.

Among these acts of resistance, several advocacy organizations began to surface with the intent to

hold Oxnard’s board of trustees accountable for their blatant discrimination. Organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Community Service Organization (CSO – a platform focused on educational reform) collectively tackled Oxnard’s systemic racism by fighting for school desegregation. However, it wasn’t until 1970 that community organizer Juan L. Soria developed a legal complaint against the Oxnard Board of Trustees to challenge de facto and de jure segregation. The case Soria v. Oxnard Board of Trustees 1970 was merely one of several classaction lawsuits pivoted towards improving the educational lot for marginalized students. The Soria case “was [also] among the first desegregation cases in the nation to be filed jointly by Mexican American and Black Plaintiffs” 6. The solidarity established between these two groups induced a harsh reality check on the education system’s discriminatory state and determined Oxnard’s Board of Trustees guilty of “intentional, deliberate, purposeful segregation” 7 .

As seen, the history behind the Mexican American schooling experience has been dominated by an ever-lasting struggle for quality education. For decades, the community has endured the country’s bigotry, but has championed racial stigma through litigation, advocacy organizations, political demonstrations, legislation, and the acknowledgment of cultural wealth. Though integration may have been achieved, discrimination persists within the educational system, and undocumented students/students of color continue the battle for equity, exhibiting the utmost resilience.

2 García, Diego G. “Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Educational Equality.” University of California Press, January 5, 2018, 13.

3 García, Diego G. “Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Educational Equality.” University of California Press, January 5, 2018, 20.

4 García, Diego G. “Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Educational Equality.” University of California Press, January 5, 2018, 42.

García, Diego G. “Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Educational Equality.” University of California Press, January 5, 2018, 52.

6 García, Diego G. “Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Educational Equality.” University of California Press, January 5, 2018, 140.

7 García, Diego G. “Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Educational Equality.” University of California Press, January 5, 2018, 159.

Santa Ana Residents Fight for Environmental Justice

by Renee Grange

Environmental racism refers to the correlation between race and greater exposure to environmental hazards. A history of environmental racism can be observed in California through racist policies, i.e. red lining, that have pushed lowincome Latinx communities into neighborhoods with closer proximity to sources of pollution such as manufacturing plants or freeways. In response, many Latinx communities have formed grassroots movements in order to fight for the environmental safety of their communities.

In Santa Ana, a resident driven organization called Comunidad Unida Aire Limpio (CUAL) is advocating for clean air in their community. CUAL was officially established in 2019, but the organization began to sprout much earlier, in 2017, when residents in Madison Park received a letter from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) informing them that BRASTEC, a metal plating company, was planning on building a factory within 1000 ft of local elementary schools. This notice was only sent in English even though a significant portion of the local community are monolingual Spanish speakers.. Local mothers responded by collaborating with surrounding schools and the Madison Park Neighborhood Association to pressure the city councilmember at the time, Vicente Sarmiento, to contact SCAQMD and address the issue.

Although SCAQMD did not oppose the construction of this factory, this event led the community to learn more about the industries that were polluting their neighborhood, specifically those in the industrial corridor. The industrial corridor is a narrow, rectangular area that contains 42 polluting industries that have permits from SCAQMD to release polluting chemicals into the air and, as a result, are not further monitored by the city. On top of the industrial corridor, Southeast Santa Ana,

where Madison Park is located, is denoted as an industrial area on the City of Santa Ana’s Land Use Plan. When looking at CalEPA’s Air Quality Map, it is notable that Southeast Santa Ana contains a worse air quality than surrounding areas. This indicates that there may be other industries further contributing to pollution in the area.

When residents became aware of the environmental pollution in the area, they began examining levels of air pollution so as to gain a better understanding of the extent of contamination and its possible effects on the community. The long term goal of this investigation is to give the community the power to influence the environmental justice policies that are to be added in the revisions of Santa Ana’s next general plan.

In order to begin conducting research on the air quality, CUAL received a grant from the California Air Resources Board. After receiving this grant, CUAL presented at different forums in several neighborhood associations in areas surrounding Madison Park, spreading awareness on the issue of pollution and encouraging many people to get involved.

With funding and new members, CUAL ran their first air monitoring study that aimed to compare the air quality of different areas to identify any hotspots of poor air quality in the city as well as the sources of pollution. The findings from this initiative demonstrated to citizens and government officials alike that additional research on air pollution is necessary. CUAL also conducted an asthma study in collaboration with UC Irvine in order to compare the rates of asthma in different parts of Santa Ana and found that rates of asthma were higher in Madison Park than in other areas of the city. These results indicate that there may be a correlation between asthma rates and the industrial corridor, but more research must be conducted to verify the results.

In an interview with Leonel Flores, CUAL’s community organizer, he spoke about another project CUAL is involved in, regarding the working conditions at Kingspan Light and Air, a factory located in the industrial corridor. Workers at Kingspan were concerned about air pollution in the factory since they are not provided adequate safety equipment in their work: welding, spray painting, and manufacturing fiberglass. In collaboration with UCI, workers wore air monitoring devices provided by CUAL around their neck to work and found that the average measurement inside was 112.3 micrograms per cubic meter. This measurement is worse than the air quality in Santa Ana during the 2020 San Francisco wildfires, which at a high of around 80 micrograms per cubic meter was dangerous enough for government officials to discourage people from going outside. Utilizing

this research, workers at Kingspan are continuing to organize and advocate for safer working conditions and for the company to measure the factory’s pollution levels. Flores is involved in this advocacy work and, along with other leaders, meets with Kingspan managers to negotiate these demands.

The scope of environmental pollution in Southeast Santa Ana is substantial and the topic of air pollution only scratches the surface. Despite this, Flores remains motivated to continue working on these initiatives, as both a leader and resident of Madison Park. Flores hopes to build off the momentum of CUAL’s successes so far, as they have undertaken research projects and empowered the community to use their voice in city politics to effect change. To learn more about this organization you can visit @mpna.green on Instagram!

Visual by Melissa Morales

Gabriel San Román, “ For unionizing factory workers in Santa Ana, indoor air pollution is more pressing than pay,” LATimes, October 20, 2021, https://www. latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2021-10-20/for-unionizing-factory-workers-in-santa-ana-indoor-air-pollution-is-more-pressing-than-pay.

Que Viva Las Zapatistas

By: Karim Hyderali

In1910, Mexico was in the midst of a revolution. Two factions rose to power due to the political turmoil caused by President Porfirio Díaz; the Villistas had taken up arms in Northern Mexico, and the Zapatistas had taken up arms in Southern Mexico. The two groups had collaborated to overthrow the oppressive regime of Porfirio Díaz which had oppressed the masses of Mexico by enforcing anti-Indigenous and anti-working class policies onto the public. Diaz’s policies consisted of censorship of the press, the limitation of land ownership to those with formal legal titles, the reduction of labor protections and the reallocation of Indigenous lands to wealthy foreigners.

In 1911, revolutionary forces had captured El Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua, forced Diaz to resign and appointed Francisco Madero as the new President of Mexico. However, Madero had proven to be a weak leader: he failed to reallocate stolen land back to the Indigenous people of Mexico, to acknowledge the need for economic change, to demand that revolutionary forces be disbanded and to ensure workers rights. The lack of reformation angered revolutionary forces and resulted in several small uprisings throughout Mexico. However, the Zapatistas and Villistas were the main driving forces.

At the forefront of the Zapatista army was an Indigenous farmer named Emiliano Zapata. Zapata was born in the pueblo of Anenecuilco, Morelos in the year 1879. Coming from a Nahua family and

community, Indigenous sovereignty and prosperity meant a great deal to Zapata. Accordingly, he viewed wealthy landowners such as those who owned haciendas as enemies of the native people.1 In 1892, Zapata was arrested during a negotiation with President Porfirio Díaz regarding land seizures and was forced to join the Mexican Army. After his service, he returned home and was elected head of the local council in his pueblo in 1909.

During his tenure, he had to resolve conflicts between hacendados, land owners, and the common public who sought to recuperate their appropriated land. Initially, he used diplomacy to resolve these matters. However, after the government had proven time and time again that they were not on the side of the Indigenous people, he decided that the best course of action was to take back their land by force.

When Francisco Madero promised land reformation, Zapata was quick to support his candidacy for the presidency and formed his army of local peasants and Indigenous people. However, after Madero was put into office, Zapata quickly grew frustrated with his lack of urgency towards land reformation and revolted against Madero’s presidency. The Zapatistas soon began to voice four demands: Reforma, Libertad, Ley y Justicia (Reform, Freedom, Law and Justice).

Fighting continued over the span of the next few years alongside several attempted coup d’etats. Eventually, Zapata decided that it was best to focus

on reshaping Morelos, and in 1914, he began to work on land redistribution—returning stolen lands to the Indigneous community. This resulted in prosperity across Morelos and created a brief period of peace that lasted through 1915. Morelos was protected under Zapata’s watch but the revolutionary forces outside of Morelos began to dwindle and defensive fighting persisted around the state for several years.2

In 1917, Venustiano Carranza was elected the Mexican President and had promised to take down revolutionary forces across Mexico and return the land confiscated by revolutionaries to the wealthy. However, in 1918 World War I was coming to an end and President Carranza asked for a truce so that the Zapatistas could provide assistance should the United States invade Mexico, to which they declined.

Zapata would go on to publicly speak out against Carranza, and due to Zapata being such an influential figure, Carranza made his assasination a top priority. In 1919, General Jesús Guajardo set up a meeting with Zapata, under the premise that he was going to defect from the Mexican army and join the revolution. However, when Zapata arrived at this meeting, he was immediately gunned down and Guajardo’s men disrespectfully took pictures alongside Zapata’s lifeless blood soaked body after dragging him by mule across 25 kilometers.3

Soon after Zapata’s death, the revolution had come to an end, and the Zapatistas were no more but echoes of the past. That was until 1994 when the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) had publicly announced their existence and desire

for autonomy from the Mexican government. The EZLN is most prominent in the state of Chiapas which is where they were founded and where they have set up their headquarters. Since their foundation the EZLN has stated that peaceful protests have never achieved the results necessary to improve the lives of the oppressed and therefore stated that they will resort to armed resistance and protest when needed.

On the first day they had publicly announced their existence, the EZLN had found itself engaging in its first violent altercation after seizing control of a significant number of small towns and cities in protest of the enactment of NAFTA. NAFTA is a policy that allows for free trade across North America which greatly hurts the working class as it upholds neoliberalism which is a form of free market capitalism. The Zapatistas had burnt down several police buildings, military barracks and had freed prisoners. The Mexican Army had mobilized quickly and overwhelmed the Zapatistas which had led to about a year of fighting between the EZLN and the Army. Eventually both sides agreed to a ceasefire, however the Army had violated this ceasefire and launched a surprise attack in 1995 which forced the Zapatistas to flee into the jungles in order to avoid political persecution and imprisonment. In 1996 a peace treaty was drafted and signed by both the EZLN and Mexican government which put an end to this first conflict between the two groups and allowed for the EZLN to maintain forms of autonomy throughout Chiapas.

In 2001 President Vicente Fox had requested that the EZLN participate in negotiations with the

Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919)

“Es mejor morir de pie que vivir de rodillas”

1 John Hart, “Zapata of Mexico Los Manifiestos En Náhuatl De Emiliano Zapata,” Hispanic American Historical Review (Duke University Press, February 1, 1981),

https://read.dukeupress.edu/hahr/article/61/1/125/149139/Zapata-of-MexicoLos-manifiestos-en-Nahuatl-de.

2 Womack, John Jr. Story. In Zapata and the Mexican Revolution. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1970.

3 “Death and ‘Ceasing to Be’: The Continuation of Life after Death in Zapatismo,” Death and “Ceasing to Be”: The Continuation of Life After Death in Zapatismo | Zapata Project, accessed December 29, 2021, http://zapataproject.org/content/death-and-ceasing-be-continuation-life-after-death-zapatismo.

federal government however the leader of the EZLN Subcomandante Marcos had declined this offer stating that he would only consider this option if seven military installations in Chiapas were shut down. Fox had agreed and soon the military began to pull out, Marcos had then agreed to negotiate with the government however the negotiation did

not go as planned and the EZLN had launched a protest in Mexico City and set up chapters in the capital.

In 2005 the EZLN had released a declaration stating that they will offer support to the exploited and dispossessed Indigenous revolutionaries across

Mexico and the rest of the Americas. In 2006 the EZLN had announced the formation and first meeting of the Intercontinental Indigenous Encounter in Sonora. The goal of the meeting was to create a sense of unity among different Indigenous communities and to share their experiences regarding the pain of colonization and oppression.4

In 2016 the Zapatistas had finally entered Mexican politics and had selected María de Jesús Patricio Martínez to represent the EZLN in the 2018 election. As a Nahua woman, she was the first Indegenous woman to run for President in Mexico’s history however she failed to attain a sufficient number of signatures to appear on the official ballot due. Martínez and the EZLN had investigated the issue and found out that voter suppression had prevented a sufficient amount of signatures to be collected. The digital signature process required several apps to be downloaded which required Android 5.0 or higher and wifi that can stay online and stable for hours in order to complete the downloads which are luxuries the majority of Mexico’s working class cannot afford.5

In August 2021 the EZLN had staged a symbolic invasion and reverse conquest against Spain 500 years after the fall of Technochitlan in 1521. The delegation had sailed from Mexico to Spain using the same route the Spanish took when they first arrived to what is now known as modern day Mexico. Upon arriving at the shore they had renamed the new continent that they found themselves on “Slumil K’ajxemk’op’’ which translates to “rebel land” or “Land that doesn’t yield, that doesn’t fail” in Tzotzil, one of the languages of the Maya. The Zapatistas make it clear that the Indigenous people of Mexico have not been conquered and are still currently in resistance to colonization without surrender. One of the representatives of the invasion went on to state “We are going to tell the people of Spain two simple

things: one, they didn’t conquer us, we are still here resisting, in rebellion. Second, they don’t have to ask that we forgive them for anything,”6

In September 2021, the EZLN had warned that they are on the verge of civil war against the Mexican government as several of their members were kidnapped and believed that the government played a role in this. After this had occurred the EZLN released a statement that mentioned the government had been abusing its power by violently repressing students and teachers, protecting criminals involved in the drug trade, accepting bribery, financing paramilitary groups who have interests that conflict with the EZLN, the mishandling of COVID safety and vaccination distribution for Indigenous people, Because of these human rights violations and blatant government corruption, the EZLN has warned that civil war may break out in Chiapas.7

After the reverse conquest of Spain had occurred, the EZLN has been attending meetings with activist organizations all throughout Europe regarding human rights, environmentalism, feminism, immigration, labor rights, Indigenous rights and education of Indigenous culture. The EZLN has found support and recognition in countries such as Vienna, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France, The Netherlands and Portugal.

Despite facing centuries of oppression, the Indigenous people of Mexico remain resilient and continue to resist the byproducts of European colonization. Emiliano Zapata’s legacy lives on through revolutionary groups such as the EZLN who fight for human rights, workers rights, minority rights, protecting the environment and Indigenous sovereignty.

4 Norell Brenda. “Yaqui and O’odham Unite to Plan Zapatista Summits,” Intercontinentalcry.org, August 19th, 2007, https://intercontinentalcry.org/yaqui-and-oodham-unite-to-plan-zapatista-summits/ Castellanos, Laura. “Learning, Surviving: Marcos After the Rupture,” Nacla.org, May 1, 2008, https://nacla.org/article/learning-surviving-marcos-after-rupture

5 Gutierrez, Teresa. “Indigenous, Female, Zapatista- and Running for President of Mexico,” Workers.org, February 7, 2018, https://www.workers.org/2018/02/35509/

6 Vidal, Marta. “Zapatistas ‘Invade’ Madrid to Mark Spanish Conquest Anniversary,” Aljazeera.com. August 13, 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/13/ zapatistas-invade-madrid-to-mark-spanish-conquest-anniversary

7 “Zapatistas Warn that Chiapas is on the Verge of Civil War, Accuse State of Kidnapping,” Mexiconewsdaily.com, September 21, 2021, https://mexiconewsdaily. com/news/zapatistas-warn-that-chiapas-is-on-verge-of-civil-war-accuse-state-of-kidnapping/

Visual by Melissa Morales

Mi trayectoria educativa hacia UCLA

By: Haydee Sanchez Resendiz

“Ni de aquí ni de aya” Para muchos hijos de padres indocumentados, esta frase no podría ser más precisa. Para mi, es mi recordatorio que aunque nací en los Estados Unidos, también soy Queretana de corazón. Gracias a mi familia, crecí escuchando música huasteca y bailando huapangos. En nuestras fiestas, nunca faltaba el violín, jarana, o la quinta huapanguera que me enamoraron. Escuchaba como el trío le daba vida a los versos, o poemas improvisados y tenía que bailar.

Desde aquel entonces los versos eran una forma de comunicación usados por mis ancestros para hacer ambiente, bailar, y hasta enamorar. Ahora, yo tengo la oportunidad de usar estos versos para arrojar luz hacia las barreras lingüísticas y económicas en el

camino educativo de muchos. Específicamente, cómo latina de primera generación y orgullosa hija de padres indocumentados, escribo sobre mis desafíos y triunfos hacia UCLA.

Verso 1

Obstáculos enfrentados

A pesar de la adversidad

A pesar de la adversidad

Obstáculos enfrentados

Hija de indocumentados

Buscando prosperidad

Viviendo en otros estados

Llegue a la universidad

Verso 2

Con diccionario en mano

Para acabar mi tarea

Para acabar mi tarea

Con diccionario en mano

Con orgullo mexicano

De este lado de la frontera

Mis papás me dieron la mano

Aunque el inglés no supieran

Verso 5

Les digo en esta canción

El inglés fue mi barrera

El inglés fue mi barrera

Les digo en esta canción

Primera generación

Yo lograré mi carrera

Con esfuerzo y dedicación

Yo sere la primera

Verso 6

Le debo al bilingüismo

Mis logros y resistencia

Mis logros y resistencia

Le debo al bilingüismo

A pesar de el racismo

No esconderé mi presencia

Mi educación es el simbolismo

De Chicanas y su potencia

Verso 7

Queretana de corazón

Sin olvidar mis raíces

Sin olvidar mis raíces Queretana de corazón

Llegare a mi graduación

Lo digo en estas matices

Sera una bendicion

Ver a mis padres felices

Verso 8

Ya con esto me despido Agradezco su atención Agradezco su atención

Ya con esto me despido

Gracias a esta tradición Que me lo ha permitido La llevo en mi corazón

De ella nunca me olvido

Verso 3

Haciendo actividades

Y buenas calificaciones

Y buenas calificaciones

Haciendo actividades

Aproveche oportunidades

Y con buenas intenciones

Ayudar comunidades

Es parte de mis pasiones

Verso 4

Bailando en esta tarima

Recuerdo mi aplicación

Recuerdo mi aplicación

Bailando en esta tarima

Ya llegando a la cima

Para hacer corrección

Un saludo a mis primas

Expreso mi admiración

Photo by Luis Aguilar, Grupo Tradicion Mexicana USA, Dance Director Maribel Ramirez

Photo by Luis Aguilar, Grupo Tradicion Mexicana USA, Dance Director Maribel Ramirez

In July 2021, the Supreme Court of Texas decided to pause the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA, which is a program that provides protection from deportation and work authorization for certain undocumented immigrants that immigrated to the United States as children.1 Despite the decision, the undocumented

community has continued to push for new ways to carve their future.

The Biden administration had promised to address and provide solutions to an immigrant rights fight that has been ongoing since the 1990s. The administration presented new legislation for a

pathway to citizenship in early February – the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021.2 However, the act was unable to garner the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, causing the bill to become stalled.3 Now, politicians have turned to the upcoming budget reconciliation bill as a means to implement immigration reform.4 The incorporation of immigration reform to the reconciliation bill requires the approval from the Senate Parliamentarian, a nonpartisan official meant to guide and maintain legislative procedures. Elizabeth MacDonough, the current parliamentarian, has rejected the proposal.5 This leaves Vice-President Kamala Harris in a position where she can carry out a pathway to citizenship, as her role holds the power to either accept the advice or override it.

In response to this opportunity the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), an immigrant rights organization founded in 1986, has demonstrated their political commitment in the form of 11 nightly vigils for 11 million immigrants in front of the Los Angeles City Hall. During their vigils, CHIRLA set up an ofrenda honoring past political leaders and immigrant advocates while chanting traditional folk songs like “De Colores” to pressure politicians into implementing a pathway to citizenship.

“We need something permanent, we can’t just have breadcrumbs. We’ve been waiting for an immigration reform for the past 35 years!” yelled

“Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).” 2021. USCIS. https://www.uscis.gov/DACA.

2 “Fact Sheet: President Biden Sends Immigration Bill to Congress as Part of His Commitment to Modernize Our Immigration System.” 2021. The White House. www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/fact-sheet-president-biden-sends-immigration-bill-to-congress-as-part-of-hiscommitment-to-modernize-our-immigration-system/. (retrieved November 24, 2022).

3 “Democrats Prepare to Argue for Immigration Reform in $3.4T Spending Plan.” 2021. Boundless Immigration. https://www.boundless.com/blog/democratspathway-to-citizenship-spending-bill/.

4 Katie, Lobosco and Tami Luhby. 2021. “What the Democrats’ Sweeping Social Spending Plan Might Include.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/12/politics/ house-reconciliation-package-explainer/index.html.

5 Diaz, Daniella, Priscilla Alvarez, and Ali Zaslav. 2021. “Senate parliamentarian rejects Democrats’ second attempt to include immigration in economic bill.” CNN, September 29, 2021. http://www.cnn.com/2021/09/29/politics/senate-parliamentarian-immigration-budget-economy/index.html.

Photo provided by Damaris Esquivel

“ I’LL FIND A WAY ”

Itzel Flores Castillo Wang at the demonstration, a community organizer for Promesa Boyle Heights. She, like many other organizers, joined CHIRLA in this event to fight during a moment of opportunity where a real pathway to citizenship seems to be within arm’s reach. Together the attendees and organizers chanted, “Vice President Harris, ignore the Parliamentarian! Yes to citizenship!”

When asked what a pathway to citizenship looked like under the reconciliation bill, Wang explained that “Biden made certain promises that there would be immigration reform for everyone and a pathway to citizenship for everyone.” The goal is to create permanent and accessible reform, unlike DACA, which is known for its long eligibility requirements and uncertainty following backlash from the previous Trump administration and the most recent Texas ruling.

Whether Kamala Harris will ignore the parliamentary and help incorporate reform into the reconciliation bill remains uncertain, but what advocate leaders and organizers guarantee is that the fight will persevere.

“Sometimes it’s unpredictable what could happen. As organizers we know that things happen in the moment, and we just have to take action,” continued Itzel Flores. “In the background we are still organizing, we’re still keeping ourselves updated.”

The same is true for our own undocumented

students here at UCLA, who were and continue to be the most affected by changing immigration reform. Having received his DACA benefits only a week or two before the Texas ruling, fifth year atmospheric and oceanic science major Juan Maya Hernandez shared that he did not have DACA for the past 18 years since he moved here.

“I’ve always seen that there are other ways of going around certain things.” Before receiving his DACA benefits, Hernandez focused his personal time into developing entrepreneurial skills and establishing his own business, Prepare, to one day sustain himself and help other immigrant students.

“I try not to rely too much on DACA. If I’ve made it happen in the past four years at UCLA, then I know I’ll find a way” he continues.

Karely Amaya, fourth year political science major, and co-chair of the UCLA Undocumented Student Advocacy group (IDEAS), shares similar sentiments.

“Continue to advocate and continue to push. No one else is going to do it for us. My goal is to go into law and policy so I can have an impact on the laws that impact the livelihood of my community.” Currently, Amaya is working with the UCLA Labor Center to establish an Undocumented Student Network that can help undocumented students in California come together more efficiently and organize actions that pressure politicians when the community needs it most.

Organizers and leaders within the undocumented

community haven’t given up, and neither have students or advocates. While change and retaliation is expected and something our community is unfortunately used to, it has not killed our fight. It’s a feeling all of us undocumented individuals feel when thinking about our situations – and it’s one Karely has expressed in the most simplest words:

“Yeah it sucks, but we can’t give up.”

Writer’s note:

To stay up to date on issues relating to immigration and to find out about opportunities to join the fight, keep up with immigrant rights groups like @chirla_org, @ unitedwedream, @ucla_ideas, @nilc on social media.

IDEAS at UCLA, is always looking for new members and allies to help better the undocumented student experience on campus, so we encourage you to reach out to them on social media and join their meetings. United We Dream and CHIRLA are also in need of donations which can be made by visiting their websites: unitedwedream.org and chirla.org. It is also encouraged for supporters to join demonstrations, such as the CHIRLA 11 days of vigils, to support the fight and help our community get the rights they deserve.

Photo provided by Damaris Esquivel

“ WE CAN’T GIVE UP ”

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Editor in Chief

Karim Hyderali

Managing Editor

Laysha Macedo

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Sara De La O

Visuals & Layout Editor

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Angel Marquez

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Haydee Sanchez Resendiz

Renee Grange

Sandra Ocampo

Miriam Torres Sanchez

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Visuals Staff

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