Campus
Sports
Celebrating Filipino Americans So Sarap! honors the rich and beautiful culture of the Philippines and the remarkable contributions of Filipino Americans Read the full story, Page 5
Arts
TOUGH SEASON CONTINUES
Dead never more alive Dia de los Muertos blooms across the region like fragrant marigolds
Jaguars lose back-to-back blowouts to Long Beach and Saddleback
Photo Essay Back Page
Read the full story, Page 7
AN ACP HALL OF FAME NEWSPAPER
OCTOBER 30, 2023 / ISSUE 1
n TRUSTEES MAKE A RARE MOVE AGAINST COLLEAGUE
SENATORS PREPARE NO CONFIDENCE IN VPAA
CORINA SOTO CENSURED BY GOV. BOARD
Resolution alleges multiple violations by Isabelle Saber
Fellow trustees claim she is disruptive, Soto says the action is undeserved and a tactic to silence her
BY ALICIA RIVERO
Academic Senators moved closer to a full vote of No Confidence in Vice President of Academic Affairs Isabelle Saber following a second reading of a resolution highly critical of the firstyear administrator. Senators said they expected to take an official No Confidence resolution to the college governing board in mid-November. Senators and faculty accuse Saber of a raft of violations to California’s Shared Governance Policy, which requires college administrators to consult with faculty on matters of teaching and learning. Saber is also accused of secretly introducing a controversial policy to cut classes as well as unprofessional behavior, controlling responsibilities beyond her job description, enacting changes with little or no notice, damaging morale and disrupting faculty and student success. Professor Andrew Rempt said this is the first No Confidence vote in 13 since the 2010 effort to remove Raj Kumar Chopra as college president. Chopra was eventually forced to resign by an incoming board and later faced 16 felony charges by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office for corruption, bribery and racketeering. “No Confidence votes are huge,” said Rempt. “This is the most major action we, as a Senate representing the vote of voice of the faculty, can take. We arrived at this point unwillingly and unhappily because a vote of No Confidence is not just a matter of saying we don’t have confidence, but also that we don’t have faith and we do not have trust in the individual currently occupying the VP of the AA office.” Some attendees said the No Confidence resolution does not go far enough and should also condemn college president Dr. Mark Sanchez, who hired and supervises Saber. A vote of No Confidence in Saber will RESOLUTION • PG 2
A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER
PHOTO BY MIGUEL NICOLAS / STAFF
BETTER THAN EVER AT 25—Mariachi Garibaldi has played for kings, heads of state and thrilled Chula Vista audiences.
¡VIVA EL MEJOR MARIACHI! Dr. Jeff Nevin’s 1998 startup is now the best in the world BY MIGUEL NICOLAS
ormer Southwestern College President Dr. Serafin Zasueta led the creation of the college library, Cesar Chavez student services center and the late, great Student Center, but the college mariachi is his landmark achievement. That and his hiring of a Tucson trumpet virtuoso, Dr. Jeff Nevin to run it. Mariachi Garibaldi has performed on six continents—often at the invitation of the government—and SC’s program is the first in the world to offer a degree in mariachi music. That includes Mexico, mariachi’s homeland. This month’s 25th Anniversary Concert was a borderlands rock concert that propelled a sold-out audience across a range of styles and emotions from sentimental to raucous. In other words, the kind of performance South County mariachistas have come to expect. A San Diego Union-Tribune profile on Nevin called him “the Johnny Appleseed” of mariachi due to his tireless quarter century of launching bands in high schools and colleges across America. It would be no exaggeration to say Nevin wrote the book on mariachi because he did. His textbook, “Virtuoso Mariachi,” is a music instruction classic. Virtually every academic mariachi in the nation has Nevin’s fingerprints. Nevin is humble like well-worn huaraches and soft-spoken as a violin aria. His Mariachi Garibaldi is neither. Blazing trumpets, pulsating guitarrons and soaring voices lit up the evening like lava escaping Popocatepetl. Planet Earth’s best collegiate mariachi announced itself like a trache-clad Arcangel Gabriel, calling out across the mariachi diaspora, then purring like a content kitten. Nine-year member Omar Marmolejo said Nevin is brilliant and mariachi is essential. MARIACHI • PG 2
BY CAMILA A. GONZALEZ
A trio of Southwestern College governing board members voted to censure trustee Corina Soto for what they described as “disruptive” behavior at meetings, disclosing confidential information and Brown Act violations. Soto rejection the claims and accused college president Dr. Mark Sanchez and board president Roberto Alcantar of “bullying” and “silencing my voice and quashing dissent.” Alcantar, along with trustees Robert Moreno and Don Dumas, cast votes to censure Soto. A Resolution of Censure criticized the former professor and faculty union president for engaging in disrespectful and divisive behavior. In one public exchange at a board meeting Soto criticized a plan by Sanchez to hire more administrators as “too many chiefs and not enough Indians.” After receiving texts from the audience, Alcantar told Soto her remarks were inappropriate. Soto said she is an Indigenous person and was allowed to use the expression, which she said was a harmless analogy to describe a top-heavy management structure. Soto said the censure was unwarranted and heavy-handed retaliation for her outspoken leadership style. Consequences of the censure prohibit Soto from district-funded travel and forbids her from representing the college at outside events. Sanctions will be enforced until June 30, 2024, unless Soto completes effective governance training from a board approved program by Oct. 31. Soto said the censure was sexist and mean spirited. “What led to the censure is the desire of Roberto Alcantar and Mark Sanchez to silence my voice,” she said. “They want to control me and send a message to me to not be so outspoken. They wanted to damage my credibility in the community.” CENSURE • PG 2
CENSURE LIMITS AUTHORITY The Resolution of Censure against Corina Soto is largely symbolic, but does prevent her from representing the board in public and using district funds for travel.
LABOR RIGHTS WITH A SMILE
CORINA SOTO
“What led to the censure is the desire of Roberto Alcantar and Mark Sanchez to silence my voice. They want to control me and send a message to me to not be so outspoken. They wanted to damage my credibility in the community.”
ROBERTO ALCANTAR
The board president said Soto’s comment “too many chiefs, not enough Indians” was “inappropriate.” Soto said she disagreed.
Musical from 1936 resonates in 21st century America as workers assert their rights Arts, Page 6
NEWS
CENSURE • CONT FROM PG 1
I
t has been 13 years since the Academic Senate passed a Resolution of No Confidence against former college president Raj Chopra, who was later charged with 16 felonies by the San Diego County District
Attorney. Senators are working on a final draft of a No Confidence resolution against Vice President of Academic Affairs Isabelle Saber. Complaints include alleged violations of shared governance laws, abusive behavior, intimidation, and decisions that hurt faculty and students. Senate leaders say they plan to take the resolution to the governing board in mid-November.
ACADEMIC SENATE PREPARES
VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE RESOLUTION • CONT FROM PG 1`
Academic Senate leaders say they hope No Confidence vote will bring about necessary change
VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS In barely a year the controversial VPAA has drawn criticism from faculty and classified staff for directives faculty leaders describe as “heavy handed,” “ill conceived” and “non-collaborative.” “(Firing her) is up to the college president and the governing board. There are steps forward to find an amicable resolution.” JESSICA POSEY Academic Senate President
“The path (forward) is not as clear as one hopes. We hope steps will be taken because… they can’t run this college without us.” ANDREW REMPT Former Senate President
“We need a stable VP of AA whose interests are academics and whose activities are solely dedicated to the support of academics.” MARTHA CAREY Professor of Mathematics
Jessica Posey Photo Courtesy of Jessica Posey
alert the governing board that the Academic Senate is reaching out to them for support, according to Senate President Dr. Jessica “Jetta” Posey. “(Firing her) is up to the college president and the governing board,” said Posey. “There are steps forward to find an amicable resolution.” Rempt agreed. “The path (forward) is not as clear as one hopes,” he said. “We hope steps will be taken because…they can’t run this college without us.” Adjunct instructor Geoff Johnson said Saber seems unconcerned about part-time teaching staff. He cited a “60-40” plan Saber unilaterally announced that could severely reduce the number of classes and the number of part-time positions. “There have been a number of things Saber has done as VP that have created a great deal of uncertainty and precarity amongst what is by nature, a precarious group and that we are extremely concerned about,” said Johnson. “I think I can speak for those that are aware that we would be in support of this.” Posey said she was startled by the number of Senators who have resigned due to fear of retaliation to them or their departments. “I’ve been with the Senate since 2009 and I’ve never seen senators step down because they fear retaliation against their programs,” she said. “Five Senators have stepped down and for the first time in our college’s history, we’ve been asked to add proxy voting to prevent people from feeling like they are retaliated against.” Posey said senators have brought forward concerns about a perceived lack of transparency regarding budgets and librarians unnerved by a mid-semester swap of program directors. She said the Senate is also protesting Saber’s cancellation of grants and decisions to block hiring of staff while the college adds administrators. Saber was also accused of work code issues, unvetted attempts at reorganization and not knowing what her job entails. Posey said faculty has also complained of bullying and hostile treatment from Saber. “We’ve let her know that positionality makes people feel intimidated,” said Posey. Saber had some support at the Senate meeting, but even that was mixed. One speaker who did not give his name addressed the Senate with a voice shaking with emotion. “I work very closely with Isabelle,” he said. “We have had very good conversations, but we’ve also had conversations that have left me wondering will the programs, will the work that I do for students—that we do for students—can we do it given the environment? That’s a terrible feeling to come to work every day not knowing if you’re going to say something or do something that it’s going to lead to the demise of all that you work for.” Mathematics Professor Martha Carey said Southwestern’s administrative churn has saddled faculty with new VPs almost every year since she started in 2001. “There have been more VPs of AA than I can count,” she said. “I think the number is 15. There is something inherently wrong in their job description. It is supposed to be devoted to the promotion and support of academics, not tasked with financial and fiscal balance. We have created a job description here at Southwestern that is inherently schizophrenic.” Carey said responsibility rests with Sanchez. “I would lay this at the feet of Mark Sanchez as the person tasked with fixing a very long-term problem,” she said. “We need a stable VP of AA whose interests are academics and whose activities are solely dedicated to the support of academics.” Saber has had issues in past jobs, including her previous VPAA position at Antelope Valley Press. Articles in the Antelope Valley Press said Saber was hired as an assistant superintendent/vice president of academic affairs in December 2021 but was put on administrative leave less that a year later and let go. Saber was given an opportunity to respond to the allegations for this article. She said she would like to after she returns from a conference she planned to attend.
Andrew Rempt Photo Courtesy of the San Diego Union-Tribune Martha Carey Photo Courtesy of Martha Carey
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October 30, 2023 / Issue 1
The Southwestern College Sun
Soto calls board action ‘sexist,’ ‘effort to silence’ Alcantar did not respond to emails requesting comment. Sanchez declined to comment on specifics, but said he was not involved in the censure. He called the vote “a board-driven process.” “Communication is key,” he said. “There is obviously an opportunity where there can be increased communication. I am not sure what happened with the board. I am not always there in their conversation. So whatever communication that did occur that led to the censure was an area of opportunity for the board to address as we move forward.” Soto called Sanchez remarks ironic because shortly after her election Alcantar and Sanchez met with her to “share with me that members of the campus community think I should be held to a 3-minute time limit when I speak at governing board meetings.” She said when she raised the issue at a California Community College League conference in Sacramento the workshop presenters laughed out loud at the idea of a time limit. Governing board members have no time limits Soto recalled the CCCL panelists telling her. Moreno said he did not agree with Soto’s charge that Alcantar excluded her from participating in decision making. He said he felt the censure was working because Soto has modified her behavior following the vote.
MARIACHI • CONT FROM PG 1
SC musicians have played on six continents “I think it’s really cool that Southwestern College has such a great mariachi,” he said. “It’s beautiful, especially it being in the United States.” Nevin, of course, agreed. “The thing that’s important is we have a degree (program) in mariachi music,” he said. “This was the first in the world and now there are other schools that offer a similar program, even in Mexico.” Madre Mexico has completely embraced the pioneering transfronterizo band from Chula Vista. Mariachi Garibaldi has performed onstage with Mexican legends Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan at the Mariachi Encuentro de Guadalajara. Former Mariachi Garibaldi singer-guitarist Robert Bell described it as “playing at Woodstock with The Beatles.”
“We have a degree (program) in mariachi music. This was the first in the world and now there are other schools that offer a similar program, even in Mexico.” JEFF NEVIN
Mariachi Garibaldi
Mariachi Garibaldi did something unprecedented at the Encuentro, performing Nevin’s punchy mariachi arrangement of the Johnny Cash-June Carter classic “Ring of Fire” in English. “That was nervy,” said Bell, who sang the number. “It was kind of like Bob Dylan playing his electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival, but with a much different result!” Other than the dash of Cash, Mariachi Garibaldi plays it straight and honors Mexico’s rich musical heritage with classics like “Cielo Lindo,” “Tren,” and “Por un Amor.” Ricardo Loera is one of several SC students who said playing in the mariachi keeps him connected to his ancestral homeland. “I’m forgetting (Spanish) because I don’t practice every day,” he said, “but music and mariachi is so traditional to Mexico. It’s my roots. Mis raices. Mi pais. My connection to the cultural has become more personal.”
O P E N I N G T H E C O L L E G E W A S A R I S K Y M O V E T H AT E N D A N G E R E D T R A N S F R O N T E R I Z O S
VIEWPOINTS Editorials • Opinions • Letters to the Editor
THINKING OUT LOUD COMPILED BY CAMILA A. GONZALEZ
The mission of the Southwestern College Sun is to serve its campuses and their communities by providing information, insights and stimulating discussions of news, activities and topics relevant to our readers. The staff strives to produce a newspaper that is timely, accurate, fair, interesting, visual and accessible to readers. Though The Sun is a student publication, staff members ascribe to the ethical and moral guidelines of professional journalists.
How did the storm affect your commute over the border?
EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief
Sports Editor
Emily Ingco
Julio Rodriguez
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Nicolette Monique Luna
Juan Herrera Photo Editor
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Camila A. Gonzalez
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Assistant News Editor
Morgan Jacobson
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JANESSA ORTEGA Biology major
Staff Writers
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Staff Artists
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Viewpoints Editors
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AWARDS/HONORS National College Newspaper Hall of Fame Inducted 2018 ACP Pacemaker 100 An Outstanding Student Publication of the Century 2022 Student Press Law Center National College Press Freedom Award 2011, 2018 National Newspaper Association National College Newspaper of the Year 2004-2022 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Awards 2003-06, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012-2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 General Excellence 2001-23 Best of Show 2001-23 Columbia University Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal for Journalism Excellence 2001-23 College Media Association National College Newspaper of the Year 2020, 22 California College Media Association Outstanding College/ University Newspaper
San Diego County Multicultural Heritage Award California Newspaper Publishers Association California College Newspaper of the Year 2013, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2023 Student Newspaper General Excellence 2002-23 Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence 2001-22 First Amendment Award 2002, 2005 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism 1999-2022 Directors Award for Defense of Free Speech 2012 Journalism Association of Community Colleges Pacesetter Award 2001-18, 2022-23 Newspaper General Excellence 2000-2023 American Scholastic Press Association Community College Newspaper of the Year
ILLUSTRATION BY DE LUNA / STAFF
UNWISE TO OPEN DURING STORM
H
urricane Hilary caused a massive mess in
the California deserts and mountains in late August. It also wreaked havoc for Southwestern College transfronterizos.
College leadership blundered badly when it decided to keep its campuses open on the first day of school this semester in the middle of a fierce tropical storm that a day earlier was a category 4 hurricane. August 21 was a once-a-century storm and its damage reached far and wide. Tijuana, Rosarito and other Baja California cities populated with Southwestern College students took a beating. So did the students. Heavy rain that flows smoothly down San Diego streets into wellmaintained drainage systems can cause deadly flooding, mudslides, road collapses and chaos in Mexico’s unpaved hillside colonias and poorly maintained roadways. Flooding and chaos on August 21 was an epic nightmare south of the border. And then, on top of all that, we were summoned to school, even though almost every other K-12 district in the county closed for one day. (South County’s elementary districts, Sweetwater and Southwestern engaged in hurricane force finger pointing, but that’s a story for another day.) Southwestern needed to lead, but punted and endangered its students, particularly its vulnerable transfronterizos. We were forced to drive through flooded areas, ford streams, dodge fallen trees and diablito power lines wiggling near puddles, and trudge predawn miles in downpours. La linea was, of course, a ghoulish marathon of unstaffed lines, surly agents and flickering power. Believe it or not it could have been much worse. The San Diego-Tijuana region caught a huge break when category 4 Hurricane Hilary wobbled eastward about 120 miles south of Ensenada and crossed over the Baja Peninsula, causing it to lose strength. It jigged north again and slid east of our mountains, averting the head-on collision with San Diego County sensible people were bracing for. Our amateur meteorologists in the administrative suites had no way to know this would happen, which makes the decision to stay open even more reckless and arrogant. We shudder to think what could have happened with a direct hit. President Dr. Mark Sanchez and Governing Board President Roberto Alcantar like to boast that they are homeboys who understand the borderlands culture and the transfronterizo community. Maybe they do, but they seem to have forgotten that 30-40 percent of Southwestern’s students live in Mexico and cross la frontera to attend college. (By the way, almost 40 percent of this newspaper staff lives in Tijuana, Puerto Nuevo and Rosarito.) This was a tone deaf decision and very disappointing for those of us who cross the border daily. Los jefes failed us that stormy day. Southwestern College would have suffered no harm to its academics or its funding by delaying the start of school one day. We could have tacked on a day to the end of semester or found another creative way to catch up. Putting students’ lives at risk was entirely unnecessary. We were lucky we did not have a repeat of Raj Chopra’s disastrous decision to keep the college open during the 2007 wildfires. A student died that day. Thank God no one died this time, but it was dumb luck. Really dumb.
The Southwestern College Sun
“Tijuana gets nasty when it rains, there are a lot of accidents. I think the decision to remain open was wrong because there are tons of binational students.”
DANNY JR. RODRIGUEZ Business major
“I was very appreciative of the school remaining open because I was able to access the resources on campus like the gym and the Wi-Fi.
YVETTE RAMIREZ Liberal Studies
“I live near the Otay border and I had no problem crossing. I think it was a good thing that the college remained open.”
ERICA ORTIZ Photography
“It was an inconvenience for me because I do not have a car.”
October 30, 2023 / Issue 1
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COMMUNITY
C E L E B R AT I N G F I L I P I N O-A M E R I C A N M O N T H I N O N E O F A M E R I C A’S G R E AT F I L I P I N O R E G I O NS
n FIL-AM FESTIVAL
Beautiful festival for a beautiful culture BY HOLDEN AMES
A cloudless sky lit Waterfront Park on San Diego Bay for the second annual So Sarap! Philippine Festival. It was quite a party. Crispy aroma of charred meat and pork buns wafted in the sea breeze. Elders sat bemused in their chairs as children bustled around them. Mayor Todd Gloria, who is part Pinoy, praised Filipino Americans for their foundational role in creating much of what is beautiful about San Diego and surrounding cities. Beauty poured forth from the stage as PASACAT, a revered Philippine Performing Arts Company based in National City, showcased dances and music from the islands. Performers were dressed in a rainbow of color and formed a mosaic of the Philippines’ expansive culture. Percussive music wove a hypnotic spell with bells, toms and voice. So Sarap! was a cheerful reminder to the region’s FilipinoAmericans that their culture is very much well and alive if they choose to embrace it. Steph Sinsuan is a Filipino American mother whose daughter dances with PASACAT. She said some Filipinos did not grow up immersed in the culture, but it remains part of their identity. “It’s never too late,” she said. “We’re already in our midthirties and we’re just barely scratching the surface of what it means to be Filipino.” Filipino Americans work hard to assimilate, Sinsuan said, and parents often raise children with less ethnically apparent names and little exposure to Tagalog. “I think they were trying to grab hold of that American dream,” she said. “When people ask (if I) speak Tagalog (I tell them) my parents never taught me, but they still get pissed at me.” Philip Delara is a Filipino American father who volunteers for PASACAT. Like many others, Delara said he struggled with his identity and his sense of belonging to Filipino culture. He said he wanted to raise his daughter in the culture which his parents did not do with him. “I want to make sure that as she grows up and she has an experience, like being a part of PASACAT, that helps her know her Filipino roots,” he said. Sam Besa, president of the House of the Philippines in Balboa Park, said the location of So Sarap! was significant for the Filipino community and the entire region. “That’s what makes this particular festival really unique,” he said, “It’s actually in the heart of San Diego rather than in our home areas, so we get a more diverse crowd. It sends a message (that) we are part of San Diego and we celebrate who we are with the people of San Diego.” Besa said that it is good to embrace being Filipino and to actively practice the culture. “How do you incorporate Filipino heritage into your life?” he said. “How do you express that? I feel that if you’re giving up your Filipino-ness to be successful it’s too high a price.” 4
October 30, 2023 / Issue 1
(above) Photo Courtesy of San Diego Union-Tribune, (l) Photo Courtesy of Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, (r) Photo Courtesy of Filipino Community Center Hawaii
PINAY ON DISPLAY— Performers from National City’s esteemed PASACAT Performing Arts Company dazzled hundreds at the San Diego Waterfront Park.
BAYAN STRIVES TO INSPIRE FILIPINO COLLEGE STUDENTS
S
BY DIEGO M. HIGUERA
(top) Photo Courtesy of The Desert Sun, (above) Photo Courtesy of Filipino
an Diego County is home to 180,000 Filipino Americans, most of whom live in the South County. They are considered super citizens with outstanding voting, education and community service records. State Route 54 is named The Filipino Highway in honor of the community’s decades of contributions. Even so, many of Southwestern College’s 1,600 FilAm students feel jittery starting their higher education journeys. BAYAN has their backs. Lea Oasay, the treasurer of the Bayan Student Organization said it is important to maintain a learning community similar to PUENTE or UMOJA tailored for Filipino students. President Zorayda Chaidez agreed. “BAYAN students become better know, better friends,” she said. “We help the community and teach others about Filipino culture and history.” Chaidez envisions BAYAN gaining recognition across California. “We have made a good impact on our students because first-year students are already nervous to be in college,” she said. “A learning community guides you through that. A learning community like BAYAN pushes you. If you come in as an introvert you will probably be a lot more of an extrovert by the end of the year.” BAYAN Secretary Ivan Medida said the organization hold successful fund raisers to benefit students and the community as well as activities and programs to engage Filipino American students. “A major goal of BAYAN is to build community,” he said. “Our learning community has helped provide opportunities for students to develop public speaking skills. We also work to expose more people to Filipino American issues and networking opportunities.” Oasay said the group has another big goal—“to pop up on Google.” Enhanced visibility will help to spread BAYAN’s good works in and beyond the CSU and UC systems. Vice President Athena Almeda said action drives success. “We just keep going and we never stop.”
Community Center Hawaii
A REBIRTH OF FILIPINO CULTURE— Filipino American leaders say second generation members of the community are embracing their heritage.
In Tagalog, the phrase magsama samang muli means reunite, let’s get together, let’s stay connected and meet again. It’s an informal, friendly phrase, full of friendship, celebration and warmth. Photo Courtesy of Filipino Community Center Hawaii
The Southwestern College Sun
Photo Courtesy of Courtesy of the Maui News
MOTHERS AND MOTHER SCHOLARS (MAMS) PROPELS WOMEN INTO UNIVERSITIES
CAMPUS Campus News • Student News • Profiles
STUDENT MOMS HAVE ALLY THANKS TO MAMS
SPECTRUM OF TALENT
BY DIEGO M. HIGUERA
At the age of four, Southwestern student was diagnosed with a type of autism that severely hindered his social skills and caused a long delay in his speech. Now he’s an actor. BY JULIO RODRIGUEZ
X
avier Alston loves to act, as his friends in the Southwestern College theater arts program will attest. For years, however, Xavier had to try to act happy even when he wasn’t. That is particularly difficult for someone on the autism spectrum. At the age of four, Xavier was diagnosed with a type of autism that severely hindered his social skills and caused a long delay in his speech. “He was just making utterances and sounds if he wanted something,” said his father, SC Professor of Finance Kevin LaVaughn Alston. Xavier’s parents never gave up on him and he never gave up on himself. Today he is a 26-year-old Southwestern grad with a transfer degree in theater and a ticket to SDSU. Cum laude to boot. He said he hopes to become the next Will Smith, minus the slap. Xavier was born in Tokyo in 1997, but his family soon decided to move back to the United States due to the lack of support for Special Needs children in Japan. At age 6 he was written off by a school psychologist who told his parents Xavier would never speak complete sentences. Xavier and his family battled the American public school system from the start. He faced abuse and neglect in elementary school, including schools in Chula Vista. Once when his mother went to visit Xavier’s school she found him strapped to a chair, alone in a room. A former teacher physically abuse him by pinching him out of frustration. Bullies on the playground were a mocking constant. “We had to put that in check,” Alston said. “We had to be behind the scenes and always be watching. We had to sue the school district because they were breaking the law.” Xavier’s ever-supportive family pushed him toward academic successes despite his autism. Besides his professor dad, his mother owns two preschools in Chula Vista and his younger sister earned a Master’s degree from SDSU. Xavier said he is glad to join his family of degree holders. “I feel relaxed that I graduated from somewhere,” he said. “ No drama. No drama for my momma.” Alston said Xavier received academic support at Southwestern College and the San Diego Regional Center, a county agency dedicated to helping Special Needs students and young adults with tutoring and life coaching. He would spend three days a week with his coach, Alexis, working on homework and memorizing lines for plays he performed in. He frequented the SC Academic Success Center and the ADA Center. Some professors worked very hard to help him, said Alston. “They went above and beyond,” Alston said. “If he didn’t do well in class (professors allowed him to) retake tests during my office hours.” Alston singled out two instructors who made sure Xavier was successful in their classes. Geometry Professor Samuel Cortez encouraged Xavier to try hard in his class. He finished with a B. Gary Young came to Alston’s office to work one-on-one with Xavier, who earned an A in two of his classes. Above all else Xavier said he wants to feel normal. Acting helps him. When he is on stage, he said, he is able to express himself. “ I like acting!” he said. “It’s fun to do filming, to act angry, happy and sad.” While acting his autism disappears into his character. Sometimes it was challenging and he would forget his lines or break character on stage like other actors. Last year he was cast in the production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” as a Nazi soldier and got distracted when he saw his father in the audience. “When my dad saw my face I tried to look angry,” he said. “He fell out of character,” his dad recalled. “He was like, “Hi dad!” (I was thinking) Dude, don’t smile, you’re a Nazi!” Xavier has more goals, like learning to drive a car and earning a Bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts from SDSU. All the world is his stage.
“I feel relaxed that I graduated from somewhere. No drama. No drama for my momma.” XAVIER ALSTON
Photos Courtesy of Xavier Alston
The Southwestern College Sun
Of the 3.8 million college students with children, more than 2.7 million are mothers. Many of them are single mothers. Southwestern College has a club to help mothers who are trying to push their way through. Mothers and Mother Scholars (MAMS) was founded by Anna Sanchez, who is soon heading to UC Berkeley. “One day I was walking out of class and my little one had a meltdown,” she recalled. “I was literally on the floor with her trying to calm her down. A student stopped me and she said, ‘Hey, it’s going to get better.’ She didn’t even know me, but it just felt like things would be okay because there is somebody else here like me.” Sanchez said that was the seed of MAMS. “By the time the pandemic hit I was already looking for ways to fix the situation in my college community,” she said. “I ended up doing a bit of research asking students at Southwestern how they felt about being a parent in college. Then I started the club and it felt like it was just what we needed. Everybody was so grateful.” Cynthia Hernandez, the current president of MAMS, said the support it gives women is essential. “MAMS is so much more than just a Southwestern College club. It is a network of empowered women who bring an assorted array of lived experiences to the table. It is a collective, a support system.” Hernandez said MAMS has a motto, “If I don’t know the answer, I can find someone who does.” “ We inform and educate our members first and foremost about all resources available to them as students at Southwestern,” she said. “Then we collectively direct one another based on our own experiences to resources needed outside the scope of what Southwestern offers based on one another’s specific needs at the time.” MAMS offers workshops such as mental health, physical wellness, transfer support, scholarship applications, breast cancer awareness, domestic violence awareness, sexual assault awareness, LGBTQIA+ allyship and success empowerment. Club members also support an orphanage in Tijuana. Challenges are unique to each mother. “Often as primary caregivers and also as financial providers, it becomes easy to put ourselves, our dreams, and our aspirations last,” said Hernandez. Mothers are often taken for granted and abused. Domestic violence is a focus for MAMS and offers women support and people who will listen, said Hernandez. “Speaking out is often the first step to healing,” she said. Sanchez said she had been a victim of domestic violence and made it a priority at MAMS. “High School was when I started learning more English and started my journey as an adult,” she said. “I was a teen mom at 17 and a survivor of domestic abuse. A teacher who helped me out was none other than Dr. Silvia Garcia Navarrete.” Abuse takes many forms, Sanchez said. “It’s not just physical, it can be mental or emotional abuse,” she said. “And yeah, it happens every day. When you have spaces like this, with the zoom or the regular meetings we have, one mom or woman talks about her experience, it encourages others to do the same. We heal together and I think that’s a beautiful thing.” Sanchez said MAMS elevated her life. She said she will soon enroll at UC Berkeley, but will never leave behind sisters who suffer from abuse. Hernandez said MAMS helps to build agency. “This organization has been pivotal in my development of resilience and grit,” she said. “There have been moments when the energy and strength of these empowered women have held me up and propelled me forward toward my goals. My advice to women and mothers is to find a system of support that will hold you up when you are thinking of faltering. Join MAMS. We would love to have you and to become part of the rooting section that helps you.” October 30, 2023 / Issue 1
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‘ T H E C R A D L E W I L L R O C K ’ I S A T H E AT R E C L A S S I C T H AT S T I L L R E S O N AT E S , S T O R Y B E L O W
ARTS
“This is about the people in power and the relationship with the people. Power doesn’t listen to the people.”
Campus Arts • Reviews • Community Culture
— XOCHITL RAMOS, The Cradle Will Rock
MARIACHI GARIBALDI MAKES GREATNESS LOOK EASY n REVIEW BY MIGUEL NICOLAS
One tough thing about being the world’s best collegiate mariachi is that expectations can run sky high – el cielo high. Mariachi Garibaldi soared to the occasion. In a memorable concert celebrating its 25th anniversary, el mariachi de los jaguars dazzled a sold out audience in the PAC with the same blend of beautiful ballads and stabbing brass huapangos that has earned fans in Australia, Russia, China, Brazil, India,
Egypt, Peru and the music’s birthplace of Guadalajara. Four floral dancers glided through the steps made famous in Jalisco as Mariachi Garibaldi strolled on to the stage. As its opening number built, the dancers twirled as wind-tossed bouquets of flowers, quickening the heartbeats of the audience and transporting members to a steamy summer evening in the heartland of Madre Mexico. Clapping was thunderous and brass flashed like lightning as the musical storm approached from the south, pushing in like a tropical wind. “La fiesta ya empezo” was indeed
an invitation to get the party started. Musicians initiated the clapping and stomping, and the audience was all too happy to join in. Mariachi Garibaldi was back and the fun began. Director Dr. Jeff Nevin let everyone catch their breath while he introduced newly minted music degree recipient Victor Viberos for a gentle take on “Jurame.” Viberos’ passionate interpretation and powerful delivery were transcendent and earned a standing ovation from the clearly moved audience as it shouted “Otra! Otra!” Highlights were everywhere, but classics like “El Mariachi,” “Tren,”
“Cielo Lindo,” “Cien Años” and “Por un amor” stood out. Pedro Infante, the old caballero troubadour, would approve from his spot in el cielo lindo. The audience certainly did, roaring its approval like a throng at a diez y sies de septiembre celebration of Padre Hidalgo’s grito. Southwestern’s beginning and intermediate mariachis opened the show, which is reminiscent of Stevie Wonder or Peter Tosh opening for the Rolling Stones. Excellence begets excellence. Shelle Blue killed it on “Nuestro Juramente” and Lalo Guerrero would have been mighty pleased with the evergreen “Canción mexicana,”
sweet as summer corn sprinkled with testy habanero. Nevin showed a clip of Mariachi Garibaldi from Russian television performing in Vladivostok as well as a series of short videos of gigs from around the globe. Southwestern College’s gift to the world was home again on la tierra Chula Vista, the holy ground of mariachi americano. Mariachi has planted its flag at the corner of Otay Lakes Road and East H Street like the blues has on Highway 61. Mariachi Garibaldi’s first 25 years were legend. Its next 25 look to be even better.
RETOOLED FOR THE 21ST CENTURY—Marc Blitzstein’s fanciful but visionary comedy inspired the faculty union to buy a block of tickets. Image Courtesy of
BY ALLAN VARGAS
Damon Winter/ The New York Times
n REVIEW
MARC BLITZSTEIN
‘CRADLE’ IS A TIMELESS ODE TO WORKERS’ RIGHTS
“The Cradle Will Rock,” an 87-year-old musical comedy based on the American labor movement, would seem a candidate for the rocking chair. Under the steady hand of director Ruff Yeager and his talented team, “Cradle” rocked. Marc Blitzstein’s 1936 comedy remains uplifting and loaded with wisdom, not to mention a bouncy period score. “The Cradle Will Rock” takes place in the fictional American town of Steeltown. Its resident industrialist, Mr. Mister, forms the anti-union Liberty Committee when he discovers his employees are attempting to organize. Workers manage to sidestep the Committee’s actions in a brave attempt to subvert Mr. Mister’s grip on the town. Actor Xochitl Ramos said the message resonates today. “This is about the people in power and the relationship with the people,” she said. “Power doesn’t listen to the people.” “Cradle” has 10 scenes that occur in different settings. In Scene Four, Junior Mister and Sister Mister brought audience members up to the main stage. Interactions with the audience was fun and inspiring. Humor abound. In Scene Eight, Professor Scoot announced in front of
Mr. Mister and the school president that she disliked having military training at her school. She is then unceremoniously dragged out of the room, which drew hearty laughter. Michael Buckley’s brilliant lighting carried the show visually and music director Imahni King helped the 1930s music feel crisp and tuneful. Cast members created a comedic atmosphere that permitted a serious undertone. Clarissa Contreras (Mrs. Mister) said preparation was rigorous. “A lot of singing,” she said. “As well as running lines.” Expressive body language was central to the show, said actor Santiago Gordillo. “I’ve been working on a lot of memorization and the body language for each character,” he said. “I try to make each character different in the way they sound, move, speak and react.” Yeager said the play was a great teaching experience. “One of the attractive things about it is that it was originally done with just the author, Marc Blitzstein, onstage playing the piano,” he said. “That’s the way it’s most often performed, with a singular accompanist, as an homage to Marc Blitzstein.” “The Cradle Will Rock” was a visual, aural and storytelling treat. A labor of love.
‘MUGRE’ A GRATUITOUS, MACHISMO, SEXIST MESS OF A PLAY n REVIEW BY ANAHY J. GUTIERREZ
“How is everyone doing tonight? Oh come on, what the fuck was that? How is everyone doing tonight?” An obliging audience at the Onstage Playhouse wooed and whistled while others laughed at the course welcome from Chula Vista playwright Salomon Maya. “MUGRE” (dirt) was profane, uncomfortably vulgar and occasionally funny. What was supposed to be humorous vulgarity came mostly from Pato, a young Mexican who worked at Los Mojados Car Wash in San Ysidro, along with his friends Pancho and Jerry. The play was about four individuals working together at a local carwash. It was as aimless as it sounds. The set was the most believable aspect of the play. Los Mojados Carwash was portrayed with two screens on opposite ends showing the cars the characters were “washing.” Meanwhile, the carwash itself was made up of long blue pieces of paper that mimicked the miter curtains typical at a carwash. 6
October 30, 2023 / Issue 1
Dirty buckets, used rags and overused brooms provided ambiance, if that is the right word for a dirty workplace. A matte black floor of the set imitated the cold concrete of a low-grade carwash. Pancho was like a father to Pato, so much so that he even taught Pato how to “ay ay ay” with a woman as Pancho said while demonstrating with a hipthrusting gesture. Jokes like these, if you could even refer to them as such, along with their cliche personalities, made the characters insufferable. Jerry became the ugly stereotype he told the others not to be. As he stole an item from a customer’s car he said, “yo no voy a la luna,” (I am not going to the moon). He was referencing his own story about the first Hispanic woman to go to the moon. Though it was clever it was even more cringeworthy. Isabella, a young woman from Mexico City who turns out to be Pancho’s daughter, joined the Los Mojados crew after arriving in the U.S. This character was expected to introduce equality into the maledominated workplace, but that did not happen. Machismo won again.
Photo Courtesy of San Diego Jewish World
CAR WASH BLUES—OnStage Playhouse took a bath with its dispiriting production of ‘Mugre.” Isabella was useful to the crew only because her hands were small enough to fix a mechanical issue inside the car wash. Sexism won again. Women like Isabella must succeed in a maledominated environment to prove their worth and earn validation from men. Sublimation won again. “MUGRE” missed its target on its hypothetical message that men and women are family. It showed the exact opposite. Pato made a sexual comment The Southwestern College Sun
about Isabella’s breasts behind her back. Does a man who objectifies a woman deserve to call her family? Would a woman who knows how vulgar and perverted a man is even want to consider him family? No amount of soap, even from the “best car wash in San Ysidro,” could clean Pato’s dirty and disrespectful mind. Sexualization is not humor, it is harassment. Normalization of hostile behavior
did not stop there. It was revealed that Pancho had failed Isabella as a father. Pancho’s absence in Isabella’s life caused her to seek revenge. She put a gun to his head, repainting Isabella from victim to villain. Pancho was racked with guilt and ready to allow his daughter to take his life. Isabella decided not to pull the trigger because she realized it would be unfair to take a father figure from Jerry and Pato, once again denying her justice. Maya’s twisted reasoning is that the villain father is a hero for not resisting his daughter’s urge to kill him, which makes the victimized daughter the bad person. Isabella rambled through her explanation for sparing her father and the four characters muttered short and inaudible dialogue. Then, incongruously, Isabella smiled and told the men to get back to work. They smiled and resumed washing cars, wiping away the inconvenient fact the Isabella nearly executed her father. A lazy ending to a lazy script. No lessons learned. When the playwright said, “enjoy MUGRE,” (dirt) he meant it literally.
S A N D I E G O A S S O C I AT I O N O F B L A C K J O U R N A L I S T S A C T I V I S T J I M T R O T T E R C H A L L E N G E S N F L
SPORTS Campus Sports • Features • Alternative Sports
CHULA VISTA SPORTS WRITER SUING THE NFL BY JULIO RODRIGUEZ
A serious fight looms. Former San Diego Tribune journalist Jim Trotter is taking on the NFL. Chula Vista’s Trotter has filed a 53-page complaint in federal court against the NFL, alleging discriminatory and racist practices against people of color. He said he intends to shed light on practices at the NFL Newsroom, where Trotter worked before asking Commissioner Roger Goodell one too many questions about racial inequalities at a press conference during the run up to the 2023 Super Bowl. Trotter was fired. It was not his first time challenging the NFL’s racial culture. Though 55 percent of NFL players are black, its leadership is overwhelmingly white. In August 2020 Trotter was taunted at the NFL’s annual Hall of Fame exhibition game by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Trotter was speaking to Cowboys Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay about the lack of players being drafted from HBCUs and the lack of people of color in decision making positions. Jones butted in, stating that players already received a large JIM percentage of the league’s revenue. TROTTER “If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire,” Jones said. In October 2021 Trotter was preparing to go on the television program “NFL Now” to discuss the Jon Gruden scandal. Gruden had sent multiple emails filled with racial, homophobic and misogynistic content. Trotter also wanted to discuss Jones’ remark. Trotter notified his direct supervisor, Ali Bhanphuri, director of NFL Media, that he intended to discuss Jones on air. Bhanphuri then notified his boss, Todd Sperry. Sperry directed Mr. Trotter via text to, “refrain from discussing Jerry Jones until you, me and Ali have had a chance to discuss. Ali and I were discussing and wondering if there’s any additional context around that quote?” Trotter did not report on Mr. Jones’ quote, but he did not agree with the decision. Shortly after the Gruden incident, an email was sent out companywide from the NFL’s HR department. It said the NFL takes its values seriously and that HR leadership is ready to support them. Nothing was done. Trotter left ESPN to join the NFL Media team in 2018, under the condition that he could report on player activism. He said he was assured he could pursue what he wanted to cover. After two years with the NFL, Trotter signed a three-year contract extension through March 2023. After signing the contract, Trotter said he began to notice things he had not seen before. He noticed the lack of black people in the NFL Media newsroom and in decision making positions. He began to make inquiries about the number of black people working in the NFL. Data Trotter collected demonstrated that the NFL lacked diversity. Only two Black people worked as in executive vice presidents. Total Black employees in league offices in New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles was just 8 percent. John Marvel, his supervisor, agreed, but he and Trotter seemed to be in the minority. Marvel reminded Trotter that NFL Media reports to the league office. He urged his friend Trotter to tread lightly. In June of 2021 Marvel was fired and replaced with Bhanphuri. Trotter said he lost his ally. Bhanphuri directed Trotter not to report on racial issues in the NFL. Trotter challenged NFL Executive Vice President Dasha Smith to hire a black manager for the news desk. Smith was not happy. “Yes Jim,” wrote. “You regularly make us aware of this. Hopefully you won’t have to ask any more in the next year.” Two months later Smith asked Trotter if he was “in alignment” with the newsroom. Trotter said he was committed to his job, but not in alignment with newsroom racial practices. “Yeah, Yeah, what I thought,” she replied. “That’s what I thought. You know, it’s tough to go against corporate headwinds. Sometimes you have to compromise. Sometimes you have to pay the mortgage.” Trotter’s contract was not renewed. The NFL released a statement regarding Trotter’s lawsuit: “We share Jim Trotter’s passion for quality Journalism created and supported by a diverse and inclusive environment. We take his concern seriously, but strongly dispute his specific allegations, particularly those made against his dedicated colleagues at NFL Media.” Trotter awaits his day in court.
FIRM “We are going to see more fruit.” LYNETTE ZECKUA, Cross-country coach
FOOTING
Photo Courtesy of SC Jaguars
PLAYING CATCHUP— Southwestern’s offense has struggled to stay on the field and the exhausted defense has paid the price.
TOUGH YEAR ON THE GRID Back-to-back blowouts contribute to a season of woes for football team BY JULIO RODRIGUEZ
Photos Courtesy of SC Jaguars
REBUILDING X-COUNTRY TEAM RACING TOWARD FAST IMPROVEMENT BY ZEKE WATSON
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outhwestern College’s Cross-Country program punches above its weight. It has a history of championships—12 by women, 15 by men. It also has the best graduation rate on campus and has sent scores of runners to elite universities. Head Coach Lynette Zeckua said this year’s team is strong. “Getting better, getting better, getting better,” she said. “Visualize the goal you want to reach and then work for that goal because it’s not going to come easy.” SC women and men place placed fourth at the San Diego XC Kickoff, and the women grabbed third in the Coach Downey XC Classic Women’s 5k, scoring 92 points in a total time of 2:07:48. Rasilia Thomas led the way and placed 21st in 24:37.5. Sofia Fajardo was 23rd in 24:56.4. Jeffrey Salinas clocked in a 23:23.1, taking sixth overall among men. “One thing I’ve gained from racing so much is I’ve learned to put 100 percent of my effort into a race,” Salinas said. “We all run the same course. I try to pretend I am not that tired so when teammates see me, they can believe ‘he’s just like me, I can do it too.’” Second-year runners set an example for the new runners in the program, said Thomas, a first-year athlete. They also provide knowledge of courses. “The sophomores help us when it comes to races they had done last year,” said Thomas. “What to look out for, what to be prepared for, what to train for and what to stretch for.” The 2022 Cross-Country team had only seven athletes, with just three returning for 2023. Zeckua said she is optimistic about the program’s future now that she has 14 new runners. “This is a new team,” she said. “There are only three sophomores. Everybody else is a freshman. This is the first year. In our second year we are going to see more fruit.” Nov. 3 will start the postseason, which begins with the SoCal Regionals.
Jim Trotter Photo Courtesy of ESPN
The Southwestern College Sun
FAST COMPANY— Cross-country standout Jeffrey Salinas leads the men’s squad in what has been a promising rebuilding year. An influx of freshman are making their coach optimistic about a return for the championships.
Just when things were bad, they got worse. In the battle of fierce felines, the Saddleback College Bobcats mauled the Jaguars, 53-3. The previous week’s match was also a blowout loss at Long Beach, 65 - 14. Southwestern started well, stopping the Bobcats run game early, forcing a three and out. It did not last. The offensive line collapsed on a crucial third and nine. Saddleback Linebacker Enrique Amposta came around the edge and sacked SC quarterback Aleks Wojcik, forcing a punt. Saddleback’s offense picked apart the Jaguars defense with both run and pass. They struck first with a 42yard pass from QB Trey Kukuk to WR Marques Carillo Edgar. With 30 seconds left in the first, the Jags ran a sweep to wide receiver Jovahn Young. He was pushed out and nearly dragged to the ground by his collar at Saddleback’s 44-yard line. In frustration Young pushed Saddleback linebacker Tristian McMurphy into the small metal fence behind the Jags bench. Both players in the heat of the moment butted heads and squared up. Refs immediately threw flags and separated the sides. The play brought back 15 yards due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Young. All SC momentum evaporated. A leaky offensive line left Wojcik little time for anything to develop down field. Same with the run. The defense just let Saddleback get whatever it wanted. As things became for Southwestern there was more unwelcome news. With 11:32 left in the game Jags defensive tackle Keon Jackson was carried off the field with a lower leg injury. Next defensive end Andrew Sola went down with an apparent ankle injury. A tough season limps along. October 30, 2023 / Issue 1
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BACK PAGE Voices In Our Communities
n DAY OF THE DEAD
HONORING THE DEARLY DEPARTED BY EMILY ESPARZA
M
exico and much of Latin America is covered with marigolds to guide their dead home during the first two days of November. Día de los Muertos is a way for families to honor and remember those who have gone before. An amalgamation of pre-Hispanic and Catholic traditions, this celebration was inducted by UNESCO in 2008. The holiday is a reminder that life is eternal, and the presence of loved ones is everlasting. An altar and ofrendas (offerings) are essential. Families decorate altars with photos of their deceased and put out their favorite food and drinks. Adorned with sugar skulls, flores de cempasúchil, and papel picado, altars are a vibrant and joyful celebration of life. “People look at death as something negative,” said Assistant Professor Angelica Gonzalez. Southwestern student Ariana Tapia said Dia de los Muertos is the exact opposite. “Death is real and even though our loved ones are no longer here, we can reconnect and remember them with happiness,” she said.
PHOTO BY EMILY ESPARZA
PHOTO BY EMILY ESPARZA
PHOTO BY EMILY ESPARZA
PHOTO BY EMILY ESPARZA
PHOTO BY EMILY ESPARZA
SKELETONS AT THE FEAST—Altars and displays of colorful Dia de los Muertos art blossomed in Old Town and cemeteries across the region. 8
October 30, 2023 / Issue 1
PHOTO BY EMILY ESPARZA
The Southwestern College Sun
PHOTO BY EMILY ESPARZA
AN ACP HALL OF FAME NEWSPAPER
OCTOBER 30, 2023 / ISSUE 1
A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER SPECIAL SECTION
Special Section
‘Deportee’ at 75
Photo Courtesy of Tim Hernandez
RELENTLESS EFFORT TO LOCATE FAMILIES—Author Tim Z. Hernandez (right) stands with descendants of the Mexican laborers killed in the 1948 plane crash near Los Gatos Canyon. Since 2010, Hernandez has located the families of at least 13 of the 28 Mexican passengers on board the DC-3 plane that crashed in the Diablo Range, 20 miles west of Coalinga, California.
WO O DY GU T H R I E’S L A ST S O N G T R A NS C E N D S T I M E A S A C L A R I O N C A L L FO R H U M A N D E C E N C Y
‘DEPORTEE’ STILL HAUNTS AMERICA This is a large scale ongoing project that involves numerous collaborators and entities, in both the United States and Mexico. Since 2010, I have been dedicated to researching and locating the families of the victims of all 32 passengers killed in the famous 1948 plane wreck at Los Gatos Canyon. TIM Z. HERNANDEZ The Plane Crash Project
Racist radiocast inspires America’s troubadour to call out mistreatment and degradation of Mexican farmworkers in one of history’s greatest protest songs BY NICOLETTE MONIQUE LUNA
The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting The oranges piled up in their creosote dumps They’re flying them back to the Mexican border To pay all their money to wade back again
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oody Guthrie was pissed. Ravaged by the early stages of the Huntington’s disease that would paralyze and kill him 20 years later, America’s most famous songwriter of the first half of the 20th century could no longer play his famous Gibson Southern Jumbo guitar labeled with the rebel decree “This machine kills fascists.” But what he heard on the radio fired him to write one last great lyric. Puttering around his Long Island, New York home in January 1948 Guthrie heard a bulletin on the morning news. “Story out of California,” he recalled the announcer saying. “A plane crash near Los Gatos killed 32 people. It ain’t as bad as it sounds, though, because mostly they were just deportees.” Infuriated, Guthrie grabbed paper and pen. His hands were shaking from a mix of rage and Huntington’s, but he scratched out a lyric that today is considered one of the most important protest songs ever written and a composition that has been recorded hundreds of times by the likes of Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, The Byrds, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Odetta, Dolly Parton, Cisco Houston, Hoyt Axton and Peter, Paul and Mary, among many others, including Woody’s son Arlo Guthrie. There, on his kitchen table, Guthrie’s rage became a poetic masterpiece. Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye Rosalita Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria You won’t have a name when you ride the big airplane All they will call you will be deportees Some of the bodies of the bracero-era farmworkers were returned in pine coffins to their grieving families in Mexico, but most were buried in a mass grave near DEPORTEES • PG B4
Photo Courtesy of Tim Z. Hernandez
Photo Courtesy of The Wenatchee World
‘ALL THEY WILL CALL YOU WILL BE DEPORTEES’—(top) A mass funeral at Fresno’s Holy Cross Cemetery for 26 of the 28 Mexican braceros who died in a January 28, 1948 plane crash in the Los Gatos hills near Coalinga. Many of the caskets were empty because the bodies were obliterated in the crash. (above) This marker at Holy Cross Cemetery was replaced by a monument in 2023 with the names of all the Mexican citizens who died in the plane crash.
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The Southwestern College Sun
SPECIAL SECTION
NAMELESS NO MORE—Professor Tim Hernandez (r) has spent decades researching the tragic 1948 crash of a plane returning braceros to Mexico. “The fireball of lightning that shook all our hills” killed 32. Many of the victims names were unknown when the bodies were originally buried in a mass grave near Fresno. Hernandez and Jaime Ramirez, whose grandfather Ramon Gonzalez and great uncle Guadalupe Ramirez Lara died in the crash, lift a serape from a new memorial that includes all the names.
The Southwestern College Sun
October 30, 2023 / Issue 1
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SPECIAL SECTION
DEPORTEES • CONT FROM PG B1
Photo Courtesy of Tim Z. Hernandez
Fresno, according to Tim Z. Hernandez’ seminal study “All They Will Call You.” Newspapers in Fresno County did finally start to put names to the victims and locals made makeshift memorials, but the victims of the plane wreck at Los Gatos largely disappeared from the national conversation. Folk music legend Pete Seeger, Guthrie’s long-time pal and former bandmate in The Almanac singers, was the first to perform “Deportee: Plane Wreck at Los Gatos.” He did so as a chant accompanied by his banjo plunking out a sad melody in a largely improvised attempt to get Woody’s message out to sympathetic audiences. Guthrie, the master tunesmith, could no long play his guitar and struggled to sing. Even half-finished, “Deportee” started to stir emotions. Cesar Chavez was pissed. The young U.S. Navy veteran who had begun his service to farmworkers shortly after World War II, read the lyrics and was further inspired to advocate on behalf of Mexican and Filipino farmworkers, people like himself and his family. He would have a second life-changing encounter with “Deportee” about a decade later. My father’s own father, he waded that river They took all the money he made in his life My brothers and sisters come working the fruit trees They rode on the trucks ‘til they took down and died
TO FALL LIKE DRY LEAVES—Woody Guthrie, the legendary Oklahoma singer-songwriter, traveled America as a young man jumping on to moving trains. He spent time in California’s Central Valley picking fruit with Mexican and Filipino farmworkers. He developed many friendships and a lifelong affinity for agricultural workers. He was infuriated by the racist radio broadcast announcing the plane crash at Los Gatos.
Photo Courtesy of Tim Z. Hernandez
Some of us are illegal and some are not wanted Our work contract’s out and we have to move on 600 miles to that Mexican border They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves
Photo Courtesy of Tim Z. Hernandez
Photos Courtesy of Tim Z. Hernandez
Photo Courtesy of Tim Z. Hernandez
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Martin Hoffman was intrigued. As a Colorado university student he had attended a performance by Seeger that included his chant version of “Deportee.” He decided such a stirring lyric needed a melody. Years later, in 1958, while he was working as a high school teacher in California, Hoffman came up with a simple yet beautiful melody in ranchero waltz time that gave wings to Guthrie’s angry poem. Seeger loved it. So did Guthrie. Legions of folk and rock musicians came to love “Deportee,” too.
The Southwestern College Sun
Guthrie grew up in Oklahoma during the disastrous Dust Bowl years and, like the deportees in his poem, led a vagabond life looking for work and trying to survive. He played piano and guitar in bars and clubs when he could get a gig, but he also harvested wheat in Texas and the Midwest as well as fruit in California’s Central Valley. He learned passable Spanish and grew fond of the hardworking migrants who selflessly labored to provide for their families. “Jest about the most noble folks I’ve ever seed,” Guthrie wrote in his intentionally Oklahoman lexicon. He soon got his first real break performing his songs on the radio in Los Angeles and recording deals followed. Guthrie’s train-hopping travels informed his classics like “This Land is Your Land,” “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know You,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Billy the Kid,” “Jesus Christ,” “Pretty Boy Floyd,” “Philadelphia Lawyer” and many others. Bob Dylan has been called America’s greatest songwriter, but he declines the title and insists Woody Guthrie was “a God-given gift to everyone.” Guthrie whisperer Cisco Houston took the first crack at recording a radio version of “Deportee” and in 1961 the song began to get airplay in pockets across the nation. We died in you hills, we died in your deserts We died in your valleys and died on your plains We died ‘neath your trees and we died in your bushes Both sides of the river we died just the same
Cesar Chavez was tired. In 1961 he worked as a labor organizer who encouraged Mexican-Americans (as Latinos were most commonly referred as in that time) to vote. He had scratched his way out of the strawberry and lettuce fields into the middle class and had a home in San Jose. Like many revolutionaries, Chavez had his moments of doubt and bouts of exhaustion. His grandchildren— including granddaughter Christina who attended Southwestern College— said “Deportee” changed the course of his life. Christina Chavez said her grandfather did what so many Americans do when they hear a compelling new song on their car radio—he stopped in his driveway with the motor running and the radio playing Cisco Houston’s recording of “Deportee.” It was a seminal moment that led to his decision to double down on his work on behalf of migrants and form the precursor of the United Farm Workers union. “It shook him up,” she said. “Right to his core.” The sky plan caught fire over Los Gatos canyon A fireball of lightening that shook all our hills Who are these friends, all scattered like dry leaves? The radio said they are just deportees Houston’s recording launched a thousand ships—more accurately, a thousand versions of “Deportee: Plane Wreck at Los Gatos.” Folk, country and rock stars from each generation have kept the song and its message alive for 75 years. Human rights leader Enrique Morones said it is one of the greatest and most important songs ever written. “There are a lot of great protest songs, but none more stirring than ‘Deportee,’” he said. “This is the 75th anniversary of a song that is still recorded and performed by renowned musicians. That is a testament to its value and its staying power.” Southwestern College Professor of Mexican-American Studies Dr. Gerardo Rios said the song “hits home” for him because he has family members who have been mistreated laborers. “For a long time Mexican-Americans were seen as disposable in American society,” he said. “Woody Guthrie captured that and brought that message to a broader audience. Workers were not seen as braceros, but were called deportees in a degrading manner. Their names did not matter. They were people who did not matter.” Rios said artists have special power and an obligation to use it well. “The song brought the experience of my family to others in very concrete terms,” he said. “It says ‘we’re flying you back to the border.’ Now we need you, now we don’t.” “Deportee” has enlightened listeners for three quarters of a century, Rios said. “It gives exposure to the horrific treatment of Mexicans and migrant workers that is still the situation today,” he said. “I think the song keeps alive a critical American reality that migrant labor is the backbone of our economy.” Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards? Is this the best way we can grow our good fruit? To fall like dry leaves and to rot on the topsoil And be called by no name except deportees? Morones said Woody Guthrie and Martin Hoffman are still working their artistic magic from their perches in Heaven. “I recent years I’ve heard ‘Deportee’ in ‘La Pastorela’ at the Globe Theater and on KPBS,” he said. “The great Chunky Sanchez used to sing it at Chicano Park. Those 28 farm workers are martyrs whose tragic stories caused many thousands of people to think about the way we treat migrant labor in the United States and around the world. That’s the power of music.”