Hispanic Culture in

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Hispanic CUlture in

east side

Hispanic CUlture in east side

A visual look into Hispanic culture in East Side, AustinDesign and Photographs by Lisa Rodriguez

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Celebration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colophon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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CONTENTSby the pages

intro

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East Cesar Chavez is 1st street East of IH-35 and is bounded to the North by East 6th street and to the

South by Holly Street. In 1993 1st Street was renamed East Cesar Chavez Street to honor the union organizer and Hispanic rights activist who died in April of that year. It is a historic community heavily influenced by the Mexican culture as it served as an outlet for Austin’s growth, housing many migrants to the area. Currently, East Cesar Chavez is a predominantly Hispanic community with a population of which 78% is Hispanic. The many images in this book were found and shot from the walls and buildings in the East Side area, and mostly from Cesar Chavez Street.These images resemeble the past and present life and rich culture of hispanics living in East Side, Austin.

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MAPof east austin

N Main Roads

Minor Roads

E Cesar Chavez

Willow St

E 2nd St

E 3rd St

35 In

terst

ate

E 3rd St

Red

Rive

r St

N P

leasa

nt V

alley

Rd

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CESARchavez

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Cesar’s dream was to organize a union that would protect and serve the farm workers whose poverty

and powerlessness he had shared. For years, he read everything he could find on farm worker and other unions. He talked to everyone he met who participated in field strikes. The coming years would bring much more adversity: Strikes and boycotts, marches and fasts, victories and defeats. But through it all, Cesar learned and taught others how commitment and sacrifice can set you free from the constraints imposed by depending entirely on money and material things. Cesar’s motto “Si se puede!” (“Yes, it can be done!”), coined during his 1972 fast in Arizona’s mbodies the uncommon legacy he left for people around the world. Since his death, hundreds of communities across the nation have named schools, parks, streets, libraries, and other public facilities as well as awards and scholarships in his honor. His birthday, March 31, is an official holiday in 10 states.

Renowned labor leader César Estrada Chávez was raised in a poor family that lost its farm during

the Depression and was forced into migrant farm labor when Chávez was only ten years old. As a boy Chávez had little time for school or leisure activities, and he frequently experienced racial prejudice because of his Mexican American heritage. Despite this, Chávez rose to become a gifted leader and organizer who inspired thousands of people to better their lives. During the 1960s he founded the United Farm Workers, an organization that led its members in the fight for improved working conditions. A true American hero, Cesar was a civil rights, Latino and farm labor leader; a genuinely religious and spiritual figure; a community organizer and social entrepreneur; a champion of militant nonviolent social change; and a crusader for the environment and consumer rights.

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He showed the farm workers they could win against great odds, even if they were poor and weren’t

able to go to school. By giving people faith helping them believe in themselves Cesar succeeded where so many others failed for 100 years to organize farm workers. That is why he was able to do the impossible by challenging, and overcoming, the awesome power of one of California’s richest industries. Cesar Chavez’s common man with an uncommon vision stood for equality, justice, and dignity for all Americans. His universal principles remain as relevant and inspiring today for all people as they were when he was alive.

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History

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WORKERSand hard labor

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Yet, Cesar’s dream was to organize a union that would protect and serve the farm workers whose

poverty and powerlessness he had shared. For years, he read everything he could find on farm worker and other unions. He talked to everyone he met who participated in field strikes.

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ENOUGHis enough

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Cesar Chavez knew the history of farm worker organizing was one sad story after another of

broken unions and strikes crushed by violence. He knew that for 100 years many others with much better educations and more resources than he possessed had tried, and failed, to organize farm workers. He knew the experts said organizing farm workers was impossible. The coming years would bring much more adversity: Strikes and boycotts, marches and fasts, victories and defeats. But through it all, Cesar learned and taught others how commitment and sacrifice can set you free from the constraints imposed by depending entirely on money and material things. Over four decades, Cesar saw his share of defeats, but also historic victories. Under Cesar, the UFW achieved unprecedented gains for farm workers, establishing it as the first successful farm workers union in American history.

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JUsticeat last

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He showed the farm workers they could win against great odds, even if they were poor and weren’t

able to go to school. By giving people faith helping them believe in themselves Cesar succeeded where so many others failed for 100 years to organize farm workers. That is why he was able to do the impossible by challenging, and overcoming, the awesome power of one of California’s richest industries. Cesar Chavez’s common man with an uncommon vision stood for equality, justice, and dignity for all Americans. His universal principles remain as relevant and inspiring today for all people as they were when he was alive.

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Religion

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Catholicchurches

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Hispanic Religion has been a phrase that equates to Roman Catholic faith among most Hispanics.

We grew up practicing many of the typical Roman Catholic traditions and attending mass on Sundays. Religion has played a very important role among Latinos for many years, shaping us and guiding our views and way of living. When Spain and Portugal conquered the new world they were determined to spread the Catholic faith no matter what the religious practices were in the new territories. Religious transculturation happened from the mix of Catholicism and the indigenous religious practices.

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Religious transculturation simply means that “elements of the conquerors saints and beliefs

intermingled with the rituals and world views of the conquered,” as it is mentioned in the “Latino History and Culture” publication by Harper Collins in the chapter about religion. Transculturation gave us an incredible variety of celebrations, rituals, and physical representations of the elements of the Catholic religion like Jesus, the cross, the saints, the novenas, and rituals in general.

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MARYvirgin mother

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The most important icon of Mexican national culture is the Virgin of Guadalupe, which

illustrates the pervasive influence of Roman Catholicism in the national culture. She is viewed as the “mother” of all Mexicans. The dark-skinned Virgin is the Mexican version of the Virgin Mary and as such represents national identity as the product of the mixing of European and Meso-American religions and peoples. Her image was used in the struggle for independence against the Spanish. Mary the Virgin Mother is an importanat religious idol for many Hispanics in East Austin. Her face is drawn on many walls. On December 8th many Catholics including Hispanics celebrate this holy day. The most popular virgins in Hispanic religion are: La Virgen de Guadalupe, Our Lady of fatima or Virgen de Fátima, and The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception or Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción.

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buildings

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HOMEsweet home

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In Mexico (not the only colorful country, but it’s the one I know best,) color runs rampant. There

are just as many pink or green houses as white ones. There are even houses painted all three of those colors! Color is everywhere, even the normally boring plastic housewares are a riot of pink, purple, orange, red, blue, yellow and green. I read somewhere that this flagrant use of color in Mexico started as a way of living closer to God. “Let go and let God,” if you will. It’s a letting go of control over your environment, an act of recognizing that existence is, ultimately, out of our hands. The wonderful colors found everywhere in Mexican society are a natural extension of their whole cultural attitude of freedom and taking chances.

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WALLSvibrant

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Mexican home décor is characterized by bright and bold colors using the traditional tones of

reds, blues and greens as well as yellows and oranges. A Mexican home décor typically includes the use of both religious aspects and southwestern style design aspects in conjunction with these very bold colors for a look that is inviting and warm. Behr paint colors can be used to give your home a Mexican style look and feel with just a few gallons of paint. Here are the top Behr paint colors for a Mexican home décor that will coordinate with the common tones of Mexican folk art and impressionistic style.

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CelebratE

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DANCINGand music

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A modern Mariachi group will include violins, trumpets, guitars, a vihuela, and a guitarron.

The vihuela and the guitarron give the group its distinct sound. The vihuela is a variation of a small guitar with a belly in the back and five treble strings. The guitarron resembles a large bass guitar, and also has a belly in the back. It has six strings tuned within an octave and a half range, and is the heart of the Mariachi ensemble. The standard Mariachi costume for performing is known as “charro” or Mexican cowboy. Ankle boots, sombrero, mono or large bow tie, short jacket, snug trousers without back pockets and shiny buttons along the side, and a wide belt define the outfit. Some groups however choose to appear in traditional regional costumes. In Mexico, traditionally only males are allowed to be part of a Mariachi ensemble, but in the United States women are increasingly performing in Mariachi bands.

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The various Folklorico dances represent the different geographical regions in Mexico

from which they originate. For example, Jalisco, located west of Mexico City, is considered to be the land of beautiful women, charros, and birthplace of Mariachi music. Jalisco dances are those of courtship, while, Veracruz, the oldest city along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, mixes Spanish, African and Carribean rhythms. Its dances contain diverse steps or “zapateados” with flamenco characteristics. Regardless of the region represented, colorful, flamboyant costuming is part of every performance. As with Mariachi, Folklorico groups can now be found throughout the United States.

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PINATASand parties

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Piñatas stores are all around East Side and especially on Cesar Chavez. A piñata is defined as a play

thing that’s essentially made like a container with materials like cardboard or papier mache. Originally Indigenous people used clay to make it. Today piñatas are filled with toys, candy, trinkets, or jewelry. What makes it so fun to have a piñata at a party or festival is that, it is suspended from a high place and partygoers are blindfolded as they try to hit the piñata with sticks trying to break it open.

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It’s a popular belief that piñatas originated in Hispanic culture among the Mayans, Aztecs and

natives of Mexico. In the olden times, it has been said that on the birthday of Huitzilopochitli, the Aztec god of war, priests hung a clay pot from one of the temple’s poles. The pot was decorated with feathers and inside the pot were colorful stones, nuts, bead ornaments, painted stones or berries. After breaking the pot with a stick, the contents spilled on the feet of the image of the god representing an offering. Today, there are Spanish Christmas piñatas, Hispanic wedding couple piñatas and many other piñata ideas. It’s easy for people to obtain the perfect paper mache piñata for an event, and if you like piñatas to be part of the excitement at any party you host, you can learn about how to make a piñata.

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LOTERIASpanish bingo

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Loteria is a popular game in Hispanic culture. It is similar to Bingo. You have a card with pictures

and try to make a horiztonal or vertical lines or in some sort of group. On the next page there is a wall with Loteria drawn on it. Hispanic pictures La Loteria simply reminds us of how different we are even though we are all from Spanish speaking countries.

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For the most part we understand each other is Spanish, but dialects are everywhere. In Puerto

Rico, Loteria is a lottery ticket sold weekly for fifty cents. The low-ticket price makes it affordable to play with a chance of winning big money prizes. It’s an exciting weekly event. In Mexico, Loteria is a board game. One must bring attention to one difference among Latin American cultures. That is of the numerous languages and dialects that exist. Often necessitating to asking another Latino to explain what a certain Spanish word means.

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Food

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FOODSand flavor

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Mexico possesses an extensive and sophisticated culinary culture, with a great variety of regional

dishes. Three products constitute the heart of most Mexican dishes: corn, hot peppers, and beans, products that stem from pre-Columbian times. Corn is consumed in all possible forms: as a cooked or roasted corncob, cooked grain of corn, porridge, as wrapped and steamed dough with filling, but most importantly as a tortilla, a thin, round “pancake.” Tortillas are made from corn dough and come in many sizes, although the traditional tortilla that accompanies most meals has a diameter of approximately six inches. When tortillas are filled with meat or other ingredients they are called tacos or quesadillas, which are especially popular in central Mexico. Much of the sophistication of Mexican cuisine comes from the use of more than one hundred different types of chiles, which range from the large and “sweet” chile ancho to the small and extremely hot chile habanero.

Mexicans generally have a light breakfast of coffee and/or fruit before they leave for work or school.

Halfway through the morning, people may eat a warm tortilla-based snack or a bread roll. The most important meal of the day is served between two and four in the afternoon and consists of three or four courses: soup; rice or pasta; meat or chicken—if affordable—accompanied by tortillas and refried beans; and dessert. Dinner is served between eight and ten at night and consists mainly of sweet rolls, coffee, and milk. Mexicans frequently eat outdoors. Homely restaurants serve inexpensive fixed menus known as comida corrida . Mexicans drink huge quantities of soft drinks and beer. Although the national liquor is tequila, which is produced from the maguey cactus, Mexicans prefer rum with cola during weddings and other celebrations, or fiestas.

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The almost mythical “paleta man” — the guy who strolls down the streets and highways with a little

cart full of popsicles, ringing a bell — has become a fixture in this country. His image, I think, puts a face on the struggle of new immigrants to the U.S. Start with nothing, do some very hard work and barely scrape by. Turns out that in 1993, the Delicias de Jalisco corporation had a sweet thing going it selling its products through largely undocumented Mexican immigrants throughout Northern California. The worker had to pay $2.00 a day for the pushcart and ice, and kept only 33 cents of every 75 cent popsicle sold. After working for eight hours in the hot sun, and pushing the cart for five miles, the street peddler on a good day would make $40.00. Arturo, the immigrant whose daily activities are described in the book, could make $200 a week, as much as he was making working for a non-union janitorial company.

East side has many delicious food trailers thourhgouts its streets. many are alon Cesar

Chavez road. There are many popular mexicano food and taco trailers. Each trailer has its own personality and style and way of making their food different than the others. Some of these tasty Mexican trailers include Tacos Selene, Beso de Luna El Pollo Rey, Taco N’ Madre, Veracruz All Natural, Luaus. Two of the east side trailers are pictured above: Tacos el sol de mexico and Las Transas Tortas Quesadillas Burriots. People can soak in the warm Texas sun and sit outside at these food trailer areas. Its great authemtic Mexican food served quick and easily.

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The easiest way to enjoy some of East Austin’s cultural offerings is to order it for breakfast,

lunch or dinner. A trip to Juan in a Million is a must. Make sure to shake the hand of owner Juan Meza, who, along with his monster-sized Don Juan breakfast taco, is an Austin legend. Juan in a Million has been serving traditional Mexican food served up daily in Austin, Texas since 1980. Mexican cuisine has its roots in native and Spanish traditions. Rich and rustic, flavors borne from this background create dishes worth celebrating. For 30 years, Juan In A Million has blended unique, authentic and creative food with great service and atmosphere. Enjoy our colorful food, warm service, and quality spirits.service and atmosphere.

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colophon Text byCesar Chavez Foundation. “About Cesar.” Website. 2012Countries and Their Cultures. “Mexico.” Website.Evaluating Community Technology Centers. Website. 2002.Gale Cengage Leaning.“Hispanic American Biography: Cesar Chavez.” Website. 1998Hispanic Culture Online. Website. 2012VivirLatino. “The Paleta Man’s Life is not an easy one.” Website. 2006

Design and Photographs byLisa Rodriguez

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