Thread: Chicano Park Reflects Immigration Debate

For those of you who don't know, Chicano Park is in Barrio Logan just outside of downtown San Diego and adjacent to the Coronado Bay Bridge. For photos of Chicano Park that the media would prefer you not see--including racist Aztlan propaganda as graffiti that has been around Chicano Park for years--check out this site, too.
http://medcarta.us/chicanopark/images.aspx

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/m...23chicano.html


Chicano Park reflects immigration debate
By Leslie Berestein
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 23, 2006


After marches, Latinos eye loftier destination

Standing near the stage yesterday at the Chicano Park Day festival in Barrio Logan, Alejandra Fernandez had a message daintily written in purple marker on the back of her white T-shirt: “1ro de Mayo Boycott,” or May 1st Boycott.

It was one of the subtle ways in which yesterday's festival, the 36th annual celebration at the park commemorating its founding, carried political undertones related to the ongoing national immigration debate, and the recent wave of activism seen among immigrants and their supporters in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.


JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune
Chris Ramirez hoisted his 2-year-old son, Davian Burjón, for a look inside a bouncing 1964 Chevy Impala lowrider owned by Javier Mora that was on display yesterday during the annual Chicano Park Day festival in Barrio Logan.
Most of the festival was business as usual, with families enjoying a day in the park amid live bands and Mexican food booths, watching a performance of Aztec dancers and gawking at the elaborate lowriders on display.

But in keeping with the current political climate, speakers yesterday addressed immigration legislation proposed in Congress, voter registration volunteers said they were signing up more voters than usual, and pro-immigrant T-shirts were popular items at vendor stalls.

Fernandez, 22, a City College student and window factory employee, said she plans to participate in a nationwide economic boycott May 1 that is intended to demonstrate the influence of Latinos and other immigrants on the U.S. economy. Organizers are asking participants to refrain from spending money and to stay home from work and school.

Aspects of the planned boycott have drawn criticism from some church and labor leaders, who disagree with the idea of participants skipping work and school. Fernandez, a Tijuana native who has lived in San Diego for a decade, said she plans to call in sick nonetheless.

“People will notice that we are workers, so they don't keep accusing us of coming here to claim welfare,” she said. “We want them to notice that.”

Speakers paid tribute to the late Chicano civil rights leader Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, whose family traveled from Denver to attend, and to longtime Chicano Park Steering Committee member Marco Anguiano.

Between the eulogies, immigration reform was also a topic. Speaking from the park's pyramid-shaped kiosco stage, longtime local activist David Rico criticized a House of Representatives bill passed in December that would make it a felony to enter the country illegally, now a civil offense, and would make it a crime to assist undocumented immigrants.

“They want us to become criminals just for helping our own people,” said Rico, president of the local Brown Berets de Aztlan, a Chicano militant organization rooted in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Near the stage at a voter registration booth, volunteers said they were signing up more people than they usually do at the annual event, including many first-time voters. About 50 had been signed up by 1 p.m.

“We're getting mostly people who have never signed up, like in their 40s,” said Carmen Lopez, a voter outreach coordinator for San Diego County.

Lopez said she had heard many express frustration with the immigration debate.

“Finally they are getting it, realizing they have to vote,” Lopez said.

Several vendor booths carried T-shirts with pro-immigrant slogans. While this isn't an entirely new phenomenon, Alejandra Frias of Deep Blue Graphix of Los Angeles said several new styles with political messages were selling especially well, including a shirt the company introduced last week reading, “Soy Inmigrante, No Terrorista” (I'm an immigrant, not a terrorist).

“We're selling lots of T-shirts with the same theme,” Frias said.

Fernandez, with her homemade T-shirt supporting the boycott, agreed with the kind of message found on many of the professionally printed ones.

“They aren't going to catch terrorists working in factories,” she said.

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Leslie Berestein: (619) 542-4579; leslie.berestein@uniontrib.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day


Excerpt from article

May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups. In the 20th century, the holiday received the official endorsement of the Soviet Union; celebrations in communist countries during the Cold War era often consisted of large military parades and shows of common people in support of the government.