De Nosotros, Con Amor

de nosotros, con
amor
Volume 49 Issue 3

table of
contents
Table of Contents
2
3
Editor’s Note
Love Languages: A
Practical Guide
Nayeli Velarde
16
17
21
The Throwback Playlist
Roma
Emilia Acevedo
Wash Me
Destiny Diaz
5
7
12
13
Beneath the Avocado
Tree
Andrew Valdovinos
Groundbreaking Women
Espy de La O
Mi Niña
Angie Santos
Nostalgia de Novelas:
Re-evaluating How We
See Novelas
Jonathan Valenzuela
23
27
31
32
35
Hace Años
Jennifer Rosario Arriaga
Tijuana
Claudia Ledesma Rodriguez
Coloring Page
Haven Jovel Morales
Senior Spotlight
Staff Page
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Dear Gentista,
This quarter was one where the staff dug
deep and thought of the ways we navigate
amor y el dolor. This has been an ongoing
conversation we’ve held in our meetings
for over a year now. We consistently are
reminded that the things we love are
never simple. The complexities in the
way we love are what make us human.
We thought about our childhood and
how at first glance it is very simple to
look back and feel nostalgic. We tend to
see the past with rose-colored glasses and
quickly forget that our past holds both love
and pain. It is perfectly valid to look back and
praise what we used to love. However, it is also
important to be critical of the things we once
loved. This allows us to move forward and progress
towards relationships that love us more deeply, towards
media that represents us more fairly, and towards self-love that allows us to thrive.
As we close out our 49th year, there are many things to love. We love the way our
founders created a safe space for Chicanx students in the 70s. We love the way past
editors made the important move of expanding the magazine to Latinx students in
general and not just Chicanxs, a move that is critical in creating inclusive spaces. We
love this space because we can consistently critique it and aim to make it better. You
have to love something enough to want to change it towards being a better version
of itself. Future generations have plenty of work ahead. However, we hope that the
passion that lives within our tiny office and virtual calls continues to be the force that
pushes La Gente ahead.
To the staff: you are all “love” if it were personified. Your care and passion in creating
important and valuable content is something that will always be special. It’s been my
greatest pleasure serving as your EIC this year. Entre el amor y el dolor, recuerdo que
el amor y el querer es lo que nos junta.
De nosotros con amor,
Angela Vargas
EIC 2020-2021
2
Editor’s Note

by Nayeli Velarde
As humans we all give and receive love
in different ways. As we navigate through
life and develop personal relationships
with others, understanding how you
prefer to receive love and how the people
around you do is valuable. This is not
meant to be an exhaustive list of how
love languages can manifest, rather it
should be taken as a starting point to
discovering what is right for you and your
relationships.
1. Words of affirmation
Loving someone through words of
affirmation relies on vocalizing how you
feel about them. This can take the form
of encouraging words, compliments, a
written note or telling someone you love
them. The key to loving someone through
words of affirmation is consistency and
being genuine.
A Practical Guide
2. Acts of service
For someone who prefers
acts of service, actions
speak louder than words.
Someone that is loved
through acts of
service enjoys
knowing that
they can rely on
someone. This
can look like doing chores for
them, preparing a meal when they are
sick, or running a bath after a long day.
Being able to be a partner in which
they can rely on is what drives this love
language.
3. Quality Time
Although it may sound self-explanatory,
quality time is not simply spending
time with someone. Rather it is
making whatever time you do have
with them meaningful. This can be
through having active
conversations in which each party
is engaged, setting aside a chunk
3

of uninterrupted time to catch up or
even planning a day trip somewhere. For
people who love through quality time,
making whatever time you spend with
them memorable is very important.
4. Receiving Gifts
This love language often
receives a lot of
judgement because
most people believe that
it is based on material things.
Receiving gifts relies on the
thoughtfulness behind a gift
rather than the amount spent on
something. Some examples include
giving them flowers, going out of the
way to buy them their favorite snack
or remembering something they
mentioned and giving it to them on a
special day. Whatever the gift is, the
person will cherish it and appreciate it
dearly.
5. Physical Touch
Loving someone through physical touch
relies on prioritizing intimacy. People who are
loved through physical touch want to be held.
This can look like giving them a big hug after a
long day, a massage if they are feeling stressed or
holding their hand while walking. Since physical
touch relies on a nonverbal form of intimacy the
key is to love them in this way often. Expressing
your appreciation for someone through their
own love language lets a person feel seen.
Deepen the connections you already have by
learning to love someone in the way they
want to be loved!
Art by Haven Jovel Morales
4

Photo by Andrew Valdovinos
by Andrew Valdovinos
5

To The People I Miss,
Home was the most succulent of
paradoxes. Our mutual silence roamed
throughout the house and deafened my
incoherent thoughts. In a home full of
people, I isolated myself. There was an
inherent distinction between you and
I, a noticeable difference that many
loved to point out. In hindsight, when I
think about our time within the walls of
our duplex, pain wrapped its illustrious
warmth around the silence that created
us; but that summer was different.
Every morning, during summer break,
our days would be spent at Abuelitas.
There was nothing particularly exciting
about our visits. We would arrive, head to
her room while she watched her shows
in the room next to hers, while time
vanished like a shadow in the night. I
remember sedating my mind with video
games and tv shows to evaporate the
pain of existing. In that time between
shows and gaming, I remember peeping
outside the window and seeing the
shadows of trees begin to shift. We had
spent all day inside -- time became
evasive and by the time we realized what
the clock showed us, it was time to leave.
In reflecting on that time, I recall pain
knowing you the most. The way you
always needed to escape from the
confines of home. I remember the color
difference between your shoulder and
your arm-- like pain, the sun knew you
too. The world scared me. The ridicule
at school for my existence being a
burden, indifference created a fear of
unacceptance that was unshakeable —
it seems as though that was a character
trait embedded into our dna. We were
opposing forces existing together.
But I remember that summer under the
avocado tree — it was a time where
I remember we existed outside our
signifiers of othering. Where the pain
drifted away with the cold gust that
swept under the tree and brushed the
sweat on our backs, leaving a cooling
sensation that gave us goosebumps.
Where the tree, with all its might, tried to
shield us from the sun, but the leaves left
too large of gaps to shield us wholly, and
the columed light made its way through
and kissed our skin in warm delight.
That summer was a mental state of
isolation, life became bearable beneath
that tree. The shade offered solace from
the abrasive heat but those pockets of
sunlight kept us tethered to the forces
arounds us, it brought us to reality. The
breeze brushed by our bodies in a wave
of comfort, allowing us to exhale.
I say all of that to say, in a pocket of
remembrance, love persevered. In
a moment of stillness, a memory so
mundane in experience can be profound
in hindsight. Life, then, was unfair,
unkind, and unshakable; Its abrasiveness
was likened to the suns radiating heat,
beating on us unapologetically, it owned
us. Within the umbrella of green leaves
and shadowy valor, in glorious calm
blunder, we existed.
Yours,
in Loving Remembrance
6

groundbreaking
Groundbreaking
womenWomen
by Espy de La O
The impact of revolutionary women throughout history has gone unheard of for far
too long. Their stories are often ignored or pushed into tiny paragraphs within the vast
pages of textbooks. The groundbreaking contributions made by Latinas have a lasting
impact on us in modern times despite the systemic obstacles that actively worked to
hold them back.
Sylvia Rivera
When we think of the 1969 Stonewall
Uprising Marsha P. Johnson often
comes to mind but not many will think
of her close friend and fellow activist
Sylvia Rivera. Johnson and Rivera were
prominent figures of the Stonewall riots
and co-founded the Street Transvestite
Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a street
activist organization that focused on
recognition for trans individuals within
the gay liberation movement and
society as a whole. Rivera spent most
of her life battling for the inclusivity of
gender expression among gay rights
movements. Throughout the 1970s
she constantly quarreled with gay
rights leaders who hesitated to publicly
BESE.
support trans people in their work. She
also fought against the active exclusion
of transgender people from the Sexual
Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in
New York. In 2002 the final bill passed
preventing discrimination “on the basis
of actual or perceived sexual orientation
in employment, housing, public
accommodations, education, credit, and
the exercise of civil rights.” As a Puerto
Rican and Venezuelan American who
was homeless for a good part of her life,
Rivera drew from her experiences of
poverty and racism to create a platform
for both her voice and the voices of
others to widen the marginalized space
that drag queens, homeless youth, and
transgender people were forced into.
Evangelina Rodriguez
Evangelina Rodriguez grew up in the
highly segregated community of San
Pedro De Macoris, Dominican Republic.
She lived with her grandmother and sold
gofio to buy supplies for primary school
at a young age. After completing her
secondary schooling, Rodriguez became
7

Women’s Activism NYC.
the first
woman
in the
Dominican
Republic to
receive her
medical
degree
in 1909.
Choosing
to start
her career
in Ramon
Santana,
for over
a decade Rodriguez treated poor
patients free of charge or for very little
and made available great quantities of
medicine for free. In 1921, she studied
gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics
at the University of Paris. She graduated
in 1925 and returned to the Dominic
Republic where she was able to work
more effectively with her patients by
delivering babies, offering medical
advice, and visiting local prostitutes to
educate and advise them on sexually
transmitted illnesses. In the late 1930s,
Rodriguez was politically active as an
outspoken opponent of the Trujillo
dictatorship and contributed articles
to several journals and newspapers,
including one titled Femina. Throughout
her whole life, she advocated for
women’s suffrage as well as for broad
social and economic reforms.
Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta founded the Agricultural
Workers Association while serving
in the Stockton Community Service
Organization (CSO), where she initiated
voter registration drives and
pressured local governments for barrio
improvements. Upon meeting César
E. Chávez, a colleague that shared the
same desire to organize farmworkers,
resigned from the CSO and in 1962
established the National Farm Workers
Association. In 1963, Huerta secured
Aid For Dependent Families (AFDC) and
disability insurance for farmworkers in
California. She also played an essential
role in the enactment of the Agricultural
Labor Relations Act of 1975, a law that
was the first of its kind in the United
States to grant farmworkers in California
the right to organize to bargain for better
working conditions and wages. Huerta
continues to work tirelessly for those that
are unfamiliar with the benefits they are
entitled to or the laws that protect them,
and as the founder and president of the
Dolores Huerta Foundation, she pursues
social justice by inspiring and organizing
communities in disenfranchised regions
of California.
The Dolores Huerta Foundation.
8

General Photograph Collection/UTSA Libraries Special Collections.
Jovita Idár
From a young age Jovita Idár was
interested in journalism and political
activism due to being inspired by her
father Nicasio Idár; a newspaper editor
and civil rights advocate. While working
for her father’s paper La Crónica,
she wrote articles about racism and
support for the Mexican Revolution.
In 1911, the First Mexican Congress
was organized by Idár and her family
to unify Mexicans across the border
to fight injustice where issues such as
education and economic resources were
often discussed. After the Congress, Idár
turned to write about women’s rights
which led to the founding of La Liga
Feminil Mexicaista in 1911, a feminist
organization that provided education
for Mexican-American students. A few
years later, Idár served as a nurse in
Mexico during the revolution, where she
joined La Cruz Blanca, a group similar to
the Red Cross. After returning to Texas
later that year, she began working at
the El Progreso newspaper and wrote
an article opposing President Wilson’s
decision in sending United States troops
9
to the Southern border. When the United
States Army and Texas Rangers arrived
at the offices of El Progreso because
they disliked what she had written, Idár
refused to let them in and stood in front
of the door. Although they returned later
to shut down El Progreso, Idár continued
to write by returning to La Crónica and
ran the newspaper in 1914 when her
father passed away. After marrying
and moving to San Antonio, Texas, she
fought for equal rights for women in the
Democratic Party in Texas and was an
editor of El Heraldo Cristiano. She was
constantly active in her community,
later starting a free kindergarten for
children and volunteering in a hospital
as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking
patients.
Felisa Rincón de Gautier
Called Doña Fela by the public, Fela
was the mayor of San Juan, Puerto
Rico in 1946 and consequently the first
female mayor of a capital city in the
Americas. Devoted to the public welfare
by improving housing, health, and
employment
for the
residents
of the city,
Doña Fela
was reelected
four
times and
was a wellloved
figure
throughout
Puerto Rico.
An active
advocate
Fundación Felisa Rincón de Gautier.

for women’s
suffrage in
Puerto Rico
and member
of the Liberal
Party, she was
the fifth woman
on the island to
register to vote
and became the
Liberal Party’s
representative
for the
registration of
women. After the defeat of the Liberal
Party in 1936, Doña Fela aided Luis
Muñoz Marín (future governor of Puerto
Rico from 1949-1965) in establishing
the Popular Democratic Party (PPD)
in 1938. In 1940, she was designated
the President of the PPD’s San Juan
Committee and accepted the position as
mayor of San Juan in 1946 after Mayor
Roberto Sánchez Vilella resigned. As
mayor, Doña Fela distributed resources
to poor children, offered legal aid to
low-income residents, and built centers
for the elderly. The San Juan Municipal
Hospital, under her careful renovation,
was the first on the island to receive
full accreditation from the American
Hospital Association, and also laid the
foundations for the founding of the
School of Medicine in 1950. In 1949, she
established “Maternal Schools,” centers
meant for childcare that allowed women
to find careers outside of the household
and that also served as a model for
the federal Head Start program in the
United States. After leaving office, she
remained active in politics by partaking
The Costa Rica Star.
in committees that focused on urban
issues and was the Goodwill Ambassador
to countries across the world.
Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen
For almost all of her life, Figueres has
been involved in activism pertaining
to climate change, sustainable
development and energy, and land
use. Globally recognized as a leader on
climate change, Figueres was elected
Executive Secretary of the United
Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010
to 2016. For those six years, she worked
to reassemble the global climate change
negotiating process which led to the
2015 Paris Agreement (a plan in which
each country must deduce, plan and
continuously report on its contributions
towards reducing global warming). She is
the co-founder of Global Optimism, has
served as chair of the Advisory Board
of The Lancet Countdown: Tracking
Progress on Health and Climate Change,
and is the co-author of the book “The
Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate
Crisis.”
10

El Faro/Fred Ramos.
Claudia Paz y Paz
Claudia Paz y Paz was the first woman to serve as the Attorney General in
Guatemala. She made it her mission to reduce crime, punish criminals, and
ensure that the law guaranteed equality, justice, and peace for all. She worked
as a judge, national consultant to the UN Mission in Guatemala, and founded
the Institute for Comparative Criminal Studies of Guatemala before becoming
Attorney General in 2010. As Attorney General, Paz y Paz immediately began
setting records such as arresting more drug traffickers in the first six months
of her term than in the past ten years, catching five of Guatemala’s ten most
wanted criminals. She also resolved ten times more cases of violence against
women and homicide than under any previous leadership. She improved
evidence analysis by fortifying a crime investigation unit and opened 24-hour
courts so cases of violence against women could be expedited. She went
after high-ranking combatants of the civil war for war crimes and was the first
Guatemalan law enforcement official to do so, succeeding in convicting four of
the soldiers for the 1982 Dos Erres massacre. Believing that all are equal before
the law, Paz y Paz has spent her life demonstrating that justice is possible in her
forceful dismantling of corruption.
11

Photo by Ruth Chincanchan
When I think of you, I see light.
I see a beautiful brown girl
soft black curls,
Golden skin,
And laughter.
When I think of you,
I remember watching cartoons on those bright Saturday mornings,
The food fights and skating on the soapy kitchen floor.
I feel the princess dresses brushing against our legs,
hear the clicking of plastic slippers we wore with confidence.
I see a ferocious leader with a smile full of innocence.
When I picture your eyes, full of hope.
I remember the memories we made together,
the love we had for each other.
And then you left.
You were gone and I was alone.
That once bright light extinguished.
Gone was the hope in our smile and the light in our eyes.
The days full of happy laughter silently faded.
The bliss of our ignorance fleeting.
Life crept in forcing you to hide.
Mi
Niña
by Angie Santos
Experiences aged us
Hateful words scarred us
backhanded comments became insecurities
Discrimination became the norm
But through it all, you stayed
You became our safe haven
You showed me there was strength in emotion
Power in vulnerability
I have found you once again mi niña
And I will love you
Always.
12

Photo by Ruth Chincanchan
by Jonathan Valenzuela
Re-evaluating How We See Novelas
13

The infamous telenovela is a genre that
most Latinos grew up with, whether in
our countries of origin or the United
States with channels such as Univision or
Telemundo. It is a staple that has marked
our lives, as the memories of watching
novelas with our families highlight them
in our minds and give us a rose-tinted
vision of how they are. However, the
harsh reality is that nostalgia blinds us
to the unfortunate truths of telenovelas,
and how they are not the best media for
the Latinx community.
One of my favorite novelas that I
remember watching at a young age is
Teresa, and we all remember iconic
quotes like “Entre ser o no ser, yo soy”
and “Odio ser pobre, lo odio.” This novela
told the story of Teresa, a young lady
wanting to succeed and exit poverty
through whatever means possible, as
it engaged audiences with its longentailing
plot and continues to influence
Latinx generations. However, within
this Mexican novela, we have to look at
the main characters’ representation.
Angelique Boyer, the actress who played
Teresa, is herself French and grew up
in Mexico. Boyer is a white, light-eyed
woman in a country where the majority
of people, 53% according to a study
by the Latin American Public Opinion
Project at Vanderbilt University (LAPOP),
are of mixed-race origins. Sebastian
Rulli, who played the male protagonist,
is an Argentine man with a lighter
complexion and eurocentric features.
Looking outside just the origins of the
protagonists, we must look at the cast
of this and many other novelas, who
tend to be lighter-skinned people while
those who are of darker complexion are
relegated to either playing maids and
staff or villains. One example of this is in
Cuidado con el Ángel, where one of the
only Afro-Latinx characters portrays a
violent villain.
Mexico and Mexican-oriented content
falls behind other Latin American
countries such as Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, and Colombia, all who have more
socially forward content. Argentine
and Chilean television has featured gay
characters much earlier than Mexican
television. The Argentine telenovela
Verano del 98 had a kiss with two men
in a prime-time show in 1999, almost
twenty years before the first prime-time
Mexican show Papá a toda Madre would
in 2017. Colombian telenovelas have
given greater visibility to non-white and
mestizo people, so far as to have Afro-
Latinos being the protagonists of some
shows. One example is with La Mamá del
10, which features an Afro-Colombian
woman as the main protagonist. Not only
that, but the shows in these countries
tend to give deeper stories to these
characters, rather than simply portraying
them as stereotypes.
Highlighting Mexico’s problematic
reluctance to be socially forward, the
main Mexican production company,
Televisa, remade both Verano del 98 and
La Mamá del 10 but removed the gay
characters and Afro-Latina protagonists,
respectively.
14

The issue is, the Spanish-language
television seen in the United States is
produced mostly in Mexico, meaning,
most of the content being consumed is
catered to a Mexican audience. Due to
this centrism, the social advancements
of other countries have unfortunately
been unable to be seen within the media.
Nonetheless, novelas in Mexico have
begun to make strides towards better
representation such as, the 2019 novela
“Juntos, el corazon nunca se equivoca”,
which was one of the first to include a
gay couple front and center. Another
example is with the telenovela Amar a
Muerte, released in 2018, which featured
a lesbian couple in its subplot. However,
this process pales in comparison to
other television companies who’ve been
advancing faster socially than the wellestablished
production companies.
Netflix is producing more content with
better representation of non-white and
Mestizo Latinx actors and queer stories
that novelas hadn’t bothered to cover
before. An example of a series that does
this is, La Casa de las Flores by Netflix,
which contains multiple queer stories
and went into deeper themes that many
have been wanting to see from Spanishlanguage
content. Telemundo, a Spanishlanguage
content producer, has recently
been making more progressive strides
than the Mexico-based Televisa, most
recently with La Suerte de Loli. This
telenovela grants visibility to traditionally
underrepresented Latinos, notably
Asian-Latinx, Afro-Latinx, Plus-Size, and
Queer Latinx people.
Nostalgia can be a wonderful thing, it
brings us back to better times and makes
us feel good. It comes in various different
forms and telenovelas are no exception.
We feel happy and nostalgic when we
see novelas such as Rebelde, Teresa,
Rubí, and Cuidado con el Ángel but
unfortunately, in retrospect, they have
many painfully obvious flaws that we
have to take into consideration. You can
and should continue to enjoy this content
but always make sure that you do not
let nostalgia blind you to the issues that
plague telenovelas and Spanish-language
content.
Telenovelas have united us through
good memories and are still enjoyable
to watch but we need to keep in mind
what telenovelas lack and demand
improvement from our media. We
deserve better, our community and
people deserve to see themselves in the
media we consume.
ostalgia
15

Lamento Boliviano
Suga Suga - Baby Bash
Ahora te Puedes Marchar
Los Enanitos Verdes
Don’t Speak - No Doubt
El Listón De Tu Pelo
Luis Miguel
Los angeles Azules
Hips Don’t Lie - Shakira
If I Ain’t Got You - Alicia Keys
Complicated - Avril Lavigne
You Get what You Give
What’s Luv - Fat Joe
New Radicals
Eres Para Mí
El Sol no Regresa
ft. Ja Rule & Ashanti
Julieta Venegas
La Quinta Estación
P.s. Listen here! ->
16

ROM
OMA
OMA
Roma
by Emilia Acevedo
I grew up with two mothers: one of them
shared my blood, married and divorced
my dad, and I called her mom; the other
came from a small pueblo three hours
from Mexico City, and I called her by her
first name. Rosi was our maid. She had
worked with my family since I was four
years old and my sister was two. She
wasn’t a sweet woman. Most of the time
she wasn’t even a nice woman, and yet,
I was closer to her than I was to most of
my family. Sadly, in 2015, she left and,
despite her meanness and her hostile
personality, it felt like a family member
had gone and never came back. After a
couple of years, Mari came along. She
showed up in 2017 when I was already
15 years old and in high school, so it
felt like she didn’t impact my childhood
as much, but she still became family
within a couple of months. She is almost
entirely the opposite of Rosi, she is kind,
funny, caring, and extremely determined.
She isn’t very affectionate, and she hates
getting her picture taken, but she always
has a smile along with something kind
and unexpectedly wise to say. Over the
last four years, she has become a part
17

A
of my family and has been our greatest
companion and friend. She has changed
my life for the better and she teaches me
something new every day. And despite all
this, her life outside of my home remains
almost entirely a mystery to my family
and me.
The movie Roma by Alfonso Cuarón
follows Cleo, a maid working for an
upper-middle-class family in Mexico
City throughout a year in her life,
both in the family’s house and in her
ventures outside of the family. The
movie is a tribute to the day-to-day
life of an upper-middle-class family in
70’s Mexico City and a reality based on
Cuarón’s childhood memories and his
recollections of Libo, his family’s maid
during his childhood. Deep into his
adulthood and career as a professional
filmmaker, Cuarón felt that he owed
some sort of tribute or recognition to
women, like Libo, who are the backbone
and balance of Mexican society. Cleo
represents this in the film, and Rosi
and Mari have represented it in my own
life. The movie deals with classism and
racism, among other social issues, which
are still present in Mexican society even
50 years after the movie’s setting. It
reflects the way that these racist and
classist tendencies, represented through
the treatment of Cleo and other maids,
are embedded within our country. There
are over 2.3 million domestic workers in
Mexico, most of which are regarded as
inferior and less worthy, and are treated
as such.
The film’s cinematography itself is
designed to evoke nostalgia. The film is
shot in a digital black and white rather
than a stylized cinematic black and
white. Even though the film is meant
to evoke a sense of nostalgia and of
looking into the past, Cuarón did not
intend for it to have the “vintage” feel
we all know so well. This choice was an
attempt to get his audience to regard the
film as a memory; as looking back at a
moment in time from the present, in full
consciousness, rather than being entirely
transported to the past. Cuarón’s intent
was to play with the audience’s senses
to provide the fullest, most complete
experience of memory. In addition to
sight, Cuarón utilizes sound to submerge
the audience in as full of a nostalgic
experience as possible. The attention to
detail in both the sound design and the
visuals of the film is one of the reasons
why it was so successful both in Mexico
and internationally. Through the streets
in the movie, you can hear and see the
street vendors that, to this day, roam
Mexico City shouting the same lines and
selling the same puppets, balloons, and
whistles as they did in the 70s; they are
part of an iconic Mexican image you
cannot find anywhere else.
The film begins with a shot pointing at
a tile floor. The camera stays still for a
minute or so before there is any sort
of movement, only for the stillness to
be broken by a wave of water mixed
with soap, and the sound of a broom
sweeping and cleaning the floor. Even
after having moved out of my Mexico
18

City home almost four years ago, this
scene evokes nostalgia in me with the
memory of the sound of the broom’s
strokes against my patio floor. Once
the setting is as close to fully nostalgic
and accurate as possible, Cleo and the
family she works for enter the picture.
After another two minutes of looking at
what is now a puddle of water and soap
all while listening to the broom’s strokes
against the tile floor, the camera moves
up to discover Cleo. She is going about
her day, cleaning the house, and doing
so entirely tranquil and content. She
then picks the kids up from school and
makes lunch for the family. At night, the
children’s father comes home and takes a
painfully long time to park his car in their
minuscule driveway, similar to one I know
too well. While the family watches TV on
the couch, Cleo sits on the floor and one
of the children puts his arm around her,
only to have her stand back up when she
is asked to get some tea for the family’s
dad — highlighting the line that still exists
between worker and family. This is an
extraordinarily ordinary routine that is
somehow relatable to most upper-middleclass
Mexican families, as the quotidian
nature of the film makes it extraordinary.
There are events in the film that reflect
the extraordinary within the ordinary
in day-to-day life. A depiction of the
complexities of domestic workers’ lives
that we, as part of the families they work
for, live blissfully yet carelessly unaware
of. Half an hour into the film, Cleo finds
out that she is pregnant. She tells the
father of the baby, Fermín, about the
pregnancy at a movie theater. During
the last couple of minutes of the show,
he leaves the
theater to go to the
bathroom and never
comes back, leaving
Cleo to deal with the
baby on her own. Cleo
then tells her boss, the
family’s mother, that she is
pregnant and asks for her help.
Her boss agrees to help her, but
never finds out anything else about
her circumstances or background.
The children, of course, never find out
about Cleo’s pregnancy or they do not
acknowledge it. Eventually, when Cleo
is about to give birth, she is taken to the
hospital by the family’s grandmother,
and when the grandmother is asked the
most basic information about Cleo, all
she knows is Cleo’s name and that she is
family. Cleo’s childbirth, unfortunately,
ends in a heartbreaking scene as her
child is stillborn. This event is scarring
and life-changing for anyone that
experiences something even remotely
similar, yet, Cleo mourns it and then
moves on. The lack of conversation
between Cleo and anyone outside of
the family regarding her child keeps
the audience in the dark about her life
beyond the family. This maintains the
sense that we can never fully know, nor
are we truly invested in knowing what
goes on in maids’ lives beyond our homes.
According to an article by The Guardian,
90% of domestic workers in Mexico are
19

Art by Haven Jovel Morales
women and
one in five started
working
before the legal age
of 16. A lot of these women are the sole
source of income in their homes and are
forced to work in order to maintain their
families. Many of them reside in small
pueblos and Indigenous communities far
away and have to travel far from home in
order to work, as the largest sources of
income and job opportunities are in big
cities such as Mexico City. The hardships
that domestic workers experience are
reflected in Roma in a heartbreakingly
realistic and raw depiction of the love
and pain that they experience, and
the importance of their presence in
families across the country. The foremost
nostalgia I experienced when watching
the film, was not for my country nor
for my
family, but
for what domestic
workers have meant to me
throughout the years. The dedication
to the families they work for and the
hardships that they endure, unfiltered
and displayed in their full reality. Most
importantly, their commitment to working
in order to provide for themselves and for
their families, and to persevere regardless
of what life throws at them in a racist
and classist society that does not view
them as equals. I do believe, however,
that Cuarón’s tribute to Libo has played
an important role in the recognition of
the work of domestic workers and is a
reminder of their relevance in our society.
20

Photos by Ruth Chincanchan
by Destiny Diaz
21

I showered with the door open
the bathroom door unlocked
I hoped that as I rinsed my hair of suds
you’d somehow find your way back
that when I opened my eyes
I’d find you crawling into the shower
with me like you would do before.
The only thing that came in
was this cold breeze
invited in by open doors.
You weren’t coming back.
I knew this and still
I waited.
The water got cold.
The steam faded.
and still I waited.
I’m not sure what stung more
the ice that slid down my spine
reminding me of how long
I had been standing there
or the pain that settled in
the next morning when I went
to brush my teeth and saw
the shower door was still open.
It became one of my daily reminders
that you had left and I had stayed.
And I had waited far too long
for you to come in and wash me.
I began to hate the bathroom.
I avoided it.
Do you know how mad
you have to be to want to shower
but to loathe the loneliness
of the task so much so you never try?
It took me 3 days.
3 days to try again and still even then
I cried. But crying felt good.
Like I was weeping for everything
that was and could have been.
Because I couldn’t face
the faucet without you
Because you weren’t coming back
and I needed to shower.
I almost lost myself to the drain that day.
But I survived, picked myself up
off the bathroom floor
silenced the roaring waters.
I decided to wash me.
Wash your memory off of me
and keep the me you chose to leave.
I learned to wash her hair,
to massage her feet and calves.
I decided to learn to love
to shower again.
And I am so glad I did,
because you didn’t come back
And I would have waited there forever
For you to come in and wash me.
Instead I learned to love me.
22

by Jennifer Rosario Arriaga
Hace 27 años que mi papá no ha
regresado a México. A los 17 años,
todavía era un niño. Mi papá sabía lo
que estaba dejando atrás: su familia, su
hogar, su pueblo, pero no se esperaba
el dolor que venía con el don de estar
separado de la gente que más ama en
la vida. Igualmente, mi mamá lleva 20
años sin ver a su familia y eso viene
siendo toda mi vida. En 20 años, nunca
he estado lejos de mi familia por más
de unos meses a la vez, y no me puedo
imaginar no tener la posibilidad de tener
el cariño y apoyo que mis padres me
han dado todos estos años. Aunque han
pasado tantos años que mis padres no
han regresado a México, siempre se
recuerdan de los detalles pequeños. A
veces, siento que a mis padres no les
gusta hablar de su niñez ni de sus vidas
en México porque les trae tristeza. Sin
embargo, las veces que si comparten
de sus vidas en México recuerdan a sus
padres. Tienen tanta nostalgia de no
poder verlos ni abrazarlos, pero siempre
comparten sus recuerdos felices cuando
se les vienen a la mente.
Es muy difícil poder hablar con mi papá
sinceramente sobre su niñez porque
siente que hubo mucho dolor en su
pasado y nunca quiero que me cuente
algo traumático de su niñez que no
23

está listo para compartir conmigo. Por
eso, muchas de las conversaciones
que he tenido con mi papá son como
rompecabezas porque nunca cuentan de
su vida completa y yo misma tengo que
juntar las historias de su vida para poder
entender porqué ciertas cosas le dan
felicidad o tristeza.
Photos from Jennifer Rosario Arriaga
Por ejemplo, algo simple que he
aprendido de mi papá es que le encantan
los trenes. Siempre que ve un tren, le
llama mucho la atención y le encanta
subirse en los recorridos en tranvía en
los Estudios Universales, Hollywood y en
los trenes de Disneylandia. Aunque mi
familia y yo disfrutamos de los paseos
en el parque temático, mi papá estaba
contento con tal de dar recorridos del
parque en los trenes por horas hasta
que regresábamos por él. Se nos
hacía chistoso y no sabíamos porque
le fascinaban tanto los trenes hasta
recientemente cuando me contó que uno
de sus pasatiempos favoritos y recuerdos
de niño era cuando su abuelo lo llevaba
a la Ciudad de México en autobús y
regresaban por tren. Le encantaba pasar
por el monte y ver los paisajes cuando
estaba con él. Mi papá siempre me
dice, “Como quisiera regresar al tiempo
cuando éramos niños; cuando no te
importaba nada de las preocupaciones
de la vida hoy.” Mi papá solía contarme:
“Mi abuelo me llevaba de la mano a
los 5 o 6 años. Nada más la
dicha de que me llevara, me daba
felicidad pero también siempre me
compraba algo. Él fue el primero
que me llevó a la Ciudad de México.
Nos fuimos en autobús pero
24

regresamos en tren. Una vez nos
fuimos a la Ciudad de México y nos
dejó el tren en la ciudad de
Veracruz... pero eso tiene ya hace
muchos años. Si no me llevaba con
él, lloraba. También íbamos a
cuidar a los borregos en el monte
y abrazábamos a los pequeños. Era
nuestra niñez. No había
computadoras ni teléfonos, ni
internet. Si te enseñaron a contar,
era de contar borregos. No se
compara a la actualidad que vivimos
ahorita.”
Mi papá tiene mucha nostalgia
cuando recuerda a sus abuelos, y
afortunadamente todavía tiene a sus
padres. En el caso de mi mamá, ella no
creció con sus padres pero tuvo mis
bisabuelos, quienes la cuidaron como si
fueran sus padres. Mi bisabuela, María
Manuela Díaz, falleció en octubre de
2012. Recuerdo que fue pesado para
mi mamá tener que perder a su mamá y
no podía consolarla ni entender lo que
estaba sintiendo. Al solo tener 19 años
con ella, mi mamá sufrió mucho porque
no tuvo la oportunidad de cuidarla
y tener su apoyo cuando tuvo a mis
hermanos en los Estados Unidos.
Comparada con mi papá, mi mamá
siempre habla de su mamá. Cuando
nos está cocinando algo, siempre nos
cuenta una historia de cuando cocinaba
con ella o cuando iban a la plaza para
comprar chiles. Muchas de las historias
que nos cuenta de su niñez son sobre
su mamá, especialmente cuando iban a
cuidar a las vacas cuando iban a dar a
luz. Nos contaba que a veces se dormían
ahí para poder estar atentos y ayudar a
las vacas. Igual que mi papá, reconozco
que mi mamá también extraña tanto los
momentos en su pueblo y los recuerdos
que tiene con su familia. Sé que extraña
tanto ir a cuidar a las vacas con sus
hermanas y mamá que decoró su cocina
con cortinas y toallas de diseño de piel
de vaca y siempre se pone contenta
cuando mira las vacas en los files por
nuestra casa en el valle central.
Todos los recuerdos que mi mamá tiene
de su mamá le traen mucha nostalgia
pero aprecio las historias que me cuenta
y trato de conocer lo más que puedo
sobre mi bisabuela por sus historias
ya que no la pude conocer. Mi mamá
siempre me dice que siempre recuerda
las veces que pasaron juntas y de
repente saber que no está, le da mucha
tristeza. Mi mamá contaba:
“Cuando estaba triste o tenía un
problema, mi mamá siempre
estaba ahí. Ella era muy de
apapachar. Siempre te escucha;
siempre estaba ahí, simplemente
con su presencia.
Era muy paciente
en escucharte y
siempre me
estaba
preguntando
cómo estaba.
Siempre tenía el
apoyo de ella.
Recuerdo cuando
salimos al río
cuando de repente
no había agua en
25

la casa. Íbamos al río para lavar
ropa. En vez de verlo como un
trabajo, era una diversión para
nosotras. Mis hermanas y yo
jugábamos… el agua en los pies,
jugando con cualquier cosa ahí. De
repente nos mandaba a tender ropa.
Después, mi mamá llenaba su
canastita de ropa y nos regresamos
a la casa. Todos querían ir con mi
mamá porque era divertido. Algo
que extraño también es cuando
siempre íbamos en familia los jueves
a comer barbacoa de borrego en la
plaza. Esos eran los momentos
felices con mi mamá, y mi papá
también.”
Los recuerdos de mis padres se basan
más allá de sus experiencias en la
escuela o en el pueblo, y se enfocan más
en los recuerdos que tuvieron con sus
familias. Mi papá decía, “A veces, tienes
una necesidad de verlos, aunque les
dices que tienes
todo, siempre te
faltan ellos. No
siempre estás
completo, te falta algo. Hay nostalgia en
tenerlos lejos.”
Aunque mis padres quisieran regresar a
México para estar con sus familias, no es
posible en este momento. Mi papá habla
de regresar a México con mi mamá para
casarse después de que todos sus hijos
se gradúen de la universidad. En ese
caso, yo me quedaría sin ellos y sería la
misma experiencia que ellos tuvieron al
solo tener sus padres por su juventud.
Pero yo no estoy opuesta a que se vayan
porque he visto el dolor que han tenido
en perder a sus seres queridos y sé que
se sentirán más felices en México. Igual,
tengo esperanza que en el futuro yo
podré ir a visitarlos si fuera el caso. Por
eso mismo, yo trato de disfrutar todos
los momentos que tengo con mis padres,
porque en algún futuro serán recuerdos
del pasado.
Photos from Jennifer Rosario Arriaga
26

Photo by Ruth Chincanchan
by Claudia Ledesma Rodriguez
Fundada en 1889, Tijuana B.C,
México se ha visto en un proceso
continuo de transformaciones
causados principalmente por ser
una ciudad fronteriza. En el 2015, se
estimó una población de 1,641,570
habitantes y para el 2020 hubo un
aumento de 5,25%. Este crecimiento
es debido a que Tijuana es una
ciudad fronteriza en la que cada
año, personas de distintos países
y estados llegan a la ciudad en
tránsito a Estados Unidos o tienen
la necesidad de establecerse en
ella debido a no poder cruzar la
frontera hacia EE.UU. Para los
demás, este ha sido su hogar desde
nacimiento y han sido testigos de
la modernización y el cambio. A
escuchar el nombre Tijuana gente de
otros países, en especial de Estados
Unidos, asocian automáticamente
el nombre Tijuana con violencia.
Según BBC News Mundo, en marzo
del 2019 un informe del Consejo
Ciudadano para la Seguridad
Pública y la Justicia Penal (CCSPJP),
colocó a Tijuana entre una de las 50
ciudades más violentas del mundo.
A pesar de estas cifras, Tijuana es
una ciudad llena de esperanza y
belleza, cultura y diversidad. Por
medio de esta recolección y toma de
fotografías se espera capturar una
Tijuana del pasado y del presente.
Se espera reflejar ante los ojos del
espectador un sentido de nostalgia
de la historia del pasado y con
esperanza de un futuro mejor pero
sin olvidar lo que alguna vez fue.
27

Bancroft Library, Berkeley, CA.
pictures from
the past
Pictures from the Past
Lic. Alejandro F. Lugo Jr
Avenida Revolución y calle Segunda en el año 1907 tenían solo pocas tiendas y los
caminos eran de tierra. Por ser ciudad fronteriza, muchos estadounidenses llegaban
en sus carruajes a visitar y divertirse ya que la ciudad contaba con cabarets y bares.
Estampillas con las fotografías del Lic. Alejandro F. Lugo Jr y del archivo fotográfico
de la biblioteca Bancroft, de Berkeley, Cta.
present
Present
Garita Internacional San Ysidro-Tijuana.
Hoy en día la garita más transitada del
mundo. Cada día, miles de personas
cruzan la frontera en carro o a pie hacia
los Estados Unidos. En 1947 se registró
la construcción de la primera garita. Con
el incremento del flujo de personas, la
garita se fue actualizando hasta tener lo
que podemos ver en la actualidad con las
largas filas diariamente.
Photo from Claudia Ledesma Rodriguez.
28

El Gran Cinema Tijuana,
calle 5ta Zona Centro.
Fue construido a finales
de 1930 y cerró a finales
de los años 70. Con su
reapertura su nombre
cambió a “Cine latino”y
en la actualidad, el
cine continúa dando
funciones de películas
tanto familiares como
para adultos.Zona
Urbana, Rio Tijuana. El
río forma una línea que
va desde Tijuana y lo
conecta con Estados
Unidos y el Océano
Pacifico.
Photo from Claudia Ledesma Rodriguez.
Zona Urbana, Rio
Tijuana. El río forma
una línea que va desde
Tijuana y lo conecta
con Estados Unidos y
el Océano Pacifico.
29
Photo from Claudia Ledesma Rodriguez.

Templo de Tijuana,
construido del 2009-
2015. En la parte de atrás
se encuentra el “Cerro
Colorado”, un emblema
de Tijuana. La leyenda
cuenta de un guerrero
llamado Tihuan Cashian.
Era respetado por muchos
excepto por un brujo quien
se convirtió en su asesino.
Antes de morir Tihuan le
dijo a su esposa que el
mal hubiera perdido si
una montaña se hubiera
encontrado ahí. Fue así que
él se convirtió en el Cerro
Colorado con el propósito de
cuidar a su gente.
Photo from Claudia Ledesma Rodriguez.
Photo from Claudia Ledesma Rodriguez.
Reloj Monumental Tijuana,
Avenida Revolución
inaugurado en el 2001. Una
placa fue colocada junto al
reloj donde se describe a
este arco como un “símbolo
de la fortaleza y unión de sus
habitantes hacia el nuevo
milenio”.
30

Illustration by Haven Jovel Morales

Ashley Huendo
Major: History & Digital
Humanities
Hometown: Long Beach,
CA
Farewell Message:
“During my four years
with La Gente, I had the
honor of being part of
an amazing organization
filled with amazing
people. As a kid fresh
out of high school, I had
no idea that choosing to
intern at La Gente would
lead to developing more
confidence in my abilities.
I’m excited for the future
of La Gente and I look
forward to seeing all of the
great work.”
Lesley Ramirez
Major: English major and
Labor Studies minor
Hometown: Culver City,
CA
Farewell Message: “It’s
been fun working with all
of the colorful, spirited
and bright people of
La Gente! Good luck
everyone!”
Andrew Valdovinos
Major: American
Literature and Culture
Hometown: South Central
LA, CA
Farewell Message:
“Emotional negligence
carries a profound impact
on our perception of life,
nurture feelings more than
people for a connection
based in longevity.”
32

Angela Vargas
Major: Sociology major and Labor Studies minor
Hometown: South Gate, CA
Farewell Message: “I wasn’t entirely aware of the
impact La Gente would have on me when I first joined as
a college freshman. These last four years have brought
me beautiful friendships, comfort, encouragement, and
inspiration. I will forever be grateful for our tiny office
and the endless amount of love and talent that lives in
those four walls. I can’t wait to see what future gentistas
will do with the space and will forever be rooting for this
staff.”
Melissa Díaz
Major: Political Science with a concentration in Race,
Ethnicity, and Politics. Minors in Global Studies, Gender
Studies, and Musicology
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Farewell Message: “I sought to join La Gente looking for
a creative community with individuals who had a similar
background and identity to mine. I found that, and
much more. I am so grateful to have been part of this
great organization throughout my college career, and
to have witnessed the growth La Gente has undergone.
The welcoming environment, and creative, passionate
community is something I will hold near and dear to my
heart. Thank you.”
Rebecca Gutierrez
Major: English major and Labor Studies minor
Hometown: Highland Park, CA
Farewell Message: “Meeting in Kerckhoff, was a
highlight of my week. I love La Gente and I am forever
grateful for the memories and people I met throughout
my undergrad<3”
33

Claudia Ledesma Rodriguez
Major: English
Hometown: Tijuana, B.C
Farewell Message: “I want to give thanks to La Gente
for giving me the opportunity to be part of this amazing
community. To my editors who helped me grow and
gave me their support along the way and to all the lovely
staff, writers, and content creators. Without each and
every one of them, La Gente Newsmagazine would
not be what it is today. Thank you for making my last
transfer year an awesome experience!”
Melissa Gonzalez
Major: American Literature and Culture and Chicana/o
and Central American Studies minor
Hometown: Chino, CA
Farewell Message: “I am so glad that I was a part of La
Gente during my final year at UCLA. My favorite part
was meeting new people, getting to read amazing work
before they were published, and getting to see everyone
creatively work together to make meaningful content. I
highly encourage joining the team, it made my senior so
much more rewarding.”
Jessica Jimenez
Major: Sociology and Chicana/o and Central American
Studies minor
Hometown: San Fernando Valley, CA
Farewell Message: “I am so thankful to have been a
part of La Gente. I have gotten to meet so many people
and tap into different levels of my creativity I did not
know were possible. Being a part of La Gente has given
me a sense of community and I will forever cherish the
memories I have made.”
Nayeli Velarde
Major: Political Science and Chicana/o and Central
American Studies minor
Hometown: San Ysidro/Tijuana, B.C
Farewell Message: “don’t ever try to break in dr martens
by going up the hill #ouch”
34

staff Staff
Front and Back Cover Art
Ruth Chincanchan
Editor in Chief
Angela Vargas
Managing Editor
Melissa Díaz
Web Manager
Rebecca Gutierrez
Visual Editor
Haven Jovel Morales
Layout Design Editor
Cristelle Hugo
Head of Copy
Rebecca Gutierrez
Content Editors
Karim Hyderali
Kevin Bernal-Rivera
Sofia Rizkkhalil
Spanish Editors
Ashley Huendo
Casandra Georgina
Chamorro
Social Media
Coordinators
Haile Arriaza
Casandra Georgina
Chamorro
Radio Coordinator
Alvaro Hernandez
Copy Editors
Marisol Huerta-Ontiveros
Laysha Macedo
Andrea Serrato
Isabella Poma
Jacqueline Silva
Melissa Gonzalez
Staff Writers
Jennifer Rosario Arriaga
Nayeli Guadalupe Velarde
Sarah Mejia
Janet Elizabeth Rivera
Sandra Ocampo
Alize Magaña
Espy de la O
Angie Esther Santos
Destiny Piedad Diaz
Andrew Valdovinos
Jerylee Perez
Carol Ann Martinez
Kimberly Cienfuegos
Miriam Torres Sanchez
Spanish Team
Claudia Ledesma
Rodriguez
Emilia Acevedo Corona
Lesley Ramirez
Renee Grange
Jonathan Valenzuela
Mejia
Jacky Barragán
Visual Team
Ruth Chincanchan
Social Media Team
Paulina Fernandez-Garcia
Kimberly Cienfuegos
Juan M Antonio-Martinez
Radio Team
Jessica Elizabeth Jimenez
Marilyn Chavez-Martinez
Ruth Rodriguez
Lesley Ramirez
Web Design
Jennifer Garcia
35

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