El Fayuquero A Mexican picker heading south In his overloaded truck and trailer Mattresses and tricycles Microwaves and kitchen tables Check off the list a car battery Couches and jumper cables Un Fayuquero heading home Back to his shop Across the southwest he roams Picking at every stop Scavenging American junk piles Shopping at the thrift stores Combing the swap meet aisles Fighting the picker wars In all the little desert towns Blasting winds and dusty roads Enduring the ugly frowns As he secures his unsteady loads Con cuidado , doing 55 on the freeway Bikes teetering on top of chairs Packed pickups towing other pickups Packed to the gills with household wares Flower adorned crosses stand out In the trucks one flickering headlight But the man knows without a doubt… He’ll be in Nogales by midnight Unlike his amigo Miguel Antonio Pedregon-Baray A fellow fayuquero whose cross is nearby His wreck left goods scattered all over the roadway As he d...
Remembering Joseph Hill on his birthday today - January 22, 2019 - by posting this eulogy I wrote over 12 years ago after learning of his passing. Joseph Hill & Culture As we ponder the great loss of Joseph Hill we reflect on his many works. Going back to the foundation of reggae music, Joseph brought forward a sound vibe that still echoes in my brain. As a top-notch vocalist, song writer, and human I'll never forget Josephs influence on me as a reggae listening youth. "Psalm of Bob Marley" brought a tear to my eye, now we need a "Psalm of Joseph Hill." With his straight forward lyrical statements he left no doubt about his meaning, now we need more straight shooters like him. His admonitions in "Youth Man Move" moved you to dance, moved you to take control of your destiny. In "Work On Natty" he stresses the importance of hard work, of being diligent in the face of poverty. I ask Joseph "Tell Me Where You Get It?" Now I ask...
Muralism: Portraits of Phoenix Work by Angel Diaz -- 1st Street south of Jackson -- Phoenix, Az Murals are more than an art form, they are part of the lifeblood and fabric of the communities in which they are painted. Whether their locale is a barrio or a newly gentrified neighborhood, murals paint a picture of struggle, culture, history, politics, and activism. They are an outlet for the oppressed, a conduit that connects people from various walks of life, they are a link between the past and present, they are at once a symbol of protest and a beacon of hope for what a unified community could look like. Murals in Mexico predate the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the early 16 th century. Much like paintings on cave walls, murals were a communication tool for the illiterate masses. They depicted images of the gods, warriors, animals, changes in seasons, life and death. One of the immediate difficulties the Spanish faced upon their landing in Mexico was the lan...
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