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Latino/a Mobility in California History

Genevieve Carpio, Javier Cienfuegos, Ivonne Gonzalez, Karen Lazcano, Katherine Lee Berry, Joshua Mandell, Christofer Rodelo, Alfonso Toro, Authors

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Evaluation

Digital source 1, an Ebook titled Walls of Empowerment: Chicana/o Indigenist Murals of California Chapter One “The Dialectics of Continuity and Disruption – Chicana/o and Mexican Indigenist Murals. 

This eBook focuses on the Chicano murals in Los Angeles with an emphasis on the indigenous roots behind them. The author draws a historical backdrop and lays a reasoning for the Chicana/o art mural movement. This relates to what we examined in class during the 1920-the Great Depression when Mexicans faced laws that viewed them as either irrelevant or as threats due to their "biological" inferiority [that] precluded any possibility of rehabilitation" (Molina 117) [1]. In order to achieve this goal, the author provides examples of several murals that posses attributes relating to Mexican indigenous past and the creation of the Chicana/o. For instance, he points out the mural painted by Ernesto de la Loza "Resurrection of a Green Planet" located in East Los Angeles which represents not only an indigenous history through the presentation of an Aztec icon, but it also portrays the Chicana/o movement's aims of creating a more environmentally friendly earth to live in. The eBook is successful because it not only provides the reader with a digital image of the mural, but it also contextualizes the image, provides an analyses, and then relates it to other murals that either share similar metaphorical figures or weaves it into another theme. It was persuasive in its layout and explanation for the creation and necessity of the Chicana/o mural movement. 

Digital source 2, the PBS American Family Journey of Dreams “The Art of the Mural” by Professor Judith Baca 

Baca's primary goal is to provide us with a historical timeline and to describe the ways that the Chicana/o art movement has provided the city with several opportunities to empower and reclaim spaces. In order to achieve this goal, the author separates her journal into subcategories that range from social power, to gang reprisals, to the creation of a city wide mural program. The site is successful because it provides several examples of how murals and this movement shed a light on the city's history that is often overseen like the mistreatment of Mexicans. They painted the walls with icons such as Cesar Chavez to serve as constant reminders of the leaders who have helped lead the Chicana/o movement. It is also very simple to use and provides a set of murals that were put in conversation with the author’s main points. For instance, she portrays the empowerment of "La Raza" through the mural by Manuel Cruz's "Raza Killing Raza" in Ramona Gardens. This particular mural illustrates an Aztec king carrying what appears to be the dead body of young man that shares similar physical features as him in order to promote a stop to violence amongst the Chicana/o community. 
The digital article also allows the user to click on the images and having them enlarge was really useful since it lets the user view the finer details of the mural that may often times be overseen due to its magnitude. Painting murals was not only was a form of expression, but apparently an opportunity to unite Chicanas/os and to reflect on “marginalized people such as urban immigrant domestic workers, campesinos in the fields of California and others.[2]



I would recommend that the PBS website becomes more animated. The author could potentially improve her arguments and made it more persuasive if it gave specific narratives or gave examples of how these forms of activism took students and provided a safe haven for them during a time of violence. 

Digital source 3, the KCET website includes links to several communities and chapters. The community that I am focusing on is Highland Park Chapter 5 Painting the Walls.

The author here shows how in the 1970s, a considerable number of Chicano artists and intellectuals move into Highland Park. This neighborhood became a Mecca for an emerging Mexican-American art movement that would grow and gain exposure at a local and international level.[3] In order to achieve this goal, the author provides a list of murals along with their theme. When one clicks on the mural/ theme, it directs the user to a page that has an enlarged image of the mural, a You Tube video featuring a local citizen explaining the importance of the mural and a description of the mural itself. What makes this source stand out is that it provides videos that have people talking, which is an excellent way to capture a persons attention when all they have been doing is reading. The multiplicity of this website's visual aids, interactive images, and videos add to the validity of their argument. Lastly, I liked how this site organized itself into different compartments where one can click on images and be exposed to a new theme or story. This source is very user-friendly and it makes the user want to continue exploring.  




  [1] Molina, Natalia. Fit to be Citizens? Public Health and Race in Los Angeles, 1879-1939. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.

[2] Baca,
Judith. "The Art of the Mural." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 07 Oct.
2014. <http://www.pbs.org/americanfamily/mural.html>.

[3]"Painting the Walls | Departures | KCET." KCET. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/highland-park/painting-the-walls/>.



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