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On the fourth of July,
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we look at Can Asadas ques firework,
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ques pool parties. But as a Mexican American as a Chicano
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I feel like there's some kind of like back and forth on
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the whole celebrating of America.
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So we have a very good friend of ours,
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Professor Jorge and Leia from UUC Riverside.
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He's gonna break it down for us.
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Give us your take on this because like I said,
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as growing up here in the States mexican-american now nowadays,
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we're not going to celebrate that we don't celebrate that.
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I'm like you kind of do but you don't like what,
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what's your take on that?
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we have had this me,
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I think Mexicans as we call it Academia Mexican Americans and but
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also other Latinas. I mean,
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it has always been that that conflict are we really part
00:47
of the US or we're just not like brought in for our
00:49
labor. And that has been an unsolvable questions ever since the
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for the US to control what is now the American
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Southwest? The three offers citizenship to people that would say that
01:03
were of Mexican descent that was pretty generous at a moment of
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slavery, yet it has never been fully extended.
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So that has, in some ways,
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we're definitely integrating the labor market.
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culture and society, that's still an ongoing process of quote unquote
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assimilating of being incorporated into the US.
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That has been the case historically but different Mexican organizations,
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mutual organizations and their political organization,
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just like neighborhood organizations that would have fourth of July celebrations
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parades. And there was a time that people would say
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we're just as American with our Frijoles as apple pie because we
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thought that that was the,
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the way to to be part of this country to assimilate
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We have seen that that has had limited success.
01:50
we continue to be part of this nation regally,
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I think because we are not fully accepted.
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I feel again, we like some parts of it.
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But yeah, so kind of,
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I feel like a gray area.
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Is there an important like celebrations or people we can honor
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tied to the Fourth of July from our heritage and our backgrounds
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Yes. The millions of people that labor,
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the working class folks,
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people that don't get to have Fourth of July,
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right? Because they're serving people's food,
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still keeping the economy going,
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right? And that's kind of like the collective of ours right
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One of the significance of 1/4 of July is all the
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veterans, there were Mexican American veterans in World War one.
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That's kind of more on the,
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you know, civic militaristic part.
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But then who do we celebrate?
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I mean, the collective of us,
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of the people working in this holiday?
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I mean, regardless of no,
02:41
Denying the impact of the Mexican American and the Latin community in
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the United States. Again,
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like this country is built by so many different upbringings.
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This is a big melting pot.
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Whether again, sometimes it doesn't feel like it,
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there's no denying that.
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Again, our impact is there.
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Do you feel like you kind of touched on it already?
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But do you feel the way that Chicanos can celebrate this or
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like differently or do you think we should just kind of stick
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to our American roots and follow the,
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again, the cheesy old Navy shirts,
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Look a day off is a day off?
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I wish, I think that it's a great opportunity to be
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able to take stock on,
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you know, where we are in this society,
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right? And it's never been the assimilation belonging has never been
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like a fully complete process.
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If you were to talk to people in the fifties,
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they were saying like we are on our way and then in
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the seventies, they were like,
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no, right? And I think that in,
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we can see that in their play in,
03:37
in our generation. That's so true.
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Well, Jorge, before I let you go,
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where can people find you and follow your work?
03:42
Well, I, I run I curate an AO around
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Latina youth cultures called Roach Chi.
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So that on Instagram also,
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you can find me on my UCR website,
03:53
Jorge Nicolas de.com and that,
03:56
that you'll be able to get to know more about the class
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I teach and also the,
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much to think about this Carna AA,
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you know, this fourth of July.
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But one more time guys,
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we get here for Professor Le.
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spark up your can your cues but just keep the discussion in
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mind much to think about.
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