Harry Gamboa Jr. to speak at Smithsonian in D.C.

Harry Gamboa Jr. will be speaking about his body of work as an urban Chicano artist.

Roberto Sifuentes, Presente!!!

One of my favorite professors died today after years of battling various maladies.

Sifue, as many would call him, came to CSUN in the early 90's. He was very debonair, he wore a suit and tie everyday.

He was from Mexico, but was a devout Chicano. He had a thick accent that made his reciting of poetry, from memory, or reading of passages from books enthralling. He was too cool.

He was always hanging out with the students in the Chicano Lobby, always dropping stories, jokes, dichos, one liners and up for a little party. He came over to a couple of bar b ques and hang outs that we would have in our apartments around campus. Never drank with us, health issues he claimed, just smoked his cigs and once played some dice with us. Maybe some cards.

I had him for several classes as an undergrad and grad student. My cohorts through BAs and MAs loved his passion and love for life and knowledge. He would always want to know what we were into and doing outside of school. Everything he did, or said, or asked was with passion. One of my co horts was so moved by his description of Guanajuanto while reading a Carlos Fuentes novel, she packed up and left for Guanajuato at the end of that week.

He was a tough and loving professor. If you didn't read or come prepared to speak up in class he would kick you out of the class. If the whole class was lagging, he would just walk out and say "Don't waste my time and yours." He was always available to us. Anyone who met him, was a new friend.

He never told us anything about jobs and the future, he wanted us to learn our stories, culture and to dream. He was a man in love with knowledge and loved getting his students turned on to learning and to love life.

He was a painter and poet. He helped students find these talents within themselves, walking along with them.

He had lived his life like baller. He told me about all the jobs he had in his life from glamorous to menial, but at each one, he had a great time. That is living.

One of my favorite Sifue moments was in La Paz, Baja Cal. Mex. A lot of us from the dept went there to present at a conference. Sifue was presenting a paper on his Chicano identity. All of his students, about 5 of us and other profs, rolled in with him. We knew what was about to happen and we needed to be there. See, the Mexican academics don't really 'get' Chicano. They are very Euro centric and parochial. When Sifue ended his presentation the Mexican academics threw a fit. "How can you be born in Mexico and now call yourself a, a, Chicano!" He simply said, "Didn't you pay attention to my presentation?" and laughed!!!! They were so pissed off. He let them stew for a couple minutes and then said "Chicanos are down to fight for the underdog, anywhere. I see myself and my revolutionary spirit in that attitude, that consciousness, so I am a Chicano. If you aren't down to fight for your people or people who are oppressed you can't be a Chicano. You almost can't be a human if you aren't down to fight oppression of humans." He said this in the most eloquent Spanish I had ever heard him speak. He left them silent. Like on cue all of us from CSUN began to stand up and applaud. He then walked towards us and said, "Let's get out of here."

They don't make men like him anymore.

He was our profe.
Un chingon de aquellos.
Suave, smart, hip, passionate, intelligent, and inspiring.

They don't make men like him anymore.

I'm so glad and honored I knew this man.

(Sifue, Frank Colon & Harry Gamboa Jr.)
*all photos taken from FB CSUN heads who have posted his pic. All rights reserved to each and all.

How Many More Hoods Before One Murrieta?

Every time I see a trailer or ad for the retreaded Russell Crow "Robin Hood" it pisses me off!
I mean this story has been told at least 15 times!!!!! We get it.

When are we going to get the Joaquin Murrieta story?!?!?! Come on Robin Hood had to ditch arrows but Joaquin was dodging bullets and the largest man hunt of that era. This poet breaks it down pretty good. Like all good legends there are slight variations in the story that add to the myth of this man who died "because somethings are worth fighting for."



In this era of racist States, we need some Joaquin's to remind people what is worth fighting for.

The April Air...

Springing to new life, cleaning, pollen, dust, last year's cob webs.
Looked back at my blog and March - April are full of ups and downs for me.
Spring Break is fun.
As I let go of the old and get ready for the new its good that thru this blog I can see I will be alright.


I do get into my moods as I move forward, like taking a scab off you know fresh skin is there, but it still stings a little to let go. This is one of my favorite Bowie songs. I want to feel this again.


I know with that level of high you risk feeling opposite end of that emotional spectrum when it's time to move on. But to have tasted, been there and felt that much is what it is all about.

Off to Vegas now to shake it up, cut some scabs, clean out old cob webs, gamble, laugh, eat, drink and be in adult Disneyland with good peeps. If you dare come and meet up with us, we got room.

Frank Del Rio 50 th B-day

A couple of weeks ago I went to Circus for an invite only b-day dinner party for legendary LA DJ Frank Del Rio.

Del Rio's DJ sets in the mid 1980's to 1990's at Circus Disco where he was the resident, as well as many other locations, were what helped shape DJ mixing styles and programming for many DJs.

He was one of the big name DJs that was both illusive and ubiquitous as only the best DJs are.

In high school I would hear about how he blended this song or that. After school I would run home to try to do the mix myself, if I even had the records. All us high school DJs, at that time, were in awe of him. To run into him, at Exodus Records in Montebello or at his record Cut Above Records on Melrose, was like bumping into a celebrity. Any record he said was cool, we would buy two copies. He was also one of the first remixers to come out of L.A. and was one of the first Latino names we got to see on the records us DJs were buying up in stacks. He let us know how far this DJ thing could go.

Of course there were other DJs we looked up to like Poison and Nemesis, but Del Rio was a resident at Circus and only the best DJs played there. Martin Rodriguez, Victor Flores, Henry De La Pe~a and Del Rio were the big four in our parlay. They set the standard for what a good DJ sounded like from spinning at Circus. To be honest us youngsters only heard mixed tapes or heard stories from people who were old enough to go to Circus.

The first time I heard Del Rio was at a 'Rock of the 80's' at Pico Rivera Sports Arena. He plugged in a reel to reel and started off with the theme from "The Twilight Zone." The rest was a seamless mix of pieces of songs I knew mixed with a lot stuff I didn't. Mind blowing, but I didn't know what the reel to reel was for.

Years later I heard him at The Red Onion in West Covina on two turntables. The night was going ok, the earlier DJ couldn't gel the crowd. As soon as Del Rio got on the sound got better, louder and the floor erupted. He had two copies of "Knock On Wood" and was looping the opening drums going back and forth between the copies. Flawless.

Years later Richard and I invited him to judge our annual Power Tools DJ contest. We hadn't seen or heard about Del Rio in a while and were so stoked that he showed up. We were more nervous than the contestants. I don't even remember who won that year.

Then Frank Del Rio disappeared.

Rumors of him living in Tijuana, going Christian, dieing, hiding out, selling cars; spread and changed over the years.

He actually got a bad case of diabetes, lost a leg from it and at one point was in a coma.
With the growth of the retro disco parties thanks to Back to Disco and other websites, Del Rio has come back and hosted his own parties with his girlfriend Annie.

When I got invited to his 50th B-day party was like being invited to the big kid's table.

As I sat there and listened to people speak on mic for all to hear about their memories with Del Rio at Circus and as a friend, while he sat on the stage surrounded by his family it really was an LA history moment. This man with the help of so many other players, promoters, DJs, lightmen, and others had really touched a generation of disco dancers from mostly the Eastside of L.A.
He is our Larry Levan, our David Mancuso, our Nicky Siano. Those guys shaped NYC DJ culture, we got ours.
Thanks Frank.

Chicano Hero

"A Chicano is Mexican-American with a non-Anglo image of himself."

"This idea of white is best needs to end."

- Ruben Salazar

Ratting out MEN...

Here are some things I have recently learned, am pondering, can see clearly now, or have finally been able to put into words, about my fellow MEN. Be warned, they are bold generalizations. Be warned, they are conceptual, I think...

- We don't know shit until after 25 or 27 years old. Up til then, we are just making it all up.

- We are told to want the hot, sexy, girl in the little skirt that goes home with us after a few drinks, but more times than not when we get her home that night, we don't/can't have sex with her, because another more primal impulse/response kicks in: This is not the woman I want to procreate with.

- Some of us can take that hot, sexy girl home after a few drinks and rock her world, but we are trying to prove something, working out some issues, and basically not into her as much as we are into ourselves.

- Some of us are relationship guys, even though we'd like to be players. This kind usually screws up a lot of relationships before they can admit to who and what they are.

- Some of us are players, even though we'd like to be relationship guys. This kind has a lot of screwed up relationships because they can't admit who and what they are.

- When we are in love, our ego is gone or seldom seen or heard from.

- Many of us do like comfort, but not boring repetative comfort.

- Yes, many of us think, to some degree, we are gifts from God.

- Yes, many of us think that any woman who looks at us and smiles, wants us.

- Yes, many of us don't know what do when a woman smiles at us.

I've done enough for today. Fire at will...

Mexican American Princes

On the cover of last week's L.A. Weekly was Daniel Hernandez's feature story about Mexican American Princes.

I was perplexed about whether this was a tongue in cheek/satirical piece or not. Hernandez includes a 'who's who' in MAP land titled 'All Over The M.A.P.' A list that includes too many big & not so big name politicos (some whom we should be ashamed of), two pretty boy actors who haven't had a hit in years, two sportsmen, one reality show wannabe champ, one true champ, and an OC based writer.

One thing that irked me about the MAPs listed was that they all were the basic archtypes of a capitalist society. Working for some fame, power and bling, playing the game. Not really rocking the boat so much as rolling with the punches. I don't want to knock anyone's dream to accumulate and have material goods. I recognize many just want to lay low and get theirs, fine.

What I do want to offer is other examples of MAPs who aren't just seeking temporal gains, but are also speaking to our consciousness, identity, beauty, heart, soul, mind, intelligence, and wit. Men who aren't afraid to bring up the tough questions, our contradictions, our ancient past and that help us dream about nuestro futuro. Men who despite the brightness of the spotlight don't shrink in fear of saying the wrong thing, even if it is. I'm just saying there is more to life than politics, real estate and the 4th estate. Also, we shouldn't replace one gap toothed sombrero wearing stereotype with a new shinier stereotype of 'cold hispanic ambition.'

So here are my inductees for MAP-dom or as we call them here in Pachucoville, Bad Ass MuthaFunkas:

George Lopez. Who uses the term Chicano on national TV every week? Can sell out the Universal Amp like only him and Chente can? Talks about loving golf because he gets to hit something white with a club? and tells it like it is -like no other brother can? G. Lo cabrones.









Marcos Aguilar. Co-Director of Academia Semillas del Pueblo. He saved his school! Well he and the staff, parents, students, community, and anyone with a clue about what our Raza filled schools need. ASDP is now sueing KABC and one of their talk show pendejos for creating an unsafe learning environment at ASDP when he targeted them and called them future terrorists. Aguilar is a danzante who danced the whole march route from Olvera Street to LAUSD on Beaudry and 3rd. How many principals would dare (or could or would be allowed) to take off his shirt and dance bare chested for 2 miles? 'nuf said.







Lalo Alcaraz. Come on. Who are we kidding? This is thee OG muthafunka: LA CUCARACHA cabron! Can you say POCHO HOUR OF POWER? What about POCHO MAGAZINE? If not? I won't even ask you about CHICANO SECRET SERVICE.






Zack De La Rocha. Sunday at Coachella on 4/29 is going to have more brown and proud people than that festival has ever seen. His free concert last year in support of the South Central Farm helped launch media coverage of that battle which subsequently inspired many toward working in community gardens for health and sustainability. His support of the EZLN in the mid 1990s helped forge in a new strand into Chicanismo. And his band's music and videos are bad ass.







Culture Clash! Where would we be without Culture Clash? I mean the MAP article kicked off with a bad ass quote from Richard Montoya's award winning show "Water & Power" then left them out of the list! Here in Pachucoville C.C. gets props for everything they have done siempre! Teatro, carpa, stage, TV, video, Big Top Loco! (I 'member homes) and all the chingon plays, books and verbage.
We will forever know that yes, we are "confused and full of rage."






You know here in Pachucoville we gotta have some DJs a.k.a our digital shamen:

Raul Campos is the only on air Latino left at KCRW. His Monday - Friday 10-midnight show "Nocturna" has been fullfilling night time musical cravings for nearly 7 years. The show has won serveral distinctions from artists groups, magazines and the music industry for helping to break new music and artists. He also can be found in dark underground clubs spinning the latest.


David Delano can be heard practically every night of the week spinning in a club from Hollywood to City of Industry, Long Beach to Glendale. He draws a young hip Latino crowd that shake their best and finest to his beats and that is just his night job. During the day he helps his family business as Vice President of La Gloria tortillas. Now you don't get any more Prince than that ese.



Overall I appreciate the effort to frame a Chicano male experience. We need to do it. We need new images and icons of Raza men. We need to show more of our diversity in thought and actions, jobs and dreams. If we don't start doing it, who will?