…A private think-tank style journal endeavoring to chart the U.S. Latino existence, from politics to culture…
FEATURED PERSPECTIVES
EXCLUSIVE: Harris County, TX, November 5, 2024 Election Early Voter Variables
Methodology: 1) Purchase Voter Registration Roll; 2) Download PUBLIC voter rosters from County Elections website; 3) Upload files to ACCESS; 4) Conduct pertinent queries; 5) Use Excel pivot tables to shape data; 6) Analyze
Recent Posts
Lessons Absorbed from a Wise, Courageous, Confident, Rebellious, Pioneering Professor
“Philosopher” that is how Professor Tacho Mindiola greeted me when I visited the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) between classes. His keen observational skills caught that I always had one of my political theory books...
Demographics suggest a non-African American Candidacy in Texas Congressional District 18 is not viable or prudent
A review of Census demographic data for State Representative Districts in Harris County maintained by the Texas Legislative Council indicates that non-African American candidates should think twice before bidding to fill a vacancy in Congressional District 18. There...
The Presidency, Aging and the Electorate
A survey conducted by NBC News in the Spring of 2023 found that “Substantial majorities” of Americans did not want President Joe Biden nor former President Donald Trump to seek reelection in 2024. The candidates’ performance in the initial presidential debate of the...
DETAILED Voter Registration and Voter Turnout Tables by Major Surname Groups and Age: 2010–2020 Harris County (TX) November Elections
Reg-n-Voting_2010-2020_Major_Surname_Groups_HarrisCntyTX-1Download This quantitative research initiative provides detailed surname and age voter registration and voter turnout data tables on an Excel spreadsheet for Harris County November Elections from 2010 to 2020....
Restrictive Voting Laws Aim To Stop Shift in Balance of Power Driven by Demographic Change in Texas’ Biggest Counties
Conspiracies and lies aside, the political sea change the citizen voting age population (CVAP) wrought in 2006 in Dallas County and 2008 in Harris County is the reason Texas Republicans keep passing restrictive voting laws. The 2006 and 2008 Elections were turning...
Spotlighted Chart
The charts show the percent each known generation, Greatest, Silent, Boomers, GenX, Millennials and GenZ totaled of the registered voters among the general population (slide 1), the Spanish-surname registered voters (slide 2), Asian-surname registered voters (slide 3) and none-Spanish-nor-Asian-surname registered voters (slide 4) as of July during the 2012 to 2024 presidential election years in Harris County, TX.
“Everyone’s opinions about things change over time. Nothing is constant. Everything changes. And to hold onto some dogged idea forever is a little rigid and maybe naive. -Frida Kahlo, Artist
“The falsification of history has done more to impede human development than any one thing known to mankind. -Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss-born philosopher, writer, and political theorist
OTHER PERSPECTIVES
In-the-News
Pronouncements Diminishing the Hispanic Electorate Persist
The assertion, “Less than half of eligible Latinos are registered to vote,” appearing in a major newspaper story, “As Hispanics become Texas’ largest demographic group, their political clout lags,” is not supported by Census Bureau data or an analysis of Harris County...
Analysis of Spanish-surname Voter Participation Raise Questions About Narrative Denigrating the 2016 Latino Vote
In January of 2018, this assertion appeared in a story of a major newspaper in 3rd largest County in the nation, "just 28 percent of registered Latino voters cast a ballot in 2016, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.” The contention raised the following...
HISPANIC ELECTORAL GROWTH depended on Leaders understanding demographics and tempering expectations
Confusion about the strength of the Hispanic vote has existed since Hispanics became the largest population group in municipalities all over the nation. And, after every election, as electoral growth fails to match demographic growth, wishful thinkers regurgitate...
THE LATINO VOTE AND ITS PROMISE CANNOT BE DENIED: Leadership can help expedite its maturation
THE United States Census Bureau's latest population estimates show that Latinos comprise 39.3 percent of the population of Harris County. In spite of the fact that Latinos are now the county's largest population group, they only constitute 15 percent of the County’s...
AFTER THE MARCHING’S DONE HISPANICS MUST GO VOTE: The key to influencing U.S. policy is the ballot
THE marches that took place in the spring of 2006 across the nation and in the Houston area as a response to proposed anti-immigrant legislation reminded me of a quote that appeared in the now-defunct Houston Post's opinion section Sunday Punch in 1994. The quote...
MINORITY VOTES TELL A STORY FOR HOUSTON AND MAYBE HARRIS COUNTY: Math of ballots can be both divisive and decisive
In December of 2007, for the sixth time in the last 10 City of Houston elections, an African-American (Jolanda Jones) and a Hispanic (Joe Trevino) faced off for a citywide Houston council or mayoral position. While this event may seem unremarkable as the local...
DO SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE LATINOS ARE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO OBTAIN GOV’T ISSUED ID? Photo ID vital to daily existence
My late mother provides an example that suggests advocates on both sides of the political spectrum debating whether voters should be required to present a Photo ID to vote in person may see minorities in the same patronizing manner. My mother met all the...
What Should be Considered in Choosing a Presidential Ticket? The Power of the Black Vote
Did having a person of color on the #Presidential_Ticket in 2008 and 2012 raise voter turnout among the #Democratic_Party’s most loyal constituency? A comparison of the total number of registered voters and total ballots cast in the 2012 and 2016 Presidential...
Are Long Lines to Elections what Traffic Jams are to Commuters? A Lingering Phenomenon
"This is like gridlock on the 405." A resilient voter in Los Angeles County expressed this sentiment, comparing the voting experience to driving on the nation's busiest Interstate Highway, as he stood in line to vote in the March 3, 2020, Super Tuesday, Primary...
Complexity and complicity of being human: My father was a misogynist, and I feel guilty
Misogyny exists in every segment of society and takes different forms. This is a lesson I learned witnessing how decisions made by the patriarch of my family had a profound impact on the lives of my sisters. As a pre-teen, I remember my older sister coming home at a...
OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS: The Unspoken Reality of Race and Congressional Representation
A Houston Chronicle story titled “Houston most Hispanic part of country without Hispanic in Congress” spurred online reader comments promoting the idea that race should not matter in electing a representative from a Congressional “opportunity district” (a political...
THE OMISSION OF HISTORY: The Discussion of Mixed Race Groups in the U.S. Marginalizes Mestizo Americans
In the midst of the historic 2008 Presidential Election, an article about the surge in “Multiracial Americans” and their quest for understanding appeared on the website of a major news organization. The story was about Americans whose origins are of mixed...
Perspective quoted in Texas Redistricting Story
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/4/race-blind-new-texas-districts-appear-to-favour-white-voters
Perspective discussing what voters should know about the #TXVoterID remedy [in Spanish]
What you should know about the #TXVoterID remedy [in Spanish]. On#ConexionTexas w/@raulpeimbert #2016election http://www.univision.com/…/cambios-en-las-identificaciones-…
Perspective discussing Hispanic Voter Turnout on ABC13 ¡VIVA Houston! (7/17/16)
Click HERE> hdl_perspective discussing Hispanic Voter Turnout on ABC13 ¡VIVA Houston!
Perspective on CBS Radio’s Eye on Houston discussing elections and voter participation with CEO of HHCC /Dr. Laura Murillo (5/3/2015)
click HERE> hdl_perspective on CBC Radio's Eye on Houston - An informative discussion regarding elections and voter participation on CBS Radio's Eye on Houston with CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Dr. Laura Murillo.
Perspective quoted in the Houston Post’s Editorial Section-Sunday Punch-Heard and Noted (11/12/94)
Houston Post-Sunday Punch-Heard and Noted: "Justice in America is like a baby being born. You've got to participate in its conception or that baby is never going to look like you" -hector de leon
Perspective Op_Ed in Houston Chronicle (10/2/00)
A father death... a son's search for answers
Assessment of Perspective effort to recruit, involve and develop young leaders
This is an academicians assessment of hdl_perspective effort to recruit, involve and develop young leaders in community organizations in the 1990's. Then, hdl_perspection headed the Houston Office of the NALEO Educational Fund.
Perspective on Latino Vote Panel Discussion on the (6/20/04)
click here UNIVISION NEWS ANCHOR JORGE RAMOS, MAYOR BILL WHITE TO DISCUSS LATINO VOTE WITH HOUSTON COMMUNITY LEADERS AT UH
Perspective quoted in the Houston Chronicle (11/26/01)
Hispanic voters moving toward a new political era
Perspective in the Houston Chronicle (10/6/02)
Meetings focus on Latinos' concerns
“In 12 years of working for Republican county clerks and two years for Democrats, I was part of election teams that conducted 86 successful elections. But the public should know that “successful” isn’t the same thing as “flawless.” –
(D) Teneshia Hudspeth, Harris County Clerk , TX
ELECTIONS AND VOTER PARTICIPATION
RECENT REPORTS
2023 Mayoral Runoff Election Results in 4th Largest city in nation by City, County, State and Federal Districts in Harris County, TX
Voting and Registration in City of Houston: 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 Elections
1980-2021 HOUSTON DEMOGRAPHICS and the state of the LATINO ELECTORATE
Non-Hispanic Whites decreasing percent share of CVAP explains Republicans’ loss of electoral power in the 3rd largest County in the nation…NOT Voter Fraud.
11/8/2022 Midterm Election – Voter Turnout by Age Group, Gender and Votetype – Harris County, TX
November 8, 2022 Election – Voting and Registration by Political Entity – Harris County (TX)
2022 Midterm Election – Unofficial Daily Record of Early Voting by Zip Code and Gender- Harris County,TX
Are there differences in the number of females who are registering to vote going into the 2022 Midterm election compared to the 2018 Midterm election?
Voter Registration in Unincorporated Area and 34 Cities in Harris County, TX, by Gender and Surname (as of 9/1/2022)
Snapshot of Spanish-surname Registered Voters in UNINCORPORATED Harris County, TX: Nov. 2, 2010 vs May 1, 2022
March 1, 2022, Mail, Early and Election Day Primary Voters in Harris County, TX by Zip Code
Voters by Age Group and Gender as of Feb. 25, Harris County (TX) March 1, 2022, Democratic Party Primary Election
HARRIS COUNTY (TX) POST-REDISTRICTING REGISTERED VOTERS BY PRECINCT, with Gender, Surname and New District-Key Info (as-of 1/1/2022)
VOTING REPORTS
2022 Midterm Election – Harris County (TX) – Early and Mail Voters by Age Group (Revised)
This table aggregates early and mail voters. (NOTE: The data in the narrative has been revised. Initially, the objective was to provide in-person early voter percentages. Inadvertently, the percentages provided were for the complete 2014 and 2018 election.) Do past...
VOTING AND REGISTRATION IN SPRING BRANCH SINCE 2000
Voting-n-Registration_Spring-BranchDownload
2006 to 2020 Harris County (TX) Democratic Primary Elections Aggregate Vote and Turnout sorted by Race/Ethnicity of current Representative
These charts provide the aggregate percent of the vote Texas House Districts totaled and aggregate voter turnout in 2008 to 2020 Harris County (TX) Democratic Primary Elections. The aggregate totals were garnered by filtering voter turnout data by Texas House of...
Early voters central to growing Latino vote
https://www.hectordeleon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Early-Voters-Key-to-Growing-Latino-Vote.pdf Prior to the 2016 Presidential election, the majority of Spanish-surname voters cast their ballots on Election Day. In 2016, compared to 2012, the Spanish-surname early...
How does VOTER TURNOUT fluctuate in MUNICIPAL, MIDTERM AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS in TX 3rd Largest County?
Voter_TURNOUT_2012-2019-4Download The charts in this brief presentation are based on an analysis of raw Harris County (TX) official voter registration and voting records for the 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 November Elections. The charts are offered to help...
Is Election Participation a Socioeconomic Condition? Harris County (TX) Voter Turnout by Zip Code Area, Median Household Income, and Surname: November 8, 2016 General Election
CLICK HERE https://www.hectordeleon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TABLE_Voting_n_Registration_by_-ZipCode_MedianHouseholdIncome_n_Surnames_2016NovElection.xlsx The table at the link provides the median household income for zip code areas in Harris County, the third...
LATINOS QUIETLY PASS AFRICAN AMERICANS AS 2ND LARGEST GROUP OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN HARRIS CNTY: 5 Takeaways from August 2020 Harris Cnty (TX) Voter Roll
Here are five takeaways from a Review of the August 2020 Harris County (TX) Voter Registration Roll: NON-SPANISH, NON-ASIAN SURNAME REGISTERED VOTERS CONTINUE TO AGE OUT OF THE VOTER ROLL If one looks at the percentages for registered voters that are eighty years old...
Republican Downfall in #HarrisCountyTX? Latinos, African Americans and Asians now the majority of Adult Citizens OUTSIDE and INSIDE the City of Houston
What caused the Republican electoral downfall in the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2018 Countywide contests in #HarrisCountyTX? The answer is not that difficult to find. But for whatever reason, the success that countywide Democratic party affiliated candidates have shown in...
MORE SPANISH-SURNAMED VOTERS PARTICIPATED IN THE NOV. 2016 ELECTION THAN EVER IN THE 3rd LARGEST COUNTY IN THE NATION
Spanish-surnamed queries conducted on the actual voter rolls provide data that show Latino voter participation reached unprecedented levels in the Nov. 2016 election in Harris County, an achievement that more than likely was...
TRACKING THE CHANGING ELECTORATE IN THE NATION’S 3rd LARGEST POLITICAL JURISDICTION
click here > TRACKING THE CHANGING ELECTORATE IN THE NATION’S 3rd LARGEST POLITICAL JURISDICTION
2020 ELECTION
A Look at the Vote in the 2008 to 2020 Harris County (TX) Primary Elections
This is one of twelve tables reviewing Harris County Primary Elections voting data from 2008 to 2020. A-look-at-Harris-County-TX-Primary-Elections_2008-2020Download THE OBJECTIVE The objective of this presentation is to answer the following questions about the #HarrisCounty Democratic Party and Republican Party #primaryelections since 2008: • How...
ARE HARRIS COUNTY REGISTERED VOTER POPULATION CHANGES IN 10-YEARS EXPLAINED BY 2020 CENSUS? WILL CHANGES MANIFEST IN 2022 PRIMARY ELECTIONS?
Comparison_2011vs2021_HarrisCntyRegV_w-Census2020Demographics-1Download OBJECTIVE This analysis measures the changes in the registered voter population in cities and unincorporated areas in Harris County at a ten year interval and examines if the changes are explained by 2020 Census. It combines Census population data with voter registration data...
ESTIMATED POPULATION AND VOTING AGE POPULATION TOTALS FOR SPRING BRANCH ISD
...
Estimated 2020 Census Race and Ethnicity Demographics for Houston’s Eleven (11) Council Districts
2020_Census_COH-Pop-VAP-CCD_Final-REVISED-1Download *The total population for Houston according to the 2020 Census is 2,304,580. The total appearing on these tables is 304,383. Why? Twelve of the voting tabulation districts (voting precincts) from the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Summary File do not appear or match the City Of Houston Exhibit A...
Review of 2014 and 2020 Harris County Elections shows why vote in Republican areas may no longer spell Midterm doom for Democrats
1120-Election_Voting-n-Registration_HCCPrcts-by-Incorp-n-Unincorp_Areas-v3-1Download PREFACE In Harris County, the fortunes of countywide major political party candidates in even-numbered year November elections have changed. For many years, voter participation levels in Republican held Commissioner Precincts 3 and 4 were the foundation of...
Voter Participation By Gender and Age Group in Harris County (TX): November 3, 2020 Election
11-3-2020-Election-Voting-n-Registration-by-Gender-v2Download This table provides the voter turnout in the November 3, 2020 Election by gender, age group and incorporated and unincorporated areas in Harris County, Texas, the third largest county in the nation. A downloadable version of the table is also provided in excel format, at the provided...
“The devil has power in his gift. And, if men have power, it has been given to them by the devil, NOT by God, because God does not traffic in power…” -Malcolm Muggeridge, English journalist and caustic social critic
Charts
Latinos’ Share of Voting Eligible Citizenry in Texas’ Largest City and County?
Who VOTED? City of Houston November 7, 2023 Election
11-7-2023-vs-11-3-2015_by-Zip_V2Download A comparison of the 2015 November City of Houston Election results with the 2023 November results within Harris County indicate the following: In 19 zip code areas where the "White alone" population is 60% or more and the rest...
Voting, Registration and Turnout: City of Houston 2019 Election
Millennials and GenZs must be engaged to increase Hispanic/Latino Voter Turnout
City of Houston: Voting, Registration, and Turnout in Last Open Mayoral Contest (2015)
Precinct-by-Precinct Results for Selected Nov. 8, 2022 Harris County (TX) Elections
11-8-22_Election_Official_Canvass_Selected_State-n-HarrisCnty_Contests-2Download The attached Excel File includes three spreadsheets with the precinct by precinct November 8, 2022 election results in Harris County for selected contests. One spreadsheet provides the...
Breaking Down Election Day Voters in Harris County (TX) Commissioner Court Precincts by Gender and Surname
Daily Spanish-surname Early Voters in Harris County (TX): 2018 vs 2022 – Midterm Elections
In the 2018 Midterm election, in Harris County, TX, Spanish-surnamed early voters by personal appearance totaled 133,002. In 2022, the total was 109,336. It did not match the 2018 midterm election total. But, it is significantly more than any other Midterm Election....
2018 vs 2022 Midterm, Early Voting Totals for Majority African American Zip Codes in Texas’ Largest County (Harris)
Halfway through the early voting period the totals in African American zip code areas in Harris County (Texas) were down 27% compared to the 2018 Midterms. Six-days later, at the conclusion of early voting by personal appearance, it was only down 15%.
2022 MIDTERMS VOTER TURNOUT IN HARRIS COUNTY,TX ST. REP. DISTRICTS
As of October 31, 2022, voter turnout in State Representative Districts (SRD) held by Republicans is 22%. In SRDs held by Democrats, voter turnout is 15%.
Harris County (TX) 2022 Midterm In-Person Early Voting short of Historic 2018 Turnout by 10%: But it’s the 2nd highest total in a similar election ever in Texas’ largest county
1118-v-1122-EVPA-Final-Cumulative-Totals-by-Zip-CodeDownload The 2022 Midterm Election final early voting in-person totals in Harris County show that voter participation is down 10%, compared to historic 2018 Midterm Early Voting Turnout. NOTE: The daily aggregate...
Why Citizen Voting Age Population Matters and How It Impacts Election Outcomes
ACS-and-Vote_TX-1Download The objective of this presentation is to see how low the White Alone citizen voting age population (CVAP) has to be for Republican affiliated candidates to lose a county or statewide election. According to the 2016-2020 American Community...
A comparison of 2018 and 2022 October Voter Rolls shows “males” have slightly outpaced “females” registrants in the 3rd largest county in the nation
2018vs2022_HarrisCntyTX_VR-by-Gender-n-City-1Download The provided data table (downloadable excel file) shows the ratio of female to male registered voter by cities wholly or in part in Harris County (Texas’ most populated county) at the same point in 2018 and 2022....
Harris County, TX Registered Voters by Commissioner Court Precincts, Sex, and Surname
2022_Aug_RegV_HarrisCnty_ComPctsDownload
Registered Voters in Harris County (TX) State Representative Districts as of July 6, 2022
July-2022_Reg_Voters_HarrisCntyTXDownload The attached Excel sheet includes five sheets with registered voter information for Harris County, TX presented in various way. The aim of this quantitative analysis is to provide a sense of where the County's registered...
2023 Houston Mayoral Election (Harris County Voting Precincts))
“Devils, rebels or angels, poets or peddlers, princes or pawnbrokers, we really are not so bad, after all. At least we are interesting.”
-Anita Brenner, Mexican born avant–garde artists
“There are things so deeply personal that they can be revealed only to strangers.”
-Richard Rodriguez, American writer, author of Hunger of Memory
LOOKING INWARD
CULTURE
It is crucial to acknowledge the dysfunction in our world to enable a better version of ourselves
At one point, he lived with two women, as husband and wives. The women shared the same first name. They lived in the same house. They had babies on the same day. He was in his twenties when I remember briefly staying in his house on a ranch near Brenham when we came...
PHOTOS ARE REMINDERS THAT CHANGE IS INEVITABLE AND OUR CAPACITY TO ADAPT IS INTEGRAL TO OUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE
Facing the early afternoon glare, our eyes are partly closed while my son, my wife and I are at a Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) rail station. It is the scene depicted in a photograph I found from 2004. A closer look shows that the squint and the prescription...
THE CHALLENGE of repeating a successful speaking performance
How can I match what I did previously? This is a question public speakers face regularly. Repeating a successful performance presents a challenge because factors that impact communication change from moment-to-moment. Good speakers must be ready to adapt to fluid...
A LIFE-LONG STRUGGLE: Communicating well in English is a never-ending endeavor for an immigrant
I aspire to communicate well in English. As an immigrant who arrived in the United States at the age of nine, a limited vocabulary and the lack of knowledge of how to use a period or a comma made learning to communicate an arduous process. Initially, the task was...
Exhorting Students to be Attentive
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I am very appreciative for the invitation. I am honored to be here but a bit apprehensive about speaking. You see every time I am asked to speak to teenagers I think about my years as a teen. And I think about the...
Dealing with death during the Holidays
Jose Guadalupe de Leon (father) Hector de Leon (son) Several minutes before the clock hit the twenty-fourth hour, thirty-two days after Thanksgiving, fifteen days after his 70th birthday, two days after Christmas, four days before the new year, in 1999, my father took...
MEMORIES OF A RESTLESS SPIRIT: My Brother’s Troubled Life and Struggle with his Mental Well-Being
Recollections of Houston's historic Gulfgate Mall triggers memories of my younger brother's troubled existence, mental health, and a harrowing life altering incident which occurred a block away from the theater. Having lived the better part of my life in the Houston’s...
MLK’S TIMELESS LESSON: It takes courageous leadership to achieve high-minded objectives
“I just want to leave a committed life behind”. That is a pronouncement from Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) which was seared in my mind the moment I read it when I was 16-years of age. It was a sentence in an excerpt of King’s Drum Major Instinct sermon which I stumbled...
LESSONS THAT OUTLIVE A PROFESSOR: Political theory shaped mind, life
Lessons That Outlive a Professor_HoustonChronicle_7-23-2006 (This essay has been edited since it appeared in the Houston Chronicle Editorials on July 21, 2006.) My favorite professor died in 2006. His name was Ross Lence. He taught political theory at the University...
FATHERS WILL NEVER CEASE TO EXIST: Our fathers are present in our name, in our minds and our hearts
When I lost my father, I was terribly shaken. I felt that a part of me had perished. I felt very vulnerable and very mortal. My sense of security vanished because the shield between me and all my fears was gone. It felt like I was five years old again and I was lost...
Volunteerism and Loyalty defined Rafael Palafox, aka Señor NALEO
A wrinkled fading black and white copy of Rafael Palafox’s Certificate of Naturalization shows he was 24-days short of his sixty-eighth birthday when he suddenly passed away. I found it in my mail basket. It was made to serve as “In Case of an Emergency”...
The Highs and Lows of a Daring, Fearless, Cheerful Dreamer: A COVID-19 Victim
(José Raúl de León [García] at different stages of his life: “Pepe.”) “My Dad is the most talented man that I know,” his daughter lovingly expressed on a family Zoom call. As a teenager, he was “hanging ten” on his skateboard and surfboard before Tony Hawk made...
For an immigrant child, the meaning of home
In the fall of 2014, as the number of unaccompanied children illegally crossing into the United States surged, there were calls to quickly send them home. I began to think about the idea of home and what it means from the immigrant child perspective. I asked, "If I...
NUESTROS PADRES NUNCA DEJAN DE EXISTIR
Cuando perdí a mi padre estaba terriblemente conmovido. Sentí que una parte de mí murio. Me sentía muy vulnerable y muy mortal. Se sentía como si tenía cinco años y estaba perdido en un lugar publico. Sin el escudo contra mis temores, mi sensación de seguridad...
MY MOTHER, MY HERO: MI MADRE, MI HÉROE
A mother is the one constant in the life of most children. The moment my mother died compelled me to reflect on this reality. Until the age of 10, I lived with my mother in Mexico while my father lived in the USA. Once I reached adulthood, the circumstances of...
Mi Madre, Mi Héroe
Para la mayoría de niños su madre es lo único constante en sus vidas. El momento en que murió mi madre me hizo reflexionar sobre esta realidad. Hasta la edad de 10 años yo vivía con mi madre en México mientras mi padre vivía en los EE.UU. Una vez que llegué...
MEMOIR: AN EXISTENCE THAT IS A DREAMLIKE MEMORY
Imágenes de las ceremonias previas a partidos de fútbol internacional son recordatorios de que individuos tienen un vínculo inherente con el equipo en el que se ven
Cuando veo las ceremonias de banderas previas a los partidos de fútbol internacionales que involucran a El Tri, el equipo nacional de fútbol de México, me vienen imágenes de la escuela donde recibí mi educación primaria temprana en la zona rural de Nuevo León. Al...
EL SILENCIO DE EL CABRITO: The Butchering of a Baby Goat and Being a Carnivore
(This is the 5th installment of my childhood memoir, "An Existence that is a Dreamlike Memory") The bleats reverberated and slowly faded away as the cabrito’s life force drained into a bucket that was placed beneath its head: Maaa...maa...ma... ▪ At the age of four, I...
Eating corn tortilla tacos prepared me to eat tamales, tortilla soup and other corn-based dishes
A young village woman was paid to make tortillas and deliver them to our living quarters on the school grounds. Corn tortillas were part of every meal in rural Southwest Nuevo Leon. Poor soil and low rainfall made corn the core food staple in the semi-arid...
EL TEATRO: All the world is a stage (3rd installment of the childhood memoir “An Existence that is a Dreamlike Memory”)
On pleasant autumn nights, we would gather on the stage of an old weathered white open air Roman-style theater situated on the school grounds. On the adobe platform four feet above the ground, feeling closer to the heavens, me, my...
Images of Pregame Ceremonies at International Futbol Matches Are Reminders That Americans Have An Inherent Bond With The Team In Whom They See Themselves
When I watch pregame ceremonies at international futbol matches involving El Tri, the Mexican national soccer team, images of the school where I received my early primary education in rural Nuevo Leon come to me. Like the players on the field at the World Cup, the...
STARK ENVIROMENT
Small dust remolinos (whirlwind) were ordinary sights during the hottest months of the year. That is one of the lingering memories of Albercones, the last of a handful of ranchos (rural communities) where my mother worked as a teacher and where I lived...
“The odds are great. But my spirit is strong. My faith unbreakable. My blood is pure. I shall endure. I will endure.” -Rodolfo Gonzales, Mexican-American boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist