Cultura en Silencio: Elaborating Chicano/a Culture through Open Space and Recreation
CHS 409
3/3/2013
Introduction
The barrio is the reflection of the communidad of the city that has had a significant Spanish influence. The Chicano/a community has had a strong influence on open space and recreation in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and more. The culture within barrio comes from the availability or lack and utilization of open space and recreation. Several different barrios can be found across the country in the mist of major urban centers. What makes the barrios different from other communities in the nation is the culture it creates among the residents that live there. There is a united front that the residents undertake to better their lives and the lives of the community.
Open Space can have different definitions in different situations. It may mean land free of human built structures or areas left for the use of the public, or even protected lands from development. However, in general, open space should ultimately be left for the public to decide what is best for their own community. Open spaces in Chicano/a communities have created social meanings and importance to all Chicanos by redefining barrio culture and opening new doors for embracement.
Recreation is an activity done for enjoyment when someone is not working, It is a way to spend leisure time. Community recreation offers an opportunity to meet people while they enjoy a wide range of cultural, social, or physical activities moreover on the topic activities provide usage for the open space in communities. They are mainly found in the arts, sports, music, dance, literature and much more. Chicano recreational programs have redefined barrio and urban Chicano/a culture by influencing the daily lives of the mass living within communities.
The Essay on Sprawl Open Space
Sprawl What is Sprawl? Once upon a time, sprawl was a fairly neutral term to describe car dependent, low-density economic growth beyond the bounds of older suburbs. Now it is used almost exclusively to describe the dark side of that growth: unbearable traffic, vanishing open space, increasing levels of air and water pollution, and higher taxes to perpetuate the cycle of new schools, sewers, and ...
Opportunities at Risk
A dominant issue in barrios is the lack of open space and recreational activities. Parklands show tremendous opportunity to uplift the community and keep the residents lively; however there are some negative side effects that may arise if a deficit is present. The development of park lands has an influence of street and gang violence. Though, parks often have recreational programs that include a wide variety of sports, activities. Personally, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Glassell Park, there are basketball, baseball, flag football, soccer, and tennis teams. There is also a swimming pool for the hot summer days and even a summer lunch program. These programs are for the youth to stay off the streets and keep occupied. However, parklands become gang territories in the lower-income neighborhoods. If the park lacks maintenance and security, then gang and street violence may occur. On the other hand providing numerous programs like the ones Glassell Park has to offer may retain the rate of street violence and gang activity.
The crisis of open space continues to undergo in contemporary society. Though the utilization of open space is mandatory to build and redefine barrio centers. Major cities across the nation have been clogging open spaces and park lands in several ways. For example, Los Angeles is a major Chicano/a city that has had numerous freeways built around localities. Freeways are supposed to favor the community, meaning commuters can get to their destination in a fraction of time. However, the creation of freeways has negatively altered the paradigm of existing communities through manifestation of physical barriers. Los Angeles, like any other city is conducted of minuscule communities.
Case Study: Belvedere Park
Belvedere Park located in a barrio has as well negatively altered their open space by government officials. The county began a series of disturbances that eventually destroyed the original Soledad Park which was built in 1942 (Sutkin, 2003).
The Essay on Outer Space Mexico People Mexican
Introduction There are many people that have impacted on the country Mexico. Some of the famous people were presidents, musicians, astronauts and writers. They have showed Mexico many important things and helped to improve their technology. Here is the information on some of these famous people. Pedro Infante: Pedro was the greatest Mexican idol, and he was born in the beautiful port of Mazatlan, ...
It was a significant urban resource because it was twenty-two acres with a public pool and other commodities (Diaz, 2005).
Soldedad Park was renamed in 1949 to Belvedere Park. It was destructed because the city officials sought to develop. Shortly after Soledad park was a prime example of social control. The first striking modification occurred in 1943 which happened to be the widening of First Street. Later, First Street Elementary was constructed along with a county courthouse, and L.A. County Sheriff’s Department on Third Street. Freeways were then constructed in which inevitably split the entire East L.A. community into dense fractions.
Open Space in Community Possession
Minorities created spaces where they feel superior and entitled to cultural expressions. Minorities and open spaces often occur when a portion of a city is predominately concentrated by a particular ethnic background. These are spaces are created to express oneself in localities were racism and oppression occur. People can feel a sense of belonging and identity within these boundaries. This is how predominately Mexican or predominately African American or any other ethnic background communities are formed. Minorities usually find place in neighborhoods where they share cultural similarities. Minorities have utilized the space, enriching it to their advantage by creating a network system.
Case Study: Los Angeles Plaza
La Placita Olvera has had a historical and cultural significance to the Mexican American population of Los Angeles. In 1926, Christine Sterling began to “rescue” Olvera Steet. Even though it was a place that celebrated the Mexican heritage and culture, it was used as a tourist attraction. “Indeed, the creation of a colorful tourist attraction undoubtedly appeared to be a novel solution to fighting labor unions, communists, and other enemies of free enterprise …” (Estrada, 2008).
Olvera Street was enriched with culture that it was known as the Mexico outside Mexico. It is a space that encompasses Mexican culture on American land, or Mexican-American assimilation It connected generations born in Mexico and generations born in the United States. La Placita Olvera was a known to be a place for immigrant Mexicans to relate and gain comfort in a foreign land. People of Mexican descent felt safe at the Plaza, they also felt like they belonged there because of the stories and experiences of others related to their own struggles. The area not only attained a highly enriched culture but it also served as a stage for public speaking and a demonstration of civic rights. The plaza brought forward different views of the world and exercised their rights to protested freely.
The Essay on Creation Of Chicano Culture
Creation of Chicano Culture The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 was, in essence, an annexation of Mexican territory to the United States and it changed the citizenship of thousands of Mexican citizens overnight to American. These citizens were not asked if they wanted to be American and they were also not accorded all the rights and privileges of American citizenship. They became, instead, a ...
Social Impacts
Open space and recreation have a significant variety of social understanding. There are numerous events that facilitated a demonstration of the influences of the Chicano/a culture. Through open space, communities get involved to better their surroundings. When residents arise through a common struggle, they hold more power and awareness and can soon come to conclusion against a barrier. It’s a cultural phenomenon as shown in the past, a united barrio can make changes to their reality.
Case Study: Chicano Mural Movement and Barrio Logan, San Diego
Barrio Logan, as like numerous other localities suffered from free way construction. The Coronado Bay Bridge was built to connect San Diego and Coronado across the San Diego Bay. On the east side of the bay, the bridge cuts through the Barrio Logan community as it connects to Interstate 5. Chicano Park is located in that communidad under the bridges on- ramps. (Rosen, 2001).
This was the first huge mobilization of Latino people. The residents who lived there started positive protest by cleaning up the city. They planted trees across the landscape and continued to clean the environment, even when they didn’t own it. Public art was shown on the pillars of the bridge and freeway. Chicano Park is the site of monumental Hispanic mural art with a goal to recapture the image of a community.
Recreational Expressions
Throughout many barrios, means of expression have arose, One leaning towards the interest in the universal language of dance. “Several dance artists who are members of diverse ethnic communities search for inspiration in their own cultural traditions to create new, more contemporary modes of representation” (Shay, 2006).
It not only preserves the dance but it bring history and importance to the community. Ethnic dances create an appreciation and inspiration for people in barrios to embrace their culture. La danza Azteca is a complex and ancient form of communication amongst the native nations of Mexico. Through la danza azteca the entire community gains education on the practices in Aztecs times. Another form of dance would be the Ballet Folkorico is a type of dance that included folk music from all of the various regions in Mexico.
The Essay on Contact Zones in Chicano Culture
Meeting someone from another culture expands your knowledge of the world. As you receive new information, you are giving some of your own. The experience of two different people meeting is far less than the experience of two different cultures of people meeting. The most common outcome of these meeting is one culture dominates over the other. This domination eventually leads to hatred towards the ...
Through the arts, the community gains a sense of unity opposing to the oppressions lead on by American society. Mariachi music and bandas are significantly important in Chicano culture. It allows the community to appreciate their culture and discover sense of empowerment. Banda music is usually associated with corridos or rancheras. Mariachi on the other hand is specific and its popularity came about in the Southwest alongside a large scale of immigration from Mexicans into the united states during and after the revolution (Tatum, 2001).
A variety of string instruments are associated with the ensemble of a mariachi group: violins, harps, nylon string guitars. The trumpet in addition was added after the 1940’s. In contemporary society, mariachi music has nettled in many social arrangements high schools and colleges. “Tucson has been one of the centers of mariachi music for more than thirty years” (Tatum, 2001).
However, there have been several other places that incorporate mariachi music. For example, in East Los Angeles, there is a place called the “Mariachi Plaza.” This is where unprofessional musicians are hired to play at neighborhood events or parties. Chicano music is just one of the artistic ways that the barrio community embraces their culture.
Chicano cinema and literature have also been reinvented due to barrio culture. The Chicano/a literary movement mostly portrayed the life in the barrio, something to which residents could relate to. “The reflection of everyday life in the barrio became important, first to the Chicano/a social and political movement and eventually to mainstream literary venues and publishers” (Diaz, 2005).
Several writers arose from the barrios including Luis Rodriguez and Sandra Cisneros. There was a wide variety of subject discussed that let the world around them know the realities and struggles of living in the barrio. From daily activities to internal conflicts and crisis’s of identity were openly discussed and acknowledged. Cinema and theater were also other artistic ways that reinvented barrio culture. “The history of Chicano theater was built on a system of “familia” a kind of extended family where theater artists often work together collectively to create work socially relevant to Chicanos” (Moraga, 1992).
The Essay on Reflecting on culture and arts
Reflecting on Culture and Art Native American Indians and pottery, turquoise jewelry, and paintings of Indians come to mind when some individuals think of American culture and how it relates to art. The Indian’s daily lives once included many forms of art, such as hunting, and tribal communication via story telling or smoke signals. When listing these art forms, one realizes art is much more than ...
Josefina Lopez created Casa 0101 in the barrio of Boyle Heights in 2000. This theater is community based and started with her play “Real Women Have Curves.” Her play not only demonstrated Chicana women solidarity and liberation but it showed the hardships and realities women in barrios may relate to. Cinema and literature has challenged the racist views outsiders place on barrios. In general the arts was a way to escape racism and stereotypes, it allowed Chicano/a culture to decide its own direction.
Cultural Centers
Cultural centers are organizations or buildings that promote culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community art organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. The centers serve as a way to preserve culture and enrich history of the people in barrios or other ethnic communities. Cultural centers are important because they bring people from every part of the neighbor to better the place they live in. An Example include the Centro Culturo de la Raza in San Diego, California. Cultural centers are hardly ever government sponsored. People of minority backgrounds usually structure the centers. Cultural workers and volunteers are extremely critical for the maintenance of these places.
Through the characteristics of the Chicano/a culture is as well the importance and influence for the younger generations of the Chicano/a communities. The state and government do not support the arts so barrios have to come up with different ways to preserve their culture. Cultural workers are predominately volunteers who give their time to help better the community. Private supporters are making themselves a part of redefining Chicano/a or Latino/a culture. Volunteers are training younger people that the state does not reproduce. The influence that the volunteers have on the community is under appreciated free labor by the state. The volunteers and cultural workers allow entire societies to benefit from.
The Essay on Culture and Cultural Norms
Culture can be referred to as a people’s way of life. It can be used to refer to the way we live and all that goes along with our life. That means that for us to have a life we have to be affiliated to a certain culture or to belong to a certain culture. To be in a certain culture, one has to comply will the cultural values, norms and expectations. Cultural values can be used or rather the term ...
Case Study: Self Help Graphics and Day of the Dead
The barrio of East Los Angeles has created one of the most important art institutions in the United States. Places like Self Help Graphics, which started in 1982, molded what makes Chicano art today. “To some extent, the institution was designed to break down the barriers between community members and artists or at least to facilitate a movement and exchange between these two categories” (Gunckel, 2011).
This has been the model of multiculturalism because of the integration of all community members involved in the Day of the Dead procession and the influence it has left for other cities to integrate the historic holiday. One of the major cultural events Self Help Graphics contributes to is the Day of the Dead. In 1974, the Annual Day of the Dead exhibit and procession was one of the first events institutionalized at SHG (Saldivar, 2000).
Since then, Los Angeles independant musicians, performers, artists, and altar makers come together with the help of volunteers and cultural workers. It is the linkage between underfunding from the state, volunteers, and in perpetuity. Socially, it brings meaning for the entire barrio to come together as a community as celebrate a holiday from their native land.
Social Significance
The heart of the barrios have an important social significance because it introduces alternative ways of networking and ways of living within the residents. Barrios unite neighbors and together as a community, begin to accept and adopt the youth. The barrios contain interactive socializations instead of atomization and has a strong stance on maintaining a sustainable environment.
The barrio space is maximized and sustained by culture. Residents of barrios create gardens with different fruit trees or plants. This establishes networks because what one neighbor lacks or needs another neighbor shares. The barrio has an interaction between neighbors which is unlike suburbia.
In suburbia, there is domination over space and culture. Most suburban neighborhoods have a Homeowners Association, which serve to practice eminent domain. They regulate sections that are limited to the public. They also regulate most of what urban residents take for granted. The residents of suburbia usually lack interaction with each other or bring outsiders in to their personal space. There is also a sense of individualism. Residentes create their own space, restructure it and/or intensify in feature what they already have. Barrio culture is imploding all over the country because of its acceptance of multiculturalism.
Conclusion
The importance of open space and recreation is to provide an essential component to enrich the barrio culture however due to the crisis of open space. In addition neglection and underfunding on the issue contributes to the overall struggle, moreover, it retains the expectancy of flourishing this unique culture. Through struggles, barrios have reached new fronts. As shown in the past and multiple aspects of contemporary society. Recreational activities allow for Chicano/a to explore hidden talents through music and different forms of art. It is essential to have open space and recreational activities for minorities because it can bring unity and compassion through hard situations.
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