NaCo...a way of life

What you see is what you get when it comes to clothing. It’s almost impossible not to wear what’s “in” because that’s mostly all of what stores sell. Everyone wants to be original and they end up looking just like everyone else. If who you are goes against the current, you are not alone. If you are Hispanic living in the U.S., and are caught between two cultures, you are not alone.
Teenagers and adults (those mostly in their twenties) have become walking manikins for designers, modeling their latest fashion statement that give the public a hint of what goes on in their minds. For Edoardo Chavarín (29, Tijuana) and Robby Vient (24, Mexican-American), founders of NaCo., which is a combination of the Spanish-Mexican word “naco” and the abbreviation for company (Co.). The Urban Dictionary defines “naco” as the “Mexican version of ‘white trash’…a Mexican word used to insult low class people…for someone who you think is less sophisticated than you, regardless of wealth.” NaCo’s website describes is as “more a state of mind. It’s more [of] a self assured disregard for what others think is cool without being arrogant or close-minded. Naco-ness is about being your own person regardless of if you're ever in the right or not. Ultimately, Naco-ness is about being yourself...”
Being a second generation Hispanic in the United States can be tough. There’s a part of you that wants to fit in with everyone else so that you don’t get picked on, but your roots keep pulling you back whispering, “Don’t forget about me!” Feeling the same struggles, Chavarín and Vient created their own clothing line that would change the face of style for the Hispanic American culture and that of the Mexican culture, at least for the present generation of ‘youth’. NaCo’s co-founders first began their line of clothing in Mexico City. Soon after, their fashion line was introduced to the U.S. and caught on quickly like wildfire, especially in Los Angeles, where Hispanics are the largest minority. An article in L.A.’s Tu Ciudad magazine in August 2007 said that “since crossing over to the United States earlier this year, the line—which features cheeky bilingual sayings (“Estar Guars” in a Star Wars-like font) and cool graphics (a paletero in silhouette, a towering quinceñera cake)—has caught on with L.A.’s bilingual set.” NaCo is a way of printing a way of life onto everyday clothes.
Not Hispanic? No worries! NaCo loves you too. The purpose of the line is not to leave anyone out, but exactly the opposite; it’s about including all those who have felt ‘left out’, making the ‘un-cool’ cool. In the same Tu Ciudad article, Chavarín says “It would be shallow to think that I am just going to gear this to the Hispanic market. One of our goals now is to be like music. A lot of kids say, ‘Should I go see The Strokes, Manu Chao, or Café Tacuba?’ Maybe one day it will be ‘Billabong, Puma, or NaCo?’”

Are You Kidding Me, Rev???

What’s going on here? In Wednesday’s edition of the New York Times, an article titled “In Louisiana, a Tree, a Fight and a Question of Justice”, covers a racial controversy being called the Jena 6. It all started with a tree, then a racial act, then a protest, and finally a fight. Now we have six high school kids charged with attempted murder, one of them who was put in jail while awaiting his trial. All of this has exploded into a national issue and is sweeping over college campuses and justice organizations. The article goes on to explain what’s being done about the whole situation and its affect on the town of Jena. What caught my attention was an argument between the parents of the accused and Rev. P.A. Paul who, by the way, is white. He has the nerve to tell those parents that what the white students did, hanging up nooses on the tree, is just “kid’s play.” What???!!!
As much as I’d like this world to be all happy and dandy, that’s just not reality. He later goes on to say that as a child he hung nooses around his neck (for fun…I guess). I don’t know about his mom, but if I knew my kid was hanging nooses around his/her neck, I’d be the one hanging him/her off a tree for even thinking about playing with that stuff. I thought Ms. Jones, mother of Carwin Jones (one of the accused), was absolutely hilarious. She told him, “Well, you didn’t pull it tight enough.” HAHA!!!
Those kids are in high school, and most likely well aware of what is considered racist and what isn’t. I highly doubt that the white student had no idea that calling a black student the ‘n-word’ would be offensive. He definitely knew what he was doing. He meant to hurt him. I’m not defending anyone. I just believe in justice, and what’s being done to these kids is not just.
Back to the kid’s play. Hate crimes are not unusual to teens now. According to SafeYouth.org, “almost two-thirds of reported attacks are committed by individuals under the age of 24,” where “young white males commit most of them.” Just because they’re ‘kids’ doesn’t mean that they’re not capable of committing a racist act. They’re old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, or at least they should. In regards to the hanging of the nooses, the act was dismissed. Nothing much was done to punish those who did it. However, interestingly enough, the University of Maryland experienced a similar display of racism. Recently, a noose was hung on a tree just outside of a cultural center. This case, however, is being seen differently. In an article by ABC News on September 10, Paul Dillon of the university police stated, “We will treat this like any other serious crime on campus.” Whether it’s a hate crime or not, it’s still a crime.
So once again, Reverend, what were you thinking???

No Wounds, No Amnesty. Know Wounds, Know Amnesty???

So, here we have a man who is in the Army National Guard. Although he was not born in the U.S., he serves the country he now lives in with pride-- great story about giving back to a country who's given you so much (John F. Kennedy would've been proud). However, there’s this little problem having to do with his wife-- she’s illegal. Sadly, this is the same story for many immigrants here in the good ol’ US of A, which claims to be the “land of the free and home of the brave,” as the national anthem states. One can argue that yes, it is land of the free for those who are here ‘legally,’ but does that mean that it can never be home to someone who might not have that opportunity?
What about someone who’s pleading asylum status? That is the case for Alexander Gomez’s wife. Both of them are from Columbia, which has always been marked with civil conflicts and to this day has fingers pointing towards it for drug ‘factories’ and exportation. Drug lords and dangerous zones are definitely reasons for one to plead asylum or refugee status. The only thing that gets me is the location that Gomez’s wife is coming from. According to gosouthamerica.about.com, the city of Cali is Columbia’s third largest city and is known for its tourist attractions. World66.com calls Cali a “laid-back” place to hang out and a great place to dance. Seeing how popular Cali is, one might see why Marly, Gomez’s wife, was denied asylum status. Why might someone living in a vacation spot want to flee? Her reasons for leaving are not quite clear. We do know that obviously something big must have happened in order for her to have risked her life, along with her son, to come here and taking the even bigger risk of entering illegally, knowing the feelings this country has toward illegal immigrants. Something must have driven her to sacrificing what she had.
What got me thinking wasn’t the question of whether she should be allowed to stay or not, but rather the fact that she was denied asylum. As stated before, her reasons for coming to the U.S. aren’t very clear, or at least given to the public, but neither are many things that go on behind closed doors (such as with our government...but we’ll leave it there). Anything could have happened. One of my professors here at Biola came to the US pleading for asylum. He was pretty well-off in his country. However, a political/civil war broke out and he felt he needed to get his family and himself out of their country before things got too hot to handle. He came here first with a visa, and used that opportunity to ask for political asylum, but was denied. He claims he was denied because he didn’t arrive with gun shot wounds or battle scars to prove his struggle. Fortunately, he received amnesty through a gracious act by the Reagan administration. He didn’t understand why persecution had to be physical in order to be accountable. “Asylum may be granted to people who are already in the United States and are unable or unwilling to return to their home country because of persecution or a well founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”(http://www.immihelp.com/gc/asylum.html). Fear is not always physical. Let’s try to be the land of the free and those who want to be free as well (and do it right and justly!).