Word: chicano
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...subtle. The creative work being done by Hispanics today is more than ever recognizable to Americans as the work of, well, Americans -- Hispanic Americans. Paintings and music that spring from Latin sources are being filtered through a north-of-the-border sensibility. As in La Bamba: its story of Chicano life is told through myths of immigrant struggle and showbiz martyrdom that were born in the U.S.A. Increasingly, too, Hispanic artists and entertainers are courting the mass audience in English. Many of the nation's Latino theaters perform in English only. "I don't want to be a good Hispanic...
Always chafing against cliches too narrow to contain them, Hispanics may find their greatest luxury in not being hemmed in by any preconceptions at all. Consider the Los Angeles artist known as Gronk. He has impeccable Chicano credentials: born in 1954 in mostly Chicano East Los Angeles, he was a co- founder in his younger days of an ad hoc group of Latino artists who brought their art to the streets. But all of that was the forcing ground for a talent that resists ethnic labels. His paintings carry echoes of Mexican symbolism, but they also wear the signs...
...just a parable for immigrant visions crushed by reality. It is a caustic metaphor for Hispanic-American filmmakers lusting to conquer Hollywood. Years of slammed doors have tempered hope with skepticism, even when one smash movie has opened doors a crack. La Bamba, a low-budget bio-pic of Chicano Rock 'n' Roller Ritchie Valens, was last summer's surprise hit, earning $55 million at the North American box office. Maybe Hispanic film artists would prefer to believe in La Bamba's rags-to-riches story. But they know how even that film ends: with a fatal plane crash...
Eddie, a long-haired Chicano rocker, and Kaija, the daughter of a famous actor, had a hard job convincing both their families that they had a future together. "I was Guess Who's Coming to Dinner before the movie appeared," grins Olmos. "It was quite a dinner. They served artichokes, and I'd never eaten one." Even after the couple was married in a small ceremony in 1971, the Keels "weren't thrilled" by the union, says Kaija. "I was very mad at them for a while, but now that I'm a parent, I can understand. They were worried...
...That is why we have the odd circumstance of a fairly substantial number of Hispanic [undergraduates] and virtually none in the faculty," he says, adding he has seen little gain in attracting either Hispanics or people interested in studying Chicano culture since it first became a subject of academic study about 15 years...