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2:45 a.m. Interview on KPBS

I’ve been working from about 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. the last few nights to keep KPBS.org updated. Our web team, along with the news staff and other volunteers, are taking turns to keep everything up and running 24/7. As I was finishing up early this morning, Doug Myrland (KPBS general manager who was working overnight on-air), asked me a few questions about the Google map to give people a sense of how we’re doing it.

Here’s the conversation:

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(It’s not exactly an award-winning performance by yours truly, but I thought it was worth a posting for posterity’s sake.)

Much has progressed since this recording. Google has joined the effort to streamline updates, and those who have been updating the county maps will now be contributing directly to our Google map. In addition, a site from Governor Schwarzenegger, calfires.com, has embedded the map directly. Local CBS is linking to the map. Wired bloggers Michael Calore and Kevin Poulsen reported on KPBS’ use of Twitter and Google maps.

(Special props to Joe Spurr for pushing the use of Twitter and Google maps.)

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Chicano History on KPBS

I produced a segment today for KPBS Radio’s talk show These Days. I brought on Sal Castro, a key figure who led student walkouts in the 1960s, and two UCSD professors to talk about Chicano history and identity.

Student Walkouts Hark Back to the Chicano Movement

Sal Castro, youth motivator and volunteer teacher. He mentored the students who staged walkouts in 1968. He joins us from his home in Los Angeles. Sal Castro will be at UCSD to lead a discussion following a public screening of the HBO film Walkout on Wednesday May 10 at 7 p.m. Walkout is directed by Edward James Olmos and is based on the true story of the 1968 walkouts.

Jorge Mariscal, director of the Chicano Studies Program at UC San Diego. His latest book is Brown-Eyed Children of the Sun: Lessons from the Chicano Movement.

Tomás Jiménez, Assistant Professor of Sociology at UCSD. His research focuses on immigration, race, ethnicity, inequality, assimilation, and the Mexican-origin population in the U.S.

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Immigration Rally in San Diego

Sunday afternoon, tens of thousands marched through downtown San Diego. The news wires report over 50,000 attended, while others estimate the count at over 80,000. I was at the march to gather sound for NPR’s Morning Edition, KQED’s California Report, and KPBS News. On site, people were saying 15,000. I have no idea how they estimate these things, and I’ve never been in a crowd that large, so I can’t really say how may people were there. Here are photos I took:

Immigration Rally in San Diego

The march was completely peaceful. The organizers handed out free bottled water. The police presence was very low. Most people wore white to symbolize peace and unity. People shouted “Si se puede,” “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido,” and other chants. I spoke to a journalist who writes for the media in Mexico City, an actor from the film A Day Without A Mexican, local residents, and several undocumented immigrants. I met a husband and wife who held a sign that read, “My wife is not a criminal.” The man served in Iraq and the woman was undocumented. She was brought to the U.S. at an early age and spoke perfect, unaccented English. She said she considers herself an American.

Immigration Rally in San Diego

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StoryCorps in San Diego

StoryCorps MobileBooth
StoryCorps is an oral history project that sends their MobileBooth around the country, allowing two people to interview each other about their lives. The participants receive a copy of the 40-minute interview; another copy goes to the Library of Congress to permanently archive the voices of our time. At KPBS, I’m producing excerpted stories from the booth for broadcast. We started airing the pieces this week, and will continue into March. Check out this hilarious story:

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Ramón “Chunky” Sanchez is a musician who played an active role in the Barrio Logan protests that led to the creation of Chicano park. His parents were farm workers, and when he first started public school he spoke only Spanish. Here, Chunky Sanchez talks with his friend Jose “Pepe” Villarino about what it was like for Mexican-American students in the 1950s.

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La Posada: A Chicano Christmas Story

This is a 14-minute radio documentary I produced for KPBS in San Diego. It airs aired December 23 at 10:30 a.m. and December 25 at 3:30 p.m.:

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Keeping old traditions alive can be hard work, but Mario Aguilar believes it’s worth it. Every year, the Aguilar family gathers their friends and neighbors to re-enact a Mexican posada at their home in Chula Vista, CA. And despite the children’s excitement over costumes and candy, Aguilar says practicing this age-old tradition will help future generations appreciate their heritage.

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The Nortec Collective

Check out this radio piece I co-produced on the music of the Nortec Collective. On his blog, P.G. Beas (Hiperboreal) refers to me as a “gringo muy mexicano.”