I just ran into Jimmy Santiago Baca, a hero of mine just 20 minutes ago. I ran out of the store chasing him down like the day I chased down Daryl Strawberry after drug rehab playing for the dukes. I asked him if he was the writer. And he said "yes carnal". I have never felt so dignified in my cultural identity than in that moment. I felt so empowered. To what has seemed like slang my whole life in one moment became ratified as a legitimate phrase. The word carnal has a temperament . It has always been how my uncles describe a homeboy, good friend, or brother-like figure. I have shamefully reserved that word for rare occasions, tucked it away like q-vo,orale, and other fine declaratives. Today he reminded me that the chains I've put on my Chicano language can be liberated, the gringo might even find it romantic. As I grow into a man carnal is carnal, not evidence of delinquency.
Check for his interview on NPR Monday, I caught him on his way.
I want to be a writer, carnal!
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There is a part of the Chicano culture that is ruthless. Even the slightest social struggle creates opportunity for deviance. My family wa... -
Part 2 The darker aspects of my culture are simply expressions of communal pain. Without diving into excuses or reasons for class structure... -
Part 3 Where did the ability to self abuse originate? If I take a critical look at the people in my barrios that perpetrated on the home...