El Barrio Research Articles

Mapping Chinatown in 1920s and 1930s Barcelona: How el Raval Became el Barrio Chino

Barcelona's fifth district was first named el Barrio Chino in 1925 by Francisco Madrid, the co-founder and regular contributor of the weekly publication El Escandalo in an article titled Los bajos fondos de Unlike the establishment of other well-known Chinatowns in major metropolises such as New York and San Francisco, Barcelona's Barrio Chino did not host a significant Chinese migrant population during the early twentieth century. Instead, the reinvention of Barcelona's fifth district as el Barrio Chino was the product of the transnational circulation of the myth. This article explores the deployment of the Chinatown myth in the Spanish imaginary, its role in establishing the neighborhood as a marker of the city's modernity and cosmopolitanism, and its use as a frame for staging the performance of marginal identities in 1920s and 1930s Barcelona. Resumen: El quinto distrito de Barcelona se nombro el Barrio Chino por primera vez en 1925 en un articulo titulado Los bajos fondos de escrito por Francisco Madrid, el co-fundador y periodista de la revista semanal El Escandalo . A diferencia de los barrios chinos de otras grandes ciudades como Nueva York y San Francisco, el Barrio Chino de Barcelona no tuvo una poblacion importante de migrantes chinos durante las primeras decadas del siglo XX. En su lugar, la concepcion del quinto distrito de Barcelona como el Barrio Chino fue el resultado de la circulacion internacional del myth. Este articulo explora el despliegue del mito en el imaginario espanol, su papel en establecer el barrio como signo de la modernidad y el cosmopolitismo de Barcelona, y su uso como un marco dentro del cual se puso en escena el performance de identidades marginales de las decadas 20 y 30 en Barcelona.

A Qualitative Exploration of Latinos' Perceptions About Skin Cancer: the Role of Gender and Linguistic Acculturation.

Latinos have the highest rate of skin cancers among U.S. minorities. Despite a rising incidence of melanoma-the deadliest form of skin cancer-and greater disease burden, Latinos tend to have poor awareness of skin cancer risk factors which may inhibit preventive action. We expanded on prior work by qualitatively examining potential moderators (i.e., gender, acculturation) of skin cancer perceptions among Latinos from El Barrio in Harlem, New York City. Four focus groups stratified by language (English/Spanish) and gender were conducted. Discussions were recorded, transcribed, and coded using thematic analysis. Thirty-eight self-identified Latinos (32% male) participated. Across groups, median age was 35years; 50% completed <high school degree, 82% had annual incomes ≤$29,999, and 55% were born in Mexico. Mean acculturation level was 8.5 (SD = 3.9, range = 4-20). Major themes included (1) knowledge of common skin cancer risk factors, (2) acknowledgment of personal risk although lighter-skin individuals are at greater risk, and (3) awareness of effective risk reduction methods, despite the presence of fatalistic beliefs. Compared to males, females discussed tanning norms and appearance-based factors, identified children as vulnerable, highlighted the benefits of sun exposure, and wanted more information. Few linguistic acculturation patterns were noted; English speakers questioned the carcinogenic effect of sunscreen and reported more skin cancer-related physician discussions than Spanish speakers. Despite generally low acculturation, Latinos correctly identified skin cancer risk factors and agreed that it is preventable with engagement in risk-reducing behaviors. Future educational interventions must capitalize upon and reinforce such beliefs and address fatalistic perceptions which may hinder prevention efforts.

. . . FOR MM

. . . FOR MM Marc Siegel (bio) Man: Who is your greatest super star? Smith: Mario. Man: Why? Smith: Because he immediately enlists the sympathy of the audience.1 Mario Montez was the great drag Superstar who reigned over the New York City underground film and theater scene from the early 1960s until the mid-1970s. In 1977, Montez quietly disappeared from the public eye, and his whereabouts remained a mystery to scholars and most of his former colleagues and friends for almost thirty years. In 2006, he resurfaced momentarily for an appearance in Mary Jordan’s documentary Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis. The return of Mario Montez, once again on screen in drag, alongside his longtime friend, performer Agosto Machado, would seem to have warranted a documentary of its own. It wasn’t until 2009, however, that Montez at the age of 74 finally made the commitment to cultivate once again his public persona and pursue stage, film, and modeling work. He made a number of public appearances and granted interviews at festivals, universities, and retrospectives in Berlin, Frankfurt, New York City, and Wroclaw until his death at age 78 on 26 September 2013.2 I was fortunate enough to have been able to facilitate most of Montez’s recent appearances and to conduct many interviews with him since his return to the public eye. I naturally took advantage of these discussions to inquire about the inherited wisdom about the Superstar. Montez had agreed to only a few interviews during his roughly fifteen years of continuous work in film and theater, so there was very little available—and [End Page 361] reliable—information about him.3 The existing accounts in the film and theater literature tend more toward half-truths, projections, and whimsy than accurate representations of Montez’s real-life experiences and perspectives. In what follows, I provide a brief summary of Montez’s career with the main goal of highlighting the development of his performance identity. At the same time, I hope to suggest the scope of this unique artist’s involvement in and contribution to the 1960s and ’70s underground art scenes and to clarify some of the myths and falsehoods about Montez and his work that emerged in the absence of his own account. I’m not primarily invested in adjudicating disputes over the Superstar’s actual thoughts and feelings about his work. Rather, I’m interested simply in expanding our conceptions about this figure central to 1960s film and theater beyond the limited perspectives previously available. Montez’s reappearance in the final years of his life afforded him the opportunity to weigh in on the body of writing about him and his work that emerged over the last four decades. While Montez’s recent memories were certainly as selective and partial as anyone’s, they nevertheless brought clearly into focus a dynamic image of an ever-evolving performer variously involved in the queer, film, and theater subcultures of his day. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes in this essay are from my discussions with Montez.4 Mario Montez was born as Rene Rivera in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 20 July 1935. When he was nine years old, his family relocated to the United States. “My father had left us six months earlier to get a job and an apartment in New York City. He got a job with the city doing pipe maintenance for the water works.” Rene lived with three younger siblings and his parents in El Barrio, on East 111th Street between Third Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Throughout his childhood, he was the family photographer, taking hundreds of photos of family members and gatherings over the years. He attended the New York School of Printing to study graphic arts and graduated in 1954. “Then I worked as an apprentice in a shop in Manhattan for about six months. And then I quit. . . . It was too messy, cleaning up. I didn’t mind setting up the tiles. But you had to clean your own press. Ew!” He went on to work as a photo finisher and shipping clerk before finding regular work as an office clerk. Contrary to many published...

Dialectical Geographies in Contemporary Chilean Literature: The Case of Diamela Eltit’s Narrative Production

WITHOUT a doubt, spatial representations are as multifarious as life itself. From the seemingly real depictions of space in texts such as Alvar Nunez's Naufragios and Bernal Diaz's Historia verdadera, (1) to more imaginary representations of space such as Cadalso's Cartas, Celine's Voyage and Carpentier's Los pasos perdidos, or even litero-ethno-sociological portrayals of the likes of Carrio de la Vandera's Lazarillo or Claude Levi-Strauss's ethnographic Tristes Tropiques as well as the purely literary journeys of critics such as Guy Davenport's brilliant The Geography of the Imagination, it would appear as if space's fate, of necessity, is to be the victim of representation and even theorization (think of Blanchot, Lefebvre or Jameson, for instance). It would appear, moreover, that engravings in general, followed by the first photograph and especially the public introduction of photography in 1839, (2) immensely enriched the possibilities of spatial representation, directly or indirectly enabling, in the case of Latin America, the creation of the deliciously intimate geographies of the modernist novel (De sobremesa, Amistad funesta) as well as the wide-open locales of texts bent on inscribing the nation (La voragine, Dona Barbara), as Carlos Alonso has noted regarding the so-called "novelas de la tierra." Now, if in narrative representation in general space perennially oscillates between what could be called an outside and an inside, one might safely argue that Chilean novelist Diamela Eltit privileges enclosed settings. (3) At the same time, it could be said that, to a large extent--and leaving aside the well-known themes of her works--, (4) she confects an aesthetics of space. What I wish to analyze here is the way in which, in this aesthetics of space, even in the most claustrophobic of terrains, and as paradoxical as it may seem at first, there is a constant tension between the inside and the outside, the local and the global, the national and the transnational. The tension present in her first novels, nevertheless, starts to dissipate in Mano de obra (2002), being mercilessly overtaken in Impuesto a la carne (2010)--her most recent novel--by a neoliberal Biopower too strong to combat. If in Pedro Lemebel's urban chronicles there is a relatively clear distinction between the local and the global, (5) and if in Alberto Fuguet's narrative there is a patent confirmation of the cultural transformations brought about by globalization especially among the affluent members of Chile's capital, (6) in Eltit's novels we witness the trajectory from what might be called a "national-Chile" to a "post-national nation." My analysis centers its attention foremost on Jamas el fuego nunca (2007) and Impuesto a la carne, even though it also alludes, in passing, to Mano de obra. First, however, a brief overview of some critical assessments concerning spatial representation in Eltit's previous narrative output is warranted. Attention has been brought to the presence of "no-exit" type spaces, or "anti-espacios" (Olea, "El cuerpo" 89), in Eltit's works, as well as to "[e]l problema de los limites" (Kirkpatrick 42) that characterizes her aesthetics of space. One critic underscores the nefarious effects that power and violence have upon interpersonal relationships in general, and between mother and son or mother and daughter in particular, at the very heart of the private sphere of the home (Llanos 110). Regarding "la plaza" in Lumperica (1983), Eltit's first novel, some have seen it as an essentially ritualistic and sacred site for the construction of a new type of community, the community of the socially and politically destitute (Tafra 49; Avelar 170), while others, on the contrary, have seen it as "una metafora de la comunidad ausente" (Ortega 53) and even as a prison (Brito, Campos 122) where public space has been colonized by "el luminoso" (Donoso 255). Concerning Por la patria (1986), Eltit's second novel, the multiple geographies that populate the text, that is, "el bar," "el erial," "el barrio," and "el galpon" have been construed, metaphorically, as propitious spaces to build a Latin American feminine identity (Arrate 150). …

Tropicalizing East Harlem: Rhetorical Agency, Cultural Citizenship, and Nuyorican Cultural Production

By critically engaging various forms of cultural production/material culture in El Barrio/East Harlem, New York, this article challenges communication scholars to explore the relationship between agency and identity, expanding our theoretical understandings of rhetorical agency in Latina/o contexts. This article argues that everyday spaces evidence a tactical, tropicalized rhetorical agency that underwrites cultural citizenship in El Barrio. Casitas, gardens, flags, and murals “make do” with the fissures of the built environment to craft literal and figurative spaces for/of a diasporic and unofficial Nuyorican culture. The rhetorical production of culture enacts a kind of tropicalization—a troping that imbues rhetorical scenes with an indelibly Latina/o ethos—which accents everyday material forms in East Harlem and demonstrates productive forms of cultural citizenship.

HIV and Drug Use in Puerto Rico

This paper presents findings from the Alliance for Research in El Barrio and Bayamón (ARIBBA) research study, which compared HIV-related risk behaviors, HIV infection rates, and mortality rates of 800 Puerto Rican injection drug users and crack smokers in East Harlem, New York, with 399 of their counterparts in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The study was conducted from 1996 to 2004 and is among the most comprehensive ever undertaken on HIV risk behaviors of drug users in Puerto Rico. This paper presents the main findings, many of which have been published in scientific journals. The study found that drug users in Puerto Rico became infected with HIV at a rate almost 4 times higher than Puerto Rican drug users in New York, and they died at a rate that was more than 3 times as high. The findings indicate that drug users in Puerto Rico are more likely than Puerto Rican drug users in New York to engage in injection drug use and sexual behaviors that put them at risk of becoming infected with HIV. In addition, they have fewer prevention resources available to them. HIV prevention programs are scarce in Puerto Rico and the availability of drug treatment programs in Puerto Rico declined by over one third during the period examined. Additionally, significantly fewer HIV-positive drug users in Puerto Rico were taking HIV-related medications than in New York. The paper concludes with recommendations and lessons learned from the study.

Inside El Barrio: A Bottom-Up View of Neighborhood Life in Castro's Cuba (review)

Inside El Barrio: A Bottom-Up View of Neighborhood Life in Castro's Cuba (review)

Henry Louis TaylorJr., Inside El Barrio: A Bottom-up View of Neighborhood Life in Castro's Cuba (Sterling VA: Kumarian Press, 2009), pp. xviii+217, $69.95, $24.95 pb; £59.80, £22.50 pb.

Henry Louis TaylorJr., Inside El Barrio: A Bottom-up View of Neighborhood Life in Castro's Cuba (Sterling VA: Kumarian Press, 2009), pp. xviii+217, $69.95, $24.95 pb; £59.80, £22.50 pb.

Transnational Latina narratives in the twenty-first century: the politics of gender, race, and migrations

Introduction: Transnational Latina Narratives in the 21st Century Denise Chavez's Loving Pedro Infante (2001): The Formation of a Transnational Border Feminism Sandra Cisneros's Caramelo (2002): Translating Gender and Genealogy Across the U.S./Mexico Borderlands Marta Moreno Vega's When the Spirits Dance Mambo: Growing Up Nuyorican in El Barrio (2004): The Diasporic Making of an Afro-Latina Identity Angie Cruz's Let It Rain Coffee (2005): A Multiracial Response to Transnational Migrations Marie Arana's American Chica (2001): Circular Voyages in the U.S./Peruvian Archipelago Conclusion: Toward a Pan-Latina Global Alliance

To Alcatraz, Death Row, and Back: Memories of an East L.A. Outlaw and Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice: Voices from El Barrio

To Alcatraz, Death Row, and Back: Memories of an East L.A. Outlaw and Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice: Voices from El Barrio

Migrant struggles for the right to have rights: three examples of social movements powered by migrants in New York, Paris and Barcelona

This article examines three specific examples of struggles waged by migrants who, through various forms of activism and mobilisation, and in collaboration with other collective actors, have called on the Spanish, French and United States governments to promulgate the unconditional regularisation of all persons currently suffering the condition of aliens as a result of these governments' policies. The migrant movements also demand social, economic and political rights for all citizens, irrespective of ethnicity, class and gender. The article looks at the migrants' movement in Barcelona, the Ninth Collective coordinating undocumented migrants (‘sans papiers’) in Paris, and the Movement for Justice in El Barrio, New York. This is a novel type of social movement, one that eludes formal structures of representation, such as are found in classic trade unionism, but which, we would argue, is, on account of its claims and activists, of key importance for anyone seeking to understand or promote workers' rights in contemporary urban settings.

Crossing the Border: Art and Change in East Harlem

Too easily subsumed by its greater neighbor Harlem and dwarfed by larger minority populations in the other boroughs including the Bronx, East Harlem has all but disappeared from the collective memory. This paper tries to recover East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio, from its public obscurity and reclaim its importance as a vital urban center in the fabric of Manhattan life. East Harlem is comprised of a rich collection of people from multiple ethnic, economic, and social backgrounds and it is they who provide the backdrop for my analysis of the political life of the neighborhood. The nature of political life in East Harlem is to be found not in the traditional sphere of the political — the acquisition and distribution of power — but in the intersections of the lives of its diverse inhabitants and the articulation of individual and collective assertiveness. I hope to understand and elucidate the composite narratives of urban life in East Harlem through a reading of urban art: architecture, street art, private home design, and photographic documentation of the neighborhood. The aesthetic representations of East Harlem can provide the same insight into the narratives of the neighborhood’s life worlds and life stories as biographical profiles of the inhabitants.

La Casa De Esperanza: The House That Multicultural Education Built

Using a house (la casa) as a metaphor, this manuscript attempts to provide a broad overview of the field of multicultural education as an academic discipline. It includes viewing multicultural education from a macrolevel perspective (el barrio), describing many paths multicultural educators have taken (los calles), and reading the stories of oppression and resistance which they face (los paredes). It details the icons in the field (la entrada), the people with whom we work everyday (la sala), the places for networking and academic engagement (el patio), the myths and stereotypes as well as our responses to these about multicultural education (la cocina), and the tough issues we have yet to address fully (el ropero). It ends with a description of promising practices and a long-term vision (including the DREAM Act) for multicultural education (el techo). Chicano Art is used throughout.

Virgin of El Barrio: Marian Apparitions, Catholic Evangelizing and Mexican American Activism, by Kristy Nabhan-Warren. New York: New York University Press, 2005, 289 pp.; $21.00 USD (paper), $65.00 (cloth)

Journal Article Virgin of El Barrio: Marian Apparitions, Catholic Evangelizing and Mexican American Activism, by Kristy Nabhan-Warren. New York: New York University Press, 2005, 289 pp.; $21.00 USD (paper), $65.00 (cloth) Get access Michelle M. Camacho Michelle M. Camacho University of San Diego Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sociology of Religion, Volume 68, Issue 4, Winter 2007, Pages 434–435, https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/68.4.434 Published: 01 December 2007

Welcome to El Barrio: An Afternoon in the Company of a Latina Folk Healer

Welcome to El Barrio: An Afternoon in the Company of a Latina Folk Healer

Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice: Voices from El Barrio

Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice: Voices from El Barrio

Book Review: The Virgin of El Barrio: Marian Apparitions, Catholic Evangelizing, and Mexican American Activism

Book Review: The Virgin of El Barrio: Marian Apparitions, Catholic Evangelizing, and Mexican American Activism

The Virgin of El Barrio: Marian Apparitions, Catholic Evangelizing, and Mexican American Activism. By Nabhan-Warren Kristy. Qualitative Studies in Religion. New York: New York University Press, 2005. 304 pp. $65.00 cloth.

The Virgin of El Barrio: Marian Apparitions, Catholic Evangelizing, and Mexican American Activism. By Nabhan-Warren Kristy. Qualitative Studies in Religion. New York: New York University Press, 2005. 304 pp. $65.00 cloth. - Volume 75 Issue 1

The Virgin of el barrio: Marian apparitions, Catholic evangelizing, and Mexican American activism

Acknowledgments' IntroductionFe(Faith), Familia (Family), and Communidad (Community): Mexican American Devotion to the Virgin Mary Estela Ruiz and the Virgin of the Americas: An Intimate Relationship From the Devil to Mary: The Ruiz Family Narratives Battling Satan: The Blessed Mother's Messages of Healing, Hope, and Urgency On for Mary and Jesus!: Becoming New Men and Women in Mary's Ministries Catholic Evangelization: Fighting with Fire Corporate Evangelizers:A Family's Vision for South Phoenix Hope and Healing: The Dialectics of Faith and Place Conclusion: Grassroots Catholicism Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

Barrio dreams: Puerto Ricans, Latinos, and the neoliberal city

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Barrio Business, Barrio Dreams 1. Dreams of Place and Housing Struggles 2. Barrio es de Todos: Predicaments of Culture and Place 3. Empowered Culture?: Tourism, the Empowerment Zone and the Selling of El Barrio 4. Culture as Business and Business as Culture: On Corporate Headquarters, Museums, and the Education of El Barrio 5. The Mexican Barrio: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and the Terrain of Latinidad 6. The Marketable Neighborhood: Outdoor Ads Meet Street Art Some Final Words Notes References Index