10.26.03 // 2:14 a.m.
La chica
Name: Cindy (I also go by Cindylu)
Ethnicity: Chicana, parents are from M�xico
Age: 24
Birthday: August 31, 1980
Signs: Virgo, Monkey
Speaks: English and Spanish (first language) fluently, trying to learn some Nahuatl
Talents: I can play the trombone, write pretty well, sing and even dance some!
Lo bueno
So this is where I toot my own horn... I shouldn't, but let's just say that I really love to learn and help people. Oh yeah, and I have a good memory.
Lo malo
I hold petty grudges, am sometimes late, procrastinate, and often don't tell the whole truth.
La familia
Immediate: Mom (47), Dad (51), Danny (25), Lori (20), and Adrian (19)
Extended: lots of people! On my mom and dad's sides combined I have over a 100 grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins' spouses, cousins' kids. We are a Mexican family.
La ciudad
September 2000-present: Los Angeles (Palms area)
August 1998-June 2000: Los Angeles (Westwood)
1980-1998: Hacienda Heights, suburb of LA County
La educaci�n
School: UCLA ('98-'02)
Undergrad: BA in Sociology and Chicana/o Studies with a minor in Spanish
Grad: Just started a PhD program in Higher Education and Organizational Change
El trabajo
Position: I used to run a retention program and work counseling all kinds of wonderful students and supervising a staff of about a dozen crazy students. I did that for two years and stopped in July '04. Now, I work part time as a graduate student researcher (GSR) for a well known research institute in the department of education.
Los sue�os
Plans: I want to live in Guanajuato while I'm young and don't have too many things holding me down, I want to earn my PhD and go on to gain a position where I can change stuff. Essentially, I want to ensure that more students of color are graduating college and going back to help their respective communities.
Las pasiones
Social justice: especially regarding access to education (such as affirmative action) and retention for Chicanas/os and other people of color.
Human rights: not just civil rights. In terms of this, I am big on the rights of immigrants in this country, especially those that people call "illegal." I don't really understand how a human being can be illegal.
History: learning my people's history, hence the Chicana/o Studies major. I also like to dig farther back and learn about my native ancestors.
Exploring: Writing and music.
Traveling: the 2003 Big City Tour ended last year, but I've got a lot of tales about my trip to Mexico.
God and my family: these are my first priorities above everything else (even though sometimes I don't have them right).
El diario
Citlalli31 means: star in Nahuatl, 31 is my favorite number
Why an online journal? I like to write. I like people reading what I have to write. I like to write quickly. I don't like getting hand cramps.
What do I write about? Me and anything important to me which ranges from family and friends to politics and current affairs.
Why Loter�a Chicana? loter�a is the Mexican version of bingo, but it's better. There are 54 cards with different images of people, plants, animals, and objects. It's all a mix, just like this journal. You never know what you're going to get. One day, I can pick out a card with El M�sico (musician) on it and write about the latest concert I attended. The next, it could be El Mundo (world) and I'll be discussing my travels. The Chicana is part of it because that's who I am. Oh yeah, and I stole it from the title one of my favorite books.
Las diversiones
Literatura
Non-fiction: "Drink Cultura: Chicanismo" and "Loter�a Chicana: Spilling the Beans" both by Jos� Antonio Burciaga (rip)
Novels: "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez, "Caramelo" by Sandra Cisneros
Short stories: "Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros
Poetry: stuff by Sandra Cisneros, Pablo Neruda, and Langston Hughes among others
M�sica
Rock en espa�ol: Caf� Tacvba, Maldita Vecindad, El Gran Silencio, Caifanes/Jaguares, King Chang�, Aterciopelados, Julieta Venegas
Rancheras: Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fern�ndez, mariachis
Norte�a/Banda: Los Tigres del Norte
Cumbias: La Sonora Dinamita
Salsa: Afro-Cuban All-Stars
Hip-hop: The Roots, Talib Kweli, Common, A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast, Ozomatli, Dilated Peoples, Blackalicious
R&B: Res, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Bilal, Prince, Jaguar Wright, Maxwell
Reggae: Bob Marley & the Wailers
'80s Stuff: The Cure, Depeche Mode, the Smiths/Morrissey
Rock: the Velvet Teen, Los Lobos, the Smashing Pumpkins, Sublime, Weezer, The Beatles, Santana, Ritchie Valens, The Postal Service
Jazz: Billie Holiday, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Cal Tjader
All time favorite album: "Re" by Caf� Tacvba. I even wrote a paper on this album that I'd be more than happy to share with anyone else as obsessed with these chilangos as I am.
Film & TV
Film: The Shawshank Redemption, Amores Perros, Toy Story, Finding Forrester, The Breakfast Club, The Sandlot, High Fidelity, Empire Records, Real Women Have Curves, Rabbit Proof Fence
TV: Gilmore Girls, Jeopardy!, The Practice, Smallville, Law and Order: SVU
Comics
The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder
La Cucaracha by Lalo Alcaraz
Lo insoportable
Can't Stand: Racism, sexism, homophobia and classism (don't you just love those "isms")
Labels: please don't call me Hispanic, I don't even like Latin or Latina. Call me Chicana, it's that simple.
Me siento: sleepy
Escuchando: "the best deceptions" by dashboard confessional
M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05
