I haven’t checked the state of the xicano blogsphere and I frankly don’t have the ganas. The fact of the matter is that we are different. I have mexican values ingrained in me like a tattoo in my nalgas. Though I harbour gringo values in my xicano DNA the fact that am not an american citizen sets me apart like a ten feet pole does whenever you don’t want someone around.
Citizenship does matter. And even though you hear that xicanos are discriminated chicanos themselves discriminate against those that are not American citizens. This fact has always permeated the Xicano ens and it will continue to no end forever and ever until people start talking about it. Does citizenship matter to be a Xicano?
Personally I think that citizenship should not matter. Though we are with our families our illegal alien cousins, nuestros primitos mojados, make us forget the obvious: there is a difference. We say it in many ways. One of them is markedly shutting them out from our hip lives.
I always used to hate it when my gringo not chicano cousins born in the USA distanced themselves from the kind of activities I pursued. Their enlgish speaking I have mexican parents but don’t speak Spanish friends always came first, the hip of the hip and the real beaner left out, yeah, that was me.
Amongst chicanos speaking Spanish can be a detriment or a plus. Some chicanos even look upon us in a condescending way as if it were a pest of sorts. I know a little Spanish as if solidarity meant to feel sorry for one for being so different ….