To begin, it is
important to take a few moments of silence to honor the legacy that
Vincent Ximenes has left for the future of Mexican American Civil
Rights. Although, I only heard about Ximenes in Professor Kells
Chicano Ecology class, and now a Ximenes scholar, I am humbled to
represent a huge legacy of progress and equal rights. The first time
I heard about Ximenes I Googled his name, and learned more about what
he contributed to New Mexico and nationally. After learning about
Ximenes death, while reading the Albuquerque Journal online, there
was something in particular that was heartwarming, strong willed
about this man that resonated within me. This specifically were the
words that Ximenes shared with his daughter, “You have to fight
back and stand up for yourself.” This in many ways, have been the
same words that roam in the banks of my memory when I think about my
father. Just from this simple phrase, I am sure that Ximenes was an
exemplary father.
It is not often that a
person is recognized for their efforts, and Ximenes deserves more
than recognition. As a poet, I can say that words are like actions,
and that although I never met Ximenes, his actions in my eyes, and
for ears are poetry. This desire within to take action against those
things that matter most to us. The
dedication that Vicente Ximenes had in supporting underrepresented
populations is a value that I myself seek as a first generation of
Central American parents. I believe that this is crucial for
individuals from a generation of Salvadoran and Guatemalan
descendants to be given the opportunity to distinguish themselves
through a dialogue about the political, social climates of these
countries. In my work I focus on creating a dialogue of my parents’
experiences in these countries. As well to give voice to them, to the
country, and of course to stories that haven’t been told. I am
building my own oral history, then providing a civic literacy within
academia, with the goal of creating a representation for future
generations. Many of my poems aim to do this so the stories won’t
remain within my parents, friends, neighbors, but outside of
California, and now thankfully in New Mexico.
This is important, and
has been important to me because my family’s history is founded on
the struggle of defying displacement of the mind, body, and spirit.
Like Ximenes, supplying this space for others to express themselves
happens in my mind through poetry. Through Professor Kells Chicano
Ecology class, I have rediscovered what displacement means, what land
ownership provides for its inhabitants, and the most difficult
concept to explain or even digest—exile. Through Professor Kells
class I am learning more about this through a personal project I
started in undergrad about the testimony of a woman named Rufina
Amaya from El Salvador. She was the sole survivor of a massacre in El
Mozote, Morazán. She told her story of survival, a film was made,
then Mark Danner transcribed her testimony, but the Truth Commission
did not believe her testimony was valid. In my eyes, this testimony
is a form of civic literacy that has been denied and forgotten. This
in many ways, frustrates me, it wants me to create a dialogue about
her testimony, and to attest to it. This is not just a representation
of a woman of El Salvador, or of just the generation of Salvadoran
woman but of all woman that deserve a voice. So in retrospect, I am
thinking about myself as a representation of my mother, her country,
my father and his journey, and my journey will be.
This I hope, will create
a great integral space to continue attesting to my interpretation of
civic literacy through my poetry, and the ongoing desire to tell the
stories of those that are silenced and not represented.
Vicente Ximenes life,
spirit, courage will live on. Some may come to learn his name like I
did, then look around and notice that change is attainable. Through
the Ximenes scholarship many have access to expressing their civic
duties, and I am in-debt to a man I never knew, but yet feel like I
did. Thank you Vicente Ximenes.
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