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What is to be Expected Paul Esteban
Paul Esteban: Do you feel that being bilingual defines you as a person or is it something that just have as a characteristic?
J: There are lot of sayings, and there is a lot of slang. Like, “no mames”. “no mames” is very
Jonathan Gonzalez: I would say that it has shaped me because of the way I still stay in touch with people in my ESL class that I met in 2nd grade. Also, I’ve experienced an advantage for jobs I’ve applied to. I can tell that employers feel that I could help the business. I also know that it defines me to other people because other people often mistake me for being another race guests in from Japan there is difficulty communicating. I kind of felt that I was invisible
but when I speak Spanish, they can tell that I’m Mexican.
P: Has there been a time when a language barrier has been problem for you?
J: Yes! Actually, when I was younger, there was a teacher’s assistant, whose English wasn’t good at all. She was like a transfer student or something and she knew English, French and Spanish. Her English wasn’t great…her French was good, actually she spoke Spanish and French very well. I remember that I could communicate to her in Spanish and there was a connection through language that we had. Communicating with her was such a cool experience. It was awesome to be able to communicate with her in her native language. J: Mostly gestures and small phrases. In karate, there are movements that you can do to define Gi[martial arts uniform] which is a determining factor of how successful the Kata is.
P: What language do you feel most at home with?
J: That’s a really hard question because growing up I was used to Spanish. I always attended church hearing Spanish Masses and saying my prayers in Spanish. As for entertainment, I
P: Are there any phrases that you use in one language that doesn’t translate to another language?
vulgar and very dirty. It alludes to a sexual reference but in a slang way, it means like, “you got to be kidding” or things along that line. It means like “that’s cool” or “shut up”. It just doesn’t translate well.
P: Do you have an experience in a setting where you didn’t know the language being used?
J: Yes, in a sense that we are connected through a hobby. I do martial arts and when we have because I couldn’t speak their language but knowing the language of karate helped me. Showing that you had good karate, or good form or good stances lead to a way of communicating and a way to get yourself noticed.
P: Do you think that there are other communication tools that are equally as valuable as language?
knowledge of the martial art. Specifically, when doing your Kata, you can hear the snap of the enjoy English shows. I like being able to joke around in both English and Spanish.
P: What made you continue to practice your Spanish although you live in America?
J: My parents speak Spanish at home and that is the best way to communicate to them. Also, I wanted to keep in touch with my heritage and make sure that I know my family’s language. ●
DRAW YOUR THOUGHTS
visit: www.collectivemagpie.org/book for another interview conducted by Paul Esteban and to download the full collection of 82 interviews 43
The wall has become an extremely politicized symbol of the region, of SD/TJ. Twenty minutes away from our home in San Diego 50,000 northbound vehicles and 25,000 northbound pedestrians cross the US/MX border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry daily. You can stand at the closest beach to that port at the International Friendship Park and be a part of the surreal i image of three different layers of border divisions. La Mojonera, or Western Land Boundary Monument No. 258 is a 9-foot high obelisk which sits completely out of place at the beach like a tomb marker from a historic cemetery. It marks the start of the 1,952 mile line separating Mexico and the United States. In 1851, representatives of the Boundary Commissions from each nation placed the marker together in a collaborative effort that seems difficult to imagine today. A foot away from the territory marker is a sight impossible to fully ii understand. There is a 10 foot steel fence that divides the concrete, then the sand along the beach and continues on into the ocean for several hundred feet as if to attempt to divide that as well. This is a security border wall to prevent the passing of people from Mexico into the United States as a result of the 1994 Operation Gatekeeper. The wall is made of steel military iii landing mat and has small gaps between slats. Separated families have used those spaces to see each other, talk and hold hands between the bars for years. The latest wall is a double v iv reinforcement, first built after 9/11 when more federal legislation allowed for increased security at the border. This secondary wall built in parallel, several feet away from the first, also vi put an end to the possibility of physical contact through the fence. It created a further strange division of a policed no entry zone between the two fences that is occasionally opened for cultural events and often increases the pain of this division. If you go there today, you will see the barren US beach of Border Feld State Park under watch of a border patrol officer. On the MX side, you can see the lively festivities of the Playas beach front, food vendors, live musicians, seafood restaurants and children playing. What we see here is a landscape that separates families, creates tension between nations and instills fear of each other. The wall is a constant reminder of war, failed humanity and the incessant power play for the 1%. President Trump’s scheduled 21 billion dollar border wall will only reinforce and reassure us of all of many years of tension.
The interviews transcribed in this publication share a Mexican-American border patrol officer reflecting on illegal immigrants, a criminal sketch artist profiling the accused inside the court, first hand observations of how the legend of Tijuana, the dangerous city, continues to haunt families over 3 generations, a self described racial identity fading away from racial tension, the resolution of an internal struggle caused by external violence, a pathway from religious crisis to the questioning of freedom and much more. These stories are tragically frustrating, violently unforgivable, some cringe worthy, or confusing at times, are all warmly exchanged, immensely complex and most surprisingly, they are strikingly honest and personal. They ignite the border from the inside rather than from the outside reminding us that the border does not start at the line between US and MX but it is here, embedded in our lives, in every one of us.
These are the stories that are here and remain here as a memory and history. These are the stories of the border residents. These are the stories of our border—the border that matters.
44 w i t h r e s i d e n t s o f T i j u a n a - S a n D i e g o b o r d e r t h r e e 3 6 c o n v e r s a t i o n s ESL 1 More like EFL 2 | Self-Interview READ ALL 82 CONVERSATIONS Jonathan Gonzalez, born in Los Angeles but raised in San Diego. He is 28 years old. He is first generation Mexican-American. His parents are from Jalisco, Mexico. Border is an idea created by a person or group in order to keep people either separated or united. Jonathan Gonzalez is a 5th year student at Woodbury University School of Architecture. He is originally from Los Angeles, but raised in San Diego and a first generation American. He is currently Vice President of the American Institute of Architects Student Chapter (AIAS) of his school. Understanding Language: Thru Words, Body, Buildings Jonathan Gonzalez PREFACE & THANK YOU We are humbled and grateful to have had the honor and privilege to cross back and forth between San Diego and Tijuana, listening to the experiences of people living in these borderlands, over these last several years. Those who have shared their personal stories, for others to read, have inspired this rich publication. We thank you all for extending your sincerity, labor and trust in each other and to us—two complete strangers—during our Globos Workshops*. The generosity extended by each participant opened a space to consciously engage together, reflecting on the complex close(d) relationship of living within the region of the most frequently crossed border in the world—And all the mess, beauty and challenges that are a part of it. The resulting 82 conversations on the subject of border were produced via four seminars from an experimental Art & Ethnography course series: HOT AIR BALLOONS and INTERVIEWS from 2015-2017. The seminars were held in conjunction with the Culture, Art & Technology Program, University of California San Diego; the Transdisciplinary Program, Woodbury University at the School of Architecture; and the concluding seminar, Transnational Edition was held in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, in addition to multiple sites in both border cities. MCASD hosted the seminar extending access and content to the their permanent collection and enabling the seminar to exist between multiple colleges, allowing joint participants from Southwestern College, University of California San Diego and Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. This interview collection and artwork consists of a series of transcribed interviews conducted and edited by millennials working collaboratively with each other and with us. * Globos Workshops were developed to produce a fleet of 25ft unmanned hot air balloons to be launched over the US/MX border at Friendship Park, TJ/SD. Balloon construction workshops were held at both sides of the border within many different communities and cultural centers. This publication is a four part series of conversations about the border. Preface & Introduction by Tae Hwang & MR Barnadas of Collective Magpie. Design by Adrian Orozco & Abigail Peña. Copyright. 2015-2018 All authors. . Printed at Diego & Sons, SD. Complete free download of 82 interviews can be accessed at www.collectivemagpie.org/book Q: When did you learn how to speak English?
A: I started learning English in first grade when I used to live in Los Angeles. A few of my classmates and I would have walk to a different classroom. I am not exactly sure why we had to go to a different classroom but we did that for the whole year. Then I moved to San Diego. I still did not know English very well and was put in a similar program but as a combination class with a group of third graders, who also were Spanish native speakers, it was called ESL (English Second Language). At the end of that year I passed knowing and understanding how to read, write, and spell English for someone my age. I think because I was so young it is hard to remember how exactly I felt at that point in time. I can look back and say relieved and glad. I felt relieved because well I didn’t have to do ESL anymore which also made me glad of course.
Q: Can you remember some differences on how you were taught English between your two schools?
A: When I was living in Los Angeles I attended Pico Rivera Elementary. I was one of eight that would visit a classroom full of English speakers. We didn’t have much interaction with the other kids though. I thought that was a bit strange. We would usually come during their silent reading time. That way their teacher had some one-on-one time with us. I went the whole year without knowing anyone from that classroom. For the most part we would draw pictures, write stories and recite them out loud to the teacher. It was more one on one, and not to the whole class. I remember that my friends and I resented going to our English class because it gave us a feeling of being unwanted. That we had to learn English to be accepted. I can recall clearly that we would take our time getting there and “get lost” getting back. The playground would be empty so we would play before going back to our homeroom. Then I moved over the summer of ‘95.
I attended Walker Elementary my ESL class was also my homeroom. It was made up of second and third graders alike. I remember that our teacher did record us reading aloud with tape recorders throughout the year. At the end they recorded us one last time but on camera. I can’t remember what I said but it was much like an interview. But I don’t know what I said, nor do I have the tapes/video. Now I wish I did. All I know is that after that I was given the okay and didn’t have to take ESL anymore. The ESL class in San Diego was a way better experience than the one in Los Angeles because it felt more comfortable being in surrounded with other who were dealing with the same problem. We made some strong bonds of friendships that to this day I am still good friends with three of my friends from that class.
Q: Did you ever take Spanish class in school?
A: Yes, but I never had the best grades though I should have. Just like in Cheech Martin’s song ‘Mexican -Americans.’ in one part he says “Mexican Americans love education so they go to night school. And they take Spanish and get a B.” I like the reference because it was after I had graduated from high school that I heard the actual song, not from his movie but from a friend. He explained it was from one of the Cheech and Chong movies. It’s a funny reference to me because the reality that native speakers feel confident or I should say the expectation of a native speakers to do well in their native language class should be of course easy. But I think it’s the self confidence that really hinders us in a different way. difference was accent marks within the words. When I was in middle school I had taken Spanish classes both my seventh and eighth grade year. The first time I took it, my teacher suggested that I should be placed in a more rigorous class because the basics would have been too easy. They were right. I was too cocky that I knew Spanish better than my classmates. That was eventually my own downfall. I felt like I lacked the basics mostly in spelling because of accent marks over the letters. The second year I took Spanish I had no choice and was obligated to take a more challenging course. Even though there was no official class we were still part of the regular class. Our teacher had us sitting apart from the non natives speakers, and of course supplied us with different work to do. We were held at at much higher standard because we had an advantage over the non native speakers in that we should be held accountable to better ourselves in our own language and not be so ignorant not knowing how to read or write in our native language. We read more and wrote more too because of that advantage. It was funny that we “the advantaged” students felt like we were being punished more than anything else. Taking Spanish classes in middle school did help me place higher when I took Spanish in high school. I wasn’t required to take the beginning classes and went straight to the higher level Spanish classes. Some of the students were surprised to see a freshman in their class. After my freshman year I had sufficed my language requirement for graduation. So I didn’t have to take any more language classes in my later years. I decided to take the AP Spanish in my senior year. Being part of the AVID program was the real reason that I took the class but I’m really glad I did. Because though I did well in that I passed and that’s all I cared about. It meant because I had passed I wouldn’t be required to take it again it at a university level.
Q: Do your parents know English?
