Chasing Chavez 2022 #2

Photo by Eugenia Porechenskaya

Table of Contents Community Profiles ..........................5 Celebrity Profiles................................9 Food Traditions.................................14 The Arts............................................17 Current Events...................................26 Creative Writing.................................29 Opinion Essays...................................36 Afterword……………………………………..39

Photo by Eugenia Porechenskaya

Community Profile: Morelia Jaime-Mosqueda

How do our education and community inform our present and future?

By : Celeste Jaime In May 2022, I interviewed Morelia Jaime-Mosqueda, my sister, at Bush Apartments in Santa Ana. Morelia is an immigrant, but that doesn’t stop her from achieving her goals.

Morelia graduated from Santa Ana High School, in 2018. She attended Davis Elementary, Sierra Preparatory Academy, all in the SAUSD District.

Currently, she’s a customer service rep at a garage company. So far Morelia’s college journey has gone in different directions, but she currently attends Santa Ana College and is majoring in ASL (American Sign Language).

Education in Santa Ana taught her to “get it

Even though high school was not a big hurdle, Morelia did have to overcome challenges when she started attending college. She became discouraged with the amount of work and the difficulty and content, which was very different than what she had in high school. At times she found the work to be too much for her and she found it difficult to complete the work in the

right on the first try.” She states she was very

way that would satisfy her professors.

self-reliant in school and worked really hard and

Morelia looks forward to having a degree

did not slack off. However, it is her mother who is

from Santa Ana College in American Sign

her biggest influencer. During school, she always

Language in the near future. After

had her mother in the back of her mind, wanted

graduating from SAC, she plans to attend

to make her proud and to make her journey to

Cal State Long Beach.

Morelia is an example of a Santa Ana graduate

America to improve the life of her kids, worth it.

rising to the demands of what the coursework in school demanded, all the while keeping in mind that she had an obligation to her mother to make her proud.

Chavez Profile: Toni Cardinal How do our education and community inform our present and future?

Mrs. Cardinal states she came from an abusive home, and she

by: Genesis Chillet, Celeste Jaime, Aimee Cervantes, Andrea Sanchez

was even a runaway at one point.

School became a safe place for her and she worked hard at her In May, 2022, our student reporters interviewed Economics and Government teacher Toni Cardinal, at Cesar Chavez High School.

Cardinal is a graduate of Santa Ana school district. She went to MacArthur and Lathrop Intermediate schools. She attended Saddleback High School. Mrs. Cardinal has a bachelor's of science in Social Studies and is the first in her family to graduate college.

Cardinal knew since the third grade she wanted to be a teacher. But, it was her 8th grade Social Studies teacher at Lathrop, Mr. Birch, who was her biggest influence. He made history interesting and motivated her. She remembers roleplaying where she was Nancy Reagan and her teacher was Ronald Reagan.

This role-playing helped her to recognize government issues that were affecting the United States in real-time.

school work so she could stay out Her advice to students is when of trouble and not get sent back

they get to college don’t take

to her parents’ home in Oregon.

too many classes because college

Even though school was a safe

classes are far more challenging

place, Mrs. Cardinal faced

than high school and require a

challenges in Santa Ana. One

lot of writing. Instead of taking

challenge was adapting to the

five, maybe take three so the

diverse culture in Santa Ana after load is not too heavy. coming from a small town in Oregon that was not diverse. But eventually, she adapted, was on the swim team, and says she was well-liked and even popular.

Her challenges continued because she had to work and go to school.

And even though she was extremely organized, she found working and going to school to be harder than she could handle.

In 1989, she left school and got her GED. From there she went on to college. Her advice to students is when

Mrs. Cardinal’s story shows us with hard work and focus, anything is possible. Santa Ana schools provided the support and safe place for her to gain the confidence to continue her higher education and then return to her roots to help other students succeed.

Chavez Profile: Kamala Kavati by : Carolina Martinez, Stephanie Contreras, Vanessa Zamora | May 25 2022

How do our education and community inform our present and future?

Our writers interviewed Ms .Kamala Kavati in her office in May, 2022. She is the assistant principal here at Cesar Chavez.

Ms. Kavati has a bachelor’s degree in English, American Studies, a Masters in Education, and she is currently working on her Ph.D. in education for social justice. She attended Roosevelt, Sierra

She made her believe she could change the world. She made her believe being a teacher is the greatest thing she could do with her life, and she taught her how to love literature.

She also taught her how to love people. Ms. Kavati is so proud that she was able to be her student and grateful for what she did for her

There was so much strength,

because it all started in her

courage, loyalty, and love in the

classroom.

community of Santa Ana that made

She had many memories on Century Hill. This is where most of

Intermediate School, and Century high

the kids would get picked up by

school. Ms.Kavati’s high school

their parents. She remembered

experience was fun, full of community,

being silly with her friends and

and there was a connection to all

rolling down the hill. Another

teachers. It was overall inspiring.

special memory is that she was salutatorian at her graduation. Her

Ms. Kavati has a bachelor’s degree in English, American Studies, a Masters in education, and she is currently working on her Ph.D. in education for social justice. She attended Roosevelt, Sierra Intermediate School, and Century high

biggest challenge during high school is that she is Indian from India, and no one was like her in Santa Ana. She always 1000% felt like an outsider. However, In a lot of ways

school. Ms.Kavati’s high school

this feeling made her do well in

experience was fun, full of community,

school because even though she felt

and there was a connection to all

weird and like an outsider, school

teachers. It was overall inspiring. Ms.

was something she was good at.

Kavati’s junior and senior high school

What Santa Ana did for Ms.Kavati

English teacher, Ms. Asmor was

that is more important than her

everything to her. She inspired her and

education, is introduce her to a

loved her and showed her that she could be a teacher, and Ms. Osborn made her feel the most special and interesting.

Photo by Tete_escape

community of people that didn't grow up the same as her.

her want to work for the community, either in education or any other issues like being aware of drug use, homelessness, immigration issues, and politics.

Ms.Kavati’s favorite part about herself is that she loves people.

Ms.Kavati still gives her all to those who need the help and makes her not only a good vice principal but also a good human being.

Ms. Kavati’s one piece of advice is to be selfish and what she means by that is to really think about who you want to be and the kind of life you want with no one getting in the way of that. Go after your dreams.

Community Profile: Dr. Margarita Sanchez-Padilla By: Alexandra Quijada, Anthony Pineda & David Almeda

How does our education and our community inform our present and future?

In May, 2022, students from Chavez interviewed Dr. Margarita Sanchez, via zoom. Dr. Margarita Sanchez matriculated through the Santa Ana Unified school system and is now a medical doctor who works for Kaiser Permanente. She attended Lowell and Jackson Elementary, Spurgeon Intermediate, and Valley High School. Her description of her years in high school in

When Dr. Sanchez first started college, she

three words are, “So Much Fun.” One of her favorite

wanted to be a nurse but missed out on nursing

memories from high school was when she was caught

school because of a class scheduling issue. Then

skipping school. Sanchez was in the parking lot,

she noticed that she was doing as well in her

attempting to leave campus. Her sister saw her, called

classes as her friends who were in med school. In

the principal and was caught and wasn’t able to leave.

addition, she had the opportunity to interpret

Sanchez could see her sister in the distance laughing at

for doctors and this was the real turning point in

her when the principal cornered her. Her sister set the tone for what was acceptable and not acceptable in high

seeing that she could become one of them.

school, but she was not the only one looking out for Dr.

It was through the love and support of parents who

Sanchez’s well-being.

believed she could achieve beyond their

Growing up, Dr. Sanchez’s parents were her mentors.

Her dad always encouraged her to provide for herself and not depend n a man for support. Her dad also told her he wanted her to achieve above his own accomplishments.

Her counselors helped her navigate through the college application process.

accomplishments, a sister who took ditching school seriously enough to tell on her, the guidance of counselors who made the road to college smoother by helping with the application process that laid the foundation for Dr. Sanchez to achieve her dream of becoming a medical doctor who now helps heal the community.

Dr. Sanchez has words of advice for Chavez students. “Even though we are Chavez, don’t let the image of Chavez distract you from your goals in life. What matters is not where you go to school, but that you go to school and that you finish.”

Celebrity Profile: Robert Downey Jr

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By Andrea Sanchez

How do others people’s experiences shape our world view?

Intoxicated, trespassing, and asleep in his neighbor's yard, Robert Downey Jr, was waking up to being handcuffed and taken to jail for his actions. Robert Downey Junior is known for his roles as Iron man in the MCU, but he didn’t always have this title.

Robert was born in Manhattan, New York on April 4, 1965. He started his career at a young age. He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live in the 80’s. Soon after his rise to fame he started to have some struggles with substance abuse, even going to jail for his situation until he stabilized his life for the better. Once he cleaned up his act, he earned his new found fame playing the role of Tony Stark / Ironman in the American Media franchise, Marvel Cinematic Universe. I admire Downey because of his rocky past and how he overcame his struggles. I am a huge fan of the marvel universe and the first movie I saw was Iron Man 2. I got so hooked on it that I went back to watch all the movies in order. I still do to Pictured: Robert Downey Jr. Photo by Sam Jones

this day. The way Downey portrays Tony is fascinating. Even when he isn't acting he still has a bit of Tony in his personality.

Both his parents were in the movie business, but are now deceased. Downey’s mother Elsie Ford was an actress / writer. She was known for her shows “Chafed Elbows,” “Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight,” and “Babo 73”,shows from 1964 to 1975. Robert Downey Sr. was an American filmmaker. He directed “Up the Academy” 1980 and “Hugo Pool” 1997, and much more. Robert Sr’s real last name was “Elias” but because of Robert Sr’s step father, James Downey, he changed his last name to enlist in the United States Army while being underage.Elsie Ford passed away September 22nd, 2014. Robert Downey Sr. passed away July 7th, 2021. Robert’s sister Allyson Downey is an entrepreneur, MBA, writer, and keynote speaker. She wrote the book “Here's the Plan.: Your Practical, Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood”.

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Downey is one of the most skillful actors of his time. Downey started his career at the age of 5, and since then have appeared in over 70 films throughout his career. His most successful and iconic role has to be when he played Tony Stark/ Iron man back in 2008. Downey dazzled critics and audiences with his role as the Marvel superhero. His famous movies have been, Iron man, Iron Man 2, Iron man 3, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War. That’s only the top of the list, it goes on. He became interested in this field because his mother and father were in the business.

He wanted to be just like his parents. Some steps he took to become who he is today was going through his substance abuse. With substance abuse he definitely didn't have the best reputation. He wouldn't change a thing though because it made him who he is today. Here is a picture of Downey when he got The MTV Movies & T.V Award. You can see how Tony Stark is showing through the outfit One interesting story about Downey is how his life was going before he got the role of Tony Stark.

He was an addict, and so was his father. Downey Sr.

gave his son drugs, so it was hard for Downey to get clean.

Downey has a hard time talking about his past. This could be a sign that he is ashamed of his past. He walked out of interviews because the interviewer asked about his past, and why he turned to drugs. Downey was first taken into custody back in June of 1996 for possession of cocaine, heroin, and a gun. Two weeks after that he was arrested again. He stumbled into his neighbor's yard and seemed to be under the influence of drugs. Downey was placed on probation and put into drug counseling. Downey went through several drug counseling sessions but was never successful by the end of them. He violated his probation 3 times by refusing to take drug tests.

In 1999 Downey was given three years in jail because of his addiction. Before he was taken to state prison, he begged the judge to keep him away from there.

He didn't want to go to state prison. Unfortunately, the judge ignored his pleas and told him it was too late, the choice was made. Since he showed he didn't get sober after much drug counseling, the judge said he was a danger to the community and to himself. Downey has been clean since July of 2003.

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He gives all the credit to his wife and family for helping him and encouraging him to go to his therapy and his drug counseling. He also started to do yoga and the practice of Wing Chun kung fu, and martial arts.

Some of Downey’s peers in the entertainment industry are David Cross, Charles Esten, Kevin James, William Zabka, John C. Reily, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Melissa McBride, Sherilyn Fenn, Paige Turco, and so many more. Everyone is a great actor, in my opinion, but Downey just stands out the most in my eyes. They have all been acting for a very long time, Kevin as Paul Blart in the Mall Cop franchise, and Chris Rock in the Madagascar franchise. David Cross also has a big name because he played Ian Hawke in the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” franchise and in the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise. Everyone has been so successful in their careers. I’ve seen all these actors when I was growing up so these people are a huge inspiration for kids my age. Kevin was always the funny security guard who fell in Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

David was the psycho music producer/ manager who only cared about money in Alvin and the Chipmunks. Chris Rock was the funny zebra in Madagascar. I really do enjoy everyone's performances, and Downey has been the amazing Tony Stark that I’ve grown up with. I have seen every Marvel movie he has been in and I can rewatch them over and over again. One way Downey stands out the most to me is how he portrays the characters. In Dolittle, you really feel the emotions he gives during his performance. During all his performances in the Iron man franchise, you can see how he puts a little bit of himself in the way he performs Tony. On the other hand, when he’s on red carpet events and interviews he puts a bit of Tony into it, too. You can tell that he loves the character he portrays. The others I haven't seen much in interviews but from what I do see they leave the character’s little quirks behind in the studios. He is a picture of Downey as Tony Stark, saying his most iconic line in the MCU movie Avengers: Endgame.

I believe that Downey has made a huge impact on the world. Some might say he's proof of second chances because of his past history. If I were to ever meet him I would ask him: What advice would he give to others who are struggling with the same thing he was so many years ago?

And I would tell him that he has been a huge inspiration to me because even though life gets difficult, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. You just need to have the dedication and guts to take over your life to get to that because opportunity doesn't just come knocking at your door. Downey is a huge inspiration to others who do deal with substance abuse. Some might think “if he can do it, so can I” and they may start working on themselves. "People never change because they are under threat or under duress.

Never. They change because they see something that makes their life seem valuable enough to start moving toward a life worth living."

- Robert Downey Jr

Food traditions

Barbacoa Underground How does food tell our family stories?

by Jehreaud Del Toro

My father says he learned to cook this recipe from his parents, and it took about three times of preparing it before he was able to perfect the dish. The recipe has been in the family for ninety years, and he’s been cooking it for thirty. My father’s favorite part of of making this dish are the people who eat it and the faces they make when they see him cooking it. And finally, he loves to see them tasting it. People express all the time,“Wow this is really good and tender.”

When I asked my father if he has passed this recipe down to his own children, he says, “I have taught this to my kids, and they have cooked it before. And I hope they can pass this on to their kids too.”

Pictured above: Juan Del Toro in

He tells me the dish is typically cooked during holidays and birthdays. His

his backyard.

favorite memory regarding this recipe and the tradition around it is the smell of the food cooking and this meant there was going to be a great warm dish that

In May 2022, I

day.

interviewed my father, Juan Del

This dish is important to him to this day because his kids have enjoyed it, and

Toro via Gmail about the dish

relatives have requested it for their own birthday.

Barbacoa Underground. This dish has become a tradition in our family, and I wanted to share

I asked my father for the recipe and the following is how he described cooking Barbacoa Underground.

You first need lots of imagination.Then, you need to cut the beef into fist size

our family’s history with this

pieces, boil California pods with lots of spices and citric juices, rub the thick rub

dish as well as the recipe with

on all the meat, put it in a clay pot, and bury it in the ground with lots of colas

readers.

and cook for eight to twelve hours. Then, dig it out and enjoy with fresh sauce and tortillas.

Chicken Mole Tradition

by Sheyla Tapia How does food tell our family stories

I interviewed my mother, Monica Gomez at our home in April, 2022. She talked about the dish, Mole, a Mexican food dish that has become a family tradition. My mother’s mother taught her this recipe. My mother became good at making this dish the moment she first tried making it, and she's been making this recipe for eighteen years now. This recipe has been in our family for fifty years. It became a tradition because on every birthday and Christmas, the Mole dish is prepared.

My mother’s favorite part of this recipe is when she mixes the sauce and it begins to cook, and the smell of the cloves, garlic and onions from the sauce start to smell good to her. My mother’s least favorite part is when she has to cut the onions because once she starts to cut the onions, her eyes start to burn and tear up.

My mother hasn’t taught her own children the recipe yet, but passing on this recipe is important to her. It’s important to her because she thinks it’s a delicious recipe, and she wants to help others by giving it to those who don’t know how to make the recipe. Also, if they have the recipe, they won’t have to go buy the mole at the store because the ones at the store just don’t taste the same as homemade.

Christmas and birthdays are typically times when my mother will prepare the mole dish. Her favorite memory she has regarding this recipe and family tradition is when her grandma would make it on Christmas and every woman in the family would come and help her grandma make the mole. What makes the recipe and tradition so dear to my mother is it always reminds her of her whole family because the mole dish is the reason why everyone gets together.

The recipe and steps to make the mole dish is: you first have to cook the chicken in a big pot of water. And you have to add half an onion, a spoonful of salt and eight garlic cloves. And you'll need to cook it for an hour and a half. And make sure you reduce the temperature to low when it starts to boil. Once the chicken is ready you will make the sauce next and what you’ll need is six mulato peppers, three pasilla peppers, one tomato, one plantain, half an onion, two cloves of garlic, three tablespoons of sesame, three almonds, three tablespoons of cumin, and three tablespoons of clove seasoning. The chilis will need to be washed first and then put the chili’s to boil until they have softened. Once that is done you will add every ingredient besides the chicken into a pan with oil in it. You will fry everything together until the tomato softens and once that is done you will blend everything in a blender. You will need one cup of chicken broth and you will add it in the blender with the rest of the ingredients to make the mole sauce. In a casserole , you will be mixing at the same time as you pour the sauce in the casserole and make sure the flame is on low. You will add another cup of chicken broth and you will mix it in with the mole sauce.

Once the sauce is boiling and it thickens just add the chicken you cooked.

Food traditions is on top

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The arts is next

The Hilbert Collection: Frida Khalo How do images convey our stories?

by Giselle Cardozo FRIDA KAHLO

DIEGO RIVERA

The art work I observed at the Hilbert Museum Of California Art was Frida Kahlo by Bradford J. Salamon. This piece was made during covid and for this artist painting was his getaway he says “ My art became a safe place that I had some control over and that I could use to try to make sense of it all”.I would classify this art as in realistic and storytelling, throughout the art he has different sections of storytelling Frida’s life.The artist uses many symbols of different shapes and sizes, and keeps it in neutral tones, as in all darker shades are on Frida to make her face pop out. He uses charcoal on unpainted, unstretched canvas.I like how he puts different factors of Frida's life in this art piece. He shows respect in her husband which he put right next to her in this piece as well. I also definitely love the quote he puts in the center of this piece which says “ I don’t paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality”.

Some material the artist used are charcoal on unpainted, unstretched canvas.

BRADFORD’S QUOTE

Materials Used By Bradford

LOVE

How do images convey our stones and reflect our identities / culture & self-worth?

Original Art By: Giselle Cardozo

Love means knowing that no matter what, you have someone to count on. It’s unconditional and makes you feel good on the inside. You can trust the person you love and are comfortable around them. It’s like your heart tells you that it is good for you. Love sometimes hurts and makes you cry your eyes out, but at the end of the day the tears shows your sympathy and emotions towards a person.

I would classify my art as new school. The materials used were water color paint, brushes, pencils for outlining and a 6x12 paper.

This piece represents love for me as in today. My colors are more neutral as that’s all I go for in all pieces.

For example, different shades of browns, blacks, and grays, I have some hearts and roses, which represent the love in this piece.

How to tell a Story with PicArt

By Danae Zamora| May,2022

Photo by Tete_escape

With PicArt you can add text without having a watermark.

You

can change the intensity by using Blend and Opacity.

You can change the font, however, some fonts do require you to pay PicArt Gold

And by using Effects you can change the atmosphere.

You can add stickers that others have cutout or made.

Made by @darksunshine07 on PicArt

Bowers Museum Art Exhibition

by Danae Zamora|May, 2022 The Everest exhibition displayed photography and personal belongings going back to the earliest climbers of Mt. Everest to demonstrate the journey and valor of those people.

Visual vs. Display Art What is visual art and when does it become display art? Visual Art can be clothing, furniture, paintings, ceramics, photography, and drawings. Visual art is all around us, moving and still. However, there is a certain art that is specifically curated for display at museums or art galleries that requires the observer to witness and interact with the art. Display art is visual art that has been deemed important or curated to tell a story.

Identity and Image 1850-1930 On Sunday, May 22, I visited Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and witnessed the exhibitions there. They include; Everest: Ascent to Glory, California Bounty: Image and Identity, 1850-1930, and Ceramics of Western Mexico. This was an opportunity for me to witness these art pieces and figure out “how these images convey our stories and reflect our identities/culture and self worth.”

Bowers Museum Art Exhibition

by Danae Zamora|May, 2022

Ceramics of Western Mexico A walk-through display of Western Mexico ceramics tells a story of culture. These items were made as burial offerings for the people in Western Mexico. including ceramics of Xolotl, the dog of death and a Shaman’s backrest.

Bowers Museum Art Exhibition

by Danae Zamora|May, 2022

California Bounty Identity and Image 1850-1930 (Left top) 1936 oil painting called Trees, They Are My Friends by German born, William Wendr.

(Top right) La Buenaventura; shows Martha, a leading dancer for the San Juan Capistrano Mission Pageant.

California Bounty shows Orange County through fine art and portraits made of and by culturally diverse people.

Marilyn Monroe

Art featured from the Hilbert Collection Museum How do images convey our stones and reflect our identities / culture & self-worth?

By bessy martinez | May 24 2022

I visited The Hilbert Collection Museum in Orange, Ca. in May of 2022. I learned that in the early 1980s, there was an artist who started drawing film stars and famous musicians. This drawing of Marilyn Monroe is part of this collection and was carefully done with charcoal pencil, water color and white out on an illustration board.He wanted to do white highlights , but he couldn't do it with white paint because over the years it would fade away. So he chose whiteout for Marilyn Monroe’s hair. He was also afraid the white out would end up yellow, but after forty years, it still looks brand new.

The reason why I picked this art is because it is really detailed, and I like how the artist uses the perfect mix of white and black. He was very careful to combine the perfect amount of each shade. This art piece is an example of how our cultural icons are kept alive through art.

The Hilbert Collection: Betty Boop How do images convey our stories?

by Sandie Ramirez Our group visited the Hilbert collection art Museum in May 2022. I observed a picture of Betty Boop. It represents the artist's memory from his favorite childhood cartoon.

The artist painted it with watercolor.

The artist used blue and brown for the background. He used brown and yellowish tones for the skirt.Red is used for her flower on her head, her top and trim of her belt. Green is being used on the little platform. Yellow is being used for her Lei,her flower, and her earrings.

Black is being used for her hair, eyes, and eyebrows. The texture of the painting is smooth as if it were spread with a butter knife. The skirt is different from the background. She is dressed in a grass hawaiian shirt. It looks like a big brush was being used for the painting. The earth tones give Betty Boop a natural, non pretentious feel.

Betty Boop is a cultural icon introduced by Max Fleischer in the 1930’s. This image displayed in the Hilbert collection shows how Betty Boop endures as part of our American story after more than 70 years.

Current events

Chavez Eagles Soccer Team Soar to Victory How do our triumphs shape our present and future By editorial staff It appeared Cesar Chavez Junior, Carlos Serrano, would get forced out of bounds before he could even try to score. He and a Circulos defender were shoulder to shoulder, Serrano in control of the ball, the defender not giving in. Just when it seemed he was going to run out of room at the end line, Serrano kicked the ball, blindsiding the goalie, and the ball hit the back of the net. This was the winning goal for the championship match the Chavez Eagles Soccer team played on Saturday, May 7th 2022. Despite playing back-to-back games, the first against Circulos, the second against Middle College, they pulled off two wins to bring home the championship trophy. The first match was a close 4-3 victory with Serrano scoring the final goal with a hard, low kick from mid-field to the left corner of the net. Serrano was not optimistic. “I thought the other team might win because they had more players.” Goalie and forward, Danae Zamora Miranda also expressed skepticism. She said, “I hadn’t seen our team compete at a high level, and I didn’t know how we’d do.” But with masterful passes, strategic coaching from Coach Urrea and Coach M, Chavez overcame the odds.

Persistent defense and other goals by Jonathan Rivas and Leo Esteban-Sosa, helped bring SAUSD Small school’s trophy back to Chavez! The Eagles soar again!

Prom 2022 How do our school traditions tell our school’s story. by editorial staff

Prom 2022 happened Sunday evening, May 1st, 2022. The planning of the Chavez’ Leadership team, led by math teacher, Mrs. Gloria Maldonado, saw that no detail was left undone. Tickets sold out. Food was delicious.

Decor was perfect for the occasion. With a DJ who spun a blend of banda, old school R&B and rock n roll records, he kept everyone dancing until the sweat beads rolled down flushed cheeks. Erik Cantor was not only the Prom King, but a king on the dance floor and had fun proving it. Sandie Ramirez, Prom Queen, wore her crown well and regal. To know the personal stories from prom, you’ll have to ask those who attended. For those who were unable to be there, for now pictures will have to fill your imaginations.

Creative Writing

Interview With A Poet

By Danae Zamora

How does poetry tell us we matter?

In May of 2022, I interviewed South LA writer, poet, and LA

Her favorite poem at the time of our interview was “now i play black mamma crying over dead son,” and was inspired by the 1955 murder of

community college professor, bridgette Emmit Till. His mother left his casket bianca. Bianca is the author of

open because she said, “I want the

be/trouble. In her book of poems,

world to see what racism looks like.”

Bianca brings attention to her

Bianca based the poem on this

neighborhood and her community in a incident that sparked the 1950’s Civil romantic way. She discusses black

Rights movement because she feels

liberation, self-expression, and

racism looks like a murdered boy in a

personal and community oppression.

casket.

She feels these topics intersect with the

Bianca says the inspiration for the

For the reading event, she was given

Latinx and other communities of color book’s title is the “habitual be.” The

3-5 minutes to recite her poem, only

because all of these are potentially

habitual “B” is Black dialect and may

having one poem at the time. She got

subjected to xenophobia and racial

seem grammatically incorrect, but is

in her car, parked and edited the poem

discrimination expressed in her book.

actually the speech pattern Bianca’s

to be 3-5 minutes in length. It was

Bridgette Bianca identifies herself as descendants have adopted and is an being a part of the “big black girl”

important representation of the

community, another topic she

culture.” Bianca comments that the

addresses throughout various poems in poem, “habitual” was the easiest poem

stressful.

Bridgette Bianca says poetry gives people a voice, it is an act of love, is evidence of someone being creative,

be/trouble. Gender and body image

to write and is not only about the

and a way of communication. So when

are not the only topic that influences

habitual “b” but also a nod to poet,

asked, why poetry matters to the

her poems. “Some heroes wear their

Gwendolyn Brook’s poem, “We Real

world, she said that poetry conveys

durags with the capes flapping,” was

Cool.”

images and ideas that cannot be

inspired after she saw the movie Black

I ask Bridgette Bianca about the

conveyed through other forms. She

Panther. She references Chadwick

struggles of writing poetry. She said

herself finds poetry to be a liberating

Boseman, the actor who played

the struggle is more in editing than it

art where she doesn’t have to obey the

T’challa and vibranium. Also using

is in writing them. Bianca tells of a

rules, but she can make them up as she

“We be wakanda,” twice which is a

time when she edited a three

goes. When comparing poetry to

reference to the community in Black

notebook page poem meant for a

prose, she feels as though she has too

Panther.

12-minute long reading in her car.

short of an attention span for prose.

Despite the difficulty of editing

In all that she has learned, what

and receiving feedback, Bianca

made her want to become a poet and a

does love to consider other

college professor is not only the

people's input. As she writes

representation, but also the ability to

poems, she approaches them as

convey and hear the stories of her

having a secret, and the poem as

community. From 2017 to 2019,

unveiling that secret. Someone else

bianca questioned her existence, the

is able to view the poem and make

world as she thought about Sandra

that secret clearer.

Bland’s murder, went through the

Bianca advises poets who aren’t

pandemic, and other events in her life.

sure if they want to pursue poetry

And from this she produced

and poetry lovers to keep writing

be/trouble, a fight for lives to matter, a

from ideas or quotes. It flexes the

yell for liberation from oppressive

And I am able to understand just a little.

communication muscle. She

situations, a call to be free, written

Bianca may not be the sun, but waves do

shares that although practicing

trouble.

move beneath her.

poetry might not guarantee a

It was a pleasure to have Bridgett

The Artist Kinada H. K. Hinle made

career, someone might enjoy your

Bianca on Zoom for the interview. Her

the cover for be/trouble. Bridgette

words and that’s where you find

answers were all incorporated into this

Bianca chose the picture because when

community.

article. She was very creative,

she saw it, it was crying inducing and

responsive, and prettier than I

bright despite the dark color theme

way of unpacking and releasing

expected. She was easy to talk to

palette. The theme of the image is rising

her views of society - as a way to

because she was welcoming. Bianca

out of the trouble. The ink is meant to

talk about her life, how life

maintained a vivacious attitude

be smoke, trouble and the cutout of an

matters, and how her life matters.

throughout the interview. I personally

old stock image of a slave is what is

Poetry allows her to encapsulate

liked poems “a saturday night” and

rising out of the smoke.

ideas, store thoughts, and learn

“what doesn’t kill you makes you

about herself. Her favorite type of

lucky,” and “I may not be the sun.”

poem and one that resonates with

Although I may not be able to truly

audiences is a repetition, song-like

understand the feelings and

poem that gets stuck in the psyche.

experiences Bianca shares. I am still

Bridgett Bianca uses poetry as a

able to find common ground and connect through her poetry.

Already am, anyways Thinking makes me crazy but I should be crazier than I think I have no desire for the unrequited love Or the unrequired hearts Give your body a break Break it as if you haven't done This many times before Met me yet?

The messy, the crazy is what I am, out of place If I am crazy I might as well become crazier

I should be feeling something, a flame of dust

Affection unaffects me

It's nothing, so don't give me that look

Meaning has lost its relevance to me Ever want to care less?

Show em the player, the taker

Learn to be shameless

In that backstage actor mirror, I see love

Walk despite the walls of talk

unrestricted

Teach them how to be wild and unscattered

But a body in chains underwater

Make them guess your name

You’re being dragged down

And seize it from their mouth

By your good Less than you do How to be shameless?

Live like you have lived a hundred times before

Kill any part of you that wants to

Keep the score, live in petty, you should be furious at

Appeal

the chances you gave away

Or seduce the unrequested

Guess at winning, the logistics of being awake and

The required is

successful are none to zero

Uninspired, uninterrupted, and unique

You can push me and shove me through the heart, but

Be calamity at its worst

until then

Be my fire that burns

Wavering curls, eyes on the camera

Everything Go ahead call me crazy

I am the producer of the show…

Let the Corpse die or let it decide

By Danae Zamora

Photo by Holger Kilumets

He whispers into my ear His tears for love As he settles my things In the pond

I have a voice

Makes my grave out of pottery

That speaks to me

Molds it with his arm and uses

I have a voice

the force of his other limbs

In my head actually I have a voice

Into the grave yard he says

That decides for me

Laying me down to rest

I have a voice

He doesn't listen to me anymore

That hears me

As I struggle with dirt and patter

I How does narrative and poetic writing express our

I have a voice That tells me what do

Letting my corpse rest in his arms

lives matter? Writing is a way

I have a voice

Silent as the sky is

to voice out experiences

That causes disorder

He knows

whether figuratively or literally.

Everywhere I go

That he doesn't visit me anymore

It gives way for the creation of emotions and sensations

It speaks to me

I tell him it's okay

What I already know

I have my own voice

Was going to happen to me

He doesn't have to speak for me,

But I did it again

anymore

I listened to him instead

I'm dead on a gravestone that reads

And now he buried my bones As he is speaking to my corpse

Here lies ...

About how beautiful the world is

I'll let you decide

When I'm not in it

through imagery.

Josephine by Danae Zamora

Are you hard to find?

Can't I recognize you by heart?

Even as common as your name is I can't seem to find it, anywhere Did you cut it?

You're like water You come in waves

Is it yours?

The red string of fate hanging Waves that I find myself slipping between Looking as if it might end up strangling me You're the sound of the sea Are you hard to find?

"Are you hard to find, You’re the only one The harder I try to find you Josephine?” You caught my eyes I want it to be taken by The more lost you become My feelings have grown I hate everyone else You are opposite of a twin flame For your golden-hair But you now My feelings have grown Didn't think you'd come and change my mood so easily I lose my power to you A string dyed red from passion and blood Give it back, the power to be fine Can lead me to you I don't say But it can’t make me love you It's too late for that You're easier to find Because I am not trying to find my soulmate anymore I am trying to find the one I love Are you harder to find than I thought Not anymore We're soulmates by heart not by string

Your Bones Unfound You have 30, you shoot 10, miss 20 I got nothing going on I'm out of breath Give me a break I was chasing my dreams Until your assuming cunning ways found me Bam Bam Bam On the floor FBI at the door Legal or not, doesn’t justify Cut to the chase What is it you truly want Believe what you want Obedient wit doesn't work anyway Dreams are always tattered at your feet Your inspiration to catch the weak And the sustained weeps Into graveled pains You have no shame Why am I even breathing?

I didn't ask to live So every hard working bone is unfounded My mother's, my big brothers, and mine Your corpse will lie and it will stink Mine will lay and it will sink I don't blame you I hate you But most of all Because our bodies are unfound I am devastated for you

How do the narrative and poetic experiences we share claim our lives matter? I like to think that poetry is a simple way of telling people we lived. Our written narratives are a receipt of what we lived or what others have lived and continue to do so.

Soil lead (Pb) concentrations based on 1528 samples collected in Santa Ana, CA. Map by Shahir Masri, Program in Public Health, University of California, Irvine. Published in Science of the Total Environment

Lead Levels in Santa Ana by: Alan Beltran

the writer states that [lead is] ¨ affecting the health and well-being of more than 333,000 residents.¨ Personally, I think that this problem has affected way

The City of Santa Ana has been dealing with high

more than what they are telling us because most of

levels of lead in their soil for more than ten years

Santa Ana is full of lead in the soil, and it can spread

now, possibly affecting little kids by giving them

easily through our water pipes and get it into our

health problems later on in the future. The Mayor

drinking water, shower water, even into our schools.

[Vicente Sarmiento] must take action before this

Also it may take years to show that your body has

problem is too big to solve.

been damaged by the lead you may or may not have

For years, more than 300,000 residents have been affected by the lead in their soil. Most parts of Santa Ana have levels that exceed the legal safe limit. On February 11,2022, an article published by The Voice of OC states, “Almost half of the soil examples the volunteers for UCI took exceeded 80 parts per million than the safe recommended level.” This proves that the soil around the city of Santa Ana is not safe and helps us get a sense of how big this problem is. The safety of our citizens is at risk, and the water levels also pose contamination.

This problem may have long term effects on Santa Ana residents. In an article posted by the Voice of OC on Feb 11,2022 by Alana M.W Lebron,

been drinking.

This problem needs to be solved as soon as possible.

Instead of making railroad tracks on the public roads for no reason which may cause even more traffic than there already is, the City of Santa Ana should put our tax money into better water for our 300,000 residents that are being affected. How would a parent feel knowing their two to five year old kid is consuming lead? Let’s write/talk to our community leaders and politicians and solve this problem.

Homelessness In Santa Ana

By Sheyla Tapia May 25, 2022

A problem in Orange County is the high numbers

How does homelessness shape our community’s present and future ?

of homeless here. Because of the high levels, it causes problems in our community. This problem has been going on for years now and it’s about time to put it to an end.A report from Study Homeless Executive claims that, “Homelessness is caused primarily by lack of sufficient income or job loss combined with high costs of housing in Orange County. Other factors, like family dysfunction, health, and substance abuse, increase one's vulnerability to homelessness.“ There is more to how people become homeless. It's not just because of housing or job problems, it can also be because of health and abuse that can be going on in families.

Over the years in Orange County the

population of homelessness has

increased dramatically.The percentage of homlessness has been well documented.“Orange County's 2019 count found 6,860 people considered homeless, of which more than 3,900 were on the streets .“ This statistic shows the percentage of homelessness that we have in our community and tells us that sometimes when people have things going on that will cause them to lose their home they probably won’t have anyone to go to and they will choose to stay in the streets as if it was a safe place for them. The main cause of homelessness needs to be addressed if we are going to end the crisis.

There are several reasons why people become homeless but the most common reason is because of the lack of affordable housing or because they couldn’t afford their home anymore. Not too long ago I remember how my family and I were under a lot of pressure because we got evicted and my family struggled to find an affordable home. It wasn’t easy because homes were very expensive and rents increased even more because everything went up because of covid. We had to stay at a hotel for a few days until we finally were able to find a home to live in. It wasn’t easy going through this. We were all

stressed out and worried if we were going to be ok. It's been known that “ a fundamental cause of homelessness, the lack of available or affordable housing, hasn’t improved.

Vacancies are at lows not seen in two decades, and rents – after stalling or dropping for some of the pandemic – are back on the rise.” Rent was usually expensive but since Covid happened it made it even harder for others to be able to afford housing because Covid did cause most things including rent to increase on prices. The most typical reason people become homeless is because of not being able to afford a place to live, but there is a solution to this problem.

There are at least two solutions to fix the homlessness in our community. One solution is having more available shelters for the homeless and the next solution is to have shelters provide more job opportunities.My solutions could work because if there are more available shelters for the homeless then that can lead to getting our citizens off the streets. The fewer people that are living off the streets, the healthier it can be for our the homeless and for the community. In addition, if shelters provide more job opportunities for the homeless it can help them slowly make money to be able to afford a home for themselves at some point.

If we do something about this issue, we can save lives and make our community a better, healthier and safer place to live. Let’s get our streets safer, so we have less chaos and more harmony. Instead of just ignoring this problem in our community, we should fix it before it balloons out of control.

Afterword Staff writers: Aimee Cervantes, Alan Beltran, Alexandra Quijada, Anthony Pineda, Andrea Sanchez, Bessy Martinez, Carolina Martinez, Celeste Jaime, David Almeda, Genesis Chilet, Danae Zamora, Giselle Cardozo, Jehreaud Del Toro, Sandie Ramirez, Sheyla Tapia, Stephanie Contreras, Vanessa Zamora, Section editors: Andrea Sanchez, Danae Zamora Editor in Chief: Darlene Kriesel Special thanks to the Chavez Staff who shared their stories with our student writers.

Thanks to all of our artists and community voices who shared their expertise and their artistic vision. Thanks to Wes Kriesel for gracing our students with his photography skills and providing our soccer photos. Thanks to Rachel Gil for collaborating with the editorial staff and believing in the project. Thank you to the wonderful students who stayed the course and saw the vision to completion. Thank you to my section editors who never complained but worked hard to format and organize the magazine. Thank you, Gloria Maldonado, for our prom pictures and to the rest of Chavez staff because you guys are the best. Thank you to Principal Trucker for giving us the license to create meaningful work.