June 23, 2023
The Mosaic Inspiring Tomorrow’s Journalists
Volume 30
‘No sabo’ kids turn a slur into a game
By Iris Sanchez
Mosaic staff writer
Sara De La Cerda remembers the day in a mariachi music class at San Jose High. The instructor asked for a translation from English to Spanish. The U.S.-born Mexican American confidently raised her hand and answered in her best Spanish. “All the kids started laughing because it didn’t translate,” she said. “I was kinda teased in high school for like, not knowing how to speak Spanish.” Today De La Cerda is considered a “no sabo kid” by fluent Spanish-speaking youths from Miami to San Jose. The term targets Americanized, English-dominant Latinos, young or old. It’s
ConXion manager Cuauhcihuatl Trinidad stands in front of a Native American mural at the ConXion community center in San Jose on June 15. AMELIA TAI— STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
as if the Spanish speakers are accusing them of abandoning their culture by assimilating totally into a dominant American environment. The phrase carries a comedic undertone because “no sabo” is ungrammatical. The correct phrase would be no se, or I don’t know. The origin of the phrase isn’t clear. It could have been a Mexican American or Puerto Rican from New York, answering no sabo to a question in Spanish. For De La Cerda, now a senior at San Jose State University, the ridicule still stings. As a Latina, the experience in high school made her feel disconnected from her Latinidad and mariachi music. No sabo has taken a place in Latino culture, making it much harder for Latinos who don’t Continued on Page 11
Food banks face increased demand after pandemic
Artists harness AI as creative partner By Julia Dang
Mosaic staff writer
to sort and distribute meals. Although most people returned to their jobs post-pandemic, skyrocketing inflation has caused widespread financial difficulties. Food prices rose 7.7% in the year up to April 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture. Many disadvantaged communities are still recovering from losing income during the pandemic, putting them in a particularly vulnerable position. On top of that, a decrease in food assistance payments from the government is tightening budgets even further.
James Morgan began his creative journey into artificial intelligence as a joke. Now it is a significant part of his creative process, making him part of a now growing group of creatives who are using AI in their art in new and inventive ways. Morgan, an artist and a professor of digital media at San Jose State University, has spent the past few years experimenting with AI in art. He first got into it, he said, when he “made a joke about wanting to make an opera.” A friend was creating software to make music, so Morgan was able to use it to generate melodies in the style of the great Giacomo Puccini. He wrote lyrics to be translated into Italian and eventually created Arido Taurajo, an operatic short taking place over a video game. Morgan’s journey with AI continued when he spent a year during the pandemic doing photography in Michigan. He put almost every photo into a computer model just to see how the program might replicate his work, and looked closely at what it generated. “I started falling in love with the aesthetic of it,” he said.
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Second Harvest Food Bank volunteers sort tomatoes at a distribution center at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. AMELIA TAI— STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER By Ella Polak
Mosaic staff writer
Under the hot midday sun, families lined up last week at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose to receive an assortment of vegetables, poultry and canned foods from Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. High demand was evident in the length of the line, which stretched around two corners of the property. One person standing in line was Maria Luz Alatorre, 82, who is a frequent patron of Second Harvest. “I usually use my entire Social Security check to pay for food, but
coming here lets me keep a bit of pocket money to spend on other things,” she said. “It gives me a financial cushion.” Alatorre is just one of nearly half a million people served by Second Harvest in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. According to its website, demand for Second Harvest’s services rose from 250,000 to 460,000 people per month during the COVID-19 pandemic, an 80% increase. Other Bay Area food banks have experienced similar surges in demand. As a result, they have expanded their operations, but are struggling to find enough volunteers
San Jose agency Gardner delivers sense of stability, hope for future with needed resources
Struggling dad finds path to support By Dominque Quintana Mosaic staff writer
When his son was still a baby, young father Nestor Garrido noticed something peculiar about the way the boy was behaving. Garrido was in a struggling relationship with the boy’s mother, and it was becoming apparent that the situation was going to get harder. By the time his son was 2, Garrido found himself in an unimaginable position that terrified him — he became a single dad to a son who couldn’t talk. Yet, the determined father knew he wouldn’t stop fighting for his son. Garrido, 31, is from a small town called Puebla-Cruz Colorada in Mexico. He lives in San Jose with
Nestor Garrido helps his son, Zadkiel Garrido Lopez, with the water fountain at O’Donnell Garden Park in San Jose on June 15.
RASHEL NARANJO— STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
his son, now 5, who recently was diagnosed with autism. After facing many trials, Garrido’s son is finally receiving medical treatment with the help of Gardner Health Services in San Jose. This South Bay agency is intertwined with neighboring hospitals and offers programs for women, provides screenings and assists people regardless of their legal status. Part of Gardner’s mission is to offer health care to low-income families. With Gardner’s support, Garrido and his son, Zadkiel Garrido Lopez, are building a new routine. They wake up every day at 6 a.m., and Garrido gets them both ready before taking Zadkiel to his special school. “Teachers find him very difficult
to deal with because he can’t talk but only reacts by ignoring instruction,” Garrido said in Spanish. “He is very hyperactive, and the teachers say they can’t do it alone.” Both the principal and teachers suggested he stay with Zadkiel throughout the class. Before Zadkiel’s recent diagnosis, Garrido often would be called to leave work and go to school — and ultimately lost his job. “Without a job, I am barely making ends meet,” he said. Constant worry filled the father, yet school for his son remained a priority. Getting medical care has also been challenging and difficult. “The Continued on Page 4