Reflections from the SxSW in ABQ

The South X Southwest Conference held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Going to New Mexico didn’t simply offer a new place to travel or new food to taste; it gave me the opportunity to get in touch with my past, mother earth, and brothers and sisters in a struggle for a better world.

Albuquerque and the communities surrounding it are enthralled in the past. A small rural community outside of Albuquerque, Pajarito Mesa, is an example of people adapting to the lack of human resources by conserving water through recycling and using solar energy. Even though the people of Pajarito Mesa pay taxes, they struggle to get equal services like the other Bernalillo residents. The Petroglyph National Monument is described by many indigenous peoples as the “backbone of mother earth” and serves as a place of religious service.

The most inspirational program of the conference was the documentary, “500 years of Chicano History.” Within a few minutes of watching the film, I couldn’t help but feel like I was cheated out of having a truthful history in my education in Texas! The government had never kept any of its promises to Mexicans and has never truly acknowledged our contributions to American history. The lack of that acknowledgement separates our peoples. There is no doubt that African Americans, Indigenous peoples of America, and Latinos share a common history. This history is what can unite us in our struggles for an equal world, but government created a system where we ignore it.

- Uriel Gonzalez, SWU intern (aka the sleeping jaguar)