screw the paris part its all about the rest...

[the_big_e_247]

well guys, ive been thinking about where i would like to live when i got older and i love chicago and im liking the east coast but i may just go the other way and either live somehwre in southern california or paris or something... i haev reasons though so dont just be like "paris! eddie ur nuts!"... first of all ive recently considered paris because of my "americans in paris in the 1920's" class. for some reason, after learnign about the lifestyle of some of the now most popular american writer, composers, and painters---(who were a bunch of nobodies back then) i cant help but find that kind of living, in such a beautiful place such as paris, incredibly appealing. and about califas... its diferent cuz well ive always been in love with my mexican culture and ive always dreamed of living on, say, 18th street in pilsen or on 26th somewhere. u know where all the mexicans are-- where all my culture is. i mean the ladder goes like this... if u come over from mexico and ur trying to make ends meet, ur first stay in chicago land is in pilsen- the ghettoest of mexican neighborhoods in chicago. then from there things get a little better, and u get a better job so u move over to 26th. not drastically better but still with ur peoples and a little less dangerous. then from there u eventually move to cicero where i would say its A LOT safer even in neighboorhoods like mine but i wouldnt necessarily say its better. u see in cicero, it is the second biggest mexican neighboorhood in the US next to east LA yet a life in cicero doesnt compare to a life in any of those other places. each and every one of those places is stacked with mexicanos and they embrase it and they have murals everywhere and everyone, even the dumbest people know about their heritage. everyone knows about the aztecs and about what cinco de mayo is really all about and everyone holds their race as a part of them. i see some elements of that in cicero, like mexican stores and stuff and well, a lot of thinsg but its nothing compared to 26th street. and as soon as were done with cicero, as soon as our lives get a little better and we can move, where do we move to? mexicanos move to romeoville or downers grove or any of those towns that i like to call WHITEVILLE. we have nowhere to go from cicero if we intend to stay with our mexican culture because cicero is as good as it gets and anything else is a step backward. funny thing is, i see an escape from that when i think of california. there, culture comes first and schools and streets are named after people we should recognize becasue they are our true founding fathers. murals with the virgen de guadalupe are everywhere... mexican soccer jerseys are worn 24/7.. and everyone speaks spanish everywhere even in this english speaking nation. sure we can say that we speak spanish too but in all honesty, english has taken over in my head. i think in english and i pretty much didnt fight it. that saddens me cuz i want my kids to speak spanish like i do and even better than me too. to all my friends i speak to them in english save for the occasional "ven guey" or "no mames" to like lopes or clark and the conversations i have at work with guys that are straight out of mexico or with my mom and our cousins. i speak it relatively well but i see others that dont and it brings me too shame. i knwo ill probably wuss out and not move over there but its always in my head. i want to stay with my culture and i want to keep in touch with my roots adn i want my kids to know grow up being mexican not american. i know im saying some things i probably shouldnt but hey this is my live journal-- so what u gonna do? i feel this way and i hope others feel the same-- our culture should not be forgotten yet we're all doing our part to make sure that it is. if u feel what im saying , or even if u dont-- respond to this and post something on my livejournal/forum and let people knwo where u stand on this issue. and make sure u label it with either a "staying true" or "selling out" (to ur culture) on the subject box. peace and love, everyone. eddie

ps.. dont get me wrong i love my town of cicero and theres no place like it.. il say that till i die.