Aztlan Times

4:00 AM, May 25th, 2002- The screams of my mother shook my body awake. As I entered the living room I saw her collapse on the couch while the silohuettes at the front door exclaimed “FRANKIE DIED”! My legs buckled and I, also, dropped. Frankie, my 17 year old brother, had left for Rocky Point, on the morning of May 24th in his 1995 Chrysler Sebring. I began to visualize a horrible auto accident on the two lane highway to Mexico. “HE WAS BEATEN TO DEATH” said the woman at my door. “Who the hell are you” I thought to myself. I soon realized that it was Frank’s friends and their father. My 12 year old daughter entered the room scared and crying. My 18 year old brother just stood there in disbelief. Time does not stand still when when your world comes crashing down. We started the phone calls and the drives to gather the rest of our family. My mother has seven children.

We raced at 90 mph to Rocky Point in a Lincoln Navigator and not a word was spoken. We arrived at the local jail and swarmed the desk clerk. The day shift had just come on duty and information was scarce. We were shown a list of suspects but none of the names were familiar. The officers allowed us to go to the cells and view the suspects.

“Adrian, Adrian, Adrian”! We recognized the face. Adrian woke up in shock and started shaking his head no, no, no. He wanted us to think we had made a mistake and even said “no hablo ingles”! Frank had considered him his brother because Frank’s Dad had been married to Adrian’s Mother. We walked away.

Marcy, whose family woke us up with the news, showed up “crying” at the jail and said that Frank had been stabbed. She said that they had left a club and were walking as a group when about 20 Rocky Point Locals attacked them. She claimed that my brother got left behind as they ran for their lives. Looking back now, I can’t believe I fell for the story.

Witnesses started coming forward in the weeks that followed and said that it was 5 guys that attacked him not 20. I returned to Rocky Point the following year and found out that my brother’s so-called friends had told the police an entirely different story. The police had, also, determined that the suspects were from Tucson, AZ. The search continues for the murderers of Frank John Monares.

159-The number of confirmed migrant deaths this year in the Arizona desert at the time of this posting. Last year there were 150. Congressman, Raul Grijalva, says 2009 is the year that Congress will take up the debate on immigration again. It seems, politicians are unwilling to risk alienating potential voters prior to the U.S. Presidential Elections.

This is unacceptable! The lack of action was enough to alienate the dwindling numbers of people that believe in the power of the vote. The massive movements that shook this continent last year were just a taste of what is to come. Many organizations are now in the planning stages of new actions to force the issue back on to the table. From boycotts of the Superbowl in Phoenix, hunger strikes, and Berlin Wall Style Rallies along the U.S/Mexico border, 2008 is gearing up to be the year of change. One way or another!

Since 1521, when the first Europeans got a foothold in Anahuac (Mexico/Central America) they have attempted to lure other foreigners in to boost the numbers of non-natives. Santa Ana’s invitation of American squatters into Texas resulted in the annexing of the southwest by the United States. Porfirio Diaz, also, courted Europeans, but when he deputized Arizona Rangers sent to crush striking miners in Cananea,Sonora the result was ”The Mexican Revolution”.

From The Caste War of the Yucatan, The Battle of Puebla, The Mexican Revolution, and The Zapatista Uprising, indigenous populations have rallied to beat back the intrusions and takeovers by arrogant supremacists who view the people and land as commodities ripe for exploitation.

The 1997 slaughter of the residents of Acteal, Mexico had eerie similarities to the 19th Century Massacre at Wounded Knee. For hours, men, women, & children were gunned down by unknown assailants armed with assault rifles. So to say that Mexican Migration into the US is purely economic denies the pressures imposed on the Mexican Working Class.  

Entire villages are being emptied by the lure of the US Dollar. For those existing in towns where death and hunger are in abundance the prospect of earning 10x the money is worth the dangers of bandits, heat exposure and vigilantes. And once they make it into US cities they accept their place as second class servants.

Meanwhile, back at home the residents that are left behind are unable to fend off the landgrabbers and eventually become underpaid employees of maquiladoras and resorts. As an example, condos in Puerto Penasco, Sonora are going up at record pace. In fact, they are sold before they are built. Americans are the investors and the labor comes from the locals.

To combat this trend, there has to be “Interception Centers” located in the communities and at all the points along the border where migrants gather before they cross. The mission will be to educate on depopulation, provide training & employment in high demand niche programs, and reduce the amount of crossers during extreme weather.

AZTLAN TIMES is dedicated to the preservation of Aztlan Culture and the promotion of an Aztlan Future. In the coming months there will be information on current events, pictures, artwork, music, books and a directory. This site will be geared towards creating a Virtual Aztlan. We will report on the news that affects us, as Citizens of Aztlan, and our families in Anahuac. Updates on the, newly formed, Aztlan Tlachtli League and other sports will be presented. A Tiangis,or marketplace, page will allow for the purchase of Aztlan/Anahuac products. Education and hope are powerful tools and empowerment is our goal!  Remember: Aztlan is the place where migrants are always welcome!