Student Takeover Blog by Carla Coronado Rodriguez, Library Student Ambassador
Experience this story and other works in the Sharing & Celebrating. Issue 1: Latinx Experiences and Solidarity. A zine made by students, faculty, and staff at Cal State East Bay.
My name is Carla Coronado Rodriguez. I'm a 4th year Psychology major with a minor in Human Development. I'm also a Library Student Ambassador here at the CORE. I recently submitted an entry to a Latinx culture zine that the Latinx Student Success Center and the University Libraries collaborated on. I've never been one to write or do any kind of poetry, but they really inspired me to just write from my heart and to be proud of what I created.
A zine is basically like a magazine, but tiny LOL. It's a small magazine that contains lots of information, photos, art, writings, and so much more. The Latinx Solidarity Zine is important because it's sharing the lives and experiences of so many people. Many people feel proud of who they are and where they come from. Some feel that they are very connected to their roots and others feel that they might not be very connected. Others feel like there's an underlying feeling that they aren't welcomed on their own land. But in the end, people just want to be free to express themselves. They don't want to be afraid of who they are. They want to share that with the world.
To me, the goal of this zine was to get our voices out there. To not be afraid of sharing our stories and our experiences. I honestly didn't think many people would want to submit anything. I think as college students, we have to focus so much on our studies that we don't think there's enough time in the day for something like this. But you can trust that so many of our staff and students came through!
Caption: The piece above is one of my favorite submissions.
My favorite piece from the zine was a poem written by Stacy Aguilar Sanches, called El Señor de las Flores. I really enjoyed this poem, and I felt like I was able to connect with it. It reminded me of my late grandfather. How he also left his home to come here and build a better life for his family. I also see El Senor de las Flores with my stepdad and my other grandfather. Sometimes even in my female family members. They all left their country with nothing, just HOPING that they would be able to build a better life with their children and their families.
Caption: Why? By Carla Coronado
I feel like I spent way too much time thinking about it. But at the same time, deep down in my heart, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. I just thought about myself and what I wanted to put out into the world. And when I thought of myself, I thought about what I like to do. What makes me happy? And I immediately thought about how I love to sing. I love music. I love the emotion. I love the heartache. I wrote a piece on something that I love about my culture: mariachi music. Many of these women in my piece have inspired me but the ones I was inspired most by were Beatriz Adriana and Jenni Rivera. I love how my culture quite literally puts their heart and soul into their music. These women put themselves in a vulnerable place and they aren't ashamed of it when it comes to sharing their music.
They are proud of who they are and so am I.
Explore more in the digital zine: Sharing & Celebrating. Issue 1: Latinx Experiences and Solidarity. A zine made by students, faculty, and staff at Cal State East Bay.
Special thank you Latinx Student Success Center (LSSC) coordinator, Vanessa Varko Fontana!
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