In 2003, after reading Always Running in Dr. Bejarano's juvenile justice course at NMSU, I began piecing together questions
for Luis Rodriguez based on my reading and research of the book and a CD that we
received titled 'My Name is Not Rodriguez'.
The interview was published
on the Representation Show webpage in 2004. In effort
to republish interviews that were made available on that website, we're providing the interview here at the Voices Behind Walls website. I'm currently
also re-reading the Always Running text which played a major role in the goals I had set at the time. Please visit luisjrodriguez.com
for more information on Luis Rodriguez past & present accomplishments and future plans. Below I've also included an audio recording of Luis Rodriguez discussing the crimes against women of Juarez which
was broadcasted on KRUX 91.5 fm on November 15, 2003.
Lee: What was your response to the schools throughout Texas, Michigan, Illinois and California that attempted
to remove Always Running from public school libraries? What did they base their reasoning on? What are your opinions on censorship
in literature and media?
Luis Rodriguez: I was amused as well as concerned about the banning of my book in a number of public schools. I participated at some
level in battles to reinstate my book. I wouldn't do this unless there was significant support in the community. My aim is not to
impose my book on any community that doesn't want it. But if there is enough vital interest in the book, where teachers, students and
parents see the value of having this story read and explored by students, I would support such efforts. Most of the concerns around
the banning of my book were about the few graphic sexual images in the book. This is because sex - mostly awkward and unprotected - as
well as rape were real aspects of barrio gang life; I needed to draw attention to this as it happened, not just as a judgmental
statement. Sex is natural to human beings. My book - or any book for that matter - does not have as much to do with this as hormones.
But few adults are adequately addressing this with youth except to ignore or deny the sexual lives of these young people. They need
guidance, mature attitudes, and clear support - not fear and loathing and guilt-tripping. I also think there was political opposition
to my book, although this is a much harder issue to impose on a book banning. While there are far more violent scenes in the books,
most of the banning efforts seem to be around the sex scenes.
L: Tell us about Rock-A-Mole Productions. A few months ago we received your cd titled My Name is Not
Rodriguez. It was one of the first times I've ever heard a poetry cd of its kind. How and when did you become involved with putting
together Rock-A-Mole Productions and the cd?
LR: Rock-A-Mole (rhymes with guacamole) Productions was created soon after the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising following the acquittals of
police officers in the Rodney King beating. Its purpose was to establish music and art festivals emphasizing urban graffiti art,
music, dance, video, and spoken word - from those who were not being heard. We've now had nine such festivals throughout LA,
showcasing great music, visual art, and words, free to the public. We also created "LA Underground" CDs of emerging Hip Hop, Jazz
and street music in the mid-1990s. In 2002, I recorded my CD of music and poetry called "My Name's Not Rodriguez" with Rock-A-Mole
co-founder Ernie Perez. We plan to continue such efforts in bringing poetry, vision and song of urban LA to the world.
L: You are involved in many projects but one that I would like to focus on is the center of art and culture,
Tia Chucha Cafe Cultural in Sylmar. I read the Los Angeles Times article that you sent along with the cd (December 18, 2001). It
states that the San Fernando, Arleta, Sun Valley and Pacoima areas, had no book stores, movie houses or community centers for the
arts before the Tia Chucha Cafe opened up. What was the response upon opening the Tia Chucha Cafe Cultural? What was the response
from the city (government, officials, etc.)? Why did the city neglect to have a community center for the arts in an area where it
was needed most?
LR: Tia Chucha's Cafe Cultural is a bookstore, cafe, art gallery, performance space and Internet cafe in a mostly
Mexicano/Chicano/Central American community in the San Fernando Valley. With some 400,000 people in the Northeast side of
the Valley, in the "Entertainment" capital of the world, there were no bookstores, art galleries or movie houses here until we
opened our doors. This is true for neighborhoods in other areas like South Central LA and East LA. Since my family had just
moved into the Northeast San Fernando Valley from Chicago (in the summer of 2000), I decided to help create such a center. My
wife Trini and my brother-in-law Enrique Sanchez, a local businessman and homeowner, joined me in this effort. In the two years
since we've opened, we've been embraced by this community and have had some fantastic events. So far we have not had much
response from government officials as far as monetary or other support. I feel they are often threatened by these kinds of
places - which brings the arts, ideas, history, reading, and community participation to a much higher level. Most politicians
would rather maintain an uninformed constituency even as they work to prepare and bring out their own people and supporters. I
believe the city failed to have such centers in most of the poorest areas in LA because they feel these people would be best
suited to work the low-paying service, construction and manufacturing industries that cater to such communities. We expect more
than this. We need to prepare our communities to be more socially and politically engaged. Tia Chucha's does this through
the arts.
L: Which project/program are you currently working on?
LR: I just finished my first novel, "Music of the Mill," to be published in the fall of 2004 by Rayo/Harper Collins. I already have
eight other books in print and a CD. I'm also working on a number of other writing projects, including a screenplay, a biographical
book of a leading Native American poet, another children's book, another poetry collection, and several essays. I continue to travel
from 80 to 100 days a year to read, lecture and conduct workshops throughout the country and parts of the world. I will also work to
promote and keep viable Tia Chucha's Cafe Cultural and its non-profit arm, Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural; my poetry press Tia Chucha
Press; my CD/Record label, Dos Manos; and our first online magazine, Xispas.com, which is scheduled to be launched in March 2004.
L: This summer I had the opportunity to read The Republic of East L.A., a collection of stories depicting
the lives of people in East L.A. When you were putting this book together, what challenges if any did you face? Also, which story
in that book, if any, resembles you the most? (I felt there were some similarities with the Benny character in Miss East L.A.).
LR: "The Republic of East LA" was my first major book of fiction. Up until then, I had only written about real things through poetry,
memoir, essays and other works. For once, I imagined people and situations, people and struggle, people and change. While it's true
some of the stories are based on real people and incidents (yes, the Benny character in the "Miss East LA" story is very much based on
my own experiences), they have been reimagined; in many cases they developed a life other own. It's good to finally tap into my
imagination for stories and other writings. This helped me tackle the larger work
involved in a novel.
L: What is your response to the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor in California?
LR: I don't believe an actor is qualified to make the necessary political changes that are vastly needed by our communities. This
was true for Reagan as for Schwarzenegger. I'm not saying an actor can never run for office, but what qualifies them is actual work
in the public sector, in troubled communities, in having vision, ideas and strong connection to the needs of people and how to get
those needs without jeopardizing the earth, the technology and the future. Schwarzenegger was popular as actor and some of this
translated into votes. He also carried with him the promise of a debt-free, responsive and engaged state government. We haven't
seen much of this in the past. But that promise is powerful indeed - enough to get him into office. I also felt Schwarzenegger had
some pretty lame candidates opposing him (the Green Party's Peter Camejo was the exception). Despite dozens of allegations of
improper contact with women, Arnold was simply the most attractive candidate. I wish him well, but I know he's going to fail - it'll
take a whole movement to change what's happening in the state.
L: If you had to narrow your choices down to three topics, which one's do you feel are most important in the
books and poems that you write?
LR: That our stories are vital; that poetry can save lives; that implicit in my work is how to live a conscious and engaged life,
against all odds, with creativity, beauty, song and poetry.
L: When was the last time you visited El Paso, TX? What is your general impression of El Paso, TX? Have
you ever been to Las Cruces, NM?
LR: I visited El Paso a few times over the years since "Always Running" came out to promote my poetry and other writing. I've read
at the University of Texas, El Paso and at a number of barrio high schools. Even though I never lived in El Paso, I was born there
(my family lived across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico). People in El Paso, however, have always treated me as a native son. I
truly appreciate the great support and respect I get from my birth place. El Paso is a uniquely crucial city in this country - a
border city, a bridge city, a city of cultural extremes and cultural innovation.
I've been to Las Cruces twice to participate in the Border Book Festival, organized through the efforts of my friend Denise
Chavez. The last time, they gave me the Premio Fronterizo award. I also spoke at various local schools, juvenile facilities,
and the local prison. Denise and our mutual friend John Randall also graciously organized a benefit auction where some of the
funds went to Tia Chucha's Cafe Cultural, for which we are eternally grateful. I have many friends in Las Cruces and hope to
visit again soon.
L: How do you feel about the current representation of the Chicano/Mexican culture in
American television?
LR: I feel we get lost in the "Hispanic" syndrome - where very distinct peoples who happen to speak Spanish and/or have Spanish
surnames have been forced to come together as if they were a monolith. As much as I admire and love Puerto Ricans, Cubans,
Dominicans, Salvadorans and other Latino cultures, Mexicans (and depending on what part of Mexico) and Chicanos have their own
cultures and traditions. The media tries to lump us all together, which means we get lost at times. Even George Lopez, a Chicano,
has a Cuban American wife in his sit-com show. That happens, but this is rare. We still need to recognize and support the Chicano
contributions to our history, culture and politics - not at the expense of anyone else, but just for the vitality it represents and
continues to exude. We need more Chicano actors, directors, producers, camera people, and creators of media outlets and studios.
L: The following questions will focus on Luis Rodriguez and music. If there was to be a concert celebrating
your accomplishments so far, and you were allowed to have between 5 and 10 artists or groups of your choice (whether living or
passed), who would they be?
LR: First of all Carlos Santana - he's always been someone I've respected. But also the funk of James Brown and George Clinton, the
hands of Poncho Sanchez, the piano harmonies of Agustin Lara, the voice of Lila Downs, the muted trumpet of Miles Davis, the lyrical
power of Van Morrison, and the spirit and sass of Celia Cruz.
L: In Always Running, it mentions that you played the saxophone. Do you still play the saxophone? Are there
any other instruments that you really got involved with back then and now? In the book it also mentions that one of the ways you
learned how to play the saxophone was by listening to records. Do you remember the artists you use to listen to or the names of the
albums themselves? Did you save your records?
LR: I loved the saxophone since I was young. I tried to play trumpet, drums and guitar as a youth, but saxophone really peaked my
interest. I was in two garage bands. One had me practice some of the oldies songs we listened to, particularly from the Eastside
Sound that was very important in the 1960s - bands like Thee Midnighters, Cannibal and the Headhunters, The Premiers, The Village
Callers, El Chicano and such. I played the sax riffs to "Sad Girl," a song Little Willie Garcia sang for Thee Midnighters, and "Have
I Sinned" by Donnie Elbert (one of the best sax solos in doo wop). Over the years, I learned to love jazz saxophonists like Stanley
Turrentine, Ronnie Laws and Boney James. However, when my brother smashed my saxophone in a fit of rage (he couldn't jump on me
anymore since I had gotten older and become a good fighter), this pretty much ended my garage band career. I took up conga drums
for a while, even playing a gig with a local band, but I needed a lot more practice. I got rid of the conga drum - like most of
any possessions of value - for drugs when I got heavy into it in my late teens.
I still have albums from those times, but most of the real good ones were stolen when I moved to Watts/South Central LA in my early
20s. Some of the favorite bands of the 1970s like War, Malo, Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of Power have since put out CDs
of early albums, which I've replaced. But there are still some albums I have that will never be reissued and are invaluable - such
as Jose "Chepito" Areas and Mandrill.
L: What is your opinion on Hip Hop? Do you get a chance to listen to much of it, if so, who do you listen
to? What is your opinion of media and the influences it has on the younger generation through Hip Hop?
LR: Hip Hop is a vital art form that grew out the urban realities of the 1970s and 1980s. It is my generation's initial cry and
scowl to the world - with rage, ideas, poetry, dance, art and beats. The fact that much of this has been commercialized and
defanged doesn't take the power of what it has done and is capable of doing. Hip Hop is an integrated system of dance, aerosol
art, DJing, MCing, and beats. Truth was its object - even when it speaks about it without political or social consciousness. Yet
such truth can still be heard in many words of Hip Hop artists, particularly around the world. I participated in a Hip Hop
conference in Rome that brought break dancers, aerosol artists, poets and such from all over the world. I listen to Outkast,
the Neptunes, Jay Z, Eminem, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, and consider "Public Enemy" the strongest exponent of the art.
L: If books were to cease to exists tomorrow, but you were given the choice to keep 5 books, which books
would those be?
LR: The five books would be: Frederick Engels' "The Dialectics of Nature," John Fante's "Ask the Dust," the Popul Vuh, Michael
Meade's "Men and the Water of Life" and the collected works of Pablo Neruda.
L: There are a number of websites for which you are involved with. Including your own and one for the
Tia Chucha Cafe Cultural. Please provide all the necessary links so that people reading this interview can look up more information
on Luis Rodriguez and affiliates.
LR: My own website is www.luisjrodriguez.com Tia
Chucha's is www.tiachucha.com. We are launching our own
online magazine called Xispas at www.xispas.com. Tia Chucha
Press can be accessed at www.guildcomplex.com.
Rock-A-Mole Productions is at www.rockamole.com. That's quite a lot but I definitely believe in the power of connectiveness
inherent in the Internet.
L: During the fall semester of 2002, my professor Dr. Cynthia Bejarano, assigned Always Running as a required
reading for the course which focused on the infrastructure of the Juvenile Justice System. This had a significant impact in that it
helped motivate my expectations of what literature had to offer considering I do not recall any other times before this point in which
a class was assigned an autobiographical reading from a Chicano writer. It not only opened my mind to the literature of your life, it
also gave me an opportunity to finally be able to read something that I thought had the potential to really benefit people in the
surrounding communities of not only El Paso and Las Cruces, but of Ciudad Juarez as well. What advice would you have for other
professors who are teaching these sorts of subjects? What is your response to professors like Dr. Cynthia Bejarano who take on the
responsibility of bringing books like yours together with the course work in the classroom?
LR: These kinds of books are the other pieces of the American historical and literary puzzle. We need more of them used and
appreciated in our literature and social classes (in my case, in criminology and similar areas as well). I honor professors like
Dr. Cynthia Bejarano for seeing the value of these books and engendering new generations of readers for such works. Chicanos now
have a wonderful body of literature. We need to have more but no one can deny the wonderful work of writers such as Sandra
Cisneros, Denise Chavez, Ana Castillo, Gary Soto, Victor Villasenor, Helena, Viramontes, Yxta Maya Murray, and countless others. If
not for the professors and teachers we wouldn't make it in publishing since rarely are we given the support and exposure required
for the best seller lists and prime chain bookstore shelves. The schools keep us alive. If not for them, "Always Running" would
not have been a best seller (more than 200,000 copies sold) as a perennial favorite (instead of the short-lived books that make a
big splash in the beginning but then are never heard from again).
L: Where do you hope to see literature and the education system 20 years from now? Where do you
realistically think it is headed?
LR: Books may be transformed. But I believe reading and poetry and words will always be vital. Of course, I'm biased toward the
form of the book today - the smell and feel of them, how they can unfold and be read over and over again. But who knows what the
future holds. I don't care for the electronically produced online books (I'm talking about the ones you have to read from a screen).
Books must be experienced.
I believe that education needs to be tied more to the development of the artists in each of us. To me a complete human being is a
complete artist. I also think education must be removed from the economic basis of society - where people are taught according to
the social class position they're in and the economic/industrial needs of society. We need schools to transcend the political and
social realities of our times (or help point the way out the crises these times produce) and expand the human capacity to think,
to dream, to create, to care, to cooperate, and to love.
The full and healthy cultural, spiritual, political, social, psychological, and physical development of all should be the aim and
goal of every educational program. This should be done in accordance with nature and its innate laws, in accordance with an
assumption of abundance, not scarcity - in alignment with the technological means to provide everyone the basics of life (food,
shelter, and clothing) but also the basics of a strong and integrated spiritual and artistic life.
