Dear Mexican: My dad says that when he was growing up in Downey, California, they used to open the local pool to mexicanos and negritos on Thursdays only because the pool was cleaned on Friday mornings. Is this an accurate account of racism in the 1940s or an exaggeration? Do…
Dear Mexican: Why is there a jealous cousin driven by insecurity in every Mexican family?Must Excuse Vulgar-Ass Lingual Expression Dear MEVALE: Take your pick. It’s because a) your dad unwittingly insulted his dad back in the rancho when they were boys, and your cousin was taught to hate you as…
It had been more than a decade since Westword had competed in the Colorado Press Association awards — since the last time we were able to challenge the state’s major dailies, in fact. That was back when the Rocky Mountain News was still going strong; after the News complained to…
In the early 2000s, Denver was all about the creative class. Author/big thinker Richard Florida had labeled the metro area one of the top creative spots in the country, an honor that John Hickenlooper used to promote the city that had just elected him mayor. Fifteen years before, he’d been…
Dear Mexican: Do you agree with gente who think you can’t be vegetarian if you’re Mexican because meat is an essential part of our diet? I’ve heard this argument three times within the last 24 hours, from two blogs and the Today show. I think it’s babosadas. My parents growing…
The Emily Griffith Opportunity School could soon be history — literally, since the circa 1926 school building at 1250 Welton Street has been recommended for landmark status. But the name of this pioneering educator will live on. This morning, Denver Public Schools will announce the name of its ambitious project…
Michael Herrera grew up in Greeley and Brighton, where the fields were full of chiles, and green chile was often on the table at home. But he didn’t know that his future would be very, very green. Instead, he began his career with KFSC, the station started in the early…
Dear Mexican: I know an eighteen-year-old getting deported from the USA. He has been here since he was five years old. His entire family is here and undocumented. He grew up in juvenile halls and did a felony as soon as he turned eighteen. Will he be deported for sure…
Our boilers are antiquated,” says Jeff Barratt, head of the Emily Griffith Technical College. “I swear, some of them are out of the Titanic.” Close. Emily Griffith, who’d worked as a substitute teacher in Denver Public Schools until she got the okay from the district to start a less traditional…
Dear Mexican: Why is it that many first-generation Latino students are so quick to judge and alienate second-generation students just because their parents went to college and are able to afford a little more? People treat me differently and think I will look down on them, yet I grew up…
Dear Mexican: I am a butt-white Irish guy, stoked to be married to a beautiful Chicana. Her familia is from a gorgeous rancho deep in the corazón of Zacatecas, and I’ve been wanting to experience all of the ranchero lifestyle I keep hearing about from my acquired familia mexicana. However,…
Monday was Tourism Day at the State Capitol, and when boosters said the numbers looked good, that the industry was healthy, they weren’t blowing smoke. But then, they didn’t mention marijuana at all. Think of it as the big pink elephant in the room — if you really want to…
For over a decade, I’ve enjoyed sharing my neighborhood on the edge of LoHi with the students of the Contemporary Learning Academy, a DPS high school for kids whose needs and/or schedules just don’t fit with the system’s more traditional high schools. When DPS first bought the building overlooking I-25,…
Dear Mexican: I have questions about the TSA, my most hated useless government agency. I heard that the TSA does illegal ICE dragnets at airports to catch illegal aliens. I get pulled aside for “special screening” every single time I fly, and it is infuriating. Does getting targeted by the…
As the sun rose this morning — reflecting off the blue-and-orange-hued Elitch Gardens Ferris wheel and the still-glowing Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium — the real show was just over downtown……
Editor’s note: Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day — a federal holiday. The Westword office is closed, but we’ll be posting occasional updates on westword.com today. The country’s largest parade in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. — the Marade — will kick off this morning by the MLK…
Dear Mexican: I work in one of those progressive companies. Most of the gabacho bosses are actually pretty cool…at least when your back isn’t turned. There are a few a-holes, pero there will always be a few; they’ve got gigs lined up in talk radio. Sabes que — what drives…
Dear Mexican: How do we humanize the illegals in this country? My reasons for asking this question are many, but mainly a very personal one. I’ve been in this country illegally for sixteen years. For sixteen years, I’ve lived my life like anyone else: going to school and working. Eventually…
Despite obvious interest across the country, Colorado’s big tourism boosters are still shying away from any reference to recreational marijuana: On Colorado.com, the Colorado Tourism Office’s otherwise expansive site, and Coloradoski.com, Colorado Ski Country USA’s site, searching for “marijuana” nets you exactly…nothing. But some tourism businesses see the possibilities: “We’re…
Dear Mexican: One of my pet peeves is Latinos who pronounce their last names with Anglo accents. For example, Rod-driguez instead of Roh-driguez. Would love it if you address this. Personally, I believe we Latinos should educate Anglos on correct pronunciation. Gomez the Groper Dear Wab: Before you start correcting…
Update below: The DenverDepartment of Excise and Licenses just updated its list of stores now fully licensed to sell recreational marijuana on January 1 — although there’s no guarantee that all eighteen will be open tomorrow. Although the lion’s share of the retail applicants are in Denver, 25 more municipalities…
Before the ball drops tonight, the cops could get a drop on you: Once again, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Colorado State Patrol have teamed up with 76 law-enforcement agencies throughout Colorado to increase DUI enforcement through Thursday, January 2. During last year’s New Year’s Eve enforcement period,…
