A Collective Letter from Central American Studies Students and Alumni at California State University, Northridge, in Response to Rudy Acuña’s “Los Muertos de Hambre: The War on Chicano Studies”
On Thursday, November 15, 2013, WE, Central American Studies Alumni and current students in the Central American Studies (CAS) program at California State University, Northridge, woke up to personal accusations spreading about two of our professors, Beatriz Cortez and Douglas Carranza. These accusations were published in Rudy Acuña’s “Los Muertos de Hambre: The War on Chicano Studies.” This article has spread through social media, has been posted and reposted by the Chicana/o community, and by others that helped fund the Central American Studies Program but are no longer involved with any of its students. Rudy Acuña makes derogatory accusations toward Professor Beatriz Cortez and Professor Douglas Carranza by calling them muertos de hambre interested solely on financial gains, accuses them of being a threat to Chicana/o Studies (CHS) at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and refers to them as colonizers with “an obsession to rewrite history and mask their privilege.” These accusations have been a direct hit to not only Professor Cortez and Professor Carranza, but also to the Central American Studies Program, current students, and alumni.
These remarks are in direct opposition to what we have learned in our classrooms in regards to government. Let us not forget that there is a growing Central American community in the United States that has been a result of U.S-backed state-enforced terror, a historical understanding that we have come to learn in our classrooms. Supporting the Peña Nieto government is something that we cannot fathom since we understand the historicity of right-wing governments within a political geographical perspective. In addition, the accusation of seeking to destroy CHS goes against the very aim of the program, which is to understand the diversity of cultures, ethnicities, experiences, and worldviews from an interdisciplinary global perspective. In our program, we acknowledge our ancestors that have undergone a history of colonialism, while we aim at decolonizing our minds. Such aims, and accomplishments, could not and would not be put forth by individuals whose goal would be to colonize. These accusations are nowhere in line with the reality of the program and who better to assert this than the students that have proudly passed through the classrooms, have been involved with the Central American United Student Association (CAUSA), and have remained in contact with these dedicated professors, whom, if we may add, have never claimed to be the founders of the program. They have always given credit, where credit is due. As alumni and students, we have conversed about the accusations and stand united behind Beatriz Cortez, Douglas Carranza, the Central American Studies Program, the faculty, current students, and alumni, as we feel this is an attack to the heart of our Central American community. We find these accusations incredibly threatening to the future of our alliance with CHS students, as they cause separation and tension between the students of each program.
The program has been life-changing in not only teaching the histories of displacement and migration that we always yearned for, but also expanding our understanding of the transnational Central American community’s experience, their economic and cultural contributions, and the importance of placing at the forefront indigenous and afro-descendant communities who have historically been excluded. The ties and work we have created alongside these communities have been the most transformative for us in producing a passion for social change. This work is extensively documented via images, videos, flyers, podcasts, and essays that we have produced inspired by these multiple events. These exchanges have shaped our critical thinking and writing skills, which have been crucial in allowing us to continue our education towards advanced degrees. The Central American Studies Program has always prioritized our needs as students working on continuing our education into graduate school, or our decisions to seek a specific career path. They have always welcomed and opened doors for us, and have provided us with the support to follow what it is we are passionate about.
Our credibility and reputation as scholars has been challenged by someone with a lot of power in a community that has not taken the time to understand the intricacies of our program, our work, and our activism. We are not exclusive, rather we are inclusive and think of ourselves as communities with similar struggles. We are not against Rudy Acuña or his allies or CHS, we are thankful for the space they provided us to get the program to where it is now. But his intent to hurt our professors has created a chain reaction that has hurt us, the students, our program, and the university. We are not under the dime of Peña Nieto, and we most certainly are not under any other program, we are our own entity that once was supported by Rudy Acuña. We ask that he continue to respect our space that we have worked so hard to maintain, to make rightfully ours. By not doing so, he is silencing our voices, erasing our struggle, and destroying the dignity of our program.
Sincerely,
1. Susana Aguilar-Marcelo
2. Connie Alas
3. Robin Alfaro
4. Jason Alvarado
5. Alma Baez
6. Milagros Beltrán
7. Karen Bonilla
8. Jocelyn Bonilla-Ruiz
9. Armando Carrasco
10. Rosee M. Condor
11. Rigo Díaz
12. Jocelyn Duarte
13. Robby Duarte
14. Arturo Elías
15. Shahrazad Encinias
16. Aaron Rudy Flores
17. Luis Gallegos
18. Glenda García-Oliva
19. Albert Girón
20. Devora González
21. Josué A. Guaján Orellana
22. Vanessa Guerrero
23. Evelyn Guillén
24. Joanna Hernández
25. Jennifer Herrera
26. Miriam Joya
27. Cecia Juárez
28. María Lemus
29. Nelson Lemus
30. Stephanie Lemus
31. Moisés Linares
32. Elizabeth López
33. Ashley Luke
34. Stephany Magaña
35. Dayana Mendoza
36. Patty Mendoza
37. Nancy Menjívar
38. Cindy Monzón
39. Delia G. Morales
40. Julia Morales
41. Edward Murillo
42. Pedro Noé
43. Stephanie Olmedo
44. Fátima Orellana
45. José Roberto Orellana
46. Diego Ortiz
47. Osvaldo B. Ortiz
48. Cathie Pacheco
49. Carol Paniagua
50. Teresa Peña
51. Nancy Pérez
52. Luzita Pineda
53. Jenny Perdomo
54. Geraldine Ramirez
55. Julio Ramos-Beltrán
56. Randy M. Rodríguez
57. Diana Rivera
58. Ana Cecilia Rosas
59. Roberto Saravia
60. Cathy Smith
61. Maira Solis
62. Yuri Treminio
63. Amy Ulloa
64. Sharon Vargas
65. Mirna Maria Ventura
66. Karla Zapata
67. Cindy Zelaya
Cultura centroamericana 