Author: Joe Barrera

Some friends asked me why Chicanos/Latinos need to celebrate the Sept. 15-Oct. 15 Hispanic Heritage Month. “Aren’t you Americans now?” they asked. I answered, “Actually, we all should celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month because this is an American celebration, especially when we celebrate what are called Fiestas Patrias, or patriotic holidays, because that means that we…

It was the end of August and I was on my way home. We climbed the steps to the plane on the tarmac at Tan Son Nhat and took our seats. No sooner were we seated than the pretty blonde stewardess said over the PA, “ Please evacuate the aircraft immediately.” Standing inside the revetment…

For years, I have been a bridge between many groups. I do this, but I don’t have any special skills other than objectivity and the willingness to listen. Many times, I succeed only in getting everybody angry and making myself a target for flak from all sides. My bridge-building started when I would negotiate with…

News reports say that police waited for an hour outside Robb Elementary School. It’s hard to believe. A whole hour. The eighteen-year-old kid, the insane shooter, was inside murdering nineteen children and two teachers. What were those cops doing? What were they thinking during that hour while the madman slaughtered the innocents? There are no…

Since Feb. 24, we have been fascinated by the uneven battle, a David and Goliath struggle, of the Ukrainians versus the Russians. Ultimately, we know that Ukraine will slay the Russian giant, just as David slew Goliath. In line with our American tradition of aiding victims of aggression, and because we know that good always…

I have just returned from the southern border. Some would say it was a trip to see the Tortilla Curtain, a disparaging attempt to invoke the communist Iron Curtain. In spite of that, I can report that it was a very enjoyable trip. Nobody got sick with the Montezumas, we were not accosted by drug…

The past few years have seen the rise of political extremism at home and abroad. Violence is the hallmark of extremism, violence by mobs or by armies. We have become very familiar with violence. At home the trend erupted on Jan. 6, 2021, with the climactic assault on the U.S. Capitol and the anti-climactic violent…

I am unhappy with the current political scene because of the excesses of the right and the left. Maybe I’m just naive, but I long for the old days when extremists didn’t have the power they have now. Extremism has sneaked in and become a problem here in our peaceful corner of the Rocky Mountain…

New Year’s is a time to reflect on changes in individual and collective life. Collectively, we need to wake up and understand that we no longer live in the small town that many of us remember with nostalgia. We’re a big city now, with a population in the metro area approaching 800,000. But as I…

It’s no exaggeration to say that I love my alma mater, Colorado College. The college has been like a mother to me. That’s what alma mater means, “fostering or nurturing mother.” Like a wise mother, she taught me to keep my eyes open. I was nurtured by my professors at the college, mostly white Anglo…