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Hi everyone. This is Carmen and Christina and this is
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Estadias Unknown, a podcast where we talk about Latin American history.
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Sometimes it's horrible and deals with tybee topics like racism, corruption,
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and genocide. But more than that, it's also by resistance,
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power and community. And we are entering another series for me,
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a series. Yes, yes, So I'm just going to jump
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into my little intro here. From June third to June eighth,
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nineteen forty three, US military members off to the cops
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and civilians who were mostly all white, went around attacking
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Mexicans and other minorities in La, identifying their victims by
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their attire, the zoot suit. And this dark event in
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US history is known today as the zoot Suit Riots.
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But before we do in apisode about the zootsu Riots,
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we need to talk about something that happened before. Do
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you mean some context? You know it? This whole episode
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is context. I love context, right. Without this event, the
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Zoot two Riots might not even have happened. And this
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event was the Sleepy Lagoon Murder. And now some context
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for the context, context squared. Yes, that's what that's what's
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happening today. So we have talked about Mexican migration to
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the LA Area and other episodes like the Sharvest Ravine
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episode among others, a bunch really throughout, So just a
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quick over beyond that, the Mexican Revolution really ramped up
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migration to the LA Area. However, there was already migration
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during World War One. During World War two, especially with
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the program and even those outside of the Bestsettle Program
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going to the yes to fill the gap in the
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workforce because everyone was off in the war and Mexicans
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settled into neighborhoods, the population grew. These you know, became
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or right away were blow income areas, which were always
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like known to be dangerous. I think we talked about
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it in the Shraveservin episode. But like the guy who
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wanted to make that big Section eight complex would drive
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tour buses like, oh, look at these ghetto people look
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at this like yeah, so that's what disgusting behavior, very disgusting.
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And also like we know, redlining was happening during this
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time foreseeing everyone to stay in these areas and these
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areas become overcrowded, on so on and on. Yeah, then
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Pearl Harbor took place, and this contributed to already growing
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racial tensions in LA, which of course only worsened with
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ex secutive Order nine zero sixty six where those with
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Japanese ancestry were all put into concentration camps. Then, on
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the twenty third of February nineteen forty two, at two
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twenty one am, a radar picked up enemy planes one
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hundred and twenty miles outside of LA. It was reported
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that four planes were shot down, and it was like
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this event was called the Battle of Los Angeles, but
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these planes never existed. There was no planes. Oh so yeah,
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they were just freaking out, like somebody must have said
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something like there, what is that? Yes, hysteria, So what
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did they hear or see? I don't know, like a
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regular plane or no, there was no planes found. It
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was dismissed as a false alarm. Okay. Interesting, And during
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this event some infrastructure was damaged because they fired at
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these supposed planes wow, that were not there. And someone
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died of a heart attack during all this because they
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like announced it. They were like, oh, we're being like
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star radio. Yeah, yeah, there's enemy planes in the vicinity.
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And so the only person who have died of this
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is it was a heart attack. Wow. This false alarm
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only revealed how afraid people were and when people it's
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a scary time when everyone else, sorry, let me rephrase that,
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it's a scary time for everyone else when white people
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are afraid. Oh okay, if you weren't going to say that,
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I was just going to say that. Yeah. And so
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there was obviously like Japanese and those with Japanese ancestry
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were already labeled as enemies, right, and that's not like
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a thing that people are like, Oh, they're just being
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racist against white people, like it's legitimate, Like people die
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because of white fear, Like oh no, yeah, black children
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were lynched, black men were women, you know what I mean,
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Like it's statement. Yeah, we have so many episodes that
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result from white fear. And so this white fear led
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to many Anglo Angelino's to begin to say or believe
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or spread this notion that Mexicans had a trace of
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oriental behavior. The fuck does that even mean? Basically saying
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like they're more Japanese than American, Oh, saying that they're foreign, yes,
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and the enemy. Yeah. And these beliefs influenced what were
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going down during the Sleepy Lagoon, Like, well, the aftermath
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of the sleepy lagoon murder would be informed by this belief.
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So in the middle of all of that that I
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just said taking place, this jazz age was like a thing,
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right I think. I mean obviously, from like the nineteen
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twenties into like what nineteen forties, jazz was super popular
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and jazz everyone like, jazz was so popular with everyone,
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but it was just embraced by the working class. Yeah,
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and obviously it was like it originated from black people.
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We don't have jazz without black people. And the style
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of dress from jazz that was adopted by Mexican American
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youth the zootsu So if you're wondering what this looked like,
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we will post pictures on Instagram as well. But the
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outfit was made up of a fingertip coat, meaning it
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usually went up to the ankles. It goes a very
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long coat and a pair of poon job style pants,
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so loose pants that were tapered at the ankle, skinnier
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at the bottom than the top. Some added a long
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watch chain and a hat which was called a dando.
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And eventually this went out of style and they would
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just comb their hair back into a pumpadoor. So like
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it was bigger on the top. Yeah, almost like a
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little like poof like the teasing, but in the front
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of the head the back. Yes, this was known as
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the art Argentine ducktail or ducks ass. I don't know,
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I guess I think it did look like yeah, yeah,
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it kind of looked like a ductail. This look was
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topped off with black galcos or thick soled black shoes.
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For women who supported the zutsu, because yes, they existed too,
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Some chose to wear the same outfit as men, but
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many wore a cardigan or a V neck sweater with
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the long, broad shouldered fingertip coat and a knee lengthd
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pleated skirt with fish net stockings, with platform heels, saddle
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shoes or wataches sandals. They also put on dark lipstick
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and used foam inserts called rats to lift their hair
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into a hi bufont, which honestly responsible teasing that we
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all did in like high school. Well I never did it. It
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didn't work there as well with our hair, but that
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actually better with their hair. Oh really, Well, I would
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say I didn't know how to do it, then you're
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just me either. I didn't really do it, but no,
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I just never tried to do it. Any hair holds
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shape longer, it doesn't matter. My point in that. My
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point in that is that the teasing, I think feels
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like a cousin of this hype bufont look because back
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then it was like all of it, maybe like a
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little nibbling because it was smaller. Yeah, but yeah, very
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very similar. Yeah. And if they wanted to be more extra,
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they would also lighten their hair with peroxide and sport
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some tattoos. That was like the complete ultimate look, the
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ultimate pacho pachuca. Yes, speaking of those who dress in
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the style were called pachucos or patucas or cholos, cholitas,
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doudors or zudorinas. I've never heard those. I've only ever
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heard patchiko and pachuca. Yeah. Most spoke in pachuko slang,
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which was also known as kala, which I didn't know.
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I didn't know that either. Wow. And this was highly
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associated with kings, and most of them were Mexican American.
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And I read this very interesting quote in The Woman
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in the zoot Suit by Catherine Esramidez. So quote they
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were pitied or ridiculed as cultural orphans as spochas and
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bocho's Americanized Mexicans. Yah. Yes. According to the cultural critic
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Octavio pass the Batuco had lost his whole inheritance, language, religion, customs, beliefs.
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He was a cultural bastard. Oh my god, I felt
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that end quote. Yeah, but is that not like, I know,
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I don't want to bring this up again because I'm
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sick of it. But the discourse, Yeah, the discourse of like, oh,
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I'm tired of being a victim or of the Niaki na. Yeah.
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But there's like a reason it's so persistent because it
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applies yesterday as much as the does today. Yeah, then
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as much as now. Yeah. And while this may steer
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a little bit away from where we are headed, the
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Sleepy Laguan murder, it's all context mm hm. And I
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also wanted to talk about this quote from the book quote.
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Many Mexicans have used the term to chastise and derived
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Mexican Americans, especially those who appear to have ruined their
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Spanish without ever quite learning English. Pocho's did not do
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a good enough job imitating the Yankee. Not only did
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they do a poor job imitating Yankees, they also failed
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to mimic Mexicans adequately. Neither this, nor that they appeared
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to be more cultural void than cultural hybrid. Their ability
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to speak English, Spanish and Patuco slaying, to quote switch,
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and to invent neologisms like new ways of speaking I
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guess oh, thank you, okay neologisms was not seen Oh okay,
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I don't know, I didn't look it up. To invent
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neologisms was not seen as a sign of a creative
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and rich lingualism, but as evidence of an utter lack
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of language. They possessed too much of the wrong sort
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of culture Mexicanists and too little of the right kind
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American iss end quote. We can only frown at that. Wow. Wow, wow.
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I mean, I'm sure that's how people feel and felt
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about it then and probably still now. Yes, I don't
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agree with that obviously, no, right, but I think it's
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an accurate way that some people view. Yeah. I mean,
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that's why that saying is never going to go away,
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neither King da Yam, because it's true. Yeah. Yeah, and too.
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So this was a view from both Americans and like Mexicans. Yeah,
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that's what I'm saying. Yeah, And on top of like
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this already existing view of Mexican youth back then, but
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also applies to now. The media was also like regular
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literally contributing to these orbity negative stereotypes. The La Times
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would publish these papers where they attributed juvenile delinquency to
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quote language variants in the home where the parents speak
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no English and cling the past culture and this is
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why people were hesitant to teach their children Spanish and
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why a lot of Latina descented people don't know Spanish
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now and they're made fun of instead of you know,
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it's all connected. Yeah, okay, So back to the zutsuit.
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This style had been around since jazz and it can
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be dated to at least nineteen thirties Harlem. But what
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it evolved into that's newer. And so during World War Two,
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when resources were scarce and patriotism was at an all
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time high, the zoot suit was seen as anti patriotic.
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The fabric used to produce was the same for military uniforms,
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and after Pearl Harbor and the usf actually entering World
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War Two, wool and other textiles were placed under strict rationing,
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and the US War Production Board regulated the production of
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civilian clothing made with silk, wool and other essential fabrics,
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and the zootsuit was made of these fabrics, and so
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due to these restrictions, and in that sense it was
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a form of protest and anti warn well. I mean,
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I think I think we can look back and say essay,
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I will and in this essay. But due to these
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resiction restrictions, LA and other urban areas saw the growth
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of bootleg tilers that continued to make zootsuits. And these
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were expensive. They were so expensive, like one hundred and
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twenty five dollars to one hundred and forty five dollars
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back then. Damn, oh do you want to like look
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that up? But that is or do I two thousand,
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two hundred to two thousand three hundred, Oh my god,
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a lot crazy, insane. Some people pop saved up for
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years to buy one. So many people only had one.
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And these were like worned you. You had to be
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dressed nice to go out into like jazz clubs, and
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so this is what they wore to look nice. It
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was nice looking and it was a point of pride
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to be worrying one because it was like, oh, I
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worked hard for this. Some people got it on credit.
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Malcolm X himself wore one when he first left like
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the South and got to the city, and so he
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wore one himself. But yeah, it was a point of
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pride for those who were sporting this outfit. They looked good.
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But two servicemen and others, like white people, this zuzu
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was unpatriotic, okay. And so now now we have all
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the contexts, most of the contexts of the time period
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and the zusu itself. So a little bit about Sleepy
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Lagoon itself. Sleepy Lagoon was a reservoir next to the
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Los Angeles River around what is now five four zero
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zero Lindberg Lane and Bell, although some people say it's
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five to five zero zero's Lawson Avenue in Bell and
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Bell is an incorporated city in La County, considered a
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suburb of La fun facts, it's the thirteenth smallest city
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in the US and over ninety percent Latino according to
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the twenty twenty census. Well also low in Camerea. And
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some things haven't changed because back then when the Sleepy
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Lagoon murder took place, it was largely Latino. In the
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late nineteen twenties, this area near Sleepy Lagoon was settled
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by ranch hands of the Williams Ranch, so the ranch
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workers it was in a small village of modest houses
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that Josse Guyardodias would live until his tragic murder in
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Sleepy Lagoon. And Jose was born on December ninth, nineteen nineteen,
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to tell Alodias and Panfila gayard Odias in Durango, Mexico,