* Above, Mexico City youth in resistance, on the 40th anniversary of 1968.
After a full year in exile, in forced total-immersion in Mexico, I'll be back in my native California later this month. I plan to see family in San Diego (and hopefully by then greet a new nephew), attend a wedding in L.A., and speak at the invitation of the Zócalo public lecture series, a wonderful civic institution in Los Angeles. The invite is such an honor.
Here's the event link, and the text:
Swine flu, a contracting economy, rising unemployment, a wild and bloody conflict with drug traffickers, the constant threat of natural disasters and ransom kidnappings — Mexico faces several serious challenges. Since the contested 2006 presidential election there, the country has suffered crisis after crisis, constantly testing the Mexican people's ability to realign their everyday lives. Some seek economic refuge in the United States, but most remain home, adapting, tuning out, dancing with Death. Daniel Hernandez, a former Los Angeles Times and LA Weekly writer who has spent the past 18 months blogging Mexico City, visits Zócalo to share his insights on that sprawling capital, its youth culture, and the alternately defiant and detached, resigned and resistant approaches of Mexican people to threats always looming.
For the talk, I'll keep it loose and simple, and probably bring up themes I'm tackling in my upcoming book.
But I'd like to envision a different kind of dynamic for this lecture. Bring the kids. There are few things I enjoy more than speaking about my work to audiences of young people. I am constantly amazed by the sophistication of their thinking, by their ability to quickly synthesize new information and challenge assumptions.
So if you're around and can encourage teens and students to stop in at MOCA on the evening of June 25, please, by all means, do. The event is free -- and I promise not to bore you.
