“De Saludos y Adioses” By Mikey Velarde, MEChA de Vassar, Publications Chair

“De Saludos y Adioses” By Mikey Velarde, MEChA de Vassar, Publications Chair

Some would say I was thinner, way back then, when I was elected Publications Chair for E.C.C.S.F. Others would say I’ve definitely gained some weight or put on quite a few pounds. And still, others, probably most, are thinking to themselves, “So, who is this guy again?”

Well, I’m not here to answer that question or discuss my weight. I am only writing this right now because I want to say, “Good bye! Ciao! Te wacho!”—not: “hello.” (That’s for next year!)

I had a very splendid and lonesome tenure this year. Lonesome, in that I received few submissions; splendid, in that what I did receive was excellent… This comes as somewhat of a disappointment, but an expected one.

I knew that it would be difficult to solicit, beg, and then harass people for submissions. We are all in college, and college can be non-stop. Not simply just schoolwork, but work-work, and other sorts of, as the neo-Marxists call it, “immaterial labor.” (I’m being smart—Funny, right?)

So, I very much appreciate the people who did submit. Like I said, not only were they good reads and pretty pictures, but it required a certain amount of precious labor to send them in. There were informative pieces, funny pieces, and sad pieces. There were pictures of friends and of machines. There were words and images created by members of this Forum—this forum: the one I’m currently speaking in—for the members of this forum. And implicit in that is a strange kind of autonomy. (Quien se cree este guey?!)

But it is this autonomy and this cooperation that the blog wants to utilize. Each conference brings with it a rich variety of voices and opinions and hearts; each conference accomplishes something profound: It manages to organize nearly 100 people together for a weekend to discuss issues pertinent to our many peoples, our multitude. It was great to see the engagement of gender, sexuality, and class, and the recognition that there are “others” within us, the “others.” I can only hope we see more of it.

I did not accomplish everything I wanted to with El Sol. But I did what I could, and it’s now time for whoever replaces me to push the newsletter even further. Hopefully, it will be used as a means of connecting people, of distributing information, and of facilitating our future endeavors. It is a simple thing, but it has the capacity to organize with some ease.

And now, I say, “Good bye,” again. Good bye—to all the seniors graduating, never to return (unless you’re Adam Torres), but hopefully never to disconnect with us (unless you’re Adam Torres hahaha); to all my amigas and amigos, all my compañer@s. Thank you to everyone who helped me with El Sol!

Stay close. AND DON’T FORGET TO ORGANIZE FOR MAY DAY!!!

I leave you with these last sad words from the late great Selena!:

“Y es todo lo que me queda de tu amor
solo, fotos y recuerdos”

Paz y grasa,

Mikey Velarde

P.S. This is a pic I took a long time ago, maybe 3-4 years ago: it's of a man in a cape walking near the Food City supermarket off of Alameda Street in El Paso, TX.