Changemakers: Con influencia de la Nueva Canción, el álbum Entremundos
by Leslie Layton | Posted August 21, 2025
El conjunto Debajito de Chico tocando en una presentación reciente. Foto cortesía de Ken Pordes.
Read this story in English here.Changemaker es una serie ocasional de ChicoSol que presenta perfiles de personas que contribuyen a la comunidad.
En la segunda estrofa de “Frontera”, el primer sencillo del álbum recién lanzado “Entremundos”, un pescador emprende el angustioso viaje desde su pueblo en Sonora, México, hasta los Estados Unidos, en busca de trabajo.
El cuento del pescador es típico de las historias que los compositores, miembros del conjunto Debajito de Chico, conocen bien. Como parte del tema “Frontera”, esperan que esta rompa con el alboroto y la represión antiinmigrante que ha seguido ensombreciendo la vida en este país.
“Tenemos una relación con este territorio”, explicó Dani Cornejo, vocalista de Debajito cuya familia materna había emigrado del estado mexicano de Sonora. “De niños, íbamos allí todos los años. Acampábamos junto a un pueblo pesquero. Esa historia está arraigada en nuestra relación con la gente del pueblo pesquero de La Manga”.read more
Changemaker: Chico band was influenced by New Song Movement
by Leslie Layton | Posted August 19, 2025
The Chico band Debajito playing at a recent Chico show. Photo courtesy of Ken Pordes.
Changemaker is an occasional ChicoSol series that profiles local people or groups contributing diversity or humanitarian work to the community.
In the second verse of “Frontera,” the lead single on the newly-released album “Entremundos,” a fisherman makes the harrowing journey from his village in Sonora, Mexico, to the United States seeking work.
The fisherman’s story is the kind of story that the composers – members of the Chico band Debajito – know well. As part of the track “Frontera,” they hope it will break through the anti-immigrant ruckus and repression that has continued to darken life in this country.
“We have a relationship with that territory,” explained Debajito vocalist Dani Cornejo, whose mother’s family had emigrated from the Mexican state of Sonora. “Growing up, we went down there on a yearly basis. We would camp next to a fishermen’s village. That story is rooted in our relationship to the people of the La Manga fishing village.read more
“De La Patagonia hasta el Rio Grande/El amor de la vida es lo que siempre sobresale“
(“From Patagonia to the Rio Grande/The love for life is what always prevails”)
The Chico-based band Debajito that has fused rhythms from across the Americas and kept local dance floors crowded will release its debut album, “Entremundos” (“Between Worlds”) within weeks.
Entremundos, to be released on streaming services Aug 5, celebrates the message that “another world is possible,” according to a Debajto press release. The album’s songs will be publicly unveiled July 25 at the Sierra Nevada Big Room, when the local band opens for Ozomatli, the well-known Grammy award-winning rock group from Los Angeles. (The show is sold out.)read more
Ukrainian delegation visits to learn about Camp Fire recovery
by Yucheng Tang | Posted March 15, 2025
On a rainy afternoon, the Paradise Symphony Orchestra and dancers from Northern California Ballet performed for six Ukrainians who were visiting this past week to learn about Camp Fire recovery.
At the end of the March 14 performance, the orchestra played the Ukrainian National Anthem. Most people watching in the Paradise Performing Arts Center stood while the song played, and the Ukrainian guests placed their right hands over their hearts. After the song finished, some of them wiped tears from their cheeks.
Trudi Angel, the former artistic director of Northern California Ballet, is hosting three Ukrainians and invited the group to the symphony rehearsal.
“They wanted to know if the arts were still alive and if there were still artistic things going on … they can see even after the fire, we are still working on the arts and we are still working together,” she said.
According to Angel, the Ukrainians work in different professions at home and are delegates of the Open World program that is designed to enhance mutual cooperation between Ukraine and the United States by offering Ukrainian leaders an opportunity to meet with their American counterparts and exchange ideas.
In the past few days, Angel added, they talked to various officials in Paradise, including those who lead the water and fire departments and the schools, to see how the town has managed its recovery from the devastating 2018 fire.
“It’s an emotional and wonderful experience to know what these people have gone through,” Angel said. “It’s not politics, it’s people to people. We all love each other. We are one big group with love.”
Svitlana Blinova, one of the six guests, told ChicoSol that she cried when she recognized the melody of the Ukrainian National Anthem. She thought of her family members who were “under rockets and drones” in Ukraine.
“Between this place and my home place, there are more than 10,000 kilometers, and my husband, at that moment, is a soldier in the army. I have two daughters, 9 and 1 year (old) … Here, I am safe, but at that moment, my husband and my daughters cannot feel the same,” Blinova said.
“I really dream that [the war] will end soon.”
Blinova said the performance was mental rehabilitation for her, and the week in Paradise was the best week she had spent in a long time.
Roman Oleksenko, also a member of the group, said: “It was hard to contain my emotions, my tears. I am still choked up.”
He said he was grateful to see people in Paradise “stand with UKraine,” and grateful that they “took time, cared enough to learn to play our national anthem.”
An event flier states: “We believe that the task of rebuilding our community has taught us that only acting together can we achieve our greatest potential. The coming of Roman Oleksenko, Yurii Kushnir, Tetania Kochkva, Yuliia Golovinova, Svitlana Blinova, and Serhii Kutiev from Ukraine to our community is a reminder that the entire world community of people of good will must stand together or we shall all perish separately.”
Yucheng Tang is a California Local News Fellow reporting for ChicoSol. You can support ChicoSol reporting and our efforts to include a diversity of voices here.
Pae Xiong: "We are trying to tell people that we exist"
by Yucheng Tang | Posted September 13, 2024
photo by Yucheng Tang
Hmong dancers during the Thursday Night Market.
On stage at City Plaza, 13 Hmong girls from Oroville, dressed in traditional attire, performed a dance to the Hmong song, “Hello, Hello, I Like You.” Below the stage, audience members took pictures, recorded video and applauded. This was the opening performance at the Sept. 12 Homeland Celebration event.
“Our girls love to perform. It’s a good experience for them,” Passion Chue told ChicoSol. She works as a program supervisor at Oroville’s Hmong Cultural Center and oversees all youth programs, including the dancing team. Chue said the girls practice dancing at the center after school in a limited space and without mirrors.
Chue decided to bring her dancers to the event when she received the invitation about one month ago. “Even though the population of Hmong people is somewhat big in Butte County, a lot of people still don’t know our culture,” said Chue.
Her colleague, Pae Xiong, tabled during the event. Xiong said she was delighted when some people walked to their table and showed interest in Hmong embroidery. “It’s still difficult for Hmong people to be seen. We are trying to tell people that we exist, and let people understand how we live our lives,” Xiong said.
Sonny Baird, one of the event organizers, told ChicoSol that the idea for the event sprouted within his church group. The group’s goal was to have organizations from around Chico set up tables to showcase their cultural backgrounds. However, Baird emphasized that the Homeland Celebration was not a church-sponsored event; it was organized independently. Organizers researched online, looked into the local cultures, identified the groups representing them, and then sent out emails. Eventually, 10 tables and six performances were scheduled.
Baird said they didn’t end up including groups from every continent and would like to see more South American and European groups in the future. The biggest challenge was “getting on people’s schedule early enough because they all participate in different events as well.”
Since they didn’t have enough budget to advertise, they chose to run Homeland at night market time so that people who come to the market could stop by and enjoy the event. Organizing the event only cost them about $500 dollars, said Baird. “We already had the tables and chairs; everybody brought their own stuff. The lights were the most expensive part.”
The co-organizer, Tamba Sellu, played the drum on stage to showcase the culture of his homeland, Sierra Leone. He also invited his friends to perform with him, including Damilola Afolabi, who danced to the rhythm of Sellu’s drumming.
Afolabi is from Nigeria, where he said there are more than 200 unique tribes. Growing up in such a diverse environment made him appreciate cultural diversity even more. “When I come to new places and hear people talk about their culture, my heart bubbles. And this event allows me to see the identity and rich heritage of different people living in our communities, and to get a taste of the world in this part of America.”
Afolabi became the star of the Sept. 12 event. He danced from the stage to the square, with children joining in, followed by more and more adults, including a few elders. After his performance, a few kids ran up and gave him a hug.
Afolabi appreciates Chico’s diversity.
“Chico gives me the impression that I’m in a small city, but I am also in a big city,” he said.
Lily Bergeron, 21, president of the Filipino American Student Organization at Chico State, said she was a bit nervous because they usually hold tabling events on campus, but this time they were trying to spread awareness of Filipino culture to the general public.
Handgame Set, who sat at the table representing the Mechoopda Indian Tribe, said that his favorite artifact on display was the clapper stick, a musical instrument in his tribe. He had brought a stereo to the event and played a song for ChicoSol, where the clapper stick produced a crisp, beautiful sound. “When I play the instrument, the dancers start to dance,” he said with a smile.
Sam Westover, 22, who grew up in the Chico area, said it was her first time at such an event in this area. “It’s really cool to get people together and know more about each other,” she said.
Yucheng Tang is a reporter at ChicoSol and a California Local News Fellow.
The grave marker now has the names of all who perished in the crash.
In folk music circles, most people know Woody Guthrie’s song “Plane Crash at Los Gatos.”
But few ever visit Fresno’s Holy Cross Cemetery where a mass grave holds the remains of 28 farmworkers who died in the fiery 1948 plane crash that the song is about.
The song bemoans the fact that the farmworkers who were being deported to Mexico had no names in either news reports at the time of the crash or on a diminutive stone that marked their common grave at the edge of the little graveyard. The media reported only the names of the plane’s crew and the immigration officer who died in the crash with them. In protest, Guthrie made up generic names for the migrants and his 1948 words were put to music 10 years later by Martin Hoffman.
Goodbye to my Juan, Goodbye Rosalita
Adios, mis amigos, José y Maria
But something happened 10 or 15 years ago that erased the demeaning anonymity of the farmworkers. Tim Z. Hernandez, the son of farmworkers who grew up in California’s Central Valley and now teaches writing at the University of Texas in El Paso, tracked down their names and, together with friends, raised funds to give the mass grave a decent memorial plaque. According to the New York Times, it was unveiled before a crowd of 600 people in 2013, thus negating a line from the song:
You won’t have a name when you ride the big airplane;
All they will call you will be deportees.
Knowing something about Hernandez’ efforts, I went to the small cemetery just off Highway 99 on Memorial Day weekend. At first I was confused by huge memorial parks nearby, all located about three miles northwest of downtown Fresno. But once I discovered the sign to Holy Cross Cemetery I located the historic grave without a problem.
A young Latino man selling floral bouquets at the entrance to the cemetery had never heard of the crash or the song. I told him the story and gave him $12 for a colorful bouquet. I couldn’t help but think of the current Black Lives Matter motto: Say their names. After setting my flowers at the edge of the plaque, I solemnly read each name. Miguel Negrete Álvarez. Francisco Llamas Durán. Santiago Garcia Elizondo. I said each name aloud. I pronounced every name slowly, including one belonging to the sole female passenger: María Santana Rodríguez.
I hoped my words might compensate, if even a little, for the demeaning treatment the Mexican crash victims received 76 years ago. Saying their names is now possible thanks to the plaque which also includes the names of the pilot, co-pilot, flight attendant (wife of the pilot), and immigration officer whose names were always known and had been reported by the media years ago.
I, like others who have listened to the song “Plane Crash at Los Gatos” or “Deportees”– sung by Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen and many more, never realized that Los Gatos is not the famous Silicon Valley city but a desolate canyon west of Coalinga and some 60 miles southwest of Fresno.
Hernandez also helped update Lance Canales’ version of Guthrie’s song by reciting the names of every victim as Canales punctuated the song with strong guitar chords. This fall, he will do one more thing to bring dignity to the crash victims. He plans to unveil a plaque where the plane went down.
Before I left Fresno, I went back to Holy Cross Cemetery with a dear friend who also loves Guthrie’s song. Fresno musician Barry Shultz, known for his sensitive and soulful singing of folk songs, told me that “Plane Crash at Los Gatos” is his favorite Guthrie song, the one that moves him far more deeply than any other.
I asked if he ever sang it.
“I have tried over the years,” Shultz said. “I can’t manage it without weeping.”
I then shared a poignant anecdote I had heard Hernandez tell on a YouTube video about Luis Miranda Cuevas, a young man hired to pick strawberries in Watsonville under the U.S. government’s Bracero Program. Cuevas had called his fiancee Casimira from the deportation center the day before the fateful flight. “They’re bringing all of us back on an airplane and when I arrive to Ojotepec, I’m going to be bringing you a mariachi and we’re going to get married,” he told Casimira.
The next thing Casimira knew, she was standing on the corner at the market, listening to the radio, and heard the news that there was a terrible crash.
I can’t manage to retell that story without weeping.
Hernandez tells many stories which humanize the deportees in two books, “All They Will Call You,” published in 2017, and “They Will Call You Back,” scheduled for publication this September.
Hernandez’s first book on the deported Mexican citizens was named the 2018-19 Book in Common by Chico State and Butte College, and in 2019 Hernandez was received enthusiastically by a Laxson Auditorium audience in Chico.
Lindajoy Fenley is a member of the ChicoSol Advisory Board and contributes frequently to ChicoSol’s Highway 99 series.
