Orange County has a notorious tradition of historians who subscribe to the Cult of the Orange Crate, the idea that our region's yesteryears are as immaculate as the images depicted on the labels of the long-gone citrus industry. This paper has long challenged such orthodoxy by publishing stories dealing with the dustbin of OC's past: Francisco Torres, Modesta Avila, the 1936 Citrus War, San Juan's swallows. Because of this, we get accused of being revisionist commies--go figure.
The biggest bel
Woman or half-breed?As mentioned in my ¡Ask a Mexican! column this week, I'll be speaking tomorrow to the Anaheim Historical Society at what's now called the Woelke-Stoffel House but which generations of Anaheimers know as the Red Cross House. Address is 418 N. West St., Anaheim, (714) 292-0042, and the fun will start at 7 p.m. AHS head Cynthia Ward--one of the few self-identified conservatives that truly gets it--is billing this on her blog as "Gustavo Meets the Old Guard" because I tend to go
This evening, iconic Chicana author Betita Martinez will speak about her latest book, 500 Years of Chicana History, an excellent--if a bit too ¡QUE VIVA LA RAZA! for genteel (read: gabacho) historians--collection of pictures and facts at the Teamsters 952 Union Hall, 140 South Marks Way, Orange, at 7 p.m. In honor of her appearance, I present something I rarely do: a list! Here is my top five Mexican women, in slightly chronological order, in Orange County history that are no longer with us:1.
