Issue 1: September 2023
BY LASA DIVERSITY COUNCIL
Texas Constitutional Amendment Election is on November 7th
If you will be eligible to vote by November 7th, October 10th is the last day to register. You can register at votetravis.com. 14 constitutional amendments including funding for higher education research, state park maintenance, and wealth taxes, will be decided on this election. For details on these amendments, visit the Austin League of Women’s Voters voter guide here.
Our Picks
Though we are nearing the end of the month, we’d still like to shine a little spotlight on September, which is National Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month. Our picks for the month are an array of independent creators (artists, poets) that commonly make use of themes that reflect a personal struggle with suicidal ideation.
Creativity has long been linked to depression— many famous artists of the past have struggled with mental health. Great creative brains like that of Vincent Van Gogh, Francisco Goya, or Charles Dickens used their struggle to create powerful, emotionally charged pieces. Here are some lesser known, contemporary artists for you to check out.
Content warning for: blood, gore, suicidal themes
Artist: Michael Moore
Michael Moore is a UK-born-and-raised artist who examines a wide array of distinct themes within his portfolio. He works with digital and traditional mediums, but his collection of personal works centering on his depression and anxiety consist mostly of digital composite paintings. He uses software such as Photoshop to manipulate images and forms he’s created traditionally, as well as Creative Commons properties. The final product is something similar to the image above: haunting, “uncanny valley” scenery with high contrast and aged colors. His work does not just encompass his personal mental health struggle. It was a brief era in his long art career, and he is now focusing on urban reflections. (Talk about niche!)
Artist: Amy Cummings
Amy Cummings is a Welsh illustrator whose work primarily depicts abstract, striking colors and strict forms. In Cummings’ recent collection, “Seeing in Color,” she chose to describe CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) in visual terms. The five pieces in the collection represent different aspects of CBT through color and shape, and are named after common terms used in CBT, such as “Glass Half Empty” or “Mindful”. CBT utilizes visual intervention to help patients overcome anxious/depressive episodes and focuses on the formation of healthy internal habits. CBT is one of the most common forms of therapy available to people suffering from anxiety/depression/PTSD and has proven to be very effective for many as compared to the more traditional talk therapy. Cummings chose to create a collection focusing on CBT because she was drawn to share a positive part of mental illness rather than the negative expression most common in depictions of mental health struggles. Her collection is a beautiful abstract representation of internal healing.
Poet: Md. Firoj Alam
“I am the forest…”
The storm didn’t sustain for days, nor the rain
The happiness is not forever, nor the pain
They are the visitors, will come and go
You are an ancient forest here, please know:
Sadness will dry you, your tear will bring the rain
Still, you will remain here, unmoved and same
Rain will grow foliage on your being
The storm will try to destroy everything
Still trust me, you are not a leaf
You are an ancient forest
Drought is seasoning you
Bush fire is cleaning you
Storm is sweeping you
Everyone is helping you the best.
Md. Firoj Alam of Mymensingh, Bangladesh submitted this poem to the United Nations committee for wellbeing of mind. It was included in a collection of poetry on healing, compiled by the UN committee. Not much could be found on Alam through brief research, but the message of the poem stands
Current Event Spotlights:
Hispanic Artists at Austin City Limits
Ivan Cornejo is a 19-year-old Mexican music singer-songwriter. He first gained popularity with his album Dañado. Cornejo is playing both Sundays at ACL.
Kevin Kaarl released two albums, Hasta el Fin del Mundo & San Lucas, in 2019. He came out with a third album, Paris Texas in 2022. His music is a mix of folk, rock, and pop. Kein Kaarl will be playing both Sundays at ACL.
Eddie Zuko, who is a Mexican-American singer-songwriter who likes to mix hip-hop and rap. He is 29 years old with several albums already out and has many hit songs including “Still,” “Dude,” and “La Flor.” Eddie Zuko is playing both Saturdays at ACL.
To see the full lineup visit this website: https://www.aclfestival.com/lineup
Senate Bill 14
On September 1, 2023, Senate Bill 14 (SB 14) went into effect. SB 14 is a Texas law “relating to the prohibitions on the provision to certain children of procedures and treatments for gender transitioning, gender reassignment or gender dysphoria.” Essentially it restricts gender-affirming healthcare for minors.
This is not the first time the Texas legislature has come after transgender healthcare, particularly for minors. SB 1029 also restricted gender-affirming care in the state of Texas, as well as several laws which were dead in either the House or the Senate– SB 373 (restricting transgender kids’ access to sports in UIL), or SB 1646 (which declared the administration of life-saving gender-affirming care to be “child abuse”). But with SB 14, Texas officially becomes the most populous state to place these restrictions on gender transition healthcare.
If you’re interested in learning more about SB 14 or other Texas bills that restrict the rights of transgender people, you can go to the Government of Texas website or look into organizations like the Transgender Education Network of Texas.
LASA News:
Mr. Ramirez, one of our Spanish teachers at LASA, has been working on his own solo debut album under the name Miguel Saint Michael after vacating his frontman position from the band Son de Rey. He has been making this album since last school year and all his efforts are being appreciated with his newest music video “La De Mala Gente” reaching 5.8 thousand views on YouTube.
His music takes many influences from his Hispanic upbringing in the Rio Grande Valley as well as his queer identity and love for music from artists like Justin Timberlake, Lenny Kravitz, and David Bowie. Mr. Ramirez's biggest inspiration of all is by far Selena Quintanilla, who he looks up to and has even sung covers of her music.
Mr. Ramirez needs to finish up three more songs and film some more music videos for the album to be perfected. According to him, the album will be out by October. Students and fans alike will finally be able to hear his album soon after hearing parts of it online and at Culture Fest last year.
If you want to learn more about him and his work, visit his website here.