Alvaro Luna Hernandez, who refers to himself as Xinachtli throughout his political writings, writes from within the walls of Texas’ prison system. His pamphlet titled, “An International Call: International Campaign to Free Xinachtli “A Cause Celebre,” greets readers with a drawing of the southwest region of the Northern America continent. The map reads, “U.S. colonization of northern Mexico, 1800-circ,” with red pen ink encircling the present-day states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. From the jump, Luna’s pamphlet is an explicit critique of the U.S. as a violent settler-colonial power. Luna Hernandez identifies three historical phenomenons that have acted as weapons against Mexican and Mexican Americans: first, the enslavement of Africans in the Americas; second, the genocide of indigenous Americans and Mexicans to create the modern-day borders of the U.S.; and, third, the criminal justice system, particularly the Texas Rangers.
Luna Hernandez’s assault on the public memory of the Texas Rangers illuminates the necessity for current-day projects that amplify the voices of those considered by the state as “prisoners” and “criminals.” He writes,
Little true history has been written about this ugly period, known as “LA HORA DE SANGRE,” or “THE TIME OF BLOOD,” of a criminal war led by the infamous TEXAS RANGERS MILITIA and other racist vigilante groups, targeting all Mexicans, all in the interests of creating a “White Republic” of Manifest Destiny and Pres. ANDREW JACKSON’S call…
Much like historian Monica Muñoz Martinez demonstrated in her book, The Injustices Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas (2018), Luna challenges common stereotypes of the Texas Rangers as “heroes.” His motivation is clear: to stop “keeping these war crimes buried and the racist myths and lies alive.”
Some of Luna Hernandez’s personal and political story as a prisoner organizer during the 1970s and 1980s is showcased in Robert Chase’s We Are Not Slaves: State Violence, Coerced Labor, and Prisoners’ Rights in Postwar America (UNC, 2020). What this piece does, however, is to frame Luna Hernandez transformation into his political moniker, Xinachtli, as one that articulates his struggle within a longue durée political campaign for Aztlan, which is the conceptualization of Mexican people, cultural belonging, and political radicalization against U.S. hegemony and colonization.
Luna-Hernandez extends his critique against the state through his writing style. Throughout the pamphlet, he utilizes capitalization to highlight key characters, events, and ideas so that the reader can quickly identify Luna’s main argument. For example, the complex history of the Texas Rangers includes a cast of characters that Luna names as antagonists in the saga toward liberation. Capitalization not only helps guide the reader to easily identify people like Donald Trump or Greg Abbott, but it also serves to emphasize certain points. For example, Luna capitalizes “GRAND WIZARD IN-CHIEF himself DONALD J. TRUMP,” which underscores boldly and explicitly the relationship between white supremacy and politicians like Trump and Abbott.
Another writing tool that Luna employs is that of hypocrisy of language. Through the use of quotations and capitalization, Luna artfully positions the U.S. and its cronies (like Trump) as criminals who have illegally detained him “as punishment for his history of struggles.” It should be noted here that Luna’s critique of the criminal justice system differs slightly than those who would not consider themselves “political prisoners.” Much of Luna’s call for his own release is rooted in his activism both within and outside of prison walls, but his message is clear: “THE BLOOD OF PRISON SLAVES STAIN THE MANSIONS AND BUILDINGS OF TEXAS’ STATE CAPITOL…”
Resources listed in pamphlet:
WEBSITES:
Certaindays.org
Prisonlivesmatter.org
Nycjericho.org
Inthespriritofmandela.org/campaign
Freealvaro.net
COURT CASES:
Ruiz v. Estelle
Hernandez v. Estelle
Guerra v. Johnson
Dominguez v. State
BOOKS:
We Are Not Slaves: State Violence, Coerced Labor, and Prisoners in Postwar America by Robert T. Chase (2020)
With His Pistol in His Hand by Américo Paredes (1958)
Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon (1967)
They Called Them Greasers: Angl Attitudes Toward Mexicans in Texas 1821-1900 by Arnoldo De Leon (1983)
Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of Texas Rangers by Doug J. Swanson (2020) and John Phillip Santos review in Texas Monthly issue 06/2020 p. 68
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