Between The Lines: The Online Art/chive of Informes Informales

In recognition of California's 30% Latino population and the fact that the state may soon have a Latino governor, Amtrak has announced special one-way southbound vacation travel fares to Mexico in effect from September 16 until after the California recall election. The Amtrak program, called Fiestas Repatrias, is scheduled to coincide with Mexican Independence Day, Hispanic Heritage Month and the annual Orange County Greaser Festival.

"We want California's Latino population to know that we care," said Amtrak spokeswoman Betty Pafuera. "Everyone needs a vacation, and since Latinos work hard and never vote, we figured that election time was a perfect time for them to return to their sleepy homelands for a little rest and relaxation."

The Fiestas Repatrias program, whose national spokesperson is California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzeneggar, began a huge promotional blitz at this year's Mexican Independence Day parade in downtown Los Angeles. A free train ride on the Schwarzeneggar Super Shuttle ended in embarrassment for Amtrak, however, when the actor and thirty Salvadorans were deposited in Mexicali.

Schwarzeneggar spokesman Nat Siculero said the actor took the mix up in good humor, and was happy to see the Super Shuttle, because the train with the letters "S.S." painted on the side reminded him of a toy he played with as a child.

Ray Patriado, chairman of Mojados for Bustamante, says the vacation package is nothing more than a ploy to dilute Latino voter strength at this critical time in America's history. Patriado, who grew up in the town of Nuevo Bakersfield, Sinaloa, says this is not the first time Latinos have been railroaded south of the border at a time when it was politically expedient.

During the Great Depression, or La Mera Chinga as it was known in Mexico, a travel program called the Voluntary Repatriation Travel Bonanza, was used to encourage roughly half a million Mexicans and Mexican Americans to take a permanent vacation from the US.

"The truth is we were deported en masa," says Patriado. "And some families were even deported without masa. Do they expect us to just sit back and rack up more Frequent Fregado miles? The answer is no! We must stay and vote, even if they are offering free Tostitos on the trains!"

Besides free Tostitos, Amtrak is offering several incentives to make the Fiestas Repatrias program attractive to today's Latino, including the recommissioning of numerous 1930s-era passenger cars.

"One reason we're bringing back the old cars is that nostalgia is big with today's Latinos," says Kay Selargan, an Amtrak public relations executive. "They want to get in touch with their history. They want to reconnect with their heritage. But mostly we're using the cars because all the signage is in Spanish."

Selargan expects the Fiestas Repatrias program to be a success, but if Patriado has his way, the only thing going south will be the notion that Latinos are a disposable population and labor force of temporary Americans who don't vote.

"Just think of how many Latinos there would be in California if we weren't deported in the 1930s," says Patriado. "We wanted la vota, and they gave us la bota. But now we can make a difference again. Si se puede!"

The last time California had a Latino governor was 1847, but many contend that was only due to the fact that the state was part of Mexico at the time.

In related news, Greyhound has also announced special one-way Fiestas Repatrias travel bus fares to all major penal institutions and correctional facilities to be in effect thru the recall elections.

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