About Us

Welcome to Confrijoles.com:

I created this Web site to explore the world of online publishing, but I also wanted this to be a space to share my ideas with the world. Ideas that challenge the dominant mode of thinking in order to examine a wide range of topics without the constraints of any particular ideology.

So who am I? As you may have guessed from the name, this Web site is oriented around my identity as a Mexican American, Chicano, Tejano, and lover of beans. My name is Jaime Rafael Puente, and I am a recent graduate of the University of Houston-Downtown where I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature. (That is the most reductive way of describing the education I received/earned because I pursued a more interdisciplinary course of study that included a substantial amount of philosophy and history.) While ConFrijoles is built and primarily operated by myself, I hope to gain the help of like-minded individuals looking to get some informal publishing experience in the near future.

Many people claim to be above identity politics, scholarship, or self-definition. I, however, have come to understand identity as one of the most important factors in the structuring of human experience. Therefore, I choose to embrace how it influences my worldview. Philosophy, history, and literature will all be heavy presences in the articles I post here because the society we live in is built on very specific meanings and definitions of culture. Having the capacity to think in an interdisciplinary way is critical to unraveling those meanings and definitions. In other words, commenting and parsing the schizophrenia of current events requires the ability to complicate the simple and simplify the complicated. This will be our mission at Confrijoles.

You will find posts, stories, and links to stories organized in five (5) categories:

There will be, of course, items that do not fit neatly into one of these categories, but we will adapt as we grow. One of the avenues of growth

Most of all, ConFrijoles will strive to provide a unique perspective of current events that is based on sound reasoning and documented evidence. While I strive for journalistic, academic, and overall excellence, that does not mean that there will be no opinions expressed here. Many of the items posted will have a definite frame of understanding some may call bias. I hope that the integrity of the writers here (who will not be anonymous), will speak to the integrity of the entire Web site.

  • Lillie

    In the Aug 25 Houston Chronicle, race and ethnic politics expert Victoria DeFrancesco Soto cautions that President Obama’s current proposed tax increases on the US oil and gas industry not only runs counter to efforts to revitalize the economy but would disproportionately affect communities of color:

    The Latino community has been especially hard hit in this recession with unemployment rates consistently above that of the national average. Even in the midst of the immigration debate, jobs still remain the top concern for Latinos, as shown in a recent AP-Univision poll …
    Amid the deepest recession we have seen in 70 years, every effort should be made to balance environmental, security and economic concerns. These goals are not mutually exclusive; however, recent legislation seeks to make them so.
    For example, an amendment added earlier this month to the Senate’s “Small Business Jobs” bill by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., repeals a tax credit currently available to all American manufacturers. If passed, this amendment would have the perverse effect of cutting U.S. jobs, increasing our energy prices, and providing foreign firms a competitive advantage. I invite Baucus to come to Harris County, Texas, and see for himself how his proposal fares with the thousands of people whose livelihood depends on American oil and gas companies …
    In 2008, more than 67 percent of the Latino population voted for Barack Obama. Spending more than $20 million to target their community alone, his campaign was the most aggressive to date in courting the Latino vote. Candidate Obama and now President Obama promised he would protect the jobs of Latinos. In this high stakes energy debate, he has an opportunity to do just that.
    Visit http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7170032.html to read the full piece.
    Victoria DeFrancesco Soto’s work political psychology and race and ethnic politics gives her a unique perspective on issues that will play into this November’s elections. Her research projects examine the influence of social group identity on political behavior, in particular with regards to campaigns; black-Latino intergroup relations; comparative race studies; and attitudes toward immigration. A third major component of DeFrancesco Soto’s research is the area of campaign media effects, where she and Jennifer Merolla were the first to publish a study on the role of Latino-angled campaign advertisements on electoral behavior in 2006.
    To speak with Dr. DeFrancesco Soto, email media@DeFrancescoSoto.com or call +1-202-579-1103.

  • Lillie

    In the Aug 25 Houston Chronicle, race and ethnic politics expert Victoria DeFrancesco Soto cautions that President Obama’s current proposed tax increases on the US oil and gas industry not only runs counter to efforts to revitalize the economy but would disproportionately affect communities of color:

    The Latino community has been especially hard hit in this recession with unemployment rates consistently above that of the national average. Even in the midst of the immigration debate, jobs still remain the top concern for Latinos, as shown in a recent AP-Univision poll …
    Amid the deepest recession we have seen in 70 years, every effort should be made to balance environmental, security and economic concerns. These goals are not mutually exclusive; however, recent legislation seeks to make them so.
    For example, an amendment added earlier this month to the Senate’s “Small Business Jobs” bill by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., repeals a tax credit currently available to all American manufacturers. If passed, this amendment would have the perverse effect of cutting U.S. jobs, increasing our energy prices, and providing foreign firms a competitive advantage. I invite Baucus to come to Harris County, Texas, and see for himself how his proposal fares with the thousands of people whose livelihood depends on American oil and gas companies …
    In 2008, more than 67 percent of the Latino population voted for Barack Obama. Spending more than $20 million to target their community alone, his campaign was the most aggressive to date in courting the Latino vote. Candidate Obama and now President Obama promised he would protect the jobs of Latinos. In this high stakes energy debate, he has an opportunity to do just that.
    Visit http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7170032.html to read the full piece.
    Victoria DeFrancesco Soto’s work political psychology and race and ethnic politics gives her a unique perspective on issues that will play into this November’s elections. Her research projects examine the influence of social group identity on political behavior, in particular with regards to campaigns; black-Latino intergroup relations; comparative race studies; and attitudes toward immigration. A third major component of DeFrancesco Soto’s research is the area of campaign media effects, where she and Jennifer Merolla were the first to publish a study on the role of Latino-angled campaign advertisements on electoral behavior in 2006.
    To speak with Dr. DeFrancesco Soto, email media@DeFrancescoSoto.com or call +1-202-579-1103.

  • http://www.jaimerafael.com JaimeRafael

    I’ve posted this comment in a blog post because I felt the response was better suited there.

  • http://www.jaimerafael.com JaimeRafael

    I’ve posted this comment in a blog post because I felt the response was better suited there.

  • Hectorchavanajr

    Good site. It is great to see Chicanos getting into blogging. I would love to email or facebook chat with you. facebook.com/hectorchavanajr or email me .
    Hector Chavana Jr.
    OurNewAnahuac.net

  • Sofiatanner2

    More good stuff! More good stuff!

    Which means I really liked the clip from Egypt and will be looking for more. Analysis too.