Veneranda Jade

"Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

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Day: November 8, 2020

November 8, 2020

Election night, 2020

I’ve just been in my room all day, well since 5 a.m. when I went to bed, and oatmeal cooking and coconut water drinking…

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1.20.2009 We bought tickets the night of the elect

1.20.2009
We bought tickets the night of the election. As soon as they called Michigan. “If Obama wins....we’re going to the inauguration.”

Even on the flight itself everyone was ecstatic. People sang hymns.

I was terrified of the cold then. It was 14 degrees out and I dressed up as the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man. We had to wake up early to take the Metro into the city. There were swarms of people. But no one pushed. We were all going to the same place at the same time. The Mall. To witness history.

The throngs of people amassed at the checkpoints onto the Mall and it became obvious that we had to keep walking back until we could find a way on. We walked and walked until we were by the Washington Monument, way too far to see Obama with our own eyes. But they’d erected giant screens down the length of the Mall so we could all see it. And breathe, finally, after eight years of what we thought then was the worst it could possibly get.

A short nine months later, I’d be back in D.C., this time to attend a concert at the White House. What a crazy good time that was.

I talk to this man almost every night. He has his

I talk to this man almost every night. He has his own ringtone so I know when he’s calling. It’s Darth Vader’s theme because, if you couldn’t tell by the resemblance, he’s my father. Richard Aguirre. Ricardo. “Dick Uh-guire”. Gordo.

He taught me to fish, to ride a quad, to play pool, to drive stick, and how to talk sense into a man, even when he’s your own dad.

He’s got the charisma of ten regular men and better luck too. The guy works hard and plays harder. At close to 75, he can still kick ass and take names on the golf course.

I’ll never not be #daddyslittlegirl . He’s the only only only man I’d ever allow to call me “baby.”

#immigrantswegetthejobdone #firstgeneration

10.23.1993 Just by luck my mother, my sisters and

10.23.1993
Just by luck my mother, my sisters and I came upon a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the United States #Capitol. President Bill Clinton, members of the Senate and House of Representatives, Justice Blackmun and various dignitaries were in attendance. President Clinton gave the speech I’ve recorded in the following slides. The statue of Freedom, newly restored was placed atop the Capitol by a helicopter. Liza Minelli sang America The Beautiful. This is my America. And I take the words of our forebearers to heart. It is up to us to ensure a more perfect Union for those who follow. We owe that to the future

#oneminuterundown #gifted #firstgrade #lefties #le

#oneminuterundown #gifted #firstgrade #lefties #lefthandedproblems #tomsawyer #detention I’m never gonna learn #nogalesarizona #nycstorytelling

#fbf NYE 2004. Back in #tucson, a million years an

#fbf NYE 2004. Back in #tucson, a million years and several lifetimes ago. This NYE was solemn but lovely. Brooklyn cheered outside my window and fireworks crackled in the sky. My father called at midnight (my time) to sing”New York, New York” to me.

A little wisdom from a little bear

A little wisdom from a little bear

Halloween 2017. A boy (he really was...a first yea

Halloween 2017. A boy (he really was...a first year grad student) asked me out on a sort of date the night before at @clubcongress when I was dressed as Michelle from #romyandmichelle (which took place in a fictional school in Tucson).

Neither of us had costumes. I asked if he had a suit. He did. He put his hair back in a ponytail and dressed as Vincent Vega. I cut bangs in my blue hair, temporarily hemmed black pants into puddle jumpers, poured fake blood on my face, and went to meet him at @sheltercocktaillounge in #Tucson.

Yes, I am the weirdo. But this is what happens to #thespians when they grow up.

Christmas time in #tucson and #nogales going backw

Christmas time in #tucson and #nogales going backwards from 1994 to 1980.

#oneminuterundown #throwback to April when I was i

#oneminuterundown #throwback to April when I was in Tucson and told a one minute story for @gemsstories about the time I went to @disneyland to complete a homework assignment for Jazz History class.
#nycstorytelling #brandnameketchup

#oneminuterundown #sundaynights #wishfulmakeuping

#oneminuterundown #sundaynights #wishfulmakeuping #nogalesarizona #thirteen #lesmiserables #eponine #onmyown #unrequitedlove #noahwyle #keanureeves #christianbale @iammarkronson

I had the honor of getting to share a story with p

I had the honor of getting to share a story with people back home as part of December’s @odysseystorytelling virtual event. I loved performing with Tucson’s best storytellers when I lived in #tucson and am so grateful to still be able to do it even though I’m far away now. The show is up on YouTube. This month’s theme: snowflake.

Such nice things said about me. I wasn’t expecting that at all. It’s humbling to hear.

And wouldn’t you know I’m now living in snow, far from my once desert home.
#nycstorytelling

I got the cutest sweater in the mail today. Ally S

I got the cutest sweater in the mail today. Ally Sheedy in St. Elmo’s Fire meets Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club. After the day I had today, I can’t stop smiling. And if Instagram is for posterity, might as well capture the happy moments.
#grateful #trust #alwaysfiltered

#bedstuy #sunset #timelapse

#bedstuy #sunset #timelapse

@vandalsofficial #oitotheworld 12.11.2010 @clubc

@vandalsofficial
#oitotheworld
12.11.2010
@clubcongress
#tucsonaz

Back in the day When I was young I’m not a kid

Back in the day
When I was young
I’m not a kid anymore
But some days
I sit and wish I was a kid again
#ahmad #nogales #thespian

Great to get to talk about #autismawareness and #d

Great to get to talk about #autismawareness and #diversityandinclusion with the great people at Brown Brothers Harriman on International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Diversity Best Practices named BBH a "Best Place to Work" on the 2020 Best Practices Inclusion Index.

Also, I’m be really happy to not be on camera for a while making goofy faces. Zoom will be the death of this #autistic girl. #cantstopwontstop

#oneminuterundown #middleschool #choir #shakespear

#oneminuterundown #middleschool #choir #shakespeare #apologyletter #nycstorytelling #nogalesarizona #wadecarpenter

@billieeilish #thereforeiam #lipsync #snapchat

@billieeilish #thereforeiam #lipsync #snapchat

As per usual standards and practices, #i❤️ny

As per usual standards and practices,
#i❤️ny

(2017) I miss #diadelosmuertos in #tucson. I used

(2017)
I miss #diadelosmuertos in #tucson. I used to make own headbands. It was an important part of my life in my 30’s.

My grandmother used to clean the graves of loved ones in #nogalesarizona during this time. It wasn’t about a concocted affair. It was very authentic to who we were and who we had been going back centuries in #Mexico.

As a border kid fed on a diet of American culture, I participated in the intended erasing of who I was and aspiring to be like the American kids I saw in movies and TV. There was no one who looked or acted like us, outside of Stand and Deliver or La Bamba or Selena. And even then, they were approximations. Because border towns might as well be cultural Galapagos. Each unique ecosystems.

But now, I get to decide what I include in my identity. And I get to rediscover all the values, the customs and rituals, and the beliefs of the people who came before me, occultified over the centuries to escape detection.

When I meet a stranger and tell them my name is Veneranda, they are not just meeting me, but they are hearing a name echoed through the centuries through my lineage.

And when they see my face, it is not just me, but all the indigenous ancestors erased from our oral traditions because of the shame associated with “muddied” pasts in the Spanish caste system.

I cannot hide who I am as long as it can be heard in my name and seen on my face. I am me because they were them. And the me I am honors my ancestors today in my own private and personal way. Hopefully they’ll help me to tell the story so I can share what it was to grow up at the confluence of so many cultures.

A toast to them with good tequila. #salud
#writersofinstagram #nycstorytelling

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