J. Nathan Matias is a Guatemalan-American writer and academic who journeys through landscape, ideas, and histories on two wheels. As a professor at Cornell, I organize citizen science for safer, more understanding digital environments.
Latest posts by natematias
Trip Report: Cycling in the footsteps of the 1966 Farmworkers March
In June, J. Nathan Matias and Ivan Sigal undertook a 500-plus-mile fundraising bicycle ride along the route of the 1966 California Farmworkers March. Here's the full report on their journey.
César Chávez, American
"Each time a community changes a street name, adds a new class to the curriculum, or publishes in a new language, they are making a statement about who belongs."
Feeling the heat: Community science and survival in Fresno, California
"Extreme heat is a common experience for farmworkers in California, with 20 days out of every year exceeding safe working temperatures—a number expected to increase to 54 by mid-century. . ."
On loving and understanding our communities: Journalist Melissa Montalvo in Fresno, California
"In the hands of Melissa Montalvo and other journalists, journalism is a mirror for a community with the majority of Fresno's population and a minority of its power..."
The Boomerang: Education and civic engagement in California's Central Valley
"Political scientists often believe. . . that young people with family members who are not U.S. citizens are less likely to be civically engaged because they can’t learn it from their parents."
Hunger strike and high school graduation: A visit to The Forty Acres
Renowned as the site of labor activist Cesar Chavez's 1968 25-day hunger strike, The Forty Acres is slated for incorporation into a national park being considered by the US government.
Arvin, California: Lost futures, past hopes, deferred promises
“Owners no longer worked on the farms. They forgot the land, the smell, the feel of it, remembered only that they owned it, what they gained and lost by it.”
What we're aiming to achieve with our fundraising bicycle ride—and the details of the route
As we cycle the route of the 1966 Farmworkers March, we'll be interweaving history with the stories of people who are shaping the future of California's Central Valley today.
Mapping a different kind of bicycle tour
Bicycle tours tend to prioritize exquisite landscapes, but since our ride is also a journalistic exercise, we needed to adopt a different philosophy of route-making.
On cycling, chicken shit, and alternate futures
Cycling through Pajaro, California after the devastating flooding of April 2023, J. Nathan Matias wonders what his life might have been if his body had withstood the dangers of farm labor.
