Somos Primos: Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues

A 62 year wait for World War II Marine, Guy Gabaldon

Dear Friends of Guy Gabaldon (and Somos Primos),

We’ve come to a crossroads. As you know, over the past several decades, people of all walks of life, from U.S. senators and congressional leaders to top veteran’s organizations, and influential civilians have attempted to convince our government to follow through on the July 1944 recommendation of U.S. Marine Captain John Schwabe and recognize Mr. Guy Gabaldon with the Medal of Honor. There has always been a great outpouring of support for Guy and the Medal campaign, but, after 62 years, he’s still waiting to be recognized. However, recently a series of events have led us to believe that we could possibly be in the home stretch and I wanted to make you aware of these events. At this time, your letter of support to President Bush, with a copy to the Secretary of the Navy could push the whole campaign, finally, into action.

To jog your memory, during the bloody Saipan campaign of June and July 1944, Pfc Gabaldon, a scout and observer with the regimental intelligence section of the 2^nd Marines, 2^nd Marine Division, is officially credited with single-handedly capturing over 1500 Japanese soldiers and civilians. A native of East Los Angeles, Guy had learned some Japanese phrases from his Japanese-American friends from the neighborhood and his understanding and respect for the Japanese culture was a critical factor in his success in convincing the exhausted defenders of Saipan to leave their caves, lay down their arms, and surrender. The amount of prisoners Guy took over a two month period (800 were captured in one day) was verified on national television in 1957, on "This is Your Life," by Marines Corps intelligence officers Colonel Walter Layer, Colonel John Schwabe, Major James High and several enlisted men from military intelligence. In the entire history of the U.S. military, no soldier has ever single-handedly taken so many prisoners. It is further noteworthy that Japanese soldiers seldom surrendered during World War II and were ordered by their superiors on Saipan to kill seven U.S. Marine and Army troops for every man they lost, or commit suicide. Guy’s success on Saipan in bagging prisoners, thus, saved thousands on both sides. It is particularly noteworthy that Schwabe, now a retired Colonel, recommended Guy for the Medal of Honor back in 1944. Unfortunately, Schwabe and his adjutant were transferred off the island and the decoration was lost in the cracks. It is time to redress those events.

Here’s what’s going on:

LA TOASTS GUY Guy was recently honored by the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villagairosa and the entire Los Angeles City Council. What we thought was going to be a quick photo op, turned into a 30 minute testimonial with the Mayor and two councilmen Ed Reyes and Jose Huizar speaking eloquently on the meaning of Guy’s achievements for the Hispanic community. In regards to helping secure the Medal of Honor, the Mayor and the City Council are now preparing a resolution to be sent to the White House.

GUY MAKES THE COVER The World War II Veteran’s Committee in Washington D.C., a prominent organization that showcases the veterans of World War II and their history, has featured Guy on the cover of their quarterly magazine which appears this month and goes out to thousands of veterans and World War II enthusiasts.

GUY HONORED BY LA RAZA The National Council of La Raza, a prestigious national organization and a leading Latino civil rights advocate, honored Guy at their annual conference on July 7-10^th.

GUYS DOCUMENTARY FILM DEBUTS At the conference, a new feature-length documentary film entitled "East L.A. Marine: the Untold True Story of Guy Gabaldon" by Hollywood producer Steve Rubin, received its world premiere at the inaugural NLCR Film Festival and was the hit of the film series. It is now being seen by Film Festival coordinators throughout the country and home video distribution companies. A second screening will be held in West Los Angeles in September, possibly in association with the local V.A.

GUY’S PORTRAIT UNVEILED A newly commissioned portrait of Guy, painted by renown Latino military artist, Henry Godines, was unveiled and lithographs were distributed to organizations to help promote public awareness of Guy’s accomplishments. The oil painting was placed in the Hispanic Medal of Honor booth, a 45 foot display mounted by Rick Leal, President of the Hispanic Medal of Honor Society of San Francisco.

GUY MAY APPEAR AT MARINE MUSEUM OPENING In November of this year, a new U.S. Marine Museum will be opened in Quantico, Virginia, about forty miles south of Washington D.C. We are looking into the possibility of presenting both Guy and the film as programming at the event. Securing the Medal of Honor and having it presented there would be an incredible opportunity, especially since this would be during Hispanic Heritage Month. The media coverage alone would bring Guy’s story to the attention of millions of Hispanics throughout the U.S. who would see that their historic contribution and presence in the ranks would be honored.

2006 would be the perfect year for President Bush, Congress and the Pentagon to recognize Guy Gabaldon’s bravery as deserving of the Medal of Honor. We know for a fact that the Secretary of the Navy is currently reviewing the records of U.S. military personnel who served in World War II, were Navy Cross winners, and perhaps were deserving of the Medal of Honor. Our great hope is that President Bush will present this honor to Guy at the dedication of the U.S. Marine Museum on November 10^th.

Such an event would signal to Hispanic/Latinos:

A willingness of the U.S. government to redress historical injustices to Hispanic/Latinos, resulting in a kinder view and increased patriotism for the United States government.
Acknowledgement by the U.S. government that the contributions of Hispanic/Latinos to the U.S. military are valued, resulting in increased support for the military, particularly during this intense period of overseas action. This type of acknowledgement can also bolster enlistments and the possibility of funding government proposed programs to give further support to the troops.
That the U.S. government is willing to express public respect to Hispanic/Latinos. With no threat to their own culture, Hispanic/Latinos will assimilate more quickly.
That U.S. born and/or naturalized Hispanic/Latinos will be included and recognized as Americans and treated as such. This will result in openness amongst all American to view social issues that affects Hispanic/Latinos as the whole’s nation’s concern, not just the Hispanic/Latino community. A nation is only as strong as its weakest link. The divisiveness of these issues must end and it can begin with a mutual respect, as demonstrated in the campaign for Guy Gabaldon.

Thank you for your support of Mr. Gabaldon over the years. Please direct your support to President Bush or Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter. We can get this done by working together and working quickly.

Sincerely, Mimi Lozano

              FREE LITHOGRAPH TO ORGANIZATIONS FOR PUBLIC POSTING
                                                Pied Piper of Saipan, Guy Gabaldon

In honor of Guy Gabaldon and the U.S. military, lithographs of the "Pied Piper of Saipan" painted by artist Henry Godines, are being given to military bases, hospitals, libraries, and educational agencies for public display, and to non-profit groups for their organization's fund raising and/or for public posting as well. I will be distributing full-size, 24 X 30 inch lithographs for free.

Just send me by post, the name and address of the organization, contact person, where the lithograph will be displayed (and or how used), and a U.S. Priority Mail stamp, $4.05. No cash, just the stamp.

I would dearly appreciate a digitized photo of where and when the lithograph is used. This will continue to help promote Guy's remarkable story. His action was motivated by compassion, and in fact . .   did save thousands of lives, American and Japanese.

Send postage and information to:
Mimi Lozano
Guy Gabaldon Project
P.O. Box 490
Midway City, CA 92655-0490

A new website dedicated to Guy Gabaldon is under construction. Should be up soon.
http://www.somorprimos.com/guy/guy.htm
For more information, mimilozano@aol.com   714-8948161

National issues

In a message dated 8/1/2006 9:39:14 AM Pacific Standard Time, joel.najar@mail.house.gov writes: Subj: Latino museum update
Date: 8/1/2006 9:39:14 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: joel.najar@mail.house.gov
To: MIMILOZANO@aol.com
File: americanlatinomuseumletter.pdf (237335 bytes) DL Time (42666 bps): <1 minute
[[Editor: I could not capture the pdf file, so I typed it and included it below Domenici press release]]

Mimi,

Hi. We are making good progress with the museum commission bill. The two committees in charge of our bill have passed them favorably and it is expected that the bill will come before the full House for a floor vote in September. We need help getting representatives to support it, so spread the word because we'll need a 2/3 majority vote.

On the Senate side, Sen. Ken Salazar is seeking more cosponsors and trying to get a hearing on the bill. We are trying to get the Senate to act before October. We need help getting more cosponsors, esp. from southwestern states. Sen. Domenici has cosponsored the bill, which is a big boost for it. This is his press release. Please let your network know and forward the attached letter so they can forward to their Senators. The current sponsors are: Sen Bingaman, Sen Boxer, Sen Clinton, Sen Domenici, Sen Durbin, Sen Hatch, Hutchison, Sen Kerry, Sen Lautenberg, Sen Martinez, Sen Menendez, Sen Nelson, Sen Obama, Sen Schumer.

More info on our bill is always available here: http://becerra.house.gov/HoR/CA31/Hidden+Content/Latino+Museum.htm

Thanks, Joel

Joel Najar Deputy Legislative Director
U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra | 202-226-3748 | joel.najar@mail.house.gov

PRESS RELEASE
Domenici Back Bill to Study Possibility of National Hispanic Museum in D.C.
from the Office of Senator Pete V. Domenici

Monday, July 31, 2006

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Pete Domenici today announced that has joined a bipartisan effort that could eventually lead to a museum in the nation's capitol dedicated to the accomplishments of Hispanics.

Domenici is a cosponsor of legislation (S.2475) that will create a commission to study the possibility of establishing a "National Museum of the American Latino Community" in Washington. The bill, which was introduced by Senators Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) and has been referred to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which Domenici chairs.

"Last year, our nation honored Native Americans with the opening of the new National Museum of the American Indian here in Washington. I think that a similar effort should be launched so that we can recognize the numerous accomplishments and continuing influence of Hispanics in our country. As chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I will do what I can to support this effort and move it through my committee," Domenici said.

The bill will result in a bipartisan 23-member commission to be appointed by the President and congressional leaders. The commission would establish a plan of action for the establishment of a Latino museum, including a fundraising plan and possible sites it could be located.

The legislation authorizes a total of $3.3 million for commission activities over the next two years.

                                                                     -30-

UNITED STATES SENATE
Washington, DC 20610

July 28th, 2006

Dear Colleague:

This year, Americans celebrate two hundred and thirty years since the establishment of our great democracy. As we reflect on our country's past and plan for our bright future, we are reminded of our duty as citizens to record and preserve our nation's diverse history.

Latinos have been a part of American history since before the founding of the United States. They founded some of our oldest cities such as St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 and Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1598. During the American Revolutionary War, George Washington's army was successful at Yorktown in part because of support from troops led by Bernardo de Galvez. Today, there are more than 41 million Hispanics enriching American life, art, culture, and industry.

In that spirit, we have introduced the National Museum of the America Latino Community commission Act (S.2475/H.R.2134), which would take the first step in commemorating the rich cultural contributions of the Latino community to America Life.

Specifically, it would establish a Commission to study and develop an action plan for the potential establishment of a National Museum of the American Latino Community. The Commission would be comprised of leaders, selected by the President and Congress, with a commitment to the American Latino community and with experience planning for an managing similar museums.

Recently, both the House Resources Committee and the House Administration Committee voted unanimously to send the National Museum of the American Latino Community Commission Act to the House floor for consideration It is our hope that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will soon advance S.2475, and we invite you to support these efforts as a co-sponsor of this bill.

For more information, please contact Felicia Escobar with Senator Salazar at 8-5433 or Spencer Wayne with Senator Martinez at 4-3041.

Sincerely,

Ken Salazar Mel Martinez
United States Senator United States Senator

Hispanic Population Has Grown More Numerous Than
Asian- and African-Americans in 26 of the 50 States
Hispanic Population Truly a National Presence
Sent by Juan Ramos, Ph.D. jramos.swkr@comcast.net

July 12, 2006 (Los Angeles, CA) - Hispanics now outnumber African- and Asian-Americans in 26 of the 50 states, according to a Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) analysis of the 2004 census. While California and Texas still possess more than 50 percent of the nation's Hispanic population, southern states from North Carolina to Arkansas have seen phenomenal Hispanic population growth. (See Table 1.)

"The dispersion of the Latino community from its traditional ports of entry, such as California, New York and Florida, has been occurring for some time but has really accelerated in the past decade," stated Harry P. Pachon, President of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute and Professor of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.

In 1970, according to TRPI census analysis, Hispanics were the largest ethnic minority in comparison to African- and Asian-Americans in nine states. In 1990, that number grew to 11 states; in 2000 Hispanics were the largest ethnic minority in 23 states; and now, at mid-decade, the figure has grown to 26 states. (See Table 2.)

"The dispersion of the Hispanic community throughout the country means that Hispanic community issues are no longer single state or regional issues. Hispanic issues are now national issues," continued Pachon.

According to Institute researchers, a variety of factors account for this national dispersion, including employment opportunities, lower housing values, and informal social and familial networks.

About TRPI
Founded in 1985, the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute advances critical, insightful thinking on key issues affecting Latino communities through objective, policy-relevant research and its implications, for the betterment of the nation. TRPI is an affiliated research unit of the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and is associated with the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University. To learn more about the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, visit the Institute's website at http://www.trpi.org.

There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel. Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.

Editor, Analyzing the data: In states which have few minorities, such as Maine and North Dakota, the fact that Latinos are identified as the largest minority group in the 2004 census does not give an accurate understanding of the presence.
For example, the Latino percentage of the population in the following states are:
Maine, 0.7%
Vermont, 0.9%.
North Dakota,1.2%
Montana, 2.0%

View the interactive map for the source of the percentage information.
http://www.drtango.com/usmap.asp
Sent by Howard Shorr howardshorr@msn.com

For backlash against Latino Culture . . click

Abstract from article: 'You Don't Speak for Me,' Legal Hispanic Immigrants Shout
By Alison Espach CNSNews.com Correspondent, July 20, 2006
Sent by Willis Papillion willis35@earthlink.net

Mariann Davies, daughter of legal immigrants from Ecuador and vice-chairman of the group You Don't Speak For Me (YDSFM), in a statement on the YDSFM website, indicated that she first noticed the problems in immigration control when she worked as a college volunteer during the implementation of the Immigration and Control Act of 1986. That law provided legal status to 3.1 million people who had come to the United States illegally.

"I witnessed chaotic and inconsistent paperwork for people with no documentation. It was a mess, and we now know that much of the information provided by illegal immigrants was fraudulent," Davies said.

"We also know that terrorists were also granted amnesty under the 1986 program, something that should shock and anger all Americans. We also know that all 19 hijackers from September 11 took advantage of our legal system, staying here on expired or fraudulent visas to wage their war of terror," she added.

[[ Editor: I too remember the abuses of the 1986 amnesty system. I was an oral language specialist with the Huntington Beach Union High School District and attended several conferences on the issue. The most troubling was that priority was given to over-stayed visa holders because they had papers, making them easier to process.

Many Mexicans who had lived and worked in the U.S. for decades were not able to gather the needed record of their U.S. residency. On the other hand, the illegal over-stayed visa holders had the date of their entrance into the U.S. clearly established right on their passports.

A recent account of this abuse was in the Orange County Register (July 29th, 2006). It has carried a a series of articles on Adbel-Jbbar Hamdan who has been held without bond since July 27, 2004, on charges he over-stayed a student visa that dates to 1982. He was 24 at the time he came to the U.S. on a student visa. He is now 45.

However, he was actually arrested in connection with the shutdown in 2001 of a Texas-based charity the U.S. government alleged was raising money for Hamas, a Palestinian military group which has claimed responsibility for suicide attacks on Israelis.

Hamdan (here on an over-stayed student visa since 1982) was chief fund raiser for the charity, the Holy Land Foundation. Three foundation employees are being prosecuted after being accused of terrorist-related activities. Their trial is pending. The article does not explain what occupation Hamdan had, except that he served as a "religious adviser" to the foundation that was funding the terrorist organization.

Hamdan is father of six U.S.-born children ages 9 to 22.

Ahilan Arulanantham, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union is Hamdan's attorney. Yaman Hamdan, 22-year old daughter stated, "Even if it ends for my dad, there are still so many people affected by this dysfunctional system."

Half of all of undocumented people in the U.S. are over-stayed visas, but the focus of anti-immigration activity in the U.S. still remains on the Hispanic/Latino presence.]]

Muslim community calls for Release of Adbel-Jabbar Hamdan, "religious adviser"
to the Holy Land Foundation, fund raisers for the terrorist organization of Hamas.
Photo by Paul E. Rodriguez, OC Register

Between 1988 and 2003 over one million Muslims have entered the U.S.
http://www.jannah.org/popstatistics/usamuslims.html

Three injured foreign-born Latino U.S. soldiers become U.S Citizens.

President Bush shakes hands with Spc. Sergio Lopez as he, Spc. Noe Santos-Dilone, center and Pfc. Eduardo Leal-Cardenas, behind Bush, are sworn in as U.S. citizens July 24, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

On July 25, President Bush presided over a citizenship ceremony for three soldiers injured in Iraq, calling them "men who knew the cost of freedom and were willing to pay that cost so others could be free." After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Bush signed an executive order making foreign-born members of the U.S. military immediately eligible for U.S. citizenship when they serve on active duty.

Spc. Noe Santos-Dilone of Brooklyn, N.Y., Spc. Sergio Lopez of Bolingbrook, Ill: and Pfc. Eduardo Leal-Cardenas of Los Angeles. Santos-Dilone was a citizen of the Dominican Republic and the other two wee citizens of Mexico.

More than 33,000 non-U.S. citizens currently serve in the military.

Myth and Realities of Mexican Immigration
Sent by Howard Shorr howardshorr@msn.com

Mexican Government Creates Contest to Get Migrant's Stories to the Policymakers by
Marisa Trevino in (http://latinalista.blogspot.com/) July 18, 2006 Source: San Francisco Chronicle

It wasn't until we actually started beefing up border patrols and making it too risky to cross back and forth did immigrants resign themselves to living so far away from home.

It is said that roughly 10 percent of Mexico's population, about 107 million people, now live in the United States. As much as we think immigration is a problem for us and that Mexico is condoning the northward hike by their citizens, we should look at the facts.

In Michoacan, in the town of Tendeparacua, there lives only 600 people today - in 1985, there were 6,000 residents. In the rural areas of the country, other towns like Tendeparacua, are totally devoid of any working-age men.

It doesn't bode well for the country's future not to have a workforce - of any kind.

In fact, demographers say that Mexico is aging and that its population trails the U.S. age profile by 30 years. (Ironic since if it wasn't for the Latino population in the United States, our own population wouldn't be as young as it is.)

Demographers expect the day will come when Mexico will have to import their own labor.

It sure would make things easier if their future labor force consisted of descendants of today's migrants. But by then, who knows how strong the tie, or the memories, would be to Mexico.

Maybe with that thought in mind, and as a preliminary step to address the mass migration from their country to the United States, the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, an initiative of the Mexican Secretary of Exterior Relations, is sponsoring an unique contest.

The First History of Migrants Contest, opened to all Mexicans or descendents of Mexicans, is an attempt by the Mexican government to gather first-hand accounts of the trips north of the border: Why they were taken, what risks were endured, how it went for the women and girls, what kind of support did they receive when they arrived and how they integrated into U.S. society.

The purpose of the contest is to create a space where others can read these stories and reflect on the impact migration can have on families, individuals and whole communities.

It is also, according to the contest's Spanish web site, a tool to be used to better understand the migration phenomenon by the citizenry and policymakers so that when programs are designed to address this issue, the policymakers will know what the exact needs are of the migrants and their families.

The stories must be written in Spanish and there are categories by age (12-20, 21 and older) for both Mexican and U.S. residency.

The winners of the essay contest will each win MXN$15,000 pesos or roughly US$1,364.70.

Also, winners, and a companion, will be invited to receive their prizes with an all-expense paid trip to Mexico City. The winning essays will be available in the library of the National Population Council and on several government web pages. Essays can either be mailed to the Mexico City headquarters of the National Population Council or the nearest Mexican Consulate. Sorry the deadline was Deadline was July 31, 2006, but contact the Mexican Consulate to participate for consideration.

Elizabeth Bowlin, an Example of an Emerging Latina

My venture began back in 1970. I came to the United States from my homeland Lima, Peru, South America with my siblings and the “VERY” guided task of my mother.

My mother sacrificed and gave up everything in our country to allow us, her children to begin a new life here in the United States. This of course, was the American Dream. To LEARN it, GROW with it…and ACHIEVE it, but to keep in mind always, our values, virtues and our great Hispanic heritage.

I look up to my mother for the role model figure she is. She was the “STRONG” head of household in the absence of my father, while we were growing up, firm in her actions, but fair in her guidance. She came to this country not being able to speak English, and now retire, she volunteers in the Literacy Program in Huntington Beach.

Joining the Board and being a co-founder of NLBWA Orange County, gave me the confidence to join the National Board of this great organization

This is why Latino women are diverse and successful in the different areas of LIFE, LOVE and WORK. Who would ever though that someone like me, from so far away, would have achieved the American Dream?

When Elizabeth is not working, volunteering or studying towards her Bachelor's degree, she enjoys listening to all types of music, traveling, gourmet cooking and learning about different cultures.

Her personal philosophy is shaped by her experiences as an immigrant, her diverse travels and successful assimilation into being a proud American. She shares her personal insight:

LET US NOT FORGET OUR CULTURAL UP-BRINGING THAT HAS LEAD US TO OUR INDIVIDUAL PATHS
Elizabeth Bowlin was born in Lima Peru, and came to the United States in 1970. After graduating from Beverly Hills High School, she earned her Associate in Arts degree from Santa Monica City College. She worked as Vice-President /Branch Manager for Citibank, Wells Fargo, Union Bank of California, and joined Banco Popular of North America, the biggest bank owned by a Hispanic in July, 2005 where she held the position of Vice-President Business Banking Specialist for the Orange County Region. She has currently returned to Citibank as a Business Banking Officer, where she started her banking career.

Elizabeth is active in a number of community organizations, including:
1. The National Hispanic Business Women Assoc of Orange County where she was a founder and served as a Board member. Currently seats on the National Board
2. Served as a Board member at the Orange County Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.
3. Seats in the Board for Latino Health Access
4. Seats in the Board for Coastline Community College Foundation
5. Seats in the Board for the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce
6. Graduated from the "Robert Myer Leadership Academy" in 2006, which prepares you to become a Community Leader
7. In 2004, received the award for "Hispanic Woman of the Year " by LULAC
( League of United Latin American Citizens)
8. Selected to be in the first LATINO TOP 100 of Orange County 2005-2006 by the organization STAY CONNECTED
9. She supports the ABAOC (Asian Business Assoc of OC)
10. She supports and is involved with HEEF, NSHMA and NWABO
11. She supports the March of Dimes Walk, AIDS Walk and American Cancer Society Walk.
12. She supports the Jr. Achievement organization as well as the Make a Wish Foundation

San Antonio LULAC Council number 2. 1938
By Victor Landa, Columnist
vlanda@sbcglobal.net
San Antonio Express-News, June 26, 2006
Sent by Zeke Hernandez zekeher@yahoo.com

There's a rolled-up picture on my bookshelf that I've been meaning to frame. It's one of those old-time panoramic photos of a group of men and women standing in front of a building in downtown San Antonio. The inscription says "San Antonio LULAC Council number 2. 1938."

On the left side of the image is my grandfather holding a banner with words that are now faded. He's wearing a loose-fitting suit; he looks very young, and his head is full of hair.

I have no memory of the hair, nor do I remember him ever wearing loose-fitting suits. My memories of my grandfather are of many years later: a distinguished gentleman with nice, well-fitting clothes, shined shoes and sparse hair. I remember the way he looked and spoke as he made his way out the door on his way to a board meeting, a council meeting or a dinner with politicians or businessmen.

He was very involved in the political life of San Antonio. He supported Latino politicians, he led
business groups and he founded youth sports leagues when it was not popular to do so. There was a time when Latino involvement in San Antonio politics and business was a novelty, when it was frowned upon by the larger community.

My grandfather's time was a time of extraordinary vision. It was a time when men and women imagined a possibility and worked to make it happen. It was a long time ago, and much has changed since he stood for that picture in his loose suit and combed-back hair.

According to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, there are 5,132 Latinos in public
office throughout the country. That's up from 3,743 in 1996; a 37 percent increase in 10 years. I haven't seen any recent studies on Latino affluence, but I imagine there are more wealthy Latinos today than 10 years ago. There are bound to be more Latino millionaires, professionals, businessmen and businesswomen. Which is great.

Latinos have become the most recent testament to the possibilities of hard work in a free society. The funny thing is that Latino success is not a new thing. There have been successful Latinos in the United States since there's been a United States, just not in the amount there is now.

That picture on my bookshelf is evidence. Latino success in San Antonio in 1938 meant standing for a picture to celebrate common ideals. In 2006, Latino political success is measured in numbers, and the success is impressive. In fact, the achievement is so impressive that it warrants a gut check.

Years ago, when Latino elected officials were few and far between, they represented American communities that had a majority concentration of voters of a specific Latino cultural group. They came to power through hard-fought battles in the courts and at the polls. And while their progress was slow, it was constant and determined.

My grandfather talked of fundraising drives in the days of the poll tax. Ordinary folk would donate their prized possessions to buy the privilege of the vote. The dream was to raise one of their own to the highest levels of power. The idea was to participate fully, to contribute and to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who would have it otherwise.

That vision was to have American leaders of the Latino culture. And now that we've become more than 5,000 strong, it's time to ask ourselves if that's what we've become.

This is the point of discussion, as it should be: The history of Latinos in the United States is no
different from the history of all other groups that make up the American whole. Our struggles have been against those who would rather we didn't become better educated, participate more in politics and become wealthier. And we organized and rallied against them.

Now that we are more than 5,000 strong, what have we become? As we grow in power and influence, what kind of leaders are we?

We are bound by a legacy to become better. Are our elected officials better than the ones who came before? As a community, as Americans, we have a responsibility to hold our own leaders to a higher standard.

Start Now - Prepare for Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

One Man's effort: Rafael Ojeda, Tacoma, Washington Promotes Hispanic Heritage in a variety of ways

Dear Mimi, my Hispanos Congressional Medal of Honor (CMOH) display was at our 4th annual Lakewood Latino Festival, <click (over 9000 people came out). Tim Lopez is the City of Lakewood Assistant Police Chief and our main supporter. The event was outside at one of our largest park, Stielacoom Park. It was too windy and my other posters came falling down. I had to retake the photos in our Lakewood Library. (Editor: We need to form alliances with your local city agencies)

I will be taking my Medal of Honor display to schools, colleges, libraries and to our State
Fair during our Hispanic Heritage Month. Hopefully I will have finish the Galvez, and my
Military Generals, Aces Pilots and Astronauts and Latinos scientist for display.
I will encourage Latinos to ask their schools and colleges to see what they are doing
to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. If nothing else they can download the Latino/Hispanos CMOH from the www.HomeOfHeroes.com to display either in the hallways or in the classroom.

The gentleman on my right is Virgil Fernadez Left to right, Virgil Fernandez and Rafael Ojeda
from Austin Texas. We hosted the author of
"Hispanic Military Heroes" Fernandez. ( web site and table of contents below) He came to our Ojeda's Family Reunion in Austin to sign the books that he sold to us. I am going to get our city and county Libraries to order some copies for our young Latinos & Latinas.

We are starting a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Pierce County, today we had
our third Breakfast with over 30 Latinas/Latinos professionals. I will keep you informed.

We should encourage Latino organizations to ask their City Councils, County Councils and their Governors to write "Proclamations" for Hispanic Heritage Month and have someone accept the proclamation and speak on our Latino Contributions to our Nation.

"Hispanic Military Heroes" http://www.bookmasters.com/marktplc/rr01587.htm

Contents

Chapter 1	Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta	1
Chapter 2	History of Hispanics in the U.S. Military	9
Chapter 3	Forty-two Hispanic Medal of Honor Recipients	21
Chapter 4	Latinos Not Awarded the Medal of Honor	79
Chapter 5	Hero Street USA	87
Chapter 6	The Borinqueneers	95
Chapter 7	Escuadron 201, "The Aztec Eagles"	101
Chapter 8	Fighter Aces from WW II and Korean War	109
Chapter 9	Hispanic Servicewomen	123
Chapter 10	The American G-I Forum and Dr. Hector	137
Chapter 11	Hispanic Admirals and Generals	147
Chapter 12	Hispanic Astronauts	163
Chapter 13	Future Heroes	175

Other sites for celebrating Hispanic Heritage:
General Elwood "Pete" Quesada". appointed by Pres. Ike to be the first Secretary of our FAA
Please see http://www.afa.org/magazine/april2003/0403/quesada.asp

Another great General is General Robert who was a test pilot of the "Flying Wing"
http://www.sharkhunters.com/pixcardenas.gif and http://www.airspacemag.com/ASM/Mag/Index/1997/JJ/teds.html

Two other Air Force Pilots are: Colonel Donald S. Lopez, the current assistant to the
National Aeronautical Space Museum, the counterpart of Chuck Yeager. He also wrote a book called, " A Fighter Pilot's Heaven".

Korea War Aces Pilots:
Capt Pete Fernandez that you can see a photo in the Korea 50 Fact Sheets.
http://korea50army.mil/history/factsheets/hispanic.shtml
.
This site also include the Puerto Rico 65th Infantry and the Arizona 158th RCT.
See all 39 Latinos Congressional Medal of Honor including the most recent recipient:
Rascon: http://www.cmohs.org/recipients/rascon.htm
http://www.dod.mil/specials/hispanic/02/art.4html

Army Major General Gustovo "Gus" Hernandez http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2003/n10172003_200310172.html

Thank you, Rafael

Contact Name: Rafael Ojedo
Screen Name: RSNOJEDA
Home: 1-253-576-9547
Notes: Rafael OJeda 1-253-576-9547 or 584-3296.
11021 107th ST SW Tacoma, WA 98498-1405"

Education
WANTED FUTURE JOURNALISTS The Hispanic Link Journalism Foundation And The Scripps Howard Foundation Announce TWO Journalism Fellowships in Washington, D.C. Fall Semester (September 11 – December 17) Spring Semester (January 8 – April 13) Hispanic Link is currently accepting résumés for both the fall and spring 14-week semester journalism fellowships. One person will be selected for each semester fellowship The fellowships provide a stipend of $2,500 plus housing for an undergraduate college student. Applicants will be judged on their English-language writing skills, journalistic potential and commitment to work in print journalism. The selected fellows will be placed with the Washington, D.C.–based Hispanic Link News Service, which covers national affairs with an emphasis on their impact on 40 million U.S. Hispanics. The news service publishes Hispanic Link Weekly Report, a national newsweekly, and syndicates opinion, news analysis and feature columns to English and Spanish language media. Send a letter of interest mentioning the semester you’re applying for, résumé and clips to: Editor@HispanicLink.org For more information you can call Alex Meneses Miyashita or Charlie Ericksen at (202) 234-0280.
High dropouts in our Nation's schools is a crime In a letter to Gregory Chronister, Executive Editor, Education Week June 28, 2006 Willis Papillion Willis35@earthlink.net writes: The high rate of non-graduates and dropouts-in our Nation's schools-is pass disposable-it's a crime! 76% White students graduated, while only 51% Black and 55% Hispanic students graduated. And the teachers along are not the blame! The 1966 famous Coleman Education Report;" Equality of Education Opportunity", clearly evidence that the most important impact on student academic achievement, bar none-was family characteristics. Teachers are relative ineffective-given that the schools possess all the required educational materials, textbooks, resources and high teacher student expectations. Which most of them-do! Senator Moynihan, not so famous; The Negro Family and his co-author 1972 book; Equality of Educational Opportunity, reanalysis of the Coleman Report-affirming its contentions that, family background/characteristics are the determinant of academic achievement, thus controlling disparities that children bring with them to school.
Texan elected LULAC national president, Rosa Rosales SAN ANTONIO – Rosa Rosales has been elected president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, making her the second woman to lead the group in its 77-year history. Rosales, 62, won over 70 percent of delegates' votes at a weekend convention in Milwaukee. She succeeds Hector Flores of Dallas. "She has proven by example over those 30 years that I've known her that she deserves the presidency for all the work she's done in Texas and the rest of the country," Flores said. "She's knowledgeable and quick to grasp important issues of the day." With about 115,000 members nationally, LULAC is the nation's largest and oldest Hispanic civil rights organization, according to the group's Web site. The group operates more than 700 LULAC councils across the country. Rosales, of San Antonio, was the group's national vice president for the Southwest from 2002 to 2005, and she served four one-year terms as its Texas director in the early 1990s. She said her priorities include creating a commission on immigration and finding ways to improve education among Latinos. She also plans to meet with members of Congress on issues related to civil rights and equality for Hispanics. Regarding education, she said she wants to study successful dropout prevention models and begin pilot programs throughout the country. "Education is key to everything," Rosales said. "We are the No. 1 minority in the nation, and we have the highest dropout rate and the highest illiteracy rate." Sent by LJOlmos@LULAC.org
U.S. government Report on Fatherhood Weekly Housecall Sent by editor@blackdoctor.org June 9, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- Well-educated men tend to make better fathers, according a new U.S. government report on fatherhood. "Education is very important," said report co-author Gladys Martinez, a demographer at the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Men with higher education wait longer to get married and have children -- so they are more prepared," she said. The report, Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and Women From Cycle 6 of the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, was released by the CDC on May 31. "We have been collecting data on women since 1973," Martinez said. "In 2002, we decided to include men to round out the picture," she added. The report includes data on over 7,600 women and nearly 5,000 men, ages 15 to 44. The data were collected through interviews done between March 2002 and March 2003. Martinez's team found that 28 million men in the United States have children less than 19 years of age, and three-quarters of those men live with their children. "As you would suspect, because the father lives with their children, he is more likely to engage in activities with the children. Eighty-one percent play with their kids daily, and 74 percent ate with their kids," she added. Education was a key factor in all aspects of fatherhood, Martinez said. About half of the men without a high-school education have fathered a child outside of marriage compared to just 6 percent of college graduates. The main predictor of a father's involvement with his children was his level of education, Martinez said. "Those with higher levels of education report higher levels of activity with their children," she said. Among fathers who don't live with their children, some 74 percent had contact with their children during the past year, Martinez noted. "About half of these guys reported having activities with their children in the past four weeks," she said. In addition, among fathers who live apart from their children, 85 percent of fathers with higher incomes contributed to their children's support on a regular basis, compared with 64 percent of fathers with income below the poverty level. Moreover, the researchers found that among men and women who had children but were not married, 18 percent of the men were living with the women when the baby was born. Two-thirds of first births occur among married couples, Martinez said, and 16 percent occur among couples who are not married or living together. "The race differences are very striking," Martinez said. "We know that blacks are less likely to marry, so you would expect those births outside of marriage would be greater," she said. "About 50 percent of births to Hispanics were within marriage, 77 percent of births to whites were within marriage, but only 36 percent of births to blacks were within marriage," she said. Other data in the report show that among non-Hispanic black fathers, 25 percent fathered their first child before they were 20 years old; 19 percent of Hispanic fathers also became fathers as teenagers, and 11 percent of non-Hispanic white men became fathers while they were teens. But across all races, a dad's education still made all the difference, Martinez said. Well-educated men "are more likely to be married when they have children and are more likely to be active in the lives of their children," she said. "Education trumps race," she said. One expert thinks that the report paints a positive picture, but added that dads still need support, especially those in lower-income brackets. "This is a very optimistic picture of the role of dads and fatherhood in America," said Shelley Waters Boots, vice president for policy and programs at the Washington, D.C.-based Parents Action for Children. "It is quite affirming that a lot of dads are doing a lot of the work of parenting," she added. "In America, we don't give parents credit for how hard it is, and how hard it is to do it well," Waters Boots said. "So, if you have higher income and more flexibility, you see dads really step up to the plate. For dads who are really struggling to bring home the paycheck, they are paying a price of not doing the parenting job they want to do. We need to be giving dads more support," she said. By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter More information For more on fatherhood, head to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. SOURCES: Gladys Martinez, Ph.D., demographer, U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, Md; Shelley Waters Boots, vice president for policy and programs, Parents Action for Children, Washington, D.C.; May 31, 2006, CDC report, Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and Women From Cycle 6 of the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth Copyright © 2006 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.
The Immigrants: The Global Origins of the American People By David M. Reimers ISBN 0814775357 Paperback Release Date: 1/1/2005 http://www.nyupress.org/product_info.php?cPath=33&products_id=3600 Sent by Dorinda Moreno dorindamoreno@comcast.net It gives a good overview on the tough history of non-white immigrants. Plus, some enlightening statistics. We're talking about a lot of people here now inside the United States. http://celebratingcesarchavez.homestead.com “Celebrating César Chávez / Celebrando a César Chávez” is a collection of online resources and teaching ideas in English and Spanish about the his life and “La causa,” the farm worker movement, especially for teachers and librarians of children in kindergarten through grade five. Sub-topics offered include animals, art, biography, books, “César Chávez Day,” chronology, Dolores Huerta, families, flags, fruits and vegetables, honors, lessons, the “little hoe,” manuals, maps, music, organizations, photos, poetry, posters, realia, the commemorative stamp, and values and quotations, plus a search engine. I strongly believe that all children need to learn about the life and works of César Estrada Chávez -- now more than ever -- whether they are from Spanish-speaking backgrounds or not. As violence in many forms here and abroad escalates and the worldwide demand for year-round fresh produce by health-conscious consumers increases, Chávez's emphasis on non-violent tactics to better the lives of migrant farm workers in the field and avoid their exploitation and manipulation is worth examining. His life story of compassion and determination truly reflects his motto, "¡Sí, se puede! / Yes I can!", despite numerous threats to the contrary, and lends itself to various celebrations, units, and academic activities during the school year -- Earth Day, famous biography book reports, Labor Day, first day of spring, Thanksgiving, gardening, Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15), Earth Day, Peace Day, community service projects, plants and food production, nutrition, and, of course, celebration of his birthday on March 31st.
Brains show signs of two bilingual roads by Bruce Bower http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/printindex.php3?main=sci-news/bilingual Sent by Dr. Armando A. Ayala DrChili@webtv.net From Science News, Vol. 152, No. 2, July 12, 1997. © 1997 Science News Unlike people who become bilingual after childhood, those who learn a second language at an early age rely on the same critical patch of brain tissue when speaking either tongue, according to a new study. Adult learners of language apparently recruit nearby groups of brain cells, suggest neuroscientist Joy Hirsch of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and her colleagues. "On the basis of our findings, the distinction between native and second languages may be less for [people who had] younger ages of exposure to a second language," Hirsch holds. According to her study, bilingual individuals who acquired a second tongue during childhood display elevated activity in the same part of Broca's area--a frontal lobe structure considered crucial for language use--regardless of which language they use. In contrast, people employing a second language acquired later exhibit neuronal bustle in another segment of Broca's area, the researchers report in the July 12 Nature. Wernicke's area, located in the temporal lobe and also known to perform language functions, displayed comparable responses in both groups. The researchers relied on a noninvasive technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study changes in blood flow in the brains of 12 bilingual adults. Half of the group had learned a second language starting in infancy, while the remainder attained fluency as teenagers. Together, the volunteers speak 10 native and second languages, including English, French, and Turkish. The two groups reported roughly equal fluency and frequency of use for their second tongues. Researchers obtained brain scans as participants silently recited, first in one language and then the other, brief descriptions of an event from the previous day. The findings may reflect either the sensitivity of part of Broca's area to language exposure during childhood or the existence of marked differences in the ways that children and adults learn languages, Hirsch says. "These new results are interesting but inconclusive," comments neuroscientist Robert J. Zatorre of the Montreal Neurological Hospital. "It's devilishly difficult to study naturalistic types of language in a well-controlled way." For instance, the short descriptions of personal events offered by volunteers in Hirsch's study allow for large individual differences in the amount of mental imagery generated during the task and the extent to which events sparked emotional reactions. Such differences may have influenced language-related brain activity, Zatorre contends. Unpublished fMRI data obtained from bilingual speakers as they name various objects, a more restricted verbal task, yields the same disparity regarding age of learning a language, Hirsch responds. About Science News... References: Kim, K. . . .J. Hirsch. 1997. Distinct cortical areas associated with native and second languages. Nature 388(July 10):171. Further Readings: Bower, B. 1993. Sudden recall. Science News 144(Sept. 18):184. Sources:
Joy Hirsch Department of Neurology Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center 1275 York Avenue New York, NY 10021	Robert J. Zatorre Department of Neuropsychology Montreal Neurological Hospital 3801 University Montreal, Quebec H3A2B4 Canada

Multicultural Blending in the New World

A Brief History of my Family
by Ken Mayer
kmayer1@comcast.net

Tradition, pure and blended cultures, our ancestors, ourselves and for the generations who will follow us and look to us as their roots.

Those of us who live in the United States of America should appreciate that America is called "the melting pot" of cultures. East to West, North to South, and in between all have a cultural diversity of unsurpassed in the entire world.

My wife and I just finished watching "Roots" for the umpteenth time, and this reminded me of my own family and its diverse cultural blend.

My family in the "New World" started in Mexico, New England, and Alta California at about the same time.

The earliest record of my family in the "New world" as of this writing; are 1514 in Mexico when Louis Carrillo and Nunez Balboa expedition discovered the Pacific Ocean and the Smith’s as early as 1685 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (undocumented).

From a European beginning, across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and settling in areas thousands of miles from one another before coming together in Alta California many generations later. Such diversity in cultures and status, it is amazing to me the stories of how they came to be my family!

In the East, those of my family that came to the "New World" for religious and economic reasons and of my family who came to Mexico and Alta California for economic reasons, this is the story of how they fared.

In the East, you read the names of cities, towns and they are mostly Anglo, whereas in the South West the names of the cities towns are mostly Spanish. In California, where I hail from, you can truly see the blend of cultures. I grew up in an unincorporated area called "Castro Valley", and have lived in cities called "San Leandro" and "Fremont". What I mean is that within the area called the "Bay Area" you find equal numbers of Anglo and Spanish names of cities and towns depending on what area was colonized and named for the, or after the locals.

I also find it interesting that the present day President of Mexico is named Fox. Truly not a Spanish surname, but in all else he truly is a Mexican. Somewhere in his family, a European named Fox married a Spanish, Mexican, or native Indian woman and thus the name of Fox has been handed down through the generations. In my own family, a man named Miller married a Spanish, Mexican, or native Indian woman and at least one in the line married a man named Smith. There are Smiths and Millers living in Mexico at this writing who are truly Mexican, but bear the surname of a European other than one from Spain.

The Smith, Gilpin, and Hartnell families came from England, and the Carrillo, de la Guerra, de Lugo, Castro, Alvarez, Arellanes, Boronda, Esapinosa, Escamilla, de la Torre, Moreno, Ramirez, Soberanes, and Munoz families came from Spain. The Mayer, Wagoner and Miller families came from Germany, the Bonelli and Cappelli families came from Italy and finally the Christensen family came from Denmark.

Beginning on the East coast with the Smith family, they were merchants in Pennsylvania. They later owned business’ in Mexico City, Mexico, and then became ranchers in Alta California. The Gilpin families were Quaker farmers in Pennsylvania, and the Gilpin family roots go back to 1206 England where an early ancestor won a title and estate by slaying a killer Boar. Lafayette used the farmhouse of Joseph Gilpin as a command post during the "Battle of Brandywine" during the American Revolution. Samuel Smith Married Lydia Gilpin and they have eight children. Joseph met Loretta Miller in Mexico while on business Joseph Smith later married Loretta. He later started a business in Mexico City with the husband of his sister Hannah, John Stokes. The couple had eight children, all born in Mexico. The family traveled between Mexico City and Philadelphia many times during their marriage. Three of the boys, Miguel, George, and Alban, were educated in Philadelphia in a private school. On the last trip to Mexico in 1848, Joseph died, leaving Loretta and the children without income. I have copies of letters written by George Smith for his mother, as she read wrote and spoke only in Spanish. I believe Loretta and the girls moved back with her family, but I do not know where in Mexico they settled. I have a photo of family, taken in Mexico. In 1849, the three remaining brothers, Miguel, George, and Alban came to Alta California, leaving their Mother and two remaining sisters, Anna and Guadalupe (Lupita) in Mexico.

And in the west, Juan Carillo born 1695 in Baja California and a descendent of Louis Carrillo, marries Lucia Efigina Miller born 1705 in Baja California. They have a son in 1715, Hilario. Hilario marries Maria Antonia De PASOS, born in Baja California 1725. They have a son Jose Raimondo CARRILLO-PASOS born in 1749 also in Baja. Jose Raimondo marries Maria Thomasa de LUGO, in 1781, at the San Carlos Mission in Monterey Alta California.

The earliest Alta California ancestors are Jose Raimondo CARRILLO-PASOS and Maria Thomasa de LUGO CARRILLO. They have seven children, my direct ancestor, Maria Antonia CARRILLO, was born 1786 in San Gabriel, California.

Jose Antonio DE LA GUERRA was born 1779 in Novales, Santander, Spain. A soldier and early settler of California, Jose Antonio was one of the few personages in early California who was of the "Sangre Azul" (blue blood) of old Spain. At age 13 he came to Mexico City to live with his maternal uncle Pablo Gonzalez de Noriega, a wealthy merchant. Jose joined the frontier army in 1793; in 1798 he was appointed a cadet at the Presidio of San Diego. He was promoted to alferez (ensign) at the Presidio at Monterey in 1800 and by 1804 was its acting Commandant. In 1806 he was made lieutenant at the Presidio in Santa Barbara and served so until 1817 when he became captain. He became commandant in 1827 and also became a Deputy (Diputado) to the Mexican National Congress. He served as Commandant until 1842, when he retired. He was popular and was known as "El Capitain" From Spanish Land Grants and purchases, he became owner of over ½ million acres in what is now Santa Barbara, Ventura, Marin, and Sacramento counties. In 1804 Jose marries Maria Antonia Carrillo. They lived in Santa Barbara along with the de Lugo and Carrillo families. Their adobes still remain within a mile of one another. Jose and Maria become influential in the community, many a fiesta was held at their hacienda, and it is said they personally helped many who were in need. They had eleven children all total. One of the daughters, Maria Teresa Isidora De La Guerra is a direct descendant of mine.

William Edward Petty HARTNELL born in Backbarrow, Lancashire, England, in 1798. An orphan, he was raised by his maternal uncle who sent him away to school. He was educated in Germany, learning Spanish, German, and French in addition to his business and bookkeeping studies. In 1819, William went to Santiago, Chile and signed on as a bookkeeper for a large mercantile firm and it is there where he met Hugh McCulloch. The two young men came to Monterey, Alta California in 1822, where they set up trade with the established Missions. It is during his visits to Santa Barbara he met Jose Antonio DE LA GUERRA and later Maria Teresa Isidora De La Guerra, Jose’s daughter. William made friends easily and before long was courting Maria Teresa Isidora De La Guerra. She was a devote Roman Catholic and William was not, after counseling with Friar Antonio Ripoli, a Franciscan monk William had befriended, William converts to the Roman Catholic faith. Maria Teresa Isidora De La Guerra and William Edward Petty HARTNELL marry in 1825 and have twelve children. William became a Mexican citizen and was awarded land grants in Salinas, Solano county, and Santa Barbara county. After his business fails, William starts the first college in Alta California on his ranch outside of Salinas. HARTNELL was called upon many times, by the Mexican Governor of California, to act as interpreter. He became "ex officio interpreter" for the new state of California.

Guillermo Antonio Hartnell, first born of William and Maria. Guillermo marries Maria Del Refugio MORENO in 1850 and they have eleven children. For a time, he was sheriff of what is now Castroville. The family owned property near Santa Inez and Guillermo was listed as a rancher in the census of 1870. A cousin, Juan Hartnell, was also a rancher at that time and area. One of Guillermo and Maria’s daughters is a direct descendant, Maria De La Concepcion Blanca HARTNELL born in 1853.

George Smith, and younger brother, Alban are listed in the 1860 census of Township Santa Inez as sheepherders. Working on a ranch owned by Jose Espanans, whose ranch is near the ranch of Guillermo Antonio Hartnell. It is there that the brothers first meet the Hartnell family. In 1870, George Smith, and brother Alban are married in a double ceremony at the Mission in San Luis Obispo. George marries Maria De La Concepcion Blanca HARTNELL, and Alban marries her sister, Maria Ada HARTNELL. In the census of 1870, George and Maria are listed as sheepherders, with Alban and his wife Maria are listed under the household of George. One of George and Maria’s daughters, Blanca Rose Smith, is a direct descendant of mine. I have a letter from George to daughter Blanca dated 1895; she was sixteen and charged with looking after her older brother George McKinley. My grandmother told us stories about her "mother’s family" owning or managing a Hotel in Saratoga, California. One of the aunts lived on what is now highway 9, near the entrance to Big Basin State Park. It is there on a trip to visit family that Blanca met and later married Carl.

Oliver Peter CHRISTENSEN and Meta Margaret (maiden name unknown), come to America from Denmark in about 1879. With them they bring their sons, Carl and John. Landing in New York, they moved to Baltimore Maryland. After a couple of years they went westward as did many others of the time, settling in Park City Utah, and then Herber Utah, where they had family. Oliver was a cobbler and seeking a better life, the family moved to Saratoga California where Oliver set up a shop on the main street of Saratoga, on the creek side of Big Basin way. Sometime between 1896 and 1897, Carl meets Blanca Smith while she was visiting family in Saratoga.

Carl CHRISTENSEN and Blanca Rose Smith marry in 1898. They live in Saratoga where Carl is employed as caretaker of the "Tyson ranch" in the foothills near the Congress Springs road. Carl and Blanca buy a house on the "creek side" of Big Basin Way in Saratoga and have four children, Loretta Rose, Fred George, Joseph Carl, and Lucrecia (Kay). In 1905, Blanca becomes gravely ill, her older sister Rose, now living in San Jose, comes to take care of Blanca and the children. Blanca soon dies and the children are shuttled to family members and friends. At the death of his wife at an early age and having to separate the family, Carl becomes embittered.

Loretta, now called Laura, is sent for a time to live with her Grandmother, Maria De La Concepcion Blanca HARTNELL Smith, in San Jose, California. When her father’s mother becomes ill, Loretta is sent to live with her Grandmother Meta, until Meta dies in 1915. The family soon moves to Octavia Street in Oakland California, where Carl has purchased a house. At his point Carl is able to bring all of the children with him. Loretta is charged with keeping the house, cooking, cleaning, and washing. She enters Heald College and after graduating soon finds employment with one of the Tyson brothers who owns an insurance agency in San Francisco.

Henry C. Mayer born in San Antonio, Texas meets and marries Irma Wagner, born in Germany. They have a son Raymond I. Mayer, born 1898 in Del Rio, Texas.

In 1921, Laura Rose CHRISTENSEN met Raymond I. Mayer and they were married and left for the Philippines, where Raymond and His father Henry had contracted a job to install refrigeration. They were together only three months when Laura leaves Raymond and returns to California working her way home on a ship. During the trip home, Laura discovers that she is pregnant. Laura returns to the home of her father in Oakland.

Fred George Mayer is born May 16, 1922. He lives with his mother and grandfather in the home on Octavia Street in Oakland. With no contact whatsoever with his father, Fred comes to identify with his grandfather’s family. While working at Caterpillar tractor Company in San Leandro California, Fred meets and eventually marries Priscilla (Primasia) Bonelli.

Gustavo Bonelli arrives in America from Ponti e Saccio, Italy in 1913, aboard the ship Berlin. Rosa Capelli arrives in America from Pistoia, Italy in 1920, aboard the ship America. They meet in Ohio and marry in Canton in 1920. Their first child is Primasia Margaret Bonelli. When Premasia was six she started school, she did not speak any English. Her first grade teacher changed her name from Primasia to Priscilla, and she has gone by that name ever since.

Kenneth D. Mayer is born in 1950 and my brother David is born six years later.

With the death of her mother Blanca, at the early age of six, and after Laura left the company of her maternal Grandmother, she soon lost physical contact with her Mother’s family. Reading through correspondence she had with several cousins, some of the letter was written in Spanish. I never knew my grandmother even knew Spanish, let alone read and write! What an epiphany to find this out! As a young boy, and in the tradition of an oral book, I remember my grandmother telling me with pride stories of her GGGrandfather, William E.P. Hartnell, the early Californianos and our Spanish nobility heritage. Well into her nineties, my Grandmother identified old photos of her people. We had relatives in Maryland, New York, Utah, Mexico, in addition to the ones in California.

With interest in history and my family heritage I have researched my roots. I have met with or corresponded with cousins who I never knew existed, who were also driven with a desire to find the family roots. We are both the culture(s) of our parents and the culture of which we choose to identify. The blend of cultures is alive with me and the other family members who choose to keep them alive.

Salute America New Artist of the Year 2006: Melinda Del Toro
"There's a Winner in You"© http://saluteamerica.org/melinda_del_toro.htm
Sent by Marisol Del Toro BRN2000SUGAR@cs.com

Melinda Del Toro
Winner Best in Show
Salute Los Angeles Day Festival
July 4, 2006
Radio Interview with Melinda Del Toro on WKVL-AM - Listen Now
Spotlight on the Brown: Singer Melinda Del Toro
"Pleasantly overwhelmed with the talent of a 16-year-old singer"
Article LatinoLA.com By: Frank Firme

Melinda Del Toro ( www.melindadeltoro.com ) Only 16 years old, Melinda has already "wowed" crowds at venues like the Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, the Norwalk Ramada Inn, and most recently at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena, with her beauty, stage presence, and singing voice.

Easily ranging from Ranchera & Mariachi, to R & B to Soul to Latin Rock, Melinda credits her father for her early musical inspiration, and her close-knit family for giving her love and strong encouragement.

"I come from a large, proud family whose roots are from Mexico. Even though I was born in La Palma, California, my father, uncles, and aunts all sang or played instruments and raised me on Mexican Mariachi and Ranchera music ever since I can remember, always inviting me to sing, and encouraging me every step of the way, even when I wanted to sing R & B instead of traditional music I was raised on. My parents and sisters come to all my performances, and when I see them out in the audience with tears of pride in their eyes while I'm up on stage...I just want to cry and sing my heart out just for them. Singing makes me happy that I make everybody around me happy, especially my family. I love singing and I love my family."

That love came to people's attention when Melinda was only 3 years old, and pretty much established her as a prodigy.

"Even though I hadn't had any formal singing training, at age 3, I was singing full songs with my Dad, entertaining family members," Melinda recalls. "My older sister was 15 at the time and was starting out as a teen-age model for a small agency my Mom helped out with. During an Agency public event, for some reason, the hosts started inviting members of the attending crowd if anybody wanted to come up and sing. Well, the crowd was sure shocked when this 3 year old little girl strutted up there and sang the complete 'Nieves de Enero' in accapella . After that, it was on! I knew then I wanted to be a singer."

Melinda also credits her sister Marisol as one of her biggest supporters and fan, and her most ardent promoter. "My sister is always looking for talent shows, public invitations and open mic sessions for me to perform at. She and my Mom are my agents, and they do all my contacts and business deals. She has got me into places I'm not even old enough to get into, but she's got me there, and I love her for it. She's the reason I've had any success at all, and I will never be able to thank her enough...just for being my sister and looking out for me."

[[Editor: There is a lot of information on this site compiled by Marisol Del Toro manifesting American patriotism. Congratulations to her. BRN2000SUGAR@cs.com
http://www.saluteamerica.org/press_releases_-_salute_america.htm ]]

Social integration in the U.S., including cohabiting and marriage, is surging
By Ely Portillo and Frank Greve, McClatchy Newspapers, July 21, 2006

WASHINGTON - Despite its battles over immigration, affirmative action, racial profiling and other issues, America is finally becoming a melting pot.

A powerful interracial tide has transformed friendships, dates, cohabitations, marriages and adoptions in just one generation. If the wave continues to grow, it could sweep away racial stereotypes and categorizations, as well as the rationale behind affirmative action and other broad minority protections. It remains to be seen, however, whether higher levels of social integration, especially among Asians, are benefiting blacks, the least integrated of U.S. minorities. Data from the 2010 census will make that a lot clearer.

For now, the interracial trend - while evident everywhere - is hard to gauge because young adults and children are at its vanguard: children such as Heshima Sikkenga, 9, of Apple Valley, Minn., for whom race "is a minor point, like brown hair or blond hair," as his father, Steve, put it.

But the wave is so far-reaching that the average American today, young or old, is 70 percent more likely than Americans were a generation ago to count a person of another race among his or her two or three best friends, according to an article in the current issue of American Sociological Review. The same percentage of applicants tells Match.com, a leading Internet dating service, that they're willing to date someone of another race.

"If the right person comes in a Latino package, that's just part of who that person is," said Kristin Kelly, a spokeswoman for Match.com.

"I'm seeing a lot more interracial couples," said Javier del Cid, a 32-year-old Washington bartender who has worked in restaurants for 18 years. "They're not scared anymore. You see a Hispanic guy with a black girl, you don't say, `Oh, my God!' Only people raised before it was accepted say that."

Del Cid should know: A Guatemalan, he dates mostly black women.
A raft of social research ratifies his view:

_ In 1992, 9 percent of 18- to 19-year-olds said they were dating someone of a different race. A decade later, the figure was 20 percent, according to a 2005 study by sociologists Grace Kao of the University of Pennsylvania and Kara Joyner of Cornell University.

_ In 1992, 9 percent of 20- to 29-year-old Americans were living with people of different races. A decade later, Kao and Joyner found, 16 percent were.

_ In 1985, when asked to describe confidants with whom they'd recently discussed an important concern, 9 percent of Americans named at least one person of a different race. These days, about 15 percent do, according to Lynn Smith-Lovin of Duke University and Miller McPherson of the University of Arizona at Tucson, co-authors of the American Sociological Review article.

_ In 1980, 1.3 percent of marriages in the United States were interracial, according to the census. By 2002, that had more than doubled, to a still minuscule 3 percent.

_ In 1987, 8 percent of adoptions were interracial. By 2000, 17 percent were, according to Census Bureau demographer Rose Kreider.

What's causing the shift?

One big reason is that the white fraction of the U.S. population is shrinking. Four out of 5 people in America were white in 1980, and today 3 out of 4 are, mainly because of surges in Hispanic and Asian populations. People's friendship networks are more racially mixed today whatever their races, Smith-Lovin said, "primarily because society is more diverse."

At the same time, racial attitudes are softening. In 1990, two-thirds of Americans polled said they opposed having a close relation or family member marry a black person. That's dropped to about one-third, according to Maria Krysan, a racial attitudes specialist at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

More integrated workplaces also have a lot to do with it, according to researchers. Steve Sikkenga, 54, a federal Justice Department official in Minneapolis, Minn., agreed.

"The white-collar workers were all white when I started working at Detroit Radiant Products in Warren, Michigan, in the `70s," Sikkenga said. "There were some other races in the shop, but there was no commingling to speak of. Where I work now it's a lot different and a lot better."

For singles in their early 20s, living on their own and newly freed from the opinions of parents and college cliques, workplaces are hubs for interracial contacts. One consequence: Americans age 21.5 are the likeliest of all to be living with people of another race, according to researchers.

Young adults ages 22 through 25 also typically have the most sexual partners and the most breakups. But while interracial couples who live together often marry, their relationships disintegrate short of the altar more often than those of same-race couples do. According to Kao and Joyner, the marital batting average is .213 for same-race couples who live together in their 20s. For mixed race couples, it's .127.

When you're young, "you experiment," said Justice King, 38, a black Washingtonian who's dated interracially. "You maybe want to be exposed to somebody of another culture. But by the time you're 30, you know what's going on. You're ready to choose, ready to get serious."

If disproportionate numbers of interracial relationships tend to be passing fancies, they may not be harbingers of big social changes. Even so, Duke sociologist Smith-Lovin noted in an e-mail, interracial intimacies of all kinds matter because "having a positive, cooperative tie to a person in another racial group makes us less likely to stereotype that racial group. So increasing the proportion of the population that has such a tie should make us less prejudiced and less likely to discriminate against people who are not of our own race."

Whom the world changes for depends largely on who marries whom, however, and interracial-marriage figures vary widely by race, according to Zhenchao Qian, a researcher at Ohio State University. About 2 percent of whites and 5 percent of blacks intermarried, Qian found in an analysis of 20- to 29-year-olds based on the 1990 census. For Hispanics, Qian found, the interracial marriage figure was 37 percent; for Asians, it's 64 percent.

(The 2000 census offered Americans so many new racial options - 63 and a wildly popular category called "other" - that traditional racial tallies were early casualties of richer social integration.)


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