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November
2006 Dedicated to
Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues |
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Letters to the Editor
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Mimi, you are really a patriot contributing to enlarge the acknowledging
of our culture, what we can do is take all this to the libraries of this
country. It is important that our descendants know who are they.
They need to know.
Alfredo Ortiz Jasso alzi@sbcglobal.net
Quiero felicitarlos por la pagina esta muy llena de historia. gracias por la informacion y laopoortunidad que nos ofrece para nuestros eventos.
Mirian V. Karaoglanian, President
Asociación Internacional de Mujeres Salvadoreñas, (AIMSA) Click for more information. mirianvk@exprosalwomen.com
Hola Primos: |
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| Content Areas United States . . .4 Action Items . . .6 National issues . . .16 Education . . .22 Culture . . .29 Business . . .40 Anti-Spanish Legends . . .46 Military & Law Enforcement Heroes . . .48 Cuentos . . .59 Dichos . . .69 Surname . . .77 Spanish Sons of American Revolution . . .81 Orange County, CA . . .87 Los Angeles, CA . . .99 California . . .107 Southwestern United States . . .144 |
Black . . .144 Indigenous . . .147 Sephardic . . .152 Texas . . .159 East of the Mississippi . . .107 East Coast . . .179 Mexico . . .181 Caribbean/Cuba . . .201 Spain . . .203 International . . .212 History . . .216 Family History . . .221 Archaeology . . .227 Calendar Networking Meetings END . . .229 |
| Somos Primos
Staff: Mimi Lozano, Editor Tammy Boyce, Data Entry Reporters/Columnists: Johanna De Soto Lila Guzman Granville Hough John Inclan Galal Kernahan Alex Loya J.V. Martinez Armando Montes Michael Perez Ángel Custodio Rebollo John P. Schmal Howard Shorr Contributors to the issue: Fredrick Aguirre Ruben Alvarez Jr. Dan Arellano, James Barcenas Carlos A. Bautista Mercy Bautista-Olvera Bill Carmena Kathleen Carrizal-Frye Claudia de la Cruz Johanna De Soto Salvador Del Valle Jeff Felts Lorraine Frain Guy Gabaldon Jr. Carlos Garcia |
Jose Garcia Gloria Golden Horacio González Ray Gonzalez Robert Gonzalez Joe Guerra Michael R, Hardwick Walter Herbeck Lorraine Hernandez Manuel Hernandez-Carmona Zeke Hernandez Carlos Martín Herrera de la Garza Granville Hough, Ph.D. John D. Inclan Mirian V. Karaoglanian Larry Kirkpatrick Rick Leal Rudolph Lewis Cindy LoBuglio Alex Loya Mike Lozano Yolanda Ochoa Jan Mallet Christina Martinez JV Martinez, Ph.D. Ramon Moncivais Analía (Ana) Montalvo Elder &Hna Morales Dorinda Moreno Christin Nava Rebecca Nevarez Paul Newfield III |
Yolanda Ochoa Rafael Ojeda Alfredo Ortiz Jasso Ike Pacheco Guillermo Padilla Origel Willie Perez Claire Prechtel-Kluskens Joseph Puentes Arturo Ramos Kristen Rawson Angel Custodio Rebollo Rudi Rodriguez Ben Romero Steve Rubin John Schmal Diane Sears Sister Mary Sevilla Howard Shorr Frank Sifuentes Jack Simpson Collin Skousen Louis P. Tellez Margie Velez Dr. Josh Valdez Ricardo Valverde Janete Vargas JD Villarreal Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar Theresa Ynzunza Elvira Zavala-Patton ConnieCPU@aol.com eventos@genealogia.org.mx gilparras@yahoo.com.mx gutiherre@hotmail.com |
| SHHAR Board: Bea Armenta Dever, Steven
Hernandez, Mimi Lozano Holtzman, Pat Lozano, Henry Marquez, Yolanda
Magdaleno, Yolanda
Ochoa Hussey, Michael Perez, Crispin Rendon, Viola Rodriguez Sadler, John
P. Schmal
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Items Yahoo Time Capsule, Deadline November 12th Casting Director looking for a Hispanic Families for TV Network Show National Latino Museum Hispanic Caucus applauds step in creating a National Latino Museum Juan Cabanela's U.S. Congress Contact Information. . so easy. National History Day Hispanic Heritage Month Display at OC Register Newspaper Partners in Preservation Guy Gabaldon Projects Underway National issues An Ode to America. . Why are Americans so United? Hispanic Heritage Month: It's a celebration of American History Latino Civil Rights Timeline, 1903 to Present NAHJ Frustrated by Continued Exclusion of Latinos on Network News Justice for my People, the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Story
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Air Force training squadron flying in a never-done-before "USA" formation over the control tower (HQ building) of Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Source: Tim Herrington tim@datzfast.com Sent by Jan Mallet jfmallet@socal.rr.com who writes: Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American G. I. One died for your soul; the other for your freedom. |
Yahoo Time Capsule, Deadline November 8th The Yahoo Time Capsule is taking shape online and, until November 8th, Yahoo users worldwide can contribute photos, writings, videos, audio - even drawings - to this electronic anthropology project. Yahoo says this is the first time that digital data will be gathered and preserved for historical purposes. in addition to submitting your own content, you can view, read or hear the images, words, and sounds contributed by other users around the world. [[Editor: I surely
hope that readers who are served by Yahoo will send data immediately, so
that a Hispanic/Latino presence will be part of the Time Capsule. If
you have sent articles to Somos Primos, let me suggest you just send them
the same article. If not, send family photos or reunions, send pedigrees
showing the migration of your ancestors into the U.S. Don't forget
to include what you and your ancestors did by way of employment.
Please let them know that Hispanic/Latinos are here. Remember the cut-off
date is November 8th. The
website is: http://timecapsule.yahoo.com
. ]] |
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Casting Director looking for a Hispanic Families for Television Network Show In a message dated 10/25/2006 My name is James Barcenas and I'm a Casting Director for a television
network and I need some help. I'm casting the fourth season of Trading
Spouses, and I was assigned to find a few Amazing Hispanic Families with
Children ages 6 and above, that break the stereotypes of Hispanic
Families. We're looking for energetic, amazing, interesting families
that can help change the perception of Hispanic Community! It is required that each family consist of children above the age of 6 and have two Married parents within the same home. Families chosen for the 7 day shoot receive a compensation of $50,000. If this is an experience that you might be interested in, or know a family that would be great for our show, please contact me immediately. If you have any questions regarding the nature of our show, please call me. We have a deadline approaching, and I would love to extend this opportunity to as many families as possible.Thank you so much and I hope to hear from you soon! I appreciate any help you can offer me with, Please feel free to call me with any questions you may have, or forwarding this email to anyone that comes to mind. Thank you, James Barcenas I called Mr. Barcenas, he said they are looking for a professional family with quality and charisma. He said, they've had the crazy, wild, etc. and now that they are bringing in a Hispanic family, they want refinement and class. Casting will be going on for another month and a half. They have not decided on the number of Hispanic families yet. The name of the company, Rocket Science Laboratories seemed a little
odd for a Hollywood production company, so I did a google search on
Rocket Science Laboratories and confirmed it as a production company.
Rocket Science Laboratories is behind reality shows such as Joe
Millionaire, Temptation Island, and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. In 2003
the company entered a multi-year overall production deal with the FOX
Broadcasting Company. Rocket Science Laboratories was founded by
partners Jean-Michel Michenaud and Chris Cowan. http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/111/111169.html
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"Walk through our national museums here in Washington, D.C., and you will get as good a snapshot of America as you can find anywhere in this country," Becerra said. "Yet the lessons of our history, art and culture are still incomplete. (The vote) by the House of Representatives was a critical step in ensuring that the mosaic portrayed in Washington’s museums truly reflects America." H.R. 2134 now moves to the Senate, where it has the bipartisan support
of 24 senators. However, it would have to be reintroduced under a new
Congress if not taken up during an expected lame-duck session in
mid-November. Once approved and signed by the president, the Commission
can begin to work on its report to Congress.
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Annual History Day is a nationwide history study program which starts in local schools, giving local historical societies an opening to promote the subject to youngsters. The competition progresses through county, state and national levels. It is a year-long program that fosters academic achievements and teaches students to develop skills in critical thinking and problem solving that will help them use information now — and in the future. History Day starts in local schools at the beginning of each school year. Competitions are held in February at the school level, in March at the county level, in May at the state level and in June at the national level. CCHS promotes History Day in California by evaluating student work that won at the county level and giving cash awards for outstanding work on a theme in California history. This is where local societies can play a big role.YOU can help your young people. As f inders and keepers of local history, go to your area schools and tell administrators and teachers about this program. Offer your resources, offer research knowledge and training, pull in professionals to volunteer their expertise, give awards and/or prizes and make students an important part of your society's or organization's activities.Your personal action is needed NOW to draw students into working on 2007's history competition. Your personal interest in students can draw them into history. They are the future of your societies, museums, preservation, archaeology and genealogy. Excerpts from the National History Day website:
During the 2006-2007 school year, National History Day invites students to research topics related to the theme, "Triumph & Tragedy in History." As is the case each year, the theme is broad enough to encourage investigation of topics ranging from local history to world history, and from ancient time to the recent past. Topics should be carefully selected and developed in ways that best use students' talents and abilities. Whether a topic is a well-known event of world history or focuses on a little-known individual from a small community, students should be careful to place their topics into historical perspective, examine the significance of their topics in history and show development over time. Studies should include an investigation into available primary and secondary research, an analysis of the materials and a clear explanation of the relationship of the topic to the theme, "Triumph & Tragedy in History." Students should pay special attention to the possibilities of triumph and tragedy within the same subject. Then, students may develop papers, performances, documentaries and exhibits for entry into National History Day competitions. As with any National History Day theme, this topic presents students with fascinating opportunities to explore history and to leam to use a wide range of primary and secondary sources. This year's theme also offers teachers an excellent entry into philosophical discussions about personal actions and responsibilities. The challenge for students engaged in a National History Day project with the theme of "Triumph & Tragedy in History" is to capture that specific moment in time in which change occurred that changed the course of events and forever altered history.
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Editor: National
History Day celebrated its 25th Anniversary this year, since the program
was first initiated as a means to raise the level of interest in history
for for both elementary and secondary students. A very easy way to get
involved is to offer a cash award for research of a Hispanic/Latino
nature. It can be done on the local, county, state, or federal
level. I hope some of you will consider that possibility.
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Outcome of Hispanic Heritage Month
Newspaper Lobby Display in Orange
Co. CA
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Editor: I am really
pleased to share with everyone the wonderful results from the heritage
display that I was responsible for putting together. It ran the full month
of Hispanic Heritage Month in the lobby of the Orange County Register, a
Freedom Publishers newspaper in Orange County, California.
The lobby is huge. I asked numerous other community
Hispanic organization to participate. Among the groups was the
Latino OC 100, in its first year of a 5-year project and sponsored
by Wells Fargo. As one of the 100, I felt Latino OC
100's involvement would help promote the concept of recognizing
local Hispanic leadership, for
the benefit of our youth. |
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With warm thanks to all the Participating groups: Amigas
de la Cultura, Latino Advocates for Education, Libreria Martinez, Los
Amigos of Orange Co., LULAC of Orange County, MANA of Orange Co., OC
Mexican American Historical Society, Society of Hispanic Historical and
Ancestral Research and Somos Primos. For more on the follow-up
project by Latino OC 100, click.
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 Kudos to American Express for their leadership and funding of preservation projects. Editor: I received a request to circulate information about voting for Angel Island to be selected to win the most votes and thus receive a sizeable contribution ($100,000) from American Express. The groups' goal is to build an immigration museum at Angel Island in San Francisco. I was asked to share the information and vote prior to the October 31st deadline. Although I voted in time, unfortunately, I received it after uploading the October issues of Somos Primos. I was not aware of American Express Partners in Preservation. I certainly recommend that any group in need of support for historical projects acquaint themselves with this possibility for financial support. http://www.partnersinpreservation.com The potential winners are quite diverse. It appears that community involvement counts a lot for getting preservation projects funded. However, looking at the list below, in a state of almost 50% Hispanics, one would assume more of the project would be historical sites of significance to Hispanics, and yet only two of the list might be construed as such. |
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| Partners in Preservation - San Francisco Bay Area Initiative,
Projects being considered http://www.partnersinpreservation.com/ |
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| San Francisco Japanese YWCA Building Fallon Building Murphy Windmill Roxie Film Center Haas Lilienthat House Bay view Opera House Spreckels Temple of Music San Francisco Streetcar #798 Tenderloin Facade & Neon Sign Improvement North Bay Outdoor Art Club Tomales Town Hall Angel Island Immigration Station Lyford House Saint Peter's Chapel |
East Bay Fox Oakland Theater Tiden Park Carousel Cleveland Cascade Park First Church of Christ, Scientist Berkeley City Club Richmond Municipal Natatorium Maritime Child Care Center South Bay Hakone Gardens Casa Grande Peninsula San Mateo Courthouse Pigeon Point Lighthouse Station |
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Support Guy Gabaldon Projects . . . .
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From California: Mimi: I received the poster you sent me in today's mail. I will frame it and take it with me to two gathering next month (the P-38 pilots gathering in Rancho Cordova and the Gray Eagles in South Sacramento). The Lockeed P-38 historian will probably show the poster at High Schools, WWII presentations and libraries exhibits around Sacramento. Receive my most deeply and sincere thanks for your effort. Yours, Sal Del Valle |
From Texas:
Hello dear friend who does so much to promote Hispanic diversity...
I am having the lithograph framed and the El
Paso County Commissioners Court will introduce a resolution recognizing
Guy and then it will be displayed at the Court. I am trying to get
it on Fort Bliss and the City. Met someone at the city who is
going to the Marine ceremony and she got excited, hope that makes things
move quicker. Will be in touch. Much love to you, Margie
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Mimi, Senator Dianne Feinstein sent me this letter regarding our request for Guy Gabaldon family to receive The Congressional Medal of Honor. I hope your readers keep writing to our Senators, Congressmen. Senator Feinstein was kind to send President George W. Bush White House address for us to write to him as well. Love, Mercy |
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Ode to Americans: Why are Americans so United? The article below was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title "C"ntarea Americii, meaning "Ode To America ") in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei? "The Daily Event" or "News of the Day". Sent by Jan Mallet jfmallet@socal.rr.com Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs. Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.? After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!" I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion... |
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Last Year . . . |
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Today, Department of Defense schools are showing diversity. I was happy to hear about my kids having to do a project: about Martin Luther king, about Nelson Mandela, learning about Latin countries, reading about the Alamo, learning that Hispanics were on both sides of the border, fighting each other, for the Alamo. Let's not stop there. We have to challenge our kids schools. Demand more from your schools. As we continue to grow as a country we have to teach our young, we have to show them our heritage. Stress the importance of who they are. where they come from. That color is not a hindrance but an opportunity. It's OK to be who they are. Being Bilingual is a bonus. We need to stop telling them NO they can't and encourage them. Tell them they can make it, they will make it, and to work hard. This needs to happen NOW. This is the future. Our kids are the FUTURE of America.. Our people. Learn about your heritage. Learn about your relatives that served before. Call your grandma that you take for granted. Call that Aunt you dislike and just say Hi. Ask your grandparents about their past. You'll see a world you never knew. This is not just a celebration of Hispanic Heritage. It's a celebration of American history. SK2(SW) Robert Gonzalez FISC Deployed Ship's Team LSR Robert_Gonzalez@yoko.fisc.navy.mil SIPR Gonzalez.Robert@CNRFE.NAVY.SMIL.MIL robert_gonzalez@yoko.fisc.navy.mil |
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Latino Civil Rights Timeline, 1903 to Present Sent by Howard Shorr howardshorr@msn.com http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=708&ttnewsletter= ttnewsgen-09212006 |
| NAHJ Frustrated by
Continued Exclusion of Latinos on Network News
National Association of Hispanic Journalists, October 19, 2006 The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is once again
frustrated by the lack of coverage of Latinos on the network evening
newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC. |
 October 11,
2006 Dear Mimi, I commend you for the work you have done for the Primos and the Spanish speaking people. I am sending you a copy of Justice For My People, the documentary about the origins of the American GI Forum and the remarkable life of our founder, Hector P. Garcia, the first civil right's leader in this country. My wife Isabelle and I have spent a lifetime working for
this organization. Sinceremente, |
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THIS IS TO INFORM YOU ABOUT THE VERY SIGNIFICANT DOCUMENTARY ON DR. HECTOR P. GARCIA, CALLED "JUSTICE FOR MY PEOPLE." HIS LIFE AND LEGACY AS THE FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN Gl FORUM HAS BEEN A LONG TIME IN COMING. THE ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE Gl FORUM IS IMPORTANT TO SHARE WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND ESPECIALLY STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS. THE CHILDREN OF THIS GENERATION MUST BE MADE AWARE OF THE HARDSHIPS THAT WERE ENDURED AND THE SACRIFICES THAT WERE MADE TO ASSURE THEIR FREEDOMS AND CIVIL RIGHTS. DR. GARCIA'S DEVOTION TO JUSTICE FOR MEXICAN AMERICANS/HISPANICS AFTER SERVING IN WORLD WAR II WAS UNPARALLELED. HIS ENTIRE LIFE WAS DEDICATED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF MEXICAN AMERICANS /HISPANICS. This 90-Minute documentary was produced by Jeff Felts of KEDT-TV in Corpus Christi, Texas. Six long years in the making, the documentary traces the rise of the Mexican American civil rights movement from the 1920s to 1980s through the ideals and actions of Dr. Hector P. Garcia...a true American hero. Editor: You will never forget it!! Prices for personal use: VHS broadcast version of the program, cost: $19.95 DVD version contains exclusive additional materials not available on the VHS version. Includes: extra interview clips, a look at Dr. Garcia archive, and features the making of the documentary. Cost: $24.95 Shipping costs: $5 first item, $7. two or more items. Mail to: Justice for my People Jeff Felts 4455 S. Padre Island Drive, Suite 38 1-800-307-5338 Corpus Christi, Texas 78411-4481 The price for the right to show the documentary in public and/or educational venues is $50. more per VHS or DVD. The website: http:// www.justiceformypeople.org has considerable materials supplemental to the documentary. Three levels of lesson materials have been developed for teacher use. Please review. If you live in the San Francisco area, you may want to contact Rick Leal, President of the Hispanic Medal of Honor Recipients. He was given the rights to show the film on a non-profit basis. Please contact him directly at GGR1031@aol.com or 415-487-7888. |
U.S. astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria Associated Press, October 23, 2006 Sent by Ray Gonzalez clearwaterr@earthlink.net MOSCOW - An unmanned Russian cargo ship carrying 2.76 U.S. tons of supplies, equipment and gifts blasted off Monday en route to the international space station, a space official said. The Progress M-58 mounted atop a Soyuz-U booster rocket lifted off at 5:41 p.m. from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and entered orbit about 10 minutes later, Federal Space Agency spokesman Valery Lyndin said. The ship was scheduled to reach the orbiting station Thursday evening, delivering fresh fruit and vegetables, compact discs and DVDs and other gifts to the station's current crew - U.S. astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, and German astronaut Thomas Reiter. |
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winning Scientists:
Luis Walter Alvarez |
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Intro to: Harvard committee recommends returning religion to curriculum Sent by JD Villarreal juandv@granderiver.net BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Harvard University, founded 370 years ago to train Puritan ministers, should again require all undergraduates to study religion, along with U.S. history and ethics, a faculty committee is recommending. The surprisingly bold recommendations come after years of rancorous internal debate over what courses should be required of all Harvard students. The current core curriculum has been criticized for focusing on narrow academic questions rather than real-world issues students would likely confront beyond the wrought-iron gates of Harvard Square. The report calls for Harvard to require students to take a course in "reason and faith," which could include classes on topics such as religion and democracy, Charles Darwin or a current course called "Why Americans Love God and Europeans Don't." "Harvard is no longer an institution with a religious mission, but religion is a fact that Harvard's graduates will confront in their lives," the report says, noting 94 percent of incoming students report discussing religion and 71 percent attend services. "As academics in a university we don't have to confront religion if we're not religious, but in the world, they will have to," Alison Simmons, a philosophy professor who co-chaired the committee, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. The report, which has been circulated to faculty and whose contents were first reported Wednesday by The Harvard Crimson student paper, also says Harvard students also "need to have an understanding of American history, American institutions, and American values," calling for a requirement to study the United States in a comparative context with other countries. | |
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Comcast Foundation
Supports LULAC's Education
of Latino Youth
Literacy Program to Launch in Targeted Communities PRNewswire, October 5, 2006 Sent by Zeke Hernandez zekeher@yahoo.com (Washington) - The Comcast Foundation announced a $50,000 grant for a literacy program to LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc. (LNESC). The LNESC is a national, non-profit, community-based organization established by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), whose mission is to educate and prepare America's future workforce through intensive educational programming and leadership development training. Support of LNESC's "Accelerated Program" reinforces Comcast's continued commitment to improving educational opportunities for the Hispanic community. Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgibin/prnh/20061005/PHTH037 The project will be implemented in three Comcast markets; the La Villita neighborhood in Chicago, IL; Balboa Park in San Francisco, CA; and Pueblo, CO. The "Accelerated Reader" program will serve approximately 180 participants, 90 elementary school children and 90 parents. LNESC's supplementary services are considered an integral part of the education system in these neighborhoods because they face high rates for poverty, school drop out, and unemployment. The "Accelerated Reader" program will be open to all elementary age students and their parents and will seek to accomplish the following three things: increase and sharpen basic computer skills and technological literacy of both parents and students through the use of specialized software and the Internet; improve reading skills, especially comprehension and retention; and develop and strengthen the educational partnership between students, parents, and schools. | |
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Latino Education: Adolescent Literacy By Manuel Hernandez-Carmona mannyh32@yahoo.com Educators agree that the best way to improve children’s ability to read is to provide texts that not only build up self-esteem but provide a personal mirror whereby students see themselves and interact with the text itself. Educators must have the right approach and the right text to encourage and not discourage children to become pro-active participants in an already competitive, global and cyber-tech society. Statistics, studies and research have reiterated time and time again that America’s children cannot read up to their grade given potential. The American Latino population continues to grow in unprecedented numbers, and the educational development of the largest minority in the United States cannot be taken for granted. We have tried everything with the newly arrived child and teen, and we have gained some ground. Yet The United States Department of Education has recognized its limitation to deal with the problem of adolescent literacy with all America's teens, "Despite significant public and private investments in research to identify effective strategies for teaching young readers, millions of high school youth-having made their way through the educational system without benefiting from these strategies-are currently reading at very low levels. Without the reading skills they need to access, comprehend, and apply the information obtained from text, these students are unable to fully participate and succeed in their classes and, far too often, fail or drop out of school" (United States Department of Education website, High School Initiative). While there is no doubt that young adults today are open to options, media moguls and entertainment industries have captivated their interest because they have offered them options. Education must meet the challenges that our children face today. It is our responsibility as teachers, administrators, parents and educational advocates to provide them with innovations in their educational experience. According to statistics by the Department of Education, only 17 percent of Hispanic fourth-graders read at their grade level. But the so-called literacy problem does not discriminate and all American children have been affected by the situation. Why not consider "minority or alternate texts" as a bridge to the American and British classics? If the school district has a strong minority population whether it is Latino, African-American or Asian then provide educators with a mirror to create a jump-off point to Shakespeare, Hemingway, Poe and Joyce. If 16% of the the school district's population is Latino, spend at least 10% of the alloted time for reading in the English classroom to reading American Latino/a writers and do the same with other minority literatures. It is simple English. Academic assimilation is a marathon not a one hundred-meter run. Adolescent literacy is in dire need of a vision; one which recognizes the true value of traditional literature and is receptive to the literary links that will make the reading and writing experience meaningful, valuable and enabling for our children. These are some facts stated by the United States Department of Education itself on its website: 1) An estimated one-third of students enter ninth grade with reading skills that are two or more years below grade level. 2) Twenty-eight percent of 12th-grade public school students – an estimated 800,000 students – scored below the "basic" level on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) 2002 reading assessment, meaning they could not demonstrate an overall understanding and make some interpretation of texts they were asked to read. Excluded from this count, of course, are the many students who drop out of high school prior to 12th grade and who also may have limited reading skills. 3) While the reading skills of elementary and middle school students have improved modestly over the past three decades, the reading skills of 17-year olds have not. The average scores of 9- and 13-year-olds on the 1999 NAEP long-term reading assessment were significantly higher than they were in 1971. The average score of 17-year olds, however, was no higher in 1999 than it was in 1971. The problem is evident. In some instances, there has been very little improvement in the last thirty years. Why not be part of the solution instead of dwelling on the problem? When our children look into a literary mirror, a whole new world of opportunities will open right before their very eyes. Content changes will encourage and motivate children to read and write and run faster towards further literary analysis. Education in America is at a crossroads; the shorter academic path will alleviate the problem but the correct path will help our children to have a literary encounter which will not only help them walk across bridge but will enable them to improve their reading and writing skills. (The author is a Latino literature consultant and author of the academically acclaimed textbook Latino/a Literature in The English Classroom and a high school teacher in Puerto Rico) |
| El Rincon de Ramon Ramon Moncivais rmoncivais@austin.rr.com Author, Beneath the Shadow of the Capitol I speak to area high school students on topics such as, drugs, drunk driving, teen pregnancy, physical assault etc. Not long ago, with the permission of a teacher I decided to hold a round table. I asked the teacher to give each student a sheet of paper and to have the student write down a question that was on their mind. they were instructed not to sigh their names. Both the teacher and I were amazed at how open they were. |
Texas Tejano.com Announces Student Essay, Poster & Coloring Contest Winners! (San Antonio, Texas) October 27, 2006 – Texas Tejano.com, a San Antonio-based research and publishing company is pleased to announce today the winners of the 3rd Annual Tejano Heritage Month Student Awards Contests! Held from September 5 through October 14, 2006, the Contest was open to students from throughout Texas. Entries poured in from across the Great State! "We have said all along that one of our main missions with Tejano Heritage Month is education," says Texas Tejano.com President and Founder Rudi R. Rodriguez. "With that in mind, we created the Student Awards Contest to engage the youths of our state and to get them thinking about and creating with this history for the first time. We want them to connect with Tejano history and try to get them interested in this history." The winners and their prize-winning submissions will be unveiled at a special ceremony at 10:00am, on Wednesday, November 1, 2006 at the main branch of the San Antonio Public Library (600 Soledad), a valued partner for this year’s Tejano Heritage Month celebrations. This year’s winners are: Coloring: "We are very, very pleased with this year’s contest and this year’s winners," says Rodriguez. "Everyone in the contest displayed the true legacy and history of Tejanos. This year’s contest was bigger and better than it has ever been before. We know that it will only grow bigger in the future." The winning entries will be available to view online
beginning November 1, 2006. For more information on Texas Tejano.com,
Tejano Heritage Month or any of our other projects, visit us online at www.TexasTejano.com.
Contact:RUDI R. RODRIGUEZ at 210.673.3584
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Kathleen Carrizal-Frye and her grand daughter Kristen Rawson were very busy in October doing presentations
in recognition of ElDia de los Muertos . . with displays, lectures, book reading, selling and the signing a book that the two authored together. Weslaco Historical Museum, Weslaco, TX Brownsville Historical Museum, Brownsville, TX Museum of South Texas History, Edenberg, TX Donna Hooks Fletcher Historical Museum, Donna, Texas Kathleen & Kirsten kec1952@sbcglobal.net Dia de los Muertos is traditionally observed on November 1st and 2nd. These demonstrations and the information from the book, Dia de los Muertos - Day of the Dead was to help and encourage others to honor their dead with altars. | |
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| http://enews.earthlink.net/article/ent?guid=20061014/453060c0_3421_ 1334520061014-1964648843 Sent by Ray Gonzalez clearwaterr@earthlink.net and Dorinda Moreno dorindamoreno@comcast.net -------------------------- Mimi, As you know I drove truck for many years, one day back in the late 60's, I was at the Houston Airport, flying back to the Bay Area, S.F. and there was this man with his guitar, he was a dark looking man, little did I know who he was, we talked, but never in our conversation did I ask his name. Shortly thereafter, I recognized his voice on the radio. Later I saw an 8 track cassette with his face on it. Then I knew that it was Freddy Fender I had talked to in Houston. A face I never forget, names I may, faces I don't. In my mind now I still see him as if it was just now. Ray Gonzalez clearwaterr@earthlink.net | |
| El MESICAN
SOONER Sent by Willie Perez gillermoperez@sbcglobal.net Several years ago I met Baldemar Huerta (aka Freddie Fender), and I asked him how he wanted to be remembered as or what his legacy to the world should be. He said, "Hell, man, I don't want to be remembered as a pioneer of anything because pioneers suffer a lot and others take the credit. I want to be remembered as the MEXICAN SOONER . . That is, I appeared in the musical scene 30 years before my time. I started singing in English 30 years sooner than most Mexicans were allowed to. I started breaking in to the music industry 30 years sooner than most Mexicans dream about it. I have had money, no money, had children, been without children, a welder, a mechanic, with friends, with no friends.. In short, I have done things my way and have led a full life. Now I am blessed with grandchildren and have no regrets about my life. I have been a part of everything I have seen. In short, I want to be remembered as el MESICAN SOONER . . . . HA, HA) . . HELL, I EVEN MADE MOVIES WITH ROBERT REDFORD AND OTHER BIG MOVIE STARS... I HAVE A PART OF EVERYTHING I HAVE SEEN...................PLEASE DO NOT CRY FOR ME . . . BUT CELEBRATE MY LIFE.....VAYA CON DIOS.....
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| California
Documentary Project "Romantico" Film Arts Foundation San Francisco Project director: Mark Becker 212/675-3924 mark@meteorfilms.org A documentary portrait of two undocumented Mexican musicians--Carmelo and Arturo--who support their families in Mexico by going from restaurant to restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District playing "romantica" music for tips. We follow both men as they struggle to make a living in San Francisco and intermittently visit their families in Mexico. The film aims to personalize the debate over U. S. immigration policies and to dramatize the plight of Mexican immigrants "Romantico" opens in New York City on Nov. 1, 2006 and in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in January 2007
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| California
Documentary Project: "Chicano Rock!" Chicano rock ‘n’ roll and its role in defining the Latino Community This 90-minute documentary tells the story of Chicano Rock ‘n’ roll and how it defined – and continues to define – the Latino community in East Los Angeles. "From Ritchie Valens to Los Lobos and beyond, we'll tell the story of kids from East Los Angeles who struggled to find a musical identity of their own, and succeeded," said filmmaker Jon Wilkman. Wilkman’s work has been honored with numerous awards, including three television Emmys. He and his wife, Nancy, are partners in Wilkman Productions, a documentary production company."The roots of Chicano rock ‘n’ roll can be traced to traditional barrios throughout the American Southwest, but most importantly, to the streets and neighborhoods of East Los Angeles, Wilkman said. "Kids from local schools, such as Garfield and Roosevelt High met, played music and began a musical dialogue with an emerging rock ‘n’ roll tradition. "Chicano rock ‘n’ roll is the sound of generation after generation, listening and absorbing, reacting and responding, searching for an finding an identity with music. "Chicano Rock! is a major untold California – and American – story," Wilkman added. "What we want to accomplish with this film is to convey the on-going interaction between art and social change through the words and experiences of members of the Chicano East Los Angeles community." Chicano Rock will be broadcast nationally on PBS. It will also be available in DVD format for use in schools. Wilkman said that a curriculum exploring the Mexican American experience through music has already been developed. | |
Who Was Roberto Félix Salazar? Is There a Foto of Him Anywhere? I am a picture researcher for McDougal Littell, national textbook publisher. In one of our forthcoming textbooks we are reprinting a poem by Roberto Felix Salazar. His poem, "The Other Pioneers," is quite famous, in that it is constantly being reprinted in textbooks. But no one knows who he is. My job is to find a photo of him to go with the poem--but I have never seen a photo of him. Mr. Salazar's poem was published in 1939 in a union magazine. It praises the achievement of early Latinos in settling the Southwest, and who have rarely been given credit for this. For all the popularity of this poem, its author appears in no reference book nor even in anthologies of Latino poetry. I am hoping that you might know someone who could provide me with some information on him. Salazar is originally from Laredo. That is all we know. I would appreciate any help you might give in this matter. Many thanks.. Phil Brantingham McDougal Littell, Box 1667 Evanston, IL 60204-1667 Phone: 847-424-3126 Sent by Dorinda Moreno dorindamoreno@comcast.net More information sent by Roberto R. Calderón: The poem was first published in 1939 in what's called here a "union magazine." In 1973, Philip D. Ortego aka Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, who's on this lista, edited the Chicano literature anthology "We Are Chicanos" (Washington Square Press), and included the poem, which has since been republished numerous times in countless textbooks apparently. | |
| Nuestra Familia
Unida Podcast Project The http://NuestraFamiliaUnida.com podcast project has several new audio file links this month. In the Comida section please listen to the Here On Earth podcasts of "Food of the Americas" and "Corn." In the Coyote section please listen to the "Rise and Fall of Salsa" and an "African Empire in the Americas." I've also been given permission to host an old entry which was previously available only via RealPlayer but now in MP3 format in the History section: "Medieval Spain's Golden Age of Enlightenment" which is about the time period Between 711 and 1492, when Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived side by side in medieval Spain and forged a golden age for each faith, making Spain the continent's commercial and cultural center while Europeans elsewhere were mired in the Dark Age. In the Oral History section Frank Moreno Sifuentes has submitted several new "Cuentos." In the Genealogia - Paises/Countries section there is an interesting account by Guillermo Castaneda Lee about his genealogical research in Guatemala. If you would like to get involved in helping with this project please join the Planning Committee for the Nuestra Familia Unida podcast project: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/podhi/ or contact: NFU@JosephPuentes.com Editor: Joseph also shared some exciting new projects concepts: There are three areas of the NFU podcast that I would like to develop into the main focus of the project: 1) the "Mujer" section that I want to continue to give examples of the contributions Women have made in our history. 2) the "Coyote" section that brings info about the presence of African Slaves and then African Citizens in Latin America 3) the "American Revolution" section because as I've experienced and I hear you say. . ."The American educational system is refusing to teach history as it actually happened."
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| Did You Know...The meaning of "La Raza" NCLR e-bulletin friends@nclr.org October 24, 2006 The term "La Raza" has its origins in early 20th century Latin American literature and translates into English most closely as "the people," or, according to some scholars, "the Hispanic people of the New World." The term was coined by Mexican scholar José Vasconcelos to reflect the fact that the people of Latin America are a mixture of many of the world's races, cultures, and religions. Some people have mistranslated "La Raza" to mean "The Race," implying that it is a term meant to exclude others. In fact, the full term coined by Vasconcelos, "La Raza Cósmica," meaning the "cosmic people," was developed to reflect not purity but the mixture inherent in the Hispanic people. This is an inclusive concept, meaning that Hispanics share with all other peoples of the world a common heritage and destiny. | |
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Mariano Leyva Dominguez |
| MARIANO HA DE ANDAR ALLA EN MICTLAN, TERRENO FINAL DE TODOS NUESTROS ANTEPASADOS. Luis Valdez, San Juan Bautista NOCHANTLAKATL TEKUITLANI MIAK CHIKAUALIZTLI IUAN UEKUALLI OTLI IKA MIKTLAN Mazatzin, Fresno, Aztlan CONMOVIDO POR LA PARTIDA DE MARIANO...UN ABRAZO A TODA LA FAMILIA, AMIGOS Y COMPAÑEROS Alejandro Stuart, Santiago, Chile (Mariano) help(ed) us understand the common struggles that we have in the U.S., Mexico and all of Latin America . Joaquin Aranda, Berkeley Mi querida Dorinda, Ay que Mariano - tan pronto te has ido! Como no, te pondremos tu puro, tu tequilita, tus dulces y te cantamos tus alabanzas de agradecimiento. Marina Elisa Alvarado, San Jose |
I can see him telling us to stay the course, work with the youth, find our voice, and to eat our 7 guerreros each day. Alan Gomez, Texas/Nueva York Dorinda, am editing a short interview I did with mariano about 2 years ago and if you know of a webpage that would host it, that would be terrific. avisame. alan We'll find him in our memories and see him in our dreams. Marcia Campos, Walnut Creek & Chile/Mexico DF Our prayers this Dia de las Animas...
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| Photographer: Alejandro Stuart, Chile.
From left to right: Mariano Leyva Dominguez, Los Mascarones, Mexico DF Adrian Vargas, Teatro de la Gente, San Jose Dorinda Moreno, Las Cucarachas, San Francisco | |
| Dia de Los Muertos Reseña de la muerte de Mariano de parte del companero: Abrahm Manuel Vidales Abrego Era las 13:15 hrs. Del viernes 27 de octubre de 2006, cuando recibí la llamada de José Manuel Galván (el Topo), dándome la triste noticia, Mariano Leyva acababa de fallecer. De inmediato me puse en contacto con todos los compañeros que lo habían conocido (¿todos?, ¡Imposible!), salí del trabajo a la hora de la comida y avisé que no volvería en la tarde, llegué a casa y de inmediato transmití la noticia por la Internet, me puse de acuerdo con el Topo para asistir juntos a Ocotepec. Al llegar a Ocotepec, ya era de noche y una leve llovizna cubría el lugar, dentro de la pirámide principal que había construido Mariano en lo que se denominara la Universidad Náhuatl o mejor conocido como las Pirámides de Ocotepec, entramos; El lugar se encontraba brumoso por el incienso y el copal, en un costado de la estancia y estaba el féretro sobre una tarima que hiciera también las funciones de escenario, en el lugar había más de un centenar de personas, mudos espectadores de la última representación que hiciera Mariano; en un sillón medio escondido se encontraba Isabel, la última compañera de Mariano, quien lo acompañara en los últimos momentos de vida, la saludamos y nos contó sobre el deceso de Mariano. El día anterior hasta antes de las 4 de la tarde, Mariano estaba jovial, dicharachero y acaparador de las conversaciones, como de costumbre, después de la comida Mariano se sintió mal y así siguió, hasta las madrugada momento en que decidieron llamar a una ambulancia, en el hospital le diagnosticaron una disfunción renal y sobrevino el paro cardiaco a las 11 de la mañana de ese día 27 de octubre; Mariano había sobrevivido a dos ataques cardiacos, motivo por el cual había estado en tratamiento médico, mismo que había abandonado un meses antes, ya que se sentía muy bien y los exámenes clínicos que le habían echo no mostraban anomalías, también nos contó que Mariano se había deprimido mucho el 2 de octubre. Le dimos el pésame (se notaba cansada pero tranquila), nos dirigimos a otro lugar de la estancia donde se encontraba Lourdes Pérez Gay, la excompañera de Mariano en la época de los cambios mas violentos que se dieron en México, ella estuvo a su lado en 68, en el 1971, también estaba Fernando Hernández (El Fantasma), Eduardo López Martínez (El Guajolote), habíamos llegado en el carro de Lili Aparicio Hoyo, José Manuel Galván y Mercedes Nieto, en total, de la segunda generación de Mascarones nos encontrábamos 6 de los integrantes. Una veintena de danzantes Prehispánicos, ataviados con ropas de diferentes estados de la República Mexicana y con motivos luctuosos, empezaron la ceremonia con danzas pidiendo permiso a los 4 puntos cardinales y los dos vectores, El norte, El sur, El Oriente, El Poniente, Al Padre Sol y a la Madre Tierra. El tañir de los tambores y la danza me alejaron del lugar para traer a mis recuerdos el estudio donde ensayamos la huida de Quetzalcoatl, era un estudio de baile donde daba clases Andrés Segura, un compañero por mas enigmático, recio y conocedor de la filosofía indígena, General de los danzantes, el grado mas alto que existe entre ellos, Andrés Segura estuvo innumerables veces en Austria reclamando al gobierno, la devolución del penacho de Moctezuma, ahí vi por primera vez a Mariano humilde ante la presencia de Andrés Segura, sin embargo la presencia de Mariano se engrandecía en el escenario. Mi conciencia regresa al tañir de los tambores cuando observo a una mujer blanca de cabellos amarillos que baila muy cerca de donde me encuentro, si bien no sigue todos los pasos, es bien cierto que algunos de los danzantes tampoco lo hace, sin embargo el recinto se llena de energía que inexplicablemente me empieza a hacer sudar, y trae a mi recuerdo que Mariano nos hablaba en las últimas entrevistas que tuvimos acerca de la energía cósmica y de las costumbres de nuestros antepasados, recuerdo haberle comentado que no entendía lo que me explicaba pero que era innegable el hecho de que nos encontrábamos en una época en donde era importante recordar las costumbres de nuestros antepasados, pero que no podíamos vivir basados en el pasado, no obstante llamaba fuerte mi atención el hecho de que sociedades llamadas del primer mundo como los Franceses, los Ingleses, los Americanos se acercaran a entender y revivir nuestras tradiciones indígenas. Mariano había dando clases en la Preparatoria Popular en 1969, como maestro, formado el grupo Emiliano Zapata, grupo al cual yo me había integrado por mis inquietudes artísticas, además de encontrar una nueva forma de continuar la lucha que la Preparatoria había iniciado con la educación popular, el grupo me daba una manera de transmitir mensajes revolucionarios, culturales y hacer conciencia a nuestro pueblo, Mariano nos metía en una extraordinaria dinámica con su conocimiento, con su pasión por un cambio social; en 1969, Mariano coordinó y dirigió el montaje de "Volveremos", una puesta en escena basada en consignas del movimiento estudiantil de 1968, que se conjuntaba con canciones y cuadros teatralizados que habíamos llevado a la escena en la practica de la creación colectiva, fue la contestación al gobierno a pocos meses de la masacre del 2 de octubre de 1968, fuimos el primer grupo cultural que habló de dicha masacre llevando el mensaje de lo que había sucedido en ese fatídico día, se llevó el mensaje a las escuelas, a los sindicatos de trabajadores, a los campesinos y al extranjero, eso cambio definitivamente mi vida, mi forma de entender a la sociedad y al mundo, a tomar conciencia de la necesidad de un cambio social, situación que no fue solo mía ya que la mayoría de ellos aún sigue este camino. En este sentido Mariano fue un gran formador de conciencias. Eran las 2 de la mañana, casi todos los dolientes se habían retirado, nos encontrábamos menos de 10 o 12 personas, cuando Eduardo López, pulsó la guitarra y empezó a cantar "Hasta Siempre Comandante", nos acercamos haciendo telón teatral a Eduardo, Lili, Fantasma, Topo Mercedes y Yo, ante su féretro y frente a un cuadro que le pintara Martha Ramírez, parecía mirarnos y reprobar las equivocaciones te teníamos cuando tratamos de representar la muerte de Emiliano Zapata, (canción anónima que teatralizáramos), algunas canciones que compusiera Edupos, (El Guajolote) y que nosotros no conocíamos, después... el dolor lo embargo y con un nudo en la garganta, todos nos retiramos. Me acerque al féretro, una sabana blanca lo cubría, solo el rostro se encontraba descubierto, con una expresión de paz, de tranquilidad, ligeramente delgado a como lo recordara, algunas canas asomaban en el lado izquierdo de su bigote zapatista, bigote que lo acompañara desde que lo conocí y que nunca se quitara, entre mi empecé a platicar con él, "Pinché Mariano, tenias pacto con Dorian Grey, carajo, no envejeces, las arrugas de tu cara son muy leves y yo me tengo que teñir ya el pelo porque lo tengo completamente blanco y eso que soy menor que tu, por lo menos 15 años, y ahora ¿qué sigue?, ya pasaste la estafeta, dejaste un reguero de conciencias abiertas, por lo que a mi respecta, ¡Gracias!, gracias por haberme dado una conciencia de vida, gracias por haberme marcado un camino, se que cometiste muchos errores, pero también cometiste grandes aciertos, y eso es lo que te hace un ser humano y te engrandece mas aún el haber levantado conciencia en nuestro pueblo y haber dejado en la conciencia de todo el que conociste la semilla de la rebeldía, gracias por los conocimientos que compartiste con todo aquel que se acerco a ti; gracias Mariano, tu paso en esta vida no fue inútil y tus enseñanzas muchos las estamos llevando a cabo, no vemos Mariano, nos vemos allá, en el Mictlan, DESCANZA EN PAZ. Abraham Manuel Vidales Abrego 29 de octubre de 2006. Nina Sahagun will be setting up an altar honoring Mariano Leyva at the Crossroads en Santa Monica. For location information on ofrendas honoring Mariano Leyva , please contact Dorinda Moreno | |
| National Latina Business Women Association
FIRST ANNUAL conference. Save the Date: Helping Build the Latina Business Woman Thursday November 16, The Queen Mary 1126 Queens Highway Long Beach, CA 90802-6390 For information, click. |
| Abstracts
from:
Home-building boom relies on illegal workers By Sanjay Bhatt, Seattle Times staff reporter Sent by Howard Shorr howardshorr@msn.com When thousands of Seattle-area Latinos stayed away from their jobs May 1 to take part in a nationwide show of support for immigrants in the work force, the largest housing- construction project in all of King County became a ghost town. The next day, the sprawling job site in the foothills of the Cascades was abuzz again with activity: Mexican workers were hanging heavy sheets of drywall while crews listening to Spanish radio installed cabinets and painted the walls of million-dollar homes with views of the Seattle skyline. Latino immigrants have become essential to builders at Issaquah Highlands and at other nonunion job sites across Puget Sound during the biggest wave in home construction in decades. Locally, many inspectors, construction foremen and union organizers estimate that in the last few years they have come to represent anywhere from half to 90 percent of the work force at residential job sites in the Puget Sound region. They dominate unskilled-labor crews and are prevalent among drywallers, framers, roofers and other semiskilled trades. And it's an open secret that many of these workers are here illegally. Exactly how many illegal immigrants are working in the regional construction industry is nearly impossible to determine because most conceal their true immigration status, for fear of being deported. Using census data, the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group in Washington, D.C., estimates that nationwide about one in five illegal residents works in construction - five times the number working in farm jobs. Prospective workers need only show a Social Security card - fake ones can be bought on the street for $200 - and a driver's license. Washington state is one of 10 states where immigrants can get a driver's license without proving they're here legally. The construction industry, led by the Associated General Contractors of America and the National Association of Home Builders, opposes any national policy that would deport vast numbers of illegal immigrants, saying they help alleviate a chronic shortage of workers. "I don't know where they think these workers would come from if we didn't have Latinos to do the work," said Bill Cowin, president of Ketchikan Drywall, one of the largest drywall contractors in Washington. "They don't mind doing the manual work, whereas my son wants to run a computer." But some economists also say that if wages were higher, there might not be a shortage of workers. The laws of supply and demand dictate that average wages should rise during a labor shortage. But for three consecutive years - even as housing starts nationwide have risen - the average wage for construction workers, after adjusting for inflation, has fallen. "If we don't turn this thing around, what's going to happen is construction jobs won't be jobs that pay good, livable wages," Joe Mailloux, West Seattle, owners of Drywall Wizards, said. "Only people in their 20s and 30s will be doing them or those willing to live as an underclass." For illegal immigrants, building a house may pay more than picking fruit, but there are risks: The work can be dangerous, and a here-today, gone-tomorrow contractor can exploit their illegal status, cheating them out of wages or forcing them to work when injured. When that happens, few seek recourse, largely to avoid being ousted to immigration authorities and deported. How it came to be: Since the early 20th century, the United States has welcomed Mexican workers to fill labor shortages during economic booms and sent them packing during economic busts. During and after World War II, the U.S. government admitted more than 4 million Mexicans to work for several months at a time on farms and in other industries. Though that guest-worker program ended in 1964, Mexicans continued to come here, many illegally, in search of better-paying work. In 1980, only 6 percent of construction workers were Hispanic, but their presence grew steadily over the next two decades, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, the majority from Mexico. They settled in border states like California and Texas, sending billions of dollars back home and serving as a job-referral network for relatives in Mexico. Those informal networks played a key role as the pace of home building accelerated across the country and region in the 1990s. The housing boom - and the entry-level jobs it spawned - helped draw illegal immigrants away from a half-dozen traditional hubs to cities farther away, altering the face of communities that once had few immigrants, says Jeffrey Passel, a senior research associate at Pew Hispanic Center. From 2000 to 2005, as the number of housing starts skyrocketed nationally, Hispanic workers met the demand for labor, filling more than two of every 10 construction jobs. The numbers are higher in border states and cities with large immigrant communities. "There's just so much need for good help," said Verne Woolley, general manager of Aero Construction, a Snohomish ground-clearing contractor with more than 200 employees. "More and more I'm coming back to my Mexican gentlemen and asking, 'Do you have any family anywhere?' " "I've got almost entire families working for us," Woolley said. "They keep bringing people, and they're good help." Escape from Mexico: Among the Latino drywall workers who've worked at Issaquah Highlands is Adrian Quiñones, 31, who grew up on a farm in the Mexican town of Durango, a few hundred miles south of El Paso, Texas. Durango's setting between the Sierra Madres and the Chihuahuan Desert made it a popular backdrop for Hollywood Westerns in the 1950s. But the reality behind the scenes was that Quiñones and his family could barely survive on the corn and beans their small farm produced. Like thousands of young, poor Mexicans, Quiñones walked through the desert in an attempt to cross illegally into the United States, finally succeeding in 1989 on his fourth try. He entered near Nogales, Ariz., and obtained a false Social Security number and driver's license. He eventually came to Washington state because he had a sister and brother living here. For the past eight years he's worked for an Issaquah drywall company that employs about 150 Mexicans. His crew has done homes at Issaquah Highlands. Just as poverty pushes many Mexicans to seek work here, employers pull them in as well, sometimes recruiting workers through family members or illegal labor brokers. Bob Esparza, a construction inspector for the Department of Labor and Industries, says these labor brokers, or "coyotes," are usually bilingual Latinos who bring workers here from south of the border, house them, shuttle them to job sites and pay them. "I have been screaming that for years," said Tacoma attorney Betsy Rodriguez, who represents illegal immigrants in wage and injury claims against employers. "They don't come! They are brought!" Brokers often can evade scrutiny on big construction sites, where a builder typically has numerous subcontractors, each of whom may - unbeknownst to the contractor - farm out parts of a job to still other subcontractors. That structure naturally pushes down - and can intentionally be used to obscure - responsibility for wages, taxes and liability, Esparza said. Who's the employer? One of attorney Betsy Rodriguez clients was an illegal immigrant from Mexico named Anastacio Rueda Galicia, whose case offers a window into how the labor-broker system creates confusion, obscuring who actually hired a worker and thus is liable, as his employer, if the worker is injured on the job. The case began in 2001, when Galicia fell from scaffolding at a Ketchikan Drywall job site in Carnation, fractured his skull and was treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He filed a worker's compensation claim with the Department of Labor and Industries against Ketchikan Drywall, which challenged it, saying Galicia wasn't its employee. Galicia and other illegal immigrants testified before the state's Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals that their supervisor, David Jones, had recruited them from other states and moved them into a house in Bothell run by Jones' brother-in-law. Galicia said he worked 12-hour days, six days a week, for which Jones paid him between $4 and $7 an hour in cash, once a month. Galicia and the others testified that Jones told them they worked for Ketchikan Drywall. They picked up sheets of drywall from Ketchikan's warehouse, hung them at Ketchikan job sites with Ketchikan's tools and were supervised by Jones and his brother-in-law, both Ketchikan employees, according to court testimony. But Ketchikan Drywall's president, Cowin, said he did not hire Galicia and did not give Jones, a Ketchikan foreman, permission to hire anyone on Ketchikan's behalf. Judge James Hickman of the state board ruled that while Ketchikan ultimately received the benefit of Galicia's labor, there was no hard evidence that Ketchikan was Galicia's employer or knew of him. Hickman concluded that Jones had hired the illegal workers and therefore was their employer. He ordered Jones to pay premiums and penalties to the state for not reporting Galicia as his employee. Jones did not respond to numerous requests for comment. Hickman called Jones' conduct reprehensible, saying that "by all accounts, Mr. Jones engaged in a scheme whereby he brought undocumented workers to this area, provided them with forged or otherwise falsified documentation for a fee, housed them with his brother-in-law (also for a fee), and skimmed at least a portion of their wages for his own benefit." Galicia appealed the judge's finding and lost. His illegal status having been divulged, he was also deported. Jones is still an employee of Cowin. He keeps Jones on the payroll, Cowin said, because "he can speak Spanish and helps me with my Latino work force." Effect on wages, profits: Is the influx of illegal immigrants in the construction industry driving wages down for native-born workers? Economists are divided over that question, but most studies - including one this year by Giovanni Peri at the University of California, Davis - suggest that immigration has depressed wages slightly, anywhere from 1 to 5 percent, among native-born workers with little education and few skills. More educated native-born workers' wages are not affected or slightly increase. Economist Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., liberal research group says the story of declining wages for construction workers is less about immigrants and more about contractors and builders having gained the upper hand over unions. In 1973, 40 percent of construction workers were unionized, he said. Today, organized labor's share of the industry work force has fallen to 13 percent. Wooing immigrants: With their national memberships at new lows, construction unions are taking a new attitude toward illegal immigrants: If you can't beat them, get them to join. Many Latino workers, suspicious of labor unions in their homelands, have shied away from unions here. One of the region's largest, the 8,000-member Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, had only a handful of Latino members 10 years ago. For the past eight years, it has been educating immigrants about their rights and being an advocate for them when they don't get paid, says organizer Clark Gilman. The union also has hired organizers who speak the language of Latino workers. "I know what it is when somebody owe you $1,000, when you don't have the money to pay your rent," said one such organizer, Jose Angel Juarez. "I know how it is to live with fear." Slowly, in small numbers that now total about 500, they began to join the fold, Gilman said. There was a time during the region's population boom in the 1950s and '60s when unions were building entire housing subdivisions. They began to lose ground in the late 1970s. The union made a mistake, Gilman says, when it began ignoring residential projects in favor of commercial jobs and big public works such as freeway ramps, new community colleges and the Kingdome. Many homebuilders switched to nonunion labor. And when interest rates soared in the early 1980s, construction slowed, more workers lost jobs and builders gained the power to dictate wages in home construction, Gilman said. The pay disparity between union and nonunion labor has since grown enormous. Wage complaints filed by immigrants show them working as drywall tapers in nonunion jobs for as little as minimum wage to $20 an hour, depending on skill level, often without health or pension benefits. Union-scale pay, often a requirement of public works, runs considerably higher, in part because it includes a benefits package. Gilman mocks the argument some builders put forth that immigrants are doing jobs Americans don't want. "There aren't enough American citizens willing to live eight people to an apartment for $60 a day working six 10-hour days a week," Gilman said. Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or sbhatt@seattletimes.com |
| Introduction to article: In
the wake of Katrina, thousands of Spanish-speaking people are migrating to
New Orleans, drawn by the dream of a better life. Oct 8, 2006 By Mark Waller http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index2.ssf?/base/news- 6/1160288005322150.xml&coll=1#continue Sent by Bill Carmena Daniel Flores, a native Honduran and newcomer to the New Orleans area, leaves the grousing about the pace of hurricane recovery to Louisianans. From his perspective, the post-Katrina saga is one of remarkable progress and considerable hope. He was a teenager in Honduras when Hurricane Mitch devastated that country in 1998. He witnessed the destruction and joined his Boy Scout troop in helping rescue people from inundated neighborhoods. Eight years later, survivors of Mitch still live in the streets in Honduras, he said. "Here in New Orleans, it's been only one year, and look at this: The streets are fixed; people are rebuilding houses," said Flores, who was interviewed through a translator. "We're in America, and things work here. The government may be slow sometimes, but it works." Flores, 25, arrived in the United States five years ago. In June, he moved from North Carolina to Metairie after hearing about jobs in the Hurricane Katrina recovery, and he found work painting houses. As proof of his optimism, he sent for his wife and daughter, who remained in North Carolina, and they joined him in July. They represent a development that grows clearer as more time passes since Katrina: Some of the Hispanic people who streamed into the New Orleans area for work, at first joining what looked like a temporary surge of arrivals who would leave to chase the next storm, are finding more opportunity than despair in the recovery and they are choosing to stay. And new additions to the area's Hispanic community -- from blue-collar laborers to contractors and small business owners -- continue to arrive. A study by Tulane University and the University of California at Berkeley found almost half the recovery construction work force in the New Orleans area to be Hispanic. And among workers who have been here at least six months, 65 percent reported they plan to settle here permanently. Most workers came from other states, not directly from their home countries. For workers like Flores, who has a reliable job with a contractor and speaks some English, or those who are long established in the United States and can buy houses and bring their families, the prospect of sinking roots in the New Orleans area is within easy reach. The day laborers who gather at corners, gas stations or home supply store parking lots waiting for contractors to arrive in trucks and take them to job sites face greater uncertainty. They wire money back home and might like to bring their families here, but doing so means overcoming considerable obstacles. For the migrant laborers, more than half of whom are undocumented according to the Tulane-Berkeley study, the promise of plentiful and high-paying jobs doesn't translate into an easy life. They pack into small apartments, sleep on cots in a church shelter or become squatters in abandoned buildings. Contractors sometimes skip out on paying them. They have little access to health care if they get sick or injured. The specter of immigration enforcement is a constant threat. 100,000 newcomers A U.S. Census Bureau survey of hurricane-affected Gulf Coast communities suggested an influx of almost 100,000 Hispanics in the four months after Katrina. The survey also found a slight rise in Hispanics in New Orleans and surrounding parishes, to just above 6 percent. "In some ways, New Orleans is just catching up with a trend that's happening in every other city in the country," said Elizabeth Fussell, a Tulane sociologist. "Katrina has put us on the national map." Construction jobs are the primary mode of entry for immigrants throughout the country, Fussell said. New Orleans is suddenly producing a profusion of such jobs. Like all aspects of the fluid and hard-to-measure post-storm population, definitive numbers are elusive, but the evidence that Hispanic laborers have become a fact of life at construction sites across the city is irrefutable.
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| Abstract: Aetna Announces New Alliance with Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Business Editors/Education Editors Sent by John Schmal John.P.Schmal@mhn.com HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 2006--Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced a formal alliance with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). HACU leaders will present the benefits of this alliance to its membership at HACU's 20th annual conference on Oct. 28 in San Antonio, Texas. HACU is a non-profit organization representing more than 450 colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. Its member institutions collectively enroll more than two-thirds of all U.S. Hispanics in higher education. As a result of this alliance, Aetna will become HACU's health partner and will provide online health information to member schools through a link to Aetna's InteliHealth website, executive mentors and guest speakers for HACU events, and financial support for HACU's annual conference. This alliance is Aetna's latest initiative focused on gaining knowledge and building relationships within the nation's Latino community. The health insurer's strategic vision includes strengthening relationships with Hispanic organizations throughout the country by offering a wide variety of affordable health benefits products designed to meet the unique needs of racial and ethnic minority populations. The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) was established in 1986 with a founding membership of eighteen institutions. Today, HACU represents more than 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Although their member institutions in the U. S. represent less than 10% of all higher education institutions nationwide. HACU is the only national educational association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). HACU is a non-profit organization committed to assuring higher education access and success for Hispanic students. For more information, visit http://www.hacu.net |
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Disease tracker
wants to rewrite Mexican history
Houston Chronicle, October 14, 2006 Sent by Howard Shorr howardshorr@msn.com MEXICO CITY — Here's what history tells us about the Spanish conquest of Mexico: Armed with modern weapons and Old World diseases, several hundred Spanish soldiers toppled the Aztec empire in 1521. And by the end of the century, the invaders' guns, steel and germs had wiped out 90 percent of the natives. It's a key piece of the "Black Legend," the tales of atrocities committed by the Spanish Inquisition and colonizers of the New World. But it may be just that — legend, according to Rodolfo Acuña-Soto, a Harvard-trained epidemiologist. He argues that an unknown indigenous hemorrhagic fever may have killed the bulk of Mexico's native population, which plummeted from an estimated 22 million in 1519, when the Spaniards arrived, to 2 million in 1600. And he warns that the fever — which the Aztecs called cocoliztli in their Nahuatl language — may still be lurking in remote rural areas of Mexico. Not everyone buys the theory. But Acuña-Soto, who spent 12 years poring over colonial archives, census data, graveyard records and autopsy reports, is convinced that many historians are wrong about what killed the Aztecs. "The problem with history is that it's very ideological," he said. "In this case, it was a beautiful way of accusing the Spaniards of unimaginable cruelties and of decimating the population of Mexico." Spanish colonizers were far from blameless, he quickly points out. By subjecting the Indians to slave-like conditions and malnutrition, they made them more vulnerable to the disease, he said. "Of course, there's a terrible story of cruelty and disease that killed a huge amount of indigenous people," he said. "But we don't know what this disease was." Acuña-Soto, who has published his findings in several international scholarly journals, is a research professor at Mexico's National Autonomous University. Three major epidemics together make up what he calls the "megadeath." Most scholars agree that the first bout, from 1519 to 1521, was caused by smallpox brought over by the Spaniards and to which the natives had no resistance. The disease, characterized by high fevers and pustules on the skin, may have killed as many as 8 million Indians in Mexico. But Acuña-Soto claims another two epidemics in 1545 and 1576 were caused by an even more gruesome and lethal disease. The first killed between 7 million and 17 million people, and the second wiped out another 2 million, or half the remaining population, he said. His arguments are largely based on a first-person account by Francisco Hernandez, the personal physician to King Phillip II of Spain, who witnessed the 1576 epidemic. The symptoms he described did not sound to Acuña-Soto like any of the usual suspects — smallpox, measles or typhus. "Blood flowed from the ears and in many cases blood truly gushed from the nose," the royal doctor wrote in Latin to a friend. "The fevers were contagious, burning and continuous, all of them pestilential, in most part lethal." "The tongue was dry and black," he went on. "Urine of the colors of sea-green, vegetal green and black." The text, which disappeared for centuries before turning up in 1954, has only recently been cited by scholars. And differences among translations have fueled the historic debate. If cocoliztli had been a hemorrhagic fever, Acuña-Soto reasons, Spaniards could not have brought it with them. Hemorrhagic diseases — which include such terrifying killers as Ebola and the Marburg and Lassa fevers — do not readily pass from one person to another. Not everyone is convinced. "The disease came from animals that didn't exist in the Americas," said Elsa Malvido, a Mexican colonial historian who has spent 40 years tracing the origins of the diseases that decimated the Aztecs. She argues that the later epidemics were caused by bubonic plague carried to Mexico by black rats aboard the Spanish galleons. She cites indigenous codices that describe a plague of rats preceding the epidemics. However, Malvido acknowledged, "As long as I don't have a skeleton to extract DNA, of course, these are all hypotheses." Acuña-Soto counters that the disease doesn't fit the pattern of bubonic plague, which he said tends to spread inland from coastal areas and kills a minority of those infected. In contrast, he said, cocoliztli originated in central Mexico City and had the most devastating impact in the highlands. The later epidemics coincided with two major droughts, which may have magnified the impact of the disease, he said. Acuña-Soto is also working on another controversial theory: That a native hemorrhagic disease may have triggered the collapse of the Maya civilization in the 9th century. "While his argument for Mexico seems to make some sense, it certainly doesn't explain the rest of the continent," said Thomas M. Whitmore, an American geologist and the author of a book on epidemics in colonial Mexico. However, Whitmore added, "It certainly is possible." Acuña-Soto acknowledges that proving his theories won't be easy. "Nobody who's alive has seen something similar, so we have to work with descriptions," he said. He thinks he has identified at least 27 smaller outbreaks of cocoliztli, including one in 1738 that devastated a mission in San Antonio, now a part of Texas. It killed all but 182 of the 837 residents, according to two Franciscan missionaries. The latest record of such a disease was in 1928 in Mexico City, Acuña-Soto said. "Is it going to come back?" he said. "That's the big question."
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Military and Law Enforcement Heroes |
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Military Contributions of the Gutierrez family to the U.S. by Yolanda Ochoa Soldier loses leg in search for missing soldiers Dia de los Muertos display honoring Daniel r. Carrizal Immigrants Find Military a Faster Path to Citizenship Photo Feature Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez D-Day, Normandy and Beyond Puerto Ricans in the Military |
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Pfc. U.S. Army Private Joshua Gutierrez | |
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| Pfc. U.S. Army Private Infantry Specialist serving out of Fort Benning, Georgia Bravo 1-329, Infantry 3rd Platoon. | |
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Bravo 1-329, Infantry
The Story - Military Contributions of the Gutierrez family
to the U.S. |
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In Generational order: |
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I have been researching my family history for over 8 years and have
discovered that my family has served their country proudly through their
service in the United States military across several generations. I have
to thank my mother Lilly and her 10 brothers and sisters for inspiring me
collect and write about their stories. |
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 Chico Gutierrez and Lilly Gutierrez Ochoa |
Lilly Gutierrez Ochoa is the mother of Yolanda Ochoa. Yolanda is a board member of the Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research. She has done extensive research on her lines, traveling back to Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico.Yolanda stated, "Where I did my mother's family research was Ayotlan. The town was originally called "Ayo El Chico," but was changed sometime during the 1950's to Ayotlan. My Mom had never been to Mexico before that Genealogy adventure." Chico and Lilly are standing in front of the Luna Road street sign. Luna Rd was named after Chico and Lilly's maternal grandfather, Francisco D. Luna who was an original pioneer of Imperial Valley, California.
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Joshua’s father Alfred, who recently passed away in September, served in
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Soldier loses leg in search for missing soldiers By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes, Mideast edition, Wednesday, June 21, 2006 Sent by SHHAR Board member, Yolanda Ocha Hussey, who writes: Joshua is the grandson of my mother's brother Chico Job Gutierrez. Joshua's father (my 1st cousin), Fred Gutierrez was also in the Marines.
"They’re soldiers," said an emotional Gutierrez from a bed in the intensive care unit at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. "Just like me. They’re soldiers. Just like me." Gutierrez was one of 12 troops wounded in the search for Menchaca and Tucker, who went missing Friday near Youssifiyah, Iraq, in an apparent kidnapping by heavily armed insurgents. The bodies of Menchaca and Tucker were recovered Tuesday near where they were captured, U.S. and Iraqi military officials said. Gutierrez, with 1st Platoon "Punishers," Company A, 1st Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, was part of a massive search for the two missing soldiers that involved more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops. The 24-year-old Gutierrez, of Mira Loma, Calif., was driving a Bradley early Saturday morning during the search north of Iskandariyah when it hit what he thinks was either a mine or improvised bomb. Initially, Gutierrez thought he was going to burn to death. He was trying to open the ramp to let soldiers in the back out of the Bradley. "I was basically yelling because the cockpit was on fire," he said. "My driver’s area was on fire. I was like, ‘Get me out of here. I can’t move.’ I couldn’t push up. I could grip the handle [on the hatch], but I couldn’t push up because it weighs about 150 pounds. Usually, I use my legs to help push it up, but my legs were broken. I didn’t know they were broken at the time." The gunner on the Bradley — a fellow specialist — jumped out of his seat, opened the hatch and pulled out Gutierrez. Gutierrez heard the specialist might get a Bronze Star Medal for saving him. "I hope he does," Gutierrez said. "He deserves it. He pulled me out. I just want to tell him I love him; you’re my brother. He pulled me out of the fire."
Gutierrez, who had just learned that the bodies of
Menchaca and Tucker had been found, had a message for their
families. "I’d just like to tell them that their
efforts and their courage and bravery is not in vain,"
Gutierrez said. "There’s a reason "They did not die in vain," he said. © 2006 Stars and Stripes. All Rights Reserved.
Joshua, his wife Valerie and
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| Farewell Marine Very moving photo documentary written by Sandra Lee (James) Gilcher who resides in Yakima, Washington, Proud Mother of a United States Marine. Dedicated to the 26 Marines and 1 Sailor, of the 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment stationed out of Kaneohe Bay, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and 4 Marine aircrew members of HMH-361 stationed out of Miramar, California. 31 heroes we lost in a helicopter crash near Ar Rutbah, Iraq on January 26, 2005, and in honor of those Marines who will carry on. Produced by Julie Sharp, who now resides in Tucson, Arizona, Proud Mother of a United States Marine. Sent by Willie Perez gillermoperez@sbcglobal.net http://www.yellowribbongreetings.us/farewellmarine.html |
Immigrants find military a faster path to citizenship By James Pinkerton, james.pinkerton@chron.com Houston Chronicle, Sept 14, 2006 Sent by Zeke Hernandez zekeher@juno.com SAN JUAN, TEXAS - A record number of immigrants are becoming U.S. citizens by serving in the armed forces. Some are granted citizenship posthumously after they are killed in battle. But most survive the perils of war and soon pledge allegiance to the red, white and blue. More than 25,000 immigrants have become citizens and another 40,000 have become eligible for citizenship through the military since President Bush signed an executive order in July 2002 speeding the process. "We've had a record surge of applications," said Dan Kane, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Washington. Immigrants "can apply for citizenship immediately, the day they are sworn in as members of the military." The 40,000 immigrants in the U.S. military can become citizens after only a year of active duty instead of the previous three years, Kane said. Only legal residents — or immigrants who entered the country illegally and then applied for residency — can enter the armed forces. And while the fast track to citizenship is a strong lure for some, it's not the main reason many Latino immigrants sign up, say military recruiters in the Rio Grande Valley. "I'd put No. 1, the educational benefits," said U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Levi Garcia, a Brownsville recruiter and himself an immigrant from Nicaragua. "No. 2, work experience, and three would be serving their country, or patriotism." Citizenship benefits are a distant fourth, he said. Kane agreed, rejecting the idea that immigrants join to become citizens. "Immigrants who come into the military are doing it because of a strong sense of patriotism. They are embracing their adoptive country," he said. "When I hear people saying they are signing up to be citizens, it denigrates their service." "They're there because they want to make a contribution. ... They want to give back to America." Fast-track perk: Typical is the case of Delia Gutierrez, 18, an immigrant from San Luis Potosi state in Mexico. She said she didn't join the Marines for citizenship. She signed up out of gratitude to the United States. But she'll also apply for citizenship, taking advantage of the fast-track perk. Citizenship comes posthumously for some immigrants. Since the 9/11 attacks, at least 80 immigrant troops have been declared U.S. citizens after being killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, U.S. officials say. Julio Cisneros Alvarez, 22, a native of Reynosa, Mexico, had joined the Marine Corps and hoped that the U.S. government would help him pay for medical school. But his plans were cut short in January 2005, a little more than a year after he enlisted. A machine gunner, he was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his Humvee during a nighttime patrol in Iraq. A month later, in a somber ceremony at the U. S. immigration offices in Harlingen, his mother accepted a certificate granting him U.S. citizenship. "Julio went because he wanted to be a doctor," said his mother, Senobia "Marta" Alvarez, 40, a South Texas cantina owner. He also wanted to fight terrorism, she said, so that his mother and his two brothers, Marcos and Santos, would have a secure future. A 3-foot-tall poster of the slain Marine in his uniform is taped to a long mirror behind the bar at the family's cantina. "Hopefully, this county will recognize the sacrifice he and all the others made over there — and that people never forget them," said Alvarez, as she wiped tears from her eyes. Laws passed in 2003 and 2004 grant citizenship to immigrants killed in combat, give priority status to surviving spouses and children, and waive processing fees. The provisions have allowed about 1,000 service members to become citizens while serving at overseas military bases in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, at U.S. Embassies, and even aboard warships. The citizenship ceremonies are sometimes held close to the battlefield. In July, for instance, 69 active duty service members took the oath of allegiance at a military camp in Balad, Iraq. Leaders of some Hispanic groups say immigrants' sacrifices in war aren't always acknowledged, especially by those pushing to seal the U.S.-Mexico border. "How can we tell our young men and women to fight overseas to defend our nation ... when Congress is falling over itself to punish their families, neighbors and friends by deporting them?" said Brent Wilkes, director of the League of United Latin American Citizens in Washington. At least 18 troops from the Rio Grande Valley have been killed in Iraq , according to the Defense Department. That's "way more" than the area's "fair share," Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa said. The poverty plaguing South Texas, he contends, drives many Latinos to sign up. Not long after Sept. 11, 2001, Alvarez, then 17, tried to join the military. But he couldn't because he was not yet a legal resident, his mother said. After finally making it into the Marines and reaching Iraq, he called home and told his mother that he was there for her and the family. "I'm here for your security, and for Marcos and Santos," she recalled him saying. |
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Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez assumed command of V Corps in Baghdad, Iraq on June 14, 2003. He relinquished command of the corps September 6, 2006. The photos highlight some of the key moments in the general's three-year-plus command of the corps. July 2003 V Corps' Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-7, greets Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, upon Abizaid's arrival at Baghdad Air Base for a visit with coalition troops July 20, 2003. (Photo By Master Sgt. Robert R. Hargreaves Jr.) August 2003 V Corps' Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-7, speaks with Albanian coalition troops at the Mosul, Iraq airfield August 23, 2003. (Photo by Spc. Joshua Hutcheson) November 2003 V Corps' Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-7, greets President George W. Bush during the president's surprise Thanksgiving visit to troops in Baghdad, November 27, 2003. (Department of Defense photo) December 2003 V Corps' Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then commander of Combined Joint Task Force-7, and Ambassador L. Paul Bremmer, then administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, announce the capture of Saddam Hussein to media representatives in Baghdad December 14, 2003. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Reynaldo Ramon) January 2004 V Corps' Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force- 7, watches 705 recruits from the 2nd Battalion of the Iraqi army march onto a parade field in Taji, Iraq January 6, 2004. The recruits received nine weeks of basic training plus additional advanced training before assisting the 1st Armored Division to conduct military operations in and around Baghdad. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Reynaldo Ramon) March 2004 Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of V Corps and Combined Joint Task Force-7 (right) and U.S. Army Europe commander Gen. B.B. Bell attach the Meritorious Unit Commendation streamer the corps earned during its first deployment to Iraq to the V Corps flag during the official ceremony to welcome the corps home from that deployment, March 19, 2004 at Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany. (Photo by Bill Roche) May 2004 V Corps and Combined Joint Task Force-7 Commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez cases the CJTF-7 during a ceremony in Baghad to inactivate CJTF-7 and activate Multi-National Force - Iraq and Multi-National Corps - Iraq in its place May 15, 2004. (Photo by Pfc. Bryce S. Dubee) September 2004 V Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez greets a World War II veteran at a Pentagon ceremony honoring Hispanic veterans of the war September 15, 2004. (Department of Defense photo) October 2004 In the V Corps tactical operations center for exercise Victory Start at the Grafenwoehr (Germany) Training Area, corps Commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez participates in a conference call with commanders of the corps' major subordinate units October 14, 2004. (Photo by Spc. Kristopher Joseph) January 2006 Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, V Corps commanding general, addresses corps troops during their farewell ceremony for the Soldiers' second deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom, at Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany January 3, 2006. (Photo by Spc. Matthis Chiroux) September 2006 Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez watches as Soldiers representing the corps units he commanded pass in review during the general’s relinquishment of command ceremony at Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany September 6. (Photo by Gary Kieffer) September 2006 V Corps Commanding General Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (left) prepares to relinquish command of the corps by accepting the corps flag from corps Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph Beam during a ceremony at Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany September 6. The symbolic passing of the flag was completed when Sanchez in turn passed the colors to U.S. Army Europe Commander Gen. David McKiernan (center) and McKiernan returned the flag to Beam. (Photo by Gary Kieffer) Maj. General Ricardo S. Sanchez, of Rio Grande City, Texas, is one of nine Hispanic generals in U.S. Army history. Six of them hail from South Texas. Asked why this is so, Sanchez said: ``It is love of country, a hardworking ethic and a value system that is totally compatible with military life. The Hispanic family is all about loyalty, taking care of each other. www.somosprimos.com/sp2004/spaug04/spaug04.htm |
| Recommendation from Rafael
Ojeda RSNOJEDA@aol.com
Some great photos: Colonel Donald S. Lopez's book "Fighter Pilot's Heaven" can be purchase from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum click "Publications" then the letter "F". Hope this will encourage our studies on our Hispanic Military Heroes" to keep the Legacy on our Orgullos Hispanos. |
D-Day, Normandy and Beyond For information on soldiers that served in Normandy: http://www.normandy1944.info/ Search for information by name, unit or location. You can both read and add stories, search cemeteries, see books recommended and much more. Sent by Janete Vargas magnaguagno@gmail.com |
| Puerto Rican in the Military Here are two of the best ones that I would like to recommend. Rafael Ojeda RSNOJEDA@aol.com http://en.wikipedia.org/The_65th_Infantry The second one give a good history and account of the 65th Infantry in Korea and the injustice to them. There is a movie being made about these court marital at http://www.prsoldier.org |
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The North
Side of San Antonio Silvia Villarreal Bisner |
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CHAPTER II THE NORTH SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO By Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar  recall
the move itself, but I do remember that my sister, Lydia, and I got our
own room with brand new Jenny Lind twin beds. No more bunk beds. Hooray.
We got our first refrigerator when we moved into our new home. No more wooden ice boxes that could fall over. One evening when my parents went out, and we had a babysitter, we were all excited because having a babysitter was a rare treat for us in those days, and she was our favorite babysitter, Marie Calderon. When she got there, we rushed to show her our new home and our new refrigerator. During the evening, we kept opening and closing the door to see if the light would go off. Well, on the front of the door was a round gauge with a needle in the middle. At the bottom of the gauge was a “red zone” with the words “danger” written on it. So, after many opening and closings of the door many times, the needle soon went to the” danger zone.” We got scared and we all ran out of the kitchen into the front room because we thought that the refrigerator might blow up. We stayed awake really late until our parents came home so they could “fix it.” When we told my dad what happened, he said “its okay. It won’t blow up, but don’t open and close the door so much because the inside gets warm and the food will spoil.” So, after that we were really careful not to open the door so often. One day, not long after the move, my dad came home with a brand new car. It was a 1941 Plymouth sedan, big, shiny and black. He had been promoted from janitor to salesman. At the meat provision company he worked for. Can we go for a ride” I asked. My mother came out of the house, still in her apron, and said, “What have you done now, Rudy?” He responded, “I needed a new car. You need a nice car when you are a salesman.” “Can we go for a ride?” I asked again. My dad then said, “Okay, everybody in. We are going for a ride.” It had four doors and was so pretty, and of course I was the first one in. I remember that day as though it were yesterday. Our whole life was different in our new home. We went to a new school and it had two stories. It was a big deal in those days. And there were lots of children in the neighborhood we could play with. We walked three or four blocks to school every day along the unpaved street. At the corner of our street was a wooden bridge over a creek and we would sit under it just to listen to the sound the cars would make as they drove over the wooden boards. It was really fun and we thought we were doing something dangerous. Around the corner from the bridge was a small neighborhood store. “Mama, give me a penny so I can buy a jawbreaker,” I asked. “Here’s one for each of you, go together and stay together,” she responded. So off we went for our jawbreakers. I always bought a red one because it was, and still is, my favorite color. Jawbreakers are large, hard; round candies like big marbles that were so big they could hardly fit in our mouths. They were too big to bite down on, so we would suck on them all day, and sometimes the next day. Since the three of us children were so close in age and our birthdays were only two weeks apart – my sister, Lydia, was born on March 2, 1934, I was born on February 14, 1935, and my brother, Rene, was born on March 1, 1936 -- my mother gave us a birthday party on the same day that year. There were a lot of people at our party. I was unhappy because Rene could wear pants and couldn’t. I had to wear a silly “frilly” dress like my sister. I was a “tomboy” and didn’t like to wear dresses. My mother also liked to comb my light brown curly hair into ringlets. Shirley Temple was popular at that time and my mother wanted me to look like her. I hated it. I wanted straight hair like my sister. I also I wanted to wear pants like my brother. Well, the party went well, until I “messed up” my pretty new dress by playing with the boys in the garage. I really got into trouble for that. This was the year that we started
going to the Movies alone. The theater was only a few blocks away and my
mother would drop us off around noon and we would spend the whole
afternoon there. What a time we had at the Saturday Matinees. Sometimes
we even got to go again on Sundays. Boy, we were the luckiest kids in
the world, and would brag about this to all our friends. No one else’s
parents let them spend that much time at the movies. And, of course, we
were always given a nickel to buy a bag of popcorn. To this day, I still My Uncle Tony, my mother’s younger brother, came to live with us for a short while. He was 20 years old, very tall and handsome, and, of course, we thought he was wonderful. He loved to play Hide and Seek with us and tease us. One day he found a small dog in the middle of a busy street and brought him home to us. “Can we keep him, Mama, please? Can we keep him? “My dad didn’t like animals, but he relented because we made such a fuss. We named him Buster. Well, Buster turned out to be a German shepherd and before long he got so big that he began to jump on us and knock us down. So, one day, while we were at school, my dad took him away to live with friends who owned a ranch. We cried because he was gone. But, Buster didn’t forget us. About six months later, he came home all by himself. He just walked into the yard like he belonged there. I ran inside and yelled, “Mama, Buster came back. Hurry, he’s outside. Look. He came back. Can we keep him?” Well, my mother said we couldn’t keep him and as soon as my dad came home he took Buster back to his friend’s house. We didn’t have a dog again for several years, and then it was a small dog. This was also the year that I learned about discrimination. Some of the kids in the neighborhood were not allowed to play with us because we were “Mexican.” I didn’t understand. We didn’t look any different from the other kids, so why? My parents spoke perfect English without an accent. My dad had a ruddy complexion, red hair and light brown eyes. My mother’s family had been in Texas since 1731 and her great-grandfather had been mayor of San Antonio; my dad’s family had been in Texas at least generations. It was our name, “Villarreal,” that made the difference. My mother’s maiden name was “Buquor,” which is French, so discrimination was new to her, too. Even though she had a dark complexion, she had never been discriminated against until she married my dad. I remember coming home one day and saying that I didn’t want to be a Mexican because “Susie” couldn’t play with me. My mother said, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll make other friends to play with. Just stay away from the kids who don’t like Mexicans.” Well, we didn’t stay on the “North side” very long because of this. One day, my dad said, “Let’s move back to the Southside where we belong. Maybe things will be different.” So in the summer of 1942, when I was seven years old, we moved into our new home on the south side of San Antonio not far from my grandmother’s house. But, things never really changed. It would take a lot of years, and I felt inferior all the years I lived in San Antonio.
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| Kite
Flying Contest by Ramon Moncivais from Beneath the Shadow of the Capitol [[Editor: Ramon was greatly influenced by his grandfather. His autobiography is filled with stories reflecting his grandfather's wise counsel. This incident occurred when Ramon was about 10 years old.]] I was looking forward to a kite-flying contest in our neighborhood. All kites had to be homemade, and the highest-flying kite would be the winner. Even though there would be no prizes, everyone was excited. Most families went across the street to the Red and White Grocery Store and bought a piece of butcher paper for two cents, but not us. My grandfather said he would make our kite out of newspapers. I said, "Our kite will be ugly, and we can't
paint, it." Eight kites never got off the ground. We won! My
grandfather told me that our kite flew the highest because of the light
bamboo and newspaper. and he told me to remember, "It's not
what you look like. It's what you're made of."
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 Chicken
Chistes, An Anthology of
Southwestern HumorLatest book by Ben Romero, Release date November, 2006 Below is an example of the charming little life cameos that Ben shares. BIDDING WAR By Ben Romero, Dedicated to my son, Pedro Andrés Romero “Dad, how much farther till we get there?” My son’s impatience was something I’d learned to live with. His eyes beamed with excitement as we headed for the Cherry Auction in my pick-up. “It’s just a few more miles,” I assured him. At eight years of age, everything we did together was an adventure. “I want to buy a big strong rooster that will make our chickens lay eggs every day. But we’re only going to eat half of them. Okay, Dad? The other half are for hatching.” “Ah-huh,” I nodded. “Maybe we’ll find some young laying hens too. I’ve seen real pretty birds at the auction. It all depends on the price.” “How much do they cost?” “Well, the good ones get auctioned. That means people bid on them. They usually start at one or two dollars. The person who is willing to pay the most, gets to buy them.” We arrived long before the bidding started, giving us a chance to view the birds and livestock. Soon a heavyset man in a stained undershirt stood facing the crowd and announced the bird auction was about to begin. He was a jolly man with a feminine flair and noticeable lisp. The birds were brought out in crates. The first ones were colorful game birds. I was amazed at the price people were willing to pay. Some sold for twenty dollars or more. I was sure some would be used for illegal cockfighting. My son and I were waiting for a small flock of fluffy, white chickens, called Silkies. They were going to be auctioned off in a group. After what seemed like ages, the man in the undershirt reached inside a crate and held the beautiful white Silkie rooster. “Who’ll give me a dollar for each Thilkie?” My son yanked my arm. “Tell him, Dad. Tell him we want the rooster!” Another man raised his hand. “One dollar.” “I have a dollar. Do I hear two?” “Two dollars,” said another man.” My son moved to the front of the crowd to get a better look. I waited a few minutes for the bidding to quiet down before getting involved. I planned not to exceed three and a half dollars per bird. “I have two-fifty. Do I hear three?” I raised my hand. “Three dollars.” That should do it, I thought. “I have three dollarths. Do I hear three and a half?” Silence. “Do I hear three and a quarter?” The auctioneer pointed to someone in the crowd. “Three and a quarter. I have three and a quarter. Do I hear three and a half?” I raised my hand. “Three and a half.” “I have three and a half for thith Thilkie. Do I hear three theventy-five?” Silence. I moved forward through the crowd. “Three and a half going oneth, going twith…I have three theventy-five!” That’s it, I thought. Let the other guy have them. “Going oneth, going twith, thold for three theventy-five!” As I reached the front and stood next to my son, he blurted, “Four. We’ll pay four.” “Don’t be thilly,” said the auctioneer. “You already got them for three theventy-five each.” I looked down at my son. “Was that you bidding against me?” “Well, we won.” he smirked. The crowd had a good laugh. The auctioneer’s belly wiggled as he tried to restrain his laughter. The six birds cost me twenty-two fifty. It seemed high at the time, but the memory is worth many times the price. $17.95, available at my website www.benromero.com if they wish to have it signed (and quicker delivery), or through the publisher at www.trafford.com. Questions or comments bromero98@comcast.net |
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Los Cuentos de Kiko I'm so happy to introduce Frank Moreno Sifuentes to the Nuestra Familia Unida podcast community. In this series of Oral History Cuentos expect to hear about one family, but the experiences are those of an immigrant nation. Here is the latest batch of great stories by Kiko Moreno Sifuentes, posted by Joseph Puentes makas@nc.rr.com http://NuestraFamiliaUnida.com/podcast/oral_history.html Frank Moreno Sifuentes, 74. I was born in Austin, Texas when its population was only 38,000 (now around l,000,000!) In l950 joined the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. After getting out fell in love with Sarah Diaz; and married in Compton, CA. We had three daughters and three sons; and now have 11 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Both of us had careers in human services. After retiring on Social Security we became resident managers for low-income Seniors in l997 and now live at the Patrician Apts. and administer a 87 unit complex. Graduated from UCLA 1962 in History & Spanish. Got a Certificate in Youth Counseling at Arizona State University. Was deeply involved in the Chicano Social Movement 1965 to the present. Have been writing essays, stories, letters, resolutions, press releases since l964. The last 10 years worked as Public Relations & Resource Development for Health Education and Children's Services. ===> "Carlos Ibanez - English" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/CarlosIbanez.mp3 ===> "Carlos Ibanez - Spanish" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/CarlosIbanez_EnEspanol.mp3 ===> "Getting Further Away From Our Roots" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/FurtherAwayFromOurRoots.mp3 ===> "George Chapo's Father" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes <http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/GeorgeChaposFather.mp3 ===> "Illegal Immigrants" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/IllegalImmigrants.mp3 ===> "Los Prietos de la Calle Ancha" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/LosPrietosDeLaCalleAncha.mp3 ===> "You Never Read Them Books!" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/NeverReadThemBooks.mp3 ===> "Requerdos De Mi Padre, Benito Sifuentes" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/RequerdosDeMiPadre.mp3 ===> "My Step Father Tomas Martinez" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/StepFatherTomasMartinez.mp3 ===> "Yvette 'La Vette' " by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/YvetteLaVette.mp3 ===> "Summer On Route 66" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes http://www.archive.org/download/KikoSifuentes/SummerOnRoute66.mp3 |
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Traveling through Arkansas - From Mike Lozano's book Looking for Greener Grass |
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We entered Arkansas on Interstate 40 and headed east across the state. We followed parallel to the great Arkansas River. We decided for some crazy reason to cut across the Ozark National Forest and the Quachita Mountains. Abandoning the speed and safety of the interstate highways can sometimes be a reward with slowing down to see the people and small towns of America. In this case it was a huge mistake. We were lost for eight hours in some of the roughest country you could imagine with no way to get back on a major highway. We drove all night up one mountain and down another. It was dark and isolated. There were practically no services for travelers and nothing was open at that time of the night. My truck struggled every mile trying to get up one hill after the next. By morning we were still inching along. In the morning light we saw for sale signs for just about every item you could imagine. We decided to stop and look at one yard sale and to ask why this informal selling was so pervasive here. The man at the sale said that people from around these parts are very resourceful when it comes to selling, repairing or bartering for goods and services. The informal business deal known as bartering is alive and well in Arkansas. If one person needs something fixed they trade something in exchange for the repair. As we went on we saw numerous signs for auctions and yard sales all along the way. It seems as if everything here is recycled or bought used. Nothing is wasted. We finally found a restaurant and gas station that were open. It was a dusty old place called the Catfish Shack or something. Everything on the menu seemed to be fried fish or chicken. We ordered some catfish rolled in cornmeal batter fried in boiling peanut oil. The meal also included some hush puppies and cole slaw. It was very good, but the grease gave my stomach problems later on in the day. Catfish and gold fish are two very important products to the Arkansas economy. I thought most gold fish came from Japan. I keep Koi fish and gold fish at my home as a hobby. I have gained many hours of enjoyment tinkering with my fish pond in my yard and several aquariums in my house. I have always been interested in gold fish because they are so big and colorful. Arkansas is both an aqua-culture and an agriculture state. Arkansas is second only to Mississippi in catfish and gold fish aqua farming. More rice and broiler chickens are produced here than anywhere in the United States. We finally got to the Quachita River which is the western most landmark that Spanish Conquistador Hernando De Soto reached at the same time that Coronado was exploring Kansas and New Mexico in 1541. De Soto had entered from Florida and explored west to as far as Arkansas and Coronado had entered New Mexico and had explored all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Between the two Spanish expeditions they had spanned the Continent. Neither Spaniard knew of the each others movements. They were only 300 miles apart at their closest distance but both were at their limit of exploring and decided to try to get back to Mexico before they perished. Coronado made it back, but De Soto died on the Mississippi. We came upon this city named Stuttgart and I wondered why it had a German name. This area is called the Grand Prairie and is sort of a natural rice paddy. At the turn of the century the Rock Island Railroad owned a lot of land in this area and decided to advertise this land for sale and the Germans took up the challenge and came here to start a rice growing industry. These immigrants bought their values, culture and a hard work ethic to Arkansas creating a new productive and vibrant community. Today Latino's are bringing the same 21st century version of progress to Arkansas. Today's Latinos now are being used as scapegoats for all social anxieties that long time citizens are experiencing. A wave of Mexicans started coming to Arkansas in the early 1990s. This coincided with Tyson Foods expanding its poultry and meat packing business. In a bigger way our country had passed the NAFTA free trade agreement in North America. This sent thousands of manufacturing jobs that U.S. workers had done to cheap labor markets. At the same time 80 percent of the U.S. workforce was now in the service sector which traditionally hired lower cost workers. But Mexico was going through its own recession and the devaluation of its peso. The economic collapse in Mexico sent a steady stream of Mexicans across the border looking for anyway they could find to feed their families. These immigrants were just like thousands of other immigrants from other countries who came here looking for the land of opportunity. Arkansas has long advertised itself as the land of opportunity. These two forces came together to draw thousands of Mexicans to Arkansas to work for Tyson Foods and in many other jobs that used cheap labor. Arkansas quickly became the leading state of Hispanic population growth increasing 337 percent from the 1990 census count. The census figures show that 86,866 Arkansas residents identify themselves as Hispanic. Academics who have studied immigration such as Judith Gans from the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, at the University of Arizona have found striking similarities between the way immigration was shaped in the early 1900s and present - day immigration politics. She found in her research that the popular conception that all Americans have certain unalienable rights is not true for all Americans. On the other hand there is the liberal - individualist view that Historian Philip Gleason stated on what is needed to become an American citizen, "a person did not have to be of any particular national, linguistic, religious, or ethnic background. All he had to do was to commit himself to the political ideology centered on the abstract ideals of liberty, equality, and republicanism." It has been shown that there is a definite hidden agenda when it comes to determining what groups are deemed fit to be citizens. What really happens is that there are systematic "restrictions on voting rights, naturalization, and immigration." Research has found that "American laws declared most people in the world legally ineligible to become full U.S. citizens solely because of their race, original nationality or gender…those racial, ethnic, and gender restrictions were blatant, not "latent,"…."For these people, citizenship rules gave no weight to how liberal, republican, or faithful to other American values their political beliefs might be." So who were these people who were the so called ones who came here legally and by following the rules. Well, in their research it was found that they were mainly people from northern European countries that our leaders felt were suitable for citizenship. These very same leaders of our country built alliances with Asian exclusionists and appealed to Northern and Southern racists by arguing for exclusion of "inferior" southern and eastern Europeans. Today descendents of these Eastern Europeans like Lou Dobbs a CNN News Anchor and Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin lead the debate in trying to deny the rights of people they feel are unfit for citizenship. They have coupled their veiled racist agenda with concerns over terrorism. In her immigration report Professor Gans states, "Today's concerns over terrorism strongly echo Progressive Era concerns about communism and have caused similar xenophobic fears based on ethnicity and religion. These changes have combined to bring questions of culture and national identity to the forefront and created fertile ground for the voices of ascriptive citizenship and nativism to emerge in organized fashion in political, social, and academic circles."  In America in the early 1900s Protestant law makers from Northern European heritage were the dominant force in government. They passed legislation on immigration based on the ascriptive characteristics like race, where they were born, what religion they practiced, and what language they spoke. In order to keep their hold on the power of the electorate the white Protestant elite made laws that strengthened their politics of nativism where they excluded citizenship to people from countries that did not match their Northern European roots. They hid their real agenda by waging media campaigns supported by writings by Anglo-Saxon academics who advocated that, "progress of civilization" decreased the need for unskilled labor from undesirable countries and that their presence in our society increased our national security by exposing us to class antagonisms and terrorism. What is happening today is really a replay of the same thing that happened 100 years ago. It all sounds so familiar. Back then they had people like Harvard economist Richard Mayo-Smith challenging the idea of the need for robust unskilled laborers from non Northern European countries. Today, we have Harvard graduate Lou Dobbs of CNN spewing his anti- immigrant harangues everyday. He has decided that Mexican immigrants should be his target and has veiled is racist arguments under the legitimate cloak that undocumented immigrants harm working middle class citizens and expose America to the threat of terrorism. Back in the early twentieth century they had Progressive sociologist Edward A. Ross who advocated a political doctrine that spoke of "simple minded immigrants" being used by, " big city bosses to neutralize the anti-machine ballots of an equal number of indignant intelligent American voters. " Today, we have Wisconsin Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner who wants to deport millions of hard working undocumented immigrants and to build an iron curtain along our southern border with Mexico in order to keep out these undesirable twenty first century immigrants. He also wants to criminalize illegal immigrants and classify all those who aid undocumented immigrants as criminal smugglers, including family members, churches, employers and hospitals. In answer to Lou Dobbs argument that these immigrants are hurting the middle class working men and women of our country. AFL-CIO Union President John Sweeney said, "America's broken immigration system has allowed employers to create a low-wage labor pool of immigrant workers that is easily exploitable… when employers drive down wages and working conditions for one group of workers, they harm us all. The U. S. department of Labor, for example has found the poultry industry--- with a workforce split about evenly between African Americans and immigrants - was 100 percent out of compliance with federal wage and hour laws. The answer isn't to make immigrant workers here now disappear, or to turn them into felons, as the bill passed by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives would do. The answer is to deprive employers of the means to exploit them and lower work quality for all of us." Congressman Sensenbrenner believes that immigrants are at best criminals and at worst possible terrorists and that we must build an "Iron Curtain" to keep them out. He further states that we must not penalize those that follow the law to become citizens because," U.S. citizenship is a privilege bestowed upon those who appreciate its value, and who contribute to our nation by living in a manner that reflects the principals and ideology of being an American." In answer to Sensenbrenner I quote Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony who said," What the church supports is an overhaul of the immigration system so that legal status and legal channels for migration replace illegal status and illegal immigration. Enforcement only proposals like the Sensenbrenner legislation take the country in the opposite direction. Increasing penalties, building more detention centers, and erecting walls along our border with Mexico, as the act provides will not solve the problem. The legislation will not deter migrants who are desperate to survive and support their families from seeking jobs in the United States. It will only drive them further into the shadows, encourage the creation of more elaborate smuggling networks and cause hardship and suffering." Former Arkansas and White House first Lady Hillary Clinton (D - New York) said about this issue, "This bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself." As we drove out of Arkansas I thought about how I never expected to find so many national issues coming to a head right here in a state more known for its great outdoor recreation and its agriculture than immigration reform and presidential politics. I can only conclude and agree with Irish immigrant, Brian O' Donovan, who feels that an injury to one worker is a injury to all, when he said, "Are we the America of exclusion, impenetrable barriers and mean spirits, or are we still the country that was built on openness, freedom, opportunity to work hard, and the potential for a better life?" |
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Dichos: Spanish sayings or
proverbs
Sent by Libreria_Martinez@mail.vresp.com |
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Chapter One "No hay boca donde no esté, (There is no mouth where it is not
present, -- LUÍS A. ACUNA
I have to admit that I'm not an expert, I'm not a doctor, and I'm not a therapist. I'm just a woman, a mother, a wife, and a professional who lives and learns from her experiences, her mistakes, her family, and her culture. This is my version of a guidebook based on my life -- from relationships and family to work and cultural identity issues and everything in between! I'm going to cover all the lessons that I learned from my mother and am now passing along to my daughter. I hope that mothers and daughters everywhere can find something in this book to enrich their lives and then pass along to their children. As you will discover, this book, like my life, is premised on the solid fundamental teachings and lessons I have learned through dichos and wisdom from my family. I choose to use dichos because they are a symbolic vehicle for relatively simple concepts that guide me through certain situations in life. Each chapter includes symbolic dichos relevant to the chapter's content, with my interpretation of them, how I have applied them, and how you the reader can use the dichos to enhance your own life. While I provide an English translation of each dicho, it may not be literal. What I am providing is the moral of each dicho.
In order for a culture to have any kind of longevity, its participants must actively study each stitch of thread that has created the culture and holds it together. Both young and old should learn and live by their culture's wisdom so that it can continue to flourish for future generations. Every culture possesses its own way of passing this wisdom on from generation to generation. In the Latino culture, dichos act as that intergenerational gateway. Dichos are invaluable proverbs and sayings that succinctly deliver a serious message, value, or belief. They are used to help make a point, teach a life lesson, and validate life's trials and tribulations. Dichos serve as profound lessons to be learned from the life experiences of our forefathers, each incorporating the astuteness of past generations and serving as teaching tools for us to live by today and tomorrow. In learning and living by los dichos we continually breathe life into the inspiring, humorous, and philosophical proverbs that have woven themselves throughout Latino culture for centuries while being blind to educational, economic, and class systems. Dichos are history translated into words. Thousands of dichos exist -- some humorous, some serious, and some specific to certain countries. Each has a particular meaning that is generally universal and crosses over all cultures. Dichos provide messages of hope, direction, and guidance just when we need them. When for some reason or another a basic truth escapes us, dichos put us back on track. When we face challenges, dichos offer clarity and direction. Because of these reasons and many more, dichos are the rules that I live by everyday. "De tal palo, tal astilla" This dicho is similar to the English sayings "The apple does not fall far from the tree" and "Like father like son." My parents migrated to the United States from Colombia in the 1960s. They came to this country with essentially nothing except each other and the dream of a better life for themselves and their children. My father is from a large family of modest means, with thirteen brothers and sisters. In fact, my grandmother, my father's mother, was pregnant twenty-two times. My mother is also from a large family of eleven brothers and sisters. My family is a walking and talking billboard for the big Latino family. Shortly after they were married, my parents decided to move to the United States "temporarily," as is frequently the intention of many immigrants. Their plan was to work and save enough money to one day send my father to medical school and return to Colombia. Forty-plus years later our family is still here.
My father's dream was to become a doctor like his uncle in Colombia, whom he worked for as a young man. The United States, as my father puts it, was the land of "possibility and potential." So he and my mother arrived in Bronx, New York, in 1963, in a country where he and my mother did not know a soul. The idea was to stay for six months and find work. If my father could not find work, then they planned to return home. An educated man, my father looked for a job wherever he could. His English was not the best, but good enough. However, it seemed that no one had any available openings that he could fill. He recalls being turned away the moment the potential employer looked at him or heard him speak. He resorted to employment agencies that were also of no help. Finally, he found a job at a hospital, in housekeeping, and worked as a janitor. The hospital was one and a half hours away from the Bronx. He earned fifty dollars a week and would spend at least one third of his pay traveling to and from the job, so he was forced to live at housing provided by the hospital. He visited my mother only on the weekends. At the time, she was pregnant with my sister. After a short while, my father decided he needed a better job and for thirty days, he walked the streets searching. He finally found a new job with a watch company in Manhattan and was able to reunite with my mother. He also moved her to a safer neighborhood in Queens. My father worked there for over five years doing piecework on an assembly line. At this time, the watch company contracted with the United States government to make, among other things, timers for bazookas used in the Vietnam War. My father felt like he experienced plenty of discrimination at this job from other employees who had been working there for a long time. The most senior pieceworkers were comfortable in their environment and the guy who produced the most pieces was admired as the "stud" of the workplace. When my father came along, he believed that the senior workers were threatened by this new one-man workforce. You see, my father the future surgeon, was very good with his hands and worked fast. Instead of respecting him for his good work they made fun of him. They would chastise him, saying things like, "Of course he has to work fast! He can't speak English very well so that's all he has to do." My father didn't take it personally because he knew that job was a stepping stone, but for the other workers it may have been their final destination. Nevertheless, the workers made it so uncomfortable for my father that the supervisor finally told him, "Don't worry about these jokers. If you can make more pieces than anyone else, do it because we pay by the piece. Knock yourself out." He received $1.79 per one thousand pieces. The average worker made 1,000 to 1,200 pieces per hour. My father knew he had to push himself to provide for his growing family (my brother had arrived by then), and to realize his dream of becoming a surgeon. He pushed himself to produce over 2,300 pieces per hour. While working full time, he decided to enroll full time at Manhattan Medical School to become a laboratory technician. After graduating, my father, finally armed with improved credentials, was able to obtain better paying jobs with different hospitals in New York City and eventually became a laboratory supervisor at a blood bank. My father's principal goal during this time was to move his family to a better neighborhood. After continually being told he could not afford it with only fifty dollars in his checking account, he bought our first home in Bethpage, New York. He borrowed all he could and for the next five years he worked two full-time jobs and one part-time job until he paid off his loans. He even managed to save enough money for medical school. At that moment my father felt that he had worked enough -- it was time to obtain his medical degree and become a doctor. He reminded himself of his goal: "I came to the United States to find work, make money, and pursue my goal of becoming a doctor." Obviously, he could have just continued working for the rest of his life at jobs that paid the bills and supported his family but did little else. He asked himself, "Why did I come to America?" He feared that he had almost given up his dream for the complacency of the daily grind. Enough of that! It was time to go for it. With a family of five to support, attending medical school in the United States was financially out of the question. In the early 1970s, he applied to foreign medical schools in Guadalajara, Mexico, and in Salamanca, Spain. It was more cost effective to maintain a family abroad while attending medical school on a full-time basis. Spain was not an option, as the travel cost would break him financially. So he decided to attend the Universidad Autónoma de Medicina in Guadalajara, Mexico, a university associated with the American Medical Association. We drove cross-country from New York to Mexico so my father could attend medical school. In a short period my father had gone from a decent paycheck in an unsatisfying job to no paycheck at all in medical school, his dream. Now imagine this -- he was a full-time student, had some money from student loans, but had no job to provide for his family of three children, all under the age of twelve, and a wife. How did he and my mother make it? Simple: during his vacations and holiday breaks from school, whether it was one or two weeks or summertime, my father would drive or fly, sometimes with the entire family, to the United States to work and save money to bring back to Mexico. My father finally graduated from medical school on time in the late 1970s. But let me tell you, he did not just "graduate." Out of over nine hundred students, he was valedictorian of his class. I remember that ceremony. I remember my brother getting so mad about dressing up and wearing a bowtie. I recall sitting in a room filled with over two thousand people, in the front row with my family. I felt special. I watched my stoic mother following my father with her eyes as he so proudly and humbly took center stage. I have to be honest, I don't remember what he said. I can only imagine. But as I look back on it today, I am convinced that this experience was a defining moment in my life. So you might think now that my father had really made it -- he was a doctor, and an educated man. He could find work anywhere, right? Wrong! Upon returning to the United States as a foreign medical graduate, my father faced other forms of discrimination. You see, there appears to be an unwritten, backroom, behind closed doors policy to discriminate against foreign medical doctors, regardless of nationality. As my father explains, and I witnessed firsthand, the feeling from the American medical community is that the training and education received by foreign doctors is inferior to that received by doctors educated and trained in the United States. To compensate for this perceived inferiority, after graduating from medical school my father was required to complete two years of servicio social (social service). He was accepted at a respected hospital in Tijuana, Mexico. So we moved again, this time into low-income housing ("the projects") in San Ysidro, California, a developing community at the time. San Ysidro is located in the most southern part of San Diego on the Mexican border, the busiest international border crossing in the world. San Ysidro was then and remains now very ethnically diverse. During our two years there, we met people from all walks of life. It was particularly exciting because we were exposed to a culture that was half American and half Mexican. While working in the hospital, my father again struggled as a medical resident, working endless hours (usually on call for up to fifty-eight hours at a time), studying for exams, and providing for his family. In addition, my father had to work across the border in Tijuana. Because of this hectic schedule and the commute, he only saw us every four days. It was lonely for him, but he was comforted knowing that we were all together as a family. The experience was difficult but fruitful because it exposed him to every facet of medicine, and made him truly realize he was destined to become a surgeon. After his two years of service in Mexico, my father was accepted to complete his surgical residency at a prestigious hospital on the east coast. We moved once again. From the outset, the chief of surgery gave my father a hard time. He had to constantly prove himself. Like many others at the time, this man probably thought that foreign medical graduates were not good enough to succeed in America. I remember my father coming home after feeling that his self-esteem was constantly being chipped away. I could see the frustration in his eyes and the disappointment in his face, and I heard it in his voice, that after all the obstacles he overcame he still wasn't being seen for his potential. He was still viewed as a foreigner, an immigrant first and a doctor second. I can't help but think that if I'm still having such a strong reaction to this, what must the impact have been on my father? What must he have felt in his gut and in his heart? Time has since proven that foreign medical graduates have excelled in all areas of medicine, often overshadowing the accomplishments of their American-schooled counterparts. My father excelled here and eventually became the chief resident. In fact, my father was elected the best teaching resident by the medical students. It took my father almost twenty years to accomplish his dream of becoming a surgeon, attaining the highest honor as a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery. With great satisfaction, in the mid-1980s we moved to a Los Angeles suburb. My father established his medical practice in Glendale, California, where he still practices today. Consistently improving his medical skills and knowledge while achieving significant accomplishments along the way, he has won esteem and respect from the medical community, his peers, patients, friends, and family. With my father's help, nine of his brothers and sisters eventually immigrated to the United States. As one of my uncles said to me, "Your father's titanic effort in coming to the United States in pursuit of a dream has been and will be the legacy and the definition of this family."
My mother's experience, while similar to my father's, differed in many aspects. The move to the United States was emotionally challenging for her. With my father working, she was alone most of the time. She was also frustrated that she was not able to speak English well enough to communicate, frustrated because she was unfamiliar with the United States, its ways, culture, and customs, and made miserable by the severe cold and the severely warm humid New York weather. And she was scared of the future. In New York, the neighborhood my parents initially lived in was not safe. My mother was pregnant and lived on the fifth floor of an apartment building with no elevator. Initially, she only saw my father on weekends. All she ever heard were sirens and at times she felt she was going crazy. It even crossed her mind to return to Colombia and wait for my father there. But she had promised to be with him during the good and the bad. How could she leave her husband alone? Her love and commitment to him carried her through many of these difficult times. Her mother's example and her religious and conservative upbringing allowed her to sacrifice for my father and her children. For her, family always comes first. She sounds too good to be true, right? You should meet the woman. Eventually, my mother enrolled in English classes so the time would pass more quickly while she cared for her children. And yes, of course, she could work but who would take care of the children? Who would have the house clean and ready when her husband came home? Who would make him dinner after a long day of work? These were vitally important issues to her then and still are today. But it was hard for her to make friends because everyone always seemed busy. She was surrounded by Americans for whom English was a first language and who wouldn't give her the time of day. With no family members to talk to (her relatives were in Colombia and phone calls were an unattainable luxury), she felt like she was suffocating at times. But Guadalajara felt like home. She could relate to the people, the culture, the traditions, and the language. In Guadalajara, my mother was able to work part time translating documents for medical students. But she believed her primary responsibilities were to take care of her husband, her three children, and her home. Our place in Guadalajara was always bustling with my father's friends; everyone was welcomed with open arms. After all, my father was the top student in his class and a great study partner. Despite the fact that my parents struggled, there was usually a home-cooked meal waiting for anyone who came to study or just to visit. My mother would say, "Donde hay comida para uno, hay para dos, tres, cuatro . . ." This meant where there is food for one there is food for two, three, or four. Pretty quickly the Pérez Casa became the place for medical students to hang out. I've since asked my mother if this was a burden on her. She said, "No, on the contrary." She loved the company and loved to be able to support my father in any way she could, for these were precious times for him. She said it was our personality as a family that attracted so many to our home. My mother further explains that although for over eleven years my father was essentially absent from our family, and she could have gotten upset, complained, and rebelled, but she did not. In her own words, she could not just think of herself. Her goal was to make it as easy as possible for my father to accomplish his lifelong dream. At the time, this was her sole purpose. My father worked so hard to become a physician in order to give us a better life. Unfortunately, this meant that he was often missing from our lives while we were growing up. Yet my mother managed to raise three children while carrying on the strong presence of my father in our home. She never let us forget our identity as a family. As she explains to me, she relied on the strength and wisdom she gained from her mother. She acknowledges today that all of this was a risk because as a couple, they were becoming disconnected from each other. So she made sure she talked to my father and stayed connected by taking care of him and his family. It was her faith and trust in my father and the notion of family that empowered her, and most important, the love they have for each other that made her stick through it all. My mother did the best she could with what she had to work with. She always knew in her heart, guided by an unseen but deeply religious faith, while at the same time watching how hard my father worked, that everything would work out. She constantly had the intense faith that their dreams would come true. I once asked my mother what living the American Dream meant to her. She said it meant my father becoming a surgeon and her children having good lives and pursuing their dreams. My mother raised us the only way she knew how -- the way her mother and father raised her -- with strong values and traditions. For example, she always wanted her children to speak Spanish as their first language. She clearly let me know that she is not and never was embarrassed or ashamed to be Latina. Even with her heavy accent, she made herself understood and still does today. Maintaining culture within her family was critical to my mother.
Through hard work and dedication, my parents made a better life for my family. They allowed us to develop a new identity in a new country. More important, they have given me access to better educational opportunities and a better way of life. My life was (and still is) so rich in many ways. In search of this better life my parents exposed my sister, brother, and me to living in different places and respecting each as if it was our very own. Little did I know then, but that, coupled with the dichos I learned from my mother when I was a child, would be my greatest gifts and lessons in life. Because of my parents, I lived in some of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in this country. I was exposed to many different walks of life, cultures, and problems in each of these communities. But what I experienced most profoundly is the openness and honesty that my family provided to us, our friends, and everyone they met, regardless of ethnicity or economic stature. I watched my father's never-ending commitment to his dream and his family, while he provided service to others as a physician. To this day he always educates his patients on ways of improving themselves to live longer and healthier lives, never denying service to anyone whether or not they have money or insurance, and taking on the challenges of medical and governmental administrations to give medicine back to the community. I watched my father for over twenty-five years doing this every day, never expecting anything, not even a thank you. My father's story is what inspired me to pursue my dreams. I watched my mother support my father and our family through those trying times. My mother's story, her legacy, is what motivates and drives me to never give up and continue forward. Her tireless and selfless example has armed me with the most important lessons that I try to live by. Ironically, as a young woman, it was my beautiful mother who wanted to be a lawyer. But as the eldest daughter, she had to care for her brothers and sisters. She was the backbone of her family and is the backbone of our family. My father's story is truly exceptional and awe inspiring and if it were a movie it would likely win a few prestigious awards. However, my mother would win the Best Director award. Without my mother, my life would not be what it is today. When I asked my father what he felt was the definition of the American Dream, he replied: "Simple -- the opportunity to work, raise and provide for my family, and my children, as well as obtaining the best education possible." He added, "What you can do in this country, you cannot do anywhere else in the world." Because of them, I am truly living out the American Dream. Through varying circumstances and despite limited options, my parents integrated our culture as a necessary part of this dream. Our culture did not take away from the experience of making it in the United States. On the contrary, it was an equally important and necessary tool to make our assimilation easier. I believe that within the American Dream culture must continue to thrive. It is vitally important to teach your children to learn, and live by the traditions of your own culture, including, if possible, language. We must be proud of every aspect of our dynamic culture and upbringing. I am constantly told that we (Latinos in general) are the best looking, the best dancers; we have the best cuisine, and can throw one heck of a party. We are likely the loudest on the block, too! Also, we are unique, in that many of us are able to use two languages in one conversation. I am blessed because my first language is Spanish. I learned English around the age of ten. However, I made it my goal to perfect both languages. My husband is a second-generation Puerto Rican. His parents decided not to teach him Spanish; they felt their children would have better opportunities if English were their dominant language. But does the fact that he does not speak Spanish perfectly make him less Latino or cultureless? In my opinion, no, it does not. In fact, when I first met Christopher I could not believe how passionate he was about the rights of his community. He had the same fire that drove my parents and drives me. He felt indignant over the same injustices toward his people. He made me reflect on my own commitments. Culture is part of who we are. It makes up our basic essence. My husband and I share so many of the same values, morals, passions, expectations, and experiences. We both love talking, we are people's people. He is loud -- sometimes too loud. You name it -- family, business, work ethic, friendships, food, we also share many of the same traditions. He can walk into any room and just work it! He is dynamic in a way I can only describe a Latino man to be. I know it is our culture that connects us. It was definitely what attracted us to each other. Well, of course, Christopher is not bad looking either! As with both of the homes we grew up in, we also expect that our house will be the most crowded with our daughter Sofia's friends. It is funny how that worked out -- all of my non-ethnic friends always felt most comfortable in this Latina's house. It must have been the Spanish and I guess a little of the fun, flavor, and food. I am honored to be asked to speak around the country to my community peers not just on immigration issues, but as in this book, about life experiences. I owe all of this to my upbringing. In comparison to what my parents have conquered, I do not think I have done enough. There is always more to learn and more to do for others. Today, I am more sure of myself, of my identity, and of my purpose than ever. Yes, I could attribute this to age and experience. But I think it is also in the blood. I always say that I can do anything because "Tengo la sangre de una mujer latina -- tengo la sangre de mi madre" (I have the blood of a Latina woman -- I have the blood of my mother). So when people ask me: Cristina, how do you do it all? I answer with the most appropriate dicho: "De tal palo, tal astilla" (The apple does not fall far from the tree). These few words have been my secret and inspiration for knowing I can succeed at anything I set my mind to. It is the legacy my parents began and one that I will continue. My Wish for You This book celebrates culture and my beliefs about a woman's role within it. It is also a celebration of your own culture and your role within it. I will address many questions I am constantly asked, including: How, as a Latina, can you make it in a so-called man's world? How do I win respect in a bilingual world? How am I able to successfully balance a family and career? As a Latina, how have I been able to blend in successfully in the United States? But do not be misled, as this book is for everyone regardless of race, gender, or age. Today, more than ever, there seems to be a denial of culture among young Latino women and men. Not only does society question who we are, we try to define what it really means to be a Latino in the United States. We try so hard to make it in mainstream America that we forget and sacrifice the very things that make us unique -- our culture and identity. We look to others for inspiration and instruction, when we should be looking to ourselves, our parents, our ancestors, and our cultural traditions. My wish is to teach, guide, and inspire pride in all people, especially the younger generation. The key to success is to stay connected to your culture. The answers to all our questions lie within us. As my mother tells me and as I will tell my daughter, "Lo que bien se aprende, nunca se pierde" (What is well learned is never lost). Copyright © 2006 by Cristina Pérez
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Hermosilla/Hermosillo Apuntes para la historia del apellido de la Garza Gomez Suarez-de-Figueroa, First Duke of Feria Dicionario Heraldico y Genealogico de Apellidos Espanoles y Americanos |
| Escudos vary by
the ancestral historical activities of the family. All of these are family
shields of those carrying the Hermosilla surname. Diccionario
Heráldica, Apellidos y Nombres Propios by Lander Muñoz places the
origination "de la villa de nombre, partido judicial de Brivesca
(Burgos)
Suggested connection between Hermosillo and Hermosilla. |
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Hermosilla/Hermosillo . . interchange on eventos@genealogia.org.mx Me imagino que de Hermosilla se derivo el Hermosillo. El primer obispo de Durango se llamo Fray Diego de Hermosillo. (1621) gilparras@yahoo.com.mx A si es, Hermosillo deriva de Hermosilla y fray Gonzalo de
Hermosillo primer obispo de durango nacido en aprox en 1580 en mexico y
muerto en sinaloa 1631. era hermano de mi ancestro juan gonzalez de
hermosillo casado con maria muñoz. Datos Tomados de Retoños de
España en la Nueva Galicia de Mariano Gonzalez Leal. gutiherre@hotmail.com |
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| Apuntes para la historia del apellido de la Garza enviado por Carlos Martín Herrera de la Garza cherrera@uat.edu.mx Extracto de: "Colección de documentos relativos a la Conquista del Río de la Plata" selección, prólogo y notas de Francisco Javier Bravo. Madrid, 1872. Según los registros que han llegado a nuestros tiempos, el primer delito cometido en el Río de la Plata fue llevado a cabo por el marinero español Antonio Lope de la Garza, compañero de viaje del infortunado Juan Díaz de Solís, quien recaló y murió en estas costas allá por 1516. Después de remontar las aguas del río, a las que Solís llamó Mar Dulce, desembarcó en la orilla izquierda acompañado por unos pocos navegantes, entre los que estaba el mencionado De la Garza. La primera noche que pasaron en suelo americano, uno de los españoles, del cual sólo se conoce el apellido, Calderón, presentó una furiosa queja ante el Piloto Mayor del Reino –tal el título de Solís-, pues, según dijo: "le fueron birlados de su faltriquera, que ocultara durante la noche bajo una adarga que traía, quince reales de oro que había ahorrado con grandes privaciones y esfuerzos. Sospechábale del hurto a un gaditano llamado Antonio Lope de la Garza, que durmiera a su derecha, muy cerca de la adarga; agregando que era fama que el tal gaditano se apoderara de bienes impropios, pues su codicia y pocos escrúpulos era muy grande y conocida. Reconocidos por el Capitán todos los hechos, resultó que el acusado confesó haberse apropiado de los quince reales, justificando tal proceder por una deuda de juego que Calderón negábase a saldarle. Vistos los hechos, el señor Don Juan Díaz de Solís, a título de Piloto Mayor del Reino y Jefe de la Expedición, ordenó que por la mañana se le castigara al susodicho De la Garza mediante la aplicación de diez garrotazos, aplicados con fuerza y sin conmiseración, para que sirva de ejemplo y como prueba de disciplina". La pena no llegó a concretarse ya que pocas horas después de la salida del sol, una partida de indios charrúas cayó sobre los desdichados españoles dando muerte a Solís y a varios de sus compañeros. Entre los primeros europeos muertos por los nativos a orillas del Río de la Plata estaban los dos protagonistas del primer delito del que se tenga registro en estas tierras.
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The Descendants of Gomez Suarez-de-Figueroa |
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Generation No. 1 1. 1ST DUKE OF FERIA GOMEZ6 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA (LORENZO5 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-TOLEDO, GOMEZ4 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA, LORENZO3, GOMEZ2, LORENZO1)1 died 1571. He married DUCHESS JOAN DORMER 1558 in London, England, daughter of WILLIAM DORMER and MARY SYDNEY. Notes for 1ST DUKE OF FERIA GOMEZ SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA: He held the title of 5th Count of Feria and the 1st Duke of Feria. He served as the Spanish Ambassador to England On September 28, 1567, King Phillip II bestowed to him the title of Duke of Feria. Notes for DUCHESS JOAN DORMER: Devout Catholic, she was lady-in-waiting and confidante to Queen Mary I of England. Mary was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII of England. Child of GOMEZ SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA and JOAN DORMER is: 2. i. 2ND DUKE OF FERIA LORENZO7 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA, d. 27 Jan 1606/07, Naples, Italy. Generation No. 2 2. 2ND DUKE OF FERIA LORENZO7 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA (GOMEZ6, LORENZO5 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-TOLEDO, GOMEZ4 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA, LORENZO3, GOMEZ2, LORENZO1) died 27 Jan 1607 in Naples, Italy. He married (1) ISABEL DE CARDENAS Abt. 1577, daughter of BERNARDINO DE CARDENAS and JUANA DE BRAGANCA. He married (2) ISABEL DE MENDOZA Abt. 15862, daughter of INIGO LOPEZ-DE-MENDOZA and LUISA ENRIQUEZ-DE-CABRERA. She died 18 Sep 1593. Notes for 2ND DUKE OF FERIA LORENZO SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA: He held the title of the 2nd Duke of Faria, and the 1st Marquez of Villalba. He served as the Viceroy to Cataluna and Sicily.and as Ambassador to Rome. On January 1, 1607, he signed his last will and testament. Marriage Notes for LORENZO SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA and ISABEL DE CARDENAS: No issue from this marriage. Child of LORENZO SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA and ISABEL DE MENDOZA is: 3. i. 3RD DUKE OF FERIA GOMEZ8 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA, b. 1587; d. 12 Jan 1633/34. Generation No. 3 3. 3RD DUKE OF FERIA GOMEZ8 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA (LORENZO7 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA, GOMEZ6, LORENZO5 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-TOLEDO, GOMEZ4 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA, LORENZO3, GOMEZ2, LORENZO1) was born 1587, and died 12 Jan 1633/34. He married (1) DUCHESS FRANCISCA DE CORDOVA-Y-CARDONA 1607 in Valladolid, Spain3, daughter of ANTONIO FERNANDEZ-DE-CORDOVA-FOLCH-DE-CARDONA and JUANA FERNANDEZ-DE-CORDOVA-CARDONA-Y-ARAGON. She was born 1590, and died 25 Jan 1623 in Milan, Italy. He married (2) ANA FERNANDEZ-DE-CORDOVA-Y-FIGUEROA 18 May 1625 in Montilla, Cordova, Spain4, daughter of ALONSO FERNANDEZ-DE-CORDOVA-Y-FIGUEROA and JUANA ENRIQUEZ-DE-RIBERA-Y-GIRON. She was born Oct 1608 in San Juan de la Palma, Seville, Spain. Notes for 3RD DUKE OF FERIA GOMEZ SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA: From 1618 to 1625, he served as the Spanish Governor of Milan, Italy. Children of GOMEZ SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA and FRANCISCA DE CORDOVA-Y-CARDONA are: i. LORENZO9 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA, d. Died young. ii. ISABEL DE FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA, d. Died young. iii. JUANA DE FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA, d. Died young. Children of GOMEZ SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA and ANA FERNANDEZ-DE-CORDOVA-Y-FIGUEROA are: iv. 4TH DUKE OF FERIA GASPAR-LORENZO9 SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA, b. 1629. v. MARIA DE FIGUEROA-Y-CORDOVA, b. 1631. vi. BALTASAR SUAREZ-DE-FIGUEROA, b. Jul 1633. Endnotes 1. Glosas a la Casa de Cordova, Tomo Primero, by Don Vicente Porras Benito, Page 47.. 2. Glosas a la Casa de Cordova, Tomo Primero, by Don Vicente Porras Benito, Page 48. 3. Glosas a la Casa de Cordova, Tomo Primero, by Don Vicente Porras Benito, Page 52.. 4. Glosas a la Casa de Cordova, Tomo Primero, by Don Vicente Porras Benito, Page 53.. More pedigrees compiled by John Inclan, go to: www.somosprimos.com/inclan/inclan.htm |
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HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR SPANISH SURNAMES Source: eventos@genealogia.org.mx The encyclopedia by Alberto and Arturo Garcia Carraffa "Dicionario Heraldico y Genealogico de Apellidos Espanoles y Americanos" is renown as the bible of Spanish surnames. The listing given information as to the locations where surnames originated, coats of arms and brief genealogical lineages. The Library of Congress's Hispanic Reading Room has compiled a searchable index so that you can search for your surname and find which volume contains it. It also lists the few US libraries which have a copy of this encyclopedia. However, if you do not have access to these, the LDS church has microfilmed the entire work. The Cubagenweb site has a listing of the microfilm numbers and the correlation to the volumes for ease of ordering films at LDS family history centers. The encyclopedia is in Spanish but is easily translated. |
| Spanish Sons of the American Revolution |
| How the Spanish Ladies of Havana Saved
the Day for George Washington Floyd R. "Pete" Kendrick, Mexico SARS Patriots During the American Revolution from the Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires (A-B) by Granville Hough, Ph.D. |
How the Spanish Ladies of Havana Saved
the Day for George Washington In 1779 the resources of the Continental Army under General George Washington had deteriorated to a dangerous point. There were very few economic resources to support the American Revolution against Great Britain. Revolution financier, Robert Morris, could not devise a formula for obtaining new credit. French General, the comte de Rochambeau, wrote to Lieutenant General de Grasse on June 11, 1781, that the Americans were at the end of their resources. He requested that de Grasse, who had just arrived in what is now Haiti, raise 1,200,000 pounds to finance the Yorktown military campaign against English General Cornwallis. General de Grasse in Cape Haiten set about trying to raise funds and troops. All of this was happening at the same time that Spanish Admiral Solano was recruiting soldiers and readying ships for an attack on Pensacola to coordinate with war being waged by Spanish Governor Bernardo de Galvez against British-controlled Florida. De Grasse decided to appeal to the Spanish Colony of Cuba and sent three of his fastest frigates to Havana. The governor of Cuba at that time was Juan Manuel de Cagigal and his aid de camp was Francisco de Miranda (the future forerunner of Spanish-American independence). Miranda with a large committee of Cuban Creoles, organized the collection of funds that was to turn the tide of the American War of Independence. Great sums were offered by Havana merchants and private colonists. The larger part of the contribution, however, was produced by the ladies of the Cuban capital. They freely gave their diamonds, jewelry and gold singly, and through ladies’ lodges and associations which proliferated in Cuba and throughout America at that time. The French frigate Aigrette had on board the 1,200,000 pounds in less than a day (within five hours) after arriving in Havana. The immense funds collected in Havana financed the Yorktown campaign. The French fleet with its fortune reached Chesapeake Bay on August 30, 1781, and news reached General Washington at Chester, Pennsylvania on September 5. The tide was turned. The inscription on the memorial column at the battlefield of Yorktown reads: AT YORK ON OCTOBER 19 1781 AFTER A SIEGE OF NINETEEN
DAYS
1 Material for this article was compiled from an article by Edwardo J. Tejera, a Cuban born economist and advisors to the Banco Central of the Dominican Republic. He is also author on a book entitled "The Cuban Contribution to American Independence." Additional information came from a pamphlet entitled "The French Navy and the Independence of the United States". The pamphlet was a translation of an article which appeared in Cols Bleus , a magazine of the French Navy, of November 8 and 15, 1975. The pamphlet is available in the public library in Newport, Rhode Island.
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Floyd R. "Pete" Kendrick, Mexico Sons of the American Revolution Society Compatriots, It is with a heavy heart that I advise you of the death of Floyd R. "Pete" Kendrick. Pete was the charter president of the Bernardo Galvez chapter of the Mexico SAR Society, and also served as the charter Vice President of the Mexico SAR Society. For two years he served as president of the Mexico SAR Society and more recently he served as society treasurer. Pete was one of the most faithful members of the society, participating in all the meetings held in Mexico as well as the Nov. 2004 Cruise from Galveston to Mexico. He was the recipient of the SAR Bronze and Silver Good Citizenship Medals and the Meritorious Service Medal. He was a MXSSAR delegate to the recent Congress in Dallas. He was known for his wit and humor. He will be missed by those of us who were fortunate enough to know him. SAR has lost a valuable compatriot. Pete Kendrick's memorial service will be held at Rosewood Funeral Home on Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 2:00 p m at Rosewood Funeral Home, 2602 Old Humble Road, Humble, TX 77396 Phone: 281-454-2171. Fraternally, Ed Butler
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This month of November we will begin the listing of key soldiers who served under the Viceroy of Buenos Aires during the American Revolution, 1779-1783. Descendants of these soldiers can join the Sons of the American Revolution, because Spain joined with the United States, newly independent, and France, in the War with Britain. The example of freedom from European domination was clearly established in the minds of the soldiers and citizens, and within the lifetime of those who fought, nearly all the Spanish lands of the Western Hemisphere had established independence. The Virreinato de Buenos Aires was only established in 1776 after the war began far to the north in the English Colonies. The lands of Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay were within the new Viceroy’s jurisdiction; but they had been the most neglected portions of the Spanish Empire. They had none of the gold and silver found in Peru and Bolivia. What Paraguay and northern Argentina did have were the pampas, high plains of natural grasslands ideal for cattle, sheep, and horses. Soldier adventurers moving south from Peru and Bolivia soon discovered these lands and intermarried with the healthy and vigorous Indian tribes of the region, and established the gauchos, the ranching mestizos of the Southeast. They established huge ranches and became suppliers of beef, wool, and food for the mining operations of Peru and Bolivia. However, when they wanted to open harbors in the rivers and estuaries of the Rio de la Plata, they were resolutely refused for over 100 years. The authorities in Spain, and the merchants of Peru, feared that any opening to the Southeast would allow the gold and silver of Peru and Bolivia to move in that direction and break the monopoly they held. They even required that any European goods the gauchos wanted had to come from the North, which meant being off-loaded in Columbia or Panama, then moved 1000 miles in pack trains through the jungles and mountains to the pampas. It is no wonder the gauchos became a self-sufficient people. Not even Spanish ships were allowed in the Rio de la Plata, but the profits were so great that smuggling became rampant with other European countries and even with Spanish merchants. They could sell goods to the gauchos at one-fifth the price of those brought down from the North, and still make handsome profits. Finally, the Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires was established, and there was a brief war with Britain and Portugal on one side and Spain on the other side over access to the Rio de la Plata, the huge estuary leading to the interior. (Because this conflict included Portugal, King Carlos III did not want to join the general war against Britain until he had settled the conflict with Portugal.) Many of the veterans of this war on the Rio Plata later served at Pensacola under General Gálvez. By the end of the war, settlement of what are now Argentina and Uruguay began to flow directly from Europe. Forts were built at Buenos Aires, in Uruguay, and at key river junctions. Units included: Caballeria de Buenos Aires, Asamblea de la Provincia, records for years 1787, 1791, 1795, 1798. Caballeria de Buenos Aires, Cuerpo de Blandengues, years 1787, 1791, 1792, 1795, 1798. Caballeria de Buenos Aires, Regiment de Milicias, 1798. Dragones Regimiento de Buenos Aires, 1787, 1791, 1795, 1797, 1799, 1800. Infanteria de Buenos Aires, Asamblea de la Provincia, 1791, 1795, 1798. Infanteria Regimiento de Buenos Aires, 1787, 1791, 1795, 1797, 1798, 1800. Infanteria Regimiento de Milicia Provinciales Disciplinadas de Buenos Aires, 1799. Caballeria de Montevideo, Regimiento de Milicias, 1799. Caballeria de Montevideo, Cuerpo Veterano de Blandengues, 1798. Infanteria Batalion de Milicias of the Plaza of Montevideo, 1799. Infanteria Company of Veterans of Blandengues de Santa Fe, 1787, 1791, 1795, 1798. (One may note that all the dates are after the Revolutionary War was over; however, each record in the Legajos listed is a service record telling when that soldier enlisted and all the places he had served. A few will turn out to be too young, but their name frequently leads to a father or other older relative who did serve during the 1779-1783 period. Each record is really a fascinating story of a soldier’s life.) Antonio Abad. Sgt, Mil. Cab. Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:57. Teodoro Abad. Lt, Cab. Blandengues de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:VI:24. Enrique Aberasturi. Sgt, Mil. Cab. Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:61. José María Acevedo. Lt, Inf Mil, Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:I:16. Francisco Acosca. Sgt, 1st, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:139. Francisco Javier Acosta. Lt, Comp Blandenges de Santa Fe, 1795, Le g 7257:II:2. José Acosta. Sgt, Cab Blandengues, Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:XI:33. Domingo Adalid Rodriquez. Alférez, Mil Cab de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:22. Benito Aguiar. Alférez, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:35. Baltasar de Aguirre. Sgt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:41. Manuel Agustin. Sgt, Cab Blandengues Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:38, Monico Agustin. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:IX:67. Francisco Alagon. Alférez con grado de Lt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 1758:V:53. Juan de Alagon. Alférez, Mil Cab de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:25. Vicente Alagon. Lt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:50. Francisco Alba. Sgt, Bn Mil de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:III:30. Mariano Albizuri. Lt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:49. Francisco Alcaraz. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:IX:56. Francisco Alcoce. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:82. Jean de Alcocer. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1795, Leg 7257:IV:72. Mariano Alda. SubLt, Inf Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg &258:I:29. Pedro Antonio Aldecoa. SubLt de Bandera, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:117. Manuel José de Almeida. Sgt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XVIII:74. Antonio Alos. Alférez, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XVII:49. Pedro de Alvarado. Sgt, Cab Blandengues, Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:VI:49. Agustin Alvarez. Sgt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:66. Fernando Alvarez. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:76. Manuel Alvarez. Lt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:45. Manuel Alvarez de navia. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:189. Ignacio Alvarez y Tomas. SubLt de Bandera, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:IV:13 and 14. Eusebio Amaro. Sgt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:IX:17. José de Amat. Alférez, Mil de Cab de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:I:36. Manuel Amat. Sgt, Inf Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:I:36. Ramon Anadon. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:V:17 and 18. Felipe Ansotegui. Sgt, Cab Blandengues, Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:VI:33. Joaquin Aparicio. Sgt, Mil Cab Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:38. Antonio Aragon. Lt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:74. Pedro de Arce. Sgt Major with grade of Lt Col, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:40. Agustin Arenas. Capt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1795, Leg 7257:IV:16. José Arenas. Cadet, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:XI:6. Nicolás Arneaud. Sgt, Mil Cab Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:34. José Artigas. Adjutant Major, Cab Blandengues, Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:XIII:16. Manuel de Arrazola. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1800, Leg 7258:IV:7 and 8. Bernardino Arriola. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:IX:57. Antonio Arroyo. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:88. Francisco Asco. Cadet, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XVII:82. Vicente Asco. Cadet Dragones de Beunos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:105. Antonio Astorga. Sgt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:11:61. Vicente Augien. Lt, Inf Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:I:15. Miguel Azcuenaga. Comandante, Lt Col, Inf de Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, 7258:I:39. Fulgencio Azpiazu. Cadet, Cab Blandengues, Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:VI:13 and 14. Pedro Bacelar. Sgt, Asamblea Inf de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:X:8. Tomás Belaguer. Sgt, Cab Blandengues de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:XI:32. José María Balbanzo. Lt, Mil Cab Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:16. Juan Balbin de Vallejo. Capt, Bn de Mil de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:III:2. Manuel Balboa. Lt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II;23. Mateo Ballesteros. Capt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:54. Pedro Ballesteros. Lt with grade of Capt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1799. Leg 7258:IV:11 and 12. Francisco Ballucar. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:101. Joaquin Estefania de Banfi. Capt, grad Lt Col, Dragones de Buenos Aires 1798, Leg 7258:V:32. Juan Barragan. Sgt, Cab Blandengues Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:VI:43. Gregoria de la Barreda. Capt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:61. Juan Barrera. Sgt, Cab Blandengues de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:XI:35. Juan Bascones. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:95. Juan Jorge Batlog. Sgt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XVIII:81. Pedro Bauza. Portaguion, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:38. Elias Bayala. Sgt, grado of Alférez, Dragones Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:75. Pedro Bayo y Rospigllosi. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:151. Cosme Becar. Ayudante Mayor, grade of Capt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:???:5. Alejo Beiro. Sgt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:46. Agustin Bergrano Gonzalez. Lt, Cab Blandengues Monteviedo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:15. Carlos Belgrano Perez. Ayudante Mayor, Asamblea Cab Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:X:4&5. José Gregoria Belgrano Perez. Ayudante Mayor, Mil Cab Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:29. Juan Tomás Benitez. Sgt, Cab Blandengues de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XV:25. Juan Berguizas. Sgt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:140. José Bolaños. Ayudante Mayor, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:68. Pablo Boruti. SubLt, Inf Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:I:26. Miguel Borras. Lt, Cab de Blandengues de Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:10. Faustino José Bozo. Capt, Mil Cab, Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:5. Juan Breque. Sgt with grade of Alférez, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:69. Manuel de Bustamente. Alférez, Mil de Cab, Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:27. Juan Antonio Bustillos. Lt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:14. Francisco Caballero. Capt, grade of Lt Col, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:46. Ramón de Caceres. Capt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:2. Francisco Calabuig. Sgt, Cab Blandengues Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:29. José María de Calacette. Capt Granaderos, grade of Lt Col, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:30. Bernardo Calandre. Lt, Inf Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:I:20. Francisco Calbete. Sgt, Asamblea Inf de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XX:5. Francisco Asis Calvo. Lt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:15. Ignacio Calvo. Sgt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:II:26. Manuel Calleros. Alférez, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:26. Pedro Callorda. Alférez, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:34. Francisco Camargo. Sgt with grade of Alférez, Asamblea Cab de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:X:15. Manuel del Campo. Capt, Inf de Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:I:6. Antonio Cantero. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1795, Leg 7257:IV:78. José Cañete. Cadet, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:112bis. Juan Antonio Carabia. Alférez, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:29. Juan Antonio Carbajo. SubLt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:112. Melchor Carbajo. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1800, Leg 7258:IV:9 & 10. Vicente Carballo Goyeneche. Capt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1800, Leg 7258:V:2. Francisco Carcer. Portaguion, Dragoes de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:63. Andrés de Cardenas. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:33&34. Felipe Santiago Cardosa. Capt, Cab Blandengues de Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:4. Gonzalo Caro. SubLt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:XIV:148. Gabriel Casada. Alférez, Cab Blandengues Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:VI:32. José Casal. Sgt, Cab Blandengues Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:27. Antonio Casas. Sgt, Cab Blandengues Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:37. Diego Castañeda. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:84. Francisco Castañon. Capt, Mil Cab Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:6. Alfonso Castellanos. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:78. Francisco de Paula Castellanos. Cadet, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:108. Daniel Castilla. Sgt, Mil Cab de Montevideo, 1799k Leg 7258:II:95. Martin Castilla. Sgt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:XIV:86. José de Castro. Sgt, Inf Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:I:30. Laureano Castro. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:IX:60. Manuel Antonio Castro. Sgt, Mil Cab de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:41. Francisco José Celada. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:162. Juan Francisco Celada. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:175. Manuel Leonardo Celada. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:157. Antonio Cermeño. Sgt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:126. Bernabé Cermeño. Ayudante Mayor, Asamblea Cab de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:X:6&7. Manuel Cerrato. Lt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XVII:24. Manuel del Cerro. Capt, Inf Mil de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:XIX:14. Domingo Chauri. Lt Col, grade of Col, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:38. Bernardo Chavarria. SubLt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:XIV:153. Juan Antonio Chinchon. Sgt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XVIII:85. Pedro Ciruela. Sgt, Cab de Blandengues, Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:VI:47. José Civicos. Sgt, grade of Alférez, Asamblea Cab Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:X:8&9. Antonio Clara. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XVII:50. Francisco Climens. Capt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:53. Leon Colllman. Sgt, Mil Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:43. Manuel Colmenar. Sgt, Mil Cab Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IX:37. Vincent Juan Colomer. Lt, Cab Blandengues Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:VI:25. Ignacio César Conti. Lt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1787, Leg 7257:XVIII:43. Manuel Ignacio Conti. Ayudante Mayor, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:IV:69. Juan Cipriano Corbera. Cadet, Cab Blandengues, Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:55. Miguel Corbera. Sgt, grade of SubLt, Asamblea Inf Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:XI:7. Vicente Cortez. Capt, Cab Blandengues de Buenos Aires, Leg 7257:XV:7. Juan del Corral. Lt, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:XIV:31. Feliciano Correa. Sgt, Mil de Cab de Montevideo, 1799, Leg 7258:II:57. Antonio Costa. Capt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1799, Leg 7258:V:5&6. Lorenzo Cotarelo. Cadet, Inf de Buenos Aires, 1791, Leg 7257:XIV:151. Santiago Covarrubias. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:100. Manuel Cuervo. Sgt, Dragones de Buenos Aires, 1798, Leg 7258:V:83. Juan Cuesta. Lt, Cab Blandenguez Montevideo, 1798, Leg 7258:VIII:9. |
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2nd, Dia de Los Muertos Noche de Musica Nov 4th, Dia de Los Muertos, Cine, Musica, Arte, Altares, Comida Nov 11th, 10th Annual Veterans Day Celebration Nov 11th, Breath of Fire Theater Company: Rocks in My Salsa Nov 11th, A Evening with Posada, Day of the Dead Exhibit Nov 16th, Helping build the Latina Business Woman Third annual Olive Street Reunion, September 23 Champion of Latinos: Ruben Alvarez In Santa Ana, Diversity has Another Angle, Jay Trevino A soldier for Education, Maria Solis-Martinez |
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Join Santa Ana's vibrant arts community in this DAY OF THE DEAD night of music
and cinema at the historic FESTIVAL HALL. Show features LYSA FLORES, LAS 15
LETRAS, GO BETTY GO, TEREMOTO and a special afterparty with THE ROLLING BLACKOUTS. Tickets $10 for this THURSDAY nite event and include a selection of films celebrating the dead and the living. **A portion of all sales will benefit EL FESTIVAL's annual Holiday Book y Toy Giveaway and Community Breakfast.**
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Saturday
November 4th
05:00 pm doors open
06:00 pm movie screening
08:00 pm danza azteca
08:30 pm tierrita flamenca
09:00 pm Colin O'Leary
10:00 pm Cantamerica
10:30 pm Enrique Gaspar
11:00 pm Javier Amaro
WORKSHOPS
5pm-8pm calaveritas y papel picado
ALTARS BY ORGANIZATION:
Saint Joseph Ballet
Flamenco Institute
Sapo Cancionero
Kidseum
Grand Central Art Center
WHERE:
Cultural
Stage of Art COST:
$5
suggested donation HOW: For more information or to find out about exhibiting artwork, creating an altar or performing, call (714) 543-1370
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WHAT: Cultural Stage of Art opens its doors to Santa Ana and surrounding communities, inviting guests of all ages to enjoy a Day of the Dead Celebration in its intimate Spanish gypsy-inspired space. The event features a showcase of dance, altar exhibits, music, art, workshops and film screening. 410-B W. 4th St, Santa Ana CA 92701 714.543.1370 Dance:
Claudia de la Cruz and Tierrita Flamenca are slated to perform.
http://www.culturalstageofart.org
info@culturalstageofart.org Altar Exhibit: Groups and artists will create distinct altars honoring the dead. Bush & 3rd St, Santa Ana CA 92701 714.662.2002 http://www.calacasinc.com rudy@calacasinc.com Workshops: Guests can learn how to make and decorate calaveras de azucar (sugar skulls) and papel picado as well as participate in traditional Day of the Dead face painting Mexican Food: Tamales, hot chocolate, atole and pan de muerto will be available for purchase. Film Screening: Macario (1960), a classic Mexican film about the Day of the Dead directed by Roberto Gavaldón and starring Ignacio López Tarso will be shown. In Spanish with English subtitles. Art Exhibit: Our Day of the Dead underground gallery includes an array of local talented artists with oils, acrylics, mixed media work and installations. Artist includes XOSU3, Claudia McCain, Rudy Torres, Emilio Viera and MTA . ABOUT CULTURAL STAGE OF ART: CSA | FCA is a non-profit organization founded in 2000 by Claudia de la Cruz to provide quality flamenco dance training in the Santa Ana Artists Village Community. Today the CSA welcomes over 140 students from 12 communities each week and produces several public events annually for community members and local public schools. CSA | FCA also hosts film screenings, performances and art workshops. For more information visit: http://www.culturalstageofart.org ABOUT ESPACIOALTERNATIVO: ALT+165 Espacioalternativo is an underground bilingual ezine founded since 1997 supporting the subterranenan arts, music, film and events. Espacioalternativo main objective is to bring you the best of all underground cultures regardless of language boundaries or ethnic backgrounds, with a special emphasis in the underrepresented Latin Alternative, way beyond classifications and labels. Welcome to the most promiscuous generation of ideas, sounds and images. For more information visit: http://www.espacioalternativo.com ABOUT EL SAPO CANCIONERO: El Sapo Cancionero is an organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting Latin American music in Southern California. For over 5 years, El Sapo Cancionero has brought diverse singers and groups such as Alfonso Maya, Viola Trigo, Fernando Delgadillo, Mexicanto, MamaCoatl, Luis Jahn, Leon Teixeiro, Gabino Palomares, Tere Estrada and Alejandro Santiago to Orange County and Los Angeles. For more information visit: www.myspace.com/sapocancionero
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Breath of Fire Theater, the Company that brought you - The Mexican OC - |
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Contemporary life in Los Angeles, somewhere between Chicana and Mexican. Where chicken and an orgasm become taboo. You hold a rock while grandma held a bible and self discovery happens at the bottom of a dirty martini glass. And special performances: The Tale of Calzones Cagados aka Pretty-Pretty Princess, by Sara Guerrero & When Songleaders go Bad!, by Elizabeth Szekeresh When: Friday, November 10 @ 8pm & Saturday, November 11 @ 4pm &@ 8pm General Admission $12.00 Seniors &Students w/ ID $10.00 Where: Breath of Fire Theater Company @ El Centro Cultural De Mexico 310 W. 5th Street, cross street Broadway Blvd., Santa Ana , CA 92701 For Reservations, call: 714-785-0764 or Email: breathoffiretheater@yahoo.com Background: Monica Palacios talent for recognizing emerging artists and helping them craft their stories has become one of her specialties. In 1996 Palacios was teaching autobiographical creative writing classes at UCLA through the Chicana/o Studies Department when she met Cristina Nava who was her student. Cristinas talents stood out and Monica invited her to be part of an evening she produced featuring young Latino writers. This mentorship turned into a friendship and blossomed over 10 years while both artists pursued their individual careers. In 2004 Monica debuted her one person show: Get Your Feet Wet and wrote a small part for Cristina who nailed this funny delivery. Very impressed with Cristinas performance, Monica approached her and said: I want to write a solo show for you, and Rocks In My Salsa was born. Rocks In My Salsa has been the offspring of both women. For almost 2 years, Palacios and Nava met on a regular basis to have discussions about life, sex, politics and from these sit-ins, chunks of Cristinas performance started to emerge. Much of the focus has been on gender and cultural expectations of Latina women; the lack of Latinas/os in theater, film and TV and enough complaining--be part of the solution, already! And with that Breath of Fire Theater Company is very excited to have both women who understand and support BOFTCs mission and purpose to have the opportunity to nurture, celebrate and advance Latina performing arts. Both BOFTC Members Sara Guerrero and Elizabeth Szekeresh are honored to share this performance space with friends and fellow artist Nava and Palacios. www.myspace.com/boft In a message dated 10/25/2006 11:39:39 AM Pacific Standard Time,
breathoffiretheater@yahoo.com |
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Dia De Los Muertos Art Exhibit Featured artists: Christina Martinez (CSUF alumni) and Diego Aguirre (CSUF student) Saturday,
November 11 Contact
info: comandanteYeyo@gmail.com
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Third annual Olive Street Reunion Information and photos sent by Ricardo Valverde RValverde@ochca.com Fun was had by all at the third annual Olive Street Reunion. The event was held at "Sigler Park" in the city of Westminster, California on September 23, 2006. Over one hundred and thirty friends and family celebrated life and what it means to be bound together by a common place called home. The reunion was started as a rebirth of the old and almost forgotten barrio of West whose main street was called Olive.The families that settled on and around Olive street came to the area in a search for a better life, a better place to settle and raise their children. The people of the neighborhood struggled, grew and overcame many obstacles. The "Gonzalo Mendez Case" that set precedent in eliminating segregation of Mexicans in the schools was born, funded and fought by many calling Westminster their home. Four years ago a few of us looked to the past and expressed our sadness that such a rich and wonderful history was fading and being lost as many of our senior family members were passing away. We decided to stop that with our first reunion. We got together to share stories, memories, photos and food. Our group has grown and so has the reunion. Many lost friendships and memories are now alive and well in Westminster. Many now look at Olive Street and remember the faces of the past and how life in the barrio has changed over the years. The reunion's main objective was to keep the friendships and memories
developed in the past vivid in the present and it continues towards this
goal. |
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The Hispanic Heritage Month display in the lobby of the Orange County Register was a great success. The end result is even more exciting. Through the efforts of Ruben Alvarez, the Register has agreed to publish 10,000 copies of a publication targeted for Orange County schools, a compilation of the mini-biographies of the OC Latino 100. |
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| Champion of Latinos
—K.B. Keilbach RUBEN ALVAREZ JR. President and founder, Stay Connected OC Emerging Markets Network Age: 46 Residence: Santa Ana Family: Divorced; 2 children Hobbies: Writing and photography Ruben Alvarez Jr. has always been good at connecting with people. His company, Stay Connected OC, is a marketing and consulting service for the emerging business community, with a particular focus in integrating business contacts and raising the image of Latinos in Orange County. Working with a diverse list of clients from the Center for Diabetes Research to Libreria Martinez Books & Art Gallery he has helped people reach out to new and expanding business markets for the past four years. Stay Connected Updates his weekly e-mail newsletters have included events involving the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, National Latina Business Women Association OC, National Hispanic Business Women Association, and National Society of Hispanic MBAs, to name a few. This year, Alvarez took his business venture one step further with the publication of the Latino OC 100, a compilation of individuals who he says have “made an impact on the OC Latino community.” Recipients include business and political leaders, community volunteers, teachers, students, attorneys, judges, doctors, middle managers and program directors. “We’re going for unsung heroes. People who are involved in the community but, for one reason or another, never get the recognition they deserve,” says Alvarez. RUBEN ALVAREZ, Founder of the LATINO OC 100 STAY CONNECTED OC~Emerging Markets Network Your solution to Marketing, Public Relations, Special Events E-mail stayconnected2004@yahoo.com 714-331-3095 |
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In a city where Latinos make up 76% of the population, what does diversity mean? The answer: Depends on whom you ask. Officials at Santa Ana City Hall are promoting economic diversity in the city's downtown, where most businesses cater to Mexican immigrants. At the Mexican consulate, the emphasis is on increasing cultural diversity among the city's Mexican immigrants. With about 27% of those immigrants from the state of Michoacán, consular officials have been encouraging those from other Mexican states to highlight their culture at public celebrations in Santa Ana. And finally, Latino immigrants who aren't from Mexico talk about the city's lack of diversity among its Spanish-speaking population. So many residents are from Mexico that those from other Latin American countries often need to explain, with some frustration, that they are not from Mexico. In Santa Ana, diversity does not carry the same meaning it does in most of America. The city is already well-represented by "minorities" who make up the majority of the population. Latinos hold four of the seven seats on the City Council. More than half of city employees are Latinos, and any city employee who has contact with the public is required to speak at least two languages. Spanish is spoken in many Santa Ana businesses as well. City officials and developers have turned diversity into the new buzzword while working on plans to improve 100 blocks, mostly around downtown. Currently, downtown businesses, including about 15 bridal shops and 20 travel agencies, are oriented to Mexican immigrant families. The city's redevelopment agency has bought dozens of homes along Santa Ana Boulevard and hired an architectural firm to design a plan that would attract more upscale private enterprise to the area. At numerous meetings, city residents and the architects brainstormed about how to bring in retailers such as Old Navy, which might attract customers who don't typically shop downtown. This largely untapped market includes workers in nearby county offices and courts. Jay Trevino, executive director of the city's Planning and Building Agency, said the city's push for diversity downtown wasn't about ethnicity but economics. "We want diversity in terms of goods and services," Trevino said. "We want to make sure it's a downtown for all people. It's about consumers asking themselves, 'Is there a reason for me to go there? Is there a place for me to eat? To buy things I want to buy?' " City officials have been careful to emphasize that the plan doesn't seek to eliminate existing business, just broaden the mix. Yet some say diversification means gentrification. "The city uses that word, 'diversity,' all the time," said Elsa Gomez, a downtown tax preparer. "When they say it, it means they want to change what's here, and that means relocating people." In recent years, hundreds of lofts have been built and drawn more affluent residents downtown. Some merchants wonder whether there will be enough new non-Latino customers to support new stores and restaurants. Frank Palmer, another tax preparer, said creating districts like San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter had worked in many places, "but there's a lot of doubts whether it can work here." The Mexican consulate sees increasing diversity but of a different flavor. Consul Luis Miguel Ortiz Haro has encouraged the formation of groups from parts of Mexico other than Michoacán to promote cultural awareness, friendship and remittances, or sending money back home. After hurricane damage in the state of Sinaloa last month, a Southland event last weekend raised money for victims. Also last week, at a fair in Centennial Park, it wasn't Michoacános running the show but residents from the tiny southwestern coastal state of Nayarit. There are about 20,000 natives of the state in Santa Ana, and the event attracted the Nayarit's governor to Santa Ana on Saturday. "This festival was so different. It was like Nayarit was here," said Dely Delegado, founder of the Nayarit Assn. in the USA. "We saw our people and our governor. They even had dancers doing the estampa, and you can't find that in another [Mexican] state." Consul Ortiz said the Nayarit festival "shows that groups from states other than Michoacán are feeling increasingly comfortable here. We have welcomed them with open arms." Still, many from other Latin American countries feel like outsiders. Alex Suarez, who recently emigrated from Cuba, is struggling to explain Cuban cuisine to customers of his new catering service. "People tend to think if it's Latino, it must be Mexican, particularly around here, where everyone is Mexican," Suarez said. "It's their surprise to find there are no jalapeños." Three years ago, Norah Briceño opened a Venezuelan restaurant, Mil Jugos, in downtown Santa Ana. At the eatery, whose name translates to "a thousand juices," she serves a variety of drinks, plus arepas, thick corn flour patties. It's a dish not known to most Mexicans. "The idea with the restaurant was to share a little of my culture. To add to the mix here," Briceño said. "Luckily, people tell their friends about my food, but it's a constant task of telling people that it's not Mexican." Churro vendor Jose Ortiz believes the broader phenomenon of diversity in downtown Santa Ana will come naturally, as children and grandchildren of Mexican immigrants become Americanized. And to make sure his business doesn't get left behind, Ortiz has started to offer something else besides churros, the sugared bread treat popular in Mexico. "That's why I'm diversifying with pretzels," he said. | ||
 A soldier for educationBy Celeste Navejas, The Orange County Register, Sept 29, 2006 http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/article _1291953.php A community volunteer works to keep young people on a path to success. To our readers: Maria Solis-Martinez has been honored as one of Orange County's inaugural Latino OC 100, which celebrates the contributions of "upcoming, accomplished and influential" Hispanics, as well as non-Hispanics serving the community. This is the third of five Friday profiles in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15. Photo: Trisha Lynch, OC Register For more than 35 years Maria Solis-Martinez has been pushing Orange County kids to pursue education, to strive for something more. As a speaker at schools and "Door Mother" for Tech Trek, a girls' science camp established by the American Association of University Women, she mentors young people to pursue their dream careers. The Air Force veteran is one of 10 children and the first woman from her family to graduate from college. She grew up in a time when Latinas weren't always encouraged to pursue a degree. Through volunteering she shares her love of education with others. Q: What do you value or cherish? A:To be a success you really have to take advantage of the opportunities around you. I took advantage of opportunities, I was a soldier, working, and going to school. You also have to have a positive attitude and surround yourself with positive people. I value the positive friends and family that I have. Q: What do you seek to bring or to give to the community? A: I try to motivate kids to stay in school, graduate from high school and pursue a vocational or college degree. For example, with the Youth Motivation Task Force, our main goal is to improve the drop-out rate. Sometimes I get 20 minutes to speak, and I see it as having 20 minutes to make an impact. The more I see the kids that I mentor succeed, the more I want to inspire more kids. Q: As a longtime Orange County resident, do you think much has changed? A lot of things have changed, but I still think there's a lot of room for improvement. In education, sometimes parents try to hold their kids back and think they're better off just getting a job after high school. We need more support for kids to get educated. Q: What was the last book you read? A:"Journey to the Future" by Consuelo Castillo Kickbush. It's about how you can get through school, and it has different chapters on integrity, work ethic, etc. I enjoyed it. Q: Whom do you admire and why? A: Dolores Huerta, a labor leader and activist, for all that she does for Latinos. She is her own person and does a lot for women. Consuelo Kickbush, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and author, for her work motivating kids to stay in school. Alex Maldonado, a founder of the Orange County League of United Latin American Citizens, because he has always supported the people's causes. He's a role model, a Latino statesman. Maria Solis-Martinez Age: 67 Occupation: Retired U.S. Air Force, retired cost analyst for Rockwell InternationalResidence: AnaheimFamily: Married 21 years, husband Rufino; five brothers, four sisters Education: Cypress College; bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of La Verne. Biographical tidbit: Born and grew up in Santa Ana's Delhi barrioActivities/organizations: League of United Latin American Citizens, American Association of University Women, Vietnam Veterans of America.Quote: "If it's going to be, it's up to me." | ||
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THE DATE:
Dec 9: Guy Gabaldon Memorial, Montebello Nov 4: First Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar Nov 16: National Latina Business Women Association, Queen Mary AIMSA, International Association of Salvadorean Women Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection In 1924 Los Angeles, A Scourge From The Middle Ages |
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SAVE THE DATE. . . GUY GABALDON
MEMORIAL |
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4th: FIRST ANNUAL LOS ANGELES ARCHIVES BAZAAR Sent by Janete Vargas jamagna@yahoo.com and Lorraine Hernandez Lmherdz@hotmail.com and ConniePCU@aol.com If you are researching any imaginable subject concerning Los Angeles and wish to know what archives hold materials of greatest interest to you, then you cannot afford to miss the "First Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar" at the Huntington Library, Saturday, 4 November, 2006. 10 am to 4 pm. Co-sponsored by the LA as Subject Archives Forum, the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, and the Los Angeles History Research Group, this major event will feature "booths" representing more than 40 archives in the Los Angeles region, specializing in materials relating to Los Angeles and covering the full range of subjects, from the arts and culture, to communities, economics, and politics. Researchers will be able to browse a wide array of subject matter, talk to archivists about their holdings, and make appointments right there, to visit and research in The many archives represented. Advisers will also be available to introduce researchers to more than 200 archives that are members of the LA as Subject Archives Forum, which maintains an active online directory of archives. Throughout the event, a series of speakers will also discuss the holdings of their archives, which range from the very large to less-visible, but infinitely valuable, community-based archives scattered throughout the Los Angeles metropolis. Parking & admission to the Bazaar is absolutely free and no registration is required (Admission to the Huntington Gardens is not included). Light lunch and refreshments will be provided free of charge. Please visit the LA as Subject Archives Forum to learn more about the 200+ member archives and for more information about this event: http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/arc/lasubject/workshop.htm |
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National Latina Business Women Association Save the Date: November 16. . Helping Build the Latina Business Woman |
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 AIMSA, Asociacion Internacional de Mujeres Salvadoreñas AIMSA: Asociacion Internacional de Mujeres Salvadoreñas Una vision para el futuro Se fundo en el año 1996., Surge con el animo de ayudar a connacionales en el exterior y en nuestras comunidades de origen. Nuestra Mision Servir como modelos positivos a nuestra juventud mantener nuestra identidad por medio de la educacion, cultura, y programas sociales, guiar, apoyar y orientar a la comunidad Latina Unidas con un solo proposito el de ayudarnos unas con otras en momentos de nesecidad.- AIMSA: ha hecho la diferencia en las vidas de muchos Salvadoreños, la organizacion ha hechos muchos canvios a traves de los años siempre nos hemos mantenido nuestra verdadera mision. AIMSA: Constituye un anvance significativo de los esfuerzos y la integracion de la mujer Salvadoreña. AIMSA: The Foundation is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) corporation in California AIMSA: premio a la mujer Salvadoreña LOGROs: Entre nuestros eventos tenemos el premio a "La Mujer Salvadoreña Ahora" Este  premio fue instituido a partir de 1996 a mujeres lideres de nuestra comunidad a mujeres que
sueñan, mujeres que luchan por sus derechos, somos el pasado somos el presente y somos el
futuro. AIMSA organiza, Capacita y fortalece liderazgo entre las mujeres haciendo asi un puente de respetuo mutuo entre las distintas organizaciones de las comunidades participando en sus
actividades.-
AIMSA: Ofrece becas escolares en USA y El Salvador .- En el 2005 se ayudo a graduarse a 35 Alumnos en
El Salvadro http://www.inframenes.com// Instituto Nacional Francisco Menendez y se donaron 4 becas de $100.00 | |
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Directiva Presidenta/Fundadora, Mirian V. Karaoglanian Vice-Presidenta, Julia Cortez-Vila Secretaria, Norma Ayala Tesorera, Angelica Martinez http://www.aimsausa.org |
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Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection http://www.lapl.org Sent by Johanna De Soto The Los Angeles Public Library has digitized over 60,000 images from the History and Genealogy Department's Photo Collection. This Internet-accessible collection is one of the treasures of the Central Library and images are continually being added from the archive. These images are from various collections described in the Photo Collection Overview. The emphasis of the photo database is Los Angeles, Southern California life and California history. [[Editor: For fun, I decided to look up some locations from my background. I was brought up in Los Angeles and went to Hollenbeck Jr. High in East LA. You just enter a keyword which I did and I found a photo that was historically insightful.
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From the Herald-Examiner
collection: From left to right: James Reinhard, principal; Frances Maure, student; Russell H. Sloan, instructor; and Lawrence Horen, student, all of Hollenbeck Junior High School, are shown inspecting the new reduced size war bonds. Students of this school are leading the nation in average monthly sales of war stamps. Photo dated: January 21, 1944. I was not at Hollenbeck at that time, I started in 1945, but reading that the students at Hollenbeck Junior High were leading the nation in average monthly sales of war stamps . . really made me proud. Our older siblings were attending at that time. The student body took great pride in being the most ethnically diverse junior High in Los Angeles. So we were not only patriotic, we were living in a multi-cultural, multi-racial school environment being taught that we were all Americans. |
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Angels Flight Another fond memory was taking Angels Flight home from down town Los Angeles. Prior to moving to the east side, we lived west of Angels Flight, a short cable railway located on Hill and 3rd Streets. We would walk through the tunnel to the left in this photo, shop at the Grand Central Market, and if we had the nickel fair to take Angels Flight, we would a fun adventure. In this 1969 photo from the William Reagh collection, you are looking down the tracks from the top of Angels Flight. It is quite steep, the seats arranged as steps. If you have history or heritage in Los Angeles the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection is a great way to round out family stories.]]
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of Dia de los Muertos events in California Nov 2: Mexican Consul of San Francisco Die de los Muertos Event Nov 2: Procesion Ritual del Dia de los Muertos, San Francisco Rancho Camulos Museum, Ventura County Records of California men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1867 St. Monica's Catholic Church, Baptism Records (1886-1889) |
Calendar of Dia de los Muertos activities in California Posted by California Latino Arts Network. http://www.latinoarts.net http://www.latinoarts.net/newsletter102006/LAN%20Newsletter%20-%20November %202006%20.html Sent by webmistress Rebecca Nevarez info@latinoarts.net |
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The Mexican Consul of San Francisco invites
the community to view the mural at el Dia de los Muertos event.
"A usanza tradicional y con el verdadero sabor de nuestro pais."
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PROCESION RITUAL DEL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 2006 |
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Sent by Dorinda Moreno dorindamoreno@comcast.net Source: Juan Pablo Gutierrez juanpgutierrez@sbcglobal.net Thursday Nov. 2, at 7:00 pm Corner of 24th and Bryant St. San Francisco, CA The Ritual Procession takes place on November 2nd traditionally known as the Day of the Dead and has been an annual community celebration in the Mission District for almost three decades. This procession is a project of El Colectivo Del Rescate Cultural, a grass-roots collective dedicated to the rescue, preservation and promotion of the ancestral indigenous cultural and spiritual heritage of Mexicanos, Chicanos, and Latinos, in collaboration with the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, La Galeria De La Raza, local artists and cultural workers. The Day of the Dead Ritual Procession for 2006 is dedicated to OMETEOTL, who is considered to be the supreme God-Goddess of duality, who beyond the heavens, gives birth and sustenance to all that exists. He-She is beyond the earth, “in the waters of the blue colored bird”, which circle the world, he-she is above the clouds and yet is present in, “the region of the dead”. He-she is in one word, Tloque Nahuaque, owner of that which is far and near, Lord of space and time. This years Ritual Procession honors the life of Carlos Aceituno who’se contribution to Latino Arts and Culture serve as an example to all of us. The San Francisco Day of the Dead Ritual Procession has become the largest in the continental United States, each year attracting over 20,000 participants and observers. The Procession is led by the 13 Sacred Standards which represent the ancient Aztec and pre-Cortezan ritual to honor the dead. Foremost the Ritual Procession is an affirmation of our common life cycle. We start, make 4 stops, and end the procession by calling forth to all five directions: to the East, where the sun rises everyday, and direction of Fire; to the South, the tropical wetlands of Mexico and Central America, and direction of the life giving element of Water; to the West, where the sun goes down, and direction of the Wind; to the North, direction of the Earth and location of the cold land of the beyond; and finally, to the Center, the direction of the Spirit that brings us back onto the universal spiral. El Colectivo Del Rescate Cultural recognizes the invaluable contributions of; Yleana Martinez, Kevin Woodson, Adriana &Tom Williams, Dr. Horacio R Ramirez, Dr. Maria Lopez of Los Portales Pharmacy, Juan Pablo Gutierrez, Maria Rosa Galdamez, Camila Osorio, Francisco X Alarcon, Juan Fuentes Cynthia Aviles, Antonio Aragon, Luis Alberto De La Garza y Campos, Lichen, Loco Bloco, Mission Police Station, Luis Ruiz, Starhawk, Rose Arrieta, Linda Wilson, Dolores Terrazas, David Miller, Benito Moreno, Pamela Quatrochi, Michael Raunner, Jannie Sifuentes, Mirian Febo, &Peter Duarte. Contact information: Tel. (650) 992-3817, E-Mail juanpgutierrez@sbcglobal.net The 50 Ritual Procession Volunteer GUARDIANES : Will be identified by wearing the official black T-shirt of the Procession with the words GUARDIAN De La Cultura. They will be responsible for keeping the Ritual Procession participants as close together as possible, and following instructions of the Mission Police escorts, particularly at intersections, |
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Records of California men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1867 http://www.ancestry.com/s23557/t8730/rd.ashx Sent by Johanna De Soto Table of Contents Title page Front matter Record of California Men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1867 Proposed invasion of California from Texas; evidence of sympathy with rebellion in the state and adjacent territories Proposed invasion of Texas via Mexico The California Column The First Regiment of Cavalry The Second Regiment of Cavalry First Battalion of Native Cavalry First Regiment of Infantry First Battalion of Veteran Infantry Second Regiment of Infantry Third Regiment of Infantry Fourth Regiment of Infantry Fifth Regiment of Infantry Sixth Regiment of Infantry Seventh Regiment of Infantry Eighth Regiment of Infantry First Battalion of Mountaineers The "California Hundred" and "Battalion." An incomplete list of the stations occupied by California troops. Sacramento: State Office, 1890. |
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Acknowledgments: Many thanks for the
permission, cooperation and assistance of Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson, Jim
Tuverson and Parish Administrator Mike Mottola in the extraction of Saint
Monica's Parish records. Child: Florencio Valenzuela
Child: Maria Roque Valenzuela Child: Carmen Rios Child: Teodoro Francisco Billa Child: Rafael Bernardo Lalong Child: Ernest Teofolo Vashe Child: Maria Sarajosa Garino Child: Andres Pedro Ramon Machado Child: Victoria Sepulveda Child: Magdalena Errata Child: Francisco Lugo Child: Ernesto Pedro Machado Child: Manuel Perez Child: Geraldo Olivares Child: Jose Ramon Ruiz Child: Juan Eusebio Farias Child: Maria Evalinda Rocha Child: Juan Rodriguez Child: Porfirio Elpidio Eugenio Higuera Child: Atalea Duron Child: Alberto Reynold Child: Julia Patricia Belnal y Talamantes Child: Amalia Medarda Tapia Child: Andrea Isabel Muñe Child: Marcial Arturo Valenzuela Child: Pedro Alfonso Baldez Child: Vibiana Baldez Child: Jose Alberto Valenzuela Child: Laura Salgado Child: Claudia Ultirez Child: Cornelia Victoria Cota Child: Jose Maria Cayetano Lugo Child: Jose Guadalupe Tautino Child: Louis Rey Marquez Child: Jose Julian Cruz Child: Ramon Norito Romero Child: Maria Estefana Machado Child: Dolores Contrerez Child: Maria Felipe Quiros Child: Gregoria Adelina Manriquez Child: Jacinto Talamante Child: Juana Saragosa Spencer Child: Petra Reyes Child: Pedro Tomas Sepulveda Child: Julian Gerardo Soto Child: Juan Jose Flores Child: Alonzo Bojorquez Child: Guadalupe Farias Child: Manuel de Jesus Valenzuela Child: Andres Francisco Tapia Child: Teodoro Benito Billa Child: Fernando Federico Bull Child: Jose Juan Badillo Child: Aurelia Cecilia Ranjel Child: Federico Rosauro Marquez Child: Juan Marquez Child: Maricel de Jesus Marquez Child: Eugenio Baldez Child: Francisca Josefa Lopez Child: Juana Ynez Higuera Child: Maria Rosa Oril Child: Nieves Dolorato Marquez Child: Juana Rita Talamantes Child: Felipa Buelna Child: Juan Refugio Lugo Child: Jose Eugenio Farias Child: Venancia Rosaura Figueroa Child: Robert Anthony Hernandez Child: Crisostomo Garcia Child: Wencesla Bibiana Cota Child: Juan Olviarez Child: Prudencio Luis Olivera Child: Constancia Alazar Child: ------ Salgado Child: Gracia Saragosa Placida Machado Child: Clotilda Tapia Child: Herminia Rios Child: Luciana Romero Child: Vibiana Valdez Child: Juana Valdez Child: Victoria Adela Gomez Child: Eliador Valenzueal Child: Jose Maria Joaquin Innocento Bojorquez Child: Lucia Olivero Child: Candelaria Esperanza Ortega Child: Juan de Dios Barrero Child: Jose Slert Child: Juan Timoteo Abril Child: Herminia Sepulveda Child: Rafael Marquez Child: Antonino Valenzuela Child: Carlota Badillo Child: Ricardo Francisco Machado Child: Juan Francisco Lopez Child: Maria de Pilar Sierras Child: Juan Luariano Machado Child: Vicente Margarita Lesillos Child: Henrique Lugo Child: Aurelia Simona Moñe Child: Maria Petra Teresa Saens Child: Jose Ramon Caranzo Child: Guadalupe de Mercedes Moralis[sic] Child: Rafael Utimeo Morales Child: Aurelia Vasquez Child: Ramon Presentacion Ruiz Child: Zoila Dolores Ruiz Child: Maria Antonia Bernardilo Martina Cota Child: Rosana Albertino Rios Child: Maria Sabina Villa Child: Ana Maria Magdalena Olivera Child: Hermangilda Marquez Child: Francisco Rios Child: Luis Valenzuela Child: Amelia Juana Marquez Child: Maria de Jesus Bojorquez Child: Lazaro Epiminondas Higuera Child: Henriquez Lopez Child: Audelina Slert Child: Matias Ranjel Child: Carlota Ricarda Tapia Child: Petra Hortensia Cruz Child: Arturo Cota Child: Maria Bernarda Cruz Child: Melitone Eliseo Farias Child: Aurora Gonsalez Child: Ramon Vochet Child: Alberto Valenzuela Child: Ireneo Muñe Child: Felicidad Abril Child: Estefana Sepulveda Child: Micaela Refugio Marquez Child: Eduardo Ignacio Farias Child: Alberto Salgado Child: Luis Pedro Badillo Child: Pedro Rico Talamantes Child: Isabel Petra Talamantes Child: Delfina Talamantes Child: Jose Feliz Monroy Child: Jose Diego Jermin Machado Child: Jose Rios Child: Marcos Gomez Child: Jose Vitalis Figueroa Child: Tomas Dolores Garcia Child: Jose Domingo Olivarez Child: Praxedes Gorge Child: Guadalupe Josefa Donahue Child: Adela Landerez Child: Salvadorra de los Angeles Arcia Child: Melina Felipa Bojorquez Child: Jose Jesus Tresillas Child: Martina Olivera Child: Castillo Pascual Marquez Child: Maria Josefa Machado Child: Eliza Dille Brunier Child: Lorenzo Gabriel Quiros Child: Brigida Fernandez Child: Juan Garcia Child: Gregoria Reyes Child: Pilar Martina Francisca Gertrudis Cota Child: Crispina Rios Child: Juanita Virginia Farias Child: Quitana Anacleta Tapia Child: Manuel Marquez Child: Margarita Noleno Child: Laurenza Martina Bojorquez Child: Ynes Margarita Ward Child: Alberto Marquez Child: Petra Salvadora Carancio Child: Nepolita Senaida Soto Child: Roberto Preciado Child: Pedro Porfirio Machado Child: Donaciano Leanor Ranjel Child: Juan Crisostomo Olivarez Child: Jose Tapio Child: Maria Concepcion Sepulveda Child: Maria Josefa Olivera
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of the Duke of Alburquerque Policarpo Castro, a mestizo, native of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Crossing the Line Latino Fatherhood & Families Conference |
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The City of Albuquerque (modern has dropped the first "r" in the name) is named after the tenth Duke of Alburquerque, Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva Enriquez. Between 1702 and 1711 he held the office of Virrey (Viceroy), the chief administrative official presiding over the vast Spanish possessions in North America, Mexico, and Central America. In 1956 his descendant, don Beltran Alfonso Osorio y Dfez de Rivera Martos y Figueroa, 18th Duque de Alburquerque, visited the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding. On this occasion he presented the citizens of Albuquerque with a 300-year old armorial wall hanging, called a Repostero, containing his family coat-of-arms. Through his gift, don Beltran Osorio sought to commemorate his ties with the city founded in the name of his ancestor. The Repostero was made in Messina, Sicily, about 1665 when the eighth Duke of Alburquerque, Francisco Fernandez de la Cucva, was stationed there as governor of the island. It is composed of silk fabrics embroidered with gold and silver threads that have been sewn to a jute backing. The significance of the border and the central shield of the Repostero was explained by the Duke of Alburquerque in a 1957 letter to the late Professor T. M. Pearce of the University of New Mexico, who coordinated the visit of the Duke. Border of the Repostero The border is an independent decorative addition that pictures trophies of war such as shields, helmets, trumpets, lances, pikes, battle-axes, cross-bows, muskets and cannon. Crown Over the Repostero The crown of a duke, representing the noble lineage of the Duke of Alburquerque, appears above the central shield. The Shield, or the Repostero Proper The center shield (escutcheon) is the Repostero proper, which is composed of two vertical halves of equal size, on which the arms of six families are represented. Left Side of the Repostero The dragon shown on the lower left side, and the red bars or stripes above it are the oldest symbols associated with the coat-of-arms. The Cuevas were natives of Navarre, and one their knights, don Beltran, is reported to have slain a dragon or a serpent in the kingdom of Aragon at the mouth of a cave (Cueva). Thus the origin of the Cueva name, the dragon, and the red bars or stripes of Aragon. The eight crosses of St. Andrew surrounding these stripes were added to the shield because of the participation of knights bearing the Cueva name at the capture of Baeza from the Moors on St. Andrew's Day, in the year 1227. The other half of the left side of the Repostero contains a field of red with two castles in gold and a red lion mounted on silver. These are emblems honoring the Enriquez family, maternal line of the eighth Duke of Alburquerque. Right Side of the Repostero The right side of the Repostero contains the heraldic devices of four families to which the Cueva-Enriquez line is related by marriage. The escutcheon of gold with two cows passant (walking) represents the Armendariz line, as does the castle of silver. To the right of the castle are three bands of green representing the Afan de Rivera family. Below the green stripes is the Saavedra escutcheon of silver, with checker-board bands of gold and red. In the center of the lower right half of the Repostero is the sun symbol. This emblem belongs to the Dfez de Aux family and refers to the traditional legend of the Knight of Aux, who during the reconquest of Spain saved the wounded Godfrey of Bologne and his ten companions from death, killing sixteen enemy Moors. Prior to installation in the exhibit Four Centuries, the Repostero was carefully stabilized and a special frame was made to support its weight. The project was done by skilled textile conservators and required more than a year to complete. This conservation was underwritten in part by the Albuquerque Historical Society, Sandia Embroiderers Guild, and public donations. Copyright 1999, The Albuquerque Museum All Rights Reserved http://www.cabq.gov/museum |
| POLICARPO CASTRO, a
mestizo, native of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Taken from Dr. Manuel Gamio book, El Mexicano Imigrante, pub. l967 Universidad Nacional Autonima de Mexico. Dr. Gamio got his Phd from Columbia. He and his team interviewed 72 immigrants l925-27.. Submitted by Frank Sifuentes Policarpo Castro: My trade is mason/ bricklayer.. Started learning it when I was very young, since my father, two of my uncles and my three brothers had the same trade. And started to learn this work when I was still a child. I worked at taking the bricks, making the mixtures among other things. And learned other ways to assist to produced the structures of buildings and homes.. Now I am married and have five children. I know almost all of the areas in the Republic of Mexico, and every bit of my native state. And was in all parts, working - almost always - in my given trade of mason, brick layer, and in other parts in commerce. The masons in Mexico are not like the northamericans, that only know how to lay brick or one specific part of the work. No, in Mexico one learns the entire trade,, like the use of the shovel, and even to build a house. According to custom all one has to say is how many rooms they want. Then one makes the drawing, without all the planning like North Americans, and calculate the costs to reach an accord and proceed to build the house. The one who knows how to do this is the master masonary and these kind of men are not available in the U.S. Although they do know how to lay bricks there and this was to our favor though it did not do us any good there. When I was in Guadalajara in l915, the revolution really became ugly and soon there was no work of anykind available. Then I decided to to come to the U.S. My father had already left. I arrived at El Paso Texas and did not have difficulties crossing the border. When I arrived in that city, the first thing I did was to sign a contract to work on the railroads; because there was not anything else and one always needs money to live and have to take any work that is available because one does not want to die of hunger; especially in this country where they do not know what bonding is and especially us Mexicans do not have any protection. When I started to work on the rails, they paid $l.50 a day, in which we had to work very hard for 9 hours And at times they would give us extra work and not pay us for it. I kept working for the railroad all the way through Arizona, until i got to Los Angeles. There I was able to obtain work as assistant mason bricklayer for a salary of $4.00 a day. I worked at this until I had save enough to send for my wife. At that time we had two children and had another three here. I had to go look for my family in Ciudad Juarez and then move them here. Then the bad times came and i had to go from one site to another to obtain work as a journeyman. It was the only choice. due to a syndicate of masonary and bricklayers, that would not admit Mexicans. What's more one had to know English. Nevertheless I learned what I could and have worked in cement, brick factories, installing manufactured tubes of concrete. I learned all of this to open a garage with a declivity. All this would serve me well in Mexico. I also worked in the Imperial Valley and learned how to operate the machinery for agriculture. All this would serve we well in Mexico now that I return to my colonia. My friends and I could work in farming and we could build a home for each other. And work for ourselves because Americans devalue our labor. I have only worked here out of need and because of the revolution, but now we have become something different. I am Catholic and have no reason in to deny it. Its true that I hardly ever to go church, but I pray at night as does my wife and children. They showed me how to read at a Catholic School in Guadalajara and I have been able to show my children how to respect their religion. But that does not mean I have blind faith. I respect the beliefs of others and believe what is most worthy is work and honor. |
Crossing the Line By David Dorado Romo
Shameful past: Once called "genetically inferior,"
Mexicans are Mexican border crossers were not considered illegal in the United States until 1917, when a new law imposed formidable barriers to entry: a literacy test, a head tax and a prohibition against contract labor. Mexican nationals for the first time needed a passport to enter the United States. That's also the year that the U.S. entered World War I. The war stirred deep feelings of paranoia and anti-foreigner patriotism in this country. Americans were afraid that Germans would launch bombing raids from Mexico. As a protest against Germany, Americans changed the name of frankfurters to hot dogs and sauerkraut to "liberty cabbage." And to protect the country .from the threat of typhus, U.S. Customs agents began the mandatory delousing of Mexican border crossers at the El Paso-Juarez international bridge; 127,000 people were subjected to this procedure in 1917 alone. All immigrants from the interior of Mexico, and those whom. U.S. Customs officials deemed "second-class" residents of Juarez, were required to strip completely, turn in their clothes to be sterilized in a steam dryer and fumigated with hydrocyanic acid, and stand naked before a Customs inspector who would check his or her "hairy parts" - scalp, armpits, chest, genital area - for lice. Those found to have lice would be required to shave their heads and body hair with clippers and bathe with kerosene and vinegar. My great-aunt, Adela Dorado, would tell our family about the humiliation of having to go through the delousing every eight days just to clean American homes in El Paso. She recalled how on one occasion the U.S. Customs officials put her clothes and shoes through the steam dryer and her shoes melted. If anything, this kind of treatment at the international checkpoints exacerbated illegal border crossings. Mexican border crossers who didn't want to subject themselves to the baths chose to avoid the designated entry points. As a result, in 1921, the U.S. Public Health Service created a mounted quarantine guard to bring Mexican immigrants to the disinfection sites. Beyond the indignity of the process, there was a real danger of being burned in a fire. That happened in 1916 in the El Paso city jail, when someone struck a match near a tub during the mayor's disinfection campaign and 27 prisoners burned to death. On Jan. 28,1917, a 17-year-otd Juarez maid. named Carmelita Torres, who crossed the border daily to clean houses, in El Paso, refused to take a bath and be disinfected. Press accounts estimated that, by noon, she was joined by "several thousand" demonstrators at the border bridge. The protest became known as "the Bath Riots." The local Anglo press did everything it could to sensationalize the typhus threat from Mexico, although one U.S. Public Health Service official stated o that the typhus problem in El Paso was no worse than it was in most major cities in the U.S. In 1917, there were 31 typhus eases in the U.S. and only three typhus-related fatalities in El Paso. Yet the delousings went on for decades along the U.S.-Mexican border, long after the threat had passed of either a typhus epidemic or German bombers. Even up to the late '50s, during the guest-worker bracero program, Mexican laborers were still being sprayed with DDT before being allowed into the U.S. Why? Because the para-noia not only was about physical contamination, it also was about the cultural and genetic kind. During the early part of the 20th century, California eugenicists - many of them members of the Human Better-ment Foundation, such as Stanford Chancellor David Starr Jordan and Los Angeles Times owner Harry Chandler - played a leading role in restricting the flow of Mexicans into the United States. To prevent "mongrelization" and defilement of what Jordan called the "Saxon and Goth blood of the nation," they spoke out against miscegenation and called for forced sterilization, birth control and the exclusion of inferior genetic-stock through reform of the nation's immigration laws. In an article titled "Perils of the Mexican Invasion," Samuel Holmes - who taught eugenics at UC Berkeley in the '20s - argued that Mexicans were "the least assimilable of the foreign stocks." These Anglo intellectuals and civic leaders were highly influential in helping to draft the restrictive Immigration Act of 1924, which established the first U.S. Border Patrol to keep what racial hygienists saw as "genetically inferior aliens" out of the country. A few years ago, several state governments, including California's, apologized for the thousands of forced sterilization's carried out in the name of eugenics and "human betterment" between 1909 and into the 1970s. How long will it take for a government official to apologize for the hundreds of thousands of forced delousings with noxious chemicals along the U.S.-" Mexico border? Will anyone ever apologize for the connection between eugenics and U.S. immigration laws? How many decades will it take for someone to ask forgiveness for today's" inhumane immigration policies, which have resulted in the deaths of so many undocumented immigrants in recent years? Is it easier to apologize for history that seems safely stored away in the-past than for history that keeps repeating itself, over and over again, here and now? DAVID DORADO ROMO is the author of "Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923," just published by Cinco Puntos Press. |
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Southwestern Regional Fatherhood & Families Institute – Nov 15th 2006 in Tuscon, AZ Latino Fatherhood & Families Conference Sent by Diane Sears bsi-international@earthlink.net The Arizona Fathers & Families Coalition, Inc. has been actively involved in a series of events locally, statewide and nationally, including a series of Institutes on Responsible Fatherhood and Child Well-Being in Arizona and throughout the country. Join us this fall on November 15 as we host five quality presenters for a one-day comprehensive Southwestern Regional Fatherhood & Families Institute. click here for conference brochure! We will have colleagues from National Compadres Network, Arizona State University , STEP-UP Fatherhood Program, Arizona Parenting Alliance and of Unified Progress International Education provide participants with the tools and techniques for exploring personal beliefs about fatherhood and healthy relationships. This institute will focus on culturally appropriate practices to work with diverse Latino Fathers & Communities and addresses African-American Healthy Marriage Initiatives. This is an early announcement on this one-day institute that you should not miss out on! Please contact us at 800-603-9309 or by email to teresamc@azffc.org and reference registration for “fall institute” and we will provide detailed information. Our registration fees start at $20.00. Space is limited to the first 75 paid attendees so do not miss out on early registration. Further information about this organization can be obtained by viewing its website at www.azffc.org. James Rodriguez, M.S.W., CEO/President |
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African American Resources on FamilySearch.org District of Columbia demographics |
| African American Resources on FamilySearch.org An African American family history resource page will be added to FamilySearch.org on Wednesday, October 25. The page provides a convenient portal for information already found on the website. Over the coming months, we will provide additional resources to the page. |
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The African American family history resource page is part of our ongoing efforts to help individuals find their ancestors. You may know that a substantial number of visitors come to FamilySearch.org seeking these resources. You may receive questions relating to this content, and may therefore wish to review this content and become familiar with it. The link to the resource page will be placed in one of the green squares on the FamilySearch.org homepage. Over the coming months we will be providing additional resources to help our patrons better use the resources available on FamilySearch.org. As these resources are made available we will notify you. |
| District
of Columbia demographics http://www.city-data.com/states/District-of-Columbia-Ethnic-groups.html Black Americans have long been the largest ethnic or racial group in the District of Columbia, accounting for 60% of the population in 2000 (when they numbered 343,312), among the highest percentages of any major US city. Between 1970 and 1980, the population of groups other than white and black almost quadrupled within the Washington metropolitan area, reaching 134,209 in 1980. Southeast Asians made up a significant proportion of the immigrants, as did Mexicans and Central and South Americans. The District's racial and ethnic minorities in 2000 included 44,953 Hispanics and Latinos (up from 33,000 in 1990) and 15,189 Asians (including 3,734 Chinese and 2,845 Asian Indians). There also were 1,713 American Indians living in the District. There were 73,561 foreign-born residents, accounting for 12.9% of the District's total population, in 2000. In addition, the many foreign-born residents attached to foreign embassies and missions contribute to Washington's ethnic diversity.
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| Book: La familia Ramos Gutierrez y su herencia jalisciense y
zacatecana, Los tepehuanes de Jalisco y Zacatecas Puerto Rican DNA Geographic Project ¿Argentinos blancos y europeos? Se derrumba el mito |
New Book, Spanish text by Arturo Ramos: La Familia Ramos Gutierrez y su herencia Jalisciense y Zacatecana, I have spent nearly two years researching the historical ethnography of the region in Mexico where my parents are from, as well as their genealogy. I have finally been able to put together my research and present it in a book that explores the ethnography of the region of northern Jalisco and southern Zacatecas as well as my two paternal grandparents' genealogy. I am sending a part of a chapter of the book that deals with the Tepehuan or Tepecanos of Zacatecas and Jalisco, a distinct ethnic group whose language and customs survived until very recently." For more information, please contact me: arturo.ramos2@gmail.com http://www.lulu.com/content/457051 http://www.lulu.com/ramosfamily |
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| --Los tepehuanes de Jalisco y Zacatecas Según los relatos de los frailes Pedro del Monte y Andrés de Medina, quienes fueron de los primeros misionarios de llegar a la región en el año 1581, sabemos que Chimaltitán y Nostic eran poblaciones tepehuanas. Además, los documentos revisados por el padre Nicolás Valdés Huerta nos dan a saber que los pobladores originales de Colotlán al tiempo de contacto español, a quienes se les llamaba tochos, también eran tepehuanes, aunque parece que llegaron muchos caxcanes a ese pueblo más tarde en el siglo XVII. Entre los habitantes originales de El Teúl (a quienes se les refería como teules-chichimecos) también parece haber habido tepehuanes, ya que se hablaba el idioma tepehuano en el pueblo, aunque queda claro que este pueblo se consideraba una población principalmente caxcana. Estos datos coinciden con la historia oral de los tepehuanes locales quienes cuentan que su territorio abarcaba desde la Sierra de los Morones al oriente hasta la Sierra de los Huicholes al poniente y desde Azqueltán en el norte hasta San Cristóbal de la Barranca al sur. Muchas de estas poblaciones fueron abandonadas con la llegada de los españoles, especialmente esas en el límite sur del territorio, de donde migraron hacia otras regiones tepehuanas en el norte, incluyendo Durango, dejando la concentración local de tepehuanes en la región de Villa Guerrero. Los tepehuanes de la región del barranca de Bolaños fueron los emigrantes extremos de un grupo de etnias del grupo lingüístico tepiman, que compone parte de la familia lingüística uto-azteca. La familia lingüística uto-azteca incluye los idiomas de grupos étnicos como los tongva (gabrielinos) que pertenecen al grupo takic, y poblaron la mayoría del condado de Los Ángeles antes de la llegada de los españoles. Además incluye a los idiomas de los hopi de Arizona y los mexica que fundaron el imperio azteca. Además, el grupo tepiman incluye varias etnias que se encuentran a lo largo de la Sierra Madre Occidental: los tohono o'odham (cuyo territorio actual está ubicado en el estado de Arizona), los pima, (cuyo territorio se extiende por la frontera de Chihuahua y Sonora), tepehuanes norteños, (cuyo territorio se encuentra en el sur del estado de Chihuahua) y los tepehuanes sureños (cuyo territorio actual se encuentra en el sur del estado de Durango). Históricamente, el territorio de los tepehuanes sureños se extendía hasta San Cristóbal de la Barranca y los tepehuanes que habitaban la región de Villa Guerrero y Totatiche fueron integrantes de este mismo grupo. Históricamente se han denominado a los habitantes de estos pueblos como tepecanos, pero lingüísticamente y culturalmente formaron parte de la misma etnia que los pueblos tepehuanes del sur de Durango. Evidencia etnológica indica que los tepehuanes inmigraron al barranca de Bolaños en aproximadamente el siglo XIV y que vinieron de la región que hoy queda en el suroeste de los Estados Unidos. La similitud entre los varios idiomas del grupo lingüístico tepiman indica que los tepehuanes se separaron de los otros grupos tepiman-parlantes hace menos de 700 años. Además, las costumbres y leyendas son bastante similares a las de las culturas de la región de Arizona. El antropólogo John Alden Mason postula que los tepehuanes, abandonaron su antigua tierra y comenzaron su trayectoria hacia la región norte de Jalisco a causa de las mismas sequías sostenidas que devastaron a las culturas anasazi de Chaco, Mesa Verde y Bandalier en la región suroeste de Estados Unidos. Para 1770, cuando se levantó un padrón de los feligreses de la parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario en Totatiche, se encontraban aproximadamente 600 personas que pertenecían al pueblo de Azqueltán y "a la otra banda del río." Ya que sabemos que este pueblo quedaba habitado casi exclusivamente por tepehuanes a principios del siglo XX, queda claro que los habitantes del pueblo en el siglo XVIII eran tepehuanes. Esto lo verifica el padrón, donde se expresa que eran "todos de una misma nación." Además, expresa que solamente se les administraba el sacramento de la eucaristía y "los demás no por falta de erudición" indicando que en esa época, aún no habían sido cristianizados. También parece ser que los otros pueblos de indígenas (Acazpulco, Totatiche y Temastián) de la región de Totatiche aún contaban con mayorías de población tepehuana al fin del siglo XVIII. Un informe con fecha de 1783 identifica el idioma de los indígenas de la región como una "lengua mexicana corrupta" (nahuátl mal hablado) con excepción de los pueblos del curato de Totatiche donde se hablaba la lengua "tepeguana." Además, el padrón de 1770 documenta que los tres pueblos eran asentamientos de naturales, es decir indígenas, aunque ya para este tiempo habitaban algunos españoles entre los naturales de Totatiche, quienes quedaron contados por separado en el padrón. En Acazpulco habitaban 466 personas, y en el pueblo de Totatiche habían 298 habitantes. Además, la mayoría de los 263 habitantes de Temastián se les denomina como "indios", aunque moraban habitantes mulatos entre estos. Que Temastián había llegado a ser una población de diversas etnias para este tiempo queda sustentado por otros documentos históricos. Índice Onosmático Notas |
| Puerto Rican DNA Geographic
Project Mimi, This is simply exciting news for Puerto Ricans and many other latinos! My Puerto Rican friends claimed to be descendants of Tainos and they always said "We are not extinct" they. I am so glad that now there is validation for those who always new who and what they were. Elvira Zavala-Patton campezina@juno.com Yesterday, almost three and a half years since the launch of the Puerto Rican DNA Geographic Project, one of our biggest goals was achieved. We have received word that FTDNA has agreed to and will designate as "of Taíno ancestry" anyone who matches those with indigenous mtDNA in our project who have oral history of Taíno ancestry or traditional documentation of Taíno ancestry. For all of us in this project, this is not only a monumental step for the descendants of our indigenous people but of historical importance especially since it is happening in a public DNA project. Additionally, DNA testees whose roots are in Cuba or Santo Domingo who match anyone in our Puerto Rican Project with oral history or traditional documentation of Taíno ancestry may also request that their ancestry be listed as Taíno. This has come about largely due to the unceasing and active recruitment of participants to test not just their yDNA but their mtDNA and especially to the very special persistence of select project members with known Taíno roots. A little history: The Taíno, an Arawak people from the Orinoco-Amazon Delta region of South America populated the Caribbean Islands. Puerto Rico, was one of their three main centers of culture, Hispaniola (Santo Domingo/ Haiti), the second and northern Venezuela, the third. Prior to the time of Columbus, they had already reached and populated the eastern territory of Cuba. They were very similar in culture to the Ciboney of the central and west coast of Cuba, the Lucayas of the Bahamas and the aboriginals of Jamaica, all islands on which they also lived. They were excellent sailors and traded by navigating between the neighboring islands, the northern South American continent and the Yucatan peninsula in the 100 men canoas which they invented. The words canoe (canoa), huracán (hurricane), sabana, (savannah), barbecue, (barbacoa), maíz (maize), hámaca (hammock) manatí (manatee), tabáco(tobacco), iguana and other words persist in our Spanish language as well as English. So, when you say one of these, remember they came from the Taíno people. While on his second voyage to the New World, on the 3 of November, 1493, while anchored in the bay of the island of Guadalupe, Cristóbal Cólon (Columbus) embarked briefly to explore the small island with his men. During this respite, he and his men discovered Taíno natives who had been captured by the Caribe Indians who inhabited that island. The Caribes ruled from Togo and the Windward Islands to our own island of Vieques. There were 12 native females and two youths whom Columbus took on board after they passionately implored him to take them west to their island named Boriquén. From the 10th of November, the ships continued westward finding so many small islands, he named them the 11,000 Virgins. On the 19th of November, an island came into view that was much larger and more beautiful than any of the rest (those words are from the actual first historical account of the encounter). Upon seeing their island and despite the distance, the Taíno Indians who had been captured by the Caribs on Guadalupe, jumped excitedlyinto the sea. They swam to the shores of their beloved Boriquén followed by Columbus and his men. BIG mistake, that. (Only political statement I'll make). Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista after Don Juan, the prince son of Ferdinand and Isabela. Puerto Rico had about 20 or more Caciques at the time that Columbus arrived on his second voyage to the New World. Agüeybana who ruled in the southwestern part of the island in what is now Guánica, was the Chief Cacique of all the Taínos. The name Borikén means "Great land of the noble lord". Cacique Guarionex ruled the island of Quisqueya or Santo Domingo. Taino caciques were polygamous and had arranged marriages that served tocement alliances between the cacique's lineage and those of his allies. Right to rule was matrilineal. Women could also be caciques. From genetic studies on fossil remains, the Taíno people are known to primarily belong to Haplogroups A and C. Consistently, throughout the history of our project, on viewing their match pages, those with Haplogroup and C indigenous roots have, across the board, seen a list of people mainly from within our group or names of other Puerto Ricans not in the project. There have also been a few Dominicans and Cubans whose mtDNA have also matched our members. There are an overwhelming number of exact HVR1 and HVR2 matches among those within the Haplogroup A group as well as within the Haplogroup C group. Of 140 mtDNA participants: 83 or 59.3% have indigenous results. Within the indigenous group: 50 (60.2%) are in Haplogroup A (one group with 11 exact matches, two others with 7 and 10) 29 (35%) are in Haplogroup C (Largest group is one with 17 exact matches. This haplotype matches one of the fossil remains in the first article below) 3 (3.6 %) are in Haplogroup B (all 3 are exact matches) 2 (2.4%) are in Haplogroup D (both are exact matches) Understandably, the reluctance to designate anyone at the outset in 2003 as being of Taíno ancestry has been due to the fact that the indigenous roots may have been derived from one of the several natives known to have been brought to the island of Puerto Rico in the Post Colombian era. However, it is a historical fact that the overwhelming majority of this small group was native men brought from the surrounding islands brought to work in the mines to dig for gold. A very scant few were women. With such a large number of participants from families who have been endogamous from the 1500s to this day, our members represent indigenous mtDNA inherited from ancient maternal ancestors from every corner of our island. It is inconceivable that they be anyone other than the descendants of our "extinct" Taíno people, the first to greet the European to the New World. We are grateful to all of our participants, from natives on the island, to those on the mainland and as far away as Iraq and other overseas locations who have been so active in upgrading their mtDNA. Best Regards, Ana Maternal Grandfather and Great Grandmother - Haplogroup C (line documented to c. 1650/1680) Excellent Articles: C. Lalueza-Fox, F.Luna-Calderon, F. Calafell, B Morera and J.Bertranpetit. MtDNA from extinct Tainos and the peopling of the Caribbean. Ann.Hum.Genet.(2001),65,137-151. C.Lalueza-Fox, M.T.P.Gilbert, A.J.Martiínez-Fuentes, F.Calafell,and J.Bertranpetit. Mitochondrial DNA from Pre-Columbian Ciboneys From Cuba and the Prehistoric Colonization of the Caribbean. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 121:97-108 (2003) |
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¿Argentinos blancos y europeos? Se derrumba el mito. Por Silvina HEGUY / Azkintuwe Noticias eventos@genealogia.org.mx Quien lo hubiera dicho. Sin saberlo y tallado en el ADN, los argentinos portan un mensaje de sus antepasados. Y en el 56% de los casos el que lo legó dejó escrito simplemente un solo dato: su origen amerindio. De la población actual, solo el 44% desciende sobre todo de ancestros europeos, pero el resto -la mayoría- tiene un linaje parcial o totalmente indígena. Así lo determinó un estudio realizado por el Servicio de Huellas Digitales Genéticas de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, a partir del análisis de casos en 11 provincias y dado a conocer por el diario Clarín. |
| Jewish Web Index Appendix, Part 2 D-M, From Book: Remnants of Crypto-Jews Among Hispanic Americans |
Jewish Web Index http://jewishwebindex.com/sephardi.htm Sent by Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com Only descendants of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula are Sephardim, not all those of the lands in which they settled. The Jews from Syria, Iraq. Persia, Yemen ... are properly referred to as Eydot Hamizrach, communities of the East. Sephardi is a term also used to distinguish between the two major divisions (actually the differences are quite minor) in Jewish customs and rituals. Two thousand years ago there were two major traditions, that of the Holy Land, known as Yerushalmi, and that of the Babylonian exile, known as the Bavli. Again, the differences were actually little more than skin deep. There was a slight difference in pronunciation and in customs and catillation. To many Ashkenazim, especially outside of Israel, there are two types of Jews - Ashkenazim and Sephardim. To the average Ashkenazi, being called an Ashkenazi, and not a Litvak or Galicianer, or what not, probably doesn't make a difference. However, to a "Sephardi", there is a difference based on countries of origin. Many Sephardim consider only those who come from Spain to be a Sephardi, i.e. Jews of Turkey, Bulgaria, Amsterdam etc. This to differentiate from a North African, Mizrachi (which includes many Asian countries - Syria, Baghdad, Iraq, Persia, etc. ), Yemenite and Adanite, to name a few. (Try telling the difference between Yemenite Adanite pronunciation of prayers. I know I can't. Then try calling an Adanite a Yemenite and you could be in serious trouble.) Obviously, for the most part, calling a Bavli (Iraqi), or a Parsi |
6. The Pied Piper of Saipan, Guy Gabaldon 
To help preserve our Heritage, Asian, African American and so on, We have to educate our kids now. We have to ask our public educators, what are we teaching in our school?. What will you teach my kids about their history?
Joshua Gutierrez’s family history is at least 100 years old in the
United States. Joshua’s parents Alfred and Yolanda Gutierrez, and
grandparents Chico and Molly Gutierrez, were all born in Los Angeles,
California. His paternal grandparents Lorenzo and Petra Gutierrez.
Joshua’s great grandfather Lorenzo
Gutierrez proudly served in the United States Army during World War I.
Joshua has several great uncles and cousins who also served proudly during
World War II, the Korean War, and the Viet Nam War as well.
Gutierrez suffered severe injuries to both his
legs. He arrived at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center on Sunday. His
left leg is fractured, and a portion of his right leg had to be
amputated as a result of the blast. "It’s fine,"
he said. "I’ll deal with it."
have to have popcorn at the movies. We would see cartoons, serials and
two feature films, and, of course, the Newsreels about the war far away
across the ocean. My favorite movies were always the Westerns, and
“Little Beaver” was my favorite character. He was an Indian boy,
about my age who got to run around wearing only a loincloth carrying a
bow and arrow. He always helped Red Ryder, the good Cowboy, get the Bad
Cowboys. Roy Rogers was another favorite. He was so handsome and sang
beautiful songs about the West. And, of course, his horse was big and
beautiful. “When I grow up I’m going to be a Cowboy” I would say.
And my sister always corrected me. “Cowgirl, she would say; you’re a
girl. “No,” I would respond, “a Cowboy. “ After the movies, we
would come home and I would play Cowboy and Indians with my brother
while my sister would play in the house with her paper dolls. “Why
can’t you be more like your sister” I often heard from my Mom &
Dad. It was a mystery to me too.
Advice
is one of the most valuable gifts a mother can give to her daughter.
Cristina Pérez turns to her mother's wisdom every day by reflecting on
the dichos she taught her. Here Cristina shares those that have
most powerfully influenced her life and translates them into solid advice.
Any woman looking for guidance -- whether she is about to leave for
college or is getting married -- will find what she needs with Cristina's
help. Dichos transcend age, race and religion to provide just the
right answer at just the right time. Most important, Cristina shows that
proudly embracing your roots and staying true to your identity will guide
you down the right path. Dichos have directed Cristina through the
toughest challenges and led her to success. Now let them lead you. 
The rancho, once a 48,000-acre land grant given to Antonio del Valle in 1839, currently operates at 1,800 acres. Forty acres of the original grant, which includes all the ranch building and some agricultural land, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000. After the 1994 earthquake, a building constructed between 1853 and 1880, what docents call 
WAS BORN in California
to Mexican immigrants but have lived most of my life in El Paso, where the
anti-immigrant fervor that's sweeping the U.S. today is nothing new. In
fact, the first public calls for a fence along the Rio Grande to keep out
unwanted foreigners were heard in El Paso a century ago, in 1904. But back
then unlike what the Republicans want to do these days with their proposal
for a 700-mile border fence - they weren't trying to keep the Latin hordes
out. It was the Chinese who were the undesirable aliens.
