Somos Primos

JANUARY 2009

Editor: Mimi Lozano ©2000-9
109th Issue Online

Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues
 Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research

 . . the past is parent to the present.
Lillian B. Rubin

© Rafael Jesús González 2008

  Letters to the Editor : 

UNITED STATES

HISPANICS BREAKING BARRIERS

Part I

By

Mercy Bautista-Olvera

In the coming months this series “Hispanics Breaking Barriers” will present the   contributions of Hispanics in United States government and leadership. Their contributions have improved not only the local community but the country as well.   Sadly, they have not always received their due recognition. Their struggles, stories, and accomplishments will by example, illustrate to our youth and to future generations that everything and anything is possible.  

Bill Richardson

Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson has been selected to be Secretary of Commerce by President-elect Barack Obama. Being optimistic despite the recession, he called Richardson a leading “economic Diplomat for America, during his time in state government and Congress, and in two tours of duty in the Cabinet, Bill has seen from just about every angle of what makes our economy work and what keeps it from working better.”  

William Blaine “Bill” Richardson III was born on November 15, 1947 in Pasadena , California , the son of Maria Luisa Lopez-Collada Marquez and William Blaine Richardson Jr., Richardson’s mother was born in Villaviciosa, Spain, and his father William Blaine Richardson Jr., born in Nicaragua , (1891-1972). The family lived in Mexico City . Just before Bill was born his mother was sent to California , where her husband’s sister lived, as Richardson explained, “My father had a complex about not having been born in the United States .” He has one sister Vesta. His 95-year-old mother and sister live in Cuernavaca , Mexico . Three of his four grandparents, were Mexican citizens, he identifies himself as Hispanic. In 1961, a young Bill Richardson left his family in Mexico City to attend high school in Massachusetts . It was tough for teenage Bill to be the new different looking kid at his school; he was the only Hispanic student there. However, with the help of a coveted slot on the Varsity baseball team, and a few good friends, he began to bridge the divide between these two worlds.

Bill entered Tufts University in Boston in 1966. Senator Hubert Humphrey gave a speech at the University and stopped to talk to Bill and his classmates about American values and the power of public service, this inspired his interest in politics. He earned a Bachelor’s degree at Tufts in 1970, majoring in French and Political Science. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1971. He married his high school sweetheart Barbara Flavin in 1972.

In 1997, Bill Richardson served in the Bill Clinton Administration as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, the first Hispanic to hold that position. While he was Ambassador, he traveled to North Korea , Iraq , Cuba and Sudan , where he successfully negotiated the release of American hostages. He has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize. As first Energy Secretary, he created a plan to dispose of nuclear waste. He became Director for Native American Affairs position in the Department in 1998, and in January of 2000 oversaw the largest return of federal lands, 84,000 acres to (the Northern Ute Tribe of Utah). 

As a governor Bill Richardson has made New Mexico a national leader in job growth and economic momentum – with more than 80,000 more New Mexico ’s working class since Governor Bill Richardson took office, and unemployment rate that is the lowest in state history. He was successful in meeting his campaign promises to improve education, cut taxes, build a high-wage economy, develop a statewide water plan and makes New Mexico safe from violence.  

   
Congresswoman Hilda Solis

Hilda Solis, D-CA Congresswoman from the 32nd District of California has been selected to be Secretary of Labor by President-elect Obama. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., will be in charge of Solis’ confirmation as chairperson of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He said Hilda Solis will be “an invaluable asset to President Obama in protecting workers’ rights and restoring economic opportunity.”  

Hilda Solis was born on October 20, 1957 in Los Angeles , California . Solis, the daughter of Mexican and Nicaraguan immigrants, Raul Solis and Juana Barela-Solis, her father, a Mexican union shop steward and her mother a Nicaraguan assembly line worker, her parents and six siblings continue to be a great source of inspiration to Congresswoman Solis. Hilda Solis is married to Sam Sayyad, a small business owner.

In 1979, Solis earned a Bachelor Degree from California State Polytechnic University , Pomona . In 1981, Hilda Solis earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California . During President Jimmy Carter Administration, Solis worked in the White House Office of Hispanic Affairs as an intern. Solis was later appointed as a Management Analyst with the Office of Management and Budget in the Civil Rights Division.    

Solis served in the California State Assembly from 1992 to 1994 and made history by becoming the first Hispanic woman elected to the California State Senate (1994-2000). In August of 2000 Hilda Solis was the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, for her pioneering work on environmental justice issues, she served as the Ranking Democratic Member of the EHM Subcommittee. In 2003 Solis became the first Hispanic woman to serve on the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce; she serves as Vice Chair of the Environment and Hazardous Materials (EHM) Subcommittee and a member of the Health and Telecommunications subcommittees. Solis also serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources.  

Congresswoman Hilda Solis is a nationally recognized leader on the environment. Solis is serving her fourth term in Congress representing California ’s 32nd Congressional District in California , which includes the San Gabriel Valley and portions of East Los Angeles . In 2007, Solis was appointed to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission) as well as Mexico . On the same year, Solis was elected to be Vice Chair of the Helsinki Commission’s General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions. She is the only U.S. elected official to serve on this committee. Solis’ priorities in congress include expanding access to affordable health care, protecting the environment, education and improving the lives of working families.  

In Congress, Solis has won legislative victories to provide workforce training for “green collar” jobs, (Public Law 110-140). To authorize a federal study, of how the San Gabriel River Watershed’s recreational and environmental opportunities can be improved (Public Law No. 108-042). To remove barriers to U.S. citizenship for non-U.S. citizens serving in the U.S. military and reserves (Public Law 108-136), ban pesticide testing on pregnant women and children; help ensure health care access for Latinos suffering from HIV/AIDS; and promote domestic violence awareness.   

Louis Caldera

Louis Caldera will be serving in President-elect Obama’s administration, as Director of the White House Military Office; he will be responsible for all the military support for the White House operations. “Louis has served his country with distinction in uniform and in government, and his pedigree is second-to-none.” “I know he’ll bring to the White House the same dedication and integrity that have earned him the highest praise in every post, from Army Secretary to University President,” Obama said in a news release.  

 
Dr. Juliet Villarreal-Garcia

South Texan Juliet V. Garcia has been selected by President-elect Obama to be part of his Transition Team; she will serve as one of the Advisors. Garcia is Chair of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance and president of the University of Texas-Brownsville. In the fall of 2000, Dr. Garcia was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in education. Garcia’s Postdoctoral studies include work at the Institute for Education Management, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University , the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Society of International Business Fellows at the London School of Business.

Ms. Garcia was president of Texas Southmost College , a community college in Brownsville , for six years. She was the first Mexican-American in the nation to become president of a college or university. She was adviser to President Clinton on his education transition team, including issues that affected students in south Texas . Garcia stated “I consider public service to our highest calling, so I am greatly honored to have been invited to take part in the historic transition, our young democracy,” Ms. Garcia has a PhD degree in communications and linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. García is responsible for leading the development of the unique partnership in the University of Texas , at Brownsville , then an upper-level university. The Partnership designed to consolidate resources, increase efficiency, eliminate transfer barriers for students and provide improved higher education and opportunities for students. Dr. García is married to Oscar Enrique Garcia. Juliet and Oscar have two grown children and four grandchildren.   

Lauro Fred Cavazos, first Hispanic President of a U.S. University 

Mimi,

I hope you do not mind, but I would like to correct an error made by Emma Perez Trevino, the reporter from the Brownsville Herald who wrote the article pertaining to Juliet V. Garcia, University of Texas at Brownsville President who was recently  named to Obama's team.  In her article, “Garcia on Obama’s team” Trevino stated, “…And now Garcia, the first Mexican-American to head a four-year U.S. university, will be one of the president-elect’s advisers as the presidency transitions from President George W. Bush to Obama….” 

Lauro Fred Cavazos, who was born January 4, 1927 in Kingsville, TX became the nation’s first Hispanic appointed Cabinet member when President Ronald Reagan appointed him Secretary of Education.  He served as Education Secretary from 1988 to 1990, continuing as President George H. W. Bush’s Education Secretary for about a year.  Prior to his appointments as Secretary of Education, he was the first Hispanic President of Texas Tech University, a four -year U.S. university, serving as President from 1980 to 1988.  

Since I am also a Cavazos from Brownsville, I just had to let you know the facts.  Lauro has visited Brownsville several times and articles were written about him in the Brownsville Herald.  His Cavazos grandparents lived in Brownsville.  If you get a chance, read Lauro's book, "A Kineño Remembers, From The King Ranch To The White House." 

By the way, Lauro's brother, Richard Cavazos, I believe also had a distinction of being the first and only Hispanic Four Star General in the US Army.  However, since he retired in the 80's, he may no longer be the only Hispanic attaining that rank.

Respectfully, Hector Alvarez Cavazos
ggfcheno@att.net  

CONTACT INFORMATION TO WRITE, EMAIL or CALL the White House

BOTICA GARCIA  
By 
Daughter Daisy Wanda Garcia  
 
Photos, courtesy of:
Dr. Hector P. Garcia Papers, Special Collections
Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi

In the good old days, discrimination against Mexican Americans in Texas existed at all levels including medicine. The University of Galveston Medical Branch (UTMB) accepted only one Mexican American a year. Once graduated, more problems greeted graduates 
of medical schools.  Texas Hospitals would not accept them into residency programs. Once a Mexican American completed his residency and became a practicing physician, discrimination continued. Hospitals had segregated wards; pharmacies would not honor prescriptions written by Mexican      Dr. Garcia Medical School graduation, June 1945
American physicians.   

My father graduated summa cum laude from UTMB. Yet when the time came to practice his residency, no Texas hospital would take him.  Finally, Creighton Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska accepted him into a residency program.   

In 1945, Dr. Hector wrote to his family, “These three long weary years of suffering and pain, and hardships and heartaches have taught me how to be tolerant and how to be patient.  I have seen poverty and cruelty, and I want to place myself above both of them, I do not seek to fight until it is completely right.”*[1]  

Practicing medicine in a poor Corpus Christi barrio in the 1940’s with no air-conditioning, no modern technology and antibiotics was a challenge.  Dr. Hector took the bus to visit his patients because he had no automobile. He performed home surgeries and home deliveries.  

Dr.  Garcia standing in front of his office, late 1940s.

Dr. Garcia’s care for his patients was in part good medical practice, part personal empathy. He too had known poverty.  Medical facilities were non-existent, condemning Dr. Garcia’s four-year-old sister Dalia to die of burns when she fell into a pit of builders’ lime.  Each evening Jose Garcia would tell each of his children to become medical doctors. “You can help other people and you’ll be independent.  No one can take a doctor’s job away.”  [2]  

Dr. Hector Garcia when confronted by the insurmountable obstacle of pharmacies declining to fill his prescriptions, found a solution around the obstacle. For a physician to purchase a pharmacy was a conflict. Therefore, my mother purchased a pharmacy under her maiden name, Fusillo.  They named the pharmacy Botica Garcia. The pharmacy enabled my father to have his prescriptions filled without questions.  He also maintained an account that he used to pay for medicines for his poor clients.  The pharmacy located on Morgan Avenue next to his medical practice was basic old style with many wooden shelves and drawers. In addition to medicine, soaps and toiletries, the pharmacy also sold herbs.   

Four pharmacists worked in Botica Garcia, Mr. Lerma, Dr. Xico Garcia, Mr. George Borrego and Mr. Josue Quintanilla.  Dr. Xico filled in between vacancies. Once my father built his clinic on Bright Street, my mother sold the pharmacy to Mr. Rufino Garcia.  I was fortunate to contact two of the pharmacists who worked in Botica Garcia, Mr. Borrego and Mr. Quintanilla.  The following is an account of what they told me.

GEORGE BORREGO

Mr. George Borrego began to work in the Botica Garcia in the 1950ies.  My uncle, Xico Garcia who filled in as pharmacist after Mr. Lerma had left, recruited him. George Borrego worked at Botica Garcia until 1962 when he moved to Colorado.  Mr. Borrego worked long hours, sometimes until 7pm or 8 pm except Sundays, because my father saw patients until the late hours. He remembers the many patients and their poverty. Dr. Hector would give them free medical care and medicines. George Borrego also remembered the neighborhood children, such as Tomas Ramirez, Riggs, and Maria Rosales whose families were too poor to feed them. Dr. Hector would have the children run errands for him as an excuse to treat them to Whataburgers.  Mr. Borrego recalls the number of important people who stopped by to visit Dr. Hector and felt that he was very effective in handling them. On one occasion, Dr. Hector was visiting with the Corpus Christi ISD superintendent. Mr. Borrego commented on my father’s firm tone of voice with the superintendent.  

Mr. Borrego left me with this thought: Dr. Hector did work that was unpopular but very important for the Mexican American people. 

JOSUE QUINTANILLA

Mr. Josue Quintanilla was a graduate of pharmacy at UTA.  Once he graduated, he could not find work in Austin, TX. Therefore, he moved to Corpus Christi, TX and found employment with Dale’s Drugs.  Later, Mr. Quintanilla worked for the Botica Garcia.  Like Borrego, Mr. Quintanilla recalls going home for supper about 6pm and then returned to work until 7pm or 8pm every day except Sundays.  

Mr. Quintanilla recalled the many poor people and the neighborhood children that my father healed and gave medicines to.  He said that the Botica Garcia lost money because of my father’s charity work.  Finally, my father met Arturo Vasquez, a CPA who showed my father how to deduct the losses from their joint income tax returns.  Mr. Quintanilla put in cosmetics and soda water machine and expanded the dry goods to include toilet paper and Kleenex.  Quintanilla said that the addition of these goods turned a profit for the Botica Garcia.     

Dr. Hector treating his patients in his office, 1950s.      

Mr. Quintanilla would travel with Dr. Hector Garcia during his organization efforts throughout Texas.  Like Mr. Borrego, Josue Quintanilla remembered the dangers and unpopularity of Doctor Hector’s work.  But Quintanilla felt that the work was necessary.  

EPILOGUE

As I drive along Lake Austin Blvd, in Austin, TX, far removed in time from the dramas of the past, I reflect on my Papa’s life and on the tremendous contribution, his work brought to everyone.   Many of this generation of Mexican American would not be here if it were not for the selfless love of Papa and the understanding of my mother.  Their grandparents would have not survived without the free medical care and medicines provided by Papa.  Thus, their children and the present generation would not be here.  I am so proud of both parents that money was never their ultimate goal; but human consideration came first.  My father would not have stood by while people starved or died from lack of medical care because of money.  

Dr. Hector did not see all the fruits of his labor.  However, here it is.  Mexican Americans are holding high offices, are presidents of corporations and society is embracing our heritage. What a change from the past. I am so proud of my father for making a difference!  Bless all of those who sacrificed and worked for us. 

Que Dios los bendiga.

Héctor Ericksen-Mendoza
Mexican Mother in a Whirling World

Our father often confessed that when he met and married her, he had visions of spending the rest of his life on the village beach, writing and fishing. More probably, fishing and writing. But Héctor’s birth, a few visits by Mexico’s immigration authorities, and no money coming
in convinced him to head north.

Barely 20, Sebastiana arrived in her first pair of shoes and a dress that hid the toes. She came with no schooling at all, and no acquaintance with the conveniences we consider necessities: plumbing, running water, electricity.  Now she tells jokes on herself: how, the second day she was here, she scoured her Lincoln Heights neighborhood for leña, kindling, to put in the gas stove. And how she’d let the radio play and the telephone ring forever because she was afraid to touch them.

As we came along — Danny, Elena, Elsa and finally Carlos — we added to her responsibilities by falling off walls, catching measles, bringing failure notices from school, and demanding excessive amounts of food and love.  

Our father traveled a lot. He seemed to time his trips so crises would occur when he was away. Our mom would have to rise way above her 4-foot, 9-inch height and resolve them alone. 

To our Mexican relatives, we were the rich “norteamericano” side of the family. When someone asked Sebastiana whether she had room for one more — a bright cousin who ran out of schools to attend in South Mexico — the answer was an automatic yes. When we vacationed in Mexico, we usually brought back an extra passenger or two.

They competed for space with the friends my father brought home, buddies whose wives kicked them out or had lost their jobs. Their “overnight” stays on the couch or, if space was limited, on the living room floor, sometimes stretched to weeks. 

Whether they were drinking or sober, Sebastiana would always treat them with the greatest respect. Only after they left would she sort them out for us, telling us emphatically which of their qualities were to be emulated and which were to be scorned.

After 10 years in Los Angeles, we moved a lot, city to city, state to state. Inevitably, our
father would go first — to start a new job; our mother would do the rest, packing, cleaning,
selling the house, calming our anxieties and convincing us that the only reason we
were moving was because an even better life awaited us ahead.

When we reached wherever we were going, she would make certain that her promise became reality. If tortillas or tamales weren’t in supply, she’d make them by hand.

One spring morning, as she marched us through achilly new city to expose us to its wonders, we followed her right-flank command into a vacant lot littered with broken bottles, old newspapers and garbage, straight to a big pile of trash. 

Her short arms flew over her head. “¡Miran, miran! ¡Qúe bonita!” Look, look. How pretty!

She bent over the pile and pushed a tin can aside, exposing a small yellow flower.

A year ago, as is our father’s habit, he found a new job in Washington, D.C., 3,000 miles from Sacramento, where we had finally re-established some roots in college, working or in
Carlos’ case, finishing high school. This time we refused to budge. So he offered us a deal. “You get the house and I get your mother.”

With her usual wisdom, Sebastiana came up with a better solution. To make certain that none of us miss any little yellow flowers, she commutes. And on this Mother’s Day, she’s ours. (Postscript: Sebastiana died of cancer during Christmas week 1996.)

Hispanic Link News Service, 1420 ‘N’ St. NW, Washington,
D.C. 20005-2895
Phone (202) 234-0280; Fax (202) 234-4090
E-mail: editor@hispaniclink.org
Publisher: Carlos Ericksen-Mendoza
Editor: José de la Isla
National representative: Héctor Ericksen-Mendoza
Capitol Hill editor: Patricia Guadalupe
Reporting: Ariana Ceballos, Jackie Guzmán, Meghan Sweeney, Aaron Sheperd, Jamie Lazaro, Antonio Mejías-Rentas, Maxwell Torney, Charlie Ericksen
Graphics: Armando Manzanares
Translation services: Maribeth Bandas
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The Farmworker Movement Documentation Project

Race & Gender in Politics

By Lillian B. Rubin
Source: Dissent magazine
http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=1299

Sent by Dorinda Moreno fuerzamundial@gmail.com

SPECIAL COMPILATION OF MEDALS RECEIVED BY HISPANICS
Extracted by Rafael Ojeda (Tacoma, WA) Lists follow: 

U.S. DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS Hispanic Recipients
U.S. WW II ARMY SILVER STAR Hispanic Recipients
U.S.  WW II ARMY AIR FORCE SILVER STAR Hispanic Recipients 
U.S. WW II NAVY CROSS Hispanic Recipients

U.S. ARMY KOREA SILVER STAR Hispanic Recipients
U.S. MARINES (USMC) KOREA SILVER STAR Hispanic Recipients
U.S. ARMY VIET NAM SILVER STAR Hispanic Recipients
U.S. MARINES (USMC) VIET NAM SILVER STAR Hispanic Recipients

GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM (GWOT) MEDALS AWARD

Army, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross are the second highest Military Combat medals, just below the Medal of Honor. Hispanic recipients: 

This list was compiled by Rafael Ojeda (Tacoma,WA) (rsnojeda@aol.com)

Complied from: www.homeofheroes.com members web site. (Index list and citations are in three different sections.) I added the Rank, War, hometowns and other medals awarded to the names. Please join and support the great work of "Home of Heroes". I hope that this list will encourage other to add more names, citations and photos to these lists. Thank you.

U.S. ARMY WW II SILVER STAR  Hispanic Recipients:
We need the Citations to identify their ranks and hometowns. 
This list of 17 pages was compiled by Rafael Ojeda (rsnojeda@aol.com) 
from "Home of Heroes" web site.

U.S. ARMY AIR FORCE: HISPANIC SILVER STAR RECIPIENTS IN WW II
 
List compiled by Rafael Ojeda
(rsnojeda@aol.com). 
(Please see "Home of Heroes" web site for credits).

Many of these recipients need their citations. If any of you know any of these WW veterans,
Please sent info to Homes of Heroes and Maggie Rivas "Oral History" at the U of TX, Austin.

Abel, Rondo G. USMC CPL WW II
Aragon, Abel Bidal USMC PFC WW II
Benavides, Adofo USMC PFC Korea Born:Valley Tello,TX Htwn:Ault, CO
Cardillo, Mario Joseph H. USMC PFC Korea NY, NY
Esquibel, Dominic USMC LCPL Iraq Freedom NM
Estrada Manuel A USMC CPL Viet Nam (VN) Phonix, AZ
Fajardo, Theodore USMC 2nd LT WW II Ridgewood, NJ
Fernandez, George E. Navy _____ WW II
Gabaldon, Guy L USMC PFC WW II Los Angeles, CA
Gomez, Ernesto USMC LCPL VN Pasadena, CA
Gonzalez, Daniel G USMC CPL VN Corpus Cristi, TX 
Guerra, Victor J USMC SSGT VN 
Hernandez, Nicholas USMC CPL WW II El Paso, TX
Herrera, Felipe USMC LCPL VN San Antonio, TX
Leal, Armando Garza Navy Hospital Tech 3rd Class VN San Antonio, TX
Lopez, Jose G USMC SGT VN Ft Douglas, UT
Lopez, Steven D USMC PFC VN Spring, MA
Marquez, Equterio J Navy Phamacist Mate 3rd Class VN San Antonio, TX
Marquis, Joseph T.O. (KIA) Navy Chief Aviation Machinist Mate WW II Los Angeles, CA
Martinez, Marco A USMC CPL Operation Iraq Freedom
Martinez, Angel (KIA) USMC PFC VN NY, NY
Montoya, Scott A USMC SGT Operation Iraq Freedom 
Nunez-Juarez, Ramon (MIA) USMC PFC Korea San Sebastian, PR
Ortiz, Pierce (Peter) J USMC Major WW II born: NY, NY (2-Navy Crosses)
Ortiz, Robert Manuel USMC PFC WW II born: La Jollaca, AZ Hometown: Tucson AZ
Perez, Joseph B USMC LCPL Ops Iraq Freedom Houston, TX (Silver Star & Purple Heart)
Pichon, Luis Alfonso, Jr USMC ____ VN
Rivera, Jose L USMC LCPL VN Waukegen, IL
Rivera_Soto, Mayora USMC CPL VN Philadelphia, PA
Rodrigues, Joe G, Jr (KIA) USMC SGT VN Dallas, TX
Romero-Nieves, Enrique (MIA) USMC PFC Ferderiksted, PR
Serrano, Robert Navy ____ Korea El Paso, TX
Solis, Thomas USMC CPL VN Pasadena,CA
Toro, Rafael USMC PVT 2nd Nicaraguan Campaign Humacao, PR
Valdez, Phil Isadore (KIA) Navy Hosp.man 3rd Class Dixon, NM
Valencia, Eugene Anthony Navy Capt WW II )[pilot] San Francisco,CA 
Vargas, Salvador USMC PVT WW II Born:Rancho Santa Fe, CA Htwn: Cardiff by the Sea,CA
Vasquez, Jesus Roberto (KIA) USMC SGT VN El Paso, TX
Viale, Angelo Army ___ WW II San Francisco, CA
Villa, Albert M USMC SGT WW II Born:Pinos Altos,NM Htwn: Los Angeles, CA
Page 1 of 1 Navy Cross Recipients

U.S. ARMY KOREA SILVER STAR Hispanics Recipients:
This list of 10 pages was compiled by Rafael Ojeda (rsnojeda@aol.com) 
from "Home of Heroes" web site (www.homeofheroes.com). 
Please submit corrections or additional info or names to Home of Heroes 
and Maggie Rivas at the U of TX at Austin "Oral History Project".

MARINES (USMC) KOREA SILVER STAR Hispanic Recipients

ARMY: VIET NAM HISPANIC SILVER STAR RECIPIENTS
List compiled by Rafael Ojeda (rsnojeda@ aol.com). 
Please see "Home of Heroes" web sites for Citations.

MARINES (USMC) VIET NAM SILVER STAR Hispanic Recipients

  
GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM (GWOT) MEDALS AWARD 
This list was compiled by Rafael Ojeda (rsnojeda@aol.com). 
Please visit the "Home of Heroes" web sites for Citations.

U. S. Army (Silver Star medal)
Alvarez, Jose SPC Hometown: West Orange, NJ
Camacho, Eddie SPC Hometown: Bronx, NY
Camacho, Javier SFC Newport Richey, FL
Cebecro, Gildarho SPC 
DeJesus, Angel CWO2 Ponce, PR
Diaz, Jason SSGT NY, NY
Espino, Erasmo, Jr SSGT Eagle Pass, TX
Felix, Bradley M SFC Corpus Cristi, TX (Purple Heart)
Fernandez, Chirstopher PFC Tucson, AZ
Franco, Kenneth R SSGT Queen, NY
Hernandez, Abram SFC Hidalgo, TX (Purple Heart)
Lara, Peter SFC (Purple Heart)
Molino, Christopher A Capt
Morales, Francisco SFC Palm Desert, CA
Nunez, Octavio SSGT 
Rivas, Jose M SGT 
Rodriguez, Jose R SFC
Velez, Jose (Freddy) (KIA) Lubbock TX (Purple Heart)
Villlalobos, Gary SFC Santa Maria, CA

NAVY: (Silver Star)
Fonseca, Luis E Hospital Apprentice Fayetteville, NC (DSC medal)
Rubio, Juan M. Hospital Corp 3rd Class San Angelo, TX

USMC (Silver Star)
Atrain, Mario Lance CPL El Serreno, CA (Purple Heart)
Baptista, Leandro F SGT Miami, FL
Cardenas, Moses LCPL Fullerton, CA (Purple Heart)
Gomez-Prez, Carlos LCPL born: Mexico City, MX Hometown: El Cajon, CA
Gonzalez, Benjamin LCPL El Paso, TX (Purple Heart)
Lopez, Mathew A LT Colonel Chicago, IL
Martinez, Marco CLP Las Cruces, NM
Mendoza, Michael A SGT Tinley Park, IL
Montoya, Scott C SGT Montclair, CA
Navarrette, Jason L SSGT (Purple Heart)
Perez, Joseph B LCPL Houston, TX (Purple Heart)
Reynoso, Yadir G (KIA) SGT Wapato, WA (Purple Heart)
Sagredo, Ismael SSGT Lansing, MI
Tejada, Riayna A (KIA) SSGT NY, NY (Purple Heart)

National Museum of the American Latino

National Hispanic Veterans Museum
http://www.charityadvantage.com/hispanic_military_museumjgblgb/Home.asp

The Latino Warrior Foundation
Latino Warrior Foundation is about glorifying the warrior, not the war.
http://www.latinowarrior.com/home.html

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'Mutts Like Me' by Patricia J. Williams 

The National Parks: America's Best Idea

Editor:  Thanks to Armando Rendon for alerting us to the fact that Burns has produced another documentary.  Considering the exclusion of Hispanics in all of Burns previous efforts, it suggests diligence in preparing for the airing of  “National Parks: American’s Best Idea.” 

Extract of information from PBS Press Release 8/1/2008 Los Angeles, CA
PBS to Air Ken Burns' Documentary About National Parks

Public Broadcasting Service announced today that it will air the National Parks: America's Best Idea, in fall 2009. The 12-hour, six-part documentary series.  Filmed over the course of more than six years in some of nature's most spectacular locales — from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska the documentary is nonetheless a story of people from every conceivable background — rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy.

The narrative traces the birth of the national park idea in the mid-1800s and follows its evolution for nearly 150 years. Using archival photographs, first-person accounts of historical characters, personal memories and analysis from more than 40 interviews.  The series chronicles the steady addition of new parks through the stories of the people who
helped create them and save them from destruction.

Among the lengthy cast of characters profiled in the series is James Mason Hutchings, a magazine publisher who was one of the first people to promote Yosemite and who sought to develop a resort hotel on the land; John Muir, a deeply religious mountain prophet who found inspiration in Yosemite and then inspired generations of parks enthusiasts; George Masa, a Japanese immigrant whose photographs of the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee served in the fight to protect the region as a national park; Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who persuaded Congress that a swamp in southern Florida, the Everglades, should be set aside as a national park; George Melendez Wright, a park ranger from San Francisco who recognized the need to preserve the parks' wildlife in its natural state; Adolph Murie, a young biologist and protégé of Wright who was instrumental in reforming park policy so that wildlife — even predators — would have the same protections as the land itself; and Stephen Mather, a wealthy businessman who used his
personal fortune and genius for promotion to create a National Park Service.

These historical accounts are paralleled with contemporary stories of people who continue to be transformed and inspired by the parks today. They include Shelton Johnson, who grew up in Detroit, where the national parks seemed distant, unreachable places until he later became a park ranger; Gerard Baker, a Native-American park superintendent whose tribe has long considered the land sacred; Tuan Luong, a Paris-born Vietnamese rock climber and photographer who fell in love with the parks and dedicated himself to photographing all 58 national parks with a large format camera; and Juan Lujan, who grew up in west Texas during the Depression and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, with which he would help develop Big Bend National Park in Texas. Also included in the film are interviews with best-selling author Nevada Barr, a former park ranger; writer and
environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams; historians William Cronon, Paul Schullery and Alfred Runte; and many others.

In addition to Peter Coyote's narration, The National Parks features first-person voices read by some of America's greatest actors. Tom Hanks reads the voices of several characters in the film, including Congressman John F. Lacey, who helped push a bill through Congress to protect Yellowstone's last wild buffalo herd. Other voices include Andy Garcia, Josh Lucas, Eli Wallach, Campbell Scott, Sam Waterston, John Lithgow,
George Takei, Philip Bosco, Carolyn McCormick, Adam Arkin and Kevin Conway.

Editor:  It appears that in the 40 interviews, two Hispanic stories will be included, George Melendez Wright and Juan Lujan.   

Two other Hispanic names appear in the press release,  Andy Garcia and Peter Coyote.  However  Peter Coyote appears to be a professional name: “On October 10, 1941, Peter Coyote was born Rachmil Pinchus Ben Mosha Cohon in New York City to Ruth (Fidler) and Morris Cohon, an investment banker. ...www.petercoyote.com/biography.html “   

Sneak Preview, at Outdoor Industry Assn Winter Market Trade Show

On January 22, a sneak preview of the documentary will be aired for the Outdoor Industry Association's industry breakfast, kicking off the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market trade show. The 7 a.m. event is not open to the public.  OIA officials are requiring participants to pre-register at www.outdoorindustry.org for the limiting seating available at the breakfast.  http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_11179073

There is no indication that the colonial histories of the National Parks areas will be included.  This is unfortunate because most areas in the United States were explored by the Spanish in the 1500s and 1600s. 

[There are 391 units (58 national parks, plus 333 national monuments, historic sites and other units), the National Park Service has a presence in 49 of the 50 states (Delaware is the sole exception Somos Primos will be sharing information on the early Spanish presence in our National Parks throughout this year. Please be sure and check the Table of Contents for each issue. ]

PBS has 356 member stations across the nation.  Filming was done in 51 of the 58 National Parks.  It is possible that a site included will be about a National Park with which you might have stories to share, or, perhaps, your National Park will not even be included.  In either case, it may be that your local PBS station is considering support activities tying in with the fall 2009 airing of  “National Parks: American’s Best Idea.”   

Extract:  Western Reserve PBS and Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Reserve PBS is producing a local documentary  featuring Cuyahoga Valley National Park because of its importance to northeast Ohioans, and the fact that the ”Cuyahoga Valley National Park and many others will not be featured prominently in the national parks documentary”

"This is the first full-length broadcast documentary about Cuyahoga Valley National Park," said Duilio Mariola, Western Reserve PBS production/local programming manager. "It will celebrate the past, present and future of this invaluable Northeast Ohio resource."

The station will hold oral history collection events on three Sundays: Jan. 25, April 26, and May 17 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the park's Happy Days Lodge, 500 W. Streetsboro Road (Route 303) in Peninsula. Participants are invited to share memories, home movies, photos and memorabilia.  Western Reserve PBS will record the interviews and scan the photos on site. Home movies offered will be converted to DVD format at the station and returned with a complimentary DVD copy.

A limited number of interviews will be used in the one-hour documentary. The interviews are by appointment only and can be scheduled by calling Western Reserve PBS at 800-554-4549 during regular business hours. The documentary will air in the fall of 2009 in conjunction with the national premiere of the 10-hour series, "America's Best Idea: Our National Parks."

Sent by Armando Rendon
armandorendon@sbcglobal.net
510-219-9139

History Detectives PBS, Might be the Answer

Picked up the news item below off the web this morning, and it struck me that this might be a way to preempt Kenny and show how the national parks system owes a debt to early explorers and settlers in the Americas. The History Detectives is a neat show that takes inquiries from anyone with an interesting historical artifact or connection with history but either there's some question about its authenticity or scope of the relationship, etc. Check out the link for more info. Anyone have an idea to submit to the show? I was thinking maybe just to ask for them to confirm the underlying connection of the parks to early explorers and the like--Can anyone help here?
'Detectives' need help

PBS' "History Detectives" is looking for items related to national parks for next summer's season, as part of the promotion for next fall's Ken Burns documentary series, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea." For information on submitting items to the "detectives," who include Tukufu Zuberi, head of the sociology department at the University of Pennsylvania, go to www.pbs.org/historydetectives. .

Armando Rendon 
armandorendon@sbcglobal.net  510-219-9139


 

ACTION ITEMS

Dear Friends, 

Now that Chris Burgard's film BORDER is finally getting some decent distribution opportunities through Netflix and Amazon and others, he's suddenly being attacked by organizations that are unfairly portraying him as a hatemonger and "nativist." (See below). This movie has opened dialogue more than any other film on the immigration issue and these people obviously have no idea where Chris is coming from - they just find it convenient to label him as a racist and hatemonger. 

The Desperation of Life for Many in Mexico

RACE: ARE We So Different? 
Educational Exhibit Doubles in Size and Reach 
www.understandingRACE.org

To learn more about The RACE Project please visit our website: www.understandingRACE.org   or contact Joseph Jones at jjones@aaanet.org
  or (703) 528-1902, ext. 1171.

For press kits including an exhibit description please contact Lauren Schwartz at lschwartz@aaanet.org  or (703) 528-1902, ext. 1164.

###

Founded in 1902, the American Anthropological Association is the world's largest professional organization of anthropologists and others interested in anthropology, with an average annual membership of more than 10,000. The Arlington, Va.-based association represents all specialties within anthropology — cultural anthropology, biological (or physical) anthropology, archaeology, linguistics and applied anthropology.
Sent by Dorinda Moreno fuerzamundial@gmail.com

Interactive website: www.understandingRACE.org and an educational DVD-CD set developed to promote informed conversations and a new understanding of race in the US.

MALDEF CALLS FOR NATIONAL ACTION IN WAKE OF KILLING OF THIRD LATINO VICTIM OF A HATE CRIME IN FIVE MONTHS

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) President & General Counsel John Trasviña called upon leaders across all communities to unite and speak out against hate violence: 

“We mourn and are outraged by the murder in Brooklyn , New York of Jose Osvaldo Sucuzhañay, whose life was violently taken by a group of people, and whose crime, according to witnesses, was motivated by hate-filled bigotry.  Only one month ago, 37-year old Marcello Lucero was ferociously beaten and fatally stabbed in Long Island , New York by a group of teenagers who hunted him down simply for being Latino.  In July, 25-year old Luis Ramirez lost his life after he was knocked unconscious and kicked in the head by a group of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania teenagers who yelled racial epithets before and during the brutal beating.  We extend our sympathies to their families and loved ones.   

In the past several years, hate crimes against Latinos have risen 40 percent.  This is a national epidemic whose growth is spurred each day by hate speech and anti-immigrant sentiment expressed on cable shows, local radio shows and across the airwaves.   

National legislation, such as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act, must be a top priority for Congress and the new Administration, but it is not sufficient to reach the hate that threatens to pervade local communities.  This drastic rise of hate crimes against Latinos, not coincidentally, has occurred during the same years in which there has been an explosive rebirth of extremist anti-immigrant rhetoric and measures.  The serious topic of immigration has been contaminated by hatred and racism, and has created a toxic climate which fosters and condones violence and civil rights violations motivated by bigotry.  In seeking to enact unconstitutional anti-immigrant ordinances, irresponsible elected officials spew inflammatory rhetoric that depicts undocumented immigrants as parasites and the root cause of the nation’s fallen economy. Television and radio personalities spread misinformation and stereotypes that criminalize and dehumanize Latino immigrants.  Meanwhile, white supremacist groups are using this anti-immigrant wave to promote their racist groups and promote violent acts against Latinos.  Collectively, the messages and norms they seek to establish are that immigrants are less human and less worthy, and do not merit basic human rights protections our Constitution demands.  These messages have begun to infect too many Americans, and they are being manifested through violence.  Unfortunately, our elected leaders have failed to recognize and condemn this national crisis, the media has largely remained silent, and families have not acted to protect their children from being infected from this hatred.     

As proven by this year’s historic election, the great majority of Americans have defeated artificial barriers of racism and ushered us into a new era.  After over a century of struggle for freedom and democracy irrespective of race, Americans have abolished the disease of racial hatred; however, a virus continues to linger with some, and we must not allow it to proliferate.   There are those that may believe that racism and xenophobia will always exist, but it must not exist in our country, in our democratic institutions, in our schools, and in our homes.  We must be ever-vigilant, and stamp it out where we see it.   

MALDEF calls upon our national representatives, faith leaders, educators, and parents to stand up and take immediate action against this national wave of hatred.  We again call on Congress and the next President to fix our broken, archaic immigration system to establish national immigration priorities, including community integration that serves the nation’s interests, allows newcomers to work with legal status and protections against exploitation, and safeguards the nation’s communities.  Local and federal authorities must prosecute hate crimes to the fullest extent under law.  Local officials and media personalities must take responsibility for the consequences of their extremist rhetoric and should spread messages of respect and tolerance.  Most importantly, we call on all Americans to unite against this wave of hatred and defeat the hate and violence.  It is unacceptable and we must stop it now.”
   

Founded in 1968, MALDEF, the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization, promotes and protects the rights of Latinos through litigation, advocacy, community education and outreach, leadership development, and higher education scholarships. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org.  
Sent by Gladys Limon

Field of Panties: Immigrant Workers

Eradicating the sexual assault and harassment of female farm workers.

By Rebecca Clarren, Marieclaire.com

Sent by Howard Shorr howardshorr@msn.com

A CLASS APART- -  Hernandez v. Texas film

Isabel Garcia: Compassion and courage earn reward

Julian Samora Research Institute Website Links

Site is devoted to the dissemination of public policy oriented research on issues affecting Latinos in both the United States as a whole, and the Midwest, in particular. 
http://www.jsri.msu.edu/

• U.S. Census Bureau: U.S. Hispanic Population
• Midwest Census Data
• Adelante Sterling
• Agustin Lira & Musical Group Alma
• Alliance for Latino Community Technology
• America's Farmworkers
• Aspectos Culturales
• Center for Latin America - University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
• Center for Latin American & Carribean Studies, Indiana University
• Cesar E. Chavez Collection (MSU Libraries)
• Chicana/o Studies Coalition
• Chicano/Latino Studies at MSU
• Chicago Fact Finder
• Chicano Studies Program
• Corte Hispana
• Cuba Solidarity
• Diversity, Inc. - Diversity News, Resources, & Commentary
• Dr. Julian Samora Legacy Project
• Duke University - Latin American & Caribbean Resources
• ElClick.com - Latino Web Community
• Farmworker Legal Services of Michigan
  
• Farmworkers' Website
• HEPM (Hispanic Employment)
• High School Equivalency Program, MSU
• Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility
• Hispanic Border Leadership Institute
• Hispanic.Com
• Institute for Puerto Rican Policies
• Inter-University Program for Latino Research
• IPRNET
• Labor Notes
• Latin America Data Base (LADB), University of New Mexico
• Latin America on the Net: Estados Unidos
• Latin American & Caribbean Studies Program (LACS)
• Latin American & Iberian Studies Program (LAISP),
  University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC)
• Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities
• Latin Americanist Research Resources Pilot Project (ARL)
• Latino Online News Network
• Latino Promotions - The Educational Resource for Latinos
• LatinoWeb - A Latino Virtual Community
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
• Making Face, Making Soul: A Chicana Feminist Website
• Mattie Rhodes Center
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Mexican Bus
• Mexico (University of Texas)
• Mexico
• Michigan State University Extension
• Michigan State University Libraries - Latino Art
• Michigan State University - Main Libraries
• Midwest Job Market
• Migrant Services Division, FIA, State of Michigan
• Monterrey Institute for Graduate Studies
• NativeWeb
• National Association of Hispanic Journalists
• National Community for Latino Leadership
• National Council Of La Raza
• National Latino/a Research Center (NLRC)
• North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
• Organization of American States (OAS)
• Pew Hispanic Center
• Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund
  
• Radio Bilingue - Latino Community Radio Network
• Rafael Cintron-Ortiz Latino Cultural Center
• Raising Hector Comic Strip
• Rural Migration - U.C. Davis
• Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives
• Society for Latina/o Scholarship
• Tomas Rivera Policy Institute
• UCLA Latin American Center
• United Farm Workers (UFW)
• United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC)
• Universidad de las AmÈricas
• Universitat Jaume I
• University of Minnesota Chicano Studies
• US Commission on Immigration Reform
• U.S. News Online
• Znet

Sent by Ricardo Valverde West13rifa@aol.com

EDUCATION

Dr. Carlos Muñoz, Jr. 
Professor Emeritus, Chicano Studies
E-mail: cmjr@berkeley.edu
Office Location: 536 Barrows Hall
Office phone number: (510) 642-9134

Christine Ortiz, Ph.D.  

Associate Professor of Materials Science 
and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute  of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue , RM13-4022
Cambridge MA 02139
Email : cortiz@mit.edu
 http://web.mit.edu/cortiz/www/

Professor Christine Ortiz is currently Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Director of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) MIT-Israel Program. Professor Ortiz obtained her B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University in Ithaca , NY , all in the field of materials science and engineering. 

After graduation, she was granted a NSF-NATO post-doctoral fellowship which she used to carry out research in the Department of Polymer Chemistry, University of Groningen, in the Netherlands. Professor Ortiz joined the faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT as an Assistant Professor in 1999 and was tenured in 2006. Her research group focuses on the high resolution imaging and nanomechanics of structural biological materials such as cartilage, bone, seashells, and armored fish.  

In 2002, Dr. Ortiz was awarded a National Science Foundation Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (NSF-PECASE) which was presented to her by President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington DC . 

Dr. Ortiz has served as a review panelist for NSF (SBIR, NSEC, CAREER, MDSE), NIH, and NASA (NBEI). Her articles have been published in most recently in the journals; Science, Biophysical Journal, Physical Review Letters, Nano Letters, and Nature Materials and also has been featured in Physics Today, Science News, USA Today, the Discovery Channel and on the covers of the Journal of Structural Biology and the Journal of Material Science. 

She has given 90+ invited lectures including 20+ international in 12 countries and 8 different Gordon Research Conferences. Professor Ortiz was recently nominated and selected to participate in the 2008-2009 Defense Science Study Group. 

Professor Ortiz has a strong commitment to teaching, mentoring, and increasing diversity at all educational levels. She has developed and taught a popular new undergraduate course annually each spring semester “Nanomechanics of Materials and Biomaterials” and is a frequent participant in MITES (MIT Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science), MSRP (MIT Minority Summer Research Program), SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science), Institute Diversity Committees, and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers). Professor Ortiz’ full curriculum vitae is located here.

Sent by Rafael Ojeda

Dolores Huerta Labor Institute 
co-sponsoring Student Leadership Academy   

  2009 Training Session:  Friday, April 3 - Sunday, April 5
  Internship: June 22 - August 14, 2009
  Application Deadline is February 27, 2009
  Selected applicants will be invited to participate in a group interview.
  Decisions will be announced by March 16.
 
Information: The Leadership Academy is a training and summer internship program that connects university and college students as well as recent graduates to career opportunities within Los
Angeles labor organizations. Participants gain hands-on experience and develop leadership skills that will be valuable training for a career in civil rights work, social justice, labor, or community organizing.
 
Students will develop leadership skills and learn more about how the labor movement is leading the struggle for social justice.  a Meet leaders who are driving some of the most dynamic campaigns to empower workers in Los Angeles and apply for an eight-week paid summer internship. Interns will work full time and earn a $450 stipend per week. a Work directly with organization staff and members on campaigns.
 
For more information please contact: Lanita Morris at  213-480-4155 x212 or lmorris@irle.ucla.edu   Applications are available online at
http://www.labor.ucla.edu/pdfs/2009SLAApplicationFILLABLEFORM2.pdf
  
 
  John Delloro, Executive Director
  Dolores Huerta Labor Institute
  Los Angeles Community College District
  c/o LATTC, LRC 220
  400 West Washington Blvd
  Los Angeles, CA 90015
  Office (213) 763-7070
  wdelloro@email.laccd.edu  www.dhlaborinstitute.org 
 
"Education functions as an instrument which is used to   facilitate integration of the younger generation into the   logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world."  Paulo Freire

Sent by companys@stanford.edu

FREE HARVARD EDUCATION 
FOR STUDENTS FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES!!! 
Harvard Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI)

Sent by Armando Rendon  Email: armandorendon@sbcglobal.net  510-219-9139
and Juan Marinez marinezj@anr.msu.edu

BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Una Perla Para Chavez

BOOKS

500 Years of Chicana History
by Elizabeth Martinez

New Mexico Colcha Club: Spanish Colonial Embroidery 
and the Women Who Saved It 
by Nancy C. Benson

In a lively and engaging style, Juan Manuel Casas gives us this narrative history of his great-grandfather, Federico Villalba and his family. Villalba’s life was filled with excitement, challenge, and victory. The Big Bend country was a dangerous place in those days, especially for those of Mexican descent. Men carried guns and were not reluctant to use them.

Sent by Martinez bookstore  rmtz@latinobooks.com

"The Jews and New Mexico, Centuries of Contact"
by Lou Serna

 Salsa, Soul, and Spirit:  Leadership for a Multicultural Age
by Juana Bordas

JBordas333@aol.com

SwitchCraft by Mary Castillo

To My Family and Friends ~  

Several months ago during a conference, I met a lovely young woman, Mary Castillo, an author and entrepreneur.  We exchanged experiences and books.  One of her works is titled “SwitchCraft” which was fun to read and kept me wondering how the main characters would solve their dilemma.  (A “Guru” had helped them switch bodies and live each other’s lives for a month...).  Mary has also co-authored other books with Latina/women writers.  

Recently, Mary asked if we could do a Question & Answer interview on my book which she posted on her Blog.  It’s titled Between the Pages with Gloria DeLaTorre~Wycoff.

You can read the interview on Mary’s blog at: http://marycastillo.blogspot.com/.  After you read it, if you are interested, you can write and post your own comments; just click on Post a Comment.  

You can visit Mary’s website by clicking on the top of the page to search her Blog. Please pass on the Blog information.  It’s a great way to support and promote Latina writers.   

Thanks!  Mom ~ Gramma ~ Gloria  
Gloria DeLaTorre-Wycoff  
DeLaTorre Publishing  
25422 Trabuco Road, #105 - 538  
Lake Forest , CA 92630-2797  
949-768-6105  
Email: gloria@delatorrepublishing.com  
Website: www.redeemedbylove.com

MEChA Leadership Manual: 
History, Philosophy, & Organizational Strategy
by Roberto Tijerina Cantu

Soccer's Story & A Futbol Fable by Gil Sperry 

Dance, Nana, Dance / Baila, Nana, Baila

CULTURE

Indigenous artist Gustavo Rodrigo Toaquiza Ugsha 

The indigenous artist Gustavo Rodrigo Toaquiza Ugsha is the second son of Julio Toaquiza. He was born in the community of Tigua Chimbacucho, in the Yanacachi region, on March 7, 1971.

There, he grew up with his siblings Alfredo, Alfonso, Targelia, Luzmila, Magdalena, and Wilson. His main occupation as a child was to go to school and to help his parents with their daily chores in the home and in the countryside, such as taking care of the crops, shepherding, etc.

Gustavo began painting from a very young age. He was taught by his father, who is one of the most important Indigenous Painters in the country, and the manager of a vigorous movement of artists who have come out of a small community to create art that is recognized around the world.

Gustavo Toaquiza
gustavotoaquiza@hotmail.com
www.gustavotoaquiza.com  

Sent by Dorinda Moreno  fuerzamundial@gmail.com

One scholar wrote, “These memoirs are the personal, honest and riveting testimonials of 17 Chicanas who performed Chicano theater during the 1970s.”  Another scholar wrote, “Their work in teatro is an important contribution to the preservation of the spirit and energy that made the Chicano Movement.”

The 1970s and 1980s saw the awakening of social awareness and political activism in Mexican American communities. In San Diego, a group of Chicanas participated in a political teatro that addressed social, gender and political issues of the working class. Their experiences are distilled into this book.

For more information please contact Luciano Ramirez at 760 323-3778. Please pass this information to other people who might be interested.

SUDDENLY REALIZED I HAVE FINALLY JOINED LA GENTE

By

Richard G. Santos

BUSINESS

I have frequently made reference to my favorite daily cartoon series, BALDO.  Recently Cantu and Castellanos have been running a theme of teen-age Baldo's work experience in an auto parts shop.  Another young teenager, a non-Hispanic has many strategies for getting out of work.  Co-worker Joey's attitude is to perform the least he can do and get away with the most he can get away with.  His antics include hiding under the counter, behind boxes, bathroom or where ever.  Baldo is usually left to complete the unfilled. task.  This is a pattern, observed by Baldo, but not his supervisor.

In the December 6 cartoon, Baldo's supervisor, Mr Rod, informs Baldo that Joey is being promoted.  There apparently might be a racial undercurrent. Baldo's response is not what Mr. Rod expected.  Please look at my comments at the end.

The American worker used to be one of the best in the world, but he is losing in world-wide competitiveness.  We can blame the sift on a myriad of social attitudes, the hippies of the 60s, labor/management relations and/or the growing multitudes of social give-away programs which have produced diverse expressions of attitudes of entitlements. 

Whatever the cause we need to once again share positive, realistic values with our youth.  Using clever means of getting out of work is unfortunately acceptable and  applauded by a many groups in the U.S..  The identity issues with which our youth are dealing is made even more complicated by life and work situations, such as Baldo experienced.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Academic Advisor, Department of Africana Studies, California State University, Long Beach developed and promoted a return to values in the promotion and development of the very Kwanzaa celebration.  Kwanzaa is focused on seven principles: Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith. 

Dr. Henry J. Casso, Educator and Director of Project-Uplift believes Latinos should also identify and promote traditional values to help guide our young people.  It is a combination of heritage and traditional values which form the foundation for understanding who you are.

I am working with Dr. Casso on the concept and developing strategies to share a sense of our values and principles.  Please feel invited to contact Dr. Casso or me.
Dr. Henry J. Casso  505 294-4157  projectuplift02@msn.com
Mimi Lozano 714-894-8161  mimilozano@aol.com 

Please read the article in this issue by Ronald A. Navarro, M.D. honoring his father, Jesus Navarro.  Dr. Navarro is the Chief of the Orthopaedic Surgery Department, Kaiser Permanente, South Bay Medical Center.

The series on Dr. Hector P. Garcia, founder of the GI Forum demonstrates a life lived in sacrifice for the benefit of the Latino community.  Medical physicians, Dr. Navarro and Dr. Garcia were each shaped by the values of their parents, particularly their father.  We need to acknowledge the role of the Latino father in the home. The strong leadership and guidance of Latino fathers will benefit, not only their own children, but the nation.  Our African-American neighbors and friends have already focused on that great need. Let us follow their lead. Fathers . .   please stand forth, love and guide your sons and daughters to a future worth living.  

. . . .    Mimi

Hispanic Business Magazine launches Digital Edition

Anti-Spanish Legends

LA LEYENDA NEGRA/THE BLACK LEGEND

HISTORICAL DISTORTION, DEFAMATION, SLANDER, LIBEL, AND STEREOTYPING OF HISPANICS  

By Felipe de Ortego y Gasca

Scholar in Residence, Western New Mexico University; Professor Emeritus, 
Texas State University System—Sul Ross

     The Lamp and the Golden Door--Number 6 in a series on La Leyenda Negra

On a tablet within the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands is engraved the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus written in 1883 . Most Americans don’t know the entire poem but are familiar with the stirring lines that end the poem: “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”  

To commemorate the centennial of the United States and to cement the friendship between France and the United States, a group of leading French admirers of American liberty commissioned Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, a successful, 31-year-old French sculptor to construct a lasting monument to Franco-American friendship. On October 28, 1886 the 305 foot statue was raised in New York harbor. And in 1903, cast as part of the bronze tablet fastened to an interior wall of the pedestal was the poem by Emma Lazarus that has become the credo for thousands of immigrants to America (Wikipedia).  

Arguably the most impressive global monument to the freedom of immigration, the Statue of Liberty and her poetic message have become tarnished by American xenophobia directed mostly at non-white supplicants of American freedom. An incident that stirred the tentacles of The Black Legend occurred in 1915 in San Diego, Texas, where one Basilio Ramos and others were arrested for fomenting a revolution to free the dismembered territory of the Mexican Cession from American control and organizing it as an independent republic.  

During the hysteria of the Plan de San Diego, more than 300 Mexicans and Mexican Americans were killed in retaliatory actions by hyped-up Anglo Americans (including the Texas Rangers) who saw the plotters of the Plan de San Diego as terrorists and German infiltrators penetrating the soft under-belly of the United States during the bellicose times of World War I (1914-1918) in Europe (The Handbook of Texas Online, Plan of San Diego). According to Arturo Rosales, “Anglo retaliation to the Texas-based Plan de San Diego in 1915 is unparalleled in its degree of anti-Mexican violence by Anglos” (History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, 30-31)  

To defend themselves from the hysterical wrath of El Plan of San Diego, Mexican Americans redoubled their efforts to create organizations which would protect their civil rights. In 1929 the efforts of a decade long struggle culminated with the formation in Corpus Christi, Texas, of the League of United Latin American Citizens, one of the oldest surviving Mexican American civil rights groups.  

Of the million and a half Mexicans who came to the United States between 1910 and 1930 in pursuit of the American dream, more than 500,000 of them were repatriated during the years 1930-1939. Like today’s ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids, immigration authorities in the 1930 rounded up “Mexicans” in major American cities and told them to “git” escorting them to the border regardless of their citizenship. Consequently, according to one source, “60% of the people deported were children born in the U.S. and others who, while of Mexican descent, were legal citizens” (http://en.wikipedia. org/ wiki/Mexican_Repatriation).

Another account of the repatriation reports that the campaign “resulted in widespread violation of civil and human rights, including illegally imprisoning immigrants, deporting United States-born children, not permitting returnees to dispose of their property or to collect their wages, deporting many no legally subject o deportation because of their length of . . . residence, separating families, and deporting the infirm” (“Mexican Repatriation in 1930 is Little Known Story” http://www.epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/ 24/mex%20repat.htm). Alfonso Lara born in the United States tells the story that when his father died in 1932 when he was 7, immigration officials came to his house and told his mother to go back to Mexico since there was nothing for her to do in the United States. Years later after growing up in Mexico he learned during a sojourn in the United States as a bracer that he was an American citizen. All this seems like preamble to the roundup of Japanese Americans in the early days of World War II.  

Indeed, immigration officials made no distinctions in rounding up “Mexicans” during the repatriation raids of the 1930s—a Mexican was a Mexican. There were no raids of these sorts along the U.S.—Canadian border. There are, of course, exigencies to bear in mind when one considers the impetus for the raids. The Great Depression of the 1930s created uncertainty and anxieties for the millions of Americans affected by hard times. Unemployment was at an all-time high, financial institutions were in wreckage, inflation was amok, and, in general, the United States was in shambles. Consequently making scapegoats of “Mexicans” helped assuage the public temper which fanned the flames of the Black Legend.  

Since 2005, however, public expressions of guilt  over the forced repatriation of American citizens during the 1930s has spurred a clamor from Mexican Americans for public apologies for those actions, apologies much like the ones expressed publicly over slavery and the roundup of Japanese Americans during World War II. California Senate Bill 670 in 2005 signed by Governor Schwarzenegger was among the first of those public apologies.  

The 1930s were not the most propitious times for Mexican Americans. However, in April of 1939 American Hispanics convened El Congreso de Pueblos de Habla Española, a national civil rights assembly. Most of the delegates were from California and the Southwest but many were from Montana, Illinois, New York, and Florida. The outcome was a manifesto that “called for an end to segregation in public facilities, housing, education, employment and endorsed the rights of immigrants to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation” (Vicki L. Ruiz, “Nuestra América: Latino History as United States History,” The Journal of American History, December 2006).  

While the vocabulary of America incorporated Spanish words as part of its geography (Nevada) and ranching lexicon (lariat) urban streetscapes (Mesa) and into its architecture as “Taco Deco” and “Mariachi Modern” (David Weber, The Spanish Frontier in North America, Yale, 1994, 353), the Black Legend continued to churn out its propaganda like the little salt machine that spilled into the ocean.  

Copyright © 2008 by the author. All rights reserved.

Sent by Gus Chavez  guschavez2000@yahoo.com

Sent by R afael Ojeda

Lt Richard Gomez Candelaria: WW II Fighter ACE
Written by Santiago A. Flores

Lt. Candelaria was born on July 14,1922 in Pasadena,CA. He joined the USAAF as an aviation

Cadet and earned his wings on Feb 8,1944 at Williams Field, AZ. He was assigned to the 479^th Fighter Group and sent to England. He flew a P-51H, named, “My Pride and Joy”. He downed Two FW-190s on Dec 5,1944 and four ME-109s on April 7,1945. On his 75^th mission over Tarnewitz, Germany, he was shot down by ground fire on April 13,1945. He evaded for 10 days, then captured as a POW. After WW II, joined the Air National Guard: commanded the 8195^th FS, flying the F-86 Sabres jet.  He retired as a Colonel. He was the co-founder of Taco Bell and Several electronic companies. Colonel Candelaria was featured on the History Channel Dogfights Series.

Please see photos and credits on the web sites below:
1.     http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/candelaria/candelaria.htm
2.     http://aerofiles.com/Aces.ww2.html
3.     http://www.neta.com/~1Books/floresRGC.htm|
4.     http://www.goldengatewing.org/proptalk/speaker.cfm?ID=127

Lt Oscar Francis Perdomo: Last WW II Ace in a Day.
Written by Santiago A. Flores

Lt Perdomo was born in El Paso Texas on July 14,1919 Died on March 2, 1976.

He enlisted in the Army Air Force Pilot School in Chandler AZ on Feb 1943. He earned his wings on Jan 7, 1944 and was assigned to the AAF Basic Flight School at Chico, CA, flying the P-47 Thunderbolt. He was transferred to the 464^th  Fighter Squadron, 507^th Fighter Group and sent overseas to the Pacific Theater at LeShima, Okinawa. The primary mission was to provide Escort cover for the 8^th Air Force Boeing B-29. Lt Perdomo was a P-47N-2 RE (#146) which he Named “Lil Meaties Meat chopper for his son namesake. On August 9,1945 Lt Perdomo had 10 combat missions and the U.S, had just dropped the Atomic Bomb over Nagasaki, Japan. 

While waiting for Japan to surrender, the war continued, then on August 13,1945 Lt Perdomo shot down four Nakajima (Oscars) fighters and one Yokosuka (Willow) type 93 bi-plane near Keijo, Seoul Korea. Thus earning him the distinction of being the last WW II Ace in a day.  

Lt Perdomo  was recalled back to duty when the Korean War started and remained in the service Until 1958 and separated as a Major in the USAF.

Please view the web sites below for credits and photos:

1.     http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/perdomo/perdomo

2.     http://aces.safarikovi.org/victories-ww2.html

3.     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Francis_Perdomo

    In WW I and WW II the Army Air Corps (AAC) and the Army Air Force (AAF) both had Enlisted Pilots (non-commission officers). Aviation cadets were promoted to Staff Sergeants (SSGT) upon graduation from their Flight Schools. I have only been able to find two Latinos:

Names: SSGT Manuel S. Martinez and SSGT Paul N. Perez. The websites below have only the Names of the Flying Sergeant Pilots. Please let us know if anyone has more info about these and other Flying Sergeant names.

1.     http://scribd.com/doc/1420669/us-air-force-wwii%20SSGTPilot.pdf 
2.     http://afehri.maxwell.af.mil

 (Rafael Ojeda  rsnojeda@aol.com)  Page 12

Lt Francisco “David” Mercado, Jr. B-24 Bombardier.

Lt Mercado was born in East Los Angles on January 17,1920-Sep 23,2005. With the outbreak of WW II, he volunteered as an Air Corps Aviation Cadet in 1942. His initial flight training was in The Ryan PT-22 and the Vultee BT-13 and later the B-26. He was transferred to the B-24 at Kirkland Airfield, NM where he received his Bombardier wing and commissioned as a 2^nd LT.

He was assigned to the 491^st Bomb Group and deployed to the 853 Bomb Squadron, 491^st Bomb wing, 8^th Air Force. Lt Mercardo flew 35 combat missions.He earned the exclusive “Caterpillar Club” when he had to parachute on July 21, 1944 over England while returning with a crippled

B-24.Please see web site below for his Medal awards and credits.
1.     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Mercardo%2C_Jr.    

page 14  (Rafael Ojeda rsnojeda@aol.com

Sgt. First Class Luis Morales Receives silver Star for Valor

Petty Officer 3rd Class Alfonso Chavarrias Receives Navy Cross

Dr. Luis Walter Alvarez, American Physicist and Inventor

I would like to conclude our WW II era by including the Grand-daddy of Hispanic scientists: Dr. Luis Walter Alvarez. Dr Alvarez was of Spanish and Cuban descent.  (Born on  June 13,1911 died on Sep 1,1988). Dr. Alvarez was educated at the University of Chicago, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1932, his master degree in 1934,and his PhD in 1936 in Physics.

During WW II while at M.I.T he was responsible for three important radar system inventions: the microwave early warning system, the Eagle high altitude bombing system and a blind landing system of civilian as well as military value, theGround-Controlled Approach, (GSA). During the war, he worked on the highest classified military technology. He was a key participant in the Manhattan project, including Project Alberta, the actual dropping of the atom bombs. He was on board The Great Artiste, the observation plane for the atomic bombing  of Hiroshima, as a scientific observer.

Dr. Alvarez and his student Lawrence Johnston, designed the exploding-bridgewire detonators for the spherical implosives used on the Trinity and Nagasaki  bombs. For his Inventions on radar and navigation technologies he received the Collier Trophy in 1946, which is the highest American government award honor in aviation. 

Other medals include: the Medal of Merit, 1948, the John Scott Medal in 1953, the Einstein Medal in 1961,  the National Meal of Science in 1964, the Michelson Award in 1965, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1968 and the Dudley Wright Prize (Interdisciplinary Science) in 1981.

After the war, he invented the synchroton.  During his lifetime, he was granted more than 
40 patents. Among some of these patent were the stabilized opticial system for binoculars or cameras (later the variable-power lens he invented for the Polaroid Spectrum camera.

Among other accomplishments  he begun his long involvement with aviation in 1934, after just three hours of dual instruction, he flew for over 50 years until the age of 73.

Along with his son, Walter Alvarez, a Geologist presented the “Asteroid-Impact Theory” for the Extinction of dinosaur in 1980

His famous Quote: “ The most”, “the best”, “the first”, were important to Dr. Alvarez, in others as well in himself. Quote:, “Valuing honors myself, I’ve worked hard to see to it that my favorite candidates win them as well” and he could point to successes in that field. (Quotes from “Memorial Tribute for Luis W. Alvarez, by Richard L. Graham).

For credits and further reading see web site links below:  
  1.   http://www.fas.org/rlg/alvarez.htm

2. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1968/alvarez-bio.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/luis_walter_alvarez

(Rafael Ojeda  rsnojeda@aol.com)  Page 13

Abstract: U.S. Military Academy at West Point Launches 
'Center for Oral History,' an Archive of Soldier Experiences, 
from Oldest Living

Patriots of the American Revolution

Chris Herrera (left) & Jeff Herrera (right) in Clan Dunbar kilts - June, 2008
Tumacacori Mission, National Park Service

Sent by Ruben M. Perez 

Mexico Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, MXSSAR
Archivo General de Indias
by Judge Edward Butler, 2002 Jun 20 

Patriots of Peru During American Revolution
by Granville Hough, Ph.D.

 # 15 in Series,  R-Ru

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