Every government interference in the economy consist of giving an unearned benefit, 
extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others.   ~Ayn Rand

The natural tendency of every government is to grow steadily worse that is,
 to grow more satisfactory to those who constitute it and less satisfactory to those who support it. ~ M.L. Mencken

Our people are fast approaching the point where it can be said that seven-eighths of them 
are trying to find out about how to live at the expense of the other eighth. ~Abraham Lincoln

"Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. 
No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions." ~ James Madison 

Letter to the Editor

I read in our Bexarenos online newsletter that you were retiring and just wanted to let you know what a pleasure it has been to have you at the helm of Somos Primos.   It is an excellent newsletter which I have read religiously for years. Thank you for all the time and energy you have put in the creation of this amazing online newsletter. I have learned a lot from it-God Bless you in any new endeavor you undertake. Maria Elena

http://www.nclr.org/index.php/events/nclr_annual_conference-1/register_now/ 
http://www.nclr.org/index.php/events/nclr_annual_conference-1/ <  Get the latest information

Somos Primos will have a booth at the Family Expo . . .Please look for us.
Volunteers will help visitors to get started on their family history, and once again, we will have the expertise assistance of Arturo Cuellar, Spanish language specialist at the Salt Lake Family History Library, Utah.  

Jose Gueitz Romero  tio.romero@yahoo.com 

Old Absinthe House & Bourbon Street, 1903
 http://jamesmshaw.blogspot.com/2011/06/old-photos-of-new-orleans-la.html 

Elephant in Tiger skin: 
Old Photos of New Orleans and Louisiana 
Wonderful website with well captioned photos of New Orleans.
Sent by deville@provincialpress.us   

P R O V I N C I A L P R E S S, http://provincialpress.us/index.html
3653 Perkins Road Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808
Phone: 225-344-0476 Fax: 225-344-0480
http://www.claitors.com/  Research@provincialpress.us

Below a few photos from the LULAC National in Las Vegas
LULAC LAS VEGAS FAMILY EXPO, JUNE  19, 20, 21

Lorena and Ricardo Asencion, volunteers at the Las Vegas Family History Library.  

Mimi Lozano

Delia Gonzalez Huffman, marketing media specialist

Gloria Cortinas Oliver,  Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research

Isabel Zuniga Hutchings, Las Vegas  resident hung out at our booth for a couple of days. 

Missing is our photographer, Angel Cortinas . . a real live angel!!

Yvonne Gonzalez Duncan, LULAC 2013 Woman of the Year 

The delegates re-elected Margaret Moran for her fourth term as National President. Others elected in the assembly were: Maggie Rivera from Illinois as LULAC treasurer; Ralina Cardona from New York as vice president for the Northeast region; Darryl Morin from Wisconsin as vice president for the Midwest region. Mickie Luna from California was re-elected as vice president of the Farwest region; Baldo Garza from Texas was re-elected as vice president of the Southwest region; Juan Carlos Lizardi from Puerto Rico was re-elected as vice president of the Southeast region; Frank Urteaga from Texas was elected as the vice president for the elderly; Elsie Valdes from Puerto Rico was re-elected as vice president for women; Manuel Rendon from Texas was re-elected vice president for young adults; and Ana Valenzuela from Arizona was re-elected as vice president for the youth. Romy Rodriguez is LULAC Youth President.

Yvonne was born in Chicago, IL , her mother was from Aguascalientes, MX and her father was from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She was Miss Mexico of the Midwest for LULAC in Chicago when she was 17 and won a trip to Mexico City. Her mother was an activist and also volunteered for LULAC in Chicago. Yvonne moved to Orange County in 1979 with her family.

Yvonne returned to school after a 15 year absence and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Science from National University and started a Master’s Degree in Management. She worked for over 20 years as a Manager in Head Start, Health Care and most recently as a Program Manager at Long Beach City College as a grant writer and manager in Economic Development / Workforce Development. She took an early retirement in order to help the community.

She joined Anaheim LULAC in 2005 and has been the President for the last 4 years of Anaheim LULAC Council #2848. She also was elected to Orange County LULAC District 1 as a District Director in 2012 and 2013.  She has recently won “Woman of the Year “at the National LULAC Convention in Las Vegas, NV (June 17-22, 2013)  as well as the LULAC State Convention  May 25,2013 and the Orange County LULAC District 1 Convention (April 27, 2013). Some of her activities with LULAC has been extensive fundraising for scholarships for Anaheim Schools. In 2011 she wrote and received a grant for “Ford Driving Dreams Through Education “for Anaheim High School Independent Learning Center This grant is a collaborative with National LULAC and the Ford Fund and addresses  Latino high school dropouts and provides field trips to colleges, cultural events, and mentors. She also serves as board chair for the Heritage Museum of Orange County and most recently held a fundraiser there for an exhibit for Mendez vs. Westminster, et al a landmark desegregation case from 1946 on Mexican schools. The museum also has programs for 16,000 school children pre-school to 4^th grade that learn about California history. Most recently there was an interactive display on Mexican Schools in Orange County with actual stories from those who attended a Mexican school and what it was like. She has participated in the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life “ in Anaheim as well as Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer awareness events; MANA of Orange County; she is also Membership Chair of Orange County Child Care and Development Planning Council and is an advocate for early literacy; Vice President of Mexican American Heritage Cultural Center  a collaborative group working towards establishing a permanent cultural and educational center documenting the contributions of Mexican Americans to Orange County

LULAC 2013 Award Winners:

1. Man of the Year: Tom Sandoval from Texas
2. Woman of the Year: Yvonne Gonzalez Duncan from California
3. Council of the Year: Council #7 from Texas
4. Senior Awards: Silvia Gonzalez from Texas and Pedro Enriquez from Illinois
5. Raymond Telles Award for Education: Lydia Medrano from Florida
6. Felix Tijerina Award for Service to the League: Eddie LeGuerre from New York
7. Aztec Award for Civil Rights: Jorge Rivera from Texas
8. J.C. Martinez Award for Membership and Expansion: Priscilla Rocha from Nevada
9. Cesar Chavez Award for Leadership and Community Services: Lourdes Ribera from Ohio
10. Dr. Anita Del Rio Award for Latina Leadership and Women’s Advocacy: Elizabeth Zepeda from California
11. Crecencio Padilla Award for Volunteerism: Salvador Lazalde from Utah
12. State Director of the Year: Yvonne Quiñones-Lanzo from Puerto Rico
13. Lifetime Achievement Award: Benny Martinez from Texas
14. Lifetime Achievement Award: Silvia Gonzalez from Texas
15. Ohtli Award: Jose Rivera from Illinois

A name is just a name, unless, 
it ties you to the past.

To see the entire two-minute short film visit: http://www.piccom.org/programs/he-hawaii-mau
http://hakuinoa.com                                                                                                      

Sent by Mel and Galal Kernahan
Director Lurline Wailana McGregor                                                                                       

HISPANICS BREAKING BARRIERS

Second Volume 

  19th Issue

By

Mercy Bautista-Olvera

Norma Torres:  California State Senator, California, 32^nd District  

Gabriel Gomez:  Former SEAL Platoon Commander, Candidate U.S. Massachusetts Senate    

Alejandra Ceja:  Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics

Roberto Alonzo:  House of Representatives, Texas, 104^th District

George Lopez:  Commentator on governmental repression, human rights violations

Norma Torres is the California State Senator for the 32^nd District. She represents the cities of Pomona, Colton, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, Rialto and San Bernardino including the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy and portions of Chino.

Norma J. Torres was born in Guatemala. When she was five, her mother died, and she, her father, and her two brothers relocated to Los Angeles, California.  She is married to Louis. The couple have three sons Robert, Mathew, and Christopher (who is currently serving on active duty in the United States Air Force).

She received a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Labor Studies from the National Labor College in Silver Springs, Maryland.  

Norma Torres worked as a 9-1-1- Emergency Dispatcher and instructor for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).  Working to protect the public's safety and making the community a better place to live has been Norma's lifelong work. In 1994, Norma led the effort to require the hiring of bilingual 9-1-1- Despite overwhelming odds, Norma organized a grassroots coalition that resulted in bilingual operators on every shift.

From 2006 to 2008, Torres served as a City Council member and the first Latina Mayor of Pomona. In each of these roles, Norma has proven herself a courageous lawmaker unafraid to stand up for our families and our communities in the Inland Empire and throughout California.

As Mayor, she imposed gang injunctions, limiting gang member activities. She is also worked with the community to break the code of silence in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

In 2008, Norma was elected to represent the 61^st State Assembly District, which includes the cities of Chino, Montclair, Ontario, and Pomona. She serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development, and has been on the front lines of the fight to help homeowners stay in their homes.  

Also in 2008, Torres was selected to serve as the Treasurer of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.  An early supporter of President Obama, she was chosen to be an “At Large Member” and super delegate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Since December 3, 2012 she served as member of the California State Assembly, representing the 52^nd District.

She held special hearings across the state to explore the federal "Keep Your Home California" programs, ultimately locating and securing $2 billion in federal funding to help California's struggling homeowners keep their homes.

In 2009, she received the coveted “Woman of the Year” award from Lieutenant Governor of California. One year earlier, she was an honored guest in Guatemala, where she toured the countryside, met with Heads-of-State, and accepted the Order of the Great Knight, the country’s highest honor.

Norma J. Torres is also the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.  She has used the influence of her Chairmanship to pass law legislation designed to help delinquent homeowners refinance their second mortgages and lower the interest rates of mobile home owners who wish to purchase their lots.

She has been recognized for outstanding leadership by the California Sheriff’s Association, League of California Cities, Professional Engineers in California Government, and Yellow Ribbon America, and the American Hero’s Foundation, among many others.

Gabriel Gomez, a businessman and former U.S. Navy SEAL, is a nominee for the U.S. Senate in the 2013, special election in Massachusetts. He is running for the Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry.  

Gabriel Gomez was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Colombian immigrants. The family later settled in Washington State. He grew up in Yakima, Washington, where his father worked as a business executive He is married to Sarah Lynn Hall, a Peace Corps Special Education Teacher. Gomez and his wife moved to Cohasset, Massachusetts where they are raising their four children.

Alejandra Ceja is serving as the new Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

Alejandra Ceja was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Huntington Park, California, though her family’s roots trace back to Michoacán, Mexico. 

Alejandra Ceja received a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Political Science at Mount St. Mary's College in California and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at Baruch College, City University of New York. 

In 1996, Ceja began her career in Washington, D.C.; she served on a Public Policy Fellowship for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, where she worked on Capitol Hill with Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard and at the National Council of La Raza. 

She is a graduate of the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) program. Ceja held positions at the White House Office of Management and Budget where she helped develop the federal budget for the Department of Labor, and the Corporation for National and Community Service. She also served as a Senior Budget and Appropriations Advisor at the House Education and Labor Committee.

She is also a member of the National Urban Fellows, the National Hispana Leadership Institute.  

“I look forward to advancing the mission and goals of the Initiative and to helping Hispanics achieve their potential academically, professionally, civically and globally,” Ceja stated. “I want to thank the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) for supporting my professional development throughout the years and look forward to working together on advancing the Latino college completion agenda for our country.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute president and CEO Esther Aguilera commended Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for appointing Alejandra Ceja to White House Initiative. Aguilera stated, “Her appointment is a testament to CHCI’s success in developing Latinos for leadership positions and illustrates how CHCI’s educational programs are making an impact throughout the country.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated, "Alejandra is a trusted advisor and leader in the Hispanic community," Duncan further added, "As director of this important initiative, Alejandra will continue her exceptional work of pursuing academic excellence and opportunities for Hispanics across the country."

Ceja recently served as Chief of Staff for Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter at the U.S. Department of Education.

As a White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Ceja will lead the administration’s efforts to address disparities in education that impact the Latino community and provide policy solutions to President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Roberto Alonzo is serving at the House of Representatives, Texas, 104^th District, which is in southwest Dallas including primarily the communities of Oak Cliff, Cockrell Hill, northeast Grand Prairie, North Oak Cliff, and Arcadia Park.

Roberto Alonso was born in Crystal City, Texas. He is the son of Emeterio Alonzo Jr., and Maria de la Luz Rivera-Alonzo, (Mexican ancestry). The family worked in the fields during periods of times in other U.S. states. His father, Emeterio was born in Toledo,

Ohio. Roberto has ten siblings.  He is married to Sylvana Avila-Alonzo. The couple have three children; Roberto Jr., Maria Xiomara, and Jose Maria Emeterio.

In 1978, while attending college Alonzo made history. He became the first Hispanic elected President of the Student Government at the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1980, Alonzo received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas Austin and in 1984, his Jurist Degree, from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.  

In 1992, Alonzo made history by becoming the first Mexican American from North Texas elected to the Legislature.  

On July 7, 1993, Alonzo once again made Texas history when Governor Ann Richards signed HB 1261 into law - the first piece of legislation authored by the Dallas freshman representative, creating the Texas Partnership and Scholarship Program (TPSP). Gov. Richards' signature of HB 1261 at the time made the TPSP the first program of its kind in the country.  

Since the 2003, Alonzo secured funding to continue the Alonzo Bilingual/ESL Scholars Program at the University of North Texas, in Dallas, a loan-forgiveness, and scholarship program that provides financial assistance to potential teachers to earn certification in bilingual education/ESL teaching.  

He has authored or co-authored various other pertinent higher education measures to attract more minority students into the engineering field; legislation to increase diversity on the Select Commission on Higher Education (SCHE); and legislation that creates the Texas Tomorrow Fund II - a scholarship/grants financial aid program, among other higher education measures.  

Since its initial funding, the Alonzo Scholars Program has received much praise from both the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) and the Texas Association for Bilingual Education (TABE).  Both organizations continue to encourage its replication in other parts of the state and nation.

"Making a quality and equitable public education accessible to all students has consistently been one of my passions since I was first elected to the Texas legislature in 1992. Most importantly, however, offering quality bilingual education programs and addressing the needs of ELL learners at all levels of schooling, regardless of zip code, family income, or language proficiency has taken center stage in my tenure as a lawmaker. I know personally and hear plenty about the obstacles many students face when they first set foot in our classrooms, especially when they come from families where English is not the primary language spoken in the home. As such, I think it is our responsibility as policymakers to help those students by providing them with the necessary instructional tools and educational programs that will help them overcome those obstacle and become productive citizens of society," stated Alonzo.  

In the past, the Dallas lawmaker has received similar honors for his education efforts, including the 2008 Champion of Higher Education Award from the Texas Association of

Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC) and the 2008 Meritorious Service Award from the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE).  

In 2008, Alonzo was awarded with the “Champion of Higher Education Award", from the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC). He was First Hispanic elected President of the Student Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also received the TACHE Meritorious Service Award, Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education, 2008 "Legislator of the Year" award, the Justices of the Peace & Constables Association of Texas "Exceptional Leadership" award, and the Peruvian American National Council.  

On March 22, 2013, at the Dallas Convention Center, the International Language Association awarded him with the  "TESOL's 2013 Outstanding U.S. Advocate Award," for his exemplary work in advocating for bilingual education and the rights of English language learners (ELLs) and public education in Texas.  TESOL stands for "Teaching English to Students of Other Languages. Alonzo stated "TESOL is a global association representing approximately 13,000 English language educators worldwide. "Words cannot express how truly honored and humbled indeed I feel to be singled out by TESOL to receive this advocate award from an organization that has been advocating for and addressing the needs of English language for almost half a century, not only in the US and Texas, but internationally."

George Lopez is a commentator on governmental repression, human rights violations, and also an advisor to the United Nations Security Council.

In 1975, George A. Lopez received a Ph.D., from Syracuse University.

Lopez's research interests focus primarily on the problems of state violence, especially economic sanctions, gross violations of human rights, ethics and the use of force. He is the recipient of the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Chair in Peace Studies.

Ana Reyes

 A Wise Latina

Nominated by Mimi Lozano

  By

Mercy Bautista-Olvera

Ana Reyes

Ana Reyes is the first Hispanic City Council member in Farmers Branch, a city in Dallas County, Texas. It is an inner-ring suburb of Dallas.    

Ana Reyes was born in Indiana, her family later moved to Farmers Branch, Texas. She is the daughter of Antonio and Maria Reyes. Her parents originated from Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico.

In 2006, Ana was working in the Human Resources Department. She often visited her mother’s work at a nursing home. She lived with her parents in an addition to the home. It was at this time that her mother began urging her to attend City Council meetings, where discussions were tense over the immigration and English-only proposals.

The district came as a result of litigation using the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and a federal judge’s ruling in 2012, siding with 10 Hispanic plaintiffs. The plaintiffs included Reyes’ 64-year-old mother, a staff member at a nursing home, and her 66-year-old father, a retired technician at a plastics manufacturer.

On facing the ‘brick Wall’ Ana Reyes, their daughter struggled to be nominated to be a City Council member, but together with her mother, siblings, and others, she was able to succeed.

Ana Reyes’ mother Maria, a naturalized U.S. citizen motivated her daughter, a U.S. born citizen, to fight back when the all-white City Council passed an immigration ordinance which Latinos found offensive, were some people hurled at Hispanics, from the ordinance to public taunts about catching "illegals," most of them were born in United States.  Ana credits her mother, a “wise Latina” in   her own right, demanding Ana to attend council sessions. They may be the political team of the future.

Ana Reyes adjusted their unlawful immigration status in the amnesty of the 1986 overhaul of U.S. immigration laws.

Today, Ana Reyes is the first Hispanic City Council member in this suburb of 29,000. But more significant is how Ana Reyes and her mother moved the historically hard-to-motivate Latino vote, a challenge not only in Farmers Branch, but across the nation.

In 2008, Ana Reyes’ mother Maria experienced discrimination; she remembered what she encountered. A white man pointed to her and said in English, “Here’s an illegal to catch.” Maria Reyes believing the man didn’t quite comprehend she understood English. He further taunted her, “Here’s our illegal waiting for other illegals.” Five years later, the elder Reyes stated, “That really inspired me to keep going.”   

Political consultant Jeff Dalton and his firm Democracy Toolbox propelled success forward. “The Hispanic component of the vote has always been the brick wall,” stated Dalton, who works exclusively for Democrats or in nonpartisan municipal elections.

The political strategist said he methodically plotted data on the likelihood of a Reyes vote on a scale of 1 to 5 through canvassing. At one point, Dalton’s data showed Reyes in a dead heat with her opponent, William Capener, a print shop manager with ties to the local Tea Party.  

That would be the sound the candidate and her campaign team made as they knocked multiple times on nearly every door in a newly carved City Council district, a so-called Hispanic opportunity district because of the concentration of U.S. citizens of voting age.

Chief Judge Sidney Fitzwater’s ruling that Farmers Branch violated the Voting Rights Act has been appealed. The court found the plaintiffs proved “racial bloc voting” in four polarized elections from 2007 to 2011, through statistical evidence and testimony, according to the 41-page ruling in August 2010, by Chief Judge Sidney Fitzwater. The Reyes campaign estimated that less than 7 percent of her voters were not Hispanic, though non-Hispanics made up 51 percent of registered voters at election time.

In fact, in the 2012 presidential race, Hispanics punched way below their weight with a turnout of only 48 percent. The top-performing group, African American, participated at a 66 percent rate, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data.

Ana Reyes walked the entire District three times, including on Election Day. Others followed in her steps until the nearly 1,800 voters in the district had received about a dozen visits.

Nadia Khan-Roberts, a Spanish teacher living in Farmers Branch, volunteered for the Reyes get-out-the-vote effort.  

On May 11, Ana Reyes won with 62 percent of the vote. Dalton, the consultant, believes that half of the Hispanic vote was “low-propensity,” or hard to-budge, and hadn’t voted in more than one of the last five elections. “Something special happened,” stated Dalton, who wants to replicate the strategy on a larger scale.

The drive to campaign again and again was seeded in insults experienced by the Reyes family and other Latino candidates and residents, they said in more than a dozen interviews.

During that time, Ana Reyes said, an elderly motorist yelled a slur out to her as she drove near the Brookhaven Country Club, where the neighborhood’s precinct consistently turns out to vote in high numbers.

Ana Reyes said her experience “does not compare to what Elizabeth Villafranca and other Latino candidates experienced.” Villafranca, a Farmers Branch restaurateur who ran for City Council in 2009, faced slurs and what she called stalking. Ruben Rendon, a school psychologist who ran for office in 2008, was called “an illegal.” Rendon was born in Texas.

Candidate Reyes visited with a Dallas County election manager to ask about harassment prevention. She found out the department’s responsibility was limited to a constricted perimeter near polling machines. The campaign took its own action. “We hired constables to make sure order was maintained,” she stated. “We are not going to tolerate it anymore,” she further stated.

The Justice Department sent federal monitors to Farmers Branch, too. But that was only for Election Day on May 11, 2013. In the District 1 race, more than half of the votes were cast in early voting.

City Hall regularly became the stage for unpacked emotions. In one meeting, the 5-foot-8-inch, raven-haired Ana Reyes took to the microphone herself. She asked the City Council to examine their “fear of changing demographics with the growing Hispanic residents” and questioned how a Farmers Branch resident who was a Marine veteran and stood outside the City Hall could possibly be asked, “Does he have papers?”

Texas State Representative Rafael Anchía. 103^rd District, a Democrat whose district includes part of Farmers Branch, was in the audience. “It would be easy to cower in the face of hostility,” Anchía stated. Ana Reyes impressed him. Within a year, she was running his district office.

On May 21, 2013 Ana Reyes was sworn-in, some of the plaintiffs from the voting rights case attended. All four of the Hispanic candidates before Reyes who had tried to win a council seat were there, too: contractor José Galvez, school psychologist Ruben Rendon, a Farmers Branch restaurateur Elizabeth Villafranca, and businessman Jack Viveros. The Reverend Michael Forge from Mary Immaculate Catholic Church stood at her side as she took the oath of office.

It was clear that some in the overflow crowd were unhappy with the Reyes victory. Ana Reyes lived most of her life in her parents’ home, which has undergone a few expansions and now includes a second floor. But she moved out of that home to purchase a house in another part of the city — and moved back to her parents’ home just in time to meet residency requirements for the first District election.  

Farmers Branch Mayor Bill Glancy said he hoped the new council members, who include Kirk Connally, a 73-year-old retiree who beat an incumbent, would want “good things for the city.” But regarding Ana Reyes, he said, “You never know what someone is until they are in office. There is campaigning and then there is serving.”

The council member’s mother is more hopeful. “My heart says everything is going to be better. We will be the family we used to be in Farmers Branch before the division,” stated Ana’s mother Maria. Looking back, the elder Reyes said, “I never dreamed in my life that I would stand out in front of City Hall passing out literature.” Nor did she ever dream her daughter would become first Hispanic Mayor and City Council member in Farmers Branch of the town in which she and her family regularly faced racial tension and prejudice.

It's an incredible statement from someone who grew up in an impoverished Mexican village, illegally hopped the fence into California, attended Harvard Medical School and now works at Johns Hopkins Medicine as a neurosurgeon.

"I've never been one who declines adventure," he says.

Early life: The oldest of five children, Quinones-Hinojosa as a child had nightmares that he had to save his mother and siblings from fires, floods, avalanches, says his memoir, "Becoming Dr. Q," which he co-authored.

His interest in medicine may have stemmed from this sense of responsibility, along with his baby sister's death from colitis (the memoir is dedicated to her). At 6, though, he wanted to be an astronaut.

His father owned a gas station, and Quinones-Hinojosa worked there at age 5; his family lived in an apartment in the back. But as Mexico's economy took a dive, the business collapsed, along with the family's livelihood. Quinones-Hinojosa's father had to sell it for almost no profit. They later learned that gasoline had been leaking out of holes in the underground tanks.

The family used to eat meat once a week, but that became a luxury of the past. After the station was sold, they had to make do with flour tortillas and homemade salsa, he wrote.

Short visits to California's San Joaquin Valley, where Quinones-Hinojosa's uncle Fausto was a foreman at a ranch, gave Quinones-Hinojosa a glimpse into the United States -- and the American dream. At age 14, he spent two months there pulling weeds, making money to bring back to his family.

"That hard-earned cash proved that people like me were not helpless or powerless," he wrote.

As a teenager, Quinones-Hinojosa thought he would become an elementary school teacher. Despite his excellent grades at a teacher-training college, however, he was assigned a position in a remote, rural area; only politically-connected, wealthy kids got jobs in cities, he wrote. Quinones-Hinojosa's salary would be paltry.

His uncle agreed to let him work a short stint again at the California ranch to supplement his income, as doubts began to accumulate about his future as a teacher. A plan began to form in his mind.

Life's work: Mom's death inspires doctor's life work

Passage into the United States

Quinones-Hinojosa had $65 in his pocket when, the day before his 19th birthday in 1987, he decided to cross into the United States for a longer stay. He wasn't thinking about laws, he just wanted to escape poverty so that he could go back and feed his family, he says.

Risking arrest, deportation and even death, Quinones-Hinojosa had a plan: He would cross the border in a "Spider-man climb" up an 18-foot-fence, hop over the barbed wire and make a leap into California, he wrote.

Just when he made it across, border agents picked him up and sent him back to Mexico.

Someone else might have just gone home -- but not Quinones. An hour after his attempt, he went back to the very same place to try the exact maneuver again, only faster. This time, he was successful.

With his uncle's assistance, Quinones-Hinojosa ended up back in the fields in the San Joaquin Valley. The vast farming terrain was teeming with corn, grapes, tomato, cotton, cantaloupe, broccoli, cauliflower. He lived in a trailer.

"There's a lot of sentiment against immigration nowadays, but at the time, when I came, the U.S. welcomed me," Quinones says. "They needed my labor and I needed them. "

Quinones-Hinojosa remembers driving a tractor and seeing agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service pass by. They would take other workers away, but somehow, he avoided being caught.

Had he been picked up right then, he might not be a neurosurgeon in the United States today. He lets out a laugh at this -- "It's crazy. I never thought about it that way, to be honest with you, but you're absolutely right."

Quinones-Hinojosa had wanted to make enough money for food for his parents and siblings -- who later came to the United States as well -- and intended to go back to Mexico after saving money. "When you're making $3.35 an hour, you realize that that dream is going to take a lot longer," he says.

Next he got a job as a welder for a railroad company. An incident at age 21 almost cost him his life. He was repairing a valve on a tank which previously carried liquified petroleum and, ignoring warnings, went in after a metal nut that tumbled inside.

He was unconscious by the time workers, including his father and brother-in-law, got him out, and woke up later in a hospital. A doctor told him he would have died had he stayed there two minutes longer.

"As if transformed, I no longer cared about the trappings of wealth or dreams of riches that had motivated me before," he wrote in his memoir.

Life's Work: A nobel prize, with help from sea slugs

A different education

Quinones-Hinojosa spent two years at San Joaquin Delta College, taking classes during the day and continuing work for California Railcar Repair in the afternoon. He never knew the difference between "community college" and "university," but an American friend and his family helped him understand, and encouraged him to apply to larger, more prestigious institutions to further his education.

To his surprise, Quinones-Hinojosa got offers from several universities, he recalls. He chose University of California, Berkeley, because of the scholarship the school offered, but also because he learned it was the epicenter of a social movement in the 1960s. He enrolled at age 23.

But the environment wasn't entirely supportive. A teaching assistant once told him, "You can't be from Mexico. You're too smart to be from Mexico." He said nothing, but the comment stung. These words would later spur him on to prove people like this wrong.

Next stop: Harvard Medical School. When he matriculated, the U.S. population was about 18% minority, but faculty at medical schools was only about 3.7% minorities, Quinones-Hinojosa wrote in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. While a student, he earned his U.S. citizenship in 1997.

One of his medical school classmates told him no one could pronounce "Alfredo Quinones," and suggested he change his name to Alfred Quinn. Instead, he lengthened his name to Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, honoring his mother's family. It was also in medical school that developed the nickname Dr. Q., which is what his patients still call him today.

The brain clearly showed itself as Quinones-Hinojosa's destiny one Friday night in medical school when the hospital was near-empty. A prominent brain surgeon stopped him and asked if he wanted to see brain surgery.

"He goes, 'Let's go right now,' " Quinones-Hinojosa says. "He puts scrubs on me and I walk into the OR to see this magnificent patient that was awake and was being mapped for brain surgery."

Today, Quinones-Hinojosa specializes in the same surgery.

"Alfredo is an outstanding surgeon, and takes very humane and very skilled care of patients with brain tumors," says Dr. Henry Brem, chairman of the department of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine. "His mission is to not only deliver the best possible care, but also to do cutting edge research in order to better understand the diseases and to ultimately find better therapies for those diseases."

Despite Quinones-Hinojosa's prominent career, longtime friend Edward Kravitz, professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, describes him as down-to-Earth: "He's easy to talk to to. He puts his hand out to shake your hand, and it's this wonderful warm grip. He's super friendly. Nothing at all pompous about him."

Life's work: Psychology plus ballet: Meet 'Dr. Dancer'

Operating on the brain

As a migrant farmer, Quinones-Hinojosa's work was full of hazards. With the machinery he operated, a wrong move could mean his finger or hand might be gone; he could even have lost his life. One machine he sat on, for picking tomatoes, he called "the astronaut chair." He had to manage it with both hands and arms.

These days, at Johns Hopkins, he has a different "astronaut chair" -- where he sits in the operating room, using his hands, feet and mouth to control instruments and a microscope.

"All that practice began when I was working in the fields," he says.

Quinones operates on about 250 brain tumors every year. He uses his operating room as an extension of his laboratory. He wants to learn the motor pathways of the brain, what makes the cells "move like spiders" and how to attack them.

He's working on a method to use human fat cells to fight brain cancer. From the fat, researchers derive mesenchymal stem cells, which appear to be effective in identifying cancer.

"It's almost like you give a hunting dog something to smell," Quinones said. "We give the cells the smell of cancer juice and they go back and chase these cancers incredibly well."

You can tell how much Quinones-Hinojosa loves what he's doing now by the way he talks about the brain.

Brain cancer, he says, is "the most devastating disease that affects the most beautiful organ in our body: the brain. I'm biased because I'm a brain surgeon, I study the brain, but I am not biased -- It is the most beautiful organ in our body."

Mary Lamb, 56, of Annapolis, Maryland, learned she had large brain tumor -- a non-cancerous meningioma -- in 2008. Nervous about her first appointment with Quinones-Hinojosa, she found him to be "a ball of energy," who was confident that she would be OK.

"He's just so kind and so friendly and he feels like he's somebody that you've known all your life," she said.

The morning of the surgery, Quinones-Hinojosa eased Lamb's fears. "He told me, 'No matter what happens in the rest of the world, I will not leave you, you are my concern,' " she remembers.

Lamb's tumor has not returned, and she organizes fund-raisers for Quinones-Hinojosa's research. The events have raised more than $40,000 in the three years.

"I guess that's the thing that makes him so kind and so compassionate, is where he came from," she said.

The American dream

In some ways, Quinones-Hinojosa, now 45, is a "regular guy." He wants his three children -- 7, 11 and 14 -- to be happy. He tries to exercise to keep himself in good shape, especially for the half-marathons he runs with patients to raise money for brain cancer. He uses the expression "holy guacamole."

There have been so many moments in his life when a combination of luck and determination carried him through. Under different circumstances, he might not have made it.

He's still conscious of the idea of the American dream. He says it was encapsulated by the pride he felt last year when he was an invited speaker at an awards ceremony for middle-schoolers with high GPAs, and got to present an award to his oldest daughter.

"The American dream doesn't mean you have a big house or a fancy car," he said. "That's not the American dream for me. The American dream is the ability to give back when you are so privileged to be able to do what I do. It's: How do you figure out how to give back at least a little bit? That to me is the American dream."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/24/health/lifeswork-dr-q/index.html?hpt=hp_c4 
Sent by Mercy Bautista Olvera 

WITNESS TO HERITAGE

Defender of the Latino presence and their contributions to the history of the United States!
Translation and interpretation 
by Tomas Saenz

ERASING HISTORIC REALITY
PERSISTENCE OF THE BLACK LEGEND

Erasing Historic Reality-Persistence of the Black Legend
Second series on La Leyenda Negra, Number 21

Myths and Tropes in the Survival of the Black Legend
HISTORICAL DISTORTION, DEFAMATION, SLANDER, LIBEL, AND STEREOTYPING OF HISPANICS

By Felipe de Ortego y Gasca
Scholar in Residence/Past Chair, Department of Chicana/o and Hemispheric Studies, Western New Mexico University; Professor Emeritus, Texas State University System-Sul Ross

Photo taken, May 2013

Apologists contend that a park sign in Mitford, Delaware is badly translated into Spanish, that the Spanish word “permiso” was meant to be the English word “permit”. The intent of the Spanish language sign is definitely a warning (to stay out of the park) while the English language sign is an alert to parents about supervision and risk. 

Translated, the bottom sign reads: 
You need to have permission to play in this park. Violators are subject to police action. 

The Wilmington News Journal reported an amicable end to the flap.

On the Sunday morning show “Melissa Harris Perry” (6/16/13) the topic shifted to racism anent the case on “affirmative action” which the Supreme Court is scheduled to take-up during this session. Responding to the question “Is racism in the United States a thing of the past? Without exception, the panelists all retorted resoundingly “No!” This lends credence to the reality of the Black Legend still with us. The “N” word for Nigger is still with us just as the “G” word for “Greaser” is still with us. The American Lexicon is replete with “fighting words” for African Americans and Latino Americans especially Mexican Americans. The myths and tropes of racism (not just in the United States) will be hard to eradicate. This is an arduous challenge but not insurmountable.  . . . . . Si, se puede!  

NATIONAL ISSUES

All of these properties that are being sold are all fully paid for. They were purchased with U.S. taxpayers dollars, and they are allowed free and clear by the U.S.P.S. The only cost to keep them is the cost to actually keep the doors open and the heat and lights on. 

Wouldn't these buildings  better serve the American people, if they were turned over to the state or country where the post offices are located, and converted for use by local cities.   

True on Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/blum.asp 

Sent by Yomar Villarreal 

Texas Passes Bill to Train Teachers as Armed Marshals

Texas legislators have sent a bill to Governor Rick Perry that allows schools to train and maintain teachers as "armed marshals" on campuses.  The bill, which had already passed the Texas house, enjoyed a bipartisan passage of 28-3 in the Texas senate.

According to the Associated Press, the bill enjoyed the strong support of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who "pushed lawmakers to help school districts provide teachers or other employees with special weapons and tactical response training." Dewhurst's pleas were echoed by smaller school districts that could not afford to hire police and other security forces for their schools.

Under the bill, trained teachers would keep a firearm in a lockbox "within immediate reach." It allows one armed marshal per 400 students and contains provisions to hide the name of that marshal from public record, to keep him or her from being purposefully targeted in an attack.

Teachers' groups opposed the bill, arguing that protection ought to be left to security professionals. Yet because Texas already allows teachers to carry guns where school boards approve, the arguments against the bill did not prevail.

Senator Brian Birdwell (R) said the concern over law-abiding citizens possessing guns on campus is misdirected: "The Second Amendment is not about the gun, it's about the right to self-preservation."

City of Nucla becomes Colorado's 
first and only town mandating gun ownership

Authorities seize ton of marijuana off Balboa Island, California
Orange County Rbigbeegister,  June 4, 2013

drug smuggling by both is not unusual in Southern California. In May 2012, 180 bales of marijuana weighing a total of 8068 pounds and with a street value of 4 million were found floating in the ocean 15 miles off of Dana point Harbor in California.

According to the Coast Guard, from October 1, 2012 through May 24, there were 137 cases of maritime smuggling in Southern California, which was up from the hundred and 28 incidents during that same time period the previous year.

Ok I send you a link but in a nutshell the mother who is a piece of work and a ghetto rat was shackin' with a gang banger and she allowed this animal to abuse her children. DCFS and the courts in their infinate wisdom took the children from the Grandmother who raised them and gave them back to the mother....Serg

Ricardo Valverde 

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) a national, non-profit group assists the court in advocating for a child. However, that doesn’t happen until after the judge has a hearing to remove a child from the parent(s). Before a hearing, the Social Services Department must determine if there is enough evidence to remove a child and request a hearing.

The problem is that the Social Services Dept. has to be very careful when it first exercises its power to take away a child from the parent. Many departments have gotten sued by a parent claiming that the dept. has unlawfully interfered with their parenting and has taken away their child unlawfully. It is very emotional for the dept. to come into someone’s home with the Cops and forcefully remove a child and temporarily keep that child in a shelter or foster home until the investigation is completed and a hearing is held.

Orange County Superior Court Judge, Fredrick Aguirre 
faguirre@occourts.org

Audit ordered of California agency after child taken from parents

- See more at: http://www.onenewsnow.com/culture/2013/06/07/audit-ordered-of-government-agency-that-took-child-from-parents#.UbJ8Ypw7j8k

Mexican Consul in Santa Ana & Anaheim Interim Chief of Police sign "Memorandum of Understanding"

Army Punishes Soldier who Served Chick-fil-A food

Jun 5, 2013 
By Todd Starnes

An Army master sergeant was punished after he hosted a promotion party and served Chick-fil-A sandwiches in honor of the Defense of Marriage Act.

The unidentified soldier was investigated, reprimanded, threatened with judicial action and given a bad efficiency report, according to the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty.

“They say he is no longer a team player and was not performing up to standards,” Chaplain Alliance Executive Director Ron Crews told Fox News. “This is just one little example of a case of a soldier just wanting to express his views and now he’s been jumped on by the military.”

Army Public Affairs issued the following statement: ”With respect to the political activities, soldiers are expected to carry out their obligations as citizens in accordance with applicable regulations. The Army cannot comment on ongoing investigations or administrative actions.”

The soldier’s story was included in a letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights documenting concerns about attacks on religious liberty within the Armed Services.

Last summer the soldier had received his promotion to master sergeant. The promotion coincided with a national controversy surrounding Chick-fil-A’s support of traditional marriage. Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told a newspaper that he was “guilty as charged” when it came to supporting the biblical definition of marriage. Gay rights advocates were infuriated and some Democratic leaders – most notably the mayor of Boston – attempted to stop the popular restaurant chain from opening restaurants in their cities.

Crews said the soldier decided to hold a party to celebrate his new position. The invitations read, “In honor of my promotion and in honor of the Defense of Marriage Act, I’m serving Chick-fil-A sandwiches at my promotion party.”

After the party, the solider received a letter of reprimand. Crews said at issue was the combination of the sandwiches and the soldier’s support of DOMA (which happens to be the law of the land).

“There was initially some talk of bringing judicial punishment against him,” Crews said. “He had a letter put in his file and an investigation was initiated to see if he had violated any policy.”

The solider reached out to the Chaplain Alliance for help and they put him in touch with an attorney. Crews said nearly one year later – the soldier is still embroiled in a legal battle.

“He was at the pinnacle of his career,” Crews said. “To make that rank means you’ve done very well throughout your career. He wants to finish serving his time honorably.”

Crews said stories like this are becoming commonplace in the military post-repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

“These stories are the ones that have not been told – about some of the more subtle ramifications of the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy,” he said.

One service member received a severe reprimand for expressing his faith’s religious position about homosexuality in a personal religious blog.

A chaplain was relieved of his command over a military chapel because he could not allow same-sex weddings to take place in the chapel.

And a chaplain who asked senior military officers whether religious liberty would be protected in the wake of the repeal of the law against open homosexual behavior in the military was told to “get in line” or resign.

Crews said they are sharing these stories to let other service members know there is a place to get help. He said Chaplain Alliance publishes a religious liberty palm card – explaining constitutionally protected liberties to service members.

“If you believe your religious liberties have been violated, here’s what you can do,” he said. “We will see that you get the help that you need.”

As for the soldier who served the Chick-fil-A sandwiches?

“We’re going to stand with this soldier who did nothing wrong,” “There is nothing wrong in saying he wants to celebrate DOMA – which happens to be federal law.

ACTION ITEM

Editor: With the recent Supreme court decisions, standing in opposition to Corpus Christi being shown in local theaters will be more difficult to prevent.  I surely hope that Christians will view this as a continuing attack on Christianity and  the family.  It is our right to oppose it being shown in local theaters.    

The Hispanic Art Contest was organized in 2007 by local organizations Victoria Alliance for Latino Education (VALE), formerly named Spanish Speaking Initiative at the University of Houston-Victoria and Letting Education Achieve Dreams (LEAD). LEAD's goals are to educate the community as to what is available in higher education to minority first generation college eligible students. The initial LEAD organization and program was directed by Daniel Ochoa. VALE formed by university students was dissolved one year later and LEAD has changed directors twice and his since merged with another university department. Dr. Josie Rivera and Beatrice Ochoa wholeheartedly continued to support the contest.  

The contest was opened for middle school students in Victoria and Port Lavaca in commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. The purpose of the contest is to raise appreciation for art, to show the students the advantages of higher education and bring awareness of the Hispanic Culture to our youth. The stipulation for the contests was that the artworks depict the Hispanic Culture. As the art teacher, I support and encourage my students to participate in this contest and other contests that develop the opportunity and turn into a reality of higher education for some. For others, it is a means to make the advancement to higher education affordable by using the art skill and talents practiced in our art class. Participation in events such as this, gives my students opportunities to grow and excel in experiences that will help to prepare them for their future.  

The U of H Victoria, Victoria College and The Minority Business Council are today’s sponsors for the contest. The first place is usually awarded a $2000 scholarship...2nd place still under negotiation is a summer camp by Victoria College...3rd place could possibly be an award of $600 by the Minority Business Council. Awards will be announced later this month with a reception to follow later perhaps in September at U of H-V and the artwork is usually on display for a whole month at the university.  

None of this is definite at this time but the final details are still in the works.

 Blanca Sanchez

EDUCATION

As dissatisfaction with the U.S. public school system grows, apparently so has the appeal of homeschooling. Educational researchers, in fact, are expecting a surge in the number of students educated at home by their parents over the next ten years, as more parents reject public schools.

Sent by Odell Harwell  hirider@clear.net 

Given annually to a student who, despite obstacles, continues to face every challenge with enthusiasm and drive, the award was presented in a ceremony held at the Carriage Inn on Friday, April 26.

A graduate of Kern Valley High School, Danica wants area high school students to know what a great opportunity and asset Cerro Coso is to the local communities. “I spent one semester in Bakersfield taking college classes that didn’t count toward the degree I wanted and that were not transferable,” said Danica. “It was a waste of time and money.” After returning to the KRV she met with Cerro Coso Counselor Pam Godfrey who assessed her interests and talents. “Pam helped me find the right program for me and put me on a path for success, I was able to keep a bhusy work schedule and take the majority of all my classes online” she said.

Danica graduated this May with an A.A. Degree in Liberal Arts and plans to transfer and earn a Master’s in Child Psychology. Ultimately her goal is to be a school psychologist working with children.

In addition to her schooling Danica has also danced for 12 years, Danica and has had the good fortune to utilize her dance skills as a dance character for Disney last summer. She plans to take a break from her schooling next year to focus on dance.

Staying true to her two passions in life, dance and children, Danica is currently working as a paraprofessional in a Special Education Preschool class at South Fork Elementary, and also teaches ballet, jazz, and hip hop at the Whitman Dance Studio.

Danica’s dedication to her studies and active participation in the ACCESS Programs at the college led to her success. “Cerro Coso is the only form of higher education in the valley and it’s a life changing tool,” concluded Danica.

Muslims Demand (& Get) Prayer In Public Schools – But Attack Off Campus Bible Studies
June 7, 2013 by Tim Brown

Sent by Odell Harwell  hirider@clear.net 

Editor:  I had an experience at the Orange Department of Education in Southern California.  It was after 9/11.  I was walking down the hallway to attend a workshop.   A man saw me, exited his office quickly, and started walking next to me,  complaining about why people in the Department of Education were preparing materials concerning the 9/11 attack.  His accent was Middle East.  "Why don't they just forget about it."  I was really puzzled why he was complaining to me, and why he had an office in the Department of Education building.  I did not notice anything on his door that indicated he was a teacher or administrator.  After I got to my meeting, he left me, and I asked some questions him, and was just told he was allowed to rent the office.  He was not an educator, and no one could give me a straight answer, why he was there.   I could only assume that he was a lobbyist.  

AN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Enrique Murillo, a professor of education at Cal State San Bernardino and executive director of the university’s Latino Education and Advocacy Days, has been named president of the Southern California Consortium of Hispanic Serving Institutions.

The consortium, which was created to increase Latino empowerment through higher education, is made up of colleges and universities in Southern California that have been designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions by the federal Department of Education. Currently, there are 63 Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the region, the largest concentration of such institutions in the United States.

CULTURE

by Sergio Hernandez   chiliverde@earthlink.net 

Sent by Elroy Archuleta  archroy1953@gmail.com 

National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowships 

Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez, a vital San Diego music institution for nearly 40 years, is one of nine recipients of this year’s National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowships, the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts.

The veteran singer, songwriter, music educator and community activist is the first San Diegan in any artistic medium to receive the prestigious NEA fellowship and the only California-based honoree this year. He is also one of only a few Chicano artists in any medium selected in the fellowships’ 32-year history.

Raymond Uzeta, President & CEO|
Chicano Federation of San Diego County
3180 University Avenue, Suite 317
San Diego, CA 92104   (619) 285-5600 Ext. 307

Sent by Roberto Calderon, Ph.D.  beto@int.edu 

WOULD YOU CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION?

For the past twenty years I’ve been working towards a dream: Present multimedia art lectures that combine the scale of film, the emotion of theatre and the enthusiasm of learning. Sadly, there are millions of people today that never have had a meaningful artistic experience. In our schools the situation is equally disheartening. Budget cuts have eliminated art education. We have a plan...

My philosophy is simple: if people don’t come to art, take art to the people.

Modern technology makes this possible. To make our dream come true, we have created ARCOS, (Arts in Communities and Schools) a non-profit organziation where likeminded people can contribute, and help us bring art presentations to schools and communities at NO COST. ARCOS will have a huge impact. In a single presentation we can reach thousands of people. Imagine how many lives we can touch. We can really make a difference!

JOIN ME, support ARCOS, become a founding member! CLICK HERE

Gregorio Luke   ARCOS (Arts in Communities and Schools) is a project of COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
All donations are tax except to the extent permitted by law.  

Family carries charrería tradition through generations
By Paulina Kababie, Tracy Everbach, Steven Elliott and Lisa Button on June 6, 2013, 
From Borderzine

Glossary of charrería terms

The charreada is the main event of the charrería culture and consists of nine men’s events, or suertes, and one women’s event, escaramuza. The events of the charreada are as follows:

Desfile de Charro (Charro Parade)?The charreada begins with an opening ceremony, during which the charros parade their horses around the arena to salute the judge and spectators. The procession usually is accompanied by a band playing the “Zacatecas March,” a patriotic Mexican song.

La Cala del Caballo (Test of the Horse) The charro puts his horse through various exercises to demonstrate his ability to command the animal, as well as to display the horse’s own training and talents. Movements such as a controlled slide; half, full, and triple turns; mount and dismount; and reverse walk are performed.

Piales en el Lienzo (Roping of the Feet) This suerte consists of lassoing a mare by the hind legs and wrapping the end of the rope around the saddle horn to completely stop the animal. The rider has three chances to successfully stop the horse’s movement.

El Coleadero (Arena Bull Tailing) This challenge consists of catching a bull by its tail and pulling it to the ground. The bull is released from the gate and the charro rides alongside at full gallop. In order to score points, he must grab the bull’s tail, wrap it around his leg and bring it to the ground within a distance of 60 meters.

Escaramuza (Skirmish) The only competitive event in which women traditionally participate, the Escaramuza is a suerte in which a team of charras rides side-saddle and executes intricate equestrian exercises at a full gallop. Performed to music, the Escaramuza provides a colorful and exciting show.

Jineteo de Toro (Bull Riding) This challenge begins with a charro mounting a bull in a closed box outside of the ring. Once the bull is released into the ring, the charro attempts to remain mounted on the bull until it stops bucking.

La Terna en el Ruedo (Team of Three) Three charros work together in the ring in an attempt to rope a bull in this challenge. In order to succeed, one charro must lasso the head while the other two lasso the feet. The goal is to bring the bull completely to the ground.

Jineteo de Yegua (Mare Riding) In this challenge, a charro makes every effort to stay mounted on an untrained mare until it ceases bucking. A charro achieves this typically by holding on to the mane of the horse or to a rope.

Manganas a Pie (Roping on Foot) In this challenge, a charro on foot has three opportunities to rope a wild mare by its front legs and cause it to fall and roll once. The wild mare is herded around the ring by three other mounted charros.

Manganas a Caballo (Roping from Horseback) The object of this challenge is for a single charro on horseback to lasso a mare in fewer than eight minutes. While three other charros chase the mare around the ring, the competing charro throws his lariat to form a loop on the ground for trapping the animal’s front feet.

El Paso de la Muerte (The Pass of Death) In this challenge, a charro riding bareback, but with reins, attempts to leap from his horse to the bare back of an unbridled wild horse. The objective is to remain on the horse’s back until it stops bucking, and then dismount gracefully without assistance.

Glossary courtesy of Arte en la Charrería, an exhibition organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C., in collaboration with Marisú González German and Gabriel Cabello Martinez.

Article Tags: charreria, equestrian ballet, escaramuza, familia Castro, lienzo charro, tradición familiar, tradición multigeneracional

Sent by Dorinda Moreno  pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com

 

LITERATURE

Recognizing Greatness for 15 Years Through the Int'l Latino Book Awards
By Kirk Whisler
For more information contact: Kirk Whisler, 760-579-1696
https://www.box.com/s/rzw14zibtw7vtn0mbd22 

The Awards were sponsored this year by Premium SponsorLibros Publishing and Gold Sponsor Scholastic. Bronze Sponsors are Atria/Simon Schuster and Vaso Roto Ediciones. Additional support comes from the University of Arizona Press and Arte Público Press. The Awards, already the largest awards in the USA celebrating achievements in Latino literature, are leading a wave of cultural and economic development within the Latino community. Tony Plana served as the master of ceremonies for the event and the presenters included golf legend Chi Chi Rodriguez, various national leaders within the Latino community, and book industry leaders.

Latino Literacy Now is a nonprofit co-founded by Edward James Olmos to promote literacy within the community in all forms: educational, financial, and reading. Since 1997 a total of 52 Latino Book & Family Festivals have been held around the USA within a combined attendance of 880,000. We also conduct the Latino Books into Movies Awards in an effort to increase the number of Latino themed films that are produced.

Kirk Whisler kirk@whisler.com
Latino Print Network | 3445 Catalina Dr. | Carlsbad | CA | 92010

Las Comadres para las Americas, a nonprofit organization, is an internationally known Latino organization empowering women to be actively engaged in the growing Latino communities through online and face to face networks. Our mission is connecting and empowering Latinas everywhere through community building/networking, cultural preservation and celebration, learning, and technology.

Instituto Cervantes is a nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. Its mission is to promote the teaching of Spanish and to contribute to the advancement of the culture of Spanish speaking countries. Instituto Cervantes is present on five continents with more than 50 centers spread out across many different countries.

This year's group of entries were judged by an outstanding group of over 60 notables including Julia L. Abrantes, Andrea Arroyo, Ruben Arvizu, Manuel Baca, Maribeth Bandas, Nicole A Ramos Beauchamp, Roberto Chavez, Barbara Bustillos Cogswell, Martí Cortinas, Alma L. Guajardo-Crossley, Rebecca Diaz, John Echeveste, Elisabeth Enenbach, Eddie Escobedo Jr., Hector Ericksen, Maria Fernandes, Maria Ferrer, José Galvez, Arturo Garcia, Denice Garcia, Gloria Garcia, Ignacio Gomez, Helen Gonzales, Myriam Grajales-Hall, Marcela Hede, Carla Herrera, Abraham Larrondo, Mimi Lozano, Arlene Martinez, Caron Martinez, Julio C. Mejia, Sara Melendez, Lisa Montes, Danny Morales, Julian Nava, Dr. Jess Nieto, Ana M. Patiño, Alice Perez, Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro. Rafael Prieto, Maria S. Quezada, Maria de la Luz Reyes, Steve Richer, Edwin "Rodd" Rodriguez, Gloria Rodriguez, Guillermo Rojas, Sarah D. Amador Rusnak, Irene M. Sánchez, Melanie Slone, Jim Sullivan, Andres Tobar, John Valdez, Martin Valdez, Andy Valenzuela, Carlos Von Son, Magdalena Whisler, and Dr. Lea Ybarra. The awards were overseen by Kirk Whisler with major assistance from Nora de Hoyos Comstock PhD, Jim Sullivan, and Ana Patiño.

Here are the winners. After the publisher in each listing is the country of origin for the author.

A. CHILDREN, YOUTH, & YOUNG ADULT BOOK AWARDS

Best Latino Focused Children's Picture Book - English

FIRST PLACE Light Keepers to the Rescue!, Marisa de Jesús Paolicelli; A Caribbean Experience Con Amor; USA

SECOND PLACE Sofia's Awesome Tamale Day, Albert Monreal Quihuis; Albert Monreal Quihuis; USA

HONORABLE MENTION How Hollyhocks Came to New Mexico, Rudolfo Anaya; Rio Grande Books; USA

Best Latino Focused Children's Picture Book - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Conoce a Simón Bolívar, Edna Iturralde; Alfaguara Grupo Santillana USA; Ecuador

HONORABLE MENTION Pelito: The Move * La Mudanza, Abraham Urias; Lito Publishing; El Salvador

Best Children's Fiction Picture Book - English

FIRST PLACE The Beautiful Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pat Mora; Illustrators: Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher; Random House Children's Books;

SECOND PLACE Grandpa Lolo's Navajo Saddle Blanket, Nasario García; University of New Mexico Press;

SECOND PLACE Walking Through a World of Aromas, Ariel Andrés Almada; Illustrator: Sonja Wimmer; Cuento de Luz;

HONORABLE MENTION Mom Goes to War, Irene Aparici; Illustrator: Mónica Carretero; Cuento de Luz;

HONORABLE MENTION LightKeepers to the Rescue!, Marisa de Jesús Paolicelli; A Caribbean Experience Con Amor;

HONORABLE MENTION Life is Beautiful!, Ana Eulate; Illustrator: Nívola Uyá; Cuento de Luz;

Best Children's Fiction Picture Book - Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Guacamole, Jorge Argueta & Margarita Sada; Groundwood Books; El Salvador (Native Salvadoran & Pipil Nahua Indian)

SECOND PLACE Micaela: Despertar en Poesía * Waking Up to Poetry, Adalucía; Cholita Prints and Publishing Company; Perú

HONORABLE MENTION Periquito, The Story of Little Parakeet, Georgette Baker; Cantemos;

Best Children's Fiction Picture Book - Spanish

FIRST PLACE Cocorina y El Puchero Mágico, Mar Pavón; Illustrator: Mónica Carretero; Cuento de Luz;

SECOND PLACE Egipto, Pau Joan Hernández; Fernando Vicente; Editorial Combel;

HONORABLE MENTION Soy Feliz, Alberto Agraso & Mony Dojeiji; Walking for Peace Publishing;

Best Children's Nonfiction Picture Book

FIRST PLACE Diego Rivera: His World and Ours, Duncan Tonatiuh; Abrams Books For Young Readers; Mexico

SECOND PLACE Conoce a Miguel de Cervantes, Edna Iturralde; Alfaguara Grupo Santillana USA; Ecuador

HONORABLE MENTION La Malinche, Francisco Serrano; Groundwood Books; Mexico, Canada

Best Educational Children's Picture Book - English

FIRST PLACE Spike, the Mixed-Up Monster, Susan Hood; Simon & Schuster, Books for Young Readers; USA

HONORABLE MENTION LightKeepers to the Rescue!, Marisa de Jesús Paolicelli; A Caribbean Experience Con Amor;

HONORABLE MENTION Mom Goes to War, Irene Aparici; Illustrator: Mónica Carretero; Cuento de Luz;

Best Educational Children's Picture Book - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE ¡Nos Divertimos con la Ciencia!, Ángels Navarro; Editorial Combel;

SECOND PLACE Colores Everywhere!, Madeleine Budnick; Trinity University Press;

HONORABLE MENTION Hello Círculos!, Madeleine Budnick; Trinity University Press;

Most Inspirational Children's Picture Book

FIRST PLACE The Sky of Afghanistan, Ana Eulate; Illustrator: Sonja Wimmer; Cuento de Luz; Spain

SECOND PLACE Mom Goes to War, Irene Aparici; Illustrator: Mónica Carretero; Cuento de Luz;

HONORABLE MENTION Micaela: Despertar en Poesía * Waking Up to Poetry, Adalucía; Cholita Prints and Publishing Company; Perú

Best Youth Latino Focused Chapter Book

FIRST PLACE Border Town #1: Crossing the Line, Malin Alegria; Scholastic Books;

SECOND PLACE Pueblo Fronterizo No 1: Cruzar el Limite, Malin Alegria; Scholastic Books;

Best Youth Chapter Fiction Book - English

FIRST PLACE Love, Amalia, Alma Flor Ada; Simon & Schuster, Books for Young Readers; Cuba

SECOND PLACE Calling Him Dad, Virginia Kamhi; WPR Books; USA

Best Youth Chapter Fiction Book - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Oro, Incienso y Mirra, Ariel González Calzada; Floricanto Press; Cuba

Most Inspirational Youth Chapter Book

FIRST PLACE Calling Him Dad, Virginia Kamhi; WPR Books; USA

Best Young Adult Fiction Book

FIRST PLACE When The Guns Fell Silent, Edna Iturralde; WPR Publishing; Ecuador

SECOND PLACE A Thunderous Whisper, Christina Diaz Gonzales; Random House Children's Books;

HONORABLE MENTION Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Saenz; Simon & Schuster, Books for Young Readers; USA

HONORABLE MENTION The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, Sonia Manzano; Scholastic Books;

HONORABLE MENTION Ciudad de Huérfanos, Avi; Editorial Bambu;

Best Young Adult Nonfiction Book

FIRST PLACE The Pregnancy Project, Gaby Rodriguez with Jenna Glatzer; Simon & Schuster, Books for Young Readers; USA

Best Educational Young Adult Book

FIRST PLACE Puberman El Enfrentamiento, Maria Villegas & Jennie Kent; Illustrator: Ivan Chacon; Villegas Editores;

SECOND PLACE Lectura de textos: Análisis e Interpretación. Narrativa, Poesía, Drama y Ensayo. Siglo XX, Eugenia Muñoz; Pearson Learning Solutions; USA, Colombian Ancestry

Most Inspirational Young Adult Book

FIRST PLACE The Day of Yesterday, Edna Iturralde; WPR Publishing; Ecuador

SECOND PLACE El Sendero Hacia el Exito!, Daniel Ramirez; ;

HONORABLE MENTION Micaela: Despertar en Poesía * Waking Up to Poetry, Adalucía; Cholita Prints and Publishing Company; Perú

B. NONFICTION AWARDS

Best Latino Focused Nonfiction Book

FIRST PLACE The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande; Atria Books;

FIRST PLACE We Became Mexican American: How Our Immigrant Family Survived to Pursue the American Dream, Carlos B. Gil; Xlibris; USA

SECOND PLACE The Shadow Catcher, Hipolito Acosta; Atria Books;

HONORABLE MENTION The Latino Theatre Initiative, Center Theatre Group Papers 1980-2005, Chantal Rodriguez; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; USA

HONORABLE MENTION The Maid's Daughter: Living Inside and Outside the American Dream, Mary Romero; New York University Press;

Most Inspirational Nonfiction Book - English

FIRST PLACE Island of Bones: Essays, Joy Castro; The University of Nebraska Press;

SECOND PLACE 8 Ways to Say "I Love My Life!", Nancy De Los Santos Reza, Josefina López, Margo De Leon, Laura De Anda, Susan Orosco, Bel Hernandez Castillo, Joanna Ilizaliturri Díaz, & Rita Mosqueda Marmolejo. Edited by Sylvia Mendoza; Arte Público Press;

SECOND PLACE Dulcified: Sweetened by the Education of Life, Lisa R. Ramírez; TP Rewards; USA of Mexican ancestry

HONORABLE MENTION A Tale of Survival, Grace Flores - Hughes; Author House;

Most Inspirational Nonfiction Book - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Palabras Calladas, José Álvarez; Editorial Voces De Hoy; Cuba

SECOND PLACE Poder de Mujer, Mariela Dabbah; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA);

HONORABLE MENTION Las Semillas Del Exito, César Lacayo; Producciones Intercelac; Nicaragua

Best Biography - English

FIRST PLACE We Became Mexican American: How Our Immigrant Family Survived to Pursue the American Dream, Carlos B. Gil; Xlibris; USA

SECOND PLACE A Mango for the Teacher, Deborah Frisch; Xicalango Press; USA

SECOND PLACE The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande; Atria Books;

HONORABLE MENTION Something Fierce, Carmen Aguirre; Douglas & McIntyre;

Best Biography - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE En Busca de Mi Destino, Irma Reyes Herrera; Xlibris; Guatemala

SECOND PLACE Caminando por la Paz: Un Camino Interior, Mony Dojeiji & Alberto Agraso; Walking for Peace Publishing;

HONORABLE MENTION Mi Vida Junto a El Cristo de Espaldas, Tomás Fundora & Ariel González Calzada; Floricanto Press; Cuba

Best History Book - English

FIRST PLACE The Arhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings, Agustin Gurza; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; USA

SECOND PLACE The Latino Theatre Initiative, Center Theatre Group Papers 1980-2005, Chantal Rodriguez; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; USA

Best History Book - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE La Calle del Héroe, Marc Wilson; University of Oklahoma Press; USA

SECOND PLACE Conquistadoras: Mujeres Heroinas de la Conquista de América, Carlos B. Vega; Janaway Publishing Inc; Spain

HONORABLE MENTION Boquete Centenario: Florilegio Poético - Histórico, Markela Rojer de Ballesteros; Universidad de Panamá;

Best Political/Current Affairs Book

FIRST PLACE De la Sombra a la Luz: Imágenes del Secuestro, Mario Ayerbe González & Fernando Soto Aparicio; Jose Marcelino Triana Perdomo;

SECOND PLACE Colombia Un País de Oportunidades, Adriana Llano Restrepo; Illustrator: Benjamin Villegas; Villegas Editores;

HONORABLE MENTION Cuando Los Chinos Hablan, Ana Fuentes; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA);

Best Business Book

FIRST PLACE Poder de Mujer, Mariela Dabbah; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA); Argentina

Best Arts Book - English

FIRST PLACE Rafael Ferrer, Deborah Cullen; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; USA

Best Arts Book - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Rebozos, Carmen Tafolla; Wings Press;

SECOND PLACE Jacanamijoy, Alvaro Medina; Illustrator: Carlos Jacanamijoy; Villegas Editores;

HONORABLE MENTION Floricanto en Aztlan, Alurista; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; Mexico

Best Gift Book

FIRST PLACE Rebozos, Carmen Tafolla; Wings Press;

SECOND PLACE María, Jorge Isaacs; Illustrator: Sylvia Patiño; editorSPatino;

HONORABLE MENTION Floricanto en Aztlan, Alurista; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; Mexico

Best Cookbook

FIRST PLACE Sabores Yucatecos: A Culinary Tour of The Yucatán, Katherine A. Diaz, Gilberto Cetina, & Gilberto Cetina, Jr.; WPR Publishing; Mexico, USA

SECOND PLACE Cocina & Diplomacia, Mariana Espinosa De Silva; Photographer: Greg Powers; Villegas Editores;

Best Reference Book - English

FIRST PLACE The Arhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings, Agustin Gurza; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; USA

SECOND PLACE The Latino Theatre Initiative, Center Theatre Group Papers 1980-2005, Chantal Rodriguez; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; USA

Best Reference Book - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Libro de Emblemas Imagen Y Palabra en el Barroco, Fabio Ramirez S. J. & Juan David Giraldo; Villegas Editores;

SECOND PLACE A-Z Las Palabras de la Arquitectura, Benjamin Barney-Caldas; Illustrator: Sylvia Patiño; editorSPatino;

HONORABLE MENTION La Familia y El Dinero ¡Hecho Fácil!, Elaine King; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA);

Best Self-help Book

FIRST PLACE Como Tratar Con Gente Difícil, Becky Krinsty; ; Mexico

SECOND PLACE Poder de Mujer, Mariela Dabbah; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA);

HONORABLE MENTION El Sendero Hacia el Exito!, Daniel Ramirez; ;

HONORABLE MENTION Nuevo Comienzo, Carlos Flores; Evolution Publishing House;

Best Health Book

FIRST PLACE El Cerebro y El Mito Del Yo, Rodolfo R. Llinas; Villegas Editores;

SECOND PLACE Get a Bangin' Body: The City Gym Boys' Ultimate Body Weight Workout for Men and Women, Charles LaSalle; Avery; Cuban American

HONORABLE MENTION Vive la Vida de Tus Sueños, Martín Llorens; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA);

Best Parenting/Family Book

FIRST PLACE La Familia y El Dinero ¡Hecho Fácil!, Elaine King; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA); Peru

SECOND PLACE Palabras Calladas, José Álvarez; Editorial Voces De Hoy; Cuba

Best Women's Issues Book

FIRST PLACE Looking for Esperanza, Adriana Páramo; Benu Press; Colombia

SECOND PLACE Dulcified: Sweetened by the Education of Life, Lisa R. Ramírez; TP Rewards;

HONORABLE MENTION Poder de Mujer, Mariela Dabbah; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA);

HONORABLE MENTION 8 Ways to Say "I Love My Life!", Nancy De Los Santos Reza, Josefina López, Margo De Leon, Laura De Anda, Susan Orosco, Bel Hernandez Castillo, Joanna Ilizaliturri Díaz, & Rita Mosqueda Marmolejo. Edited by Sylvia Mendoza; Arte Público Press;

Best Religious Book

FIRST PLACE La Segunda Venida de Cristo, Vol. II, Paramahansa Yogananda; Self-Realization Fellowship; India

Best Spiritual/New Age Book

FIRST PLACE Vive la Vida de Tus Sueños, Martín Llorens; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA); Argentina

SECOND PLACE Caminando por la Paz: Un Camino Interior, Mony Dojeiji & Alberto Agraso; Walking for Peace Publishing;

HONORABLE MENTION La Segunda Venida de Cristo, Vol. II, Paramahansa Yogananda; Self-Realization Fellowship; India

Best Travel Book

FIRST PLACE José María Gutiérrez De Alba, Impresiones de un Viaje a America, Diario Ilustrado de Viajes por Colombia 1871-1873, Jose Maria Gutierrez De Alba; Villegas Editores;

Best Nonfiction - Multi-Author

FIRST PLACE Count on Me, Las Comadres Para Las Americas; Atria Books; USA

SECOND PLACE Power of The Spirit: A Portuguese Journey of Building Faith and Churches in California, Joe Machado, Ferreira Moreno, José Do Couto Rodrigues; Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, Inc; Portugal

SECOND PLACE The Arhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings, Agustin Gurza; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; USA

HONORABLE MENTION Inheritance: Discovering the Richness of the Latino Culture and Family, Dr. Lorena G. Gonzalez & Lisa Trevino Cummins; Urban Strategies;

HONORABLE MENTION The Power of One: The Story of the Border Angels, Enrique Morones & Richard Griswule del Castillo; San Diego State University Press;

C. FICTION AWARDS

Best Latino Focused Fiction Book

FIRST PLACE The Block Captain's Daughter, Demetria Martínez; University of Oklahoma Press; USA

SECOND PLACE Pig Behind the Bear, Maria Nieto; Berkeley Press: Floricanto Press; USA

HONORABLE MENTION The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo, Francisco Haghenbeck; Atria Books;

Best Popular Fiction

FIRST PLACE The Second Time We Met, Leila Cobo; Grand Central Publishing; Colombia

SECOND PLACE Better with You Here, Gwendolyn Zepeda; Grand Central Publishing; Mexican American

HONORABLE MENTION Missing in Machu Picchu, Cecilia Velástegui; Libros Publishing; Ecuador

Best Novel - Adventure or Drama

FIRST PLACE Missing in Machu Picchu, Cecilia Velástegui; Libros Publishing; Ecuador

HONORABLE MENTION Seeking Tierra Santa: Summer Terror in Texas, Michael M. Pacheco; Create Space;

Best Novel - Historical Fiction - English

FIRST PLACE The Sandoval Sisters' Secret of Old Blood, Sandra Ramos O'Briant; La Gente Press; USA

SECOND PLACE Malena, Edgardo David Holzman; Nortia Press; Argentina

SECOND PLACE Dos Santos, Fernando de Aragón; Lepican Publishing; Puerto Rico

Best Novel - Historical Fiction - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Caminos: La Odisea de una Familia Española en América Después de la Guerra Civil Española, Carlos B. Vega; Janaway Publishing Inc, Books Division; Spain

Best Novel - Mystery

FIRST PLACE The Land Grant, Carlos Cisneros; Arte Público Press; USA

SECOND PLACE Hell or High Water, Joy Castro; St. Martin's Press: Thomas Dunne Books;

HONORABLE MENTION Every Last Secret, Linda Rodriguez; St. Martin's Press: Minotaur Books;

HONORABLE MENTION Missing in Machu Picchu, Cecilia Velástegui; Libros Publishing; Ecuador

Best Novel - Fantasy/Sci-Fi

FIRST PLACE Map of the Sky, Felix J. Palma; Nick Caistor; Atria Books;

SECOND PLACE Mortal Flesh: The Last Hero of Pompeii, Ana Maria Costa Alongi; Sigillum Publishers; Argentina

SECOND PLACE The Witch Narratives Reincarnation (Land of Enchantment #1), Belinda Vasquez Garcia; Magic Prose; USA

HONORABLE MENTION The Closet of Discarded Dreams, Rudy Ch. Garcia; Damnation Books LLC; USA

Best Novel - Romance

SECOND PLACE Amor Eterno a Través de Las Dimensiones, Mery Larrinua; LuLu Press, Inc.; Colombia

HONORABLE MENTION The Lost, Caridad Piñeiro; Grand Central Publishing; Cuba

Best Poetry Book - One Author - English

FIRST PLACE How Fire is a Story, Waiting, Melinda Palacio; Tia Chucha Press; USA

SECOND PLACE Transitions of a Nuyorican Cinderella, Maria Aponte; Aponte-Gonzales Production; Puerto Rico, USA

Best Poetry Book - One Author - Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Rebozos, Carmen Tafolla; Wings Press; USA

SECOND PLACE Homage to the Warrior Women * Homenaje A Las Guerreras , Peggy Robles Alvarado; Create Space; USA, Puerto Rican & Dominican parents

HONORABLE MENTION Potrillo, Charles Wright; Vaso Roto Ediciones; Mexico

Best Poetry Book - One Author - Spanish

FIRST PLACE Floricanto en Aztlan, Alurista; UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; Mexico

SECOND PLACE Conjuro, Xánath Caraza; Mammoth Publications ;

HONORABLE MENTION Alusiones, Eduardo Félix Medrano-Salas; Editorial Betania; Bolivia

Best Poetry Book - Multi-Author

FIRST PLACE La Escuela de Wallace Stevens, Harold Bloom; Vaso Roto Ediciones; Mexico

SECOND PLACE Women Voices: 3 Generations of Puertorriqueña Poets, Anita Vélez - Mitchell, Gloria Vando, & Anika Paris; Editor: Linda Rodriguez; Scapegoat Press; USA, Puerto Rico

D. eBOOKS & AUDIO AWARDS

Best Children's Picture eBook

FIRST PLACE Animals in Our Neighborhood * Animales de Nuestro Vecindario, David Lindgren & Dora Currea; Lindgren-Currea Family Project; Colombia, USA

Best eBook - Nonfiction

FIRST PLACE Cuando Los Chinos Hablan, Ana Fuentes; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA); Spain

SECOND PLACE Boquete Centenario: Florilegio Poético - Histórico, Markela Rojer de Ballesteros; Universidad de Panamá;

Best eBook - Fiction

FIRST PLACE Roachkiller and Other Stories, Richie Narvaez; Beyond the Page Publishing;

E. PORTUGUESE AWARDS

Best Young Adult Book in Portuguese

FIRST PLACE O Sangue de Tua Tinta, Daniel Spíndola Riberio; Thesaurus Editora de Brasília; Brazil

Best Book - Nonfiction in Portuguese

FIRST PLACE "Só o Amor", Sri Daya Mata; Self-Realization Fellowship; India

SECOND PLACE Não Existe Crime Perfeito, Marcos Linhares; Thesaurus Editora de Brasília; Brazil

HONORABLE MENTION Viva Sem Medo (Living Fearlessly), Paramahansa Yogananda; Self-Realization Fellowship; India

Best Book - Fiction in Portuguese

FIRST PLACE Surtei!, Cleunice de Arruda Castro; Thesaurus Editora de Brasília; Brazil

SECOND PLACE O Gestor, O Político e O Ladrão, Judivan J. Vieira; Thesaurus Editora de Brasília; Brazil

HONORABLE MENTION Almagesto: Contos Anímicos, Adriana Kortlandt; Thesaurus Editora de Brasília; Brazil

F. DESIGN AWARDS

Best Cover Design

FIRST PLACE Mario Velez, Luis Fernando Valencia; Illustrator: Mario Velez; Villegas Editores;

SECOND PLACE Homage to the Warrior Women * Homenaje A Las Guerreras , Peggy Robles Alvarado, Pepper Negron, & Carmelo Dominguez; Create Space; USA, Puerto Rican & Dominican parents

HONORABLE MENTION Micaela: Despertar en Poesía * Waking Up to Poetry, Adalucía; Cholita Prints and Publishing Company; Perú

Best Cover Illustration

FIRST PLACE Dentro de mi Imaginación, Marta Arteaga; Zuzanna Celej; Cuento de Luz;

SECOND PLACE Bonita es la Vida!, Nívola Uyá ; Cuento de Luz;

HONORABLE MENTION Micaela: Despertar en Poesía * Waking Up to Poetry, Adalucía; Cholita Prints and Publishing Company; Perú

Best Cover Photo

FIRST PLACE Dulcified: Sweetened by the Education of Life, Lisa R. Ramírez; TP Rewards; USA

Best Interior Design

FIRST PLACE La Mentira de Vermeer, Michael Taylor; Illustrator: Josep Baga; Vaso Roto Ediciones; USA, Spain

SECOND PLACE Micaela: Despertar en Poesía * Waking Up to Poetry, Adalucía; Cholita Prints and Publishing Company; Perú

Best Use of Photos Inside the Book

FIRST PLACE Caminando Colombia, Andres Hurtado Garcia; Villegas Editores;

SECOND PLACE Sabores Yucatecos: A Culinary Tour of The Yucatán, Katherine A. Diaz, Gilberto Cetina, & Gilberto Cetina, Jr.; WPR Publishing; Mexico, USA

Best Use of Illustrations Inside the Book

FIRST PLACE Micaela: Despertar en Poesía * Waking Up to Poetry, Adalucía; Cholita Prints and Publishing Company; Perú

SECOND PLACE Periquito, The Story of Little Parakeet, Georgette Baker; Cantemos;

G. TRANSLATION AWARDS

Best Children's Picture Book Translation - Spanish to English

FIRST PLACE Walking Through a World of Aromas, Ariel Andrés Almada; Jon Brokenbrow; Cuento de Luz;

SECOND PLACE Jungle Tales, Horacio Quiroga; Translator: Jeff Zorrilla; ; Argentina

Best Nonfiction Book Translation - Spanish to English

FIRST PLACE La Arqueología del Viento * The Wind's Archeology, Luis Alberto Ambroggio; Translator: Naomi Ayala; Vaso Roto Ediciones; Argentina, Puerto Rico

SECOND PLACE Oblivion, Héctor Abad; Translator: Anne Mclean & Rosalind Harvey; Farrar Straus Giroux; UK, Canada

Best Nonfiction Book Translation - English to Spanish

FIRST PLACE America's Chapters of Freedom in English and Spanish: Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, The Gettysburg Address. 2nd Edition., Carlos B. Vega; Janaway Publishing Inc., Books Division; Spain

SECOND PLACE El Cazador de Sombras, Hipolito Acosta; Atria Books;

HONORABLE MENTION La Segunda Venida de Cristo, Vol. II, Paramahansa Yogananda; Self-Realization Fellowship; India

Best Fiction Book Translation - Spanish to English

FIRST PLACE The Dream of The Celt, Mario Vargas Llosa; Translator: Edith Grossman; Farrar Straus Giroux; USA

SECOND PLACE Traveler of The Century, Andrés Neuman; Translators: Nick Caistor & Lorena Garcia; Farrar Straus Giroux; UK

HONORABLE MENTION The Polish Boxer, Eduardo Halfon; Translators: Daniel Hahn, Ollie Brock, Thomas Bunstead, Lisa Dillman, & Anne McLean; Bellevue Literacy Press;

HONORABLE MENTION The Map of the Sky, Felix J. Palma; Nick Caistor; Atria Books;

HONORABLE MENTION Time Commences in Xibalbá, Luis de Lión; Translator: Nathan C. Henne; University of Arizona Press;

HONORABLE MENTION Woes of the True Policeman, Roberto Bolaño; Translator: Natasha Wimmer; Farrar Straus Giroux; USA

H. THE MARIPOSA AWARDS

Best First Book - Children & Youth

FIRST PLACE I Am Happy, Alberto Agraso & Mony Dojeiji; Walking for Peace Publishing; Spain, Canada

Best First Book - Nonfiction - English

FIRST PLACE Everyday Revolutionaries: Gender, Violence, and Disillusionment in Postwar El Salvador, Irina Carlota Silber; Rutgers University Press; Argentina

SECOND PLACE Clay Hills and Mud Pies, Annie Mary Perez; Floricanto Press; USA

Best First Book - Nonfiction - Spanish or Bilingual

FIRST PLACE Cuando Los Chinos Hablan, Ana Fuentes; C.A. Press Libros en Español, Penguin Group (USA); Spain

SECOND PLACE El Sendero Hacia el Exito!, Daniel Ramirez; ;

Best First Book - Fiction - English

FIRST PLACE The Sandoval Sisters' Secret of Old Blood, Sandra Ramos O'Briant; La Gente Press;

SECOND PLACE Along These Highways, Rene S. Perez II; University of Arizona Press;

HONORABLE MENTION The House of Order: Stories, John Paul Jaramillo; Anaphora Literary Press; USA

Best First Book - Fiction - Spanish or Bilingual

SECOND PLACE Cuerpo Mortal: El Ultimo Héroe de Pompeya, Ana Maria Costa Alongi; Sigillum Publishers; Argentina

HONORABLE MENTION Conjuro, Xánath Caraza; Mammoth Publications;

CHICANO LITERATURE AND THE FUTURE

By Felipe de Ortego y Gasca

Scholar in Residence (Social Sciences, Humanities, Chicano and Hemispheric Studies, Western New Mexico University  

wo trends are discernable in Mexican Ameri­can literature at the moment: (1) the mne­monic impulse generating scores of memoirs, autobiographies, and biogra-phies like Capirotada: A Nogales Memoir by Alberto Rios, 1999; Thirteen Senses: A Memoir by Victor Villaseñor, 2001; Man of Aztlan: A Biography of Rudolfo Anaya by Abelar­do Baeza, 2001; and (2) works like Deni­se Chavez’s Loving Pedro Infante (2001) that deal more explic­itly with borderland themes, locales, and issues. There is a growing corollary trend in works of social and literary history and criticism. It’s in this corol­lary trend that I sense the vulnerability of Mexican American literature. Current critical analy­sis of Mex­ican Amer­ican literature seeks to validate its presence and legitimacy by subjecting it to critical temp­lates of other literatures or esoteric formulas not engendered from Mexican American literature. When Chicano literature emerg­ed from the cauldron of Chicano nationalism in the 60's there was an ex­pectation on the part of Chicano writers and critics that Chicano literature would develop sui generis an esthetic and criticism uniquely Chicano. In other words, Chicano literature would be what Chicanos said it was, not what other said it was. Chicanos would validate their own texts. What has emerg­ed in Chicano literary studies is a critical elitism that judges Chicano literature in terms of over-arching strictures ad­vanced by literary theoreticians like Derrida, Foucalt, DeM­an, Bhabha, et al, a new form of Edward Said’s orientalism but now prac­ticed by Chicano/a scholars and critics unaware they are aid­ing in their own literary oppression.

My hope for Chicano literature today, as it was 30 years ago, is its integration into the body of Amer­ican literature. About those early aspirations of mine for Chic­ano literature, Jose Aranda, Jr. writes: “[Ortego] fore­saw what would become by the 1990s, a whole industry from editors to academic scholar­ship rede­fining ‘American literature as a fabric wo­ven not exclusively on the Atlantic frontier by the descendants of New England Puritans and southern Cavaliers’. . . Ortego ima­gined the day this politi­cally awa­kened ethnic group would participate more directly in the nationalist revision of American liter­ature and culture. Ortego’s generation of Chicano/a scholars thus fashioned a literary history faithful to a broad Chicano social politic” (When We Arrive: A New Literary History of Mexican America, 2005, 59).

I still think that revision of American literature is an important objective, though it’s no longer as press­ing as it once was despite the fact that not long ago I received a desk copy of an anthology purport­ing to be The American Tradition in Literature from Mc­Graw Hill. It’s a text of some 2300 pages. It seems to reflect the diversity of the American mo­saic with the exception of Mexican Americans. Not till page 2199 do we see an Hispanic writer, Isabel Allende, a Chilean who now lives and writes in the United States. This is the editorial myopia so prevalent in mainstream presses: they don’t see the dis­tinctions among Hispanics. This is not to depreciate Isabel Allende’s art but she is not a Mexican Ameri­can and for the editors of the McGraw Hill anthol­ogy to offer her as the token U.S. Hispanic is tanta­mount to offering Chinua Achebe as the token Afri­can American.

The most disturbing development in Mexican American literature is the divide that distinguishes Chicana literature from Chicano literature. That di­vide was precipitated, of course, by Chicanos in the early days of the Chicano Renaissance when Chicanas were excluded from the initial literary burst– not all of them, but the disparity was evident. The backlash was inevitable. To tell their stories, Chica­nas rallied around the rubric of Chicana literature. The strategy was effective. By the 1990's Chicana writers had so revitalized Mexican American litera­ture that by the end of the decade they eclipsed their male counterparts and reignited the smoldering fire of the literary renaissance of the 60s and 70s, push­ing its spike to an apogee surpassing the pioneer Chi­cano writers, a spike still sustained and climbing. It seems to me the future of Chicano/a literature lies in the hands of Chicanas whose current produc­tivity is prodigious. But the situation creates a bifur­cation that keeps the two strands of Chicano/a litera­ture identifiably separate and confounds presenta­tion. Despite cooperative efforts in the field, the di­vision poses considerations not only for teaching the conspectus of Chicano/a literature vis-a-vis texts but for developing an inte­grated perspective of the field that enfolds the bifur­cation. This is not an insur­mountable task but it will require genuine intra-eth­nic deliberations to establish a historical baseline for Mexican American literature that recognizes and acknowledges both Chicano and Chicana writers as trabajadores de la raza.

n the film The Dark Crys­tal, wholeness embraces all the parts. In 1982, Jim Henson and Frank Oz, creators of The Muppet Show, directed a fantasy film entitled The Dark Crystal using animatronics of the time. Since then I’ve cited this film to students as a metaphor of how the Chicano Movement has helped to shape Chicano identity anent acceptance by Mexican Americans of their Spanish heritage and their Indian heritage. For years, a kind of dysphoria made acceptance of that dual heritage an either/or proposition—we were either Indians or Spaniards: in reality many of us are both. To deny one or the other is to deny one-half of us. It seems to me that truncates us, exacerbating the dysphoria.

As a film, The Dark Crystal shows us not only the nature of good and evil but the stark truth that good and evil are resident in all of us—that we cannot separate one from the other without risking our immortal soul—so to speak. The plot of The Dark Crystal is long but not complicated. A thousand years before the beginning of the story in “another world, another time, in the age of wonder” there lived on the planet Thra the urSkeks guardians of the Crystal of Truth harnessing the light of the planet’s three suns for the good of its residents. During the Great Conjunction of the three suns, however, the Crystal of Truth cracked, splitting the urSkeks into two races: the gentle hunchback Mystics and the vulture-like Skeksis. Losing a shard in the collision of the Great Conjunction, the Crystal of Truth became The Dark Crystal, ushering in a reign of terror over Thra by the dark brutal force of the Skeksis, directed toward the Gelflings, the elf-like creatures of the planet whose role in the restoration of the planet is foretold in a Gelfling prophecy: “When single shines the triple sun, what was sundered and undone, shall be whole, the two made one, by gelfling hand, or else by none.” The mission of the Gelflings Jen and Kira is to restore the shard to the crystal, but the plot thickens with the Skeksis efforts to thwart the Gelfling’s efforts because if Jen and Kira succeed the Skeksis will lose their power and immortality. In that moment when the shard is restored to the Crystal, the Mystics and the Skeksis are joined in their original forms as urSkeksis. In other words, good and evil are conjoined as one.

The following analogy is not exact, but it seems to me—without ascribing who is who—that the a/o divide in Mexican American scholarship and cultural productivity is a bit like the divide between the Mystics and the Skeksis. I am well aware of the exclusion of the Chicana in the early days of the Chicano Movement, how the focus of Chicano efforts in that period highlighted the cultural production of Chicanos at the expense of Chicanas. “Fue el agua” as Rolando Hinojosa might have put it. Pero no fue el agua. Blame it on “hubris”—unadulterated male hubris. Chicanos became what they beheld. Chicanos were as socially conditioned as other males in American society of the time. This is not an excuse but an observation. Lo que se nota es que las Chicanas se han defendido valiente y sin pelos en la lengua.

hicano literature has tran­scended the bounds of American literature. It is studied in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Mexico, and South Korea. It is part of a new world order in which the Eurocentric view of literary canon is being scrutinized for its rele­vance to non-European-based literatures.

This is a critical juncture for Chicano literature. No longer necessary now is the need to juxtapose Chicano text and counter­text, no need to iden­tify the enemy, praise the people and promote the revolution. Chicano texts must man­ifestly stand on their own--not for the benefit of Anglo mainstream readers but for the benefit of Chicano readers with whom Chi­cano literature has a pact of long-standing. For it is Chicano literature, after all, whose responsibility it is to proffer the verities of Chicano life to Chicano readers and, ultimately, to a universal audience.

There are many Chicanos who argue that Chi­cano literature is so much of a piece that it has a dis­tinctive center of gravity as well as its own ground of being and, therefore, its own esthetic. There are norms and patterns in Chicano writing that are com­mon to mainstream American literature and to world literature while at the same time different. Not be­cause of innate Chicano characteristics but because Chicano wri­ters, by and large, have emerged from a distinctive group experience in the United States.

This is not to say that that experience is unique­ly different. Most writers, I daresay, have emer­ged from com­parable group experiences: Jewish writers, Black writers, and others. While each group experi­ence may be comparable (and thus not unique), the experiences of each group are different. For in­stance, Jews have not been slav­es in the Unit­ed Sta­tes nor did their ancestors lose a war to the United States. Blacks have not suffered religious pogroms in the United States nor have they been pro­hibited from speaking their home language in the schools. Yet Jews, Blacks, and Chicanos have suffered outra­geous bigotry and discrimination in the United Sta­tes. But that is not enough to say that their group experiences have been the same.

Chicano readers have come to understand intel­lectually what they knew all along intuitively: that Chicano literature is not value-free; that lan­guage and culture--what Taine called moment, race, and milieu--are key factors in literary (cultural) produc­tion. The Anglo American main­stream lost sight of that, be­lieving that its ap­pointed mis­sion was to pass on to generation after generation of Ame­ricans of all colors the “truths” embedded in the literary works of the West­ern Tradition: what is fitting for us is fitting for them. Tho­mas Macau­lay’s words about the literature of India and Arabia reverberate in our con­sciousness as words about black and Chicano literature spoken by or subscribed to by white heirs of Macau­lay’s literary imperialism:

I have no knowledge of either Sanskrit or Ara­bic, but I have done what I could to form a correct estimate of their va­lue. I have read translations of the most cele­brated Ara­bic and Sanskrit works. I have conversed both here and at home, with men distinguished by their proficiency in the Eastern ton­gues. I am quite ready to take the oriental learning at the valuation of the orientalists themselves. I have never found one among them who could deny that single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia. The intrinsic superiority of the Western literature is indeed fully admitted by those members of the committee who sup­port the ori­ental plan of education . . . It is, I believe, no exagger­ation to say that all the historical information which has been col­lected in the Sanskrit language is less valu­able than what may be found in the paltry abridge­ments used at preparatory schools in England.

(Se­lected Wri­tings, 1972, 241).

The distinguished men identified by Macau­lay as proficient in the Eastern tongues were non-Eas­terners. The Orientalists were non-Oriental, as Ed­ward Said has pointed out. They were all English, ex­pounding on the East­ern and the Oriental from the per­spective of Bri­tish imperialism.

The import of this perspective is that, with the exception of the Heath Anthology of Ameri­can Lit­erature, in the United States infor­mation about the literary accomplish­ments of Mexican Amer­icans has been nil in literary texts. Like Macau­lay’s non-East­erners and non-Orientals, editors and writ­ers of Amer­ican literary texts have excluded and marginalized the lite­rary achievements of Mex­ican Amer­icans, first, and Chicanos, later, for reasons ranging from jin­goism and racism to ignorance, disdain, and imperialism.

he future for Chicano writers looks ex­traordinarily promising. More and more of their works are finding their way into the American mainstream. However, not any­where near in numbers comparable to their pop­ulation. Many Chicano writers have chosen to identify themselves as Latinos and are conse­quently riding the popular wave of Latino con­sciousness washing over the American land­scape. Still, others are opting for the more ex­plicit designation of “Mexican American” to identify themselves. In the chronological history of Mexican Americans, Chicanos are regarded thus as a “bubble” in that timeline, lead­ing to such questions nowadays as “What happened to the Chicano Movement?” In short, the Chicano Movement was absorbed into Mexican Ameri­can chronicity and its impact still there though less visible. What has happened to the Chicano Movement is what happened to the American Revolution. It wasn’t over with cessation of hos­tilities with England. It impacted and continues to impact American life though its effects are less visible. In its evolution, it has morphed into the next step. So too with the Chicano Move­ment.

Chicano literature opened a vista for Mexi­can Americans that enabled them to free them­selves from the burden of American history which had relegated them to sub-cultural pigeon-holes. Some Chicano writers who benefitted from the Chicano renaissance have repudiated the principles of the Chicano Movement as they have found individual success and favor with mainstream venues for their literary work. There continues, however, a significant segment of Mexican American writers who persist in con­sidering themselves as Chicano writers. Depend­ing on ideological and political circumstances, this segment will diminish in numbers over time unless the foundation of identity laid down by the Chicano generation emerges stronger than is currently believed. If not, Chicano literature will be regarded as part of a literary “boom” that ac­complished its objectives then bottomed out. But that’s not in the immediate future. For only now are the youngest members of the Chicano gener­ation just nearing middle-age.

Either way, there will be a corpus of Chicano literature that will be studied as the product of a punctuated period of literary production by radi­calized Mexican Americans or else as a thread in the coaxial literary cable of Mexican American literature. However, what will most affect Chi­cano literature is the rapid rate of assimilation and acculturation; the former most negatively, for assimilation blurs cultural distinction. There­fore, Mexican American/Chicano writers will produce works that are similar to the literary works produced by other assimilated American writers.

Perhaps none of this will come to pass. There may emerge/erupt another Chicano boom or bubble comparable to the Chicano renaissance of the 1960s-1970s just as there has been an erup­tion of black literary production since the 1960s long after the Harlem renaissance of the 20s. The heart of a people is sometimes hard to plumb. What may need to happen is the reconsti­tution of the United States as an entity the sum of its parts–not just its British parts. Then, per­haps, Chicanos, like all other Americans, can be themselves without feeling coerced into becom­ing Hispanic Anglo-Saxons in order to sit as equals at the American table of diversity.

uch research remains to be undertaken in Mexican American letters. For example, there is yet no comprehensive study of the Mex­ican American press or Mexica­n American journalists, show­ing their contri­butions to the development of Mex­ican Amer­ican thought. My role in that area was the 10 year stint I put in La Luz magazine from 1972 to 1982 as Associate Publisher, At its peak, La Luz (first national Hispanic public affairs magazine in English pub­lished in Denver) reach­ed a reader­ship of 500,000. Our editorial aim was to rep­resent the diversity that made up Hispanics in the Unit­ed States. When Dan Val­des, founder and pub­lisher died in 1982 I withdrew from the enterprise. I went on to be Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the Nation­al Hispanic Reporter from 1983 to 1992, first national Hispanic newspaper in Eng­lish published in Washington, DC. Again, our aim was to represent the diversity of Amer­ican His­panics. There are many Hispanic publica­tions in the United States now but so many of them lack the bite of their activist prede­cessors as they paddle to stay afloat in the Anglo mainstream. Only Hispanic Link, a weekly newslet­ter out of Wash­ington DC continues the journalistic tradition of Hispanic repre­sentation.

But the still greater work remaining is the recon­struction of Amer­ican literary history. For only then will the literature of los de abajo (the marginal­ized) be available for all Americans and the world. In 1973, Jose Carrasco and I argued for that reconstruc­tion in our piece “Chicanos and American­ Litera­ture” published in Searching for America by the Na­tional Council of Teachers of English. What I marvel at today is how much each generation of Mexi­can Americans progresses be­cause of the work of the previous generation. The panorama of Mexican Amer­ican literature gives me hope.

The absence of some Mexican American writers herein does not mean their works are not worthy of inclusion or discussion. There are many Mexican Amer­icans who have contributed significantly to Mex­ican American letters men­tion of whom was a question of length limitations for this presentation. Most of the authors cited have produced consider­ably more works than ci­ted.

Copyright © 2007 by the author. All rights reserved.

BOOKS

I laughed. I cried. Literally. Rudolfo Anaya’s part fictionalized memoir is tender and lyrical. Yet it is a powerful, thoughtful meditation on life and death.  “The Old Man’s Love Story” is an emotional ride that will provoke laughter and tears. For me, a few soft tears fell in the first few paragraphs when the old man’s wife is dying....  
—David Steinberg 

"This heartbreaking fable comes from a deep well of experience and wisdom. Rudolfo Anaya is not concerned with fashion, or fame. He is writing with blood. This is a book for everyone who has ever loved, for everyone who has grieved, and for everyone who has ever hoped, in the darkest night, that what is essential goes on possibly forever. I love this book, and you will, too.”
—Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Queen of America

“Rudolfo Anaya is a wondrous spirit, generous with his hard-earned wisdom and his gifts for story and for love. The Old Man’s Love Story is meditative, majestically deep, but simple in execution. It flows with narrative power. We are all wiser, deeper,and closer to God through Anaya’s words and images"
—Luis J. Rodríguez, author of It Calls You Back: An Odyssey through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing

About the Author

Answer: Before my wife Patricia's death in January 2010, my family cared for her at home and we were privileged to be part of the transformation she went through. During her hospice period our love grows stronger than ever. It was difficult – letting go of one's soulmate is not easy. This book is my way of thanking family and friends whose kindness and love have sustained sustained me these past few years. In the Old Man's Love Story the grieving soul communicates with the departed soul.  My wife's spirit has been constant, guiding and sheltering me. Each day brings new revelations – the essence is rich with limited illuminations. I know that in time I will meet Patricia in the spirit world, the vast world we know so little about. Sharing our stories provides windows into that universe.

Question: How might this book help others with the grieving process?

Answer: This novel explores – through stream of consciousness – the old man's thoughts from past lifetimes with his wife to his present situation. In these stories the old man struggles to understand the finality of death, and thus his search becomes a spiritual quest. Will he find the strength to go on living? What does he really believe about the afterlife? Will he find purpose in his new stage of life, or will  grief consume him? The old man's wife dies, but her spirit is still with him, and her essence lives in him. But what happens when the memories of the life they once shared begin to fade? There are so many questions about life and death that the old man needs to answer. These stories are only a small part of the daily  conversations the old man has with his wife. After the loss of a loved one, we realize that the conversations with the departed never end. Love never ends. We must renew our purpose daily. We must bless all of life.

Question: has Patricia's influenced your writing your other writings? 

Answer: my wife was always intensely interested in my work. The first month of Patricia's illness a vision came to me unexpectedly – the images of the first chapter of my novel Randy Lopez goes home appeared, clear and forceful. I saw a young man ride the sway– back mare into the village, stop for the tarantula, and meet the two old men at the cantina. I instantly knew this was Randy Lopez. The cast of characters Randy would meet in Agua Bendita also came without effort, I am grateful Patricia was able to read the entire first draft. When she was done reading she put the manuscript on her lap and smiled.  "You have something important here," she said. Because of her I begin to believe Randy Lopez. Randy's journey was a healing process for us, and acceptance of what was coming. I've found a purpose in writing his story, I had honored the vision. We know that nothing is lost of the flesh or of the spirit.  That is the lesson of Randy's OC, the message from Agua Bendita, the strength and faith Patricia gave us. I have faith in the healing powers of the soul. The soul is the creative imagination, and it keeps leading us into profound depths that each one of us must explore. I hope our stories help others renew their faith in the transformative powers of the soul.

Rudolfo Anaya is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico. He has received numerous literary awards, including the Premio Quinto Sol and a National Medal of Arts. Anaya resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He lost his wife Patricia January 2010.

Hardcover: 184 pages 
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (April 19, 2013) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0806143576 
ISBN-13: 978-0806143576 

Acknowledgements: "Express my gratitude to my mother, uncles, and aunts for sharing tales about my ancestors.  Because of their tales this book was made possible."

                            ~ Jerry P. Martinez 

This book is also available for purchase as an eBook download.  Welcome to the world of eBooks where instead of receiving a physical paper book in the mail, you will receive access to the eBook file for this complete book. Within minutes you can be reading this book on your computer, PDA, cellphone or a stand-alone eBook reader—at a reduced cost! Unless otherwise noted, all eBooks are in the PDF format which is compatible with most eBook readers including Sony Reader, Nook, Kindle 2, iPad, and iPhone 4. Click the "Order Online" button below to purchase this eBook download today!

Read our eBook FAQ for additional information for your specific device. $15.99 (digital download)

The Emberá people of Panama use their hands to turn the gifts of the tropical rain forest into meals and essential daily supplies. Emberá children quickly follow in the steps of their parents. They learn to fish for crabs and carve a canoe from wood. Nothing is wasted in the rain forest—leaves are used to make baskets, the juice of the jagua fruit is applied as a mosquito  repellent, and the river provides fresh water for bathing. Through firsthand experience, children are introduced to the lifestyle and traditions of the Emberá culture.

“Short vignettes of expressive text paired with clear, detailed photos create a warm look into this indigenous culture. These hands work hard, play joyfully and definitely hold a lot of love.”—Kirkus Reviews

“With its appealing photos, this volume makes a useful introduction to an unfamiliar culture.”—School Library Journal

Hardcover, 32 pages
English, Published December 8th 2009 by Henry Holt and Co

In Defense of My People sheds light on Perales' activism and the history of Mexican-American and Latino civil rights movements. The essays, written by scholars representing a number of disciplines from the U.S. and Mexico, touch on a variety of topics, including the impact of religion on Latinos, the concept of "race" and individual versus community action to bring about social and political change.

Edited and with an introduction and chapter by law scholar Michael A. Olivas, In Defense of My People is the first full-length book available on this trailblazing Mexican-American leader. Scholars were able to take advantage of Perales' never-before-accessible personal archive, which his family donated to the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project and is now housed at the University of Houston's Special Collections Department of the M.D. Anderson Library.

Originally presented at a conference on Alonso S. Perales at the University of Houston in 2012, this volume is required reading for anyone interested in the history of civil rights organizations, public intellectuals of the early 20th century and Mexican-American political development in Texas.

• ISBN-13: 9781558857605
• Publisher: Arte Publico Press
• Publication date: 5/31/2013
• Series: Hispanic Civil Rights Series
• Sales rank: 686,265
• Product dimensions: 9.10 (w) x 6.30 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Contents
Introduction. A Love Affair with Soldiering 
Ch. 1. The Alpha and the Omega: Honoring the Unsung Heroes 
Ch. 2. My Early Years: The Gifts of Mentorship and Family 
Ch. 3. Company Grade Years: Where the Rubber Meets the Road 
Ch. 4. Field Grade Years: The Crossing Point 
Ch. 5. Flag Officer Years: The Road to the Stars and Advice for Future Generations 
Ch. 6. Esther's Story: My Adventure of a Lifetime 
Ch. 7. Military Brats: The Challenge Toward Our Success 
Ch. 8. The Future of the Army: The Significance of Diversity 
Epilogue: Closing Thoughts on Our Fallen Soldiers. 
Notes Includes bibliographical references (p. 131) 

ISBN9780979027581 
0979027586 
Libraries Australia 
Contributed by Libraries Australia  ID43258518 

Midnight in Mexico

A Reporter's Journey Through a Country's Descent into Darkness

by Alfredo Corchado

Alfredo Corchado has a complicated relationship with Mexico. He was born there, but became a U.S. citizen. He's returned to Mexico to report on the country's drug violence and corruption, earning multiple death threats. Now he's written about his experience in Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey Through a Country's Descent into Darkness.

Alfredo Corchado at his grandmother's house in his native Mexico.  Sent, courtesy of Alfredo Corchado, "I made a promise to my parents that I would not cover drug traffickers because my father would say, 'They are the only people I know who do not know the meaning of the word 'forgiveness.' They're all into betraying one another.'"

Hardcover, 284 pages×Alfredo Corchado has written books about:
NonfictionMysteries, Thrillers & CrimeHistory & SocietyNPR stories about Alfredo Corchado
ParallelsIgnoring Threats, An American Reports On His Native Mexico
by NPR's Tell Me More Staff

Latino soldiers
 Cebu, Phillipines, WW II

USA LATINO PATRIOTS

Air Force Academy Commencement 2013, 
first time ever without a White House representative
Friday, May 31, 2013

Stolen Valor Act Revised

The legislation passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming majorities,  making  it a federal crime for people to pass themselves off as war heroes by wearing medals they didn't rightfully earn. An earlier version, passed in 2005, was struck down in June 2012 when the Supreme Court ruled that lying about military heroics was constitutionally protected speech unless there was intent to gain some benefit or something of value by fraud.

The revised law  includes a provision, making it illegal to make claims about military heroics with the intent to obtain money, property or other tangible benefits.

"I think this was necessary because people were using it to receive the benefits of decorations of valor, and they were getting monetary benefit from it," said John Stovall, director of national security and foreign relations for The American Legion. "That's why we supported the amended version, not to infringe on anyone's First Amendment rights but to protect the reputation and meaning of the decorations."

The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 was introduced into the House by Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., who has said the awards, like the men and women who earned them, are worthy of respect.  Other lawmakers shared Heck's sentiment. "I'm very happy the President signed the Stolen Valor Act," said Rep. Paul Cook, R-Calif., a retired Marine colonel. "The new law ensures that we protect and honor veterans and the sacrifices they've made. When people make false claims of military rank and heroism, it does a tremendous disservice not only to our vets, but to the public."

Compiled from various sources.

EARLY LATINO AMERICAN PATRIOTS

Fiesta San Antonio, April 27th,  2013 
King William Fair & Parade

GranaderoSecretary Briana Perez staffing the booth.

Sent by Joe Perez jperez329@satx.rr.com

representación de una batalla en la Guerra Civil americana  

Del 1 al 3 de julio de 1863 se libró la terrible batalla de Gettysburg. 
Recordamos a nuestros paisanos en la contienda

Quizá no se sabían la letra entera de «Dixie», quizá todavía hablaban mejor en el español de sus bisabuelos que en inglés, quizá el uniforme gris de la Confederación les venía demasiado estrecho, pero hubo un puñado de españoles que se batieron el cobre y dieron su sangres en la terrible Guerra Civil americana. Incluso hasta hubo algún héroe en Gettysburg, como el soldado de la Unión Francisco Navarrete, que arrebató una bandera a los sudistas, sin que por ello, no se sabe aún por qué motivo, fuera condecorado.

Organización

Pero puestos a organizarnos, quizá sea mejor empezar por otros nombres que sin ser plenamente españoles sí guardaban alguna relación con nuestra Patria. Para empezar, uno de los grandes militares de la Unión, el almirante David G. Farragut, procedente de una familia menorquina. O el mismísimo general George Gordon Meade, que derrotó a Lee en Gettysburg, que casualmente había nacido en Cádiz. O el general confederado James Johnston Pettigrew, un apasionado de nuestro país que escribió un libro titulado «España y los españoles». Nos tenía por gente «entrañable, caballerosa y valiente».

Pero, vuecencias aparte, hora es ya de ir hablando de la tropa. Y de dar las gracias a quien nos han puesto en este camino, como el comandante de ingenieros José Enrique López Jiménez, autor de un fantástico artículo sobre el tema en la revista «Ejército», en su número 791, de marzo de 2007. O los interesantísimos blogs de Jesús Hernández(experto en esta contienda, autor del libro «Norte contra sur. Historia total de la Guerra de Secesión»). O los también apasionados argumentos de Isadora Rowina Elliott.

Todos a paso ligero

Por razones mayormente geográficas más que ideológicas, la mayoría de nuestros paisanos que combatieron en aquella terrible guerra lo hicieron con la Confederación, con los rebeldes. Al fin y al cabo, varios de los estados sudistas como la Luisiana y la Florida tenían entre sus habitantes a muchos descendientes de españoles, muy en especial de gente llegada desde las Islas Canarias.

Cartel de alistamiento del 39º de Nueva York

En el momento de la batalla, aquellos españoles se unieron a sus vecinos, como es habitual. Sin embargo, también hubo gente nuestra entre las tropas azules de la Unión. Especialmente en el 39º Regimiento de Nueva York, conocido como la Guardia Garibaldi, pues además de usar camisas rojas como los partisanos garibaldianos tenían al revolucionario italiano entre sus héroes. Aquel regimiento estaba formado por gran parte de inmigrantes que ya en aquellos años llegaban en mansalva a la isla de Ellis, en Nueva York. El uniforme que gastaban era también de aires italianos, pues era calcado del que usaban los bersaglieri, con su sombrero de plumas incluido.

Los héroes de la Luisiana

En el sur, la mayor parte de nuestra tropae se alistó en el 10º Regimiento de Luisiana (también estuvieron en el 13º, con su uniforme de zuavos), y cabe aquí recordar un libro importante sobre ellos, «Legión extranjera de Lee», de Tom Brooks. Y eran tipos como Gustavo López, de Nueva Orleans; Pedro Barau, también de Nueva Orleans, alistado en en los Rebeldes de Luisiana, fue hecho prisionero y acabaría jurando lealtad a la Unión; Alejandro Berthancourt (típìco apellido canario), igualmente de Nueva Orleans, murió en Gettysburg; Juan Basco de los Rangers de Orleans; Pedro Bellory; Antonio Campos, igualmente de Nueva Orleans, desaparecido en combate; Manuel Castaño, desaparecido en combate; Antonio de León; Juan Fernández, después de ser hecho prisionero juró lealtad a la Unión; Juan Gutiérrez, Juan Lemán (perdió el brazo derecho en Gettysburg)...

Bandera del 10º Regimiento de Luisiana

Pero hubo más españoles, allá en tierra más o menos extraña. Como el Regimiento de Cazadores Españoles de la Milicia de Infantería de Nueva Orleáns; la Guardia Española o Southern Star Guards, del 21 Regimiento de Infantería de Alabama. O en los texanos de los Partisanos de Benavides, una tropa cuajada de canarios de la zona de San Antonio de Béjar; o el 8º Regimiento de Infantería de Florida. Los mandaba el texano Santos Benavides, nieto del fundador de Laredo.

A miles de kilómetros de la que fue la patria de sus abuelos, nuestros paisanos, como siempre, nunca dejaron de dar la cara en una guerra terrible, considerada la primera guerra moderna, una contienda que ya sabemos que también está regada con sangre española.

Sent by Maria Angeles Olson, Honorary Consul of Spain, San Diego conhon.espana.sd@gmail.com 
Published in Madrid, 03/06/2013
http://www.abc.es/cultura/libros/20130629/abci-espaoles-guerra-civil-americana-201306261623.html 

Camandantes de los Presidios en Tejas/ Commanders of Presidios and Forts

Spanish SURNAMES

BRITO

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:  OUR RIO ARRIBA ROOTS
by Marie Brito of Spokane WA
Originally published 2009 in the quarterly journal of the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico, HERENCIA, vol 17 issue 1
with permission given by the author to reprint it now in Somos Primos 
because this article has been revised... June 2013

Marie Brito of Spokane WA
Earthchild_Marie@yahoo.com

CUENTOS

Once a week I ride the bus to work
by Daisy Wanda Garcia

“SAGA”, I remarked, “surely you heard about my aunt, Dr. Clotilde Garcia, one of the founders of SAGA.” “Dr. Cleo” he remarked, “How do you know Dr. Cleo.” I replied, Dr. Hector is my father and Dr. Cleo is my aunt. “Pavarotti’s” mouth dropped and he was dumbstruck for about 5 minutes. I was concerned that he had a stroke. When he recovered from the shock, he informed me that Dr. Cleo delivered him. “If that is the case”, I remarked, “Dr. Cleo said many times that she stamped the word “Democrat” on the behind of every child she delivered”. I did not insist that he show me the proof. “Pavarotti’s” attitude changed for the duration of the trip. He became respectful and asked many questions about my aunt and father. When he stepped off the bus, the driver marveled at how “Pavarotti’s” attitude changed and turned to one of respect when he heard who my family was….I was pleased that the name of Garcia still carried a lot of respect even after all this time. What a small world we live in.

A Family Reunion Arranged by God

By Dana Mericle, Mount Vernon, Texas

As appeared in

My husband, Chuck, and I saw a news ticker about the eruption from 8,000 miles away in Niagara Falls, New York. Our daughter, Cindy, her husband, Ed, and our grandkids had been lucky to get out alive. They’d been evacuated from Clark Air Force Base, where Ed was stationed, near the capital city, Manila.

Cindy had called us earlier from a naval station in Subic Bay in the Philippines. “The kids and I are safe,” she said. “Ed stayed behind to clear the base while movers pack our things. He’s waiting for his next assignment. Can we stay with you and Dad?”

“Of course!” I said. It was hard living so far from our grandbabies. We were proud of Ed’s service, but we hadn’t seen Cindy or our 14-year-old grandson, Eddie, in seven years. We’d never met our youngest grandchildren: Eric, seven, and Evelyn, four.

How many birthdays had we missed, how many holidays? We only had the photos that didn’t come often enough in the mail.

Now this disaster had brought them to us. Cindy and the kids arrived and we spent a few glorious weeks together. Finally, Ed called. After Cindy spoke to him she told me, “Ed’s next assignment is in Shreveport, Louisiana, so we’ll go meet him there. Thank you so much for letting us stay.”

What a terrible shame they had to go through this, I thought. But I felt blessed we got to spend time with them.

We saw them more often after that. They moved to New Mexico and then Chuck and I moved to Mount Vernon, Texas, to be closer to my dad. It was there, last June, that Chuck and I stopped at a garage sale. One big box was labeled “72 VCR tapes for $7.00.”

We didn’t even own a VCR anymore. But I thumbed through the tapes anyway. There were some military and war videos, children’s movies, some unmarked tapes. “I’m not sure where they came from,” said the woman running the sale.

“Someone might like these kids’ movies,” I said to Chuck.

“Sure!” he said. “And I love war documentaries.”

We bought a cheap VCR to watch the tapes on before giving them away. One label caught my eye: “Villanueva Family.” How funny, Cindy and Ed’s last name. But it’s a common one in Texas. I popped it in and pressed “play.”

A little girl, around two, appeared on the screen. “Happy birthday, Evelyn,” a man said. With her shiny, dark hair and brown eyes, she was what I imagined our Evelyn looked like at that age.

Soon it cut to a child’s fifth birthday party. Wait! Could that be...Eric?

“Hold the camera steady, Ed,” a woman said. “Don’t worry, Cindy,” he answered. Chuck and I stared at the screen, openmouthed with awe and joy at what only God could have arranged.

Twenty years later, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo had reached us in a way we never could have imagined.

Sent by Odell Harwell 

That was MY Dad by Maria Senour

I marveled at the ability of this Moreno-complexion man to hold on to the "rough ledges of life." He always held himself together in the face of racism his mean supervisors threw at him at a public park where he worked as a laborer; these supervisors were part of a small confederacy of "good old boys" who had migrated to California from different southern states and had wriggled their way into positions of supervison at that park. and as many times as dad came home from work showing signs of a mistreated man, he always put his grief to one side to make sure everyone in the family was ok. Sometimes he would even come home with a homeless Chicano family that he found living in the park. He would feed the family and after a couple of days, send the
family on its way with a small gift of money. 

Conditions at the workplace were getting worse for him and other Chicano laborers who were also barely holding on. The racist supervisors wanted to rid the park of as many Mexican American workers as possible; but since most of the workers were protected under public service rules, supervisors hit upon the idea of using sadistic techniques cloaked as job duties to make workers quit. In dad's case, supervisors tried to break his spirit by making him mix manure in a small tin shed; aside from toilet breaks, he was not allowed to leave the shed except to eat lunch and of course to go home; the blistering heat on hot summer days turned the shed into a sweltering tin oven and the only relief from this workplace hell came from occasional wisps of fresh air that
blew in thru a narrow opening of a hopper type window; this tin shed treatment lasted for months until park administration hired new park supervisors who in turn freed him and other Chicanos from further workplace cruelty. 

I remember One day dad coming home from the tin shed treatment showing more facial grief than I'd seen before. His custom was to change out of his manure smelling clothes leaving them in the back porch before entering the main area of the house. on this particular day he didn't, he went directly to a small wooden table in the living room where his personal mail would be placed. As dad stood there opening and reading mail, Blackie, the dog he found abandoned as a puppy in the park, came over to greet dad.
Blackie sniffed dad's smelly pant leg, raised its hind leg and let go! Dad could do nothing but shake his head and wait until blackie finished wetting the pant leg. I put my hand over my face and said to myself 'well good bye to Blackie'. I could only imagine dad's misery at that moment: his sadistic supervisors had crapped all over him that day and when he reached the security of his home, Blackie, the dog he had adopted, peed on him. And what action did dad take against the rude dog? he petted Blackie, walked Blackie to the back porch area, opened a can of skippy dog food and watched Blackie eat and wag its tail in contentment. That was dad, my hero, who would even forgive an orphaned mutt. Viva la raza

From msenour@SDCCD.EDU  to L@LISTSERV.CYBERLATINA.NET

FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH

This is a great story and a good lesson on doing family or historical research.   Hope you enjoy it. 
Joaquin Gracida jcg2002@gmail.com

Free resource, public records directory

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

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DNA

DNA Discussion
Between Crispin Rendon, Ernesto Uribe and Jose M. Pena 

Chema --

I already know I have Indian blood (the ones with a feather not the red dot), Arab/Moro (Almaraz), Jewish (if you're from Northern Mexico/South Texas, like it or not, you are a member of the tribe so enjoy your semita con piloncillo), Gypsy (ni hablar), and un poquito de sangre Española (Gallego del norte or Moro del sur). That mixture makes us all pure Mexican. But in accordance to my Primo Joe Lopez, We are SPANISH-Mexican, hay Dios mio! y donde escondes la pata rajada??

The only reason I would like to take the DNA test is to find out if I have Neanderthal in my DNA...now that would be absolutely super cool!

Ernesto Uribe

ORANGE COUNTY, CA

May 30, 2013

LOS ANGELES, CA

Pilgrimage of Our Lady of Rocio - El Rocio USA 2013

The Board of Directors of the Baseball Reliquary, Inc. is pleased to announce Emma Amaya as the recipient of the 2013 Hilda Award, and Steve Bandura as the recipient of the 2013 Tony Salin Memorial Award. A press release and photographs are attached. Both awards will be formally presented at the Shrine of the Eternals Induction Day on Sunday, July 21, 2013 in Pasadena, California. Click for more 

Sincerely,
Terry Cannon, Executive Director
The Baseball Reliquary
www.baseballreliquary.org   
e-mail: terymar@earthlink.net 
phone: (626) 791-7647

CALIFORNIA 

STEPPING STONES THROUGH GENEALOGY – PART 7  
by Sylvia Contreras, Sylvia@LinkLine.com

La Paz Tour

While sightseeing in Cabos San Lucas, Baja California Sur (BCS), Mexico, I booked a group tour to La Paz.  The departure was set for Wednesday, November 6, 2012 to take in new territory sights, road conditions, and learn local history with someone else talking and driving.  The places I am referring to are Miraflores, Santiago, El Triunfo, San Antonio, and Todos Santos.  I heard about these small towns between La Paz and Los Cabos (San Jose del Cabo [SJDC] and Cabo San Lucas [CSL]) in 2011 and 2012.  

The white van started picking up passengers in CSL.  I was the last passenger pick-up stop at my resort in SJDC.  It was only 8:00am!  The van seated about eight people and two seats were left, one in the very back, and the front passenger seat.  I called “shotgun!”  The driver seemed befuddled and confused.  I guess most tourists do not sit next to him.  He removed his paperwork from the front seat.  I scooted in improvising a “desk” workstation with two cameras, pen and paper.  I was ready for photos and writing down notes that could help me later while riding the “Aguila” bus.  

The tour company flyer indicated the route was driving northeast on the Gulf of Mexico side, stopping in local towns, before arriving to La Paz.  The route from La Paz would continue on the Pacific Coast side.  The last tour stop was Todos Santos.  The 10-year veteran tour guide/driver spoke decent English. In fact, many people in Los Cabos spoke English. It seemed, since my visit 10+ years ago there was a strong emphasis for locals to learn English as a second language.   

Within in a few minutes we passed a Walmart.  I caught sight of the small “Aguila” bus station I intended to seek later and take a trip or two.  We passed familiar places seen on my ride from the airport to the resort.  We passed the airport.  We passed people boarding off local transportation in the middle of nowhere, except one building very far at the end of a paved road.   Where are those people walking to so far away?  They work at the prison out there and there is no public transportation to that site - oh.   

My excitement grew, knowing I was getting closer and closer to my paternal ancestral grounds. Miraflores, Santiago, and San Antonio were the towns my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and other family were born and lived.  The destination was La Paz. The marketing brochure showed the one-day excursion included a stop in San Antonio. SOLD!   

-        We drove by Miraflores bus stop and gas station landmark. I missed my photo moment, too busy looking out the window.  I strained to get a glimpse of the town without success.

-        We stopped at the white humongous ball icon of the Tropic of Cancer (one of the five maps of the earth where the sun enters Cancer as the earth tilts towards the Sun).

-        We passed by Santiago bus stop and a few buildings along the road.  I could not see the town. 

-        We stopped at a small restaurant snuggled along the canyon road in San Bartolo.  Across the highway, was a yellow closed-up shack with a map of Baja California Sur painted on its wall.  Then I saw an “Aguila” bus driving south towards SJDC.  I would soon ride such a bus.

-        We stopped in El Triunfo to visit the church. The town once flourished with silver mining. The smoke towers of those mines still stand.  

Most towns were out of sight from the highway.  I had read and heard about the few landmarks seen along the road, marking the town’s single entrance and exit.  Some streets had been recently developed, paved and/or expanded and looked fairly new.  I saw elaborate tombs along the highway.   

Next stop, San Antonio!  But to my dismay, the driver had changed the schedule.  We were not stopping in the town I specifically planned to visit later  – urghhh!!  No one else seemed to realize the omission.   

Next -  destination La Paz!  Arriving about 11:00am, the driver headed for the Malecon (boardwalk) along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline.  But then, we drove into a Burger King parking lot.  Is this where we would have our “lunch included” meal?  No, we were led to an expensive silver jewelry store!  Not on the flyer’s schedule!  Double urghh!  Only two people stayed in the store which I I didn’t even bother to enter.  The rest of us waited and waited.  There was no telling how long the shopping would last, whittling away sightseeing time.  At least we could enjoy the Malecon with its picturesque view of a sleepy fishing town and decorative white wrought iron benches inviting us to sit, looking freshly painted.   

I took advantage of our free time by talking to locals and asking about places I wanted to visit on my return trip.  Where is the place Archivos de Pablo M. Martinez?  Where is the oldest cemetery, Panteon de Los San Juanes? Where are the civil records (Delegacion) to attain birth and death certificates? Where is the Aguila bus station?  How is local transportation?  Taxis?  California Hostel?  Got it – good, DONE!  We had waited about 45 minutes. Although I dared not wander off from the group, I made good use of my time.  I felt ready to venture in and around in La Paz on my own.  

Next stop was visiting a ceramic and pottery rinky-dink family home/workshop place.  Once inside, I felt trapped within the walls, no roof, and no view to the street.  The items were unique, beautiful, costly, and bulky. No photos were allowed.  I lost interest in five minutes and left the store to wait about 30 minutes for everyone to be done.  I was bored, no book to read, and not much scenery for photos.  The van was parked in front of a quiet elementary school, as if no children were in class.  

Next place to visit was the local aquarium/water sports park. The van parked at the lookout point for an ocean view.  We spent about 15 minutes there, took photo shots, and headed back to town.  That stop was better than the shopping – or so I thought.  

Next place – MORE shopping!  The driver stopped on a street with outdoor shopping stores – clothes and such, not even souvenir shops.   We were given ONE hour to browse.  We were to meet the driver at the mission church about ½ mile away, up curves and hills, and zig-zag streets!  He gave us verbal directions and to look for the church steeple as a guide.   

Not me, I expected sightseeing in La Paz.  So I asked the driver to drop me off at a cultural center that caught my eye along the way.  Good planning – turns out the unique building was shared by the Visitor’s Center, and only two blocks away from the church to meet the driver.   I visited the cultural center’s museum, took lots of photos.  Then I browsed their bookstore, enjoying historical Spanish magazines I had not seen before.  I purchased the book, “Historia de Baja California” by Pablo M. Martinez.  Stuffing it in my bag, I walked out to the Visitor Center.  One of the other tourists arrived a few seconds after me.  The visitor center guide offers information about the cultural center.  Yes, I just visited the museum.  Hearing my comment, the other tourist asked, “How did you get here so fast?”  I told the driver to drop me off because I was not interested in shopping. The look on the guy’s face said, “Now, why didn’t I ask the same thing?” He lost precious time finding his way to the Visitor/Cultural Center.   

Everyone arrived at the church, with about 10 minutes to spare and browse inside. No one made comments about their sightseeing – probably because no time!  It felt peaceful sitting on the church pews, thinking about the Spanish soldiers visiting the area before embarking upon their 1769 expedition to Alta California.  That likely one of those Spanish soldiers was the reason I started my genealogy quest.   

The final stop in La Paz was at an eclectic Mexican restaurant (of course).  The driver made prior arrangements for the group. Our table was waiting with colorful and authentic place settings.  Our menu was pre-set with great choices - and boy, we were all so hungry!  I could have had TWO orders!  

Leaving La Paz, heading south along the Pacific coast, we stopped at Justina Blanket and Artesianas shop.  It looked to be over 50+ years stationed in that off-road desolate area.  No windows, hardly any walls, dirt floor, thatched and tin roofs.  Many people own or have seen the typical Mexican blankets sold in souvenir shops.  But, for me, it was the first time to see a weaving wooden machine that makes the blankets on site to be sold.  After a demonstration on the weaver, a few of us took turns weaving.  It was fun.  I bought a beautiful red shawl for $20. Now, THAT’s shopping!  

Todos Santos, Pueblo Magico (one of few Mexico cities named Magic Town), was the last stop of our tour.   My eyes experienced joy as we entered the quaint town where good things were said and read about.  I saw so much culture in those 2-3 little blocks with only a 45 minute stop; zip here, snap photo, zip there, snap photo, zip, snap, zip, snap, zip, snap.   I visited the Mission, the plaza, the theater, shops, and hotel/restaurant named “Hotel California.”  Supposedly tourists visit here looking for the legend from the Eagles song, “Hotel California.”  

Everyone was tired from a long, long day and ride. We arrived at about 6:50pm to start dropping off tourists in CSL.  We drove the 25 mile stretch between Los Cabos.  I arrived to my resort at 7:45pm.  The tour was worth it just to ease my mind about traveling alone up and down the peninsula via other modes of transportation – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! What a GREAT AND ADVENTOUROUS DAY!   

On Wednesday, Nov 7, 2012, I decided to visit Mission San Jose del Cabo and continue my research viewing the 19^th century baptismal records. I visited the Municipal District offices – just to see what it looked like inside.  I was so glad I did.  There was an entrance leading to an open patio.  The entry had sepia murals depicting local towns and its history:  Miraflores with its iconic mother/child statue; Santiago with its mission church, and others that evidently are within SJDC jurisdiction.  

I walked to the Mega shopping center for groceries.  There were many taxis outside the store waiting for customers.  At 8pm, I approached a taxi driver and asked if he was available for all day.  He was too expensive.  But, he offered to contact another local driver with a smaller taxi and cheaper rates.  It was arranged, very sheepishly.  I was to wait for the driver’s call in the morning.  But I had to meet the taxi driver at the Mega shopping center.  The taxi driver was not “authorized” to pick up tourists at the resorts nor the shopping center.  He would be waiting by the McDonalds, closer to the public street. He did not want to be seen by “authorized” taxi drivers at the shopping center.  OK.  I walked back to my resort, began packing and preparing for my first excursion trip kind of on my own to Santiago and meet an Uncle Ramon the next day.  We had talked earlier in the day about meeting.  I wasn’t sure what type of transportation would get me there and now, that issue was resolved.  

On October 31, 2012, I met Greg Cosio.  This same day, he spoke to Uncle Ramon in Santiago about me.  An accidental finding on Ancestry.com led me to Greg in February 2012, while searching for an author, Harry W. Crosby.  Greg and I had not made a familial connection back then.  But that day in October, was a major milestone in my genealogy.   

Dearest Uncle Ramon was born and raised in Santiago. He was a former town Sheriff.  Uncle Ramon’s childhood years included romping around, boys being boys, as usual. What was NOT usual, is that one of those boys had been my estranged and deceased father, Efrain Ojeda Cosio.     

So far, my trip up until Nov 7 seemed I had barely tasted a “side dish” in this genealogy journey, with the main course yet to come.   FINALLY – I was starting on the main course, the “ROOTS” of my quest, Thursday, November 8, 2012 was the day to meet Uncle Ramon, and that was only a few hours away. 

NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES 

Move to honor U.S. Army National Guard's 65th Regimental Combat Team
from Puerto Rico, the "Borinqueneers"

Estimada Mimi

To honor our men and women who served in Korea and remember those that did not come back. I am hoping that our WA State Governor will do a Proclamation to honor the 65th Inf of Puerto Rico being that they served under the I Corps (Eye-Corps) now stationed here at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (formely Ft Lewis).  I hope that you will post this in your July issue of Somos Primos. 

Rafael Ojeda  rsnojeda@aol.com 

SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES   

San Jose has only two extant adobes, one of which is the Roberto-Sunol Adobe at 770 Lincoln Avenue in the Willow Glen neighborhood. In May, the owners donated the adobe to the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County who will create a museum for the benefit of the public.

The adobe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “This is a unique opportunity for our community to enjoy a museum that will showcase the five major eras of our valley’s history, with all eras being represented in a very tangible way at the site,” said Superior Court Judge Paul Bernal, an Anza Expedition descendant who is also the official historian of San Jose and the president of the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County.


“The museum will highlight the 1775-76 Anza expedition and its significant impact upon California.” The Tamyen Ohlone lived in what was later called Willow Glen for thousands of years. Following the Anza expedition of 1775-76 and the founding of San Jose, the lands became part of Mission Santa Clara, used for grazing sheep and raising pigs.

An Indian named Roberto Balermino built the Roberto Adobe around 1836, and it was later occupied by Antonio Maria Sunol, who had lived nearby with his wife, Maria Dolores Bernal, and their children.

Sunol built a brick house adjoining the adobe, the first brick building completed in Alta California. The residence entertained members of the first California Legislature.

By the 1970s, the adobe was under the possession of the Bruzzone family. When John Bruzzone, Sr., learned how unique the adobe and adjoining Laura Ville home were, he spent three years and $300,000 restoring them to their earlier glory. Law offices rented the property until 2012. In May 2013, the three children of the late Julia and John Bruzzone, Sr., sought a reliable historic organization to take possession of the property, in keeping with the Bruzzones’ love of local history. They chose the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County. The California Pioneers of Santa Clara County was created in 1875 in San Jose to celebrate those pioneers who came before us. It was founded with about 450 members. Today, the organization is proud to still have about 450 members. For more information, visit www.CaliforniaPioneers.com

Sent by Maria Rieger lareina250@att.net 

Governor Perry signs bill on 25th anniversary of Willie’s passing

(June 15, 2013) San Antonio, Texas. SVREP and WCVI applaud Governor Perry and the 83rd Texas legislature for the passage of bill HB3209 designating a day in observance honoring Willie Velásquez on May 9th. HB3209 takes effect on September 1, 2013.

 Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
National Office • 1426 El Paso Street, Suite B• San Antonio, TX 78207 • (210) 922-0225 • Fax (210) 932-4055 California Office • 2914 N. Main St., 2nd Floor • Los Angeles, CA 90031 • (323) 343-9299 • Fax (323) 343-9100   and Amendments Act of 1996.  Contact: Lydia Camarillo, 210-922-0225,

SVREP is the largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of its kind in the United States committed to the political empowerment of Latino community. Since its inception, SVREP has registered over 2.5 million Latinos, trained over 150,000 Latino leaders; won over 80 voting rights lawsuit and organized in over 250 communities across the US. For more information, see www.svrep.org.

WCVI is a national non-profit, non-partisan, advocacy and research organization based in San Antonio. WCVI has a long-standing policy of educating Latino and non-Latino leaders (including government officials), the public, and the media on issues of importance to the U.S. Latino community. For more information please visit, www.wcvi.org.

Tom Lee portrait of Benito Juarez
(Special to the Times)

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/101754/Why-Mamas-Santos-was-honored-by-Lets-Do-It-Better.aspx 
www.adstarnet.com.

MIDDLE AMERICA

Introducing author Stephan V. Estopinal

Author of The deMelilla Chronicles: El Tigre de Nueva Orleáns, Incident at Blood River, Anna and Escape to New Orleans

Stephen Estopinal grew up in the swamps and bayous of Southeast Louisiana. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University (class of 1968), a US Army veteran (combat engineers 1969-1971) and is
 a Land Surveyor and Civil Engineer living and practicing in the Baton Rouge area where he relocated after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his business in the New Orleans.  Forced to relocated because of the devastation wrought by hurricane Katrina, Mr. Estopinal now lives in Gonzales, Louisiana which is halfway 
between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. A land surveyor and civil engineer, he has written numerous professional articles as well as two textbooks.

Mr. Estopinal lives in Gonzales, Louisiana and was a living history volunteer at the Chalmette Battle Field National Park and a black powder expert. His enjoyment of history, particularly the history of colonial Louisiana has resulted in a series of novels to bring that history to life. Drawing on family oral history of the Canary Islander settlers transported to Louisiana, his approach to the stories of 
New Orleans come from a Spanish point of view.                                        
                                                                     Here in a Spanish regiment of Louisiana Uniform, of 1778   

Mr. Estopinal's first books were published by John Wiley & Sons and were technical works. A Guide to Understanding Land Surveys, 3rd edition is required reading at LSU's engineering surveys course and Professional Surveyors and Real Property Descriptions also published by John Wiley has just been released.

The first of the chronicles, El Tigre de Nueva Orleáns, the second, Incident at Blood River, Anna, the third, and Escape are all stories of 18th and 19th Century Canary Islander settlers in Louisiana and their struggle for survival. Escape to New Orleans is the fourth novel of the deMelilla Chronicles. Writing historical fiction has provided Stephen Estopinal with an enjoyable hobby and a means of keeping the diverse history of colonial Louisiana alive.

Author Stephen Estopinal grew up in the swamps and bayous of Southeast Louisiana. Forced to relocated because of the devastation wrought by hurricane Katrina, Mr. Estopinal now lives in Gonzales, Louisiana which is halfway between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. A land surveyor and civil engineer, he has written numerous professional articles as well as two textbooks.

The Canary Islanders made huge contributions to Louisiana and the nation. And author Stephen Estopinal intertwines these reflections of family oral histories and local traditions into El Tigre De Nueva Orleans : A Novel from the Melilla Chronicles

In the rural farm country south of New Orleans , Bartolome de Melilla, the trilingual grandson of a famous Spanish soldier, was raised on tales of battles against the British. Descendent of Canary Islanders transported to Louisiana in 1778 to serve as soldiers for the King of Spain, the traditions and heraldry of his ancestors were woven into the fiber of Bartolome’s being. With America on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, 14-year-old Bartolome is swept into the heady danger and romance of the worldly port city of New Orleans . Trusting to the lessons he was taught by his grandfather, he finds himself assisting the city’s foremost Voodoo priestess and strikes up an unlikely alliance with a Chinese businessman. He also falls in love with Anna Steward, the beautiful daughter of a mattress works owner. But with the British invasion, Anna’s family flees New Orleans and he joins the American defenders. To survive and be reunited with his love, Bartolome will have to become El Tigre de Nueva Orleans in this masterfully written saga of love, war, and Voodoo spiritualism.  

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/ElTigreDeNuevaOrleans.html.Or at www.amazon.com or http://search.barnesandnoble.com.  Wholesalers please e-mail BookOrder@AEG-Online-Store.com.

Revenge driven Voodoo Spirits create problems for two young lovers in this new novel featuring the history and culture of New Orleans, Louisiana.  

GONZALES, La.—“Anna: A Novel from the deMelilla Chronicles” (ISBN 1466239727) by Stephen Vincent Estopinal describes the important role voodoo plays in New Orleans, especially during the 19th century. Estopinal adds a new twist to the usual New Orleans voodoo by telling the story from a Franco-Hispanic point of view.  

In the fall of 1825 and at the dawn of the industrial revolution, Anna and Bartolomé deMelilla manage a successful steamboat business. Voodoo spirits, bent on exacting vengeance for a great wrong, enlist the help of the powerful priestess, Madam Barbeaux to entice their intended victims, greedy men of the infamous East India Company, into a war-like confrontation with Anna and Bartolomé.  

When Bartolomé is pursued by the East India men and isolated from his family and friends, all business and family responsibilities fall on Anna. In a world where voodoo is accepted as a legitimate religion and civil laws are not enforced, help for Anna comes from the unseen, spiritual world through her unborn child.  

“‘Anna’ emphasizes the diverse national and cultural origins of the people of New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana,” Estopinal says. “This area is rich with history and culture, and I wanted to share it with those outside of Louisiana.”  

Estopinal shares his home state’s vast history and culture with readers in “Anna”, a fictional novel based on events and religions of the 19th century. He believes this interesting work will expose readers to a little known segment of history, voodoo and the story behind Louisiana culture.  “Anna: A Novel from the deMelilla Chronicles” is available for sale online at Amazon.com and other channels.

 About the Author: tephen Vincent Estopinal grew up in Southeast Louisiana before graduating from Louisiana State University and joining the United States Army. He is a land surveyor and civil engineer, who spends his spare time writing. His other works include, “El Tigre de Nueva Orleans” and “Incident at Blood River,” which were both chosen as ‘Hot Reads’ of the summery by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Estopinal has been invited to participate in the Louisiana Book Festival, where he will discuss the Canary Islanders settlers and their influence on his home state.

Stephen Vincent Estopinal   Email: stephenestopinal@bellsouth.net  Phone:  (225) 287-1519  Website: www.estopinal.net   

The year is 1778 and the English colonies of America are in revolt. France and Spain enter the conflict on the side of the rebels: the colonists who call themselves “Americans.”  

Spain is determined to evict the British from the Mississippi Valley and the gulf coast. King Carlos III must raise an army, so soldiers and settlers are recruited from the Canary Islands. Most join to escape poverty, drought and famine. But a few enlist for very different reasons.

Diego deMelilla is content living on the island of Gran Canaria when the beautiful Doña Maria Artiles is swept into his life, changing everything. Don Alguazil Cabitos, Maria’s spurned fiancé has vowed to take her back. Maria finds refuge with Diego and more than a simple sanctuary.  

Thwarted for years, Cabitos is finally able to renew his pursuit and sends his killers for them both, but Spain is recruiting settlers for the new world providing Diego and Maria a way off of the island. They sign aboard a ship bound for New Orleans, hoping to elude Cabitos. Their escape is incomplete as the relentless Cabitos, intent upon revenge, follows them to New Orleans.

Author Stephen Estopinal grew up in the swamps and bayous of southeast Louisiana, an area heavily settled by Canary Islanders in 1778. Calling upon family oral history and extensive research, Estopinal has woven the experiences of the Canary Islanders, the Isleños, and their struggle for survival in Southeast Louisiana into the deMelilla Chronicles.

Escape to New Orleans is available in paperback or Kindle at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. Other novels of the deMelilla Chronicles are: El Tigre de Nueva Orleáns (The Tiger of New Orleans), Incident at Blood River and Anna.  22 January 2013

Got Proof! 
My Genealogical Journey 
Through the Use of Documentation
by Michael Nolden Henderson 
with Anita Rochelle 

They Wouldn’t Allow Us to Use Daddy’s Last Name

A Family Historian’s Curiosity Leads to Revolutionary Results  

By Anita R. Paul  

“It all began when I was a kid,” recalls Henderson, a native of Algiers—a neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana—who now lives near Atlanta, Georgia. “I asked my mom why her mother’s maiden name was spelled Mathieu instead of Matthew.” She credited it to the family being Louisiana Creole and simply chose to spell the surname that way. Fortunately for Henderson, that answer did not satisfy him, so he sought a more suitable explanation. In the midst of his searching, which became a hobby and eventually an obsession during much of his naval career, he uncovered one fact after another about his family’s history and soon became the family historian, a role that did not always meet with genuine excitement from his relatives.  

“When you start digging into the past, some family members get nervous. They’re afraid you might uncover some deep, dark secret that’s been buried for generations,” Henderson explains. Others, mostly those of the younger generation, simply shrugged off Henderson’s many attempts to share his findings. “My nieces and nephews have never been keen on listening to my ancestral stories, except, of course, when the time came for a school project.”  

As his genealogy research continued, a conversation with a distant cousin opened a genealogical can of worms that caused Henderson to delve deeply into the unique three-tiered social structure of French and Spanish colonial Louisiana. He studied the Code Noir (Black Code) that regulated relationships between Europeans, Native American and African enslaved people, and the distinct class of free people of color.  

Locating documents from as far back as 1658, several connecting him to the founders of Louisiana, Henderson came across the 1779 manumission, or freedom papers, of a woman named Agnes. With the assistance of a third party, Agnes engaged in a year-long court battle to gain her freedom, which she eventually won on December 16, 1779. Agnes is Henderson’s fourth-generation great-grandmother. As Henderson discovered, the third party who assisted Agnes in her quest for freedom is his fourth-generation great-grandfather, a Frenchman named Mathieu Devaux. Although unable to marry due to the laws of the day, the two maintained a 31-year relationship and produced seven children who were all born free prior to the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.  

Uncovering this relationship revealed the answer to a haunting statement that had been in Henderson’s family for generations: “They wouldn’t allow us to use Daddy’s last name.” As Henderson discovered, Agnes assumed the first name of her French consort, Mathieu, as her own surname and passed it on to their mixed-race children and the generations following. This answered the question about the spelling of Henderson’s maternal grandmother’s surname and consequently exposed the answer to the generations-long lament about not being able to use “Daddy’s last name.”  

Henderson has written a memoir about his journey to find Agnes and identify the truth behind the spelling of the Mathieu name. In Got Proof! My Genealogical Journey Through the Use of Documentation he reveals the childhood curiosity that sparked his interest in his family’s history, examines the documents that revealed his ancestor’s trials and triumphs, and tells the story of how he became the first African American in the state of Georgia inducted into the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution (SAR).  

In Got Proof! Henderson chronicles his years growing up in Algiers within a community of Louisiana Creole descendants. In the book, he recounts:

As a child, my entire world revolved around Algiers ... I had heard talk that my family was Creole, but I did not know what that meant. As a child, many of our customs were referred to as being Creole: we ate red beans and rice on Mondays, fish on Fridays, and filé gumbo and fried chicken on Sundays, and we attended the neighborhood Catholic church, All Saints ... For generations there has been much confusion and curiosity about the Creole culture among outsiders; some criticize it, while others aspire to be a part of it.  

As Henderson learned about his Creole roots, he also learned of the struggles his ancestors endured. Interestingly, as Agnes fought for her freedom in court, Mathieu Devaux was engaged in another battle—America’s struggle for independence from Great Britain. “Most people don’t realize that Louisiana was a critical force in the American Revolution under the command of General Bernardo de Galvez,” says Henderson.  

Devaux served as an artilleryman under Galvez, who led troops to major victories in the Battle of Baton Rouge, the Siege of Natchez, the Battle of Mobile, and the Siege of Pensacola. Henderson discovered that Galvez’s troops included not only able-bodied French, Spanish, and German citizens, but also free people of color, Native Americans, and Haitians. “Many of these men of color made critical inroads towards victory and were honored for their bravery, skill, and service,” Henderson notes. “As a retired naval officer, I have developed a kindred connection to these men, and I hope to some day bring to light their contributions and their stories so that others can appreciate them too.”  

The same year that Henderson was inducted into the SAR, the story of Agnes and Mathieu caught the attention of the PBS series “History Detectives.” The segment, titled “The Galvez Papers,” explores Henderson’s quest to determine whether the signature of Bernardo de Galvez on Agnes’ manumission document is authentic. Two years after his induction, Henderson was elected president of the Button Gwinnett Chapter of the SAR and to this day he remains the only African American SAR member in Georgia.  

“In my travels, I meet people from many backgrounds, some who are convinced they have ancestors who served in the American Revolution or otherwise supported the cause for freedom,” Henderson says. “Others I meet don’t believe they could ever prove their ancestral link to American history. For both, I suggest they dig deep and find proof to connect their ancestors to the rich history of this country. We all have a part to play in the narrative of America.”  

To order Henderson’s book, visit his blog.  

 
            Statue is located in Spanish Plaza, New Orleans, LA

 Anita Rochelle Paul
Write Your Life
www.writeyourlife.net
770.900.7097

For more photos and information concerning the unveiling of the Galvez Statue, go to:
http://findingagnesmathieu.blogspot.com/2012/09/unveiling-of-new-historical-marker.html 

Elephant in Tiger Skin: Old Photos of New Orleans and Louisiana

http://jamesmshaw.blogspot.com/2011/06/old-photos-of-new-orleans-la.html 

Old Ursuline Convent, 1910.  
Finished in 1752, it's considered the oldest surviving structure in New Orleans.

TEXAS

Title of nobility given to the male Canary Islanders of
San Antonio, Texas, and their descendants in perpetuum (forever).

"in law 6, title 6, book IV, of the summary of the Laws of the Indies, "his majesty states:

"in order to honor any persons and their legitimate sons and descendants, who may undertake to found settlements , when they have concluded and established such settlements, we hereby make them land-holding nobles, (Hijos Dalgo de Solar conocido,) so that in that settlement and in any other part of the Indies they may be known as land-holding nobles and persons of noble lineage and estate, and, in order that they be known as such, we hereby grant them all the honors and prerogatives that all landed noblemen and knights of these kingdoms of Castile should have and enjoy, according to the laws and privileges of Spain. "therefore, by virtue of this law, his majesty shall declare, as I by these presents do declare, each and everyone of the persons included in these fifteen families, their sons and legitimate descendants, to be noblemen and as such they shall be considered, and accorded all the honors and prerogatives, enjoyed by all landed noblemen and knights of the kingdoms of Castile according to the customs and laws of Spain, with which his majesty has been pleased to honor them. The proper dispatches bearing this declaration shall be issued to them by my superior office for their sue whenever they shall request them. This dispatch shall be kept in the archives of the superior government council. The governor shall let them know the contents thereof, and he shall give them any official copies of it they may request.

Mexico city, November 28, l730
the Marquis of Casafuerte, Viceroy of Spain.
Witness: Antonio de Aviles.
Bexar Archives, Vol. l, page 250, translations.

MEXICO

HUMOR IN A GRAVE YARD

La Malinche, unrecognized heroine
by Shep Lenchek

It is time that women discover the Aztec Indian woman called Doña Marina by the Spaniards and La Malinche by her fellow Indians and demand recognition of her as a true heroine. She certainly had as great an impact on the history of the New World as any woman, yet has been belittled and defamed by male Mexican historians.

Perhaps unwilling to admit that the fall of the Aztec Empire was caused largely by a revolt of the tribes they oppressed, they have made Doña Maria a scapegoat. Some have painted her as a traitor, others as a harlot. Today, she is ignored. Information about her is scarce but digging into the Spanish Archives we find the words of Hernando Cortes, conqueror of New Spain and the man she served faithfully as interpreter, secretary, confidant and mistress.

Cortes wrote, “After God we owe this conquest of New Spain to Doña Marina.”

She also bore Cortes a son whom he acknowledged. Baptized Martin Cortes, he is the first ”Mexican,” ie, a mixture of Spanish and Indian blood, whose name and history we know. To learn more about this remarkable woman, we must turn to Bernal Diaz who was an eyewitness to the Conquest.

His book, "The Conquest of New Spain” is the only eye-witness account of the entire Campaign to be translated into English. Although he does not describe Doña Marina physically, he authenticates her pedigree, dedication to Cortes, the sincerity of her commitment to Christianity and always refers to her with respect and affection. We can only assume that she was attractive. As time went by, Cortes was offered many women. Always, he gave them to other Captains. Her linguistic ability assured Doña Marina her role as an interpreter but not as his only bed-mate. During the entire Conquest, their relationship was monogamous.

Let us meet this remarkable woman.

Born the daughter of a noble Aztec family, upon the death of her father, a chief, her mother remarried. Soon after she gave birth to a son. Probably at the urging of her new husband, she decided that he, rather than her daughter, should rule the village. To accomplish this, she sold the young girl to some passing traders and claimed she had died. They in turn took her to Tabasco where she wound up as the slave of the Cacique, the military chief of the area. By the time Cortes arrived, she had learned the Mayan dialects spoken in the Yucatan while still understanding Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs and most Non-Mayan Indians.

The first landfall of the Spaniards on their voyage of conquest was in a Mayan- speaking area. There, they ransomed a priest, Jeronimo de Aguilar, shipwrecked years before and held as a slave. He spoke both Spanish and the Mayan dialects. Thus he was able to act as an interpreter. At Tabasco, Cortes was presented with 20 young women slaves , who he proceed to convert to Christianity and baptize. One of them, christened Doña Marina, was about to enter the pages of history, for at the next port of call the expedition met envoys of Moctezuma, the Aztec Emperor, and found that Jeronimo de Aquilar could no longer communicate with the Indians.

That night, Cortes was told that the slave, Doña Marina, could speak and understand the language of the Aztecs, and the next day, she became his alter ego. She spoke no Spanish, but translated what the Aztecs said in Nahuatl to Mayan and de Aguilar relayed it to Cortes in Spanish. The importance of the ability of Cortes to communicate with Moctezuma played a vital role in the Conquest. Cortes sent message after message, proclaiming that he had come in peace and wished to visit the Emperor only to extend greetings from his own monarch.

The result was great indecision on the part of the Aztec ruler. There can be little doubt that had Moctezuma ordered an immediate all out attack on the invaders before they forged alliances with non-Aztec Indians, he could have driven them out of his kingdom. Without Doña Marina to interpret, sending these messages would have been impossible . Thus, from almost her first day as an interpreter, she helped insure the success of the Spaniards.

Almost immediately thereafter, she again proved invaluable when she helped forge an alliance with the Cempoalans. Without the ability to negotiate, provided by her, the entire course of the Conquest would have been different. We must remember that the Spanish mission was not only to find gold and jewels, but also to convert the natives to Christianity. In their minds, this was of prime importance. The role that Doña Marina played in this, is made clear by Diaz. There can be no doubt that she accepted Christianity whole heartedly and preached it sincerely.

As the Conquest progressed and she and Cortes shared a bed, Doña Marina quickly learned to speak Spanish and replaced Jeronimo De Aquilar almost completely.

As the invaders and their Cempoalan allies moved toward Moctezuma’s capital, a pattern developed. First an attack by the Indians whose territory they were entering, followed almost immediately by meetings at which every effort was made to avoid further bloodshed, enlist new allies, end human sacrifices and establish at least token Christianity. The treaty with the Tlascalans, negotiated largely by Doña Marina, brought the Spaniards their most valuable allies.

Always, Doña Marina served as the voice of Cortes. This symbiotic relationship led to the Indians calling her La Malinche. Bernal Diaz explains they always called Cortes, Malinche, meaning “Marina’s Captain.” Prescott, whose “Conquest of Mexico” is the best known book written in English rather than translated from Spanish, explains that the name means “Captain’s Woman.” Both indicate that the Indians knew full well that the words they heard were those of the Captain, Malinche, not La Malinche’s. Still, some call her a traitor, instigating the fall of the Aztec Empire. It is time to rehabilitate her reputation.

Perhaps the greatest injustice done to this woman is that historians fail to give her credit for saving the lives of thousands of Indians by enabling Cortes to negotiate rather than wage total war, killing all who opposed him and destroying their cities. There is ample evidence that Cortes was not out to destroy the Aztec Empire. To the very end, he sought to forge a treaty between Moctezuma and the Spanish crown which would have insured a steady flow of gold to the Spanish treasury. Equally important to him was conversion to Christianity and the end of human sacrifice.

It is possible that he might have achieved his goals for his first entrée to Tenochtitlan, ie, Mexico City, on November 8th, 1519, was peaceful. Using Doña Marina as the interpreter, Cortes and Moctzuma started an on-going dialogue aimed at both a treaty with Spain and the conversion to Christianity. Ultimately, it was the effort to destroy the religious practices of the Aztecs that led to a resumption of fighting between them and the Spaniards. To a certain extent, it was also an attempt to overthrow Moctezuma, who although still treated as Emperor by the Spaniards, was actually under house arrest. The final straw was the granting of permission by the Aztec Emperor for the construction of a cross and altar in a room in the main temple of the Aztecs. Bernal Diaz reports that this was accomplished at a meeting with Montezuma attended only by Cortes and Doña Marina. This led to an attack on the Spaniards.

Attempting to quell the uprising, Moctezuma addressed his fellow countrymen, but was attacked and wounded. In a final effort to again restore tranquility, Cortes now invited the leaders of the hostilities to a meeting in the great square of the city. With La Malinche as his interpreter, he made a last plea for peace, promising to depart the city. They stood on the very spot where Moctezuma suffered the wounds that were soon to prove fatal. Doña Marina’s courage in facing this hostile audience is remarkable.

The Aztecs listened to her with respect, but on June 30, 1520, Moctezuma succumbed to the wounds inflicted on him by his own people, and all hopes for a negotiated peace were gone. On the night of July 1, 1520, La Noche Triste, the Sorrowful Night,” the Spaniards, although suffering heavy casualties, managed to fight their way out of the city. Doña Marina went with them, mounted behind Cortes, which again attests to her courage and the high esteem in which she was held. The Spaniards could easily have left her behind. Too, she could have abandoned them and her new religion. Instead, she was willing to risk her life to flee with them.

http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/670-la-malinche-unrecognized-heroine 
More:  Making Herself Indispensable, Condemned for Surviving: Dona Marina, (Part 1) by Dr. Frances Karttunen
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/spanish-conquest/dona-marina-part-1 

Sent by John Inclan

La Asociación del Héroico Colegio Militar

                    DON BARTOLOMÉ TORRALVA

Por Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo Raúl Palmerín Cordero

De las investigaciones efectuadas por mi esposa Sra. Gloria Martha Pérez Tijerina de Palmerín en Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días. Solicitudes de Dispensas matrimoniales de la Diócesis de Guadalaxara correspondientes al año de 1724, se encuentra la de sus ancestros  Don Bartolomé Torralva, de origen  peninsular, con Doña Juana de Ecay y Muzquiz.

La solicitud dice así:  

Villa de Santiago de la Monclova Abril 21 de 1724.  
Don Bartolome Torralva  con Doña Juana de Ecay y Muzquiz.

Don Bartolome Torralva natural de la Ziudad de Cadiz en los Reynos de Castilla Yjo lejitimo de Don Bernardo Torralva ya difunto, y de Doña Petronila Fernandez del Campo y residente en esta Villa, parezco ante Vm. en la mas bastante forma que aya lugar con derecho  y al mio convenga y digo que sali de mi tierra para la Nueba España de edad de onze años poco mas o menos en derechura asta la Ciudad de la Puebla de los Angeles en donde he asistido los restantes de mi edad con diferencia del tiempo que anduve en la Provincia de los Tejas y Reyno de Nuebas Philipinas de Alferez del Batallon del cargo del Marquez de San Miguel de Aguayo.  y porque: para mas bien servir a Dios y salvar mi Alma pretendo tomar estado de matrimonio en esta dicha Villa con Da. Juana de Ecay y Muzquiz  yja lejitima del Sargento Maior Dn. Joseph Antonio de Ecay y Muzquiz y de Da. Juana Javiera Flores de Valdes vecinos de esta Villa, y por que tenga entero y debido  efecto dicho matrimonio que pretendo  ofrezco dar plena ynformazion de mi libertad y soltura ante Vmd. y dado que sea; sea de servir  Vm.  mediante de proseguir a todas las demas diligenzias necesarias asta el entero cumplimiento de mi pretensión=

Por todo lo que, a Vm. pido y suplico prober y mande según llebo pedido en que rezivire vien  y consuelo y ser necesario.

1724     Dn. Bartolome Torralba.

En la Villa de Santiago de la Monclova de la Provincia de San Francisco de Coahuila Nueva Extremadura en veinte y un días del mes de Abril de mil setecientos y beinte y quatro años  el Señor Br. Dn. Joseph Flores Comisario del Santo Tribunal de la Ynquisicion Cura beneficiado por su Magestad.

Declaración de Doña Juana de Ecay y Muzquiz.

En dicha Villa dicho dia mes y año dicho Señor Vicario  para dicho efecto de la ynformazion que se esta haciendo de parte de Dn. Bartolome Torralva comprendió en el escripto que esta por cabeza de estos autos antes hizo parezer ante su Md. a una mujer quien estando presente le rezivio juramento que lo hizo por   Dios  Nro.  señor y de la señal de la santa cruz por ante mi el ynfrasripto Ntro. Pco. so cargo  de que prometió decir verdad en lo que supiere y le fuere preguntado y siéndolo dixo que se llama Doña Juana de Ecay  y Muzquiz que es hija lexitima del General Dn. Joseph Antonio de Ecay y Muzquiz y de Doña Juana Xaviera Flores y Baldes Españoles vecinos de esta dicha Villa y que de su libre y espontanea voluntad se quiere desposar con Dn. Bartolome Torralva sin que para ello aya sido forzada ni atemorizada de persona alguna que no a dado palabra de casamiento ni echo  voto de castidad ni de  religión ni que sabe  tenga ningún parentesco de con sanguinidad afinidad ni espiritual ni otro ynpedimento de los que ynpiden con el matrimonio y que esta es la verdad de lo que sabe y se le a preguntado so cargo del juramento que fecho tiene expuesto, firmo y ratifico y declaro ser de edad de beinte años poco mas o menos y lo firmo con dicho Señor Vicario por ante mi el Pres.Vcro. Pco. de que doy fee= Juana de Ecay  y Muzquiz            Br. Joseph Flores.  

Matrimonio de Don Bartolome Torralva y Doña Juana Ecay y Muzquiz en la Villa de Monclova.

En treinta días del mes de Julio de setecientos y beinte, y quatro años case y bele infacie eclesie por palabras de presente, que hacen verdadero matrimonio a Dn. Bartolome Torralba, y Da. Juana de Ecay, y Muzquiz aviendo hecho todas las diligencias dispuestas por el Santo Consilio de Trento. Fueron testigos a dicho matrimonio los Capitanes Blas de Yruegas, Pedro Valdez y Joseph de Ecay y Muzquiz quien fue padrino con Theresa Flores y para que conste lo firme.                                
Br. Joseph Flores.  

En el libro de defunciones de la Iglesia Parroquial de Valle de Santa Rosa María,  en el año de 1773 se encuentra la siguiente partida.

“ En catorce de Setiembre del año de mil setecientos setenta y tres, en la Yga. Parrochial de este Balle de Sta. Rosa María enterrré uno huesos que dizen ser del difunto Bartolome Thoralba, soldado del Presidio del Sacramento marido que fue de Margarita Gomez, á el qual mataron los indios, se enterró en el tercer cuerpo de la Yga. con entierro maior, y porque conste lo firmé”. Jph. Miguel Molano.

Bautismo de María Josepha Narcisa Torralva Gonzalez de Paredes.

En la Yglecia de este Real Precidio del Santisimo Sacramento en sinco días de Noviembre de mil setecientos sinquenta y nueve años. Baptize solemenmente y puse los Stos. Oleo, y Crisma a Maria Josepha Narcisa Española de ocho días  hija lexitima de Dn. Bartolome Thorralva y de Doña Josepha Ylalia Gonzalez de Paredes fueron sus padrinos Dn. Juan Manuel de la Garza y Da. Antonia de Ecaimuzquiz a quienes adverti la connaxion espiritual parentesco y obligación y lo firmé. Br. Carlos Sanchez de Zamora.  

Su descendencia:

Bartolome Torralba y Josefa Eulalia González de Paredes. Mat. 1757.

María Josefa Torralba y José Gregorio Castellano. Mat. 1777.

Tomas Castellano Torralba y Maria Matiana Torres Dávila. Mat. 1819.