and 
Diversity Issues


MAY 2013
152nd Online Issue

Editor: Mimi Lozano ©2000-2013

World War  . . . . . . .  II “Homesick Hill” 
Navy and Coast Guard Receiving Station in the Philippines Islands.
A map of the United States was formed on this hill by white rocks.  Soil from each state was sent to the Philippines
 and mingled in with Philippine soil.  Our men were comforted sitting in their home state.  Click for more

United States
Mexican American Baseball
Witness to Heritage
Erasing Historic Reality
Hispanic Leaders
National Issues
Business
Education
Culture

Literature
Books
Latino Patriots
Early Latino Patriots
Cuentos
Family History
DNA
Orange County, CA

Los Angeles, CA
California
Northwestern US
Southwestern US
Middle America
Texas
Mexico
Indigenous

Archaeology
Sephardic
African-American
East Coast
Caribbean/Cuba
Philippines
Spain
International

 

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Somos Primos publication schedule to change in 2014

January 2000, Somos Primos went online as a monthly publication January. December of this year, we will have completed 14 years of sharing heritage and history on the internet.  The goal was to help American Hispanics understand who we are and how our ancestors have contributed to the world.  When Somos Primos first went online, nothing of the global Spanish heritage that I was trying to share, was online.   My purpose was to show, to emphasize, to teach, that all those with a Spanish surname are connected, in some way, and if we search further we would also find our historic connections to other nations and other ethnic groups.  

In the last ten year, the internet has exploded with genealogical information. Most genealogical or historical group, now have a website.  DNA research keeps exploring and discovering evidence of man's capacity and inclination to intermingle.  In the last 3-4 years, social networking sites have opened doors in ways few could have imaged, benefiting family researchers tremendously. Libraries and archival collections are now online.  The massive LDS Church's indexing project continues to digitize documents, and index millions of records from all around the world, enhancing the ability to  unscramble history.  Daily, I get information of a new society, cultural group, Latino publication, or blog.  It is exciting. 

Recognizing that times have changed,  Somos Primos is making a change.  I am not sure of the format. It may be that special issues of Somos Primos will be published, based on a theme, with an emphasis on facilitating and helping readers publish family stories and reports of family reunions, and history-based celebrations.  

If a special issue is published, a link on the home page will provide access. The usual email notification will continue for the special issues.  Previous issues will continue to be available online, and all other published materials.  

Materials for this year’s remaining monthly issues should be submitted as soon as possible. After this year, we will consider using future submitted materials at a later date for special issues. We will update the various subsections of Somos Primos, and possibly add new subsections, when new materials become available. 

Thank you for all your support and help.  
Please do feel invited to continue sending information.    
This is a change, not closure.
God bless, Mimi

 

Somos Primos Staff
Mimi Lozano, Editor
Mercy Bautista Olvera
Roberto Calderon, Ph,D.
Bill Carmena
Lila Guzman, Ph.D
John Inclan
Galal Kernahan
Juan Marinez
J.V. Martinez, Ph.D
Dorinda Moreno
Rafael Ojeda
Ángel Custodio Rebollo
Tony Santiago
John P. Schmal

A BIG thank you to all those who have contributed to the May
Issue of Somos Primos. 



Somos Primos
P.O. 490
Midway City, CA 
92655-0490
mimilozano@aol.com
www.SomosPrimos.com 
714-894-8161
Alexis Nicolle Abundis
Rodolfo F. Acuna
Elroy Archuleta
Dan Arellano
Gustavo Arellano
Dr. L. Eve Armentrout Ma, Esq.
Tom Ascension
Elaine Ayala
Francisco J. Barragan
Mercy Bautista-Olvera
Merelou Bazurto-Binning
Brent E. Beltrán
Les Blank
Jaime Cader
Carlos Calbillo
Eddie AAA Calderon, Ph.D. 
Roberto Calderon, Ph.D.
Gloria Candelaria 
Terry Cannon
Bill Carmena 
Sylvia Carvajal Sutton 
Xochitl Castaneda
Jose Maria Castro Zertuche
Dolores Chapa Redfearn
Gus Chavez
Sylvia Contreras
Elizabeth R. Escobedo
Angel Cortinas
Angel de Cervantes
Alex S. Fabros
Carol Floyd  
Jimmy Franco, Sr
Daisy Wanda Garcia
Ron Gonzales
Delia Gonzales Huffmam
Gilbert G. Gonzalez
Debbie Gurtler
Maria-Diana Gutierrez
Odell Harwell
Sergio Hernandez
Jorge Huerta, Ph.D. 
Raymond Ibrahim
Bernadette Inclan 
John Inclan
Jose Antonio Lopez
David Lozano 
Juan Marinez
Leroy Martinez 
Bernedette Medrano
Joseph  Mendez Parr
Don Milligan
Anne Mocniak 
Dorinda Moreno
Carlos Munoz, Jr., Ph.D.
Enrique G. Murrilo, Ph.D. 
Lewis L. Neilson, Jr.
Chon A. Noriega, Ph.D.
Rafael Ojeda
Michael A. Olivas
Hon. Maria Angeles Olson 

Edmundo Ortiz
Rudy Padilla 
John Palacio
Ricardo R. Palmerin Cordero 
Rosa Parachou
Lisa Parr
Angel Custodio Rebollo
Dr. Lily Rivera
Ben Romero
Peggy Rossi
Joe Sanchez
Samuel Benecio Sanchez 
Tony Santiago
Tom Saenz 
Otto Santa Ana 
Sandra Pena Sarmiento
Mike Scarborough 
Herman Sillas
James Skidmore
Robert Smith 
Valerie Strauss

Sylvia Tillotson
Roberto Vasquez
Carlos B. Vega, Ph.D.
Jesse O. Villarreal 
Elida Vela Vombaur 
Minnie Wilson
Steve Zeltzer 

"The more is given, the less the people will work for themselves, 
and the less they work, the more their poverty will increase."
Leo Tolstoy

 

 

UNITED STATES

Cinco de Mayo, a Battle for Recognition by Dr. Lily Rivera
Carlos Arredondo, Boston Marathon bystander acted instinctively
Hispanics Breaking Barriers by Mercy Bautista-Olvera
American Latinos and the Making of the United States: A Theme Study
Anna Maria Chavez, received the MALDEF Excellence in Community Service Award
Maria Elena Durazo, A Wise Latina, Nominated by Merelou Bazurto-Binning
By Mercy Bautista-Olvera
N.Y. judge tosses atheist lawsuit over Sept. 11 steel cross
Park Service Reverses Decision and Allows Bible Distribution
Join NCLR in New Orleans, July 20-23!
 
Cinco de Mayo: A Battle for Recognition
By 
Dr. Lily Rivera
Forget all the articles you've ever read that purport to explain why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the United States. They've got it all wrong.

It's not about celebrating a victory in a battle on the fifth of May in 1862, in the City of Puebla, in the country of Mexico. It's not about honoring poor and untrained peasants who, though far out-numbered, defeated soldiers from what was then the greatest military force in the world, the French Army.

No, it is not about that, and it is not about recent immigrants, either. It is about us, those of us who were born here, whose parents, grandparents, and great grandparents came to this country long, long ago. It is about us as American citizens who have been
marginalized socially and economically, a people who have had to wrench their rights and privileges from an unwilling populace through the force of law. It is about those of us who, until only the most recent of times, were not included in this country's history
books.

We celebrate the Cinco de Mayo, not in recognition of a battle in another nation, but to battle for recognition in this nation— recognition that we are equal to all others in intellect and goodness, that we represent a positive element in American society. We seek recognition so that our children's potential will be allowed to flourish, that we will be given equal opportunity in the workforce and leadership of this nation, goals that statistics confirm we have not yet achieved. Finally, we connect to a battle in the history of our forefathers because we need appreciation for the contribution we have made to this country.

For example, when we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, our local newspaper observed that day by publishing four full pages of stories about men who served in Vietnam. I read names like Kimball, White, Stenzler, Russell, Kaufman, Lockwood. I didn't find a single Sanchez, Lopez, Gonzales.

We are all familiar with the Vietnam War statistics, that nearly 60,000 men and women lost their lives in the battlefields of that country, that nearly one in every five of those combatants was a Hispanic soldier. Recognition of the Hispanic contribution to the
Vietnam War would have taken nothing from the recognition given to other war heroes. Yet, not one, not one Garcia, Rodriguez, or Nuñez was mentioned in our local newspaper's four pages of coverage.

This matters. What is reported in today's press is significant because today's newspaper article is tomorrow's historical document. If today's periodicals mention only the crimes Hispanics commit and the failures they experience, that is all that the world will know about us. If our deeds are not applauded, if our achievements are not celebrated, if our contribution to this nation is not lauded today, our grandchildren will have nothing to honor about us tomorrow.

We celebrate Cinco de Mayo because we have a need for heroes, not just because heroes do great and glorious things, but because we see them as people like us. In finding commonalties with them, we draw courage, inspiration, and a belief in ourselves as
worthy human beings. So, we reach back a century and a half. We reach south 2,000 miles, south to the heroes of another nation, of another time. We connect to the weak and the brave in a place far away in a moment long ago, for we see in their struggle and in
their victory something within us, the potential for victory against great odds, the potential to contribute historically, significantly to this nation.

Our battle for recognition is not easy. There are those who suggest that Hispanics are unpatriotic, that we are not loyal Americans because on this day, we wave a flag from another country. Such people must be reminded that there is no disloyalty to this nation in
honoring our roots in the same way Irish Americans do on St. Patrick's Day and that  German Americans do during Octoberfest. All Americans must recognize that what makes this nation great is that it is, and we are, red, white, blue—and brown, and that no
group's loyalty to this country is minimized by celebrating its heritage.

Part of the battle for recognition involves the fact that to many people in this nation, we are not “real” Americans. It is a sad fact that while many of us are generations removed from being immigrants, too many Hispanics are still generations away from being seen as “real” Americans.

My family, like yours, exemplifies this. My husband, Tom Rivera, was born 73 years ago. In the same house in which his father was born. In Colton. In California. In the United States. Yet, to many of our neighbors, we are and always will be, their "Mexican"'
neighbors. I ask, and we should all ask, how many generations must we produce in order for our people to be considered real, full Americans? As long as we are not viewed as such, we will neither be the neighbor of choice nor the coveted employee.

If Hispanics are to achieve recognition in this nation, I believe that we must achieve three goals.

First, we must learn to like ourselves. People who do not like themselves, who have no respect for their own kind, allow themselves to be trampled. America has a history of giving disenfranchised people equal treatment only as a result of being forced to do so by this nation's courts. Unless we respect ourselves enough to speak up for ourselves, we will not fully enjoy the fruits of American citizenship.

Self-love begins by touching our past. We should learn how our forefathers came to this nation, the struggles they endured, the sacrifices they made. We would be wise to visit the land of our ancestors, plant our feet where they once walked, bathe in the rivers that watered their crops. We should stand before the pyramids built by the Aztecs and the temples created by the Mayans and marvel at their spectacular engineering feats. It is  through the touching of our past that we acquire the knowledge that leads to self-esteem.

Secondly, we must pledge to move ourselves beyond the “firsts.” We take great pride in having a first Hispanic doctor, a first Hispanic mayor, a first Hispanic congressman. These are commendable achievements, I agree. But, we should also be ashamed. Our forefathers founded this entire region and many of the major cities in California more than 200 years ago. Yet, it is only in the very recent past that we have been able to celebrate the first mayor, the first… We should be ashamed that we have not worked
harder to improve our lot, have not pushed ourselves to greater achievements.

In our push for progress, we must be prepared to make sacrifices, just as our forefathers  did. We, too, must risk. We must get involved in the social, educational and political processes of this nation, no matter how much failure and resentment we encounter. We may not succeed, but our failure, our experience, will become a steppingstone for the path that others can follow.

Thirdly, if we are to gain recognition and assure our full participation in this land, we must speak out against injustice and inequality. When people are arrested, they are reminded that they have the right to remain silent. But the American Civil Liberties
Union reminds us of a far greater right—the right not to remain silent. We must exercise that right and not hesitate to address loudly and frequently the issues that prohibit us from developing our full potential and sharing our talents with this great nation.
One hundred fifty years ago, at the end of what we now call the Cinco do Mayo Battle, its leader, General Ignacio Zaragoza, wrote to the Minister of Defense in Mexico City to report his soldiers’ victory. He wrote:

“Las armas nacionales se han cubierto de gloria…puedo afirmar con orgullo que ni un momento volvio la espalda al enemigo el ejcrcito mexicano.”

“I delight,” he wrote, “in informing you that the armies of this country have covered themselves in glory. I can confirm with pride that not for one second did any soldier retreat; not for a moment did our military turn its back to the enemy to run away in defeat.” And neither must we ... whether the enemy is ourselves or an unjust system.  True victory in this battle for recognition lies not just in our personal academic and financial success. A minority of successful Hispanics is not proof that we have achieved parity as a people. The battle will only be won when Hispanics no longer remain at the top of the dropout list, the prison population, and the unemployment lines. We must continue to celebrate Cinco de Mayo without apologies until the day when Hispanic Americans stand truly equal to all other Americans. 

End
Dr. Lily Rivera was born in San Jose, California. She lives with her husband in Grand Terrace, CA. She can be reached at lilyrivera1@yahoo.com . This essay was first presented as a speech to the San Bernardino Hispanic Employees Alliance in 2001. It has been slightly modified to represent years mentioned accurately.

 

 
Boston Marathon bystander Carlos Arredondo says he acted instinctively 

By David A. Fahrenthold, Apr 16, 2013 
The Washington Post Published: April 16

BOSTON — Carlos Arredondo ran across Boylston Street, jumped the security fence and landed on a sidewalk smeared in blood. In front of him, two women lay motionless. Another woman walked around in black-powder smoke, looking down at the fallen bodies.  “Oh, my God,” he said she repeated, dazed. “Oh, my God.”  Makeup of bombs has become known, but motive for deadly marathon explosion still unclear.

Arredondo had been a Boston Marathon spectator, carrying a camera and a small American flag. He dropped the flag. He took four pictures — focusing on a young man crumpled on the sidewalk. The man had a blank expression, and a leg that was only bone below the knee.

Then Arredondo put the camera away. He asked the injured man his name.  “Stay still,” he remembered saying, in accented English. “The ambulance is here.”

In the moments after Monday’s bomb attacks, there were bystanders who defied human instinct — and official orders to evacuate — and ran toward the smoke, instead of away.

There was a Kansas doctor who ran back to help after completing 26.2 miles. A District native who ran down from a post-race party to apply tourniquets. A couple who tried to stop a stranger’s bleeding with a wad of coffee-shop napkins.

And, most astoundingly, there was Arredondo — a man once so broken by grief that his breaking made national news.  First, his son died in Iraq. Then, when Marines came to tell him so, Arredondo set himself on fire inside the Marines’ van. Then, years later, as he was healing, his other son committed suicide.

But Monday — for some reason — when the bombs went off, the broken man came running. “I did my duty,” Arredondo said the next morning.

In the aftermath of Monday’s explosions, much of the early lifesaving was performed by amateurs: Boston cops, marathon volunteers, plain old bystanders. They tied tourniquets and carried away the injured in wheelchairs or in arms.

On Tuesday, local hospitals said this work — along with the efforts of professional medics on the scene — probably saved lives.

“Tourniquets are a difference-maker. Tourniquets can save a life,” said Joseph Blansfield, a nurse practitioner and program manager at the Boston Medical Center trauma unit, which saw a large influx of patients from the scene. “They proved their value yesterday.”

The man in the wheelchair

Arredondo became the face of this bystander heroism after news photos showed him pushing an injured man down the street in a wheelchair. At the time of the first explosion, he was on the opposite side of Boylston Street, close to the finish line. He had come to support a group of military service members who were marching the race with heavy rucksacks on, as a memorial to fallen soldiers.

One was marching for Alex Arredondo, who was killed in 2004 in Najaf, Iraq. Carlos Arredondo and his wife, Melida, were waiting for that runner. They never saw him.

“That was a bomb,” Arredondo said he thought as soon as it happened. Soon, he arrived at the side of the man without a leg. So did another bystander, who seemed to know what he was doing.  The other bystander asked for tourniquets. Arredondo said he tore pieces off a sweater he had found on the ground.

While the other man tied them on, Arredondo talked to the victim and tried to block the man’s view of his own legs. A native of Costa Rica, Arredondo had some training in this situation — he had been a firefighter and helped to rescue gored bullfighters in the ring.

“You’re okay,” he remembered saying to the injured man on Monday. “Relax.”

Somebody else appeared with an empty wheelchair. An angel, Arredondo thought later. Arredondo put the injured man in the seat. The man had ash in his hair. They wheeled him away, bypassing the medical tent. The man was too badly hurt for that.

“Ambulance! Ambulance! Ambulance!” Arredondo said he yelled.

As they went, one tourniquet slipped off. The blood flowed again. Arredondo grabbed the tourniquet and wrenched it tight. Finally, they found an ambulance.

“What’s his name?” the medic asked Arredondo. Arredondo had forgotten, he said. He asked the man again. Somehow, the wounded man was still calm enough to start spelling it out, to be sure they got it right.

The ambulance doors closed. The man was gone. So what was his name?

“I can’t remember,” Arredondo said Tuesday. He didn’t know what became of him.

The man was later identified as Jeff Bauman Jr. in an Associated Press report. Bauman, 27, lost both legs, the report said.

On Tuesday, Melida was taking his phone calls in a rowhouse in the Roslindale section of Boston. The messages filled up a page: Katie Couric. Fox News. A Boston police detective. Police later took away Arredondo’s clothes as evidence and looked at his pictures from the scene.

Melida had been frozen with fear when the bombs went off Monday. After the chaos subsided, the couple found each other at the Boston Public Library and went home. Melida couldn’t get warm until 2 a.m. The weather was mild for a Boston spring, but the problem wasn’t the weather. she tried to explain why her husband acted so differently from her — and from his own past habits.

“Having lived through the death of Alex, when his reactions were very different . . .” she started to say.

There was a picture of Alex Arredondo in a corner of the room, wearing a Marine dress uniform in a casket. Carlos Arredondo gained national attention for his breakdown after Alex’s death. The Marines who had come to notify Arredondo pulled him out of their van and helped put out the fire. But Arredondo was left with painful burns on his legs.

How did he explain his actions this time?

“You have to get out of that shock” that comes with tragedy, he said. You have to act. “In this case, my instinct was to be a humanitarian.”

Others who helped

In the chaos around him, others had been doing the same thing. In an alley near the finish line, a pizza chef turned his apron into a tourniquet for a woman whose leg had been shattered.

Elsewhere, Bruce Mendelsohn, 44, was three floors up at a post-race party for his brother. Then he heard the explosion, and he knew from Army service what it was. What now? Mendelsohn had worked at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington. He knew what a cop would do in this situation.

“I thought to myself, ‘Well, what would those guys say if I ran away?’ ” Mendelsohn said. He ran downstairs and helped at least four people: A woman with a mangled calf. A mother with shrapnel wounds who was looking for her son. A man and a woman, both badly injured, holding each other in shock.

After 12 minutes or so, it was all over. There was nobody left to help. “I got back to my office,” Mendelsohn said. “I threw up.”

Nearby, Chris Rupe — a general surgeon from Salina, Kan. — had finished the marathon 30 seconds before the blast. He ran away for a while, to be sure there would be no more explosions. Then he came back, talking his way past police. “I told them I was a doctor and I’d like to help.” He helped triage the wounded in a medical tent, still wearing his running gear.

Farther away, a few blocks from the finish line, Kurt Mias and his girlfriend, Jessica Newman, came out of a coffee shop and saw people fleeing toward them. One woman approached, crying, with her lower legs covered in dime-size shrapnel wounds.

“What the [expletive] is happening? Who the hell did this?” Mias, 28, remembered her saying, over and over. Newman, 32, ran into a nearby coffee shop and shoved someone away from the napkin dispenser. They needed a towel, but these would have to do. They pressed the brown napkins against one of the stranger’s legs.

When the woman seemed to be in good hands, they left — passing other wounded people being attended to on the street. An elderly man lying prone. A teenage boy, with a chunk of something embedded in his leg. Before they left, they helped marathon volunteers disassemble a huge area where water and Ga­tor­ade had been set up for the finishers. They needed to clear the road so ambulances could pass.

“Pretty soon, there were 

almost too many people” trying to help, Newman said. They were hurling whole cases of water bottles out of the way, but there were so many bystanders trying to help that there was no space free to throw them. “You didn’t want to throw it on someone.”

Finally, they left. On Tuesday, retelling the story in a word-jumbled rush, Newman recalled that just an hour before the blasts, she had told Mias, “This is the perfect day.”  “I’m never saying that again,” she said.

Julie Tate and Alice R. Crites in Washington contributed to this report.

Sent by Carlos Munoz cmjr1040@gmail.com

 

 

HISPANICS BREAKING BARRIERS

Second Volume, 17th Issue

By Mercy Bautista-Olvera

 

The 17th issue in the series “Hispanics Breaking Barriers” focuses on contributions of Hispanic leadership in United States government. Their contributions have improved not only the local community but the country as well. Their struggles, stories, and accomplishments will by example; illustrate to our youth and to future generations that everything and anything is possible.    

Zuraya Tapia-Hadley:  Director of the Mexican American Leadership Initiative and Director of Communications

Felix G. Arroyo:  Boston City Councilor At-Large

Judge Raymond Rodriguez:  First Hispanic judge elected from Staten Island.

Dan Pabon:  Colorado State Representative, 4th District

Nora Campos:  California State Assembly member, 27th District    

Zuraya Tapia-Hadley

   

Zuraya Tapia-Hadley is the Director of the Mexican American Leadership Initiative and Director of Communications.  

Zuraya Tapia-Hadley was born in Mexico City, raised in Washington D.C., Rockville, Maryland, and Puebla, Mexico. She is the daughter of Alma Alfaro-Tapia and Jose Luis Tapia. She is married to Ross Hadley.

She earned a degree on Licenciatura en Derecho from Universidad de las Américas, in Puebla, Mexico, and a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Law, from Georgetown University Law Center.

In 2003, Tapia-Hadley began her career in private law practice at Shaw Pittman LLP. She is a commentator in Spanish-language media on policy issues affecting the Latino community in the United States. She also serves as a panelist on issues regarding immigration and diversity.  

From January 2007 to May 2008, Tapia-Hadley served as a Committee Staff member in the U.S. Congress. 

In 2008, Tapia-Hadley served as Advocacy Director for the New Democrat Network, in Washington D.C.   

From October 19, 2009 to March 2012, Tapia-Hadley served as Executive Director for the Hispanic National Bar Association. She supervised staff, and supported the (HNBA) Board of Governors in the development and execution of programs and policies. The Hispanic National Bar Association is one of the largest professional organizations in the United States, representing the interests of Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students in the United States and Puerto Rico.

The primary goals of the HNBA are to increase professional opportunities for Hispanics in the legal profession and to address issues of concern to the Hispanic community in the United States.

Currently as Director of the Mexican American Leadership Initiative, Tapia-Hadley leads the organization in building long-term cooperation and links between U.S. communities in United States and Mexico.      

 

 

Felix G. Arroyo

Felix G. Arroyo, the current Boston City Councilor At-Large is running for Mayor, if he wins he would be the city’s first Hispanic Mayor. There has never been a Hispanic candidate for mayor in Boston.

Felix G. Arroyo was born in the South End of Boston in Massachusetts. He was raised in Hyde Park, and attended Boston Public schools, as did his three brothers and one sister. Felix Arroyo Jr., is of Puerto Rican descent with politics in his blood. He is the son of Felix D. Arroyo, the first Latino member of the Boston City Council, and Elsa Montano, a Boston Public School teacher. Arroyo's wife, Jasmine Acevedo, is the daughter of Hector Luis Acevedo, the former mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico. His father Felix Arroyo Sr. was raised in a public housing project by his father, Felicito Arroyo, who was a World War II veteran and police detective. Felix Arroyo Sr. has retired to Uruguay but is expected to return to help his son.

“I have a decade of experience as an organizer and as a public servant right here in the city of Boston and I am happy to announce today that I will be a candidate for mayor,” Arroyo told a group of about 50 campaign staff members, family, friends, and supporters to chants of “Sí Se Puede” or “Yes We Can.”

Since 2000, the Latino population in Boston has grown about 21% and 85,000 to 109,000 in 2010. Immigrants from the Caribbean make up the largest share of Boston's immigrant population, totaling 46,444.  

“It’s not hope, I expect to see more Latino candidates,” stated the Director for the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), Max Sevillia.  “Their heritage and demographics are changing… and with that growth I would expect more Latino voters and also more Latino candidates”.  Sevillia further stated, “Arroyo is already a point of pride for the Latino community, but more importantly, it’s a symbol of the growing diversity among the nation’s candidates for mayoral and elected offices.”


Judge Raymond Rodriguez

Judge Raymond Rodriguez is the first Hispanic judge appointed from Staten Island. He’s of Puerto Rican heritage.

Judge Rodriguez was born in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. He is a former prosecutor; he currently serves in Brooklyn Criminal Court. He is married to Ann Rodriguez.

Proudly touting his Puerto Rican heritage, history-making Judge Raymond Rodriguez was ceremonially sworn in to the city Civil Court.  

In January 2013, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Judge Raymond Rodriguez to the bench, he was officially sworn in by Bloomberg during a ceremony in Manhattan.

"It's a great day," Rodriguez stated at the ceremony. "I am so proud to be the first Hispanic judge in Staten Island history; it’s really something to have this honor bestowed on me."

Newly appointed Judge Jenny Rivera, associate judge of the state Court of Appeals, swore in Rodriguez before a crowd of 150 that included fellow jurists, elected officials, family, and members of the Hispanic community.

Judge Rivera is just the second Hispanic to serve on the state Court of Appeals. She said that Rodriguez was the first judge she had ever sworn in. "I am very thrilled that Judge Rodriguez called and asked me to swear him in," stated Judge Rivera.

City Councilwoman Debi Rose (North Shore), the first African-American elected official in borough history, said she and Rodriguez "share a common bond." "It's an especially gratifying and very proud moment for me," she said. "We are both Staten Island firsts."  

"The Staten Island community, especially the Hispanic community, should be very proud," said borough Democratic Party chairman John Gulino. "You are making history tonight."

 
Dan Pabon

Dan Pabon is the current Colorado State Representative for District 4, which encompasses Northwest Denver.

Pabon’s family has been in the United States since at least 1919, when they emigrated from Mexico to Iowa to help build the Santa Fe railroad. His father is a Medicare benefits specialist and his mother works as a Nurse. He is married to Heather Gwinn-Pabon. The couple have one son Alexander Daniel, their first child.   

At the time of his high school graduation, Pabon had become a single dad to a baby girl Maria. Although he had this responsibility he graduated from high school with honors. He began studying engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. During his first year at Colorado University, Pabon struggled to support his young daughter, Maria, balance work, and his studies.

At the University of Colorado at Boulder Pabon was elected Student Body President his senior year. As a law student at (CU) Boulder, he worked for the Legal Aid and Defenders Program. He helped the poor and disabled obtain Social Security benefits, navigated them through family law, and acted as general counselor and advocate for those most vulnerable. Also during law school, he served as Class President.

In 2002, Pabon was accepted at Colorado School of Law on a half scholarship.  After earning his JD, Pabon worked at a prestigious Denver-based law firm, where he built a practice focused on real estate and green building development. He became a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and was a strong advocate for green technologies and investing in Colorado's new energy economy.  

He helped Colorado University administration officials and students draft innovative legislation that provided the needed capital to build new academic buildings and retain

accreditation. All despite drastic cuts in the state’s higher education budget, he's seen firsthand how state funding affects our educational institutions.

He fondly remembers his teachers and the impact they had on his life. It was his English teacher, Mr. McGovern, who taught Pabon that we always shoulder a responsibility to give back and make the path a little easier for those who follow. This lesson has followed Dan throughout his life.

A lone engineering counselor saw the promise in Pabon. He helped him find a job on campus and tutors to help lift his grades. It was because of this help that he managed   to stay in school.  Pabon knew that his struggle with the rigors of work and school was not unique. He wanted to ensure that similar students did not have to hope for a counselor or mentor to intervene on their behalf. He saw a problem and worked with others to found a university-wide support resource center for struggling and at-risk students trying to balance work and school.  

Both McGovern, Pabon’s English teacher, and the father of his college mentor, were among the 154 people who attended his backyard campaign kickoff. Both expressed how proud they were of him to overcome so many obstacles.  

Pabon worked on higher education issues as the vice-chair of the Auraria Higher Education Center Board; was a voice for senior citizens as a member of the Association for Senior Citizens Board. He served as the Captain of the House District 4 Democrats; and worked for two months on the Obama-Biden Presidential transition team, where he helped draft the President's first executive order on transparency and ethics in government.

Pabon's priorities include a healthy economy and job creation; affordable health care; transparent and accountable government; stronger protections for seniors; improved education; protection for women's reproductive rights; and full legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Nora Campos

Nora Campos serves California’s 27th State Assembly District.

Nora Campos was born in San Jose, California and raised in the Cassell neighborhood in East San Jose. She is married to Neil Struthers and has one child. 

Campos marched side-by-side with Cesar E. Chavez. She cites that her early experience with the Farm Worker Movement influenced her decision to enter public service as an adult. 

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State University and is an alumnus of the Alum Rock and East Side Union School Districts.

From March 13, 2001, to December 6, 2010, she served San Jose City Council from the 5th District. 

From December 5, 2010 to November 30, 2012, Campos served as a member of the California State assembly, 23rd District.

On August 10, 2012, Campos served as speaker pro tempore of the California State Assembly.  

On December 3, 2012, Campos was elected to her second Assembly term with 78 percent of the vote to represent the 27th Assembly District. Her district includes East San Jose, downtown, the Monterey Corridor, Evergreen, parts of Willow Glen, and Central San Jose.  

Key pieces of legislation introduced by Campos are AB 403 and AB 746. AB 403 would require the State Department of Public Health to establish a primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium (Chrome 6). This cancer-causing contaminant is widely found throughout drinking water in California. Campos introduced AB 403 because she believes that all residents in California deserve access to clean drinking water, free from harmful contaminants. AB 746 is Campos’ Cyber Bullying legislation. This bill simply clarifies the language of the existing law to specifically include any posts on social networking sites in the definition of bullying. This bill has received wide support from various stakeholders.

At the local level, Campos forged a $73.5 million public/private partnership that turned a once neglected area and former beacon for crime and blight into a major economic engine for San José, increasing the tax base by 105 percent.

She maintains a commitment to providing increased access to affordable housing for renters and first-time home-buyers, while working with public and private entities to create jobs and stimulate California’s economy.

Assembly member Campos also partnered with Grail Family Services in the development of the reading mentor program, “Yes, We Can…READ!” This program connects Silicon Valley professionals with elementary students in East San José as reading mentors, spending one hour a week together to develop the children’s literacy skills. This program was the first of its kind in East San Jose.

Campos also created youth programs and opportunities for future generations. She helped build the Dr. Roberto Cruz and Hillview libraries, the youth-designed Plata Arroyo Skate Park, the Alum Rock Youth Center, and the Mayfair Community Center as places our youth can be safe and thrive.

 

 

 

American Latinos and the Making of the United States: A Theme Study  
Publication of the National Park System Advisory Board (NPSAB) for the National Park Service (NPS).

Who is this theme study for? It's for students and teachers, for researchers, for preservation professionals, for local, state and federal government officials, and for the general public. In other words, it's for you.

The theme study presents opportunities in communities nationwide

  • the most recent scholarship in Latino history is now available to a broad public audience;
  • historic preservationists in government agencies and the private sector now have a tool to help identify and evaluate Latino-related places for historical significance;
  • more of these places are likely to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places and for National Historic Landmark designation.

Historian Stephen Pitti's core essay sets the stage for the essays in the theme study. This overview of the Latino journey is personified in five historical figures: the Cuban priest Félix Varela, the Mexican American author María Amparo Ruiz de Burton, the Puerto Rican bibliophile Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, the Guatemalan civil rights organizer Luisa Moreno, and the Mexican American politician Edward Roybal.

Making a Nation, the first section, discusses US nation building - both physcially and intellectually - from the 16th to the 20th centuries.

Making a Life looks at the ways Latinos have created their religious, artistic, recreational, and culinary lives in the United States.

Making a Living highlights the role of Latinos in fostering and sustaining American economic life.

Making a Democracy discusses the stories and struggles for equality in all aspects of American society.

 

The American Latino Heritage
by Stephen Pitti
American Latino Theme Study: Core Essay

This essay surveys American Latino history through a focus on five individuals – Félix Varela, María Amparo Ruíz de Burton, Arturo Schomburg, Luisa Moreno, and Edward Roybal – whose lives trace major historical developments from the early 19th century into the contemporary era.

The Latino past is as important to United States history, and as rich, as that of any group in U.S. society. As historian Vicki Ruíz has noted, "From carving out a community in St. Augustine in 1565 to reflecting on colonialism and liberty during the 1890s to fighting for civil rights through the courts in the 1940s, Spanish-speaking peoples [have]made history within and beyond national borders."[2]Relevant scholarship on these and other topics has exploded since the 1980s, mirroring the demographic growth of the Latino population – which now stands at some 50 million U.S. residents – with important histories about Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Central Americans, Cuban Americans, and South Americans published every year. As those books and articles demonstrate, no brief summary can distill the diversity of this Latino population; the many ways in which these groups have shaped national institutions, American culture, or U.S. cities and towns; or the heterogeneity of their perspectives and experiences. From the arrival of the Spanish in the 15th century into the early 21st century, Latinos have built missions and presidios; developed ranching, agricultural, and high-tech industries; written poetry, novels, and songs; preached on street corners and from pulpits; raised families; built businesses and labor unions; and supported politicians and critical national and international initiatives. Some trace their residency to Spanish-speaking or indigenous forebears who arrived in New Mexico or elsewhere prior to the establishment of the U.S. Others arrived more recently as immigrants or refugees in the 19th, 20th, or 21st centuries. Deeply embedded in economic and political life across many decades, Latinos have played instrumental roles in the development of the U.S., and public recognition of the Latino past is long overdue.

The essays included in "American Latinos and the Making of the United States: A Theme Study" collectively demonstrate that Latinos have shaped U. S. courts, military, and educational institutions, the identification and treatment of disease, and much more. They illustrate that Latinos' impact has been felt in all regions of the U.S., from the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest, and from California to the Upper Midwest and New England, and that their visibility and involvement has increased exponentially in many of these areas over the last 50 years. They trace how the integration of hemispheric economies, the development of trade and movement of working people, the investment of U.S. businesses in Latin America, the economic demands of U.S. employers, and instances of political conflict and violence in the hemisphere have shaped Latino demographic growth and influenced communities already resident in the U.S. And they portray the daily struggles of everyday people alongside the achievements of influential residents, low-wage work experiences combined with prescient economic investments, encounters with segregation, and struggles to improve American democracy.

This introductory essay surveys this long and varied history through a focus on five individuals, many of them rarely remembered today, whose lives trace major historical developments from the early 19th century into the contemporary era. Ranging across historical periods, places of origin, and area of professional expertise, these figures embody themes discussed in detail in the accompanying essays, and they make the case that Latinos have played critical roles in the United States since the early 19th century. They include the Cuban priest Félix Varela, the Mexican author María Amparo Ruíz de Burton, the Puerto Rican bibliophile and collector Arturo Schomburg, the Guatemalan civil rights organizer Luisa Moreno, and the Mexican American politician Edward Roybal.

Please go to: American Latinos and the Making of the United States: A Theme Study for the full introductory essay.

Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com

Making a Nation, the first section, discusses US nation building - both physically and intellectually - from the 16th to the 20th centuries.
Empires, Wars, Revolutions by Ramón Gutiérrez  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/empireswars.htm Immigration by David Gutiérrez
Intellectual Traditions by Nicolás Kanellos  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/immigration.htm>
Media by Félix Gutiérrez  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/intellectualtraditions.htm>
Making a Life looks at the ways Latinos have created their religious, artistic, recreational, and culinary lives in the United States.
     Religion and Spirituality by Timothy Matovina  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/labor.htm
Arts  by Tomás Ybarra-Frausto  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/arts.htm>
Sports by José Alamillo http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/sports.htm
Food by Jeffery M. Pilcher  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/food.htm
Making a Living highlights the role of Latinos in fostering and sustaining American economic life. Labor by Zaragosa Vargas
Business and Commerce by Geraldo Cadava  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/labor.htm
Science and Medicine by John Mckiernan-González  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/businesscommerce.htm
Military by Lorena Oropeza  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/sciencemedicine.htm
Making a Democracy discusses the stories and struggles for equality in all aspects of American society.  Struggles for Inclusion by Louis    
     DeSipio  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/military.htm
Law by Margaret E. Montoya  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/inclusion.htm  
Education by Victoria Maria MacDonald  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/law.htm
New Latinos by Lillian Guerra http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/education.htm 
                                           http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/newlatinos.htm


 
ANNA MARIA CHAVEZ, received the MALDEF Excellence in Community Service Award on April 24th GALA in Washington, D.C.


Anna Maria Chavez is the Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of the USA (2011–present) and the first Latina to head the organization, 

Chavez is of Mexican-American heritage, she grew up in small town of Eloy, Arizona and joined the Girl Scouts as a child; her family later moved to Phoenix, Arizona. She attended Yale University on a full scholarship and majored in history.[1] After graduation she clerked for an Arizona attorney and then attended the University of Arizona Law School. She then worked for the federal government in Washington before returning to Arizona as in-house counsel and assistant director for the Division of Aging and Community Services at the Arizona Department of Economic Security and later deputy chief of staff for Urban Relations and Community Development under Governor Janet Napolitano.[1] In 2009 she became head of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas and in August 2011 elected head of the Girl Scouts of the USA (taking over effective November 2011).[2] [3]  

 


 


Maria Elena Durazo

 Maria Elena Durazo      

A Wise Latina

Nominated by Merelou Bazurto-Binning 

By

Mercy Bautista-Olvera  

 


Maria Elena Durazo is the Chair of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), a non-profit grassroots organization committed to creating quality jobs in Los Angeles.

Maria Elena Durazo is the daughter of Mexican immigrant farm workers. She is the seventh child in a family of eleven children.  She is the widow of Miguel Contreras, former Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles county Federation of Labor AFL-CIO. (1996-2005). She is the mother of two sons; Mario and Michael Contreras.

Durazo traveled with her family from Oregon to California with her parents and nine siblings to work in the fields. In a conversation with film maker Jesús Treviño she stated, “As migrant farm workers, my dad would load us up on a flatbed truck and we would go from town to town and pick whatever crop was coming up. We moved from school to school so I didn’t have any friends–my family was my friends. I think of my dad when he had to negotiate with contratistas (contractors). I knew we worked so hard and the contratistas were chiseling us down to pennies. What were pennies to them meant food on the table for us.”

In 1975, Durazo graduated from St. Mary’s College in Moraga. In 1985, Durazo earned a law degree from the People’s College of Law.  In college she became involved in the Chicano Movement. She served in the labor movement as an organizer for the

International Ladies Garment Workers Union (later called UNITE, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees).

In 1983, she joined the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Local 11 as an organizer.  Under Durazo’s leadership, shop steward’s workers were able to participate and negotiate their union contracts and all meetings and publications were to be bilingual.

In 1988, she married fellow union activist Miguel Contreras whom she met while at HERE Local 11. Soon thereafter, in May of 1989, Durazo ran for and was elected President of Local 11. Durazo became the first Latina elected to the Executive Board of HERE International Union.

In 2003, Durazo became National Director of the Immigrant Workers’ Freedom Ride, a national mobilization campaign initiated by HERE International to address the nation’s immigration laws.

In 2004, she was elected Executive Vice President of UNITE-HERE International.

On May 15, 2006, Durazo was elected to serve as Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO an organization which represents more than 800,000 workers through more than 300 separate unions. In 2010 she was re-elected to this post.

In 2008, Durazo served as National Vice Chair on the Barrack Obama Presidential campaign, which was the first time the top leader of the Los Angeles labor movement assumed this position. 

On August 11, 2008, Durazo was elected to serve as the new chair of the UCLA Labor Center advisory committee.  

In 2010 she was re-elected to serve as Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. The same year “Capitol Weekly” named Durazo the third most influential non-elected person on the California Top 100 List.

In 2010, Durazo was elected an Executive Vice President of the national AFL-CIO Executive Council where she serves as the only leader of a local labor movement in the country.  She was re-elected to her second term with overwhelming delegate support, affirming her track record of energetic leadership and innovative growth in Los Angeles County’s labor movement.

In 2012, once again Durazo served as the National Co-Chair of the Barrack Obama Presidential Campaign.

Durazo has served on many civic commissions and boards. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley appointed her to the Los Angeles Commission on Airports, Mayor Richard

Riordan appointed her to the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Committee and she has also served on the California State Coastal Commission. She was also appointed to the California State Coastal Commission by former Speaker of the California State Assembly, Herb Wesson. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed Durazo to the Los Angeles Economy and Jobs Committee, Board of Directors for LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the California League of Conservation Voters.

 

 


http://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/image/ground-zero-crossjpg/

Enlarge Photo

 

N.Y. judge tosses atheist lawsuit over Sept. 11 steel cross

NEW YORK — A judge on Friday tossed out a lawsuit that sought to stop the display of a cross-shaped steel beam found among the World Trade Center’s rubble, saying the artifact could help tell the story of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts rejected the arguments of American Atheists, which had sued the National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s operators in 2011 on constitutional grounds, contending that the prominent display of the cross constitutes an endorsement of Christianity, diminishing the contributions of non-Christian rescuers.

Batts wrote that the cross and its accompanying panels of text “helps demonstrate how those at ground zero coped with the devastation they witnessed during the rescue and recovery effort.” She called its purpose “historical and secular” and noted that it will be housed at the museum in the “Finding Meaning at Ground Zero” section with placards explaining its meaning and the reason for its inclusion. It also will be surrounded by secular artifacts.

“No reasonable observer would view the artifact as endorsing Christianity,” the judge said. She added that the museum’s creators “have not advanced religion impermissibly, and the cross does not create excessive entanglement between the state and religion.” She said the plaintiffs also failed to allege any form of intentional discrimination or cite any adverse or unequal treatment on the basis of their religious beliefs.

The 17-foot-tall steel beam was found by rescue workers two days after the terror attacks. It is scheduled to be displayed among 1,000 artifacts, photos, oral histories and videos in an underground museum that will also house the staircase workers used to escape the towers as well as portraits of the nearly 3,000 victims and oral histories of Sept. 11. The museum, still under construction and scheduled to open next year, is part of a memorial plaza that includes waterfalls that fill the fallen towers’ footprints.

A lawyer for the atheists group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Joe Daniels, the museum’s president, said he was grateful that the court “agrees that the display of the World Trade Center Cross is not a constitutional violation but is in fact a crucial part of the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s mission of preserving the true history of 9/11.”  Attorney Mark Alcott, who represented the museum, said the ruling will protect the museum’s depiction of the aftermath of the attacks.  “It was not intended to and will not promote any religion or discriminate against any religion,” he said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/29/ny-judge-tosses-atheist-lawsuit-over-sept-11-steel/#ixzz2P8VfibTp
Sent by Odell Harwell

 

 

April 2, 2013

Park Service Reverses Decision and Allows Bible Distribution
www.LC.org

Thibodaux, LA – Liberty Counsel has once again protected the right of free speech, and the National Park Service is again allowing distribution of Bibles on federal property.

Since 2011, Shirley Elliott has sold produce and homemade jellies at Thibodaux Farmer’s Market near Jean Lafitte National Historic Park in Louisiana. Additionally, Ms. Elliott has provided free Bibles on her table for anyone to take at will. On December 1, 2012, a park ranger told Ms. Elliott to take the Bibles off her table because “they were on federal property.”

Market Regulations allow vendors to sell locally grown produce and other foods and handcrafts that are traditionally produced on a farm. In addition, the regulations stipulate “non-profit organizations with missions related to . . . education, youth, and/or nutrition are invited to participate in the Market” on an equal basis as vendors.

“A decision to allow free distribution of the things mentioned above, while disallowing and requiring the removal of Bibles and other religious literature . . . would be improper and discriminatory,” Liberty Counsel attorney Richard Mast told the Superintendent of Jean Lafitte National History Park.

Two days later, the acting superintendent wrote, saying, “We regret the misunderstanding regarding the distribution of religious materials . . . The NPS [National Park Service] respects the right of vendors to make free religious materials available. Please assure Ms. Elliott that she is welcome to offer free Bibles at her produce and homemade jellies table.”

“We are thankful that the Park Service reversed its decision and protected Ms. Elliott’s First Amendment right to distribute literature,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Thankfully, Ms. Elliott did not allow herself to be bullied by those who want to remove Christianity from the public square. It is the right of every American to advocate a religious viewpoint. Offering books or literature to willing recipients is protected by the First Amendment. Mere disagreement with the content of the speech is not sufficient to deny those constitutional rights,” Staver said.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

Sent by Odell Harwell

 
http://www.nps.gov/latino/     National Park Service activities and websites for Latino History.  We need to support the effort.

The National Park Service just announced that the American Latino Theme Study, American Latinos and the Making of the United States, is completed and has just been launched live on the web, http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemstudy/. Print copies should also soon be available.

Per that announcement, "the website http://www.nps.gov/latino/ has a number of features that relate to this initiative, including a tool kit for communities interested in documenting their stories and resources, travel itineraries, documentation of 40 Acres, and links to other programs."

For brief description of the theme study, the first page from the web, is appended below.

Latino history is American history.

American Latinos and the Making of the United States: A Theme Study is a publication of the National Park System Advisory Board (NPSAB) for the National Park Service (NPS).

Who is this theme study for? It's for students and teachers, for researchers, for preservation professionals, for local, state and federal government officials, and for the general public. In other words, it's for you.

The theme study presents opportunities in communities nationwide:
Most recent scholarship in Latino history is now available to a broad public audience;
Historic preservationists in government agencies and the private sector now have a tool to help identify and evaluate Latino-related places for historical significance;
More of these places are likely to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places and for National Historic Landmark designation.

Historian Stephen Pitti's core essay sets the stage for the essays in the theme study. This overview of the Latino journey is personified in five historical figures: the Cuban priest Félix Varela, the Mexican American author María Amparo Ruiz de Burton, the Puerto Rican bibliophile Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, the Guatemalan civil rights organizer Luisa Moreno, and the Mexican American politician Edward Roybal.

Making a Nation, the first section, discusses US nation building - both physically and intellectually - from the 16th to the 20th centuries.
Empires, Wars, Revolutions by Ramón Gutiérrez  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/empireswars.htm Immigration by David Gutiérrez
Intellectual Traditions by Nicolás Kanellos  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/immigration.htm>
Media by Félix Gutiérrez  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/intellectualtraditions.htm>
Making a Life looks at the ways Latinos have created their religious, artistic, recreational, and culinary lives in the United States.
     Religion and Spirituality by Timothy Matovina  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/labor.htm
Arts  by Tomás Ybarra-Frausto  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/arts.htm>
Sports by José Alamillo http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/sports.htm
Food by Jeffery M. Pilcher  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/food.htm
Making a Living highlights the role of Latinos in fostering and sustaining American economic life. Labor by Zaragosa Vargas
Business and Commerce by Geraldo Cadava  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/labor.htm
Science and Medicine by John Mckiernan-González  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/businesscommerce.htm
Military by Lorena Oropeza  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/sciencemedicine.htm
Making a Democracy discusses the stories and struggles for equality in all aspects of American society.  Struggles for Inclusion by Louis    
     DeSipio  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/military.htm
Law by Margaret E. Montoya  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/inclusion.htm  
Education by Victoria Maria MacDonald  http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/law.htm
New Latinos by Lillian Guerra http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/education.htm 
                                           http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/newlatinos.htm


 

Join NCLR in New Orleans!

This year, the National Council of La Raza is headed to New Orleans for its 2013 Annual Conference and National Latino Family Expo. The NCLR Annual Conference consists of four days of the most thought-provoking and cutting-edge workshops addressing critical issues in the Latino community, five key meal events, and speakers of national and international prominence. Past Conference speakers include:  U.S. President Barack Obama;; President and Editor-in-Chief of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, Arianna Huffington; self-made Media Mogul and Founder of The Adelante Movement, Nely Galán; Award-winning Author Sandra Cisneros; Financial Advisor, Author, and Television Personality Suze Orman; 2008 Republican Presidential Nominee Senator John McCain (R–AZ); Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D–NY); and many more.  

Be a part of the nation’s largest annual gathering of leaders, advocates, elected officials, business executives and change-makers whose work impacts the Latino community. Conference registrants will enjoy five meal events, including the Awards Gala Dinner, access to select evening events, all workshops, town halls, and the National Latino Family Expo. Get the most out of your NCLR Annual Conference experience by selecting the Premium Package. As an added bonus, Premium Package registrants will receive VIP seating at the five meal events, access to nightly evening events, including the Monday evening concert.  

Stay with us at the New Orleans Marriott on Canal Street, our official Conference hotel. Centrally located in the French Quarter, you’ll have easy access to Conference events, the National Latino Family Expo, and some of the best New Orleans has to offer. All evening events will be taking place at the New Orleans Marriott on Canal Street.

Each year, the NCLR Board of Directors presents a series of awards at the NCLR Annual Conference Awards Gala. This is a great opportunity to highlight the contributions of individuals and organizations that deserve to be recognized for working tirelessly to advance the Latino community. Be sure to submit your 2013 nominations for awardees by the April 5, 2013 deadline.  Recipients will be honored on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at the Awards Gala Dinner in New Orleans.  

 

Download the NCLR APP at www.nclr.org/events 

Join us for what promises to be one of the best NCLR Annual Conferences yet! For the most up-to-date NCLR Annual Conference information, visit us at http://www.nclr.org/conference,“Like” us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram!  

Editor: One of the guests at the NCLR conference will be Rudy Hernandez. Meet him in person at the Medal of Honor booth.

 
Rudolfo Hernandez, Medal of Honor, Korean War
 

 

On May 31, 1951, Corporal Rodolfo ""Rudy"" Hernandez held his position against an overwhelming enemy attack, stopping the advance at Wontong-ni, South Korea; he would struggle through years of rehabilitation for injuries he received that day. Hernandez was awarded the Medal of Honor on April 12, 1952. Read more about Hernandez and other Medal recipients at:  http://www.artisanbooks.com/products/9781579654627/ 

Sent by Delia Gonzalez Huffman  delia_huffman@yahoo.com 
isabel.delia.benavides@gmail.com
 

 

 

BASEBALL
A HOME RUN IN COUNTY'S BARRIOS 
by
RON GONZALES,

National Pastime Museum Announces New Website Launch on Opening
Upcoming at the Reliquary
Get Involved


 


In 1939, Gualberto J. Valadez, upper right, started teaching at La Jolla Elementary and Junior High School in Placentia, CA. 
Valadez founded an after-school sports programs for both boys and girls, 
as well as providing adult education classes for their parents.  

BASEBALL: A HOME RUN IN COUNTY'S BARRIOS 
RON GONZALES, the Orange County Register, April 12, 2013


Co-authors, from left to right are
 Luis F. Fernandez, Richard A. Santillan, Angelina F. Veyna and Susan C. Luevano.


BOOK: 
MEXICAN AMERICAN BASEBALL IN ORANGE COUNTY, CA 

"Mexican American baseball history intertwined with the social, cultural and 
political struggle of Mexican Americas in Orange County." 
Luis F. Fernandez Co-author of the book.

Co-authors, Dr. Richard Santillan, Susan C. Luevano, and Angelina F. Veyana
will be presenting for the meeting of the 
Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research on
May 11th

Open meeting, no fee,  

Baseball: a home run in Orange County barrios

2013-04-05 17:12:21

They toiled in the packing sheds and citrus groves of Orange County. They served their nation during World War II, from the Philippines to Europe, and served again in Korea. They were pioneers of the Mexican American civil rights movement. And they played baseball.

The photos and stories of dozens of Mexican American baseball players, from the early 1900s in San Juan Capistrano to the early 1960s in communities ranging from Placentia to Huntington Beach, have been told in a new book that will be available Monday.

"Mexican American Baseball in Orange County" is the third in a series of books about Mexican Americans and America's pastime – books that cover not just the sport, but how the sport helped shape the early barrios of California and other states, and the people who live in them.

The Orange County book was written by Richard A. Santillan, professor emeritus at Cal Poly Pomona, and three Orange County residents: Susan C. Luevano, a librarian at Cal State Long Beach; Luis F. Fernandez, who works in the history room of the Santa Ana Public Library; and Angelina F. Veyna, a history professor at Santa Ana College.

The book is distinct from two earlier books in the series, on Mexican American baseball in Los Angeles and in the Inland Empire, because it includes a number of non-sports photos – among nearly 200 – to help tell the story of the Mexican American community in Orange County, including such areas as school segregation, the citrus industry and even the small businesses that Latino entrepreneurs ran – entrepreneurs who backed not just sports teams, but organizations engaged in the struggle for civil rights.

"The Orange County book was the closest we've come to establishing the real sense of what we mean when we involve the community and invite the community to write its own history," said Santillan, who has worked on all three projects. "We don't write the stories, we don't write the captions. The families do. The friends do...They talk how baseball was an instrument that was used to knock down barriers of discrimination. Baseball wasn't simply a game."

The authors note that the book, with photos reflecting seven decades of Mexican American history, also reflects the historical backdrop against which the sport was played, including the Depression, the repatriation of American citizens to Mexico, and the fight against school segregation.

"Mexican American baseball history intertwined with the social, cultural and political struggle of Mexican Americans in Orange County," said Fernandez, of Garden Grove. "Aside from being managers, umpires, coaches and players, they were leaders of their own communities on and off the baseball field. With the swing of the bat, with the steal of a base, and with the grip of the glove, they made advances in civil rights to ensure that their sons and daughters could simply play."

Many families remember that Sundays were a day for church, and for baseball. Baseball, he said, gave Mexican American communities the means "to socialize and to organize politically."

One photo in the book shows an El Modena team with brothers Silvino and Ignacio Ramirez. Their father, Lorenzo Ramirez, was an umpire. Lorenzo and wife Josefina were among five Orange County families who sued to desegregate Mexican schools in Orange County in the landmark Mendez et al versus Westminster School District et al court case of 1947.

"The diamond field where they played in El Modena divided the Lincoln Mexican school from the white Roosevelt School," Fernandez said.

Pioneering Mexican American entrepreneurs, Veyna said, were active on a number of fronts – providing financial support for the sports teams, and backing for civil rights organizations such the League of United Latin American Citizens as well as for mutual aid societies of Mexican immigrants such as Sociedad Progresista Mexicana. They included such men as her father, Placido Veyna, who ran Pete's Market in Anaheim, and Cruz Barrios, who ran a market in Santa Ana.

"Besides socializing, besides having a good time, these are the persons who fought for the civil rights of our community," said Veyna, an Anaheim resident whose family settled there in 1916.

A number of the photos include the late Gualberto J. Valadez. He came to Placentia in 1939 to teach Spanish and physical education at the segregated La Jolla Junior High, and became an early leader of the Mexican American civil rights movement in Southern California during the 1940s. He was a gifted coach, from young boys who played baseball to young women – like the La Jolla Kats - who played softball.

The Orange County book has nearly 30 photos of Mexican American women's teams.

"We were keenly interested to see how gender and sports participation might change the traditional role of Mexican American women," said Luevano, a Fullerton resident who is related by marriage to some of the players pictured in the book. "Our biggest scholarly contribution was documenting some of the women players and teams that nobody knew about before this book came out. These players broke gender barriers just by normalizing the fact that women could play sports. They demonstrated that women could compete both on and off the baseball diamond."

One of the most remarkable photos came from Placentia, depicting the Placentia Merchants at a 1938 game at White Sox Field in Los Angeles, which one old player remembered as being around Compton Avenue and 38th Street.

It showed the players, but also young women from Placentia who traveled with them, and wore traditional Mexican dress.

"These were the queens, or Las Reinas," said Luevano. "What they were supposed to do was to walk around the diamond in their outfits before the game. And then during the game they were kind of like cheerleaders for the team."

Women helped raise funds so that teams could obtain uniforms, equipment and cover travel expenses.

"It kind of shows the traditional and passive role that women played during this period when you had this very physical and very male dominated world of sports," she said.

But young women were also forming their own teams, with coaches like Valadez mentoring them.

"They all had this kind of DIY attitude," she said. "Going out and finding an empty field, taking it over, cleaning it up, and they just started playing ball. They'd practice three or four nights a week until it got dark."

Contact the writer: 714-796-6999 or rgonzales@ocregister.com
Photos: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mexican-502938-american-baseball.html?pic=2 

© Copyright 2013 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Site Map

 

CO-AUTHORS BIOS

1)
Dr. Richard Santillan
is Professor Emiterus at California State University at Pomona, where he has taught for 33 years. He has taught both Chicano Studies and Political Science since 1972. He has written several books and scholarly articles on the critical roles of community organizations and groups in the struggle for civil, political, cultural, and gender equality. He is currently lead author for the book series on Mexican American baseball and softball. To date, the Latino Baseball History Project has published three books: Mexican American Baseball in Los Angeles (2011); Mexican American Baseball in the Inland Empire (2012); and Mexican American Baseball in Orange County (2013). The project is currently working on two more publications: Mexican American Baseball on the Central Coast (2014) and Mexican American Baseball in the Pomona Valley (2015). Dr. Santillan is a longtime Dodger fan, attending his first game in 1958 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

2) Susan Luévano was born and raised in Santa Ana, CA. She is a tenured faculty at California State University Long Beach where she holds the position of Anthropology, Ethnic & Women’s Studies Librarian.  She is the editor of the book entitled Immigrant Politics and the Public Library, as well as numerous other scholarly journal articles and book chapters. She is a past president of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. Susan was REFORMA’s national Librarian of the Year in 2009. Ms. Luévano has been very involved in recovering local Mexican American history in Orange County, CA since 2003. She is a founding member of the Orange County Mexican American Historical Society and served as its first Vice-President from 2004-2010.

3) Angelina F. Veyna is currently a professor of history and ethnic studies at Santa Ana College where she has taught for 20 years. She holds degrees from UCI and UCLA, and also spent a sabbatical year attending the University of New Mexico. Angelina’s parents immigrated from Zacatecas to Anaheim in 1916, and she has been a life-long resident of this town. Prior to Santa Ana College, she worked for the National Center for Bilingual Research, the Orange County Human Relations Commission, and the UCLA Chicano Studies Center. Future projects include a biography of her father and an article on a Mexicana women’s organization from Orange County.

4) Luis Fernando Fernandez received his B.A. in English Literature and Chicana/o Studies from California State University, Fullerton in 2007. He returned the same year to Cal State Fullerton for his M.A. in History with emphasis on Mexican-American History graduating in the spring 2010. He served as assistant curator to the museum exhibition, A Class Action: Mendez v. Westminster and the Ongoing Struggle for School Desegregation. He has researched intensively the Fullerton housing covenant case: Doss v. Bernal. He has co-authored two publications, “Doss v. Bernal: Ending Mexican Apartheid in Orange County,” and the newly released book, “Mexican American Baseball in Orange County.” His long term projects include researching Mexican, Mexican-Americans’ resistance to the county’s conservative cloud. Additionally, he has begun conducting interviews that detail Orange County’s Mexican, Mexican-American history.

5) Alejandro Moreno is a Santa Ana based poet. He wrote an original poem for Mexican American Baseball in Orange County based on his son’s experiences playing little league.


National Pastime Museum Announces New Website Launch on Opening Day 2013  

Interactive Website of Exhibits Articulating Baseball’s Past

 

Documenting the history of baseball, www.TheNationalPastimeMuseum.com features an extraordinary collection of baseball ephemera, memorabilia, historical artifacts and documents. Our online baseball museum navigates through our extensive collection of rarities, marrying the exciting history of the game with a century and a half of timeless artifacts. With interactive exhibits and informative articles on “America’s Game,” as Walt Whitman famously dubbed it, The National Pastime Museum educates and entertains. The game of baseball is many things to many people, but most importantly, it provides a window into the cultural legacy of America. It is that legacy that we hope to share with our viewers.  

Timeline Exhibitions: The website allows visitors to navigate baseball’s history through an interactive timeline while exploring related artifacts along the way. It follows baseball’s story from the origins of the game up through the apex of its cultural significance in the mid-20th century. An additional timeline will feature the telling and poignant history of the African American baseball experience in an exhibit that we have titled A Separate Game. It will feature the story of the “separate game” of black baseball from the game’s very early years through 1947, the time in which Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.  

Collection Highlights: Viewers will also be able to browse and enjoy collection highlights through special exhibits that will launch throughout the year. Our first extensive special exhibit features our world-class collection of baseball bats game used by some of the greatest hitters of all time, from Babe Ruth and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson through Lou Gehrig and the legendary Josh Gibson. Our special bat exhibit will also feature an informative video featuring the nation’s leading bat authenticator and expert John Taube.  

Articles: The site will feature a series of monthly columns from nine of the most distinguished baseball historians in the nation. We will also feature regular ongoing articles telling “the story behind the story” of the rarest and most important artifacts found within the collection. Additionally, a rotating group of guest historians will be featured in our Historian’s Corner series. These articles offer an invaluable opportunity to learn about baseball's storied lore from some of the most knowledgeable experts in the field.  

Our Mission: Baseball, in its purest form, is simple. The game is fun. It can easily be played by children or adults, with a bat or a stick and a ball. It can be played in an open space or an expansive stadium. But wherever played and however expressed, baseball’s traditions touch us all. Unlike any other sport, the game links us to our past. The National Pastime Museum provides a different and visually creative way to explore our great game on the World Wide Web through rare and wonderful artifacts, images and relics. It is our hope that the public will not only derive delight, but will learn a bit about our great game and ultimately about we as a people.

Media Contact: info@TNPMuseum.com or either 703 558 3699 or (cell) 510.499.5010  

 

UPCOMING AT THE RELIQUARY

The Baseball Reliquary, Inc.

 

The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime's unparalleled creative possibilities. The Baseball Reliquary gladly accepts the donation of artworks and objects of historic content, provided their authenticity is well documented. The Baseball Reliquary is supported in part by a grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Due to some unforeseen repair and maintenance issues related to the gallery space, the opening of “The Neighborhoods of Baseball” art exhibition at Plaza de la Raza’s Boathouse Gallery (described in the February edition of “Revelations”), originally scheduled for April 2013, has been postponed and no new date has been set. The day-long symposium for “The Neighborhoods of Baseball” will go on as previously scheduled, at Plaza de la Raza’s Margo Albert Theatre on Saturday, June 22. This event, made possible with support from Cal Humanities, will incorporate panel discussions with scholars and former players in an intensive cross-cultural examination of the impact of baseball on Southern California’s Mexican American, Japanese American, and African American communities; how their experiences differed and paralleled each other in the development of their communities and identities; and how they engaged and interacted with each other through the lens of baseball. Samuel O. Regalado, Professor of History at California State University, Stanislaus, will deliver the symposium’s keynote address. Further details will be forthcoming.

One major exhibit, now in the works for the summer, will be “Another Trip in Baseball’s Time Machine: Photography at the Field of Dreams,” which will highlight the dynamic relationship between photography and baseball through an engaging selection of images dating from the game’s formative years to modern times. For this display, which will run for two months (July and August 2013) at the Pasadena Central Library, Pasadena, California, the Reliquary has invited photo archivists and private collectors, as well as historians, librarians, writers, and artists, to contribute their “favorite” baseball photographs, accompanied by a caption/description why the images hold such personal interest and meaning. We already have commitments from Frank Ceresi, Paul Dickson, Chris Epting, Steve Fjeldsted, Bruce Markusen, John Schulian, Andy Strasberg, and Tim Wiles to participate, and we will be announcing more contributors over the next month. One of the highlights of the exhibition will be the inclusion of 25 historic black-and-white photographs from renowned collector, photo archivist, and baseball historian Mark Rucker, proprietor of The Rucker Archive. This promises to be one of the most significant Baseball Reliquary exhibitions in the organization’s history; keep an eye out for regular updates between now and the exhibition’s July opening.

That should pretty much cover things for this edition of “Revelations.” See you next time!

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


GET INVOLVED: 
WHAT: Richard A. Santillan, a professor emeritus of ethnic and women's studies at Cal Pol Ponoma, is documenting Mexican American baseball from the late 1800s to 1960, an era when the sport played an important role in promoting Mexican American civil rights.  He is seeking photos depicting players and teams, including men and women, from Orange County and throughout California and the United States.
HOW IT WORKS: Selected photos, which are scanned, may be published in a book series, and are also archived with other memorabilia at the Latino Baseball History Project at Cal State San Bernardino. Contributors keep the original photos.
INFORMATION: rsantillan@earthlink.net 



WITNESS TO HERITAGE

A Paradigm Shift by Daisy Wanda Garcia
Celebrating 200th Anniversary of First Texas Constitution
Chicano! The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement
La Raza de Colorado - El Movimiento

A PARADIGM SHIFT

By 
Daisy Wanda Garcia
wanda.garcia@sbcglobal.net

Have you ever heard the well-worn expression that even though things change, they remain the same?  In 1967, when I was a student at the University of Texas at Austin, I took an interesting course about environmental biology.  Dr. Bassett McGuire was my professor.  One of the topics discussed was the U.S. / Mexico border.  McGuire pointed out that the extreme poverty in Mexico would drive the Mexican people north in search of resources and jobs.  So, we as a nation should address the poverty south of us to avoid border wars.  Dr. McGuire suggested that we had to work with the problem instead of ignoring the growing demographic trend.

During the 1800, the Mexican government sent Manuel de Mier y Terán to assess the problems in Texas, especially the problem of illegal immigration. (Murphy Givens, Corpus Christi Caller Times) Manuel de Mier y Terán was concerned about the inability of incoming Norte Americano immigrants to assimilate into the Mexican culture. He recommended that strong measures be taken to stop the United States from acquiring Texas,  called for the prohibition of slavery and closed the borders of Texas to Norte Americano immigrants.  His suggestions were incorporated into the Law of April 6, 1830, which was passed in Mexico to counter concerns that Mexican Texas, part of the state of Coahuila y Texas was in danger of being annexed by the United States.

After the Texas War of Independence, the roles had reversed and the Norte Americano immigrants were in control.  They became known as Texians. In “Los Tejanos”, author Jack Jackson describes in painful detail the sufferings of the Tejano rancheros in Texas once independence was won from Mexico.    Some Texians used the suspicion that Seguin and his men were involved in raids in Texas as justification for further animosity against Tejano rancheros.  In some cases, the Texians as they gained foothold in Texas started to take away the Tejano settler’s land and to throw them in jail merely because they were Tejanos.  In 1845, the Texas Convention met to consider annexation to the United States and to form a constitution.  The sole Tejano delegate was Jose Antonio Navarro.  One of the voter qualifications was the use of the word “White” which Navarro feared might be used against many dark-skinned Tejanos.  Also, the delegates discussed the subject of land forfeiture against those who aided and abetted the enemy. Thus the convention decided on annexation and the Republic was dissolved. 

In 1942 under agreement between U.S. and Mexico the bracero program invited temporary contract workers to work in the agricultural and ranching industry because of the shortage of manpower during WWII.  After the war returning Mexican American veterans found that their old jobs in the ranching and agricultural industry were gone because the bracero program did not end. The result of the importation of cheap labor was it took jobs away from Mexican Americans.  Consequently, the Mexican American people were pushed out of Texas to other states in search of jobs.  This explains why there are high concentrations of Mexican Americans in Michigan and other northern states.  The bracero program ended in 1964.

Once again racial demographics are due to shift with Hispanic becoming the dominant race and culture in the U.S. The immigration issue is not new and present day negative attitudes have its origins in the past.  On this continent it began with the white man’s encroachment on Native American lands. The prevailing attitudes about Native Americans persist from those times.   Once Mexico lost the War of Independence to Texas, the prevailing attitudes of suspicion and hatred present at that time persist against Mexican Americans and the Mexicans to present times.

Thus the drama continues. The truth is that we are all immigrants or the descendent of immigrants. Another ethnic group will always precede ours in arriving on these shores .  I am the daughter of two immigrants and am myself an immigrant. The statue of liberty welcomes all to this country and does not exclude any race or ethnic group. And I leave this thought with you.

 

(File photo: RGG/Steve Taylor)

Celebrating 200th Anniversary of First Texas Constitution

By José Antonio López

State Representative Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, authored Texas House Resolution 709.

SAN ANTONIO, April 23 - In a previous Guardian article, I wrote about the significance of the month of April in early Texas history.

Very briefly, on April 1-2, 1813, Colonel José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara and his Army of the North triumphantly entered and took possession of San Antonio, the regional Capital of Texas. On April 6, he signed the first Texas Declaration of Independence. On April 17, he signed the first Texas Constitution. Thus, jubilant Bexareños, Bexareñas, and all Texas citizens got their first taste of independence this month, 200 years ago.

Sadly, today little is known about pre-1836 Texas history. To that end, some of us are making progress, albeit at a slow pace. Some examples are the Tejano Monument in Austin, Battle of Medina re-enactments, Hispanic genealogy and history events held throughout the year, and the preservation and restoration of historic buildings, such as the Treviño-Uribe Fort in San Ygnacio, Texas. The most recent notable milestone is the reading on April 17 of Texas House Resolution 709, sponsored by state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin. (See Proclamation below.)

As my wife and I travel throughout South and Central Texas sharing with others our wonderful history, we are often asked a very reasonable question. Why has it taken so long to restart the engine of early Texas history? There is no simple answer. However, no one can deny that mainstream Texas history has been taught as if it begins at the 1836 Battle of the Alamo. In my view, this narrow method of teaching has stonewalled our state’s true founding.

Expectedly, it is in tearing down that wall that many Mexican-descent citizens we meet find most satisfying. For example, they embrace and welcome the mention of Spanish Mexican people, places, and events in our state’s history. They are pleasantly surprised to find out that Texas has its own Spanish-speaking founding fathers and mothers apart from those in the U.S. English Colonies. Further, they take pride in learning that beginning in 1810, ideals of liberty, justice, and independence already existed by the time Sam Houston emigrated from Tennessee to Texas.

Why is it important today to remember the past? The answer is simply this. The road ahead in telling our story is still a bit bumpy. Not everyone shares our enthusiasm for a fair and balanced rendering of Texas history. Expectedly, opponents of our movement come from the so-called conservative side of the political spectrum, since it is this group that still adheres to a rigid, unyielding Manifest Destiny point of view. Exposing themselves as anti-diversity agents, they have zeroed in on hard-won human dignity victories that minority groups have attained through the years.

Por ejemplo (for example), at least two conservative party leaders have said in public that they are working to undo the 1964 Civil Rights Act because for one thing, white business owners have a “right” to refuse service to members of minority groups just as they did in the 1950s. Then, there’s that elected official from Alaska who sees nothing wrong in his using a demeaning slur to refer to Mexican-descent farm workers. Closer to home, attacks against Mexican-descent citizens are plentiful here in Texas. Far-right politicos have amassed an arsenal of intimidation WMDs to target the Mexican-descent population, such as redistricting, English Only, Voter ID, voter suppression, and their ill-advised goal to do away with public school education. Hopefully, all decent, sensible U.S. citizens regardless of racial/ethnic background have figured it out. Such bigotry was not fair in the 1950s, and is certainly still unfair in the 21st Century U.S.

In summary, the Tejano Monument in Austin was unthinkable just a few years ago. Yet, the Tejano Monument Committee got it done! This memorial and H.R. Proclamation 709 (below) remind all of us of the genuine birth of Texas. To put it bluntly, they are reminders that some of us do not descend from the Mayflower; nor did our ancestors land in Ellis Island. We Spanish Mexican (Native American) people of Texas and Southwest were already here before 1848 when the U.S. took the land from Mexico.

The bottom lines are these: Firstly, if you are a U.S. citizen of Anglo or Northern European-descent, there is no reason to fear the learning of pre-1836 Texas. This is not about rewriting Texas history; it’s about filling in the missing pieces.

Secondly, likewise, whether you are a first-generation U.S. citizen of Mexican-descent, or an 8th generation Texan, we are all part of a large extended familia. The Spanish Mexican roots of Texas run deep and thus they give all of us a deserved claim to Texas history.

Lastly, access to knowledge has its rewards. Perhaps finally giving Mexican-descent students in Texas classrooms a legitimate sense of Texas history ownership will inspire them to stay in school, graduate from a 4-year university, and become productive members of their community. Moreover, let’s hope that very soon Texas school children of all backgrounds will learn Texas history in a seamless manner from the arrival of the Spanish in 1519 to the present.

83RD TEXAS LEGISLATURE

H.R. No. 709

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Nearly a quarter of a century before the siege of the Alamo, an army inspired by the fervor of Don Jose Bernardo Maximiliano Gutierrez de Lara and composed of Tejanos, volunteers from the United States, and Native American allies made a courageous bid to liberate Texas from the Spanish empire, leading to the first Texas Declaration of Independence on April 6, 1813; and

WHEREAS, On September 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his followers seized the prison at Dolores, Mexico, sparking a Mexican rebellion against the Spanish empire; answering the call to freedom, Don Bernardo traveled to Washington, D.C., in 1811 to inform the U.S. government of the rebels’ plans to establish a republican government in Texas as part of the liberation of Mexico; and

WHEREAS, In 1812, Don Bernardo and former U.S. Army officer Augustus Magee led the Army of the North from Natchitoches, Louisiana, into Texas; this volunteer force quickly defeated the Spanish Royalist troops at the Battles of Nacogdoches, La Bahia, Rosillo, and Alazan Creek; and

WHEREAS, Don Bernardo and the republican army took possession of San Fernando de Bexar, now known as San Antonio, on the night of April 1 and 2, 1813, and on April 6, 1813, Don Bernardo signed a proclamation declaring Texas ’ independence from Spain; on April 17,

1813, acting in his capacity as president of the new provisional government, Don Bernardo signed the first Texas Constitution; and

WHEREAS, This first bold attempt to win the independence of Texas came to a tragic end on August 18, 1813, when the Royalist army under General Joaquin de Arredondo defeated the Texan army at the Battle of Medina; during the bitterly fought, four-hour-long contest, more than 800 Tejano patriots lost their lives in their quest for freedom; and

WHEREAS, The valiant struggle of Don Jose Bernardo Maximiliano Gutierrez de Lara and the Army of the North to throw off the Spanish yoke represents a significant chapter in the rich

annals of Texas history, one that is indeed worthy of remembrance on this special occasion; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first Texas Constitution on April 17, 2013, and call on all Texans to honor the memory of Don Bernardo and his comrades.

 

 

A group of Texans commemoring the 200th anniversary of that republic with a program at the Spanish Governor's Palace downtown.

Every Texas student learns about the Republic of Texas, the one fought for at the Alamo and San Jacinto. It declared its independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836 and lasted 10 years.

But fewer Texans know about the other Republic of Texas, the first and shorter-lived, which briefly broke from Spain in 1811, formally declared its independence in San Antonio on April 6, 1813 and lasted until the bloody Battle of Medina that August.

Re-enactors march toward their Spanish enemy for a work by filmmaker, Bill Millet.  Photo: Mark D. Wilson / Southside Reporter

 Battle of Medina 

 

"Chicano! The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement,"

Nota: The entire episode 4 of the documentary series, "Chicano! The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement," has been uploaded onto YouTube.  Click on the following link for the 54-minute long episode, "Fighting for Political Power."  Juan Marinez sent us the link, he wrote: "I was looking for some a YouTube, I came across the PBS Chicano Documentary on La Raza Unida, I am sure you may have seen it, if not it a good to see again and re-look at what got so many social justice movement that we have to day and keep so many re-energized on so many fronts of the public policy spectrum. Juan" See the short description by Valerie Mendoza of the 1996 documentary series that appeared in Volume 3 (2000) of The Journal for MultiMedia History.
 - Roberto R. Calderon, Historia Chicana [Historia]


Chicano! PBS Documentary - Fighting For Political Power

Uploaded on September 20, 2011 - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK6gLOaZagw

Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.
Video. NLCC Educational Media, 1996.

From Chicano!
T
he 1960s was a turbulent decade in American history, fraught with conflicts over isssues from Civil Rights to the war in Vietnam. The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, one of the least studied social movements of the 1960s, encompassed a broad cross section of issues—from restoration of land grants, to farm workers rights, to enhanced education, to voting and political rights. The video documentary Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, a four-part documentary series, corrects this oversight. Ground-breaking for the material it covers, the series is one of the few to address the history of Mexican Americans in general and that of the Chicano Movement in particular; it is an indispensable resource for scholars and students.

C
hicano! gives one a sense of the growing unrest of the Mexican American population. We witness, literally before our eyes, the emerging awareness of collective history, the power of mass action, and the evolution of the Chicano Movement. We learn that it begins in New Mexico with Reies López Tijerina and the land grant movement, is picked up by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales in Denver who defines the meaning of Chicano through his epic poem I am Joaquin, embraces César Chávez and the farm workers, turns to the struggles of the urban youth, and culminates in growing political awareness and participation with La Raza Unida Party.

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales
From Chicano! 28.8K | 56K | Cable

P
art 1, "Quest for a Homeland," examines the beginnings of the movement by profiling Reies Lopez Tijerina and the land grant movement in New Mexico in 1966 and 1967. It shows how Tijerina's fight to convince the federal government to honor the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) galvanized Mexicans and Mexican Americans across the Southwest. It then moves on to discuss Rodolfo (Corky) Gonzales and his founding of the Crusade for Justice in Denver in 1966. Focusing on the importance of his poem I am Joaquin, it highlights how Gonzales reached out to Chicano youth. This segment is useful for its discussion of the roots of Chicano nationalism through its affirmation of cultural identity grounded in Aztec myths such as that of Aztlán, the mythical Chicano homeland.

P
art 2, "The Struggle in the Fields," examines the importance of César Chávez and his efforts to organize farm workers in the central valley of California. It delineates the various components of Chávez's strategy for farm worker self determination—strikes, boycotts, pilgrimages, fasts—and emphasizes his commitment to nonviolence and the importance of faith and prayer in achieving his goal.

P
art 3, "Taking Back the Schools," is the best of the four parts. It covers the Los Angeles high school blow outs of 1968 thoroughly and with passion. Part 3 is also likely to be the most interesting to students because they can witness young people their own age forcefully agitating for change.


Robert Kennedy with Harry Gamboa
From Chicano! 28.8K | 56K | Cable

It is also striking because the catalysts for the walk outs—high drop out rate, crumbling schools, lack of Mexican American teachers—still resonate today. This segment is visually interesting as well because the filmmakers made a conscious effort to interview actual participants (which they do in all the segments). Here they actually go back and forth between a photo or video of a participant from the 1960s to that same person being interviewed today, and it is insightful to see how that individual changed in the intervening thirty years. For example, at one point the video discusses how the students were trying to garner outside support for their cause in order to legitimate it in the eyes of the school board. Robert Kennedy agrees to meet with student leaders and offer his support (he was running for president at the time and was in California to meet with César Chávez), and we see a picture of Kennedy surrounded by student leaders. The camera then focuses on a young Harry Gamboa—one of the walk-out leaders—standing next to Kennedy and the video then fades away to a current day interview with him.

P
art 4, "Fighting for Political Power," discusses the creation of La Raza Unida Party as a third party force for political power and the importance of political rights. It culminates in the 1972 election and the Raza Unida convention, and the fragmentation of the party at the height of its membership and recognition.

E
ach of these hour-long parts may be viewed individually. (It would, in fact, be very rare for a teacher to be able to devote all four hours to class time, even one specifically dealing with Chicano history.)



The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
From Chicano! 28.8K | 56K | Cable


Nearly every segment, to its credit, treats the historical background surrounding the events. For example, "Quest for a Homeland" briefly discusses the Mexican American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and why Tijerina felt that he was right to fight for the land. Similarly, "Fighting for Political Power" explains the inequities of voting rights in Texas along with the history of unequal distribution of political power in Crystal City, Texas, the birth place of La Raza Unida Party. Despite the fact that Mexican Americans made up the majority of the population in the city, no one of Mexican descent held political office. Chicano! is very good at explaining the plight of Mexican Americans historically and during the Chicano Movement. The series provides a keen sense of what it was like to have brown skin in the 1960s. One interviewee, for example, remembers that farm workers were thought of as ignorant, lazy, stupid, and dirty. In another segment, a second interviewee recalls that being Mexican was a burden—Mexican Americans were not respected and were treated as second-class citizens.

A
s with most documentaries, Chicano! makes excellent use of photo archives and film footage of the period. It succeeds where many documentaries fail in that the filmmakers were able to interview the actual participants in the events, as opposed to only scholars of the subject. Furthermore, the documentary series is to be commended for attempting to provide a balanced portrait of events. In the segment on the farm workers and César Chávez, we hear from farm owners whose produce was boycotted and land picketed at the height of the protests. Similarly, for the segment on the Los Angeles high school walk outs of 1968, the filmmakers interviewed both school board members and high school officials who were there at the time.

N
ot only do the four segments illuminate distinct aspects of the movement (land, farm workers, politics, urban issues, education), but they also attempt to delineate the diversity of the Chicano Movement not merely through causes, but also through geography and demographics. The viewer learns of rural problems in California which are in stark contrast to those of New Mexico. The documentary distinguishes between issues surrounding the high school walk outs in L.A., as opposed to those behind the Crystal City, Texas walk outs. The former occurred over drop-out rates and lack of recognition of Chicano culture and history, the latter due to Chicanas being barred from cheerleading. The students from L.A. never really had their concerns addressed, while the students in Crystal City won their cause, leading in part to the galvanization of the Raza Unida Party. We learn of the differing political agendas of Chicano leaders across the Southwest: Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and California (Arizona is conspicuously left out of the equation).

W
hile the discussion of the broad spectrum of issues across the Southwest is a strength of the series, it is also a weakness. Those whose only exposure to Mexican American history is through this series, would be left with the impression that Mexican Americans only live in the Southwest and that only the states covered had active Chicano movements. This, of course, is not the case.

Alurista

From Chicano!
Strong Chicano and Mexican American communities exist throughout the country and nearly all of them, particularly those in the Midwest, agitated for change. They all had their own movements at the local level and participated in activities at the national level. This shortcoming is, of course, a function of the series' length, and the filmmakers do make token references to other parts of the country. For example, during a segment on the Crusade for Justice and the first Chicano Youth Conference in Denver in 1967, the poet Alurista remarks how he was amazed to see so many Chicanos from all over the country, even Kansas. "I didn't know," he remarks incredulously, "there were any Mexicans in Kansas!" Similarly, in the series' discussion of the growth of La Raza Unida Party, narrator Henry Cisneros notes that chapters of the party proliferated throughout the country, even in Nebraska.

W
hat the individual videos do not do, however, is discuss the outcomes of the events in question or their significance.


Reies López Tijerina

From Chicano!
In Part 1, "Quest for a Homeland," the filmmakers move from discussing Tijerina and the question of land grants to Corky Gonzales and the Crusade for Justice. The transition is fine, but we never find out what happened to Tijerina and his cause. The viewer is left hanging, with no information. This also occurs in Part 3 "Taking Back the Schools." This segment follows the sequence of events that led to the Los Angeles student walk outs of 1968, culminating in the galvanization of the community to have Sal Castro, a teacher who supported the walk outs, reinstated after being fired by the school board. We are treated to video of the students' take over and sit in of the school board and their ultimate success in having Castro re-hired, but we are never told what happened with the students' original demands of the school board (bilingual education, Mexican American history courses, more Mexican American teachers). The film would have you believe that the walk outs were a success because the community came together in support of Castro. It never goes on to explain that the state of the schools remained virtually the same.


The Legacy of the Chicano Movement
From Chicano! 28.8K | 56K | Cable
A
lso, Chicano! never explains until the end of the final video the continuing and overarching significance of the Chicano Movement and its legacy. It defines these as the new awareness of farm workers, increased labor activism, and growing visibility of educational and community needs. According to the documentary, the Chicano Movement galvanized and trained a new generation of activists and leaders and brought to a national stage a variety of issues important to the Mexican American community. However, the significance of each event needs to be further highlighted at the end of each segment for it to be truly effective.

F
or any one teaching about the Civil Rights Movement, Mexican American, Chicano, or Latino history, or the history of political activism, however, the series is a must see. Students will greatly benefit from this remarkable series about an extraordinary time in history. Valerie Mendoza
University of Kansas


~ End ~

Video Review of Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.
Copyright © 2000, 2001 by The Journal for MultiMedia History

 

 
RMPBS Specials
La Raza de Colorado - El Movimiento
El Movimiento examines the Colorado Chicano Movement during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s

After forwarding the video on "Chicano! PBS Documentary - Fighting For Political Power" Chicano! PBS Documentary - Fighting For Political Power http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK6gLOaZagw

Try Rocky Mountain PBS.org click on Raza de Colorado http://video.rmpbs.org/video/1601225755
So, I did, I had not see it before, maybe you have or maybe not. If you click the above video link it will take you there. Watching make what is taking place in Arizona    Juan Marinez  



ERASING HISTORIC REALITY

The Lost Mexicans of the Bastanchury Ranch by Gustavo Arellano
A Distorted History Fuels the Fear of Ethnic Studies

The Lost Mexicans of the Bastanchury Ranch  

By GUSTAVO ARELLANO   Apr 11 2013




80 years ago, officials deported hundreds of Fullerton residents—and Orange County has tried to forget ever since. Decades later, long after federal authorities deported the last of her students, still remembered the cactus.

Decades later, long after federal authorities deported the last of her students, Arletta Kelly still remembered the cactus.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Kelly had worked as an Americanization teacher in the citrus camps of Orange County, tasked with schooling Mexican immigrants in the art of good citizenship. During the day, she taught women how to sew and cook American meals like casseroles and pies; at night, the Michigan native recited basic English phrases before audiences of men so that they could use them at work. She bounced across the colonias (worker colonies) of North County, from La Habra to Placentia, Anaheim to Fullerton But Kelly eventually spent most of her time with the Mexicans of the Bastanchury Ranch, 6,000 rolling acres of what now constitutes the exclusive neighborhoods of northwest Fullerton—Sunny Hills, Valencia Mesa and others—and parts of Brea and La Habra, an area that to this day, with its winding roads, visible horse stables, dramatic valleys and stretches of untouched California landscape, feels rustic, beautiful and foreboding.

In 1968,  Betty Schmidt with the Center for Oral and Public History  (COPH) at Cal State Fullerton interviewed Kelly about her days at the Ranch—and that's when Kelly brought up the cactus. By then 70 years old, the maestra fondly recalled the Bastanchury Mexicans, who had created a society of their own far removed from the rest of Orange County. They were so grateful for Kelly's tutorship that women frequently invited her to their ramshackle homes for dinner and a bit of south-of-the-border hospitality. Kelly singled out the cooking of one woman because, as she told her interviewer, "One of the things that she served so frequently that I was fond of was what she called 'nopalitos,' which are the little tiny shoots of the cactus."


A group of women who took the ranch's Americanization classes. Morales is the cute toddler at the bottom left.



The hill of cactus off Euclid Avenue that the Bastanchury Mexicans would harvest.  Photo by John Gilhooley

Schmidt asked from where did the unnamed Mexican woman buy the nopalitos. "There were big cactus" all around the Bastanchury territory, Kelly said. "And then when the spring came they would come up; why, when the shoots would come up, [the Mexican woman] would cut them off and peel them and slice them down and cut them up in little bits."

The rest of Kelly's interview, transcribed and available for reading at the COPH archives, is filled with similarly pastoral anecdotes, stories about riding a bicycle, about another Mexican woman who pronounced "cheese" as "Jesus," and about her role in helping orchard growers fight strikers during the 1936 Citrus War. But when Schmidt asked about the fate of her students at the Ranch, Kelly's sharp memory quickly became spotty.

"Well, I think many of them went back to Mexico because work was scarcer and some of them had accumulated a little bit of money and so I knew of quite a few families that packed up and they drove back—in old jalopies—back to Mexico—the ones I happen to know of," Kelly said. "Now, others may have gone by some other method, I don't know."

In fact, the Mexicans who lived on the Bastanchury Ranch in the early 1930s were subject to one of the largest mass deportations in Orange County history, with hundreds of them in late March of 1933—single men and families, Mexican nationals and American citizens—thrown onto trains bound for Mexico, carrying with them only the clothes on their backs and whatever belongings they could lug along. Almost overnight, a vibrant community vanished, the homes of former residents demolished, its memory bulldozed into wealthy neighborhoods, the few surviving scraps locked in university archives or in the recollections of those few families that escaped exile.

Eighty years ago this spring, officials deported hundreds of legal residents whose only crime was being Mexican during the Great Depression—and Orange County has tried to forget ever since.

The Bastanchury family is familiar to generations of Southern California residents and scholars alike, and not just because of their namesake road, which unspools through the hills of Fullerton, Brea, Placentia and Yorba Linda. The Basque clan were one of Orange County's first national celebrities, a dynasty whose patriarch, Domingo, arrived at what's now Fullerton in the 1860s and eventually acquired about 10,000 acres of desolate terrain: for decades, his house was just one of two between Anaheim and Los Angeles. Originally using his holdings as grazing lands for sheep, Domingo's four sons eventually turned the Ranch into an agriculture and livestock powerhouse: 1,500 acres devoted to black-eyed peas, 500 acres for lima beans; hundreds of acres of walnut orchards and fields that, by 1928, sold more than 50 percent of California's tomatoes; 10 acres of Berkshire hog pens; and canneries and two packing houses that boxed the Ranch's riches for sale to the rest of America. Oil money came in the form of a legal settlement, and some of the water drawn from artesian wells for irrigation was sold publicly as Bastanchury Water, a brand that existed for decades. The estate was so sprawling that the Atchison,Topeka and Santa Fe and Union Pacific  railroads built spurs near the packing houses, the easier to pick up the bounty, while the Pacific Electric Railway kept two stations within Ranch limits. Managers had to cut up the Ranch into sections with their own supervisors, just to handle everything properly.

But the crown jewel of the Bastanchurys was their 3,000-acre citrus grove, rows of Valencia orange and lemon trees that went up and down the Ranch, held in place by terrace farming. On the family's stationery and on the labels for their orange crates, marketed under the Model, Basque, Daily, Popular and Golden Ram brands, read the slogan "The World's Largest Orange and Lemon Orchard," a claim no one bothered to dispute.

Domingo's sons were fiercely proud of their accomplishments and never shied away from boasting about what they had willed up from what many considered remote badlands. "Some of my ideas were discountenanced by scientific men, by farm bureau men," Gaston Bastanchury told the California Citrograph, the bible of the Golden State's citrus industry, in 1923. He was the public face of the family, a man who frequently made the society pages for his many trips abroad, a tycoon so rich that he once offered heavyweight heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey an $800,000 purse if the Manassa Mauler would fight on the Ranch, in a custom-built arena Gaston promised would seat 135,000 people. "I felt that I knew what we could do and kept on. But the fact remains that these old brown hills—and you can still see hundreds of acres in that same state around us—have produced trees and those trees are beginning to return something on the investment of labor and money which have been put into them."

Life was fabulous on the Ranch—it became the center of Basque life in Southern California, featuring weekend-long parties filled with traditional lunches and dinners. There was even a handball court so that nostalgic men could play the jai alai of their youth. But to create their dreamland, the Bastanchurys needed cheap labor—first, Native Americans, then fellow Basques and a smattering of Japanese. By the 1920s, though, cheap labor in Southern California agriculture meant Mexican workers, and the Bastanchurys began recruiting across the Southwest and abroad, uniting with fellow Orange County orchard owners to lobby Congress for relaxed immigration laws, arguing only Mexicans could properly work with oranges.

"Our experience shows us that the white man does not like the tedious routine work of picking and will promptly leave this for any other job available, even at smaller wages," wrote J. A. Prizer, manager of the Placentia Orange Growers Association , in a prepared statement given to Congress in 1928. At that same hearing, Prizer revealed that county growers used the Bastanchurys' worker rolls to determine how many Mexicans they needed to run a successful operation. "The Mexican, by nature, seems to be peculiarly adapted to this class of work. He is patient, and apparently enjoys the work itself."

And so the Bastanchurys brought in hundreds of Mexicans. A contemporary of the dynasty derided the Ranch as "their own private kingdom in the Fullerton hills," isolated from the rest of civilization, and it wasn't far from the truth: while grower-sponsored worker camps sprang up across Orange County's citrus belt, the Bastanchurys' orange pickers lived like serfs.

"[The Bastanchurys] had the Old World feudalistic attitude toward their farm hand," wrote Druzilla Mackey, an Americanization teacher in Orange County alongside Arleta Kelly, in a 1949 history of education in Fullerton. She had no problem with the workers, describing them as "always the poorest of our Mexicans, the most friendly and also the most idealistic." But she openly despised the Bastanchurys, writing "they felt generous in allowing these squatters to establish homes on their ranch and could not comprehend its danger to the health and morality of the community as a whole."

Mackey described abodes constructed from sheet iron, discarded fence posts, sign boards, even rusted bed springs—whatever detritus Mexicans could find in the Ranch's trash dump; Kelly remembered one built of "cartons and wood and pieces of tin." Some houses were half-wood, half-canvas. Few had running water; nearly all had outside, shared toilets. Rains turned everything into a swamp; despite the abundance of artesian water, families had to draw their own from irrigation ditches and carry it via buckets to their homes. Once a week, a grocery wagon arrived with fresh produce and meat—a necessity, since almost no one had refrigeration because there was little electricity. Some homes had dirt floors, some were just tents. Elsie Carlson, who taught the Ranch's Mexican children, put it thusly: "I felt like a missionary."

The conditions endured by the Bastanchury Mexicans became something of a county scandal; a newspaper exposé, lost to history but cited by Kelly in her COPH oral history, mentioned the "exceedingly primitive and poverty stricken" condition of the camp, which upset the Bastanchurys and their management. But after organizing by the Americanization teachers and the Rev. Graham C. Hunter of the First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton, the Ranch finally relented and built homes for workers with potable water in 1927, along with a wooden classroom for first-, second-, and third-graders—tellingly, the Basque and white children on the Ranch were bussed to the "white" schools in the Fullerton flatlands, while the Mexican children on the Ranch had to trudge at least a half mile to school on dirt roads through orchards.

A community grew. The 1920 census showed only a few Mexicans living on the Ranch; by the 1930 census, the official count was 411. It had grown so much that the U.S. Census Bureau gave the Bastanchurys their own designated tract, split into six colonias: Tia Juana, , Coyote, Santa Fe and San Quintín, which some ominously called El Hoyo—The Hole. Tia Juana was the largest, then Mexicali, Mexicali, Escondido and they were around what's now Laguna Lake Park in Fullerton; the rest gravitated near what's now St. Jude Hospital. Stand-alone shacks remained dotted throughout the Ranch.

"I think they were very happy people, really, they lived a very simple life, but it was probably somewhat better than the life they lived in Mexico," Kelly said, and the Mexicans made do with what they had. Though the houses were downtrodden, they were well kept, with gardens of flowers and vegetables prettying the environment. Mothers sent their children off to school scrubbed clean and dressed in their Sunday best. During the major Mexican holidays—Mexican Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo and Dia de los Muertos—the colonias held their own private celebrations or traveled together to Placentia and Los Angeles to partake in bigger ones. A monthly dance was held at the schoolhouse, and the Americanization teachers frequently presented their Mexican pupils to the Fullerton population at large as proof of their good work, affairs that earned approving write-ups in the Fullerton News Tribune and the Santa Ana Register. No one was an illegal immigrant; all the Bastanchury Mexicans were either American citizens or sponsored by their hosts, with most originating from Tepic, Jalisco.

This bucolic life couldn't last. In October 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, the Bastanchurys shocked Orange County by announcing they had debts of $2 million and were placing their beloved Ranch into a receivership. The celebrated citrus grove wasn't producing; it turned out that the soil on the Ranch wasn't conducive to large-scale, long-term growing, just as the old-timers had tried to tell the Bastanchurys.

But something more nefarious had infested the Ranch as well. In just three years, Orange County politicians had gone from begging Congress for more Mexican labor to demanding that those workers give up their jobs, homes and lives to whites and return to Mexico. By 1931, federal agents were raiding barrios and colonias across Southern California, rounding up legal residents and American citizens of Mexican descent alike, and deporting them to Mexico; upon arriving, the Mexicans were forced to give up their legal papers allowing entry back into the States. Taking a kinder approach, church, civic and business groups asked Mexicans to leave, vowing to pay their train fare. Even the Mexican Consulate, not wishing to anger their American neighbors, organized return trips back, with promises of jobs that somehow never materialized.

Without the family's patronage, the Bastanchury Mexicans were threatened. In the fall of 1932, the Mexican Consulate helped to organize a meeting in Fullerton to figure out how immigrants could stave off repatriation. The government's deportation campaigns had begun in Orange County, organized by the local Department of Welfare . The consulate's Orange County representative, Santa Ana resident Lucas Lucio, accompanied deported Mexicans from the Santa Ana train station to Union Station in Los Angeles, where he would then join them on a Southern Pacific train to El Paso to ensure they weren't further abused. Even 45 years later, in an interview with a professor, the experience made Lucio shudder.


"At the station in Santa Ana, hundreds of Mexicans came and there was quite a lot of crying," he said. "The men were pensive and the majority of the children and mothers were crying." Lucio told the story of how on one trip, when the train didn't stop in El Paso but rather proceeded into Juarez, there was "a terrible cry... many did not want to cross the border ... a disaster, because the majority of the families were separated. There was no way for anyone to try to leave the train or run or complete their desire to return to the United States."

In February of 1933, the Bastanchurys' empire was auctioned from the steps of the Orange County Courthouse and put under new management; within five days, a hundred unemployed white men swarmed the Ranch, confident white ownership would give them a job. The era of the Bastanchury Mexicans was about to end.

Sometime that spring, new management and a consortium of white business, political and civic leaders went to the Ranch's schoolhouse and told the Mexicans they had to leave. "The Americanization centers in which these people had been taught how to buy homes and make themselves a part of the American community," Mackey wrote 18 years later, "were now used for calling together assemblages in which county welfare workers explained to bewildered audiences that their small jobs would now be taken over by the white men, that they were no longer needed nor wanted in these United States." As a last-ditch effort, she paraded her Americanization students in front of a men's civic group as she always had, desperately trying to show that the Bastanchury Mexicans were worthy of staying. But it didn't work.

"And so," she concluded, "one morning we saw nine train-loads of our dear friends roll away back to the windowless, dirt-floored homes we had taught them to despise."

On Friday, March 31, a week after Mackey's efforts, 437 Mexicans—"mostly children," according to the News Tribune, and almost all from the Ranch—were herded onto nine passenger trains, one bound for Nogales, another to Juarez. The local media tried to paint the Mexicans as welfare cases—"Repatriation of Mexicans Eases Burden," read a headline in the Santa Ana Register—and pointed out that the Mexican government promised jobs to their repatriated countrymen upon their return. In reality, the Mexicans were left penniless in a country that parents hadn't visited in years and their American-born children simply didn't know. Few, if any, ever returned to Orange County.

It was the largest mass deportation in county history, and stung those few people who witnessed the episode for the rest of their lives. Lucio recalled they "were very poor...went on the half fare of the Southern Pacific." Juanita Ferraris, told the News Tribune in 1955 that it was "one of the saddest sights I've ever seen."

And they departed with work available on the Ranch: in April, the new owners announced in the News Tribune that they were looking for "local men" to hire; in May, they revealed they already shipped 55,000 boxes of lemons in just two months—since the Mexicans left.

The Ranch's six colonias were eradicated; by June of that year, the schoolhouse was moved to another school and turned into a soup kitchen. Houses were either sold off to other citrus camps or simply demolished and tossed back into the scrap heap from where they came. Years later, a Fullerton council member told the COHP that the 1930 census showed that the city had 10,882 residents; in 1940, that figure shrank to 10,300. Bewildered, he admitted, "We finally found out that the reason for the population loss was because we lost the workers up" at the Ranch. Figures from the 1940 census reviewed by the Weekly showed that not a single Mexican listed as living on the Bastanchury's estate in 1930 remained.

Cuca Morales, on one of the trails of the former Bastanchury Ranch.

Photos by John Gilhooley

 

 

 

 

Some of the Bastanchury Mexicans, however, did evade the deportation train. One of those was the family of Fullerton resident Cuca Morales. Born in 1927, her birth certificate lists her place of birth as the "Tia Juanita Camp" at the Ranch. Her memories are clouded not by age—her mind is as sharp as someone half her age—but rather by the fact that she was only five when her parents were forced to move away.

At her home, in a housing tract set aside for veterans when she and her husband bought it in the 1950s, Morales keeps many photos from those days. One shows her as a baby, held by her mother, as Cuca's father, who worked as a lemon picker, plays the violin and an unnamed man accompanies him on guitar. In another, she's a toddler standing by her mother's side in a group shot of women who took Mackey's Americanization classes. Behind them, rows of citrus groves stretch over the horizon.

"My grandpa used to be the man who would hold the dances" at the schoolhouse, she says. "I'd stand by him while my mom accepted the money." And she also remembered Maria Bastanchury the dowager of the Ranch. "She was a stingy lady," the octogenarian says with a laugh. "After workers harvested the walnuts every season, she'd be raking through the leaves, looking for more."

Morales says she only knew of one family repatriated to Mexico, that of her brother's godparents—"and he cried for months after they left," she remembered. Everyone else she knew moved on to other colonias, or the barrios of Santa Ana, La Habra and Anaheim. "My dad wanted to go back to Mexico, but Mom [who was born in Arizona to Mexican immigrants] said, 'No, we're going to stay here—if you want to go, you can.' "

To remain, Morales' parents went to Gaston Bastanchury, who fixed her father's papers—but they still had to leave the Ranch. The family sold their house for a Buick, and they ended up living in La Habra's Alta Vista camp, where Morales grew up before moving to Fullerton, where she raised a family and has lived ever since.

Her parents "never talked about" the disappearance of the Bastanchury Mexican colonias. "I remember one time my mom said that they were poorer on the Ranch. And when I bought my house in Fullerton, she said, 'I don't like Fullerton,' but never said why." Morales kept in contact with former residents of Tia Juana but has never dwelled on its importance. But her daughter Clara—a retired employee of the United Auto Workers does. "You still have families who came from the Bastanchury Ranch around town," she says. "One time, I was at the bank, and somehow, someone asked [one of the customers] where was she born. 'The Bastanchury Ranch,' she said. It sounded like she was proud that she was from there."

"Most of the people who were born there are dead," Cuca suddenly said.

"But it's part of history," Clara shoots back. "And it should be noted. Instead, people want to forget us."

To remember, Clara drives her mother through the streets of what was the Bastanchury Ranch—"what's now a bunch of rich people's homes," she cracks. "Mom always appreciates going down Gilbert [Street] and Euclid Avenue. To see the cactus."

It's spring again, and the hills of Fullerton are blooming. Native shrubs like coyote brush, Southern willow scrub and California sagebrush feature new branches; flowering plants like yellow sun cups, purple phacelia and orange monkeyflowers bloom. Hikers and bikers zip along trails and streets, most ending up at Laguna Lake Park off Euclid.

Across the street is the Robert E. Ward Nature Preserve, a fenced-off section of the West Coyote Hills that developers have long eyed to turn into more ranch-style homes. This is the heart of what was the Bastanchury Ranch—and from the parking lot of Sunny Hills Church of Christ you can see the earth alive with the new shoots of prickly pear cactus.

It was near here where the Ranch schoolhouse existed, here where its workers came to trim the nopalitos that grew anew every spring, where a community lived and loved and learned. And it's these cacti that nearly everyone interviewed about the Ranch—from Arletta Kelly to Druzilla Mackey, Elsie Carlson to Cuca Morales, and so many more—brought up as the sole surviving remnant of the Bastanchury Mexicans, the sight always prompting them to recall the forgotten past.

Those memories never made any Orange County narratives. Although mentions of the Ranch colonias dot the COHP archives, only a few people ever access them. Those who lived through its demise mostly kept their memories to themselves, saving photos in albums not available to the public. No full examination of the Bastanchury Mexicans exists: the only two academic texts to even mention them are Gilbert G. González's seminal 1994 study of Orange County's Mexican orange pickers, Labor and Community: Mexican Citrus Worker Villages in a Southern California County, 1900-1950, and Francisco E. Balderrama and Raymond Rodríguez's Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s—and the former only devotes a few paragraphs, while the latter has but a sentence.

But if the Ward Nature Preserve's colonies of cacti are the last-standing legacy of the lost Mexicans of the Bastanchury Ranch, then it's an almost cosmic landmark. The nopal is the ultimate metaphor for Mexicans, displayed on the Mexican flag as a reminder of who they are. It's a plant that grows best in inhospitable conditions where little else can exist, one you can hack at but will still give, still thrive. And there on the Fullerton hills, long after the decline of the Ranch and the scattering of the Bastanchury Mexicans, the cactus plants stand sentry 80 years later, the most beautiful, nourishing memorial imaginable.

http://www.ocweekly.com/2013-04-11/news/deported-mexicans-bastanchury-ranch-fullerton-orange-county/full/ 

Sent by John Palacio  

 

A Distorted History Fuels the Fear of Ethnic Studies
The recent crusade to dismantle ethnic studies programs and in particular Mexican-American Studies is an
attempt to defend a skewed interpretation of U.S. History and hide it from the spotlight of facts. This is
also an attempt to disarm a people historically and politically....continue reading
Moderator:
Jimmy Franco Sr.

Archive of monthly essays that go back to August 2010




HONORING HISPANIC LEADERSHIP

Demetrio Rodriguez, a parent who fought for educational equality, Dies at 87
Sara Montiel actress, singer dies at 85
Delia Moreno, Chicana activist dies at 85
Sal Castro, Educator, dies at 79
Les Blank, documentarian dies at 77
Cecilia Preciado Burciaga, university administrator dies at 67
Soraya Jiménez, 2000 gold medalist dies at 35
Demetrio Rodriguez was a key player in the Rodriguez vs. SAISD and Edgewood vs. Kirby lawsuits.

Intro to Elaine Ayala article: 
Rodriguez, Who Fought for Equality, Dies at 87


By Elaine Ayala, Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 23, 2013



Demetrio Rodriguez was a key player in the Rodriguez vs. SAISD and Edgewood vs. Kirby lawsuits. He  lead plaintiff in a historic 1968 class-action lawsuit against the state's method of funding public schools and whose name became synonymous with school finance equity, died Monday of Parkinson's disease.

 


Born into a migrant farm-working family, he became the namesake plaintiff of the Rodriguez et al vs. San Antonio ISD case, which found state funding of Texas public schools unconstitutional but was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Rodriguez also served in the military and said he experienced discrimination first-hand in both situations.

“He was the father who wouldn't give in to the injustice,” said David Hinojosa, Southwest regional counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which joined the battle for property-poor school districts in the 1980s.

“He was a very noble, honest person” and the perfect plaintiff for the case, said Hinojosa, who spoke of him at a national conference last month at the University of Richmond to mark the suit's 40th anniversary.

“He was a very positive force in the community,” said Al Kauffman, a law professor at St. Mary's University School of Law and formerly of MALDEF. “He continued working. He was a strong advocate for his children and grandchildren.”

The first case was won in federal court in 1971 and overturned in the Supreme Court in 1973. By 1984, MALDEF filed Edgewood vs. Kirby, again with Rodriguez as a plaintiff, and the Texas Legislature responded with a school funding plan that critics called “Robin Hood,” requiring property-rich districts to share their wealth.

Rodriguez was one of 16 Edgewood Independent School District parents who were the original plaintiffs. They had organized after a series of student walkouts focused attention on inadequate facilities, supplies and even books at the property-poor, predominantly Mexican American district on the West Side.  

Please go to the following article and read how the activity here influenced others:   eayala@express-news.net  
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Rodriguez-who-fought-for-equality-dies-at-87-4456618.php

 

Known in Spain for her acting, beauty and singing voice, the star brought a new sensuality to the screen in the 1960s.

MADRID -- Spanish actress Sara Montiel, best known for in the U.S. for her roles in Vera Cruz (1955) with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster and Run of the Arrow (1957) with Rod Steiger, died Monday [April 8] in her home in Madrid. She was 85.

Originally from a poor, rural family, Montiel was Spain's first actress to travel to Hollywood, where her sensuous beauty and singing voice made a splash and fueled a 30-year film career, spanning almost 50 movies.

Her first role in Te Quiero Para Mi came as a prize in a beauty contest.

After filming dozens of films in Mexico, she married director Anthony Mann, who directed her in the 1956 Serenade.

Much loved in Spain for her courage that pushed her to cross the border when few Spaniards ventured abroad, she is best known for Juan de Orduna's The Last Torch Song and as a singer of folkloric music, which included a recording career in five languages.

She retired from film in 1975 but continued her music career.  Sara Montiel fallece a los 85 años - América TeVé https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZOv13gh7SI 

   
                                                    
  Teatro Puerto Rico 
Here is the URL of my dad in a Youtube, when he was the MC at the Puerto Rico Theatre. This was when late Sara Montiel made her US debut. News 12 got in touch with me and I in turn had them get in touch with my dad, so that they could hear his story:

The Teatro Puerto Rico was to the Latino community in the South Bronx what the Apollo Theater was to the African American community in the Harlem section of Manhattan.[1] 490 East 138th Street, at the corner of Brook Avenue in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, New York City


1950s

During its 1940s to 1950s "golden era," it was the hub of la farándula, a vaudeville-style package of Spanish-language events, and attracted entertainers from all over Latin America. In the late 1960s, the neighborhood where the theater was located was in decline and the theater closed its doors until 1994, when a real estate developer invested over a million dollars in renovations. After two years in operation, a political scandal involving misappropriated public funds forced the permanent closure of the theater as such. The building which the theater once occupied, however, is now being used as a place of religious worship.  
Source: Wikipedia 

Sent by Tony "the Marine" Santiago 
Nmb2418@aol.com
 


 

In Loving Memory of Delia Moreno
longtime San Diego Chicana activist, song writer, artist and mother

9 November 1928 – 24 March 2013

 

 

Delia was born on a ranch in Arizona and with her love of music she learned the guitar at a young age. When she moved to San Diego she formed the TRIO MORENO with her two daughters, Maria and Chica. They played ranchero music throughout the county. Delia was well known throughout the Latino community. She marched with other Latino Leaders to create Chicano Park as we see it today. Delia worked to have a cultural center in Balboa Park to preserve our rich and diverse history. As an artist, a singer, songwriter and a mother she touched the lives of many, Delia will be greatly missed by all.  
~ Gus Chavez

 

 

 

Sal Castro dies at 79; L.A. teacher played role in 1968 protests

Sal Castro was a teacher at Lincoln High when he helped instigate 'blowouts' 
that became a seminal event in the Chicano movement.
October 25, 1933 - April 15, 2013

Sal Castro, a veteran Los Angeles Unified School District teacher who played a central role in the 1968 "blowouts," when more than 1,000 students in predominantly Latino high schools walked out of their classrooms to protest inequalities in education, died in his sleep Monday after a long bout with cancer. He was 79.

Castro died at his home in the Silver Lake district, seven months after he was found to have stage 4 thyroid cancer, said his wife, Charlotte Lerchenmuller.

In March 1968, Castro was a social studies teacher at Lincoln High School near downtown when he helped instigate the protests that became a seminal event in the development of the Chicano movement. Students at five high schools — Belmont, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt and Garfield — abandoned their campuses in a dramatic bid to remedy overcrowded and run-down schools, soaring dropout rates, poorly trained teachers, and counselors who steered Latino students into auto shop instead of college-prep classes.

The conditions were so poor, he told The Times 20 years later, it was "like American education forgot the Latino kid."

The protests, which lasted several days and spread to 15 schools, resulted in the arrests of 13 people on conspiracy charges. Castro was among the 13 who were jailed but eventually exonerated.

Fired after the walkouts, he fought successfully to be reinstated to his teaching position but was transferred several times to schools that had largely non-Latino enrollments.

Broad public recognition of his contributions to the struggle for education equality came decades after the protests, when his story was told in films, including "Walkout," the 2006 HBO movie directed by Edward James Olmos.

"For Latinos in Los Angeles," Supervisor Gloria Molina said in a statement Monday, "Sal Castro was as influential and inspirational as United Farm Workers co-founder Cesar Chavez was nationally — an example of the power of organizing who personified the possibility of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds."

The son of Mexican immigrants, Castro was born in Boyle Heights on Oct. 25, 1933, and spent some of his early childhood in Mexico, where he learned to read in Spanish.

When he returned to Los Angeles for second grade, his teacher made him sit in a corner because he was the only student who could not speak English. Instead of accepting the stigma, "I started thinking, these teachers … should be able to understand me," he said in a 1988 interview with The Times. "I didn't think I was dumb — I thought they were dumb."

He graduated from Cathedral High School in 1952, was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War. After completing his service, he attended Los Angeles City College and majored in business at Cal State L.A., graduating in 1961.

That year, he also earned a credential to teach secondary school and taught junior high in Pasadena before landing a position at Belmont High. He soon began pressing for change. He urged Mexican American students to run for student government offices, causing a ruckus when he encouraged them to give campaign speeches in Spanish.

In 1963, he founded the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference, a nonprofit organization that trained future leaders at annual workshops held until 2009, when it lost its funding.

Transferred to Lincoln High after the incident at Belmont, he worked with students and recent graduates to present a list of demands to the school board aimed at improving academic opportunities and fixing dilapidated classrooms.

Tensions came to a head on March 5, 1968, after administrators at Wilson High abruptly canceled a student production of "Barefoot in the Park" that they said was too risque. Word of the action spread quickly, and soon Latino students were leaving classrooms across the district, joined by Castro and others outside the schools, including college students and members of the militant Brown Beret.

Among the participants were some future politicians and activists, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who walked out from Cathedral High, and filmmaker Moctesuma Esparza, who was indicted for his leadership role in the walkouts and decades later was executive producer of the HBO film on the protests.

Castro was jailed for five days after the walkouts and lost his job, but he was rehired after weeks of protests by Eastside parents. Months after the protests, 40 teachers at Lincoln High asked to be transferred if the district allowed Castro to return.

After a long period of "freeway therapy," when he was bounced around to different schools and made a substitute teacher, he landed back at Belmont, where he taught and counseled hundreds of students from 1973 until his retirement in 2004.

Many of his students became educators, including several who are principals, Lerchenmuller said.

In 2010, district officials honored the outspoken educator by dedicating a school to him, Salvador B. Castro Middle School, which shares Belmont's campus.

Although Castro continued to lament high dropout rates and other problems, he discouraged students who wanted to launch new walkouts, arguing that staying in school was more important.

"Here's the protest: any kid with a book," he said, gesturing at the youthful crowd attending a 2008 symposium on Chicano activism at Cal State San Bernardino. "That's the only way we can move forward, through education."

In addition to his wife, Castro is survived by two sons, Gilbert and Jimi; and two grandsons. Services will be announced.

elaine.woo@latimes.com  

Copyright © 2013, Los Angeles Times

http://soa.li/MGM0n2X < Sent by Mercy Bautista Olvera

Dear Friends,

It is with deep sadness that I pass on the news that my old friend and comrade, Sal Castro, passed away this morning (April 15) For those of you who may not know, he was the high school teacher who inspired thousands of high school students to walk out of their ELA high schools during the month of March in 1968, to protest the racist education they were receiving and to demand a quality public education that would include courses on Mexican American history and culture. Those walkouts ignited the Chicano Movement. May he rest in peace. Carlos 
Carlos Munoz  cmjr1040@gmail.com 

p.s. I highly recommend you read his autobiography that was co-authored with Mario Garica, 'BLOWOUT:SAL CASTRO AND THE CHICANO STRUGGLE FOR EDUCATIONAL CHANGE"


On Mon, Apr 15, 2013 at 5:43 PM, ENRIQUE G. MURILLO <emurillo@csusb.edu> wrote:
Sal Castro, Legendary Mexican-American Educator and Activist, Passes Away
By Gabriel San Roman Mon., Apr. 15 2013 at 4:57 PM

The Chicano community lost a historic figure in the struggle for education rights today as Sal Castro died this morning at the age of 79. According to family, he perished of natural causes and funeral arrangements are pending. Castro spent the greater part of his life courageously fighting to improve the savage inequalities for Mexican-American students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school system. 

He is perhaps best known for his role in the 'walkouts' of five East Los Angeles public schools forty-five years ago in March 1968. The seminal moment in the history of the Chicano Movement was made into an HBO film in 2006 and the role of Castro was played by Michael Pena. 

After the student demonstrations, which were repressed by police, the Lincoln High School Teacher was charged with 15 counts of conspiracy to disrupt public schools and fifteen counts of conspiracy to disturb the peace. He became known as part of the "East LA 13" and faced serious jail time if convicted. The charges were eventually dropped, though, and Castro's vigorous advocacy continued.

"The walkouts were a symbol of his cause," says Victoria 'Vickie' Castro, who marched alongside him in them as a college student organizer and later served on the LAUSD Board of Education. "We had to make a bold statement; that we were qualified and had the desire to attend college." 

Sal Castro also made a significant contribution to the cause of education rights in establishing the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference. Starting in 1963, the aim was to train a new generation of activists in encouraging them to demand better conditions so that more high school graduates could go on to college. It has continued in that spirit for decades. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the CYLC's founding.

Castro's advocacy faced resistance to be sure. "He paid a price for his commitment," says Mario T. Garcia, UC Santa Barbara Professor of History and Chicano Studies. "Sal was harassed by the school district. After he was arrested, he was told he could not come back to Lincoln." Students staged a sit-in to have him reinstated, but that was only a temporary victory. 

"He was bounced around from school to school," says Garcia, who also is the author of Blowout!: Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice . "That never daunted Sal. He was someone who shined it off and moved forward." 

In his years as a retired educator, Castro continued on charismatically lecturing on the issues that defined his lifetime. "Don't be a pendejo, go to college!" read the back of his business card. As a student in the Puente Project at Savanna High School in Anaheim, I was fortunate enough to hear the passion of his advocacy as he gave a talk encouraging higher education as an aspiration to all those assembled. It was a message I took to heart. 

"There's thousands of Chicanos and Latinos that are truly unaware that he opened that admission door. For young people today, they need to not take their educational opportunities for granted," Vickie Castro pleads. "Even with budget cuts and other difficulties, in Sal's honor, they can't give up the fight."

As a scholar, Garcia was able to ask Castro about his legacy before his passing this morning. "One of the things that I'll always remember is my last question to him for the book asking how he would like to be remembered," Garcia says. 

"He replied, 'All I want on my tombstone is 'Sal Castro, a teacher.'"


VIEW FROM THE PIER
by Herrman Sillas

In the course of fifty-three years as a lawyer I have represented many clients, but one stands out. We met in the sixties in the height of the Chicano Movement. Sal Castro was a young handsome teacher at Lincoln High School in Los Angeles. We met when I incorporated the Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE). He was part of a group who was concerned about the high drop-out rate of Mexican American students from school. These teachers believed that if they united, the schools would have to listen to their concern about the plight of Latino students.

Mexican American teachers were few in those days and school administrators of Mexican heritage were even scarcer. Yet this group was determined to make a difference. Evening planning sessions were held to develop strategies on how to change a school system that ignored Mexican American students’ culture and heritage.

The 1965 Watts Riot and its aftermath revealed the Black community’s concern. It also caused the Mexican American students to assess their condition. They became aware that their Eastside schools lacked the facilities of the Anglo Westside schools. At Castro’s suggestion, they presented their complaints and concerns to the school administrators. The District still paid no attention. The students’ frustration increased. Castro was convinced that nothing would happen unless the students had a strike. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that the students had to walkout; Castro was prepared to lead them. His teaching companions balked. They could lose their jobs if they took such a step. Sal knew they were right. Not only could he lose his job, he could lose his license to teach. But Sal figured why have a teaching license, if you are not allowed to teach students in a way you know they will learn?

So, in March of 1968, Sal led over 4000 L.A. students in a walkout of five high schools demanding changes. For three days students walked out of classes in protest. This was a new breed. They called themselves Chicanos. They were proud of their heritage and exercised free speech as Americans. Parents were critical at first, but supported the students when they came home with welts from police batons.

Then a white Grand Jury issued a felony indictment charging Sal Castro and twelve other defendants with a conspiracy to disturb the schools. The thirteen defendants became known as the “East LA 13.” Sal asked me to defend him. The ACLU and their experienced attorneys joined in the legal battle. Ultimately, the Appellate Court struck down the indictment as an infringement of free speech.

Throughout this period, I observed the commitment that Castro had toward his students. He went where no other teacher would go. He put his license and freedom on the line. The administration then sought to remove him from the classroom and I defended him in that matter. Castro never blinked. Although they removed him from the classroom for a short time, he returned there teaching his students of their heritage and contributions of their ancestors to this nation. Schools were never the same after the walkouts. Educators took notice and reevaluated their approach of ignoring cultural and heritage backgrounds of their students.

Even when he retired from the classroom, he continued to raise money for student conferences, where they became motivated, stayed in school, and went on to universities. Sal was my hero. He stood up against all odds in life and won. But cancer claimed him recently. Every Latino student now in California, whether he or she knows it, owes their education in some way, to a young dedicated fearless teacher named Sal Castro. 

That’s the view from the pier.***30***
Herman Sillas, a San Clemente resident and L.A. attorney can be found most weekend mornings fishing on the San Clemente pier. He can be reached at sillasla@aol.com)

Sent by Gus Chavez
guschavez2000@yahoo.com
Cell: 619-807-8938

 

 

Les Blank, American and honorary Raza filmmaker extraordinaire

Born: November 27, 1935, Died: April 7, 2013

To the film making community of Aztlan and of the world. It is with deep sadness that I report the death of Les Blank, the greatest documentary filmmaker this country has ever produced.

Many of us Raza film makers, especially of his generation, not only were lucky to have known,and at times, worked with Les, but to have been inspired by his amazing life's work, much of it in from those times in Texas and Louisiana, with iconic figures such as Clifton Chenier, Flaco Jimenez, his father the legendary Santiago Jimenez, Santiago Jimenez, Jr. the brother; Mance Lipscomb, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lydia Mendoza, Flaco Jimenez, Los Alegres de Terán, Narciso Martínez, Santiago Jiménez, Little Joe & La Familia Chavela & Brown Express, Los Pingüinos del Norte, Ry Cooder, Chris Strachwitz, Little Joe y La Familia; the list could go on forever, Suffice it to say that Les’ work in Tejano/Chicano/Raza/indigenous cultures, peoples and their incredible music was what led many of us emerging Chicano filmmakers into a search for ways to document the gold around us, and to make documentaries that might have rivaled his in power and beauty. Consider the output of this amazing artist, who had the best ‘eye’ of a shooter I have ever seen or known, for just the period below:
• 1970 - Chicken Real
• 1971 - Spend It All
• 1971 - A Well Spent Life
• 1973 -Dry Wood
• 1973 - Hot Pepper
• 1974 - A Poem Is A Naked Person
• 1979 - Del Mero Corazon
• 1979 or 1980 - 
“Chulas Frontreras”, now considered a must-see by most Chicano Studies Programs throughout the world, gave us a view of the profound cultural life of South Texas y La Frontera, with Rumel Fuentres and Los Pinguinos del Norte belting out “Chicano” (curiously written by the late Doug Sahm) as well as an early anthem; “Mexico Americano”. We learned of the resilience of our people, and the hatred of the Texas Rangers. 

From his Wikipedia entry: “Most of his films focus(ed) on American traditional music forms including (among others) blues, Appalachian, Cajun, Creole, Tex-Mex, polka, tamburitza, and Hawaiian musics. Many of these films represent the only filmed documents of musicians who are now deceased. Blank's films focusing on musical subjects often spend much of their running time focusing not on the music itself but on the music's cultural context, portraying the surroundings from which these American roots musics come." 

His work with Werner Herzog on ‘Burden of Dreams’ was so amazing as to be almost indescribable, and established Les as a major figure in world filmmaking, as his trajectory continued on a stellar path.

My son spoke with Les a month or so ago, as Les was in declining health and Miguel took the opportunity to tell him what he meant to my son and to my own work with Texas musical legends such as Flaco, Freddy Fender and Doug Sahm. His work lives on in film, forever, and if the preacher is right, then his memory will continue to inspire many for time immemorial; thus he is still here, and will never leave us. Que en paz descanse.

From the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/movies/les-blank-documentary-filmmaker-dies-at-77.html?
_r=0&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1365388632-jli9b5RYa1slL+Ah5uA+PA
 

Sent by Roberto Calderon, Ph.D.  beto@unt.edu 
Source:  Carlos Calbillo laszlomurdock@hotmail.com 
 

Cecilia Preciado Burciaga at an event in Carmel in 2010. / The Salinas Californian file photo
 
Cecilia Preciado Burciaga dies at 67; longtime Stanford administrator
As one of the first high-ranking Latina administrators at a top American private university, Cecilia Preciado Burciaga inspired and mentored hundreds of Chicano and Latino students and faculty members during 20 years at Stanford University.

 

Cecilia Preciado Burciaga, Presente!

By Chon A. Noriega


In the spring of 1986 I dropped out of graduate school at the University of Illinois at Chicago, packed up my belongings, and drove 2,400 miles to East Palo Alto so that my then-wife could enroll in graduate school at Stanford University. I had already fulfilled my one dream in life at that time, which was to teach a section of freshman English. Why I wanted to do such I thing I do not know, but I did it, and I was happy. No one else in my family had ever been to college, per se.... Well, my father did live in the locker room at the University of New Mexico during one semester of classes before opting for the army. Then he married, started a family, and continued his education while working full time. 

That first night in East Palo Alto, as I slept on the floor avant le moving van, the earth shook ... but it did not swallow me. So the next morning I hit the streets, looking for work. I quickly found the one job I truly despise, even though I have returned to it again and again. I became the cut-in man on a paint crew. For those of you who don't know, the cut-in man is the FNG who is handed a three-inch brush and directed to paint all the corners and trim, making things a breeze for the person who rolls out the rest of the wall or ceiling. I had worked in heat treatment factories, restaurant kitchens, parking garages, and even a public relations firm, all settings that demand rapid movement and a tolerance for temperatures that can top 100 degrees. But if Satan has a special corner of Hell for some sinners, no doubt there is an FNG crouched down beside the baseboard, cutting in before they arrive. That was me. And I was the worse cut-in man in the world. 

By fall I found myself re-evaluating my future. I wasn't sure what prospects the university offered -- I mean, I had already taught, and once that's done, what else is there to do in academia? Nevertheless, I trekked to the central administration building at Stanford University, seeking some guidance. I still believed in the kindness of authorities. I found myself sitting across from an imposing figure -- you know, the type who can throw you into profound doubt about the most basic aspects of your very existence by raising an eyebrow. I had just met Cecilia Preciado Burciaga. She held many titles at Stanford: assistant to the president and advisor on Chicano affairs, associate dean of graduate studies, senior associate provost and associate dean and development officer for student affairs. She was the highest-ranking Latino administrator on campus. But the titles and rank hardly explain her forceful and hands-on commitment to increasing the number of Chicanos in graduate education. Without her unflinching belief in my rather ill-defined abilities, without her down-in-the-trenches sense of strategy, I would not have been accepted into a Ph.D. program at Stanford University for the following year. She made things real for me. She pointed to goals beyond my too-easily-realized dream of teaching freshman English. 

But Cecilia also pointed to the magical. "You should meet my husband," she said, "he's an artist." What I remember now is something I did not appreciate back then: I spent a lot of time in Tony's studio at Casa Zapata, the Chicano-themed dormitory, where he and Cecilia were the resident fellows. Tony was multi-talented, finding success as a muralist, graphic artist, humorist, and founding member of the comedy group Culture Clash; he was also the author of numerous books of poetry, essays, and dichos. I also spent time with Cecilia in her office. She made things happen, and she offered perspective. Cecilia and Tony were role models on many levels, not least as a couple committed to -- and living -- gender equality. They were, as Tony liked to say, a mixed marriage: Tony was from Texas, un tejano, and Cecilia ... well, she was from California.... If they could work it out, there was hope for the rest of us. Back then being a Chicano graduate student at Stanford was not easy, especially insofar as we negotiated between our commitment to social equity for our community and the upward mobility a place like Stanford helped us secure as individuals. 

By 1989 I was seriously prepared to drop out and return to being a cut-in man full time -- my graduate stipend had never allowed me to give it up altogether. It was at this point that I met Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, who showed me a different model for participating in academia, and Roberto Trujillo, who paid me a whopping ten dollars an hour to follow that model as an archival assistant for the Mexican American Collection at Stanford's library. By 1991 I was a Ph.D. and had landed my first job at the University of New Mexico. Looking back 22 years later as a full professor at a major research university, the story of what it means for me to have earned a Ph.D. from Stanford necessarily starts with Cecilia and Tony Burciaga. It is the people, and not the institution, that make a difference. 

Cecilia, born in Pomona in 1945 to Mexican immigrants, passed away on Monday, March 25, after a seven-month battle with lung cancer. Tony had passed away in 1996. Both their children are teachers. Artist and educator Amalia Mesa-Bains, who once worked closely with Cecilia, puts her impact in historical context: "She was a person of leadership in the Latino community long before it became fashionable. If things were unjust, unfair, not right, Cecilia would take up the cause and she wouldn't back down until the problem was fixed. I would consider her one of the people who most embodied the movement toward justice." 

They say that no good deed goes unpunished. That is the price of a commitment to social change. In 1994 Stanford provost Condoleezza Rice laid off Cecilia and closed the crucial position she had occupied for two decades. In 1995 Cecilia became a founding dean for student affairs at the new California State University campus in Monterey Bay. In 2002 the university settled a lawsuit over racial discrimination brought by Cecilia and two other Latino staff members. The settlement included establishing a $1.5 million scholarship fund for low-income students from California's Central Coast. 

Cecilia was there when I walked into her office seeking guidance, and she firmly and kindly directed me toward a lifelong calling years before I knew it was mine. I was not alone in receiving this kind of help from her; I was one among hundreds. Today those of us who were mentored by Cecilia carry on her legacy in seeking educational access for all students. To use Tony's words in Spilling the Beans: Lotería Chicana (Joshua Odell Editions, 1995, page 101), we are her chameleons: "As we move from one world to the other we exchange colors, ideas, symbols and words in order to fit, to relate and to survive. The result is a prismatic iridescence when the difference of colors play on each other, like a rainbow after a rainstorm in the desert. We are chameleons." Cecilia Preciado Burciaga, Presente! 

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20130328/NEWS01/303270049/CSUMB-co-founder-Cecilia-Preciado-Burciaga-dies

CSUMB Co-founder Cecilia Preciado Burciaga Dies
Written by Roberto M. Robledo
March 28, 2013

Cecilia Preciado Burciaga at an event in Carmel in 2010. / The Salinas Californian file photo

“How can it be that half of all the children in Monterey County are born to mothers who do not have a high school degree? ... Keep being advocates and stop remaining silent. This is not the time to be silent.”— Cecilia Preciado Burciaga, in a 2008 keynote address to the Latino Network in Salinas

Two visions of higher education dovetailed in 1994 and took flight.

One was the creation of CSU Monterey Bay. The other was a commitment to diversity from Cecilia Preciado Burciaga, a member of the university’s founding committee.  Preciado Burciaga, one of the visionaries who laid the groundwork for CSUMB, died Monday at her home in Menlo Park following a bout with cancer. She was 67.

She was remembered Wednesday by friends and colleagues as a fierce advocate for Latino and women’s rights and a trailblazer in higher education.  Long before she arrived at CSUMB, Preciado Burciaga was a walking Who’s Who in higher education. Among her achievements:

• In 2010, she was recognized at one of the Top 50 Latina Women of the Year in Latina Magazine’s Pride of the Century list.
• From 1977 to 1980, she was a commissioner for the National Advisory on Women for President Jimmy Carter.
• From 1994 to 2010, she served on the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, beginning with President Bill Clinton.
• A 20-year career (1974-94) that led her to become the top Latina administrator at Stanford University, boosting that school’s recruitment of women and minorities in faculty and enrollment.

According to the book, “Notable Hispanic Women” (1993), Preciado Burciaga was born in Pomona and reared on her father’s farm in Chino in the Central Valley. She attended a Catholic girls high school and later earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a teaching credential at Cal State Fullerton, and a master’s degree in sociology at UC Riverside.

She married Antonio Burciaga, an artist and poet, in 1972. They were regarded as a high-powered couple among Chicano intelligensia. 
She visited Salinas throughout her career, speaking at civic functions and meeting with local educational leaders.

For her, the Salinas Valley’s demographics fit squarely into the mission of CSUMB, “serving the diverse people of California, especially the working class and historically under-educated and low-income populations.”

CSUMB was to be “framed by substantive commitment to a multilingual, multicultural, intellectual community distinguished by partnerships with existing institutions, both public and private.”

Preciado Burciaga envisioned ranks of bilingual teachers and culturally relevant social scientists streaming out of the university.  As an administrator at CSUMB, Preciado Burciaga was instrumental in the hiring of the first wave of faculty. She remained close to the students and advocated for the resources needed to help them succeed academically.

“Cecilia was always one of the strongest advocates for Latino students on campus,” said Christine Sleeter, CSUMB professor emerita and past-president of the National Association for Multicultural Education.

“She knew the students, believed in them, encouraged them, and constantly spoke out on their behalf. ... She also knew what kinds of things they were going through — their struggles, their interests, their potentials.” 

Politically, she was a whistleblower to complacency and apathy. Colleagues said Wednesday that she never wavered in her belief that CSUMB should stay true to its word — diversity. That uncompromising belief may have led her to a falling out.

Preciado Burciaga became assistant to Peter Smith, CSUMB’s first president, but was demoted in 1999.  She and other Chicano educators had questioned one policy to redefine the school’s student profile. They interpreted that as meaning losing sight of diversity.

“She was an icon to many of us,” said Amalia Mesa-Bains, professor emeritus and head of the CSUMB’s Visual and Public Art Department before she retired five years ago. Mesa-Bains and the Burciagas were friends for 30 years, a friendship that started before either of them arrived at CSUMB.

Mesa-Bains remembered Preciado Burciaga’s courage “in the face of changes at CSUMB which ignited the first protest on campus.”  
As well intentioned as they may have been, the move to a “quality student profile,” was a step back from multiculturalism and diversity, said Mesa-Bains. “We knew what that meant, and Cecilia’s reassignment triggered the protest. To think that someone of her capacity would be reassigned” ran contrary to the university’s stated mission, she said.

Preciado Burciaga and two other Chicano administrators — Bert Rivas and Octavio Villalpando — sued Smith and the university in 2000. The lawsuit was settled out of court in May 2002 with:

• A $1 million payment to Villalpando and Preciado Burciaga and their attorneys.
• Creation of a $50,000-a-year scholarship for 10 years for low-income students in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties.
• Creation of a $1 million endowment to be used as the principle to continue funding the scholarship. The university would privately raise the money.

Rebeca Burciaga, Cecilia’s daughter, said Wednesday a memorial service is being planned in April at Mission Carmel. 
Preciado Burciaga is also survived by a son, Antonio Jr.; a sister, Rose Preciado of Upland; brother Ralph Preciado of Hemet, and two grandchildren.

Sent by Mercy Bautista Olvera 
scarlett_mbo@yahoo.com


 

Soraya Jiménez, 2000 Mexican Olympic gold medalist dies at 35 years old

 

NATIONAL ISSUES

Illegal immigrant no more The New Bracero Program within Comprehensive Immigration Reform
     By Gilbert G. Gonzalez
Questions to Ask Your Representative and the Media 
Remembering Armando Rendon's Chicano Manifesto
Photos of  money found in home of a Mexican Drug Lord 
Introducing Independiente Magazine
8th Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health
Texas always seems to find a way to work out problems! 
NYPD Blue Lies
Town in Georgia passes new law requiring residents to own guns
7 Reasons Marriage Is Falling Apart in America by John Hawkins

 

‘Illegal immigrant’ no more

 


Sent by Michael A. Olivas MOlivas@UH.EDU  
John Palacio jpalacio@pacbell.net  
and
Roberto Calderon, Ph.D.  beto@unt.edu 


 
 

8th Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health
Monday, June 24, 2013 - Friday, June 28, 2013
Berkeley and Oakland, California / June 24 - 28, 2013
 

http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1184723 

The California Endowment-Oakland
1111 Broadway, 7th Floor
Oakland, California 94607

Description:
The Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health is an international event that offers researchers, faculty, graduate students and professionals working with migrant communities around the world, a unique opportunity to learn about different health issues that affect mobile populations. International experts will present on the relationship between migration and global health from public health, public policy, and social science perspectives. Research Methodologies for Migrant Populations, Best Practices to Address Migration and Health Issues, Health Promotion, Forced Migration, and Mental Health, are some of the topics that will be covered this year. The five-day course includes a combination of lectures, workshops, and field trips, to offer an exceptional opportunity not only to learn, but to create professional networks.Participants will receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the event.

The organization of the 8th Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health is a joint effort of the Health Initiative of the Americas –a program of UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health-, the UC Global Health Institute through its Center of Expertise on Migration and Health, and the Migration and Health Research Center.


Watch the video about the 2012 Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health Report Summer Institute 2012


Target audience:
Researchers, faculty, graduate students and professionals working with migrant populations around the world.

Daily format:
Mornings will include plenary presentations followed by open discussions. In the afternoons (Tue - Thur) three simultaneous workshops will be held. At the time of registration, participants need to select one workshop per day. Monday's sessions will be held at UC Berkeley. Friday will be dedicated to a field trip and presentations will be given on site.  The Summer Institute will be held in different locations throughout the week
 

New:   Migration and Health E-Newsletter April 2013
Sent by hia.isa@berkeley.edu 

Health Initiative of the Americas
April, 2013
One out of seven people in the world is a migrant.  Despite a growing focus on migration and health, there is a lack of emphasis on the intersection of these topics and the health challenges faced by migrants across the globe. This newsletter aims to close that gap by keeping you informed and up-to-date on migration and health topics and events.   

For more information, contact:
  
Xochitl Castaneda, Health Initiative of the Americas
1950 Addison Street #203
Berkeley, CA 94704
Phone: (510) 643-1291 Fax: (510) 642-7861
E-mail:hia.isa@berkeley.edu

The New Bracero Program within Comprehensive Immigration Reform

By Gilbert G. Gonzalez

April 22, 2013

On Easter Sunday newspapers announced that a deal had been reached between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO on a general framework for a new guest worker program within comprehensive immigration reform proposed by the Senate bi-partisan committee gang of eight. Although Senate and House committees were assigned independently to reach agreements on CIR, the matter of a guest worker program which both parties supported, was assigned to the Chamber and AFL-CIO for negotiation. That the guest worker program was intended by the Senate and House committees to be included in the final version (if one were to be reached) of comprehensive immigration reform is not at all surprising. The Congressional Research Service reported that since 2006 most CIR proposals have favored “[l]arge-scale low skilled temporary worker programs.” While the Dream Act or a general pathway to legalization and citizenship for the undocumented has raised storms of controversy, the 2012 election prompted the republican leadership to engage CIR. However, the matter of guest workers was something that both parties had long before reached general agreement on and it has been a goal that U.S. corporations dependent on Mexico’s cheap, accessible, controlled and disposable labor have been championing for over a century. Including a new guest worker program in immigration reform has little to do with reform and has much to do with the history of guest worker programs employed by the U.S., in particular, the Bracero Program. Unfortunately, immigrant rights organizations lobby worthy objectives, legalization, path to citizenship and more, but generally ignore the guest worker proposals within CIR.


With the rise of undocumented migration caused by the North American Free Trade Agreement which uprooted nearly two million campesinos off traditional subsistence farmlands, “illegal” immigration quickly became a critical national question. As the undocumented entered into the job market, legislation to limit their public life such as California’s Proposition 187 soon set numerous states’ legislative agendas. However, the matter of moving the undocumented (and those who might cross without papers) into the job market via a guest worker program simultaneously took on life. The Essential Immigrant Worker Coalition, representing national businesses including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, lobbied with the Clinton administration in the late 90s to establish a new guest worker program, which Clinton supported but never followed through. The Bush administration revived the effort in the early decade and brought forward negotiations with Mexico’s President Fox for “a new guest worker program that would legitimize many who entered the country illegally,” but that too was derailed by 9/11 but the measure never left his desk. In 2004 Bush proposed legislation that the undocumented were to “be authorized as guest workers for three years and then required to return home”. Bush described his proposal as “a temporary worker card that allows a willing worker and a willing employer to mate up, as long as there is not an American willing to do the job…It makes sure that people coming across the border are humanely treated…” Although the proposal included importing guest workers, it failed to generate support, conservatives labeled the allowing undocumented to become guest workers an amnesty for law violators.


Several more proposals were brought forward by both sides of the aisle for a new guest worker program including what became known as AgJobs. Senator Dianne Feintstein (D-CA) proposed such a measure in 2006 which would require undocumented farmworkers to enlist, pass a review and work for 150 days a year for three years or 100 days a year for five years and at the end, with good deportment, would be granted legalization after paying a $400 fine. Agribusiness interests were strong supporters of the measure, as a report from the Senator’s office noted:


Senator Feinstein was joined at a news conference by dozens of growers and nurserymen. These growers were among the more than 100 members of the Agricultural Coalition for Immigration Reform (ACIR) who traveled to Washington, DC, this week to call on Congress to pass responsible immigration reform.


What is not noted by the supporters of the measure is that those who enlist will in effect become guest workers for set number of years, guaranteeing agricultural corporations a labor supply working at “prevailing wages,” in effect poverty wages. No immigration reform measure passed except that border enforcement rose to new heights.


The election of Obama did not alter the immigration agenda; however, deportations rose to new levels and detention facilities soon came to house over 30,000 undocumented waiting for final decisions. In 2011 the Obama Administration issued a report, Building a 21st Century Immigration System, in which the administration laid out plans for a temporary worker program and AgJobs. The proposal recommended reforms “that carefully balances the needs of businesses and worker rights” to the H2A agricultural worker and H2B non-agricultural guest worker programs. Reform meant improving an existing guest worker program to serve businesses better while preserving existing worker rights. It should be noted that the Bracero Program guaranteed worker rights that domestic workers never dreamed of and that only if domestic workers were not available would braceros be contracted. But those federal regulations were violated widely and sanctioned by local, state and federal authorities.


In the recent agreement reached between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, guest workers are to be paid the prevailing wages and provided standard working and living conditions, the very same measures that were to regulate the Bracero Program which were ignored. However, in none of the proposals put forward was there any mention of the dire working and living conditions that H2 workers currently experience in spite of protections written into their contracts. The Southern Poverty Law Center researched the conditions and found that “far from being treated like “guests,” these workers are systematically exploited and abused…guestworkers do not enjoy the most fundamental protections of a competitive labor market.” The immigrant rights organization, International Labor Recruitment Working Group, reported that guest workers generally experience “fraud, discrimination, severe economic coercion, retaliation, blacklisting and in some cases, forced labor…” H2 guest workers are supposedly afforded all sorts of protections, as were the braceros, but facts speak otherwise. A new guest worker program is designed above all else to assist businesses acquire cheap labor while the rights of workers are marginalized, at best. Natalie Gochnour, the chief economist for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, underlined the expected reform outcomes: “Fixing the immigration system will create a more attractive labor supply, will lower the costs of businesses and we will have more customers. Rather than representing labor, the AFL-CIO joined with the Democratic and Republican parties in supporting key objectives designed by corporations in their search for cheap, accessible and disposable labor. Mexico continues to serve as a huge pool of labor accessed when the need arises and in that capacity Mexico is now joined by Central America and the Caribbean. Guest worker proposals remain to be addressed critically by immigrant rights organizations.

Gilbert G Gonzalez Author: Guest Workers or Colonized Labor? Mexican Labor Migration to the United States

 

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND MEDIA 


Sent by Carol Floyd, carol.floyd35@yahoo.com 


 

Remembering Armando Rendon's Chicano Manifesto

As the movement toward immigration reform has finally, once again, come to the forefront of important political issues I recalled having read Chicano Manifesto, the comprehensive history of the Chicano movement in the 1970s as studied and lived by its author, Armando Rendon. Upon rereading it I am even more convinced than I was when I first read it decades ago that there is no better reference material available for politicians, professors, teachers, students and supporters of immigration and the Chicano movement than Chicano Manifesto.

Seldom in historical research are we able to find available for comparison with current events such an excellent, decade’s old, microscopic analysis as author Rendon’s Chicano Manifesto.

It is indeed unfortunate that as we compare the excellent road map provided by Rendon in Chicano Manifesto over forty years ago with that which has occurred in the decades since that the movement has time and time again been met with numerous obstructions and unfortunate detours along the route he suggested— yet heartening that finally there isa brightening light at the end of the very lengthy tunnel.

I suggest that unless one reads Chicano Manifesto and compares it to the current interest in immigration reform it is not possible to fully comprehend how far along Rendon’s Chicano Manifesto road map the movement has come.

Thank you, Armando, for having taken the time and effort to write and publish Chicano Manifesto.

Mike Scarborough 
Justice1O1@aol.com


 
Photos of  money found in home of  a Mexican Drug Lord 
http://propagandaprofessor.net/2011/09/26/the-myth-of-hitlers-gun-ban/   
Sent by Tom Ascension   tomasnsio@aol.com

 

Money from different countries

 

 

American money 

 
INTRODUCING . . . .  Independiente Magazine Logo
 

Independiente Magazine es una revista que te ayuda y orienta de coma salir de tu heridas, complejos y malos hábitos. La revista fue fundada por un individuo que por la mayor parte de su vida vivió atrapado por el alcohol.

Cada edición habla acerca de un paso de recuperación, pasos a paso, edición por edición. En la revista también encontraras testimonios de nuestra gente, artículos especiales sobre las adiciones y los mas importante lo que la palabra de Dios dice acerca de tu recuperación.

Osacar De La Hoya

La Pelea De Mi Vida

Muy reciente el famoso boxeador Oscar De La Hoy confeso en el programa de televisión “Aquí y Ahora” sobre su adicción al alcohol y la cocaína, la entrevista estaba titulada “La Pelea De Mi Vida”

En esta entrevista Oscar De La Hoya reconoció haberle sido infiel a su esposa y que en algún momento pensó en quitarse la vida.

Oscar De La Hoya declara como estaba atrapado por el alcohol y como varias veces tuvo que cancelar sus peleas porque estaba bajo la influencia del alcohol.

Oscar De La Hoya knockio a muchos boxeadores, este muchacho es fuerte, rico, de buen parecer, pero el Alcohol lo knockio a Él, no lo tumbo a él solo, sino que su familia también recibió un golpe al igado.

Así es esto del alcohol, cuando menos lo esperas te da un golpe abajo y te manda a una esquina para te sientes derrotado y avergonzado.

Tal vez tu sientes que el alcohol te ha derrotado, tal vez estas en esa esquina y no te puedes parar. Si tú te sientes atrapado por el alcohol y deseas un cambio en tu vida, Acompáñanos este Jueves a las 7PM en Casa De Fe donde estaremos hablando acerca de la naturaleza del alcohol.

Terminaremos de ver la entrevista del Oscar De La Hoya y veremos cómo pudo El salir de esta terrible adicción al alcohol.

Para más información llámanos al 408.417.2244 o visita nuestra página en www.serbestia.com.

http://www.independientemagazine.com/testimonios-oscar-de-la-hoya.html 

 

Carta del Editor


Por muchos años yo fui esclavo del alcoholismo, entregué toda mi voluntad y mi vida al cuidado del alcohol. Si el alcohol me pedía mi tiempo se lo daba, si me pedía mi dinero se lo daba, si me pedía mi salud se la daba, el alcohol me pidió a mi matrimonio y también se lo entregué.

MUNDOGRAPHICS
Edmundo Ortiz
Grph_Designer
408.892-8036
www.independientemagazine.com

 

 

Texas always seems to find a way to work out problems! 
Designed and built to patrol Falcon Lake . . . Solving one problem at a time
 New 36 ft. Patrol/Gunboat at the Homer Garrison Law Enforcement Academy , in Austin .

When Texas joined the Union as a sovereign nation in 1836 they retained the right to have a Navy to ward off the Mexicans since the United States refused to protect them. This is their first Naval vessel of this century, small but potent. It will soon be safe to fish and boat on the Lake Falcon this summer. 
As many know, they have a border problem. Lake Falcon is a lake that borders Texas and Mexico . Last year several boaters were killed by drug cartel folks from the other side. We are now aware that the automatic weapons used in the killings were probably from "Fast and Furious". 
\
The armaments on board Include 5 - static mounted [2 dual & 1 single] FN M240B 7.62?51 mm NATO Light machineguns, 2 - Barrett .50 BMG Sniper Rifles, and other assorted 5.56 rifles, 9mm sub machineguns, and grenade launchers.

NYPD BLUE LIES

Exposés that you don't usually see in the public media . . . . 
http://www.nypdbluelies.com/    http://www.charliecastro.com

Sent by Joe Sanchez  bluewall@mpinet.net 


 

Town in Georgia passes new law requiring residents to own guns

(Reuters) - A small Georgia town on Monday passed a law requiring the head of each household to own a gun as a way to keep crime down.

The ordinance, approved unanimously by the City Council in Nelson, is symbolic, however, because there is no penalty for violating it, according to Councilman Duane Cronic, who introduced the measure last month.

It serves as an expression of support for gun rights and sends a message to would-be criminals, Cronic said.

Another town, Kennesaw, in Georgia has has a similar law on the books for several years. The crime rate their is significantly lower than the state and national averages. Violent crime rates began to drop just after the law was passed, and continued to drop at at rate that was faster than the the national average.

While these laws are symbolic, they do set a tone and raise awareness for people to prepare themselves to take care of themselves. Only when individuals practice self-sufficiency, can a society have the means and the attitude to help others.

Kennesaw, GA – a suburb of Atlanta – passed the first of these laws in the 80′s. Crime immediately dropped and has stayed significantly lower than surrounding towns even though population has exploded.

Sent by Odell Harwell  hirider@clear.net

7 Reasons Marriage Is Falling Apart in America
 John Hawkins Apr 06, 2013
It's no secret that marriage has been in decline in America, but most people don't realize how quickly it has been crumbling. The numbers are staggering and the sea change in attitude that has gone along with them would shock previous generations of Americans. "In 1960, two-thirds (68%) of all twenty-somethings were married. In 2008, just 26% were." "To get a sense of how different attitudes were in the 1960s, perhaps this will do it. (M)arried women were asked, ‘In your opinion, do you think it is all right for a woman to have sexual relations before marriage with a man she knows she is going to marry?’ ...Eighty-six percent said no."

The damage to our society caused by this decline in marriage is almost incalculable.

According to the Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, children from single-parent families account for 63 percent of all youth suicides, 70 percent of all teenage pregnancies, 71 percent of all adolescent chemical/substance abuse, 80 percent of all prison inmates, and 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children.A study cited in the Village Voice produced similar numbers. It found that children brought up in single-mother homes “are five times more likely to commit suicide, nine times more likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances, 14 times more likely to commit rape (for the boys), 20 times more likely to end up in prison, and 32 times more likely to run away from home.”

There are no easy fixes for this problem, but before we can even begin to consider solutions, we need to get a better understanding of what has gone wrong. Why is marriage collapsing in America? What are the root causes of the phenomenon? If studies show that married couples are happier, more financially secure and generally better off across just about every variable you can imagine, why are there so many people who are reluctant to get married?

1) The Sexual Revolution: There have always been people who've had sex outside of marriage, but there was a time when that was widely considered shameful. Fifty years ago, a book like The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On would have been considered nothing more than obvious common sense. Today, if you write a book like that, you'll end up on TV facing hosts who can't believe there's anyone left who believes in not having sex before marriage. In other words, the promise of easy access to sex used to be a big reason to get married. These days? Fifty nine percent of people polled at MSN Dating said they would have sex within the first three dates and less than 7% said they would wait until marriage.

2) The Inability Of Many Poor Men To Support A Family: There was a time in America where a hard working man with a high school degree and limited skills could still make enough money to support himself, a wife and a child or two. Granted, they might have had to scrape by, but they were able to make it. Unfortunately, as automation and technology have replaced some of those jobs and others have moved overseas to workers in China and India, the economic prospects for many men in this group have plunged. What that means as a practical matter is that a lot of men who would have been married and providing for a family in a previous era are now single and can barely afford to take care of themselves.

3) A "Marrying Up" Gap: Women have always been inclined to "marry up." In a world where female incomes have dramatically increased and there have been more women than men getting college degrees for the last twenty years, that means many ladies believe they have a much smaller pool of potentially acceptable mates than ever before. The male CEO may be content to marry the pretty maid who wants to take care of him, but a female CEO probably isn't going to marry a butler.

4) No Fault Divorce: When Ronald Reagan was governor of California, he signed the nation's first "no fault" divorce bill into law. Later on, Reagan called that act his "greatest regret." It should have been because it led to those laws, which made divorce much easier to get, spreading across the country. As a result, between 1960 and 1980, the divorce rate in America more than doubled. Happily, the numbers have since stabilized, but they ended up almost twice as high as they were before. The more divorces there are, the less attractive marriage becomes because it increases the risk factor. "No fault" or not, divorce is usually a devastating process for everyone involved and the more likely marriages are to end in divorce, the less likely people will be to want to get married in the first place.

5) Increased Economic Options For Women: There was a time when the surest path to economic security for women was to get married. Today, that's not necessarily true. Women on the low end of the pay scale can have the government step in to pay many of their bills. Women with college degrees or in demand skills can make just as much as a man if they're willing to put in the same hours. Those additional economic options make marriage -- and staying in a difficult marriage -- less attractive to women.

6) Marriage has become a much less attractive option for men: There was a time when the man was expected to provide for his wife and kids and in return, he was treated as the king of the castle. Now, men are often treated more like partners than kings. Moreover, if there's a divorce, men know they may not be treated fairly by the court system. Almost every man knows a guy who has had access to his child used as a bargaining chip, who has to pay Draconian child support payments or who has otherwise been generally treated unfairly because of his gender, not the merits. No man wants to end up as the guy paying a huge chunk of his income to a woman who broke his heart while he wonders if he'll be allowed to have access to his own child.

7) Children have become more of an economic hindrance than a help: There was a time when having children was essentially an insurance policy. If you became disabled or too old to work, your kids took care of you. Today, the government fulfills that role. Additionally, the cost of raising a child has skyrocketed. You'll now have to take $235,000 out of your wallet to raise a kid to 17 -- and that doesn't even include college costs. While a married couple can bear this expense much more easily than a single parent, as a practical matter what it means is that less Americans are having children. If you take away the need to have a partner in raising a child, you've removed one of the biggest reasons for marriage to exist in the first place.

BUSINESS

May 30: "13th Annual Women of the Year Awards and Scholarships Dinner"
Results of Small Business Outlook Survey, Friends of U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Cervantes Publishing Company Announces Acquisitions of Velazquez Publishing

NHBWA

May 30, 2013
"13th Annual Women of the Year Awards and Scholarships Dinner"
Doubletree Hotel, Santa Ana

Meet Sandra Cervantes, One of Our 2013 Award Recipients!
When:
Thursday May 30, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM 
Where: Doubletree Hotel - Santa Ana
201 E MacArthur Blvd
Santa Ana, CA 92707

ORANGE COUNTY'S LEADING NATIONAL HISPANIC BUSINESS WOMEN ASSOCIATION AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS TO DESERVING COLLEGE STUDENTS
        

(Santa Ana, CA) April 25, 2013 - At its 13th Annual Awards and Scholarship Dinner on May 30, 2013, the National Hispanic Business Women Association (NHBWA) will award educational scholarships to 20 students. 

"Year after year I am amazed with our NHBWA scholarship recipients; particularly of their intense determination and strength to persevere towards their educational goals, despite the many obstacles that come their way. They will no doubt reach their dreams in obtaining a higher education and we look forward to witness the results of their achievement," said Scholarship Committee Chair and Past President, Cecilia Novella.  The 2013 Educational Scholarship recipients are:

Karina Camacho, Irvine
Isis Calvario, Santa Ana
Daisy Camargo, Santa Ana
Ambar Castaneda, Santa Ana
Kayla Dean, Huntington Beach
Paulette Garcia, Orange
Amy Gomez, Azusa
Susan Guadarrama, Santa Ana
Melissa Kieffer, Reseda
Estefania Lopez, Irvine
Claudia Maravilla, Santa Ana
Lizbeth Martinez, La Habra
Jorge Medina, Santa Ana
Yoselinda Mendoza, Santa Ana
Annel Monsalvo, Los Angeles
Beatrice Olteanu,Garden Grove
Cynthia Perez, South Gate
Catalina Reynoso, Lynwood
Lilian Saldana, Covina
Norma Saldana, Covina 

                                         RESERVE YOUR SEAT:      http://awards2013.nationalhbwa.com


The National Hispanic Business Women Association (NHBWA) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization established in Orange County, California in 1997.  The mission of the organization is to encourage women to develop their business and professional endeavors by promoting business growth through education, mutual support, the sharing of information, business referrals and networking. 

Since its inception, the NHBWA has awarded 128 educational scholarships to deserving students including this year's recipients. This achievement has been possible thanks to the support of our members, corporate sponsors and donors. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Patty Homo - Director (949) 636-7800 patty@nationalhbwa.com
For a calendar of NHBWA upcoming events . . .  info@nationalhbwa.com  | www.nationalhbwa.com 

2024 North Broadway Ave. Suite 100, Santa Ana, California 92706
Main: (714) 836-4042 Fax: (714) 836-4209

Priscilla Lopez is the Regional Director for the Orange County/Inland Empire Regional SBDC Network at CSU, Fullerton, serving Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Ms. Lopez brings over fifteen years of experience in the areas of international business and economic development to the network. Her past experience working with and for small businesses has amply prepared her to be a valuable resource to the small businesses throughout the three counties. The Orange County/Inland Empire Regional SBDC Network is made up of three Small Business Development Centers: Orange County SBDC, Inland Empire SBDC and a specialty center focused on venture capital funding – the TriTech SBDC. The SBDC network is partially funded by the Small Business Administration and the State of California and provides one-on-one consulting, training for entrepreneurs and small business owners and access to capital.

Priscilla Lopez
Orange County/Inland Empire
Regional SBDC Network 

Prior to her position at CSU, Fullerton Ms. Lopez is the former President and CEO for the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The OCHCC is one of the strongest and largest Hispanic Chambers in the State of California. Under Ms. Lopez’ leadership, the Chamber cut expenses by 60% and created and implemented new programs and services for small businesses in the areas of: micro-lending, international trade and procurement/supplier diversity. Lopez testified and provided feedback to the State Assembly on the strategy for the State of California for international trade from a minority small business perspective.

Prior to her position at the Chamber, Ms. Lopez was the Program Manager for the Center for International Trade Development (CITD)/California-Mexico Trade Assistance Center (CMTAC) at Long Beach City College. As the CITD Manager, Ms. Lopez provided technical assistance and training in international trade to small and medium sized companies. Under Lopez’ leadership, the CITD assisted and trained over 2,000 small businesses throughout Southern California and assisted in over $75 million in trade transactions.

Prior to her position at the CITD, Ms. Lopez was the International Sales & Marketing Manager for ASB Group – Billy”s (FRANCE) in Calais, France and London, England. Billy’s was a manufacturer of tortilla chips, salsas and dips, toffee popcorn and pretzels; Lopez was responsible for national sales and accounts with major retail supermarket chains throughout the U.K., Holland, Spain, Belgium and France.

Lopez currently is a board or advisory committee member for the following organizations: Port of Los Angeles Small Business Development Committee; Orange County Small Business Development Center; Past board member of the Orange County President’s Council. Ms. Lopez has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from CSU, Long Beach and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business from CSU, Fresno.

Patty Homo  patty@nationalhbwa.com


 

 

Results of  Our Small Business Outlook Survey
Friends of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

Today we released the results of our Small Business Outlook survey for the first quarter of 2013, and small businesses had a lot to say about the health care law.  New requirements under Obamacare are now the biggest concern of small business owners, topping concerns about economic uncertainty for the first time in two years. Not only are they worried about the requirements, they’re cutting back staff and staff hours as a result.

71% of the small business owners surveyed say the law makes it harder for them to hire more employees, 
31% said they plan to cut back hours to reduce the number of full time employees to avoid triggering the employer mandate. 

Read the full results here: 
Tomorrow, March’s unemployment numbers will be released. Indicators that small businesses are laying off instead of hiring is bad news, especially with over 20 million Americans unable to find full-time work and another 2.5 million who have given up looking all together. The current unemployment rate is 7.7% but when you factor in discouraged and underemployed workers, the real number is 14.3%.

As The Hill reported:
“While the general trends of the economy appear to be improving, a closer look shows workforce participation still falling and full-time employment still historically low,” said Dr. Martin Regalia, the Chamber’s chief economist said on Thursday. 

About one-third of small businesses…plan to cut back hours to reduce the number of full-time employees…. In addition, 32 percent of small businesses plan to reduce hiring because of the [employer] mandate. “In today’s economy, we need policies that will breed confidence and encourage small businesses to expand, not cut back staff and employees’ hours.”  
If our small businesses can’t grow and hire under current policy, what can we expect for the future state of our economy?

Make sure to read the full report for more survey results, and we’d love to hear what you think.

Thanks,  Rob Engstrom
Senior Vice President and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/
 

Sent by Roy Archuletta archroy1953@gmail.com 


 
CERVANTES PUBLISHING COMPANY ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF VELAZQUEZ PUBLISHING INC.

Sandra Cervantes Acquires Velazquez Publishing Inc., Miniondas and FarandulaUSA Santa Ana (October 17, 2012) – Cervantes International’s subsidiary Cervantes Publishing Company announces the acquisition of Velazquez Publishing Inc., Miniondas and FarandulaUSA newspapers, the premier Hispanic newspapers in Orange County, California. This trusted brand has been established for over 35 years and is the leader in both local coverage and community partnerships. It is one the largest Hispanic-owned Spanish-language newspapers in Orange County. While Miniondas and FarandulaUSA will continue to focus on local, statewide, national, and international news, it will also expand coverage to include issues concerning Hispanics such as homeownership, education, and health. “As a minority-owned Hispanic businesswoman, I am very excited about taking both Miniondas and FarandulaUSA newspapers to the next level and I’m committed to providing information to the community that is relative and informative,” says Cervantes.

Understanding that giving back is an important key to success, Cervantes Publishing Company has partnered with Chapman University, University of California, Irvine and California State University, Fullerton to provide internship opportunities for students with majors in journalism, business, graphics design, accounting and marketing providing students the opportunity to gain real world experience. Sandra Cervantes is a visionary with the business acumen to take a deal from conception to fruition. Ms. Cervantes is a highly successful real estate business owner and investor with an uncanny ability to bring together the right people in the right place at the right time. The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) has recognized Cervantes as one of the top 250 real estate professionals in the nation. She has worked in the field of housing and community development throughout her career and is an advocate on homeownership education and sustainability issues. As a multi-cultural, bilingual, 30-year veteran volunteer, Cervantes is well known as a person who gives back to the community and will bring this passion to Miniondas and FarandulaUSA.

Cervantes International’s holding include Cervantes Commercial, Cervantes Real Estate, Cervantes Publishing Company and the Cervantes Scholarship Foundation.

# # #

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Sandra Cervantes, please call Bernedette Medrano at 714.668.1010 or 714.458.1244 or email Bernedette Medrano atcervantes@cervantespublishingcompany.com

 

EDUCATION

Stanford to help develop online learning system
Atlanta cheating scandal by adults 
National Association for Chicana & Chicano Studies Returns to San Antonio by Patricia Portales
Morgan Hill School Officials Give Latino Parents Cold Shoulder
 

Stanford to help develop online learning system

The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- Stanford University announced Wednesday that it is joining an initiative co-founded by Harvard and MIT to develop a computer system that allows colleges to offer free online courses, a collaboration that school officials said would benefit both educators and students around the globe.

Stanford already has its own fledgling platform for delivering massive open online courses, or MOOCS. The university has decided, however, to suspend work on it in favor of the system created by the two East Coast universities as a separate nonprofit enterprise, called edX, said John Mitchell, vice provost for online learning and a computer science professor at Stanford.
Stanford still plans to offer some of its courses through Coursera, a commercial Internet course provider founded by two Stanford professors. But with the demand for online learning increasing rapidly, it makes sense for academic institutions to team up instead of compete, Mitchell said. 

"Together, I think we will have a chance to produce a much better platform than each of us would be able to do individually," he said, adding that the software that emerges from the alliance has the potential to become the "Linux of online learning."
As part of the collaboration, elements of Stanford's Class2Go system will be incorporated into edX before the program's source code is made available for the asking June 1, edX President Anant Agarwal said. Since the first class went up on edX last year, an MIT electrical engineering class taught by Agarwal, the founders had always planned to share it so outside programmers and researchers could adapt and refine it, he said.

"I really believe this will enable true, planet-scale application of online education," Agarwal said.
While some future Stanford courses will be produced using edX, Stanford plants to retain its own online course portal instead of using the edX website to register students, which colleges such as the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas at Austin now do. 

Via Orange County Register, April 4, 2013   http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/03/3320688/stanford-to-join-harvard-mit-in.html#storyBody#storylink=cpy 


 

Atlanta cheating scandal by adults 

Atlanta Test Cheating: Tip of the Iceberg?  Valerie Strauss   April 1, 2013 Answer Sheet Blog

It would be easy to think that the Atlanta cheating scandal by adults on standardized tests is the worst we have seen, given last week’s startling indictment against former Atlanta schools superintendent Beverly Hall and 34 others under a law used against mobsters.

But you shouldn’t. In the past four academic years, test cheating has been confirmed in 37 states and Washington D.C. (You can see details here, and, here, a list of more than 50 ways that schools can manipulate test scores.)  The true extent of these scandals remain unknown, and, as Michael Winerip of The New York Times shows here in this excellent article, it is very hard to get to the bottom of these scandals. In Atlanta, it took the will of two governors who allowed investigators to go in with a lot of time and subpoena power.

Atlanta, in fact, is the tip of a national test-score manipulation “iceberg,” according to Bob Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, or FairTest, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the misuse of standardized tests. The cause? Pressure by politicians on educators to boost standardized exam results “by hook or by crook” to meet the requirements of laws that purport to promote student achievement but don’t.

The indictment against Hall and the others, which came down on Friday, explains the dynamic this way: Over time, the unreasonable pressure to meet annual APS [Atlanta Public Schools] targets led some employees to cheat on the CRCT [Criterion Referenced Competency Tests].  The refusal of Beverly Hall and her top administrators to accept anything other than satisfying targets created an environment where achieving the desired end result was more important than the students’ education.

Anyone following school reform over the past decade knows exactly what happened. Under No Child Left Behind, president George W. Bush’s chief education initiative, and then Race to the Top, President Obama’s central education program, placed increasingly high stakes on standardized test scores. They had to go up, or else there would be negative consequences not just for students but schools and teachers and principals.

Those mandates became coupled with a “no excuse” management push by school reformers who said teachers had, well, no excuse not to raise their students’ test scores. Not a lack of materials. Not an overcrowded classroom. Not students who were hungry or sick or traumatized from living in violent communities. Nothing.

Then we started hearing story after story about so-called “miracle schools” where scores shot up, seemingly overnight. The miracles never really panned out.

In New York City, for example, Joel Klein became chancellor of the largest public school system in the country in 2002 and proceeded to institute a no-excuses mentality, attacking teachers unions, closing public schools and pushing the expansion of charter school. He touted a rise in standardized test scores, until, that is, it became clear that the test score improvements were phony. In 2010, state officials revealed that scores had been inflated, and thousands of parents who thought their children were performing on grade level learned that they weren’t. Klein quickly left his job and went to work for Rupert Murdoch.

Allegations of cheating in Washington D.C. under former chancellor Michelle Rhee have never really been resolved, despite some investigative efforts.  A “Frontline” television documentary earlier this year reminded us that student standardized-test scores at an award-winning D.C. school dropped dramatically in 2011 after the principal tightened security out of concern about possible cheating, and it raised questions about whether question persistent suspicions of adult cheating have been properly examined.

Atlanta’s testing scandal was so broad and deep that a grand jury indicted Hall and other administrators and educators under a law that had been used to prosecute members of the Gambino family. Prosecutors alleged that Hall had run a “corrupt” organization that used test scores to financially reward and punish teachers.

Atlanta, though, wasn’t the only place in Georgia where serious test cheating was uncovered. In 2011, an investigation led to a report that detailed a standardized test cheating scandal in Dougherty County School System. Implicated were 49 educators, including 11 principals. A key reason for the “disgraceful” cheating, investigators said, was pressure to meet No Child Left Behind requirements.

There have been testing scandals in recent years in, among other cities, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark and Philadelphia, FairTest reported.  Said Schaeffer:

The public learned the horrible scope of the Atlanta conspiracy because the Atlanta Journal Constitution and elected officials, including two Georgia governors, invested the time and human resources needed to dig up the facts. In other jurisdictions, cursory reviews of equally odd test score patterns — often by personnel from the school district in question who lack professional investigative or law enforcement skills — have identified only the most egregious cases of test cheating.

The solution to the school test cheating problem is not simply stepped up enforcement. Instead, testing misuses must end because they cheat the public out of accurate data about public school quality at the same time they cheat many students out of a high-quality education.

© 2013 The Washington Post
[Valerie Strauss writes the Answer Sheet blog for the Washington Post.]


National Association for Chicana & Chicano Studies Returns to San Antonio 
by Patricia Portales,
March 20, 2013



NACCS Scholars: Drs. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, Antonia Castañeda, 
and Arturo Madrid

In June 2012, four doctoral candidates, three from the University of California at Santa Barbara and one from Michigan State University, became the world’s first Ph.D. graduates in Chicano Studies. It was a feat over 40 years in the making. Today’s university programs in Ethnic Studies arose from the efforts of college faculty and students who, following the Civil Rights Movement, protested the lack of ethnic representation in university curricula in the fields of history, art, literature, political science, and the social sciences.

In San Antonio late in 1972, a group of Chicano social scientists met to discuss a common experience — exclusion from professional academic organizations. Recognizing their need for a venue in which they could present new research, they formed the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies, which expects over 500 attendees at their annual conference in San Antonio March 20-23 at the Omni San Antonio Hotel.


In addition to the early group were professors of Spanish, like Arturo Madrid, now a professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at Trinity University and Chair of the 2013 NACCS Site Committee. “Many of us were preparing for academic careers and realized we didn’t have Chicano faculty. We needed to develop a field of study that addressed the historical experiences and cultural expression of Mexican Americans,” says Madrid. “The field now ranges widely from archeology and art to urban studies.”

However, amid the growth of NACCS and an increasing number of ethnic studies programs across the U.S., Chicano Studies continues to be challenged. Only two weeks ago in Acosta v. Huppenthal, a federal judge denied removing a ban on teaching Mexican American Studies in the Tucson Unified School District, a motion that ethnic studies supporters see as collapsing the past into the present. The court cited that the motion “did not meet the high threshold needed to establish a constitutional violation.” In 2012, NACCS, along with over 20 other academic and community organizations, filed an amicus brief in support of MAS at TUSD and against HB 2281, the law state law that caused the ban, citing the First Amendment freedoms of the students and instructors as well as the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment: “The MAS program arose from a court-ordered effort to remedy discrimination against Mexican American students as part of a desegregation case requiring the district to remedy segregation and inequity.”

In a press release concerning the brief, past NACCS Chair, Devon Pena stated, “This respected field of study has been unjustly targeted and demonized by Arizona authorities, which is strangling the pursuit of a comprehensive education and silencing the perspective of Mexican Americans.” NACCS also called into question the TUSD’s censorship of books by Mexican Americans authors like Sandra Cisneros, Tomas Rivera, and Rudolfo Anaya, whose award-winning novel, Bless Me, Ultima, was released this February as a film in theaters nation-wide.

“We are under attack. We find ourselves in a position to affirm our place in society,” says Madrid. “We have the intellectual resources and capacity to invigorate this society. We represent the future.” This resource stems from the research of Chicano academics, many of whom work to challenge attempts to de-legitimize and suppress the Latino vote, to demonize immigrant communities, to restrict comprehensive educational initiatives, and access to housing and healthcare.

“We look to the scholarship of NACCS members. They have seen these issues, not just anecdotally; they also produce the scholarship. We’ve also focused on TUSD because it has been under assault and mischaracterization,” says Susan M. Green, chair elect of the NACCS Board. “The ability of young people to have access to Chicano studies is vital. Students of all backgrounds do well when they take Chicano studies.”

As host to the 40th annual NACCS conference, San Antonio is as historically important as it is culturally relevant. “Learning from Our Past, Defending Our Rights in the 21st Century,” this year’s conference theme, seeks to illustrate the continued civil rights struggle of Mexican Americans. Many of the major players in Chicano civil rights have come from San Antonio, and it is the oldest Mexican American community in the former Tejas, making it the politically attractive Mexican American cultural center is has become.

“San Antonio is an incubator of Chicano organizations: the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and others” says Madrid. “It has also had extraordinary political leadership: Henry B. Gonzalez, Maria Antonietta Berriozábal, Henry Cisneros, and now Julián and Joaquin Castro.”

Adding to that litany of firsts, Antonia Castañeda, a historian and co-chair of the NACCS 2013 Site Committe adds, “The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, the Mexican American Youth Organization, and the League of United Latin American Citizens began here. San Antonio is a major focal point for all of these reasons.” She also points out that many of the major players in civil rights cases had some origination in San Antonio, from Hernandez v. Texas the first Mexican American case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 to Edgewood v. Kirby, a landmark case citing discrepancy in public school financing in 1984.

San Antonio has also been home to five inductees to NACCS’ highest honor, a lifetime achievement award entitled NACCS Scholar. Castañeda is a founding member of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social, a professional organization for Chicana scholars. She also oversees the publication of new Chicana scholarship as co-editor of the Chicana Matters series at the University of Texas Press. Madrid, who in 2004 served on the U.S. Secretary’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, was founding president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, as well as a board member at the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. He continues to teach and research for “Mexico, the Americas, and Spain,” a program at Trinity University. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, formerly a Stanford University professor and Associate Director of Creativity and Culture at the Rockefeller Foundation, has been awarded the Joseph Henry Medal by the Smithsonian Institute for Latino Initiatives. As a pioneering scholar of U.S. Latino art, he writes extensively about Chicano visual production. Norma Alarcón, Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley, founded Third Woman Press, which she developed in the late 70s. The press contributed works by Chicana and Latina authors, many of whom are now assigned in Chicana Studies courses. Norma E. Cantú, former board member of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at San Antonio, recently made her home in San Antonio and now continues her work at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the Department of Latino Studies.

“Mexican American studies is a vital part of American history, and if we are to have an educated public, which every society wants, we need to know that Mexican Americans have been a part of this country’s history since the beginning,” says Carmen Tafolla, San Antonio’s first Poet Laureate, whose background includes having been a senior lecturer in UTSA’s Department of Bilingual and Bicultural Studies, where Mexican American Studies is a major component.

In January, conservative Texas legislators sought a report from the Texas Association of Scholars which cited that more than 50 percent of American history assignments in courses at The University of Texas-Austin and Texas A&M focused on race, gender, and class. The legislators, having neither visited the classes nor interviewed the professors, argued these courses were not comprehensive of U.S. history, ironically, the same argument made against programs that exclude the histories of people of color. Keeping a curriculum inclusive of ethnic studies is vital and the focus of the Society of Mexican American Studies, a group comprised of San Antonio university and college MAS programs, including UTSA and Our Lady of the Lake University, where due to a new emphasis on “marketable skills,” Mexican American Studies recently made the list of programs to be phased out.

“We are a very youthful population. We need major investment in order to assure a prosperous future for our society and citizens. We need to assure our children are educated and have a chance to develop intellectually,” says Madrid of the goals of this year’s NACCS conference.

Jesús Manuel Mena Garza
2419 Cambridge Avenue
Wichita Falls, TX 76308
Garza@JMMGarza.com
(909) 557-7152 www.JMMGarza.com


NACCS - San Antonio Current http://m.sacurrent.com/arts/visualart/national-association-for-chicana-and-chicano-studies-returns-to-san-anto-1.1460123

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

 

 



Morgan Hill School Officials Give Latino Parents Cold Shoulder
By Sharon Noguchi, 
San José Mercury News, California 
snoguchi@mercurynews.com, 3/28/2013 

MORGAN HILL -- In seeking better lives for their children, Latino parents in Morgan Hill have felt vilified, ignored and blamed by the very people they had hoped to work with to improve education: their public schools.

Since fall, parents impatient with too few improvements coming too slowly have tried to implore the Morgan Hill Unified School District to expand opportunities for their children. 
Roberto Aguirrez speaks up during a meeting of People Acting in Community Together in Morgan Hill, Calif. on March 19, 2013. At right is Patricia Rountree Amaya. (Gary Reyes/Staff)
"Enough is enough," said Roberto Aguirrez, who has worked on various school committees. "We are second-class citizens."
Another parent, Rosa Rojas, said, "For nine years I've been given promises as I have fought for my children." Now, she asked, "Why are we in the same place?"

The parents are fueled by a harsh reality: Latino achievement measured on state standardized tests is 142 points below white students. Barely two-thirds of the district's Latino students graduate from high school, compared with 91 percent of its white students. And only 42 percent of Latinos test as proficient in math and English.

Latino students account for about half of Morgan Hill Unified's 8,700 students. Most of the seven Morgan Hill board members have refused to meet with Latino parents working with People Acting in Community Together. PACT, a faith-based community organizing movement, has successfully catalyzed educational and neighborhood improvements in San Jose and elsewhere. But it has run up against a wall in tight-knit Morgan Hill.

At a recent PACT meeting at St. Catherine of Alexandria Church to extract public promises of improvement, the only trustee to sit on the panel, Rick Badillo, refused to commit to establishing a charter school or to signing onto SJ/SV2020, the San Jose-led effort to raise Latino and black student academics to the level of Asian and white students by 2020. The Morgan Hill district runs two schools in San Jose.

Board President Don Moody cited a busy schedule as the reason for not meeting with parents. "I don't feel as though we're ignoring them," he said, suggesting parents come to board meetings "and let them get what they have in mind off their chests." Board Vice President Shelle' Thomas cited a belief in separation of church and state behind her refusal to meet.

Morgan Hill Superintendent Wesley Smith disputed parents' claims. "I see us as being responsive," he said, noting that test scores are improving. "Things are going really, really well right now."

While it's true that Morgan Hill's Academic Performance Index numbers have gradually risen, so have scores statewide. And when compared with schools of similar demographics and resources, 11 of Morgan Hill's 13 schools rank in the bottom third, with three in the bottom tenth.

The gap between Latino and white scores has been consistently larger in Morgan Hill than in the state as a whole. "How could there not be a crisis -- just look at the numbers," Rojas said.


Smith acknowledged, "We have an imperative to do a better job." In response to PACT parent pressure, he issued a 68-point list of district achievements titled "Celebrating our Successes 2012-13." For instance, the district has hired more Latino administrators and offers after-school help. "If you need help in math," he said, "you get help in math."

Parents dispute that claim. Patricia Rountree Amaya sought to enroll one of her four sons in an after-school math program at Jackson Elementary and was told, "That's only for advanced kids," she said. Now Amaya, who was a teacher in Mexico, pays a tutor for her son.
Rosa Ramos holds her son, Alexis, 2, as she speaks during a meeting of People Acting in Community Together in Morgan Hill, Calif. on March 19, 2013. (Gary Reyes/Staff)
Parent Rosa Ramos said when she went to investigate why her son cried when he had to go to preschool, she found he was constantly being punished and was told by the teacher that he would never learn. "I was made to feel less" for asking for help, she said.

Parents say teachers and others in the district accuse them of behaving like victims, wonder why they're angry and view them with suspicion. Yet the parents say all they want are across-the-board improvements. 

"We are looking for the district to offer a good education for all the children," said mother Elidia Alvarado. "How can we describe the reality without offending people," said Angelica Dannenberg, mother of three children at Paradise Valley Elementary. "The reality is drastic."

As in low-income communities elsewhere, the PACT parents hope charter schools could succeed where their neighborhood schools have failed.

Charter operator Navigator Schools, which runs the successful Gilroy Prep charter, will seek a charter from the Morgan Hill board next month. Gilroy Prep, which is 60 percent Latino, posted a 978 last year on the 200-to-999 API scale.

Julia Hover-Smoot, a former Morgan Hill trustee and member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education, said she hopes her former colleagues will approve the charter school. The Latino community is facing an educational crisis, she said: "We are not serving those children well."

In lobbying for Navigator to expand to Morgan Hill, PACT parents suggested a perfect location: the district's vacant Burnett Elementary campus.

But the board has other plans for Burnett. Earlier this month it voted to reopen the campus in order to expand Central High, its continuation school. It is three-quarters Latino.

Contact Sharon Noguchi at 408-271-3775. Follow her at Twitter.com/noguchionk12.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_22884445/morgan-hill-school-officials-give-latino-parents-cold

Sent by Steve Zeltzer  lvpsf@igc.org 

Lupe Cazares leads a meeting of People Acting in Community Together in Morgan Hill, Calif. on March 19, 2013. (Gary Reyes)
Rosa Ramos holds her son, Alexis, 2, as she speaks during a meeting of People... ( Gary Reyes )


CULTURE

Quetzal bird, the plumed serpent,by Sergio Hernandez, 2013
Teatro Chicano
DFW International Community Alliance
Lydia Mendoza United States Postal Stamp


Quetzal bird, the plumed serpent, acrylic on canvas
by Sergio Hernandez, 2013 
chiliverde@earthlink.net
  

"TEATRO CHICANA/O: PERFORMING SOCIAL JUSTICE BEYOND THE CLASSROOM"
UNT Departments of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures and Dance and Theater proudly present an illustrated, Power Point presentation, free and open to the public.

Teatro Chicano is an excellent example of how learning can take place anywhere: in agricultural fields, parks, union halls, community centers, prisons, on the street and beyond. In this lecture/demonstration Huerta discusses and demonstrates through audience participation the important role Teatro Chicana/o has played in the struggles for social justice since 1965, when the Teatro Campesino began presenting actos about the need for farm workers to unionize in the fields of California and beyond.

Dr. Jorge Huerta
Chancellor's Associates Professor of Theatre, Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego.

 

DFW International Community Alliance
Uniting Over 1,600 Internationally-Focused Cultural, Educational and Community Organizations
www.dfwinternational.org
12830 Hillcrest Rd. Suite D218, Dallas, TX 75230

 

  Lydia Mendoza United States Postal Stamp

The U.S. Postal Service Lydia Mendoza stamp honors the life of one of the first and greatest stars of Tejano music. Mendoza (1916-2007) is seen strumming her 12-string guitar on this lively stamp, one of several that inaugurates the Music Icons series. This square stamp captures the look of a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve, down to a slight weathering away of the colors. The art features a black-and-white publicity photo of Mendoza taken in the 1950s. The flag of Texas, Mendoza's home state, is splashed across the photo, its vertical blue bar and horizontal red stripe providing the stamp's only color. Neal Ashby and Patrick Donohue designed the stamp, working with art director Antonio Alcalá.


Editor: Sorry I could not capture the US postal stamp in a reasonable size.  This appears to be the photo that was used in the stamp.  Do buy these stamps and encourage their use. 


Lydia Mendoza (May 21, 1916 – December 20, 2007) was an American guitarist and singer of Tejano, conjunto, and traditional Mexican-American music. She is known as "La Alondra de la Frontera" ("The Lark of the Border" in English). She is best known for her solo performances, her soulful voice accompanied only by the playing of her 12-string guitar. Mendoza recorded more than a thousand songs in a career that spanned seven decades. Through her music, she gave a voice not only to the poor and working-class people of the border, but also to Latinos throughout the Western Hemisphere.  

Born into a musical family, Mendoza first performed with her mother, father, and sister in stores and restaurants. After winning a singing contest on the radio, she recorded several solo cuts for Bluebird Records in 1934, including “Mal Hombre” or “Evil Man,” which went on to become her biggest hit.


This is marvelous news. Lydia Mendoza was not only an American music icon, but a great and gracious lady. The issuing of this commemorative stamp brings back great memories for me.

One of the proudest events of my life was when Ms. Mendoza donated her materials to the Houston Metropolitan Research Center of the Houston Public Library. This important contribution came through the efforts of the late Jose I. Torres and Jose Ramon, two Houston community activists, great guys, and friends of Ms. Mendoza. As I recall, her husband Fred Martinez was likewise involved. I remember him as a true gentleman.

At that time, in the mid 1980s, Lydia Mendoza was without question the most important living cultural figure in the Mexican American community. It was a thrill for us all sitting in the living room of their home in the Houston Heights accessioning those materials.

Though famous, Ms. Mendoza still played at that time at the local Mercado Rodriguez on the weekends. We all attended the celebration of her birthday one year when she performed at Marta's Lounge in Houston's Northside. She always seemed to be more comfortable in such intimate settings, close to regular folks who deeply felt her music.

As we used to say during the Solidarity Movement during the 1980s when we wanted to commemorate a person of substance: Lydia Mendoza. Presente! Lydia Mendoza. Presente! Lydia Mendoza. Presente!

Thomas Kreneck  
mailto:thomas.kreneck@ymail.com 


LITERATURE

Why It's Important To See The Movie Filly Brown By Edward James Olmos
About VELA: Creative nonfiction inspired by travel, written by women
Benjamin Alire Saenz awarded prestigious 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award
2013 Clotilde P. Garcia Tejano Book Prize
Diálogo: Bilingual Journal published by Center for Latino Research, DePaul University
Update for Somos en Escritos Magazine, March-April 2013


Why It's Important To See The Movie Filly Brown

By Edward James Olmos

The time has come for all of us to take action and to help ensure that we'll see more Latino movies. On April 19th , the movie Filly Brown opens in 200 theaters around the United States. The movie, which I'm honored to be a part of, is a story about an 18 year old Latina poet, Filly Brown, who is also a rap artist who sings her poetry. It's an honest story about a 21st Century family. Additionally, Filly Brown is full of great music - the beats are infectious and are immensely enjoyable.

 

Filly Brown is blessed by a great cast. It features an amazing newcomer, Gina Rodriguez, in the lead role of Majo Tonorio aka Filly Brown. Gina was wonderfully multifaceted in her complex role - her talent will impress all.

 

Jenni Rivera gives the performance of a lifetime as Filly's mother. I feel she deserves to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the honesty of her portrayal. I'm saddened that we lost such a marvelous person far too soon.

 

 

The father role, Lou Diamond Phillips, gives his best performance since Stand & Deliver. The rest of the cast is just as talented. I'm honored to share the screen with such fine performers. The filmmakers have done an outstanding job of packaging from the cast to the music to the settings.

 

Beyond the film, attending this movie-especially on opening weekend-will send the message to movie studios that the audience wants to see more Latino themed films. If Filly Brown succeeds in the box office, we will start to see our stories told in major motion pictures. We are 52 million Latinos and major studios are still not telling our stories.

 

Show your support for Latino films by going out and supporting Filly Brown. If the movie does not perform at the box office, the film studios will get the impression that Latinos are not interested in Latino based films or films that represent their culture.

 

I cried the first time I saw the film. I know you'll find the film just as emotionally impacting as I did. Thank you for your consideration of Filly Brown.

 

Please click here to see a trailer of the movie.
Please click here for a wide variety of articles and photos about this GREAT MOVIE.

Sent by Kirk Whisler  kirk@whisler.com 
Latino Print Network News 

LPN News is a news service with a varety of articles for Hispanic newspapers and magazines.  All of the articles are free.

At the 2011 NAHP Convention in Las Vegas we held the first screening ever for a movie near and dear to my heart - Filly Brown, thanks to Edward James Olmos. The publishers there committed to joining Olmos in supporting the film when it opened - and the time has arrived. I'm asking all of you to please do a review or an article about the movie. 


 
About VELA
Creative nonfiction inspired by travel, written by women
Vela was founded in 2011 by Sarah Menkedick in response to the byline gender gap, as a space for women writers to write without worrying about adhering to the often male intelligences and styles of the publishing world or catering their writing to the narrow concerns and markets of “women’s magazines.” As Sarah wrote in the founding manifesto,

The fact that all of the writers are women is almost, almost incidental: it would be completely incidental if the publishing world did not create a situation in which women’s voices represent only a small fraction of the conversation. As it stands, this is the case, and as long as it continues to be the case then I believe in creating a separate space in which women can write what they want to write, with the same intellectual freedom as men; without a major overhaul of self and world views.”

Sarah invited five other writers–Eva Holland, Amanda Giracca, Simone Gorrindo, Lauren Quinn and Molly Beer–to participate in building Vela from the ground up, contributing their work, inviting participation from writers they respected, and creating a strong and supportive community. Vela has since been featured on Perceptive Travel, Forbes, and World Hum, among other web and print publications, and Vela stories have been selected as “Spectacular Nonfiction” by The Atlantic‘s Conor Friedersdorf and featured on Ann Friedman’s LadyJournos; Outside Online; Byliner; Longreads, and The Browser. The work of Vela writers has been anthologized in Best Creative Nonfiction, The Best Women’s Travel Writing, and Imagination and Place: Cartography, and marked “notable” by The Best American Travel Writing. Vela writers have won fellowships and grants, earned MFAs, and edited literary journals, magazines and books.

Why “inspired by travel”?
Travel is a loose sieve through which Vela stories pass. This is to say, you won’t discover the top 10 taco joints in Mexico City on Vela. Our stories often emphasize place and involve inner or outer journeys, but our definition of travel is broad, encompassing a range of stories from backpacking across remote Peru to struggling with addiction on a back stoop in San Francisco.

Writers:
Currently, Vela accepts work by invitation only. Nominations of writers (including self-nominations) are welcome via the form below. Please include links to representative clips and a detailed bio.
Please note, this is not a ballot system. All nominations will be considered, and writers will be contacted as needed.

http://velamag.com/about/ 

 

 
Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club
by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
 

Benjamin Alire Sáenz has been awarded the prestigious 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for his book Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club!

The PEN/Faulkner Award is America’s largest peer-juried prize for fiction, and past winners have included Phillip Roth, Sherman Alexie, John Updike, Julie Otsuka, Ha Jin and others. As winner, Sáenz receives $15,000. Each of the four finalists—Amelia Gray for Threats (FSG); Laird Hunt for Kind One (Coffee House); T. Geronimo Johnson for Hold It ‘Til It Hurts (Coffee House); and, Thomas Mallon for Watergate (Pantheon)—receives $5,000. Sáenz is the first Mexican-American and the first Texan to win the award. It’s been 15 years since a small press published a PEN/Faulkner Award Winner. Cinco Puntos is wonderfully happy for Ben and extremely proud to have published his book.

Read more about the award in the El Paso Times
Sent by
info@cincopuntos.com

 
Clotilde P. Garcia Tejano Book Prize, 2013

The Tejano Genealogy Society of Austin (TGSA) initiated the Clotilde P. Garcia Tejano Book Prize in 2006 with two goals: 
(1) to give Tejano Heritage books greater recognition from historians, scholars, academicians, film, television, and multimedia communities; (2) to put such published books in the spotlight and bring attention to Tejano Heritage, history and contributions. 

Each year since then, an author whose book focused on Tejano heritage, history, and contributions has been awarded a sum of $1,000.00, given recognition at the annual State Hispanic Genealogical Conference, and an advertised book-signing session at the Conference. The winning author is selected by a panel of three judges comprised of university professors, historians, and / or authors.
This year the winning author will be recognized at the 34rd Annual Texas Hispanic Genealogical and Historical Conference, October, 12, 2013, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Victoria, Texas.

History: Honoree Dr. Clotilde P. Garcia

The Tejano Book Prize was named in honor and memory of Clotilde P. Garcia, M.D. Born Jan. 11, 1917 to Jose Garcia and Faustina Perez Garcia, both parents were school teachers.  Dr. Garcia was a graduate of the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston, TX. (1954) and practiced medicine in Corpus Christi, Texas.  She was a civic leader, community advocate, historian, genealogist and author of numerous books on SouthTexas history such as Texas Captain Enrique Villarreal and Rincón del Oso Land Grant; and Padre José Nicolas Ballí and Padre Island.  She contributed numerous articles to the Texas State Historical Association and many are now available online in the Handbook of Texas.  In 1984 she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. In 1987, recognizing a need to promote, collect and develop genealogical research, she founded the Spanish-American Genealogical Association (SAGA) and served as its president.  In 1990 she received Spain's Royal American Order of Isabella the Catholic. Dr. Garcia was the sister of civil rights leader Hector P. Garcia, M.D., who founded the American G.I. Forum in 1948, as well as the sister of Dr. C.P. Garcia, Dr. Xico Garcia, Dr. Dalia Garcia and Emilia Garcia Garza.  Her son J.A. "Tony" Canales, Attorney-at-Law, resides in Corpus Christi, TX. "Dr. Cleo", as she was fondly known, retired in 1994 after delivering 10,000 babies.  She inspired and helped many Hispanics to research, study and preserve their ancestry.  She passed away May 27, 2003.

Criteria: Each entry will be judged based on the following criteria:
1.  Originality?
2.  Is the book applicable to Tejano Heritage / History?
3.  Is the writing clear, precise, interesting and well organized?                                                                  
4.  Does the bibliography demonstrate wide research and are there footnotes and end-notes?
5.  Does the book contain substantial primary sources?
6.  Would the general public, genealogists  and professors find this book useful?
7. If applicable, are the illustrations and graphics helpful?
8.  Is the design, dust jacket, layout, chapter heading, paper and print attractive, legible, and easy to read?
9.  Is the author's thesis revealing and does it add important arguments to the literature?
10. Overall, did you enjoy reading the book?

For complete details and an Official Entry Form, please contact: Minnie Wilson  minswil@yahoo.com
Tejano Genealogy Society of Austin
P.O. Box 151537, Austin, Texas  78715-1537
               


Diálogo

Diálogo: A bilingual journal published by the Center for Latino Research at DePaul University
Colegas, We are looking for poets or poetry scholars for a special issue of Diálogo! We are especially interested in essays or poems in English or Spanish that reflect contemporary issues! Please spread the word…Norma E. Cantú 

Diálogo: A bilingual journal published by the Center for Latino Research at DePaul University  Diálogo invites submissions for the following special theme.Latin American and Latina/o Poetry in the 21st Century

Guest Thematic Editors:
Norma E. Cantú, Professor, English and Latin@ Studies, University of Missouri, Kansas CityJuana Q. Goergen, Associate Professor, Modern Languages, DePaul UniversityAs we consider the state of poetry of the Americas and U.S. Latina/o society in the twenty-first century, we celebrate the advent of new voices and new venues for poetry. This new century has witnessed developments that bring together poets across the hemisphere such as Poetas del Mundo with its international gatherings of poets in Cuba and Chile, and developments that provide a forum for poets, such as CantoMundo, which "through workshops, symposia, and public readings … provides a space for the creation, documentation, and critical analysis of Latina/o poetry." Along with celebrating these contemporary poetic spaces, we want to enquire about the status of poetry and its role in the Americas, through the following key questions:
Does poetry serve the same purpose as in decades and centuries past?
What innovative changes are evident?
Who are the participants in this artistic practice?
Who/what are their influences?

How does poetry reflect the socio-political and cultural realities of the Americas in the 21st century?We are especially interested in essays that theorize around new movements, and that examine our poetry from cutting edge theoretical frameworks. We welcome essays on slam poetry, performance poems, and on the poetry of hip hop, as well as more traditional poetry in all its contemporary manifestations, including formalist poetry. Submissions of original poetry in Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Indigenous languages are invited, as well as interviews with poets, and reviews of books and films/media on poetry.

For questions on this theme, please contact: cantun@umkc.edu or jgoergen@depaul.edu .
For queries on style, deadlines, or other Diálogo matters, please contact: dialogo@depaul.edu.For Submission Guidelines, please visit: http://las.depau.edu/latinoresearch/Publications/Dialogo/guidelines.asp .

SUBMISSION DEADLINE SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

Send submissions to dialogo@depaul.edu | Diálogo 17:2 has a release date of Fall 2014Include a 100-word abstract, 100-word author’s biography, and 7-10 keywords.

ABOUT Diálogo:  Diálogo is an interdisciplinary, refereed journal published since 1998 by the Center for Latino Research at DePaul University in Chicago. Diálogo seeks research articles of regional and national contexts with focus on diverse U.S. Latino experiences, recent Latino immigration and places of origin, including indigenous experience. We welcome submissions throughout the year: articles that help bridge barriers between academic and local communities, book and film/media reviews, and interviews pertinent to Latino communities in the U.S., the Caribbean, and Latin America. Published in Spring and Fall, often special themes are highlighted in Call for Papers. FEB182013

Sent by Roberto Calderon, Ph.D. 

 

UPDATE OF SOMOS EN ESCRITOS MAGAZINE FOR MARCH-APRIL 2013

Take your pick from the wide range of genre this past March and April period for Somos en escrito Magazine:
The poetic obras of Reyes Cárdenas, renowned Tejano Chicano poet, who has labored more than 40 years in the vineyard of poesy;
A monster critique of Cárdenas’ opera that is a literary work in its own right:
A touching short story about paying a last visit to a dying friend;
An in-depth account and critique of the Chicano movement by one of its prime movers;
An inventive short story about an inimitable barrio character by one of our most cherished contributors,
A remarkable review of the unique biography of José Angel Gutiérrez—another Chicano Movement force, and
An essay proposing an innovative approach to ensuring college success for Los de Abajo.
Finally, a competition to encourage, and reward, writing in Spanish.

Take a look, read and share with your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and just plain email contacts to spread the word, literally. Control and click to read the obra or go to www.somosenescrito.blogspot.com  and browse.

Editor: Armando Rendon
armandorendon@sbcglobal.net

 

BOOKS

The Lives of Mexican American Women on the World War II Home Front
     By Elizabeth R. Escobedo
Juan in a Hundred, Representation of Latinos on the Evening News By Otto Santa Ana
Caminos: La odisea de una familia española en América después de la Guerra Civil
     Española por Carlos B. Vega, Ph.D.
Los Árabes of New Mexico: Compadres from a Distant Land By Monida Ghattas

 

From Coveralls to Zoot Suits
The Lives of Mexican American Women on the World War II Home Front
By Elizabeth R. Escobedo

During World War II, unprecedented employment avenues opened up for women and minorities in U.S. defense industries at the same time that massive population shifts and the war challenged Americans to rethink notions of race. At this extraordinary historical moment, Mexican American women found new means to exercise control over their lives in the home, workplace, and nation. In From Coveralls to Zoot Suits, Elizabeth R. Escobedo explores how, as war workers and volunteers, dance hostesses and zoot suiters, respectable young ladies and rebellious daughters, these young women used wartime conditions to serve the United States in its time of need and to pursue their own desires.

 

But even after the war, as Escobedo shows, Mexican American women had to continue challenging workplace inequities and confronting family and communal resistance to their broadening public presence.

Highlighting seldom heard voices of the "Greatest Generation," Escobedo examines these contradictions within Mexican families and their communities, exploring the impact of youth culture, outside employment, and family relations on the lives of women whose home-front experiences and everyday life choices would fundamentally alter the history of a generation.

"Drawing on an impressive range of archival sources, oral narratives, and historiography, Elizabeth Escobedo draws you into the social worlds of young Mexican American women, especially those who were Rosie the Riveters by day and pachucas by night. Intelligent and captivating, this superb study significantly advances our understanding of Mexican American women during and after World War II."--Vicki L. Ruiz, University of California, Irvine

Editor Mimi:  This was an especially fun book for me to read.  Elizabeth contacted me and I shared some of my memories of living in Los Angeles during World War II and the  so-called Zoot Suit riots.   My dad was a tailor and I was very aware when the style began to be popular.  My dad used to adjust pants and jackets to the peg-leg and oversized shoulders of the Zoot Suit look.  The pompadour hair style and deep colored lipstick were popular with everyone, but exaggerated among the pachucas.  Although I was in elementary school, I could relate to so much of  the information in Elizabeth's book.  I remember the fear of  the whole family in reading about young Mexican youth being beaten-up by the military in downtown Los Angeles.  I remember my grandparents insisting that my two youngest uncles and aunt not go into town, during that summer of 1943.    

I think what impressed me the most was how these young people dressed, created in the general population, an attitude of distrust.  They were perceived as criminals.  The newspapers added considerably to the negative stereotype concerning Mexican Americans in Los Angeles.   Elizabeth includes some specific cases of young people being arrested, having committed no crime,  but arrested purely on the basis of their attire.  Also, the police and media promoting of behavior characteristics which accompanied those dressed in the pachuco style.  

Although a Federal Bureau of  investigation of the so-called Zoot Suit riots placed much of  the blame on the military, the public has persisted in blaming the so-called Zoot Suit riots on the Mexican American youth.   The records of the investigation are housed in the Nat

In the late 1990s, 50 years later, I visited the Smithsonian National Museum of American History which included a completely inaccurate display.  It contrasted the patriotic Americans serving in the military with the Mexican American Pachucos in Los Angeles.  The display stated that the Pachucos instead of being in the military, were starting fights with the brave warriors fighting for our country.    My two uncles were serving, one a Marine and one in the Army Air Force.  I complained vociferously to quite a few staff people.  Whether as a result of my complaints or not, I do not know, but 6 months later when I went to another DC meeting, the display was not there.     

 

Elizabeth R. Escobedo is an assistant professor of history at the University of Denver.

From Coveralls to Zoot Suits
Published 21st of March, 2013
The University of North Carolina Press
www.uncpress.unc.edu 


ISBN: 9781469602059
ISBN-10: 1469602059
Number Of Pages: 240
Published: 21st March 2013
Dimensions (cm): 23.6 x 15.7 x 2.5
Weight (kg): 0.499

 

 

JUAN IN A HUNDRED: 
REPRESENTATIONS OF LATINOS ON THE EVENING NEWS

By Otto Santa Ana 

Latinos constitute the fastest-growing and largest ethnic minority in the United States, yet less than one percent of network news coverage deals with Latinos as the focus of a story. How well does network television news, America's most important source for its understanding of the nation, cover Latinos?  Out of that one percent, even fewer stories are positive in either content or tone. 

Otto Santa Ana, author of the acclaimed Brown Tide Rising: Metaphors of Latinos in Contemporary American Public Discourse, has completed a comprehensive analysis of this situation, blending quantitative research with semiotic readings and ultimately applying cognitive science and humanist theory to explain the repercussions of this marginal, negative coverage.  

Latinos constitute the fastest-growing and largest ethnic minority in the United States, yet less than one percent of network news coverage deals with Latinos as the focus of a story. Out of that one percent, even fewer stories are positive in either content or tone.  

Santa Ana’s choice of network evening news as the foundation for Juan in a Hundred is significant because that medium is currently the single most authoritative and influential source of opinion-generating content.Otto Santa Ana, now offers a three-part study of the character of network television news reporting on Latinos. His new book, “Juan in a 100,” not only criticizes television news reporting, it offers solutions and new directions.

Study One is about one year of evening news programs. It compares the total 12,000 news stories from the (ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC evening news of the year 2004, to the 98 stories about Latinos that were broadcast in that year. Less than one percent of these stories addressed Latino issues. Hence the word-play of the book title, “Juan in a 100.” This 1:100 ratio has not changed in the past 15 years, and there is little evidence of changes in network news story distribution patterns. Network news reporting about Latinos is wholly inadequate, in spite of lots of newsworthy events that the networks fail to report.

Study Two focuses on news story content with detailed studies of over half of the 98 Latino news stories. This selection includes the full range of topics and story types (news brief, feature, breaking, etc.) that the networks broadcast. 46 stories are described in-depth, illustrating the production and editing techniques that the networks use to create their only apparently authoritative portrait of today's Latinos. Sadly, the news stories about Latinos are not only scarce; the story content of this year-long comprehensive sample of news stories was often incomplete or flawed. Thus the networks often misrepresent Latinos, and the American viewing public gets a mangled view about Latinos.

Study Three explains how American news viewers build their understanding of Latinos from television news stories. Santa Ana’s combines cognitive science modeling and humanist theory to explain how American news viewers can construct their (albeit limited) understandings of Latinos from the news stories they watch.

“Juan in a 100” is written in an accessible style for all readers interested in how television news projects its messages to viewers. Moreover, Professor Santa Ana writes directly to journalists. He offers explicit suggestions to television news professionals at the end of each study. His ultimate recommendation to journalists is that "objectivity" and "fairness" should not be the twin criteria of American professional journalism, as they have for nearly 100 years. Objectivity should be demoted to the level of fact-checking and concise writing. Instead, narrative should become journalism's touchstone, which will lead to a better notion of journalistic fairness.

“Given the current demographics whereby Latinos are now the largest minority group in the United States, the narrow waveband of Latino representation in today’s news programming presents a glaring omission that remains largely overlooked by scholars. Dr. Santa Ana’s exhaustive and necessary study fills this gap, with some startling discoveries. The book adds important theoretical perspectives that are absent from most studies in this field [and] most of which do not contain this depth of research, analysis, or interpretation. . . . Juan in a Hundred doesn’t just identify and criticize. It offers solutions and new directions.”  —Frederick Luis Aldama, Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of English, Director of Latino Studies and L.A.S.E.R., the Ohio State University


AUTHOR: Otto Santa Ana, Professor at UCLA, is a sociolinguist and critical discourse analyst. As a critical discourse analyst, he studies media imagery of Latinos and political concepts, exploring how mass media reinforces social inequity. His first book, Brown Tide Rising, provided a close study of newspapers. The American Political Science Association named it the 2002 Book of the Year in Ethnic and Racial Political Ideology.

(University of Texas Press, 2013)
To request a review copy, contact:
Colleen Devine, Publicist at University of Texas Press 
cdevine@utpress.utexas.edu
  (512)232-7633
PO Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713

 

Caminos: La odisea de una familia española en América 
después de la Guerra Civil Española

Carlos  B. Vega,  Ph.D.

ESPAÑOL: CAMINOS es una novela que narra con vivo y conmovedor detalle la vida de una familia española en América al terminar la Guerra Civil Española en 1939. Unos padres tirando de tres niños en busca de paz, abrigo, compasión, en un mundo revuelto e incierto. Francia, Santo Domingo, Cuba, El Salvador, México, Estados Unidos, países que atestiguaron las vicisitudes y profundo dolor de estos seres inocentes. Nunca antes se había escrito una novela sobre el mismo tema que desbordase tantas fronteras allende el mar, ni con descripciones tan reales y apasionantes de esos países, de sus gentes, costumbres y formas de vida durante aquellos convulsos años.

ENGLISH: CAMINOS: The Odyssey of a Spanish Family in America After the Spanish Civil War is a novel narrating in vivid and passionate detail the life of a Spanish family in America at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. A father and a mother holding tight to three small children seeking peace, shelter, and compassion in a turned up-side-down and uncertain world. France, Dominican Republic, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, United States, countries that witnessed the trial and tribulations of these innocent human beings. Never before had a similar novel been written covering so many places outside of Spain, nor with such real and enthralling descriptions of these countries, of their peoples, customs, and ways of life during those convulsive years.  

Carlos B. Vega is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington and the University of Madrid. He has been a college professor for the past forty years and is an established author of 48 books to date, several of them best-sellers. He was recently selected among the world’s most notable Hispanists by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Spain. Dr. Vega lives in New Jersey.  

Click to text for the presentation that Dr. Vega made to a Conference of the organization of  Spanish Professionals in America in St. Augustine on April 17th.

Paperback, perfect bound
Pages:
530
ISBN:
978-1-59641-295-8  
Book Number:
#J-V1295
 Price: $39.95  
James Skidmore, President  
Janaway Publishing, Inc.  
732 Kelsey Ct, Santa Maria, CA 39454  
Retail Phone: (805) 925-1038   
Publishing Phone: (805) 925-5200  
FAX: (805) 925-7171  
 
Los Árabes of New Mexico: 
Compadres from a Distant Land By Monika Ghattas

Noted New Mexico historian Marc Simmons wrote this: “One of the untold stories of New Mexico history deals with the Arabic-Speaking immigrants, Los Árabes, who began finding the Territory late in the 19th century. Now Monika Ghattas, delving deeply into scattered sources, has brought these people out of the shadows and reveals through her crisp and reliable portrant of Los Árabes, working hard, assimilating, and contributing to New Mexico’s economy and its diverse heritage. This mature and beautifully crafted study, more descriptive than analytical, as the author states, is a pleasure to read and will appeal to laymen and scholars equally. I give it my strongest recommendation.”

Sunstone Press, 187 pages, numerous photos, $22.95
Sent by Juan Marinez  marinezj@msu.edu 


Latino soldiers
 Cebu, Phillipines, WW II

USA LATINO PATRIOTS

Homesick Hill
Selestino Candelaria, USN
PFC. Felix Belois Mestas, Jr. Silver Star recipient
Johnston High School Monument, Austin, Texas
Kansas GI Forum Color Guard
List of Veterans Memorial Day youtube programs compiled by Rafael Ojeda
List of Benefits for Veterans, compiled by Rafel Ojeda
Internal Affairs

W E L C O M E TO HOMESICK HILL  

Gloria Candelaria's father, Selestino Candelaria served in the United States Navy during World War II.  The correspondence between Selestino and his wife, ____    are family treasures of over 200 letters  written to and from her father.  Gloria has been transcribing and translating the letters (from Spanish to English) and will be sharing some of the letters in upcoming issues of Somos Primos.  Below is the first of the series, Homesick Hill.

HOMESICK HILL  

U S COAST GUARD  
WASHINGTON, D C  
OFFICIAL COAST GUARD PHOTO  

Kissing their native soil and rubbing their toes in it, prior to going home, are these proud sons of Texas at the dedication ceremonies of “Homesick Hill” where the soil of all the states is mingled with that of the Philippines at a Navy and Coast Guard Receiving Station in the Philippines Islands.  

Pictured from left to right are: Walter C. Carter, S1/c USNR, of Alice, Texas Selestino Candelaria, S2/c USNR, of Victoria, Texas William Cluck, S1/c, USN of Dallas, Texas, and Arthur Allison, S2/c USNR, of Amarillo, Texas  

PROGRAM

U. S. Navy

W E L C O M E TO HOMESICK HILL

Where a Bit of Soil from Each of the 48
States is Mingled with the Soil of Another free Commonwealth –  
THE PHILIPPINES

 U. S. Navy Receiving Station, Navy 3964  
U. S. Coast Guard Replacement Pool, Navy 920  
1400 Sunday,                                   26 August 1945  
U. S. Coast guard  
(signed) Major Luciano Abig  
Opening day program  
Music from home  
U.S.Coast Guard – Army Manning Detachment Band  
Master of ceremonies  

Charles Conrad, SP (CW) U.S.C.G.R.  
Greetings from Lt.Comdr. Fred S. Meyer,  
Commanding Officer, U.S.Navy, Rec/Sts., and  
Lt. Comdr. Joseph E. Shaher, officer-in-Charge  
of the Coast Guard Replacement Pool  

PLANTING THE SOIL OF REPRESENTATIVE STATES  
RHODE ISLAND – Lt. Ross A. DeMonteo, USNR  
MINNESOTA – Miss Virginia Guernsey, American Red Cross  
CALIFORNIA – Miss Martha Calderwood, American Red Cross  
CONNECTICUT – Miss Alice Brinkley American Red Cross

U.S. NAVY -- SONGS BY  
Mrs. Etta Abasamis, Miss Mary DeLoSantos, John Hart, CBM, U.S.C.G.R.

TAKING OF PHOTOGRAPHS  
Official Photographers Will Take Pictures of  
“Homesick Hill” and the Planting of the Soil form the Various States  
Sailors may take pictures of this Hill Today  
Or on any Subsequent Day.  Such Pictures do not in any way violate censorship

 GREETINGS  
To the Men of the Navy and Coast Guard 
Have been received from the Governors of All the States

Special thanks are due the following for their efforts in construction of HOMESICK HILL: The Paint Shop – the Carpenter Shop – the Maintenance Department and various Yeomen who handled the Correspondence with Governors and other paper work concerned with this Project.  

Thanks are also due to the Governors of all the States  
For Sending the Soil and for telling the folks back home through Newspapers of this
.

 

No. 55  

August 27, 1945 (Monday)

To: Dolores Candelaria  

Dearest Wife and Children:

How is my Darling today? I hope you are fine, you and my babies, and the rest of the Family.  As for me, I am fine, T.T.God.  

Honey, all I have to say is that yesterday was Sunday – there was nothing much to do.  We sat around and talked and in the evening we had programs.  I am sending you one of the programs, to you and my Family, and if you notice, it was signed by 
a Filipino Major.  He is a big man around here, and after the program, they took some of our pictures, which they will be in all the newspapers in the States.  If you keep your eyes on them, you will see me in it, and my name on it.  I am sure you 
will see it in this program.  You can read more about what I want to tell you.  I
think it is nice for a person to come down here to have our pictures takes so they can show you in the newspapers.  I know it is not much for us but it is something 
for y’all.  

It is nice here where we are. The name of this place is in the program. Whoever sees me in the picture is going to be somewhat surprised. It was fun that evening. 
I like it here but as I said before, I don’t know how long I am going to be here. 
This is not our original place to be.  Our place is on a Ship. But don’t worry, 
honey, I’m alright. I feel better that I ever felt before. I am O.K. in many more ways that one.  Honey, everything is in our favor. As you know, all that matters now is time and before we know it, we will be back to our loved ones.  But we have to stay here till they have no more need for us.  That is going to take months, maybe a year – who knows.  All I can say is for my God to keep you and my sweet babies in the best of health.  

I have not yet received any mail from home.  Once the Japs stop fighting, the Navy will have too much to do that they will have to get our mail because where we are, we should be somewhere else.  We will get it in time, I hope.  Don’t worry because my God will take care of y’all.   

I send my regards to your family and whoever thinks of me.  I send all my love to my babies and a kiss for each one of you.  My Sweet, I dreamed you and my babies every night. I love you very much, honey I do.

Your loving husband, Tino.

 

Selestino Candelaria, USN: RECAP OF MY TRAVELS

1.      Left the States on July 3, 1945

2.      Passed within 40 miles of PEARL HARBOR on July 9, 1945

3.      On to ENIEWETOK in the MARSHALLS (Marshall Islands) on July 18, 1845

4.      Left and went on to ULITHI in the CAROLINE ISLANDS, some 200 miles, and on to GUAM

5.      Arrived at ULITHI (sp?) on July 21, 1945

6.      Left ULITHI July 22, and on to SUBIE BAY (sp?)

7.      And on July 30, on the same day, went miles away west to MANILA

8.      A longside BATAAN, arrived at SUBIC BAY, July 1945

9.      Surrender announced the 14th, 1945

10.   Left SUBIC BAY July (Aug?) 16, 1945

11.   Left LATTI (LEYTI?) July (Aug?) 19, 1945

12.   Back to LEGGET, July (Aug?) 22, 1945; still in LEYTI in 12 days

13.   Left there Sept 1, 1945; arrived in A.P.L. Hotel Ship

14.   They called from there and transferred me to the U.S.S. VULCAN on Sep 3, 1945.  

 

No. 62

 

Sept 10, 1945 (Monday)

U.S.S. Vulcan A.R. 5, Div 9

To: sons Selestino Candelaria, Jr.[age 7] and David Candelaria [age 5]

 

Dear Sons:

I am sending you these pictures. I am sure you have seen better ones, but when these pictures were taken, me – your dad—and many other daddy’s and husbands and sweethearts – well, we were very happy about this day. On this day it meant a whole lot to us – the men in the service. You see, sons, men like me and many others, well, we were facing a very critical situation. We were more sure of meeting death easier than anything else. You see, my sons, the men we were going to meet – they were hostile. Their belief was to kill men they thought would be in the way of what they thought had to be done. But people, bad people, like them, think that as long as a good people want it all, like they thought we did, then they have to destroy us. All I can say is thanks to our God who has an understanding heart, who knows best and stops all of this. This is what made your daddy very happy, and not only your daddy, but He made other people happy too, more than you can count -- like you and everyone else; also, the Japanese. Maybe some day when you grow big, I will explain to you all this to you, Jr. and David, and what this means. It was all about taking good care of your mother and your two sisters, and your family.

 

Your father who will have y’all in my heart for always, Love Tino

 

[This letter from Tino to his two sons was probably written after the Japanese Peace Treaty was signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945.]

 

Gloria Candelaria

Victoria, Texas

candelglo@gmail.com

Dear Mimi:

Wish to bring to your attention one of Colorado's greatest heroes of World War II... Pfc. Felix Mestas Jr. of Walsenburg, Colorado distinguished himself by giving his all during a pitched battle with German Nazis in Italy.

We here in Colorado are so very proud of Felix Mestas and also his two sisters, United States Army Officers, Lt. Grayce Mestas & Lt. Olivia Mestas.

Joseph Mendez Parr
Arvada, Colorado
303-280-2498
e-mail: jlskcd205@aol.com

 

Five years after receiving the Silver Star postumously, Congress memorialized Pvt. Mestas. 
A nearby mountain that had been Junior's backyard for all his life was renamed in his honor. 

 

Felix B. Mestas, Jr died at Battle Mountain and was postumously awarded the Silver Star

 

PFC. Felix Belois Mestas, Jr.
Aug 23, 1921 - Sept 29, 1944 
La Veta, Colorado 
Died in Battle - Mount Battaglia Italy 
350th Infantry Regiment - 88th Infantry Division
Blue Devils
Junior, son to Felix and Sadie Mestas of La Veta, Colorado, brother to Waldo, Arabella, Olivia, Grayce, Stella and Malinda Mestas, died a hero's death, on an Italian battle front, in one of the bloodiest battles of the war, September 29, 1944, just a month after his 23rd birthday. 

His bravery that day was reported. For awhile his identity remained a mystery, lending him the title of "The Unknown Hero of Battle Mountain". Soon after, the complete story came out.

Reported in newspapers and magazines everywhere, the nation read accounts of how PFC.Felix B. Mestas' unit, Army's 350th Infantry Regiment - 88th Infantry Division, after sustaining three days of seige from oncoming Nazi soldiers, successfully held a strategic hilltop position.

Witnesses recounted how, on the third day, Mestas, with his Browning Automatic Rifle slung off his hip, stood in the face of the raging enemy soldiers and, without hope for his own survival, laid down enough fire cover for the three remaining members of his unit to escape from the overrunning enemy. At the time, Mestas held the most northern position of the all the Allied Forces in Italy. Twenty-six Nazis died.

Five years later, Congress memorialized Pvt. Mestas. A nearby mountain that had been Junior's backyard for all his life was renamed in his honor. The Mt. Mestas Memorial Monument was erected of Colorado rose granite from the mountain and engraved with 63 names of Huerfano County's World War II war dead. And every Memorial Day and Veterans Day since, people have gathered at the mountain monument to pay tribute to all of La Veta and Walsenburg's fallen war heros.

MtMestas.com is an archive of Documents, Pictures and Stories about Mt.Mestas, Felix B. Mestas, Jr., La Veta, Colorado, the Mt.Mestas Memorial Monument, the 88th Infantry Division and World War II. Our focus is towards preserving Community, Family and Historical knowledge and being the best Blue Devils research website in the World. Now over 2000 pages.  http://www.mtmestas.com/AboutJunior.htm 

337th - 338th - 339th - 913th Field Artillery Battalions, 313th Combat Engineer Battalion and Medical Battalions 
and the Mt.Mestas Memorial Names Project

Click here: "Pfc. Felix Mestas Jr. " - Google Search

 

Saturday May 25 at 1 PM.
Johnston High School Monument, Austin, Texas 

Mimi,

Ground breaking ceremony for the monument honoring the young men from Johnston High School in Austin, Texas that died during the war in Viet Nam. The unveiling is scheduled for Saturday May 25 at 1 PM. The school is located at 1012 Arthur Stiles in Austin

Dan Arellano President
Johnston Memorial Committee
Dear Fellow Military Members and Johnston High Family:

This was one of the proudest days of my life. We are finally giving the respect and recognition to our Brothers. All of these men attended A.S. Johnston High School in Austin, Texas and gave their lives for our Freedom. 

 

The new Monument will be unveiled on May 25th, Memorial Day Weekend. 

Thanks to the hard work of Mr. Dan Arellano, Mr. Larry Amaro, and Mr. Pete Montoya this will be a dream come true.
Hope to see you there.


With greatest respect,
Ernest Perales
Sgt. U.S. Air Force 
Vietnam Veteran 65-66
Class of ‘63  
e.perales45@att.net 

 

 


KANSAS
GI FORUM COLOR GUARD


Tony Montez ( U.S. Marine, Vietnam War), Roque Riojas (U.S. Army Infantry World War II), Lupe Moreno 
(U.S. Army Korean War) and Ben Santillan (U.S. Navy Destroyer Gunner World War II). 

Editor Mimi:  I was not fully aware of the practice of  GI Forum chapters to organize color guard units and volunteer their service at community events, usually entirely at their own expense. 

Rudy Padilla writes that he would "like to make his Overland Park, Kansas chapter more available to the surrounding areas, as well.  Most of the time, the color guard is not offered any donations. We could surely use some funds for travel and maintaining equipment. As chapter commander. I am in the process of sending out proposals asking for donations from local companies and might want to do this nationally soon." 

Sent by Rudy Padilla, 
opkansas@swbell.net
 
Overland Park, KS.
(913) 381-2272.

 

Estimada Mimi,
In my help to the 65th Infantry effort for their Congressional Gold Medal, I found some great video that we can use to help our schools and Hispanic Veterans organization show them during our Veterans Memorial Day, Veterans Day and our Hispanic Heritage Month events.

I will be using some of these on a Power Point presentation the end of this month at our U of WA on our Hispanic Military History.
I really like the Pencil Sketch and MSGT Benavides's daughter presentations.

I am trying to find the 3 hours Heroes Hispanos that Telemundo did in Spanish and the History Channel translated it into English in 2009.     I found out about it on a blog, where a young Puerto Rican saw his 65th Inf veterans father returning from Korea. The boat unloading,as his mother was waiting for his father when he was a little boy. I will send you that email and any info that I can find about buying the 3 hour video, that was made to counter The War, produced by Ken Burns.
 
Below are web sites with great information for our Veterans and their families and for our Veterans Advocates.  They include the 3 different types of VA disabilities, Special Adaptive housing Va grants for our disable veterans, College grants for the veterans, spouses and heir children, and Social Security payments along with the Veterans Disabilities payments. (The last link relates to the Terry Richard article,"The difference between rated at 100%...." page 2 ref: VA trying to revoke a veteran 100% TDIU rating.).  Great information for our Disable Veterans and those that take care of them plus their spouses and their children.
John L. Scott Real Estate Agent Broker
Rafael Ojeda
(253) 576-9547


 

EARLY LATINO AMERICAN PATRIOTS
1803 Battle of the San Diego Bay by the Americans and the Spanish.
Texas Connection to the American Revolution
Bankrolling the Battle of Yorktown
 

1803 Battle of the San Diego Bay by the Americans and the Spanish. 


Photos by Dick Barck  DBarck@aol.com
On April 21st, an event was held at the Naval Base, Point Loma, San Diego Bay to remember a skirmish that took place in the San Diego Bay involving the first American trading ship, the Alexander,  to challenge Spanish authority.     

Point Loma, San Diego


Sons of the American Revolution 
Bob Smith and Phil Hinshaw

 
Ray Raser
SAR Registrar San Diego Chapter
914 San Pasqual Rd
Escondido, CA 92025-7623
760-855-5471
The celebration took place at the point where the action took place. The event at the Naval Base, Point Loma, started at noon with the 1803 Flag raising ceremony and the national anthems of Spain and the United States. Moderated by Excmo. Sr. D. Enrique Ruiz Molero, Consul General of Spain in Los Angeles and Capt. Scott F. Adams, Commanding Officer of NBPL. The key note speaker was Mr. Philip Hinshaw, CASSAR V.P., Sons of the American Revolution.




The event was organized by the House of Spain, Casa de Espana. http://casadeespanasd.com 
Maria Angeles Olson,  Honorary Consul of Spain, San Diego, floral dress in the photo. conhon.espana.sd@gmail.com 

Information sent by Bob Smith  pleikul96970@yahoo.com 
Leroy Martinez  leroymartinez@charter.net 

 

 
To: Texas Historical Commission

Please consider El Fuerte del Cibolo, a historical fort that aided in the winning of the American Revolution, as a Hispanic Heritage Site in Texas. See the attachment for more information. The historical marker is located in front of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Cestahowa, Texas.

Jesse O. Villarreal
jesseo2800@yahoo.com

 

 
TEXAS CONNECTION TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Three TCARA memberships Founders, Members, and Lineage Members.

Proposed members may apply with approval of membership. 
A person may become a member and later submit Application for Lineage membership. 
Annual dues are $25.00 for all Members.  Lineage membership fee is $80.00; however $25.00 annual dues will be deducted if paid in the current year, once application is approved.

Applications will be verified by two genealogists.  
Genealogist will translate references from Spanish to English.
Genealogist will supply acid free paper and stamped TCARA Seal for applicant to keep.
Genealogist will keep a copy of the application on acid free paper and assign a number to the applicant and assign a number to the
       ancestor.
 
A certificate will be given to applicant with stamped TCARA seal.
 
An applicant will be able to purchase a medal with name of ancestor.  

Requirements of Patriot
Men or Women who gave donations of all kinds: money, cattle, horses, ammunition, guns, etc.  to Army of Bernardo de Galvez and/or to the Army of George Washington during the time period of 1776-1783.  Ranchers who donated cattle and/or horses.

Cattle Drovers. 
All Spanish government officials and employees in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Florida, Cuba, and Louisiana.  Military who served on home front to battle Indians, guarded cattle drovers or who fought with Galvez. 

Application Instructions
1.    
List male first before wife in Generation 2 to end. 
2.    
Dates – day of month, month and year – example 8 Jul 1933 list only first 3 letters of month.
3.    
Places – list city, county, state and country. 
4.    
If additional space is needed – put on separate paper. 
5.    
 List all legal names if known including nick name in quotes.
6.    
Underline in red pencil (not red ink) the pertinent facts on pages of proof.
7.    
Copy title page of book to be placed in front of pages of proof. 
8.    
Make one copy for yourself and one copy for the registrar. 
9.    
Divide all proofs by generations starting with generation 1 and ending with your last generation.  
10. 
Paper clip (no staples) each generation separately and list on cover note depicting the generation number.  
11. 
If one page has proof of several generations, put on note what generation numbers the proof covers, such as Generations 4-6.  
12. 
Do not send original documents, such as Birth Certificate, send only copies as they will not be returned.

13.  Meet with Genealogist with filled out work application and proof. At that time she will determine if your application is in order. If all is in order she will make two copies of your application on acid free paper, and ask you to sign both copies, one for you and one for TCARA archives.   

Note: While TCARA does not recognize a 4th Front of the American Revolution with the war between the Spanish and Indians, TCARA does recognize the Army as a whole of Spain played a part in the American Revolution.

TCARA recognizes all references listed below Patriot list References:
Spain and the independence of the United States by Chavez
Bernardo de Galvez Spanish Hero of the American Revolution by Muzquiz
Drama and Conflict The Texas Saga of 1776 by Weddle and Thonhoff
The Texas Connection with the American Revolution by Thonhoff
Spains Texas Patriots in its 1779-1783 War with England During the American Revolution PART V Spanish Borderland Studies
      by Granville W. and N. C. Hough 
Los Mestenos Spanish Ranching in Texas 1721-1821 by Jackson
Cajun Tejanos The Historical account of French Acadian Exiles from Louisiana in Colonial Texas including the Participation of Texas and Louisiana in the American Revolution by Alex Loya
Tejano Partiots of the American Revolution 1776-1783 by Villarreal, Sr. (&Thonhoff)
Catholic Archives Bexar County ( Face Book)
Catholic Heritage 1519-1936 by Castaneda
Lineage lines: With the Makers of San Antonio by Chabot

Sent by Sylvia Carvajal Sutton  ssutton5@satx.rr.com  

 


Bankrolling the Battle of Yorktown
By Barbara A. Mitchell

Gold and silver from Havana allowed American troops to trap Lord Cornwallis and his army, shown here surrendering at Yorktown after a 21-day siege. (John Trumbull/Architect of The Capitol)

"In modern wars the longest purse may chiefly determine the event,"
lamented Continental Army commander George Washington

IN JULY 1781, ON A WARSHIP anchored off Santo Domingo, two men met to devise a plan that would ultimately lead to American independence. The two representatives of European monarchs agreed to align French and Spanish military and financial resources against England in support of the American revolutionary cause.

Within months, with some luck and proper execution, their plan would result in one of the most impressive military successes of the Revolutionary War—a watershed victory that eventually convinced the British to abandon their fight to keep the thirteen colonies from becoming an independent nation.

The plan devised by French Rear Adm. François Joseph Paul, comtede Grasse, and Spaniard Don Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, known as the de Grasse–Saavedra Convention after its ratification in Paris and Madrid, had far-reaching aims. Saavedra described the convention's goals in his journal: "These were to aid the Anglo-Americans powerfully, in such a way that the English cabinet would in the end lose the hope of subduing them; to take possession of various points in the Windward Islands, where the English fleets lying in protected forts were threatening French and Spanish possessions; and to conquer Jamaica, the center of the wealth and power of Great Britain in that part of the world."

The first part of their plan hinged on thwarting the British fleet in North America through the timely naval support of the French, preventing General Charles Cornwallis from receiving reinforcements at Yorktown, Virginia, while George Washington's army blocked his retreat by land. To do this required hard currency—gold and silver to finance French efforts and pay soldiers of the Continental Army, many of whom hadn't received any pay in months—as by that time hyperinflation had rendered the Continental currency worthless. In a dramatic last-minute effort, often overlooked in histories of the war, most of the needed funds were raised within six hours in Cuba, in an emergency collection from the people of Havana.

The vital French and Spanish help came at a time when the rebel army was showing signs of improvement. Washington had managed to harass the British on their retreat from Philadelphia to New York in 1778, although the Battle of Monmouth Court House had been at best a draw, and his forces around New York had been bolstered in the summer of 1780 by a significant number of French troops. While the British spent three years trying to control the southern colonies, Continental troops had won a few victories and the main British force under Lord Cornwallis had left the Carolinas, marching into Virginia. Still, despite these positive developments, colonial finances remained bleak indeed.

"In modern wars the longest purse may chiefly determine the event," lamented Washington in 1780, as the commander of the new Continental Army acknowledged that the British "system of public credit is such that it is capable of greater exertions than any other nation." One of the greatest challenges facing the Continental government was the eighteenth-century American economy. The reality confronting the Founding Fathers was that they had no effective centralized government entity to collect funds and taxes to support the war.

Read more by Barbara A. Mitchell
America's Spanish Savior: Bernardo de Gálvez

During the revolution, the thirteen colonies supplied money and provisions sporadically, governed by the mercurial wills of colonial leaders with decidedly provincial mindsets. Key Continental officials from George Washington to Benedict Arnold used their personal funds to buy supplies for their troops and pay informants. Individuals, most notably Robert Morris, set up and managed revolutionary finances using initiative and perseverance. Morris, known as financier of the revolution, was a shipper and banker before the war. He profited greatly from privateering but also raised $10,000 for Washington's army just before the critical events at Trenton and Princeton in late 1776 and early 1777, keeping the army operational.

The lack of sufficient funds meant that the Continental Army usually was unpaid or underpaid, a situation that affected the enlistment and retention of troops, not to mention their morale. As the war continued, many Continental soldiers went without good shoes or boots, even in winter. This scarcity of clothing and supplies contributed to the army's tragic noncombat death toll. Modern historians estimate that eight times the number of Americans died of deprivation and disease in the Revolutionary War as died in combat.

Throughout the revolution, the shortage of widely accepted currency severely diminished the ability of the agriculture-based colonies to purchase manufactured goods on world markets. The revolutionaries obtained critical supplies by trading and smuggling through the West Indies, an important theater in the wider conflict between the British and the French, Spanish, and Dutch. Money and financing became increasingly important each year the war continued, and the patience and patriotic enthusiasm of American citizens were sorely tested, worn by the frightening reality of war against a well-supplied, well-financed empire.

King George III, who would suffer from terrible seizures of mental illness throughout the last years of his reign, was lucid and confident when he stated in September 1780: "America is distressed to the greatest degree. The finances of France, as well as Spain, are in no good situation. This war, like the last, will prove one of credit."

Spain's involvement began before the American Declaration of Independence. In May 1776, French King Louis XVI directed that the Continental Army be given one million livres in munitions and supplies through a fictitious firm, Roderigue Hortalez & Co. Informed of the French gift, Charles III of Spain matched it with another million, also funneled to the colonies through the dummy firm. The two Catholic Bourbon monarchs on the French and Spanish thrones continued to assist the American Revolution, more to divert British resources than from a desire to aid the revolutionary cause.

In 1777 the former Spanish prime minister and then ambassador to the French court Pablo Jerónimo, marquésde Grimaldi, had authorized aid for the Americans. The firm of Gardoqui e Hijos of Bilbao managed substantial portions of the supply chain by sea. The worldly Basques were active merchants throughout the Americas, having used their global trading networks to market a critical eighteenth-century New England cash commodity: cod. The Basques were an effective and discreet conduit for supplies such as blankets and clothing, although the British had established a blockade of trade goods. The firm routed gunpowder and supplies from Mexico and other locations in Central and South America to the ports of New Orleans and Havana, and then shipped them north to the Continental Army.

Benjamin Franklin confirmed this contribution in a report to the Committee of Secret Correspondence from Paris in March 1777. Franklin wrote of the assistance given by the Spanish at this early date, stating that colonial ships would be admitted into Havana under most-favored-nation status and that the Spanish would arrange a credit for the colonies through Holland, to be expected in Paris at the end of the month. Franklin also noted that three thousand barrels of gunpowder would be available in New Orleans and that the merchants in Bilbao "had orders to ship for us such necessaries as we might want."

In August 1777, the Spanish minister of the Indies, José de Galvéz, instructed the governor of Havana to send "observers" to the American colonies. One of the first of these observers, Juan de Miralles, arrived by sea in Charleston in January 1778, under the pretext of making a forced landing due to bad weather. De Miralles, from an established, wealthy merchant family in Havana, was fluent in English and had extensive business dealings with Robert Morris. He remained in the colonies as an informal diplomat and orchestrated the import and export trade between the colonies and Cuba. De Miralles often spent time at Washington's headquarters.

De Miralles was a force behind the active merchant trade between the colonies and Havana, with wheat flour as the key commodity exported from colonial America to Cuba. He had initially underwritten the flour trade to smuggle his intelligence reports back to Cuba. This international trade expanded through 1781 and onward, becoming so extensive that it would form a line item in the official treasury report Robert Morris submitted in 1785, which listed "Bills of exchange sold, including Havana bills and bills for flour." By this time Congress had accepted the plan Morris submitted to form a national bank. As financial agent of the Bank of North America, Morris was functioning as secretary of the treasury for the thirteen colonies.

In April 1780, despite daily treatment by Washington's personal physician, Juan de Miralles died of "pulmonic fever" at the Ford House, Washington's official residence at his military camp in Morristown, N.J. Washington wrote a letter of condolence to Don Diego José Navarro and sponsored a memorial service at the Continental Army headquarters. De Miralles was succeeded by his assistant, Francisco Rendón, who remained in America through the end of the war.

Philadelphia's merchants prospered from the growing Latin trade, and many were able to purchase their own vessels. Some of the ships were named after prominent Cuban personalities, including Navarro and Miralles' widow, Doña María Elegio de la Puente. One vessel was christened La Havana. By 1781 Cuba had become Philadelphia's key trading partner, in part due to the British seizure of St. Eustatius in the Caribbean that February. During that year, more than half the vessels that ran the British blockade to enter Philadelphia originated in Havana.

IN THE MEANTIME, THE FRENCH COURT had decided to move beyond financing and supplying the American Revolution to deploying professional troops in North America under a seasoned commander, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comtede Rochambeau. When Rochambeau and his forces landed in July 1780, they found Washington's army in what appeared to be an astonishingly distressed condition. The Continentals' lack of an effective navy was also obvious.

Throughout the war, the Continental Navy was able to commission only about fifty ships, which were pitted against a massive British fleet. The British had adopted the technique of shielding ship hulls with copper plates to increase speed and deter marine growth. Improved shipping gave the British a decided advantage in blockading ports, and control of the seas allowed them to move troops and supplies along the eastern seaboard at will.

General Henry Clinton, commander in chief of British forces in North America since May 1778, then headquartered in New York, understood the advantage of British naval power. He planned to dispatch a fleet under Rear Adm. Samuel Hood to reinforce Cornwallis at Yorktown. But French Rear Adm. de Grasse and his Spanish and Latin American allies had other plans.

DURING THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, the balance of population and wealth lay with the Spanish empire in the Americas. Mexico City, with a population of one hundred fifty thousand, was five times as large as Philadelphia, the most populous city in British North America, and ten times the size of Boston. The silver mines of Mexico and Bolivia and gold mines in upper Peru were then the richest in the world and formed the base of the wealth exported to Spain. A strong labor force of indigenous people, now managed by Spaniards and other Europeans, worked in these perilous mines.

Toward the end of the century, this indigenous population was recovering from the slaughter and disease the Spanish had brought in their initial conquests and efforts at subjugation. The total population in the Caribbean and Spain's Latin American empire was estimated at twenty to twenty-two million, thirteen million of them Indian.

Havana had been considered the "Key to the New World" for over two hundred fifty years. The city's protected port was the shipping hub for the gold, silver, and wealth of the Spanish empire. Havana in the 1780s was prosperous, elegant, and a critical trading partner with the beleaguered colonies. The Spanish silver dollar was widely circulated in North America as a sound alternative to the increasingly inflated American Continental paper currency.

The West Indies was also the exchange point for cash transactions between the French and the Spanish courts. As greedy pirates and privateers prowled the seas and the British actively protected their possessions in the West Indies, shipping gold and silver was risky in this region. Instead, the French court would transfer money to the Spanish in Madrid and would be repaid through currency transactions in the West Indies. This method ensured that both countries would have the funds they needed for operations in their respective theaters of war.

Political leaders in Havana included the minister of the Indies, José de Gálvez, and his nephew, Bernardo de Gálvez. Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis was one of the Gálvez family's important protégés. Born in 1746 (the same year as Francisco José de Goya, who would later paint his portrait), Saavedra was educated, urbane, and insightful—an excellent selection as diplomatic emissary assigned to the strategic West Indies in 1779. His mission was to promote the Spanish–French alliance and joint military operations against the British and to ensure the movement of finances for this effort. King Carlos III approved of his appointment and mission.

Saavedra spoke and wrote French fluently, translating the works of French military writers into Spanish. His favorite books included the works of Horace, Plutarch, Caesar, and Tacitus, and he was an eloquent and thorough correspondent. The man who would play a vital role in forcing the British army to surrender at Yorktown wrote a detailed journal of the events that ensured victory for the French and the Continentals. Saavedra also recorded his insights and perceptions on the American Revolution. Among his most prescient observations: "What is not being thought about at present, what ought to occupy the whole attention of politics, is the great upheaval that in time the North American revolution is going to produce in the human race."

Saavedra's role has been overlooked by many historians, his position often described as that of a "customs director" who Rear Adm. de Grasse had to persuade to provide assistance. He actually was an official of the secretary of state and of the General Bureau of the Spanish Indies.

The prospects for the thirteen colonies in 1781 appeared bleak. "We are at the end of our tether, and…now or never our deliverance must come," wrote a discouraged George Washington in April. The rebellion was in its seventh year. The strain of supporting the conflict and deprivation brought on by the British blockade continued to crush the economy. A nightmarish smallpox epidemic ravaged the populace.

As the government printed more money, Continental currency continued to hyperinflate. The council in Philadelphia began publishing the month-to-month rates of currency to specie, which weary consumers then multiplied by three. When the currency finally collapsed in May 1781, its ratio to specie was officially 175 to 1, or 525 to 1 by public reckoning. A spirited procession was staged in Philadelphia to mark its collapse, with people marching with dollars in their hats as paper plumes. An unhappy dog trotted alongside, tarred and pasted with the worthless paper.

From the marquisde Lafayette, whose forces had shadowed Lord Cornwallis in Virginia, Washington knew that the British commander had entrenched his forces at Yorktown, in a potentially fatal position. Knowing that a French fleet was headed for Cuba, Washington and Rochambeau devised a plan to move many of their forces south and spring a surprise trap on the British army. The French navy's coordination was crucial, since Cornwallis could use the British fleet to remove his troops unless the French could break the British control of the Chesapeake Bay.

As he planned for the Yorktown campaign, Washington was desperate for hard currency to pay his troops. He wrote to Robert Morris: "I must entreat you, if possible, to procure one month's pay in specie for the detachment under my command. Part of the troops have not been paid anything for a long time past and have upon several occasions shown marks of great discontent," an understated reference to the mutinies by some Continental troops and the general unrest among many.

At this point in the summer of 1781, the French war chest in North America was also depleted. A shipment of gold was due to arrive in Boston sometime in the early fall, but with the dangers and unpredictability of overland transport, Rochambeau knew that he could not depend on these funds for the Virginia campaign. He wrote to de Grasse on June 6, 1781, stating that his funds were insufficient to maintain his army longer than August 20, and he felt that it was impossible to secure the needed gold or silver specie at any price.

Rochambeau also shared his knowledge of the condition of the Continental Army: "I should not conceal from you, M. l'Amiral, that these people are at the very end of the resources or that Washington will not have at his disposal half of the number of troops he counted upon having. While he is secretive on this subject I believe that at present he has not more than 6,000 men all told."

Rear Admiral de Grasse would command French sailors and marines on French ships for the most decisive naval battle of the American Revolution. On March 22, 1781, de Grasse had sailed for the Caribbean with an armada of more than twenty ships of the line, leading a convoy of a hundred and fifty French merchant vessels. He also ferried infantry reinforcements for Rochambeau. His command ship was Le Ville de Paris, reportedly the largest warship on the seas when it was launched. Le Ville de Pariswas an imposing vessel with one hundred ten cannons on three gun decks. The admiral's mission was to reinforce the French possessions in the West Indies and then to turn toward North America.

Fully briefed on the gravity of the situation when he arrived in Cuba and anxious to sail north, de Grasse corresponded with Spanish authorities in Cuba and with Bernardo de Gálvez in New Orleans. De Gálvez, governor of Louisiana (and nephew of Jose de Gálvez), was also the senior Spanish military commander. He had defeated British forces at Natchez and Baton Rouge in 1779, captured Mobile the next year, and in May 1781 had taken the British capital of West Florida, Pensacola, effectively leaving the British with no Caribbean base other than Jamaica.

Although he was eyeing the British naval base at New Providence in the Bahamas (which he would capture the following year), and he had authority to request the French fleet's support, de Gálvez had already determined to release these ships, as well as the French corps at Santo Domingo that had been placed in Spanish service. De Gálvez instructed Francisco Saavedra, then in Santo Domingo, to confer with de Grasse about "the operations that must be executed."

On June 19, 1781, Juan Ignacio de Urriza, intendant in Havana, wrote de Gálvez, stating that "following the Real Orden of March 17, [they] had prepared beforehand for the delivery of one million pesos to the French commanders." Urriza added that this same day they had received a sealed letter from the viceroy of New Spain advising that warships would soon be available to sail from Vera Cruz with all or at least part of the needed money.

On July 16, de Grasse arrived in Santo Domingo. Five more ships joined the admiral's fleet, having recently returned from the victorious joint expedition with Bernardo de Gálvez in Pensacola.

Saavedra had arrived in the French Cape on July 12 and later dined with the French officers aboard Palmier. At the dinner, he learned that the frigate Concordehad carried to the French Cape an interesting cargo. He wrote of "twelve harbor pilots experienced in those northern seas, about whom there was much secrecy. This indicated that Comte de Grasse must be going to lead an expedition to those parts."

Saavedra and de Grasse met for the first time on July 17, 1781, and Saavedra joined de Grasse at dawn the next day on board Ville de Paris. The two representatives developed an impressive list of options to

harass the British. They agreed that de Grasse and his fleet would take possession of the Chesapeake Bay, moving inland via the rivers to "cut off the retreat and prevent the reinforcement of the army of Lord Cornwallis who was in that area. At the same time, General Washington, Comte de Rochambeau, and the Marquis de Lafayette, who had already agreed to the plan, would encircle him on all sides with their respective troops and totally destroy him or oblige him to surrender."

De Grasse was planning to take no more than twenty-four ships of the line in order to leave five or six vessels to protect French commerce. He suggested that four Spanish ships could join his fleet as they headed to the Chesapeake. Saavedra noted that "because Spain had not yet formally recognized the independence of the Anglo-Americans, there could perhaps be some political objection to taking a step that appeared to suppose this recognition." However, Saavedra reasoned, de Grasse could take all of his combat ships to the Chesapeake if four Spanish ships protected the French merchant ships in Santo Domingo, and de Grasse accepted the proposal.

With the naval campaign plans formed, de Grasse then turned to Rochambeau's request that he raise 1 million livres or more in specie and bring it with his reinforcements to the Chesapeake Bay. This assignment proved to be challenging, even for a man as formidable as de Grasse. His first step was to meet with merchants and planters of the Cape of France, offering the collateral of his own plantations in Haiti.

Saavedra wrote that in late July de Grasse had printed notices posted on the street corners of the French Cape, offering bills redeemable at the treasury of Paris at a profitable rate of interest in return for hard currency. Having experienced unacceptable delays in the past when lending to their court, the French citizens of Santo Domingo declined, even at the twenty-five percent interest rate offered. De Grasse wrote on August 3 from the Cape to the Spanish leadership in Havana, asking for a loan of half a million pesos.

De Grasse again conferred with Saavedra, who reassured him that he was certain the silver would be available in Havana. He was expecting it to be shipped from Mexico, from the mines in Zacatecas and Chihuahua. Saavedra wrote that he left for Havana on August 5 on Aigrette, arriving on August 15, and went to see "the generals, then the intendant and the treasurer." However, Saavedra soon learned that the expected shipments with specie from Mexico had not arrived. The Spanish people in Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo had contributed a hundred thousand pesos for the cause, but this was not nearly enough, and Havana's official treasury temporarily lacked gold and silver.

Saavedra acted quickly, turning to the Spanish and Cuban residents in Havana for assistance. On August 16, he later recorded, "the announcement was promulgated among the citizens, and it was proclaimed that anyone who wished to contribute towards aiding the French fleet with his money should send it immediately to the treasury. Two French officers went to collect the funds, and in six hours the requisite amount was gathered."

After receiving the funds, de Grasse immediately sailed for the Chesapeake with his fleet. Spy ships prowled West Indies waters, and de Grasse feared that the British would learn details of his mission. Realizing he was critically pressed for time to reach Yorktown, the admiral decided to take his fleet through the old Bahamian Channel, described by José de Gálvez as "the famous dreaded channel, where no French fleet had ever passed."

The Spanish authorities well understood the potential im-pact of their funding of Yorktown on the outcome of the Revolutionary War. King Carlos III promulgated an official notice on September 5, 1781, the same day the British fleet sailing from New York to relieve the Yorktown siege first encountered de Grasse's warships, and long before the king knew the outcome. This document establishes the king's great satisfaction with the assistance the citizens of Havana rendered in lending half a million pesos in "the briefest time" to the comtede Grasse and the French squadron under his command.

In later official Spanish testimony recorded on December 7, 1781, the leading naval officer in the region, General José Solano, also discussed the king's review of the incident and the response of the citizens in Havana. By then Cornwallis had surrendered, and Solano noted "with great pleasure the gains in the North, the effects of the aid with the triumphs are well known."

OF COURSE, THESE DEVELOPMENTS WERE CRUCIAL as a worried General Washington and his staff marched south, awaiting news of de Grasse. The reaction of the normally reserved Washington to de Grasse's arrival underscores the importance with which the commander in chief viewed the French naval reinforcements. A bemused Rochambeau spotted Washington "waving his hat at me with demonstrative gestures of the greatest joy. When I rode up to him, he explained that he had just received a dispatch…informing him that de Grasse had arrived."

De Grasse wrote Rochambeau on August 30 from aboard Le Ville de Paris, anchored in the Chesapeake Bay, noting his "great pleasure" in arriving at the bay after departing from Santo Domingo on August 3. He said that he had needed to first cruise to Havana for the 1.2 million livres, and he was ferrying the thirty-two hundred reinforcements that Rochambeau had requested.

The spies that de Grasse had feared alerted a furious Sir Henry Clinton to many of the details of the French fleet from Havana, including how quickly a substantial war chest had been raised. Assuming British control of the coast, Clinton had ordered Cornwallis to take a defensible position in Tidewater Virginia. He was also sure that the main American army was facing his forces in New York, and was genuinely surprised that Washington had tricked him. He immediately realized the peril Cornwallis faced.

Clinton fully understood how this fresh infusion of funds could rejuvenate the exhausted rebels. Referring to the preparations by the Continental Army for the Yorktown campaign, Clinton wrote in his memoirs: "as the hard money…procured from the Havana (amounting in a very short time, as was reported to me, to half a million dollars)…was beginning to give a life and figure to all their measures, I had proposed to the Admiral [Hood] a plan for shutting up that port [Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress met] and attempting such a blow against the place itself as might disperse the Congress, ruin public credit, and totally overset their schemes and preparations for the campaign."

De Grasse's swift arrival, with its timing decidedly affected by the speed of the collection of funds from Havana, was harrowingly close for eighteenth-century military maneuvers. On September 1, the British fleet under Rear Adm. Thomas Graves sailed from New York for the Chesapeake. From his ninety-eight-gun flagship London, Graves commanded nineteen ships of the line and nine frigates. In the dawn light of September 5, Graves sighted the Chesapeake capes. De Grasse's men too were on the lookout early that morning, but for a French squadron coming from Newport, Rhode Island, under Jacques-Melchior Saint-Laurent, comtede Barras, that were heading south with supplies for Lafayette. The sailors in de Grasse's fleet soon realized that the oncoming ships plowing across the seas were British. They quickly sprinkled the decks with sand to soak up the blood that would be splattered in the morning battle.

De Grasse would enter the battle with his entire fleet, as arranged by Saavedra, and could bring at least two hundred more cannons to bear than Graves. But the British were also handicapped by faulty communication. As the ships closed, heading south, the two fleets forming a V, Graves signaled "bear down and engage the enemy" but Hood's ship continued to signal "line ahead." Only eight British ships fired against fifteen French vessels in the 90 minutes of sharp fighting that ended with nightfall. Wood shattered, canvas sails ripped, cannonballs screamed through the air, and the cries of wounded and dying rolled across the blue and white waves. Finally, both sides halted to appraise the damage and briefly mourn their dead. The British flagship and five others were badly damaged, while the French suffered only minor damage and lost about two hundred dead and wounded. Neither side wishing to resume fighting, they drifted south for several days, reaching the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

When de Grasse could no longer see the British fleet, he feared they might have turned toward Yorktown, so he sailed back to the Chesapeake, finding de Barras waiting for him.

The British held a council of war at which Graves and Hood concluded that given "the position of the enemy, the present condition of the British fleet…and the impracticability of giving any effectual succour to General Earl Cornwallis…it was resolved the British squadron…should proceed with all dispatch to New York." The British ships withdrew, leaving Cornwallis and his army to defend themselves against the combined American and French forces. When a shocked King George heard the news of the defeat of his navy at the Chesa­peake capes, he confided to the earl of Sand­wich in a decidedly different tone than his pronouncements of September 1780, "I nearly think the empire ruined…this cruel event is too recent for me to be as yet able to say more."

On October 17, Cornwallis realized his position was hopeless. After a siege of twenty-one days, he surrendered his seventy-two hundred men at Yorktown.

General Washington and his wife Martha ended the tumultuous year of 1781 as guests of the Spanish in Philadelphia. Francisco Rendón hosted the Washingtons at his home during the Christmas holidays. They had brought their own food, housewares, and cook, but Rendón graciously insisted that the king of Spain intended to meet all of their domestic needs. In a letter to José de Gálvez reporting on the Washingtons' holiday, Rendón wrote that he "interpreted their acceptance of his hospitality as a gesture of respect for the Spanish King."

The financial assistance at Yorktown from Havana represented the most critical support provided by the Spanish and Latin Americans during the Revolutionary War, but it was far from the only assistance they rendered. From the Mexicans who mined the silver to supply Havana to the victorious Spanish and Latin American troops who defeated the British at Pensacola, many Latinos played an important though largely overlooked role in America's successful bid for independence. It is a legacy that should not be forgotten.

historynet.comhttp://www.historynet.com/bankrolling-the-battle-of-yorktown.htm

Sent by Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com


CUENTOS

Felicitas Ramos by Elida Vela Vombaur
The Original Mr. Potato Head by Ben Romero
UCLA vs My Abuelita's Remedy by Mimi Lozano
Portrait of a Don By Dolores Chapa Redfearn

FELICITAS RAMOS

Felicitas Ramos was born 18 of May, 1881 she thought it was 1882, but I found vital statistics from Mier, Tamaulipas, Mexico, stating the event to have been 1881.

My grandmother was a grand unique lady; let me tell you about her.

What she told me about her youth.

She met my grandfather when she was fifteen.  She described herself as having beautiful wavy long hair that attracted grandfather, he loved her beautiful hair.

She believed in natural beauty.  She told me she had natural rosy cheeks.  Here is how she beautified her hair.  With beef fat and basil herb!!!  She used a very special hairbrush she fashioned herself.  Felicitas described how she harvested a plant that grew wild, in Mier.

It is the same plant that is used to make brooms!! She called it escobilla. Broom is escoba in Spanish.  She would pick a good handful, tie it with a string and it made her brush!!! She took pride in caring for her hair in this way.  I am glad she shared it with me, and I am sharing it with you.

My grandmother became a widow in Oct.1914.  My grandfather was assassinated at the age of thirty-three. My grandfather was shot in the back of the head as he ran for his life in a cornfield, unarmed.

He was robbed of all his money.  He had sold two bales of cotton; he had also collected money for playing at a dance. He played a twelve-string guitar. He also had won playing cards.  The assassins also ripped his gold pocket watch. This took place in Garfield, Texas.

He left behind his widow, my uncle of seven years of age and my father six years old.

This is what I witnessed of my grandmothers character. She was a midwife, taught by her mother in-law Maria Santos Lopez.  She brought me into this world as well as all her many grandchildren, many neighboring farming people came to her, only to pay her with chickens, eggs or none.  She also helped the local Dr.

She grew her own herbs and made potions to heal people and did massages, she had a special touch.

Some of the healing she did was healing rituals such as mal de ojo” “the evil eye” she did this with an egg; she moved this over the body.  Another one was when one had fears “susto”  I remember a weird one “empacho” I think it means “indigestion” she had a remedy for all.

I saw her drink a glass of warm water with half a lemon juice many a morning.

She baked the best pan de sinaiste from sour dough starter.

A seamstress who needed no pattern, she could figure out my size by looking at me and design a pattern in her head, no measuring tape needed!! She simply amazed me. Her own dresses she always fashioned with long sleeves, the length to her ankles, the and high neckline, a white background with tiny flower pattern in black, brown dark and light blue.

Her beloved Singer throttle sewing machine, she gave to her grandson Ventura Cano’s wife.

I saw my grandmother pray with a rosary every night, I never heard what she was whispering, but she faced her corner highly decorated alter, with crepe paper roses, candles and saints.

Upon departing her farm home, she walked us all the way to the truck, always wearing her apron,

She would whisper a blessing as she waved her arm in a cross sign, we went in peace with her blessing.

I followed her around as she trailed to the sight where the water pump was, a long way from the home. She made a fire under the cast iron tub and boiled the white clothes, it is here that she made homemade soap, also she would cook the ingredients, some of this was scraped from the fat left in the dish washing wide pan. She scrubbed the heavy work clothes on a washboard, then wrung those out by hand and hung them up on the homemade clothesline.  The rinsing was done with bluing liquid to whiten the white clothes.

One thing I must mention, is the best homemade corn tortillas she made, from home grown corn, soaked in the pila ( cast iron bucket) cooked all day with lime powder, put through a hand mill, last step, the metate, Oh, and tia Chacha gave me grandmothers metate, I consider myself truly lucky to have it.  I loved the chicharrones she would fill the tortilla with, also home grown; I have never tasted anything like this, ever since then.

Among other things, she made her own cheese, tia Chacha had the rack the cheese was dried on.

My granmother had a child Soilo Canales, he died when he was six months old, my father wrote a story about it.

Six years after my grandfather was shot, grandmother married Jose Maria Naranjo.  He had a three year old daughter, Alejandra Naranjo, he too lost his spouse.

They had two children Eulogia and Pedro.  

I had the opportunity to visit my paternal grandmother, Felicitas Ramos while she was ailing in 1964; She died after in July 1964, in Victoria, Texas, buried in Yorktown, Texas


Sent by Elida Vela Vombaur 

  elidav73@gmail.com


 

THE ORIGINAL MR. POTATO HEAD
by Ben Romero

A healing that I remember at the hands of my grandmother involved raw potato slices dipped in vinegar. Whenever someone in the family got sick and ran a high temperature, Grandma would slice up some potatoes and dip them in vinegar. She would then fold up a cloth diaper into the shape of a headband and attach the slices on the ailing person’s forehead. To finish off the job, she would rub vinegar on the person’s feet.

Sick or no, I would not allow the healing on myself when I was a child. It scared me half to death seeing a relative lying in bed, reeking of vinegar with a headband of potato slices attached to their forehead. I preferred death.

What the procedure did was draw out the heat and relieve the fever. After a while the potato slices looked half-baked and the patient started to recover. Even so, nobody was getting anywhere near ME with that stuff.

As children, my siblings and I called each other names from time to time. Many of those names involved the face, such as cara de nalga (butt face) or cara de papa (potato face). I believe the latter was derived from use of the potato healing remedy.

In third grade, when a friend of mine told me he’d received a Mister Potato Head for Christmas, I envisioned a statue of a man with a folded cloth diaper on his head holding potato slices. It turned out to be a potato-shaped plastic toy with removable eyes, ears, eyebrows and lips.

Illness often leads to confusion. When someone presents an idea that sounds absurd, we often say it’s crazy or we call the idea half-baked. Again, I attribute the saying to the potato healing remedy, and remember my grandma, Lola.

Ben Romero
www.benromero.com
bromero98@comcast.net

Author of Chicken Beaks: Growing up Hispanic


UCLA vs My Abuelita's Remedy 
by Mimi Lozano

Petra Chapa was my maternal Abuelita.  Grandma and Grandpa lived across the street from us in East L.A.   It was the 1940s.   I was in grammar school.  I remember many little things about my Abuelita, she was trim, walked very straight, reserved,  but most especially I remember her special connection with her garden. 

She enriched the soil with crushed egg shells, coffee grinds, and other vegetable trimmings.  She stuck rusty nails around the base of a tree, to give the tree iron.  She told me to always cut flowers early in the morning and they would last longer. To water early morning, or at dusk, not mid-day.  She said watering mid-day was a waste of water, and it could burn the tips of the leaves. 

My mom said that Abuelita always had a tea, or some remedy for aches and pains, and it usually worked.  I learned only after Abuelita passed away about a health problem that she herself had.  

Mom said that the doctors could not heal Abuelita of open sores on her legs. None of their treatment seemed to work.  Her comment triggered a memory of watching Abuelita boil her nylons in a huge pot, standing over them, stirring with a big wooden spoon.  Although I was about 8, I knew because of the war effort that nylon stockings were being rationed. I wondered why she would use such harsh treat on her nylons. She used heavy cotton hose daily.  I also saw her make bandages of old sheets, and wrap her legs with  the strips.  I never knew exactly why, but  thought those activities were related. Mom said that Abuelita put herself on a diet of orange juice and milk for a year, and eventually, the sores on her legs healed.
  
Very recently, a second cousin, Rosa Parachou, who lives in San Antonio shared a memory which was another case of  Abuelita's self-treatment.  Rosa, my grandmother's niece lived next door to my Abuelita in the 1950s.  I asked Rosa if she remembered any of my grandmother's medicinal treatments. She immediately started to describe in detail a very vivid memory, and seemed glad that I had asked.  She said,  Abuelita spread newspapers all around and under three orange tree, which were located between their two little houses in Sierra Madre, CA. Rosa described how Abuelita held the newspapers in place with rocks.  The newspapers were in place to gather the blossoms that fell from the tree.  "Tía Petrita would daily gather the fallen orange blossom petals, dry them  for tea.  Tia Petrita had red blotches all over her body,  apparently from nerves.  After a couple of months, the blotches disappeared, and she was fine."  

My son, Aury was healed by one of my Abuelita's remedies.  At the time, my husband was attending UCLA.  We were living in Veteran's Housing on the UCLA campus. Our son Aury was born at the UCLA hospital.  Aury was healthy, a good eater, very active and alert, however slept very little during the day, and did not sleep well at night either.  In between the nightly nursing sessions, Aury would wake up crying.  It wasn't that Aury wanted to nursed more, be picked up or held.   He would squirm and twist if I tried to lift him.  Usually, in between nursing, when he cried, I sat on the floor and just patted his back until he fell asleep.  

I took Aury regularly for his baby check-ups at UCLA, I described the situation, hoping for a solution.  One doctor would say turn the light off, another would say leave a light on.  One would say put music on, another would say make sure it quiet.  In other words, none of the doctors solved the problem.   I know that most new mothers complain of not getting enough sleep, which was probably why the doctors did not really analyze what I was saying.  

Fortunately, happenstance, my youngest aunt, Alba, came down from Davis to visit.  A Science of Mind Practioner, Aunt Alba  stood over the crib, watching Aury while he slept, twisting and whimpering. She said that her son, Carlito, had the same problem and they discovered it was a vitamin C deficiency.  Aunt Alba must have spoken to my Mom  because very soon after Mom brought my Abuelita to see Aury.  They arrived when Aury was sleeping. Abuelita, like my Aunt Alba, stood over him for while, watching while he slept.  After a bit, Abuelita asked me to go and gather a bag of fresh leaves, from an Orange tree.  

Living where we did, I wasn't sure where I was going to find  an Orange tree. Leaving Aury with my Mom and Abuelita, I left determined to find one.  Surprisingly,  I had only walked up the street a bit when one.  Knocking on the door,  I explained the situation, the owner graciously gave me permission to pick whatever I needed.

Delighted, I rushed home with the bag of leaves.  Abuelita boiled the leaves, then she let the water cool a little bit.  She took most of the leaves out of water and bathed Aury in the water.  He seemed to enjoy the bath.  After I dressed him, Abuelita showed me how to wrap him, like a tight little tamale.  

That night, for the first time in 5 months, Aury slept through the night, without whimpering and twisting around for comfort.   What a joy.  My Abuelita's curandera skills succeeded where the advice of the pediatricians at UCLA did not.  I knew now the secret was in the vitamin C, absorbed somehow through the skin.  

The curative effectiveness of my Abuelita, have created in me a great respect for folk medicine.   Scientists only harness what Heavenly Father has already put into the ground for our needs.  

Ezekiel 47:12 . . . .  of the trees 

"Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”



Portrait of a Don
By
Dolores Chapa Redfearn

The South Texas don I knew was one of those rare individuals whose very presence commands respect. As head of the family, he struck fear in our hearts long before Mario Puzo's image of The Godfather. Perhaps we equated fear with respect. I can't recall witnessing a challenge to his decrees and feared the unimaginable had anyone dared. We called him Papa, but in South Texas he was don Julian.

Don Julian, the banker in his tailor-made suits, had a reputation as an outstanding citizen. His silver hair, in an orderly burr cut, added to his distinguished demeanor. Early on, my tender literary ear speculated that the title of don could have to do with iambics. Julian (j phonetically like h, in Spanish), the name, sounds as if don should precede it. Surely the status had to do with more than just phonetic luck. Who sets the criteria for donhood? And more importantly, who bestows the title?

In the late '50s, as he neared retirement from the local National Bank, the Sunday issue of The San Antonio Express referred to him as an "intelligent, ambitious, and energetic executive. A mild-mannered banker." This mild-mannered bank executive, whom everyone bowed to and spoke of in whispers, was irreproachable. His impeccable attire matched his unflappable formality.

After Grandmother died, Rex, the family dog, and I took turns keeping Papa company. Rex, a purebred chow, looked like a teddy bear and had the disposition of a grizzly. I knew to keep my distance, but I wasn't in the least bit afraid of the don. Perhaps because once, while in my spy-mode, I saw him in his BVDs. I was five years old at the time and taken aback that without his dark suit, white starched shirt, and Harry Truman hat, he lost gnash. I was often an overnight guest at Papa's. A double fireplace separated the guest room from his domain. On occasions when a sliver of light from his door fell on the planks of the floor, I flattened myself, like a chameleon, against the side of the brick fireplace. From that vantage I was privileged to the don's personal habits: Before bedtime I saw him belt down a shot of whiskey. Yes, in spite of his house rules-no wine, whiskey, or uncouth women-Papa drank. Then he raised his arms, stretched, and did a few waist bends. Aha, Papa exercised. Standing before an image of Christ crowned with thorns, he crossed himself. Careful to respect his more intimate moments, I slithered across the flat bricks back to my room to stare at the ceiling and think about how lonely Papa must feel without Grandmother.

Dolor, dolorosa, Dolores. Pain is the literal translation of my grandmother's given name.
Grandmother died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. This terrifying disease was life-altering for the Gomez family and left ripples of grief that touched each generation thereafter. At the age of thirty-seven, Papa found himself a widower with four children under the age of twelve. Families in South Texas, like ours, were devastated by the plague that took a mind-boggling toll of more lives worldwide than the combined battles in World War I, World War II, the Korean, and Vietnam Wars.

My mother was three years old at the time and innocent, in comparison to the vile virus that morphed into a killer strain. Like a serial-killer, the disease stalked young, healthy adults, sparing the very young and the elderly. Doctors were inaccessible; so were undertakers. I imagine Grandmother, lying in her bed behind closed doors, blue and cold-death from asphyxiation was the final sting of influenza.

Tia Santos, Papa's older sister, was the only one there for the family. Santos, the saint, wore her wiry, gray hair in a bun pinned up with a thick, tortoiseshell hairpin that left Medusa strands of hair to fall around her face. My recollection of her is one of long prairie skirts, usually black, and cotton blouses with generous pirate sleeves. Once I saw her hike her skirts and cross leg over knee to lace her high-top shoe. Her wrinkled knees and legs, the girth of an elephant's, had patches of coarse hair. Tia Santos remained a spinster and took care of the children until she was too old.

Eulalia, Papa's youngest sister, died at the early age of twenty-something, and his oldest brother, a retired railroad man, would join him every evening for supper and lively conversation. I distinguished Uncle Doroteo by his thick, white moustache that half-hid a dark fibroid cyst that reminded me of a chocolate macaroon. Papa's youngest brother, whom he had little to do with, was a roguish sort who drank too much, so I'd heard, but dared not ask.

The don's father, Great-Grandfather Atanacio, emigrated from Spain in the 1800s.
During the summer before the millennium, I walked the hills of northern Spain from Astorga to Santiago de Compostela. I found signs along the way that led me to believe that Great-Grandfather was Galician: I found the Gomez surname carved on ancient gravestones and a street named Eulalia and the church of Saint Julian. Droves of Galicians, one barkeeper said, emigrated during the potato famine in the mid-to-late 1800s. It was easier to cross the ocean than crossing the craggy territory by horse or by foot-a theory I support after my pilgrimage to Compostela.

Atanacio Gomez, a fair-haired and blue-eyed adventurer, was the very antithesis of my great-grandmother Julianette, a brown-eyed Texas Mexican or Mexican Texan, chronologically speaking. I speculate that Great-Grandfather was an adventurer who crossed the ocean to settle on a plot of land in godforsaken Collins, Texas.

Having keen agricultural skills and an opportunistic streak, Atanacio amassed acres of land and opened one of the first saloons in the area. He would sit his young heir atop the bar to watch men of the land relax over a mug of beer and bet odds against young Julian's numerical knack. He would calculate sums with the accuracy of a hand-cranked calculator as quickly as the men threw out random numbers. By the end of the evening, his pockets jangled and knickers sagged. When the time came, Great-Grandfather sent two of his children to the university: Julian, the son who had an extraordinary mind for numbers, and Eulalia, who was a gifted artist.

Off they went, in the late 1800s, to enroll in Georgetown University in Georgetown, Texas (modeled after Washington's Georgetown University). Julian studied Latin, Greek, and hardcore basics, with required readings of Ivanhoe, The Vicar of Wakefield, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Eulalia studied the same curriculum with art and music electives. For years one of her still lifes hung on our dining room wall. It was an oil painting of deep-purple pansies with yellow pistils beside a half-opened black lace fan painted in hunter green, dour Goya tones that foreshadowed her brief life. Eulalia died in her twenties from dropsy, an old term for edema due to congenital heart failure.
They say that after Grandmother died, Papa's lighthearted side darkened incrementally. He withdrew from social activities, from friends; he withdrew even from the family. The mild-mannered banker, don Julian, withdrew into a world of silence and solitude, dotted with tyrannical outbursts.

Had he loved his wife more than his work, his home life, and his children; more, perhaps, than the feeling of love? The more he withdrew, the stricter he became. He treated family formally, as if we were outsiders. Even grandchildren were reduced to formalities. He demanded that the family hold high standards, standards perhaps extinct in today's world: proper manners, appropriate dress, and manner of speech. He had no tolerance for anything common: smoking, drinking, swearing. Without question the family complied, "or else"-the illusive threat we never realized.

The family patriarch sat on his massive, high-back, black leather chair and, like a true don, doled out favors sealed by a handshake, a nod, or a wave of dismissal.

I now wonder if Papa's ambition for higher education and amassing land and wealth was inspired by family pride, Grandmother's ghost, or if he foresaw excellence as a way to nip prejudicial bias against Mexican Americans that he saw budding like kudzu in the South Texas of the '50s.

Papa's professional story was similar to that of Horatio Alger, according to local newspapers that carried the feature: He worked his way up the ranks from collecting interest for bank loans that he stashed in a sling-leather pouch, to making deposits behind a teller's cage before assuming the position of vice president. There was always a string of khaki-clad farmers waiting to speak to don Julian, who sat behind an imposing mahogany desk. It was difficult to distinguish the khaki-clad farmer requesting a loan to keep life together from the khaki-clad rancher en route to cattle auction who owned a 300,000-acre spread. They both wore jeans or khakis, wrinkled hats, and dust-covered boots, and hobnobbed while waiting in line to do business with the don.
At home he retired to his room, a private sanctuary that had an assortment of framed documents: a letter from President Roosevelt, a black-and-white photo of Pope Pius, and an award for "meritorious service" from the Office of Price Administration. I don't know what he did to achieve this recognition, but I do remember it said that Papa's influence in the community had helped keep the bank's doors open during the 1920s crash.

My Aunt Lala, Papa's oldest daughter, swore that she saw a smile fall across Papa's face when he first laid eyes on me. Truth or hearsay, she used that incident as leverage for my frequent visits. On one of those visits, I happened to step over forbidden boundaries and found myself on the via dolorosa. I didn't like the dolorosa implication of my name, but I was pleased to be Grandmother's namesake, a name that, like my grandfather's, became a family name-a redundancy that caused confusion, especially when the family vacationed together.

One summer the family, cousins included, drove in caravan-style across the border to Monterrey, Mexico. That was the summer the family had the rare occasion to witness the don's sense of humor. Our destination was the Gran Hotel Ancira, a five-star hotel, best known for having had Pancho Villa ride his horse into the bar. We were ten miles out of the city limits when Papa made his son, Julian Jr., stop at Ben Bolt, Texas, to mail a postcard. It was a greeting addressed to his co-workers at the bank: "Having a great time. Wish you were here."

At home Papa and I used to spend hours in each other's company, silence prevailing. The clock on his side table was not digital, but in bold, numerical blocks that made a soft click as the numerals were swallowed by time at a slow, steady pace, as if we had forever. Yet unaware, time was moving toward finalities. Photographs of all eight grandchildren hung over his fireplace mantel. (Only one grandson, Julian III, now a heart surgeon, left to carry on the family name.) In the far corner, a nightstand stood with the radio that he listened to nightly. In the middle of the room, an iron bed stood erect with an oversize mattress that was covered with a silk Asian throw that he and Grandmother had bought at the World's Fair. I used to spend hours braiding and unbraiding its dark fringe. At the foot of his bed sat a sloping school desk, sized especially for me. I used to sit and entertain my muse, forthcoming plays, poems, and stories that my teacher allowed me to read aloud in class. Papa, absorbed in thought, sat in his easy chair to blow smoke rings and listen to the news on his shortwave radio. On those quiet evenings, the radio turned low, the fireplace burning, he would pause and touch the tip of his cigar to the edge of the newspaper. Half-moons burning the margins, he'd watch the sparks glow and expire like fallen stars.

What must he have been thinking? And in whom did he confide? No close friends, no visitors, except family and co-workers at the bank. His only sports were hunting and fishing, which he did often with his son.

"Papa, where are we from?" I asked one evening, while sitting at my desk to fill out a school form.
"United States of America."
"But what are we?" A question I wouldn't have asked had Texan been offered as one of the choices.
"We are citizens of the United States of America."
"But what about this?" I showed Papa an array of colorful selections: Brown. Black. White. Red. Other.

"Put 'US of A' next to other," he said emphatically. I looked at Papa's distinct complexion, a mirror image of my own, and thought, "Toffee." I marked "other."
Aunt Lala ran the household like a general. She finally married at the age of forty and soon thereafter earned her college degree. I dared not ask how he, who had placed so much emphasis on education, had sent only his son to the University of Texas. The three daughters had remained at home-a virtual nunnery. Papa built a new home for the family after Grandmother died, leaving the home he built for her abandoned. He ordered the lilies that Grandmother planted uprooted and cast away. We were not allowed to speak of her. "Why?" I asked and was hushed.

The family home had a typical early 19th-century wraparound porch with a slat swing and a screened porch at the far end. The rooms were ample in size, each with its own fireplace. But for the most part, the home was sterile and practical and cold in the winter. I recall venetian blinds with no curtains, tungsten lighting, with a few lamps that cast warm halos here and there, a Victrola with the RCA dog emblem on the top, and an upright piano. The outside of the home was impressive, with its Roman-pillared porch and antique roses with thorns that grew profusely over a nearby trellis. Bordering the porch, wildflowers grew: pink primroses; white daisies; succulents that attached themselves to tree crevices like the devil's whip; a tentacle cactus that grew a single white flower on each strand; and a nopal with pinpricking thorns and alluring yellow flowers. Poisonous pink oleanders clustered near the back door. In the front yard German orange trees bloomed with sweet-smelling blossoms that yielded bitter picks. On the west side of the house, a coral-flowered tree flourished with plump pomegranates that left telltale rims around our mouths, impossible to wash off, and impossible to deny having eaten forbidden fruit. Mesquite and chinaberry provided us scanty shade from the harsh sun that we endured. How all this survived in the hard, black dirt that no one bothered to water is remarkable.

The morning I turned six, Papa asked if I wanted to accompany him to the bank. I nodded for fear that butterflies would flutter from my lips had I said, "Yes, sir." That morning he arose at his usual time, 6 a.m. Aunt Lala made sure I dressed for the occasion: She pinned a pink, satin bow atop my dark, curly locks, dressed me in a crisp dress adorned with delicate pink flowers, and laced my white, high-top shoes.
The bank was past the public library, which was just past the post office-all within walking distance. Off we went, hand in hand, the don and me in a spiffy-do. The marble columns in front of the Georgian-style bank building reached skyward while I shrank in size like Alice in Wonderland. I took tiny steps in and looked up at the massive marble countertop behind which stood windows for tellers. The building smelled of leather, stale cigar, and ink. Papa looked important wearing his uniform: a dark-blue, three-piece suit, a white handkerchief in his pocket and a gold watch in his vest pocket; a starched, white, button-down shirt with a tasteful tie; black, polished, lace-up shoes; and a dress hat which he promptly removed upon entering. It seemed odd to me that after all the care he gave to his dress, he used rubber bands looped through French buttonholes as cuff links.

When I wasn't conversing with Papa or playing with a friend (always under Aunt Lala's severe scrutiny), I played alone. It was one of those alone days that I dared to overstep boundaries. In that adventure, I stumbled upon an old trunk like a gift from the past that brought me closer to understanding the don, more even than the personal glimpse I had caught of him in his underwear-I would never tell.

I stood on the outer marker of via dolorosa and found a crawlspace in Grandmother's old house. The house Papa had built for Grandmother was, or should have been, condemned, for it was held together by rafters refusing to rot and a weathered, lopsided frame with corners braced by spiderwebs. Now empty except for a chair turned on its side and a dust-covered chest in the middle of the room, the home had, at one time, been fully furnished, complete with linen and china, even before he asked for Grandmother's hand.

Papa was a closet Cyrano-he didn't have a long nose; it was rather wide and average. But much like Cyrano, he wrote poetry and letters, creating a visual image of a gentleman and a scholar. Perhaps this very quality made him somewhat handsome.
All was still and silent on that hot, summer day except for the twitter of a mockingbird. I, in search of adventure, allowed curiosity to override a cautious inner voice. The stagnant air in Grandmother's old house allowed a shaft of sun to blaze through weathered planks, spotlighting random particles of dust stirring the thick air. In my first attempt to climb an exposed floor joist, my footing slipped. Black dirt smudged my lacy pink panties and my upper thigh. From a far corner of the room, a brooding hen gurgled a low warning. I hesitated before my second attempt. How had these rafters withstood the South Texas weather? Every board, however ramshackle, stood covered in ashy dust, undisturbed like Pompeii; frozen in time, anticipating the slightest heartbeat, the slightest sign of life. Had their love withstood time? Fifty years between then and now bridging eternity? Through the languorous particles of dust allowing shafts of sunlight, I imagined a sunbeam striking Grandmother's cheek. Her auburn hair atop her head; her long skirts swishing across the floor as she prepared breakfast; Papa laughing; Lala as an infant, sitting in a high chair, cooing and basking in their attention.

In the middle of the floor, an old trunk awaited human touch. I used caution to open it; rusted hinges squeaked and released a ferric mist. Fumes of old musk and dust arose from their tomb, and aging paper that lined the trunk creaked like old bones. On the top shelf, compartmentalized for flotsam, a tinted photo was wrapped in tissue. I knew it was of Grandmother. She looked like a perfectly tinted cameo-Grecian-coiffed, auburn hair held up by a comb. I studied every detail. I didn't look like her at all; she was beautiful-peachy-cream skin, dark eyes that matched a black taffeta dress.

The story of Papa's courtship had passed from cup to lip. It was into those eyes he had gazed while he strummed the mandolin and recited poetry. In the next compartment, cuff links-a pair of men's gold cuff links with tiny pearls adorning the top lay abandoned and forgotten. A lady's tortoiseshell comb with an intricate filigree design at the top. A fan and a bundle of letters. The letters were wrapped in grosgrain ribbon. One with precise penmanship caught my attention. It was from his sister, Eulalia, written from the university. I had seen a photo of her and a group of ladies, arms entwined, and all dressed in black bloomers. I assumed it was a sports team. The letter made mention of how she played tennis, and how much she enjoyed her studies, and that she sent her family love and best wishes.

My young writer's mind exploded with images. I ran inside, eager to tell Aunt Lala. News of my archeological find was met by the general's steel-cold stare. She sent me marching off to my room for the rest of the day.

"But . . ." I was not allowed to explain. I was not allowed to express my thoughts about my discovery or how sorry I felt for Papa, for the family. And how glad I was to know that my Grandfather had loved, regardless of how he now caged his emotions, as if this emotional tiger would run amok.

"But nothing," Aunt Lala admonished. "Off to your room. And one more thing-never, ever speak of your grandmother in Papa's presence."
"Why?"

"Because," Aunt Lala confided, "he cries."
He cries? I was amazed. The very thought that my grandfather, the don, cried absolutely amazed me.

I was already off to college; time and distance veiled the creeping chronology of an aging don. It was obvious in Rex, the house dog, who developed a tic that caused his knees to buckle at intervals in perfect 4/4 rhythm and who, having developed an approachable disposition, liked to have his ears scratched.

I knew Papa's days were numbered when, out of the blue, he reached out and ruffled my hair. "Chiquita," he said lovingly. At that moment I realized he was slipping into a state he had once felt. He forgot decorum that for so long had hidden an emotional abyss that he desperately tried to skirt.

Don Julian died of heart failure at the age of eighty-five. All eight grandchildren sat perched on a church pew, hands folded in laps, with a full view of his body laid out in an open casket. I couldn't begin to imagine the storehouse of grief buried in his casket. He never remarried. And as far as I know, if he did have female companionship, it was outside of the house and of such a discreet nature that no one knows for sure.

At the viewing a khaki-clad farmer, reeking of mescal, staggered down the aisle. Hat in hand, he paused by the casket. This farmer must have known a side of Papa few family members had been privileged to. I could tell by the way he viewed the body that don Julian had played a crucial part in this farmer's life-saved his farm, perhaps. Who knows that it wasn't this farmer who might have been the first to kiss Papa's hand and by the mere whisper "don Julian" bestowed the title. The farmer, now standing by the casket, shook his head and wept, "Ya mudio, don Julian"-the don is dead.

Teary-eyed, I wondered if Papa's crown of grief had been the catalyst of his honorable conduct, duty-bound to family and work. And to his mantra "right is right," his legacy left to us by his example.


"Portrait of a Don" was published in:
The Green Hills Literary Lantern, Volume 23 (2012)
Copyright ©2012 by Truman State University

URL: http://ghll.truman.edu/ghll23/GHLL%20XXIII%20nonfiction%20prose/Redfearn%20Portrait%20of%20a%20Don.html
Accessed: 6 March 2013

Dolores Chapa Redfearn is pictured here in the middle with two other members of the Texas Woman's University (TWU) Class of '61, to her left, Dr. Glenda Brock Simmons, and to her right, Tommye Pitts Baker. Photo courtesy of TWU Times, Spring 2011, Issue No. 1.

Dolores Redfearn is a graduate from the Johns Hopkins Advanced Academic Program in fiction. Her work has appeared in the anthology Voices of Lung Cancer and Palo Alto Review. She now lives in Philadelphia and divides her time between there and the Yucatan Peninsula.

From: John D. Pettit, Jr., PhD tittep4987@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 2:01 PM
To: beto@unt.edu
Subject: Story by Dolores "Dee" Chapa Redfern

Will you read a wonderful story by Dolores Chapa Redfern from Alice? She was a member of the Class of 1957; mine was 1958, but we knew one another. The story is a wonderful one about her grandfather. She tells it objectively but passionately; and her writing syle is impeccable.  If you, like me, find it informative, do you think your network might enjoy seeing it? Just an idea. John



FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH

Save the date, Sept. 14, Nueva Galicia Genealogical Society
Accessing Family Surname Forums by Tom Saenz 
Check the New Family Search Blog in Spanish, Debbie Gurtler
Family Search Adds More Images to an Existing Collection 
Why request a C-File?
Timeline of U.S. Immigration & Citizenship Laws
Solicitud de Registros
SAVE THE DATE 

Dear Mimi,  

I am attaching a flyer announcing the Nueva Galicia Genealogical Society's 2013 conference. Would you please include it in next month's newsletter? I hope you can join us at this year's conference.

We are also still searching for a speaker who is knowledgeable about the history of Joaquín Murrieta. There will be a Joaquin Murrieta display at the California State Archive set up for us by the staff and we would like to include a Speaker. We are a non-profit organization, so we can't offer compensation other than meals the day of the conference and lodging if the Speaker is traveling from out of town.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Maria Cortez
 

 

Hi Mimi,

For your "Somos Primos" on line magazine I have prepared a brief write up on how to access Genealogy.com Family Forum  (http://genforum.genealogy.com/gonzalez/).  Through the past few years I have found it to be a valuable resource when doing genealogy research.  For me it has particularly helpful when I got stuck on a "dead end" family name.   The link I am providing here is for the Gonzalez Genealogy Forum but once there one can easily access other Family Forums by going to the small window on the upper right hand corner ("jump to") where one can type the surname being searched.  If the name does not come up it is because a forum for that surname has not been established.   

I first logged on to the Gonzalez Family Forum  a few years ago and I established on going communication with the late ,Jose Gonzalez,  who had researched this family extensively and posted his work which went all the way back to the original immigrant: Bartolome Gonzalez Olivares (1598-1672) .   By subscribing to the Genealogy.com one can not only read the postings of other researchers but also correspond with them.  All this information is found in the Community section where these free Bulletin Boards are found.  By going to (http://genforum.genealogy.com/my/)  one can find the form pasted below  to sign up at no charge.  The process for signing up takes some time and one needs to stay with it until finished!

I have also found information on some of my other family lines like Saenz, Ramon.  I have also found new primos and primas in South Texas and Mexico that I did not know existed!   

Best wishes!   
Tomas 'Tom' Saenz
saenztomas@sbcglobal.net

mormon lds family search branch out Infographic

Check the new FamilySearch blog in Spanish.  https://familysearch.org/blog/es/ 

The other thing I meant to tell you about was the FamilySearch blog in Español. https://familysearch.org/blog/es/<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

It’s been going since just after the first of the year. So far the link from the FamilySearch landing page in Spanish is not activated so we only have been able to get the word out on Facebook and in our Skype communities but we’ve had good response – about 3500 views in the first few weeks. Feel free to share it.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxcEajk96GM&feature=youtu.be

You need to send the following information to her email address redantepasados@gmail.com
1. Who would you think it would be interesting to interview at RootsTech?
2. The 3 best questions you might ask would be?
3. What kind of classes would you like to see available for the Hispanic community in 2014?
Please forward to any and all who might be interested.

Debbie Gurtler,AG®  
Latin America Research Consultant  
Family History Library  
Salt Lake City, Utah  
Office: 801-240-2732

Digital technologies have progressively made family history work easier and more accessible. A new version of FamilySearch.org, which launched today, makes family history research more interactive and conveniently collaborative, with added social media, photo and story elements that create a more personal family history experience for each user.

FamilySearch, the world’s largest genealogy organization and a nonprofit sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has updated its website to enable individuals to work together with others online to build their family tree, compile and share family photos and stories, create interactive fan charts and access 24-7 online assistance — all for free. The site’s enhancements seek to broaden family history’s appeal to those who don’t consider themselves researchers or genealogists, especially youth who are masters of digital realms such as social media.

Downloadable HD-quality b-roll and SOTs for news media

“So many of us are involved with family history and we just don’t realize it,” says Paul Nauta, a senior marketing manager for FamilySearch. “I look at all the social networks today — they are basically family history platforms. People are sharing what they’re doing from day to day, what they’re interested in, and friends and family are finding that interesting and sharing their own thoughts. All of that is family history, but we’ve not had some of the tools at FamilySearch.org to help people make those ancestral connections where they can be inspired and motivated by it.”

That is, until now. FamilySearch.org’s new features, which are free to the public, are described below.

Family Tree
Family Tree enables individuals to collaborate to build, manage and share family history online. Users will discover information submitted by other users in their family line among the more than 900 million names already submitted by online users. Family Tree also includes a click-and-drag feature that allows users to seamlessly move up, down and side to side and zoom in and out within a pedigree chart. Patrons also have access to billions of names on FamilySearch.org to help fill in missing branches on the tree.

Photos and Stories
The Photos and Stories options allow users to preserve photos and stories of ancestors. With photos, faces can be identified and then linked to the respective ancestors’ profiles in a user’s family tree. Photos and stories can also be seamlessly shared via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and email.

Each user can upload as many as 5,000 photos (with five-megabyte-per-image limit), and each story can be up to 100 pages long.

According to FamilySearch CEO Dennis Brimhall, photos and stories matter, because they “personally teach us time-honored principles from those who have gone on before us, like the value of hard work, dealing with life’s ups and downs and the impact of choices.”

Interactive Fan Chart
Interactive fan charts present one’s ancestry lines in a colorful wheel, with the user at the center. Each layer of the wheel represents a different generation, and the wheel extends out to as many as six generations if such information is available. Fan charts can be used in a variety of ways. For example, Nauta notes that some parents have printed out a fan chart for each child, with the child’s name at the center so they can see themselves in the context of a larger family that extends out for generations.

Seeing yourself in a fan chart “changes you,” Nauta says. “You see yourself standing on the shoulders of all these people who have gone before you. You realize you’re not alone, and it adds meaning and perspective to your life.”

Family Tree Wizard
This feature is for family history novices. Family Tree Wizard asks new users questions about living and deceased ancestors and then builds connections into the family tree.

Live Help Page
FamilySearch has created a global online community that provides free product help and personal research assistance by phone and web chat all day, every day. Within several weeks, the website will be available in nine other languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

About FamilySearch
Three million people use FamilySearch records, resources and services each month to learn more about their family history. Since 1894, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving and sharing genealogical records worldwide. Patrons can access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch’s commitment to helping people connect with their ancestors is rooted in the Mormon belief that families are meant to be central to our lives and that family relationships are intended to continue beyond this life.

Style Guide Note: When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to our online style guide.


Family Search Adds More Images to an Existing Collection

Italy, Nuoro, Nuoro, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866–1915

0

48,817

Added images to an existing collection.

Mexico, Archdiocese of Guadalajara, Miscellaneous Marriage Records, 1605–1854

0

50,822

Added images to an existing collection.

Spain, Province of Sevilla, Municipal Records, 1293–1966

0

104,160

Added images to an existing collection.

 

FamilySearch Adds Large Updates to BillionGraves Index and Washington State County Records, April 8, 2013

FamilySearch has added 2.1 million indexed records and images this week from BillionGraves, Canada, Czech Republic,
Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world's historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.


FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.


Why request a C-File?

Genealogy Notebook: Why request a C-File? The Genealogy Notebook answers a question about the difference between USCIS C-Files and naturalization records found among court records or at the National Archives. Read more about it!

New History Content, Naturalization of World War II Soldiers:

The site’s agency history section now includes a short history of the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s efforts to naturalize members of the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII. The new WWII Naturalization page also includes direct links to historical WWII naturalization articles first published in the INS Monthly Review.  Full issues of the INS Monthly Review, a periodical the agency produced in the years 1942-1953, are also available online from the USCIS History Library.

It’s easy to remember our web address! User-Friendly Web Addresses:

The History and Genealogy Program at USCIS strives to provide you the best service and experience. With that in mind we created friendly URLs to make access to our website quicker and easier. These are the pages and friendly URLs available now:

History and Genealogy page - uscis.gov/historyandgenealogy
Genealogy Program main page - uscis.gov/genealogy
Agency History main page - uscis.gov/history
Historical Library main page - uscis.gov/library
Research main page - uscis.gov/research



 
Timeline of U.S. Immigration & Citizenship Laws
From the Naturalization Act of 1790 through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, a large number of laws placed restrictions on naturalization and immigration to the United States. Learn about the conditions under which your ancestors may have been granted or lost their citizenship, or records which may have been created based on their alien or citizenship status.


From Kimberly Powell, your Guide to Genealogy
Search Related Topics:  us immigration laws us naturalization us citizenship

 

Solicitud de Registros 

Copias de Actas o registros microfilmados 
¿Localizaste en nuestra página http://www.Genealogia.org.mx

¿algun dato de tus ancestros?
¿te interesa tener una copia del registro original?
¿Necesitas documentar tu Árbol Genealógico?

Somos tu mejor opción para obtener tus registros genealógicos

  • ORIGINALES.
    y nuestro precio por Acta es insuperable.
    Envíanos lo siguiente:
  • El (los) Nombres de tu ancestro(s),
  • la Localidad en donde se efectuó el evento,
  • y la Fecha del mismo.

Y a vuelta de correo electrónico la recibirás.   Sujeto a que el documento exista, no uses esta opción si lo que deseas es investigar si hay documentos de tus ancestros, para eso usa los servicios de investigación genealógica.

Documentos que te podemos localizar:

  • Actas de Bautismo
  • Actas de Matrimonio
  • Actas de Defunción
  • Testamentos
  • Codicilos
  • Protocolos (1600-1890)
  • Actas de Cabildo
  • Registros Judiciales (1600-1890)
  • Etcétera
Benicio Samuel Sanchez
Genealogista e Historiador Familiar

Email: samuelsanchez@genealogia.org.mx
Website: http://www.Genealogia.org.mx
Celular Monterrey 811+513+8354 (from USA 01152+181+1513 8354)
Celular desde Otras Ciudades de Mexico : 045 81 1513 8354
Skype
: Genealogia.org.mx


 

DNA

"Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013"
Thursday, June 6, 2013


The "Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013" conference will be held on Thursday, June 6, 2013, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Hotel, 2500 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, California. While it is being offered in conjunction with the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree, the conference is a separate event co-sponsored by SCGS and the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG). The groundbreaking event is the first genetic genealogy conference not sponsored by a commercial DNA provider.

This is a quick note to let everyone know that interest is very strong for "Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013," and we are already 25 percent sold out. This is well ahead of the registration response that we typically see for Jamboree. If you plan to attend, in the words of my Iowa grandmother, "Don't let the grass grow under your feet." We will very likely sell out.

Featured speakers include Dr. Spencer Wells, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic, and lunch speaker Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Please note that lunch requires an additional payment.

This is truly becoming an international event, with attendees from the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and points beyond, as well as locations around the US. We are excited to see that family historians everywhere are embracing the concept of an independent day-long conference about genetic genealogy.

Plan to stay for Jamboree, which starts on Friday, June 7. Friday morning's sessions are JamboFREE, and Friday afternoon features a DNA panel as well as an African American DNA session. Of course, we encourage you to stay for the entire Jamboree weekend, Friday through Sunday, June 7 through 9, 2013.

Read more about it on the Jamboree blog, 
http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com/2013/03/registration-update-family-history-and.html 

Southern California Genealogical Society
417 Irving Drive
Burbank, CA 91504
scgs@scgsgenealogy.com
www.genealogyjamboree.com


ORANGE COUNTY, CA

May 11th: "Take me to the ball game" Dr. Richard Santillan
Mexican American Baseball in Orange County
May 1: Newport Beach Film Festival, Latino Showcase
May 4: Free Saturday Media Training Classes Begin
May 5: Rancho Days Fiesta, Heritage Hill Historical Park
May 11: Annual Mother's Day Blessing at the Historic Yorba Cemetery
Gospel Swamp History Festival Held April 27th at Heritage Museum of Orange County
Save the date: June 21st El Viento Foundation


SHHAR
,  MAY 11th 


Click for more information on the history, authors, 
and national effort to promote the history of US baseball.  

"Take me to the ball game"!

Dr. Richard Santillan , Professor Emiterus at California State University at Pomona, will do just that as he presents his newly published book: "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County"  at the May 11, 2013 meeting of the Soiciety of Hispanic Historical & Ancestral Research (SHHAR).  With him will be co-authors Susan C. Luevano, and Angelina F. Veyana.  . Dr. Santillan is currently lead author for the book series on Mexican American baseball and softball. To date, the Latino Baseball History Project has published three books: Mexican American Baseball in Los Angeles (2011); Mexican American Baseball in the Inland Empire (2012); and Mexican American Baseball in Orange County (2013). The project is currently working on two more publications: Mexican American Baseball on the Central Coast (2014) and Mexican American Baseball in the Pomona Valley (2015). Dr. Santillan is a longtime Dodger fan, attending his first game in 1958 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.  Books will be available for purchase.

The free presentation will take place at the 
Orange Family History Center, 
674 S. Yorba St., Orange
.

Volunteers will provide research assistance from 9 -10 a.m., and Dr. Santillan will speak from 10 -11:30 a.m. For information, contact Letty Rodella at lettyr@sbcglobal.net.

 

PLEASE FEEL INVITED 
TO SHARE YOUR FAMILY STORIES 
ON SOMOS PRIMOS. 

 IT IS THE ACCUMULATION 
OF ALL OF OUR STORIES 
WHICH IS GOING TO CLARIFY HISTORY,
 and
 GIVE ACCURATE VISIBILITY 
TO WHO WE ARE . . . .   Mimi



Tickets on sale at:
www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com
Use code NBFFLT13 for $5 off, 21+

After party event at 10 pm hosted
by Stella Artois and Absolut Vodka

Fashion Island
401 Newport Center Dr.
Newport Beach, CA 92660

 

Alexis Nicolle Abundis
California State University, Fullerton, 2014
History and Communications (Public Relations)
Cell: (951) - 256 - 0996

 

 

Film Fiesta Hosts Youth Cinema Camp at Heritage Museum of OC 
Free Saturday media training classes begin May 4 in Santa Ana

SANTA ANA, Calif., April 2, 2013 -- The OC Film Fiesta will be holding a free 12-week youth Cinema Camp at the Heritage Museum of Orange County to teach the art of digital production, creativity and historical storytelling. Classes start on Saturday, May 4, and are open to students 11-17 years of age. Applications are being accepted through Monday, April 15, and are available at www.ocfilmfiesta.org.

The camp leaders are award-winning filmmakers Pocha Peña and Victor Payan who will combine silent cinema techniques with digital technology to inspire the creation of new films set in Orange County’s past. Participants will interview community elders and learn about the county’s agrarian history.

“Orange County has a rich heritage that includes visits by many film stars, such as Charlie Chaplin, Rita Hayworth and Bebe Daniels,” says Peña. “We hope to teach our students to create new narrative voices rooted in their community’s unique history.”

According to Candace Chromy, executive director of the museum at 3101 W. Harvard St. in Santa Ana near Centennial Park, instruction will begin Saturday, May 4 under a grant awarded to the Orange County Film Fiesta from the OC Arts Initiative Grant, a partnership between the Orange County Community Foundation and Arts OC funded by the James Irvine Endowment Fund.

Applications are now being accepted from high school students and youth who live or study in Santa Ana. Full scholarships will be offered to applicants who display a commitment to the 12-week program, interest in cinema and enthusiasm for storytelling. Classes begin on May 4 and will be held on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm thru July 27.

Films from the Cinema Camp will be screened during the OC Film Fiesta, a three-week cinematic celebration of Orange County’s diversity to be held in September in downtown Santa Ana.

The Heritage Museum of Orange County is located on Harvard Street, just west of Fairview Avenue and south of Edinger. It encompasses 12 acres of picturesque historical buildings, including the famous Kellogg House, an original adobe and blacksmith shop, and a nature preserve. More than 16,000 elementary school children participate in the museum’s educational field trips each year, while thousands of adults attend special events such as music festivals, Victorian tea parties and historical exhibits.

This program was made possible with generous support from the Orange County Arts Initiative, a partnership between the Orange County Community Foundation and Arts Orange County funded by the James Irvine Endowment Fund. Additional support is provided by the Heritage Museum of OC and the Bowers Kidseum.

For more information, visit www.heritagemuseumoc.org or www.ocfilmfiesta.org.

OC FILM FIESTA NEWS 
Media Contact: Sandra Pena Sarmiento
info@ocfilmfiesta.org
  (714) 417-0073

###

 

Frances Rios invites us, " I'll be performing again at Heritage Hill Historical Park in Lake Forest for Rancho Days Fiesta on May 5, 2013. I'll be in the playing "Old California Music" on the pump organ in the Serrano Adobe and talking sharing information about the music.  I will also be talking about my ancestral families, the Rios and Yorba families.

Take care, Frances Rios 
francesrios499@hotmail.com
 

ANNUAL MOTHER'S DAY BLESSING AT THE HISTORIC YORBA CEMETERY
Santa Ana Canyon Historical Council cordially invites you to the
Saturday, May 11, 2013

Cemetery Opens at 9:00 am
Mass begins at 10:00 am
With Native American blessing to follow

2013 marks the 20 year anniversary of the Santa Ana Canyon Historical Council. Please join us as we celebrate this milestone. We will be paying tribute to the founders of the council with special guests and other surprises.  Questions, please call Melanie at 714-499-7975.

Sent by Frances Rios  francesrios499@hotmail.com
 
Heritage Museum of Orange County
Gospel Swamp History Festival!
Covered Wagon with Adam
 
What is Gospel Swamp?
Blacksmith at work

Much of the coastal plain of what is now Orange County was once known as Gospel Swamp and was one of the largest wetlands in Southern California. This vast marsh covered parts of Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Fountain Valley. Today, the Heritage Museum of Orange County is home to the last natural lands of the historic Gospel Swamp. This area is home to a variety of animal and bird life, including squirrels, mice, opossums, coyotes, lizards, gopher snakes, and red-tailed hawks.

Join us and learn about a fascinating side to Orange County History!

This family fun event will include live demonstrations by craftsmen from Orange County Blacksmith Guild, local Quilters' Guild, Spinners & Weavers Guild, and Victorian Tea Society.
There will be hands-on activities for the whole family including rope making and rawhide braiding.
VTS Members
Enjoy tours and exhibits, and watch performances by Native American Dancers, Storytellers, and Living History actors.

.Admission - Tickets are available at the door
$5 Adults (12+)
$3 Children (11 and under)
Parking is FREE
kellogg2

Purchase a Family Membership to Heritage Museum of OC and receive free admission to the festival!

If you hold a current membership to Heritage Museum of OC, please present your card at the door and you will receive the appropriate admission benefit.

This event is being brought to you by the James Irvine Foundation and administered by Orange County Community Foundation & Arts OC.



 

El Viento Foundation 



Jack Shaw, Co-Founder of El Viento Foundation,

Save the date to help us celebrate 
and Honor Jack Shaw. 
The award will be given at 1pm, at the conclusion of the luncheon. 

SAVE THE DATE June 21st . . . .

Each June, El Viento invites our program graduates, families, and supporters to celebrate our newest graduating class. This June, our Flight 5 students will be graduating.

Friday, June 21st,  Golden West College

Jack Shaw, the Co-Founder of El Viento Foundation, is to be the recipient of the Golden West College Peace Studies Award. Mr. Shaw is being recognized for his contribution and service to the community. While many simply repeat the famous words of Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see in the world," Mr. Shaw has embodied that quote by demonstrating change will come one square mile at a time.

For more details, and to RSVP, please contact Julie Taber, 714/892-7711, x51052

To register, please go to: www.goldenwestcollege.edu/peace
For questions, please contact Fran Faraz, Peace Studies Program

Mission of El Viento Foundation
We provide children & young adults with opportunities for success in life as responsible citizens through a long-term relationship based upon:
Mutual Trust & Respect * Exemplary Character * Skills Building * Leadership * Teamwork * Learning   714-892-7711 x51052

 

LOS ANGELES, CA

Shalom, L.A.
Arizona Copycats: Mexicans in the Photo by Rodolfo F. Acuña

SHALOM L.A. 

French stoneware from the 19th century, the camera used for the first feature-length movie filmed entirely in Hollywood, aerial photos of Lakewood and a miniature etching bearing the words "war is unhealthy for children and other living things" have in common? They all tell the 150-year story of Jewish life in Los Angeles. Today, more than 600,000 Jews live in the region, the fourth-largest Jewish community in the world.


Bill Phillips behind the counter of his store on Brooklyn Avenue in Boyle Heights, then a Jewish neighborhood, 
circa 1950.

What 

 

From May 10 to Jan. 5, 2014, these artifacts and about 150 others will be on display in Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic, an exhibit at the Autry Museum. UCLA's Karen Wilson, who is also head curator for the "Mapping Jewish L.A." project for UCLA's Center for Jewish Studies, is the exhibit curator. "The exhibition's origins date back almost a decade," says David Myers, chair of UCLA's history department, "when [UCLA history professor and executive director of the Institute for the Study of the American West, Autry National Center] Stephen Aron and I taught a seminar on the history of Jews in L.A."

According to Wilson, the French stoneware belonged to the Newmark-Lazard family, who came here in the early 1850s when the city's Jewish population numbered less than 80. The camera, from the Lasky Feature Play Company, dates back to 1913 and filmed The Squaw Man. The pictures of the 1950s Levittown-like construction of Lakewood depict a community of 17,500 homes built by Jews (including Mark Taper) on land once occupied by a town that forbade them to live there.

The etching by Jewish artist Lorraine Schneider was created in 1966 and is an iconographic reminder of the Vietnam War era.

Also set for display at the Autry is a giant scroll with more than 1,000 signatures, including Judy Garland's, that Max Factor gathered during a huge party celebrating his Hollywood cosmetics studio and factory, and a section of column, circa the 1890s, from the first L.A. congregation's synagogue downtown.

http://magazine.ucla.edu/depts/quicktakes/shalom-la/ 

 

Arizona Copycats: Mexicans in the Photo By Rodolfo F. Acuña

April 27, 2012, a photo exhibit hosted by the Chicana/o Studies of California State University at Northridge, was held Saturday,  from 5 to 10 PM. – free of charge. Dr. Acuna considering  this an important event which is .  . . not just because it brings alumni, students and community together – but because we are recovering lost memory and casting a bright light on how much we as a people have achieved in the past fifty years. 

He writes: We often lose sight off the fact that most of us are first generation college students – first in our families to go to college. Attendees were invited to bring photos to share.

A lot of us will be passing on – we are getting up in age. A friend and a giant in the Chicana/o Movement – Sal Castro -- just passed away. He was a year younger than I am, and I knew of him since high school when he haunted the Cathedral High basketball gym. As long as there is a historical memory, Sal Castro will be presente.

I consider my time at California State University Northridge very special. This is not because of the university; I still harbor resentment toward it and most white faculty members because they looked down and hampered the progress of Chicana/o-Latino students. What I value is that it brought a lot of you together and changed your lives, and that in turn, you made life better for those around you.

Every time I visit Ventura County I encounter someone who graduated from CSUN. The communities in that Valley have benefited materially from your presence. Increasingly those who followed you are going into fields other than Chicana/o Studies and into graduate studies – which is what we wanted and hope for.

What makes your experience so special is that many of you made it despite the public schools. You are in the majority immigrants or children of immigrants. We as a people went from work class to university grads in one generation. Other immigrant groups took at least three generations to achieve this in mass numbers.

Moreover, conditions were different for them; they had a lot more opportunities. For this progress to continue, it is going to take a community. Like the Texas Raza Unida Party used to say, “Una mano no se lava sola.” (One hand doesn’t wash itself!) A community comes about when you think of others; it matures when its members remember that they did not make it on their own –someone came before them.

Looking back I can remember that I had my doubts about many of my first students making it through college. One of them told me that he only intended to stay a year and then move on. He enrolled because of financial aid and to get away from his probation officer – he stayed and today he is a probation officer. Hopefully, he is extending a hand to others.

Our communities are still under siege. A war is raging in Arizona. The prison industry is still agitating, and the tea partyers and the minutemen types are still terrorizing Mexicans.

The fight for education and the right to learn about Mexican American heritage has not let up in Tucson. And it shouldn’t because it is an important. We knew from the beginning that it was not just about Arizona or just about Tucson – it was about justice.

Everyone has to know that they are somebody – children cannot learn without respecting themselves. As three-year olds they already love to look at photo albums, and ask where am I? The teaching of history is a pedagogical strategy, it is a healing process that tells people, “I am somebody, and I am here because of somebody.”

Arizona SB 1070 that profiles Mexican and Latin American undocumented workers has been copied in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah. It is spreading to other places. However, the people there benefit from the war in Arizona, and we all know that the assault on our history and education does not end in Arizona.

Returning to the basics – nothing happens by accident. We all learn from our experiences.

Because of Arizona, more people today know about the Koch brothers and ALEC -- American Legislative Exchange Council – and their role in the war to privatize Arizona than they did three years ago. More of us know that the tea party and the minutemen are not aberrations, and that they are not democratic or grassroots. They are products of the privatizers. They are the product of hate.

The minutemen’s assassination of nine-year old Brisenia Flores did not happen by accident in 2009. It was the inevitable result of a hate campaign.

The only thing that has prevented the prairie fire from spreading is the numbers that make up a Chicana/o-Latino community, and the fact that we fought back and will continue to fight.

An even bigger threat than Arizona is Texas. In 2007 Texas State Board of Education waged war on anyone who did not see God as they do. The standard was the creationist paradigm. Texas became associated with the ridiculous notion that the earth is 6,000 years old.

In 2012 members of the Texas Board set standards for public school textbooks that purged historical figures suspected of “subversive” religious views. The list included Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Benjamin Franklin and political figures such as Dolores Huerta.

Presently, Texas has gone one step further, and it has sponsored bills copying Arizona’s HB 2281. Senate Bill 1128 and HB 1938 are currently making their way through committees. The bills attack Mexican American and African American history in Texas public universities, eliminating their credits from counting toward college graduation.

It is getting its cue from Arizona Gov. Janet Brewer and the National Academy of Scholars, an organization supported by John Birch type foundations.

The advantage that the Tejanos have over Arizona is that they benefit from Arizona. Because of its size, it is also more difficult to buy the state.

Led by students and University of Texas historian Emilio Zamora who has rallied the Tejas Foco of the National Association for Chicana/o Studies, the Tejanos are fighting back and have begun a letter writing campaign. Texas also has a critical mass of elected officials who support the fight back effort.

What dismays me is that that despite gains made in the education of Mexican American children in the Lone State, they continue to lag behind white and Asian children. It does not have to be that way.

The preponderance of evidence for the past 70 plus years is that a major cause of functional illiteracy and dropping out of school is racism and the stereotyping of Mexicans. The evidence shows that a positive history plays an important role in combatting negative self-images.

Just today I read a report from social psychologists at Indiana University Bloomington that suggests that negative stereotypes have debilitating effects on women. According to University of Indiana social psychologist Katie Van Loo, these stereotypes hinder women’s learning of mathematics. "If you can make women feel powerful, then maybe you can protect them from the consequences of stereotype threat" that makes them conclude that "women can't do math."


The preponderance and a much larger body of research also show that people of color are harmed by negative stereotypes and negative self-images. Forty years ago, people of color were nowhere to be found in textbooks. Educators pointed out that the basic first grade reader Dick and Jane only had one creature of color -- Spot, the dog.

Dick and Jane first grade reader, 1960s.

Just seeing themselves in photos gives a child a sense of belonging to a family and community. When they don’t see themselves in history books, it as if they did not exist. The results are disaffection and alienation.

Represented here is an image from the black version of the Dick and Jane series in the late 1960s.

The greatness of Sal Castro is that he always communicated with students through history. Often when he would go off to speak he would call me as well as others and ask us if we knew of any Mexican historical figures in that region. Sometimes I would shake my head and say, “Sal, does it matter if we had Mexicans fighting in the confederate army?” For Sal it was important for us to be in the photo.

His hero was Joe Kapp. He was bad (good), the best, according to Sal. Sal breathed and lived Chicano. Sal will always be presente for as long as we remember our history and remember that we are the people in the photo.  



CALIFORNIA 

Stepping Stones Through Genealogy - Part 5 - The Return by Sylvia Contreras
1803 Battle of the San Diego Bay Remembered
El Fuerte del Cibolo
April 21st: the 1803 Battle of San Diego Bay
Rosie-the-Riveter Park, Long Beach by Sylvia Contreras
June 20-22: Conference of California Historical Societies
June 20-22, 2013: 55th California American GI Forum State Conference
Veterans Oral History Program at Rancho Cucamonga High School
History of the City of Santa Barbara: Period II, Spanish Period (1782-1821)
 

STEPPING STONES THROUGH GENEALOGY – PART 5 – The Return
by Sylvia Contreras 
Sylvia@Linkline.com 

 

In one’s search for their “raices” – their family “roots,” it can probably be said people travel to their family’s place of origin.  They may travel to visit other family members or just to see the area.  But how often can it be said that someone visits such a place during vacation, yet not know the vacation spot is a place of family roots?  Then return a decade later because it was discovered
that the vacation spot was a place of family origin?  Well, that is what happened to me.  

Over ten years ago, my husband and I made reservations for Los Cabos. At the time, we did not know that “Los Cabos” were two towns 25 miles apart from each other.  One town is Cabo San Lucas, closer to the Pacific Ocean, and the happening party town. The other town, San Jose del Cabo, was a quiet and serene town, closest to the Gulf and where the airport is located.  We learned about the two towns upon arrival to our hotel which was in San Jose del Cabo.  It was not expected, but it all worked out. 

We had rented a car a couple of days, and also used the local bus to travel between towns.  There was a short walk to the bus stop which had a cement canopy enclosure and placed in a cove away from the highway.  It felt as if we were at the outskirts of town.  I was able to step out into the road, and look down the highway in both directions.  Facing northwest was an immense stretch of highway towards Cabo San Lucas, few buildings.  Facing northeast towards La Paz was desolate.  Little did I know that the highway to the northeast was the area where locals resided – San Jose “Viejo” as it is called today.  Little did I know, that barely 25-40 miles away, was my paternal grandfather’s birth place, my father’s birthplace, and where other family members resided.   

 

Fast forward 10 years, I arrive to the Los Angeles airport and almost missed my 2:30pm flight to Los Cabos.  It was my first “history and genealogy” trip, as I called it.  With no check-in baggage, I made it through the security system, while my name was being called out over the speaker system to get to the departure gate.  My assigned seat was taken, and I was given another, right in-between a 7-year girl, and her mother, carrying a 1-yr old in her lap.  The little girl’s name was Alexis. Shortly after take-off, the little girl became a bit obnoxious but I tried to keep her in good spirits with a conversation.  The flight attendant must have seen what was happening and asked if I would like to move to first class.  Yes! And what a difference!  The lady sitting next to me by the window woke up as I was being served a drink.  We talked, had lots of interesting things to say to each other, and finally introduced ourselves.  Her name was Alexis.  I was kind of bewildered that I happened to have sat next to two people named Alexis on that airplane (especially since the last person I knew with that name was in 1988).  Alexis and I exchanged phone numbers and planned on getting together in Cabo before her departure.   

Arriving at Los Cabos airport, there were lines after lines and checkpoints.  When I thought I was about to exit through glass doors leading outside, I was redirected into another lobby.  Not knowing the regulations, and not seeing any  “Salida” (exit) signs, it was best to follow directions than make a scene.  Well, I got hung up on a timeshare ordeal – that supposedly my ride was waiting “at the other terminal, on his way.” I believed the guys!  Finally, after about 45 minutes, I was nervous.  I was escorted outside and directed to a young man, patiently waiting by a van, ready to take me to my hotel.  His name was Alex who had waited for an hour.  He would have seen me, had I exited out those glass doors.  Shish!  Driving through town, I explained the genealogy search for the Ojeda family lineage.  The name was known.  We passed by a merchant facility that had Ojeda painted across the shop.   

Nothing was recognized as I arrived to my hotel, Park Royal Los Cabos.  It was like visiting another modern city, not the lazy quaint town of over 10 years ago.  I checked-into my room, admired my “home” for the next several days, and unpacked.  My whole wardrobe fit in an overnighter.  I packed more genealogical research books and material than clothes and toiletries (there was lots of hand-washing too).  Of course, I dragged my laptop because it was a “working” field trip.  The hotel manager, knowing my purpose, had assigned me a secluded room away from the hustle and bustle of poolside noise.  My patio view was a golf course.  There was an inviting oversized palapa with lounge chairs outside my patio.  The hotel manager thought it would be a good working area for me – and she was right.  Hardly anyone else used the palapa because it was at the farthest corner of the complex.  

My first evening in San Jose was visiting the plaza. I visited the “Tropicana” restaurant where my husband and I had dinner many years ago.  It was remodeled.  People were out and about the plaza.  There was a land marker full of busts honoring famous town people of the past, one being infamous Pablo L. Martinez, the author of “Guia Familiar of Baja California 1700-1900” whose book was back in my hotel room.  I approached Mission San Jose del Cabo church and the doors were open.  I heard music inside and followed it.  There was a young artist playing his guitar accompanied by girls who were singing and wearing navy blue tee-shirts with “Faithbook” written in white letters.  I sat down to listen.  Amazingly, a procession began up the aisle lead by a priest. I stayed put and watched.  The priest started worship service.  The music and the service were so moving it brought me to tears. 


  Profr. Pablo L. Martinez Marquez, 1898-1970  

 

My cousin in El Monte asked that I locate the priest he met at the same church to inquire about 19th century church records.  Surprisingly, the priest that evening was the one I intended to find.  At the end of the service, I went to meet the priest. I asked about reviewing their church records. He asked me to return during office hours to do so.  It was exciting that my quest was soon to begin. 

The new airport terminal in San Jose had just opened and its inauguration was November 1, 2012, the same day celebrated in Mexico as  “Dia de Los Muertos.”  I had arrived on Saturday, November 3.  There was lots of stuff in shop windows, murals, walls, what-nots, and people in costume still celebrating the annual event.   

After visiting the church and the plaza area, it was time to return to my hotel. I was tired and hungry.  I found a place to eat, an outdoor restaurant with a huge palapa roof (I love palapas).  Where are the bus stops?  No more buses that night.  Either catch a taxi or take a short 15-minute walk back to the hotel.  A beautiful night, I opted for the “short walk.”  Yea, right - I walked for about 40 minutes on lonely streets passing resort after resort finding my hotel at almost 10pm.  People in Los Angeles had told me San Jose del Cabo was a safe area to walk around alone in today’s times - tried and true.   

I was exhausted from the long travel day and evening walk, yet ready for the next few days of adventures.  Even though it was only a few months ago, the November 2012 trip feels like as if it were only a dream. 




Rosie-the-Riveter Park, Long Beach



If you like WWII era history, specifically Rosie-the-Riveter, Long Beach is the place for you.  The park opened a few years ago.  It’s educational, interactive, and an interpretive park that literally takes you on a stroll through history as you follow the path.  Take a short break at the various “message” centers to hear “live” historical recordings.  Try it from home too by calling the phone number on the picture – it’s fun!  

The book published by Arcadia, “Rosie-the-Riveter in Long Beach” was written by Gerrie Shipske.  Women who arrived in Long Beach, CA to work on the airplane plants during WWII became known as “Rosie-the-Riveter.”   Gerrie also designed the park that is located very near the Long Beach airport, at cross streets of Conant and Clark.   

Geraldine Hoff, a young beautiful 17-yr old girl in the 1940’s was wearing a red and white polka dot bandanna while working at a metal factory in Michigan.  The media was visiting and saw her.  She became the inspiration for the famous poster.  The girl worked at the factory for a only week!  She went on to marry a dentist.  But it wasn’t until 1982 that she saw herself in the poster.  In December 2010, the poster lady died at 86 yrs old leaving many descendants and a countrywide known legacy.  

 

 

Information: In 1941, as millions of men were called to military duty, the call was put out by the U.S. government for women to leave their homes and take jobs in defense plants and shipyards to perform the essential work necessary to keep the war effort going stateside. The women who responded to the call were embodied in the figure "Rosie the Riveter" whose recruitment posters proclaimed, "We Can Do It."

Long Beach played a key role in the war, both as the home of the Navy and the naval shipyards. Thousands of women also took jobs at the local Douglas Aircraft Plant that employed round-the-clock shifts producing military aircraft.

On Saturday, March 24th 2007, that contribution was acknowledged by renaming this small park adjacent to the former Douglas Aircraft plant, "Rosie the Riveter" Park.

History: Formerly known as Douglas Park for Donald Douglas, owner of the adjacent aircraft manufacturing plant, then the largest employer in Long Beach, this passive park was created from excess land from the development of Skylinks Golf Course in 1959. In 2006, the Boeing Corporation was redeveloping the 260 acres that was the original site of the Donald Douglas Aircraft Assembly Plant south and west of the corner of Lakewood Boulevard and Carson Street. As they intended to name the entire development Donald Douglas Park, and create a new park to be called Donald Douglas Plaza, Boeing requested that the name be transferred to the new site. Upon approval of the request to relocate the Douglas Park name, the site was renamed Rosie the Riveter Park in honor of women who worked in defense construction plants during World War II. Long Beach Douglas Aircraft was one of the outstanding examples of women in defense manufacturing who were nicknamed "Rosie the Riveter." Plans were completed in 2008 for the construction of a "Rosie the Riveter" memorial. 

For more details about the park, visit the Long Beach link below.  For more details about Geraldine, click on the huffingtonpost.com link below.  

http://www.longbeach.gov/park/parks_and_open_spaces/parks/rosie.asp
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/30/rosie-riveter-dead-geraldine-hoff-doyle_n_802772.html


 

Desde la Logan: What Does Chicano Park Mean to You?

http://sandiegofreepress.org/tag/barrio-logan/

Desde la Logan: What Does Chicano Park Mean to You?
by on April 17, 2013
http://sandiegofreepress.org/2013/04/desde-la-logan-what-does-chicano-park-mean-to-you/chicpark2/

From San Diego Free Press

Since I live across the street from Chicano Park I sometimes take its beauty for granted. I see it every day as I exit my apartment complex’s parking structure. I see it when I do laundry. When I walk to Las Cuatro Milpas for my tortilla fix. Whenever I return home from wherever I’ve been. I live within its shadows and those that helped create the space.

http://sandiegofreepress.org/2013/04/desde-la-logan-what-does-chicano-park-mean-to-you/chicpark1/It’s an ubiquitous presence in my Barrio Logan life. It’s always there. Standing proudly in the background of my existence. Because of that sometimes it all blends together. But not this coming Saturday, April 20. The annual Chicano Park Day Celebration is when Chicano Park is at the forefront of people’s minds. It’s a time to remember and celebrate the occupation of land and a community fighting for its dignity. It’s a time when the park shines from within the shadows of the San Diego Coronado Bridge.

I know what Chicano Park means to me. But I often wonder what does it means to others? I thought I’d ask a few people that question. What does Chicano Park mean to you? Here are their answers, in their own words and in their own linguistic style. After reading please make a comment below and let me know what Chicano Park means to you.

Chicano Park exemplifies a unique continuum of art, culture, history and politics that serves as an homage to a people engaged in an ongoing struggle for equality, respect and human dignity. It represents an historical roadmap of the trials and tribulations, celebrations and recognition of all that is CHICANA/O. With its beauty and splendor, the iconography, images, sculptures (and more) communicate messages to all of humanity through a universal language. This is a place, where the sacred and secular combine in syncretic harmony, where memorializing the past and present help to ensure the future. I am honored to know many of the individuals that helped create Chicano Park, to come from a city in which such a unique park exists, and to share in the classroom (and beyond), its importance with hundreds of college students each year. Que viva Chicano Park!  — Kathleen Robles, professor at City College

Chicano Park is, was and always will be the metamorphosis of my life–the jewel of Aztlan! It represents the art, culture and history of Chicanos. Its listing on the National Register documents Chicano history beyond our own cultural borders. Chicano Park is En La’Esh! El Es Dios. C/S — Josephine Talamantez de la Logan Y-Que!

Chicano Park is a Vortex of the Mexican and indigenous diaspora unifying the past with the present and the future. It undulates to a rhythm captured by the energy of El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido! It’s murals like monolithic spears jutting out of our sacred Madre Tierra proclaiming, “AQUI ESTAMOS Y NO NOS VAMOOOOOOS! It defies the Eurocentric models of education, and turns the four sterile walls of the classroom inside out. One need only stand at the kiosko facing any of the cardinal points to hear the echoing shrieks of our heroes — El Pueblo, The People proclaiming, VIVA LA RAZA as the chachayotes of our warrior danzantes spin like water to the center and back again, to the center and back again as do our children, our youth, and our elders, QUE VIVA CHICANO PARK!!!!!!!! Tierra Sagrada — CHICANO POWER!
— Mario Chacon, artist

Creative Barriologia desde El Ombligo De Aztlán  — Alberto López Pulido, USD Ethnic Studies Chair

Chicano Park, like some tattooed essential body part (an arm? a leg? my heart?), is the spiritual center of San Diego, California. A beating heart at the base of a gross superstructure, it works at the level of myth and memory to remind an all-too-often whitebread SoCal that the pulse of our cultural core is the obvious and subterranean conversation taking place between the United States and Mexico. From the ravages of “urban development” and “progress,” the murals of Chicano Park speak to a different audience, addressing the past and the future, our legacy and our destiny here on the West Coast of the US. — Dr. William “Memo” Nericcio, SDSU professor and artist

Chicano Park is the sacred center. It is where I went to learn and to see on the walls the history that is still being censored. It is a recuerdo, a memorial to the power of the people and a reminder that we have power in unity, even when we feel we do not. It gives hope to all who go there no matter the failings that we all have. The artists put their best selves on the walls. — Gail Perez, professor of Ethnic Studies at USD

Chicano Park is Sacred…it’s Home. — Isaias Crow, artist  

http://sandiegofreepress.org/2013/04/desde-la-logan-what-does-chicano-park-mean-to-you/chicpark4/Before I moved across the street from Chicano Park, I thought it was only a place where old murals were on the stanchions of the Coronado Bridge. But now I know it is much more than just paint and memories. Chicano Park, and Barrio Logan to a greater extent, taught me the history of my people in our place. It showed me how the struggle of a determined few can alter the machinery of a privileged majority. Chicano Park stands as inspiration not just for Chican@s because el parque isn’t below stanchions of a bridge or the murals on the stanchion of a bridge but a stanchion for all people and all causes. — David Tomás Martinez, writer

Chicano Park is a living canvas, a living text or codex, that carries with it much of the history of our people, both past and present history and that which has yet to be written, that is actively being written. Just as the kiosko is an ombligo to the park, in many was the park itself is an ombligo among many other ombligos to the broader history and struggles of Mexicana/o Chicana/o indigenous peoples. — Roberto Hernandez, professor of Chicano Studies at SDSU

ha ha…what a question…. for me…. the park has been part of my personal development along with my community. as a artist when i look back at this …i first have to say….NO CENSORSHIP!!! to develop like this for over forty years…has opened up a POWER OF SELF, A POWER OF TRUTH….sprouting a garden of the spirit…EL ESPIRITU CHICANO… for ever. c/s  
— Victor Ochoa, artist

Community Power.  — Carlos Beltrán, Voz Alta Project Gallery

It means home.  Full of memories…  Distant faces of people and experiences informed by history, cultura, struggle, cooperation, colors on the tip of Aztec feathers, drum beats on pylons painting stories about barrio warriors standing fearless in front of modern day Goliaths in police uniform. It means my first kiss, my first dance, my first true love, my first child anointed in the water ceremony… yet it also means breakups and heartaches, too. Chicano Park means OLLIN: Dualidad. Movimiento de mujer y hombre, luz y oscuridad, noche con día, harmonia y ceremonia, en balance la dignidad, la lucha, y el triunfo.  This is what Chicano Park means to me. — Olympia Andrade Beltrán, artist and VP at Centro Cultural de la Raza

Chicano Park is the place I go to understand myself when I’m in doubt. The place I go when I feel oppressed. It is my home away from home. — Francisca Orellana, artist

A place of belonging.  — Armando Nuñez, artist

It’s home… doesn’t matter where I was born, it doesn’t matter who calls me their own… I’ve felt the sun that shines on it, the rain that waters its grass and the stars that adorn it… con los homies, low riders, activists and we the people… sometimes with fists in the air, brushes or a beer in hand… in defiance or protest, in unity and celebration… in anger, sadness or happiness… and long after I’m gone… there will always be home.  — Pablo Pimentel, artist

http://sandiegofreepress.org/2013/04/desde-la-logan-what-does-chicano-park-mean-to-you/chicpark3/Chicano Park is a living rebellion manifested through art, love and community. A sensory pictorial of our past, abounding opportunities for our present and aspiring possibilities for our many tomorrows. — wika, xicana artivist

Coming from New Mexico to the Centro Cultural de la Raza in 1989, Chicano Park has always meant La Tierra Libertad! A place literally and symbolically of Affirmation and Resistance, the history and creation of the park an example of what being Chicana/o in San Diego, Califas, Aztlan is all about.  Chicano Park to me means La Gente and La Familia, a connection to people, some now gone, who have committed their lives to La Movimento to keep our space alive through place, through Arte, Cultura, and Celebration. Chicano Park is home. — Patricio Chavez, artist and professor

Chicano Park is the vanguard of rebellion against the machinations of the elite. A beacon of triumph and dignity flanked in the bay by the weapons of oppression.  — Rogelio Casas, artist and curator at Centro Cultural de la Raza

The original Chican@Park Artists which started in their early and late twenties, are now in their sixties as Roberto Torres is 75 years old. We know that we are the first pioneers of a new era, a manifest of a mayan/aztec prophesy that its the foundation of the Chicano Movement which prophesizes that every 500 years Quetzalcoatl returns to the earth to the people and just as that entity came 500 years ago in the form of death being the European Invasion. 500 years latter after that, just around this time, Quetzalcoatl returns again to a mystical place called Aztlan, which to us its Chicano Park and we all, the Chicano Movement its the spirit of Quetzalcoatl where the indigenous renaissance manifests into this new age of enlightenment, as the mayan prophesy of 2012 says and the whole world was aware of that. Thats why we came together again in 2012 to renovate this magical mural, that we entitled, “The return of Quetzalcoatl” and we documented it into a movie as a historical manifestation which we know will be watch 100 years, 300, 500 years from now and give testimony to our glorious past in the new present.  — Mario Torero, artist


http://sandiegofreepress.org/2013/04/desde-la-logan-what-does-chicano-park-mean-to-you/chicpark5/


The 43rd annual Chicano Park Day Celebration took place April 20, 2013.  This free event featured two stages of music, speakers, ballet folklorico, danza Azteca y más. Plus, a display of lowriders, a children’s art workshop led by Victor Ochoa, various informational booths and food, arts and crafts vendors. Featured musical acts include Quino & Friends, Agua Dulce, Cumbia Machin, Kid Frost, Los Románticos and Mariachi Imperial de San Diego among others. For more information visit www.chicano-park.org.








http://e2.ma/click/idjkd/24hhid/e2za3
http://e2.ma/click/idjkd/24hhid/uu0a3

Subscribe today and enjoy the premier publication on local California history!

As the Conference of California Historical Societies, our motto has always been "Sharing California heritage”. One of our greatest tools for preserving and sharing California’s history is the California Historian. Since its inception the Historian has provided exceptional articles on the most fascinating parts of California’s history that you just don’t hear anywhere else.

1-year subscription: $15.  Inside every issue of the Historian, you’ll find:

A comprehensive variety of historical knowledge in easy-to-read articles.
Full color portraits that bring California artifacts and heirlooms to life.

Up-to-date historical news and events including workshops, film screenings and more
Historical reviews covering a wide range of media—from books and television, to museum exhibitions. The California Historian is only available through CCHS membership. Personal copies are available on request by members of Historical Societies that have joined CCHS.

55th California American GI Forum State Conference  June 20-22, 2013
"Honoring Our Women in Service"   

Dear Forumeers, Families and Supporters, It is that time of year again, to convene for our Annual State Conference. Attached are registration materials and flyers for State Conference 2013.  This year we have a dynamic speaker line-up and activities to inspire you.  We look forward to another positive year of working together for the benefit of Veterans, their Families and the greater community.

CONFERENCE TRAINING PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
* U.S. Veterans Administration and CalVet Panel on Benefit Programs
* Employment Opportunities
* Contracting and Business Opportunities with California and the Federal Government
* Breakout Sessions:
PTSD & MST issues and resources,
Diversity and Incluson,
Leaderships,
The Affordable Health Care Act, Veterans and their Families

* Veterans Resource Fair
* Student Leadership Symposium

*****************************
American GI Forum Members: $100.00     Non-Members:$125.00

LOCATION: Crowne Plaza Hotel
6131 Telegraph Road
Commerce, CA 90040 

MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION Official Flyer Here Download the Registration Form Here. 
Reservations: 323-721-2100
Toll Free number: 888-676-3000   Howard Hernandez Email   John Lopez Email
Hotel Early Registration--before May 21, 2013
Sponsorships, Agency Exhibit, Non-profits booths and advertisement opportunities now available.

About Us: The Amercian Gi Forum is a beacon of hope and an avenue for involvement for the returning veteran and/or ordinary citizen aspiring to improve conditions within his own community. Local, State, and National Conferences continue to promote and move forward an agenda that was put forth in 1948, for the betterment of all citizens and by the Amercian GI Forum.

Veterans Helping Veterans
"Education is our Freedom and Freedom Should Be Everybody's Business."

Dr. Hector P. Garcia, AGIF Founder, 1948
Helen Galvan, State Chairwoman
Howard Hernandez, State Commander
Forward this email

This email was sent to mimilozano@aol.com by agif.ca.enews@gmail.com Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.

AGIF of California | P.O. Box 1681 | Santa Maria | CA | 93456

 

Veterans Oral History Program at Rancho Cucamonga HS

Veterans Oral History Program at Rancho Cucamonga HS:
Our very own Richard Garza, US Army, Vietnam Combat veteran and others, shared their stories at the Annual Rancho Cucamonga High School Remembers, Veterans Oral History Program. 

This annual event will again take place again on C at 11801 Lark Drive Rancho Cucamonga, CA. To participate please Contact:
Aaron Bishop, (909) 989-1600 ext 2317 / Aaron_bishop@cjuhsd.k12.ca.us  or
Robert Sanchez, (909) 989-1600 ext 2360 / Robert_sanchez@cjuhsd.k12.ca.us 
CLICK on link for short ABC NEWS 2-minute video.  http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=9029766&pid=null 

Our UMAVA veterans also spoke to thousands of High School students at our 3rd 6-day trip to Oregon.
Visit United Mexican-American Veterans Association website for other programs & IMPORTANT: See INFO & NEWS Articles

Francisco J. Barragan - aka "Paco"
Commander, UMAVA
barraganfj@gmail.com


History of the City of Santa Barbara: Period II
SPANISH PERIOD (1782 – 1821)

According to the General Plan, Santa Barbara has had ten major historical periods. Over the next few months, Santa Barbara View will post the History of the City in ten brief columns.  

Reconstructed Chapel and Comandante’s Quarters at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park, 125 E. Canon Perdido

To establish a foothold in Alta California, beginning in 1769 the Spanish Crown constructed four royal presidios (forts), one of which was in Santa Barbara, and it established 20 Franciscan missions along the coast from present day San Diego to San Francisco. The Santa Barbara presidio was the last to be established, on April 21, 1782. The first comandante, Captain Jose Francisco Ortega, oversaw construction of a temporary wood fort in 1782. Then, beginning in 1784, a large adobe presidio was constructed using military and Chumash labor. The presidio housed the soldiers and their families for a Spanish military district ranging from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles.

Padre Fermin Lasuen founded the Mission Santa Barbara on St. Barbara’s Day, December 4, 1786. At that time, Padre Lasuen oversaw the construction of a small wooden church. This was followed by larger churches built of adobe in 1789 and 1793. A major earthquake destroyed the 1793 church in 1812. It took five years to construct a new church built of sandstone. The second tower was added in 1833, giving the mission its iconic symmetrical façade.

A dam and aqueduct system was constructed about 1.5 miles up Mission Canyon in 1806 to provide water to the growing community living on mission grounds. The reservoir near the Mission was so well built that it was used to store water for the City of Santa Barbara until 1993, when it was transferred from Public Works to the Parks Department as part of Mission Historical Park.

Like the Mission, the presidio was damaged by the 1812 earthquake. Over the succeeding decades, the presidio lost its military importance and gradually fell into disrepair. In payment for their service to the Spanish Crown, former presidio soldiers were given land grants located adjacent to the presidio. In the ensuing years, a pueblo, characterized by small single-story adobe houses connected by irregular paths began to take form around the deteriorating fort. Often consisting of only one room, these simple unadorned adobe structures reflected the available building materials (earth, rough-hewn logs, and marsh reeds). 

Their simplicity of form and materials and link to the city’s Hispanic heritage would eventually inspire the modern city’s architecture.

By   of Santa Barbara View on April 15, 2013 in News



NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES 

Oregon to Restrict Access to Records

Oregon House Bill 2093 contains wording that, if passed, will restrict family members and genealogists from accessing records that have been
previously available to them. The proposal will be amended to allow the issuance of records only "when 125 years have elapsed after the date of live birth, 75 years have elapsed after the date of death or fetal death or 100 years have elapsed after the date of marriage, domestic partnership, dissolution of marriage or dissolution of domestic partnership." 

NOTE: This proposal will change today's rules:
Death records become available after 50 years Marriage become available after 75 years Birth records become available after 100 years However, the new rules will not apply to "the subject of the record;  spouse, child, parent, sibling or legal guardian of the subject of the  record; an authorized representative of the subject of the record,  spouse, child, parent, sibling or legal guardian of the subject of the  record; and, in the case of death, marriage or divorce records, to  other next of kin." Those individuals may obtain copies at any time.

The full text of the proposal may be found at http://landru.leg.state.or.us/13reg/measures/hb2000.dir/hb2093.intro.html .

Peggy Rossi
CSGA Legislative Watch Chair


SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES   

Tiburcio Vasquez - The Lost Bandido Trailer, 7 minute
May 3, The Vandals Connection to New Mexican Families
Texas Before the Alamo Premier Held Austin
Mexican American History and the Struggle for Equality by Carlos Muñoz, Jr.
Trail Dust: Gypsies caravanned through early New Mexico by Marc Simmons

Tiburcio Vasquez - The Lost Bandido Trailer, 7 minute 

I was just sent the attachment of "Tiburcio Vasques" his homeland was California, in the 1875's like other in Tejas, New Mexico, Arizona, who stood up for family and justice are making a small come back some schools are naming their name sake, it a very small step, although we need to keep adding to the list Individual who are like Tiburcio are individuals like Joaquin Murieta, Gregorio Cortez, and or Juan N. Cortina:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0stTol-AFok 

Sent by Juan Marinez  marinezj@msu.edu   and Rick Leal  ggr1031@aol.com  

 

May 3:  Vandals Connection to New Mexican Families  (Haplogroup I) Section C
I would like to invite you to attend a lecture on Anthropological Genetic Genealogy: The Vandal Connection to New Mexican Families (Haplogroup I). If you would like to learn more about the mark this ancient civilization made on the Iberian Peninsula then this presentation is for you. There will be a presentation on the subject on May 3, through the University of New Mexico Continuing Education program.  Here is a link to sign up for the presentation:
http://newmexico.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=51442&int_category_id=18&int_sub_category_id=182

The Vandals were an East Germanic Tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals were divided in two tribal groups, the Silingi and the Hasdingi. In 400 or 401, possibly because of attacks by the Huns, the Vandals, along with their allies (the Sarmatian Alans and Germanic Suebians) moved westwards into Roman territory. Some of the Silingi joined them later. Around this time, the Hasdingi had already been Christianized. During the Emperor Valens's reign (364–78) the Vandals accepted, much like the Goths earlier, Arianism, a belief that was in opposition to that of Nicene orthodoxy of the Roman Empire. On October 13, 409 they crossed the Pyrenees into the Iberian Peninsula. There, the Hasdingi received land from the Romans, as foederati, in Gallaecia (Northwest) and the Silingi in Hispania Baetica (South), while the Alans got lands in Lusitania (West) and the region around Carthago Nova. The Suebi also controlled part of Gallaecia. The connection between certain New Mexican families and the Vandals will be explored. A short film that will trace the history of these people will be shown. We will also discuss which families show the markers that are most identified with this ancient civilization.
Best Regards, Ángel de Cervantes
Project Administrator
New Mexico DNA Project
Iberian Peninsula DNA Project
angelrcervantes@gmail.com

 

“TEXAS BEFORE THE ALAMO” World Premier
Held Austin
April 21, 2013


Austin
, Texas April 16, 2013 The City of Austin, in partnership with Austin Parks & Recreation and noted scholars of Spanish Texas, presented the World Premier of the documentary Film “Texas Before The Alamo” on May 4, 2013 at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin, Texas. The event is free and open to the public on a first come first served basis 5:30 to 9:30 P.M.

Filmed at actual historic sites in Texas and Mexico with actors, "Texas Before The Alamo" is about the founding of Texas and the Spanish who established Missions, Presidios and Trails now known as Goliad, the Alamo, San Antonio Missions & El Camino Real de los Tejas. The Film is dedicated to the research and tenacity of authors, archaeologists, historical organizations and researchers of Spanish Texas who have been consultants and producers for this project. Unrecognized and often criticized, they have labored for over a century in the Spanish Archives and at historic sites on the epic stories of the true pioneers of Texas.

The Film answers pivotal questions about Texas history; who founded the State’s most revered historical sites known today as the Alamo and Goliad; and who named its rivers and established the trails that became known as El Camino Real de los Tejas? And why did the Spanish permanently settle Texas in the early 1700s, when the region possessed no mineral wealth that Spain desired? And why did historic preservation activists like Adina de Zavala fight to save those historic sites from destruction and commercialization in the early 1900s?

Texas Before The Alamo tells the stories of Spanish soldiers and Franciscan priests in the struggle to keep France from settling Texas and reaching the source of Spain's power; the silver mines of northern Mexico; and the sacred and sometimes profane nature of the Mission system, and its attempt to colonize Native Tribes of Texas along El Camino Real de las tierras afueras.

The rich Tejano culture of this State descended from Spanish Texas, and was manifested by the establishment and unveiling of the Tejano Monument on the grounds of the State Capital Building in 2012. This Film is an outreach of that project and the efforts of Tejano activists like Adina de Zavala, whose struggles ensured that the Franciscan Missions in San Antonio, including The Alamo, would survive to be nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Texas Before the Alamo will be broadcast on public television stations starting Fall of 2013.

Contact: Dan Arellano | 512-826-7569 | darellano@austin.rr.com 



THE CHICANO MOVEMENT

Mexican American History and the Struggle for Equality
Carlos Muñoz, Jr. - April 2013
Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung NYU
The United States currently has more than fifty million Latinos living within its borders, including an estimated eleven million who lack proper documentation. In recent years, this freshly minted “largest minority” has increasingly entered the national spotlight. Unfortunately, this has largely been due to a notable rise in state oppression. Arizona, Alabama, and other states have passed draconian immigration laws that target Latinos and trample on civil liberties and human rights. On the federal level, President Obama set deportation records in four consecutive years, expelling a total of 1.5 million women and men during his first term.
Despite this sorry record, Obama received an unprecedented 75% of the Latino vote in the 2012 presidential election. This was largely viewed as a vote against the Republicans, whose presidential candidate advocated “self-deportation,” while less cautious party members were far more overt in their racist declamations. Chastened by their defeat, Republican strategists now believe the party must appeal to Latinos to remain competitive, and demands for immigration reform have suddenly entered mainstream, national political discussion.

The distortions of the 24-hour news cycle and selective teachings of U.S. history have deprived most people of the framework to understand these events as part of a much longer struggle. To this day, centuries of injustice against Latinos have never been treated as a core constitutional or ethical issue in the United States. Similarly, courageous struggles by Latinos against this oppression have been largely left out of the history books and the news media.

The author of this study, Dr. Carlos Muñoz, Jr., knows these struggles as well as anybody. He is co-founder of the nation’s first Chicano Studies Department and the National Association of Chicana & Chicano Studies and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a longtime activist who acted as a key figure in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s. His account of this period, Youth, Identity, Power: The Chicano Movement, is one of the seminal works of Mexican American history.

In this study, Muñoz recounts the history of the Mexican American struggle, from the 19th century conquest of the American Southwest to the 1960s, when the Chicano Movement came into its own, and ultimately to the movement’s decline and the present state of Latino battles for equality. Reading this study today, at a moment when the need for visionary political action is so clear, Muñoz’ account of the last major wave of Latino activism is of great importance. What can Latino and immigrant rights supporters learn from past successes and failures? How can we organize to win the battles at hand while cultivating visions for a more truly egalitarian society tomorrow?

Read the entire essay:  http://www.rosalux-nyc.org/the-chicano-movement/  

Fighting for Equality. By the Editors.....................................................................................1

Mexican American History and the Struggle for Equality
......................................................2
Early Anti-Mexican Racism..................................................................................................2
Americanization, Segregation, and the Fight for Equal Education........................................4
McCarthyism and the Suppression of Mexican American Radicalism..................................5
The Emergence of a Chicano Movement...............................................................................7
The Birth of “Brown Power”................................................................................................9
El Plan de Aztlan..................................................................................................................11
Brown Berets and the Chicano Left.......................................................................................13
Chicano Arts Movement and Chicano Studies.......................................................................15
The Struggle for Immigrant Rights in Recent Years...............................................................16
Prospects for a Chicano Movement Resurgence...................................................................19
Works Consulted and Recommended Reading......................................................................19

 

 

 


Trail Dust: Gypsies caravanned through early New Mexico 
by Marc Simmons

March 22, 2013 

For The New Mexican 
SantaFeNewMexican.com

The Gypsies are a colorful, nomadic people numbering about 1 million who roam throughout the world. Originally from India, they speak their own language, called Romany, and specialize in the business of trading and in public entertainment. Holding firmly to their native customs, they refuse to assimilate.

After 1850, Gypsy bands from Mexico began to make periodic excursions into the Southwest. They wore flamboyant costumes. The men, for example, were garbed in loud shirts, baggy trousers and a silk sash. Many men wore an earring, and on their heads, a fez with a long tassel.

Actually, most of the “Mexican” Gypsies had been born in the Near East — hence, their use of the fez. Seeing those distinctive caps, the Hispanic folk of the upper Rio Grande Valley always called their wearers Los Turcos (Turks) or Los Arabes (Arabs).

In the popular mind, the Gypsies were sometimes confused with genuine Arabs, who appeared in New Mexico in the 1890s and became involved in the sheep business.

For reasons I find difficult to understand, folklorists have not paid much attention to New Mexico’s fascinating body of Gypsy lore. It is a subject that has been buried and is now almost forgotten.

Thirty years ago, I began collecting the stories of old-timers who could remember as children the annual coming of the Gypsies. In those days, they traveled, like Spanish Gypsies, either on horseback, with pack mules or in caravans of brightly covered wagons.

The late Samuel Lucero of San José, on the Pecos River, recalled that the wagon trains of the Turcos came to his village each spring when he was a boy early in the 20th century. They always camped along the river where water, firewood and grazing were available.

In those sleepy farming villages where nothing much ever happened, arrival of the Gypsies was eagerly anticipated. The women would fan out through the community, offering to tell fortunes, and the men would parade performing bears and monkeys in the streets. For payment of a dime, they would have the bears dance.

Olibama López Tushar, who grew up in a tiny farming settlement on the New Mexico-Colorado border, says this: “The appearance of the Gypsies was a mixed blessing. They were welcome not only because they broke the monotony, but because they bought many chickens to feed the bears, and they always paid in cash.”

But she adds that the visitors were feared as well because they stole everything in sight. Some people I interviewed said they remembered that while the Gypsy woman was diverting the family with her fortune telling, her husband would slip around the back and raid the hen house.

The going price for telling a fortune was 25 cents, but if the client was poor and couldn’t’ afford it, the Gypsy might drop the fee to a dime.

Since Gypsy women were thought to have curing powers, they often ran a simple scam. If someone was sick in a family, the visiting woman asked for a dollar bill. She then placed it in a glass and covered the glass with a handkerchief. Next she would explain that for the ill person to be healed, the dollar must disappear.

After some arcane words were pronounced and the handkerchief snatched away, the money always mysteriously vanished. Of course, it ended up in Gypsy pockets, and at least a few of the rural folk figured out that they had been duped.

The main business of the men was horse trading. Behind every wagon train, the young fellows drove a herd of animals. When it came to hiding a horse’s defects from a potential customer, they knew every trick in the book.

Gullible farmers entered into a trade at their own peril. They liked to think they could outsmart a Gypsy, but almost every time, the farmer was taken to the cleaners.

One of the most fervently held folk beliefs was that Gypsies stole children, and here in New Mexico it was universally rumored that they ate the children. However, that never seemed to stop crowds of little boys from following a Gypsy caravan out of town as it left.

For some reason, the years after 1910 saw a flood Gypsies entering the Southwest. They floated through El Paso, Roswell, Silver City and then up the Rio Grande into Colorado. The tide stopped altogether during World War I.

By 1920, they were back, but riding now in automobiles — sedans and touring cars. By the 1940s, they began to fade from the scene, and today their marvelous caravans of old are just a faint memory.

Now in semi-retirement, author Marc Simmons wrote a weekly history column for more than 35 years. The New Mexican on Saturdays is publishing reprints selected from among the more than 1,800 columns he produced during his career.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/trail_dust/article_f2fb2fa9-7527-5d18-a625-03edb2fa841f.html


Sent by Juan Marinez 
marinezj@msu.edu



MIDDLE AMERICA

Film: "Cinco de Mayo: la batalla" to be shown at the Minneapolis- St. Paul Festival
America's oldest written historical documents date back to the year 1594.
Good websites on the Canary Islands in Louisiana
Work underway in St. Augustine to digitize 1500s records
Captain Louis Juchereau de St. St. Denis, 1674-1744 by John D. Inclan 2013
Movie "Cinco de Mayo: la batalla" to be shown at Mpls-St. Paul Film Festival
http://www.mspfilmfest.org/MMXIII/content/5-de-mayo-battle

An epic and emotional history of the events leading up to the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when the small, poorly equipped Mexican army stunned its French occupiers with a decisive victory. Immortalized for the past 150 years in Cinco de Mayo celebrations, Rafa Lara’s war film brings to life the dramas of the politicians, the generals, and the soldiers on the ground, as well as their wives waiting back at home. Utilizing hundreds of extras, this is a grand, classical war film rarely seen from Latin America. 5 de Mayo: The Battle excels both at the intimate and the legendary, with fiercely charged imagery.

Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@msu.edu


America's oldest written historical documents date back to the year 1594. 

They are written in Spanish and recorded the births, deaths, baptisms and marriages of the earliest settlers of the United States, 
in St. Augustine, Fla.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Inside a Catholic convent deep in St. Augustine's historic district, stacks of centuries-old, sepia-toned papers offer clues to what life was like for early residents of the nation's oldest permanently occupied city.

These parish documents date back to 1594, and they record the births, deaths, marriages and baptisms of the people who lived in St. Augustine from that time through the mid-1700s. They're the earliest written documents from any region of the United States, according to J. Michael Francis, a history professor at the University of South Florida.

Francis and some of his graduate students in the Florida Studies department have spent the past several months digitizing the more than 6,000 fragile pages to ensure the contents last beyond the paper's deterioration.

"The documents shed light on aspects of Florida history that are very difficult to reconstruct," Francis said.

Francis' project is timely because the state is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year.

In April 1513, the Spanish monarchy contracted explorer Juan Ponce de Leon to find another island off of Cuba that was rumored to have great riches. Instead, he landed in Florida and named it "La Florida," after the "feast of the flowers" during Spain's Easter celebrations.

De Leon probably wasn't the first European to set foot in Florida, and there is debate on whether he landed in St. Augustine or the sites of present-day cities to the north or south.

Many Americans don't even realize that St. Augustine is the country's first European settlement. Jamestown, Va., was founded in 1607 and Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, and both are routinely emphasized in school history classes. Historians believe that because America is an English speaking country, an emphasis was put on the British settlements of Jamestown and Plymouth and not the Spanish-speaking St. Augustine.

St. Augustine holds many of the secrets to 16th century Florida, largely because of these documents. Written in flourishing script, they are a treasure trove for scholars and genealogists who want to know more about who lived in Florida centuries before it became a state.

"People's daily lives here weren't the difficult struggle that was often represented," said Francis, adding that most homes had gardens and fruit trees.

The documents are yellowed with age and many have worn edges that resemble lace. Francis said that in previous decades, someone tried to preserve the documents by essentially shrink-wrapping them in plastic — but it's destroying the paper faster due to acids and the plastic used.

Florida digital documents project: Fragile documents at the Historical Archives of the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine, in St. Augustine, Fla., which date back to the year 1594, when Spanish colonialists settled in the area, are being digitized to preserve them. IMAGEAP: Tamara Lush. Florida digital documents project: Fragile documents at the Historical Archives of the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine, in St. Augustine, Fla., which date back to the year 1594, when Spanish colonialists settled in the area, are being digitized to preserve them. IMAGE

While the parish there began in 1565 — the same year St. Augustine was founded by Spanish explorer Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles— records from its first 29 years are missing for unknown reasons. The documents are continuous from 1594 through 1763, which is the year the British took over the city. Spanish colonialists shipped the records to Cuba, and they remained there for more than a century. A Catholic bishop had all of the records sent back to the St. Augustine by 1906.

Francis said the documents surprised him by revealing what a diverse place St. Augustine was in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. By reading the records in Spanish, Francis has pieced together tales of Irish priests, Spanish missionaries and Native Americans. He's discovered family tragedies and stories of freed slaves.

"Slaves who escaped plantations in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, slaves in fact who had come all the way from New York City, to come to St. Augustine," he said. "And when you read those, one immediately begins to imagine a situation in which they're in these plantations, and they decide, one day, to try to escape and make their way to St. Augustine."

http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2013-03-27/work-underway-st-augustine-digitize-1500s-records#.UVbwEldoYkF

 

Good websites on the Canary Islanders in Louisiana
Sent by Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com 

Series of articles . .

 

http://www.canaryislanders.org/ARTICULOS_LUISIANAWEB1.pdf 
Some good articles about the Canary Islanders in Louisiana 
(in Spanish ) from Wade Falcon's Facebook site. 
Work underway in St. Augustine to digitize 1500s records | StAugustine.com
Inside a Catholic convent deep in St. Augustine's historic district, stacks of centuries-old, sepia-toned papers offer clues to what life was like for early residents of the nation's oldest permanently occupied city. 

http://bit.ly/YK3BSQ
Sent by Juan Marinez 
marinezj@msu.edu
 

Biography of
CAPTAIN LOUIS JUCHEREAU DE ST. DENIS
(1674-1744)


© By John D. Inclan
Edited by Bernadette Inclan    Printer Friendly Page

Biographies Biography Index Search Biographies Pawlet Vermont Biographies Men of Lafayette Biographies Wesleyan University Class of 1865 Williams College Class of 1863 Vermont 1902 Legislative Directory Biographies

History accounts the events of the past through the eyes of the chronicler.  Genealogy registers the ancestry, that is to say, the bloodline, of who we are and how we connect to significant pioneers.  The history of the early families of New Spain could remain obscure were it not for the documentation found in the archives, such as public records, the census, parish rolls, to name a few.  With great pride, I present this tiny part of my family’s rich and stated history. As a descendant of the Dona Feliciana Camacho y Botello family, I introduce to you this short story on this prominent pioneer family.

Captain Louis Juchereau de Saint Denis, the eleventh of twelve children of Nicolas Juchereau and Marie Thérèse Giffard, was born at Beauport, New France (Quebec, Canada), on September 17, 1674. Captain Louis’ grandfather, Jean Juchereau, and his two brothers, Noël, and Pierre had emigrated from the town of Tourouvre in Perche, France. These three brothers recruited up to eighty families for New France. They became the founders and the early settlers of Beauport, located just northeast of Québec City on the St Lawrence River.  When young Louis became of age, he was sent to France for his education.

In late 1699, St. Denis sailed to Louisiana from La Rochelle, France with his first cousin, the newly appointed 27 year old governor, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville. This would be Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville’s second expedition into this reigon.   In Louisiana St. Denis found himself as the commander of a fort on the Mississippi River and another at Biloxi Bay. During this time he carried out important explorations to the west of the Bay and upstream, to the lower region of the Red River. These journeys brought him into contact with Karankawa and Caddo Indians and he learned invaluable lessons on how to cope in the wilderness land of Louisiana.

In September 1713, Antoine de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac, the French governor of Louisiana, responded to a letter received from the Spanish priest, Father Francisco Hidalgo, urging the governor to establish a post near East Texas.  The governor dispatched St. Denis, this Canadian-born adventurer, along with a company of men from Mobile, Alabama.  This same year, St. Denis founded in Louisiana the village-post of Natchitoches.  Natchitoches, recognized as the oldest permanent settlement in Louisiana, plays a major role in Louisiana and Texas history, and given notoriety by the filming of the movie “Steel Magnolias”.  In 1714, St. Denis built a garrisoned post to repel the Spanish of Texas and to promote trade with the locals. An illicit trade soon flourished with the Indians who traded with both the French and the Spanish.  This post became the first permanent European settlement in the territory that would later be known as the Louisiana Purchase. From Natchitoches he traveled to the lands of the Hasinai Indians, and from then on to Spanish outposts on the Rio Grande.

On July 19, 1714, St. Denis strode into the Presidio San Juan Bautista Del Rio Grande de Norte, located in the state of Coahulia, Mexico. The Commander of the presidio, Major Diego Ramón, placed St. Denis under a pleasant house arrest. The Spanish Crown had enacted an order prohibiting the entry of foreign traders or their merchandise into Spanish territory.  St. Denis violated the prohibition by bearing goods banned by Spanish mercantile restrictions.  Major Ramón awaited instructions from Mexico City on what to do with this foreigner bearing such goods. In the interim, St. Denis, a Frenchman and a cavalier, and wasting no time, used the occasion to court, and win a promise of marriage from Ramón's beautiful step-granddaughter, Dona Maria Manuela Sánchez Navarro y Gomez Mascorro.  Manuela was the daughter of Don Diego Sanchez Navarro y Camacho and Dona Mariana Gomez Mascorro de la Garza.  She was the granddaughter of Don Diego Sanchez Navarro and Dona Feliciana Camacho y Botello.  When widowed, Dona Feliciana married a second time to the Major Diego Ramon, the former Governor of Coahuila, and now the Commander of the Presidio.  St. Denis, ordered to Mexico City, defended himself properly and competently.   Soon after, on July 17, 1716, he became a member of the Ramón Expedition. Appointed as commissary officer, his duties included the founding of Spanish missions in East Texas.  This entrada  or expedition would represent Spain’s commitment to a permanent occupation of the province of Texas.

This same year and on February 17, 1716, St. Denis had married Manuela in the local Chapel of the Presidio San Juan Bautista. During 1716 and 1717, he participated in the founding of six missions and a presidio in East Texas.  On April 1717, he returned to San Juan Bautista with a sizable amount of merchandise. Although well received on his first visit, the era of Franco-Spanish cooperation ended with the death of King Louis XIV and thereby concluded the thirteen years’ War of the Spanish Succession  (1701-1714).  St. Denis, again found himself viewed a foreigner under suspicion.  However, this time he underwent more severe repercussions. To avoid a transfer to Spain as a prisoner when sent to Mexico City a second time, St. Denis fled the capital. By February 1719, he made his way back to Natchitoches. In 1721, Spanish officials permitted his wife, Manuela, to join him, and the couple spent their remaining years at the French outpost on the Red River. The 1722 census for Natchitoches lists the St. Denis’ and two children. The 1726 census of Natchitoches, LA.  indexes St. Denis, his wife and three children.

St. Denis served for 24 years as Commander of Post St. Jean Baptiste in the Natchitoches District. From his command at Natchitoches, St. Denis was often a bothersome thorn for Spanish Texas.  To this day controversy continues to surround his motives and actions. He insisted that his marriage to Manuela Sánchez indicated a desire to become a Spanish subject.   Suspicious Spaniards, however, saw him as a covert agent of France.

For his leadership in dealing with the native Indians and his victory at Pensacola, King Louis XV of France granted St. Denis knighthood in the military Order of St. Louis.  Without question, his accomplishments during his military career are indisputable.  St. Denis contributed to the expanded geographical knowledge of the East Texas area for both France and Spain. He brought Spanish and French settlements into close proximity.  Most significantly, he made banned trade a way of life on the borders of Spanish Texas and French Louisiana thereby firmly establishing trade on the Camino Real (The King’s Highway). On January 10, 1743, the 69-year-old captain wrote to Jean Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of  Maurepas at Versailles indicating that he no longer could perform his duties as commandant of Natchitoches. He asked permission to retire to New Spain (Mexico) with his wife and children. Count of  Maurepas denied his request.  St. Denis died at Natchitoches on June 11, 1744. His tomb is under the site of the first parish church constructed in Natchitoches in 1728, St Francis, and located just outside the stockade of Post St. Jean Baptiste.  Survived by Manuela and seven children, one daughter, Dona Marie Petronille Feliciana Jucereau St. Denis, was married to Captain Athanase Fortune Christophe de Mézières.

The achievements of  Captain Athanase Fortune Christophe de Mézières  deserve mention.  He was born in 1719, the son of Louis Christophe de Mézières and Marie Antoinette Clugny, two prominent noble families of Paris.  His parents had him baptized on March 26, 1719.  His career as an infantryman began in Louisiana in the early 1730’s.  Over the next thirty years, he served as ensign, lieutenant, and captain.  On April 18, 1746, while assigned to the French outpost in Natchitoches, LA,   he married Marie Petronille Feliciana Juchereau St. Denis.  The marriage was brief.  Marie died in 1746 while giving birth to their only child.  Mézières later married Pelagie Fazende.  On September 15, 1763, shortly after Louisiana passed from the French to Spanish control, he was discharged from the infantry.  Like many Frenchmen in Louisiana at that time, he offered his services to Spain.  In late 1769, Alejandro O’Reilly, then governor of Louisiana, appointed Mézières Lieutenant Governor of Natchitoches.  Skilled in Latin, French, and Spanish, as well as in several Indian languages, Mézières embarked on an extraordinary career as a Spanish agent to the Indians of northern Texas.  In 1770, he carried out the first of several expeditions to the Red River.  In the following year, he successfully negotiated treaties with the Kichais, Tawakonis, Taovayas, and the Tonkawas by proxy.  In 1778, Bernardo de Galvez, governor of Louisiana, released Mézières for additional services in Texas.  He was to forge an alliance among the Spanish, Comanches, and Nortenos against the Apaches.  To this end, Mézières traveled extensively over the course of a year to the new town of Bucareli, a settlement in Texas that eventually failed to prosper, to the Red River and even to New Orleans.  En route between Los Adaes, now a historic site in Louisiana,  and Nacogdoches, Texas, he suffered a serious brain injury when thrown from his horse.  After convalescing, he continued on to San Antonio, the capital of Texas, arriving in September 1779.  It was here that he learned of his appointment as governor of Texas. Mézières, now about 60 years of age, remained gravely ill and did not assume this office. He died at San Antonio on November 2, 1779, never fully recovering from his injuries.  The proposed general alliance with the Comanches and Nortenos was never realized. He had one child by his first wife, Marie, eight by his second wife.

Dona Manuela died on April 16, 1758, and buried next to her husband.  The annals of Natchitoches record that she was the wealthiest woman in Louisiana.  Northwestern State University of Louisiana now occupies the property of her estate. Throughout the parishes of Louisiana, a genealogist can find the descendants of the unions between St. Denis and Sanchez.

Post St. Jean Baptiste continued to serve as a military outpost and commercial trade center until 1762. When England defeated France in the French and Indian War, France surrendered the Louisiana colony to Spain. In 1800, the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso officially returned the Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi to France.  The Treaty discharged the Spanish from the continued deficits caused by the colony and relieved the growing possibility that Spain, to retain control of the lands, would find herself at war with the ever-growing numbers of Americans.

On May 2, 1803, the U.S. representatives Livingston and Monroe agreed to purchase the Louisiana territory for $15M.   The United States doubled in size overnight! Louisiana was officially transferred from Spain to France on November 30, 1803, and on December 20, 1803, France transferred Louisiana to the United States. To date, this purchase of real estate has the distinction of being the biggest bargain in history! fromGalveston@yahoo.com

http://www.geneabios.com/juchereau.htm 

References:
Celiz, Fray Francisco. Diary of the Alarcon Expedition into Texas, 1718-1719.
Published by the Quivira Society.
Chabot, Frederick C. With the Maker of San Antonio.
Chipman, D.E. & Joseph, H.D. Explorers and Settlers of Spanish Texas.
De Zavala, Adina. History and Legends of the Alamo and Other Missions
Foster, William C.  Spanish Expeditions into Texas 1689-1768.
Syers William Edwards. Texas:The Beginning 1519-1834
Weddle, Robert S.   San Juan Bautista - Gateway to Spanish Texas
Wharton, Clarence Remember Goliad
Hadley, Diana. The Presidio and Militia on the Northern Frontier of New Spain.
The Handbook of Texas Online

 


TEXAS

Happy 218th Birthday Party held for Jose Antonio Navarro
La Voz, San Antonio, Tejas, Ist issue published April 1
May 4, “Texas Before Alamo” World Premier in Austin
"First Annual Commemoration of our Chicano Legacy," Crystal City, Zavala County
and the Winter Garden area
Illegal immigrants were flooding into Texas in 1828
Mexican American Archival Enterprise, Benson Latin American Collection:
When Visiting Corpus Christi, Texas
Fiesta San Antonio


Happy 218th Birthday Party 
held for Jose Antonio Navarro  
by the Friends of Casa Navarro

 

 

Entering the courtyard. Program included representation from other heritage groups,  music, food, re-enactors and exhibits. 


Nancy Avellar. President, 
San Antonio Conservation Society


Donna Williams Texas Historic Commission Historic Sites Division Director


Sylvia Tillotson, Hope Andrade, Honorable Texas Secretary of State, Keynote speaker and  and presented a State of Texas Proclamation from Governor Perry, and Maclovio Perez, re-enactor who served as the Master of Ceremonies.  

 

Order of the Granaderos, Joe Perez

Battle of Medina Society, Dan Arrellano 

Do go to the Casa de Navarro website.  Lots of photos with captions.  
Sent by Sylvia Tillotson STillotson@aol.com 

LA VOZ, SAN ANTONIO, TEJAS, Editor/Publisher, Alfredo Santos 1st issue was published, April 2013.
New online publication, free www.lavoznewspapers.com  512-944-4123
There are La Voz newspapers in Austin, Brazoria County, Hays County, Guadalupe County, Comal County, and now San Antonio.

 


Dr. Patricia Lopez at the Forefront of Education Fight in Austin, Texas

OLLU Names Sister Jane Ann Slater, CDP, President


Bejarano Learning the Finer Points of Television

 

Originally from Visalia, California, Dr. Patricia D. Lopez, has turned out to be a leading advocate for educational reform since coming to Texas in 2006.

Together with Dr. Angela Valenzuela, Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Lopez works at the Texas Center for Education Policy where they
have testified before the Texas Legislature, and conducted seminars and workshops to help educate school officials and others about the unfairness of high stakes testing.

With the Texas Legislature in session,
Lopez can be found at the capitol monitoring the general sessions, attending hearings and tweeting out instantaneous news about unfolding events.

Lopez earned her doctorate in 2012 from The University of Texas at Austin and in 2008, her masters degree. She earned her bachelors degree from The University
of California at Santa Cruz.

Sister Jane Ann Slater, PhD, a member of the Congregation of Divine Providence, is the ne winterim president of Our Lady of the Lake University. She follows Tessa Martinez Pollack, PhD, who stepped down March 1 after serving as president since 2002.

“I am pleased that Sister Jane Ann has accepted the important charge to lead the University during this transitional period,”said Roy Terracina, chairman ofthe OLLU Board of Trustees. Slater has served the University and the Congregation in a variety of roles throughout her career. She taught as a member of the OLLU chemistry faculty from 1970-1981, was the dean of students in 1974.

A native of Texarkana, Ark., Slater joined the Congregation of DivineProvidence more than 50 years ago. She earned a PhD in inorganic
chemistry from the University of Colorado and aBachelor of Arts in chemistry from OLLU.

In the beginning, all she wantedwas a break, a chance to learn and get a feel for TV news. In the end, she may wind up as part of an Emmy Award-winning
production.

Meet Sarai Bejarano, a student journalist at Our Lady of the Lake University who became a reporter, videographer and editor last spring for a ground-breaking
project at Spanish-language KWEX-TV.

The project, “Proyecto U,” was a news collaboration between college journalists and professional journalists at KWEXTV. Together they produced an unusual collection of newscasts, which earned a Lone Star Emmy Award nomination for community service. “I am ecstatic,” says Bejarano, a 22-year-oldCommunications Arts major.

“When I found out, I was in shock. ”Bejarano and Yadira Chavez, an OLLU graduate student lastspring, joined peers from the University of the Incarnate Word,
St. Mary’s and Texas A&M-San Antonio to produce four Saturday afternoon newscasts. Three 15-minute segments were prerecorded.  A fourth segment aired
live from the studio in April.

 

“TEXAS BEFORE THE ALAMO” World Premier, May 4, 2013 in Austin 

Austin, Texas April 16, 2013 The City of Austin, in partnership with Austin Parks & Recreation and noted scholars of Spanish Texas, presented the World Premier of the documentary Film “Texas Before The Alamo” on May 4, 2013 at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin, Texas. The event is free and open to the public on a first come first served basis 5:30 to 9:30 P.M. 

Filmed at actual historic sites in Texas and Mexico with actors, "Texas Before The Alamo" is about the founding of Texas and the Spanish who established Missions, Presidios and Trails now known as Goliad, the Alamo, San Antonio Missions & El Camino Real de los Tejas. The Film is dedicated to the research and tenacity of authors, archaeologists, historical organizations and researchers of Spanish Texas who have been consultants and producers for this project. Unrecognized and often criticized, they have labored for over a century in the Spanish Archives and at historic sites on the epic stories of the true pioneers of Texas. 

The Film answers pivotal questions about Texas history; who founded the State’s most revered historical sites known today as the Alamo and Goliad; and who named its rivers and established the trails that became known as El Camino Real de los Tejas? And why did the Spanish permanently settle Texas in the early 1700s, when the region possessed no mineral wealth that Spain desired? And why did historic preservation activists like Adina de Zavala fight to save those historic sites from destruction and commercialization in the early 1900s? 

Texas Before The Alamo tells the stories of Spanish soldiers and Franciscan priests in the struggle to keep France from settling Texas and reaching the source of Spain's power; the silver mines of northern Mexico; and the sacred and sometimes profane nature of the Mission system, and its attempt to colonize Native Tribes of Texas along El Camino Real de las tierras afueras. 

The rich Tejano culture of this State descended from Spanish Texas, and was manifested by the establishment and unveiling of the Tejano Monument on the grounds of the State Capital Building in 2012. This Film is an outreach of that project and the efforts of Tejano activists like Adina de Zavala, whose struggles ensured that the Franciscan Missions in San Antonio, including The Alamo, would survive to be nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Texas Before the Alamo will be broadcast on public television stations starting Fall of 2013. 

Contact: Dan Arellano | 512-826-7569 | darellano@austin.rr.com  
You are currently subscribed to latinopreservation-l as: salvaladez82@yahoo.com. 
To unsubscribe click here: http://lyrisadmin.nthp.org/u?id=1541967.87a630b08004cf3bc752b17ef057f85c&n=T&l=latinopreservation-l&o=374536  
(It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) 
or send a blank email to leave-374536-1541967.87a630b08004cf3bc752b17ef057f85c@lists.nationaltrust.org


 

"First Annual Commemoration of our Chicano Legacy" 
to come to Crystal City, Zavala County and the Winter Garden area.

Event coordinator Rodolfo Espinosa, Jr. has announced that the commemoration will be celebrated November 7, 8, 9, and 10, 2013 here in Crystal City, Texas.
As an activist generation of the 70's and 80's we have a high footprint, a legacy that must be told. This commemoration is dedicated to all mujeres, hombres, niños and niñas y luchadores que siguen la causa que empezo aqui en Cristal.
Many Cristaleños from this area went on to become high-level professionals with their heads very high up with a lot of pride.
Among many were: Diana Serna Aguilera, Roberto Alonzo, Virginia Torres Aranda, Sandy Cardenas, Monica Guzman Contreras, Richard Espinosa, Gracie Flores, Severita Lara de la Fuente, Nora Juarez Guzman, Diana Palacios Gamez, Toby Guerrero, Antonio Guzman, Carla Massgnani, Carlos Martinez, Idalia Rodriguez Maldonado, Virginia Menchaca, Christie Rodriguez Rabago, and Roberto Serna, etc.
My ex-superintendent secretary Idalia Maldonado and now administrative assistant to the Director of Chicano Studies at Notre Dame University put it best:
"Being a part of the "69 Walkout" changed my life and I will be ever grateful to Jose Angel, Rudy, Severita and other. You all said "enough is enough". It is not good enough for our people, we deserve better."
"Because of the difference you all set out to make, I see it every day as I work along side chicano students from all over the USA.
These students here at Notre Dame are proud of who they are and feel they have earned the right to attend a higher education institution. Yes, there is struggle, there are class issues, have us have nots, but they hold their heads up and walk tall and proud. They don't know where they come from or how it got started, but I know now and when they give me the time of the day they are great, very intelligent chicano students. I always point them in the direction of the Chicano! The Tejano Disapora."
"Go for it, Crystal City should celebrate it all this year. It has been celebrated elsewhere across the USA. I'll do my best to be there. It is an important story to tell and celebrate.
We must tell our story and how for a long time when our parents hung their heads low, were spat on, spent most of their day on their backs making the rich richer. They were demeaned just because of who they were, a proud, humble, but talented people.
With a rich history and culture, they only had to find their voice and the did in Jose Angel Gutierrez, Severita Lara de la Fuente, you and many others."
Do it-Celebrate Crystal for the gem it has and don't let anyone forget that we want this for everyone.
Yes, mistakes were made, but no race has found their footing from the get go. Malcolm X made his mistakes and so did Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a great story that must be gold."  
Other coordinating committee members are Ron Carr, Arturo "Turi" Gonzalez, Jose O. Mata, Alejandro Perez, Leon McNeil, Jr., and Alberto Sanchez. Information will be forthcoming as definite plans are made. For now, contact event coordinator Rodolfo Espinosa, Jr. at (830) 374-3778 or email him at rudyespinosa49@gmail.com  

Sent by Gus Chavez
guschavez2000@yahoo.com

 
Murphy Givens Illegal immigrants were flooding into Texas in 1828
 

Manuel de Mier y Terá n in 1828 warned that if Mexico did not stop the flow of immigrants from North America, it was in danger of losing the rich province of Texas. The photo is from the book “Texas by Terá n,” edited by Jack Jackson and published by the University of Texas Press.
Manuel de Mier y Terá n in 1828 warned that if Mexico did not stop the flow of immigrants from North America, it was in danger of losing the rich province of Texas. The photo is from the book “Texas by Terá n,” edited by Jack Jackson and published by the University of Texas Press.

— Seven years before the armies came, the government in Mexico sent one of its most promising officers to assess the problems in Texas, especially the problem of illegal immigration. The promising officer was Manuel de Mier y Terán, a perceptive man who wrote about Texas with intelligence and insight.

In early 1828, Mier y Terán traveled from Laredo to San Antonio to Nacogdoches and back to the coast with a large entourage and military escort. He kept a diary, published a few years ago — “Texas by Terán” — which I relied on to write this. His diary doesn’t begin until after San Antonio, but José María Sánchez, a member of the entourage, described the town in his diary.

San Antonio in 1828 had unpaved streets and buildings that showed no beauty, noted Sánchez, with two public squares, neither worthy of notice. What little commerce there was, he wrote, was carried on by foreigners (North Americans) and two or three Mexicans.

From San Antonio, Terán wrote the president of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria, advising that North Americans were flooding into Texas, with their families, their slaves, and their own ideas of what was politically acceptable. He warned that if Mexico did not stop the flow of illegal immigrants and if it could not satisfy these immigrants politically, the logical end would be the loss of a rich province.

Terán estimated the population makeup of Texas as composed of 25,000 Indians, 8,000 North Americans and 4,000 Mexicans (how he came by his numbers is not explained). He described North Americans as rapacious, profane, hardworking, and hard-drinking. He said they were haughty, shunning society by inclination, and while he admired their ability to get things done he feared their unquenchable vitality. As he understood it, what he admired most about the North Americans — their stubborn independence — was a serious threat to Mexico.

Of his fellow Mexicans, Terán displayed the prejudices of Mexico’s ruling class, writing that Tejanos congregated in the towns of Béxar, La Bahia (Goliad), and Nacogdoches, that their livelihood depended on soldiers’ pay, that they were underpaid, undereducated, and belonged to the “indigent and wretched class.” While his prejudices were severe, they revealed the thinking prevalent in Mexico City about Tejanos and North Americans.

After leaving San Antonio, Terán’s party camped on Salado Creek and heard bullfrogs that night. Next day, they rode through sandstone hills. Fifty miles from San Antonio, they came across two carts loaded with pecans pulled by oxen and driven by North Americans. They stopped at the Guadalupe River, where the beauty of the country, Terán wrote, surpassed all description. At Gonzales, there were six log cabins “whose construction shows that those who live inside them are not Mexicans.” The families raised corn and cotton and they had a few cows and oxen.

On the Colorado, they visited the home of Benjamin Beeson, who ran a ferry, had 60 to 80 head of cattle and cultivated a large field of corn. Terán ate cornbread, which he said resembled a thick tortilla.

At San Felipe de Austin, the land was cleared to grow cotton. The colonists told Terán they wanted to bring in slaves for the hard work cutting down trees and clearing the land. Since there were lawyers in the settlement, Terán observed, there was no lack of disagreement.

When they crossed the Neches, Terán noted that the river flowed in the same direction as all Texas rivers, northwest to southeast. They arrived in Nacogdoches, one of the trouble spots on the frontier, where they remained for several months.

In Nacogdoches, Terán found that the foreigners (North Americans) outnumbered the Tejanos 10 to one. Many of the foreigners, he wrote, were vicious men with evil ways, some fugitive criminals, and all of them were ambitious, aggressive and quick to claim the land by rights of first possession. The foreigners had great advantages over the Mexicans, which was a cause of growing friction. Commerce was controlled by North Americans while legal authority was in the hands of the Tejanos. The North Americans ran an English school and some sent their older children north for an education while “the poor Mexicans neither have the resources to create schools nor is there anyone to think about improving their institutions.”

“From this state of affairs an antipathy has emerged between Mexicans and foreigners that is not the least of the volatile elements I found,” Terán wrote. “If timely measures are not taken, Tejas will pull down the entire federation.”

On his way home, he stopped at the Groce plantation, with 105 slaves, and visited the colony of Martín de León (Victoria) where he found 42 “well-behaved” families from Tamaulipas, who raised cattle and tilled fields, but did not produce exportable products. Unlike the North Americans, Terán noted, they lived in town and traveled to and from their fields.

He found 300 people at La Bahia (Goliad) living “on a barren hill that lacks even firewood” and troops in the town reduced to abject poverty. He crossed the Nueces River, which he noted dried up in drought years, passed Agua Dulce and camped near the Santa Gertrudis creek. In this country, Terán said, he had to post sentries to keep watch or their pack horses would run off and join the herds of wild horses. They halted at the Arroyo Colorado where Terán bought a cow from a ranch for the soldiers, and later crossed the Rio Grande to Matamoros, a large town of 6,000 people.

After his tour of Texas, Terán outlined steps he thought should be taken, urging Mexico to stop all North American immigrants from coming into Texas, legal and illegal. He encouraged immigration from the interior of Mexico, especially from Yucatán, whose inhabitants he thought were as energetic as North Americans. He urged the establishment of penal colonies in Texas, offering free land to Mexican convicts on their release. Based on Terán’s recommendations, Mexico closed the frontier to Anglo-Americans and no one from the U.S. could enter Texas without a visa, but it was too little too late.

Terán ended his life in 1834. A year later began the well-known cycle of revolutionary events that ended in a battle at a place called San Jacinto and Mexico’s loss of Texas, which Mier y Terán warned about eight years before.

© 2013 Corpus Christi Caller Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.caller.com/news/2013/apr/17/illegal-immigrants-were-flooding-into-texas-in/ 


 

The Mexican American Archival Enterprise at the 
Benson Latin American Collection: An Historical Appraisal 


The Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) at The University of Texas at Austin is proud to sponsor a public symposia to be held in the fall and spring semesters of the academic year. This gathering of leading scholars from diverse disciplines is designed to facilitate and further conversations central to the changing field of Mexican American/Latino and Borderlands studies. The title of the spring 2013 symposium is "The Mexican American Archival Enterprise at the Benson Latin American Collection: An Historical Appraisal" and is scheduled to take place April 18-19, 2013. The evening reception and one-day symposium will provide the foundation for a scholarly examination of the rich holdings of the Mexican American and Latin@ Collections at The University of Texas at Austin.

The Mexican American and Latin@ Collections (originally the Mexican American Library Program) was established in 1974 as the result of an initiative by the Mexican American Graduate Association, with funding provided by the University of Texas General Libraries, the sponsorship of the Center for Mexican American Studies, and the continuing support by the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. The intent of the collection was to establish a major repository that would collect, preserve, and make available to researchers the necessary historical records to advance the Mexican American archival enterprise and enhance scholarly production in Mexican American studies. The symposium will demonstrate how these collections have aided in the development of Mexican American/Latino and Borderlands Studies even while we attempt to critique, challenge, and provoke the archive into being a more productive site for future scholarship.

Proceedings of the symposium will be published so as to reach a wider audience of researchers, librarians, archivists, and other supporters of the Mexican American archival enterprise. Invited scholars who have made use of the archives will highlight the depth and breadth of the collections and pay special attention to significant holdings in history, media, cultural arts, and literature that have helped to advance the study of Mexican Americans in the United States.

Sponsored by the Center for Mexican American Studies, the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection.

Please visit the following web site for a full schedule: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/cmas/symposium/spring_2013.php 

For more information, please contact: Luis Guevara (lvg@austin.utexas.edu); Valerie Martinez (vamartinez@utexas.edu); David Villarreal (david.villarreal@utexas.edu).


VISIT CORPUS CHRISTI 

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — For most residents from bigger Texas cities, the South Texas city of Corpus Christi has always been a day-trip destination for a quick beach getaway. But often overlooked are the coastal city's deep roots in Mexican-American history, some of it wrapped up in the civil rights movement.

And while Corpus Christi doesn't have a huge number of museums or landmarks connected to Latino history, visitors can find plenty of interesting things to see, from an exhibit about a physician and civil rights leader to a statue of the late Tejano star Selena.

Corpus Christi was formally founded in 1839 as a trading post, but it's likely that shipwrecked Spanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca explored the city's shores in the 1500s with African slave Estevanico. The shipwrecked travelers became famed healers among American Indians, visiting the sick in villages throughout what is now Texas, which historians later characterized as an early example of a multiracial effort.
Little physical evidence of that voyage exists in the city today, but the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History offers an exhibit of artifacts from another excavated Spanish shipwreck which includes a section of the ship's wooden keel and verso guns.

In more recent times, Corpus Christi served as the launching pad for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), once the largest Latino civil rights group in the nation. Founded in 1929 by World War I veterans, the group served as a key player in some of the most dramatic moments in the Mexican-American civil rights movement. The group helped raise money for a legal team led by San Antonio lawyer Gus Garcia and Houston attorney John J. Herrera to successfully take a case to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 challenging a ban on Mexican-Americans serving on juries in some parts of Texas. But there's no tangible tribute to LULAC's history in the city, other than an education center and apartment complexes bearing the name.

"It really bothers me," said Nick Adame, current president of LULAC Council No. 1, who is working to build a South Texas Civil Right Museum in Corpus Christi. "There are museums for everything else. We need to change that because this city was so important to the movement."

There does exist, however, a nice exhibit to the late Dr. Hector P. Garcia at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The physician and civil rights leader founded the G.I. Forum and helped bring national attention to a funeral home in Three Rivers, Texas, that reportedly refused to offer chapel services for a Mexican-American World War II soldier killed in battle. (A graduate student later argued that the funeral home owner didn't want his chapel used not out of racism but because of a dispute between the widow and the soldier's father-in-law, a story that at least three historians said has been proven false).

Garcia also played a role in organizing Mexican-American World War II veterans who raised money to pay for poll taxes and later led the Viva Kennedy Clubs in Texas to help elect John F. Kennedy to the presidency. Garcia also provided health care to thousands of poor Mexican-Americans, sometimes at his own expense.

The exhibit housed at the school's Mary and Jeff Bell Library displays Viva Kennedy memorabilia, letters from various presidents and photos from the Mexican- American civil rights movement. Also kept at the library are Garcia's papers, which are popular among historians writing about the civil rights movement in Texas.

"Dr. Garcia kept everything," said Grace Charles of the library's Special Collections & Archives. "He left a trail that tells us a story of his time."

Also on campus is a life-size statue of Garcia.  In addition, every year in January on Garcia's birthday, dozens of Latino veterans come to Seaside Memorial Park, where he is buried, to pay their respects.

But by far the most visited place in Seaside Memorial Park — and possibly all of Corpus Christi — is the resting place of slain Tejano singer Selena.  Born Selena Quintanilla Perez, the rising Mexican-American star was killed in March 1995 by a distraught fan. Her death at age 23 was mourned all over Texas and has brought thousands of visitors to her resting place, where many leave money, lipstick and flowers in her honor. Her slaying came just as the Tejano star was attempting to crossover into mainstream music with hopes of becoming the most popular Mexican-American singer of all time.

Not far from Selena's resting place is a museum dedicated to the star. Operated by her family, the museum displays some of Selena's dresses, her Porsche, and music memorabilia.  There's also a Selena statue at the seawall where fans leave notes and take pictures. It's as if they're saying, "At least you will not be forgotten."


If You Go... visit 

CORPUS CHRISTI MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY: 1900 N. Chaparral St., http://www.ccmuseum.com/ . Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays noon-5 p.m. Adults, $12.50, children 5-12, $6.

MARY AND JEFF BELL LIBRARY: Exhibit about Dr. Hector Garcia, Viva Kennedy and Mexican-American civil rights, open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on second floor of library, 6300 Ocean Drive, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, http://rattler.tamucc.edu/ . Statue of Garcia in front of library, on Garcia Plaza.

SEASIDE MEMORIAL PARK: 4357 Ocean Drive. Graves of Dr. Hector Garcia and Tejano singer Selena.




SELENA MUSEUM: http://www.selenaetc.com/museum.html , 5410 Leopard St. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adults, $3; children under 5, $1, infants free.

SELENA STATUE: Peoples Street T-Head and North Shoreline Boulevard.

Sent by Daisy Wanda Garcia 
http://news.yahoo.com/texas-coastal-city-gives-us-latino-history-165758543.html 


 
Fiesta San Antonio 
Fiesta San Antonio, is a two week long celebration (April 18 thru April 28) consisting of parades, concerts, and the best Mexican Food in the planet. Fiesta San Antonio started in 1891 as a one-parade event and has evolved today into one of this nation.s premier festivals with more than 100 events and an economic impact of almost $284 million for the city. Fiesta is .The Party with a Purpose.. Each event is produced by a nonprofit organization selected by the Fiesta San Antonio Commission. The funds they raise provide services to San Antonio citizens throughout the year. http://www.fiesta-sa.org/

Sent by Robert Vasquez rvazquez@LARED-LATINA.COM



 

   


MEXICO

Articles below by Tte. Corl. Ricardo Palmerín Cordero
Cementerio de la Academia Militar de los Estados Unidos, Julio de 1975
Centenario de la Decena Tragica
Registros Eclesiásticos de Matrimonio sobre la familia Santa Anna
Curato del la Asuncion de la Ciudad de la Nueva Veracruz
En La Hacienda Del Encero
Bautismo de José Eugenio Seguin Flores
Decreto del Soberano Congreso Constituyente Mejicano
El registro eclesiástico del matrimonio de Don Francisco de Paula Tamariz
y Doña María Soledad Maraboto
Defunción de Doña Dolores Tosta

Censo de Monclova, 1777 sent by Ing. Jose Maria Castro Zertuche

 

Cementerio de la Academia Militar de los Estados Unidos, West Point, N.Y., Julio de 1975

Para mi familia, amigas y amigos.
Envío a uds. estas dos fotos tomadas el mes Julio de 1975 en el Cementerio de la Academia Militar de los Estados Unidos, West Point, N.Y., en un viaje de visita a mi hermano el Mayor de Inf. Prcdta. D.E.M. Delfino Mario Palmerín Cordero quien desmpeñaba el cargo de Ayudante del Agregado Militar en Washington y comisionado en la mencionada Academia en el Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras como Instructor de Español.

Tumba del General Winfield Scott, Comandante de las tropas invasoras durante la Guerra de Intervención Norteamericana 1846-1848.




Obelisco en la sepultura del Teniente Coronel George Armstrong Custer, Comandante del Séptimo de Caballería, quién murió durante la masacre de Little Big Horn en Junio de 1876; también murieron varios miembros de su familia: sus hermanos el Capitan Thomas Custer quien obtuvo 2 veces la Medalla de Honor durante la Guerra Civil y Boston Custer de origen civil de 25 años de edad, su sobrino Henry Armstrong Reed de origen civil y el Teniente James Calhoun cuñado de Custer.


Saludos afectuosos.

Tte. Corl. Ricardo Palmerín Cordero.


 

CENTENARIO DE LA DECENA TRÁGICA
EL PATRONATO MUSEO BATALLA DE LA ANGOSTURA A.C .

1913   2013

 

                

Estimados amigos y amigas.

El día 11 de abril presenté mi exposición " CENTENARIO DE LA DECENA TRÁGICA. MARCHA DE LA LEALTAD ", en el Museo de la Batalla de la Angostura de la Cd. de Saltillo, Coah.
Entre las personas asistentes se encontraba el Presidente del Patronato del Museo Lic. Mauricio González Puente, Gral. de Bgda. Ret. Gabriel Macedo Brito, Sres. Isidro y Hernán Berrueto Alanís,Reynaldo Rodriguez, Sr. Sigifredo López Herrera, Héctor Recio, Eugenio Galán de la Peña,C. Gloria Chavez Trombetta de la República de Paraguay, Veteranos de la Guerra de Vietnam, Una Señora que amablemente me ayudó con la exposición de las imágenes y pido disculpas porque no recuerdo su nombre, varios compañeros del Patronato y demás personas asistentes.

Al final de la exposición disfrutamos de unos bocadillos delicioso

Saludos afectuosos de su amigo, 
Tte. Corl. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero.

 

Registros Eclesiásticos de Matrimonio sobre la familia SANTA ANNA

Estimados amigos y amigas.

Envío a Uds. estos interesantes registros eclesiásticos de matrimonio que investigué hace varios años sobre la familia SANTA ANNA.

1.- Segundo matrimonio de el Sr. Lic. Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, padre de el Gral. de División Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

2.- Matrimonio de el Sr. Teniente Coronel Don Manuel Lopez de Santa Anna, hermano de el Sr. General.

3.- Segundo matrimonio de el Excelentísimo Sr. General de División Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna con Doña María Dolores Tosta.

Como siempre mi agradecimiento a los hermanos Mormones por permitirnos investigar tan importante información genealógica e histórica.

YGLESIA DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LORETO DE LA CIUDAD DE LA NUEVA VERACRUZ.
CURATO DE LA ASUNCION DE LA CIUDAD DE LA NUEVA VERACRUZ.

Márgen izq. El Lic. Dn. Ant°. Lopez de Santana y Da. Ma. Dolores Zarso y Pintado. Casados y velados.

En la Ciudad de la Nueva Veracruz en tres de Junio de mil ochocientos diez y ocho: Yo Dn. Ygnacio Jose Ximenez, Ministro encargado de este Curato, por lexma. ausencia del Cura Ynterino Dn. Jose Teodoro Martinez. certifico que habiendose leido las tres amonestaciones que son conforme 

 

 

a derecho y Sto. Concilio de Trento, y no resultando impedimento alguno canonico contra el Lic. Dn. Antonio Lopez de Santana, Abogado de la Real Audiencia de Mexico Español de cincuenta y siete años de edad, natural y vesino de esta Ciudad, y viudo de Da. Manuela Perez Lebron el tiempo de tres años ocho meses, hijo lexmo. de Dn. Antonio Lopez Santa, y Da. Rosa Perez de Acal, difuntos, ni contra Da. Ma. Dolores Zarso Española de veinte y tres años de edad, natural y vecina de esta misma Ciudad, hija lexma. de Dn. Salvador Zarso Pelayo difunto y de Da. Micaela Pintado: dispuestos con los Sacramentos de Penitencia y Eucaristia, con mi licencia el Presbitero Br.Dn. Jose Ma. Rangel, haviendoles preguntado sus libres consentimientos que expresaron mutuamente por palabras de presente que hicieron lexmo. matrimonio, los Casó y Veló, en la Yglesia de Nuestra Señora de Loreto, fueron testigos Dn. Juan de Dios Troncoso, y Doña Micaela Pintado: y lo firmé. Ygnacio José Ximenez.




 

 

CURATO DE LA ASUNCION DE LA CIUDAD DE LA NUEVA VERACRUZ
Márgen izq. Dn. Manuel Lopez de Sta. Ana Perez de Lebron y Da. Ma. del Rosario Jacinta Gutierrez. Casados y velados en 3 de Abril de 1823. Ximenez.

En la Ciiudad de la Nueva Veracruz en veinte y seis de Diciembre de mil ochocientos veinte y dos: yo Dn. Ygnacio Jose Ximenez Ministro encargado de este Curato titulo la Asumpcion de Nuestra Señora haviendose leydo las tres amonestaciones conciliares, no resultando impedimento alguno contra Dn. Manuel Lopez de Sta. Ana Perez de Lebron, soltero Teniente Coronel, y Comandante del Regimiento de Cavalleria Numero Uno, natural de la Villa de Jalapa, y desde pequeño vesino de esta Ciudad, hijo legmo. del Lic. D. Ant°. Lopez Sta. Ana y de Da. Manuela Perez de Lebron difuntos, ni contra Da. Ma. del Rosario Jacinta Gutierrez de veinte y quatro años de edad cumplidos, natural y vesina de esta Ciudad, hija legma. de Dn. Antonio Gutierrez Venero, y de Da. Ma. Dolores Fernandez dispuestos con los Sacramentos de Penitencia y Eucaristia, haviendoles preguntado sus libres consentimientos que expresaron mutuamente por palabras de presente que hizieron legmo. Matrimonio los Casé en la casa de su morada, siendo testigos Dn. Juan de Dios Arzamendi, Da. Ma. Concepcion Hernandez: y lo firmé. Ygnacio José Ximenez.

EN LA HACIENDA DEL ENCERO

Márgen izq. El Ecsmo. Dr. Dn. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y la Ecsma. Da. Ma. Dolores Tosta.

En la Hacienda del Encero, doctrina del ---- en veinte de Octubre de mil ochocientos cuarenta y cuatro en virtud del decreto de N.Y. Prelado, yo Dn. José Francisco Campomanes, Cura propio, Vicario Foraneo y Juez Ecco. de la Ciudad de Jalapa, asistí a la ratificacion del Matrimonio que contrageron por poder en la Capital de Megico el Ecsmo. Sr. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, actual Presidente de esta Republica, originario de la citada Ciudad de Jalapa, hijo legitimo de los Sres. D. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, y de Da. Manuela Perez de Lebron difuntos, viudo de la Sa. Da. Ynes García: y la Ecsma. Da. Ma. Dolores Tosta, natural de la Ciudad de Veracruz, hija legitima de los Sres. Don Bonifacio Tosta, difunto y de Da. Manuela Gomez el que ratificaron por palabras de presente; y en seguida les confirió las bendiciones nupciales de N.S.M. Yglesia el Presbitero Dn. Dionisio Martinez, mi Teniente de Cura, siendo testigos los Sres. Dn. Bernardino Junco y Don Juan de Dios Cañedo y para que conste lo firmé. José Francisco Campomanes.

Investigó, localizó y paloegrafió las citadas partidas.

Tte. Corl. Ricardo Raúl Palmerín Cordero.
Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León.

 
Bautismo de José Eugenio Seguin Flores, hijo del Tte. Corl. Don Juan Nepomuceno Seguin.

Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días.
Iglesia de San Fernando de Rosas. Zaragoza, Coah.

Márgen izq. Sep. 10 de 1843. Jose Eugenio Parb°. de 29 días de nacido En la Parroquia de San Fernando de Rosas, a los diez del mes de Septiembre de 1843, Yo el Presb°. Jose Agustin de la Garza Montemayor, su cura interino; Bautise solemnemente y puse los Stos. Oleos y Sagrado Crisma, a un parbulo de veinte y nuebe dias de nacido, a quien puse por nombre Jose Eugenio,  Montemayor.  hijo lexitimo del Teniente Coronel D. Juan N. Seguin y de Da. Gertrudis Flores,

 AA.PP. D. Erasmo Seguin y Da. Josefa Becerra, MM. D.José Flores de Abrego y Da. Antonia Rodriguez. fueron sus padrinos el S. Gral. D. Jose Antonio Ma. Jauregui y Da. Soledad Orosco a quienes adverti su obligacion y parentesco espiritual; y para que conste lo firmé. J. Agn. de la Garza
Investigó y paleografió.
Tte. Corl. Ricardo Palmerín Codero.
Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León.


Decreto del Soberano Congreso Constituyente Mejicano

En el libro de matrimonios de la Ciudad de la Nueva Veracruz del mes de Octubre de 1822 se encuentra el siguiente Decreto:
Decreto del Soberano Congreso Constituyente Mejicano.

Agustín por la Divina Providencia.
El Soberano Congreso Constituyente Mejicano con el fin de que se tenga su debido cumplimiento el Articulo 12 del Plan de Yguala por ser uno de los que forman la base social de el inicio de nuestra Yndependencia ha venido en decretar y decreta:

1° Que en todo registro y documento publico o privado al asentar los nombres de los Ciudadanos de este Ymperio se omita clasificarlos por su origen.

2° Que aunque en virtud de lo prevenido en el articulo anterior, no deberá ya hacerse en los Libros Parroquiales distincion alguna de clases, continuará no obstante por ahora lo que actualmente se observa en los Aranceles por sola la graduacion en derechos y obenciones interpuestas se clasifican por otro metodo mas justo y oportuno=Mejico 17 de Septiembre de 1822. Segundo de la Yndependencia de este Ymperio= José Cirilo Gomez de Anaya Presidente= Prisciliano Sanchez Diputado Secretario= Florentino Martinez Diputado Srio.

Y en obedecimiento al anterior Decreto del Soberano Congreso Constituyente, mandado observar, con esta fecha se continuara asentandose en este Libro las Partidas de Casamiento de esta feligresia sin expresion de clases. Veracruz 7 de Octubre de 1822. 

José Antonio Sastre.
Investigó, localizó y paleografió.
Tte. Corl. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero.
Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo león.
Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días
 

 


El registro eclesiástico del matrimonio de Don Francisco de Paula Tamariz 
y Doña María Soledad Maraboto.

Márgen izq. C. Francisco de Paula Tamariz y C. María Soledad Maraboto. Casados y velados.

En la Ciudad de la Nueva Veracruz á treinta y uno de Marzo de mil ochocientos veinte y siete: Yo D. Ygnacio José Ximenez Cura ynterino de esta parroquia titulo la Asempsion de Ntra. Sa. leydas las tres amoenstaciones conciliares y no resultando impedimento alguno contra el Ciudadano Francisco de Paula Tamariz, de veinte y tres años de edad natural de la Ciudad de Tehuacan de las Granadas y vecino de esta Ciudad hace cinco años hijo legmo. de D. Francisco de Paula Tamariz y de Da. Antonia Sesma, ni contra la Ciudadana Ma. de la Soledad Maraboto de diez y siete años de edad, natural y vecina de esta Ciudad, hija legma. de D. José Ma. Maraboto y de Da. Ma. Ygnacia Alarcon, dispensados por carta del Sor. Obispo fecha veinte y seis de Mzo. Dispuestos con los Sacramentos de Penitencia y Eucaristia, y haviendoles preguntado sus libres consentimientos que expresaron mutuamente por palabras de presente que hicieron legmo. matrimonio los casé y velé in facie Eclesie, siendo testigos D. Francisco Gomez Rejón y Da. Ma. Dolores Pagés, y lo firmé. Ygnacio Jose Ximenez.
 

DEFUNCIÓN DE DOÑA DOLORES TOSTA   

.

Semana del Señor Cura Don Vicente de Paul Andrade.

Márgen izq. 46. La Señora Doña Dolores Tosta. Viuda, de 56 años. Pulmonía.

En trece de Agosto de mil ochocientos ochenta y seis, se le dió sepultura Eclesiastica en el panteon del cerro del Tepeyac al cadáver de la Señora Doña Dolores Tosta, natural de Mexico, viuda del Señor General Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, hija del Señor Don Bonifacio de Tosta y de la Señora Doña Manuela Gomes Palomino, murió antier á las diez de la noche, en la casa número seis de la calle de Vergara. Vicente de P. Andrade.


Investigó y paleografió. Tte. Corl. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero.   duardos47@hotmail.com
Miembro de Genealogía de México y Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León
Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Dias.

 

CENSO DE 1777 MONCLOVA,COAH.

ING. JOSE MARIA CASTRO ZERTUCHE

Mensaje reenviado ---------- De: Jose Castro jose.castro@pideisa.com
Para: genealogia-mexico-noreste@googlegroups.com 

Estimados amigos que gustan de la genealogía; anexo envio 3 hojas del censo de Monclova Coah de 1777 las cuales ayudaran más rápido a encontrar a sus ancestros son cerca de 90 las hojas que saldrán, más adelante ; agradezco quien me ayude a formatearlas en Excel, para su más rápida búsqueda. saludos  . . .  Jose Castro

 



INDIGENOUS

Learning a Native Language? Ojibway Programmer Has an App For That
Payments Authorized by Indian Lawsuit
Series of American Indian videos

 


The Ojibway app, being used here, was released in 2011 with 100 words. 
It has since been expanded to 260 and has been downloaded 14,000 times. (Ogoki Learning Systems Inc.)

Learning a Native Language? Ojibway Programmer Has an App For That

Marc Dadigan, Indian Country, Today Media Network.com
April 20, 2013

After observing how his 12-year-old daughter fiddled obsessively with the family’s iPad, computer programmer Darrick Baxter designed an app just for her, downloaded it secretly onto the device and waited to see what would happen.

The app was a program to help people learn Ojibway, the ancestral language of Baxter’s Anishnaabe people, and he saw almost immediate results.

“I didn’t tell her anything about it, but within a week, I heard her talking to her grandma and she was using Ojibway words,” said Baxter, 36. “I just realized then this is such a great way to learn a language. Today kids are more likely to carry a smartphone or a tablet than a book.”

In October 2011, Baxter founded Ogoki Learning Systems Inc., a software design company that specializes in creating smartphone and tablet apps and publishing e-books that help teach Native languages, and he says there is a huge, largely untapped market for Native language learning.

“The Ojibway language is one of the better off languages, and our language territory spans from the state of New York to Saskatchewan to Montana and Ontario. It’s a large speaking group,” said Baxter, whose company is based in Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation in Alberta.

Since the Ojibway Language and People app was released in 2011, there have been about 14,000 downloads, and Baxter said he often hears from colleagues and schoolteachers who are using the app to foster a love of language learning. The original app, which can be downloaded from iTunes for free, contained 100 Ojibway words, but has since been expanded to 260.

The demand has grown beyond Ojibway territory as Baxter has worked with the Blackfeet Tribe and other First Nations to design apps for their languages. Even at conferences, Baxter is flooded with requests from language learners and tribal officials to create apps for their language.

This led to Baxter making the unorthodox decision to give away his company’s invention, the source code for the Ojibway language app, for free. The code is now available on his company’s website, and anyone can download it and work to adapt it for their own native language learning.

“People’s eyes would light up when I would tell them I could send them the source code, and I wanted to create a legacy and help people save their languages,” Baxter said.

He also said he wanted to honor the memory of the Ojibway elder, Eddie Munroe of Garden Hill First Nation in Northern Manitoba, who lent his voice for the original Ojibway app but passed away at the age of 58 only a week after making the recordings.

“He was very close and important to me,” Baxter said. “After he passed, I couldn’t listen to his voice at first, so there was 8 or 10 months of lag time before I finally released the app on iTunes.”

Baxter said his small company, which currently has two-contract employees, will still be able to make money by publishing e-books, creating new apps or by consulting with organizations and schools that download the app but need more assistance to tailor the code to their needs. They also bring in revenue by producing native language CDs and DVDs, he said.

There doesn’t seem to be a limit to the creative ways the language apps can be used, Baxter said. For instance, he recently received an e-mail from a nurse who asked him to include medical terms and phrases, like “Can you describe your pain on a scale from 1-10,” so medical first-responders could better communicate with elders in isolated communities in Northwestern Ontario.

He’s currently looking for a medical organization to partner with to honor the nurse’s request. He is also planning a workshop with at-risk youth in Winnipeg where he’ll teach them to make apps and discuss with them how they can start their own business.

In a way, it’s fitting that Baxter’s app is helping to save lives as his company is named after the Ogoki River, which flows through his people’s traditional river and, as he says, “has been feeding and sustaining our people for countless generations.”  

“I’ve gotten calls from all over the globe, from the Maori in New Zealand to the Sami people in Norway, who I had to Google. I didn’t know about them,” he said. “It was kind of an awakening of just how global this desire to speak and preserve our languages are.”

Darrick Baxter, the Ojibway programmer of the language app code, decided to give the source code away for free so other Native languages could be preserved with the use of technology.   Ogoki Learning Systems Inc. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/04/20/learning-native-language-ojibway-programmer-has-app-148920#.UXMe_m327eU.email 

Sent by Rafael Ojeda  
rsnojeda@aol.com

PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED BY INDIAN LAWSUIT, AP 12-12-12

A judge has authorized the start of payments to American Indians in a $3.4 billion settlement involving the federal government's mishandling of land trust royalties, a law firm for the litigants said Wednesday.  U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan authorized the firm of Kilpatrick Townsend to send the first round of $1,000 c

ehcks to about 350,000 beneficiaries, attorney Keith Harper said.  The large settlement stemmed from a lawsuit originally filed in 1996 by Elouise Cobell of Browning, Montana.    

 

Series of American Indian videos  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_NWPDb6rjM&list=PL82771BDD842999BB
 
Video titles such as:  Lakota Prayer; Shaman music; Sacred Spirit -Yeha Noha; Cheyenne-Bufalo Blanco; Lakota Peyote- Healing song; Northern Cree-Just for You; Hand Drum songs; Native American Men so beautiful; Northern Cree- Round Dance Song

Sent by Don Milligan donmilligan@comcast.net


ARCHAEOLOGY

Rarely Seen Central American Ceramics Dating from 1,000 Tears Ago
New technology has enabled remains of galleon to be recovered by Hugo Gye

Both male and female figures were portrayed with body art and tattoos, but females were typically shown with the decoration covering their shoulders and chest. In addition, her seated posture indicates she is of an elevated social status. Greater Nicoya female figure on a feline-effigy bench, AD 800–1200 Linea Vieja area, Costa Rica Pottery. All photos by Ernest Amoroso, courtesy of the American Indian Museum
Rarely Seen Central American Ceramics 
Dating from 1,000 Tears Ago

Set In Clay
Through February 1, 2015
Join anthropologists as they search for clues about the pre-history cultures of seven Central American countries, studying the pottery each left behind. More than 160 objects are on view at the American Indian Museum in Washington, D.C.

Thousands of years old, the ceramics of Central America tell us a great deal about the societies who made them. Religious beliefs, gender dynamics, societal hierarchies–all of this lies encoded in the sculptural and pictorial choices of the people who made the more than 160 objects that comprise the American Indian Museum’s new exhibition, “Cerámica de los Ancestros: Central America’s Past Revealed,” opening March 29 in Washington, D.C.

Sponsored by both the museum and the Smithsonian’s Latino Center, the new bilingual exhibition is supported by more than two years of research and a thorough investigation of the American Indian Museum’s archaeological collections, some 12,000 pieces from the region, many of which have never been displayed in public. The show seeks to display the diversity of not only the objects, but also the cultures of Central America, and showcases 160 works crafted from gold, jade, copper, marble, shell and stone and dating from 1,000 B.C. to the present.

Kevin Gover, the museum’s director and Eduardo Díaz, the director of the Latino Center, write that the materials, “testify to the complexity of long-lived governments and social systems, and to the importance and sophistication of the art and science in the communities where they were made. They speak of the patience, sensitivity, and innovation of their makers.”

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/2013/03/photos-
rarely-seen-central-american-ceramics-dating-from-1000-years-
ago/?utm_source=gosmithsoniannewsletter&utm_medium
=email&utm_campaign=201304-gosmith
 

New technology has enabled remains of galleon to be recovered
by Hugo Gye 
400-year-old shipwreck: The Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario was one of a fleet of 28 Spanish merchants hit by a hurricane on September 5, 1622. Eight were sunk, killing 500 people on board and hiding their treasure for nearly four centuries.

The Spanish economy had been relying on the boost it would have received from the ships' arrival, and the disaster contributed to the eventual downfall of the formerly all-powerful colonial empire.
Now deep-sea divers believe they have found its wreck 400m deep, with 17,000 objects on board revealing that it was carrying gold, pearls - and even parrots.
Some of the 27 gold bars recovered from the wreck of Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario
The stunning treasures from a sunken Spanish galleon have been revealed for the first time after the ship was rediscovered nearly 400 years on from its wreck in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The loss of the Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario along with seven other ships destroyed the Bank of Madrid - and even contributed to the collapse of the Spanish Empire.

Now deep-sea divers believe they have found its wreck 400m deep, with 17,000 objects on board revealing that it was carrying gold, pearls - and even parrots.

The discovery gives a fascinating glimpse into the sometimes unexpected treasures which made the colonial economy run.  The wreck site, around 400 miles from the Florida Keys, contains 39 gold bars, and nearly 1,200 silver pieces of eight.

More unusually, the site features more than 6,600 pearls being exported to Europe from the coast of Venezuela. The gems came from a type of oyster which was unique to South America but which was nearly extinct by the early 17th century thanks to over-exploitation by colonial traders.  

In addition to the precious metals and jewels, two bird's bones were found at the site, thought to have come from a blue-headed parrot.  The parrots made popular pets because of their bright plumage and ability to mimic human speech, but this is the first time the remains of one have been found in a shipwreck.

Another glimpse of everyday life in the early modern world comes from a tortoiseshell comb for lice apparently made by a member of the ship's crew.

The Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario was one of a fleet of 28 Spanish merchants hit by a hurricane on September 5, 1622.
Eight were sunk, killing 500 people on board and hiding their treasure for nearly four centuries.

The Spanish economy had been relying on the boost it would have received from the ships' arrival, and the disaster contributed to the eventual downfall of the formerly all-powerful colonial empire.  

To the rescue: The Seahawk Retriever moored over the site of the shipwreckExcavations at the site of the wreck have been going on for more than 20 years, using deep-sea technology developed by British engineers to drill for oil in the North Sea.

They were carried out by Odyssey Marine Exploration, whose president Greg Stemm told The Times: 'This is the major find of our time.'  The objects excavated from the Rosario are going on display at the company's headquarters in Florida.  
Oceans Odyssey 3, a book on the shipwreck and its contents, is published today by Oxbow Books.


To the rescue: The Seahawk Retriever moored over the site of the shipwreck.

 

More... Revealed: Unseen film of Martin Luther King's assassin in the moments after he was arrested Rebel in a car: Poignant final picture of Hollywood legend James Dean taken hours before his death in beloved Porsche Spyder to be sold at auction

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2303830/The-treasure-sank-Spanish-Empire-400-year-old-shipwreck-reveals
-haul-gold-silver-pearls-parrots.html#ixzz2Pglu0lTy
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Sent by Bill Carmena  JCarm1724@aol.com


SEPHARDIC

History of the Jews in El Salvador

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

Jews have been present in El Salvador since the early 19th century, starting with Spaniard Sephardic Jews and continuing with the arrival of World War II Ashkenazi refugees. Jews who escaped Spain during the inquisition were Jewish Sephardic [1], hence, a significant number of Jewish families in El Salvador have Hebrew hispanized sounding last names. Some of these Jewish families include: Aboud, Cáder, Cantoral, Cordova, Cattán, Dreyfus, Figuereido, Figueroa, Gabay, Salomón, Sangarrén, Sariles, Taher, Taheri.

History of the Jews in El Salvador:  Business partnership with Catholic conservative landlords during the 1930s hampered Jewish security, but the situation improved after World War II. On Sept. 11, 1948, El Salvador recognized the State of Israel, and in 1956 the Instituto Cultural El Salvador-Israel was founded.

Jerusalén is a municipality in the La Paz department of El Salvador. It was named by the Cordova family, more specifically by Juan Cordova. They were Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain.

During the Salvadoran Civil War many Jews left the country after the kidnap and murder of a community leader and Israeli Honorary Consul for cultural relations Ernesto Liebes by the RN-FARN, the armed wing of the RN, one of the groups that formed the FMLN.[2]

The Comunidad Israelita de El Salvador was established in 1944 with a Jewish community center opening in 1945 and a synagogue in 1950 [3]. The country has now 3 synagogues. 

1990s: The signing of peace treaties in 1991 led to the return of several Jewish couples with children who had moved elsewhere during the Salvadoran civil war. A new community center and synagogue were inaugurated in the past decade. The Comunidad Israelita de El Salvador holds services on Friday, Shabbat morning, and on holy days. For Pesach, Rosh Hashannah, Sukkot, Channukah, Purim and Yom Haatzmaut the women's committee organizes meals for the community to share and celebrate together.

University students have a Jewish students association, EJES (Estudiantes Judíos de El Salvador), and a Zionist group, FUSLA (Federación de Universitarios Sionistas de Latinoamérica), both of which are active throughout the year. For adults, the community offers different educational classes in Hebrew and other topics of interest. The "Chevra of Women" offers a course in Jewish cooking, and there is a monthly Jewish bulletin called el Kehilatón, which advertises synagogue events. The Noar Shelanu youth movement, to which about 30 children age 8–18 belong, meets weekly. The kindergarten for young children also meets weekly. Two emissaries teach Hebrew and Judaism.

Relations with Israel: Israel has an embassy in San Salvador. In 2006, El Salvador announced plans to move the embassy to Tel Aviv where the rest of the embassies are located. This has been met by controversy, with many believing this decision to be under the political influence of the Arab Muslim community and the President himself, Tony Saca, who is of Arab descent.

Sent by Jaime Cader jmcader@yahoo.com




AFRICAN-AMERICAN

Black-Latino Connection Incorporated in Chicago ESL Class
Launch of New Book Series: Afro-Latino Diasporas
A Letter to My Old Master

The student comments are about a booklet that I prepared for an event in 2000. Information can be found at: www.somosprimos.com/blacklatino/bl.htm

Dear Mimi,

Forgive me for not sending this to you sooner. I want to extend a warm thank you for all the information we were able to use from your website. You helped me enrich the curriculum for my class at South Suburban College. I will use your website information from now on. You made Black History Month in my classroom a great learning experience for all my ESL (English as a Second Language) students and my Latino students in particular.

I am attaching a photo of my class in front of the smart board where you can see we were using the "Somos Primos" website. I also compiled comments from my students to you.

Continue this wonderful work.

Sincerely,  Maria-Diana Gutierrez
GED for ESL Instructor/Coordinator


COMMENTS FROM STUDENTS IN GED FOR ESL AT SOUTH SUBURBAN COLLEGE, CHICAGO

Dear Mimi Lozano,
Thank you for all the information you give us in your website. Everything is very interesting and important. Before I read your page, I didn’t know about the history of “Nyanga,” but now I am really enlightened.
M. Munoz

I just want to give you thanks for such a nice website you created. It is a great source of information that helps us to keep in mind the importance of our history and roots.
A. Lagunas

I want to thank you, Ms. Lozano, for publishing history online. I am from Puebla, Mexico. I didn’t know about why black people lived in different parts of Mexico. My teacher and classmates read the story of Gaspar Nyanga. It was an amazing story. We talked and discussed how African people helped Mexico to get its independence from Spain.

We also looked for our relatives; my classmates and I were surprised how you have compiled so much information of different families from many parts of the world.

We think it is a good idea to keep records from people; in that way, people can search for information about where they come from.
J. Cordero

Even though I am from Mexico, I didn’t know anything about Gaspar Nyanga, so I learned something new. I think it is a very good website at www. somosprimos.com to learn history.
A. Torres

I am amazed at how documented marriages reflect the atmosphere of racial integration that has been the foundation of Spanish America.
F. Gonzalez

Ms. Lozano, thank you for letting us know about Mexican history. I, personally, didn’t know about Gaspar Nyanga or blacks living in Mexico. When I saw blacks in Mexico, I thought they were from Cuba. I am from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. In my hometown of Rio Verde, they never mentioned anything in school about Africans in Mexico, or I maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. I feel I now understand more about people in Mexico and members of my own family.
L. Diaz

The students of South Suburban College in GED for ESL are so thankful for all the information you gave us on your website. I am from Mexico, and l learned about my native country and the history it has left us. African people suffered because of slavery, but I think it is incredible that Gaspar Nyanga fought against the Spanish to get freedom.
I, personally, appreciate all your information you wrote and I can say that you are wise. Now I can feel family with the African people, and I know we are all God’s children.
A. Ibarra

I am studying to take the GED exam. I was born in Mexico, but I live in Chicago, Illinois now. February is Black History month, so we read about the history of African Americans, but I was interested in knowing the African connection to Mexico. Our teacher told us about the website somosprimos.com and we started to look at it. I was really amazed but also surprised that even though I am from Mexico, I didn’t know about “Yanga”. I didn’t know who he was. I really understand the classification of my people:
mestizo, mulato, peninsular, and criollo.
Thank you so much for the information. From now on, I will go to your website even more often and also tell my primos about it.
M. Rodriguez

It is my honor to know the history of slavery, a horrible experience for the people from Africa especially.
The exploitation of the African people is excruciating to read, but today there is a big change for them and all of us when we learn about their connection to us and history. A million thanks for your website. I learned a lot. I hope I can search the history of my country, Philippines. Thank you. God bless and long life.
M. Clark


 
Launch of New Book Series: Afro-Latino Diasporas
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Series Editors: Juan Flores, Miriam Jiménez Román and Natasha Gordon-Chipembere

The Afro-Latino Diasporas book series aims to gather scholarly and creative writing on the African diasporic experience in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States.

The editors welcome manuscripts addressing any and all aspects of Afro-Latin@ life and cultural expression throughout the hemisphere, with a strong focus on US Latin@s of African descent.  We will also consider relevant work on the transnational Brazilian and Haitian experience. We encourage submission of manuscripts in any and all academic disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, as well as a wide range of interdisciplinary approaches. Fictional and poetic work will be included, though the emphasis will be on critical historical and sociological analysis on a broad range of topics, including religion, history, literature, theory, biography, and scholarship in sociology, politics, and economics. We especially welcome works on issues of class, gender and sexuality, in addition to studies of the transnational Afro-Latin@ experience.

Publications will be in English, but we will also consider works in Spanish or other languages for possible translation.

Please send proposals and all enquiries to Juan Flores juan.flores@nyu.edu, Miriam Jiménez Román mjmrom@gmail.com, and Natasha Gordon-Chipembere indisunflower@yahoo.com.

Sent by Juan Marinez  marinezj@msu.edu 


 

To My Old Master

 


EAST COAST 

The Challenge of Determining Authorship and Meaning By Bridget Kevane
Suzannah B. Troy, artist
Raices Hispanicas De Estados Unidos Por Carlos B. Vega, Ph.D

The Bernardo Vega Memoir Mystery
The Challenge of Determining Authorship and Meaning


By Bridget Kevane (April 11, 2013

In four years it will be the 100th anniversary of Puerto Rican Bernardo Vega's arrival in New York City in 1916. Vega, a tabaquero, cigar roller, by trade, is credited with writing one of the earliest documents on what it was like to be Puerto Rican in Manhattan until about 1945. The Memorias de Bernardo Vega: Contribución a la historia de la comunidad puertorriqueña en Nueva York has long been heralded as a foundational text in the New York Puerto Rican literary tradition. But what if I were to tell you that the Memorias is a text heavily excised by a different person? Even imagined by another author? 

In the text the author declares, "Los puertorriqueños debemos conocer nuestra historia." But what is the real historia of the Memorias? We do not know whether the novel accurately reflects the ideas and words of Vega himself or of César Andreu Iglesias, the self-appointed editor of the original manuscript. The genesis of the Memorias is cloaked in mystery. Does it matter?

The Memorias is a dynamic and fascinating historical record of a time in Manhattan where luminaries like Eugenio María de Hostos and José Martí walked the streets. Alongside the rich tapestry of historical figures, the electrifying Antillean political heroes trying to shape the future of the islands, there is also an inspiring message to the collective Puerto Rican community about their history and future: "Para poder ponernos de pie, los puertorriqueños de cada generación tenemos que comenzar por afirmarnos en nuestra historia. Como si dijéramos: tenemos un origen, !luego somos!" [In order to stand tall, Puerto Ricans of every generation need to start by affirming our history. As if to say: we have a history, therefore we are!]

It is a mixed medium text-part autobiography, part fiction, ethnography, cartography, political history-best known for its portrayal of the traditions of the tabaquero factories, specifically the role of the lector, the reader, in New York. But it also maps the first Puerto Rican communities, inter-ethnic and racial relationships, and the stirring political and civic organizations of the time as well as the struggle for Puerto Rican autonomy. 

As I wrote back in 1999 in The Latin American Literary Review, the published text available to us, the Memorias,is not, as we are told by the editor himself, César Andreu Iglesias, the original manuscript. The original text was a novel and, if we are to believe the editor, a poorly written one at that. Andreu Iglesias writes in his introduction to the Memorias that Vega gave him the manuscript in the form of a novel back in 1965 to edit and that they disagreed about how to proceed. 

Vega died before they reached an agreement. Ten years after Vega's death, in 1975, Andreu Iglesias writes in his introduction, "cumplo la obligación que me impuse de editar el manuscrito." [I fulfill the duty that I imposed upon myself to edit the manuscript]. Part of that self-imposed obligation, apparently, was to transform it from a novel to a first-person memoir. 

In other words, Andreu Iglesias's introduction, with its mysterious hints, omissions, and confessions, was a scholar's dream. What scholar would not wish to discover the original and compare it to the published text, especially when the journey to publication has been mediated by profound modifications? What if I could find the original manuscript? Would it be earth shattering? Would it change the face of Puerto Rican literature in New York? And thus I set out to track down the original manuscript. I imagined myself sleuthing around the island in search of the novel, as if I were a Puerto Rican Sherlock Holmes.

In reality, I spent a few hours asking around for César Andreu Iglesias' widow and finally found her telephone number in the Telefónica. Her name was Diana Cuevas. Yes, she had the manuscript. Yes, she would meet with me. And yes, she would bring the manuscript.

We met at the food court in Plaza Las Americas in San Juan. I approached the meeting with a feeling of trepidation because what I wanted more than anything was to secure the original novel written by Bernardo Vega about the experience of his character, Bernardo Farallón, in New York in the early 20th century. Naïvely, I imagined that Cuevas and I would engage in an intense discussion about the need to bring the manuscript to light for the intellectual and moral good of Puerto Rican scholarship. She would agree with me, I imagined, that this foundational text, despite or because of Andreu Iglesias's edits, would add to our understanding of those early years in New York where Puerto Ricans had just been deemed U.S. citizens. 

I was sorely disappointed. Cuevas, though warm and welcoming, evaded all direct questions regarding the original manuscript. And, even worse, toward the end of our conversation she brought out the folders with the typed pages and let me glance at them. I even seem to remember a sly smile on her face as she watched me grasp the fact that she was tantalizing me with something I would not be able to take away and study. Cuevas allowed me to glance at the manuscript from across the table for less than five minutes. I was not even allowed to touch the yellowed typed pages with red pencil editing marks. And then we were done. The original was whisked away and I lost contact with Cuevas. 

It did not occur to me (nor do I know today) whether or not she was hoping for monetary compensation for the manuscript. But I left without a sense of textual justice, of redemption for Vega and his original dreams. Despite the bleak end to my Puerto Rican Sherlock Holmes moment, I wrote in-depth, as mentioned, about César Andreu Iglesias excision in 1999. There, readers may find a complete scrutiny of the suspected interventions of the original, though I still find it problematic to refer to Vega's Memorias with security. 

On every page I question authorial intent: Is that what Vega meant to say? Or is that Andreu Iglesias speaking now in the seventies? The historical and political context is significantly different - a Puerto Rican in New York in between the two World Wars versus a Puerto Rican on the island in the seventies where the island was facing great unemployment, and so on. Nevertheless, the text itself transcends the authorial entanglement and remains unencumbered in its overarching message: Puerto Ricans in New York have a long and important history.

One of the most important parts of the text is the portrayal of the cigar rollers. Despite whatever excision took place when Andreu Iglesias took red pencil in hand, the tradition of the tabaqueros remains vividly portrayed. Vega (or should I say Vega-Iglesias?) cherished what the tabaquero represented, hard work and camaraderie, and, what's more, he saw them as the intellectual custodians of Puerto Ricans in New York. In a factory on any given day the cigar rollers would engage in global philosophies and political trends, anarchism, Marxism, socialism, isolationism and more. The hard, tedious labor of rolling cigars in a factory and lofty intellectual ideals were not at odds in this environment. Is there anything equal to this tradition today? Perhaps the lector of yesteryear finds its counterpart in the teachers of today, particularly those that have large Puerto Rican student bodies. 

The other important message is that of political activism, grass roots organizing, and an abiding hope in the camaraderie of men (little mention of women in the text). Indeed, there is a kind of pulsating workers' solidarity that crossed ethnic boundaries during that time: Cubanos, hebreos, italianos, puertorriqueños. Vega speaks of the larger collectivity of ethnic communities in the United States and their dreams of a better future in the Tower of Babel as he calls Manhattan. For many of these communities shared similar beginnings, though with categorically distinct histories. In those inter-war years the text idealizes the solidarity between different ethnic enclaves; today is that still the case? Have the overwhelming social issues facing Puerto Ricans turned them away from opportunities of reaching across the ethnic aisle, so to speak, and seeking solidarity? Or, in Vega's words, to seek "un alto espírito de compañerismo?"

Beyond the portrayal of the richness in political landscape and the cigar rollers, I believe those of us who teach Latino literature can recognize the Vega-Andreu Iglesias legacy in the works of writers like Ernesto Quiñonez whose Bodega Dreams, this time a real fictional account, reminds Puerto Ricans of the powerful history of the Young Lords and whose main character shares a message of self-worth, honor, and identity for Puerto Ricans in New York. The tabaqueros of yesteryear are the Quinonezes of today whose inspiring intellectual and yet down-to-earth message is defiantly dignified. Esmeralda Santiago and Judith Ortiz Cofer are other voices whose novels hark back to Vega's sense of hope for neoyorquinos. Take back Puerto Rican dignity, social justice, the tabaquero (instead of the jibaro), should stand as the symbol of the Puerto Rican collective on the mainland and, more specifically, in its first homeland away from home, Nueva York.

Without the original manuscript it is impossible to know how, if at all, it would change the message intended by Vega or the one intercepted by Andreu Iglesias. We can only work with what we have. But the ideals that both of them set forth in Memorias' still stand, regardless of the novel's transformation. If I were a professor in a Puerto Rican Studies program I would teach Vega along with Jesus Colón and the whole line of writers that spoke of the Puerto Rican struggle in New York. Not so that students think of themselves only as a product of a cyclical struggle without any gains but as an honorable struggle with a strong record of great writers who remind students over and over again of the importance of the future with the knowledge of the past.

Bridget Kevane
is a Professor of Spanish and Coordinator, Latin American & Latino Studies, Department of Modern Languages & Literatures at Montana State University in Bozeman. She is the author of Latino Literature in America (2003), and Profane & Sacred: Latino/a American Writers Reveal the Interplay of the Secular and the Religious (2007), and co-author (with Juanita Heredia) of Latina Self-Portraits: Interviews with Contemporary Women Writers (2000). Her work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Tablet, ZEEK, The Forward, and Brain, Child, among other publications. She can be reached at umlbk@montana.edu.

Sent by Dorinda Moreno 
pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com


 

Suzannah B. Troy artist  http://www.suzannahbtroy.blogspot.com/ 

This blog site is dedicated to the real people that love New York City, the historic stunning NYC and communities being crushed under this tsunami of community crushing development...welcome to the "new" hideous New York built on "old" New York's infrastructure. The new hideous sky piercing luxury condos, mirrored hotels and mega dorms reflect a history destroyed and communities no longer welcome.  Editor Mimi:  The site is dedicated to exposing some of the political corruption in NYC.  Somos Primos friend and author, Joe Sanchez was interviewed concerning his experiences in the police department.

Part 3 NYPD Hero Joe Sanchez: The Hispanic Serpico Year Long YouTube Documentary
Click on second interview with AnnaBell Washburn Part 4 one of the 12 jurors in my criminal case, and who wrote letters with the support of other jurors, will be in the next You Tube video interview.

Part 3 NYPD Hero Joe Sanchez The Hispanic Serpico Year Long YouTube Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tA2g7ZNOeE   4 minute video outside 90

Part 4 NYPD Joe Sanchez Hispanic Serpico AnnaBell Washburn Letter to Charles Hynes 1986 and read her Charles response which by the way PRAISES her as well as advocates for Joe Sanchez to be re-instated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLKo_2S-l5k   8 and half min. YouTube with Juror AnnaBell Washburn now 85 years old recovering from a Stroke yet more articulate and together ready to advocate for Joe Sanchez to be re-instated to the NYPD after 30 plus years.  

The beautiful, caring lady, AnnaBell Washburn, who was one of the 12 jurors in my criminal case, and who wrote letters with the support of other jurors, will be in the next You Tube video interview.

Sent by NYPD Hero Joe Sanchez The Hispanic Serpico Year Long YouTube Documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tA2g7ZNOeE 


XXXIII Congreso de ALDEEU/ 
April 17 2013. 
A major conference was held in St. Augustine by Spanish Professionals in America

Dear Mimi:

I am attaching several photos from the conference in which I spoke about the enormous contribution of the Hispanic World to the creation, formation, and development of present-day United States, based on the second edition of my forthcoming book, "OUR HISPANIC ROOTS: What History Failed To Tell us". The conference was sponsored by the Spanish Professionals In America, a great organization. I am happy to say that the 3-day conference was a great success. On the table my latest books, on the photo below, I was being interviewed by a Spanish (Spain) television program.

Best regards, 
Carlos B. Vega
spain37@att.net

http://www.vivaflorida.org/Events/XXXIII-
Congreso-de-ALDEEU-Spanish-professionals-in-America
 

Editor Mimi: Below is the text for the presentation that Dr. Vega made to the Spanish Professionals in America in St. Augustine on April 17th.



RAÍCES HISPÁNICAS DE ESTADOS UNIDOS
Por Carlos B. Vega, Ph.D  

 

Breves comentarios a modo de ensayo basados en la obra: OUR HIPANIC ROOTS: What History Failed To Tell Us, de Carlos B. Vega, próximamente a publicarse en una segunda edición por Janaway Publishing Company.

Copyright 2013.

Que cada cual haga sonar sus propios clarines y defienda lo suyo siempre que se haga honrando la verdad y motivados por nobles causas.

If Spain had not existed 300 years ago, the United States would not exist today.  
                       Charles F. Lummis, profesor de Harvard y autor de la insigne obra “Los  conquistadores españoles del siglo XVI”.

Much before the other Europeans arrived, Spain and Hispanics called what is today the entire United States “HOME.”             Carlos B. Vega.           

Son pocas las personas que tienen noción cabal de la aportación de España y el Mundo Hispánico en general a la creación, formación y desarrollo del actual Estados Unidos. Desde que Inglaterra, Holanda, Francia y Alemania siguieron la huella descubridora de España en el siglo XVI, se apoderaron de la historia interpretándola a su gusto y manera para así destronar a la verdadera nación pionera, ganar honra, y resucitar sus endémicas economías a costa del esfuerzo y sacrificio de otros.

Empecemos por decir que la historia de la gran nación norteamericana no se cuenta a partir de 1620 con la llegada de los rebeldes Padrea Peregrinos, sino muy claramente con la del español Juan Ponce de León a la Florida en 1513, o sea, casi cien años antes, cien años en los que se cimentaron las bases culturales, sociales, políticas y económicas de la actual nación. A Ponce de León le siguieron De Soto, Coronado, Cabeza de Vaca, junto con cientos de otros pioneros que atravesaron el continente a lo largo y ancho sembrando las más que fructíferas semillas de la Civilización Occidental que dieron vida y sustento a lo que con el tiempo llegaron a ser los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica. Es más que equívoco pensar que la Civilización Occidental penetró en el país por su costa oriental, es decir, con los ingleses, cuando en realidad penetró por el suroeste a través de México. Mientras los ingleses, holandeses, y otros, se dedicaron al pacífico cultivo  del campo para su sustento y a establecerse social y políticamente en un puñado de tierra que es hoy el estado de Virginia, España y sus provincias americanas se lanzaron a la descomunal empresa de descubrir, explorar y poblar enormes territorios por todo el continente, así como otras regiones del mundo allende el Pacífico, más toda la América meridional desde el golfo de México hasta Patagonia. Dígase, pues, quién logró más en el mundo y quién merece mayor honra. Sin embargo, todo esto se lo calló la historia dando honra y mérito a quienes menos lo merecían.

Pero toda esa empresa descubridora y civilizadora tuvo sus orígenes y puntos de partida en lo que eran entonces provincias de España en América donde se fraguaron y adquirieron alas: Santo Domingo, Cuba, Puerto Rico, México, toda Centroamérica, y la costa norte de Sur América—llamada en español “Tierra Firme” y en inglés “Spanish Main”—más Perú, Ecuador y Bolivia. Y una vez constituida la incipiente república norteamericana en el siglo XVIII, fueron España y esas provincias las que las alentaron y apoyaron en pos de su soñada independencia.

Y así continuó incesante la misión hispánica en Norteamérica hasta principios del siglo XIX, trescientos años que cavaron hondas huellas que una historia insidiosa y distorsionada se ha empeñado en opacar por más de 500 años. Durante ese tiempo, España y sus provincias se adentraron en el alma del continente y a través de la labor de sus beneméritos misioneros—que llevaron a cabo una empresa civilizadora sin precedentes en la historia—se instruyó al indígena a leer y escribir, a adiestrarlo en todas las artes y oficios, cultivar la tierra, edificar casas, puentes y caminos, iglesias, conventos, hospitales, asilos,  criar ganado, puercos, gallinas, así como llegar a conocer a fondo sus lenguas, culturas y costumbres, componiendo además copiosos volúmenes sobre una Norteamérica escondida y revelándola de par en par a un mundo ávido de conocerla. Así lo atestiguan, entre otras muchas, las obras “Décadas” de Pedro Mártir de Anglería de 1516, primera historia de América, “Vocabulario trilingüe en castellano, latín y mexicano” de Bernardino de Sahagún de 1535, primer diccionario de América, “Historia general de las Indias” de Francisco López de Gómara de 1552, e “Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las islas y tierra firme del Mar Océano” de Antonio de Herrera de 1601-1615. Uno de esos misioneros, el padre Eusebio Francisco Kino, bautizó por su cuenta a más de 100.000 indígenas y fundó sobre veinte misiones en lo que es hoy Arizona y áreas circundantes. Se fundaron escuelas y hospitales, asilos para niños y mujeres abandonados y ancianos, iglesias y conventos, ciudades y pueblos, como José de Escalón que fundó un total de 21 pueblos y 57 misiones, fray Junípero Serra quien, junto con otros misioneros, fundaron 21 misiones en California, y las de los jesuitas a todo lo largo de la costa oriental del continente desde la Florida a Virginia.

En menos de 50 años quedaron descubiertos, explorados, y poblados los territorios de 27 de los actuales Estados Unidos: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming. En total, los españoles y sus aliados americanos recorrieron más de 150.000 kilómetros en todas las direcciones, llegando hacia el suroeste a California, hacia el noroeste hasta Oregon y el estado de Washington, hacia el norte hasta Illinois, y hacia el noreste hasta Virginia. Con solo las expediciones de Juan de Oñate de 1598, y la de Diego de Vargas Zapata de 1693, hubiera bastado para poblar gran parte del sur del continente, pero les siguieron muchas más. La de Oñate incluía a 130 soldados y sus familias, varios misioneros, 83 carromatos y 7.000 cabezas de ganado, y la de Zapata una enorme caravana de soldados, frailes, indígenas, ganado, plantas, comestibles, y herramientas. Ambas se organizaron y partieron desde México impulsadas por los virreyes españoles empeñados en poblar las nuevas tierras. Indudablemente que no eran el oro y la plata ni las ansias de poder y fama lo que las impulsaron.

Originalmente la Florida comprendía el territorio existente entre lo que es hoy la península y todo el noreste hasta Canadá, y Luisiana desde el golfo de México hasta Canadá, o sea, que se dividía al continente en dos partes: una la Florida y la otra Luisiana. Es más, a la Florida y a Luisiana se les denominaban entonces “países” y no territorios. Por eso, al inmiscuirse Inglaterra en las costas de Norteamérica protestó España pues toda América, menos Brasil, le correspondía por el Tratado de Tordesillas de 1494 así designado en el planisferio de Cantino de 1502. Por eso hay quienes tildan hoy a los ingleses como los primeros “illegal aliens” de Norteamérica. Es  extraordinario el hecho de que hacía 1763, escasamente trece años antes de proclamarse la “Declaración de Independencia” de Estados Unidos, casi sus dos terceras partes estaban bajo el dominio de España, es decir, todas las tierras al oeste del río Mississippi más toda la Florida. El territorio de Luisiana comprendía entonces 2.140,000 kilómetros cuadrados.

España, con el apoyo de sus otras provincias americanas, descubrió el golfo de México, el mar Caribe y el Pacífico, verdaderos puentes al mundo que tanto contribuyeron a la expansión y desarrollo de Estados Unidos. Y en cuanto al resto de Europa, sumida en tinieblas por aquel entonces, fue España la que marcó la ruta del Atlántico hacia América, no solo por el viaje de Colón sino por las sabias obras de navegación publicadas durante aquellos primeros años como “Summa de geografía” de Martín Fernández de Enciso de 1519,  “Geografía y descripción de las Indias” de Juan López de Velasco del mismo año, y “Arte de Navegar” de Pedro de Medina de 1545, esta última traducida prontamente al alemán, francés, inglés e italiano. Como dato interesante, recientemente se vendió en Christie’s en Nueva York la primera edición del libro de Medina por la suma de US$578,500. En su catálogo, Christie’s lo describe así: “First edition of the first practical treatise on navegation: with the first appearance of this map of the Atlantic and the Americas”.

Incansable en su misión descubridora y civilizadora, auspició España en 1798 la expedición científica a América del sabio alemán Alexander von Humboltd para tomar cuenta minuciosa y fidedigna de su flora y fauna, gentes, costumbres, minerales, historia colonial, economía, viaje que tomó más de cinco años en realizarse y que fructificó en una enciclopedia de 30 tomos que escribió el propio Humboltd con su amigo A.J.A. Bonpland  titulada “Viajes a las regiones del equinoccio del nuevo continente” publicada en París entre 1807-1827. En 1804 el cirujano español Francisco Javier de Balmis encabezó una expedición por toda América—incluyendo parte de la del norte— para vacunar a la población contra la viruela así como estudiar las propiedades medicinales de algunas plantas publicando después dos obras capitales: “Instrucción sobre la introducción y conservación de la vacuna” y “Tratado de las virtudes del ágape y la begonia”, esta última publicada en Madrid en 1794. Al respecto, el historiador Robert Ryal Miller escribió estas palabras: “At the turn of the century, when the use of the vaccine to immunize against smallpox was newly discovered, the Spanish Government sent the Balmis expedition to the New World with medical teams, who penetrated mountains and jungles vaccinating American Indians by the thousands”. Notable asimismo fue la expedición a Nueva Granada de José Celestino Mutis en 1772-1775 que produjo la monumental obra “Flora de Bogotá” publicada en Madrid, con más de 6.840 grabados de los más reputados artistas de la época y a un costo para el gobierno español de 230.000 pesos, exorbitante cantidad en aquellos tiempos. 

Con el oro y plata provenientes de las minas de México, Perú, Bolivia y Ecuador, se sostuvieron y florecieron las 13 Colonias norteamericanas por más de cien años, y en gran parte resultaron decisivos en la Guerra de Independencia, especialmente en la decisiva batalla de Yorktown según consta en carta de George Washington al monarca español Carlos III en la que le manifiesta su profundo agradecimiento. La totalidad de tales fondos provino de una recolecta que se llevó a cabo en Cuba a tal efecto. Igual de magnánimas se condujeron España y sus provincias durante la Guerra Civil de Estados Unidos en el siglo XIX, enviando grandes ejércitos, abastecimientos y pertrechos de guerra. Bien podrían figurar, junto con otros, el general español Bernardo de Gálvez entre los “Founding Fathers” de Estados Unidos, y no menos el padre Junípero Serra, dos de las figuras centrales de la historia norteamericana.

Para terminar, razonemos lo siguiente:

¿Qué sería hoy Estados Unidos sin ser dueño de sus mares, sin los territorios cedidos por España a través de los años y los de México (casi un millón de kilómetros cuadrados) con  todas sus riquezas naturales, sin haber contado con el oro y plata de la otra América, y si hubiera tenido que civilizar o poblar por sí solo toda esa inmensa región de su territorio durante los primeros doscientos años de su historia? Sus trece colonias eran un puntito borroso en el mapa mundial, y no fue hasta principios del siglo XIX, bajo el mandato de Thomas Jefferson, que extendieron sus fronteras a tierras ya asentadas y florecientes por la empresa de España y el Mundo Hispánico. ¿Cuánto tiempo, esfuerzo y dinero le hubiera costado haber hecho todo eso por cuenta propia? Si lo analizamos bien, asombra que por la irrisoria suma de 35 millones de dólares adquiriera Estados Unidos tantas tierras: Luisiana y México por 15 millones, y por las de España 5 millones, y si le añadiéramos la compra de Alaska a Rusia por 7.2 millones, ascendería el total a 42.2 millones de dólares, aproximadamente lo que costaría hoy un edificio de 30 pisos en Manhattan.

_______________________________

He aquí un dato en extremo curioso y revelador: Ya se sabe que Thomas Jefferson era amante del español e insistía en que se aprendiera, pero lo que saben pocos es que descendía del rey español Fernando I llamado “el Santo” que reinó en Castilla y León en el siglo XIII.        Y lo que no sabe casi nadie es que George Washington descendía de Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, el Cid, y su mujer Jimena por su hija Elvira conocida también como Cristina. Ambos llevaban sangre hispánica en sus venas.

Y este otro que ha de sorprender:

Imponderables de la historia o el destino de los pueblos.

Poco antes de arribar a América, fue Pinzón el que convenció a Colón de cambiar su rumbo hacia el sur en vez de continuar en dirección oeste. De no haberlo hecho, es muy probable que lo que son hoy Estados Unidos y Canadá fueran lo que es hoy la América Hispánica y que ambas naciones nunca hubieran existido.

___________________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2013 by Carlos B. Vega. La obra citada arriba puede adquirirse en el internet a partir de mayo de 2013. Para más información llamar al: 201.868.6750, o por correo electrónico: Spain37@att.net.. Carlos B. Vega es catedrático universitario en Nueva York y autor de 48 obras hasta la fecha, parte de las cuales pueden verse en Google y Google Images bajo su nombre completo: Carlos B. Vega. Ha sido además recientemente  nombrado por el Gobierno Español entre los hispanistas más notables del mundo.

 

CARIBBEAN/CUBA

Cuban Theater Looks Into the Future by David Lozano
Gesta Final to be the first commercial Cuban-produced game
The Cuban Revolution Began in 1959
Highest Congressional Award to Borinqueneers?
Con la lectura de Cementerios y la Pallida Mort de Colón

Spain returns 200-year-old remains of Puerto Rican hero to the island 
By Danica Coto, The Associated Press April 6, 2013

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The 200-year-old remains of a Puerto Rican hero arrived on the island Saturday after an exhaustive quest to identify his body and bring it home.

Hundreds of Puerto Ricans cheered as Spanish navy officers wearing white uniforms and bearing swords walked past the crowd holding a large wooden box that contained the bones of Ramon Power y Giralt.

Power fought for administrative and economic reforms in Puerto Rico during Spanish rule, and oversaw abolition of a law that gave Spain absolute power over Puerto Rican laws and officials.

Spain paid to transport Power's body across the Atlantic Ocean on a 29-day trip aboard one of the largest tall ships in the world so he could be buried in the Cathedral of San Juan, where the body of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon also is buried.

"Viva Ramon Power! Viva Puerto Rico!" the crowd yelled as officers disembarked with the remains from the 370-foot-long (113-meter-long) ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano, which was built in 1927.

"We have to remember our history, because if we don't embrace it and remember it, we lose our identity as a nation," said Julio Ayala, a 70-year-old retired engineer who arrived with his wife from the nearby municipality of Carolina.

Nuns and priests were among those who greeted Power's remains, clutching Puerto Rican flags.

"He returns home once again," said Monsignor Ivan Huertas. "It's an honour to have had a Puerto Rican representative like him back in the day."

Power, the son of an Irish immigrant and a Puerto Rican woman, grew up to join the Spanish navy and helped seize what is now the Dominican Republic back from French forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte.

In 1809, he was appointed Puerto Rico's representative before the Courts of Cadiz despite objections from officials who thought a Spaniard should occupy the position. The court served as the Spanish Empire's congress at the time, and Power became its first vice-president.

In 1811, the Courts of Cadiz approved a law named after Power that allowed construction of several ports and looser import and export regulations in Puerto Rico, among other measures.

Power died in 1813 at age 37 from yellow fever, and he was buried with several other officials in a common grave in Spain.

The push to identify his body began in 1931, when the city of Cadiz ordered that his remains and those of other officials be transferred from the local cemetery to the church. Experts from Puerto Rico and Spain eventually identified his body with help from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/213656919/scat/4b6cc4f8ec2f54f6

Sent by jmarinezmaya@gmail.com 

 

 
Cuban Theater Looks Into the Future By David Lozano

29 March 2013, in Global Citizenship



Members of Estudio Teatral (Santa Clara, Cuba) with members of Cara Mía Theatre Co. (Dallas, TX)


My North American friends and family have always insisted that Fidel’s revolution of 1959 was a disaster for Cuba. In Mexico, friends and family insisted that the revolution was one of Latin-America’s greatest victories against US imperialism. I wanted to decide for myself.

I traveled to Cuba from March 15-March 22, 2013 with the national association of theaters, Theatre Communications Group (TCG). For the first few days, I found no obvious answers. Among the people, I sometimes sensed a great pride in being Cuban. Other times, I sensed great dissatisfaction. However, the confusion began to make sense when Yoel Saez from Estudio Teatral in the town of Santa Clara spoke to our delegation. He said that he has always lived with confusion towards the revolution. He was born seven years after and he only knew about it through other people’s experiences. He said that the wealthy who lost their homes after the war said that it was a disaster. The working class, such as his parents, said that it was a triumph. Still, he could never definitively say what the revolution ultimately meant for Cubans since he didn’t experience it firsthand.

My observation is that the Cuban people live with an acute awareness of this ambivalence. Like a moving pendulum, they are able to live between two poles – solidarity with the revolution and anguish towards its shortcomings. Within a single individual, especially in artists, this opposition can exist. Cubans are then able to be both dissidents and patriots at the same time. And in an active mind, these oppositions can manifest as a poetic internal struggle and dialogue.



Havana in the morning


I was most impressed with Cuban theater when its companies confronted these oppositions in their work. However, I felt that the Cuban artists that simply produced old plays without a fresh perspective were stuck in some dusty decade in the past. And other work that was slick and modern, possibly demonstrating aesthetic virtuosity, simply appeared to me a product for North American or worldwide consumption – a betrayal. It was the gritty Cuban voice, unique to the present time and place, that impressed me.

Furthermore, the most startling work dared to look into the future. A post-Fidel world is unknown and it simultaneously triggers fear and ecstasy. For this reason, I think Cuba can be an extraordinary place to create new work. This moment in Cuba’s history can be likened to the collapsing of the Berlin Wall when a communist society closed for fifty years begins to open to modern political, economic, and aesthetic ideas. Possibilities and pitfalls abound but the imagination can run wild. New visions can take flight.



                                                                                                                                 Cuban Contemporary Dance Company, Havana

The vitality of the present moment in Cuba even compelled me to wonder if we as North Americans are so comfortable and confident in our culture that we have ceased to imagine a different one. It was clear to me that Cubans have no choice. They must create a new world. I was inspired to imagine collaborations with North American artists and Cubans at this critical juncture. But could we as North Americans let go of our fixed ideas regarding our own society (and Cuba’s)? Could we in fact abandon our prejudices toward Cuba and join our neighbors in co-creating a vision for the future? If so, I believe we could pursue the first meaningful collaborations with our Cuban counterparts during these defining years of shared history. Our generation of theater artists could in fact contribute to new ways in which Cubans and North Americans relate as we move into the 21st century.

We are faced with a great opportunity to become involved in the Cuban theater movement. Artists on the island are eager to work with us. However, rather than pass the blueprints of a modern but flawed US society onto Cubans, we can challenge ourselves to envision an unknown world alongside our neighbors; to co-create something entirely new. As Ernesto Alejo, director of Danza del Alma, told our delegation, “Creation is the only thing that can save us.”

At the entrance of La Colmenita, Arts School for Children, Havana




David Lozano
is the Executive Artistic Director of Cara Mía Theatre Co. in Dallas where he specializes in writing, directing, producing and acting in original bilingual plays for the Latino community. Notable productions include Crystal City 1969 (written with Raul Treviño), To DIE:GO in Leaves, by Frida Kahlo (written with Cara Mía’s artistic ensemble), and Carpa Cara Mía: A Mexican Pantomime Circus (with Jeffry Farrell and diverse artists from the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio). Lozano explores international techniques of ensemble creation and has worked with theater specialists from Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Senegal, Spain, and Venezuela.

 

 

“Gesta Final” to be the first commercial Cuban-produced game 

Cuban programmers have unveiled a brand new 3-D shoot-’em-up video game that puts a distinctly Cuban twist on gaming, letting players recreate decisive clashes from the 1959 revolution and giving youngsters a taste of the uprising in which many of their grandparents fought.

The government-run Computing Club aims for “Gesta Final” to be the first commercial Cuban-produced game selling in local currency. It’s expected to be released soon. There are no plans to market it overseas.

Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com

 

The Cuban Revolution Began in 1959
Esteban Morales

HAVANA TIMES — Under a title devoid of historical accuracy and objectivity, Roberto Zurbano (the director of Cuba’s Casa de las Americas publishing house) is trying to characterize the situation of blacks in Cuba today. As a critical evaluator of the subject, I share some of his assertions, but not in such absolute terms, much less with the lack of objectivity with which these are formulated or his conclusions in a recent The New York Times article.

Claiming that “For Blacks in Cuba, the Revolution Hasn’t Begun,” his argument doesn’t hold up, not even within the complex reality of Cuba today. Truly at the crossroads, the country is trying to find its own economically sustainable model so as not to repeat undergoing the degrees of economic dependence to which it was subject during three periods in less than a century (under Spain, the United States and lastly the USSR). During the final period (1960-1991), which was the most beneficial for the island, time was too short to definitively overcome the realities of a developing country.

Therefore, any explanation of what’s taking place today in Cuba with respect to blacks necessarily involves a deeper understanding of those periods of dependency, when poverty on the island was also massively white, though wealth was never black. This situation was something that dragged on for several centuries until the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959.

It was then that the poor population in Cuba benefited from a social policy — an extraordinarily humanitarian one — that fought against and still fights against poverty and inequality to the very edge of egalitarianism.

Within the social reality generated by that policy, blacks and “mestizos” also benefited greatly. As a result, we now have a significant number of black physicians, scientists, intellectuals and skilled workers – a situation that we owe to this social policy that profoundly marked Cuban society during the 30 years after 1959.

There’s no denying that mistakes were made. One of them — perhaps the most significant — was to not consider “skin color” as a variable of social differentiation.  

It wasn’t taken into account that because of their different historical starting point, blacks (in addition to being poorer) had suffered firstly for their enslavement and secondly from the disadvantages involved in their having had to endure racism and racial discrimination.  This meant they always stood in a position of disadvantage relative to whites, even though the latter were also poor in the main. Our society hadn’t been designed for whites, blacks and mestizos to be equal.

During the years of revolution — despite how humanitarian and radical its efforts could have been — it wasn’t possible to completely erase that ballast of colonial slavery. This is the explanation for many of the inequalities and social difficulties that continue to weigh upon us and that the revolution that started in 1959 has tried to solve.

Everyone involved in this process would like progress to be made more rapidly, but the subject is difficult and its treatment has been complicated by the accumulation of years of delay.

Unlike what happened in 1962, when it was suggested that racism and racial discrimination had been overcome, and especially since post 80s crises that shook the Cuban economy, a debate on the subject has been continually growing.

The economic crisis served to show us that it had been idealistic to believe that the race problem had been solved or was being solved. This failed to correspond to reality.

In fact, the very economic measures taken to deal with the economic situation brought to the surface differences and inequalities. Despite the progress, these had still existed, though they had remained hidden, lurking in the shadows for a more opportune moment to reemerge.

Thus began a new period of the struggle against racism and discrimination. It was Fidel Castro himself who raised this in speeches at educational conferences, before UNEAC and during his speech in a church in New York’s Harlem neighborhood. The “maximum leader” was aware that what he had insisted on in his speeches in March 1959 had still not been achieved.

With this, it was the leader of the revolution who reopened the issue and initiated a new debate, but with more understanding of the failures in social policy that had resulted in the inability to eliminate racism and racial discrimination.  New studies were initiated, experiences were analyzed, and like never since 1959 there appeared critical writings about this subject that began to permeate the intellectual world.

Several commissions on the topic were created at different levels within the PCC, UNEAC, the National Library, and community projects, etc. Likewise, there emerged several centers of debate, scientific conferences, film productions and academic courses.

Any explanation of what’s taking place today in Cuba with respect to blacks necessarily involves a deeper understanding of those periods of dependency, when poverty on the island was also massively white, though wealth was never black.

Within UNEAC there exists a national commission that addresses the issue of race from a cultural vantage point. It takes the debate to the country’s provinces and has twice promoted discussion in the Education Commission of the National Assembly of People’s Power.

The government doesn’t hinder those discussions and forms of action; on the contrary, it supports and promotes them. Actually, far from maintaining the subject hidden, this is increasingly the subject of discussion in various fields of intellectual, community and even political work, proceeding gradually to become a debate in all of Cuban society.

From UNEAC, a broad coordination process has been deployed to introduce the subject in schools and universities, as well as to improve these statistics and to more accurately count the numbers of blacks and mestizos in different sectors and to quantify their economic situation.

It also works to increase awareness of the presence of black leaders and patriots in our history through everything from monuments to commemorative days and their proper treatment in textbooks, for which it works actively in reshaping the presentation of our national history in our educational system.

Given the above, we can say that we have moved to a point where the issue of race is being dealt with at all levels.  Everyone involved in this process would like progress to be made more rapidly, but the subject is difficult and its treatment has been complicated by the accumulation of years of delay. Nonetheless, all necessary steps are being taken and the practical commitment to collaborate and participate in addressing this challenge is greater – all with the awareness that this is a problem affecting us all.

None of the governments prior to 1959 did anything for the poor in general or for blacks in particular. Instead, the previous authorities ruled the country for the benefit of a few, with all the machinery and tools of a neocolonial administration that maintained racism and racial discrimination, corruption and poverty, displaying the model of exploitation and control that the US had designed for the island

Someone would have to be extraordinarily ignorant of history to think that a change in the political leadership in Cuba will benefit blacks. A thought like that can only come — as the title of the article states — from someone who thinks that “for blacks, the Cuban revolution hasn’t started yet.” http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=90508

(*) Read Esteban Morales’s blog in Spanish

Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com


 

Highest Congressional Award to Borinqueneers?

The Borinqueneers (US 65th Infantry Regiment) from the US Territory of Puerto Rico (PR) stand to receive the Congressional Gold Medal (CGM)-highest Congressional Award, if the US House and US Senate approve legislation being co-introduced by Congressman Bill Posey (R) and PR RC Pedro Pierluisi (D). We need 290 US House and 67 US Senate Co-Sponsors for a Vote.

The CGM has been bestowed on other great American Veterans, including: (1) Navajo Code Talkers- July 26, 2001 (2) African-American Tuskegee Airmen- March 29, 2007 (3) Japanese-American Nisei- May 26, 2012 (4) African-American Montford Point Marines- June 28, 2012.

The US 65th Infantry Regiment (which linage was created by Congress in 1899), from the US Territory of Puerto Rico (with many living in Florida and other States), played a prominent role in our American Military—bravely participating in three U.S. wars (WW-I, WW-II, Korea); other conflicts, yet, hasn’t received due recognition. As they served, the Borinqueneers suffered discrimination, segregation, and limited US Citizenship (don’t have a Federal Vote/ just representation).

General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur, once stated: “the Puerto Ricans…of the gallant 65th Infantry on the battlefields of Korea by valor, determination, and a resolute will to victory give daily testament to their invincible loyalty to the United States… They write a brilliant record of achievement in battle and I am proud indeed to have them in this command. I wish that we might have many more like them!”

Help get our US President and Congress to award a CGM to our Borinqueneers by contacting them: US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm; US Congressmen: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ US President: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm;

WHITE HOUSE SUPPORT PETITION: We Petition US President Obama to work with the US Congress to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the brave US 65th Infantry Regiment-The Borinqueneers from the US Territory of Puerto Rico (many now living in Florida, New York, California, and Other States)—which have defended the US Flag since 1899: WW-I, WW-II, and Korea… with valor, honor, distinction, and sacrifices (while suffering discrimination, segregation, and limited US Citizenship-no just representation), but, they heroically fought to defend our US Flag--Us; for the good of all; Family, Community, USA, and Humanity! Support Petition: http://wh.gov/sQnE

Some supporters are: US Rep. Mica (Co-Sponsor); FL Sen. Darren Soto and FL Rep. David Santiago (FL State resolutions); Orlando Mayor Dyer (Proclamation).

The US 65th Infantry nobly fought for the good of all in step with their Ancestors (roots) who fought in the US Revolutionary War for George Washington (and also were the first Europeans to discover Florida in 1513- opened the doors to the advanced civilized settlement of the USA-107 years before the Pilgrims).

We hope the US Congress will duly recognize the enormous sacrifices, and un-usual obstacles the “Borinqueneers” (from original name of Puerto Rico-Boriken) valiantly overcame in defending our USA.

These brave Borinqueneers deserve a place with all American Heroes-- should be honored, commended, and never forgotten, for their great epic feats, by our great United States of America.

Dennis O. Freytes: American Veteran; VP NAUS; Former Professor UPR)

**The Borinqueneers depicted in last brave victorious Bayonet Charge in US Army History against superior enemy forces. Picture: Borinqueneer SFC Celio Freytes-Menendez (Combat Infantryman’s Badge: WW-II & Korea.)

NOTE: My Father Celio Freytes Menendez was at the evacuation of Hungnam with Col. Harris (Regimental Command Post Security). He told me how the Borinqueneers were the last to withdraw among heavy Naval Fire and Air Support...; Engineers blowing up buildings, docks... He mentioned how they went up the moving Ships un-steady nets... that took a lot of strength and bravery...   Dennis Freytes

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVGePgPcgI8&feature=youtu.be 
FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO WWW.65THCGM.ORG  OR WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BorinqueneersCGMAlliance 

The US 65th Infantry Regiment, created by Congress in 1899, from the US Territory of Puerto Rico, played a prominent role in our American Military—bravely participating in three U.S. wars; other conflicts, yet, hasn’t received due recognition. The Borinqueneers suffered discrimination, segregation, and limited US Citizenship (could not vote or have just Federal representation).  The CGM has been bestowed on other great American Veterans, including: (1) Navajo Code Talkers-

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=f5302ae863ca402c&page=view&resid=F5302AE863CA402C!694&parid=F5302AE863CA402C!692&authkey=!AMa8xHScUqPvMg4&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&Bsrc=SkyMail A+ MEDIA-500th FL Discovery April 2013.docx
https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=f5302ae863ca402c&page=view&resid=F5302AE863CA402C!693&parid=F5302AE863CA402C!692&authkey=!AMa8xHScUqPvMg4&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&Bsrc=SkyMail A+MEDIA V-Centenario Descubrimiento FL USA April 2013.docx
https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=f5302ae863ca402c&page=view&resid=F5302AE863CA402C!695&parid=F5302AE863CA402C!692&authkey=!AMa8xHScUqPvMg4&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&Bsrc=SkyMail A+MEDIA US Borinqueneers 2013.docx
https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=f5302ae863ca402c&page=view&resid=F5302AE863CA402C!697&parid=F5302AE863CA402C!692&authkey=!AMa8xHScUqPvMg4&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&Bsrc=SkyMail A+MEDIA-End 2d Class US Citizenship-PR Un-Democratic Status.docx
https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=f5302ae863ca402c&page=view&resid=F5302AE863CA402C!696&parid=F5302AE863CA402C!692&authkey=!AMa8xHScUqPvMg4&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&Bsrc=SkyMail A+Z Profile Synopsis FREYTES March 2013.doc
https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=f5302ae863ca402c&page=view&resid=F5302AE863CA402C!698&parid=F5302AE863CA402C!692&authkey=!AMa8xHScUqPvMg4&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&Bsrc=SkyMail A+MEDIA Igualdad para PR.docx

National Association of Uniformed Services: “The American Service Members’ Voice in Congress!”
Dennis Freytes: Vice-President SE Region (FL, GA, SC, AL, MS, MO, AR, & PR) www.naus.org // 1-800-842-3451// VP: dennisfreytes@hotmail.com  / L: (407) 298-1151  2013

Sent by Rafael Ojeda rsnojeda@aol.com 
(253) 576-9547


Con la lectura de Cementerios y la Pallida Mort de Colón

se traspasa el umbral del silencio de los primitivos camposantos, la primera necrópolis general, la de Espada, y el Cementerio Cristóbal Colón, La Habana, Cuba, el cual representa una de las plantas cementeriales más impresionantes del planeta por el tesoro arquitectónico y artístico.

La obra se debe al arquitecto gallego Calixto Loira Cardoso, autor del proyecto Pallida Mort, murió en La Habana a los 32 años de edad cuando construía la Galería Tobías del Cementerio de Colón, devenido en museo a cielo abierto y de­clarado Monumento Nacional en 1987. Cada año, lo visitan unos 80.000 turistas, atraídos por la grandeza artística de las numerosas esculturas de mármol de Car­rara, bronce y vitrales. La ciudad de los muertos fue fundada el 30 de octubre de 1871. Hasta el momento, han sido sepultados más de dos millones de cadáveres en sus 56 hectáreas de superficie.

Envuelto en fama artística, mitos y leyendas el Cementerio de Colón advierte que la pálida muerte entra por igual en las cabañas de los pobres que en los palacios de los reyes. 

www.editorialetraviva.com – disponible en e-Book y próximamente en libro impreso.

 

Ángela Oramas Camero (La Habana, Cuba) es autora de “Ce­menterios de La Habana” (1998), “Delicias de la cocina criolla” (2005, reeditado 2007), “Imagen y Belleza” (2006), “Los Galle­gos de La Habana” (editado en español y gallego, 2008), “El arquitecto gallego de Colón” (coautora con Recaredo Fidalgo, 2008), “Platos sencillos con vegetales” (2011), “Corazones ca­narios cubanos” (2013), y es coguionista y asesora del docu­mental “A Cien años del Himno de Galicia” (2007). La autora tiene larga trayectoria en la prensa escrita, digital y radial de Cuba, con numerosas crónicas sobre historia, arte y cultura. En dos ocasiones la Cruz Roja le otorgó el Premio a la Excelencia Periodística. Ha sido integrante de jurados de concursos de la radio y prensa escrita nacionales. En Galicia, España ha impartido con­ferencias sobre los intelectuales gallegos que residieron en Cuba, así como la presencia virtual y permanente en La Habana de la gran poetisa de España, Rosalía de Castro, y también sobre la vida y obra del arquitecto gallego del Cementerio de Colón.


THE PHILIPPINES

Imagine a World Without Filipinos by Abdullah Al-Maghlooth
Dynasty and Politics by Eddie AAA Calderón, Ph.D.
California's Filipino Infantry by Alex S. Fabros
 

Dynasty and Politics by Eddie AAA Calderón, Ph.D.

eddieaaa@hotmail.com

This is a sequel to my May, 2012 article entitled The Politics and the Influence of Movie, Media, and Sports Personalities at:
http://somosprimos.com/sp2012/spmay12/spmay12.htm#THE PHILIPPINES 
When I wrote that article in May, 2012, I did not include the role of dynasty in politics. Political dynasty in the Philippines is defined as passing political power from established elected and appointed officials in the government to their children and closest relatives. Many of the Philippine political commentators including many of my international email friends are opposed to political dynasty.
 
The role of the media and sports in influencing the outcome of any election and establishing political power may be very important but they do take a back seat to the overriding influence of dynasty in politics. The situation draws a parallel to the monarchy, where power and political leadership have passed along by tradition, law and decree to the offsprings or heirs of the deceased or retiring monarchs . Their children also continue to maintain their titles and other monarchical privileges. The monarchy in modern times , however, no longer carries with it the power to govern and rule the country as this is now vested on the people through their elected representatives.

In non-monarchical set up, the presence of political dynasty is not a written law, but its impact and influence are similar to its monarchical counterparts in the past which makes the passing of political power a de facto unwritten law. Children are then brought to believe that they will someday succeed their parents and their closest relatives in politics and the reason for this can vary.
 
Very few commentators including my email colleagues offer the view that political dynasty can be good. That is if the outgoing politicians have done good for the country and that they are passing their good deeds to their offsprings who they hope are like them and endowed with integrity and goodwill. And in saying this, they assume that a country or countries do not have enough people with political savvy and character integrity to continue the good work of the outgoing elected officials. The majority of the commentators, however, are against the presence of political dynasty because they consider many politicians, especially in developing countries, as primarily motivated by selfish reasons and that corruption becomes a common place as it has enriched many politicians at the expense of the people they are supposed to represent. They believe that politicians would like to pass along what ever advantage they have received from their elected positions to their offsprings, very closed relatives and friends.

This may also indicate insecurity among politicians, whether retired or still are in power, that perhaps the world would come to a halt if they could not perpetuate a dynasty. In the Philippines we see political dynasty as not too uncommon in national, provincial, municipal and sub-municipal landscapes. Political dynasty provides a a non-competitive opportunity for the offsprings and their closest relatives to succeed in following the politicians' footsteps because the former will be afforded a definite advantage than those new to the field. The children and relatives are not expected to work hard to prove themselves and demonstrate their ability to do things for the country compared to the newcomers because the established politicians are already known to the voters. In Philippine slang and using a Spanish word, we call them llamados. Again this is also true in other developing nations where the voters, which may lack sophistication, may not be inclined in most cases to examine and analyse the desired qualities and achievements of their candidates before they vote.

Many voters in developing countries are then attracted by the names of the politicians and their elected positions especially if their work has been good or whether their accomplishments in office are left to be desired or they have been criticised for not fulfilling their duties as elected officials. We see children of past elected officials very successful in running for offices despite the many unsavory comments against their parents coming from their own people and the international media. The ramification of political dynasty may also relate to nepotism when politicians are reported to appoint their children and relatives to desired government positions, or a quid pro quo when they place for desirable government employment children of private individuals including some who own lucrative businesses expecting that the latter will do the same to the politicians' children and closest relatives.

This picture is of course observed by the citizens when they vote. Many would, however, not say anything; many would criticise the practice; and many would just shrug their shoulder as though the situation is part of political life. But the prevailing observation from the mentality of many voters has not gone unnoticed and of course taken with delight by affected elected officials as they interpret it to mean that they won't have any trouble passing their elected positions to their children and closest relatives when they retire. This situation, however, may again provide a not so fair advantage for those who are starting to throw their hats into the political arena without known political relatives.

As I have been telling people the government is only as good as the majority of the voters who put the candidates in elected offices. If the majority of the voters are able to determine and select who the good candidates are and they are not unduly influenced by other extraneous reasons such as vote buying, influence peddling, quid pro quo, and they have integrity, then the government will reflect the character of the majority of its voters. The maintenance of political dynasty may also contribute to the proliferation or further subdvisions of a province, even if it a small province, into two or three political entities because the power holders want to ensure effective control as the diversity in population may not guarantee it.  When I left the Philippines in 1964, there were more or less 50 provinces, but acccording to Wikipedia there are now 80 provinces in the Philippines. Refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_the_Philippines With this trend one may say that the the Philippines continues to create new provinces out of existing ones after inferring it from this article: http://www.statoids.com/uph.html
 
Political dynasty in the US and Western countries in general does not seem to be a common observation at the present if we compare it to the one practiced and observed in developing countries. Though we see some in the USA as President Bush and his relatives including his son President George W Bush, it does not indicate political dynasty as a common occurrence as we observe in many developing countries. The general observation is that children happen to opt to become politicians without being influenced by their parents. To be politicians is their choice and not their parents. Consider the example of Chelsea Clinton, the only child of former President and Mrs. Clinton. Chelsea Clinton's parents do not ask her to become a politician. Many voters and citizens, however, have asked her to run for public office but her current actions in life left people to believe that she is still undecided on this issue. Consider also the example of Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy. She was not into politics and her mother did not ask nor dissuade her from being a politician. She continues to write as a profession and her support of President Obama since he was first elected president caused her to be the choice of the latter to succeed Mrs. Clinton as the secretary of state. But she was not certain if she were ready for it and therefore the job was given to Senator John Kerry. But now she is President Obama's choice as an ambassador (ambassadress) to Japan. http://news.yahoo.com/ caroline-kennedy-named-ambassad or-japan-162207706.html

As a parting note, a son of a very prominent American politician was asked recently why he did not want to follow his father's footstep when the latter decided to retire from politics. The father happened to be a well-liked elected official He said that he would like to give others an opportunity to run as his doing so would be in an extreme disadvantage for others who would like to run for political office. How many are like this person who does not only think of himself? We do have many them in Minnesota including elected officials. During legislative debates on important issues a lot of elected officials do not only think of the people and districts they represent and of course themselves but they would ask themselves if their action would be beneficial for the entire state.

 



Naz and children 
2011

 

 

Family Halloween, October 2007


IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT FILIPINOS 
by Abdullah Al-Maghlooth|AL-WATAN


Muhammad Al-Maghrabi became handicapped and shut down his flower and gifts shop business in Jeddah after his Filipino workers insisted on leaving and returning home. He says: "When they left, I felt as if I had lost my arms. I was so sad that I lost my appetite."

Al-Maghrabi then flew to Manila to look for two other Filipino workers to replace the ones who had left. Previously, he had tried workers of different nationalities but they did not impress him. "There is no comparison between Filipinos and others," he says. "Whenever I see Filipinos working in the Kingdom, I wonder what life would be without them."

Saudi Arabia has the largest number of Filipino workers - 1.019,577 - outside the Philippines and their numbers are still increasing. Filipinos not only play an important and effective role in the Kingdom, they also perform different jobs in countries acreoss the world, including working as sailors. The are know for their professionalism and quality of their work.

Nobody here can think of a life without Filipinos, who make up around 20 percent of the world's seafarers. There are 1.2 million Filipino sailors.  So if Filipinos decide one day to stop working or go on strike for any reason, who would transport oil, food and heavy equipment across the world? We can only imagine the disaster that would happen.

What makes Filipinos unique is their ability to speak very good English and the technical training they receive in the early stages of their education. There are several specialized training institutes in the Philippines, including those specializing in engineering and road maintenance.  This training background makes them highly competent in these vital areas.

When speaking about the Philippines, we should not forget Filipino nurses. They are some 23 percent of the world's total number of nurses. The Philippines is home to over 190 accredited nursing colleges and institutions from which some 9,000 nurses graduate each year. Many of them work abroad in countries such as the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore.

Cathy Ann, a 35-year old Filipino nurse who has been working in the Kingdom for the last five years and before that in Singapore, said she does not feel homesick abroad because "I am surrounded by my compatriots everywhere." Ann thinks that early training allow Filipinos to excel in nursing and other vocations. She started learning this profession at the age four as her aunt, a nurse, used to take her to hospital and ask her to watch the work. "She used to kiss me whenever I learned a new thing. At the age of 11, I could do a lot. I began doing things like measuring my grandfather's blood pressure and giving my mother her insulin injections." she said.

This type of early education system is lacking in the Kingdom. Many of our children reach the university stage without learning anything except boredom.

The Philippines, which you can barely see on the map, is a very effective country thanks to its people. It has the ability to influence the entire world economy.  We should pay respect to Filipino workers, not only by employing them but also by learning from their valuable experiences.

We should learn and educate our children on how to operate and maintain ships and oil tankers, as well as planning and nursing and how to achieve perfection in our work. This is a must so that we do not become like Muhammad Al-Maghrabi who lost his interest and appetite when Filipino workers left his flower shop.  We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around us. We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us.

(almaghlooth@alwatan.com.sa) View Post on Facebook · Edit Email Settings · Reply to this email to add a comment.

Sent by Eddie Calderon, Ph.D. 

 

 
 
California and Second World War
California's Filipino Infantry
by Alex S. Fabros
California State Military Department
The California State Military Museum
Preserving California's Military Heritage
 
 
A Short History of the 1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments of the U. S. Army in World War II

Among the annals of American military histories, the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, Army of the United States, is considered to be unique. A military unit is created out of a need for a purpose, each with a mission to fulfill. The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, in its creation, was based upon the circumstances of the period in time.

Dating back to the Revolutionary War, many of the original militias began in the colonies for a purpose. The Civil War and subsequent military campaigns and hostilities, justified the creation of specialized units. World War I brought back those units, long ago deactivated, to continue the lineage of their famous counterparts and further distinguish themselves on the battlefield.

The circumstances of World War II, brought about the constitution of various ethnic American military units. Among them was the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, consisting of a blend of Filipino expatriates, Filipino Americans by birth, and white Americans. The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, humble in its beginning, however, dramatic in the challenge of the mission it had to fulfill, to finally retire with honors earned through individual sacrifices, that resulted in a brilliant and illustrious history.

The American people, by Act of Congress in 1935, promised the Filipino people their full independence by the year 1946. The new Philippine Commonwealth government proceeded to assume the task of a new democracy, and in doing so, had established a militia, with the help of General Douglas MacArthur, then assigned as Military Advisor by the United States government.

Just six years into being formed, the Philippine Army, with the American trained Philippine Scouts, and the American Armed Forces stationed in the Philippines, came under attack, and within a few months found the invading Japanese Military forces solidly entrenched on Philippine soil. The following year American and Philippine forces stubbornly fought to defend the islands, only to surrender to overwhelming conditions in early 1942. Freedom and democracy was not to be earned easily. Many Americans and Philippine troops refused to accept surrender. Some escaped to eventually return with allied forces. Others remained behind and began a crusadeagainst the enemy.

By the time America entered World War II, there were over a hundred thousand transplanted Filipinos in Hawaii and the United States mainland. The impact of the unprovoked attack brought on the call for volunteers for our armed forces. Thousands of Filipinos answered the call to arms, which began a new page in Filipino heritage. These Filipino American units played a tremendous role in the liberation of their former homeland.

What these Filipino Americans did to the Japanese invaders of their homeland is unmentionable. What the Japanese said of these men is unspeakable in any language.

To the surviving veterans, and to those who paid the supreme sacrifices as members of these units, a salute in their honor is presented.


 

The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment

 

The day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Filipinos in the United States, those we now respectfully call the "manongs," began a drive to form an all-Filipino military unit. Quickly trained, Filipino immigrants turned-soldiers would be sent to help push the Japanese out of the Philippines. They would fight bravely for the liberation of their homeland and for their right to be American citizens.

These members of the manong generation were so despised by white America that senators from the western states pushed for Philippine independence, hoping these men would return to the Islands. They were relegated to the bottom of American society, yet they saw opportunities here for a better life and they fought for the right to be Filipinos in America. by 1941, the manongs had been fighting in the United States for over 20 years for wages and living conditions equal to whites and had built militant labor unions in Hawaii, California and Alaska. In the courts they were pioneering civil rights issues, including the right to own property, equal job opportunities and the repeal of racially biased laws. And they were winning.

The Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934 treated the Filipinos in the U.S. as aliens. Although the Philippine Commonwealth Constitution permitted the United States to draft Filipinos in the Philippines to defend American interests there, Filipinos in the United States, quite ironically, were exempt from military service.

Thousands of Filipinos had petitioned for the right to serve in the U.S. military immediately after December 7, 1941. On January 2, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a law revising the Selective Service Act. Filipinos in the United States could now join the U.S. Armed Forces and they were urged to volunteer for service. President Roosevelt quickly authorized the founding of a Filipino battalion, which would be organized for service overseas. It estimated the number of available Filipino volunteers between 70,000 and 100,000.

The 1st Filipino Battalion was formed on March 4, 1942 and activated in April 1 at Camp San Luis Obispo, California. Lieutenant Colonel Robert H. Offley, who had served in the Philippines and spoke passable Tagalog, volunteered to be assigned to the unit as its first commander. He assumed command in April 8, 1942. The War Department also directed Philippine army officers and soldiers who were stranded in the United States at the start of the war to report to the unit. An unusual point is the designation of the unit. Previous Filipino units in the U.S. Army had been designated "Philippine" such as the Philippine Scouts. All units raised in the U.S. during the war were designated "Filipino." Also, it would not be until the end of the war that the Filipino military units would carry the designation "Infantry" in their title although their regimental colors from the very beginning were displayed on a blue field, the traditional color of the infantry branch of the army.

A number of wounded Philippine Army and Philippine Scouts had escaped to Australia from the Philippines on board the USS Mactan in December 1941. Some remained in Australia to form the nucleus of what would eventually become the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, but the rest were sent to the United States for further medical treatment. These men eventually reported to the 1st Filipino Battalion.

Contrary to popular belief, the 1st Filipino Battalion was not established as a result of the American policy of social segregation. Only Filipinos who volunteered for assignment to the unit were sent to it. Many others, such as Eutiquio V. "Vic" Bacho, served with distinction in "American" (white) units in the European theater of operations during the war. Doroteo Vite wrote in a national magazine that Filipinos should take the opportunity to serve in all-white units to educate them so that at the end of the war, white Americans would support the Filipino American agenda of equality. Vite in the spring of 1944 rowed ashore in a rubber dingy from a submarine to establish guerrilla operations in the southern Philippines.

Many of these men were part of the migratory labor force that followed the harvest season along the Pacific Coast, from California farms to Washington fruit orchards and Alaskan fish canneries. Others had lifted themselves by their "bootstraps" into college and took the limited white collar jobs that were open to them. Having endured white America's racism, these men knew how to adapt to rapidly changing situations. They relied upon one another for strength. Communal living on the farms permitted them to adapt quickly to military life.

Leading Filipino musicians of the time made up the regimental band. Sergeant Urbano Francisco composed the regimental marching song, "On toBataan;" but it was not uncommon for the men to march to the strains of the latest "boogie woogie" or "swing" song.

By the end of May 1942, the strength of the 1st Battalion had reached over 2,000 men. The unit was ordered to Salinas, California where it became the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment on July 13, 1942. The Salinas rodeo grounds which had just been vacated by Japanese Americans who had been sent to remote concentration camps, housed the regiment. Because of the strict anti-miscegenation laws then in effect along the U.S. west coast, many of them married into other non-white ethnic groups. Among the most popular group to choose from were Japanese women, the daughters of Issei immigrant farmers. The manongs must have impressed the Japanese women greatly to cause many of them to reject the strong Japanese dislike of "Gai-jins" (foreigners). C. Sales wrote in the January 29, 1934 issue of the Philippine Mail of a young Romeo-and-Juliet couple. A certain Silvestre, a Filipino, and Alice Taneka, a Japanese, were engaged to be married. When her family tried to force her to break off their engagement, they committed double suicide.

In April 1942, Lieutenant General John L. Dewitt, Western Defense Commander, ordered the Japanese on the West Coast into concentration camps. Miguel Ignacio, secretary of the Filipino American community of San Francisco, called attention to several American-born Japanese women, citizens of the United States, who had Filipino husbands, and Filipino-Japanese children who were U.S. citizens by birth. Despite the efforts of the American Civil Liberties Union, Dewitt ordered the women and children to spend the duration of the war in the internment camps. Many of these Filipino husbands went on to serve in the 1st and 2nd Filipino Regiments, defending the nation whose racist policies held their families hostage.

In September 1942, the first group of qualified Filipino enlisted men was sent to the Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon graduation, they were commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. The War Department planned to have Filipino officers eventually command the majority of the combat units in the 1st and 2nd Filipino Regiments. Events beyond the control of the military planners in Washington, D.C. intervened to prevent this from being fully implemented.

So many Filipino volunteers came from all over the United States that the 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment was formed at Fort Ord, California on November 22, 1942. In January 1943, the 1st Regiment was reassigned to Camp Beale, near Sacramento and the 2nd Regiment to Camp Cooke, near Santa Maria. The two regiments were to be joined by a third regiment consisting of Filipinos from the Hawaiian National Guard. However, the Hawaiian Sugar Plantation Association argued successfully with the martial law commanders in Hawaii that not only was cheap labor on the plantations necessary to support the war effort, the Filipinos in Hawaii were forbidden by the Tydings-McDuffie Act from going to the continental U.S. The men could not leave the sugar plantations and were paid substandard wages for the duration of the war. This would have serious consequences in 1946 when the militant Filipino labor unions shut down the islands until their demands for wage increases and better working conditions were met.

As a result of a May 1942 Gallup Poll showing strong support for the naturalization of Filipinos, the Filipino Naturalization Bill was passed. Pinoy GI's were urged to apply for U.S. citizenship. A mass swearing in of over 1,000 soldiers was held at Camp Beale on February 20, 1943. Many of the men, however, resisted becoming citizens. T-5 Julius B. Ruiz stated that although he had lived in the United States for many years and was now serving in the U.S. Army, his goal was to liberate his country, the Philippines. by the time the 1st Regiment left for the western Pacific in May 1944, over half of the men in the unit were U.S. citizens.

From January 1943 through the spring of 1944, the two regiments went through extensive combat training at Hunter Liggett Military Reservation and Camp Roberts. They were also selected to represent the U. S. Army in many community activities and parades from San Diego, California to San Francisco.

Although the Filipinos along the Pacific Coast were restricted by anti-Filipino laws from becoming professionals, there was no such restriction for Filipinos residing east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Filipinos who aspired to enter the medical and legal professions were able to graduate from schools and practice their profession in the East. The officer ranks were filled by these talented men. One officer, Lieutenant Frank Aquino, a U.S. born medical officer from Salinas, California who had studied in the East, saved the live of General Hideki Tojo, former Japanese Premier who attempted suicide in September 1945. Major Gregorio Chua, amedical officer who assisted in the evacuation of wounded personnel from Manila aboard the USS Mactan was pulled from the 1st Regiment and sent to serve in the Pacific in the summer of 1943 because of a shortage of doctors. He rejoined the regiment at the end of the war in Leyte. Captain Gregorio Sese, company commander in the 2nd Infantry Regiment was a successful practicing attorney in Washington, D.C. before the war. He was assigned to review the death sentences of Japanese accused of war crimes at the end of the war.

Another reason for the drop in strength was passage of what was commonly called the "P-38 Law" that exempted soldiers over the age of 38 from having to serve in combat or the military. Many of the Filipinos chose to leave the service and returned to work on the farms where they were badly needed or sought opportunities in the defense industries. Because of the acute shortage of skilled farm labor, California, like Hawaii, was able to restrict the number of Filipinos permitted to join the military. Combined with the demands of General MacArthur for men to fill the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, the two regiments were never able to come to full combat strength. In March 1944, the 2nd Regiment was used to bring the 1st Regiment up to 125% strength. The 2nd Regiment was disbanded on March 27, 1944 and the 2nd Filipino Infantry Battalion (Separate) was formed. Thirty officers were sent to Charlottesville, Virginia for civil affairs training in April 1944.

Before the 1st Regiment departed for the western Pacific in May 1944, Colonel Offley had a major dilemma on his hands. Even though his regimental chaplains were prepared to perform marriage ceremonies between the Filipino soldiers and their white girlfriends, the strict anti-miscegenation laws in California prevented the men from applying for marriage licenses. Colonel Offley solved this by sending his soldiers and their sweethearts to Gallup, New Mexico on chartered buses that soon came to be called the "honeymoon express."

Meanwhile in New Guinea, the 1st Regiment quickly integrated its first batch of replacements consisting of Filipino Americans from Hawaii. Colonel Offley gave Lt. Col. Leon Punsalang, a West Point graduate, command of the 1st Battalion. This was the first time in the history of the U.S. Army that Asian Americans commanded white troops in combat.

The 1st Regiment landed at Tacloban, Leyte on February 7, 1945 and fought the Japanese troops on Samar. In one combat action, the regiment reported killing 1,572 Japanese soldiers while five of its men were killed in action. In May 1945, the regiment began operations in northern Leyte in the Villaba-Palompon sector where it fought heavily for the next two months, registering an average of 40 Japanese killed and 32 captured a day. The 2nd Filipino Infantry Battalion, as a unit, never saw combat. It was sent to Manila to provide support to the PCAUS operating there.

On August 10, 1945, all operations for the "1st and 2nd" in the Philippines came to a close. Sergeant Urbano M. Francisco, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, in his after action report, complained that white soldiers who served with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion returned Filipino hospitality with prejudice and disrespect. On August 15, 1945, in an open field in San Miguel, the unit was called together for one last time. The commanding officer and several other white officers who never went on a mission but stayed in relative safety in Australia and New Guinea, had nominated themselves and received the Legion of Merit. The Filipino American officers who had been nominated for the Legion of Merit for their dangerous work in the Philippines stood in shocked disbelief and seething anger as they each received the Bronze Star Medal instead. Lieutenant Al Hernandez was lucky; he had received his Legion of Merit directly from General MacArthur.

The 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was deactivated. The PCAUS were disbanded and their operations turned over to the Philippine government. The men assigned to the CIC, 6th Ranger Battalion, and Alamo Scouts were released back to the 1st Regiment. The men were given leaves and told to report to the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment in Ormoc, Leyte.

The families of many of these men had given up hope of ever seeing their sons and brothers return from the land of broken promises and dreams. The manongs, who were despised by white America, and yet were needed in the American farms and fisheries, returned to their Philippine homeland as heroes. When the men reported back to the 1st Regiment on Leyte, many brought with them new brides. The Filipino soldiers took advantage of Public Law 271: The War Brides Act of December 28, 1945 and Public Law 471: The Fiancees Act of June 29, 1946 to marry Filipina women. Colonel William Robert Hamby, who had replaced Colonel Offley, established a "tent city" for the married couples. Before its expiration on December 31, 1953, many manongs took advantage of the War Brides Act and returned to the Philippines to marry. These families became the nucleus of a new generation of Filipino Americans and invigorated the Filipino American community in the United States.

In March 1946, men who wanted to remain in the Philippines or were not yet eligible to return to the U.S. were transferred to the 2nd Infantry Battalion, then stationed in Quezon City. It was disbanded on March 31, 1946 and the men were assigned to the Filipino Section, 86th Infantry Division. The 1st Regiment troops returned to the United States aboard the USS General Calan and arrived in San Francisco in the early morning hours of April 8, 1946. They were bused to Camp Stoneman, near present-day Pittsburgh, California and quickly discharged. A few men were present on the morning of April 9, 1946 when the flag, hand sewn by the wives of the Filipino officers of the regiment, was folded for the last time. A member of the unit stole into the mailroom and took the flag home with him. It continues to be flown at unit reunions throughout the United States.



 

Insignia of Filipino Battalions and Regiments
Courtesy of the US Army Institute of Hearldry

 

Description: On a yellow disk 3 1/4 inches in diameter with a 1/8 inch edge, a conventionalized black volcano emitting smoke, the volcano charged with three yellow mullets in fess.

Symbolism: The volcano represents the area in which the units were located. The three stars are taken from the Philippines Coat of Arms which represents the principle islands - Luzon and Mindanao, and the Visayan Islands.

Background: The insignia was requested for the lst Philippine Battalion; however the unit was changed to the lst Philippine Regiment. The authorization approved on August 6, 1942, was for all Philippine Battalions

Lorraine Frain lorrilocks@gmail.com

 


SPAIN

Spain now (spring, 2013) by Dr. L. Eve Armentrout Ma, Esq
Fray Andrés de Moguer por Angel Custodio Rebollo 
Growth of Mosques in Spain 


Spain Now (spring, 2013)  

T

Things are not going very well in Spain.  Why should this interest us?  Because many of the problems in Spain are reflected in what is going on in the United States, because if Spain’s economy fails, it will affect us here in the United States, and because the result of the economic problems in Spain on the ordinary individual is much the same as what many people are experiencing in the United States.  

Spain is not a microcosm of the United States, but it is closely related.  

Here is the bad news:  statistics are bandied about with startling inconsistencies, but it is clear that unemployment in Spain is very high—higher in the south than in the central or northern part of the country.  Unemployment is particularly high among people aged 30 and younger.  

For example, some of the statistics I’ve run across in newspapers give this picture:  35% unemployment in Andalucía (in southern Spain) and an overall, countrywide rate of 25%,  with 50% unemployment for those aged 30 and younger.   

In addition, the number of people seeking government assistance has risen by 14% in the past year.  And in Jerez de la Frontera, the city where I spend many months a year, over 1,000 families are now partially or fully dependent upon the local Catholic charity.  

I will not swear by these figures, but again, I have seen them printed in newspapers in Spain.  


I

In the business world, small business are very hard hit, with many, many closing down in the past two years, and more each month.  It bears pointing out that small businesses are the backbone of Spain´s economy.  

Big businesses are also feeling the pinch.  Large, international firms are moving out, national banks are in big trouble with several of them closing, and government, well, government is broke, especially local government.  

Exacerbating all this is some serious corruption in government and in big business.  To top it all off, the foreign branches of several important firms that helped sustain whatever economic growth still exists have had their assets nationalized by the countries in which they were operating.  

So what is the average person, the man (or woman) in the street doing to cope with the crisis?  

Well, many younger people (aged 30 and under) are leaving the country and going to places where they can find work.  A high proportion of the young people that are emigrating are those who are best prepared, meaning that they have a higher than average level of education, and more skills—natural enough, since they need the language ability and the skill set to compete with the nationals of the countries to which they are moving.  Emigration is up 24% in the past year, and the two favorite destinations are Argentina and Germany.   

Although I imagine most of these young people would return to Spain if things got substantially better in the near future, if instead the economy continues to be depressed for a long time, they may never come back.  

What this means is that increasingly, the younger, better educated and better prepared citizens are leaving the country.  That, along with a slowing birthrate, means that the median age is rising, and that the proportion of people who are not well prepared or highly educated is growing.   

What about other people?  Middle aged workers with jobs are repeatedly going on strike.  Those in the civil service or with jobs closely tied to government frequently are not paid on time.  They may be owed back wages for months, sometimes even, years.  Government is also trimming civil service roles (including pilots and air traffic controllers, and city administrative staff), and cutting back on the amount they pay firms who do business with government (garbage collectors, the water companies…).  Hence, the strikes.  

Hence also, lower wages, fewer workers, fewer people bringing home less money…and with less to spend, you can understand why small business are closing.  No one has any money.  

In addition to the emigration, young people without the skills to leave Spain are 
depending more heavily on their parents.  But often, the parents don´t have the wherewithal to help as much as they´d like.  In addition, in some areas, there is
a “back to the country” movement, and an “occupy the country” movement.  In cities, many empty buildings are being occupied by squatters who have no other place to live.  

And this, dear reader, led me to write and produce/direct an hour-long drama about the situation, focusing on a fictional, middle-aged family man who I´ve named “Luis.”  If you want to discover what life in Spain looks like, as seen through the eyes of an ordinary person under the cloud of the economic crisis, check out my drama at www.DominotheMovie.com.   

Where will it all end?  Well, I don´t think the story has played itself out yet, and so to be perfectly honest, I really don´t know.  What I do know is that if things don´t get better soon, they are likely to get much, much worse.  I do hope this does not come to pass.

_______________

NOTE:  Eve A. Ma is a filmmaker, and former university professor.  She produces-directs documentaries and dramas, in both Spanish and English.  You can find out more about her work at www.PalominoPro.com.   And you can contact her by e-mail at PaloPro2004@yahoo.com.

 

 


Fray Andrés de Moguer 
por Angel Custodio Rebollo

He conocido muchos datos de Fray Andrés de Noguer, por libros de Diego Ropero Regidor, a quien considero una autentica autoridad en la materia. Ayer cuando leía una carta que el dominico moguereño escribía en diciembre de 1554 al Presidente y Oidores del Consejo de Indias, presentando sus quejas por el avasallamiento que sufrían los conventos de su Orden por los de los frailes franciscanos, me dispuse a revisar los datos biográficos que poseía, para recordar quien fue, entre los muchos que llegaron a America para evangelizar a los naturales.

Había nacido en Moguer, aún cuando no he podido conocer la fecha, pero si que sus padres eran hidalgos y que fue a estudiar a Salamanca, donde muy pronto profesó en la Orden de Santo Domingo, continuando sus estudios de Artes y Teologia, en Italia..

A su regreso de Roma, fray Domingo de Betanzos lo eligió para que le acompañara a Nueva España, en el convento de Santiago, donde aprendió muy rápidamente la lengua nativa, convirtiéndose en un eclesiástico importante en México.

Pasó por los conventos de Puebla y Oaxaca, y a su regreso fue nombrado confesor del virrey Antonio de Mendoza, y unos años después, Francisco Tello lo designo como calificador del Santo Oficio.

En 1576 la Puebla de los Ángeles fue invadida por una epidemia de peste y allá fue fray Andrés de Moguer a colaborar con los enfermos, logrando hacer una magnifica labor hasta que fue extinguida la enfermedad. De allí pasó a Atzcapuxalco, donde aun persistía la epidemia.

Fray Andrés, que para ayudar a los indios y facilitarles alimentos, había vendido todos sus libros, poco pudo ejercer su labor humanitaria, porque días después de su llegada a Atzcapuxalco. fue atacado por la enfermedad, por lo que decidieron su inmediato traslado al convento de México, donde llegó muy débil y murió al poco tiempo.

Fray Andrés de Moguer dejó escritos varios libros, muchos de ellos dedicados a los frailes de su Orden sobre sermones traducidos a la lengua mexicana. También escribió un relato biográfico de la vida de Fray Domingo de Betanzos, fundador de la provincia de los dominicos en Santiago de México, que fue quien le había llevado a Nueva España.

Ángel Custodio Rebollo
acustodiorebollo@gmail.com
  

 

 

 

 

 

GROWTH OF MOSQUES IN SPAIN 

In Spain, Muslims inaugurated a new mosque on March 21 in the northern Basque town of Portugalete. The mosque has been resoundingly opposed by local residents, but city officials approved the building permit in order to "promote the integration of Muslims into the local community."

A recent study commissioned by the Basque government found that one in four Basques reject the idea of having a mosque in their neighborhood, and one in five do not want a Muslim as a neighbor.

The Basque Country is home to more than 50,000 Muslims, 70 Muslim groups, two dozen officially licensed mosques and hundreds of unofficial Islamic prayer rooms and cultural centers. Muslims in the Basque region, who hail mostly from Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa, have become increasingly assertive in recent years.

Residents of the Basque city of Bilbao are finding their mailboxes stuffed with flyers in Spanish and Arabic from the Islamic Community of Bilbao asking for money to build a 650 m² (7,000 ft²) mosque costing €550,000 ($735,000).

Until recently, the Islamic Community of Bilbao had the following statement posted on its website: "We were expelled [from Spain] in 1609, really not that long ago. … The echo of Al-Andalus still resonates in all the valley of the Ebro [Spain]. We are back to stay, Insha'Allah [if Allah wills it]." (Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of Spain ruled by Muslim conquerors from 711 until 1492.)

In Valencia, the third-largest city in Spain, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community inaugurated a new mosque on March 29 -- which also happened to be Good Friday, the day when Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary.

The 1,500 m² (16,000 ft²) Baitur-Rahman Mosque, with a capacity for 600 worshippers, adds to the 172 mosques already located in the Valencia region.

The mosque was inaugurated by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, whose sermon was broadcast in several languages to tens of millions of viewers with the help of eight satellites.

Ahmad told his followers that Valencia had been chosen to host the mosque because that is where the expulsion of the Moriscos (descendants of the Muslim population that converted to Christianity under threat of exile from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1502) began in 1609.

Ahmad added: "In Spain there are a million Muslims and we believe that in twenty years this number will double. In Spain there are signs that Islam will dominate once again." He also said the mission of the new mosque would be to "spread the teachings of Islam to every single citizen of Spain."

In the Catalan municipality of Salt, a town near Barcelona where Muslim immigrants now make up 40% of the population, work has begun on the construction of a two-story Salafi mega-mosque -- built by two Spain-based Salafist groups, Al Hilal Islamic Cultural Association and Magrebins per la Pau Association, with funding from Saudi Arabia -- with a capacity for 750 worshippers.

Salafism, a branch of radical Islam based in Saudi Arabia, seeks to establish an Islamic empire (Caliphate) across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, and eventually the world. The Caliphate would be governed exclusively by Islamic Sharia law, to be applied both to Muslims and non-Muslims.

Salt approved a one-year ban on the construction of new mosques in August 2011 to provide "some time for reflection" after it emerged that the previous Socialist government in the town secretly gave permission to the Salafi Muslims to build the mega-mosque.

The deal to build the mega-mosque was discovered only after the Socialists were ejected from power in May 2011. Public outrage prompted the new town council -- now ruled by the center-right Convergència i Unió (CiU) party -- to prevent the mosque from being built.

Construction of the Salafi mosque is proceeding, nonetheless: apparently the construction permit was issued before the non-retroactive moratorium took effect.

In nearby Lérida, where 30,000 Muslims make up more than 20% of the city's population, mosque builders are facing a problem of a different kind: on March 4, 2013, the Catalan Supreme Court ruled that a local Muslim group would not be allowed to build a mega-mosque in an industrial park, called El Segre, because a municipal ordinance states that the area may only be used for industrial purposes; as such, the premises were deemed unfit for public assembly.

Two days after that ruling, another judge at a different court ordered city officials in Lérida to approve the construction of an 800 m² (8,600 ft²) brothel in the same industrial park, two streets away from where Muslims had wanted to build their mosque.

City officials said they had originally denied the license to build the brothel because of a lack of parking space, but the judge disagreed, saying the denial "has more to do with the subject of the proposed business (a brothel) than with a concern over parking."

An article in the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia entitled, "Brothel Yes, Mosque No" reports that the Lérida City Council "does not hide its surprise at these two opposing points of view from the judiciary on the use that can be given to the plots in the same industrial park." City officials say they will appeal the ruling.



INTERNATIONAL

Israel: the coming energy superpower
One Village. 60 Millionaires. The Miracle Of Hiware Bazar
Photos: Savage Islamic Attack on St. Mark Cathedral Allowed by Egyptian Forces
By Raymond Ibrahim
The Siege of Egypt's St. Mark Cathedral by Raymond Ibrahim
Any religion or ideology that is above good and evil produces enormous evil.
Does Welfare Have Limits? by Douglas Murray
Germany Cracks Down on Critics of Mega-Mosque

Israel: the coming energy superpower. The impact of the coming rise of Israel as a regional energy superpower plainly heralds significant and imminent changes in the Middle East, and beyond

Israel: gas and oil in abundancy 
by  Peter C. Glover          
5 April 2013 

Israel’s transformation from a land of milk and honey into a land awash with oil and gas money is under way. When the country’s offshore Tamar field finally started pumping domestic natural gas direct to Haifa on the last day of March 2013, it meant that Israel was no longer in the thrall of its Arab neighbors for gas imports. And it also signaled the beginning of Israel’s rise to energy superpower status.

But don’t take my word for it. Take the words of Russia’s Vladimir Putin or, much more significant, his recent actions. Shaken by the success of the US shale gas revolution and the threat to Russia’s stranglehold on European gas supplies that a prospective eastern Mediterranean supply carries, Putin’s Kremlin has, in recent months, feted Israel as never before.

In February this culminated in Russia’s Gazprom signing a landmark deal giving Russia a major stake in the future distribution of massive Israeli gas resources. It is also likely to be just an entree deal now that Moscow has a place at the Israeli energy table.

In early 2012, Noble Energy, the US partner of the major Israeli energy companies, announced a new find of 1.2 to 1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Tamar prospect. Noble is confident that there may be up to a dozen more such gas discoveries to be made in the Tamar field. Yet the Tamar and Dalit offshore Israeli gas fields are just the beginning.

Others are showing signs of significant quantities of gas, including the Aphrodite 2 field, 100 miles from Haifa. But the enormous Leviathan gas field overshadows them all. Leviathan is estimated to have twice the amount of gas of Tamar and should come online between 2016 and 2018. But Leviathan and Tamar also hold out the further tantalizing prospect of significant amounts of oil.




Then there is Israel’s eastern Mediterranean partner, Cyprus. In February 2013, the Israeli energy companies Delek and Avner signed an agreement to acquire a 30 percent stake in exploration rights off the southern coast of Cyprus. With equally large gas prospects around Cyprus, the eastern Mediterranean basin is on the path to becoming a major player in global energy production, and soon.

All this has not been lost of the energy giants as the Russia Gazprom deal, which includes a commitment to build a floating LNG terminal off Cyprus, makes clear. That hub will convert Israeli and Cypriot gas for onward transmission to Europe or Asia.

For all its mounting gas and oil discoveries, Israel has been having trouble in attracting the investment of the energy majors who fear the threat of their energy investments in Arab states. But that is changing.

Recently the French energy major Total signed an exploration contract to explore two blocks of southern Cyprus. In February, Woodside Petroleum, Australia’s second largest oil and gas producer announced it would pay as much as $2.3 billion for a stake in Israel’s giant Leviathan field. All of this is highly significant as it signals a very real change in the geopolitics of the region.

But it’s not just enormous reserves of natural gas that is set to see the Star of David rising to global energy prominence offshore. Israel has oil too – and a world class amount of it. Most importantly, as well as the great potential for oil finds in its deep offshore reservoirs, Israel is set to develop a major shale oil prospect the Shefla Basin, south-east of Jerusalem.



It’s where David slew Goliath. The Valley of Elah lies thirty miles to the south-west of Jerusalem. The World Energy Council estimates that Israel’s Shefla Basin shale oil deposits could yield a cool 250 billion barrels. To put that in perspective, it’s a figure that would catapult Israel into the elite with the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves, just behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Such is the significance of the amount of oil in the Shefla Basin that it didn’t take long for big hitting private investors, including Jacob Rothschild and Rupert Murdoch, to take a major stake in Genie Oil and Gas, the parent company of Israel Energy Initiatives who are running the project.

In February, the state owned Israel Natural Gas Lines announced that it was seeking $1 billion to fund new pipelines. Whilst developing a vital energy infrastructure has become a priority for Israel, the security implications are only too well understood.

But if OPEC’s members, already feeling the heat of the US shale gas and oil revolution, feel inclined to consider military action, it could only be in the form of utilizing proxy terrorist groups. Anything else would mean taking on a possible grand alliance of Israel, Russia, Greece and Cyprus. Equally, the rise of an energy-driven non-Muslim alternative powerbase in the Middle East offers a serious counterpoint to help offset the growing Islamist threat posed by the growing instability in North Africa.

Neither do the ramifications of the Israeli-led energy developments end there. Some Arab states are already breaking ranks. The fledgling Arab state of South Sudan, which sits on top of around 80 percent of Sudan’s oil reserves, signed a new deal in January to keep Israel supplied with oil while developing its own reserves. Jordan too is reportedly in secret talks to buy some of Israel’s Tamar gas to power a potash plant on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea. The State Oil Company of Azerbijan (SOCAR) has also turned to Israel as a “proving ground” to help its own development as a major energy producer.

Last Autumn, the Caspian Drilling Company, a subsidiary of SOCAR, bought a five percent stake in Israel’s small Med Ashdod oil field. It proposes to utilize the deal to draw on growing Israeli technical expertise.

Israeli’s reputation for high-tech expertise is already a recognized phenomenon. As one of Israel’s oil pioneers, Tovia Luskin, has pointed out, Israeli tech could “solve the world’s energy crisis if red tape doesn’t tie it up”. Luskin wants to use some of the revenue to fund a university as a global centre of excellence able to train engineers in oil exploration and energy management. Until the bureaucratic issues – how much does the Government take in revenues – are resolved in Israel that vision remains on hold however. But the point is nevertheless well made: Israel is in prime position to give a lead in a new era of Middle East energy developments.

Even so, the impact of the coming rise of Israel as a regional energy superpower plainly heralds significant and imminent changes in the Middle East, and beyond. First, for the fast-diminishing tyranny that is OPEC. Second, in the geopolitical re-alignment the new eastern Mediterranean energy alliance represents. Third, the literal shift of power away from the world’s oil and gas ‘tyrannies’ that the new energy realities – including Israel’s rise to energy superpower status – represent for the democratic world.


Peter C Glover is co-author of the bestselling Energy and Climate Wars and is a contributing editor at The Commentator. For more: www.petercglover.com   


Read more on: Russia and Israel, Israeli energy, leviathan gas field, gas, Middle East oil, and peter c. glover


 

One Village. 60 Millionaires. The Miracle Of Hiware Bazar

RAMESH MENON
October 20, 2012Issue 42 Volume 9

Ramesh Menon reports on a village in Maharashtra that witnessed an exodus after a severe drought in 1972, but did an amazing turnaround.  CAN A poverty-ridden village where alcoholism and crime are rampant turn into a showpiece of change and prosperity? Seems highly unlikely. In Hiware Bazar in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, however, you will see such a miracle in progress.

Hiware Bazar conjures up images of a bustling marketplace, but a few years ago, it was one of the most drought-prone villages of Maharashtra. Today, the rich and prosperous village is a shining example of how sustainable development and change can be brought about with common sense and determination. In 1995, the monthly per capita income was around Rs 830. Now, it is Rs 30,000. The village, which has 235 families and a population of around 1,250, now also boasts of 60 millionaires.

The cement houses along well-planned, clean roads are pinkish brown. There is a sense of discipline and order. Liquor and tobacco are banned. So is open defecation and urination. Every house has a toilet, a fact that few Indian villages can boast of.
The fields are lush with maize, jowar, bajra, onions and potatoes. Hiware Bazar is an oasis in a drought-affected area.

But, it was not always like this. Let us rewind to its dark past. “We lived in a poor village, but were happy with our simple lives,” recalls Raosaheb Rauji Pawar, 85. “But after the drought of 1972, the peace was shattered. People became irritable and restless as the struggle to stay alive became severe. Petty reasons were enough to trigger-off bitter quarrels, as there was so much despair and frustration. Villagers started consuming liquor and it added to our ruin. Many residents migrated to nearby cities to work as daily wage labourers.”

The local economy collapsed. So did the social fabric that held the village together in spite of its backwardness. Ninety percent of the villagers migrated. Despondency, hopelessness and unaddressed anger punctuated the villagers’ lives.
As India ushered in economic reforms, showing perceivable changes in both urban and rural areas in terms of opportunities, the youth in Hiware Bazar wondered if they were fated to remain in the shadows. There was no governance worth the name. Or leadership. The sarpanch was just a figurehead, too old to function. As the youth discussed the state of affairs, they felt it was worth experimenting with a young sarpanch who could bring in a whiff of fresh thinking and visionary zeal.

Popatrao Pawar, 52, was the only postgraduate in Hiware Bazar. So, the youth pleaded with him to contest for the sarpanch’s post in 1989. But Pawar was not interested. In fact, his family totally disapproved of the idea; they wanted him to go to the city and get a white-collar job. Pawar wanted to become a cricketer as he was a good player and his family also thought he had great promise and would play in the Ranji Trophy someday.

But as the youth persisted, he agreed to contest. He was elected unopposed. Pawar realised he had got the chance of a lifetime to usher in change.

Pawar began by asking the villagers to become proactive towards creating their paradigms for development. The village was caught in a pincer of alcoholism leading to frequent brawls and violence. There were 22 liquor shops in the village. He got them closed after convincing villagers that alcoholism had made them poor and addicted. He got the gram sabha to tie up with the Bank of Maharashtra to grant loans to poor families, including those who were brewing illicit liquor earlier.

“Ours was a simple village with happy families. But lack of water turned our fields barren,” remembers Laxman Pawar, 71, a farmer. “Out of desperation, people started to drink, gamble and fight. Liquor had ruined us. When the illicit dens were closed, we knew there was hope.”

One of the first things the sarpanch did was water conservation and management as it helped farming and brought in some money. He got the villagers to voluntarily help in rainwater harvesting. Soon, the villagers built 52 earthen bunds, two percolation tanks, 32 stone bunds and nine check dams. “We used state government funds. The volunteer labour programme cut costs and also ensured quality work. It was as if we were building it for ourselves and for our children,” he says.
From Rags to Riches

PER CAPITA INCOME:                    1995 – Rs 830  2012 – Rs 30,000
NUMBER OF WELLS:                      1995 – 90  2012 – 294
BPL FAMILIES:                                1995 – 168  2012 – 3
MILK PRODUCTION PER DAY:     1995 – 150 Ltrs   2012 – 4,000 Ltrs

The idea was to harvest every raindrop as it fell. Being in the rain-shadow region, Hiware Bazar received just about 15 inches of annual rain. Ponds and trenches stopped rainwater from flowing out of the village. After the first monsoon, the irrigation area increased from 20 hectares to 70 hectares. “In 2010, the village got 190 mm of rain, but we managed well because of water management,” says Habib Sayyed, who works on water issues in the village.
Water management helped them harvest multiple crops. Before 1995, there were 90 open wells with water at 80-125 feet. Today, there are 294 open wells with water at 15-40 feet. Other villages in Ahmednagar district have to drill nearly 200 feet to reach water.

In 1995, only one-tenth of land in Hiware Bazar was arable. Out of a total of 976 hectares, 150 hectares was rocky. Nature was against them as there were recurrent droughts. Now, even the stubborn land is being tamed with the rocks being removed and ploughed so that sowing can start when the rains come.

‘I took 21 years to transform my village. Now, I have zipped the strategy to take just two years. We can create a new era of rural change’

Popatrao Pawar, 52  DEPUTY SARPANCH
Photos: Appurva Shah

Anshabapu Thange, 45, had two acres lying fallow 15 years ago. But when water became available, he was back to farming. Today, he has 25 acres growing maize and fodder. He also has 30 buffaloes yielding 250 litres of milk a day. “Earlier, we did not have a grain to eat. It is water that helped us become rich,” he says.
There are success stories all over the village. Raosaheb Raouji Pawar, a former wrestler, cycles to the village square to sit and chat with friends. Today, he owns 45 acres, one tractor, one harvesting machine and three motorcycles. His annual turnover is now Rs 15 lakh.

School students at the primary level go through a compulsory course on water management. To ensure that water is not overused, water budgets are designed to estimate its use by measuring water levels and then prescribe cropping patterns. Monthly readings are done to calculate the amount of water available.

In 2007, the village won the National Water Award for community-led water conservation. The water audits determine which crops can be grown in a season, says Shivaji Thange, who works with the watershed committee.

With the water level in the wells rising, farming became a full-time activity. It immediately created conditions for prosperity to bloom. In 1995, as many as 168 of its 182 families were below the poverty line. Today, government estimates put it at only three. But sarpanch Pawar says that by Hiware Bazar’s definition, there are 12 BPL families. The village defines a BPL family as one that cannot have two full meals a day, cannot pay for children’s education and afford healthcare.

“We just need one more year to make Hiware Bazar a BPL-free village,” says Pawar, as the panchayat is already working on a strategy to draw them out of poverty.

In the mid-1990s, a five-year plan was drawn up for ecological regeneration, integrating available government schemes. Around 10 lakh trees were planted, increasing the forest cover and raising the water table. The temperature also fell by two degrees. Babool trees used to be cut for fuel, but now, it is being protected as villagers harvest gum from them, which is priced at Rs 2,000 per kg. The Forest Department is now assisting villagers making it a new commercial proposition.
As villagers were pulled in to make decisions and then implement them, there was no opposition as they had the feeling of ownership. The village was not divided by narrow politics. “We monitored everything we did so that funds were utilized properly. We had audits of all the work we did,” says Pawar.

There is a different gender sensitivity that one sees here. The gram panchayat has now decided that the second daughter’s education and marriage expenses will be taken care of by the village. In the seven-member panchayat, three are women. Sunita Shankar Pawar is the sarpanch this year but Popatrao Pawar as deputy sarpanch is the cynosure of all eyes.
To improve farming and livestock production, the villagers took bank loans. Last year, the disbursement touched Rs 38 lakh.
As farming increased, so did work. Getting labour was expensive, so Popatrao Pawar introduced the idea of collective farming. When a farmer is sowing, others join in to help so that he saves on labour. This practice has caught on and has created a new sense of belonging among the villagers. He says it is not money that can bring in rural change, but people working together to reach common goals without caste, creed and politics playing spoilsport.

Pawar turned to concentrate on another activity that had the potential of bringing villagers additional revenue. He got them to stop cattle from grazing in the forest as it had ecological implications. Instead, he persuaded them to grow more fodder. The focus on livestock resulted in the gradual increase in milk production bringing in steady revenue. In the mid-1990s, milk production was just 150 litres a day. Now, it has touched over 4,000 litres a day.

WHILE VILLAGERS are migrating to cities in the rest of the country, here is an excellent example of how reverse-migration is demonstrating the importance of villages becoming sustainable and consequently, prosperous. Ninety-three families have returned to Hiware Bazar since 1997. They had earlier left for nearby cities such as Ahmednagar, Pune and Mumbai to work as daily wage labourers for around Rs 50 a day. More importantly, aspirations have increased with a better and peaceful lifestyle back home.
Pawar did not rest on his laurels. He got the school, which was almost non-functional, working again. He started a children’s parliament that monitored if teachers were regularly attending school and if the students had any complaints. As students completed school, the desire to study further is now taking them to a nearby college. In fact, 32 students are now studying medicine.
There is no doctor in the village. “There is no need of a doctor here as everyone is healthy. No one can fall sick when the streets and houses are clean. We do not have open sewage systems, garbage lying around or open defecation which spreads disease,” he says. There are no sweepers hired by the village. Yet, the streets are clean as everyone chips in to keep it that way. It has become a culture to live in clean surroundings.

Signs of prosperity Villagers have profited from the increase in production of agricultural and dairy products

Pawar motivated villagers to adopt family planning, take care of their health and hygiene and even advocated that couples take a HIV test before marriage. He had a different outlook and villagers did not object as he always explained ideas at meetings before taking any decision. Collective decisions have helped keep rancour away.

The village has just one Muslim family and as there was no mosque for them to offer prayers, one was built for them. Banabhai Sayed and his family take part in all Hindu festivals and effortlessly sing Hindu bhajans.
The village has always planned ahead. In 2008, the gram sabha passed a resolution requesting that cars should not be used within the village to save fuel and cycles could be used instead. If they want to go to Ahmednagar, located 17 km away, they resort to a car pool.

With basic needs taken care of, Pawar’s focus now is on energy and is looking at solar energy. He also wants to slowly ensure that every food item from Hiware Bazar is organic. “Only 20 percent of chemical fertilisers are used now, but we will slowly turn organic. We will then set up our own market for organic food,” he says.

Pawar has now been made chairman of Maharashtra’s Model Village Programme that aims to create 100 villages like Hiware Bazar. He says he succeeded because of the participatory approach adopted where people decided what they wanted and brought in need based feasible plans. “I took 21 years to transform my village. Now, I have zipped the strategy to take just two years. With community participation, we can create a new era of rural change.”

While tangible changes are visible, it is the intangible lessons like changing consciousness, redefining political goals, willingness to sacrifice personal interests for the common good and cohesiveness in decision-making that make Hiware Bazar a lesson for rural India.

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, a UN report, points out how looking after nature makes both economic and ecological sense. Hiware Bazar has shown how it actually works. It has also shown what a good leader can do in a leadership-driven society like India.
letters@tehelka.com

Sent by Dorinda Moreno  pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com 

 

In Pictures: Savage Islamic Attack on St. Mark Cathedral Allowed by Egyptian Forces

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/8r9k2qyb.jpg

St. Mark Cathedral, holiest site for Egypt’s indigenous Christians — and home of the Coptic pope —  
turned into a war zone, under Muslim Brotherhood leadership.

Egypt’s Coptic Christians frequently accuse State Security and police of overlooking Muslim attacks on Christians and their places of worship, especially monasteries and churches. The Western mainstream media often ignores these accusations, or mentions them in passing as “unsubstantiated reports.” Last weekend’s assault on the St. Mark Cathedral — unprecedented in significance — was no different, except for the fact that there are many pictures demonstrating State complicity.

To recap: After last Sunday’s St. Mark Cathedral funeral service for Egypt’s most recent Christian victims of jihad — including one man set aflame — gangs of Muslims attacked the Christian mourners, resulting in the deaths of two more Copts, including one shot through the heart. Hundreds of Christians retreated back into the cathedral — both to get out of harm’s way, and to protect their holiest site. They were trapped there all night, enduring projectile and firebomb attacks. State Security also opened fire on the cathedral, including through tear-gas.

Several Egyptian media outlets and newspapers, especially the popular Youm7, have published a variety of pictures showing mobs, if not terrorists, attacking the cathedral in front of absolutely indifferent, possibly approving, security forces. Some of these pictures, with my captions, follow:

 

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo-101.png http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo-1.png
Muslim”youth” climb to the roof of a building adjacent to St. Mark Cathedral to attack it. To the left, a man winds to hurl a projectile at it. And in the white circle to the right, high-ranking Egyptian officials and security stand by watching (easily recognizable by their hats and helmets). A better close up. This image shows a masked sniper with rifle in hand preparing to open fire at the cathedral — confident that security forces will not intervene.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo-21.png

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo-8.png

 

Same man opens fire. Another man prepares to hurl stones at the cathedral, even as security forces stand by watching.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/546.jpg

A masked man, with a rifle, sits inside an Egyptian armored vehicle 
bought with U.S. taxpayer money — and fires at the cathedral.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo-9.png http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo-11.png

More snipers attacking Copts and their cathedral.

 

Yet another picture showing rioting Muslims throwing projectiles (upper left-hand corner) at the cathedral. A man with a pole (in yellow circle) dismantles or destroys something — a cross, or something else of Christian significance? — and Egyptian “security” (lower left-hand corner, in red circle), idly stand by.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/524521_521451994568355_1629327773_n1.jpg

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo-4.png
A Muslim burns a Bible in front of the cathedral, right under security’s nose. In Egypt, if a Christian is merely accused of “desecrating” a Koran, he/she gets several years in prison. Yet here is a Muslim burning a Bible, with photo evidence, but he has nothing to fear. A collage of some of those on rooftops firing at the cathedral. Most of them are known by name — including the second one in the Palestinian scarf — and Copts regularly report them to police and security, to no avail.
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/_admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo-3.png
More rooftop terrorism against the cathedral. The aftermath: the entrance of Coptic Christianity’s holiest site, the St. Mark Cathedral, after Egypt’s Muslim mob and State Security were through with it.
Editor Mimi:  The building structure does not seem too damaged.  Islamic history suggests that it was done by directive, in order to convert the site to a Mosque when the Christians population has been expelled. 

Source:  http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Sent by Odell Harwell  hirider@clear.net 

 

The Siege of Egypt's St. Mark Cathedral
An Insider's Account

What really happened on Sunday, April 7, 2013, during the St. Mark Cathedral attack in Cairo, where two Christians were killed and dozens wounded by Egyptian forces? As usual, different reports gave different versions, but now that the smoke has settled, the facts as first asserted during the attack by Coptic activists have been confirmed.

Back during the conflict, when the military was actually besieging the St. Mark cathedral—the most sacred building for millions of Coptic Christians and the only apostolic see in the entire continent of Africa—Amir Ramzi, a Copt who managed to escape the compound where hundreds of other Christians were trapped all night, was interviewed by phone on the popular Egyptian show, Cairo Today.

According to Ramzi, President of the Criminal Court: "Today we witnessed a day unprecedented in the history of modern Egypt—a day when holy sites were attacked both by the interior ministry and the mob."

The program's host, Amr Adib, evidently finding it difficult to implicate the interior ministry in an attack on an Egyptian landmark, asked Ramzi to clarify. So Ramzi began from the beginning, explaining how the funeral service was for six Christians killed two days earlier—including one intentionally set aflame—in a conflict begun when Muslims were seen sexually harassing a Christian girl. Many of the Copts coming out of the cathedral funeral service were angry and protesting. Waiting for them in the streets were Islamic extremists, who started hurling rocks on the Copts—who responded in like manner. Eventually police appeared; Ramzi himself called a police chief, who assured him that the Copts should just go back into their cathedral until the police secure the situation:

So that's what we did, thinking police would come to protect and separate the clashers. We were surprised to find that the police began to intervene and become another party to the conflict, attacking the Copts who were fighting back against the [Muslim] youth who were attacking them, and shooting gas bombs into the cathedral compound, which caused extreme poisoning, to the point that the ambulance cars were not enough to take the sick.

Ramzi added that three to four gas bombs struck the papal headquarters itself—the seat of the Coptic pope—while another 40 to 50 entered into the general compound, causing dozens of Copts, including many women and children, to grow sick and faint. Whether from the gas bombs themselves or from another source, Copts also found the ceiling of their cathedral catching fire, although the youths managed to put it out.

He further confirmed that live ammunition was fired on those Copts who refused to relent and instead fought back fiercely, mainly with rocks. When Ramzi tried to calm them, they told him that they "were ready to be martyred for our most important church," and, "We are not just children to abandon our cathedral to be set aflame or have someone attack it."

Ramzi said that he could not really blame these Christian defenders and added that many were already in heavy mourning for the six Copts murdered the day before, and that, after a second attack on their cathedral at the funeral of those who had been killed, they had reached a point beyond frustration.

Ramzi's most important and, at the time, controversial assertion, however, was the role played by Egypt's Interior Ministry. The police and security figures, he said, would tell the beleaguered Copts that everything was fine, that matters were secured, "only to find another five gas bombs thrown their way, not to mention live ammunition fired at them." Similarly, he said that security forces kept circling the cathedral and shooting gas bombs at every door: "Why, why would they do this?" Ramzi said on the phone. When he and others phoned the police, urging them to bring an armored vehicle to the front of the cathedral to guard it, the vehicle came, but far from protecting the cathedral, he personally saw "the [Muslim] youths" standing on top of it, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at the cathedral.

When the host continued to express dismay and doubt, that the state security would really behave this way, Ramzi asked an important question: the one thing that everyone agreed to is that, for hours, there were at least 30-40 Muslim youths hurling various projectiles and Molotov cocktails at the cathedral, "So can you tell me why security did not stop them or apprehend them? Was Egypt's entire state security unable to stop a mere 30-40 youths from vandalizing the nation's cathedral?"

When the host said, "but they arrested ten people," Ramzi scoffed: "What are you thinking? You will find that the majority of them are Christian!"

Time has proven all of Ramzi's eyewitness assertions true. Soon after his interview, which was conducted as the cathedral was still under siege, several pictures were published, including by Youm7, a prominent Egyptian paper, showing Muslims shooting rifles and throwing rocks and other objects at the cathedral, while the security forces stand by. One picture shows a masked man in civilian clothes sitting in an Egyptian armored vehicle.

Even the Western mainstream media recently came around to affirming that Egyptian security forces were involved in the attack on the cathedral. And, true to Ramzi's prediction, the only people to be arrested in connection with this latest assault on Christianity were the Christians themselves.

Raymond Ibrahim is author of the forthcoming book, Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians.

 

 

Any religion or ideology that is above good and evil produces enormous evil. 

Burt Bregman bbregame@yahoo.com
Lessons from Boston and Chechnya
April 23, 2013

For tens of millions of Muslims today, Islam is beyond good and evil: The infidel may be decent, but that is of no importance to the radical Islamist. For example, to become a "more religious" Muslim, Tamerlan Tsarnaev gave up boxing, marijuana, tobacco and even not wearing a shirt in the presence of females. Tsarnaev believed Islam forbade those things -- none of which is an evil. But when it came to the greatest evil -- murder (of non-Muslims) -- his religion was not only silent, it was enthusiastically supportive.

Likewise, communists in the Soviet Union, China and elsewhere -- and their many supporters in the West -- raised the creation of egalitarian society and industrialization above good and evil. And Nazism elevated race above good and evil. The environmentalists who oppose vitamin A-injected rice in the Third World place their agenda above good and evil.

Unfortunately, most religious and secular ideologues find preoccupation with human decency boring. The greatest moral idea in history, ethical monotheism, doesn't excite most people.
"
http://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2013/04/23/lessons-from-boston-and-chechnya-n1575560 



Sent by Angel Cortinas  
angel-cortinas@sbcglobal.net 
 

Does Welfare Have Limits? by Douglas Murray
April 12, 2013 

Yes, the welfare system should be kind. But it is not just unkind, but actively cruel, to encourage people to lead lives of meaninglessness and indigence—where there is no punishment for bad actions, but there are incentives for them, to be paid out by the majority of the people.

Sometimes a thing so terrible occurs that it forces us to notice a reality otherwise unbearable. Such has been the case in Britain in recent days. A man called Mick Philpott, father of 17 children, has been jailed for life for burning six of his children to death in their own home. It appears that, while possibly intending to save them once the fire was started, Philpott lit it because he wished to persuade the local authorities of his need for a more commodious living accommodation to maintain his prodigious and promiscuous lifestyle. In particular, he appeared to wish to continue to produce the children which, thanks to the state of welfare in the UK, he saw as cash-cows to fund his lifestyle.

The precise contortions and confusions of this man's mind do not concern most people. The ineradicable fact of human brutality is something most people accept and can do little about in others. But the part of the case which has made people think – and caused even the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne to intervene, is that Mr Philpott, his wife, his mistress and their many children did not just live on the state, but were encouraged to live on the state. Not only did the welfare state support the life of Philpott as he produced child after child with no intention of working to support them – it actually established an incentive for these actions. By taking his obligation to provide off his shoulders, disincentivizing him from working and incentivizing him by paying him to have as many children as possible, the welfare state – while hardly encouraging him to kill his children – most certainly did encourage him to live a life of indigence, irresponsibility and moral squalor.

Certain tabloids and conservative papers in Britain have noted the above and commented on it with alarm. And the response to this has been inevitable;. Many eager to politicize absolutely everything that fits with their own agenda and worldview have objected with outrage at what they call the "politicization" of this tragic case. They claim that conservative papers and commentators are leaping on this human tragedy with too much glee and using the deaths of six children for political ends. Their message is clear: yes this man burned six of his children to death and yes we paid for his lifestyle, but this does not mean anything. No need to analyze it. Tragic, yes, but let's not pretend it tells us anything.

The only problem is that the case does tell us something. And for several startling reasons. First, of course, the public outrage about the case is not just propelled by its horrific nature. It is caused in part because this man was so evidently a product of a welfare system gone horribly wrong. In the years before his killing of six of his children Mr. Philpott had appeared on many British television shows -- the mid-morning Jeremy Kyle Show (a sort of downmarket Jerry Springer) and on documentaries about the state of welfare, including one presented by former Conservative Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe. In these programs the public were invited to see – and gawp at – the awful moral universe of this man. He kept a caravan in his garden in which he could alternate between his wife and mistress. He produced more than a dozen children by different women with no intention of providing for them. It was hardly a surprise when it turned out during his trial that he had encouraged his wife into sex with other men within hours of killing the children.

Anybody watching Philpott's lifestyle of casual drugs and even more casual child-production would be anti-judgemental to the point of lunacy if he did not have the confidence to say that this was not a life being well lived or a life which should be anything but condemned.

But at the root of the public revulsion to this crime has not just been a revulsion to the life and crimes of this man, but a revulsion at the disturbing fact that taxpayers did not simply encourage, but actively paid for -- lavishly bankrolled -- this man's lifestyle. Many people are always very happy to say that "we" are all guilty when it comes to some obscure historical sin and "all guilty" when it involves some long-ago historical error. But take a terrible thing in the present, which all of us actually paid for and incentivized, and nobody is meant to notice anything.

If there is any good to come from such a terrible crime it may be that there is now wider public acknowledgment of a problem which has too often appeared more theoretical than real. Just before Christmas, in an interview with the Financial Times, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said something which should be inscribed above every civil servant's desk and above every pamphleteer's computer. With just over 7% of the world's population, Chancellor Merkel pointed out, Europe produces 25% of the world's GDP. Yet, with this it has to finance 50% of the world's social spending. Europeans, she said, "will have to work very hard to maintain [their] prosperity and way of life." The only reason Europe has got to that position – and why America may yet follow it – is that it finds it difficult if not impossible to draw moral limits around a welfare system at the point of unsustainable overreach.

Mr Philpott was a demonstration of another way of looking at things. He was a product of that recent historical fantasy in which the welfare state could be so benevolent that it could not just be stretched beyond the point of financial bankruptcy but stretched far beyond the point of moral bankruptcy. Of course the Philpotts of this world are an exception. People willing to take things to such pathological ends as he did are almost always in a minority. But a look at what led someone in such a minority into such actions is something the majority must take and do something about.

Not least they can think again not about the limits but about the purposes of welfare. At the beginning of that discussion should be one realization in particular: that it is not just unkind, but actively cruel, to encourage people to live lives of meaninglessness and indigence – that it is wicked to encourage people to live lives where not only is there is no punishment for bad actions, but there are incentives for them, to be paid out by the majority of people.

America is having the same debate about welfare as Europe and the rest of the Western world. If there is any good at all to come from such tragedies it should be for people to think again about what the limits of our welfare tolerance should be. Yes, the welfare system should be able to be kind. No one wants the helpless to starve or lack shelter. But as we all know, it is possible to kill people with kindness. And the fear that this is what we have done is the reason that Britain is now having a debate so rancorous and so raw.

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3663/uk-welfare-limits 


 

Germany Cracks Down on Critics of Mega-Mosque

by Soeren Kern  April 16, 2013 

"Our work of information is not oriented against Muslims, but against the political ideology of Islam. Muslims are its first victims, most of all women." — Politically Incorrect

The Bavarian branch of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), has placed under state surveillance German activists accused of fomenting hate against Muslims due to their opposition to the construction of a mega-mosque in Munich.

The move to silence critics of the mosque for being "unconstitutional" was announced by Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann in a press conference on April 12, and represents an unprecedented threat to the exercise of free speech in post-reunification Germany.

Herrmann made the announcement while presenting an annual report about threats to democratic order in Germany. A seven-minute video of the press conference with subtitles in English can be viewed here.  <

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3678/germany-mega-mosque-critics

  05/04/2013 10:15 PM