SOMOS PRIMOS: Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues


~An Ode to America~ From a Romanian newspaper Editorial - Another Perspective
We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA. This excerpt is from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title "C"ntarea Americii meaning "Ode To America") on September 24, 2002 in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei ("The Daily Event" or "News of the Day"). Sent by Joyce Basch joycebasch@juno.com and Anne Mocniak. Annemocn@aol.com
Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs. Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!" I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace. I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion...Only freedom can work such miracles.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez: Latino general takes command of ground forces By Joseph L. Galloway KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE, June 17, 2003 Sent by Elsa Valdez Elsa.Valdez@med.va.gov WASHINGTON – A soft-spoken 52-year-old Texan pinned on his third general's star over the weekend and took command of the U.S. Army's 5th Corps and all coalition ground forces in Iraq. It's the second tour in Iraq for Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez of Rio Grande City, Texas, who thrives on tough jobs. In his first tour, as an armor battalion commander, Sanchez fought his way almost to the gates of Basra in 1991 in Operation Desert Storm. Now it falls to Sanchez and the nearly 200,000 U.S. and British troops in Iraq to try to make peace and keep it among a fractious and feuding 24 million people in a country the size of California. His rise to high command is an American success story. He grew up poor in a poor Hispanic town in deep South Texas, son of a single mother who struggled to obtain education for her six children and herself. Sanchez can remember how excited he and his brothers and sisters were on the two Thursdays each month when his mother would go to the relief center and draw their food rations. "That meant we would have some meat, cheese and butter in the house for at least a couple of days," he said recently. Maria Elena Sauceda Sanchez and her family first lived in a one-room house on a dirt road on the outskirts of town. No indoor plumbing. Then they built a small two-bedroom bungalow on the same land. Again, no indoor plumbing. It wasn't until he went away to college that Sanchez had access to running water and an indoor toilet. Sanchez began working after school – sweeping up and cleaning his uncle Raul Sanchez's dry-cleaning and tailor shop and making deliveries – in the first grade. By the fourth grade he had a second after-school job, sweeping and cleaning at a pharmacy, helping keep the family afloat. When he was in the sixth grade, his math teacher called him a dummy. He struggled to prove her wrong, and became a whiz at math. He graduated eighth in his high school class of 300, and was voted most likely to succeed. Sanchez's mother, who had only a fourth-grade education, earned her high school-equivalency certificate at night. "She never allowed herself to be defeated, in any environment. (She) taught me perseverance, dedication, focus and of course the will to succeed." All her children graduated from college and today all are professionals: a teacher, a high school principal, a pharmacist, a power plant technician and the director of emergency room-technician training at a technical institute. A professor of military science helped Sanchez, a high school ROTC standout, win a four-year Army/Air Force college scholarship at Texas A&I College in Kingsville, where he earned his bachelor of science degree in mathematics. Sanchez was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army in 1973. When someone told him he should avoid the 82nd Airborne Division "because ROTC lieutenants didn't stand a chance there, much less a Mexican," he promptly volunteered for the 82nd and served there for the next five years. His highest ambition then was to be an armor battalion commander, something he achieved in the first Persian Gulf War. Sanchez led three of his companies in a raid on Tillil Airfield in southern Iraq, destroying at least 10 MiG fighter planes on the ground, and earning a Bronze Star with a V for valor. Sanchez's commanding general, then-Maj. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, recalled that while deployed in Saudi Arabia, on the eve of war, he learned that one of Sanchez's parents was gravely ill, and called him in and told him to go home and deal with it, that he could get back before the war began. "His eyes clouded up with tears. He told me no, I'm not going home until I can take all these soldiers with me, safe, at the end of the war." Sanchez is one of nine Hispanic generals in U.S. Army history. Six of them hail from South Texas. Asked why this is so, Sanchez said: "It is love of country, a hardworking ethic and a value system that is totally compatible with military life. The Hispanic family is all about loyalty, taking care of each other, perseverance, courage and a willingness to sacrifice. Hard work in the Army is easy compared to being out in the fields picking cotton."

A General and a Gentleman - - Mother of new U.S. chief in Iraq looks back By Travis M. Whitehead, The Monitor, June 8, 2003 Sent by Juan de Dios Villarreal juandv@granderiver.net RIO GRANDE CITY — Maria Elena Sanchez looked proudly at the handsome military officer in the picture who is now the top U.S. commander in Iraq. his is my son when he got his first star when he was in Panama,” said Sanchez, gazing at a picture of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, 52. Gen. Sanchez is now in ancient Mesopotamia, an area rich in history. But he also has his own storied past, rich in details of hard work, family teamwork and a colorful cultural heritage. Sanchez was born and raised in Rio Grande City by a devoted mother who proudly claims her father was part Peruvian Inca Indian and part Aztec from Mexico. Her mother’s parents were from Spain During the Depression, she said, she and her parents and siblings moved often along the Texas Gulf Coast looking for work. “We were very poor,” she said. The 76-year-old mother of six — four sons and two daughters — never made it past the fourth grade. “My father didn’t let me go to school,” she said. “He said that women don’t need to work. They get married and the husband has to pay for everything.” This was not the same message she gave to her own children. I always tell them, ‘you have to finish high school and go to college,’ ” she said. “And then when they grew up they all went to college.” In her roomy West Roosevelt Street home, pictures of Indians, birds in flight and dreamy oceans cover the walls. Feathered dreamcatchers adorn the hallway, a shelf filled with books sits next to a white piano. She looked over a desk covered with pictures and newspaper clippings high- lighting their accomplishments. Her daughter, Maggie, is a principal at Lopez High School in Brownsville; daughter Diane is a pharmacist. Her son Robert is a registered nurse and an instructor at Texas State Technical College; Leonel is an elementary school coach; and David works for an electrical company in Dallas. “I am proud of all of my children,” she said. What’s her winning formula?” “I was very strict with them,” she said. “They have their time to be here at home at night, by 9. I didn’t like them out in town with nothing to do.” Each of her children was different and had their own interests in life. Maggie used to round up the local children and pretend she was a teacher; David was always trying to fix things. Diana liked to play she was making medicines for patients. “Ricardo was very quiet,” she said. “When he was small, he would play with little toy soldiers I would buy at the 5 and 10 cent store. He always wanted me to buy them, and he would play all day when he was not in school. “He liked to study with the radio on. When he went to high school, he enjoyed ROTC.” The children grew up without their father, and their mother had to work at various jobs — at a flower shop, a dentist’s office, at a hospital as a nurse’s aid — to support them. When she had the opportunity to learn English, she did so, walking about a mile in the evening to Fort Ringgold with all six of her children with her. “They were small,” she said. “I never left them by themselves.” Because of their struggles, all six learned early the importance of teamwork and loyalty. And they never gave their mother any problems. “I taught them to respect me,” she said. “That’s what I always liked, they respected me.” Grade school pictures of Ricardo Sanchez reveal an energetic, yet pensive young boy with a warm smile and friendly dark eyes. Moving ahead a few years to high school, his ROTC photos show the same warm smile, complemented with a strong chin and a determined expression. In another picture, Ricardo Sanchez stands in a T-shirt in front of his brick home with an arm around his younger brother’s neck. Local residents are proud this native son. “He’s a wonderful young man,” said Dolly Olsen of Rio Grande City. “He used to work for the Piggly Wiggly. This kid’s family was poorer than church mice ” Such a dramatic rise to success is an inspiration to everyone in the area, Rio Grande City Mayor Baldemar Garza. “I think he is an example of what our community has produced and continues to produce from our people,” Garza said. “He’s very intelligent. He’s gone through our school district’s ROTC program which we still have. “We have a lot of veterans in our community. He’s very special to our vets. They see how important his position is for all of us.” The children are grateful to the mother, who empowered them to go so far. In 1988, when Ricardo Sanchez was stationed in Europe, the young officer and gentleman took his mother on a trip with his wife and children all over Germany and Austria. “I loved it,” she said excitedly, bringing out armfuls of photo albums, picture postcard books, and guidebooks of all the places they visited. “I want to live there!” she said emphatically. The pictures reveal a smiling Maria Elena Sanchez walking with thern daughter-in-law down a road in the German woods, inhaling the cool European mountain air. There are postcards of Neuschwanstein Castle and quaint German towns with colorful frescoes on the sides of buildings, and books about Salzburg, Austria, Loderhein Castle, and Heidelberg. Other pictures reveal a more sobering visit to the former Dachau concentration camp. She spoke to her son recently when he called her from Europe. “He told me he was not going to call until they install phones (in Iraq),” she said. “He’s really proud of himself. Really happy. “He’s been appointed to get his third star.”

More than 60,000 immigrants are currently on active duty, with a little more than half of them not yet citizens. Over 20% of all Medal of Honor recipients (716 of 3,406 total) were immigrants, and immigrants were (and continue to be) among the casualties and prisoners in the most recent war in Iraq. For more information on immigrants in the military, see: o American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) web site on immigrants in the military: http://www.ailf.org/ipc/immigrants_in_the_military.asp o Pew Hispanic Center fact sheet on Hispanics in the armed forces: http://www.pewhispanic.org/site/docs/pdf/Hispanics%20in%20the% 20military%20Fact%20Sheet%20.pdf Source: http://www.hispanicvista.com/html3/060903immi.htm

Biggest News: Hispanics Are Now the Nation's Largest Minority http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/multimedia/LULACKincannon.html [[Editor's note: The Census Bureau announced on June 18th, 2003, that Hispanics are now the nation's largest minority group. The nation's Hispanic population numbered 38.8 million in July 2002. The nation's African American population, which has been the nation's largest minority since the country was founded, numbered 38.3 million. The arrival of this landmark happened much more quickly than had been forecast. These are some highlight gleaned from many articles.]] Census Highlights: Three in five Hispanics are born in the United States. It is a young population: A third of Latinos are under 18. Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have a high school education. More than 21 percent of Hispanics were living in poverty, compared with about 8 percent of white non-Hispanic households and 19 percent of other non-Hispanic households. Hispanic population in the United States grew almost four times faster than the rest of the country, accounting for one-half of the population increase in the nation between April 1, 2000 and July 1, 2002, the government said. Sent by George Gause ggause@panam.edu and Cindy LoBuglio

The youngest U.S. Executive Director to the Inter-American Development Bank in U.S. history is Jose Angel Fourquet. On December 14, 2001 he was sworn in by the Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill. . A native of Puerto Rico, Mr. Fourquet also serves as U.S. Executive Director of the Inter-American Investment Corporation and represents the U.S. on the Donors Committee of the Multilateral Investment Fund. Mr. Fourquet worked for six years as an Operations Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. In that capacity, Mr. Fourquet was posted abroad in Latin America and the Caribbean where he collected, evaluated and reported high-priority intelligence of interest to U.S. policy makers. For more information, go to: http://www.fourquet.com/josebio.html
Sent by Charles Fourquet, whose father is Director Fourquet's cousin. Charles is Vice President of The Hispanic Genealogical Society of New York, http://www.hispanicgenealogy.com. Nuestra Herencia received recognition in the 2003 National Genealogical Society Newsletter Competition. Kudos!!	Jose Angel Fourquet Executive Director Inter-American Development Bank


Pew Institute Study http://www.pewhispanic.org/site/docs/pdf/high%20school%20dropout%20report--final.pdf Recent immigrants Latino kids have drop out rate of 34% - US born Latino kids 14% Hispanics in their late teens born outside the United States are more than twice as likely to drop out of high school as U.S.-born Latinos, according to an analysis of census data released Thursday. However . . .Among native-born Hispanic dropouts, 96 percent speak only English or are proficient in Spanish and English, while about half were employed. Fry suggested that programs that reach students of all backgrounds -- such as counseling about teen pregnancy and study skills -- could help reverse the dropout trend.


Three Faces, Three Ancestral Backgrounds: Extract: Getting DNA to bear Witness by Dana Hawkins Simons U.S. News & World Report, June 23, 2003 Roots: Behind the controversy are recent studies showing it's possible to identify people's likely ancestral roots by looking for tiny variants in the sequence of DNA "letters" found most often in specific groups. "Races do exist, and they have some biological meaning," says Mark Batzer, a human geneticist at Louisiana State University and an author of one such study. DNAPrint, which offers its service to both police and genealogy buffs, extracts and analyzes DNA from tissue left at a crime scenes or cells swabbed from inside the cheek. It estimates a person's biogeographical ancestry admixture" - an ethnic recipe giving the person's fraction of African, East Asian, Indo-European, and American Indian ancestry. The very idea of measuring race makes many people uncomfortable. DNAPrint, however, argues that the biogeographical ancestry its test measures is different from "race" and that the results confirm how little racial categories actually mean. "By showing the continuum of genetic variation among people, our test dispels race as a scientific way of categorizing people, " says Mark Shriver, an expert on human population genetics as Pennsylvania State University and the developer of the DNAPrint test.

Extract: Americans Are Embracing Spanish Multilingualism International Herald Tribune, June 24, 2003 http://www.hispaniconline.com/pop/free-sub.html The increase in the number of Spanish speakers is also encouraging officials who deal with the public to learn the language. In Phoenix, Arizona, firefighters who learn Spanish qualify for a monthly bonus of $100. In Las Vegas a similar bonus is being finalized for county employees. Bilingual police officers in El Mirage, Arizona, receive an extra $100 a month, and those in Glendale, Arizona, get $75 Researchers at the University of Miami found that families in which only Spanish was spoken had an average income of $ 18,000; those with only English, $32,000. Those with both Spanish and English averaged $50, 376. Spanish also means big business By 2007, Hispanic buying power will reach $926 billion a year, according to researchers at the University of Georgia. Between 1990 and 2007, the buying power of Hispanics is expected to increase by 315 percent, compared to 111 percent for non-Hispanics.

Extract: Broadcast network shows don't reflect nation's diversity by Lynn Elber, Associated Press, 6-25-03 According to a UCLA study, although Hispanics make up 13.5 % of the population, but they only receive 3% total screen time on the six major networks. Spanish-language television doesn't make up for Hispanics' exclusion from the dominant networks, said Alex Nogales, head of the National Hispanic Media Coalition in Los Angeles. "America doesn't know who its neighbors are. We live among everybody else," he said.

HISPANIC NEWS Inaugural Publication: April 20, 2003 Variety of articles, social and business issues http://www.hispanic.bz/ http://www.Latinos.cc Published by Jon Garrido jongarrido@qwest.net The article below is from Hispanic News

First Hispanic Private Equity Fund Opens For Business Fund Seeks to Invest $70 Million in Established Companies http://www.hispanic.bz/first_hispanic_private_equity_fund_opens_for_business.htm 6-10-03 CHICAGO, May 15, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - The first nationwide Hispanic venture-capital fund has opened its doors for business, evolving from a 2000 alliance of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Bank One Corporation. Hispania Capital Partners is actively seeking to invest more than $70 million in well-established, mid-size companies. Bank One stepped up with the first investment commitment -- up to $5 million -- and provided initial financing in the early stages of the fund's formation. Bank One also assisted in recruiting additional investors. "The support, expertise and recruitment of other investors by Bank One and the Hispanic Chamber has been essential in bringing this fund to reality," said Victor Maruri, fund manager, who has more than 25 years of experience in investment banking and capital markets. Hispania Capital Partners ( http://www.hispaniapartners.com ) plans to help a number of companies accelerate their growth through equity investments over the next few years with the participation of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The fund typically will invest $4 million to $8 million in businesses owned or managed by Hispanics and those serving the fast-growing Hispanic community. This is the first national fund focused solely on Hispanic businesses and is licensed by the SBA as a Small Business Investment Company. That allows the SBA to guarantee financing of up to twice the amount of private capital raised by Hispania Capital. With initial private capital of $21 million and up to $42 million in SBA leverage, Hispania Capital starts off with a war chest to arm Hispanic companies to battle for the business of 35 million Hispanic Americans, who spend $450 billion each year. The country's Hispanic businesses employ more than 1.3 million workers and generate revenue of more than $180 billion. Over the next five years, the Hispanic population is projected to grow five times faster than the overall U.S. population. Bank One has focused on Hispanic initiatives, such as the fund, because of the substantial Hispanic population in seven key markets Bank One serves: Chicago, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver and Tucson. "We know the importance of supporting our communities, whether it's through bilingual employees, banking services, business loans or investments," said Pete Gillespie, senior vice president in Bank One's Middle Market Banking and a member of the fund's advisory board. "We know the fund will provide inspiration for the thousands of Hispanic small businesses served by banks like Bank One across the country." Hispania Capital is looking to work with established middle-market manufacturing, service and technology companies with annual sales of $10 million to $200 million. "We see tremendous opportunities to provide growth equity to Hispanic businesses, which historically have struggled to get enough capital," said Carlos Signoret, co-manager of the fund. "This fund will help larger companies achieve the kind of rapid growth that would be otherwise impossible." Verizon Communications is presently the fund's largest investor. The investment banking firm of Duff & Phelps LLC will provide support and technical assistance through its joint venture agreement with Hispania Capital Partners. The fund's investment decisions will be based on four primary criteria: (1) Management: Business leaders and managers with extensive industry and operational experience are the top priority. (2) Market: The market must have good long-term growth prospects and have large enough potential revenue. (3) Product: The product or service must have a sustainable competitive advantage. (4) Realization of gains: Managers must recognize that the fund's eventual exit strategy may include strategic sales, a merger or a public offering. Hispania Partners usually will seek a return on its investment three to five years after its initial investment. Information about the fund is available through Hispania Capital Partners LLC, 311 S. Wacker, Chicago, IL 60606 or by calling (312) 697-4600 or online at http://www.hispaniapartners.com.

			This guidebook for new entrepreneurs and first time business owners reflects acknowledged social changes, needed and due. It was sent by co-author, Armando G. Roman, whose Phoenix, Arizona practice focuses on small businesses and the issues that small business owners face on a day-to-day basis.
The issues revolve around accounting, banking, management, insurance, human resources, financing, retirement planning, tax minimization strategies, and many, many more issues. "Make the Leap: Shift from Corporate Worker to Entrepreneur" is available in all major book stores. For more information: 602-468-2400 a.roman@romancpa.com http://www.ROMANCPA.COM

The Partnership for Prosperity activates economic initiatives between Mexico and United States June 10, 2003, San Francisco. In the framework of a Partnership for Prosperity Business Workshop, Mexican and United States government officials, businessmen, and academics signed various economic and cooperation initiatives that will boost Mexico's economic and scientific development. More than 850 businessmen, academics, and officials of both governments met in the San Francis Hotel in San Francisco to discuss business opportunities and projects that will support Mexico's economic expansion. The Partnership's achievements at the Workshop include: -· The signing of an agreement, to become effective when ratified by the Mexican Senate, that will allow the United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation to offer a broad range of financial and risk insurance services to United States enterprises doing business in Mexico. -· The United States Small Business Administration, NAFIN (Mexico's development bank) and the Department of the Economy signed an agreement to work together to develop more solid commercial ties that will boost trade and joint investments among Mexican and United States small and medium-sized enterprises. -· Mexico's central bank and the United States Federal Reserve announced the creation of an automated clearing house for financial transactions between the two countries. The International Electronic Funds Transfer System will speed transfers between the two countries and is expected to cut the costs of financial transactions to less than one dollar. -· The U.S. Bank and the National Savings and Financial Services Bank (Banco de Ahorro Nacional y Servicios Financieros - BANSEFI) announced a new low-cost service for the transfer of funds from the United States to Mexico's rural communities. This service is offered through the banking alliance known as L@ Red de la Gente (the people's network). -· The United States Trade and Development Agency announced plans to support feasibility and assistance studies for infrastructure projects in Mexico, including the expansion of Ciudad Obregon airport, the architecture of intelligent transportation systems, and support for Mexico's Federal Competition Commission. -· It was agreed to explore a program of United States volunteers, mainly aimed at the high-technology sector, to work with the National Science and Technology Council (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologÃa - CONACYT) in the development of Mexico's small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as in the fields of science and technology, and science and development. -· CONACYT signed agreements with the universities of Arizona, California, Georgetown, Iowa, and Texas to give Mexican students scholarship opportunities, to promote instructor and researcher exchange programs, and to cooperate with joint promotion and research programs. -· The United States and Mexico announced the launch of a prize for corporate social responsibility, the "Good Partner Award", to recognize the private sector's contribution to Mexico's economic and social development. -· The University of Georgetown and the United States Agency for International Development announced plans to provide training and support for most disadvantaged sectors of society, and to train cadres of business leaders in the agricultural and export sectors. -· USAID announced plans to work together in the promotion of the use of lead-free materials in the creation of Mexican ceramic handicrafts. -· USAID, together with the Mexican government, announced plans to create new alliances and partnerships among Mexican and United States universities, under the aegis of an initiative that includes the headings of training, scholarships, and social services. Medium-term supports were also announced between the public and private sector to encourage the growth of higher education in Mexico. -· The International Fogarty Center, an agency of the United States National Institute of Health, and CONACYT announced plans to strengthen cooperation and research in biomedical sciences such as infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, mother and child health, and other vital medical areas. -· The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness and the United States Council for Competitiveness set a working agenda to improve the region's competitiveness and promote economic development. -· In the framework of the meeting the subject of corporate social responsibility was discussed. A project was announced by AOL Time Warner and the International Center for Missing Children for the creation of a similar center in Mexico that will support families and work with government, legal authorities, and corporate and community partners to provide technical training and establish a 24-hour call center and distribute photographs and information that will help to find missing children, to help to prevent children from being stolen at the border, and to prevent child exploitation. -· Pharmaceutical company Merck, Inc. presented an initiative to identify and train Mexican scientists and contribute to a program of innovation through dialogue among Mexican and United States leaders. The Merck project will be carried out in cooperation with the National Institute of Genomic Medicine, the Foundation of the Americas, and the Council for Competitiveness. Carlos Villanueva carlosvillanueva@cvinternacional.com CEO. C&V International PR, Marketing, Promotion & Business Development http://www.cvinternacional.com http://www.mexicanosenelexterior.com/carlos.htm

LAZOS Bilingual E-newsletter lazos@sre.gob.mx Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior Número 17, Mexico D. F. 24 de junio de 2003 Lazos es un servicio informativo del IME, se distribuye todos los días y contiene información sobre notas periodísticas publicadas en México y EE.UU., sobre la población de origen mexicano y latino en EE.UU. Para activar o cancelar una suscripción escribir a: lazos@sre.gob.mx This issue had links to articles from the following publications:
Dallas News El Universal Jornada	My San Antonio La Opinion Las Estrellas	Reforma Washington Post

VISIBLE Magazine, Houston, (EFE).- , A new bilingual publication showcasing Ibero-American art, hit the newsstands June 10th with plans for distribution across the United States and Mexico. Founded by Monika Hallqvist, a Mexican designer, and Rose Mary Salum, a Mexican writer, *Visible* has just published its second issue, something the magazine co-editors cite as proof that the project has passed the litmus test. The magazine has just been accepted by the Ingram Book Group, the largest wholesale distributor of books and magazines in the United States, to be sold across the country in such bookstores as Barnes & Noble and Borders. The bilingual publication will also be available in art shops in Mexico and can be purchased through the National Culture and Arts Council (Conaculta). "We've been working on the idea of a magazine for over two years," Hallqvist told EFE. "What began as an idea to create a literary magazine ended up being what it is today: an art publication that covers all artistic expressions," the Mexican designer added. Visible Magazine includes editorials on topics such as painting, photography, sculpture, cinematography, architecture, history, literature and music. "We want to show the richness of our nations' cultures, as produced by Hispanics, Latin Americans and Spaniards," Salum explained. "We don't want to be identified as problem citizens. We want to be identified as people with ancestral cultures who produce, people who have studied, creative people capable of producing at a high level," Salum said. The new issue showcases the talents of Mexican photographer Gabriel Figueroa Flores and Spanish sculptor Juan Muñoz, among others. The magazine's text is written in both Spanish and English. "Globalization means all countries are more connected, and it's important to produce a bilingual magazine in order for your message to reach a wider audience," Salum added. EFE

Extract: The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in Hollywood Cinema by Lynne Meredith Schreiber Source: Friendly Exchange, summer 2003, pg. 40 The program is the most comprehensive archive ever compiled of the role of Latinos in film during the last century. Farmers Insurance helped fund the documentary and is making it part of an educators' initiative to teach about multiculturalism. This fall, 6,000 schools in Long Angeles and San Diego will receive a DVD of the documentary, which includes an introduction narrated by Cheech Marin, and an accompanying curriculum guide that offers multicultural lessons tied to the film. Farmers unveiled the educators' package at the California Association of Bilingual Educators and held a half-day institute on how to use the curriculum. "We're trying to . . . develop a curriculum that is reflective of the multicultural tapestry and give teachers something different and interesting to work with," says Luisa Acosta-Franco, Farmers' public relations manager for diverse markets. " For more information on The Bronze Screen education program, visit http://www.bronzescreen.net

Happy To Mix It All Up, June 8, 2003 by Joel Kotkin and Thomas Tseng Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com Joel Kotkin, a senior fellow with the Davenport Institute for Public Policy at Pepperdine University, is writing a book on the history of cities. Thomas Tseng, a research fellow at the institute, is the principal of New American Dimensions Inc., an ethnic marketing firm based in Los Angeles. Authors' e-mails: jkotkin@pacbell.net and tdtseng@earthlink.net Romulo "Tim" Cisneros grew up in an intensely Mexican American family in San Antonio. His brother, Henry, grew up to become the city's first Latino mayor in recent history. Now an architect in Houston, Tim is married to a woman who is also Mexican American. For most of his life he's viewed himself, and his experience as an American, through the prism of his ethnic identity. He's Latino, and proud of it. But Cisneros doesn't expect that his three children will be nearly "as Latino" as he and his wife. In their old tree-lined neighborhood close by Houston's high-rise towers, his kids live and go to school amid a diversity of races -- Anglos, Asians and African Americans as well as Hispanics -- and within a culture that's rapidly transcending old racial barriers and redefining familiar racial themes. "My daughter listens to hip-hop, belongs to the Asian engineering society and has a crush on a black guy," Cisneros says with bemusement in his office in central Houston. "There's no identification with any group or race." Welcome to post-ethnic America. You may not have heard much about it yet, since it hasn't fully seeped into the intellectual and political realms that define the national discourse on racial issues. But it's in full bloom on American streets and in the marketplace, changing long-standing notions of ethnicity and race and reshaping interpersonal relationships in a manner that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. On its cutting edge are kids like Cisneros's and their counterparts across the country. No longer content to hew to a single cultural or racial identity, they are beginning to erase the often unbreachable divide that has marked, and marred, race relations in this country from the earliest European settlements. The emerging post-ethnic sensibilities challenge many fondly held assumptions of the political class, the media and, perhaps most of all, certain academic elites, as they contradict the notion that American ethnic and racial divisions are rarely transcended or, conversely, that assimilation -- the old idea of the melting pot -- turns ethnic populations into proto-Episcopalians who eat white bread with cheese spread. As such, they're sure to be unwelcome news to those with a vested interest in perpetuating ethnic divides, as well as to those who champion diversity, or multiculturalism, as a means of assuring a continued ethos of ethnic separation. But cultures will blend in spite of the ambitions of social engineers, and the future belongs to those who embrace it. This is especially true in the new reality of a post-ethnic America, which is about nothing so much as opportunity -- for American citizens, American culture and American business. Post-ethnicity reflects not only a growing willingness -- and ability -- to cross cultures, but also the evolution of a nation in which personal identity is shaped more by cultural preferences than by skin color or ethnic heritage. To put it in youth terms, you're less likely to be a Latina, an African American or an Asian American, for instance, than a hip-hopper, a roquero (rocker), or a pop-culture fan of any color or ethnic background. Today's young Americans represent the most multiracial group in modern American history. According to Census 2000, 40 percent of people under the age of 25 -- "echo boomers" and younger -- belong to some race or ethnic category other than "non-Hispanic white." Overall, during the 1990s, immigrants and their children were responsible for a remarkable 70 percent of total U.S. population growth. The kind of culture these new Americans are shaping is most evident in those places -- cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Houston -- where immigrants, and, more importantly, their offspring, are molding street-side realities. The food, the music, even the look of these cities reflect not a single cultural influence, but a plethora of them, and their young citizens dabble freely in the variety. Second- and third-generation Latinos are the vanguard of these cultural shifts. They constitute the largest and fastest-growing segments of young non-whites in the country, and in many communities across Texas, California and New York, they are the absolute majority of high school students and the overall workforce. If nativists, such as Pat Buchanan, or the cultural nationalists who infest most Chicano studies departments at universities were right, these descendants of Latin American immigrants -- who constitute three-fifths of all Latinos residing in the United States -- would be forthright cultural nationalists themselves, exclusively embracing the Spanish language, music and identity. But they're not. According to the Pew Hispanic Center/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation 2002 National Survey of Latinos, most second-generation Latinos are either bilingual (47 percent) or English-dominant (46 percent). Only 7 percent consider themselves Spanish-dominant. The results tilt even more toward English among the third generation, with 22 percent indicating that they are bilingual, and the remaining 78 percent English-dominant. The same patterns hold for media and music. According to the market research firm Cultural Access Group, young Latinos consume English-language television and radio by better than 2 to 1 over Spanish affiliates. Only a tiny minority -- 13 percent in Los Angeles and half that in New York and Miami -- listen primarily to Spanish language music. So how do these young Latinos identify themselves? In a way not too different from other young Americans. Roughly half, according to the 2000 Census, consider themselves white and, on many critical issues, such as abortion and the war in Iraq, their views are often similar to, or more conservative, than those of their white counterparts. Viewed in this light, Latinos do not fit the mold of a permanently aggrieved minority on America's left. Similarly, their linguistic preferences would seem to challenge the continued viability of programs such as bilingual education, with their emphasis on preserving a distinct culture or "easing" Spanish-speaking youngsters into an English-language mainstream they appear to be diving into headfirst. Yet another thing is certain: Young Latinos aren't afraid to mix it up personally with other American races and cultural groups. Like Asian Americans, they have shown a strong tendency to intermarry. Roughly 30 percent of second-generation Latinos and Asians now wed people from outside their own racial groups. Mixed-race births in California have grown from 40,000 in 1980 to more than 70,000 annually; one out of every seven babies born in the Golden State in 1997 had parents of different races. This unprecedented mixing alone guarantees the development of an increasingly blended culture, not only for Latinos and Asians in particular but for young Americans as a whole. Among today's post-ethnic youth, cultural diversity is casually presumed as a normal aspect of daily life, and in the highly fluid youth marketplace, cultural identities are adopted, exchanged and shed as simply and efficiently as if they were eBay transactions. Take music, for example. White suburban kids -- following the reverse crossover example of this generation's most visible iconoclastic rap superstar, Eminem -- make up the majority of the country's so-called "b-boys and b-girls" who purchase (or download) hip-hop music created predominantly by black artists. Meanwhile, creators of this popular art form are themselves increasingly diverse. In Northern California, the underground deejay scene has long been dominated by Filipino "turntablists" who spin hip-hop beats to enthusiastic throngs of club goers of every nationality and color. Or consider the hit films among America's teenagers and twenty-some-things. Justin Lin's critically acclaimed "Better Luck Tomorrow" is an independent film released by MTV Films that explores suburban teen angst and violence -- through a cast that's only incidentally all-Asian American. And of course the blockbuster "The Matrix Reloaded" boasts a rainbow cast of all the colors and hues of a post-ethnic America. Leon Wynter, author of "American Skin: Pop Culture, Big Business, and the End of White America," notes that these commercial trans-racial representations sell in the mainstream marketplace. They signify, he states, "a vision of the American dream in which we are liberated from the politics of race to openly embrace any style, cultural trope, or image of beauty that attracts us regardless of its origin." Of course, we aren't quite there yet. But the new post-ethnic dynamic can be felt even in regions such as the South, where larger numbers of Latinos and Asians are now settling. These newcomers, suggests James Johnson, an African American demographer at the Kenan Institute in Chapel Hill, N.C., are breaking down the traditional black-white split that has so characterized previous race relations in the region. "You are seeing a shift, in the South particularly, into a society that is more the kind of thing you see in Los Angeles and other places," observes Johnson. In the process, he believes, the old racial divides will be replaced by a new, more nuance view of ethnicity and race. In many places, this will mean the need to provide immigrants with better access to education and to familiarize the local populace with the history, language and customs of the new Americans. It also will call for a new approach to dealing with "community" issues as many neighborhoods experience constant flux. In communities such as South Central Los Angeles (now officially re-christened South L.A.), for instance, what was once predominantly an African American enclave is now a majority Latino district. The challenges in addressing the area's problems -- regarding jobs, education and public safety -- go beyond race and are now often spoken of in economic and social terms rather than exclusively ethnic ones. Those who promote exclusively race-based approaches and resist the new ethnic dynamics no longer offer a working strategy for dealing with the problems of such communities. The post-ethnic reality is also expressed in how people of different ethnicities increasingly live and, yes, shop in America. A generation ago, Americans were warned about becoming a country bifurcated between inner-city minorities and suburban whites. But this is no longer a danger. Today, nearly 51 percent of Asians, 43 percent of Latinos and 32 percent of African Americans live in the suburbs. The immediate suburbs around Denver, for example, experienced a 50 percent increase in their Latino populations during the 1990s. Sub-urbanization, with its emphasis on cars, produces a different and more blended kind of "ethnic" economy than traditionally denser urban settlements such as New York's Chinatown. Shopping centers in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, the epitome of an immigrant-oriented suburban area, are likely to be multiethnic, with stores advertising in Russian, Farsi, Armenian and Spanish, as well as the ubiquitous English. The sharpest ethnic entrepreneurs are keyed into this post-ethnicity as a critical part of their business strategy. Andrew Cherng started Panda Express, the 500-restaurant chain, as a small family-run Chinese restaurant in Pasadena nearly 30 years ago. Today, it's the largest Chinese restaurant chain in the country, catering to the broader American public in shopping malls, retail centers and ballparks across 37 different states. Across California, the Asian supermarket chain 99 Ranch Market is finding a growing number of Latinos and whites among its customer base. To survive and prosper in the future, ethnic businesses -- as well as mainstream American ones -- will need to adjust to the new post-ethnic reality. So will the rest of us, because this is a trend that will only accelerate. In the America of the 21st century, race and ethnicity are sure to be continuously reinterpreted by succeeding generations, confounding the fears and prejudices of their befuddled elders.

CALL FOR SHORT STORIES FROM MULTIRACIAL WRITERS. Experienced editorial team is assembling an anthology of short stories (fiction only) from biracial and multiracial authors. Stories must speak either directly or indirectly about what it is to be of mixed race in the United States. Authors whose short stories are selected will be paid $200.00 upon publication of the volume. Deadline: Submit up to 8,000 words by December 31, 2003. There is no entry fee. For complete guidelines, visit http://www.mixedstories.com Source: LatinoLA



PEDRO INFANTE "EL IDOLO" http://www.pedroinfante-elidolo.com Sent by Harvey Smith, author gringotapatio@hotmail.com
[[Go to the site and enjoy hearing segments featuring performances by Armando Infante along several duets with his father, Pedro Infante. I spent a few hours just listening and reading and re-reading. It brought back many memories of my aunts (my mom was one of 7 sisters) who used to love Pedro Infante. Surely the sounds of Mexico were heard in the U.S. because of his charm and talent. A personal thank you to Harvey Smith for bringing this forth. Beautiful! The book will soon be available in Spanish. What a dear gift for las Tías.]] Book: The Story of a of a young man's obsession with his idol, Pedro Infante.and his search for a dream. Delfino Gutierrez lives with his widowed mother in the small Mexican town of Bernal. He is kind and strikingly handsome with a beautiful singing voice, but to the disappointment of his friends and anger of his uncaring employer Don Victor, Delfino is obsessed with the music of his idol, legendary singer and actor Pedro Infante. El Idolo is the heartwarming story of a talented young man who becomes lost and confused in his pursuit of a dream. The dramatic and sometimes humorous adventures experienced during his relentless search for success are full of exciting twists and turns that ultimately lead to the discovery of a shocking secret the day before launching his career as a professional singer. Who was Pedro Infante? a foreward by Amando Infante My father, Pedro Infante, made nearly sixty movies in his brief lifetime and recorded 366 songs between 1943 and 1956. He was the first true superstar of the Mexican cinema. His fame and the phenomena of his stardom during the “Golden Age of Mexican Cinema” have never been equaled, even to this day. Pedro Infante was, and still is, El Idolo de Mexico. http://www.pedroinfante-elidolo.com/where-to-buy.html For More Information About EL IDOLO (Books & CD) and Armando Infante, Contact the Author at: GringoTapatio@hotmail.com or write: EL IDOLO 3184-G Airway Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 http://www.pedroinfante-elidolo.com/contact.html ABOUT THE AUTHOR A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Harvey Alexander Smith spent eleven years in Guadalajara, Mexico as a college student, magazine publisher and developer building homes for retired Americans. He is an avid horseman and a veteran of many cabalgatas (equestrian trail rides) throughout Latin America. Smith has many friends in Mexico and maintains a close friendship with Armando Infante, youngest son of Mexico’s legendary actor and singer, Pedro Infante. EL IDOLO and companion CD featuring the music of El Idolo, will soon be followed by Margaritas Are For Tourists, chronicling the exciting adventures of his life in Mexico during the 60’s ARMANDO INFANTE Born January 10, 1955 in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, Armando Infante is the youngest son of famous Mexican singer and actor, Pedro Infante Cruz. He was only two years of age when his father died on April 15, 1957 while the plane he was piloting exploded shortly after taking off. Armando was raised by his mother, Maria de Jesus Gutierrez Rivera, and resided in Morelia most of his life when he wasn’t busy traveling throughout Mexico, Central America and the United States performing the music made famous by his father.

National Hispanic Coalition http://www.hispanic.bz/the_national_hispanic_coalition.htm Hispanic.bz is the website fo the National Hispanic Coalition now forming across the USA. Our purpose is to become the advocate on national issues for all Hispanics, from native born to thsoe who arrived her last night. All are of equal importance for it is the influx of great numbers of immgirants that give ever increasing influence to the voice of Hispanic Americans. In tandem with advocacy, the National Hispanic Coalition will become the primary source of information on Hispanics for Hispanics and non Hispanics in the USA. We are not affiliated with any political organization. If you accept united as one voice gives great leverage in obtaining programs for all Hispanics, both native born and immigrants, then join us and add your input. We are all equal as Hispanic non profit advocacy organizations and as individuals. Make your voice known in unison with the National Hispanic Coalition. You can contact us on any page where there is directory.

A CALL FOR HERITAGE PAPERS: Essays on Hispanic Americans: Reclaiming Cultural Heritage 19th - 21st centuries Heritage Books, Inc., will accept submissions until 21 November 2003. Heritage Papers is designed to bring current scholarship to the attention of researchers in a variety of disciplines. Each volume in this series is intended to expose lay and professional scholars to the range of recent research being done on a particular theme. The essays may be historiographical pieces that describe and critique authors currently writing on the subject matter, or thought-provoking and challenging to the status quo, or innovative in their analysis or methodology, or solid works on aspects of the topic that have been insufficiently studied thus far. Essays are selected based on their expected interest among both academics and the well-educated general reader. Heritage Books, Inc., welcomes paper submissions for a volume on Hispanic Americans and their efforts to reclaim their cultural heritage in an increasingly polyglot society. This collection of essays seeks to explore the many facets of the Hispanic American experience, from encounters with Anglo-Americans during the nineteenth century through life in the United States in the early twenty-first century. Papers should focus on the social, economic, and political efforts made by Hispanics to maintain, reclaim, or expunge their cultural heritage when confronted with other cultures within the modern-day borders of the United States. The editing committee encourages papers with an interdisciplinary focus and invites advanced graduate students and faculty as well as professional scholars to submit their work on Spanish-speaking peoples from throughout the world who migrated to the U.S. Of interest are such issues as: Reasons for leaving the original homeland and the resulting problems and/or benefits to those who left as well as to those who remained behind; the development of support systems such as ethnic neighborhoods, organizations, and societies; the consequences of association or intermarriage with other ethnic groups; the images portrayed through such media as paintings, text, and film; and opportunities for and contributions to education, employment, and community and political activism. Manuscripts should be submitted in Windows formatted 3.5-inch disk or Zip disk, or e-mailed as an attachment to the Heritage Papers Editor; MS Word and .txt files only. A maximum length of 25-30 pages is recommended. Please include your name on the title page but omit it from all other pages; subsequent pages should have only the essay's title and page number on them. Send submissions to: Karen Ackermann, Heritage Papers Editor Karen@heritagebooks.com Heritage Books, Inc. 1540-E Pointer Ridge Place Bowie, MD 20716 Heritage Books, Inc., established in 1978, is a leading publisher in the field of American history, biography, and heritage, with over 1900 titles currently in print. Recent Hispanic-related titles include Mexican-American Genealogical Research: Following the Paper Trail to Mexico by John Schmal and Donna Morales (2002).

A Last Hope for W.W. II Reparations (not to mention fairness and justice) By L.A. Chung, San Jose Mercury News Posted on Tue, Jun. 10, 2003 Contact L.A. Chung at lchung@ mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5280. Imagine you are living your life peacefully, and one day you are forced to go with American soldiers, at gunpoint, on a ship to another country. That's what happened to Art Shibayama, his parents, and his five brothers and sisters when they were in Peru, nearly 60 years ago. The United States was at war with Germany, Japan and Italy in World War II. In a little-known chapter of American history, Latin American families of Japanese, German and Italian ancestry were forced into custody during World War II, stripped of their passports and shipped to detention camps in Texas. In one devastating move, the Shibayamas lost their shirt factory, their businesses, their freedom and their bright future. Denied a legal remedy for the past two decades, the 73-year-old San Jose resident and his brothers Kenichi and Takeshi are petitioning the last venue they can today: the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights, a body of the Organization of American States. ``What we hope is that the OAS will make the United States open all the books: `What did you do? Who did you did it to? Where are the properties?' '' said Karen Parker, an international human rights lawyer. There's a pretty slim chance of that happening. But it's all he's got. I first met Shibayama a decade ago. I've got to hand it to the man. He's going to die trying to get an accounting from our government. Bravo. I hope others around the country join him. They were, after all, put on American military ships and held in Department of Justice camps. Along with the 120,000 Japanese-Americans that everyone knows about, there were about 6,000 Latin Americans and 13,000 ``enemy aliens'' who had been picked up by the FBI in the United States and held in detention. Some historians have called it what it was: U.S. government-sponsored kidnapping to come up with prisoners to exchange for American soldiers. Thirteen Latin American governments cooperated with the United States government to identify thousands with ancestral roots in Axis countries -- often successful business owners with hard assets that would be left behind. Some, like Shibayama's grandparents, were exchanged for American prisoners in the middle of the war. He never saw his grandparents again. After the war, Peru refused to take them back. The United States tried to deport them to Japan, but many of the Spanish-speaking Japanese fought that because they couldn't speak Japanese. The Shibayamas were sponsored by a New England food-packing company needing labor. Shibayama, a retired gas station owner, Korean War-era Army veteran and father of two, can afford to take things easy at his age. But instead, Shibayama unsuccessfully pursued, with some 2,000 others, access to the presidential apology and redress funds that Japanese-Americans received as a result of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Then he joined a class-action lawsuit with other Japanese Latin Americans in the mid-1990s. That ended in a settlement with the Justice Department, which included a letter of apology and $5,000. But Shibayama and 16 others thought the offer was intrinsically unfair. ``The letter doesn't even mention anything about us being taken from Peru, nothing like that,'' he said. ``So it doesn't have any meaning.'' Redress legislation for the Japanese Latin Americans, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, failed repeatedly. So the international arena is the last resort. Parker says the OAS human rights commission has standing to order the U.S. government to pay the reparations, but that's another story. It's not about the money, Shibayama said. It is about fairness. It's about the hearing. If he died tomorrow, he would have no regrets about passing up settlements. ``I did what I could. I did what I could and tried to make it right.''

Extract: Retailers Lure Hispanic Buyers as the Great Brown Hope By Anne D'Innocenzio ASSOCIATED PRESS May 20, 2003 http://www.hispanicvista.com/html3/052603fe.htm Hallmark Cards Inc. is marketing 2,500 greeting cards for Hispanics, close to double the number marketed a year ago, and Blockbuster Inc. has posted bilingual signs and has stocked video rentals in Spanish in nearly a quarter of its stores. Blockbuster has studied its Hispanic customers in different parts of the country and tailored its stores to meet their tastes. Pete Wei, vice president of field marketing and customer segments at the video rental company, said that at its San Antoniostores, for example, Hispanic consumers prefer communicating in English, so there are fewer videos and signs in Spanish. "They behave like Americans and Texans," Mr. Wei said. But in its Southern California stores, Blockbuster is bringing in more films in Spanish from Mexico At stake for retailers is Hispanics' immense buying power, expected to balloon to $926.1 billion in 2007 from about $580 billion last year, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. That far exceeds the growth rate in buying power of overall non-Hispanic consumers. According to the latest U.S. Department of Labor report, Hispanics spent more on such categories as groceries, furniture, children's clothing and footwear than non-Hispanics in 2001 because they have larger families on average.

Latino Opinions - New Markets, New Immigrants & New Students Raul@OpinionesLatinas.com (LINK) NY Times – Advertisers Discover New Target Market But the target market in this case is English-dominant, American-born and urban — in other words, the kind of bilingual, acculturated Latino who would rather watch "The Simpsons" on Fox than the soaps that populate prime time on Univision or Telemundo. It is a market that has to a large degree been neglected by advertisers, even though United States-born Latinos account for the fastest-growing segment of the Hispanic population. Most marketers that create campaigns for Hispanics generally run commercials in Spanish, aiming them at the traditional segment of the market. Yet it is estimated that nearly 70 percent of the overall Hispanic market is composed of people under 35, representing more than $300 billion in purchasing power — about half of all Hispanic spending.

Extract: Kansas City High School Turned into a Latino Graduate Producing Phenomenon By Mary Sanchez http://www.hispanicvista.com/html3/052603ed.htm Hispanics have one of the lowest graduation rates of any ethnic or racial group. Studies show that up to half drop out, nationwide. Kansas City, U.S., May 20, 2003(EFE)- A major U.S. Hispanic organization and the world's richest couple have joined forces to help turn a Kansas City high school from a place where most Latino students did not stay for long into a graduate-producing phenomenon. Of the 42 students graduating this year from Alta Vista Charter School, 38 are Hispanic. Thirteen years ago, most of the kids dropped out of school. "We had to start thinking beyond just getting them out of high school." Microsoft chief Bill Gates, through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is footing a big chunk of the school's budget. The program is now developing ways to help the students make a smooth transition from high school into college. The foundation will help fund 70 small schools over the next five years. The idea is for them to become hybrids - institutions that are both high school and community college. By attending for five years, students can earn their high school diploma and two years of college credit. Alta Vista is one of six schools the Gates Foundation is currently aiding through a partnership with the National Council of La Raza, one of the most important U.S. Hispanic groups. The school will eventually receive $400,000.
	NCLA President Raul Yzaguirre Honored A humble leader, passionate about empowering Latinos, Raul Yzaguirre recently received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Notre Dame at their 2003 commencement ceremony. He was also recently honored by the American Diabetes Association as Father of the Year. NCLR is proud to join these groups in recognizing Raul for his commitment to the Latino familia nationwide.
eboletin_1_reply@mailhost.groundspring.org

Inter American Development/Floricanto Press The Floricanto Press carry an interesting selection of books touching on the U.S. Hispanic experience. It appears that some of the books are fiction, but also non-fiction. For example: BETWEEN BORDERS: ESSAYS ON MEXICANA/CHICANA HISTORY The most comprehensive and complete original history of U.S. Latinas of Mexican descent written by an outstanding team of Mexican and U.S. scholars and based on copious documentary sources from both countries. Between Borders has been hailed by the scholarly community as the most comprehensive history of La Mujer Chicana
A Three-time award winner writer, Monreal brings life to the passionate, heroic, and inspiring events that led to the *Battle of Puebla on the 5th of May, 1862.* His well researched and well written historical novel brings in all the characters who played a vital role in the defeat of the French invading forces. Inter American Development/Floricanto Press 650 Castro St., Suite 120-331 Mountain View, California 94041-2055 Telephone: (415) 552 1879 Fax (702) 995 1410 http://www.floricantopress.com/catalog/index.htm Sent by Zeke Hernandez zekeher@juno.com

"Latino Economic and Political Growth: Emerging Communities" held in Orlando, Florida Sent by Zeke Hernandez zekeher@juno.com National LULAC President Hector Flores performed the ceremonial "cutting of the ribbon" to open the 74th Annual Exposition and National Convention. Morning workshop sessions included subjects in the areas of "Leadership Skills for Non-Supervisors and Non-Managers; Interpersonal Leadership Communication; Supervisory Leadership Skills; Best Practices in Mentoring; and Leadership Competencies. The presiding officer for the "Partnership Luncheon" was Luben Montoya, Director of Government & Hispanic Affairs, Verizon, Washington, D.C. Louis Kincannon, U.S. Census Bureau Director used the occasion to announce the new data being provided to show that Latinos have made tremendous gains in non-traditional regions in the nation. He stated that Hispanics have increased 400% in North Carolina alone; and there were significant gains in Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Nevada. He noted that the Census Bureau is developing better method and engineering new methods in data gathering, for instance the use of GPS (Global Positioning System)to assist census takers in finding targeting census areas and the concentration of utilizing more of the short forms in 2010 to adhere to their "constitutional requirements." More on LULAC

UNRECOGNIZED MINORITY GROUPS
SERVING UNDER GENERAL BERNARDO GÁLVEZ
by
Granville Hough, Ph.D.

        When studying membership lists of U. S. patriotic organizations, it is notable that certain groups have not been honored by their descendants. It is not prudent to say this is the fault of the patriotic
organizations, such as the DAR or the SAR, or the fault of the descendants. At least now, if not before, descendants can honor their Patriot ancestors.
        Under General Gálvez were Spanish, French, German, English, and assorted others of European stock. Also with him at Baton Rouge, Mobile, and Pensacola were soldiers of American Indian and African stock, as well as mixes of these races with the Europeans. All fought bravely, and all deserve to be recognized.
        When Gálvez first moved against Manchac and Baton Rouge, he called on Louisiana Indians for help; and they responded with all the fighting braves they could spare. The village chiefs came separately to Natchitoches and took the oath of allegiance to the Spanish crown. We have their names, but we have not recovered the names of the 160 warriors who actually served.

1. Chief KYAAVADOUCHE of the Nadaque Nation, 74 warriors.
2. Chief COCAILLE of the Yatasse Nation, 16 warriors.
3. Chief YAMOH of the Natchitoches Nation, 13 warriors.
4. Chief QUENSY of the Adayes Nation, 16 warriors.
5. Chief CAPOT of the Bydaye Nation, 7 warriors.
6. Chief TYNIQOUAN of the Grand Cadoe Dahiou Nation, 77 warriors.
7. (chief deceased) of the Petite Cadoe Dahiou Nation, 58 warriors.
8. Chief NICOTAGUE-NANAN of the Quy de Singeo Nation, 54 warriors.

        When Gálvez got to Mobile, he either recognized or organized the Compañia de Negros de la Mobila, commonly known as the "Compañia de Petit Jean."   Activities of this company were frequently mentioned in records for Mobile, even though there were only 18 men. The Company
Commander was Petit Jean, a free mulato, formerly slave to Louis Lusser of Mobile. Next in command was Corporal Garcí/García. Others who have been identified were Joseph Agustín, Agustín Badon, Cupidón Badon, Ambrosio Benoit, Andrés Chastán, Nicolás Chastán, Sinegal Chastán, Joseph Dubrocar, Jean Luis Duret, Luis Duret, Joseph Forgeron, Joseph Livois, David Medair, Philipe Narbonne, Príncipe Orbane, and Will Trouiller/Truillet. After the Battle for Pensacola, Bernardo de Gálvez asked that pensions be awarded the scouts of the Negro Company because
of their bravery and constant contact with the Indians and British.
        Another organized unit of black soldiers was the company of the Moreno Battalion of Havana which found itself at Mobile for the British counterattack on the Village on 7 Jan 1781. They were from an infantry battalion of free blacks assigned to the Fall, 1780, attack on Pensacola which was destroyed by hurricane. Their transport ship had managed to take refuge from the storm in the Mobile harbor, and they were assigned to prepare for British counterattack. With others, they held the line at the Village in fierce fighting, forcing the British into retreat. They later served at Pensacola. Only the names of the dead and wounded have been recovered.
        Also serving at Mobile were blacks or mixed race people who were generally slaves from New Orleans or Mobile on loan to Gálvez by their owners. Some had special skills, while others were simply strong workers. They included: Alexos, laborer, from Mr. LeBlanc of New Orleans; Apolon, laborer from Mr. Cristóbal of German Coast, Bacus, worker at the fort, from Madame Fortier of New Orleans; Bacus, from Mr.LaBranch of New Orleans; Pierre Boissieux, blacksmith; Carlos/Carlos de
Cadefiel, mulato laborer from Mr. Tizoneaux of New Orleans; Cristóbal and Estevan, laborers, from Mr. Bernoudy of New Orleans; Negro Flon, blacksmith; Francisco, laborer from Madame Trepanier of New Orleans; Francisco and Guilhaume, laborers, from Mr. Bienvenu from New Orleans; Francisco, from Mr. LaMaziere of New Orleans; Honoré, special confidence missions, slave of Felicité Detrian; Hoyos, blacksmith; Jacabo and Maturin, laborers, slaves of Mr. Duparc of New Orleans; Mulato Libois; Louis, from Mr. St. Martín of New Orleans; Negro Mangula; Marcus, of Mobile Plaza; Phelipe, laborer, from Mr. Donoy of New Orleans; Pedro, from Mr. Colin Latour of New Orleans, Samacón, blacksmith; and Sanson, from Mr. DuGruize of New Orleans.
        Another group important at Mobile were the slaves captured on the plantations near Mobile. They were fed and sustained by the Spanish and put to work on the fortifications or in other support roles. The names of many of this group are known as well as their fate. Under terms of surrender, they were returned to their pre-attack owners.

References:
Allan J. Kuethe, Cuba, 1753-1815, Crown, Military, and Society,
Knoxville, TN, The University of Tennessee Press, 1986.

Elizabeth Shown Mills. Natchitoches Colonials - Censuses, Military
Rolls, and Tax Lists, 1722-1803, Chicago, IL, Adams Press, 1981.

F. de Borja Medina Rojas, José de Espelita: Governor of Mibila,
1780-1781, Sevilla (Spain), Publicaciónes de la Escula de Estudios
Hispanos Americanos de Sevilla, 1980.

Buchanan Parker Thomson. Spain: Forgotten Ally of the American
Revolution, North Quincy, MA, The Christopher Publishing Company, 1976.

Another Spanish Hero of the America Revolution

SPANISH HEROES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:
VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN, DON MARTIN DE MAYORGA
by Granville Hough, Ph.D.
gwhough@earthlink.net

Among those who furnished aid to the American colonies must be included the Viceroys of Mexico (New Spain), first, Viceroy Antonio María Bucarelli, who died in office in 1779, and second, Viceroy Martin de Mayorga, who served from 1779 until 1783, the exact years of the war. One of the resident judges of New Spain, Don Francisco de Anda, was asked to evaluate Mayorga's contributions to the war effort, and he reported on 19 Sep 1783. This report came just as the war ended and Martin de Mayorga was being replaced as Viceroy by General Matías de Gálvez, former President of Guatemala. It included what was publicly known about Mayorga's activities, but it does not specifically include secret aid to American colonies. However, it is clear that shipments of
gun powder to New Orleans must include some which was passed on to Americans. The shipments to Guarico are of interest because this was the staging area in Haiti for Spanish soldiers under General Bernardo de Gálvez awaiting the invasion of Jamaica. It was the imminence of this
invasion which kept the British focused on the West Indies rather than on the American colonies. The amounts of money provided must include support for Americans as well as support for General Bernardo de Gálvez in his operations in West Florida and Guarico. The last paragraph of
Judge de Anda's report follows:

"And finally, that he (Mayorga) demonstrated courage and perseverance in the success of our arms in the past war with the English: he exerted himself to the utmost, in the defense of this Kingdom (Mexico), keeping it free of enemies and pirates, giving prompt orders for the construction of powder mills in Santa Fe and Chapultepec, where great quantities were produced, and there were sent from them to Havana 400,000 cajones, and the rest, amounting to 740,000 cajones, to New
Orleans, Campache, Presidio del Carmen, Tabasco and El Guarico, expediting with equal energy and collection, embarkation and shipment from Veracruz of great sums of money, provisions, goods, war stores, troops, and seamen to support them: to the Army and Squadron of Operations (Havana) went the sum of 31,941,304 pesos, 3 reales and 2/3 grains: and adding to this account the value of money spent on account of the fortifications of Havana: he did not fail to aid promptly and
amply the Kingdom of Guatemala, the Philippine Islands, the Department of San Blas and the Californias, the forts of the interior, the expeditions sent from Yucatán and other ports and other obligations of the treasuries of this kingdom: for whose defense he succeeded in removing the sand duns in the vicinity of the forts of Yucatán; the coastal batteries of Alvarado and Mocambo and Coatzacoalcos; launches armed with cannon were built and galleys for the coast: picket boats which could go twenty leagues offshore were equipped with signal flags and explored the coast to observe the enemy ships: barracks and hospitals were established for the troops quartered at Orizaba, Córdoba and Puebla, and officers of the army were assigned to the instruction of the militia on the coast and in the several provinces, and vacancies were filled in the Infantry Regiments of Asturias, Granada, and the Crown, and in the Dragoons of Spain and Mexico."

(Endnote1.) pp 279-280, Glascock, Melvin Bruce, New Spain and the War for America, 1779-1783, Phd dissertation, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA, 1969, published by University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI, 1980. Glascock stated he had found the statement to be essentially correct, though poorly organized for clarity and understanding."

Content Areas United States. . . 2 Galvez . . . . 23 Surname Olmos . . 27 Orange Co.,CA . . 29 Los Angeles, CA . 31 California . . . 34 Northwestern US . 39 Southwestern US . 41 Black . . . 44 Indigenous . . . 65 Sephardic . . . 53 Texas . . . 58 East Mississippi . 68 East Coast . . . 73 Mexico . . . 75 Caribbean/Cuba . 80 International . . . 85 History . . . 92 Archaeology . . . 97 Miscellaneous . . 98 END . . . 103 2003 Index Calendars Networking Meetings
	Aug. 25, 1940, wedding of Juventino Muela and Margarita Alba, El Paso, TX
	Casasola Portraits Reveals Unique Family Story El Paso Times Living, January 11, 2003
	For 60 years Casasola Studio in El Paso, Texas photographed families in the community, compiling, essentially, a history of the community. The studio closed in the early 1990s leaving a collection of negatives under the care of the University of Texas at El Paso. The collection is estimated at 30,000. UTEP is archiving and slowly identifying the photos with the help of the community and El Paso Times' weekly publishing of a photo. Susan Novick at the Paso al Norte Immigration Museum is over-seeing much of the activities of collecting family stories connected to the photos. Paso al Norte is now distributing a newsletter, *Cross Roads,* which will include El Paso families. For information, PasoAlNorte@utep.edu.


Linaje castellano, posiblemente de diferentes procedencias simultáneas, por ser de la clase de los topónimos, según ocurre con otros de su especie, derivándose de los lugares donde existía abundancia de estos frondosos árboles perteneciente a la familia de las ulmáceas.		Traen por armas: En campo de oro, un arbol de sinople, y colgando de una rama un yermo de azur, del que pende con unas correas del mismo color, un paves (escudo antiguo), de gules, cargado de nueve roeles de plata.
OLMOS
Ante la Orden Militar de Santiago, este apellido fue probado por el ingreso en ella de los siguientes Caballeros: Don Luis de Olmos Girón y de Ribera, natural de Villalón, Valladolid, 1638; don Alejo de Olmos y Quiñones González de la Vega y Baca, de Zamora, en 1663; don Martín de Olmos y Aguilar, de la Rúa y Hernández, de Trujillo, Cáceres, 1558; don Alonso de Valdelomar y Olmos, de la Revesa y Vellosa de Córdoba 1631, y don Fernando Díaz de Rivadeneira y Olmos, de Toledo, en 1527. La Sala de los Hijosdalgo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid, falló sobre la calidad de sangre de las siguientes personas, afincadas en los lugares que se expresan: Don Alejo de Olmos, escribano de Valladolid, en 1531; don Andrés de Olmos, Briviesca, Burgos, 1601; el licenciado don Francisco de Olmos, Villadiego, 1601; don Francisco de Olmos. Pozuelo de la Orden, 1666; don Francisco de Olmos. Roncesvalles, 1777; el licenciado don Juan de Olmos. San Miguel de la Cogulla, 1601; don Manuel de Olmos, Cabana, 1780; don Pedro de Olmos. Villafrechos, 1575; y don Ginés de Olmos Rico, natural de Pozuelo de la Orden, Valladolid, y residente en Santovenia de Pisuerga, en la misma provincia, el año 1803. Don Antonio González de Andía y Olmos de Aguilera, nacido en Santiago de Chile hacía 1626 fue admitido en la Orden de Alcántara el año 1662, donde acreditó la nobleza de su línea paterna y materna. Era nieto materno del Capitán don Pedro Olmos de Aguilera nacido en la Imperial, Perú,hijo a su vez del Maestre de Campo General don Pedro Olmos de Aguilera, natural de Porcuna, Jaén y de doña María de Zurita Villavicencio. El Santo Oficio de México, realizó expediente de “limpieza de sangre” del bachiller don Pedro de Olmos de Silva y Ruiz de Chávez, vecino de Sahuayo, Mich. el año 1787. Por Real Cédula de 8 de septiembre de 1534, el Emperador Carlos V concedía privilegio de armas a don Francisco de Olmos, vecino de la ciudad de Tenochtitlán, en la Nueva España y natural de Portillo, Valladolid, por acudir en socorro de don Pedro de Alvarado a quien tenían cercados los indios. Este escudo se describe así: Mantelado: 1o. en azur, un castillo de oro; 2o. en sinople, un tigre rampante de su color, y en el mantel dos olmos de sinople de oro Bordura general de gules con ocho estrellas de oro. En esta familia, merece destacar fray Andrés de Olmos, nacido en los comienzos del siglo XVI, que pasó a la Nueva España en 1528 como compañero del Obispo de Zumárraga, autor de la primera gramática en lengua náhuatl, terminada en 1547, que se salió a la luz en París en 1857, así como de otros importantes trabajos sobre filología. Extract from BLASONES Y APELLIDOS,

Bernardo de Galvez
1980 Commemorative U.S.Stamp La Revista, Granaderos de Galvez Cuban tenor Gabriel Reoyo-Pazos to perform at Oct 12 Galvez Concert Gala	National Society of DARs to do Look-ups Unrecognized Minority Groups Serving Under Bernardo de Galvez Don Martin de Mayorga, Another Spanish Hero of the America Revolution