Somos Primos  

 

JULY  2008, 103 Online Issue
Mimi Lozano
©2000-8

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




Orange County, California Superior Court Leadership Training
Graduating class of 2008
Judge Fredrick Aguirre, far right in black suit.
For more on this program: click

 




Table of Content Areas

United States 
National Issues
Action Item
Business
Books of Interest

Education
Bilingual Education
Culture
Anti-Spanish Legends
Hispanic Heritage Month

Military & Law Enforcement Heroes
Patriots of American Revolution
Cuentos

 

Literature
Surname

Orange County,CA
 
Los Angeles,CA

California 
 
Northwestern US
 
Southwestern US 
 
African-American  
Indigenous
Sephardic
Texas
East of Mississippi

East Coast
Mexico
 
Caribbean/Cuba 

Spain
 
International
 
History

Family History

SHHAR 2008 Meetings 
Jan 27: Mar 17: 
Apr  29: May 26: 
 
Aug 2
3:  

                    End



“To educate a man in mind and not morals 
is to educate a menace to society”  
Theodore Roosevelt

 Sent by Willis Papillion

Letter to the Editor:


Dear Mimi: 

I want to thank you for the great opportunity that "Somos Primos" provides for the preservation and advancement of Hispanic culture. The internet has provided humanity with a quantum leap in information and research. Therefore it is imperative that Hispanic culture in all its diversity be documented in cyberspace so that future generations may not only appreciate but understand their legacy. 

It just takes one written sentence to bring about a great human experience. I grew up knowing about my "Nuevo Santander" ancestors but not experiencing them. A friend gave me a volume of "Spain under the Roman Empire" by E.S. Bouchier. I read that there was 
a city named "Reinosa" in Spain that was actually founded by Julius Caesar. I wondered 
if it was somehow related to Reynosa, Mexico a city just across the border from where I grew up. That search led to a discovery of other cities named after Spanish cities in the former colony of "Nuevo Santander" and a renewed interest in my genealogical roots. That led to the restoration of lost family relationships and ancestors. The quality of life and fulfillment I've experienced is just wonderful.

Thank you for the opportunities you have provided for me to document the priceless heritage I received from my ancestors. I hope others will catch the vision of "Somos Primos".

Sincerely, Larry Garza
larrygarza@comcast.net

Somos Primos Staff:

Mimi Lozano, Editor
Mercy Bautista Olvera
Bill Carmena
Lila Guzman, Ph.D.
Granville Hough, Ph.D.
John Inclan
Galal Kernahan
Juan Marinez
J.V. Martinez, Ph.D.
Armando Montes
Dorinda Moreno
Michael Perez
Rafael Ojeda
Ángel Custodio Rebollo
Tony Santiago
John P. Schmal
Howard Shorr 
Ted Vincent, Ph.D.

Contributors to the July 2008 Issue:

Norma Adamo
Luce Amen
Alan Armijo
Dan Arellano
Richard Arriola
Armando Ayala, Ph.D.
Gilda Baeza Ortego, Ph.D.
Mercy Bautista Olvera
Jaime Cader
Roberto Camp
Bill Carmena
Alberto Casas
Henry J. Casso, Ph.D.
Joe Castillo
Oscar Castillo
Therese Cisneros-Remington
Gus Chavez
William Dean
Monica Dunbar Smith
Joel Escamilla
Richard Esquivel 
Virgil Fernandez
Ron Filion
Eumenes Fuguet Borregales
Daisy Wanda Garcia
Larry Garza
Rafael Jesús González 
Maria Guangorena
Gabe Gutierrez
Lila Guzman, Ph.D.
Walter Herbeck
Carlos M. Herrera de la Garza
Granville Hough, Ph.D.
John Inclan
Randy Jurado Ertll
Rick Leal
Alex Lopez
Michael Lozano
Alfred Lugo
Victor Mancilla
Juan Marinez
Adela Montanez
Alva Moore Stevenson
Dorinda Moreno 
Carlos Munoz, Ph.D. 
Paul Newfield, Jr.
Rafael Ojeda
Felipe de Ortego y Gasca,Ph.D. 
Willis Papillion
Jose M. Peña
Roberto Pérez Guadarrama
Joseph Puentes
Bobby Pulido
Juan Ramos
Ángel Custodio Rebollo Barroso
Armando Rendon
Jose L. Robles de la Torre
Norman Rozeff 
Carlos Sanchez
Many Sanchez
Tony Santiago
Richard G. Santos
John P. Schmal
Louis F. Serna  
Frank Sifuentes
Tawn Skousen
Erik Stahl 
Ricardo Valverde
Francisco M. Vega
Gwen Vieau
Ted Vincent
Barbara Voss, Ph.D.
Kirk Whisler
Nellie Yanez
Fernando R. Zazueta
alfonso2r@hotmail.com
cmas@uts.cc.utexas.edu
fena@lapena.org
toby@dallashistory.org

SHHAR Board: 

Bea Armenta Dever, Gloria Cortinas Oliver, Mimi Lozano Holtzman, Pat Lozano, Yolanda Magdaleno, Michael Perez, Crispin Rendon, Viola Rodriguez Sadler, John P. Schmal, and Tomas Saenz



UNITED STATES

Orange County Superior Court Leadership Training
NCLR 40th Annual Conference, July 12-15, San Diego
Number of California's potential immigrant voters to swell
Hector P, Garcia, 1963 Through 1972 the Civil Rights Revolution
Epidemic of Fatherlessness
PBS project: Hector Galán to produce “The War Within” 
Letter: Francisco M. Vega to Carlos Guerra, San Antonio Express-News 
Defend the Honor Press Release on "The War Within"

 

 
Orange County, California Superior Court Leadership Training 

Dear Primos and friends, I wanted to share a model for community development through a program of Superior Court Leadership training for community activists and advocates. The Orange County program, only the second county in the nation to offer such training was organized under the leadership of Orange County Superior Court Judge Fredrick Aguirre.  Judge Aguirre is very involved in the community as President of Latino Activists for Education.  

I wanted to share the structure, and some comments by the participants, with the hope that other communities will develop similar programs for educating the public.  In addition to understanding the responsibilities of each Court, citizen understanding of legal resources available through the court systems would surely increase efficiency. 


Date:  February 6, 2008  
To:      Orange County Community Organizations
 
Re:    Orange County Superior Court Leadership Academy

The Orange County Superior Court invites community members to participate in our eight-week 2008 Leadership Academy .  The Leadership Academy was created this past year to provide general information about the justice system to the participants and to respond to concerns from the community.  Graduates from the 2007 Leadership Academy commented that it was very thorough, informative, and enjoyable.  One graduate said:  

These sessions have been extremely well done. I’m impressed with what the Superior Court has provided. Originally, I wasn’t sure how useful this would be to my organization, but now I see the value.  

Academy graduates will be asked to contribute to the Court’s planning efforts by assisting in the review and development of programs.  We invite people from diverse backgrounds to facilitate a greater mutual appreciation of the cultures and concerns among our County’s various communities.   

We ask that you nominate an individual to represent your organization for the Leadership Academy that will begin Wednesday, March 12, 2008.  To accommodate additional applicants, we have extended the application deadline to Tuesday, February 19, 2008.  Nominees should complete the attached application form and send it to:  

Orange County Superior Court  
Gwen Vieau, Public Information Office  
P.O. Box 1994  
Santa Ana , CA   92702-1994  
Fax:  714-647-4849  
E-mail:  gvieau@occourts.org

As we want the unique perspective of individuals who are not part of the judicial system, please do not nominate an attorney, paralegal, or law student.  Classes are on eight consecutive Wednesdays from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m., culminating in a graduation ceremony on April 30, 2008.  

The first session will be held at the Central Justice Center , 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana .  Subsequent sessions will be at the Central Justice Center and at the Lamoreaux Justice Center , 341 The City Drive in Orange .  Participation is limited to 30 individuals.  Light refreshments and validated parking will be provided at all sessions.  

Superior Court judges and justice system professionals will conduct the interactive seminars.  Participants will be encouraged to discuss court-related problems or concerns to ensure that access to justice is guaranteed to all of our County residents.   

      Date                Prospective Schedule  

March 12        Welcome, Introductions, and Court Interpreters  
March 19        Civil Court, including Small Claims Court  
March 26        Collaborative Courts (such as Drug, Homeless, and DUI Courts)  
April 2            Traffic Court and Jury Service  
April 9             Family Court and Self-Help Services  
April 16           Juvenile Delinquency/Dependency; Probate and Mental Health Courts 
April 23           Criminal Court  
April 30           Community Outreach Opportunities and Graduation

Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by contacting Gwen Vieau, Program Coordinator, at 714-834-2717.  We look forward to working with your nominee in our Leadership Academy and continuing our dialogue with the community to ensure justice for all.

Sincerely, Frederick Aguirre  
Superior Court Judge

 

Leadership Academy 2008 – Agenda  

1.         Wednesday, March 12           
Central Justice Center – Jury Assembly Room, 3rd Floor 
700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana  92701
 

4:30 to 5:30 PM    Welcome and Introductions                                                             Hon. Frederick Aguirre; Chair, Leadership Academy 
Alan Slater, Chief Executive Officer
5:30 to 5:45 PM   “Committed to Justice” DVD 
6:00 to 7:00 PM   
Court Interpreters  
Ginger Lamar; Court Reporter Interpreter Services Manager
Jeanene Carvajal and Alejandra Schulte, Court Interpreters  

2.         Wednesday, March 19           
Civil Complex Center – Department CX101 
751 W. Santa Ana Blvd. , Building 36, Santa Ana   92701 

4:30 to 5:45 PM    Small Claims Court and Small Claims Court Advisory Program
     Hon. Elaine Streger, Civil Small Claims
William Tanner; Supervising Attorney, Legal Aid Society of O.C.
6:00 to 7:00 PM    Civil Court and Court Technology 
Hon. David Velasquez, Supervising Judge, Complex Civil Panel
Hon. Gail A. Andler, Complex Civil Panel
Snorri Ogata, Chief Technology Officer
Sam Ocon and Jody McGuire, Court Technology Services  

3.         Wednesday, March 26           
Central Justice Center – Department C1, 2nd  Floor                                                         
700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana  92701
 
4:00* to 5:00 PM     DUI Court Graduation 
*Note earlier time.                
Hon. Carlton Biggs, DUI Court 
DUI Court Team Members
5:15 to 6:30 PM      Collaborative Courts – Jury Assembly Room, 3rd Floor
               Hon. Jane Shade, Domestic Violence Courts and Safe Families Program
Hon. Joe Perez, PC1210/Proposition 36 Court

     4.    Wednesday, April Central Justice Center – Jury Assembly Room, 3rd Floor         
700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana  92701 

4:30 to 5:30 PM    Traffic Court 
Hon. Lyle Robertson, Traffic Calendar
5:45 to 7:00 PM     Jury Service 
Thu B. Nguyen, Jury Services Manager  

5.         Wednesday, April 9                 
Lamoreaux
Justice Center – Department L66, 6th Floor 

341 The City Drive , Orange   92868
 

4:30 to 5:45 PM      Family Law 
Hon. Francisco Firmat, Supervising Judge, Family Law 
Lorraine Torres, Family Law Facilitator’s Office
6:00 to 7:00 PM      Self-Help Center Classroom, 1st Floor 
Court Resource Bureau, Self Help Center and Public Law Center                      
Dwayne Roberts; Court Resource Bureau Manager                                                             Anaruth Gonzales; Family Law Manager
Ken Babcock; Public Law Center , Executive Director/General Counsel  

6.         Wednesday, April 16  Lamoreaux Justice Center – Department L21, 2nd Floor        
341 The City Drive , Orange   92868  

4:30 to 5:45 PM    Juvenile Delinquency and Dependency 
Hon. Robert Hutson; Presiding Judge, Juvenile
Hon. Carolyn Kirkwood, Juvenile Dependency
6:00 to 7:00 PM    Probate and Mental Health Courts 
Hon. Marjorie Laird Carter; Supervising Judge, Probate/Mental Health
Hon. Gerald Johnston, Probate/Mental Health   

7.         Wednesday, April 23 Central Justice Center – Jury Assembly Room, 3rd Floor   
7
00 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana  92701 

3:00 – 4:15 PM (Optional)    Watch Criminal Trial – People v. Scharf, 06ZF0130       Hon. Richard Beacom Presiding, Department C66, 3rd Floor 
(Meet at Executive Administration, 2nd Floor)  
4:30 to 5:45 PM   Criminal Court Panel 
Hon. Frederick Aguirre, Moderator
Hon. Gary S. Paer, Felony Panel
Jim Tanizaki, Senior Assistant District Attorney                                                            Steve Sentman, Chief Deputy Probation Officer
6:00 to 6:30 PM   Tour Criminal Arraignment Courtroom and Holding Cell         (Meet in front of Department C55, 3rd Floor)
                                                         Sergeant Alan Hanson, O.C. Sheriff’s Department  

8.         Wednesday, April 30  Central Justice Center – Jury Assembly Room, 3rd Floor          
700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana  92701
 
4:30 to 5:00 PM   Courts as the Third Branch of Government 
Hon. Frederick P. Aguirre
5:00 to 5:15 PM   Court Tours for Students                                                            
Dianne Hoffman, Lead Court Tour Guide
5:15 to 5:45 PM   Grand Jury  
Ann Avery Andres, 2007-08 Grand Jury Foreperson                                                            Carlos N. Olvera, 2002-03 Grand Jury Foreperson
5:45 to 6:00 PM   California Supreme Court Video
 
6:00 to 7:00 PM   Graduation 
Hon. Frederick P. Aguirre
Hon. Kim G. Dunning, Assistant Presiding Judge                                                             Hon. David T. McEachen, Former Assistant Presiding Judge

PARTICIPANTS, Representing a wide variety of community organizations:

100 Black Men of Orange County  
Mr. Tony Faulkner 
Mr. Dennis Varnum  

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Ms. Jovita Lopez  

County of Orange, Housing and Community Services, Homeless Prevention
Ms. Kelly Lupro

CSUF, Vietnamese American Task Force 
Mr. Tam Nguyen  

Institute on Religion and Civic Values 
Mr. Shabbir Mansuri
 

Latino Advocates for Education, Inc. 
Ms. Maria T. Solis-Martinez  

Latino Health Access 
Ms. Adela Montañez

Los Amigos of Orange County  
Mr. Carlos Alarcon 
Ms. Mari Morales

Office of U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, 
Mr. William Ray  

Office of Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby, Mr. Bruce Whitaker   

 

Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance  
Mr. Scott Iseri  

Santa Ana College, School of Continuing Education 
Mr. Anthony Garcia
 

Serafines de Orange County 
Mr. Edward Bañuelos 
Ms. Leticia Vargas  

Sisters of Saint Joseph of Orange  
Ms. Sharon Halsey-Hoover   

Somos Primos 
Ms. Lupe Trujillo Fisher 
Ms. Mimi Lozano Holtzman 
 
Ms. Yolanda Moreno  

Taller San Jose
Ms. Margaret Gilliam 
Mr. David Saldaña

The Center Orange County  

Ms. Darlene Oliva-Adler  

U
CI and Organization of Chinese Americans
Ms. Ellen Lu  

VietMoms
(Maternal Outreach Management System)  
Ms. Ailene Ly  

COMMENTS BY PARTICIPANTS

Dear Mimi,

It was a meaningful and insightful Leadership Training Experience that enabled me to see into each of the many Orange County Superior Court's areas of law. The average resident of Orange County has no appreciation of how many aspects of daily life can and are affected by the Orange County Superior Court. 

In fact, just last week I gave a Judicial Independence presentation as a part of the League of Women Voters Speakers Bureau. During the question and answer period I got a question about the Superior Court system and the audience was surprised to learn that the Municipal Courts are now part of the Superior Courts. I briefly shared with them some of what I had learned in my leadership training and they were pleased to hear about the many available services the courts now offer.

Great question and keep up the great job!

Marcia Garten
Central Orange County Area League of Women Voters
www.smartvoter.org
(714) 904-6968 mobile


“I would like to express my gratitude to Orange County Superior Court for their Leadership Academy to know the Court services and programs to better understand the justice system. This information was very helpful and will be useful to share with our community. Special thanks to Judge Honorable Frederick Aguirre and his team for their dedication support and kindness

Sincerely, 
Adela Montanez
Program Coordinator
Latino Health Acccess
1701 N. Main St.
Santa Ana, Ca. 92706
tel 714 542-7792 ext.3106
fax. 714 542-4853
amontanez@latinohealthacccess.org



It was a fantastic opportunity to meet leaders from other area organizations and to learn more about the inner workings of our court system.  The information presented will make it easier for our organization to provide information to the people that we serve when they need help with the legal system.  We are now more aware of the resources available to help our community members and we now know how to help them access these services.

 

Thanks.

 

-Darlene Oliva-Adler

 The Center OC
darlene@noyoudidnot.com

 


Every week I looked forward to our class meeting. What would I learn this time? The diverse collection of people and organizations attending were about as interesting as the class itself! What interesting person would I get to converse with? What information would I gather that would help me in my community work? It seemed like every week I learned about a different organization and what they had to offer. My whole impression of the courts has changed. I never realized that they were so community minded, so many services to offer, so people friendly.

Why it took a relatively new judge to start this class is beyond me. Such a genuine outreach to the community was so evident by Judge Aguirre and his staff that we did not want the class to end. Maybe I will sign up for it again!

Lupe Trujillo Fisher 
afisher605@msn.com

Cultural Arts Commissioner - City of Westminster 

LULAC Westminster Council #3017- founding member 

 American Stars Soccer Community - Board Member 

 

 


 

I found the Superior Court Leadership Training Experience to be informative, insightful, and very helpful.  It was well organized and comprehensive.  Because of this in depth look into the Court system here in Orange County, I now have information on how things work and where to refer people.  Thank you so much for all of the energy, effort, and attention that went into the planning and executing of this Leadership Training Experience.

Sharon Halsey-Hoover

Bethany
PO Box 501
Orange, CA 92856
714-289-6763
bethprog@csjorange.org
 


EditorI used to believe that the court system was inflexible, with judges holding tightly to the letter of the law.  This leadership training experience totally changed my perspective. I was made very aware that mercy and common sense is very much on the Bench of our Orange County Superior Court system.  Thank you very much to the judges that were willing to share their concepts and beliefs with us in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere.  It certainly changed my understanding.  I can also see how the nation would be changed by returning to a court system in which citizens are totally involved.


 
National Council of La Raza 40th Annual Conference 
July 12-15, 
2008 San Diego Convention Center, San Diego California.

Friends,  Join me and thousands more at the National Council of La Raza 40th Annual Conference July 12-15, 2008 San Diego Convention Center, San Diego California.

The public is invited to visit one of the largest and most important national exhibits ever displayed on Latino and Latina military service in defense of our country: The Latino Expo exhibits are truly enlightening and memorial. The Latino Expo is free to the public.

Veteran Exhibits include: 
1. Book and project information display "A Legacy Greater Than Words." A book by Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, Professor at The University of Texas at Austin and founder of the U.S. Latino and Latina WWII Oral History Project. Over 500 recorded interviews and photos of Latino and Latina WWII veterans are published in the book.

2. Defend The Honor display: "Insisting On Our Rightful Place In History." A display on the Defend The Honor Campaign and public demand calling on Ken Burns and PBS to include the Latino and Latina World War II experience in their 15 hour WWII public and privately funded "documentary."

3. " Corrido: Los Soldados Olivados De La Segunda Guerra Mundial" - "Ode to our forgotten Soldiers of WWII" music CD in honor of Latino and Latina WWII warriors and Ken Burns/PBS omission of our contributions and sacrifice will be on display. The CD was written and recorded by Dr. Jose "Pepe" Villarino.

Rick Leal, President of the Hispanic Medal of Honor Society, presents the Legacy of Valor exhibit depicting a photo mural display presented in 4-segments:

 
Legacy of Valor was exhibited at the 
Mexican Mexican Cultural Center San Jose

"Nice work, hermano.  You have really taken off with an idea that has become a historical event.  Our people are indebted to you and everyone can learn just a little bit more about our history, thanks to you."
                                                      Chairman: Fernando R. Zazueta


1. First display is of the 41 HISPANIC MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS from Civil War to Vietnam War.

2. Second display is entitled: " RETURN WITH HONOR "the Story of Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr. the First American Pilot shot down over North Vietnam was captured and survived and spent 8 years 7mos. as POW.

3. Third display is entitled: 'JUSTICE FOR MY PEOPLE" the Story of true legend 'Dr. Hector P. Garcia first civil rights activist, founder of the American G.I. Forum and in 1994 President Ronald Reagan presented Dr. Garcia at White House Ceremony the highest civilian award the "PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM".

4. Fourth display: Are six separate photo murals of Navy ships named after Hispanic Medal of Honor winners...the;
USS: GARCIA, USNS: BENAVIDEZ, USS: VALDEZ, USNS:MARTINEZ, USNS:VALDEZ, USS:GONZALES

5. A special showing of the critically acclaimed documentary "The Forgotten Eagles" honoring the WWII veterans of the 201st Mexican Fighter Squadron will be shown at the conference by the Office of the Mexican Consulate in San Diego. The documentary was produced by Victor H. Mancilla and has been shown at Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Smithsonian Institution 
National Air and Space Museum Smithsonian Institution 
National Air and Space Museum

Gus Chavez, Co-founder
Defend The Honor & NCLR San Diego Host Committee Member
For more information on the conference: www.nclr.org/conference


 


Number of California's potential immigrant voters to swell

By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, April 29, 2008
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immigvote29apr29,1,2631941.story

In the first detailed analysis of potential immigrant voters and their children in California legislative districts, a study to be released today shows they could constitute nearly one-third of state voters by 2012.

The analysis, commissioned by a Bay Area immigrant support group, is seen as a political road map to maximize the state's pro-immigrant vote. It also under-girds efforts to intensify political and civic action to help immigrants better integrate into society and win comprehensive legislative reforms, long stalled in Congress.

"We hope policymakers will look at this data to see who is in their district and how to best serve their interests," said Daranee Petsod, executive director of Grantmakers Concerned With Immigrants and Refugees, a Sebastopol, Calif.-based organization.

"With these numbers, immigrants can invigorate our democracy."

Los Angeles County dwarfed all others with about 2.7 million potential pro-immigrant voters -- naturalized U.S. citizens, legal immigrants eligible for citizenship and their children ages 12 to 17 -- followed by Orange, Santa Clara and San Diego counties. Statewide, the total was nearly 7.7 million.  In the Los Angeles area, the San Gabriel Valley had the highest number of such potential voters.

Advocates said the report underscores the need for programs to help integrate immigrants into society, such as English-language instruction and help attaining citizenship. But state funds to support naturalization programs have been cut by half in the last decade to $3 million and are facing proposed cuts of an additional 30%, said Reshma Shamasunder,
director of the California Immigrant Policy Center in Los Angeles.

Aside from supporting more immigrant-friendly policies, the state's rising immigrant voting force also could boost efforts to increase funding for schools, roads and other public services because surveys show that they are more willing to accept tax hikes to pay for them, said Louis Di- Sipio, a UC Irvine political science professor.

DiSipio said immigrant voters already are influencing local elections, such as the Los Angeles mayoral race, but it would take time for them to become a decisive vote statewide because they are still underrepresented in the electorate. In 2004, for instance, non-Latino adult whites were 47% of the state population but 65% of voters.

"The implication is that all California policymakers, regardless of political parties, will need to understand that a growing share of their constituents are U.S. citizen taxpayers who are foreign-born, and demonizing the population does no one any good," said
Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund in Los Angeles.

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com
Sent by Dr. Armando Ayala drchili@webtv.net
Original sender: Rosalio Munoz

 
Epidemic of Fatherlessness 
(Wall Street Journal)
 
"Because of dramatic increases in divorce and nonmarital childbearing, about 28% of our nation's children — more than 20 million kids — now live in a household without their father, up from 10 million kids (14%) in 1970, according to a recent Census Bureau report." 

 

 


The American GI Forum

MESSAGE FROM YOUR FOUNDER DR. GARCIA
by his daughter 
Daisy Wanda Garcia

1963 Through 1972 the Civil Rights Revolution

Photos, courtesy of Dr. Hector P. Garcia Papers, Special Collections
Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi



Dr. Hector P. Garcia wrote the column "Message From the Founder" over a span of fifty years. They describe his vision of his hopes for his people, his organization and his work through the American G.I. Forum (AGIF). In addition, the columns document the struggle of the Mexican American for social and political equity. This month's column will look at Dr. Hector's perspective during this era.

Though most viewed the sixties as a time of turbulence and social upheaval, Dr. Hector Garcia saw the changes in the social order as opportunity. In Dr. Hector's words, "We are glad to be living during a time that our country will become a true Democracy for all of its citizens. It is a privilege to be living during such times." 

Dr. Hector never became embroiled in the cultural and political dramas during the 1960s. Nor did he make a judgment about the Vietnam War. Instead, he focused on making social and economic inroads for the Mexican American people through the power of the American G.I Forum (AGIF). "We have moved ahead SILENTLY, but EFFECTIVELY in the improvement of civil rights for the American of Mexican origin." 

President Lyndon B. Johnson opened the doors of opportunity for minorities during the 1960s. President Johnson appointed Mexican Americans to the diplomatic corps, to federal positions and passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The 1964 Civil Rights Act made racial discrimination in public places, such as theaters, restaurants and hotels, illegal. It also required employers to provide equal employment opportunities. 

However, my father understood political reality. He understood that effecting change in the social order meant that the AGIF had to influence the outcome of elections. Once elected officials recognized the political impact of the AGIF, they would be receptive to pro-civil rights policies. Thus, the organization needed to be strong and focused. For this purpose, Dr. Hector saw the need to establish an AGIF national office in Washington D.C. in order to influence policy. As the political prominence of Dr. Hector and the AGIF grew, he attracted high profile policy makers from the political scene to speak at the AGIF conventions. Some called my father their friend. 

MESSAGE FROM YOUR FOUNDER
1963 American G.I. Forum National Convention

Now that we have given proof of our abilities in the diplomatic field, we are asking for further recognition and advancement of our qualified leaders. We highly endorse and recommend Raymond Telles for the ambassadorship to Mexico and recommend that other appointments be made to other countries.  Our membership and leadership must realize that with the fast tempo of our present age, money is needed badly to achieve these objectives. We must realize that we will have to have an office and a representative working for our people in Washington.

Let us remember that in this convention we have been fortunate in having as our speaker the Honorable Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the U.S. Let us join together in shouting: "Vivan Los Kennedys". 

In the decade of the 1970s, the focus shifted from the social activism of the sixties. The esteem for the established institutions of family, religion and trust in one's government continued to lose ground. Mexican Americans still faced the same problems as in previous decades. The "same old problems" were segregation in schools, police brutality, and lack of upward mobility. In addition, many of the social and political gains made during the Johnson administration were lost. These setbacks and loss frustrated my Papa, "For a few years the greatness of our people was finally allowed to break out of imposed oppression. For a few years, our people served in high positions of government and diplomatic fields. Today that has disappeared. That greatness is again stifled." 


MESSAGE TO THE AMERICAN GI FORUM MEMBERSHIP
Dodge City, Kansas
June 30, 1972
That today in 1972 we are still suing school districts who have discriminated and segregated our children is indicative that the feeling of hate and prejudice towards our people is still prevalent. That today in many states we are still victims of police brutality indicates that there is a lack of understanding still exists is attributed to the feeling that we are not considered equals under the American system of government. That today Vicente Ximenes is no longer in a high governmental position in Washington is indicative that the gains that were made a few years ago have disappeared. The state department has not only removed Mexican American ambassadors to foreign countries but also has failed in naming any new ones. This is enough evidence that the Nixon Administration does not consider us capable enough to serve our country in the diplomatic field. 
That Vietnam casualties sill are out of proportion to the number of Mexican Americans still shows that in spite of being outcasts of the mainstream we continue to show our love and dedication to our country. To the AGIF people I remind you that this was where we came in twenty-four years ago. We returned from the wars. We were not wanted; we were hated; we were dislikes; we lacked opportunity. Is it better in 1972?

But the AGIF auxiliaries and youth groups must make it change again. We can do it. We must not accept the present as if it were forever". 

In the 1978 column, Dr. Hector assesses the results of thirty years of hard work and dedication. He praises the AGIF faithful for their accomplishments and for making his dream a reality. Dr. Hector writes:

MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER
American G.I. Forum of the U.S. 1948-1978
Corpus Christi, TX
Thirty years of our lives of serving our people and our country in war and in peace. Thirty years of dedication and hard work in bringing the Mexican-American and other Hispanics the wonderful American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We have your patriotism and love for our country secured for ourselves and our children the opportunities of being free from discrimination of being free from oppression and of feeling like this is also our land.

Thanks to your untiring efforts, our brothers and sisters today occupy positions of prestige and greatness. You made my dream become a reality. We today have Senators, Congressmen, Federal Judges, U.S. Attorneys, Governors, and Ambassadors. We have our own serving in the White House. Our children are attending the high schools and colleges. We serve in all departments of state and federal governmental level.

We are in the majority still poor but some of our own have moved into affluent areas. We have doctors, teachers, lawyers, engineers, and nurses by the thousands where 30 years ago they could be counted in the tens. You have made my dream become a reality. I am grateful, but more than that, 
I am proud of our women, our youth and our fighting American G.I. Forum men. 
I am proud because of your loyalty to our ideals and our organization. But as I look at the last 30 years, the greatest thing that you did in this achievement is the fact that you did achieve it with dignity, peacefully and faith in God. 

We are still proud of our heritage, our culture, and 
our language.  In keeping 
our heritage, culture and language we have best served our country. So today after 30 years, we also say, I am proud to be an American.

Next Issue, 1984 through 1986 the Glory Years



 


PBS Looks at Latinos in wars
Hector Galán, producer/director of upcoming project, 

“The War Within” 

Jeanne Jakle: PBS looks at Latinos in wars
Web Posted: 06/12/2008 

Remember the passionate outcry here and throughout America over the dearth of Latino voices in Ken Burns' epic PBS series about World War II, “The War”? 

A new documentary feature, companion book and DVD that are in the works for PBS should finally provide some real satisfaction and bring deserved attention to an often under-represented group. 

After all, Hector Galán, the producer and director of the upcoming project, “The War Within,” was responsible for the eventual additions to “The War” featuring the colorful stories of two Mexican Americans who fought in World War II. 

However, Galán — an independent filmmaker who lives in Austin — and his partner on the project, writer Carlos Guerra (yes, the columnist for the San Antonio Express-News), stressed this is not being done as a reaction to “The War” and its controversy. 

It's actually something individual and different. 

For starters, these two hours not only will cover Latinos' participation in the Second World War, but also in wars before and after — from the Revolutionary War and the Civil War to the present war in Iraq. (Because of the availability of film footage, Galán said, the documentary will concentrate mostly on the period from World War II to Iraq.) 

Moreover, it won't just be about Latinos' role in battles, “but our role in American society and how it has evolved with each war,” Galán said. “It's going to be very rich. It will show how the Latino experience in this country has been shaped by America's wars.” 

The filmmakers are shooting for a September 2010 air date. 

PBS, which has granted the project funding for research and development, concurred that the controversy surrounding “The War” wasn't a motivating factor. 

“Hector has done so many good things for us in the past,” said John Wilson, senior vice president of programming for PBS. 

Among those 40-plus hours was Galán's recent film about San Antonio's now-Archbishop Emeritus Patrick Flores, and one coming up in September about Texas rockers Los Lonely Boys. 

Just from Galán's proposal for “The War Within,” Wilson said he could see it had potential as an intriguing and different story. 

Not that “The War” didn't have an effect on PBS in general. What it did do, he added, was bring to “our attention the fact that there are many more stories we can tell.” 

Way before his work on “The War,” Galán said, he has had a strong interest in the subject of Latinos and the military. Guerra, too, has been immersed in the topic for much of his life and career, particularly after seeing so many pictures in Latino homes of someone in uniform. 

“It's like it's a way to say, hey, that's how American I am!” Guerra said. 

Galán also revealed an intensely personal impetus behind his decision. His father, Raul S. Galán, who fought in World War II, died March 7. While at the funeral service, he watched the honor guards play taps and the moving ritual of the folding of the American flag. 

“I looked around at the faces and I saw a sense of accomplishment, a feeling of being proud,” he said. “At that moment, I thought, ‘I have to do this.' I only wish my father was alive to see it.” 

Galán recalled all the stories his dad told him about how joining the war changed his life. Before, as a poor Latino in San Angelo, he was denied an education and a decent-paying job. When he came home, however, he was a proud American, was able to go to school under the GI Bill and improve the living circumstances for his family. 

Don't get the idea that this will be a nostalgic reminiscence, however. Galán said the documentary would chronicle many stories about many war situations. In fact, he said he hopes to begin it with the “green card” soldiers in Iraq, immigrants who join the military and risk their lives in hopes of being granted U.S. citizenship. 

He said the first U.S. fatality in Iraq was such a soldier, a native of Guatemala who was made an American citizen posthumously. 

“It will be an unflinching look,” Galán said, at the two sides of the Latino war experience. Sure, the military was a great opportunity to break out of the poverty trap for many. But the film also will take a hard look at the much more intensive recruitment efforts in poorer neighborhoods and schools and the way fighting in the war is portrayed as an opportunity to be put on a faster track to a better life. 

Though it will encompass the diversity of Latinos who have settled in this country — from South America, Latin America, Puerto Rico and Cuba — there likely will be more of an emphasis on Mexican American soldiers, because this ethnic group is the largest within America's Latino population. 

Galán, whose many films reflect a fevered interest in music, also said the soundtrack will be an experience to treasure. Music will range from the Spanish big band sound of World War II to music associated with Vietnam — Little Joe y La Familia (“He's our hero,” he said) and the Latin rock of Santana. 

As mentioned before, a coffee-table book filled with photos also is being planned. That will be written by Guerra, who's also working on an extensive “War Within” Web site. 

In fact, that should be up and running within a week or so, he said. 

Stay tuned for details. 

San Antonio Express-News, www.mysa.com
Sent by Juan Marinez, Gus Chavez, Rick Leal, Dorinda Moreno



  Letter from Francisco M. Vega to Carlos Guerra, columnist for the San Antonio Express-News 

From: PANCHOVEGA13@aol.com 
Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2008 2:47 AM
To: cguerra@express-news.net
Cc: Marinez, Juan
Subject: The War Within
Mr. Guerra,

I have just received an e-mail from Juan Marinez, from Lansing, MI, with news of the film, "The War Within", that you and Hector Galan are working on.

I hope that your work is broader in coverage than what Ken Burns did... 

I was born and raised in San Antonio, went to John B. Hood, Washington Irving Junior High School, graduated from Central Catholic and had a scholarship to Draughon's Business College. --- When I went to Central in 1938 it was the first time I could use my name.... I had to use "Mike" and my graduation diploma from Washington Irving has the name "Mike".... On the morning of Monday, December 8, 1941, I went to several branches of the service to try and enlist and I was told, "We are not taking Mexicans at this time".- - - I was finally able to enlist in October, 1942, when a large advertisement came out in the Express and/or The San Antonio Light newspapers with the announcement that if you had military service (I had three years of ROTC at Central) you were welcome to enlist and you would remain in the Eighth Service Command for the duration of the war. I applied together with a friend by the name of Lico Lopez ... after the war, Lico worked for the City of San Antonio as a Real Estate Appraiser.... he stayed in the San Antonio area in the Quatermaster Corps during his time in service... 

I enlisted and received my Army Serial Number that started with the number "1" which meant that I had volunteered and had not been drafted... this was important to me.....I enlisted at Ft. Sam Houston and was sent to Dodd Field there in Ft Sam Houston... Within the week I was interviewed by two regular army Sergeants and sent to Kelly Air Base as a Drill Instructor. I was a DI until January, 1943, when I had the opportunity to go to one of the many schools that were available to GI's.... I went to the Judge Advocate General (JAG) School at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, LA... I finished the training there and received a promotion to PFC and went to Altus, OK.. received two more promotions to Sergeant... more schooling was made available but I had to give up my rank... I did, and went to Engineering at Oklahoma A&M (today Oklahoma State).... went to more schooling.. Engineering at Bradley University in Peoria, IL, in September, 1943.. 200 of us arrived and were informed we were to finish four years of college in eighteen months... 100 washed out at the end of three months.... I washed out sometime after that and the program was closed... I went to Jefferson Barracks, MO, later to Greenville, NC, then to Boston, MA and shipped out for England.... arrived in Liverpool, England, on May 15, 1944, joined the 392nd Signal Company that had just arrived from chasing Rommel across Africa and a Landing in Sicily...the name of the 392nd was changed to the 1st Signal Service Battalion (Avn) (Prov) ... 

Last week, 64 ago I was in the Assault Landing at dawn in Normandy, France, at "Omaha Beach", on June 6, 1944....I actively participated in four more campaigns... the last one being The Ardennes... commonly called "The Battle of the Bulge". These five campaigns kept us in a combat zone for 18 months. 

I was discharged in December, 1945, stayed in the Air Force Reserve and in 1951 was recalled for the Korean War... but that is another story...

I married in May, 1946, came to Grand Rapids in September, 1946, and used the GI Bill to attend Aquinas College, the School of Business Administration at the University of Michigan, and graduated in 1950 from Aquinas...

I am still active in business and active with local, state, and national interests.

My interest to country goes back several generations.... if it is of interest to you, you may visit San Fernando Cemetery where my parents, Lazaro Nava Vega and Sara Lopez Tapia de Vega, are buried.... on the reverse of the monument is the farewell given at the grave site at the time of my mother's death, by my mother's youngest brother, Francisco Lopez Tapia. - - - My mother is the great-granddaughter of General Santiago Tapia, the Governor and Military Commander of Puebla, Mexico, and of the Battle of Cinco de Mayo 1862...part of my legacy are two original historic letters written to Gen Tapia... one is from General Ignacio Zaragoza, dated June, 1862, and the other letter is from President Benito Juarez, dated in 1861.

I took the time to write this lengthy e-mail to inform you of the great deal of information that is available and that should be recorded for posterity to help in the education of our general population and the Mexican population in particular as to the service to country that we have performed....

The work that you and Hector Galan will be doing is the best answer to the ignorance and apparent bias to the works done by Ken Burns. - - -I suggest that copies of your film should be sent to every one of the sponsors and supporters of Ken Burns.

Saludos, 
Francisco M. Vega
1317 Giddings Avenue, S. E.
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
Tel. 616.245.5924
cell: 616.240.4999 



 

DEFEND THE HONOR PRESS RELEASE, June 18, 2008

Contact: Armando Rendon 510-219-9139
Email: armandorendon@sbcglobal.net

"The War Within"
PBS greenlights Galan documentary on Latino military contributions

The war waged against Ken Burns and PBS in 2007 continues to bear fruit and the Defend the Honor Campaign coordinators applaud news that PBS has provided preliminary funding for a two-hour documentary, "The War Within," about Latinos in U.S. military service through the years. The film is tentatively scheduled for broadcast in September 2010.

"We have seen quotes in the press," Gus Chavez, co-founder of the Defend the Honor campaign, "that show how PBS is trying to reshape history again by asserting that 'the controversy surrounding "The War" wasn't a motivating factor.' For one, John Wilson, senior vice president of programming for PBS, would like us to think that our protest had nothing to do with their latest funding of Galan's documentary on Latino fighting men and women.

"According to news reports, Wilson has said that 'Just from Galán's proposal for "The War Within," he could see it had potential as an intriguing and different story.' The fact is that our campaign opened their eyes wide with regard to the Latino community's potency," Chavez said.

Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, another founding member of DTH, said that it is understandable that PBS would deny any connection between Galan's documentary and the Ken Burns controversy of 2007.

"This is only the latest Latino documentary that PBS has approved, in the wake of the Ken Burns fiasco," she said. "Hector will be working with journalist Carlos Guerra of the San Antonio Express-News. Both men have very high standards and we will be very interested in seeing how the film takes shape."

Galán, an Austin, Texas-based documentary producer, was hired in mid-2007, after months of protests by Latino veterans and Hispanic organizations nationwide, to add interviews of three servicemen: two Latinos and one Native American, a total of 28 minutes tacked on to Burns' 14-1/2 hour epic.

Guerra, a columnist, was the first journalist to write about the Ken Burns controversy in the Feb. 9, 2007 issue of the Express-News. He wrote several more columns about the issue in 2007. Guerra will be writing the documentary. 

Armando Rendón, another DTH coordinator, called the news "another victory for a community determined not to allow the media, especially publicly funded media, to ignore, distort or dismiss the role of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Hispanic peoples in the making of this country. We are determined to tell the truth and set the record straight."

"The Latino community continues to view Ken Burns multi-million dollar "The War" film as historically inaccurate and technically flawed" Chavez said.

--30-- 

To contact Carlos Guerra cguerra@express-news.net


NATIONAL ISSUES

Los Saldados Olvidados de la Segunda Guerra Mundial
National Hispanic Veterans Museum in San Antonio
Oscar Cantu Made Auxiliary Bishop-Elect
Veteran's Pensions
Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, NALIP Lifetime Achievement  Advocacy Winner 
U.S. Hispanic Women Face Osteoporosis Epidemic 
Pew Statistical Portrait of Hispanic Women in the U.S.
Hispanic teens try drugs, suicide at higher rates
$43 Million Research Center Specializing in Minority Health
Hispanic Gains, Minimize Population Losses in Rural/Small-Town America
 

CD by Pepe Villarino  pepev@cox.net

Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@anr.msu.edu


Defending our honor
These were the musical echoes that were heard during WWII among our Chicano soldiers y nuestra gente from 1940 to 1945 instilling in them a sense of pride and courage while fighting for their honor and their country The United States of America and being proud of being Americans of Mexican descent.

Today in 2007 we are defending our honor all over again to prove to Ken Burns, PBS, other deaf ears, and some miotic hangers on that we will overcome this sacrilege and that justice will prevail. As Latinos we will not allow people like Ken Burns, PBS, and traitors like Tony Morales and Manny Mirabal to strip us of our history, our dignity and desecrate our honor.

Corrido Oda Los Soldados Olvidados de la Seguna Guerra Mundial 
---------------------------------------------
!Arriba mi gente querida tenemos que protestar!  Ken Burns en su cinta la Guerra,
a nuestros héroes quiere ignorar,
quince horas de acción de guerra, 
Segunda Guerra Mundial, a los soldados latinos Ken Burns se niega mostrar..

No debemos de olvidar como lo es bien sabido, que somos los más valientes,
y nos echan al olvido.

Hay dos que tienen la culpa, de esta infame desgracia PBS que nos oculta,
Y Ken Burns que nos insulta.

¡Arriba mi gente querida, tenemos que protestar! Ken Burns en su cinta, la Guerra,
a nuestros héroes quiere ignorar.

Razones hay a granel, para imputar esto cruel
por eso hay que luchar,
por lo que no debe ser.

Ken Burns, debes de pensar,
que no morirán en vano ya empezamos a pelear, lo dijo un Americano.
(John Paul Jones Revolutionary War 1779)

¡Arriba mi gente querida,  tenemos que protestar! Ken Burns en su cinta la Guerra,
a nuestros héroes quiere ignorar.

Con lo dicho de Morales y Mirabal,
Ken Burns defiende lo hecho
porque son del GI Forum y Hacr,
piensan que tienen derecho.
.
*Son puros pájaros nalgones
en toda su delincuencia,
a Burns le dieron las nalgas
porque no tienen vergüenza.

¡Arriba mi gente querida tenemos que protestar!  Ken Burns en su cinta la Guerra,
a nuestros héroes quiere ignorar.

Judas vendió a Jesucristo
por treinta monedas de plata,
Morales y Mirabal *las dieron pero sin lata.

El Doctor Héctor García,
junto con Félix Longoria
se retuercen en su tumba
porque les den buena tunda.

¡Arriba mi gente querida, tenemos que protestar! Ken Burns en su cinta la Guerra,
a nuestros héroes quiere ignorar.

Este corrido no acaba, a Ken Burns no se le halaga, defendamos nuestro honor
porque el que la hace la paga.

Vuela, águila patriota, tú sabes del patriotismo, vuela y dile al mundo entero
dile de nuestro heroísmo.

¡Arriba mi gente querida tenemos que 
protestar a nuestros héroes latinos
nunca vamos a olvidar!
Ballad Ode to our Forgotten Soldiers of World War II 
---------------------------------------------
Arise my people, protest we must!
Ken Burns in his film "The War" 
our heroes he wants to ignore.
Of fifteen hours of combat action in 
World War 11  Ken Burns refuses to show our Latino soldiers.

We cannot forget as is well known that we are the bravest yet they shoves us into forgetfulness.

There are two that are at fault of this disgraceful infamy PBS that hide us 
and Ken burns that insults us.

Arise my people, protest we must!
Ken Burns in his film, "TheWar" 
our heroes he wants to ignore.

There are thousands of reasons to impute this cruelty, that is why we have to struggle against what should not be.

Ken Burns you should ponder that they will have not died in vain for we have just begun to fight said an American Revolutionary.
 (John Paul Jones Revolutionary War 1779)

Arise my people, protest we must!
Ken Burns in his film, "TheWar" 
our heroes he wants to ignore.

With Morales and Mirabal compromised 
Ken Burns has justified what he has done just because they are from the GI Forum and HACR, they think they have the right.

*Fat assed birds thay are in all of their delinguency to Burns they gave their asses because shame they have none.


Arise my people, protest we must!
Ken Burns in his film, "The War" 
our heroes he wants to ignore.

Judas sold Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver in twenty five minutes Tony and Manny gave in to Ken without much trouble.

Dr. Hector Garcia together with Felix Longoria are turning over in their graves hoping that Morales and Miarabel get a good ass whipping.

Ken Burns you are cruel and ruthless.  You will go down in infamy and PBS is not far behind for they will burn as well.

This corrido does not end, Ken Burns will not be praised.  We will defend our honor for goes around comes around.

Fly patriotic eagle, you know what patriotism is all about.  Fly and tell the entire world tell thm of our heroism. 

Arise my people, protest we must.
Our Latino heroes  We shall never forget.

Lyrics by Dr. José "Pepe"Villarino, Ethnomusicologist, Folklorist and Hispanicist.
Translation by Dr. Carlos Vélez Ibáñez. 

Music. arrangement and recording: "Los Románticos,"Pepe" Villarino, Jorge "Profe" Rodríguez and Jesús "Chuy" Valdez, Ethnomusicologists.
Consultants; Gus Chávez. DR. Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez DR. Carlos Vélez Ibáñez, Dr. Ramón Merlos, Armando Rendón and Olivia Puente Reynolds and Dr. Mario Barrera.

*Language in this stanza may offensive to some of you but not as disparaging, offensive and damaging as Ken Burn's exclusion of our Latino, Latina WW11 veterans in his film "The War"   C/S

Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@anr.msu.edu



 


National Hispanic Veterans Museum in San Antonio


Buenos Dias,  On behalf of the Board of Directors of the National Hispanic Veterans Museum in San Antonio, I would like to announce the grand opening of the Museum Website. We need your assistance to help us raise funds to build this historic museum. We are also still seeking board members, check out our website and contact us if you are interested or have a suggestion.  www.HispanicVeteransMuseum.org
  
Gracias, Virgil Fernandez, Executive Director
512-297-3731   virgilf@sbcglobal.net


 


VETERAN'S PENSIONS

If you are a wartime veteran with a limited income and you are no longer able to work, you may qualify for a Veterans Disability Pension or the Veterans Pension for Veterans 65 or older. Many veterans of wartime service are completely unaware of the fact that if they are 65 or older and on a limited income they may qualify for a VA Pension without being disabled. An estimated 2 million impoverished veterans and their widows are not receiving the VA pension they deserve because they do not know about it. The VA has had limited success in getting the information to them. You may be eligible if you were discharged from service under other than dishonorable conditions, AND you served 90 days or more of active duty with at least 1 day during a period of war time. 

With the advent of the Gulf War on 2 AUG 90 (and still not ended by Congress to this day), veterans can now serve after 2 AUG 90 during a period of war time. When they do, they generally now must serve 24 months to be eligible for pension or any other benefit provided they meet the exclusions of 38 CFR 3.12(d). Which require you are permanently and totally disabled, or are age 65 or older, AND your countable family income is below a yearly limit set by law. Family Annual Income Limits effective 1 DEC 07 cannot exceed the following:
* Veteran with no dependents $11,181
* Veteran with a spouse or a child $14,643
* Veteran married to a veteran $14,643
* Veterans with additional children: add $1,909 to the limit for EACH child
* Housebound veteran with no dependents $13,664
* Housebound veteran with one dependent $17,126
* Veteran who needs aid and attendance and you have no dependents $18,654
* Veteran who needs aid and attendance and you have one dependent $22,113

Some income is not counted toward the yearly limit (for example, welfare benefits, some wages earned by dependent children, and Supplemental Security Income). It's also important to note that your medical related expenses are considered when determining your yearly family income. VA pays you the difference between your countable family income and the yearly income limit which describes your situation. This difference is generally paid in 12 equal monthly payments rounded down to the nearest dollar. You
can apply by filling out VA Form 21-526, Veteran's Application for Compensation Or Pension. If available, attach copies of dependency records (marriage & children's birth certificates) and current medical evidence (doctor & hospital reports). You can also apply through the VONAPP website http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp

For More Information Call 1(800) 827-1000. [Source:
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/pension/vetpen.htmMay

Sent by Willis Papillion  willis35@embarqmail.com


What's New?  http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/index.htm

New 2007-2008 rates for Compensation and Pension benefits are now available.

“A Summary of VA Benefits” - PDF document.  A concise outline of VA benefits in pamphlet form. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat software installed, you may Download free viewer and reader software to view the document.

A new Pension Benefits Home Page

DISCHARGE DOCUMENTS (DD-214) NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans or their next of kin to gain access to their DD-214 online: http://vetrecs.archives.gov/.

A new Survivor Benefits Home Page

An Operations Enduring & Iraqi Freedom web page is now available.

DoD implements Combat Related Special Compensation for Certain Military Retirees. Visit the Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Web Site for more information.

Sent by Rafael Ojeda 


eVetRecs: Request Copies of Veterans Military Personnel Records
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/index.html

Welcome to our online military personnel records request system.
Use our system to create a customized order form to request information from your, or your relative's, military personnel records. You may use this system if you are:

A military veteran, or Next of kin of a deceased, former member of the military 
The next of kin can be any of the following: surviving spouse that has not remarried, father, mother, son, daughter, sister, or brother. 

If you are not the veteran or next of kin, you must complete the Standard Form 180 (SF 180). See Access to Military Records by the General Public for more details.
How to Initiate a Request for Military Personnel Records:

Click on the "Request Military Records" button below to start. This will launch a separate window.

Enter the required information in the system to create your customized request form. There are 4 steps that you need to navigate. The system will guide you through the steps and tell you exactly which step you are on.

Print, sign and date the signature verification area of your customized form. If you don't have a printer, have a pen and paper handy and we will guide you through the process. This is important because the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) requires that all requests for records and information be submitted in writing. Each request must be signed and dated by the veteran or next of kin.

Mail or fax your signature verification form to us, and we will process your request. You must do this within the first 20 days of entering your request, or your request will be removed from our system. 



 


Oscar Cantu to be Made Auxiliary Bishop-Elect
William Luther/Express-News
Express-News, Photo by Abe Levy
Web posted 4/10/2008 

In a move that will make him the youngest bishop in the nation, 41-year-old Father Oscar Cantu was introduced as auxiliary bishop-elect for the Archdiocese of San Antonio on Thursday at the chancery office. 

Cantu, pastor of Holy Name Parish in Houston, fills one of two auxiliary bishop vacancies created after the arrival of Archbishop Jose Gomez three years ago. 

Bishop-elect Oscar Cantu (left) speaks with former archbishop Patrick Flores.
Cantu, who speaks four languages and is a professor at a Houston seminary, will give the archdiocese a boost of youthful energy, said Gomez, 56, who worked for a time in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston where he first met Cantu about 13 years ago. 

"For me, it's going to be a great help and give us more youth and enthusiasm and pastoral experience," Gomez said. 

His presence will also bolster the increasingly bilingual and bicultural profile of Catholic clergy and lay people in the nearly 700,000-member archdiocese. Its growth is fueled primarily by the influx of Mexican and other Hispanic immigrants. 

"This call to serve as auxiliary bishop of San Antonio has given me pause," Cantu said during a speech in English and Spanish. "Like my original call to the priesthood, it has inspired in me a great sense of humility." 

Cantu follows the journey of Archbishop Emeritus Patrick Flores, Gomez's predecessor. Flores also was a priest in the Galveston-Houston diocese before coming to San Antonio. Flores and Cantu's parents were friends when Flores was a priest. 

"You don't know how happy I am to bring you to San Antonio," Flores said while giving Cantu a hug. "One of these days, you'll be archbishop of San Antonio." 

Gomez will ordain Cantu as a bishop on June 2. 

Sent by Rafael Ojeda who writes:
If you want to see other photos or video just google:" Bishop Oscar Cantu"
The web site below has a photo of a Saintly Patriach in San Antoino Bishop Patrick Flores,
who I had the honor of meeting here in Tacoma about 20 years ago.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/
MYSA041008.EN.CantuBishop.4e4f3ab2.html



 


Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez 
NALIP Lifetime Achievement in Advocacy winner recognized 

Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, associate professor in the School of Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin and recipient of the NALIP Lifetime Achievement Award in Advocacy, will be inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' (NAHJ) Hall of Fame next month.

She will be inducted along with New York Daily News columnist Juan González and 19th century journalist Francisco P. Ramirez, editor of Los Angeles' first Spanish-language newspaper, El Clamor Público.

A former journalist who worked for the Boston Globe, WFAA-TV in Dallas and the Dallas Morning News, Rivas-Rodriguez has advocated for improved coverage and inclusion of Latinos in media. She was on the committee that organized and founded the NAHJ in 1982 and she established two of the NAHJ's most successful student projects: a convention newspaper produced by college students and professionals, and a nationwide high school writing contest. The newspaper has become the model for other industry organizations such as the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association as a way to develop mentoring relationships and to train students.

Rivas-Rodriguez is the founder and director of the U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project, which has collected interviews with more than 650 men and women throughout the country. She gained national prominence after taking a leading role in protests in 2007 against the PBS documentary "The War" about World War II. The film, which originally excluded the stories of Latino veterans
was eventually modified.
 


U.S. Hispanic Women Face Osteoporosis Epidemic

HealthNewsDigest.com

Osteoporosis is a disease that can be crippling, leaving bones brittle, weak and easily broken. There are already some 8 million women in the U.S. who suffer from osteoporosis* and experts say that number could soon skyrocket.

Treating broken bones in Hispanics due to osteoporosis already costs more than 750 million dollars a year in the U.S.* That number is expected to skyrocket to more than 2 billion dollars* unless programs like these can get the word out early about prevention.
(Read More) http://my.lulac.org/site/R?i=n9qbrBzzIvyKFYSqQbUntA  LULAC  6/5/08


 

 
Pew Hispanic Center 
Releases Statistical Portrait of Hispanic Women in the U.S.

info@pewhispanic.org


Annual births to Hispanic women in the United States exceeded one million for the first time in 2006, and one-in-four children in the U.S. under the age of five is Hispanic, according to new reports from the U.S. Census Bureau. Hispanics now make up 15.5% of the U.S. population, and nearly two-thirds (62%) of their population growth in 2006-2007 came from births rather than immigration-a reversal of the growth pattern in the 1990s, when immigration was the primary driver of Latino population increases in this country.
In order to illuminate these trends, the Pew Hispanic Center today releases "Hispanic Women in the United States, 2007," a statistical portrait of the demographic, social and economic characteristics of this country's 14.4 million Hispanic women. 

Key findings from the report: 
* Hispanic women are younger than non-Hispanic women. Their median age is 41, compared with a median age of 47 for non-Hispanic women.
* The fertility rate of Hispanic women is one-third higher than that of non-Hispanic women. 
* Just over half (52%) of Hispanic women are immigrants. Their fertility rate is about 30% higher than that of native-born Hispanic women.
* Some 42% of Hispanic women who gave birth in 2005-2006 were unmarried, compared with 34% of non-Hispanic women. The share of out-of-wedlock births to Hispanic women immigrants was 35%; the share for native-born Hispanic women was 50%.
* Hispanic and non-Hispanic women are equally likely (54%) to be married. Hispanic women immigrants (63%) are more likely to be married than native-born Hispanic women (44%)-in part because the latter group is younger.
* Hispanic women are less educated than Non-Hispanic women; 36% have less than a high school education, compared with 10% of non-Hispanic women.
* The labor force participation rate of Hispanic women (59%) is similar to the participation rate for non-Hispanic women (61%). Native-born Hispanic women (64%) have a higher participation rate than Hispanic women immigrants (54%).
* Hispanic women who work full time earn a median weekly salary of $460; 
the equivalent figure for non-Hispanic women is $615. 
* Hispanic women are more likely than non-Hispanic women to work in blue-collar occupations such as building and landscape services, food preparation and services, and manufacturing.
* Some 20% of Hispanic women live in poverty, compared with 11% of non-Hispanic women.

The fact sheet is available on the Center's website.  The Pew Hispanic Center is a project of the Pew Research Center, a research organization based in Washington, D.C. 
Sent by Carlos Munoz, Jr. Ph.D. and Bill Carmena


 


$43 Million Research Center Specializing in Minority Health

Coverage, Access and Quality 
Drew University To Build $43M Research Center Specializing in Minority Health; 
Deal To Reopen Former Affiliate King-Harbor Falls Through Officials from Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, the former affiliate of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, announced on Friday plans to construct a $43 million research and nursing building that will specialize in illnesses that disproportionately affect minorities, the Los Angeles Times reports. 

The project will be funded through a state bond offering issued by the California Educational Facilities Authority, which provides financial assistance to private and not-for profit higher education organizations. Research at the center will focus on hypertension, diabetes, cancer and other diseases that affect minority communities in large numbers. The 63,000-square-foot building, scheduled to be completed in 2009, will be named the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing after the state lawmaker who sponsored the legislation to create the school 40 years ago. According to the Times, the "new school will be the first comprehensive training facility for nurses to be built in California in several years and the first ever in" South Los Angeles. 

Affiliation With King-Harbor 
The new facility is a "key component of an initiative to expand the university," which has faced various credentialing problems for its residency programs since the 1980s. In 2006, county officials cut ties between the university and King-Harbor Hospital and pulled funding for about 250 medical residents at the hospital, which trains medical students to practice in underserved communities. Through a partnership with University of California-Los Angeles, Drew has been able to continue training medical students to work in underserved areas (Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 4/19). 

King-Harbor has since downsized to an ambulatory care center, and county officials have been working to secure an affiliate to reopen the hospital. However, negotiations with a private entity failed to go through last week, and King-Harbor CEO Antionette Smith Epps resigned on Friday. The departure of Epps, who took over as CEO in October 2005, has led many community activists to "fear that what remains of King-Harbor ... will go adrift," the Times reports. County supervisors are expected to meet privately on Tuesday to discuss other alternatives to reopen King-Harbor (Renaud/Therolf, Los Angeles Times, 4/19). 

Received Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sent by Juan Ramos jramos.swkr@comcast.net



 

Hispanic teens try drugs, suicide at higher rates
Washington Post


Hispanic high school students use drugs and attempt suicide at higher rates than their black and white classmates, according to a new federal survey that shows a continuation of a disturbing trend.

The study is the latest in a series of surveys of U.S. high school students every two years. The new report noted that black and white students are reporting less sexual activity than in years past, but there was no decline among Hispanics. 
(Read More)  http://my.lulac.org/site/R?i=444BNUHJxUAODcRmQciU-w
LULAC  6/5/08
 

Hispanic Gains 
Minimize Population Losses in Rural and Small-Town America

Here is a document that showcases the states that have experienced some significant growth in its Latino/Hispanic population since 1990.   
http://www.prb.org/Articles/2007/HispanicGains.aspx

Sent by Juan Marinez  marinezj@anr.msu.edu



ACTION ITEMS

Congressional Medal of Honor Award for Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta
Push for WW II Marine Pfc. Guy Gabaldon to Receive Medal of Honor
Abstract: Ending the Widow Penalty 
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, Public Policy Fellowship in Washington

Invitation to Mexican artists for media visibility

Alfred Lugo
California State Committee Chairman for Veterans Affairs
AMERICAN GI FORUM
United States of America - Department of California

 


Five soldiers have received the MOH in Afghanistan and Iraq. Sgt Peralta, who did the same as four soldiers did in Iraq, covering a grenade with their bodies, has yet to be awarded the medal. Even though his actions were in 2004 and he was recommended for the medal. Medals have been awarded for actions after 2004, two in 2006.
 
Sgt. Rafael Peralta was a Mexican and he then became an American citizen and died for his country of America.
 
We need letters of support to President Bush to award him the MOH that he so deserves.
Thank you, Alfred Lugo


RESOLUTION
CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR AWARD FOR
MARINE SGT. RAFAEL PERALTA

WHEREAS, Rafael Peralta, a Mexican-American who lived in San Diego, California, wanted to join the Marine Corps after graduating from high school in San Diego in 1997 

WHEREAS, Peralta was a Mexican citizen who had to wait until 2000 to received his legal residency and became a U.S. citizen 

WHEREAS, Peralta joined the Marine Corps and was assigned to the Kaneohe's 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines Regiment in November 2003 which arrived in Iraq in October 2004.

WHEREAS, the Kaneohee Marines' mission was to clear the city of insurgents building by building, Peralta was hit several times in the upper torso and face at point-blank range by the fully automatic 7.62 mm weapons employed by three terrorists. Mortally wounded, he jumped into the already cleared adjoining room, giving the rest of the Marines a clear line of fire.

WHEREAS, fellow Marines battled the insurgents that shot Peralta, when a live grenade bounced into the room near the severely wounded Marine.

WHEREAS, Peralta reached out and pulled the grenade into his body, protecting the lives of several fellow Kaneohe Marines

WHEREAS, Peralta was a platoon scout in the Kaneohe unit, which meant he could have stayed back in safety while the squads of the 1st Platoon went into danger-filled streets. But Peralta was constantly asking to help.

WHEREAS, Peralta was killed on November 15, 2004, during the second battle of Fallujah. He was one of the 42 Marines and two Navy corpsmen assigned to the 1st Battalion who were killed in the unit's first deployment to Iraq.

WHEREAS, Cpl. Richard A. Mason said to other Marines in recognition of Sgt. Peralta's actions, "You're still here, don't forget that. Tell you kids, your grand kids, what Sgt. Peralta did for you and the other Marines today."
WHEREAS, a spokesman for the Marine Base in Hawaii confirmed that the name of Peralta, 25, had been submitted for the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of four members of his platoon.

NOW, THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED THAT: that the United States Congress award the Congressional Medal of Honor to Sgt. Rafael Peralta USMC for his heroic deeds beyond the call of duty with intrepidity. 


SUBMITTED BY: Alfredo Lugo, State Committee Chairman for Veterans Affair, American GI Forum, California

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand for the American GI Forum, California this 24th day of April, 2007

Alfredo Lugo, Veterans Affairs AGIF California
Willie Galvan, State Committee Chairman for California AGIF State Chairman


Editor:  After reading Alfred Lugo's communication Mercy Bautista Olvera took action:

Hi Mimi,  
I decided to call Congresswoman Hilda Solis El Monte Office Concerning Marine Sgt Rafael Peralta Medal of Honor. I've sent e-mails to her for a while. One of her staff members Cindy Chen is going to send me information regarding this issue but is going 
to take time. She is going to get some information from Washington, D.C. and would get back to me.

I've noticed that other soldiers families have received their loved ones Medal of Honors, these heroes were killed way after Sgt. Peralta.  I am surprise on how much time this has taken. I remember President George Bush and Oliver North speaking about Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta when he was killed in Iraq, but I guess our president has forgotten. 

I'd keep trying until there is an answer...   Love, Mercy

Mr.Lugo

Thank you for your excellent work in urging the administration to honor a deserving Sgt. Rafael Peralta by awarding him the Medal of Honor. The actions described speak for themselves. We have converted your letter and the associated resolution, passed at the AGIF of California state convention,into a pdf document. You will find it posted on the
California website at the following link http://www.agif.org/onlinenews.htm

Thank you for your efforts
A.G. Lerma
AGIF COM Center
San Jose, CA


 


The Effort to Push for WW II Marine Pfc. Guy Gabaldon 
to Receive the Medal of Honor is On-Going

Abstract of an article Film details Hispanic Marine's acts in WWII 
By Adrian Sainz, Associated Press Writer, May 3, 2008  AP Photo


MIAMI (AP) -- Armed but alone, Marine Pfc. Guy Gabaldon roamed Saipan's caves and pillboxes, persuading enemy soldiers and civilians to surrender during the hellish World War II battle on the island.

Using the Japanese language skills he learned as a boy, he warned the Japanese they would die if they stayed hidden and told them Marines were not torturers as they had heard. The Marines, he said, would feed them and give them medical care. Many agreed, and Gabaldon, just 18, led them back to U.S. lines.

By the battle's end, Gabaldon had coaxed more than 1,000 Japanese out of the steamy caves. He was praised as being brave and compassionate, and he received a Silver Star - later upgraded to a Navy Cross. His actions were recounted on television and in movies.

Now, almost two years after his death, there is a renewed campaign to give Gabaldon the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award. A new documentary, "East L.A. Marine," asks whether Gabaldon's Hispanic heritage prevented him from receiving the medal, though others blame his tough and outspoken nature.

Critics question whether Gabaldon deserves the medal, saying his feats do not measure up to those of others on Saipan.

"It's a much bigger issue than any of us realize," said Steve Rubin, who directed the documentary, which will be available online May 6. "Guy is a symbol not only of a hero in war, but a man who treated people humanely. He killed people, sure, but having grown up essentially as a Japanese, he treated them as human beings."
---
Growing up in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, Gabaldon became close with a Japanese-American family and made friends with Japanese boys. He also picked up the language as he delivered Japanese newspapers and picked crops with Japanese-Americans.

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, more than 100,000 people of Japanese heritage, including Gabaldon's friends, were sent to internment camps.
"He got very upset when the government put the Japanese in concentration camps," said his second wife, Ohana Gabaldon, who lives in Old Town in central Florida.

Gabaldon joined the Marines in 1943, becoming a scout observer and interpreter, and hit the shore of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands on June 15, 1944.

Combat was often in close quarters in jungles and caves, and more than 3,200 Americans and 23,800 Japanese were killed, according to a 1994 Marine Corps pamphlet, "Breaching the Marianas: The Battle for Saipan."

Civilians, some prisoners of Japanese soldiers, hid in caves. They included women and children, and were hungry and suffering from shell shock, leprosy, dengue fever. Fearing the Americans, Japanese civilians blew themselves up with grenades or jumped off cliffs.
---
Gabaldon did his share of killing, but one day he ventured alone behind enemy lines and brought back a group of Japanese prisoners. Gabaldon was scolded by his commander, Col. John Schwabe, but went out alone again and returned with more Japanese.
Satisfied, Schwabe let Gabaldon continue.

"He would go up to the mouth of that cave and jabber, jabber, jabber, and pretty soon somebody would dribble out," Schwabe said in the documentary. Eventually, Gabaldon had rounded up 1,000 to 1,500 Japanese - including a purported 800 in one day.

"Through his efforts, a definite humane treatment of civilian prisoners was insured," according to a Marine Corps document detailing Gabaldon's credentials for a Silver Star.
Interviewed in the documentary, Gabaldon discussed his motivation.

"Being raised in the barrio, every day is a fight," Gabaldon said. "You're fighting to survive in the barrio and I think that might have had something to do with my personality, my makeup. I knew I was doing something that had never been done in World War II."
Gabaldon was wounded in January 1945 and evacuated to a hospital, according to the document provided by the Marine Corps History Division.

Schwabe said in a 1960 letter that there was confusion after Saipan over who was responsible for recommending Gabaldon for the Medal of Honor.

---
In June 1957, he was featured on the TV show "This is Your Life." Two Japanese friends also appeared.

In 1960, "Hell to Eternity" was released, starring Jeffrey Hunter, who clearly was not Hispanic and at 6 feet tall looked nothing like 5-foot, 4-inch Gabaldon.

"That part of him is completely obliterated ... people who are familiar with this issue are really appalled by that," said Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, a University of Texas journalism professor who interviewed Gabaldon and hundreds of other men and women of the World War II generation.

However, the film started a push for the Medal of Honor and Schwabe officially recommended him for the honor. In December 1960, the Pentagon upgraded Gabaldon's Silver Star to a Navy Cross, but the Medal of Honor never came.
---
Gabaldon, who eventually settled in Florida, suffered a stroke in the late 1990s but never mellowed or abandoned his love for fishing and other adventures, his wife said. He died in September 2006 at age 80.

Gabaldon's wife said he talked about racism he experienced as a serviceman. But Gabaldon never lost his love for the Marines: "He was a Marine first, and then Guy," Ohana Gabaldon said.

However, he was hurt that he never learned why he hadn't gotten the Medal of Honor, leading him and others to wonder whether his ethnicity played a part, his wife said.
"Nobody came up with the truth," Ohana Gabaldon said. "I guess what Guy wanted to hear from the Marine Corps is that `We goofed.' He told me he wasn't going to see the Medal of Honor in his lifetime."
---
The documentary compares Gabaldon's exploits to others who did win the Medal of Honor, such as the Army's Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in World War II.
In the film, narrator Freddie Prinze Jr. asks: "What caused this inequity? Was it because Guy Gabaldon was of Hispanic heritage? Was it because he had a big mouth and wasn't afraid to say what he felt?"

University of the South professor Harold J. Goldberg said in his book "D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan" that some Marines estimated that Gabaldon captured only about half of the number he claimed.

Marine Sgt. David Dowdakin said in the book that while Gabaldon had advocates, "the rest of us think he is an importuning glory seeker who is playing the race card. But, then, the two traits often go together: bravery and glory seeking."

Capt. Amy Malugani, a Marines spokeswoman, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the Marines are precluded from discussing whether any individual has been recommended for a medal.

But Malugani also said the Secretary of the Navy is reviewing of the service records of each Jewish and Hispanic-American veteran who won the Navy Cross for actions during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, and Operation Desert Storm, to determine if any should be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Gabaldon's widow said politics could be involved in the decision. "We're becoming not so much a minority anymore," said Ohana Gabaldon, who is of Japanese and Mexican descent. "Maybe this is the time that the Latino vote counts, what Washington cares about so much.

"They can take the opportunity to right a wrong and be aware of what Latinos have done for this country."

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
Click here for copyright permissions! Copyright 2008 Associated Press

Sent by Sal Del Valle Salvador Del Valle  and Juan Marinez marinezj@anr.msu.edu


 


Abstract: Ending the Widow Penalty
Bill Jempty | Thursday, May 10, 2007 

A bizarre quirk in U.S. immigration law known as the “widow penalty” can effect the lives of legal resident aliens married to U.S. citizens. One such example is Khin Win Mauro, the wife of Donn Mauro. Mrs. Mauro just saw the drunken driver who killed Donn get sentenced to jail. Khin Win was married to Donn Mauro for eleven months. She could now lose much more than her husband.

A native of Burma, also known as Myanmar, she came to the United States as a foreign student, met and fell in love with Donn Mauro. At the time of his death, they had not been married long enough for her to qualify for permanent residency. Her application for permanent residency was denied and, as a result, Win could be deported.

She is one of at least 70 immigrant women in the United States caught in what they call the “widow penalty.”

What is the widow penalty? When a Conditional Permanent Resident’s U.S. citizen spouse dies, the surviving spouse faces the loss of CPR status and therefore could be deported. The organization Surviving Spouses against Deportation explains.

In order to understand, it helps to learn about the process of becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident through marriage to a United States citizen. When a U.S. citizen marries a non-citizen, he or she may file a petition for that person to receive “immediate relative” status and be processed for Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status. LPR status is commonly referred to as the “Green Card.” The non-citizen spouse may either apply for an immigrant visa abroad at a U.S. consulate, or if already in the United States, may apply for “adjustment of status” and be processed without leaving the country. One common misconception is that spouses of U.S. citizens are applying for citizenship - a non-citizen who gains LPR status through a spouse must reside in the United States as a resident for three years before applying for citizenship. The immigration process often takes many months to complete. 

For more information on the "widow penalty"go to: 
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2007/05/ending_the_widow_penalty/

Sent Juan Marinez   marinezj@anr.msu.edu

 

 

 



Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation
Intensive one-year Public Policy Fellowship in Washington

The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation is seeking outstanding professionals working in the
field of inclusive services and supports for people with mental retardation, intellectual and
developmental disabilities for an intensive one-year Public Policy Fellowship in Washington,
D.C. During this one year Fellowship, the successful applicant will learn how legislation is
initiated, developed, and passed by the Congress, or how programs are administered and
regulations promulgated by federal agencies. The purpose of the Fellowship is to prepare
emerging leaders or experienced professionals to assume leadership in the public policy arena,
in their home state and or nationally. The coming year promises to be an exceptional
opportunity to participate in the policy development process as we go through both the
Presidential and congressional election processes and begin the 111th Congress.

Each year the Foundation brings talented and accomplished professionals to Washington for a
full year, where they actively participate in public policy development in the offices of
Members of Congress, congressional committees, or federal agencies. Former Public Policy
Fellows describe the Fellowship as a major turning point in their lives. The coming year offers
exciting opportunities to be involved in policy and legislative development in key areas such as
The Developmental Disabilities Act, special education, health and mental health care for
persons with disabilities, disability civil rights, child care, housing, justice, child welfare and
other areas related to improving the quality of life for individuals with mental
retardation/intellectual disabilities.

Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has supported the creation of practical programs to
benefit persons with intellectual disabilities, their families and their communities. The
Foundation has always worked with national leaders who understand the realities of
government. The need for skilled leadership in government and public policy has never been
greater. In response to this need, the Foundation initiated the Public Policy Fellowship Program
in 1980. Fellows receive first-hand knowledge and experience in the development of public
policy and the opportunity to participate in an advocacy training workshop, national disability
policy seminars and the intensive week-long Bioethics course at Georgetown University’s
Kennedy Institute of Ethics.

We seek professionals with outstanding experience in:
1. State or national level advocacy for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families;

2. Vocational rehabilitation, education, child care, child welfare, law, employment, community organizing, housing or development of inclusive community supports and services;

3. Health or mental health care for people with mental retardation; or

4. Development of family training or family support services.
The successful applicant’s background will include distinguished involvement in efforts to 
improve the lives of persons with intellectual and other developmental disabilities at the 
regional, state or national level. The expectation is that fellows will become future leaders in
the field of inclusive community supports for people with intellectual and developmental
disabilities, and after their year in Washington will make significant contributions to policy and
program development in their home state or continue to advance their work on the national
level.

The program provides a one-year full-time exposure to the federal public policy making
process, and includes a stipend and modest relocation expenses. Selected fellows must be
prepared to live in the Washington, DC area during their fellowship year and to devote
themselves full-time to the fellowship. In addition, applicants have the opportunity to
participate in the Intensive Bioethics Course offered at the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy
Institute of Bioethics at Georgetown University. For more information on this course go to
http://kennedyinstitute.georgetown.edu/

Application process and guidelines:
Applicants should submit a letter of application between 2 to no more than 4 pages in length
stating their history in the field of services and supports to people with intellectual disabilities,
their interests and accomplishments to date, as well as what they hope to do with the
knowledge and experience gained from the fellowship. They should also attach either a résumé
detailing their work and educational experience or a summary of their involvement in the field,
along with three letters of support from people familiar with their work. Applications should
clearly show the candidate's name, address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address on the first
page. The preferred method of application, letters and résumé submission is via e-mail
attachment (i.e. not in the body of the e-mail) to eidelman@jpkf.org. PDF attachments are
strongly encouraged but not required. Applicants may follow up with hard copies via regular
mail if they wish. Letters of support are also encouraged via e-mail but a hard copy on
letterhead with the supporter's signature must follow in the mail. Please make sure that each
letter clearly specifies the candidate for which the letter is being submitted. The application
deadline for 2009 is August 15, 2008.

The Fellowship starting date will be negotiated with the successful applicant. The Foundation
anticipates one Fellowship beginning in February 2009 and running through July, 2010. Two
other fellowships will be available for the period September 2009-August, 2010.

As early2009 will be the beginning of a new administration and Congress, the Foundation may
delay the starting date until congressional committees have been reconstituted. Finalists will be
invited to Washington in the fall of 2008 to be interviewed by a distinguished panel of Public
Policy experts.

Address letters of application to:
Mrs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver
The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation
1133 19th Street NW, 12th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Attention: Professional Public Policy Fellowship Program



 


Invitation to to promote Mexican artists 


Hola Mimi, I sent you one interview that I had with the news paper in Colorado after the Academy Motion Picture presented my TV documentaries last July.  

Mimi I have space to promote our amazing Mexican artists for free, if the television stations approved them in my television shows in USA.  I can not pay them,  but I could promote them !

I was lucky last year.  In July 27, 2007, The Academy Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences presented my television documentary from Paris-France and Uganda, Africa in Charles Aidikoff screening room,  one of the Oscar's Academy Awards theatre.  I went to the Oscars 2007 as well.  They thought I was German but I told them that I'm Mexican.

If any artists are interested, they can send me 2-5minutes in DVD or VHS showing what they are doing in arts to: 
Erik Stahl   erikstahl@yahoo.com
PO box 847, Avon, CO 81620

 

BUSINESS

Hispanics in Philanthropy--'Thinking Big' Leads to Success
25 Largest Latino Nonprofits in the United States
July 11: National Latina Business Women Association
Managing Your Money, Oaxacan Style
Dichos Cookies
Bombardier Doubles Investment in Mexico
Some U.S. farms outsourced to Mexico 
With Migrant Workers in Short Supply, a Farmer Looks to Machines
 


Hispanics in Philanthropy--'Thinking Big' Leads to Success 
May 1, 2008. Steven Van Yoder 
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?idx=97649

 

There is a shadow looming over the world of Hispanic nonprofits, threatening many with insolvency. Hundreds of charitable organizations confront the disturbing fact that about 1.2 percent of the donations from national foundations go to Hispanic nonprofits. 

One organization, however, that has bucked this trend is the highly successful San Francisco-based Hispanics in Philanthropy. Called HIP by its members, the 25-yearold nonprofit consists of an international network of 480 grant-makers. It serves as a self-described "bridge" between Hispanic-focused nonprofits and funders. 

Aggressive, savvy, and international in scope, HIP is filling a small but critically important niche, and it may be doing it better than any group in the nation. The statistics bear this out. HIP has raised an impressive $35 million to date and made grants to 427 Hispanic-run nonprofits, making its model for success worth scrutiny. 

HIP President Diana Campoamor, who was recognized in 2007 as a Hispanic Business magazine 100 Most Influential, believes HIP may have the answer to the chronic under-funding of Hispanic nonprofits. "In the beginning, we could not understand why big foundations were not investing in Hispanic nonprofits. The more we explored the problem, we learned that foundations did not see the value delivered from the Hispanic nonprofit community." 

"Talent Bank" Adds Value 

HIP's 22-member staff has worked hard at developing programs that are designed to overcome this challenge. For example, through its "Talent Bank" of Hispanic leaders, HIP is able to assist foundations, corporations, and other nonprofits in identifying qualified Hispanic candidates when filling board and staff vacancies. Not only is HIP able to help the overall diversity of these organizations through the Talent Bank, it is able to deliver a clear and demonstrable value to donors. 

Another critical element to donors is the makeup of the organizational board. HIP's 21-member board was carefully chosen to represent the United States, Mexico, and many Caribbean countries. "All members have an interest in supporting Hispanic communities, but by no means are they all Hispanic. We have a diverse membership," says organization spokeswoman, Elena Satut. 

The organization acts as more than a "pass-through" entity, soliciting and distributing funds. It matches local donation dollars, provides knowledge and experience about local Hispanic communities, supplies a network of consulting professionals, and gives funders the opportunity to contribute to many nonprofits for the price of one grant. 

HIP programs aren't always geared toward larger nonprofits. Its mission includes a program called "Funders' Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities," which serves smaller Hispanic-run nonprofits with operating budgets less than $2 million. It is also actively involved in outreach education; conducts regional, national, and international conferences; and produces publications. 

"Think Big" :  Many small nonprofits don't have the capacity to do fundraising, given their small staff s and budgets, Ms. Campoamor says. In addition, donors are inclined to give to large organizations, which means that potential funds bypass the majority of small- to medium-sized nonprofits. 

To overcome this challenge, Ms. Campoamor advises Hispanic nonprofits to "think big" about their mission. 

"There's plenty of money available for Hispanic nonprofits that collaborate around regional and national issues," she says. "Hispanic nonprofits must focus on making a wider impact in Latino communities through partnerships that expand the potential of their organizational mission. This kind of big thinking is precisely what national foundations consider when allocating funds to Hispanic causes." 

Source: HispanicBusiness.com (c) 2008. All rights reserved.


  LPE - Hispanic Business
Every year,
Hispanic Business Magazine compiles a list of the 25 largest Latino nonprofits in the United States, based on their expenditures. Here is the current list from their May 2008 issue, with their 2007 revenue in parenthesis (which totaled $723 million in 2007):

1. AltaMed Health Services Corporation, Los Angeles, CA ($89 million in 2007 revenues)|
2. The Aspira Association, Washington, DC ($62 Million)
3. Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), Montebello, CA ($62 million)

4. Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. (CPLC), Phoenix, AZ ($66 million)

5. La Clinica de la Raza, Oakland, CA ($48 million)

6. Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, Chicago, IL ($47 million)

7. Hispanic Scholarship Fund, San Francisco, CA ($37 million)

8. AVANCE, Inc., San Antonio, TX ($36 million)

9. National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Washington, DC ($43 million)

10. Puerto Rican Family Institute (PRFI), New York, NY $30 million)

11. Urban Health Plan, Inc., Bronx, NY ($31 million)

12. SER-Jobs for Progress, Inc. Irving, TX ($25 million)

13. Casa Central, Chicago, IL ($18 million)

14. Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Philadelphia, PA ($18 million)

15. Asociacion Nacional Pro Personas Mayores, Pasadena, CA ($16 million)

16. United Community Center/Centro de la Comunidad Unida (UCC), Milwaukee, WI ($14 million)

17. El Valor, Chicago, IL ($19 million)

18. The Unity Council, Oakland, CA ($12 million)

19. Latin American Youth Council, Washington, DC ($12 million)

20. Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha, Inc., Philadelphia, PA ($11 million)

21. La Casa de Don Pedro, Newark, NJ ($11 million)

22. Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), San Antonio, TX ($11 million)

23. Nuevo Amanecer Latino Children Services, Los Angeles, CA $11 million)

24. El Concilio/Council for Spanish Speaking, Stockton, CA ($8 million)

25. Erie Neighborhood House, Chicago, IL ($7 million)

 

 


National Latina Business Women Association
San Diego Chapter
Presents
“Latina Entrepreneurs: Raising The Bar”
Friday, July 11, 2008

Key Note Address
Anna Escobedo Cabral
Treasurer of United States


Anna Escobedo Cabral was nominated on July 22, 2004, by President Bush to serve as Treasurer of the United States. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on
November 20, 2004.

Immediately prior to taking this office, Ms. Cabral served as Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Latino Initiatives. From 1999 to 2003, Ms. Cabral served as
President and CEO of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, which partners with Fortune 500 companies to increase Hispanic representation in employment, procurement, philanthropy and governance. Under her leadership, the organization published a best practices series, and instituted a partnership with Harvard Business School to provide executive training programs in Corporate Governance Best Practices to
community leaders.

From 1993 to 1999, Ms. Cabral served as Deputy Staff Director for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee under Chairman Orrin G. Hatch. A native of California, Ms.
Cabral earned a Master's degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in international trade and finance from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Master of Ceremony: Dr. Ruben Garcia, SBA District Director San Diego
10-11am VIP Photo-Op ~ Invitation only
11:30 -2pm Lunch/Program
Bahia Hotel & Resort
998 West Mission Bay Drive
San Diego, Ca. 92109
Climb aboard the W.D. Evans Victorian Showboat
Lunch Cruise 12 - 2
www.bahiaresorthotel.com

National Latina Business Women Association was created to meet the needs of the growing ranks of Latina Entrepreneurs, Executives and Professionals. Our mission is to encourage Latinas to develop their business and professional goals through education, business referrals and networking.

To attend luncheon RSVP to rbuettner@coldwellbanker.com by July 9, 2008
Cost: $55 Non-Members $45 Members  Pre-paid is required and seating is limited

NLBWA is the fastest-growing most successful business organization for Latina Entrepreneurs, Executives and Professionals. To join visit www.nlbwa-sd.com
For more information: contact San Diego Chapter President, 
Therese Cisneros-Remington
619-889-7642  www.nlbwa-sd.com



 

Managing Your Money, Oaxacan Style
Living in Recession's Shadow

By Angel Luna, New America Media, May 08, 2008


For one young Mexican immigrant, the best way to survive the current U.S. economic downturn is through an ancient tradition handed down from his Oaxacan grandmother. Angel Luna is a content producer for Silicon Valley Debug, a collective of writers, artists, workers and organizers in San Jose.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The battle to become financially stable is one of the hardest fights I have ever been in. I have tried to fight back the creditors in every way imaginable, from borrowing a few dollars from my posse to becoming a hustler, to collecting recyclables, and even getting two extra jobs on top of my day job. They say being in debt is the American way, but I found a way to get out of it by leaning on my Mexican community.

By this time, I had delinquency notices strewn across the carpet that I stepped on every morning when I woke up and every night when I went to sleep. That's when I made the decision to ask elders from my Oaxacan community to help me solve my debt burden and joined a "tanda."

The tanda is an ancient custom that was brought to Mexico by the Chinese in the late 1800s. A common practice in Latin America, the tanda is essentially a rotating credit association that is built on trust. It is a system for people to save money as well as a way to build relationships with each other. I told my mom that I wanted in, and she told me that this was a monthly commitment that I would be expected to pay.

The tanda is a loan without interest or hidden fees, and requires a minimum one-year commitment. To start a tanda, you gather at least 12 people who are reliable and whom you can trust. Each person draws a number to determine which month they will receive the loan. On the first month, the first person gets the full pot of money from everyone, continues to pay in every month, and so on.

In my first year, I will receive $5,000. More importantly, I will be paying money to my community, instead of the bank.

Some of the members of my tanda have used their money to pay for their kids' college tuition, invest in a small business or finish building their dream house in Mexico.

Because the tanda is based on a tight-knit community network in which everyone knows each other, there is a circle of trust that doesn't exist in other loan programs. The chances that someone will take off with all of the money are very low. This would meet with the most serious repercussions: social ones.

Knowing that I will be able to pay off my credit cards and be one step closer 
Sent by Carlos Munoz, Ph.D.


 


Dichos Cookies

Dichos or Folk Sayings in Spanish in Latino style and flavored "fortune cookies"*the ink is edible) currently available in many restaurants made the news in Arizona recently. 
You can find out about them at dichosonline.com; they are the "brainchild of Marina Montano who says: "You hear them (dichos or familiar sayings in Spanish) all day. I thought, well we put that in the cookie and that's what you call them." 

DICHOS, pronounced “theechos”, are Mexican folk sayings repeated over hundreds of years from one generation to the next. Many “dichos” are humorous but many are packed with wisdom.  We’ve created a savory little cookie with a little bit of wisdom inside. 
We call these cookies, DichosTM.  The traditional flavorings of Mexican desserts make this cookie a perfect end to a wonderful Mexican meal. We hope that you, your family and friends, or your customers will enjoy them as much as we do! 

$12.50 - Case / 250 cookies 
$25.00 - Box / 100 cookies with Custom Label Insert added 
Add 8.65% Sales Tax
http://dichosonline.com/Our_Product.html
Contact us at (520)236-2103 or 
dichos@theriver.com for more information.

Sent by Dorinda Moreno 
fuerzamundial@gmail.com



 


BOMBARDIER DOUBLES INVESTMENT IN MEXICO
 CHRIS SORENSEN / TORONTO STAR


Bombardier Inc. plans to more than double its investments in Mexico over the next four years as part of project to build aircraft parts for a new business jet. The Montreal-based maker of planes and trains said yesterday it is investing an additional $250 million into its facilities in the Mexican state of Querétaro, where the composite structure for its new, "state-of-the-art" Learjet 85 will be manufactured. The site, already scheduled to receive $200 million worth of investments from Bombardier by 2012, will also make the plane's electrical harness and install sub-assembly systems, the company said. Final assembly of the plane will still be done at Bombardier's facility in Wichita, Kan., where the Learjet brand originated. Bombardier chairman Laurent Beaudoin told reporters in Mexico City that the additional investments will be used modify a plant to make the aircraft components.


Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior
Plaza Juárez #20, Col. Centro
Deleg. Cuauhtémoc C.P. 06010
México, D.F

Sintesis Informative 30/05/08

  Some U.S. farms outsourced to Mexico
Associated Press

Antonio Martinez used to pay smugglers thousands of dollars each year to sneak him into the United States to manage farm crews. Now, the work comes to him.

Supervising lettuce pickers in central Mexico, Martinez earns just half of the $1,100 a week he made in the U.S. But the job has its advantages, including working without fear of immigration raids. Martinez, now a legal employee of U.S.-owned VegPacker de Mexico, is exactly the kind of worker more American farm companies are seeking. Many have moved their fields to Mexico, where they can find qualified people, often with U.S. experience, who can't bedeported. 
(Read More) http://my.lulac.org/site/R?i=AfnEmf8UnzmPeBjH0npCZA
LULAC  6/5/08


 

With Migrant Workers in Short Supply,
 a Farmer Looks to Machines    . . .
New York Times


Scores of Jim Bittner's cherry trees are now just heaps of roots and sticks, piled in his fields here along Route 18. Some of the branches lying on the ground are dotted with small blossoms, the season's earliest evidence that sweet cherries were on their way. But for Mr. Bittner, having sweet cherries would have meant hiring someone to prune the trees and harvest the fruit, and he was not sure that he could do it this year. So he cut his trees down.  (Read More) http://my.lulac.org/site/R?i=gbb5ht3rgTUosTWl10nm-Q 
LULAC  6/5/08



BOOKS OF INTEREST

A History of the Spanish People of Northern New Mexico
Hispanic Military Heroes by Virgil Fernandez 
Life in Laredo by Robert D. Wood, S.M.
The Last Knight, by Jose A. Lopez, click
Inherit the Dust from the Four Winds of Revilla, by Jose M. Pena, click
 


Hi Mimi, I visited your great site, "
Somos Primos" to see if I could find a section on "New Books", but did not find it. I am hoping to let your viewers and readers know about my latest book, above.

It is the history of the migrations of the Spanish people along the Rio Grande Valleys from the 1700's until present, out onto the northern plains and mountains of NM. It explains why they left the RGV to go out and "found" some of the little towns and villages they did. It also explains how towns like Springer, Maxwell, Raton, Dawson, and others got started and why Spanish people moved there... also out onto the plains towns like Roy, Mosquero, Farley, etc. The book has received great reviews by the Raton Range and others and is presently being reviewed by the Las Vegas Optic, The Taos News, The Rio Grande Sun, and La Herencia Magazine.

It is 100 pages, ( a quick read..!), perfect bound (Softcover), 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, and has several pictures. It sells for $19.95 and is available from me by check, money order, or credit card, by calling (505) 681-9458, or email; sernabook@comcast.net. Visit my website for more on the book and my other books at; www.cimarronpublishing.net.

Thanks so much. Louis F. Serna                        
His email  Sernabook@comcast.net  

 

 
Hispanic Military Heroes by Virgil Fernandez 
New Book Honors Hispanic Military Patriots

Hispanic Military Heroes is a recently published book by University of Texas graduate, Virgil Fernandez. This book chronicles the accomplishments of Hispanic-Americans in the U.S. military. This historical review includes more than 180 black and white photos of these brave and patriotic Latinos. The thirteen chapters include Hispanic generals, admirals, astronauts and many other Hispanic military heroes.

Hispanic Military Heroes details the exploits of the 42-Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients. Including, one of the most decorated Vietnam War heroes, Sgt. Roy Benavidez from South Texas. Benavidez suffered more than three dozen wounds in one fight, as he saved numerous American soldiers who were under attack by the North Vietnamese.

This book also tells of Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who sacrificed his life to save fellow soldiers in Iraq and has been nominated for the Medal of Honor. There are chapters about Hispanic pilot fighter aces during WW II and the Korean War, and Mexican fighter Squadron 201 who fought with the U.S. in the Philippines. Also included is a chapter about the American G.I. Forum and its founder, Dr. Hector P. Garcia.

Hispanic Military Heroes features a chapter about Hispanic servicewomen. This chapter begins with Loreta Janeta Velazquez during the U.S. Civil War. She was married to a confederate officer who died shortly after the war began. Velazquez decided to disguise herself as an officer to recruit soldiers for the South. She also led charges in several battles and spied for the confederacy. She was wounded during one fight which led to her incarceration.

Korean War veteran and current University of Texas English professor, Dr. Rolando Hinojosa writes, “This book is an authoritative work that dispels any doubt about the Hispanic presence and service to our country." Dr. Hinojosa adds, “Deep, through research is but one attribute to this book.”

Hispanic Military Heroes contains more than 100 bibliographic entries, 180 black and white photos, and several years of research. There is no other book, with this much information, currently available in any book store or library. 

Dr. Hinojosa concludes, “This is a must buy, a keeper."



 


Life in Laredo by Robert D. Wood, S.M.
A Documentary History from the Laredo Archives
Robert D. Wood, S.M.


Winner of the 2005 Webb County Heritage Foundation Award and the 2005 San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation Book Award 

Based on documents from the Laredo Archives, Life in Laredo shows the evolution and development of daily life in a town under the flags of Spain, Mexico, and the United States. Robert D. Wood, S.M., presents the first one hundred years of history and culture in Laredo up to the mid-nineteenth century, illuminating—with primary source evidence—the citizens' beliefs, cultural values, efforts to make a living, political seesawing, petty quarreling, and constant struggles against local Indians.  He also details rebellious military and invading foreigners among the early settlers and later townspeople.

Because of its documentary nature, Life in Laredo offers insights into the comings and goings of its early citizens not to be found elsewhere. Scholars and students of Texas and Mexican American history, as well as the Laredoans celebrating the 250th anniversary 
(in 2005) of Laredo's founding, will welcome this volume.

Brother ROBERT D. WOOD, S.M., is in charge of the archives at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, where the Laredo Archives are housed. Wood is the author of eight books on religion, history, and archaeology and has translated several other published volumes.

What people are saying about this book: "Life in Laredo is imaginatively organized, exceptionally well researched, and well written. No individual knows the Laredo Archives as well as Robert Wood, and that knowledge and understanding is readily evident."—Jerry D. Thompson, author, Laredo: A Pictorial History

Available from Borderlands Books  
www.borderlandsbooks.com/. ../books/7075_541.jpg


Sent by Juan Marinez   marinezj@anr.msu.edu



EDUCATION

Forum helps teach undocumented students how to get into college 

 



Forum helps teach undocumented students how to get into college 
2001 Assembly Bill upheld by courts helps immigrants pay in-state tuition.
By Adam Townsend, The Orange County Register, June 3, 2008


It's pretty difficult to navigate the bureaucratic tangle to get into college, even when you're a legal resident of the U.S. That's why a coalition of immigrant issues groups, labor unions and the American Civil Liberties Union held a forum at Loara High School 
for parents, teachers and prospective college students who may be undocumented immigrants. The event was organized to teach students about laws that allow them to attend colleges in California and pay the same tuition as other state residents.

"Growing up in Southern California, I never realized the tremendous amount of racialization that's built into the story of our students' experience," said Adela López, a Chicano studies professor at Fullerton College. "Many of the (undocumented) students that I work with are the 'dream' students. These are the students that show up to class no matter what. These are the students I see on my doorstep saying 'What do I need to do?'"
The forum specifically addressed Assembly Bill 540, a law passed in 2001 and subsequently upheld by state courts that allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at government colleges.

"Residents can come to school at a community college for $20 per unit," López said. "Having to pay nonresident tuition, it's close to $200 per unit. That's just a community college. You can imagine just how much more that would be at a UC or CSU school."
Roughly 60 teachers, students, parents and school administrators attended the forum. Parents learned from a Spanish-speaking presenter all the college prep, advanced placement and other programs available to help prepare students for college in the U.S. Some attendees were outfitted with headsets so they could hear Korean and Spanish translators repeat the presentations.

Other presenters taught prospective students how to troubleshoot the bureaucracy to make sure college admissions staffers process their AB540 forms correctly. Presenters compared AB540 to the court case Mendez v. Westminster, the court case that desegregated California schools in the first half of the last century.

"As you look around, you see a lot of brown and yellow faces coming together," said Michael Matsuda, a trustee for the North Orange County Community College District. "We don't do that enough. Sixty years ago, a group of parents came together, for their children, for the right to go to so-called 'white' schools. They took on the school districts that were segregating their children, and in 1947, they succeeded. I see that happening again with this AB540 challenge to our community."

According to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, to qualify a student must attend a California high school for at least three years, graduate from a California high school or get a GED, register at a government-funded California college and sign a statement with the school saying that the student will apply for legal residency as soon as he or she is eligible. 

Contact the writer: 714-704-3706 or atownsend@ocregister.com
Sent by Ricardo Valverde RValverde@ochca.com


BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Humanizing Education for the Chicano

 

by 
Armando Ayala, Project Director

AREA III Valley Intercultural Program
Placer County Office of Education
Auburn, California

MAP/Materiales en Marcha/May-June 1973

 


Public education in the United States has been in the hands of the people who have attempted to fulfill the needs of the majority of their student population.  equal education has been one of the ultimate goals of district personnel and community.  the goal itself is an ideal goal; unfortunately this has been interpreted to mean that every student should receive instruction in English.  States such as California and Texas passed laws prohibiting the instruction in a language other than English.  Unfortunately this practice did not take into consideration the fact that every year thousands of students begin their education not understanding the language of instruction or the culture of the classroom environment.

The result of such an ethnocentric approach to education has been a dehumanization of many  Mexican-Americans in the United States.  Chicanos in most instances are in a low synergy society.  They have been alienated by the educational system, have been made us to feel inferior, underachievers, and confused.  In order to survive Chicano students have been forced to conform to the monolingual (English only) instruction.   Low educational achievement has placed a large percent of Chicanos in a poverty cycle which has been difficult to break.  Efforts to translate the language and the culture of the white middle-class environment of the schools has led to frustration, irritation, and unhappiness for million of Chicano students.  

Federal funds under ESEA Title VII have been made available to school districts that can identify need for bilingual-bi-cultural education.  Bilingual education has come of age in the United States in an attempt to help citizens who are not English dominant to lead a productive bicultural life in this society.  It is also believed that students from minority groups who are now not succeeding in school will benefit from a bilingual approach to education and therefore become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural.

Chester C. Christian (1965) points out that at a conference held in November 1963 which was called by the then Vice-President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, as Chairman of the President's committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, it was concluded that the schools should capitalize on the bicultural situation in the Southwest rather than ignore it or even attempt to repress it.  Also, it was felt desirable to erase the reigning Anglo stereotype to recognize the value of the Mexican-American cultural heritage and to show the Mexican-American why he should be proud of his cultural background and recognize himself  as capable of offering something of value to the culture at large.

At this same conference Anthony J. Celebrezze, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, was moderator of a discussion group in which it was decided that schools should provide acculturation for Mexican-American children through bilingual instruction in Spanish and English, make use of the curriculum to reflect Spanish as well as American traditions, and should hire teachers trained in both cultures.  It was expressed that only through such a modified educational program could the Mexican-American be given the sense of personal identification which is necessary to his educational maturation.

There is, however, some opposition to bilingual education, as was reported in the HEW-OZ of 1968:

    There is plentiful evidence linking native bilingualism with retardation and underachievement in schools. Investigators have claimed that early childhood bilingualism is a "handicap," has detrimental effects on intelligence, contributes to mental confusion and language deficiency, that it leads to retardation ins choo, etc.  Recent studies, however, show that the "handicap" results from the WAY schools and communities have dealt with children who speak another language and NOT from the children's bilingualism.

Dr. Jack Forbes during his address to the Southwest Intergroup Relations Council held in Austin, Texas, in 1970 stated that since the 1870s schools in the Southwest had not been mutual, culturally speaking.  These schools, he said, had been controlled by the Anglo-American population, and the curricula throughout have been Anglo in character.  Dr. Forbes further pointed out that these schools had not been good for Mexican-American children because they tended to lead to a great deal of alienation and a great deal of hostility, also the confusion which is caused in the mind of the Mexican-American children because they tended to lead to a great deal of alienation and a great deal of hostility,  also the confusion in the mind of the Mexican-American child by not knowing what he should be proud of, not knowing what language he should speak, now knowing whether to completely accept what Anglo people had been telling him and forget his Mexican identity, or where he should listen to what his parents and perhaps other people have said and be proud of his Mexican identity (Edvia Stanfield,1970).

Mexican-American children have been retained in the primary grades until they learn English.  Dr. George I. Sanchez, School of Edudcation of the University of Texas at Austin, made a plea for bilingual education to the Southwest Intergroup Relations Council (Stanfield) 1

    It is normal practice to retain Spanish-speaking children in the first grade for two or even three years because of deficiency in English, while instruction goes on entirely in English.

He added that this policy is psychologically ruinous and using English as the only language of instruction has caused the Mexican-American social and psychological problems.   Manuel Ramirez (1969) points out that fear of envy, as well as fear of being accused of discarding the values of the folk culture for those of Anglo society, also discourages the Mexican- American child's motivation to excel in school.  Even the practice of using English outside the classroom is ridiculed by peers as an attempt to become anglicized. 

The result of such criticism is an apsect of what Wallace Lambert (1963) has termed anomie, a feeling of not comfortably belonging in one social group or the other.  Ramirez is quoted by Stanfield where he says:

    . . .  students that have identified with the anglo culture and rejected the Mexican-American culture experience a lot of conflicts with their parents.  They become alienated from their parents.  They experience a lot of health problems and guilt and anxiety.

Using Spanish in the classroom would enhance the Mexican-American's new respect, enlightenment, effectiveness, and integrity.  Manuel Guerra (1967) explain it thus:

    When Spanish and English are used without restraint in the classroom, without stigma, without apologies, classroom atmosphere will lead to better Spanish and English learning.  By implication the DIGNITY OF CHILDREN  who come from Spanish-speaking homes will be ENHANCED, and their psychological desire to  learn English greatly strengthened.

Elizabeth Ott (1967)found that many of the youngsters from a non-English background are victims of economic poverty and products of illiteracy.  Some to not succeed because of poor attendance, a condition very ofrten caused by family migration.  However, by far the largest single cause of academic failure to achieve, she found, is the language barrier:

    Typically, Mexican-American children have been given the same dosage of instruction, including reading in English, as the native english-speaking child, ignoring the fact the the children from Spanish-speaking background had little of no facility in oral English.  The results have been disastrous in terms of HUMAN LOSS.

Early childhood bilingual education would help the Mexican-American in his transculturation to the dominant society.  McGill University carried out a series of studies concerned with language learning.  A social-psychological theory of language learning was one of the most important outcomes of these studies reported by Lambert and cited by Marie E. Taylor (1970) as follows:

    This theory, in belief holds that an individual successfully acquiring a second language (English in the case of the Mexican-American) gradually adopts various aspects of behavior which characterize members of another linguistic-cultural group.  the learner's ethnocentric tendencies and his attitude toward the other group are believe to determine his success in learning the new language.  His motivation to learn is thought to be determined by his attitudes and by his orientation toward learning a second language.

In studying the effects of bilingualism on the intellectual and social development of the child, J.P. Sofiati found most of the difficulties and retardations due to the bicultural aspect of the situation.  R.E. Davis (Miles V. Zintz, 1969) states that the basic problem in the Southwest is biculturalism, not bilingualism, because language expresses the values of a culture; culture, by determining behavioral practices and goals, limits the connotations and denotations of the language.

These findings support the cultural component which is called for in the guidelines for bilingual programs to be funded under ESEA Title VII.  If ou are to talk to a child, you must speak a language that he understands (Stanfield), and equally important is a bilingual and bicultural area is the acceptance, the respect, the appreciation, the wholesome self-image, imparted non-verbally, to Anglo and Mexican-American alike.

Some attempts have been made to remedy the language problem of the Mexican-American, but in most parts these attempts have been program in teaching English as a second language, which serve to bridge the student from Spanish dominancy to English dominancy.  Where these programs have been implement, they have given Spanish a NEGATIVE STIGMA in the eyes of the Mexican-American.

Stanfield points to the observations of Dr. Mildred Dickason, chairman of the Department of Anthropology at Sonoma State College.

    There is a big difference between two-way bilingual education and second language programs.  You can use any language as an inferior idiom to assist students to learn the superior majority language without conveying respect for the student of his language . . . But you cannot agree to teach the language . . . to these well-off upper-middle-class Anglo students without giving it respect.  You have redefined the Mexican-American student by teaching his language to Anglos.  You have also redefined teacher attitudes, which is the crux of the matter.  It is teacher attitudes more than any other factor which determine student outcome, for more.

Dr. Vera John expressed her views toward teaching English as a second language.  This report was made during the Early Childhood Bilingual Education Conference held at Yeshiva University in 1968:

    In dealing with non-English-speaking children American education has stressed the need to teach the dominant language more effectively to non-English-speakers.  Such techniques as teaching English as a second language are not designed to improve the child's cognitive development of his general language ability.  They are designed only to improve his English.  Bilingual education, on the other hand, is not merely a teaching technique to improve a child's English.  Through instruction in the child's native language and English it aims to correct the semi-fluency and ineffective communication which too often result from a child's limited function in both languages. 

Zintz suggest to classroom teachers of bilingual programs:

    A student should feel that his language is a good one, that it expresses his ideas and wishes adequately, and that he may be justly proud to use it.  All of the people in his extended family used the language which he has learned as his first language, and he derives his ego strength and sense of personal worth as a member of that particular ethnic group.

Our society has placed a premium on the acquisition of a second language only after the learner has completed his early education.  For example, most colleges require two years of foreign language to be taken during the high school years before admitting the student; most doctoral degrees require mastery of a second language, etc.  Traditionally a person who can speak more than one language is considered more cultured.  However, many would-be students give up trying to fulfill this requirement because it is difficult to develop an "ear" for foreign languages once a monolingual has passed the early education years. 

Many authorities agree on the early start of second language acquisition, among them Theodore Anderson, who says:

    These years (3 to 5) are valuable for language learning, for we know that children of this age can, under ideal conditions, absorb as many languages as are spoken in a given environment.

Taylor quotes from Psycholinguistics:

    There is a general opinion throughout the literature that this is a favorable period, because the second language will not compete directly with the first and the learner has not yet lost his mental plasticity . . .  The greater readiness f children than of older persons to learn the language of their environment is associated with the craving for membership in the group.

Most students who are starting school have not developed the fear of making oral mistakes which most adults have.  Being young seems to give them the literary license to make mistakes and still keep trying to perfect a language; however, once we get beyond the third or fourth grade, it becomes embarrassing to mispronounce a word.  In many adult foreign language classes the students feel very uncomfortable when they have to recite individually.  Children, however, possess a great desire to mimic and learn a foreign language.

The beginning of early childhood bilingual education is a step toward the realization that a citizen no longer needs to wait until he is a graduate student to speak a foreign language.  Eventually bilingualism will be desired y the English dominate parents and students and become an asset for people living in bilingual communities  When the Anglo majority begins to value bilingualism and seeks its development through bilingual programs, then the stigma will be removed from bilingualism  With this goal comes the promise that "culturally deprived" and "disadvantaged" will be discarded labels.  there is great hope for people at all socio-economic levels to have increased understanding and respect by changing a monocultural, monolingual way of life into a free society that develops human potential wherever it exits.  the overriding objective of bilingual school is to develop fully functioning balanced bilingual citizen in every community where there are non-English-speaking people and thereby enrich the lives of all concerned.

A student whose dominant language is not English must translate to the vernacular, creating a double track in order to arrive at the desired English response.  This mental process is in reality a shifting of tracks which is noticeable in the early stages by the deep concentration of the student while he translates the stimulus word-for-word and at times responds in English incorrectly.  some of these nonsense answers can be explained in case where one word in the question may have multiple meanings in English, but only one meaning in Spanish.  for example, let us say that the teacher is developing a concept of direct object.  The sentence to be used in this exercise is "the man scaled the mountain."  In word-for-word translation used in double tracking the Spanish-speaking student has only one image for the word "scale."  At this point the student is more concerned with how a man could lift a mountain to weigh it than he is about the direct object concept of  English grammar.

The sadness of this example is that the student HAS been able to translate every word in the sentence, but the message conveyed by the sentence puzzles him.  He does not realize the multiple use of the word "scale." In cases such as this the compound bilingual has a TIME and CONCEPT retarding factor which is created by his double-track thought process.  This example of interference illustrates the difficulty of multiple meanings, which is troublesome even to a monolingual; however, one can see where this would ge3 multiplied in the case of a non-English-speaker who has the additional interference of finding relationships within a new syntactic framework.  This mental process is described by Charles E., Osgood (1965) as compound bilingualism.

In cases where the student cannot translate the stimulus into the vernacular the concept being developed the the teacher may have a delayed response for an indefinite period of time.  continuous double tracking may frustrate the student to the point of exhaustion, which in turn may prevent further attempt to learn.  Prolonged exposure to failure may create a permanent block.

Another delaying factor in the learning of English as a second language has been cited by Zintz:

    . . . in cases where the teacher is impatient and/or misunderstanding the student develops insecurity instead of security, worry instead of competence, and makes the English language an enemy instead of a friend.

By creating such an emotional block the student may refuse to participate in the oral exercises necessary to acquire proficiency in the second language.

To reduce double tracking and hostile feelings toward second language acquisition bilingual programs use the mother tongue as a vehicle of instruction.  At different times of the school day and using the second language the same concepts are presented in a review lesson.  Since the concepts have been presented earlier (in the vernacular), it is believed that the student will be able to follow the instructions with greater ease, even though the concepts are reviewed in his second language.  In this manner the program attempts to inculcate in the student what Ott describes as two AUTOMATIC, INDEPENDENT, and SELF-RESPECTING systems, which define him a coordinate bilingual. 

Coordinate bilingualism enables the individual to function efficiently, independently, and with dignity in either linguistic environment.  He is condition to respond directly to any stimulus, much in the same way that one responds to the traffic signal lights.  The response is instantaneous without going through the process of matching the colors with the muscle reaction or rationalizing the reaction accordance with the color of light.

Ott explains it further in the following manner:

    When language teachers urge their student to try to think in a foreign language, they mean to say that the students should code their intensive behavior as directly as possible into the foreign language responses, without there being an intervening role for native language responses.

Achievement testing of a bilingual education program is difficult for the lack of reliable instruments; not enough testing has been done yet.  However, the measurements that have been taken indicate that bilingual education does not interfere with achievement in the basic curriculum.  A study of mathematics achievement in the Laredo, Texas, bilingual program showed that those who learn math in two languages do better than those instructed in only one language.  Studies of the Miami program indicate that students in a bilingual program at least do as well as others in the standard subjects, means-while attaining the advantages of a second language (Stanfield).  if non-English-speakers are achieving as well as English-speakers, as these studies indicate, then one of the objectives of bilingual education is being met.

More important is the enhancement of humanization which bilingual-bicultural education programs offer for the Chicano.  It is envisioned that the scope effect will result in developing with in the Chicano community a high synergy society.

Bibliography:

Carroll, Herbert A. Mental Hygiene: the Dynamics of Adjustment.  Englewood Cliffs, Jn.J.: Prentice  Hall, Inc. 1959.

Christian, Cuester C.  "The Acculturation of the Bilingual Child,: The Modern Language Journal,   69 (March  1965): 160-165.

Fishman, Joshua A. Bilinugal Education in Sociolinguistic Perspective.  Address at the Fourth Annual Convention of 
      Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Language, San Francisco, California, March 20, 1970.

Gaarder, Bruce A.  "Organization of the Bilingual School," Journal of Social Issues, Vol. XXXIII, No. 2, 1967.

Guerra, Manuel H.  Language Instruction and Intergroup Relations.  Sacramento: Bureau of Intergroup Relations, California 
        Department of Education, 1967.

Lambert, Wallace E. "Psychological Approaches to the Study of Language: Part II: on Second Language Learning and Bilingualism,"
        Modern Language Journal, 47 (March 1963): 112-121.

Osgood, Charles E. (ed.)  Psycholinguistics, a Survey of Theory and Research Problems., Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1965.

Ott, Elizabeth H.   A Study of Levels of Fluency and Proficiency in Oral English of Spanish-Speaking School Beginners.  
        Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 1967.

Ramirez, Manuel.  Potential Contributions by the Behavioral Sciences to Effective Preparation Prgrams for Teacher of Mexican-American
     Children.
Las Cruces: New mexico State University, 1969.

Ruckar, W. Ray, Arnspiger, Clyde, and Bodbeck, A.M. Human Values  in Education. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co.,1969.

Stanfield, Edwin.  A Bilingual Approach: Education for Understanding.  Austin: Southwest Intergroup Relations council, Inc., 1970.

Taylor, Marie E.  An Overview of Research on Bilingualism. Sacramento: California Department of Education, 1970.

Zintz, Miles V.  What Classroom Teachers Should Know About Bilingual Education.  Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1969.

 

 

CULTURE

Latinos Conquer Broadway With "In the Heights"
CSUF Art Student Inspires Others
New "Amazing Journey" CD Play: "Portrait of Ten Women" explores AIDS 
Cinco de Mayo Cultural Exhibit, Texas 
Musicians Omar Sosa and John Santos Reunited  <<<<<what?
SolArte Art Gallery, Special Chicano Artist Exhibit
La Peña Music Programs for July 2008

 

 


Latinos Conquer Broadway With "In the Heights"
http://www.intheheightsthemusical.com   


"In the Heights" is a play about a new generation of Latinos who strongly identify with their parents' Spanish-language culture while simultaneously embracing urban street culture, which is mostly lived in English.

Latinos Conquer Broadway With 'In the Heights'
With the news that the salsa-merengue-hip-hop musical "In the Heights" had garnered 13 Tony Award nominations, eclipsing most-likely-to-succeed musicals like "Young Frankenstein" and "South Pacific," a buzz has begun about shifting tastes on Broadway. 

Hispanic Business Weekend Newsletter: June 13, 2008, Issue # 62

 
Over the decades Broadway has not been very welcoming to Latino theme productions. In fact only three Latino musicals have made it to Broadway. The wait appear worth the effort since In The Heights is up for 13 Tonys this Sunday - more than any other production. The music and lyrics are by Lin-Manuel Miranda who also stars in the musical. You see a number from In The Heights at broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=565362 and you can watch the Tony on Sunday, June 15th on CBS.
 
If you can't make it to Broadway, consider getting the cast CD. It includes 23 numbers and captures the feel of the musical. You can order it at www.sh-k-boom.com
 





Don't forget to check out our HM101 Podcasts on timely  
media and marketing topics. We keep them short and 
insightful. LPN provides new Podcasts on the site every week.
 
Un abrazo, Kirk Whisler
Hispanic Marketing 101 
email: kirk@whisler.com
voice: (760) 434-1223
Latino Print Network overall: 760-434-7474
web: www.hm101.com
Podcast: www.mylatinonetwork.com
Volume 6, Number 18     June 11, 2008  



TONY AWARDS,  June 16  . . . .

Volume 6, Number 19 June 16, 2008 

For the first time EVER, a Latino themed musical scored big at the 2008 Tony Awards. In the Heights took home the Best Musical, Original Score for Music and Lyrics, Choreography, and Orchestrations Tonys at last nights awards. I hope all of you got to watch Lin-Manuel Miranda rapping his acceptance speech for Best Original Score - it was amazing. All our congrats to Lin-Manuel and everyone involved. 

I'm sure it will not be long before Hollywood is calling and we'll see a film version of the musical. For now go to www.InTheHeightsTheMusical.com  for tickets, the CD and more information. 



 


CSUF Art Student Inspires Others
Designs art exhibit on display now
By Mimi Ko Cruz, OC REGISTER, May 9, 2008



Alexandra Duron, exhibition designer, poses with her design for the 
Querer es Poder: 50 Examples CSUF photo exhibit during a reception at Santa Ana City Hall.   Photo by Kelly Lacefield

 

Alexandra Duron wants to promote cultural understanding through art. As the exhibition designer on "Querer es Poder: 50 Examples," a traveling photo exhibit of 50 of Cal State Fullerton's successful Latino alumni, she is helping to do just that. Querer es Poder is Spanish for "if you have the desire, you can achieve." The exhibit, which debuted at Santa Ana City Hall in March, is being shown at Fullerton City Hall now through May 15. It aims to motivate young people to attain a college education.

Q.What do you think about the exhibit?
A.I think "Querer es Poder: 50 Examples" is so inspirational for the Latino community and for anyone who aspires to achieve great things in life. I am still in awe of what these 50 people have accomplished. One of my favorite parts of this experience has been to watch the public interact with the exhibit, especially parents with their children. I hope visitors take the experience of what they read about these people and the positive visual examples they see, and encourage the people in their own lives to pursue their goals."

Q.What are your goals?

A.I am keeping my mind open to different possibilities as far as career plans, but I would definitely like to be involved in curating exhibitions, working with a museum's collections and perhaps opening my own gallery someday.

Q.How do you see yourself contributing to the world?

A. I plan to take what I'm learning as an exhibition design student at Cal State Fullerton and apply it to exhibitions that encourage an understanding of different cultures. I hope to organize exhibits in the future that teach people or awaken them to new ideas.

Q.Why?

A.I think it's important for people to be introduced to cultures outside of their own and ideologies they might not be familiar with, in order to better understand and respect the world around them. Art exhibitions provide a firsthand experience for people, enabling them to become acquainted with cultures that are geographically distant, while also introducing them to ideas that differ from their own. People often have pre-conceived ideas about unfamiliar cultures, and art exhibitions can open their minds to a new way of thinking about them.

Q.Who inspires you and why?

A.My parents, sister, extended family and boyfriend. They're all very hard-working people with unique talents, goals and life experiences. We're all very close and we all support each other. My parents have always encouraged me in all my endeavors, educational and otherwise.

Q.What turned you on to art?

A.I've always loved art. Since I was a little girl, my parents always took me to museums. I've traveled to Europe twice, once to London as a student in a study-abroad program when I took art classes and I went to all the different museums. The classes I took were taught in the museums and the paintings were our textbooks. I remember one of my first visits to the Getty with my mom. We were looking at Van Gogh's "Irises" and I was inspired by his paintings.

Q.Who are your favorite artists today?

A. Mexican photographers Lola Alvarez Bravo and Graciela Iturbide. They have such powerful voices through their photography that shows in their choices of subject matter and in their treatments of their subjects. They are very strong women and I admire that. 
Contact the writer: 714-445-6687 or mfisher@ocregister.com

Sent by Ricardo Valverde RValverde@ochca.com


 
THE AMAZING JOURNEY OF JUAN DIEGO
The Sparkling New Musical Production!
Music, Lyrics, and Book by Luce Amen
New CD features 18 songs from the musical. 

It will be available online JUNE 18 - www.cdbaby.com. Or you can call now and leave your name and address. We'll send you info about how to order the CD via mail: 212-570-5577.

Our initial contact for possible participants at this meeting would be drawn from people we know.  If you are interested in being advised when such a meeting is scheduled, call 212-570-5577. Or, e-mail us here at the website: luceamen@amazingjjd.com.

 

"Portrait of Ten Women"

As HIV infection rates rise among women explores how Latinas deal with the disease by Rosalba Ruiz Orange County Register, CA

 

In "Portrait of Ten Women," ten Latinas share their stories of learning to live with HIV and AIDS, from feeling despair and facing society's disdain, to dealing with the prospect 
of death.

                                                                                                        Laura Palacios,  Photo: Rod Veal, OC Register
                                                                                         

The play is a production of Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble, an Orange County non-profit troupe that seeks to create awareness about important social issues through the visual and performing arts.

Plays about health issues, ranging from Alzheimer's disease to AIDS, are becoming more popular as groups seek new ways to tell familiar stories.

"When I read the script, I knew I was going to make a difference," says actress Ingrid Marquez about her decision to take this project on as her directorial debut. "For me that's what my art is all about. I had been entrusted with an important message I had to share."

Nationally, the proportion of AIDS diagnoses among women has increased since the beginning of the epidemic, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The latest figures indicate that women represented 26 percent of new AIDS diagnoses in 2005, compared to 11 percent of the new cases reported in 1990.

Contact the writer: rruiz@ocregister.com714-704-3764
Sent by Ricardo Valverde RValverde@ochca.com

 

 

        
A Texas Cinco de Mayo Cultural Exhibit

We had our annual Cinco de Mayo celebration here at St. Luke's, and it was a success!  Sen. Mario Gallegos (Texas) was our guest speaker… Music, food and a taste of our culture…  These are some photos of our display

Alex Lopez alopez@sleh.com 

 




 



33rd Anniversary special was held at La Peña Cultural Center Musicians Omar Sosa and John Santos Reunited  


Omar Sosa and John Santos, reunited in a rare duo presentation for the first time in over six years, will share the spiritual/political/musical elements that drive their music. Their debut recording, Nfumbe: For The Unseen, was recorded live at La Peña in 1998. La Mar was recorded in the studio with special guests in 2000. They toured as a duo in Europe, the Caribbean, and the US, and will once again bring their highly acclaimed collaboration to La Peña. This presentation is part of Omar Sosa's residency with the San Francisco International Arts Festival.

Omar Sosa
Born and raised in Camagüey, Cuba, Omar Sosa is one of the most versatile jazz artists on the scene today: composer, arranger, producer, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. He fuses a wide range of world music and electronic elements with his native Afro-Cuban roots to create a fresh and original urban sound - all with a Latin jazz heart. On stage, Omar is a charismatic figure, inspiring his fellow musicians with his dynamic playing and improvisational approach to the music - an approach full of raw emotional power and humor. Omar invariably inspires audiences to their feet and to join him in chorus vocals, heightening the sense of spontaneity and connection.

John Santos
Four-time Grammy nominee, John Santos is one of the foremost exponents of Afro-Latin music in the world today. Born in San Francisco, California, John was raised in the Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean traditions of his family; surrounded by music. He is known for his innovative use of traditional forms and instruments in combination with contemporary music, and has earned much respect and recognition as a record and event producer. He has performed, recorded and studied with acknowledged masters of the Afro-Latin and Jazz idioms. This experience has provided a solid foundation for John's current groundbreaking work in bringing together styles, rhythms, concepts and artists from different generations.

Omar Sosa's residency will culminate with a Sunday performance at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival on June 8. For more information go to www.sfiaf.org

Supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, WESTAF, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and the LEF Foundation.

Sent by fena@lapena.org

La Peña Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley
510-849-2568
http://www.lapena.org/event/783


 

 

La Peña Music Programs for July 2008

La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, California 
diverse hybrid schedule of hybrid experimental performances.  
3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley 510-849-2568  www.lapena.org
Information: Fernando Torres at 510-849-2568 ext. 15 or fena(at)lapena.org

Press packages & music samplers may be available upon request. 
Information in English and Spanish can be found at http://www.lapena.org

Editor:  I have included their music schedule, amazed at the diversity. 


In April and May, La Peña's California theater troupe  commandeered BART trains and performed skits about love, compassion and balance to unsuspecting BART passengers.  


Sundays, July 6 and 20
Domingo de Rumba. Community participatory event. There are three basic types of rumba in Cuba: yambu is a slower, simpler style; the guaguanco, a moderate to fast style where the rhythm can be more complex and the columbia, the fastest style danced by solo males who perform to demonstrate their strength, agility, and sense of humor. 3:30-6pm.

Sunday, July 6
International music for human rights, to knock down walls & lift spirits with The Troublemakers Union. "Inter-Dependence 2008" is the theme; music of multi-cultural America is the sound; liberation and co-operation is the call, as we close the July 4th weekend. With experimental ingredients from Cuba, Mississippi, Peru, Trinidad, France, Puerto Rico, Native America and New York City...un-expect the expected. 7pm $10

Wednesday, July 9
The La Peña debut of Berkeley's own hometown heroes The Cataracs. Praised by XLR8R and The Fader for their electro-pop meets hip-hop style, these young innovators have created a sound that combines raw youthful energy with space-age melodies and Bay Area flavor. 8-11pm $10 gen. $7 students w/ID

Friday July 11
The Park Presents... Vol. 1. The Park, one of the Bay Area's most in-demand rhythm sections supplies the beats for Secluded Journalists, Nino Moschella, Melina Jones, Do Dat, Mia Zuniga, Gavin, & more in one continuous mix! With DJ's Haylow (Distortion2Static) & Phatrick. 9pm $10 general $7 students

Saturday, July 12
SF Bay Area's Cuban son fusion, Pellejo Seco skillfully blends strands of various musical genres from blues, rock, jazz, flamenco to hip-hop, with the unmistakable sound of Cuban Son and the yearning melodies of the Cuban troubadour.  Various critics have heralded Pellejo Seco as the next Buena Vista Social Club. 8:30-9:30pm: salsa dance lesson with Molly Vitorte. Show begins at 9:30pm $10 adv. $13 dr.

Sunday, July 13
Creative Voices, a chamber choir, presents iMaracaibera! From Venezuela comes the music of the Quinteto Contrapunto. Unpublished for nearly 40 years, the original arrangements for this group composed by Rafael Suarez, have been newly unearthed by Creative Voices music director Eduardo Mendelievich. Accompanied by Venezuelan cuatro player Maria Fernanda Acuña. 7pm  $18 dr. $15 adv. (Tix in advance at: creativevoices.org.)

Thursday, July 17
Women Drummers International presents: Women Drum Masters: Born to Drum. As part of a global movement of Women Drummers, the Born To Drum women's drum camp will take place at Walker Creek Ranch in Petaluma, July 18, 19, 20th. This concert will present the international faculty gathered for the camp. These amazing drummers include: Edwina Lee Tyler, Linda Tillery, Jackie Rago, Mabiba Baegne, Nydia Mata, Carolyn Brandy, Adwoa Kudoto, Virginia Lopez, Afia Walking Tree, Susu Pampanin, Michaelle Goerlitz, Janet Koike, Suki, and Elizabeth Sayre. Join us for this herstoric concert. Purchase tickets early! 8pm $22 adv. $25 dr. For more info: www.borntodrum.org

Friday, July 18
Inspiring & energetic evening of Afro-Cuban Jazz. Direct from New York! Descarga with Yosvany Terry: Ye-dé-gbé & the Afro-Caribbean Legacy and special guest artists. Yosvany Terry (saxes and chekere) and the Afro-Caribbean Legacy which includes Pedro Martinez (lead vocal and percussion), Osmany Paredes (piano), Ramon "Sandy" Perez (percussion), Felix "Pupi" Insua (dance), Roman Diaz (percussion), Yunior Terry (Bass). They will be joined in this jam session by Bay Area guest artists: Jesus Diaz, John Santos and Michael Spiro. 8pm  $12 adv. $15 dr.  (See also July 22)

Saturday, July 19
Hip-hop. Ill Ones Present: The Function, the Bay Area's Foremost Soiree of Swagger Featuring: League 510, Bracy & ID, Do DAT. Doors: 8pm Show: 9pm $7 Student w/ID. $8 General before 9:30pm.

Tuesday, July 22
Lecture-Demonstration with Yosvany Terry: Ye-dé-gbé & the Afro-Caribbean Legacy. In this program, Yosvany and the group will demonstrate Afro-Cuban folkloric rhythms, in particular from the Arará tradition. The artists will also demonstrate and discuss how they approach melodic, harmonic and rhythm to integrate the folkloric rhythms to Jazz music. 7pm $10 adv. $12 dr.

Thursday, July 24
Speak the Music. Are you ready for Beat Boxing like you never knew existed? This show will move you and blow you away with it's ever changing variety of showcases, group performances, DJ mimic, live looping, scratch guitar, open mic, special guests, and slam poets. Speak the Music is the craziest and most awesome expressions of sound you will ever hear or see. Performers include but are not limited to: Butterscotch, Soulati and Infinite from Felonious, Syzygy, Eachbox, Monkstilo, Constant Change, Cornbread, D.C., Icebox, Tim Barsky, The Genie, Maximillion and more. You have to see it to believe it. 8pm $8  (all ages)

Friday, July 25
Celebrate Peruvian Independence Day! Come and dance with Rosa Los Santos performing music from Peru and Latin America. Special guests: Fernanda Bustamante, De Rompe y Raja, members of "Nostalgia", Augusto Sandoval, Nicolas Rabanal, and Carlos Britto. 8:30pm $15 adv. $18 dr.

Rosa's parents are Chalacos (from Callao Port). She was raised in Maranga  a neighborhood located in San Miguel district of Lima.  Since she was a child, Rosa was interested in Art, and singing always has been her main inclination. After finishing high school, she followed her dreams and left her radio speaker training for a career in Music. Rosa was a former  member of the musical group Fandango. Her life as a professional singer started in 1991.

Saturday, July 26
Celebrate the 26 of July, a day commemorated in Cuba as the beginning of the start of the Cuban Revolution that led to the overthrow of the dictatorship of Batista. With that historic date in mind, lets dance to the music of ¡Tito y su son de Cuba! playing authentic Cuban dance rhythms rumba, guaracha and son montuno. 9:30pm $12 gen. $10 (students W/ID and seniors)

"Tito" plays a Cuban instrument similar to the guitar, called the "Tres". He studied with Tres master Papi Oviedo of the Buena Vista Social Club and then with the greatest guitarist in Cuba, Octavio Sanchez Cotán. He has played with such famous Cuban groups as Conjunto Estrellas de Chocolate, Aribu Quartet and Chapotin y sus estrellas, all from Havana, Cuba. Before leaving Havana, "Tito" founded and played with the Nuevo Conjunto de Arsenio Rodriguez, a group carefully structured to represent the music of the famous Cuban tresero Arsenio Rodriguez. More info on Tito: http://www.titoysusondecuba.com/

Sunday July 27
Folk This! and Friends Presents a tribute to Utah Phillips. Join Folk This! and friends at a tribute concert honoring the late Utah Phillips, singer, songwriter, storyteller, anarchist, railroad tramp, and defender of the homeless and working people everywhere. "I thought I knew all the revolutionary songs there were, but these folks just taught me five new ones." Utah Phillips on Folk This! 7pm $10

Utah Phillips, a seminal figure in American folk music who performed extensively and tirelessly for audiences on two continents for 38 years, died Friday, May 23, 2008 of congestive heart failure in Nevada City, California a small town in the Sierra Nevada mountains where he lived for the last 21 years with his wife, Joanna Robinson. http://www.utahphillips.org/

Thursday, July 31
Saul Kaye unveils his Jewish Blues Music on this night in July. Internationally touring Singer-songwriter Saul Kaye has taken a journey into his roots and dipped them into the African American Blues Tradition. Come out this night to hear what he discovered. 8-10pm $10 all ages More info on Saul: http://www.saulkaye.com/


Anti-Spanish Legends

Policy Summit on Latino Higher Education
Lo que se quedo en el Tintero: What did not get out of the Inkwell
La Leyenda Negra/The Black Legend
The Tree of Hate Awareness Initiatives





Report on the Policy Summit on Latino Higher Education
University of New Mexico , June 5-7, 2008  
By Felipe de Ortego y Gasca and Gilda Baeza Ortego

Dr. Ortego y Gasca is Scholar in Residence, Western New Mexico University  
Dr. Baeza Ortego is the University Librarian , Western New Mexico University  

 

 

Billed essentially as a Policy Summit on Latino Higher Education, the gathering was 
a “call of urgency” to a national crisis in Latino higher education and “its national economic impact.” For the summit organizers, the crisis is engendered by the low rates of Latino students in institutions of higher education and their equally low rates of graduation. In other words, the crisis is one of Latino recruitment, retention, and graduation.  The concern of the summit organizers is that low graduation rates of Latinos from institutions of higher education reflects a static educational growth of Latinos in the United States that not only impacts their economic progress but also impacts the economic well-being of the nation with such a large population unprepared for the exigencies of a future requiring a citizenry trained for those exigencies and intellectual challenges. The fear is that lack of parity for Latinos in higher education will leave their growing number as an underclass not benefiting from the gains of national economic progress. In other words, without an equitable egress of Latinos with professional degrees from institutions of higher education, Latinos will be relegated to a workforce of “last resort.” Latino leaders see this situation as an extension of a “plantation mentality” rife with elitism and exclusion.  

Participation in the Policy Summit on Latino Higher Education was limited to 200 Latino invitees (educators, appointed and elected officials, students, faculty, researchers, professional organizations, public and private non-profits, governmental, business, commerce and corporate representatives from throughout the Southwest and other parts of the country). The aim was to have this Latino leadership deliberate on “structural and programmatic change through a policy development process that enhances educational and economic opportunities for Hispanic and Latino students and [their] communities.”  

In a compelling opening presentation anent this crisis, Dr. William “Bill” Flores, Deputy Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Higher Education, hit the nail squarely on the head entitling his remarks “Avoiding the Coming Precipice: Why Improving Latino Educational Performance is Critical to the Future of the U.S. Economy—Closing the Gaps, Doubling the Numbers.”   Flores ’ warning is “if the education gap between whites and Latinos is not addressed it could cost the U.S. economy billions and reduce the U.S. productivity rate by 50%, as well as competitiveness.” According to Margaret Spelling, U.S. Secretary of Education, “90% of the fastest growing jobs in America today require some college education.”  

This is the reality, Flores reminded the summit participants: “Latinos drop out of highs school at higher rates than whites, fewer go on to college, and fewer still earn college degrees.” In just 40 years demographers like Steven Murdock project that Latinos will be 25% of the American population (1 out 4 Americans will be a Latina/o). In some places Latinos are already the majority population. By 2040 Latinos will be 65% of the Texas population. The stumbling block is the Latino high school drop out rate. At the moment 52% of Latino high school students do not complete high school. While this is better than the drop out rate of Latinos in 1970 when the drop out rate was over 75% (Ortego, “Montezuma’s Children,” The Center Magazine, November/December, 1970), the situation is still untenable.  

Despite many risk factors like poverty, low-achieving schools, tuition costs, and racism, Flores contends that Latinos must double their numbers in institutions of higher education in order to achieve economic equity with whites. To grapple with these risk factors and to formulate strategies for policy change apropos Latinos in higher education, summit deliberations were structured into four strands each charged to come up with consensual policy recommendations (appropriate to the strand) to deal with the crisis of Latinos in higher education.    

STRAND DELIBERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS  

1. Latinos and the Crisis in Higher Education:  

Strand members discussed crises at their institutions and explained their practices in resolving the crises. All agreed on the need for alternative solutions to institutional intransigence in overcoming these crises. There was unanimous agreement for Latinos to develop their own institutions of higher education comparable to historically black colleges and universities. Members also agreed on the need for high schools to be more pro-active in spurring Latinos to complete high school and the need for early college interventions in the public schools. The group concluded that Institutions of higher education should be more aggressive in their recruitment of Latino students, and be more conscious of strategies to retain them, and to facilitate their graduation.  

2. Latino Faculty and Administrative Leadership in Higher Education:

Leadership for institutional change is crucial in higher education considering the magnitude of the problem. Discussion focused on the need “to speak up” with focus and passion. Latino presence in institutions of higher education has progressed minimally, particularly in administration—4% increase in 40 years. But increasing the number of Latino faculty and administrators in institutions of higher education does not necessarily mean improvement or progress for Latinos unless those Latinos in administration are “change agents” who “will redefine education across the board” in order to promote Latino progress in higher education Group also discussed the need for Latino cohesion of “town and gown” and “speaking truth to power” as well as closing the Latina/o gender gap.  

3. Impact of Immigration on Latinos and Higher Education:  

Discussion of immigration by the group ranged from concern about education for undocumented Latinos to a clarion call for immigration reform in the United States and the public realization that “migration is a global issue.” The tenor of expressions from the group synapsed to a round of discussion about “fear of speaking out” and the need for courage by Latinos in confronting the issues facing Latinos in institutions of higher education.  The group returned to the vitriol in the public media about undocumented workers in the United States , with the focus on how to convince the public that educating the undocumented in the U.S. is economically beneficial to the country. Closing discussions focused on alignment and mobilization for change via Latino groups.  

4. Higher Education and Latinos in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM):  

Group deliberations in this area started with the proposition that the United States is “falling further and further behind China, India, and the rest of the world in terms of producing Scientists and Engineers” and the dearth of Latinos in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Foreigners are receiving more degrees in these areas than Latinos. The group focused on “potential solutions” to increase the number of Latinos in STEM; and the need to “build our education systems to produce more [STEM] professionals.” Discussion covered the roles of institutions, government, and the corporate sector in helping to ameliorate the shortage of Latinos in the STEM professions. In 2005, Latinos comprised only 3% of PhD’s in the STEM fields.  

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS:  

In assembly, each strand presented 9 policy recommendations to the Summit participants who critiqued the recommendations and helped to whittle them down to 3 recommendations per strand. The 12 assembly-refined recommendations were forwarded to the Summit Planning Committee for development into policy recommendations [they are forthcoming].  

LO QUE SE QUEDO EN EL TINTERO—WHAT DID NOT GET OUT OF THE INKWELL:

The expression “lo que se quedo en el tintero” literally means “what was left in the inkwell” or “What did not get out of the inkwell.” Symbolically, the expression refers to “what was left unsaid” or “what was excluded.”  

In many ways, the Policy Summit on Latino Higher Education was a recapitulation of historic complaints by American Latinos about exclusion—complaints about their exclusion in the fabric of American society despite their long-term presence in the United States and their growing numbers in the American population. Latinos have been part of the United States since 1776 when Sephards (Hispanic Jews) became part of the United States —having been Dutch colonists of New Amsterdam which became New York .  When the United States acquired the Louisiana territory and New Orleans , the Hispanic citizens of that purchase became Americans (having been French briefly when Napoleon acquired the territory from Spain ). And again when the United States acquired Florida in 1819, the Hispanic settlements of that region became Americans. In 1848, Mexicans who came with the Mexican Cession (a territory larger than Spain , France , and Italy combined) became Americans. After the Spanish American War of 1898, Puerto Ricans became Americans. Hispanics are not newcomers in the United States . They have been part of the American fabric since the beginning.  

Because of exclusion, Latinos are still in the tintero despite the efforts of some Latinos to get the Latino story onto the public pages of record: texts and countertexts. Not only do Latinos need to be on the public pages of record, they need to be present in all the spheres of public life in the United States , from holding public offices to the classrooms of schools and colleges and universities to the boardrooms of corporations.  

Texts—especially textbooks—still give only passing reference to Latinos and their contributions to American society. Outlets for Latino creativity and scholarship are minimal. There are only a handful of Latino publishing houses. Indeed there are more Latinos being published by mainstream American presses, but that number is miniscule in terms of their numbers in the American population—50 million (counting Puerto Rico) or about 16% of the population; roughly 1 out of 6 Americans is a Latina/o. Of the 50 million Latinos in the American population, two-thirds are Mexican Americans, about 32+ million (2 out of 3 American Latinos are Mexican Americans); 8 million are Puerto Ricans (counting the population of the island), 2 million are Cuban-Americans, and 8 million are American Latinos from countries other then Mexico and Cuba, and Puerto Rico (territorial Americans).  

Countertexts—the stories of Latinos by Latinos—have helped to dispel the stereotypes of American Latinos engendered by monolithic mainstream texts. Some countertexts have been described as Latino texts that identify the enemy, praise the people, and promote the revolution. In the main, though, countertexts have been effective in promoting positive images of American Latinos.  

At the moment, the biggest obstacle facing American Latinos is adverse public opinion emanating from immigration issues fueled by nativism and jingoism.

 
Editor:  For further information on this topic, please contact Dr. Felipe de Ortego y Gasca directly. 
ortegop@wnmu.edu

Select Bibliography of Works on Latinos by Felipe de Ortego y Gasca 

[Complete bibliography includes hundreds of works in various genres—prose, poetry, fiction, drama, song, reviews—as well as numerous critical pieces on major British and American literary figures like Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, Browning, Melville, Faulkner, Steinbeck. From 1972 to 1982 Dr. Ortego was Associate Publisher of La Luz Magazine ( Denver ); and from 1983 to 1992 he was Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The National Hispanic Reporter ( Washington , DC ).]
 

With a warm thank you to Dr. Felipe de Ortego y Gasca who has agreed to write a series on the historical defamation of all things Spanish.   Below is the first in the La Leyenda Negra series.


 


LA LEYENDA NEGRA/THE BLACK LEGEND
HISTORICAL DISTORTION, DEFAMATION, SLANDER, LIBEL, AND STEREOTYPING OF HISPANICS

By Felipe de Ortego y Gasca
Scholar in Residence, Western New Mexico University ; Professor Emeritus, Texas State University System—Sul Ross

June 27, 2008 (Number 1 in a series on La Leyenda Negra)
 

I was having dinner, not too long ago, with a group of librarians at an ALA conference in Philadelphia when the conversation turned to Hispanics apropos some new titles just published about the Spaniards in North America when one of the librarians remarked off-handidly that the Spaniards didn’t really do much with North America other than to desecrate it in their search for gold. And how did she know that, I asked. Whereupon she responded that it was well documented. Well-documented indeed!

      Hispanics in general, and American Hispanics (U.S. Hispanics) in particular, have been the butt of historical distortion, defamation, slander, libel, and stereotyping in an unbroken string of public perceptions since the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Queen Elizabeth lost no time 
in turning the inglorious Spanish defeat into a major public relations campaign against the Spaniards. The result has been a 420 year assault on the Hispanic character. Never mind that it was the weather that defeated the Spanish Armada of the most powerful nation at the time, not 
the English navy.

      Some 36 years earlier in 1552, Bartolomé de las Casas, Bishop of Chiapas, had penned a blistering account of the Spanish treatment of the indigenous people the Spanish crown claimed possession of entitled A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies. As a tribute to his work de las Casas has been called Champion of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas , and his work has been considered an anti-imperialist tract against the Spanish enterprise in the Americas .

      Using de las Casas’ work as fodder, the English crown spun a yarn about the Spaniards that persists to our day. Spaniards were characterized as “inherently barbaric, corrupt, and intolerant; lovers of cruelties and bloodshed.” According to one source, “painting the Spanish as cruel and avaricious became an integral portion of the patriotic duties of pamphleteers of London , Frankfort , and France .”  Thus emerged The Black Legend, equating Spaniards as “black-hearted,” in league with the prince of darkness himself. Protestant Europe seized this opportunity to paint Spaniards as repressive, inhuman, and barbaric.

      Unfortunately, the origin of the Black Legend is attributed to de las Casas. Over the next century, 42 editions of A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies appeared in Holland , England , France , and Germany . In actuality, A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies,  did not accuse the Spanish monarch of genocide (as has been imputed) but sought to instruct the King about better governance in the crown’s colonial enterprise. This is not to dismiss the colonial intolerances of imperialism. The English enterprise in the Americas was not any better or beneficent than the Spanish enterprise in the Americas . They were both imperial powers. The Spaniards were not any more cruel than the English.

      Abetting inculcation of The Black Legend in the consciousness of Protestant Europe were references to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 as proof of Spanish iniquity and degeneracy, laying aside the historical facts that in 1290 England expelled its Jews and in 1306 France expelled its Jews. Anti-Jewish sentiment was rife throughout Europe . Another charge leveled against Spain to buttress The Black Legend was the “Inquisition” and the burning of hundreds of thousands of Protestant heretics, assertions that have no basis in historical fact. The Inquisition was real in Spain ; as real as it was in England and France .

      Demonization of Spaniards transmogrified into demonization of Hispanics in general. Maria de Guzmán calls this “ Spain’s long shadow.”

 

       

 


The Tree of Hate Awareness Initiatives

 

Dr. Henry J. Casso and Dr. Tom Chavez, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, are guiding an initi at ive to make the public at -large aware of the important seminal public at ion, “The Tree of H at e,” written by Dr. Wayne Powell of the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1971. Their efforts are aimed especially at the Hispanic popul at ion, with emphasis on scholars, students, both at the university and high school levels, and community leaders, who are not aware of the significance of Powell’s book in rel at ion to the st at us of the L at ino community in America .

It is Dr. Casso’s hypothesis th at major public affronts against the Hispanic community in modern times: the massive deport at ion of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the 1930s,* the current mistre at ment of undocumented workers n at ionwide,** culmin at ing in 2007 with the PBS/Ken Burns exclusionary depiction of World War II, have their roots in the myths, distortions and false depictions about the Hispanic heritage contained in Powell’s book.

A Planning Committee is actively recruiting 15 scholars and journalists who will be invited to develop working papers identifying contemporary events which can show the applic at ion of the findings of the Tree of H at e to these situ at ions.

In fall 2008, these selected writers will be fe at ured in a working Symposium wherein other academic and community leaders from various disciples will be invited to discuss and critique each paper.

Those selected to prepare Symposium papers will be asked to provide a current  bibliography, identify the minor and major research items which can be made available to Master and Doctoral candid at es for further research on the subject, and be willing to adapt the their paper for public at ion in book form.

Five other Symposiums, following the same form at , are projected to be held at major universities throughout the n at ion, with the aim of adding to the body of knowledge and for deeper understanding of the origins of present at titudes and misunderstanding of the historical presence and contribution of L at inos and L at inas to the development of America .

Two other Symposiums are being considered for convening at the University of Madrid and the University of Guadalajara so th at the implic at ions of Powell’s findings can be assessed, documented and dissemin at ed from a global perspective.

Because the book is now out of print, the University of New Mexico Press has offered to re-publish the work, so as to add to the body of knowledge and foster gre at er understanding of the causes of so many at tacks against L at ino communities n at ion-wide. UNM Press has scheduled re-public at ion for August 2008.

Anyone who wishes to submit pertinent inform at ion of events, writings, and other m at erials which appear to fall into this area of interest, or to recommend scholars, writers, or publishers who should be considered by the selection committee, please contact Dr. Henry J. Casso, Project Uplift, email projectuplift02@msn.com or phone, 505-294-4157.  

*    The Decade of Betrayal, Balderama, Rodriguez, UNM Press  
**
  Unpublished article, Dr. Jose Armas, 2008  

 

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
Sept 15 to Oct 15

Hispanics Americans in the United States Army, produced by Dan Arellano
Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps by Tony Santiago
Hispanics in the United States Navy by Tony Santiago
National Hispanic Heritage Month Home

         

Hispanics Americans in the United States Army

4-minute CD  
produced by Dan Arellano, 
assisted by Richard Arriola
Music by Bobby Pulido

 
soldiers video 
http://www.somosprimos.com/Hispanics in the Army.wmv

 


Editor: With warm and abundant thank you to Dan Arellano.  Hispanics Americans in the United States Army was produced at my request.  It is a very beautiful resource that can be used in the classroom, or for any gathering honoring our military.  (Frankly I've cried every time I watch it.) Since it is only 4 minutes, it could be used to open or close a meeting, or to stimulate discussion.  

   


                   Resources by Tony  (The Marine)  Santiago    
          
         
  
Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps
http://www.somosprimos.com/tony/tonymarines/hispanicmarines.htm
Hispanic marines

Hispanics in the United States Navy
  http://www.somosprimos.com/tony/tonynavy.htm
Hispanic sailors 

 


Editor: 
Our wonderful Tony who has been consistently preparing articles honoring our military has given Somos Primos permission to include these two extensive studies originally prepared and posted on Wikipedia.  Look below for a photo of Tony with the Clinton family.

Tony has given Somos Primos readers to download his work and share. Please remember always to give credit to Tony (The Marine) Santiago. 


 These links to the programs will remain permanently on the Somos Primos website, Celebrating Hispanic Heritagehttp://www.somosprimos.com/heritage.htm

 

Sent by Walter Herbeck  
wlherbeck@sbcglobal.net

 

Military and Law Enforcement Heroes

Tony the Marine Santiago Recognized by Puerto Rican Senate
City of Laredo Plane, Crew 7, 60th Squadron - 39th Bomb Group 
Honoring Heroes: Sculpture pays tribute to Company E
Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Cornejo takes command
Latinos/Latinas - Ultimate- Sacrifice, Part VI
Francisco Lovato, Defender of the Honor -Sacramento Area
Filipino Untold Story of WWII Baatan
Major Leonard A. Gonzales, U.S. Air Force
State Parks Searches for Purple Heart Recipients
     


Congratulations 
 

Tony the Marine Santiago Recognized 
 
for his dedication to honoring our Hispanic Military
by the Puerto Rican Senate
during the
"El Monumento de la Recordacion"
May 26, 2008 in Puerto Rico


Left to right, the Honorable Kenneth McClintock, President of the Puerto Rican Senate,
Senator Hilary Clinton, Tony Santiago, wife, Milagro Santiago, Chelsea Clinton,
 and former President Bill Clinton.

My dear friends,

I would like to share with you what happened in my recent trip to Puerto Rico. As you all know, I have written many articles about the contributions which Hispanics have made to the United States, out of love and with the intention of educating the public in general. I do not seek nor have I ever asked for any type of recognition. That is why I was surprised when the Senate of Puerto Rico presented me with a Resolution last November and that the President of the Puerto Rican Senate, the Honorable Kenneth McClintock, invited me to attend the unveiling of the names of Puerto Rico's fallen heroes in "El Monumento de la Recordacion" this Memorial Day with all expenses paid.

I went to Puerto Rico with my family and to my pleasure, was surprised to see how my island had changed in the last 18 years, it was wonderful. This humble servant was expecting to attend the ceremonies on Memorial Day as a simple spectator, therefore, I was totally unprepared to what happened to me and I would like to share this with my closest friends.

On Monday, May 26, 2008, I was publicly recognized by the Government of Puerto Rico as a Historian who has written the biographies of prominent Puerto Ricans who have served in the military. I was invited to the Puerto Rican Capitol Building and in the presence of my wife Milagros, members of the Puerto Rican Senate and the Camera, was presented with a gift by the President of the Puerto Rican Senate, the Honorable Kenneth McClintock. Also, present in my recognition was the former President of the United States Bill Clinton and his wife, New York State Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Brigadier General Hector Pagan, the Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army Special Warfare Center and School, presented me with a medal of excellence. I was also recognized in speech given by Mr. De La Luce, in representation of Luis G. Fortuño, the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States Congress, during the ceremonies held in front of the Capital Building in which the names of Puerto Rico's fallen soldiers were unveiled. When McClintock made his speech and mentioned my name, he made me stand up and I received the applause of those present.

As I have said before, I do not believe that I deserve such recognition's, but what really made me feel good was when my granddaughter and children told me how proud they were of me. I am sending a couple of pictures to share with you. 

Tony Santiago  a.k.a. Tony the Marine

 

CITY OF LAREDO WW II  AIRPLANE
Photo taken: April 10, 1945

 

 

Standing L to R:

S/Sgt Edmont D. Reinhold
Left Gunner
Sgt Edward T. Reilly
Tail Gunner 
Sgt Howard L. Reed
Right Gunner
T/Sgt Guy H. Eastham
CFC Gunner
1st Lt Daniel R. Jesser
Radar Observer
1st Lt Elmo F. Huston
Flight Engineer
1st Lt Ralph A. Hardin
Pilot
Capt Chester G. Juvenal
Airplane Commander
1st Lt William E. Badgley
Bombardier
Kneeling:
S/Sgt Richard H. Little
Radio Operator

Missing: 1st Lt. Lewis D. Barton, Navigator. He was hospitalized with a kidney infection that day.


A Brief History of Crew 7, 60th Squadron - 39th Bomb Group

Members were assigned to the crew in mid 1944 while at Smoky Hill Army Air Field in Salina, Kansas. They trained there and at Batista Field in Havana, Cuba until March of 1945.  

From Kansas they went to Mather Field in Sacramento, CA and then on to John Rodgers Navy Base in Hawaii. Their next location was Johnson Island and then on to Eniwetok, Kwajalein. Finally; North Field, Guam.

Chester Juvenal tells this about Crew 7's activity and the where abouts of "Old P-7" at the end of the war:

This may be helpful in trailing the where abouts of "City of Laredo": When the war was over the B-29s and their crews were to fly back to the USA. Realizing that anything could happen dealing with so many planes the plan was developed to send an especially fitted out B-29 to the Pearl Harbor area (John Rogers Air Base) to act as an "Air-sea Rescue Unit". Guess who got the duty? None other than P-7 with its sophisticated radar equipment.

We remained there on alert round the clock (mostly playing bridge) for the entire movement of "The Sunset Mission" as it was called; returning all flyable planes back to San Francisco. When our duty was complete our original orders were to fly the plane back to GUAM! Well, when that time came our flight engineer reported to me that the plane had a severe landing gear problem that would take some time to repair! As this was relayed to our headquarters on Guam, back came orders that when the gear was back in operation that the plane should be returned to the USA, following the a same procedure as the Sunset Mission. Needless to say the gear got operable in short order and back home we came, seeing the welcome home sign hanging from the Golden Gate bridge and upon landing at San Francisco and deplaning was the last time we saw the City Of Laredo". I think all of us were only interested in getting discharged and back home to civilian life. Let someone else take care of her!


For more information:  http://39th.org/39th/aerial/60th/crew07.html
Sent by Walter Herbeck, who received it from Norma Adamo  normaadamo@yahoo.com 



 




Honoring heroes: Sculpture pays tribute to Company E 
By Ramón Rentería / El Paso Times 
Article Launched: 06/05/2008 

Sculptor Julio Sánchez de Alba is creating a bronze memorial paying tribute to Company E, the only all Mexican-American company of World War II, many of whom were slaughtered by Germans while trying to cross the Rapido River in southern Italy during Jan. 20-23, 1944.  Company E, was a National Guard unit composed entirely of Mexican-Americans, most of them El Pasoans. (Photo by Mark Lambie / El Paso Times)

More than 3,000 American soldiers, including Capt. John L. Chapin and other El Pasoans, were killed during the battle at Rapido River, described by some historians as one of the worst tactical blunders in World War II.

"For me, it's a privilege to be able to portray something in which our Hispanic heritage has participated to make this great country," Sánchez de Alba said. "We earned the right to be Americans."

The city of El Paso selected Sánchez de Alba, a self-taught sculptor and native of Bolivia, to create the memorial, which he expects to complete in about 10 weeks. No date has been chosen for dedicating the memorial, but city officials said they hoped to get it done in middle to late summer.

Only a faded sign near the Chalio Acosta Recreation Center on Delta now recalls the World War II Army veterans of Company E, 141st Infantry, 36th Division. 

The company included 250 Mexican-American men, most of whom were from El Paso, including former students at Bowie High School and other El Paso schools.
Sánchez de Alba, 55, a former mechanical engineer, has earned a reputation in El Paso and across the United States for his highly detailed, life-size sculptures of African animals and other wildlife. The Company E memorial is his first major public art commission.

The sculptor is adding the finishing touches to the 14-by-8-foot bas-relief, mural-like sculpture of soldiers fighting at a treacherous river crossing, some of them dead or dying, the anguish of war and combat frozen on their faces. The final work will be cast in bronze at a foundry that Sánchez de Alba helped modernize in Juárez, about a 10-minute drive from his Downtown El Paso studio.

Before starting the art project, Sánchez de Alba researched what happened at the Rapido River crossing. He also borrowed and bought World War II era military gear to make sure the bronze sculpture was a realistic rendering.

"To me, whatever I'm doing has to be precise," he said. "Art is fantastic, but it demands a great amount of work and time and a lot of research."

Soldiers from El Paso played a crucial role in the battle, often described as a suicide mission. Capt. Gabriel L. Navarrete of El Paso returned wounded from patrolling enemy territory and warned his superiors that the Germans' strength was insurmountable. The battle, part of Allied forces' plans to seize Rome from German forces, was still launched, according to various sources.

South-West city Rep. Beto O'Rourke helped persuade the city to invest $85,000 in public art funds for the Company E memorial at the request of border journalist Joe Olvera, one of various El Pasoans behind the project.

"The story just really grabbed me. It is heartbreaking," O'Rourke said. "Beyond a little sign in a park, there was really nothing in our city to commemorate their sacrifice."

Only a few Company E survivors remain in El Paso.

The city opted to put the memorial near the Acosta Recreation Center on Delta after considering other choices, including Bowie High School. The sculptor is hopeful the city will erect signs on Interstate 10 directing motorists to the memorial site, which some people suggest is too isolated.

"One of the considerations was keeping it in South El Paso where many of these people came from," O'Rourke said. "If it makes sense to go somewhere else in the future, we could do that."

Javier Diaz, a decorated Korean War Marine Corps veteran, is part of the committee that pushed for the Company E memorial.

"It's something long overdue," Diaz said. "I admire these men because of what they did for our country. Now, more people will know about their sacrifices."

Ramón Rentería may be reached at rrenteria@elpasotimes.com;  546-6146.

About Company E
Company E was mobilized as part of the U.S. Army's 141st Regiment of the 36th Texas Division, soon after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The company trained at Camp Bowie in Texas and went on maneuvers in Florida, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

The company was sent to North Africa in April 1943 and later to Salerno, Italy. It became part of the Allied forces campaign to seize Rome from German forces.

A documentary filmmaker in 1978 put together a dramatization of Company E and its role in the disastrous Rapido River battle in southern Italy during World War II.

Surviving members of Company E went mostly unrecognized for many years. Last October, they were honored in Washington, D.C. by U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.  Source: El Paso Times archives.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_9484263?source=email

Sent by Roberto Camp
mexicomarketing@yahoo.com

Editor: In the August issue, you will read more of the tragedy.  Information sent by Rick Leal states:  "The Army brass tried to hush up the incident.  No names or identification of the unites who participated are mentioned in combat history publication of the 5th Army.

 

 


http://www.indiancountry.com/pix/1096410999_large.jpg



The warrior spirit 

Photo courtesy 
U.S. Army/Lance Q. Zedric 

Honoring Native soldiers 

American Indians 
of the Alamo Scouts 

Part two 


The Alamo Scouts were a top secret reconnaissance and raider unit that operated in the southwest Pacific during World War II and performed 108 missions without losing a single man, including two POW camp raids. They are recognized by the Army as a forerunner of the modern Special Forces. By some accounts as many as one-quarter of the enlisted graduates of the first Alamo Scouts training class were American Indian and served on operational teams, while the others returned to their units to utilize their special training. 

Sgt. Byron L. Tsingine, a Navajo from the Deer Water People Clan from Coppermine, Ariz., and Ssg. Alvin J. Vilcan, a Chitimacha from Louisiana, graduated from the first training class but returned to their units despite being selected to operational teams. Tsingine served another year as a scout in the 158th and was wounded on Luzon in early 1945. 

While with the 158th, Tsingine spoke with Navajo scouts from other units and passed on vital combat information, just as the more renowned Navajo code talkers of Marine Corps fame had done. 

''Tsingine and other Indians were invaluable,'' said Earl Newman, of the Service Company of the 158th. ''They would speak Navajo and confuse the Japanese. A Navajo was placed in each company and Tsingine communicated using the Navajo language when he did reconnaissance work. The Japanese never knew what we were doing and we were always a step ahead of them.'' 

''I knew Tsingine well from our time in the 158th,'' said Thompson. ''He was an excellent fellow and a fine soldier. I voted for him to be on my team.'' 

Other Alamo Scout graduates also served as code talkers. Sgt. Guy F. Rondell, a Lakota from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, was a graduate of the second Alamo Scouts training class and returned to the 302nd Recon Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Division. He was one of only 11 Lakota Sioux B3 code talkers who served during the war. Six served in the Pacific and five in Europe. 

''Pfc. Francis H. LaQuier of my team was a Chippewa from the White Earth Reservation in Early, Minnesota,'' added team leader Tom Rounsaville. ''He could draw a map that looked like an engineer production. His maps were so detailed and exact that they were part of our mission reports. He was an integral part of the team and was one of the finest soldiers I've ever served with.'' 

The unit assumed a central role in organizing large-scale guerrilla operations, establishing road watch stations, attempting to locate and capture or kill Japanese flag officers, and performing direct action missions, such as the Cabanatuan POW Camp liberation where they teamed with elements of the 6th Ranger Battalion and Filipino guerrilla units to liberate 513 POWs in a daring night attack. When not on missions, Alamo Scout teams provided bodyguard duty for Krueger and had specific instructions to kill the general if capture was imminent. 

Near the end of the war, Alamo Scout teams were preparing for the invasion of Japan, where they were slated to conduct pre-invasion reconnaissance of Kyushu as part of Operation Downfall, but fortunately the war ended. 

''Our perfect record wouldn't have lasted if we would have had to go to Japan,'' said Chief Zeke McConnell, a Cherokee from Bunch, Okla. who performed 13 operational missions in New Guinea and the Philippines as part of Littlefield Team. ''We would have lost a lot of men. It would have been near suicide.'' 

After the war, those scouts with enough service points went home, while others returned to their parent units or accompanied the 6th Army to Kyoto, Japan and joined the 6th Ranger Battalion for rations and quarters. Many former scouts remained in the military and saw service in Korea and Vietnam, and four went on to attain general officer rank. Until the mid 1980s, most of the Alamo Scout missions were classified top secret; the most recent was declassified in 1993. 

The contributions of American Indians to the Alamo Scouts and their warrior spirit were further evidenced by the unit's distinctive insignia. In late 1944, a contest was held at the Alamo Scout Training Center on Leyte to design a unique shoulder patch. Krueger approved the patch for wear in theater, but it was not approved by the Institute of Heraldry and had to be purchased independently. 

The final design featured a fully embroidered blue background with a red outer border and a wide white inner circle. Within the upper half of the circle appeared ''Alamo Scouts'' and within the bottom half, ''Sixth Army.'' The letters were fashioned in green, log-type script and symbolized the trailblazing nature of the unit. A depiction of the Alamo centered inside a white inner circle symbolized the bravery of the Alamo's original defenders, and an Indian head superimposed upon the Alamo represented silent reconnaissance. 

Although the true extent of Native participation in the Alamo Scouts likely will never be known, their legacy of outstanding service, quiet professionalism and toughness is secure. Their contribution to victory in the Southwest Pacific and other theaters during World War II has forever cemented their place among America's elite warriors and set a high standard for future generations to meet. 

'I'm proud to be a Native American and an Alamo Scout,'' said McConnell. ''But in the Alamo Scouts it didn't matter if you were Indian, Caucasian, Hispanic or Filipino. Our mission was to accomplish the mission, and we all did our part just like every other soldier. The men were tough, the training was tough, and the missions were tough. But I think our record speaks for itself.'' 

A record of 108 missions with zero casualties speak volumes. 
Identified American Indians who served in the Alamo Scouts: 

* Anthony J. Ortiz 
* Zeke McConnell 
* Virgil F. Howell 
* Robert T. Schermerhorn 
* Joseph A. Johnson 
* Joshua Sunn 
* Theodore T. Largo 
* Francis H. LaQuier 
* David M. Milda 
* Byron L. Tsingine 
* Alvin J. Vilcan 
Lance Q. Zedric is the author of ''Silent Warriors of World War II: The Alamo Scouts Behind Japanese Lines.'' He is a lecturer on military affairs and special operations forces, historian for the Alamo Scouts Association and co-founder of www.alamoscouts.org. 

by: Lance Zedric 
www.indiancountry.com



My Dear Friends,
I learned about the WWII Alamo Scouts, when I saw the PBS documentary of the Filipinos 1st & 2nd Infantry Regiments "The Untold Story Truimph".   I thought that maybe these stories would maybe help to gather Latino/Hispanic names that might have
served or rescued by these Alamo Scouts.  
Rafael Ojeda
http://www.alamoscouts.org/news/plaque/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamo_Scouts 
http://www.unitednativeamerica.com/alamo_scouts.html 


 

Wounded warrior leads medical battalion
Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Cornejo takes command

Photo By Elaine Wilson 
Wellington Daily News
Thu May 29, 2008 

Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Cornejo, who was injured in Iraq in 2007, speaks at his change of responsibility ceremony May 13 at the 187th Medical Battalion headquarters at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Cornejo assumed responsibility of the battalion from Master Sgt. Dwight Wafford. 

Fort Sam Houston, Tex. -  When Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Cornejo was wounded in Iraq, he had to return stateside for medical treatment, reluctantly leaving his comrades and mission behind.  But one thing that never left him was his desire to serve.  After three months of in-patient treatment and more than five months in rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center, Cornejo assumed responsibility of the 187th Medical Battalion from Master Sgt. Dwight Wafford during a ceremony May 13 at the battalion headquarters here. 
“Giving up never entered my thought process,” said Cornejo, speaking of his recovery. “It wasn’t if, it was when I was going to get back. I just wanted to know how fast I could get fixed so I could get back.”

Cornejo deployed with the 3rd Corps out of Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2006 as the chief medical NCO for the Corps staff. He was wounded Sept. 11, 2007, when the forward operating base he was stationed at in Iraq came under attack by mortar fire. He and 10 other Soldiers were wounded. 

“I suffered shrapnel wounds on the left side of my body and left shoulder,” he said. 
He underwent extensive physical rehabilitation at BAMC and is now working on building strength in his shoulder. 

Cornejo found out he was selected for command sergeant major while deployed, and, during his recovery at BAMC, was pleased to learn his assignment would keep him at Fort Sam Houston.

“I was very happy. Since I’m a medic, I’ve come full circle. I’m back where I was trained 20 years ago,” he said.

As the Battalion Command sergeant major, Cornejo has command responsibility over more than 450 instructors and nearly 6,000 Soldiers being trained throughout the year. The battalion is responsible for the logistics and training of eight Military Occupational Specialties, eight officer courses and nine additional skill identifiers.

Cornejo said he would like to bring lessons learned while deployed to his Soldiers. 
“My hope is to shed some light on past experiences to magnify the importance of basic warrior tasks each Soldier needs to know,” he said. “My goal is to provide realistic but safe training for our Soldiers.” 

During the ceremony, 187th Med. Bn. Commander Lt. Col. Michael Hershman thanked Wafford and his Family and welcomed Cornejo and his two daughters, Kayla and Jenna. 
“He knows what is at stake for our young Americans that we train each day,” Hershman said. “We look forward to him applying the lessons he learned in combat to take our field training and soldierization to new levels.”

Sent by Celestina "Tunie" Caudillo-Sparman  salsa_tunie@hotmail.com
and Juan Marinez  marinezj@anr.msu.edu

 

 

 

 

Latinos/Latinas   
Ultimate – Sacrifice

 Part VI

By Mercy Bautista-Olvera  

 

In the coming months this series “Latinos/Latinas Ultimate Sacrifice” will present the stories and contributions of heroes who have sacrificed their lives for United States . The reason for me to be interested in writing about Hispanics, who lost their lives in Wars, I want to be one of their voices. We do appreciate their sacrifice. It is my sincere belief and commitment, that these heroes are never forgotten. Take time to look at their faces, read their histories, and keep their spirit alive…  

Marine Cpl. Nicanor Alvarez 22, of San Bernardino, Calif., died on Aug. 21, 2004 result of enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq . Alvarez was assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton , Calif. Alvarez enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from Pacific High School . Family members were surprised, but the self-confident Alvarez, who was also known as Nick, always assured them he was fine. Nicanor married his girlfriend Sandra before going to Iraq without telling their families, the couple was going to tell their families when he came back. Military officials told his wife, of San Bernardino , that Alvarez was wounded in an explosion that went off near his vehicle and died while being transported to a hospital, said his brother, Ismael. He was to return from Iraq in October.

 

Marine Lance Cpl. Victor A. Gonzalez 19, of Watsonville , Calif. , died on Oct. 13, 2004 caused of enemy action in the Anbar province, Iraq . Gonzalez was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force of Camp Pendleton, Calif. Cpl. Gonzalez had earned the National Defense Service Medal.

 

Lance Cpl. Gonzalez was born in Salinas , California , lived in Pajaro before enlisting in the military in late October 2003. He graduated from Watsonville High School in 2003. He was a member of the high school soccer and cross-country teams. During high school, he was active in the Watsonville Police Department cadet program. He hoped for a career in law enforcement after military service.  

Marine Cpl. Jeremiah Allen Baro 21, of Fresno , Calif. , died November 4, 2004 of injuries sustained from enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq . Also killed was Lance Cpl. Jared P. Hubbard, Jeremiah best friend since childhood. Baro was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton , Calif.

Jeremiah Allen Baro was born in Santa Clara , CA . He graduated from Buchanan High School . He served his first tour of duty in Iraq as an infantry soldier in 2002. He returned to the United States and completed special training, graduating from Scout Sniper School at Camp Pendleton . He returned to Iraq in September of 2004, serving his country in Special Operations. “He was a wonderful son and brother. Jeremiah will be remembered for his infamous sense of humor and quick wit. He had a loving heart and gave everything to those he loved. His family will always know him as their "Boogie,” After the Marines, he wanted to become a firefighter and study business and Spanish in college.” "He wanted to do something special," said Kathy Ruelas. Marine Cpl. Jeremiah Allen Baro died alongside his childhood friend Jared P. Hubbard, both enlisted in the Marines together, trained to be snipers together and buried side by side. "I don't think Jeremiah would have made it if he had lived and Jared had died. One couldn't have come back without the other," said Baro's aunt, Marissa Baro-Garabito.     
 

Marine Cpl. Andres H. Perez 21, of Santa Cruz , Calif. , died on Nov. 14, 2004 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq , on the battle for Fallujah. Perez was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.    

 Andres H. Perez was a starting offensive guard in high school but his fancy footwork also made him a star on the dance floor. A 2001 high school graduate, he loved to sing especially the songs of mariachi rancheros. “He was just a really personable kid who was always willing to help others,” a former coach, Ron Mehuron said. “My brother “really loved the camaraderie, said his sister Elvira “Vita” Perez, 19 who followed her brother into the Marine Corps. “He was a very friendly person who made friends everywhere he went. It was never, It was never quiet when he was around he was the life of the party.” It was an understanding that Marine Cpl, Andres H. Perez had died in combat just as U.S. forces were crushing the remnants of the Iraqi insurgency in Fallujah. “Just knowing that we won’t get to see him again, it’s still kind of hard for everybody to believe,” said Vita Perez, who flew home Monday from Camp Pendleton CA to be with her parents HIpolito and Yolanda Perez, and older sister Sandra. Friends and family members recalled Perez as a hard-working athlete, a mentor to younger kids and a devoted friend.  
 

Marine Lance Cpl. Luis A. Figueroa 21, of Los Angeles ; died Nov. 18, 2004 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq . He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton , Calif. , 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton , Calif.

NOTE: I could not find any history on Marine Lance Cpl. Luis A. Figueroa, his death caused by enemy action, so I decided for a poem I found on God’s Marines website by an unknown author

 www.godsmarines.com

 FORGOTTEN SOLDIER
 Author unknown                                

He lives alone. In the hills and the trees.  
He bares his soul. To the cool mountain breeze.  
He talks in the Spirit. He listens to the Wind.  
They shield him from memories. Buried deep within.  
The world has forgotten. The Sacrifice he made.  
The scars he bears remind him. Of the high price he paid.  
Freedom is not given. But with blood, it has been bought.  
By warriors such as he. And the wars they fought.  
We can’t forget our warriors. Or let them die in vain.  
But with respect and honor. We can help ease their pain.  
Our freedom will be taken. If no one will defend.  
God bless our forgotten Warriors. Who live to fight again.


Marine Cpl. Joseph J. Heredia 22, of Santa Maria , Calif. , died on Nov. 20, 2004. Heredia was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton ; Heredia died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center , Germany , of wounds sustained Nov. 10 due to enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq .

"He was a leader," said David Parker, Heredia's agricultural economics teacher at Santa Maria High School . "I think of him in class being so excited to graduate and go into the military to serve his country."

Heredia ran track, played football and was a member of Future Farmers of America in high school.  It was two months and into the second tour that the Marine Corporal was wounded. Joseph joined the Marines soon after graduation and had recently re-enlisted, his wife said, so that he could remain with his unit and return to Iraq for a second tour of combat. He died in a hospital in Germany with his family by his side, including his wife Natalia, his mother Monica and his 16-year-old brother. “We’re heartbroken by what happened,” said his father-in-law Isaac. 

Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez 22, of Lomita , in Los Angeles., died on March 21, 2003 by friendly fire, near the southern Iraq city of Umn Qasr . Gutierrez was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton , Calif. ;   one of the first U.S. troops killed in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom.  

Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez was an orphan who grew up on the streets of war-torn Guatemala . As a youth, he traveled to the United States by train, foot and bus, seeking a new life. Gutierrez made it to Hollywood , Calif. , where he found a temporary shelter at a homeless center. Social workers eventually placed him with foster parents, Nora and Marcelo Mosquera. He learned English, looked after the younger foster children, and enjoyed soccer and chess, according to the family. "He was just a good kid," recalled Robert Nobles, a teacher at North High in Torrance , Calif. , where Gutierrez graduated in 2000. Partly to repay the United States , he became an infantry rifleman based at Camp Pendleton , Calif. "For him it was a question of honor," said his foster brother Max Mosquera. Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez was awarded U.S. citizenship after his death.

Marine Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay 21, of Costa Mesa , Calif. , died in action near Nasiriyah , Iraq on March 23, 2003. Cpl. Garibay was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune , North Carolina .

Jose Angel was born in Jalisco , Mexico , his family moved to United States when he was a baby. He attended Whittier Elementary School , excelled at mathematics. As a teenager Jose Angel attended Newport Harbor High School in Costa Mesa , he played football, his former Assistant Coach Mike Vargas said, “He enjoyed the program, it was just a natural progression for him to go into the military, He knew his role. He didn’t complain he didn’t have a mean bone in his body.” Marine Cpl. was planning to be a police officer when his enlistment was to end the following year. In many ways, Garibay was very American. He loved hanging out with his friends, listening to rock 'n' roll. The friendly young man loved comedies, and loved to joke around himself at family reunions. Garibay loved his Mexican roots; he spoke perfect Spanish, listened to rock “En Español.” and loved Ranchera tunes. He watched television in Spanish as well as in English. Jose Angel displayed American Flags around his house, he also loved Mexico , he loved going back to visit his ranchito in Mexico . “He was very proud to be Mexican, he was a typical Latino. He worked hard, wanted to buy a house for his mother. Marine Cpl. Jose Angel was planning to become a police officer after his service in the military said his uncle Urbano.    .  

Marine Cpl. Jorge Gonzalez 20, of El Monte, Calif. Died in an area close to An Nasiriyah, Iraq on March 24, 2003, Cpl. Gonzalez was one of the first soldiers killed from the San Gabriel Valley area when Iraqis who pretended to surrender attacked his unit.

 On June 1, 2003 the Los Angeles Police Department paid tribute to Cpl. Jorge Gonzalez, who died before he could fulfill his dream, although never in the ranks of the L.A.P.D., Cpl Gonzalez was honored, along with 100 members of the Los Angeles Police Department who were also serving in the military. Police Chief William Bratton presented Gonzalez’s parents, Rosa and Mario Gonzalez of El Monte , with a plaque in appreciation of their son’s service to the country. "Today we honor him by honoring his family and the dream that he had to be one of us," Bratton said.

 
Army Sgt. Melissa Valles 26, was from Eagle Pass , Texas , died on July 9, 2003 in Blad , Iraq of non-combat gunshot wound to the abdomen.  She was a member of HQs Detachment, Company B, 64th Forward Support Bn, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Carson, CO. Iraq ; Army Sgt. Valle’s death was accidental.  Valles was a soldier through and through. When she reported to superiors at work, she always stood at parade rest shoulders back, hands clasped behind her back, feet spread slightly apart.”. "When she came in, Melissa showed proper respect and always was pushing the troops," said Sgt. 1st Class Cathy Mihm.

Melissa Valles grew up south of San Antonio on the Mexico border, she graduated from Eagle Pass High School in 1995; she attended Southwest Texas Junior College .  Melissa was 5-foot-3 assumed the role of head of the household even though she had two older brothers. "She was petite, but she was really tough,” said her sister. Maribel Valles family says the military officials said her death was accidental, but they say the Army has not disclosed details about how she received the gunshot that claimed her life “We know it is a gunshot wound to the abdomen. We just don’t know the circumstances,” said Lt. Col. Tom Budzyna, base representative. Army Sgt. Melissa’s mother Marianita believes her daughter death was accidental but she needs to know if it was accidental or Melissa came under attack. “I need to know what really happened, her daughter’s death is under investigation but no conclusions,” her mother said.

Special thanks to Alan Lessig, Director of Photography, for the website, “Military   Times, Honor the Fallen” (www.militarycity.com) for granting permission to reproduce photos for this article.

 

   

 


Defender of the Honor -Sacramento Area

Wrote a book on his father "The incredible true story of American patriot, Msgt. Frank N. Lovato, Bataan Death March survivor and POW of the Japanese" Written by Francisco L. Lovato. Below is what Francisco wrote to Richard Santos after reading the story on Midway. I hope that you will visit www.survivorbook.com and buy it and then share it with those who you know will appreciate the content and the labor that it took to accomplish this task.    Juan Marinez 

"Thank you for the well written piece about Midway. You have inspired me to do the same next April as the anniversary of the surrender of Bataan approaches. The brave and honorable patriots of the Philippines honor their defense and subsequent pain, loss and victory with respect". "Please review my web site. I have a "Readers Digest" version of the book I wrote with my Father posted".

Thanks again, 
Francisco Lovato
Defender of the Honor -Sacramento Area
www.survivorbook.com
 


 

Filipino Untold Story of WWII Baatan

The Filipino perspective on Baatan

My Dear Friends, I had the pleasure of viewing the Filipino Untold Story of WWII Baatan this last Saturday, when I joined my Filipinos friends in their celebration of their Independence from Spain at the Seattle Center. 

There are three films or DVDs that can be purchase from PBS: The 1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments "The Great Raid", and "Baatan Rescue". The film that I saw was "The Untold Story Triumph". 

Rafael Ojeda
Tacoma,WA

http://www.filipinoamericanlibrary.org/timeline.html
http://members.aol.com/untoldtriumph/untoldtriumph/


 


Major Leonard A. Gonzales, U.S. Air Force
Date of Action: November 26, 1968
Citation: Air Force Cross

The Air Force Cross is presented to Leonard A. Gonzales, Major, U.S. Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as Aircraft Commander of a UH-1F gunship helicopter near Due Co, Republic of Vietnam, on 26 November 1968. On that date, Major Gonzales went to the aid of a six-man Special Forces Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol that was in danger of being overrun by a large, well-armed hostile force. Major Gonzales made continued minigun and rocket passes at treetop level, even after his wingman had been hit. His aggressive attacks sufficiently quelled the hostile fire to allow a transport helicopter to pick up the beleaguered patrol. Through his superb airmanship, aggressiveness, and extraordinary heroism, Major Gonzales reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force

http://www.homesofheroes.com/valor/1-citations/08-afc/afac-01rvn.html#D
Sent by Rafael Ojeda

 

 



State Parks Searches for Purple Heart Recipients
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor to Preserve Stories

NY Purple Heart Museum
Written by Cathy Jimenez, March 16, 2006
http://nysparks.state.ny.us/news/press/view.asp?pressID=506

 

(ALBANY, NY, Wednesday, March 16, 2006...) New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Bernadette Castro today began a nationwide search for Purple Heart medal recipients to share stories to be included in exhibits at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor museum located at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site in Vails Gate, New York. The facility will honor Purple Heart medal recipients, veterans who were wounded or killed while serving their country.

"The new National Purple Heart Hall of Honor will serve as our nation's only institution dedicated solely to recipients of the Purple Heart medal and offer visitors an incredible journey through military history across generations with a unique combination of historic resources and interactive, state-of-the-art technology," said Commissioner Castro. "Governor Pataki's commitment to preserving our heritage through this one of a kind museum will provide a destination for service men and women to share their powerful stories and poignant reminders of human sacrifice.

"This facility is a fitting tribute to the veterans who have put their lives on the line in support of freedom. I look forward to adding the details of my own family member who served in World War II at the Battle of the Bulge, and together with the information and recollections of other Purple Heart recipients and loved ones, the Hall of Honor will preserve these precious stories well into the future."

The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is a 7,500 square foot facility that will honor recipients of the Purple Heart Medal through the development and presentation of a series of exhibitions and programs that have been created with the participation of Purple Heart recipients, their friends and families. The Hall of Honor will work with veterans and families to collect invaluable personal information on the background and service information of each recipient, the circumstances surrounding their wounding, the photographs and letters home, and copies of discharge forms or citations that document receipt of the medal. The information collected will be included in exhibits at the museum and an electronic database that will be available onsite and over the Internet for a worldwide audience.

The Hall of Honor will also include a reception area, gallery, exhibit hall, learning and education center for school groups and tours, and presentation room. Through historical photographs documentary film footage, period objects and videotaped recollections by veterans themselves, the Hall will provide a multi-media show exploring the spirit of the American people during times of crisis.

"The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor will honor the nearly two million Americans whose sacrifices have earned them the Purple Heart medal. Now more than ever, it is important to recognize the men and women in our armed forces who were wounded in battle for this country, and those who continue to serve so faithfully today," said Senator Bill Larkin, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army. "This historic place will be a reminder of the cost of freedom. It will be a fitting tribute to our veterans and how much we value and appreciate all they have done for our country. It will bring young people especially that much closer to understanding the experience and sacrifice shared by these special veterans."

Governor Pataki has committed $4.1 million toward the planning, design and development of the Hall of Honor. Other funds to support the project include $402,000 in federal HUD/VA funds secured by U.S. Representative Sue Kelly and additional donations from veterans and their families. The Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), the national organization whose members are Purple Heart recipients, has contributed $500,000 toward the project.

"Every Purple Heart veteran is a hero whose story needs to be told so we can fully honor their sacrifices and learn from their experiences," said Congresswoman Sue Kelly. "The Hall of Honor will uniquely highlight these stories and will inspire our community to preserve the legacy of our military heroes and better appreciate the freedoms for which they fought."

The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located at the site of the final encampment of George Washington's Army at New Windsor Cantonment and plays a central role in the history of the Purple Heart. To honor service of his troops, General Washington chose a select number of troops to receive a purple cloth Badge of Merit, the precursor to the Purple Heart Award. The present day Purple Heart medal took as its inspiration the color and shape of the badge and added the image of George Washington to honor the man who valued the outstanding service of his soldiers. In 1932, the new Purple Heart medal was presented to 150 World War I veterans at the New Windsor Cantonment site and the medal has been presented to over a million military personnel.

Families who would like to share their story or other materials of Purple Heart recipients to be considered for the exhibition or archives to support the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, please contact the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, P.O. Box 207, Vails Gate, New York, 12584 or call (845) 561-1765. Tax deductible gifts to the Hall in support of the ongoing development of the memorial and museum are also being accepted.

Rafael Ojeda writes: 
I would recommend submitting not only our Purple Heart Recipients but for all of our Veterans to the Washington Veteran Memorial. The more sites we submit our veteran names the more safe keeping their records will be. 

The Army Military Bldg burned down in DC, that is one reason that one orgs. has
close to a million Purple Heart Recipients names.  Please remind people not to submit "originals documents" especially DD Form 214, the Discharge docs that have their Serial Numbers and the list of Medals awarded.

Thanks, Rafael Ojeda
http://www.thepurpleheart.com

http://www.VALegion162.org/purple_heart.htm


Patriots of the American Revolution

1780 British warship found in Lake Ontario
Spanish Patriots of Peru During the American Revolution, Part 9: (H thru K)
 

1780 British warship found in Lake Ontario



This image shows the decoratively carved scroll bow stem of the sunken 228-year-old British warship HMS Ontario, a British warship built in1780 that has been discovered in deep water off the southern shore of Lake Ontario.
   Photo: Jim Kennard And Dan Scoville / AP
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25145600/

1780 British warship found in Lake Ontario
Intact 80-foot sloop is oldest ever found in the Great Lakes
By William Kates, updated  June. 13, 2008


SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A 22-gun British warship that sank during the American Revolution and has long been regarded as one of the "Holy Grail" shipwrecks in the Great Lakes has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Ontario, astonishingly well-preserved in the cold, deep water, explorers announced Friday.

Shipwreck enthusiasts Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville used side-scanning sonar and an unmanned submersible to locate the HMS Ontario, which was lost with barely a trace and as many as 130 people aboard during a gale in 1780.

The 80-foot sloop of war is the oldest shipwreck and the only fully intact British warship ever found in the Great Lakes, Scoville and Kennard said. "To have a Revolutionary War vessel that's practically intact is unbelievable. It's an archaeological miracle," said Canadian author Arthur Britton Smith, who chronicled the history of the HMS Ontario in a 1997 book, "The Legend of the Lake."

The finders of the wreck said they regard it as a war grave and have no plans to raise it or remove any of its artifacts. They said the ship is still considered the property of the British Admiralty.  Although the vessel sits in an area where the water is up to 500 feet deep and cannot be reached by anyone but the most experienced divers, Kennard and Scoville declined to give its exact location, saying only that it was found off the southern shore.

The sloop was discovered resting partially on its side, with two masts extending more than 70 feet above the lake bottom.  "Usually when ships go down in big storms, they get beat up quite a bit. They don't sink nice and square. This went down in a huge storm, and it still managed to stay intact," Scoville said. "There are even two windows that aren't broken. Just going down, the pressure difference, can break the windows. It's a beautiful ship."

Smith, who was shown underwater video of the find, said: "If it wasn't for the zebra mussels, she looks like she only sunk last week." The dark, cold freshwater acts as a perfect preservative, Smith said. At that depth, there is no light and no oxygen to hasten decomposition, and little marine life to feed on the wood.

The Ontario went down on Oct. 31, 1780, with a garrison of 60 British soldiers, a crew of about 40, mostly Canadians, and possibly about 30 American war prisoners.

The warship had been launched only five months earlier and was used to ferry troops and supplies along upstate New York's frontier. Although it was the biggest British ship on the Great Lakes at the time, it never saw battle, Smith said

Source: Technology & Science
Sponsored by msnbc.com





SPANISH PATRIOTS OF PERU 
DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

by Granville Hough, Ph.D.

Part 9: (H thru K)


Francisco Lorenzo Helme. Capt, Mil Prov Discip Cab de Arequipa, 1797. Leg 7287:II:11.
Francisco de Paula Henaro. SubLt, Mil Discip Inf española de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288 :XXIII:48.
Luis Hercelles. Capt, Grad Lt Col, Inf, Real de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXII:10.
Carlos Herdoiza. SubLt, Inf Real de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXII:65.
José Gregorio Heredia. Capt, Mil Prov Urbanas Inf de Huánuco, 1796. Leg 7286:V:5.
Isidro Herencia. Sgt, Comp sueltas Mil Discip Inf de Ica, 1800. Leg 7288:XIX:18.
Pedro de la Hermosa. SubLt, Inf del Real Asiento de Paucartambo, 1798. Leg 7286:XIX:28.
Angel Hermosa. SubLt, Inf Real de Lima, 1793. Leg 7284:IX:58.
Francisco Hernan Cortes. Alf, Mil Prov Discip de Cab de Cuzco, 1797. Leg 7287:X:26.
Alejandro Hernandez. SubLt, Mil Prov Urbanas inf de Huanta, 1800. Leg 7288:XVIII:33.
Domingo Hernandez. Sgt, Inf Real de Lima, 1793. Leg 7284:IX:101.
Francisco Hernandez. Capt, Mil de Dragones Prov de las Fronteras de Tarma, 1797. Leg 7287:XXXV:9.
Juan Antonio Hernandez. Lt, Comp Mil Discip de Pardos de Cab del Reino de Ferreñafe, 1797, Leg 7287:XV:2.
Juan de Dios Hernandez. Sgt, Mil Prov Discip Inf de Lambayeque, 1797. Leg 7287:XXII:31.
Maximiliano Hernandez. Sgt, Mil prov Discip de Inf de Castro, Chiloe, 1800. Leg 7288:IX:83.
Miguel Hernandez. Lt, Inf Real de Lima, 1790. Leg 7283:VIII:46.
Virginio Hernandez. SubLt, Mil Prov Discip de Inf de Castro, Chiloe, 1800. Leg 7288:IX:55.
Isidro Hernani. SubLt, Mil Prov Discip Inf de Arequipa, 1800. Leg 7288:I:48.
José Domingo Herrasquin. Sgt,, Mil Prov de Cab dee Cuzco, 1797. Leg 7287:X:40.
Augustin Herrera. Sgt, Inf Real de Lima, 1790. Leg 7283:VIII:109.
Bernabé Herrera. Sgt, Mil Discip de Cab de Huaura, 1797. Leg 7287:XIX:23.
Domingo de Herrera. Ayddante, Inf de Real Asiento de Pauccartambo, 1798. Leg 7286:XIX:18.
Francisco Herrera. Lt, Mil Urbanas de Dragones de Palma, Partido de Jauja, 1800. Leg 7288:XXI:15.
Hermenegildo Herrera. Cadet, Inf Real de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXII:118.
Jacinto Herrera. Capt, Mil Prov Urbanas Cab de Huamalico, 1800. Leg 7288:XVII:11.
José Herrera. Capt, Mil Prov Urbanas Inf de San Antonio de Cajamarca, 1792. Leg 7284:IV:9.
José Herrera. SubLt, Mil Inf de Huamanga, 1800. Leg 7288:XV:17.
José Isidro de Herrera. Sgt, Mil Prov Urbanas Dragones de Quispicanchi, Cuzco, 1798. Leg 7286:XX:31.
Juan de Dios Herrera. Cadet, Inf Real de Lima, 1796. Leg 7287:XXIV:134.
Mariano Herrera. SubLt de Bandera, Mil Prov Discip Inf San Miguel de Piura, 1800. Leg 7286:XXV:19.
Rafael Herrera. Alf, Mil Prov Cab de Huanuco, 1797. Leg 7286:VI:16.
Valentin Herrera. Lt, Mil Burbanas Cab San Pablo de Chalaquez, 1798. Leg 7287:XI:15.
Valeriano Herrera. SubLt, Commp sueltas de Mil Urbanas Inf de Anco, 1797. Leg 7287:I:7.
José Herrero. Lt, Mil Discip de Inf Española de Lima, 1792. Leg 7284:VIII:4.
Cayetano Hidalgo. SubLt, Mil Dragones Prov de las Fronteras de Tarma, 1797. Leg 7287:XXXV:34.
José Alejo Hidalgo. Lt Col, Mil Discip Cab de Huaura, 1797. Leg 7287:XIX:2.
José Antonio Hidalgo. Capt, Mil Prov Discip Dragones de Valle de Majes, 1795. Leg 7285:XIX:11.
Mariano Hidalgo. Sgt, Mil Prov Discip Dragones del Valle de Majes, 1797. Leg 7287:XXV:39.
Marcos Hinojosa. SubLt, Mil Prov Urbanas, Inf de Urubamba, 1797. Leg 7287:XXXVIII:26.
Dámaso Holgado. Capt, Inf del Real Asiento de Paucartambo, 1798. Leg 7286:XIX:9.
Blas de Honores. Sgt, Mil Cab Españolas de Luya y Chillaos, provincia Chachapoyas, 1792. Leg 7284:XX:14.
Mariano Horcasitas. Sgt, Mil Prov Urbanas Inf de Huanta, 1800. Leg 7288:XVIII:68.
José de Hostas. Lt, Mil Urbanas Inf de Huancavelica, 1800. Leg 7288:XVI:8.
Joaquin Hoyos. Alf, Mil Urbanas Dragones de Chota, 1797. Leg 7287:XIII:30. 
Rafael de Hoyos. Sgt, Mil Españolas Cab Luya y Chillaos, provincia de Chachapoya, 1792. Leg 7284:XX:19.
Eusebio Huerta. Lt, Mil Prov Urbanas de Inf de Calca, 1797. Leg 7287:V:12.
Dámaso Huidobro. Lt, Mil Dragones Prov de las fronteras de Tarma, 1800. Leg 7288:XXIX:18.
Antonio Humerez. Sgt Major, Mil Prov Urbnas de Inf de Calca, 1797. Leg 7287:V:2.
Agustín Hurtado. SubLt, Mil Urbanas Inf Moquegua, 1797. Leg 7287:XXVI:20.
Andrés Hurtado. Lt de fusileros, Mil Prov Urbanas, Inf de Huánuco, 1796. Leg 7286:V:14.
Clemente Hurtado. Sgt, Escuadrón de Dragones de Pacasmayo, 1797. Leg 7287:XXX:9.
Felipe Hurtado. Cadet, Mil Prov Urbanas de Cab de Huanta, 1794. Leg 7285:III:44.
Juan Antonio Hurtado. Lt, Mil Urbanas Inf de Moquegua, 1797. Leg 7287:XXVI:13.
Mariano Hurtado. Alf, Mil Discip de Cab de Ica, 1800. Leg 7288:XX:25.
Pedro Antonio Hurtado. Sgt, Mil Urbanas Inf de Moquegua, 1797. Leg 7287:XXVI:33.
Sebastian Hurtado. Allf, Mil Discip de Cab de Huaura, 1797. Leg 7287:XIX:19.
José Hurtado de Mendoza. Cadet, Mil Urbanas inf Moquegua, 1797. Leg 7287:XXVI:36.
Julián de Hurtado de Mendoza. Cadet, Mil Urbanas Inf Moquegua, 1797. Leg 7287:XXVI:37.
Manuel Hurtado de Mendoza. Cadet, Mil Urbanas Inf Moquegua, 1797. Leg 7287:XXVI:38.
Rafael Hertado de Mendoza. Lt, Mil Discip de Cab de Ica, 1800. Leg 7288:XX:21.
Ignacio Hurtado Zapata. Lt, Mil Urbanas Inf de Moquegua, 1797. Leg 7287:XXVI:12.

Fernando Ibaceta. SubLt, Mil Urbanas Inf de Huamango, 1800. Leg 7288:XV:21.
Juan Ibañez. Alf, Comp de Cab de Mil del Partido de Santa, 1799. Leg 7286:XXIII:14.
Antonio Ibarra. Lt, Mil Discip Dragones de Acari y Chala, 1796. Leg 7286:I:7.
Eugenio Ibarra. Cadet, Bn Prov Mil Discip Inf Española de Lima, 1796. Leg 7286:X:58.
Gregorio Ibarra. Alf, Mil Urbanas de Dragones de palma, Partido de Jauja, 1800. Leg 7288:XXI:27.
Juan de Dios Ibarra. Alf, Mil Prov Discip de Cab de Cuzco, 1792. Leg 7284:XVII:25.
Lucas Ibarra. Sgt, Mil Discip Dragones de Arica, 1800. Leg 7288:II:51.
Manuel Iberico. SubLt, Mil Inf Española de San Juan de la Frontera de Chachapoya, 1792. Leg 7284:VI:26.
Juan Manuel Ibero. Capt, Mil Discip de Inf de Cuzco, 1800. Leg 7286:XXIV:7.
Juan de Igarza. Capt, Mil Discip de Dragones de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXIV:19.
Manuel Iglesias. Portaestandarte, Mil Prov Discip de Cab del Valle de Chincha, 1797. Leg 7287:XII:27.
Ventura Iglesias. Portaguión, Mil Discip de Dragones de Arica, 1800. Leg 7288:II:40.
Manuel de Ijurra. Capt, Mil de Dragones Prov de las Fronteras de Tarma, 1797. Leg 7287:XXXV:7.
Carlos Inchaustegui. Alf, Mil Discip Cab del Reino de Ferreñafe, 1797. Leg 7287:XIV:35.
Martin de Indacoechea. Capt, Mil Prov Discip Inf de Arequipa, 1800. Leg 7288:I:7.
Joaquín Infante. Alf, Mil Prov Urbanas de Dragones de Celedin, Partido de Cajamarca, 1797. Leg 7287:IX:19.
Cristóbal de Iraceburu. Cadet, Mil Prov Discip Inf de Arequipa, 1800. Leg 7288:I:90.
Pedro de Iraceburu. Cadet, Mil Prov Discip Inf de Qrequipa, 1800. Leg 7288:I:89.
Manuel Iramain. Alf, Mil Urbanas Cab San Pablo de Chalaquez, 1798. Leg 7287:XI:36.
Jacinto Iriarte. Capt, grad Lt Col, Inf Real de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXII:14.
Manuel Iriarte. SubLt de Bandera, Inf Real de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXII:76.
Tomás Iriarte. SubLt, Mil Discip Inf Española de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXIII:44.
Manuel Irrazabal. Capt, Mil Prov Urbanas Inf de Huanta, 1800. Leg 7288:XVIII:4.
Ignacio Isamategui. SubLt, Mil Urbanas Inf de Moquegua, 1792. Leg 7284:XXIV:21.
Esteban Isasaga. Lt, Mil de Pardos Libres de Lima, 1796. Leg 7286:XII:30.
Manuel de Isurza. Capt, Mil Dragones Prov de las fronteras de Tarma, 1800. Leg 7288:XXIX:7.
José Antonio Iturrate. Col, Mil Discip Cab de los valles de Palpa y Nasca, 1797. Leg 7287:XXXI:1.
José Iturrizaga. Sgt, Mil Discip de Cab, Prov de Cañete, 1797. Leg 7287:VI:29.
Juan Antonio Iturrizaga. Sgt, Mil Discip de Cab, Provincia de Cañete, 1797. Leg 7287:VI:26.

Ambrosio Jara. Sgt, Mil Prov Discip de Cab de Cuzco, 1792. Leg 7284:XVII:31.
Carlos Jara. Lt, Mil Prov Urbanas de Dragones de dQuispicanchi, Cuzco, 1798. Leg 7286:XX:15.
Cayetano Jara. Ayudante Mayor, Mil Prov Urbanas Cab Huamalies, 1797. Leg 7287:XVI:17.
Pedro Nolasco Jara. Porta-Guión, Mil Prov Urbanas de Dragones de Quispicanchi, Cuzco, 1798. Leg 7286:XX:26.
Felipe Juaregui. Sgt, Mil Discip de Cab de Huanca, 1797. Leg 7287:XIX:25.
José Juaregui. Col, Mil Prov Urbanas de Inf de Huanuco, 1796. Leg 7286:V:1.
Juan Juaregui. SubLt, Mil Prov Urbanas Inf de Abancay, 1793. Leg 7284:II:23.
Manuel Juaregui. Sgt, Mil Inf Española de San Juan de la Frontera de Chachapoyas, 1792. Leg 7284:VI:35.
Juan de Dios Jayo. Lt, Mil Discip Inf Española de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXIII:35.
Bruno Jimely. Lt, Mil Discip de Dragones de Lima, 1796. Leg 7286:XI:23.
Andrés Jimenez. Sgt, Mil Discip Inf Española de Lima, 1792. Leg 7284:VIII:42.
Carlos Jimenez. Sgt, Mil Discip Dragones de Acari y Chala, 1796. Leg 7286:I:31.
Fernando Jimenez. Sgt, Mil Discip de Cab de Huaura, 1797. Leg 7287:XIX:24.
Francisco Jimenez. Ayudante Mayor, Escuadrones de Cab, Mil Urbanas de los territorios de Huancabamba y Chalaco, Piura, 1797. Leg 7287:XXXIV:2.
Jerónimo Jimenez. Alf, Mil Discip de Cab de Ica, 1800. Leg 7288:XX:26.
José Jimenez. Lt, Inf del Real Asiento de Paucartambo, 1798. Leg 7286:XIX:20.
Juan Jimenez. SubLt de Granaderos, Mil Prov Urbanas Inf de Huanta, 1800. Leg 7288:XVIII:42.
Juan Jimenez. Sgt, Mil Discip Dragones de Arica, 1800. Leg 7288:II:59.
Manuel Jimenez de Lancho. Sgt Major, Agregado, Mil Prov Discip de Cab de Arequipa, 1797. Leg 7287:II:8.
Juan Nicolás Jimenez de Lobatan y Zabala, Marqués de Rocafuerte y Caballero de la Orden de Calatrava. Col, Mil Prov de Cab de Cuzco, 1797. Leg 7287:X:1.
Francisco Jimeno. Lt Col, Mil Prov Urbanas de Cab de Huaanuco, 1797. Leg 7286:V:2.
Nicolás Jimeno. Sgt, Inf Real de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXII:102.
José Jinester. Lt, Mil Discip Cab de las valles de Palpa y Nasca, 1797. Leg 7287:XXXI:13.
José Jordan. Lt, Mil Discip de Dragones de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXIV:31.
Francisco Jurado. Sgt, Mil Discip Inf Española de Lima, 1790. Leg 7283:VII:44.
Mariano Jurado. Sgt, Mil de Pardos Libres de Lima, 1800. Leg 7288:XXV:9.
Matías Jurado. Sgt, Mil Urbanas de Dragones de Palma, Partido de Jauja, 1800. Leg 7288:XXI:32.
José Justo. Alf, Mil Prov Discip de Dragones de Caraveli, 1796. Leg 7287:VIII:21.

(to be continued.)


CUENTOS

Los Cuentos de Kiko 

Frank Moreno Sifuentes offers up four new oral history stories. Please visit the website: http://NuestraFamiliaUnida.com and find his complete listing of over 110 oral history stories in the "Oral History" category:

Los Cuentos de Kiko 

===> "Turkey Day" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes 

===> "El Zapatero, Dios, y El Diablo" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes 

===> "Anastacio Torres" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes 

===> "Gonzalo Clark" by Frank Moreno Sifuentes

Contact information: http://NuestraFamiliaUnida.com
NFU@NuestraFamiliaUnida.com  Joseph Puentes 


LITERATURE

A Mexican Look at Egypt, Riva Palacio on Malanco
Las Cobijas  - -  The Blankets
 



A MEXICAN LOOK AT EGYPT:

RIVA  PALACIO  
ON  
MALANCO

 

    Translation by Ted Vincent

 

   A wave of national pride swept Mexico in 1867 after the defeat of the French-Austrian military attempt to colonize the nation.  Enthusiastic gatherings were held by writers eager to launch a golden era of Mexican literature.  Vicente Riva Palacio helped bring together prospective novelists, short story writers, poets, essayists and others in conferences and forums.  The writers wrote about everything and every place.  They published at a frantic pace, and Vicente Riva Palacio became a much read critic of these works.  He was a tough critic and his often biting sarcasm toward the writers led him to produce his evaluations under the under the pseudonym AEl Cero.@ Zero.   In 1882 a large collection of Cero reviews, originally in newspapers, were published in book form, and the volume has seen a number of reprintings, most recently in 1996..

 

   One of the early subjects of analysis from Cero was the traveler Luis Malanco, who is treated quite sympathetically, although Riva Palacio finds Malanco's writing style a prime example of verbal excess among the new crop of literati.
       

El Cero explains, as proof that eloquence is not the only title that a writer can have to be known in the world of literature today I bring you our friend Luis Malanco...(He)  has written little, but all of good faith, and conscientiously, because for Malanco to write an article of two columns, he consults twenty books, thirty periodicals, forty folios, fifty manuscripts, and reads them sixty times, .revises them seventy, consults eighty more, and gives a hundred vacillations before publishing his piece.

 

    Cero offers that Malanco might earn the prize for wordiest writer of the era, and for evidence presents a page and a half long sentence containing tribute to 44 different Mexican notables and a few foreign ones.  In that most of those listed are now forgotten to history, a different sample of Malanco is provided here for “Somos Primos” readers.  It is from his book about his trip to Egypt,  “Viaje al Oriente”   considered by El Cero the most notable of  Malanco works..

 

    Malanco came to Egypt from Rome, where he was Ambassador from Mexico.  He wanted to write a travelogue in a respectful tone, to contrast with the patronizing tourists to Mexico who came in their pith helmets to write about the “quaint natives” living in the shadow of spooky pyramids.  Malanco found the Egyptian pyramids rather ho hum, but psycho/spiritually the land of the Pharaohs was exquisite.  A flood of enthusiastic words were used by the Ambassador to describe his approach by boat to Alexandria.

 

......................................................................
"A meditation overcame me, enthused, my head swirled reverently, and I shouted out Alexandria: Place of rescue, sublime city, queen of the ancient world, muse of letters, goddess of sciences! A son of Mexico comes on pilgrimage to visit you; a son of Mexico calls at your ports with love and respect. Mexico is a blessed land. There 
the sky is splendid, the sky of heaven, and the soil is rich: it is an earthly paradise. There are a valiant people, free and 
destined to great deeds, and when you 
know of it you will love it and remember 
it.. Open your doors, city of the Sultans, loved by the wise, by the heroes, and by kings: I bring you a gift of power, Aztec flowers that are rare for their beauty and 
for their aroma; I bring you the heart and soul of Mexico, that is a divine narcotic 
that inebriates me and carries me to the heavens... Oh, if only I could express in verses of poetry the admiration in my country that your greatness inspires." 




"All peoples of Africa and Asia gravitate toward the markets of Cairo with its merchants and travelers; different nations, the varieties of the Mohammedan faith; 
men of distinct races, and distinct clothing, but one family in one house. The Persian crosses the desert, the Syrian crosses Palestine, the Morrocan crosses the fields 
of Africans, the ordinary black comes from the Congo, and the conscientious Mohammedan from Baghdad. These men, though coming from far off nations, join together in a khan, or in a corner of Cairo... drinking coffee and smoking their pipes... 
as if they were all born under the same 
roof, Turks and Tartars and many Indians 
of the oriente, (together) this crowd 
displays in its manners, its life and its deportment the same domestic spirit and fraternal relations."




"When one contemplates upon this reunion 
of all the peoples of the globe, and one 
finds together all the races of the earth, 
when one sees there the variety assembled of the entire world, the men of the North, 
of the South, of the East and the West, 
symbolizing religious tolerance, the pacts 
of freedom and of commerce, the 
community of the nations united for 
good, the fraternity of interests and the |
luck of fleeing what is bad, when one 
sees in Cairo, from the Scandinavian to 
the Australian, from the American to the Chinese, from the Bedouin to the Parisian, the philosophical traveler feels himself obliged to confess that the Arab had good reason when he said, that his capital of Egypt is the mother of men and of the 
entire world." 




"... Entusiasmado con estés meditación conmovedora, descubrí reverente mi cabeza y dije á Alejandría: (Salve, ciudad sublime, reina del mundo antiguo, musa de las letras, diosa de las ciencias! Un hijo de México viene en peregrinación á visitarte; un hijo de México llama á tus puertas con amor y con respeto. México es un país de bendición. Allá el cielo es espléndido: es el cielo de la gloria, y el suelo es muy rico: es el paraíso de la tierra. Allá hay un pueblo valeroso, libre y predestinado á grandes destinos, que te conoce, que te ama y te recuerda. Abre tus puertas, ciudad sultana, cortejada por sabios, por héroes y por reyes: traigo para tu frente poderosa, flores aztecas que son raras por su hermosura y por su aroma; traigo para tu corazón amor de México, que es un narcótico divino que calienta, que embriaga y que traslada al cielo. !Ojalá que pudiera poner á tus plantas soberanas, los tesoros de oro y planta que existen en mi país; y ojalá que pudiera expresarte en cantos de poesía, la admiración que causa en mi patria, tu grandeza!..."

"Todos los pueblos del Africa y del Asia, concurren á los mercados del Cairo comerciantes y viajaros, las nacionalidades, diferentes las iqualas e culto mahometano: son hombres de distintas razas y distintos hábitos; pero son de una familia y de una casa. El persa cruza el Desierto, el siriaco cruza la Palentina, el marroquí cruza los campos africanos, el negro ordinario viene del Congo, el mahometano esmerado viene de Bagdad; estos hombres distintos de lejanos países, se juntan en un kham, ó en una fonda en el Cairo, se sientan sobre el suelo ó en sus talons, beben café y fuman sus pipas, tienen los mismos usos y costumbres, los propios temores y entusiasmos, idénticas creencias y esperanzas como si se hubieran criado bajo el mismo techo; los turcomanos, los tártaros y muchos de los indios orientales, acusaren sus maneras, en su vida y en su porte, el mismo espíritu doméstico y las mismas relaciones fraternales."

"A Cuando se contemplan en esa reunión todos los pueblos del globo y se encuentran todas las razas de la tierra, cuando se ve allí la variadazas amblean del mundo entero, los hombres del Norte, del Sur, del Oriente y Occidente, simbolizando la tolerancia religiosa, los pactos de la libertad y del comercio, la comunidad de las naciones junto al bien, la fraternidad de los intereses y de la suerte huyendo el mal, cuando se percibe en el Cairo desde el escandinavo hasta el australiano, desde el americano hasta el chino, desde el beduino hasta el parisiense, el viajero filósofo se siente obligado á confesar que el árabe tiene razon cuando dice: que su capital egipcia es la madre de los hombres, y del mundo entero.".
..................................................................
Riva Palacio notes that Malanco’s penchant for detail is well displayed in observations of daily Egyptian life, and such historical facts as that the horses of Caesar Augustus drank in the sacred Nile. The one drawback to Egypt, in Malanco's view, was the status of women, who he wrote had two options, polygamy or prostitution, which he considered two sides of the same coin. 

Respect for Egyptian society and its people stands out in a description of Cairo that makes it as cosmopolitan and vibrant as one might imagine London in those years.

Riva Palacio=s review credits Malanco for a conveying about Egypt the positive spirit of author=s writings in general, that invariably Acontain thoughts about his friends. Of his published articles, all are sure to contain a dedication to one of these, as surly as they will have some curious or strange notice about this or that finding he has unearthed.@

Ambassador Malanco also impressed reviewer El Cero with a frequent injection of Arabic words and their translations into Spanish. Perhaps it is worth noting that the trip was taken in 1876, a century year for the nation of the United States, which over the past few years has had innumerable travelogues written from Arabic lands with hardly a word of Arabic presented.
 

 


Las Cobijas  - -  The Blankets

a Carmen González Prieto de González

por Rafael Jesús González 


Son olas las cobijas que me tejió mi madre;
sus manos las ondean,
manos jóvenes, uñas color, olor, forma de almendras;
manos maduras, fuertes, decisivas;
manos ancianas como arañas ciegas y precisas.
Cuenta y cuenta puntadas el gancho de la aguja,
cuentos de nunca acabar;
parece que crecen las cobijas,
se alargan
y amenazan inundar la casa.

Son una mezcla de sarapes de Saltillo
y tablas huicholas suaves y flexibles
con franjas coloridas anchas y ondulantes.
En sus pliegues y dobleces
parecen desplegarse las leyendas de los soles,
los cuentos de las creaciones,
las historias de los mundos y los dioses.
Son telas, redes de mil colores
para atrapar los sueños como peces
en los mares obscuros de las noches.
Hechizos de mi madre, adivinanzas,
misteriosos criptogramas de sus pensares;
¿qué penas amenguaban, que temores?
¿Qué sueños, qué recuerdos, qué emociones
guiaban sus dedos veloces y precisos
contando puntadas, produciendo estas mareas
de estambres pavo-reales?

Ya muerta, sus manos quietas bajo tierra,
en mis sueños siguen creciendo las cobijas
y en las noches de invierno
cuando la lluvia gris asota las ventanas,
aun me abriga con arcos iris
mi madre.
© Rafael Jesús González 2008

(Siete escritores comprometidos: obra y perfil; Fausto Avendaño, director;
Explicación de Textos Literarios vol. 34 anejo 1; diciembre 2007;
Dept. of Foreign Languages; California State University Sacramento;
derechos reservados del autor.)



The Blankets
to Carmen González Prieto de González

The blankets my mother knit for me are waves;
her hands stir them,
young hands, nails the color, smell, shape of almonds;
mature hands, strong & decisive;
old hands like spiders blind & precise.
The hook of the needle counts & counts stitches,
stories without end;
it seems the blankets grow,
stretch,
& threaten to flood the house.

They are a cross between sarapes of Saltillo
& Huichol yarn paintings, pliant & soft
with wide & undulating colored bands.
In their pleats & folds
there seem to unfold the legends of the suns,
the creation stories,
the histories of the worlds & of the gods.
They are weavings, nets of a thousand colors
to trap dreams like fishes
in the dark seas of the nights.
Spells of my mother, riddles,
mysterious cryptograms of her thoughts;
what pains did they comfort, what fears?
What dreams, what memories, what feelings
guided her fingers fast & precise
counting stitches, producing these tides
of peacock yarns?

Now dead, her hands still beneath the earth,
in my dreams the blankets still grow
& in the winter nights
when the gray rain whips the windows,
my mother still covers me
with rainbows.

© Rafael Jesús González 2008


Rafael Jesús González
P. O. Box 5638
Berkeley, CA 94705  U. S. A.
jgonzalez@mindspring.com
http://www.rjgonzalez.blogspot.com (English)
http://www.rjgonzalezg.blogspot.com (español) 


SURNAME

July 3,4,5,6: Lozano Reunion of families of the United States and Mexico
Apellido Lespron
In U.S. Name Count, Garcias Are Catching Up With Joneses
 


Lozano Reunion of families of the United States and Mexico
You're invited to attend!!!! 
July 3,4,5,6

At: YMCA Ponkapoag Conference & Outdoor Education Center, Blue Hills Reservation 
Canton, MA
Exit off Highway 128 - Houghton Pond / Ponkapoag Trail
Mailing Address: Mike Lozano
Box 69, Randolph MA 02368

Ustedes están invitados a participar en la primera reunión de las familias Lozano de Estados Unidos y México. La reunión va a ser en Boston EUA, los días de Julio 3,4,5,6.

The event is open to the public and there are no registration fees. Keep in mind that there will be a fee for meals, entertainment and transportation. If any of you would like to attend or to participate as a speaker, or have something that you would like to present please contact me at beaglelozano@hotmail.com or call 508/904-9811. For those who speak Spanish, call 219/931-8559. You are encouraged to forward this information on to others as they too are welcome to participate. I look forward to seeing every one of you at the Reunion in Boston.

Registración a la reunión es GRATIS. Pero va a ser una tarifa para su comida, entretenimiento y transportación. Los costos serán lo que usted use.  Si gustaría asistir en la Reunión Familiar, quiere participar como orador, o si tiene algo para presentar, por favor comunica conmigo (Michael Lozano) o llámame a 508/904-9811 en inglés. En español, llame Librado Lozano a 219/931-8559. Te invitamos a enviar esta información a otros, ya que ellos también están invitados a participar. Espero verlos todos en las Reunión Lozano Familiar. 

Reunión para intercambiar información, 
documentos de Genealogía. Traiga fotos o cualquier datos que quiere compartir.

Reunion begins Thursday/Jueves- Julio/July 3 
5:00 p.m. Registration and reception. / Registro de visitantes y recepción / 
Cocktail party-comida y cócteles

RSVP: 781- 508-904-9811 E- mail beaglelozano@hotmail.com 
I look forward to seeing all of you at the Family Reunion in Boston!
 


Apellido Lespron

Sent by Gabe Gutierrez
GGutier843

Este apellido se encuentra en Jerez en los últimos del siglo 1600. La gente de Jerez que lleva el apellido Lespron es muy probable que desciende don Joseph Lespron Gutiérrez.

La entrada siguiente que se encuentra en los libros de la iglesia Inmaculada en Jerez es  descendiente de don Joseph.  

Lepron, Hermenegilda Manuela doña. Vecina de Jerez. Zacatecas México

N. Jerez, Zacatecas, aprox. 1717

C.  Juárez, Vicente don, aprox. 1714

H. Ignacio Gerónimo, Guadalupe

Padre: Lespron Gutiérrez, Joseph don

N. natural de los reinos de Castilla, en el principado de Asturias de Villa de Zella, 1674  

C. Valenzuela Bañuelos, Petra doña de la hacienda de Santiago del Cuidado, Jerez, Zacatecas, hija  del Capitán don Antonio Valenzuela y Bañuelos y de doña Isabel de Ledesma. El Capitán don Antonio Valenzuela y Bañuelos fue el administrador del dueño (Prieto Gallado) de la Encarnación en Malpaso.

H. Joseph Francisco, Hermenegilda Manuela, Gonzalo Ignacio.

Abuelo: don Gonzalo de Lespron, aprox. 1649, Asturias, España.

C. doña Josepha Gutiérrez, aprox. 1652 Asturias, España.

Nota 1.) La primera esposa de don Joseph Lespron Gutiérrez fue doña Antonia Arroyo y Figueroa hija de don José Arroyo y doña Josepha de la Torre, todos de Fresnillo, Zacatecas.  

Nota 2.) Las dos esposas eran parientes y descendientes del Capitán Juan de Gamboa y de doña Leonor Ortiz de Villalobos. Fueron hermanas doña Juana de Gamboa y doña Guteria de Gamboa. Doña Guteria fue madre de doña Isabel de Chávez y Bañuelos y esta fue madre de don Antonio de Valenzuela y Bañuelos. Doña Juana de Gamboa fue madre de Antonio de la Torre y Valdez y este fue padre de doña Josepha de la Torre quien fue madre de la dicha doña Antonia Arroyo y Figueroa.  

Nota 3.) Es muy probable que doña Guteria de Gamboa fuera esposa de un hijo del Capitán Pedro Chávez y Bañuelos y doña Quirina de Guzmán, vecinos de Cd. de Zacatecas. También es probable que Antonio de la Torre  y Valdez fuese hijo del Capitán Pedro de la Torre y Valdez y este hijo de Juan de la Torre y Juana de Gamboa, vecinos de Cd. De Zacatecas. Doña Isabel de Ledesma fue hermana o hija de Juan de Ledesma cuya esposa fue doña María de Velasco.      

Nota 4.) Los hermanos don Joseph y doña Hermenegilda Lespron aparecen como padrinos de bautismo de Joseph Crescencio Juan Nepomuceno de la Torre hijo de Joseph Gregorio de la Torre y Rita García de la Cadena del rancho de la Gavia el 27 Abril 1758 microfilma no. #0439845.     

Nota 5.) Es probable que don Joseph Lespron tuviese otros hijos. Gonzalo Ignacio murio niño y sus otro dos hijos mencionados arriba tuvieron mucha descendencia en Jerez. Muchas familias con el apellido Lespron se encuentra en San Juan, Jerez. Aparentemente la familia Lespron no tuvo mucho éxito en Jerez. Una Camila Lespron se encuentra en Lordsburg, NM EEUU coma madrina de bautismo con  Donaciano Lopez  en 1931. Lordsburg era el camino a California.    

Nota 6.) El apellido Lespron proviene de Angers, Main-Et-Loire, en Francia  

Referencias: Sagrada Mitra de Guadalajara antiguo Obispado de la Nueva Galicia por Maria de la Luz Montejano Hilton y LDS Church microfilms de Jerez.  

 

 

 
In U.S. Name Count, 
Garcias Are Catching Up With Joneses

In U.S. Name Count, Garcias Are Catching Up With Joneses- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/us/17surnames.html#

Smith remains the most common surname in the United States, according to a new analysis released yesterday by the Census Bureau. But for the first time, two Hispanic surnames — Garcia and Rodriguez — are among the top 10 most common in the nation, and Martinez nearly edged out Wilson for 10th place.

This is a fun site. You can search a list of the 5,000 most common surnames in the United States.  I checked Lozano. It was the 734 listed of the 5,000.   Sent by Juan Marinez
8   Garcia
9   Rodriguez
11 Martinez
15 Hernandez
21 Lopez   
23 Gonzalez
29 Perez
33 Sanchez
42 Ramirez
50 Torres

 

ORANGE COUNTY, CA

Father's Art: Four generations of the Guevara family
Eviction is bitter fruit of citrus man's labors - Truly an end of an era
Remembering Normandy: Augustine Martinez's story 
Plaques for the pioneers
 



FATHER'S ART: Four generations of the Guevara family


Jesus, left, Arturo, Art and Cambria - plan to celebrate the opening of their new art gallery and tatoo studio in Laguna Beach June 13,2008.

Three generations of artist dads to celebrate the opening Friday before Father's Day.
By Peter Schelden, staff writer, June 10, 2008

Six years later, it still hurts Arturo Guevara to recall the day his son was shot point-blank with a pistol. "I'm almost crying right now," Arturo said. "It's difficult to remember." 
Arturo, a San Juan Capistrano artist, followed in the footsteps of his father  who was an artist and mechanic.  Arturo's son, Art, a Mission Viejo resident and father, became an artist as well.

The three Guevaras have traveled all the way to Mexico City to display their art. They spent many years painting murals and donating art to people in need.  Six years ago, Arturo feared those happy times would be gone forever due to a random violent act.

"Who would think he would be shot in such a very stupid way?" Arturo asked.
His son, Art, survived a bullet wound that cut beneath his ribs and through his intestines. He also survived a post-surgery infection that kept him in the hospital for another month following the shooting.

Now Art remembers how his father spent that month with him in an overcrowded Los Angeles hospital room, a place where war surgeons learn to stitch up bullet wounds.
"It was good just knowing somebody was there," Art said. "It was just the knowing. It was amazing - I don't know where he slept because there was no room in that place."
On Friday, Art will open True Fate Skin Art and Gallery in Laguna Beach. He said he is continuing his father's dream of owning an art gallery. Art intends to offer tattoos at the gallery with the city's approval later this summer.
Art says his approach to art is completely different from his father's. The son says his style is more contemporary.

"My dad's style and the people he knows are a complete coin-flip to the people I know and my style," Art said. "If we can bring those two worlds together, it will be a beautiful thing."

Arturo's father, on the other hand, makes "real Mexican art" according to his son.  Arturo believes involving kids in art helps keep them out of trouble. "Any kind of art will keep your kids in good behavior," Arturo said. "They don't go into gangs, they don't go into killing people. If kids dream and pursue their careers, they can be whoever they want."

Father-son gallery opens
HANDS OF A MASTER: Arturo Guevara stands near one of the pieces that will be on display at the new gallery and skin art studio being opened in Laguna Beach Friday by father and son Arturo and Art Guevara

  Ignacio Lujano

 


Eviction is bitter fruit of citrus man's labors - 
Truly an end of an era

Ignacio Lujano stands to lose the Orange County grove he's tended for almost four decades. Audio Slideshow

By William Lobdell, 
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, June 15, 2008 


For half a century, Ignacio Lujano has worked the orange groves of San Juan Capistrano, laboring from sunrise to past sunset six days a week to coax the largest and sweetest harvest possible from his Valencia and navel trees.

Unwilling to leave the groves, he's never taken a vacation. In his younger years, he often took a blanket and slept under the stars, a gun by his side, to protect the fruit from thieves.
Today, many of Lujano's 13 children, 25 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren will gather -- probably for the last time -- at the family home that sits amid the remnants of the city's once-sprawling orange groves to celebrate Father's Day.

They plan to barbecue carne asada, drink a Corona or two, play ranchero music from a boom box and listen to Lujano's stories of 50 years as a citrus farmer in San Juan Capistrano. But the usually joyous Father's Day honoring the family patriarch will be, at best, tinged with sadness.

After 38 years at the Swanner Ranch, Lujano, 84, is being evicted by San Juan Capistrano city officials. They plan to build a maintenance yard there for their open-space operations and have given him until Aug. 14 to leave -- or face legal action.
The move has left Lujano bewildered -- he thought he had a deal to work the ranch until he died -- and San Juan Capistrano with a public relations challenge as word of his pending eviction has leaked out.

"Why do they want to do this now?" asks Lujano, leaning on a shovel that also serves as his cane. He's a stout man with a barrel chest, muscled arms, leathery skin and two bad knees. "I'm too old now to find other work."

Some say Lujano should have seen this coming. In 1992, as part of an open-space initiative, the city bought the 42-acre property abutting the 5 Freeway in the northern part of town. Documents show that Lujano, the ranch's foreman, was put on a month-to-month contract that allowed him to live on the site in exchange for tending five of the 42 acres of orange groves and maintaining the site. The city also paid him a $500 monthly stipend.

But Lujano swears that at about the same time, he signed a second city contract, also bearing the signature of his son Roy, that permitted him to live out his years on the Swanner Ranch, a promise originally made by his old landlord, attorney Charles Swanner. It's a document no one can find and the city doesn't believe exists.

"We're ready to take the space and use it for its intended purpose," said Cindy Russell, assistant city manager. "We had to press the issue recently because there's been no movement."

Lujano's children say they don't understand why the city won't let their father spend his final years in peace on the land he loves and has nurtured for so long.

"In Laguna Beach, they make statues of 'the Greeter,' who was an icon of that town," said Lujano's son Alex, referring to Eiler Larsen, the colorful character in the beach town who spent 33 years waving to motorists on South Coast Highway. "In San Juan, they kick my father out."

Others echo the family's sentiments. One e-mailer to the OC Weekly, which recently featured Lujano's plight, wrote: "Sad that people can legalize and justify removing this good man from his home and give cold legalese ultimatums after all his years of service."

Born in Arizona in 1924, Lujano was raised in Mexico and migrated with his brother to the United States in 1958. In San Ysidro, they boarded a Greyhound bus and asked the driver to take them as far as $5 would allow. They made it to San Juan Capistrano, which Lujano declared to be a slice of heaven with its rolling hills, thousands of acres of orange groves and vast stretches of open space.

"I have never seen a town like this . . . quiet, honest, everything the way I like it," Lujano said. He told his brother, "I can die in peace here with no problems."

Back then, sleepy San Juan Capistrano wasn't much different from the rest of the Orange County, which boasted more than 60,000 acres of citrus groves. The abundant orange groves fulfilled the prophecy of business boosters who gave Orange County its name in 1881 because of its allure, not because of its endless citrus groves.

In San Juan Capistrano, Lujano quickly gained a reputation among landowners for his knack for producing abundant harvests from the rich soil and never lacked for work. In 1970, when the ranch where Lujano worked was sold, he was hired the next day by Charles Swanner, an attorney who owned property on the west side of the 5, north of the town's famous mission. Lujano said its annual production of avocados jumped from 1,050 pounds to 51,300 pounds in his first year as foreman.

Lujano's wife died of cancer in 1973, leaving him to raise nine children still at home by himself. He didn't make much, so his children couldn't afford to compete in organized sports, and an afternoon outing to the local carnival seemed like a trip to Disneyland.

It would be 16 years before Lujano would remarry and father two more children. In the meantime, he focused on the orange groves and his children.

"Growing up, we didn't have to share my dad with another woman," Alex Lujano said. "We had to share him with the ranch."

As development accelerated in Orange County, orange groves disappeared. Even in the county's remaining agriculture areas, citrus was replaced with more profitable crops such as strawberries. Today, the county has less than 100 acres of orange trees, most of them used as nostalgic forms of landscaping or living tributes to a bygone era.

In 1990, the third act of Lujano's life was put into motion when San Juan Capistrano residents passed a $20-million bond measure to buy and preserve open space. The city later purchased the Swanner Ranch for nearly $7 million.

As part of the sale, owner Roger Swanner asked that Lujano be made an independent contractor for the city and be allowed to live on the property and work the orange groves. Lujano said he believed that another agreement -- the one he can't find -- let him stay on the land until he died. He said that for the next 16 years, he never considered eviction a possibility.

In the last few years, Lujano said, he has watched with sadness as the orange groves that once thrived under his care began to wither as the city took control of the last five acres. In his opinion, a lack of watering and pest control has doomed many of the trees -- a contention the city disputes.

"I feel bad to see my trees die, because I've been taking care of them for a long, long time," Lujano said.

In May 2007, city officials said they were ready to carry out their open-space plans for the more than 120 acres they purchased on the city's north end and gave Lujano 60 days to leave.

They offered to help him find affordable housing within the city, an offer he's turned down because his wife, 22 years his junior, wouldn't be allowed to stay there when he died. He doesn't want her to have to move twice.

The city waited a year before sending a second eviction notice, this time giving him 90 days. San Juan Capistrano officials stopped Lujano's monthly checks in October.

"It's time to turn the page and start a new chapter," said Councilman Thomas Hribar, vice chairman of the city's Open Space Committee. "This tenant has been on that property since the city bought it in 1992, and he's known he's needed to move for the last year. It's time to move."

Lujano's family wonders why the city couldn't leave the ranch house alone until the patriarch dies.

"This open-space plan is not an emergency," Alex Lujano, 37, said. "What's the rush?"

Ignacio Lujano figures he'll have to move in with his son Roy in one of the city's "dumps" -- a term he uses frequently to describe any kind of development. Roy Lujano says he's trying to find a place next to some open space. He says his father "won't make it in a town."

Lujano agrees: "The last few days I've got left, I've got to live like a prisoner in jail. I'm not allowed to drive a car. I'm not allowed to do nothing. Just live out my life."

Until he's kicked off the ranch, Lujano can't stop looking after his trees. At night, he'll sneak out, drag a hose into the groves and give them the soaking he believes they deserve.

"The soil here used to be black," he said, kicking the light brown dirt with his cowboy boots. "Now look at it."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-orangegrove15-2008jun15,0,254
9244,full.story
 
william.lobdell@latimes.com

Sent by Ricardo Valverde RValverde@ochca.com


 

Remembering Normandy: Augustine Martinez's story

A former soldier and his family from Santa Ana, California retrace his steps from Normandy to the forest where he fell prisoner. 
(Originally published June 6, 1998)
by Carol Maciola, The Orange County Register
June 3, 2008


Augustine Martinez wanted to forget World War II as soon as the Germans released him from Stalag 5. When he got home to Santa Ana, he wouldn't discuss the prison camp or
the day he lost half his left leg. He got married in 1947 and wouldn't let his wife Eloise see his amputation until they had been married about a year. He got dressed in the dark. 

WITH FAMILY: Augustine Martinez fought in WWII as a teenager and was wounded, losing his foot and part of his leg, captured by the Germans and repatriated after 4 months as a POW. He returned to the site of his wounding and capture. He is shown here in 1998 with daughters, Corrine Hernandez (left), Elaine Tellez (left center) and wife, Eloise Martinez (right).

His three children, Elaine, Corinne and Sheila, eventually saw "Daddy's little leg" upon his wife's urging, but the girls had only a vague idea that the missing leg had something to do with a war. 

Now at 73 and a great-grandfather, Martinez is finally sharing his story with his family. Over the past few weeks, Martinez, his wife of 51 years, and his two oldest daughters
traveled together to visit the places where he fought as a member of the Allied forces that invaded Normandy 54 years ago today. They saw the bunkers at Normandy and the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg with its thousands of bone-white tombstones. 

Martinez posed for a photo next to Gen. George Patton's grave. They saw the Moselle River, which Martinez crossed as a soldier, and a church in the town of St. Lo where he spent a night. 

"I wish he would have shared it with us at a younger age. I don't think he ever wanted us to feel sorry for him," said daughter Corinne Hernandez of Santa Ana, who found herself crying throughout the trip, which ended this week. "We want to know everything. We're so proud. " 

Martinez was an Army rifleman in the 35th Infantry Division, and the Normandy trip was part of a tour arranged for families by the 35th Infantry Division Association. The group decided to go just before the D-Day anniversary to avoid the throngs that appear annually on June 6.

"We took the route that the division went through," said daughter Elaine Tellez of Santa Ana. "We went to the towns that the 35th Infantry Division liberated. A lot of the men cried. They went hunting for friends' graves. They had to hunt through thousands of graves. " 
For Martinez, the place was familiar at times, and at times utterly foreign. "The fellas said, `We were here," but I couldn't recognize it," Martinez said. "That was a problem most of us had. The roads are wider. The signs are wider. You've got modern autos. You wouldn't see any dead horses, dead Germans, burning tanks. " 

As the trip proceeded, Martinez gave more details of his story, even some pieces he'd forgotten, until his family could imagine him as a 19-year-old soldier. Martinez landed in Normandy on July 6, 1944, one month after the first wave of forces, and headed inland. 

It was the not the famous date memorized in every U.S. history class, but it was Martinez's personal D-Day, and one of the defining moments of his life. His group fought in the hedgerows and forests, meeting heavy resistance and taking towns one by one. 
On Sept. 16, 1944, the day he lost his leg, his platoon woke up early, about 5 a.m., in a forest. It was foggy. They walked into an open field, and suddenly Germans started popping up from foxholes. 

An all-day battle ensued. The Germans ran into a forest where they had reinforcements, and Martinez and his platoon found themselves outnumbered. They were forced to withdraw. 

As Martinez turned to leave the open field - and these moments he remembers with clarity - a German tank came out of the forest. 

The sun was shining. The tank backed up into the forest, then came out a second time. It fired, and Martinez felt the shell zoom past him. 

"The second shell threw me up in the air," Martinez said. "I got up and started running and fell flat on my face. My foot was gone. I yelled at the others to help me but they had disappeared. "   He lay on the ground for two days, until a group of Germans found him and took him with them into the woods. 

"I was in pretty bad shape. I had no water, and I had ants crawling all over me. I don't know why I didn't bleed to death. I kept saying, `I'm going home. I'm going home.' Maybe I was delirious. " 

Martinez was so confused that he didn't immediately realize that his helpers were German soldiers and not Americans. They took him to a farmhouse, and he saw a German medic coming toward him with a syringe. "I thought he was going to kill me," Martinez said. 

He woke up in an open-bed truck with two wounded Germans. One was coughing horribly. For hours and hours the truck continued, and Martinez didn't know where he was going. He wondered if they planned to push him out of the truck somewhere and let him die. 

At last, he was taken to a little white building and laid on a table.  "Here stands this big man, he must have been a doctor. He put ether on my face. I remember thinking, 'I'm not coming out of this.' I kept thinking they were going to do away with me." 

He woke up to see a young girl wiping his forehead with a dirty towel. The doctor came over and apologized: Several inches of his leg above the ankle had to be removed. 
"I was so young. I think they felt sorry for me," he said. "I hate to say this, but they were human."

Martinez's next stop was a castle that had been converted into a prison camp. Stalag 5. He crawled for the first week and then began to hop to get around because he had no crutches. He says his weight dropped to 89 pounds on the one bowl of barley soup he was fed each day. 

"My leg was so swollen it looked like a picnic ham. Most of the prisoners were new and had open wounds. That's a really stinking smell. Really bad," Martinez said. "Even sometimes I still get the smell."  After four months, he and some other prisoners were taken to Switzerland and exchanged for German prisoners. Martinez was free to go home. 

He arrived in Los Angeles in January 1945. He had been discharged from the Army, but couldn't bring himself to go home to Santa Ana. He stayed a day, then another. 
Five days later, he still hadn't gone home. He had written to his mother that he had a leg injury, but never told her that the leg was gone. Some friends and a brother finally came looking for him and forced him to come home. 

"I didn't want to come home without the leg. I just didn't want them to see me that way," he said. "When I got home it was really devastating for my mother and my younger brothers to see me." 

Everyone wanted to see him, but he didn't want to see anybody. "When I got home there were reporters looking for me, and I didn't want to talk to them," he said. "The whole town was waiting for me." 

His hometown paper, the Santa Ana Register (now The Orange County Register), ran his photograph, along with a caption saying that he was the first wounded serviceman from Orange County to return from overseas on the Gripsholm, an apparent reference to a Swedish exchange ship. In the photo, he's meeting with three longtime buddies from his Adams Street neighborhood, home on furlough. 

Martinez, who was born in Santa Ana to parents who had immigrated from Mexico, attended Lathrop Junior High School and Santa Ana High School.  His wife, Eloise, also was born in Santa Ana. After his discharge, he worked as a cobbler, then became a machinist and built a career in Santa Ana making engines for model airplanes. He worked with Hispanic-rights and veterans groups. Martinez retired to a senior community in Murietta. 

Now, 54 years after his wartime experience, he's finding peace in telling his story and visiting the places where it unfolded. 

"What I'd like now is to go back and find the prison camp," Martinez said. "I just want to go back and see what they've done with the place. It might be a convalescent home, a library, who knows? " 



WWII PHOTO: Augustine Martinez (front row, third from right) 
is shown in the photo taken at a German POW camp. 
The Germans repatriated the group who all had a physical ailment such has missing limbs.

Contact the writer: Reposted by Ron Gonzales, rgonzales@ocregister.com
Sent by Roberto Valverde  RValverde@ochca.com

Editor:  I sent Ron Gonzales a little note, thanking him for reposting the above article. 
Ron added another bit of information:

Mimi: Thank you for noticing. It was a fascinating story, and I remember it was  the first time that Carol Masciola used a search engine. We saw an old clipping that the family had, that mentioned the ship he came home on. The daughters didn't know anything about it, and it turned out, as a result of the Web search, to be a prisoner exchange ship operated by the Swedes, who were neutrals.

Ron Gonzales



 


Plaques for the pioneers
Cities Santa Ana's Delhi neighborhood 
has ties that stretch back almost a century, and residents plan an honor.
By Courtney Perkes, The Orange County Register, May 15, 2008

(Editor's note: This story was first published June 1, 2001)


Albert Esparza, 79, right, was born in this house on March 30, 1922.  The house in the Delhi neighborhood of Santa Ana was built by his father. At left is his wife, Mary. In the foreground, their pictures when they were younger.


SANTA ANA — There's a sweet nostalgia that the Delhi neighborhood in southern Santa Ana stirs for Albert and Mary Esparza. The couple met there as children, living in houses built by their parents only two blocks apart, and moved back in their old age. 

For many people who grew up in Delhi, bonds to the neighborhood began to form almost a century ago. Some remember tales of relatives who settled there after fleeing the Mexican Revolution. Other families followed the railroad for jobs, moving in because it was one of the few places where Mexicans could buy land and plant lasting roots.

Along with the immigrants who settled neighborhoods like Placita Santa Fe in Placentia and El Modena near Orange, the early residents of Delhi spawned a Latino community that now comprises nearly a third of Orange County's people.

For the first time, the early settlers who built Delhi (pronounced DELL-high) are being honored. More than 100 names -- from the Alcarazes to the Zaragozas -- will be engraved on a plaque for display inside the new Delhi Community Center that's under construction. They were sugar-factory workers and laborers, grandmothers and grandfathers. Pioneers like the parents of Albert and Mary Esparza. 

``I feel at home here,'' said Mary Esparza, 76, who returned six years ago to the house her husband was born in. ``I don't think he'd be happy anywhere else but here.''

Delhi is among a number of Mexican-American neighborhoods that formed in Orange County around the turn of the century and are still populated by the descendants of early founders. Places where neighborhood boys married neighborhood girls. Where adults stood as godparents at the baptisms of each other's children. Where they sat outdoors on summer evenings after long days of hard work.

The 1920 census counted about 500 people living in Delhi. Adults listed their birthplaces as Mexico, and most of their children were born in California. They all spoke Spanish, and a number of families reported owning their own homes, free and clear. Just outside the streets of Delhi, the census tract records a majority of residents born in the Midwest or Europe.

NEIGHBORHOOD HAS CHANGED LITTLE

The Delhi of today resembles the old neighborhood. Small houses surround the elementary school, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and the Delhi Community Center that is housed in World War II Quonset huts.

A remnant of original residents still lives there, and many new Mexican immigrants have moved in.

Over the years, Delhi has struggled with gang problems. The new $5 million center will house programs for health, families and education. 

``This community has not been given the recognition and respect it deserves over the years,'' said Bob Silva, principal of Monroe Elementary School in Delhi.

Delhi's history comes from the recollections of the people who grew up there. Although the neighborhood is one of the oldest in the city, it's not featured in any books on Santa Ana history. But stories of what brought people to the area have been passed through the generations. 

``My great-grandparents, they came over here at the turn of the century,'' said Virginia Avila, 68, a Santa Ana resident who no longer lives in Delhi. ``They worked the railroad. They worked for food.

``The war was on in Mexico. They had to leave their business and everything. They always found a way of making a little bit of money.''

Eventually, they bought land in Delhi and built a makeshift house, still occupied by Avila's great aunt.

Avila remembers working the fields as a child and attending a segregated school in a neighborhood without paved streets or sidewalks.

``There's not that many left that can say how it really was,'' Avila said.

Virginia Solis Godoy of Irvine remembers how the whole community helped bring a church to Delhi in 1927. The youngest of nine, Godoy had a close relationship with her mother, who stood 4 feet, 11 inches and commanded enough respect in the neighborhood to put a stop to squabbling in the neighborhood cantina, but also collected food for needy families. 

``It's the people,'' said Godoy, 77. ``That's what makes a community so special. It's the closeness between them.'' 

FROM CHILDHOOD TO MARRIAGE AND HOME

Daniel Peña, 79, was born in Anaheim but grew up in Delhi. He met his wife, Mary, in the neighborhood and for their fifth anniversary he built their first home in Delhi. Growing up, he remembers playing in the street with an old can and the thrill when his father would bring home a newspaper so all the kids in the neighborhood could read the funnies. 

``It was rough,'' said Peña. ``Now we can say it's rough. Then we didn't know any better. We were segregated.''

Peña, a retired supervisor for the Parks and Recreation Department, said that in the 1950s Delhi was still without sidewalks or paved roads. He went to City Hall and he was told to create an assessment district. So Peña knocked on doors with his petition and in 1958 residents approved raising their property taxes to improve the area.

``That's how come we have the sidewalks and the paved streets in Delhi,'' he said.

The Peñas live in the Washington Square neighborhood of Santa Ana but still visit their old neighborhood regularly for family gatherings.

``We still party out there,'' said Mary Peña, 77. ``Now our grandkids enjoy it.''

Bishop Jaime Soto served for 13 years as a priest in Delhi, a neighborhood he describes as premodern because of its deep ties to custom, tradition and a connection to place often lost in a mobile world. 

``In the midst of my own kind of chaotic life and a lot of demands from all around, when I drove into the neighborhood of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Delhi, there was a certain sense of permanence that was a great comfort to me in my work,'' Soto said. 

Santa Ana resident Manuel Esqueda, 78, is compiling the list of the early settlers, including his parents. He also plans to collect photos and histories to create an exhibit to go along with the plaque.

``I want to tell the younger generation how we go here and let them know that things can be done,'' Esqueda said.

Sent by Ricardo Valverde
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/delhi-neighborhood-santa-2043503-community-people



 

April 9, 2008

SolArte Art Gallery, Special Chicano Artist Exhibit
Main St., Santa Ana, California

Hosted by Beto de la Roche and Family: 
Son Zackey, Brother Isaac and Daughter, Felicia


Writer Frank Sifuentes & his wife Sarah, with Teresa Sifuentes,wife of Frank A. Sifuentes
Artists left to right:Beto de la Rocha (event organizer) Gilbert 'Magu' Lujan & friend.

Art exhibit of chicano artists: Roberto de la Rocha, Gilbert "Magu' Lujan, Sergio Hernandez & Don Newton; with photos by Oscar Castillo. Sergio Hernandez was the premier artist for Con Safos Magazine which we published from 1967-72..though it was a cada vez en cuando with only 8 issues published. still it had been a real happening..nobody ever did anything like it again.
 
Gilbert Magu' Lujan joined by the third issues and really transformed it. He is pure genius in my book. And has had about 13 art studios since then known as magulandia. the latest being in La Puente, the one before was in Pomona for about 9 years. He more than any other artists influenced the art movement in downtown Pomona..not just chicano latino art, either.
 
Oscar was with c/s magazine from the go also. He was the lay-out artist and photographer In my book, the premier photographer of the chicano movement.he photographed the Farm worker's Movement, La Raza Unida, C/S and East LA. Got a degree from CalState Northridge around l970. So did Sergio. Beto de la Rocha..undoubtedly the most talented and best trained -with MFA from
Long Beach State University, where Gilbert Lujan was also trained.
 
Don Newton is a wonderful multi-talented man who married a chicana and became as prominent in the social action movement from the late sixties to the present. He is a brilliant writer and has written a book on Californa Indians. His graphics are wonderful. In fact, my wife Sarah said that of every picture she saw, she would have liked to buy one of his.  Don was very instrumental in helping me do another series of Con Safos in the late l990's..we did well, using a $2000 a year
grant from the California Art Council. This effort ended pre-maturely because..well no matter.
 
Mariachi El Dorado led by Isaac de la Rocha,with singer Felicia de la Rocha (his daugther)
Incidentally the talent musically was by Zakey de la Rocha who attained international fame as the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine which sold millions of records. It lasted a long time: They drew huge crowds in Europe & Japan.  Historially one of their last jigs was outside the Convention Center during the nomination of Al Gore, lots of tension there!
 
Zakey's fiance is named Carolina Sarmineto, the daughter of an Orange County judge who was there. I had met him before. A very nice man..who asked me to send him some of my work..ie my podcasts (about 120) Carolina has a wonderful music group which I am sure I identified. Zakey also has a new group..a new wave Vera Cruzano group, that as you can see performed that afternoon
 
Artist Gilbert "Magu" Lujan addressing the crowd.             Guests largely from Santa Ana.
Three Hermanas Martinez, singers of indigenous music, Puretpcha, trained by their father.    Martinez sister in native dress


El Dorado singer Felicia & dad, Isaac de la Rocha
Zakey de la Rocha's group: El Centro nueva onda Vera Cruzana

 

tThe shear beauty and amazing musical groups is awesome. Roberto de la Rocha, Isaac de la Rocha - and a sister who was there- Carola de la Rocha who is a master intructor in Folklorico Mexicano trained by Amalia Hernandez (i believe) who won great fame in organizing Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. In case you don't kow what was unique was tht she had her dancers all train in traditional ballet first. And then trained them to do ballet folklorico de Mexico. Carola can do the same and has done so many times. She is now teaching at a college.
That de la Rocho artist are all the children of Cecilia de la Rocha is a great story. I became a good friend of hers and she gave me a lot of credit for being a positive influence on Roberto de la Rocha whose story is incredible. By the way Roberto has become a real producer. I help him produce the event before this one in Santa ana.
 
Can't tell you how proud I am to be a best friend to Beto, Oscar, Don, Magu, Carola and Sergio. Talk about being blessed with talented people. That is me.


Frank Sifuentes conzafos@msn.com
Oscar Castillo
orcastillo@Earthlink.net


 

LOS ANGELES, CA

Wolf Gallery presents: Honoring the Mexican-America Soldier
Treasure from the Los Angeles City Archives
My Web Stand 
Dionicio Morales Receive Honorary Doctorate at Cal State L.A. on June 6th
Give Em’ Hell Ray

WOLF GAL

Wolf Gallery presents:

“HONORING THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIER”

AN EXHIBIT HELD TO HONOR THE SPIRIT AND VALOR OF THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS WHO HAVE FOUGHT OR SERVED IN AMERICAN WARS-FROM WORLD WAR I TO PRESENT DAY IRAQ

 free

OPENING EXHIBIT ON SATURDAY, JULY 12TH 2008

6:00 PM TO 10:00 PM

Featured Artists:

CARLOS "WOLF" SANCHEZ
DANNY FLORES
ROLLANDO CANO
LORENA GUADIANA
DANNY MARTINEZ
MARTIN ROMO
CINDY MALDONADO
STEPHANIE AMEZCUA
RICK ESPINOZA
CARLOS SANCHEZ JR.


8:30 PM TO 10:00 PM MUSIC BY XUE
Refreshments


WOLF GALLERY
7646 Greenleaf Ave.
Whittier, CA 90606
(562) 945-7155

6:00 PM TO 7:00 PM 
TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS CEREMONY
OF HONOR PERFORMED BY THE UNITED MEXICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS ASSOCIATION

  
Nellie Yanez, President of UMAVA gives Carlos and Mandy Sanchez a framed UMAVA logo,
June 21st, 2008

More Information: WOLFGALLERYSANCHEZ@YAHOO.COM

 


"TREASURES FROM THE LOS ANGELES CITY ARCHIVES"

Presented by  HYNDA L. RUDD
Sunday, July 13, 2008 2:00p.m.
Mark Taper Auditorium of the Richard J. Riordan Central Library
Fifth Street Between Grand Avenue and Flower Street

 

The Los Angeles City Historical Society and the History Department, Los Angeles Public Library Invite You to the 16th Annual Marie Northrop Lecture Series

Free and open to the Public; refreshments will be served
Funded by the Wood Family Trust

Former Records Management Officer and City Archivist Hynda Rudd will present an illustrated talk showcasing the treasure trove of historical records (covering the years 1827 to 2000) to be found in the Los Angeles City Archives. A passion of hers for decades, she "felt it was necessary to introduce this remarkable, unknown collection to local historical societies, librarians, museum curators, teachers and other interested
groups."

No one knows this subject better than Hynda, who received a Master's degree in history at the University of Utah prior to moving to Los Angeles in 1978. Here, she continued her education at USC, earning a Master's in Library Sciences. Hired as the city's first archivist in 1980, Hynda was promoted to records management officer in 1986, managing the program for more than 45 departments, offices and bureaus. Over her career, she has also acted as the L.A. City Historical Society's project manager for a bibliography of
published material about Los Angeles between 1970 and 1990, and as head of the editorial board for the recent two-volume opus, The Development of Los Angeles City Government: An Institutional History, 1850-2000 (published 2007).

Active in many historical and archival organizations, Hynda is past president of the L.A. City Historical Society, board member of the National Association of Government Archives & Records Administrators, and has worked as consultant to USC and the L.A. Railroad Heritage Foundation.

This facility is handicap-accessible. Validated parking is available for $1.00 between 1pm and 5pm at the 524 South Flower Street garage; check www.lapl.org for more information, or call (213) 228-7000.  

Los Angeles City Historical Society PO Box 41046, Los Angeles CA 90041
(323) 936-2912 www.lacityhistory.org   http://www.sfgenealogy.com/spanishSent by Ron Filion ron@sfgenealogy.com



My Web Stand
Activities in Orange County and Long Beach Area Activities 

Click Client Banner Header Image Below to Link Directly to Calendar of Events for each company or organization. Click Here for a description and link to all the clients with calendars.   

New client updates include: The Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament Silent Auction on June 18th. 

View the new Bianca's Historic Costumes and the PAWS/LA calendars.

Sincerely,

Our Client's Calendars
Link below to our client's calendars to get the latest infomation on events and activities from these dynamic organizations. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Orange County's Calendar of Events- Click Here

The Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was established in 1986 in Santa Ana, California.  Membership includes small and mid-sized business, public and private entities and large corporations.

Alan Armijo

My Web Stand
562-987-2841
Alan Armijo
My Web Stand Clients' Upcoming Schedule of Events, A Service to My Web Stand www.mywebstand.com   alan@mywebstand.com   562-987-2841

 

 

 

Dionicio Morales, 
Long-time champion of Mexican American opportunity
received a honorary doctorate at Cal State L.A. 

Los Angeles, CA – Dionicio Morales—founder and former president of the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), the nation’s largest Latino-serving social service organization—received an honorary doctorate from the California State University Board of Trustees at Cal State L.A.’s 61st Commencement Friday, June 6. 

Helping children and families in need since 1963 and spanning over seven counties, the MAOF provides service to more than 100,000 Californians, 95 percent of whom earn a low to moderate income. MAOF’s programs include child care and development, resource and referral, alternative payment programs, senior and disabled services, welfare-to-work employment services, youth programs, a food bank, and financial-literacy and computer-literacy education.

According to HispanicVista.com Publisher Sal Osio, Morales is “a man of destiny and a legend. In the Hispanic America urban communities he has become an inspirational leader and a beacon of hope.”

Morales served four years as a State Apprenticeship Commissioner, heading the state committee to ensure minority involvement in building and construction apprenticeships. He has served as advisor to the California Employment Development Department and on the Los Angeles County Manpower Council (LACMAC) and the National Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser said, “Dionicio Morales has been a pioneer in harnessing economic power and social awareness to foster greater inclusion in our nation. It is altogether fitting—and a privilege—to have this honor bestowed upon him at Cal State L.A. as his legacy offers inspiration to us as we continue our mission to provide broader access to higher education and, with it, the education and training to excel.”

Additionally, Morales served the Century Freeway Commission, the National Council of Senior Citizens in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles Child Care Advisory Board, and the U.S. National Task Force on Hispanic Affairs. 

Born in Arizona and raised in Ventura County by migrant farmworker parents, Morales graduated from Moorpark High School in 1937, attended Santa Barbara State College, and continued his studies at the University of Southern California. 

In recognition of Morales’ 30 years of devoted community service, in 1987, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors renamed a historic lake and park in East Los Angeles, calling it Dionicio Morales Plaza. In 2006, Morales was also presented a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hispanic Business magazine’s annual EOY Awards Gala, which honors the top Hispanic entrepreneurs in the United States. 

For more about Morales, go to:
 http://www.maof.org/bio_dmorales.asp  or http://dioniciomorales.com .

Source: Office of Public Affairs
5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032-8580
Sean Kearns, (323) 343-3050, skearns@calstatela.edu
Margie Low, (323) 343-3050, margiey@cslanet.calstatela.edu 

Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 200,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu 


CALIFORNIA

CAHistory, yahoo.com group
Friends of Santa Cruz State Park
California Mission Studies  
Obituary: Rodolfo Marquez Cuellar, Farm Workers 
The California Boricuafest
National Project to Spotlight Berkeley Mural
A Nostalgic View of the Spanish Frontier
 
I would like to invite California researchers to join my new CAHISTORY group on yahoo.com.  It's for anyone who wants to learn more and discuss California history and genealogy.  I'm attaching a banner, too.  (see above) Thanks!

Best wishes
William Dean  wsdean@verizon.net

 


California Mission Studies

 

As part of our on-going California Historic Preservation program, this morning I came across the following URL for the California Mission Studies:  http://www.ca-missions.org/events.html   

This website is a treasure trove of history regarding not only upcoming events, but also the history of the missions and the colonization of California, and loads of historical information--this website seems to have it all. Be sure to click on the following sections for more info..  Enjoy.

HOME | About | Archaeology | Archive | Articles | Bibliographies | Conference | Mission Directory | Illustrated Glossary | Journals | Links | Publications |  



 

Alert:  
Presidio of San Francisco National Historic Landmark District


Dear Friends and Colleagues,
You may have heard that the Presidio Trust has proposed a major revision to the Management Plan for the Presidio Main Post, the area of the park that contains the archaeological site of the Spanish-colonial Presidio de San Francisco. I am writing to alert you that this revised Presidio Trust Management Plan (PTMP), if adopted, could pose serious threats to the integrity, research potential, and public interpretation of the Spanish colonial archaeological site of El Presidio de San Francisco, and to the Presidio of San Francisco National Historic Landmark District.

Between now and July 31st, we are in a critical window when members of the public can provide input on the revised Presidio Trust Management Plan (PTMP) through comments to a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). If you share my concerns about preserving the historical and archaeological resources of the Presidio of San Francisco for generations to come, I hope you will join me in expressing those concerns to the Presidio Trust. 

There are two things you can do:
1) As soon as possible, email the Presidio Trust (mainpost@presidiotrust.gov) and the State Historic Preservation Officer (mwdonaldson@parks.ca.gov) and ask that the July 31 public comment deadline be extended. 

This is important to allow sufficient time for individuals and organizations to prepare detailed comments, especially since many of the technical and policy documents referenced in the SEIS can only be reviewed by travelling in person to the Presidio Trust library. Additionally, the Draft Assessment of Effects, in which the Presidio Trust will be required to list the specific historic properties that would be impacted by the proposed developments, has not yet been prepared. It is impossible to meaningfully comment on the revised PTMP and the Draft SEIS without this document being available.

2) Participate in the public comment process by expressing your own opinions about the revised PTMP and the Draft SEIS, which evaluates several alternatives to proposed developments. Following this letter, I have listed some key points to be considered in evaluating the revised PTMP and the Draft SEIS. 

The environmental planning documents can be reviewed on the Presidio Trust website: http://www.presidio.gov/trust/projects/mp/mpdocs.htm

A public hearing will be held on July 14, 2008 ay 6:30pm at the Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave.

Public comments can be emailed to mainpost@presidiotrust.gov or mailed to: Main Post, Compliance Manager, Presidio Trust, P.O. Box 29052, San Francisco CA 94129-0052

I will be out of the country on a research trip in the coming 3 weeks, leaving Sunday June 22 and returning on Saturday July 12. Another person who is very familiar with archaeological resources in the Presidio of San Francisco is the former director of the Presidio Archaeology Center, Dr. Sannie Osborn (sannie@aol.com). Dr. Osborn left the Presidio Trust in April 2008, but she might be willing to talk to people about the issues involved if she is contacted. 

Many thanks,  Dr. Barbara Voss, Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, Stanford CA 94305-2034; bvoss@stanford.edu

 

  Friends of Santa Cruz State Park


“Buy a Brick” Campaign, $100 per brick; for details, call or donate online 
http://thatsmypark.org/donate_form.php Castro family descendants are hoping to raise $20,000.  http://thatsmypark.org/donate_form.php
(831) 429-1840

 

 


Rodolfo Marquez Cuellar
Championed the Rights of Farm Workers 

Born: May 20, 1927 
Died: April 26, 2008


Rodolfo Marquez Cuellar, a longtime Roseville resident who championed the rights of farm workers and started one of the area's first bilingual newspapers, died Saturday. He was 80.

"He told me to become involved in politics and be involved in my culture and be a part of community service because that's what he was all about," family friend and Roseville City School District board member Rene Aguilera said. "I looked up to him and will totally miss him."

Mr. Cuellar was born in 1927 to Francisco and Maria Cuellar in El Paso, Texas, and was the oldest of four children.

After his parents separated when he was a teenager, Mr. Cuellar moved to Roseville with his mother, his sister Dora and his brother Roberto. He worked for an ice plant before taking a job repairing box cars for the Pacific Fruit Exchange.

A U.S. Army veteran, Mr. Cuellar met and married a Roseville woman named Velia Alice Ojeda. The couple had a son and a daughter.

His children were still in school when Mr. Cuellar decided to complete his high school diploma. It was while he was going to night school in 1967 that he became involved in the Chicano civil rights movement and began writing letters to the editor.

"He wrote about how we're Americans, but we're Mexican Americans," his son, Rudy Cuellar Jr., said. "He got a lot of flak for that. I would get pressure from some of the kids at school, who'd say, 'What's wrong with your dad?' But he wasn't breaking windows. He was just expressing himself.

"People didn't understand. Everybody wanted to just assimilate, and so did we. But he was saying it's important to understand what's happened in the process."

Mr. Cuellar soon began working with the Placer County Democratic Committee, and was a vocal supporter of labor leader Cesar Chavez, collecting canned food to take to striking farm workers in the Central Valley.

Mr. Cuellar helped found the Mexican American Political Association of Roseville and was instrumental in bringing Chavez and Sacramento artist, educator and writer Jose Montoya to Roseville.

"They spoke to people, usually small crowds, but nonetheless it was exposure that people didn't get," said his son, an artist who was affiliated with the Royal Chicano Air Force.

Eventually, his father's activism got him in trouble with his employer and he was forced to retire while he was still in his 40s.

"He was an agitator," said the son. "I remember hearing one man say he was being a 'Kenmore.' "

The loss of his job, however, led Mr. Cuellar to a new career in journalism. He started a bilingual newspaper called El Progreso, where he worked as editor, reporter and photographer covering politics and local events such as Mexican Flag Day.

"At that time, I was also a journalist and so I'd give him rides, or he'd give me rides to events," said Aguilera. "His favorite line was, 'Make sure you document every event, because once you document it you have it for life.' "

Aguilera said Mr. Cuellar took photographs everywhere he went and wanted to compile some of his collection into a book.

Mr. Cuellar also remained a political activist, leading the campaign to elect Gilbert Duran to the Roseville City Council.

"He taught me a lot," Aguilera said. "He made a big difference in a lot of people's lives not only politically, but making them aware of their culture."



 


"THE CALIFORNIA BORICUAFEST" 
MORE THAN A FESTIVAL IT'S A CELEBRATION ! 
SUNDAY AUGUST10, 2008 FROM 10AM - 8PM
AT THE FAIRPLEX CITY OF POMONA
HOME OF THE LA COUNTY FAIR!!


The BoricuaFest Company strongly believes that a festival should be more than just food and music. So in our third year we are happy to announce two added attractions to 
The California BoricuaFest 2008. Also you will find that we have kept our prices very reasonable unlike other events who tend to raise their prices as each year passes. 

Please take time to read through all of the goodies that you will receive at the fastest growing Puerto Rican Festival in California and forward to all of your family and friends.

*LIVE ON STAGE LATIN GRAMMY AWARD WINNER ANDY MONTANEZ 
*THE BORICUAFEST TORNEO DE DOMINO (bought to by RockPlayer s) 
*THE ALL STAR MAGAZINE CAR SHOW

*Free goodies bags from The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (while supplies last)
*The Boricua Educational Wall (bought to by DON JIBAROS from www.jibaros.com)
*Plenty of parking and a no shuttle hassle.
*Tram service from parking lot to gate.
*Plenty of grass and shade. ( bring your beach chairs, umbrellas and blankets)
*ATM on site.
*Two mini ponds to cool off.
*Miniature train city for the kids.
*KIDS FREE UNDER THE AGE OF 12!!
*Plenty of ticket locations for your convenience please visit our ticket page on our website www.theboricuafest.com Launch date June 2nd

For more information, contact: 323-769-5534.
Ricardo Valverde RValverde@ochca.com


 


National Project to Spotlight Berkeley Mural

Washington, D.C.- Rescue Public Murals, a national project to save community murals, has selected Song of Unity in Berkeley, California as one of its projects. On Tuesday, June 3, 2008, a team of experts will convene to document the mural's condition and make a plan to restore it.

Song of Unity or La Cancion de la Unidad, which incorporates the façade of the La Peña Cultural Center at 3105 Shattuck Avenue, is a vibrant landmark in the Berkeley community. However, since being created in 1978, this 15' x 40' artwork, which includes acrylic paint on Masonite, paper mache, fired ceramics, and fiberglass sculpture, has deteriorated and is in danger of being irreparably damaged.

The mural came to the attention of the San Francisco/Bay Area committee of Rescue Public Murals, an initiative of the national nonprofit organization Heritage Preservation. Rescue Public Murals' goals are to bring public attention to community murals, document their unique artistic and historic contributions, and secure the expertise and support to save them. Rescue Public Murals is currently funding assessments of ten highly significant and endangered community murals across the United States. Song of Unity was chosen as one of these ten murals.

The mural was created by Commonarts, a group of artists including Anna DeLeon, Osha Neumann, Ray Patlán, and O'Brien Thiele. The artists, who still live and work in the Bay Area, will participate in the assessment of the mural on Tuesday, June 3. A team of preservation specialists from ARG Conservation Services of San Francisco will conduct the assessment. Senior Objects Conservator, Katharine Untch, will assess the ceramic, paper mache, and fiberglass elements of Song of Unity; Principal and Architectural Conservator, David Wessel, will investigate the structure on which the mural is attached to the building; and paintings conservator in private practice, Anne Rosenthal, will consult on the painted portions of the mural. Paul Chin, Executive Director of La Peña Cultural Center, and Timothy W. Drescher, Berkeley art historian and co-chair of Rescue Public Murals, will also attend the assessment.

The Rescue Public Murals assessment involves a team approach so that the mural's history, techniques used to create it, and current physical condition are all thoroughly documented. With this information in hand, the artists, conservators, and mural owner will then determine the most appropriate way to restore the mural. The findings of the assessment and restoration plan will be reported to La Peña Cultural Center, Heritage Preservation, and the Rescue Public Murals San Francisco/Bay Area Local Advisory Committee.

Song of Unity was selected for an assessment because of its long history as a neighborhood landmark that embodies the spirit of La Peña Cultural Center, a vibrant community group that promotes peace, social justice, and cultural understanding through arts events, educational programs, exhibits, and artists' residencies. Because of the many activists that have passed through La Peña's doors, and literally, through the mural itself, Song of Unity has an international reputation. The mural shows unification of the Americas using symbols and iconic figures, the most prominent being Chilean folk singer Victor Jara, who was executed by the Chilean military junta. Others depicted in the mural are Pablo Neruda, Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, Woody Guthrie, Native American activist Bill Wahpepah, and folk singer Malvina Reynolds.

Individuals are invited to submit information about public murals in their community, particularly those that appear to be in poor condition, and to learn more about the Rescue Public Murals at
www.RescuePublicMurals.org.

***

About the Project Participants
Heritage Preservation, a national nonprofit organization working to save the objects that embody our history, sponsors Rescue Public Murals. Rescue Public Murals has major funding from the Getty Foundation and additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Booth Heritage Foundation, and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. The initiative is guided by an advisory committee of muralists, conservators, art historians, and public art professionals and co-chaired by Timothy W. Drescher, a mural scholar and former co-editor of Community Murals magazine and Will Shank, an independent conservator and curator and past head of conservation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. For more information on Rescue Public Murals go to
www.RescuePublicMurals.org or contact Kristen Laise at Heritage Preservation, 1012 14th Street NW, Suite 1200, Washington DC 20005, 202-233-0824, klaise@heritagepreservation.org.

La Peña Cultural Center opened in 1975 in response to the Chilean military coup of 1973 and became an important place to Chilean exiles that came to the Bay Area. In the years since, the center has established itself as a diverse and vital artistic and political center that has responded to conflicts in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Cuba and connected to the struggles of local Native American, African American, and other Latino groups. Annually, La Peña presents over 200 events with emerging and established artists; organizes an arts education program; produces new works by local artists, presents internationally and nationally renowned artists, and houses a Latin American café, which complements the organization's mission. More information may be found at
www.lapena.org or by contacting La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705, 510-849-2568, info@lapena.org.

The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that features the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Getty Research Institute. The J. Paul Getty Trust and Getty programs serve a varied audience from two locations: the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu. Additional information is available on the Getty Web site at
www.getty.edu.

 
1890 DOCUMENT 
Part I: A Nostalgic View of the Spanish Frontier

by Guadalupe Vallejo


In the late 19th century, both Hispanic and Anglo-Americans began to look back with nostalgia at the era of exploration and settlement in the American West. Future president Theodore Roosevelt and historian Frederick Jackson Turner viewed the frontier of white settlement in romantic terms, emphasizing the freedom, courage, and conquests of manly pioneers. Upper-class Californians of Spanish and Mexican descent wrote about frontier California as a land of simplicity, abundance, and peace. Guadalupe Vallejo, a wealthy northern Californian, wrote this nostalgic essay, 'Ranch and Mission Days in Alta California', about his childhood and published it in a popular national magazine in 1890. Vallejo remembered the pioneer era as one of Edenic beauty, plentiful food, joyous celebrations, and domestic bliss.

RANCH AND MISSION DAYS IN ALTA CALIFORNIA.

It seems to me that there never was a more peaceful or happy people on the face of the earth than the Spanish, Mexican, and Indian population of Alta California before the American conquest. We were the pioneers of the Pacific coast, building towns and Missions while General Washington was carrying on the war of the Revolution, and we often talk together of the days when a few hundred large Spanish ranches and Mission tracts occupied the whole country from the Pacific to the San Joaquin. No class of American citizens is more loyal than the Spanish Californians, but we shall always be especially proud of the traditions and memories of the long pastoral age before 1840. Indeed, our social life still tends to keep alive a spirit of love for the simple, homely, ou tdoor life of our Spanish ancestors on this coast, and we try, as best we may, to honor the founders of our ancient families, and the saints and heroes of our history since the days when Father Junipero planted the cross at Monterey.

The leading features of old Spanish life at the Missions, and on the large ranches of the last century, have been described in many books of travel, and with many contradictions. I shall confine myself to those details and illustrations of the past that no modern writer can possibly obtain except vaguely, from hearsay, since they exist in no manuscript, but only in the memories of a generation that is fast passing away. My mother has told me much, and I am still more indebted to my illustrious uncle, General Vallejo, of Sonoma, many of whose recollections are incorporated in this article.

When I was a child there were fewer than fifty Spanish families in the region about the bay of San Francisco, and these were closely connected by ties of blood or intermarriage. My father and his brother, the late General Vallejo, saw, and were a part of, the most important events in the history of Spanish California, the revolution and the conquest. My grandfather, Don Ygnacio Vallejo, was equally prominent in his day, in the exploration and settlement of the province. The traditions and records of the family thus cover the entire period of the annals of early California, from San Diego to Sonoma.

What I wish to do is to tell, as plainly and carefully as possible, how the Spanish settlers lived, and what they did in the old days. The story will be partly about the Missions, and partly about the great ranches.

The Jesuit Missions established in Lower California, at Loreto and other places, were followed by Franciscan Missions in Alta California, with presidios for the soldiers, adjacent pueblos, or towns, and the granting of large tracts of land to settlers. By 1782 there were nine flourishing Missions in Alta California - San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Carlos, San Antonio, San Luis Obispo, San Buenaventura, San Gabriel. San Juan. and San Diego.

Governor Fajes added Santa Barbara and Purissima, and by 1790 there were more than 7000 Indian converts in the various Missions. By 1800 about forty Franciscan fathers were at work in Alta California, six of whom had been among the pioneers of twenty and twenty-five years before, and they had established seven new Missions - San Jose, San Miguel, Soledad, San Fernando, Santa Cruz, San Juan Bautista, and San Luis Rey. The statistics of all the Missions, so far as they have been preserved, have been printed in various histories, and the account of their growth, prosperity, and decadence has often been told. All that I wish to point out is that at the beginning of the century the whole system was completely established in Alta California. In 1773 Father Palou had reported that all the Missions, taken together, owned two hundred and four head of cattle and a few, sheep, goats, and mules. In 1776 the regular five years' supplies sent from Mexico to the Missions were as follows: 107 blankets, 480 yards striped sackcloth, 389 yards blue baize, 10 pounds blue maguey cloth, 4 reams paper, 5 bales red pepper, 10 arrobas of tasajo (dried beef), beads, chocolate, lard, lentils, rice, flour, and four barrels of Castilian wine. By 1800 all this was changed: the flocks and herds of cattle of california contained 187,000 animals, of which 153,000 were in the Mission pastures, and large areas of land had been brought under cultivation, so that the Missions supplied the presidios and foreign ships.

No one need suppose that the Spanish pioneers of California suffered many hardships or privations, although it was a new country. They came slowly, and were well prepared to become settlers. All that was necessary for the maintenance and enjoyment of life according to the simple and healthful standards of those days was brought with them. They had seeds, trees, vines, cattle, household goods, and servants, and in a few years their orchards yielded abundantly and their gardens were full of vegetables. Poultry was raised by the Indians, and sold very cheaply; a fat capon cost only twelve and a half cents. Beef and mutton were to be had for the killing, and wild game was very abundant. At many of the Missions there were large flocks of tame pigeons. At the Mission San Jose the fathers' doves consumed a cental of wheat daily, besides what they gathered in the village. The doves were of many colors, and they made a beautiful appearance on the red tiles of the church and the tops of the dark garden walls.

The houses of the Spanish people were built of adobe, and were roofed with red tiles. They were very comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter. The clay used to make the bricks was dark brown, not white or yellow, as the adobes in the Rio Grande region and in parts of Mexico. Cut straw was mixed with the clay, and trodden together by the Indians. When the bricks were laid, they were set in clay as in mortar, and sometimes small pebbles from the books were mixed with the mortar to make bands across the house. All the timber of the floors, the rafters and crossbeams, the doorways, and the window lintels were 'built in' as the house was carried up. After the house was roofed it was usually plastered inside and out to protect it against the weather and make it more comfortable. A great deal of trouble was often taken to obtain stone for the doorsteps, and curious rocks were sometimes brought many miles for this purpose, or for gate-posts in front of the dwelling.

The Indian houses were never more than one story high, also of adobe, but much smaller and with thinner walls. The inmates covered the earthen floors in part with coarse mats woven of tules, on which they slept. The Missions, as fast as possible, provided them with blankets, which were woven under the fathers' personal supervision, for home use and for sale. They were also taught to weave a coarse serge for clothing.

It was between 1792 and 1795, as I have heard, that the governor brought a number of artisans from Mexico, and every Mission wanted them, but there were not enough to go around. There were masons, millwrights, tanners, shoe-makers, saddlers, potters, a ribbon-maker, and several weavers. The blankets and the coarse cloth I have spoken of were first woven in the southern Missions, San Gabriel, San Juan Capistrano, and others. About 1797 cotton cloth was also made in a few cases, and the cotton plant was found to grow very well. Hemp was woven at Monterey. Pottery was made at Mission Dolores, San Francisco. Soap was made in 1798, and afterwards at all the Missions and on many large ranches. The settlers themselves were obliged to learn trades and teach them to their servants, so that an educated young gentleman was well skilled in many arts and handicrafts. He could ride, of course, as well as the best cow-boy of the Southwest, and with more grace; and he could throw the lasso so expertly that I never heard of any American who was able to equal it. He could also make soap, pottery, and bricks, burn lime, tan hides, cut out and put together a pair of shoes, make candles, roll cigars, and do a great number of things that belong to different trades.

The California Indians were full of rude superstitions of every sort when the Franciscan fathers first began to teach them. It is hard to collect old Indian stories in these days, because they have become mixed up with what the fathers taught them. But the wild Indians a hundred years ago told the priests what they believed, and it was difficult to persuade them to give it up. In fact, there was more or less of what the fathers told them was 'devilworship' going on all the time. Rude stone altars were secretly built by the Mission Indians to 'Cooksuy', their dreaded god. They chose a lonely place in the hills, and made piles of flat stones, five or six feet high. After that each Indian passing would throw something there, and this act of homage, called 'pooish', continued until the mound was covered with a curious collection of beads, feathers, shells from the coast, and even garments and food, which no Indian dared to touch. The fathers destroyed all such altars that they could discover, and punished the Indians who worshiped there. Sometimes the more ardent followers of Cooksuy had meetings at night, slipping away from the Indian village after the retiring-bell had rung and the alcalde's rounds had been made. They prepared for the ceremony by fasting for several days; then they went to the chosen place, built a large fire, went through many dances, and called the god by a series of very strange and wild whistles, which always frightened any person who heard them. The old Indians, after being converted, told the priests that before they had seen the Spaniards come Cooksuy made his appearance from the midst of the fire in the form of a large white serpent; afterward the story was changed, and they reported that he sometimes took the form of a bull with fiery eyes.

Indian alcaldes were appointed in the Mission towns to maintain order. Their duty was that of police officers; they were dressed better than the others, and wore shoes and stockings, which newly appointed officers dispensed with as often as possible, choosing to go barefoot, or with stockings only, When a vacancy in the office occurred the Indians themselves were asked which one they preferred of several suggested by the priest. The Mission San Jose had about five thousand Indian converts at the time of its greatest prosperity, and a number of Indian alcaldes were needed there. The alcaldes of the Spanish people in the pueblos were more like local judges, and were appointed by the governor.

The Indians who were personal attendants of the fathers were chosen with much care, for their obedience and quickness of perception. Some of them seemed to have reached the very perfection of silent, careful, unselfish service. They could be trusted with the most important matters, and they were strictly honest. Each father had his own p rivate barber, who enjoyed the honor of a seat at the table with him, and generally accompanied him in journeys to other Missions. When the Missions were secularized, this custom, like many others, was abolished, and one Indian barber, named Telequis, felt the change in his position so much that when he was ordered out to the field with the others he committed suicide by eating the root of a poisonous wild plant, a species of celery.

The Indian vaqueros, who lived much of the time on the more distant cattle ranges, were a wild set of men. I remember one of them, named Martin, who was stationed in Amador Valley and became a leader of the hill vaqueros, who were very different from the vaqueros of the large valley near the Missions. He and his friends killed and ate three or four hundred young heifers belonging to the Mission, but when Easter approached he felt that he must confess his sins, so he went to Father Narciso and told all about it. The father forgave him, but ordered him to come in from the hills to the Mission and attend school until he could read. The rules were very strict; whoever failed twice in a lesson was always whipped. Martin was utterly unable to learn his letters, and he was whipped every day for a month; but he never complained. He was then dismissed, and went back to the hills. I used to question Martin about the affair, and the would tell me with perfect gravity of manner, which was very delightful, how many calves he had consumed and how wisely the good father had punished him. He knew now, he used to say, how very hard it was to live in the town, and he would never steal again lest he might have to go to school until he had learned his letters.

It was the custom at all the Missions, during the rule of the Franciscan missionaries, to keep the young unmarried Indians separate. The young girls and the young widows at the Mission San Jose occupied a large adobe building, with a yard behind it, enclosed by high adobe walls. In this yard some trees were planted, and a zanja, or water-ditch, supplied a large bathing-pond. The women were kept busy at various occupations, in the building, under the trees, or on the wide porch; they were taught spinning, knitting, the weaving of Indian baskets from grasses, willow rods and roots, and more especially plain sewing. The treatment and occupation of the unmarried women was similar at the other Missions. When heathen Indian women came in, or were brought by their friends, or by the soldiers, they were put in these houses, and under the charge of older women, who taught them what to do.

The women, thus separated from the men, could only be courted from without through the upper windows facing on the narrow village street. These windows were about two feet square, crossed by iron bars, and perhaps three feet deep, as the adobe walls were very thick. The rules were not more strict, however, than still prevail in some of the Spanish-American countries in much higher classes, socially, than these uneducated Indians belonged to; in fact, the rules were adopted by the fathers from Mexican models. After an Indian, in his hours of freedom from toil, had declared his affection by a sufficiently long attendance upon a certain window, it was the duty of the woman to tell the father missionary and to declare her decision. If this was favorable, the young man was asked if he was willing to contract marriage with the young woman who had confessed her preference. Sometimes there were several rival suitors, but it was never known that any trouble occurred. After marriage the couple were conducted to their home, a hut built for them among the other Indian houses in the village near the Mission.

Citing this entry:
DOCUMENT A Nostalgic View of the Spanish Frontier. (2005). Part 2 will be continued  in the August issue of Somos Primos

Sent by Norman Rozeff nrozeff@sbcglobal.net

 


NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

Manuel Nuñez Gaona Biography
Fort Nunez Gaona Diah Veterans Park dedication slide presentation
 


Manuel Nuñez Gaona Biography


http://todoavante.s3.multiforos.es/viewtopic.php?t=1140&highlight=manuel+nunez+goana

 

My Dear Friends, My good friend from Valencia Spain, has allowed me to join his Foro: "Historia Naval de Espana y Paises de habla esponala" He is Don Antonio Luis M. Guanter. He does limit the access to his great website: www.todoavante.com /

Here is a "Biografia de Don Manuel Nunez Gaona" that I searched for over six months plus the help of about 10 Spanish Navy historian in the US, Canada and Peru. He did it from July 5 to the 7 for me. So enjoy and share this great Historical Bios.  Rafael Ojeda


In the year of 1767 he ascended to the office of Alferez of the Navy, continuing with his navigations and missions until in the month of January 1771 he rose to the office of Teniente of the Navy.

In the following year of 1772 he received his first command of the ship San Carlos in which fulfilled again the dictates from the King to capture north Africans when he took as fifty-eight prisoners from the regency of Argelina and transported them to Cadiz.

He then returned immediately to sea to continue his mission. As he ventured out he spied a ship from the North African region of Argelina which he chased to an area beneath an armed castle in the area that had canons as the arabs were hoping for protection. Manuel Nunez Gaona succeeded in capturing the ship there but when he found it dismantled and full of holes he realized it could not be saved so he decided to set the ship on fire.

In the month of April in the year 1774 due to the many honors of merit that he received , he was raised to the post of teniente de navio and at the same time he was given the command of the ship San Jose which was sent on a trip to and from Veracruz, Mexico 
without incident; the trip went smoothly and there were no problems with navigation.

Upon his return, he was given the command of the ship Garzota in which he made trips throughout the Mediterranean as well as the Atlantic ocean, always on a mission of protecting maritime traffic.

In the month of May in the year 1779 he ascended to the post of Capitan and took command of the ship Santa Monica that was part of the fleet of General don Luis de Cordova.

Upon the cessation of the hostilities between the United Kingdom and Spain, his ship was assigned to the division of General don Antonio de Ulloa, and he was sent on a mission to the Azores but due to a strong storm he became separated from his fleet and for that reason was sighted by the British ship Pearl which had 32 canons while the Spanish ship only had 26 canons.

Therein ensued a tremendous battle which lasted for two and a half hours but in that time the Santa Monica had suffered the loss of thirty-five dead and fifty eight wounded leaving the ship badly depleted of crew and for that reason without the possibility of getting away. Since more than half of the crew was gone and the ship was useless there was no other option but to surrender.

In the year of 1767 he ascended to the office of Alferez of the Navy, continuing with his navigations and missions until in the month of January 1771 he rose to the office of Teniente of the Navy.

In the following year of 1772 he received his first command of the ship San Carlos in which fulfilled again the dictates from the King to capture North Africans when he took as fifty-eight prisoners from the regency of Argelina and transported them to Cadiz.

He then returned immediately to sea to continue his mission. As he ventured out he spied a ship from the North African region of Argelina which he chased to an area beneath an armed castle in the area that had canons as the Arabs were hoping for protection. Manuel Nunez Gaona succeeded in capturing the ship there but when he found it dismantled and full of holes he realized it could not be saved so he decided to set the ship on fire.

In the month of April in the year 1774 due to the many honors of merit that he received, he was raised to the post of teniente de navio and at the same time he was given the command of the ship San Jose which was sent on a trip to and from Veracruz, Mexico 
without incident; the trip went smoothly and there were no problems with navigation.

Upon his return, he was given the command of the ship Garzota in which he made trips throughout the Mediterranean as well as the Atlantic Ocean, always on a mission of protecting maritime traffic.

In the month of May in the year 1779 he ascended to the post of Capitan and took command of the ship Santa Monica that was part of the fleet of General don Luis de Cordova.

Upon the cessation of the hostilities between the United Kingdom and Spain, his ship was assigned to the division of General don Antonio de Ulloa, and he was sent on a mission to the Azores but due to a strong storm he became separated from his fleet and for that reason was sighted by the British ship Pearl which had 32 canons while the Spanish ship only had 26 canons.

Therein ensued a tremendous battle which lasted for two and a half hours but in that time the Santa Monica had suffered the loss of thirty-five dead and fifty eight wounded leaving the ship badly depleted of crew and for that reason without the possibility of getting away. Since more than half of the crew was gone and the ship was useless there was no other option but to surrender. The ship was taken to Plymouth from where it was later returned to Cadiz.

As was the custom, Manuel Nuñez Gaona had to go before a war tribunal in order to clarify the circumstances of his surrender. Once the tribunal saw the conditions under which the surrender was made, they declared all of the judgments in his favor with no loss to his reputation.

In the month of May in 1782, he received a new command as the Second Capitan on the ship Santísma Trinidad that was part of the fleet assigned to General don Luis de 
Córdova.

The fleet of General Don Luis de Córdova was assigned to protect the blocking of the Rock of Gibraltar and for that reason was present at the battle of Cape Espartel between the Spanish fleet and the British fleet of Admiral Howe. The crew of the Santisima Trinidad could not prevent Admiral Howe from arriving at Gibraltar with his men.
Consequently, the British were able to take control of the Rock of Gibraltar.

Due to his merits, in the month of December of the same year 1782, he rose to the office of Capitan of the Navy, passing immediately to the command of the ship Santa Isabel that was part of the same fleet of the General don Luis de Cordova and with him, he proceeded to block the Rock and to fire upon that area until a peace treaty was signed between Spain and England.

In the year 1784, he was named Mayor General of the Department of Cadiz, but it was for a short time as his presence was required for active duty in the navy and therefore he was named to the position of Chief of the Naval Forces of Algeciras under which the forces in his command remained in constant alert for the protection of Spanish areas in North Africa.

He carried out multiple attacks against the forces of Argelina, not allowing the Arab Berbers to take hostages at their own bases and using the strategy of constant movement, bombing the various castles and forts and other points of power along the entire
Barbarry Coast.

In the month of May in the year of 1787, he rose to the position of Brigadier, being chosen and named immediately as the mayor General of the Armada, a position that they bestowed upon him for the great wisdom and skill he demonstrated. Despite the fact that he had just risen to the position of Chief of the Fleet, in the month of January in the year of 1793, he continued demonstrating in his work his accustomed expertise and wisdom which was in itself a validation of his capacity to assume such a great responsibility.

In the year 1802, he rose to the new level of Teniente General, and therefore there was no other option but to abandon the position of Mayor General de la Armada.

Sent by Rafael Ojeda

 
Fort Nunez Gaona Diah Veterans Park dedication slide presentation

I just wanted to make sure that everyone got a copy of the slide presentation of the Fort Nunez Gaona Diah Veterans Park dedication - Thank you to all that participated to make this historic event a success!!!    

Antonio Sanchez Ph.D. 
Director of International Relations and Economic Development 
Office of Lieutenant Governor 
State of Washington (USA)
360- 786-7786 
360-786-7749 (Fax) 
Sanchez.antonio@leg.wa.gov

[[Editor: Beautiful slide presentation]]
S:\Images\2008\0517FortNunezDedicate\slideshow\Fort Nunez\index.html

 

 

SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

Living History at the Tucson Presidio, Spring 2008
Ten Generation Genealogy chart, Tubac/Tucson Presidio, Arizona
 

 

 

Living History at the Tucson Presidio
Spring 2008 www.nps.gov/tuma 



  Monica Dunbar Smith, Jose Maria Soza, Mickie Soza, Marlene Dunbar

Rebecca Waugh stands in front of a table 
of medicinal herbs.

 


Doña Isabel Munguía de Vásquez
1883- 1965
Carmen Vásquez Dunbar 1907-2003
Dunbar Family
Tres Alamos, Arizona



        Sisters Monica Dunbar Smith and      Marlene Smith honor their Arizona ancestors
 


Monica Jeannette Dunbar Herrera Smith Shares her
Family’s 
Ten Generation Genealogy chart 
with matrilineal link to 
Spanish Colonial Soldiers at the Tubac/Tucson Presidio, Arizona
 1756 to 2008.

 

1.     Don Cristobal Ortega, Sergeant, Tubac Presidio, Sonora, Nueva Espana – starting from 1756 through 1760s.  He was married to Dona Maria Saenz with whom he had a son, Manuel.

2.    
Don Manuel Ortega, born 1761, Tubac, Sonora, Nueva Espana; died 4 Oct.1817.  He was a carbineer in 1792, then promoted to the rank of Corporal, and later a Sergeant & Brevet 2nd Lieutenent, at Tucson Presidio, Sonora, Nueva Espana.  He received his twenty year award after serving from 14 Aug1780 to 15 Dec 1800.  He continued his service until he died in 1817.  He was married to Dona Andrea Gastelum.  They had two sons and a daughter, Ramona.

3.    
Ramona Ortega, born 1794, Tucson Presidio, New Spain.  She was married at Tumacacori, on 1 Feb 1819 to Tiburcio Campa Y Coz, (b. 1800, Baroyeca, Sonora, Nueva Espana). They had six children: Maria Salome, Luisa, Bernardino, Gertrudis, & Rita.  Tiburcio’s parents were Don Juan de Dios Campa Y Coz and Dona Maria Encarnacion Valencia. 

4.    
Luisa Campa, born 1825, Tubac Presidio, Sonora, Mexico.  She was widowed twice & married 3 times.  First prior to 1845, to Presidio soldier Manuel Soza (killed in battle by apaches), then to his brother Calistro Soza, and last about 1863 to Jesus Maria Munguia (b. 1825 in Imuris, Sonora, Mexico).  She had two children from each union.  Jesus Maria became a US citizen by way of the Gadsden Purchase in 1854 and homesteaded a 160 acre ranch north of Benson, AZ at Cascabel, on the San Pedro River east of Tucson.

5.    
Don Maria Tomas Munguia was born 1864, in Tucson, Arizona Territory and raised on his father’s ranch, but also homesteading an additional 160 acre ranch adjacent to that of his parents.   He had a natural child with Josefa Quintero of Tucson, AZ in 1883.

6.    
Dona Isabel (Quintero) Munguia, born 27 Nov 1883 in Tucson, AZ Territory; died in 1965, Tucson, AZ, USA.  She was married about 1898 in Tucson, AZ to Arturo P. Vasquez (b. 1878, Tucson, AZ; d. 1935, Los Angeles, CA)  They lived at the Vasquez ranch near Cascabel, AZ.  They had 5 children, Margarita, Carmen, Alicia, Dolores, & Arturo.

7.    
Carmen Vasquez, born 1907 in Solomonville, AZ; Baptized in Tucson, AZ Territory, USA; died 25 Feb 2003, Tucson, AZ.  She married Edward William Dunbar, (born 25 Aug 1907 in Johnson, AZ Terr.; d. 1985, Los Angeles, CA).  They had seven children: Darlene, Marlene, Monica, Doris, Edward, Arthur, & Diana.

8.    
Monica Jeannette Dunbar Herrera Smith was born in 1938 in Los Angeles, CA; had two sons, Jeffrey Alan Herrera & Christopher R. Herrera, with first husband Rudolph H. Herrera and a Step-son Gregory Neil Smith with current husband A. Neil Smith.

9.    
Jeff Herrera (1963, Los Angeles Co., CA) and Chris Herrera (1970, Los Angeles Co., CA).  Jeff married Heidi Haws in 1989 in Laguna Beach, CA and they have two sons, Noah and Miles Herrera and now live in San Diego, CA.  Chris is single and lives in Anaheim Hills, CA.

10. 
 Noah Jake Herrera was born 19 May 1994; Newport Beach, CA and Miles August Herrera was born 24 Feb 1997; Newport Beach, CA.  They live with their parents in San Diego, CA.

Attached is documentation from www.nps.gov/tuma, then go to Mission2000database at: www.nps.com/Mission2000database with additional documented resources contained therein for generations #1 though #5.  The remaining generations are documented via other family sources such as birth/death records and Census records.

This account was written by Monica Dunbar Smith, June 8, 2008. www.nps.gov/tuma 



AFRICAN-AMERICAN

Seeking Multiracial Black-Mexican Individuals
The coal miner who became the father of black history  
 



Seeking Multiracial Black-Mexican Individuals 
for a Study on Racial/Ethnic Identity

Who qualifies to participate in this study?
Individuals who are the offspring of one parent who is identified and designated as Black and one parent who is identified and designated as Mexican or Chicana/o. Participants must be over the age of 18, living in the Southwestern United States.

What will be required of my participation?
Participation in this study will involve a one time 30-45 minute face-to-face or telephone interview. Each person will also be invited to participate in a focus group to discuss topics related to Black-Mexican multiracial identities with other multiracial individuals.

Why participate in this study?
This study is part of my dissertation project aimed at exploring the racial and ethnic identity formations of Black-Mexican or "Blaxican" multiracial individuals in the Southwestern United States. Participation in this study will advance knowledge about this
understudied population in the United States.

Interested? Please Contact 
Rebecca Romo rebecca_romo@umail.ucsb.edu

Sent by Alva Moore Stevenson  
astevens@library.ucla.edu


 


The coal miner who became the father of black history

By Richard Mertens
Legacy, Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950)


The coal miner who became the father of black history.  In a rare bit of autobiography, the black historian Carter G. Woodson describes how, at age 17, he left the worn-out tobacco fields of his native Virginia to work in the West Virginia coal mines. There he met Oliver Jones, an illiterate but intelligent miner who opened his house to coworkers, selling them ice cream and watermelon and presiding over talk about the political and economic issues
of the day. When Jones learned that Woodson had some schooling, he prevailed upon him to read newspapers and books aloud in exchange for free ice cream and fruit. Reading to the miners, Woodson learned about the gold standard and the free coinage of silver; about tariffs and free trade; initiative and referendum; and new populist leaders like William Jennings Bryan. From the conversations of men who had experienced the Civil War and Reconstruction, he also learned about the history of his people and their "trials and battles . . . for freedom and equality."

[photo:]Almost two decades later, in 1912 Woodson, AB 1908, AM 1908, became the second black student to earn a history PhD from Harvard—W. E. B. Du Bois was the
first. By 1926 the schoolteacher, scholar, and activist had founded Negro History Week, which Du Bois hailed as "the greatest single achievement" of the Harlem Renaissance era. Through it all, Woodson's West Virginia experience stuck to him like coal dust— strengthening his determination to make known to all the "trials and battles" of blacks in America. This fall, on the 100th anniversary of his graduation from Chicago, the
University will open a South Side middle school that bears his name. 

Few valued education more than Woodson, and few scrambled harder to get it. His childhood education was rudimentary; on days when he wasn't needed on the family farm
in New Canton, he attended a one-room school run by his uncles. His most important lessons came from his father James—like Oliver Jones, illiterate but a powerful moral force. He taught his children, Woodson wrote, "to be polite to everybody but to insist always on recognition as human beings; and if necessary to fight to the limit for it."

After three years as a miner, the 20-year-old Woodson enrolled in Huntington's black high school, then headed to Kentucky's Berea College.

Out of money within a year, he returned to West Virginia—but soon was teaching miners' children and in two years was principal of his old high school. Taking summer classes, he graduated from Berea in 1903 and then taught in the Philippines, doing Chicago coursework via mail. By fall 1907 he was back in the United States and luxuriated in two years of full-time studies, finishing his U of C degrees and enrolling at Harvard. 

Once again low on funds, he moved to Washington, D.C., and finished his doctorate while teaching in the local public schools. Harvard and Chicago taught him how to be a historian. But they also showed him how historians neglected black Americans and their contributions to the nation's past. Determined to reverse that neglect, in 1915 he headed a small, like-minded band who formed the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. A few months later, almost single-handedly and while teaching full time, he published the inaugural issue of the Journal of Negro History. 

Woodson was not the first scholar to devote himself to black history, but he was preeminent in a generation that brought new energy and rigor to the task, challenging racial stereotypes and demonstrating that blacks in America had a rich and valuable past. He himself contributed ground-breaking work on early black education and the importance of the church in the African American experience. Despite his scholastic success, Woodson scorned the education then available to most blacks, believing it taught only submission and self-loathing. 

"When you control a man's thinking, you do not have to worry about his actions," he wrote in The Mis-Education of the Negro, published in 1933. "You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his 'proper place'; and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary." Woodson strove to correct such mis-education by bringing the fruits of the new
black history to nearly every possible audience. He lectured, published textbooks, and wrote for newspapers and magazines. He sent out curriculum kits to help schools observe Negro History Week, which he timed to correspond with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. He hoped that studying the achievements of their predecessors would inspire young blacks with a sense of possibility. Most knew "practically nothing" about their past, he lamented.

Lacking that knowledge, "the race" was "in danger of being exterminated. "His dedication to the cause as he saw it was absolute. After 1922, when grants from white philanthropists let him devote his full energy to the association, he spent 16 to 18 hours a day at the association's office, writing, editing, sweeping up. When the philanthropists, weary of his fierce independence, withdrew their support, he turned to the public for help. In doing so he made black history a mass movement— building a network of black professors and teachers, schoolchildren, church groups, women's clubs, fraternities, and black-history clubs in every major city. Woodson was a proud man, more admired than liked. Loath to share credit or control, he was unafraid to criticize either the black elite, who he felt ignored the plight of ordinary blacks, or the white elite who financed and controlled black institutions. But his flaws were also his strengths. Without his stubborn determination, he might never have accomplished so much. 

The journal he founded still publishes, now as the Journal of African American History, and The Mis-Education of the Negro remains in print. Historians continue to till the ground he broke. And each February, in schools across the country, children of every race reflect upon such exemplars of African American achievement as Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, and the remarkable former coal miner Carter G. Woodson.

2007 The University of Chicago® Magazine | 401 North Michigan Ave. Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60611phone: 773/702-2163  uchicago-magazine@uchicago.edu

Joan R. Saks Berman, Ph.D. 
Albuquerque, NM www.joanberman.com (coaching/counseling) 
www.momentumandmemento.blogspot.comwww.joansaksberman.com, www.PictureTrail.com/jberman

Sent by Dorinda Moreno fuerzamundial@gmail.com

 

INDIGENOUS

Indigenous Mexico by John P. Schmal
"Uncontacted" Tribe Seen in Amazon
Foods of The Americas: Amaranth, The Outlaw Grain 
American Indians of the Alamo Scouts 
Native American languages are dying out with the elders.
North Meets South - A comparison of Native American healing practices,

 

We are proud to announce that an exciting new resource is now available online.  This information will help all who are interested in searching their indigenous roots.  Thank you to John for his outstanding research on the languages and presence of the indigenous population in Mexico.  

             Indigenous Mexico by John P. Schmal
                             
                            
Available online at:
       
http://somosprimos.com/schmal/schmal.htm 

 



"Uncontacted" Tribe Seen in Amazon
Photos and More From National Geographic Magazine

.
May 30, 2008—In a palm-hut encampment, members of an "uncontacted" Amazon tribe fire arrows at an airplane above the rain forest borderlands of Peru and Brazil earlier this month. The black and red dyes covering their bodies are made from crushed seeds and are believed to signal aggression, native-rights experts say. 

Released May 29, the photo—one of several (see more of the photos)—was taken by officials from Brazil's National Indian Foundation (FUNAI). 

(See another photo, plus video of the tribe's camp, in our in-depth look at whether this group should be contacted—and whether they're truly uncontacted in the first place.) 

Peruvian officials and energy interests have publicly expressed doubt that uncontacted tribes exist in the Amazon. (See "Oil Exploration in Amazon Threatens 'Unseen' Tribes" [March 21, 2008].) 

But the new photos are more proof that uncontacted, seminomadic tribes do exist in the increasingly threatened Amazon rain forest, according to Survival International, an international indigenous-rights group that works closely with FUNAI. 

"We are very confident the photos are genuine," said Miriam Ross, a spokesperson for Survival International, which estimates that half of the hundred or so uncontacted tribes in the world live in the rain forests of Brazil and Peru. 

Some experts say few, if any, tribes have had no outside contact. It's more likely that previous generations had negative encounters, prompting social taboos that continue to drive clans deeper into isolation. 

Due to their vulnerable immune systems, these groups are highly susceptible to diseases borne by outsiders such as missionaries, loggers, or oil workers. 

The new photos come just months after a similar one (see photo) captured apparently uncontacted natives collecting turtle eggs by a riverbank in the Peruvian Amazon, where energy development and illegal logging are on the rise.  —Kelly Hearn 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080530-uncontacted-tribes-
photo.html?email=inside_20080605




 


Foods of The Americas: Amaranth, The Outlaw Grain 
http://eastoflariver.blogspot.com/2008/05/amaranth.html

Once banned by Cortez and the Catholic church, amaranth is still a fairly unknown high-protein grain that could easily figure into the solution to world hunger. Instead, amaranth became an outlaw, an illegal alien grain in its own homeland. This was likely triggered by the high esteem in which the plant was held by indigenous people, and rightly so. 

Together with corn, chile and beans, amaranth was a key part of the near-perfect core diet of the the Mayan and Aztec civilizations and extended all the way into the South American Andes, where the Inca people live to this day. High in protein and the essential amino acid lysine, today amaranth has found its way to Europe and is even consumed in India where it is known as rajeera, or the king's grain. But for hundreds of years amaranth all but disappeared from the face of the earth except in the highlands of Oaxaca and to the south among the Maya people where amaranth cultivation most likely began some 10,000 years ago.

Despite its near extinction, the hardy-survivor amaranth can be found in contemporary cooking from granola to pancakes and is once again important despite its illicit past. Yet during the conquest, punishment for the criminalized cultivation of amaranth included cutting off the hands of those who dared to plant it. So why did this beautiful nutritious and mystical plant elicit such savage response from the invaders? 

Called huautli in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, it was a primary crop not only considered important as food, but central to the spiritual and ritual life of the community. Its precious seeds and leaves were nutritious and therapeutic. It was an offering to the gods as well as the ingredient used to bathe newborn babies. It was mixed into a paste and transformed into miniature reproductions of the child's future attributes: a bow, an arrow, the hunter's instruments, or perhaps a flower or an animal spirit-guide. The use of amaranth for healing may also account for its valuation as a sacred plant par excellence. 

When the Spanish arrived, their Catholic priests were horrified to find that amaranth was considered a deity and used in religious ceremonial rituals. It was consumed and mixed, according to some sources, with the blood of people who were sacrificed, and was perhaps a tad too close to the religious ceremonial ritual of the holy eucharist, the Catholic ritual that consecrates the body and blood of christ and is also eaten. But that was not savage. That was ok. On the other hand some scholars have said that the eradication of amaranth was really a military strategy intended to weaken the Aztec people in order to allow for an easier conquest, since amaranth was also an important part of the diet of warriors.

Today from Mesoamerica to East of The L.A. River, from street vendors to neighborhood bakeries you can find amaranth sold as the popular treat called alegría, the Spanish word for happiness or joy. Interesting that this delicious high-protein sweet made from the forbidden toasted amaranth seeds, with peanut and other nuts, mixed and held together by the sweetness of honey, often made in a circular form, the shape of the sun and the circle of life, should be called alegría, happiness or joy. No blood this time. Plenty of that ingredient was spilled by the invaders.

Sent by Armando Ayala, Ph.D.  DrChili@webtv.net

 

 

 
What: Original Texas Indians Lecture Series and Conference Lecture: 
North Meets South - A comparison of Native American healing practices, 
by Mark Standing Eagle Baez

When: Saturday, June 28, 2008, 2:00 PM
Where: Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River Street, Austin, TX
Contact: Mario Garza, Ph.D., 
Mario.Garza@IndigenousCultures.org, (512) 393-3310


The City of Austin's Mexican American Cultural Center (M.A.C.C.) joins the Indigenous Cultures Institute and Great Promise for American Indians to present Mark Standing Eagle Baez's lecture on Native American healing practices, another program in the Original Texas Indians Lecture Series and Conference, a monthly event hosted by the M.A.C.C.

Indigenous healing practices play an important global, health-care role. So much so that in 2002, the World Health Organization recommended that they be integrated into national health-care policies and programs. Despite the geographical separation among Native American tribes and individual indigenous people and families of the Americas, similarities are identifiable in their current healing rituals and customs, which have been passed down through generations of healers.

Mark Standing Eagle Baez, of Mohawk, Pawnee, and Coahuiltecan descent, presents a comparison between indigenous healing practices of northern Native Americans and those along the Rio Grande Delta and Mexico. Baez includes explanations of traditional curanderismo practices such as"limpias", treatments for "susto", and the use of a temazcal (sweat-lodge) prior to some ceremonies. He also presents examples of Pawnee, Navajo and Mohawk ceremonies such as purifications, Sun Dance, and smudgings.

This thought provoking examination of Native American healing practices is one of six monthly topics that the lecture series has scheduled at the cultural center, running through September 27. On October 31st, the six lectures will be repeated at a day-long conference held at the M.A.C.C., in conjunction with and the day before the largest one-day powwow in the nation, the Austin Powwow.

The lecture series includes topics such as successful teaching methods developed from ancient indigenous concepts, little-known Native American contributions, and the recently adopted United Nations recognition of indigenous rights. All members of the public are invited to explore the deep roots of American culture at these lectures and demonstrations. All presentations are free and open to the public. For further details call 512-393-3310 and visit www.IndigenousCultures.org.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

BIO
Mark Standing Eagle Baez received his B.A. from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas and his Masters in Psychology from North Central University in Prescott, Arizona. He and his family live on the Navajo Reservation where he has taught a drum group to local Dine' school students ranging from high school to elementary. As a Mental Health Counselor, Baez has created several talking circles and awareness groups for the school district of Window Rock. 

He presents lectures on the following topics:
-Native American holistic approach to counseling
-Cultural sensitivity with IHS professionals for non-Indian professionals
-Alcohol and Substance abuse Native American perspective
-Native American Dance/Music (drum/flute) in relation to relaxation/ stress reduction
-Death and Grieving (Native American perspective)
-Unresolved Historical Grief
-Multicultural Approaches to Counseling Native American Clients Baez is Mohawk, Pawnee and Coahuiltecan.

Center for Mexican American Studies
The University of Texas at Austin
West Mall Building 5.102
1 University Station F9200
Austin, TX 78712
(512)471-4557  fax (512)471-9639 
cmas@uts.cc.utexas.edu  www.utexas.edu/depts/cmas




 


Native American languages are dying out with the elders.
By David Treuer, Special to the Los Angeles Times 

Only three Native American languages now spoken in the United States and Canada are expected to survive into the middle of this century. Mine, Ojibwe, is one of them. Many languages have just a few speakers left -- two or three -- while some have a fluent population in the hundreds. Recently, Marie Smith Jones, the last remaining speaker of the Alaskan Eyak language, died at age 89. The Ojibwe tribe has about 10,000 speakers distributed around the Great Lakes and up into northwestern Ontario and eastern Manitoba. Compared with many, we have it pretty good.

If my language does die -- not now, not tomorrow, but, unless something changes, in the near future -- many understandings, not to mention the words that contain them, will die as well. If my language dies, our word for "bear," makwa, will disappear, and with it the understanding that makwa is derived from the word for box, makak (because black bears box themselves up, sleeping, for the winter).

So too will the word for "namesake," niiyawen'enh. Every child who gets an Ojibwe name has namesakes, sometimes as many as six or eight of them. Throughout a child's life, his or her namesakes function a little like godparents, giving advice and help, good for a dollar to buy an Indian taco at a powwow. But they offer something more too. The term for "my body," niiyaw (a possessive noun: ni- = "I/mine"; -iiyaw = "body/soul"), is incorporated into the word for a namesake because the idea (contained by the word and vice versa) is that when you take part in a naming, you are gifting a part of your soul, your body, to the person being named. So, to say "my namesake," niiyawen'enh, is to say "my fellow body, myself."

If these words are lost, much will happen, but also very little will happen. We will be able to go to Starbucks and GameStop and Wal-Mart and the Home Depot as before. We will tie our shoes the same way and brush our teeth and use Crest Whitestrips. Some of us will still do our taxes. Some of us still won't. The mechanics of life as it is lived by modern Ojibwes will remain, for the most part, unchanged. The language we lose, when we lose it, is replaced by other languages.

And yet, I think, more will be lost than simply a bouquet of discrete understandings -- about bears or namesakes. If the language dies, we will lose something personal, a degree of understanding that resides, for most fluent speakers, on some unconscious level. We will lose our sense of ourselves and our culture. There are many aspects of culture that are extralingual -- that is, they exist outside or in spite of language: kinship, legal systems, governance, history, personal identity. But there is very little that is "extralingual" about story, about language itself. I think what I am trying to say is that we will lose beauty -- the beauty of the particular, the beauty of the past and the intricacies of a language tailored for our space in the world.

Yes, that's it: We will lose beauty.

My older brother Anton and I, among many others, have been trying to do something about that. For the last year, we have been working on a grant to record, transcribe and translate Ojibwe speech in order to compile what will be the first (and only) practical Ojibwe language grammar. Since December, we have traveled once, sometimes twice, a week, from our homes on the western edge of our Minnesota reservation to the east, to small communities named Inger, Onigum, Bena and Ball Club, where we record Ojibwe speakers. We've also taken longer trips to Red Lake Reservation (to the north) and south to Mille Lacs.

Recording Ojibwe speech in Minnesota, where the average age of fluent Ojibwe speakers is 55, means recording old people. My brother, at 38, is very good at this, much better than I am. For starters, he is much more fluent. And he looks like a handsome version of Tonto: lean, medium height, clear eyes and smooth face, very black shiny braids and very white shiny teeth. This helps. He has made this kind of activity his life's work; it is what he does.

Right after college, he apprenticed himself to Archie Mosay, at that time the oldest and most influential Ojibwe spiritual leader, who grew up in the hills of the St. Croix River Valley in Wisconsin and did not have an English name until he was 12 and a white farmer he worked for gave him a pocket knife and the name "Archie." He kept the knife and the name for another 82 years. Archie and my brother were friends. Deep affection and respect and tenderness ran in both directions.

The people we are interviewing are also our friends. There is Tom Stillday, from the traditional village of Ponemah on the Red Lake Reservation. Tommy Jay, as he's known, is somewhat famous for his spiritual work and for his sense of humor; he refers to his knees as his baakinigebishkigwanan, which means "openers," and once he described his Indian name, Ozaawaabiitang (Yellow Foam), as the "puke of the waves as they wash up onshore." He is a Korean War combat veteran, has served on the tribal council and was the spiritual advisor for one or two sessions of the Minnesota Senate. He is also my daughter's namesake.

Then there is Anna Gibbs, also from Ponemah, also famous -- for her voice and her special and spectacular brand of endearing crabbiness and her wild salt-and-pepper hair. Anna can be scary if you don't know her. She is abrupt and short, not more than 5 feet tall, one leg 2 inches shorter than the other (a condition she suffered through until just a few years ago when she finally got a few sets of orthopedic shoes). But she has the most beautiful Ojibwe name of Waasabiik, which describes the way moonlight will winkle on the water on an almost still night. She is my son's namesake.

There is also Eugene Stillday, perhaps the best storyteller of them all. He is from Ponemah, Tommy Jay's first cousin. As we recorded him, he told stories of staging powwows out in the woods, of using his grandmother's wash tub as a drum until it caved in, of making a boxing ring with vines, and of one harrowing winter when his entire family was near death from influenza and he sat by the stove, feeding it wood and watching the flames through the grate, until his uncle, Tommy's father, walked through the snow and took Eugene to his house, where he was given two slices of bread, before his uncle returned to feed the stove and nurse the family back to health.

Anton is able to draw these stories out of our elderly friends with enviable ease. He's been doing that -- without funding or help or a fancy award -- for the last 15 years. He is a people person, I suppose. And I am more of a book person. I think it will take both for our language to survive. We will need things like a grammar and more complete dictionaries and databases of recorded speech. But we will also need people, because languages cannot live without them. Languages can be stored without people to act as the shelves, but they cannot be retrieved except by human grasping.

Since we've begun our project, six of our informants, our friends, have died, including Mark Wakanabo, who worked as a janitor at our tribal school for decades until someone realized that since he was a fluent speaker, it would be better if he pushed young minds toward the language rather than pushed a broom. He was a sweet man, about whom I knew very little, except that he was gentle, with a soft voice. Two of his sons (identical twins) were my friends through middle and high school.

Luckily, other people are working on making more Ojibwe speakers. My good friends Keller Paap, along with his wife Lisa LaRonge, David Bisonette, Thelma Nayquonabe, Harold Frogg, Rose Tainter, Monica White and others, have started an Ojibwe language immersion school named Waadookodaading (We Help Each Other) on the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation in north-central Wisconsin. The school has been in operation for six years, and all the children in the program have passed fifth-grade aptitude tests mandated by the state of Wisconsin. Sixty-six percent of them scored in the top 10 percentiles in English and math, compared with a much lower passing rate among students in the tribal and public schools on and near the reservation. And yet the students at Waadookodaading received no instruction in English and their math was taught in Ojibwe.

Last spring, I went spearing with Keller Paap and Dave Bisonette on a lake in their treaty area. Band members fought for and won the right to continue exercising their treaty rights on ceded land, and so they do. One of those rights is to spear and net walleye pike during the spring spawn. It is cold on the water in April, and it was that night. We took the boat across Round Lake to the northeastern shore and into the shallow waters where the fish spawn. One person ran the motor, the other stood in front wearing a headlamp and speared the fish with a long pole. With a few modern modifications, this is something we have done for centuries.

The night was very foggy. Mist skated over the water and billowed up, disturbed, over the gunwales of the boat. We kept close to shore. Round Lake is a resort lake and many of its bays and inlets are packed with houses. (It is rumored that Oprah Winfrey has a house there.) Most of these places were closed up, shuttered, waiting for the tourists to come in for the summer. The docks reached down into the lake as if testing the water, but finding it too cold, drew up halfway on the banks. Yet here and there, lights shone from living room windows. And when the house was perched especially close to the lake, we could see televisions glowing ghostly and blue.

It was past 10 -- time for Letterman and Leno. Dave and Keller and I spoke Ojibwe over the puttering motor and the watery stab of the spear going down into the water and the clang as it came out with a walleye wiggling against the barbs. The pile of fish grew on the bottom of the boat, and they flapped dully, trying to fly against the unforgiving aluminum sky of the boat. A dog barked from shore. I could hear, clearly, Letterman's Top Ten List coming from an open window. Fish scales, knocked loose by the tines of the spear, were plastered all over the inside of the boat, and they sparkled like jewels when swept by the lamplight.

This way of life and the language that goes with it felt suddenly, almost painfully, too beautiful to lose; too impossibly beautiful and unique to be drowned out by the voice of a talk show host or by any other kind of linguistic static. And I thought then, with a growing confidence I don't always have: We might just make it.

David Treuer is the author of three novels, the most recent of which, "The Translation of Dr. Apelles," will be reissued this month in paperback by Vintage Books.

Sent by Dorinda Moreno fuerzamundial@gmail.com



SEPHARDIC

Rabbi (Capt.) Raphael Berdugo, 15th Generation Rabbi
Spirit of Sepharad, From Casbah to Caliphate|
 


Rabbi (Capt.) Raphael Berdugo
15th Generation Rabbi: Helping service members keep faith

by Senior Airman Tong Duong
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
Source: Air Force Link  www.af.mil/ 


5/7/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- The candle flame danced a slow mesmerizing dance as it flickered from one side of the wick to the next. The light softly illuminated his face as his silhouette became a portion of the projection behind him -- images of Holocaust victims. Soft-spoken yet with a stern demeanor, Rabbi (Capt.) Raphael Berdugo's eyes glistened as he solemnly lead a prayer in Yiddish. 

More than 30 servicemembers bowed their heads to pay their respects during the Holocaust Remembrance Vigil held here May 2, to remember the more than 6 million lives lost during World War II. 

One of only nine Rabbis in the Air Force and the only one in U.S. Air Force's Central region, Rabbi Berdugo's area of responsibility extends far beyond the base. 

"I once received a call in the middle of the night from the wing chaplain of a different base, asking me what would be appropriate to do as a memorial service for a fallen Jewish servicemember," said the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing chaplain from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. 

A 15th-generation rabbi, he said one of his many tasks includes leading his people to a righteous path. 

"First and foremost, (being a rabbi) means being a positive role model for others and a visible reminder of what's holy," Rabbi Berdugo said. "It also involves being a representative -- almost like an ambassador -- for the Jewish people and helping them with their religious needs." 

One of those religious needs is keeping a strictly kosher diet, which has been easy, because of the efforts of the 379th Expeditionary Services Squadron members, Rabbi Berdugo said. 

"For Passover, I received several requests for kosher (meals ready to eat). With the help of services we shipped several cases of them to numerous locations in the AOR," he said. 

Rabbi Berdugo brings a different perspective to the table and said others enjoy asking questions about his religion and learning about Judaism. 

"I am very often the first rabbi that most Airmen have ever met," he said. 

Some are curious about the significance of the "camouflage" yarmulke (a small round cap) he wears on top of his head. Its origination comes from a combination of two Hebrew words "Yare" and "Malka," which means fear of the king, he said. "Basically, we wear it to remind ourselves to be submissive to the one above." 

Any servicemember whose faith requires the head to be covered is authorized to wear (an item such as a) yarmulke in uniform. 

With a relatively small Jewish population here, Rabbi Berdugo's religious services are only a small portion of the work he does, which allows him to focus on visitation and other aspects of a chaplain's ministry. 

"(I am) readily accessible to the Airmen in all squadrons," he said. "After all, I am a pastoral caregiver for people of all faiths." 

Ordained 15 years ago, he said being a Jewish religious leader was something he felt he was born to do. 

"Becoming a rabbi was something I grew into," said the father of three boys and two girls. "Even at the young age of 12, while my parents ministered to the adults, I would minister to the children." 

A British citizen born in Dublin, Ireland, to Moroccan parents, Rabbi Berdugo, said he always felt that a higher power had intervened and guided his path to becoming an ordained minister and ultimately joining the U.S. Air Force. 

"My education led to my becoming an ordained rabbi," he said. "After receiving my rabbinical ordination from Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, N.J., I applied for and received my green card. I started out as a middle school teacher and for 10 years I taught the Torah and Judaic subjects at a private Jewish school." 

Rabbi Berdugo thought he would end his career as a school principal, but after becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1999, he was recruited for the Air Force chaplaincy. 

"Although I joined as a reservist, I knew that one day I would become active duty," he said.  Military service is not new to his family. His uncle is serving as a chaplain in the French army. Rabbi Berdugo also said he would like for his children to follow in his footsteps. 

"My wish is for at least one of my five children to carry on the family tradition (of becoming a religious leader)," he said. 


 


Spirit of Sepharad, From Casbah to Caliphate|
Performed June 25, 2008 
at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
www.mjhnyc.org

This soul-stirring musical journey traces the unique migration of Sephardic music from medieval Spain, across North Africa, to the Middle East. Combining music, dance and illuminating projections, we bring to life all the rich cultural strains that influenced Sephardic/Mizrahi Jews. Featuring an array of virtuoso musicians from multiple disciplines, this musical story of a rich cultural heritage is a celebration of the Sephardic experience that invites the possibility of coexistence, tolerance, respect and peace among all people.

www.sefaradrecords.com 
info@americansephardifederation.org 



TEXAS

The Tejano Battle of Medina
The Order of Granaderos y Damas de Galvez, July 4th Ceremony
Los Bexarenos, Excellent Tejano Genealogy & Historical Education
Dallas Historical Society Museum
29th Annual Texas State Hispanic Genealogy Conference
East Texas Hispanic Genealogy Society
Obituary: Manuel Borrego traced roots to early Spaniard in Texas
 

 
Dan Arellano on the right explaining historical facts to reporter.
"The Tejano Battle of Medina”
(August 18, 1813)

As the exclusion of Mexican Americans from Ken Burns WW II Documentary has proven, we must tell our own stories, the following is one of those stories. The public is invited to attend the “Tejano Battle of Medina Memorial Service.” The “Battle of Medina,” was the biggest and bloodiest battle for freedom ever fought in the State of Texas. 

The ceremony will be from 2-4 pm Saturday, August 16, 2008 at the Longhorn Museum in Pleasanton, Texas. Mr. Maclovio Perez from WOAI will be the Master of Ceremony. Scheduled to speak will be Dr Andres Tijerina Ph.D.Texas History Professor from Austin Community College, Dr J.F. de la Teja, Texas State Historian and professor of History from Texas State San Marcos and Author/Historian Dan Arellano with a special guest appearance by Mr. Robert Thonhoff, Author and Historian. 

Many Mexican-Americans have sacrificed their lives defending freedom and democracy. Over a thousand Tejanos were killed in one battle alone in defense of these causes. But this conflict was not on foreign soil. Not on the beaches at Normandy, not in Korea, Viet Nam or Desert Storm although Tejanos were there, but much closer to home in south Texas, less than twenty miles south of San Antonio. The “Battle of Medina”…the forgotten history of the Tejanos, these first sons and daughters of the State of Texas….unknown and unrecognized for their ultimate sacrifice.

This battle was between the evenly matched forces of The Republican Army of The North consisting of three to four hundred American volunteers, nine hundred to a thousand Tejanos and two to three hundred Lipan, Karankwa and Coushatta Indians against a Spanish army led by General Joaquin de Arredondo. 

A little known fact is that the Tejano leader Colonel Miguel Menchaca, in the heat of the battle had been ordered to withdraw his men, whereas it is said that Menchaca responded “Tejanos do not withdraw,” and plunged back into the foray. Out of the 1400-1500 that set out to fight only 100 would survive, making it the bloodiest battle ever fought on Texas soil. Another three hundred twenty-seven Tejanos would be executed in San Antonio after the battle and a hundred more would be executed as they fled towards Louisiana. 

Local property owners will de displaying swords, cannon balls, and musket balls found on recent archeological digs.

And now it is time to honor those who fought and died for freedom, 195 years ago.

Directions: From San Antonio take HI 37 South approximately 20 miles to Hi 97 turn west (right) towards Pleasanton the museum will be 2 miles on the right on Hi 97.

Dan Arellano Author/Historian 
www.tejanoroots.org 
512-826-7569 
darellano@austin.rr.com


Below are recent photos during the search for the Battle of Medina. School children assisted with the archeological dig and turned up a cannon ball and several musket balls. The items will be displayed at the upcoming event on August 16th at the Longhorn Museum in Pleasanton Texas.



Dan Arellano
www.tejanoroots.org
The sender has included tags, so you can do more with these photos. 
http://www.adobe.com/aboutstarteredition



 


THE ORDER OF GRANADEROS Y DAMAS DE GALVEZ 
A non-profit civic/patriotic organization founded in 1975
Website: www.granaderos.org 

 


Invitation:  You and your organization are invited to attend and participate in the 24th Annual Independence Day Patriotic Ceremony. Sponsored by The Granaderos & Damas de Gálvez at the hallowed grounds of the  Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road, San Antonio TX 78209.

10:00 to 11:00 a.m., on Friday, July 4, 2008

The ceremony is a public celebration of our country’s founding. It begins with a symbolic “shot heard round the world.” A solemn procession to the flag circle will follow to present floral tributes honoring our founding patriots who gave us the precious gift of freedom and all soldiers who have subsequently given their lives, that we may continue living as a free nation. 

The one-hour program will feature readings from the Declaration of Independence, a roll call of the thirteen colonies (with musket volleys and fife and drum music), and a keynote speech by Lieutenant General Thomas R. Turner, Commanding General, US Army North.

Groups participating in the wreath-laying procession will line-up behind the flag circle at 9:30 a.m., and will be acknowledged from the podium as they reach the flag circle. 

Please RSVP to the email address or telephone number shown below if your organization would like to participate in the procession. 

EscamillaJ@satx.rr.com 
  or phone number 210-679-9214

 

 



MEMBERS OF LOS BEXARENOS RECEIVE EXCELLENT

GENEALOGY AND HISTORICAL EDUCATION

By Jose M. Peña 

 

                                             INTRODUCTION

 

Organized in 1984 and based in San Antonio , Texas , Los Bexarenos Genealogical Society constantly strives to educate its members in genealogical and historical matters.  These events are free and do not require organizational membership.  Speakers at these meetings are people with a passion for history, professional historians, genealogists, archaeologists and researchers.  Los Bexarenos usually invite the public on every first Saturday of the month and carries such educational events at the main auditorium of the San Antonio Library located at 600 Soledad Street .

Los Bexarenos has a Board of Directors and Officers that manage its daily activities.  Its  Board of Directors include Jesse Rodriguez, George Farias, Eliseo Martinez, Gilbert Patiño, and Yolanda Kirkpatrick. 

 The 2008 Officers include (Right to Left) President Santiago Escobedo, Vice President Rafael Del Castillo, Treasurer Barney Robles, Secretary Sylvia Morales, and Parliamentarian Larry Kirkpatrick (not shown).   Here, they are shown conducting the meeting of June 7, 2008 . 

As a part of the San Antonio Genealogical & Historical Society, 911 Melissa Drive , San Antonio , TX 78213 , Los Bexarenos also provides assistance to beginning genealogists.

The Society assists individuals in getting started with genealogical research through beginner's workshops, and assistance by more experienced members of the Society. Genealogy assistance is by appointment only and given on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each  month between the hours of 10:00am and 2:00pm at certain locations.  Los Bexarenos also publishes and has a sizeable inventory of genealogy books.    

With the above as background, members of Los Bexarenos meet monthly and receive information on a variety of genealogy, historical, and cultural subjects.  This photo shows members that attended the June 7, 2008 lecture. 

 The book readings of April and June might give the reader a feel for the substance of the many monthly educational events.  Using Power Point Presentations, the authors covered their books called "The Last Knight," by Jose Antonio Lopez and "Inherit The Dust From the Four Winds of Revilla."  by Jose M. Peña.  Both books have received excellent reviews in the past.   

 

THE LAST KNIGHT

 by Jose A. Lopez

 

On April 5, 2008 , Author/Historian Jose Lopez, read his book covering the greatest hero of Revilla  -- Don Jose Bernardo Maximiliano Gutierrez de Lara .  Don Bernardo was the son of Don Joseph Santiago Gutierrez de Lara and Maria Rosa Uribe de Gutierrez de Lara.  He was born in 1774 and died in 1841.  His life was marked by great achievements.   

“The Last Knight” is a short story summarizing Don Bernardo’s role in gaining independence from Spain for both Texas and Mexico .  Before Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett, there was Don Jose Bernardo Maximiliano Gutierrez de Lara, the first champion of Texas Independence.  Born in Revilla (see next book reading), he was a successful rancher who experienced, first-hand, and objected to the harsh and inequitable treatment of Creoles, Mestizos, and Native Americans by the Spanish Crown.  Don Bernardo became involved when he answered Father Miguel Hidalgo’s call for revolution in 1810.  Based on his impressive leadership qualities and demeanor, the senior leaders of the revolution immediately appointed him a Lt. Colonel in the rebel army.  He was also named the Commander-in-chief of the Texas Army.  As a special revolutionary emissary, he went to Washington , D.C. , to seek help with fighting men and money.   Of significance is the fact that during this arduous trip, the intrepid Don Bernardo rode on horseback for 1,200 miles (to Knoxville , TN ), met all types of hardships on the way, and eventually got to Washington D.C.   Succeeding in his mission, he returned to Natchitoches , LA , where he finalized his plans for the Texas Revolution.  Leading his Texas army, including about 400 U.S. Anglo Saxon volunteers, he achieved several quick victories in a number of battles beginning in Nacogdoches .  Flying the Emerald Green Flag, he led the first Texas Revolutionary Army and declared Texas a free and independent state.    He took over the Spanish Provincial Capital of San Fernando de Bexar ( San Antonio ) and the Alamo .  On April 6, 1813 , he became the President Protector of Texas (its first Governor), and issued the first Texas Declaration of Independence and signed its first Constitution on April 17, 1813 .  Faced by insubordination within his own staff and to keep the peace in the independence movement, he was forced to resign his post as Texas Army Commander-in-Chief and President of Texas.  While in exile in Louisiana for a period of 10 years, he stayed involved with the revolution in his homeland.  Still, in 1815 he helped General Andrew Jackson defeat the British at the Battle of New Orleans.  After Mexican Independence in 1821, he returned triumphantly to Mexico in 1824.  Because he was held in such high esteem by his countrymen, he was made the first Governor of the State of Tamaulipas .  He also assumed several other important responsibilities, chief among them being the Commandant General of the four Eastern Interior States ( Coahuila , Texas , Tamaulipas, and Nuevo Leon).  He retired to his home in Revilla after a glorious career serving both Mexico and the U.S.  

Author Jose Antonio Lopez was born and raised in Laredo , Texas , is a USAF Veteran, and served 37 years in Federal Service, including in management and training positions.  He is related to Don Bernardo from both the Gutierrez de Lara and the Uribe families. 

The Last Knight may be bought directly from Xlibris Corporation, Tel.  1-888-795-4274 or Joe Lopez (jlopez8182@satx.rr.com) (HB $25)     

 

INHERIT THE DUST FROM THE FOUR WINDS OF REVILLA,

By Jose M. Peña

 

On June 7, 2008 , Author Jose M. Peña (picture) gave a reading of his book.  It is a fascinating story of the ancient Mexican town of Villa del Señor San Ignacio de Loyola de Revilla (now destroyed and known as Guerrero Viejo).   

Founded on October 10, 17 50 , Revilla was one of twenty-three original settlements established by José de Escandón between 1748 and 1755 in the Seno Mexicano. The King of Spain awarded numerous land-grants to these settlers.  Revilla (and four other settlements) got 438 unusual land-grants called "Porciones" – Revilla got 68, four other settlements got 370.   Under an unusual possession ceremony, settlers, in Revilla, happily watered the earth and threw dust to the four winds.  After Mexico gained its independence from Spain , on September 27, 18 21 , Revilla changed its name to Ciudad Guerrero (to honor Vicente Guerrero -- a true hero of that revolution).  By the nineteenth century, Guerrero's population was close to 15,000 when it became one of the principal cultural and trade centers of northern Mexico and southern Texas .   Guerrero Viejo's influence began to diminish after the railroad bypassed it in favor of Nuevo Laredo in the late 1880s.  The violence, bloodshed, and dislocations of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) further weakened the economic and social integrity of the town.  Guerrero survived until 1954 when the United States and Mexico completed the construction of Falcon Dam across the Rio Grande and it inundated the old city.  As a result, the remaining residents of that proud community relocated to Guerrero Nuevo. Today, the ghost of a formerly vibrant community still stands on the banks of a dried-up Rio Salado as a mute testimony to the remarkable resilience of a proud, pioneering people.  

Peña’s book represents a well-researched and authoritative historical perspective of this old colonial town and discusses the effects of a number of events that marked its historical trajectory and eventually caused its demise.   In his book and talk, Peña tells the story within the broader historical context of Mexico ’s turbulent history, southern parts of Texas , and the U.S.   He covers 250-years of Mexico ’s turbulent historical phases.   He tells how Ancient Guerrero was established; who established it (some of his forebears); how the 68 Porciones were awarded; how the many different historical events affected Revilla/Guerrero; and how it was eventually destroyed.  A number of historical events took place during the 250-year period; they included:   the war for Mexican Independence,  Santa Anna's Dictatorship, Texas Separation, Indian conflicts, U.S/Mexican War, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Protocolo De Queretaro, Bourland and Miller Commission, Gadson Purchase Agreement, Diaz Dictatorship,  Mexican Revolution, losses of land in both countries, Bucarelli Agreements, expropriation of U.S.-owned oil companies in Mexico, 1941 Bilateral Debt Agreements, and legal suits against Mexico to recover an unpaid $193 million (plus interest) debt for Texas lands that were lost/stolen/confiscated from Mexican/Tejanos before and after the U.S./ Mexican war.  This debt was first owed by the U.S. but exchanged with Mexico ; Mexico has never paid it.

All these historical events affected and interrelated with the people and land-grants of Revilla.  Peña’s book and talk makes this complex story easy to understand and shows how a number of land-grants -- that were awarded in 1767 -- have been lost, stolen, confiscated, and/or abandoned.  As a result, many descendents (of original settlers) will only inherit the dust thrown to the four winds of Revilla.   

José M. Peña was born and raised in Laredo and is a graduate of the University of Texas . Many of his forebears established Revilla/Guerrero and his parents were born there. He is a retired Foreign Service Officer with over 30 years of service (including positions as Deputy – and Acting -- Regional Inspector General) with the U.S. Agency for International Development assigned to many Third-World countries, a Director to a Health Project in Guatemala , and a Consultant for the Organization of American States.  

Inherit The Dust From The Four Winds of Revilla may be bought directly from Xlibris Corporation, Tel.  1-888-795-4274 (HB about $33) or Jose M. Pena (jmpena@aol.com  -- HB$30).    

Vice President Dr. Rafael Del Castillo gives an award to Authors Jose M. Pena (left) and Jose A. Lopez (right) at the end of their presentation.   

The above have been but two examples of the type of monthly lectures that Los Bexarenos strive to bring to its members.  In fact, over the past 4 years, there have been 44 authors/ historians/genealogist/ sociologists that have lectured the membership.  These lectures include talks:  

·       About genealogy, resources, available information, and workshops covering use of microfilms, genetic genealogy, many Texas Departments, Agualeguas records, and others.  

·       About many family names including Marroquin, De Leon, Verimendi, Blanco, Muzquiz, and others.  

·       About many historical topics including Tejano history, Sephardic Jews, Canary Island , Morocco , San Fernando , San Juan Dam, Texas Ranching, Santa Rosa , Spanish Missions, San Antonio River walk, the Apache Problem, Cortina, and others.   Note:  The Battle of Medina has been discussed by two respected authors.  

·       About culture and music as they relate to genealogy including Spanish Guitar music, Mexican and Spanish music, folklore and music, and many others.  

As can be seen from the above, Los Bexarenos is a great genealogy organization and is probably leading the way in providing its membership a well-rounded monthly education on aspects related to genealogy, history, music, and culture.  We congratulate Los Bexarenos for a job well-done.   

Los Bexarenos is always looking for new members and/or lecturers.  It also has a sizeable inventory of published books covering the gamut of genealogical subjects.   Please visit its web-site at   http://www.losbexarenos.org

[1]   Contributors to the article were Jose A. Lopez, Dr. Rafael Del Castillo, Santiago Escobedo, George Gause, and Larry Kilpatrick.

[2]   Web-site for Los Bexarenos is www.losbexarenos.org

 

 


Dallas Historical Society Museum


Exhibits:
The Land that Shaped the People: Texas Ranching Heritage 

Located in the North and South Texas Rooms
The exhibit will also focus on how ranching was done. The day to day logistics of running a small spread to the giant cattle drives was a daunting task that took a special kind of person, not only to handle the chores but merely to survive. The working tools of the trade have been laid out for all to see. 

Texas Under Six Flags 
Located in the East Texas Room and the Hall of Heroes 
The collections of the Dallas Historical Society contains many rare and unique documents and artifacts relating to Texas history. A number of which have not been viewed by the public in many years. The exhibit focuses in on Texas history from the time it was occupied by Native cultures, discovered by Europeans, was an independent Republic, and continues through 1870.

Sent by toby@dallashistory.org
Dallas Historical Society | P. O. Box 150038 | Dallas | TX | 75315

Editor: I do hope some Primos will visit the exhibit and comment on whether there is a Spanish/Mexican presence in the exhibits.  

In The Land that shaped the People: Texas Ranching Heritage . .  are our ancestors identified? The first brands found recorded in the Bexar Archives are those for:
Nicolas Saez (October 4, 1742); Francisco Joseph de Estrada (January 16, 1748); 
Juan Joseph Flores (July 1, 1762);  and Andres Hernandez for his son Joseph Miguel (January 28, 1765).  Source:  Appendix in Los Mesteños by Jack Jackson.

Texas Under Six Flags text comments on Texas history states, discovered by Europeans, but does not identify the early Spanish contributions.  The following book is identified as The First Official History of Texas:  Texas and Northeastern Mexico, 1630-1690  Juan Bautista Chapa, edited with an introduction by William c. Foster.  Since Juan Bautista Chapa was one of the earliest explorers (1690) who documented the natives, flora and fauna, I just wonder if there is any inclusion of his contributions to the history of Texas. 

 




THURS - AUG 28
3 PM DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR (VISITORS CENTER DOWNTOWN) - FREE
5-9 PM EARLY REGISTRATION
FRI - AUG 29
BUS TOUR TO LOS ADAES HISTORICAL SITE AND NATCHITOCHES, LA $85
INCLUDES LUNCH IN NATCHITOCHES. BRING WALKING SHOES AND CAMERA
SAT - AUG 30
CONFERENCE - FREEDONIA HOTEL AND CONVENTION CENTER
200 N. FREEDONIA ST. DOWNTOWN NACOGDOCHES, TX 75961
(ROOMS $80 - UP TO 4 PEOPLE 936-564-1234)
SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED
SUN. AUG 31


Visit the Conference Website for more information. 
East Texas Hispanic Genealogical Society 
http://www.hispanicgs.org/conference/index.htm

Sent by Dan Arellano, Gus Chavez, Juan Marinez

 


East Texas Hispanic Genealogy Society
www.ethgs.org

The East Texas Hispanic Genealogy Society is a group dedicated to finding and sharing information on the families descended from the early settlers and native Americans in Texas, especially in the area of Nacogdoches, Tx. 


The development of the area around Nacogdoches and especially the influence of the Hispanic culture and families in the area is little know and less understood by the vast majority of Texans. The historical significance of the Spanish settlements in Texas in general and especially those along El Camino Real (The Kings Highway) that linked the French fortress at Los Adaes in present day Louisiana to Nacogdoches and to the Spanish settlement in San Antonio is little known but very important in Texas history. 

Years of research in this area, in particular the information on Spanish families in the area, is available at a discounted price to members of the society.

We hope you could visit us at our booth at the Hispanic Genealogical Society over the Labor Day Weekend in Austin this year. In 2008 the Texas Hispanic Genealogy and History Conference will be hosted by ETHGS in Nacogdoches.Click Here for Details.

On Sale Now:

Descendants of Nepomuceno De La Cerda and Maria Selinda Flores $60

Includes the following families among others: Arriola, Bebee,Del Rio (Rivers), Ebabrb,Ezerack, Fuentes, Helmsetter, Hernandez, Laroux, Leone, Malmay,Mast, Molander, Molandes, Montes, Mora, Paddie, Padilla, Procell, Procella, Rivers, Salinas, Sepulvado, Ybarbo, 

Descendants of Pablo and Tinidad Huerta-Salinas $30

Descendants of Andres Acosta and Maria de la Conception Padilla $30

Descendants of Pedro Silverio Padilla and Josefa Alvaredo $30

Include the Following Families among others: Basco, Basquez, Del Rio, Paddie, Procell-Procella, Sants Cruz, Ybarbo

Descendants of Jose Antonio Sanches (Sanchez) and Juana Soto $30

Includes the following families among others: Cordova, Lazarine, Luna, Menchaca, Ybarbo.

Descendants of Andes Berma (Malmay) and Maria Francesca Juana Caldenas $40

Descendants of Mariano Mora and Maria Trinadad Procela $30

Descendants of Matias Fuentes and Martiena Saucedo $30

Includes the following families among others: Marins. Galvan, Villsensor, Rodriquz, Sanez, Lopez, Alvaredo, Segura, Cruz, Gonzalerz, Carrasco,Montelogongo, 

Descendants of Gabreil Padilla and Gertrudis Pena $30

Includes the following families among others: Padilla, Patricio, Paddie

Descendants of Thomas Mansolo and Dorotea Sarnac $30

Includes the following families among others: Acosta, Arriola, Castro, Paache, Arriola

Descendants of Jose Antonio Sepulvado and Maria Guadalupe Chavana $60

Includes the following families among others: Acosta, Ezernack, Bebee, Garcia, Pocell, Meshell, Ebarb, Malmay, 

Membership in the society is $20 per year. Send a check payable to "East Texas Hispanic Genealogy Society" along with Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Phone Number and E-mail address to P. O. Box 701185, Houston, Tx 77270.

For more information, send enquiries to ethgs@hotmail.com.

Members will receive a quarterly newsletter. 

Vol. 1 # 1
MELCHOR PROCELLA ANCESTRY LINE 
SOME OF THE FAMILIES FROM LOS ADAES - INFORMATION TAKEN FROM NACOGDOCHES CENSUS (Part1) 
CENSUS OF NACOGDOCHES BY ANTONIO GIL YBABRO, DEC. 31,1792 (Part1) 

Vol 1 # 2
SOME OF THE FAMILIES FROM LOS ADAES - INFORMATION TAKEN FROM NACOGDOCHES CENSUS (Part2) 
CENSUS OF NACOGDOCHES BY ANTONIO GIL YBABRO, DEC. 31,1792(Part 2) 

Vol. 1 #3
CENSUS OF NACOGDOCHES, DEC. 31, 1793 
WILL OF ANTONIO GIL YBARBO, MAY 19, 1800 

VoL. 2 #2
CENSUS OF OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR OF NACOGDOCHES, DEC. 31 1795

Vol. 2 #3
CENSUS OF NACOGDOCHES, DEC. 31 1797
REQUEST TO THE GOVERNOR FOR BANISHMENT OF ANDRES CHRINIOS BY ANTONIO GIL IBARVO, JULY 2, 1766
LETTER INFORMING THE GOVERNOR OF THE RESCUE OF A WOMAN AND CHILD FROM THE COMANCHE INDIANS BY ANTONIO GIL IBARVO, FEB 6, 1780

Vol. 2 #4
CENSUS OF NACOGDOCHES, DEC. 31 1798

Mar, 2006
CENSUS OF NACOGDOCHES, DEC. 31 1799

Sep, 2006
CENSUS OF NACOGDOCHES, DEC. 31 1805
CENSUS OF FOREIGNERS IN NACOGDOCHES, JANUARY 1, 1805

YEAR 0F 1805 CENSUS OF FOREIGNERS IN NUESTRA SENORA DEL PILAR DE NACOGDOCHES

Dec, 2006
CENSUS OF 1806 NACOGDOCHES TEXAS

Jun, 2007
CENSUS OF 1809 NACOGDOCHES TEXAS

We regret to announce the passing of Rafael Huerta Salinas, the father of the founder of this organization.

Sent by Jose M. Pena and Dan Arellano

 

 


Obituary:
Manuel "Manny" Borrego, 78, 
traced roots to early Spaniard in Texas
 

By Elaine Ayo, San Antonio Express-News, 4/23/2008 eayo@express-news.net


Born: March 26, 1930 
Died: April 18, 2008 

Manuel "Manny" Borrego made sure his children knew where they came from. 
"He's always been a historian," son Mark Borrego said. "I remember he said Borregos down the line were some of the first Spaniards to settle in Texas." 

Borrego, who traced his lineage to the founder of a Spanish settlement on the north bank of the Rio Grande, died Friday in San Antonio of complications after a long illness. He was 78. 

"He's just a real good father, like a friend," Mark Borrego said about his father, who he also said had a good sense of humor. 

Borrego was one of the five charter members of the San Antonio Founding Chapter of the Order of the Granaderos de Gálvez, an organization dedicated to educating people about the contributions of Spaniards, especially Gen. Bernardo de Gálvez, during the American Revolution, according to the organization's Web site. 

"He was very proud of that, and was very active for the first couple of years," said author and historian Robert Thonhoff about the organization founded in 1975 by Spanish Consul General Erik Martel, local businessman Charles Barrera and radio personality Henry Guerra, better known as "la voz de San Antonio." 

His family said Borrego traced his own lineage to Don Juan José Vásquez Borrego, who received a Spanish land grant in 1750 and founded the Villa de Dolores and the Rancho San Juan de Alamo on the north bank of the Rio Grande, about 10 miles from Laredo. 
"He's just proud of his history," Mark Borrego said. 

A veteran of the Korean War, Borrego taught vocational skills at Fox Tech High School in the San Antonio Independent School District until 1992, when he retired. 
Thonhoff knew the soft-spoken Borrego from his conversations with him about Borrego's heritage and said he was impressed by Borrego's zeal for history and described him as a "very learned man, a very gentle man." 

"He was serious about history in general and especially his family history," said Thonhoff, an honorary governor general of the Granaderos. "He did his genealogical homework to (trace his heritage to) the founders of Texas." 

Survived by: Wife Lita Borrego; daughter Bernadette Borrego; son Mark Borrego; and grandchildren Alex Garcia, Vanessa Garcia and Dominic Borrego, all of San Antonio. 

Sent by John Inclan fromgalveston@yahoo.com



EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI

Senator Valde Garcia, first Hispanic Senator in Michigan.
Tennessee says illegal immigrants can marry
Juan Crow in Georgia by Roberto Lovato
Rally for Immigration Rights in Milwaukee
 

MICHIGAN STATE SENATOR VALDE GARCIA
First Hispanic state senator in Michigan.

BIOGRAPHY 

State Senator Valde Garcia represents the 22nd District which comprises Livingston, Shiawassee, and the southern portion of Ingham counties. Senator Garcia is beginning his third year as senator.

He earned a Bachelors degree in Political Science and History from Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio. Upon graduating from college, he was commissioned as an Army officer in the United States armed forces. He served for nine years on active duty before going on to serve an additional nine years in the United States Army Reserve. It was during this period of time that he was recalled to active duty to serve in support of Operation Desert Storm at Fort Benning, GA. The last three years has been spent in the Michigan Army National Guard and he currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Senator Garcia has served as a legislative aid and chief of staff for several state senators. He was also a teacher and business representative before joining the legislature in 1999 as a state representative. Senator Garcia has the distinction of being the first Hispanic state senator in Michigan.

He currently sits on the Senate Appropriations committee and chairs the Appropriations Sub-Committee on Michigan State Police and Military Affairs. He also sits on the Community Colleges and K-12 School Aid, Education subcommittees, the Senate Committee on Senior Citizens and Veterans Affairs, and is the vice chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Emerging Technology Committee.

Senator Garcia was born and raised in Clinton County Michigan. He currently resides in Livingston County.

To contact: Senator Valde Garcia, Denice K. Purves, Office ManagerP.O. Box 30036 Lansing, MI 48909-7536.  By Phone:. (517) 373-2420. Toll Free:. 1-800-516-0026. By Fax:. (517) 373-2764.

Sent by Juan Marinez 
marinezj@msu.edu




 


Tennessee says illegal immigrants can marry

Davidson no longer will bar licenses
By Janell Ross, May 24, 2008, Staff Writer 
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805240331

 

For the first time in a decade, immigration status won't stop couples from obtaining marriage licenses in Davidson County and marrying anywhere in Tennessee. Counties across the state could follow suit depending on the outcome of the Nashville case that sparked the policy change.

Davidson County Clerk John Arriola switched direction Thursday after a state attorney general's opinion sided with a couple who sued him for refusing to issue a marriage license based on the prospective groom's lack of documents. Since at least 1998, county clerks in Tennessee asked for a Social Security card, or, failing in that, a valid passport and visa.

"This is a very big deal," Nashville immigration lawyer Linda Rose said. "This is very good news for the immigrant community because now it restores a fundamental right. … It gives due respect and credit to the institution of marriage."

Federal judges in Ohio and Pennsylvania have ruled that marriage is a fundamental right that cannot be available to just those able to prove they're in the United States legally. Some concerned about the growth of illegal immigration in Tennessee say the change could invite more of it.

At the heart of the Tennessee case is Nashville lawyer Vanessa Saenz, a U.S. citizen who filed a civil suit in Nashville's U.S. District Court against Gov. Phil Bredesen and Arriola on April 21. The suit claims Saenz was denied her "fundamental right to marry the man of her choice under color of state law." It claims citizens trying to marry people who can't possibly obtain Social Security numbers are being denied equal protection under the law.

Suit doesn't seek money

The suit seeks to bar the Davidson county clerk from requesting Social Security numbers or valid visas from marriage license applicants. It doesn't seek monetary compensation and doesn't name Saenz's fiance or describe his immigration status, his current whereabouts or his native country.

"There are a lot of people whose futures are at stake," said Saenz, who declined to discuss the case or her fiance.

In light of the attorney general's opinion, issued last week, and Arriola's policy change, a federal judge on Friday ruled there's nothing standing in the way of Saenz's wedding and denied a request for a hearing. Saenz's attorney, George Barrett, filed a motion for more time to fight the governor's motion to dismiss.

Multiple state and federal courts have upheld that the government can't bar a person from marrying simply because they or their partner are a member of some specific group, said James Blumstein, a Constitutional law professor at Vanderbilt University.

"There was a case rather appropriately called Loving v. Virginia that settled that matter," Blumstein said about the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case that struck down laws barring interracial couples from marrying.

He said the government has to prove a marriage it opposes would have a negative impact on the country.

Tennessee's old policy was enacted a decade ago as part of a federal initiative to make it easier to track parents who failed to pay child support. The then-Tennessee attorney general issued an opinion endorsing the Social Security number requirement.

Arriola following the law

Arriola, elected clerk in 2006, said he never wanted to turn couples away over immigration-related paperwork. "That was the state law, and I was obligated to uphold it," he said. "Personally, I think anyone should be able to marry."

He predicted a spike in marriage license applications once couples heard about the policy change, but it was quiet Friday inside the back room of the Davidson County Clerk's Office where couples come to complete marriage license paperwork. Only the department's employees and its Web site signaled there was any change at all.

Arriola said he is a friend of the Rev. Joseph Breen, pastor of St. Edward Catholic Church, who pressured him for years about the law. Last year, St. Edward coordinated a trip for 20 mostly Hispanic couples to obtain marriage licenses and legally wed in Kentucky, where clerks don't require immigration-related paperwork. Breen then married them in the church when they returned.

"Truly, everybody should have the right to get married, and the state should not have any rules or regulations against that," Breen said. "What we've been doing here is a real shame. So we wanted to help these couples."

Theresa Harmon, co-founder of Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policy, said she worries Davidson County's new policy will draw illegal immigrants to Tennessee from surrounding states and make it harder to deport them. She plans to talk to lawmakers about overriding it.

"Marriage is a human right, and I believe in families," she said. "But I've had to do some hard soul-searching on these kinds of issues.

"Marriage licenses are just going to be another way to legitimize people who aren't supposed to be here in the first place."

Rose, the immigration lawyer, said the ruling could help immigrants who enter the country legally but overstay their visas. They can marry, apply for an adjustment in their immigration status and remain in the country while the government considers the request.

Immigrants who enter the country illegally and marry U.S. citizens could still be deported or, if they wanted to adjust their immigration status, would have to go back to their home countries, apply for a visa and be barred from returning for 10 years. Their American spouses can apply for a waiver to the ban, but only cases of extreme hardship are approved, Rose said.

Sent by Juan Marinez
marinezj@anr.msu.edu



 


Juan Crow in Georgia by Roberto Lovato

Below is the last concluding section of an article 
that appeared in the May 26, 2008 edition of The Nation.


The article deals with the conflicts resulting from the increasing numbers of illegals who have settled in the Southeast states, specifically Atlanta.

Activists like Janvieve Williams of the US Human Rights Network, based in Atlanta, counter the anti-immigrant tide by elevating the tone of the debate and shifting the terms to human rights. As an Afro-Panamanian immigrant, Williams says she feels discrimination from many whites in Georgia, but she also experiences discrimination from mestizo immigrants. Her perception of anti-immigrant sentiments among African-Americans adds another layer to the complex racial dynamics unleashed by Juan Crow. "I'm caught between African-Americans who don't want to understand immigration and immigrants and Latinos who use words like 'moreno,' 'negritos,' 'los negros' and other terms that are not good," says Williams.

But rather than see her Afro-Latino identity and her Latin American political experience as a barrier between communities, Williams-who co-hosts Radio Diaspora, a weekly Afro-Latino program that helped promote the 50,000-plus immigrants' rights marches in 2006-uses Latin American media and organizing experience to cross linguistic and political borders. "We need to move from civil rights to human rights. We need to start using the language and tools of human rights around the issue of immigration. It's an international issue that needs an international framework," says Williams, whose organization co-sponsored the visit to Atlanta last May by the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. Williams's organization brought together many groups who shared stories of Juan Crow with the special rapporteur, who took his report to the UN General Assembly.

In the same way that the concept of civil rights grew as a response to Jim Crow, the human rights framework advocated by Williams and other immigrants' rights activists in the South and across the country challenges traditional approaches to race and rights. "Some civil rights leaders here don't think human rights affects us in the United States," says Williams. "A lot of the [civil rights] elders of that movement are not linked to the human rights movement, and that also gets in the way of working together."

Not all of Georgia's civil rights elders fit thirtysomething Williams's description. The Rev. Joseph Lowery, the lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr., says he did not perceive the threat that some whites and African-American Georgians felt from the massive immigrant marches of 2006; instead he sees in the millions marching in Atlanta and across the country "instruments of God's will to change this country." Reverend Lowery, who now leads the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, has spoken eloquently and vociferously against what he considers "wicked" immigration policies and has attended pro-immigrant rallies. He believes that massive immigration to the United States came about because of the workings within the tall buildings like those in spitting distance of his office in the historic Atlanta Life building on Auburn Avenue. "We've globalized money, we've globalized trade and commerce, but we haven't globalized fairness toward work and labor. The solution to the 'problem' of immigration and other problems is globalization of justice," he said.

Speaking of the relationship between American blacks and Latino immigrants, Lowery said, "There are many differences between our experience and that of immigrant Latinos-but there is a family resemblance between Jim Crow and what is being experienced by immigrants. Both met economic oppression. Both met racial and ethnic hostility.

"But the most important thing to remember," said Lowery, as if casting out the demons of Juan and Jim Crow, "is that, though we may have come over on different ships, we're all in the same damn boat now."
Sent by Dorinda Moreno fuerzamundial@gmail.com

 

 


Rally for Immigrants Rights in Milwaukee

Thousands of immigrants and supporters carrying flags and chanting, "Sí, se puede," ("Yes, we can") marched through downtown Milwaukee Thursday for comprehensive immigration reform and a halt to the workplace raids that have reached record levels.

This year's event drew fewer than the throngs that turned out last year, when Milwaukee had one of the largest May Day immigrant marches in the country.

Nationally, the marches and rallies that have been staged coast to coast for three years have dropped in attendance each year as efforts to reform immigration laws have stalled in Congress and enforcement efforts have picked up.

A supporter of stricter enforcement, Rosemary Jenks of NumbersUSA in Washington, D.C., said she believes the marches have backfired and bolstered those who favor more enforcement among the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, director of Voces de la Frontera, who organized the Milwaukee marches, said she was pleased with Thursday's turnout, given there had been less time to organize this year. "We had to devote a lot of time to respond to families with issues affected by the raids," she said.

She said a permit to use a portion of the street was requested too late, so marchers had to snake across the 6th Street Viaduct and down Wisconsin Ave. on the sidewalk, darting through scaffolding at one point.

The marchers included people of all ages, from some seniors in wheelchairs to parents pushing strollers or walking with their children. Many carried signs that read, "Today we march; tomorrow we vote."

This year's march attracted more student and faith-based groups.

About 50 students from Riverside University High School donned blue caps and gowns to call attention to the fact that many illegal immigrants struggle to continue their education because their status doesn't allow them federal aid for college. Francisca Meraz, 14, one of the students, said she has friends and family who fall into that category.

"Students want and need an education, regardless of their status," she said.

Many chanted, "We are students; we are not criminals," in Spanish and English.

Students from Pius XI High School carried a banner that read, "Pius XI students united for immigrant rights."

"It's May 1 and the day for people who are wrongly persecuted," said Kevin Jennings, 16, a junior at the school.

The march was led off by 100 students wearing "First 100 Days" T-shirts, calling for comprehensive immigration reform within the first 100 days of a new presidential administration.

"I came to the march because I know many people in my congregation who are exploited and suffer," said Pastor Richard Peterson, 56, of Faith Lutheran Church. "There's a need for immigration reform."

Debbie Davis, 46, a history teacher at Pulaski High School who said she was once a performance artist, dressed as the Statue of Liberty and walked on stilts along the route of the march.

At Veterans Park, David Newby, Wisconsin president of the AFL-CIO, told the crowd: "All workers have rights. We're all in this together."

Under the Bush administration, money has been taken from the federal agency that looks after worker safety, he said. From 2005 to 2006, he said, there was a 7% increase in the number of Latino workers killed on the job, 25% higher than the national average, he said. "An injury to one is an injury to all."

Sent by Patricia (Patti) Navarrette
West Allis, WI
pnavarrette@wi.rr.com


EAST COAST

Carmen Daria Cordero

 


Born Oct. 26, 1930 Puerto Rico
Passed:  New York, May 12, 2008

Career Accomplishments:
42 years as Educator at P.S. 11 in Manhattan, NY
Founing member of AFSCME- NY- local 372, Cultural Committee
Founding member of NY DC 37- Latino Heritage Committee
Founding member of NY Local 372 Women's Committee
Pioneer NY DC 37; Paraprofessionals
Trustee of NY Local 372
Executive Board Member of Local 372
Executive Board Member of NY Local 372-Recording Secretary
Exec. Board:  NY City Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
Member of NYC Central Labor Council Hispanic Labor Committee
Member of the Coaliltion of Labor Union Women (CLUW)
Member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionist (CBTU)
Union Delegate-DC 37
Delegate-NY City Central Labor Council
Member of Local 372 Political Action Committee
Delegate to many AFSCME International Conventions
NY Local 372 Shop Steward

Sent by Dorinda Moreno

 

MEXICO

Personajes de la historia/Presidentes Municipales de Torreón, Coah.
General Jose Manuel Rafael Simon de Mier y Teran 
       family connections to Descendents of Don Antonio Velasco de la Torre

Descendents of Don Joseph Gutierrez de Zulaica
Burgos, Tamaulipas, crónica de un viaje en busca de mis ancestros maternos  
 


Personajes de la historia / PRESIDENTES MUNICIPALES DE TORREÓN, COAH.

Por: José León Robles De La Torre www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx  

 

El Profr. don Manuel Mijares Valdés, resultó electo Presidente Municipal del Municipio de Torreón, Coah., para el bienio de 1937-1938, tomando posesión de su cargo el día uno de enero de 1937 con el siguiente Cabildo:

Profr. don Manuel Mijares Valdés, Presidente Municipal de Torreón, Coah., en 1937-1938.Don Cipriano Ramírez, como primer regidor; Profr. don Wenceslao Rodríguez, como segundo regidor; don Pascual González, como tercer regidor; don Nicolás Díaz, como cuarto regidor; don Juan Pérez, primer síndico y don Pedro Rodríguez, segundo síndico. El Profr. Mijares ha sido uno de los hombres que más años vivieron en palacio municipal, ya que fue regidor o funcionario en muchísimos ayuntamientos, como ya era indispensable verlo erguido y amable por los pasillos de la presidencia. Yo lo conocí muy bien y lo traté con frecuencia porque yo desempeñaba el cargo de jefe de juicios de la aduana local.

Nació don Manuel Mijares Valdés en la colonia Santa Rosa de Gómez Palacio, Dgo., el día 21 de abril de 1890. Lugar que era una hacienda que administraba su abuelo don Bartolo Mijares, donde vivieron los padres del profesor Mijares que fueron don Manuel Mijares Nájera y su esposa doña Martha Valdés de Mijares.

Sus padres trasladaron su residencia a Torreón, Coah., comprando una casita en la avenida Morelos entre las calles Ramos Arizpe y J. Antonio de la Fuente estudiaron don Manuel y su hermano José Rodolfo en la Escuela Oficial No. 2 y posteriormente pasaron a la ciudad de Saltillo, Coah., donde estudiaron la carrera de maestros en la Escuela Normal del Estado.

El Profr. Mijares contrajo nupcias, al parecer en San Pedro de las Colonias, Coah., con la señorita Ma. del Pilar Andrade, procreando cinco hijos, de los

cuales, la maestra Evangelina Mijares Andrade, fue directora del Colegio Mijares que se encuentra en la avenida Matamoros de esta ciudad.

El profesor Mijares, siendo diputado al Congreso del Estado en 1920, le tocó ser gobernador sustituto durante los días del 28 de mayo al cinco de junio de dicho año. Fue secretario del H. Ayuntamiento de Torreón, desde 1955 en que el presidente Ing. Esteban Jardón Herrera, lo invitó a ocupar ese cargo en sustitución de don Edmundo Gallardo, terminando su gestión en 1957. Pero al entrar el nuevo presidente municipal don Braulio Fernández Aguirre, lo invitó a continuar en su cargo por los años 1958, 1959 y 1960. Durante los siguientes tres años en la administración del doctor Gustavo Fernández, que terminó el Lic. Salvador Sánchez y Sánchez, siguió en ese cargo, terminando en 1963. Pero el Profr. Mijares, continuó en la siguiente administración con su cargo de secretario del H. Ayuntamiento, con el Inf. don Heriberto Ramos González de 1954 a 1966, fecha en que subió a la presidencia don Rodolfo Guerrero González, durante los años de 1967, 1968 y 1969. Con tantos años en ese cargo, ya era indispensable en la Secretaría del Ayuntamiento, cuyos problemas conocía a la perfección y los resolvía de la mejor manera posible.

Esta vida tan activa y positiva del profesor Mijares Valdés, llegó a su fin, falleciendo en la ciudad de Torreón el día dos de octubre de 1977 y sus restos fueron conducidos dentro de un gran duelo popular al Panteón Municipal donde descansan en la cripta familiar.   

Para el bienio de 1941 a 1942, resultó electo don Julio Larriva, quien tomó posesión de su cargo el uno de enero de 1941 con el siguiente cabildo: Don Catarino Sánchez, como primer regidor; don Eulalio Oviedo, como segundo regidor; don Melchor Rivera, como tercer regidor; don Vicente H. Adame como cuarto regidor y don Rosalío Guajardo, como síndico municipal.

En las elecciones resultó electo don Julio Larriva, para presidente municipal de Torreón, Coah., para el bienio de 1941-1942, sin terminar su periodo.

Nació don Julio en el rancho de Cinco Señores, posteriormente llamado Nazas, Dgo. Su actuación como presidente, no brilló debido a que duró en el cargo solamente once meses y veintidós días por razones políticas, pues salió del Gobierno del Estado el general don Pedro V. Rodríguez Triana y en su lugar ocupó la gubernatura del Estado el general don Benecio López Padilla, quien disolvió los poderes de la Presidencia Municipal de Torreón, según aparece en acta levantada el 24 de diciembre de 1941, en la que por órdenes del nuevo gobernador asumió la Presidencia Municipal de Torreón don Francisco de la Fuente. El señor Larriva se retiró a la vida privada sufriendo una fuerte depresión que lo llevó a la tumba, mediante el suicidio, ello en enero de 1942, quedando sepultado en el Panteón Torreón de esta ciudad.

Don Francisco de la Fuente asumió el poder de la Presidencia Municipal de Torreón nombrado por la XXXV Legislatura del Estado, del 23 de diciembre de 1941 con un nuevo cabildo compuesto por don Albino Pérez, como primer regidor; don Julio Martínez Pérez, como segundo regidor; don David Becerra, como tercer regidor; don Jesús Orona M., como cuarto regidor; don Pascual González, como primer síndico y don Francisco Güereca, como síndico segundo.

Poco duró este Ayuntamiento pues el 17 de octubre de 1942, renunció todo el cabildo juntamente con el Presidente Municipal de la Fuente, según consta en acta levantada y decreto de la diputación permanente del Congreso del Estado No. 177, que en su artículo segundo, dice:

“Se designan para sustituir a las personas mencionadas (las del cabildo anterior) que encabezaba don Francisco de la Fuente, a los siguientes:

Como Presidente Municipal a don Efraín López Sánchez; como primer regidor a don Manuel Garza Valdés; como segundo regidor a don Manuel Ríos Jr.; como tercero, a don Enrique Moreno Lugo; como cuarto regidor a don Luis G. Aguilar; como primer síndico a don Pascual González y como segundo síndico a don Francisco Rivera Ayala.

Este Ayuntamiento tomó posesión el 17 de octubre de 1942 y terminó sus funciones el 31 de diciembre del mismo año. Siendo así como en un bienio de dos años 1941-1942, hubo tres presidentes municipales.

Don Efraín López Sánchez, de raíces coahuilenses, nació en Guerrero, Coah., el ocho de junio de 1896, siendo hijo del general don Mariano López Ortiz y de su esposa doña María de los Ángeles Sánchez de López, cuyo matrimonio procreó a Laura, Evelio, Arturo, Efraín Mariano y Raúl López Sánchez.

Fue una familia de muchos militares, empezando por su padre el general don Mariano López Ortiz. Su hermano Arturo, fue general de división. El mismo don Efraín López Sánchez, fue capitán. Su hermano Raúl, fue Gobernador del Estado de Coahuila.

Don Efraín falleció el día 17 de junio de 1992 en su domicilio de avenida Morelos y calle González Ortega de esta ciudad, depositando sus restos en el Panteón Torreón.

Sent by Mercy Bautista-Olvera
Scarlett_mbo@yahoo.com

 

 

 



The Descendents of  Don Antonio Velasco de la Torre

and their family connection to 
 

G
ENERAL JOSE-MANUEL-RAFAEL-SIMEON DE MIER-Y-TERAN

Compiled by John d. Inclan 

 

Generation No. 1 

1.  ANTONIO1 VELASCO-DE-LA-TORRE  He married MARIA-JOSEFA DE YRUSTA-Y-GARROTE 29 Aug 1761 in Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.         

Children of ANTONIO VELASCO-DE-LA-TORRE and MARIA-JOSEFA DE YRUSTA-Y-GARROTE are:

                  i.    MARIA-IGNACIA-BRIGIDA2 VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, b. 18 May 1763, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

                 ii.    MARIA-PAULA-JOSEFA-VICENTA VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, b. 17 Aug 1764, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

2.             iii.    ANTONIO-MARIA-JOSEPH-EUGENIO VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, b. 16 Jan 1766, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

                iv.    MARIA-JOSEFA-HIPOLITA VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, b. 20 Aug 1767, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

                 v.    ANA-MARIA-ROSARIO VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, b. 09 Sep 1771, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

                vi.    MARIA-DOLORES-DAMIANA-CATARINA VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, b. 01 Oct 1775, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

               vii.    MARIA-TERESA-JOSEFA-ANTONIA VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, b. 23 Feb 1777, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

              viii.    JOSE-MARIA-IGNACIO VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, b. 23 Aug 1778, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

 

Generation No. 2 

2.  ANTONIO-MARIA-JOSEPH-EUGENIO2 VELASCO-Y-URUSTA (ANTONIO1 VELASCO-DE-LA-TORRE) was born 16 Jan 1766 in Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.  He married MARIA-PETRA TERULE-Y-NAVA 07 Dec 1796 in Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico, daughter of FELIPE-ANTONIO TERULE and ISABEL DE NAVA. 

        Children of ANTONIO-MARIA-JOSEPH-EUGENIO VELASCO-Y-URUSTA and MARIA-PETRA TERULE-Y-NAVA are:

3.               i.    MARIA-GUADALUPE-JOSEFA-JUANA3 VELASCO-TERUEL, b. 04 Jun 1799, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

                 ii.    MARIA-DE-LORETO-MARGARITA VELASCO-DE-TERUEL, b. 24 Feb 1803, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

4.             iii.    MARIA-JOSEFA-CLETA VELASCO-Y-TERUEL, b. 27 Apr 1807, Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

                iv.    JOSE-MANUEL-EUGENIO VELASCO-DE-TERUEL, b. 16 Nov 1808, San Miguel Arcangel, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.  

Generation No. 3

3.  MARIA-GUADALUPE-JOSEFA-JUANA3 VELASCO-TERUEL (ANTONIO-MARIA-JOSEPH-EUGENIO2 VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, ANTONIO1 VELASCO-DE-LA-TORRE) was born 04 Jun 1799 in Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.  She married MIGUEL-LUIS-GONZAGA MICHAUS-Y-OROQUIETA 17 Aug 1816 in San Miguel Arcangel, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico, son of MARTIN-ANGEL MICHAUS-Y-AZPIROS and MARIA-MANUELA DE OROQUIETA-Y-GUERRA-PEREYRA.  He was born 27 Sep 1792 in Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico, and died 1870.       

Children of MARIA-GUADALUPE-JOSEFA-JUANA VELASCO-TERUEL and MIGUEL-LUIS-GONZAGA MICHAUS-Y-OROQUIETA are:

                  i.    JOSE-LEON-JULIO4 MICHAUS-VELASCO, b. 12 Feb 1826, San Miguel Arcangel, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico; d. 06 Apr 1886; m. FELICITAS-MARIA-ALTAGARCIA ZARAZUA-CABRERA, 09 Aug 1861, San Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico; b. 31 Mar 1838, San Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico.

                 ii.    ROMAN-LORENZO MICHAUS-VELASCO, b. 10 Aug 1833, San Miguel Arcangel, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico; m. AMPARO GOMEZ-ZELA, 20 May 1861, San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, Mexico. 

4.  MARIA-JOSEFA-CLETA3 VELASCO-Y-TERUEL (ANTONIO-MARIA-JOSEPH-EUGENIO2 VELASCO-Y-URUSTA, ANTONIO1 VELASCO-DE-LA-TORRE) was born 27 Apr 1807 in Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.  She married GENERAL JOSE-MANUEL-RAFAEL-SIMEON DE MIER-Y-TERAN,  Feb 1824, son of MANUEL-ANTONIO-MARIA-ONOFRE DE MIER-Y-TERAN and MARIA-IGNACIA DE TERULE-LLANOS-Y-LEON.  He was born 19 Feb 1789 in Asuncion, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico, and died 03 Jul 1832.

 Note : MIER Y TERÁN, General MANUEL DE (1789-1832). José Manuel Rafael Simeón de Mier y Terán, Mexican general, was born in Mexico City on February 18, 1789, the eldest of three sons of Manuel de Mier y Terán and María Ignacia de Teruel y Llanos. In February 1824 he married Josefa Velasco de Teruel. He visited Texas twice: first, as leader of a boundary-commission expedition to Nacogdoches in 1828-29; and second, as commandant general of the Eastern Interior Provinces (see PROVINCIAS INTERNAS), in which role he visited Galveston Bay in November 1831. Mier, who showed special aptitude for mathematics and engineering, graduated from the College of Mines in Mexico City in 1811. He joined José María Morelos in the movement for Mexican independence in 1811 and fought under Ignacio Rayón. In 1821 he joined future emperor Agustín de Iturbide to expel the Spaniards under the Plan de Iguala. He served in the first constituent congress in 1822 as a member of the committee on colonization of unoccupied lands. He was made a brigadier general in 1824 and served nine months as minister of war. In 1827 President Guadalupe Victoria named him to lead a scientific and boundary expedition into Texas to observe the natural resources and the Indians, to discover the number and attitudes of the Americans living there, and to determine the United States-Mexico boundary between the Sabine and the Red rivers. 

The Comisión de Límites (Boundary Commission) left Mexico City on November 10, 1827, and reached San Antonio on March 1, 1828, San Felipe on April 27, and Nacogdoches on June 3. Mier y Terán traveled with a military escort in a huge coach inlaid with silver along with Rafael Chovell, a mineralogist and later military commander at Lavaca; Jean Louis Berlandier, a botanist, zoologist, and artist; and José María Sánchez y Tapía, cartographer and artist. All kept diaries that have been published in part. Illness and muddy roads delayed the commission, and the general remained in East Texas until January 16, 1829, when he started for Mexico City. In his report on the commission, Mier y Terán recommended that strong measures be taken to stop the United States from acquiring Texas. He suggested additional garrisons surrounding the settlements, closer trade ties with Mexico, and the encouragement of more Mexican and European settlers. His suggestions were incorporated into the Law of April 6, 1830, which also called for the prohibition of slavery and closed the borders of Texas to Americans.

  After the completion of his reports, Mier y Terán was ordered to Tampico to help repulse a Spanish invasion in August 1829. He was made second in command under Antonio López de Santa Anna, and the pair became heroes of the nation by their successful expulsion of the Spanish force on August 20. Early in 1830 President Anastasio Bustamante named Mier y Terán commandant general of the Eastern Interior Provinces, a position in which he supervised both political and military affairs in Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. His headquarters were near the new port of Matamoros, which had just opened. The general visited Anahuac from November 9 to 24, 1831, to install George Fisher as collector of customs there. Displeased by the attitudes of the Texans who refused to pay taxes, the general ordered Fisher to enforce collection of the national tariff on the Brazos River, even though the deputy for that post had not arrived. He also ordered John Davis Bradburn to enforce national laws regarding titles and to disband an ayuntamiento recently installed without government authorization at Liberty. 

These orders caused friction with the settlers, who blamed Fisher and Bradburn for acting as despots (see also ANAHUAC DISTURBANCES). During his tenure as comandant general, Mier y Terán supported constituted authority whether of a Federalist or Centralist regime and continued to be concerned over the inability of incoming American settlers to assimilate into the Mexican culture. When Santa Anna pronounced against the Centralist administration in January 1832, Mier y Terán tried to defend the Eastern Internal Provinces from the Federalist rebels. In poor health and subject to depression, he grew despondent over the problems of colonization in Texas and the continuing political problems on both the state and national levels. On July 3, 1832, with the federalist forces gaining a significant victory near Matamoros and the increasing influx of Anglo-American settlers after abrogation of the Law of 1830, the general committed suicide by falling on his sword behind the church of San Antonio in Padilla, Tamaulipas. It was the same place where Emperor Iturbide had been shot after his return from exile. Mier was buried in the tomb with the former emperor until 1938, when Iturbide's remains were removed to Mexico City. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jean Louis Berlandier, Indians of Texas in 1830, ed. John C. Ewers and trans. Patricia Reading Leclerq (Washington: Smithsonian, 1969). Margaret S. Henson, Juan Davis Bradburn: A Reappraisal of the Mexican Commander of Anahuac (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1982). Ohland Morton, Life of General Don Manuel de Mier y Terán (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas, 1939; rpt., 8 pts., Southwestern Historical Quarterly 46-48 [July 1942-April 1945]). Ohland Morton, Terán and Texas: A Chapter in Texas Mexican Relations (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1948). David J. Weber, The Mexican Frontier, 1821-1846 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1982). Texas History Online. Margaret Swett Henson 

Child of M
ARIA-JOSEFA-CLETA VELASCO-Y-TERUEL and JOSE-MANUEL-RAFAEL-SIMEON DE MIER-Y-TERAN is:

                  i.    MALE4 DE MIER-Y-TERAN, b. 1825; d. 10 Nov 1827, Mexico City, D. F., Mexico.

 

 



The Descendents of

Don Joseph Gutierrez de Zulaica

Compiled by John D. Inclan

 

Generation No. 1

1. JOSEPH2 GUTIERREZ-DE-ZULAICA (JUAN1) was born in Villa de San Vicente de la Barquera, Santander, Spain. He married ANA-MARIA MADRAZO-Y-MONTERRO 13 Jul 1759 in Boca de Leones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico1, daughter of JOSEPH-ANTONIO MADRAZO-Y-MONTERRO and JUANA-CLEMENCIA RAMON-DE-BURGOS.

Children of JOSEPH GUTIERREZ-DE-ZULAICA and ANA-MARIA MADRAZO-Y-MONTERRO are:

2. i. JUAN-FRANCISCO3 ZULAICA-MADRAZO.

3. ii. MARIA-ISABEL ZULAICA-MADRAZO, b. Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

iii. JOSEPH-ANTONIO-AGABO ZULAICA-MADRAZO, b. 23 Feb 1764, San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Villaldama, Nuevo Leon,Mexico.

4. iv. JOSEPH-MANUEL ZULAICA-MADRAZO, b. 19 Aug 1766, San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Villaldama, Nuevo Leon,Mexico.

v. JOSEPH-IGNACIO-DE-JESUS ZULAICA-MADRAZO, b. 03 Feb 1771, San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Villaldama, Nuevo Leon,Mexico.  

Generation No. 2

2. JUAN-FRANCISCO3 ZULAICA-MADRAZO (JOSEPH2 GUTIERREZ-DE-ZULAICA, JUAN1) He married NICOLASA GALINDO 30 Jun 1784 in San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Children of JUAN-FRANCISCO ZULAICA-MADRAZO and NICOLASA GALINDO are:

i. ANA-MARIA4 ZULAICA-GALINDO, b. Boca de Leones, Villaldama, Nuevo Leon, Mexico; m. MIGUEL PEREZ-FLORES, 22 Oct 1800, San Fernando de Rosas, Zaragosa, Coahuila, Mexico.

ii. JOSE-MARIA-DE-JESUS ZULAICA-GALINDO, b. 26 Oct 1789, San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

iii. MARIA-ESTEFANA-DE-JESUS ZULAICA-GALINDO, b. 08 Aug 1786, San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

iv. MARIA-GUADALUPE-EULALIA ZULAICA-GALINDO, b. 17 Feb 1788, San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. 

3. MARIA-ISABEL3 ZULAICA-MADRAZO (JOSEPH2 GUTIERREZ-DE-ZULAICA, JUAN1) was born in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She married JOSE-MARIANO FLORES-DE-VALDEZ-RAMON 02 Sep 1781 in San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, son of TOMAS FLORES-DE-VALDEZ and ANA-GERTRUDIS RAMON. He was born in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Children of MARIA-ISABEL ZULAICA-MADRAZO and JOSE-MARIANO FLORES-DE-VALDEZ-RAMON are:

i. JOSE-MANUEL-NEPOMUCENO4 FLORES-SULAICA, b. 29 Apr 1787, Nuestra Sra de Guadalupe, Salinas Victoria, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

ii. MARIA-IRINEA FLORES-SULAICA, b. 05 Apr 1794, Boca de Leones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

iii. JOSE-ANTONIO FLORES-SULAICA, b. Abt. 1799, Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico; m. MARIA-RITA SAENZ-GUERRA, 21 Feb 1819, San Jose, Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico; b. Abt. 1801.

4. JOSEPH-MANUEL3 ZULAICA-MADRAZO (JOSEPH2 GUTIERREZ-DE-ZULAICA, JUAN1) was born 19 Aug 1766 in San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Villaldama, Nuevo Leon,Mexico. He married ANA-MARIA DE-LOS-SANTOS-DEL-RIO 08 May 1789 in San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, daughter of JOSE-ADRIAN DE-LOS-SANTOS and ROSA DEL RIO.

Children of JOSEPH-MANUEL ZULAICA-MADRAZO and ANA-MARIA DE-LOS-SANTOS-DEL-RIO are:

i. JOSEPH-FRANCISCO-YRINEO4 ZULAICA-DE-LOS-SANTOS, b. 12 Apr 1795, San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Villaldama, Nuevo Leon,Mexico.

ii. JOSEPH-NICOLAS-ROSALIO ZULAICA-DE-LOS-SANTOS, b. 13 Sep 1792, San Pedro, Boca de Leones, Villaldama, Nuevo Leon,Mexico.  

1. Index to the Marriage Investigations of the Diocese of Guadalajara by Raul J. Guerra, Jr., Nadine M. Vasquez, and Baldomero Vela, Jr., Page 77, [#77-4]..

 

 



Burgos, Tamaulipas

crónica de un viaje en busca de mis ancestros maternos

por Carlos Martín Herrera de la Garza.
cherrera1951@hotmail.com

 

 

Son las 5 de la mañana del dia 30 de abril de 2008 en ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas; suena la alarma del despertador y es la hora para levantarme, ducharme, y emprender el viaje que me ha de llevar al pueblo donde nacieron los padres de mi mamá y bastante de la parentela anterior a ellos.  

Desde la semana anterior, emocionado como niño, he procurado los preparativos para esta aventura genealógica y no he querido que se olvide ni el mas mínimo detalle: llamadas telefónicas a la presidencia municipal para concertar una audiencia con el alcalde;  un mapa del municipio y otro del pueblo; información geográfica y estadísticas de población; los documentos que he trabajado como árboles genealógicos sobre apellidos del pueblo: los de la Garza (algunas 5 ó 6 ramas diferentes), Cano (tal vez 3 ramas), Leal y León (labor incompleta hasta los hijos del capitán Antonio Leal de León), Ballí (el apellido que se fue a otro pueblo); mis cuadernos de transcripción de los registros parroquiales y civiles; la trasijada cámara fotográfica; grabadora de bolsillo; guitarra y harmónica, a sleeping bag, sábana, cobija cobertor y almohada; otros apuntes sobre apellidos también comunes de Burgos tales como los Flores, Treviño, González, Zúñiga, Polanco, Palacios, Camarillo, Rivera, Adame; etcétera y mas etcétera.  

Voy por la carretera rumbo a Matamoros, Tamaulipas y en la soledad que ofrece durante dos horas y media el interior de un carro en movimiento a una velocidad de entre 80 y 100 kilómetros, por mi mente da vueltas toda la información que desde hace diez años ha llegado desde que inicié esta particular adicción por la genealogía.  

En todos los pueblos que voy pasando: Güemez, Padilla, Jiménez, Cruillas; y los de los alrededores: Santa Engracia, Barretal, Hidalgo, San Nicolás, San Carlos, Méndez, Villagrán, San Fernando, Soto la Marina, Linares, Montemorelos, Cadereyta, Santiago Guaxuco, Cerralvo, las Ciénegas, Saltillo y Monterrey; desde el inicio del tiempo de su colonización años 1600-1750, ha existido el apellido “de la Garza”, hoy en muchos casos simplificado a “Garza” tal vez por decisión familiar o por omisión de los oficiales del registro civil.  

Las personas con apellido “de la Garza” que a la fecha viven y han vivido en el noreste de México y en el sur de Texas, y también los que eran de ahí pero se fueron a vivir para otras partes, tenemos una raíz común que proviene de Marcos Alonso de la Garza Falcón, quien fincó residencia por 1580 en Mapimí, Durango, un Real minero vecino del Estado de Coahuila.  

Se dice que éste Marcos Alonso de la Garza Falcón, alguna bibliografía  distingue este apelativo como “de la Garza y Arcón”, nació por el año de 1561 en Lepe, Huelva, Castilla, España,  y que sus padres fueron Marcos Alonso y Constanza de la Garza.  Constanza de la Garza nació por 1529 en Lepe, Huelva, y se casó por 1550 con Marcos Alonso que nació por 1525 también en Lepe.

 

Mi búsqueda sobre los orígenes del apellido de la Garza, me ha llevado a encontrar a una Constanza de la Garza y a su hermano Alonso de la Garza quienes el 24 de febrero de 1528 en la ciudad de La Palma de las Islas Canarias, España, fueron condenados por el  Santo Oficio de la Inquisición en Sevilla a su ejecución a muerte quemados en la hoguera, porque desde que vivían en Lepe se les había advertido la inconveniencia de sus creencias, por lo que decidieron irse a vivir a las Islas Canarias donde supuestamente la Inquisición era mas benévola, pero igual ahí siguieron profesando su religión; el cargo con el que se les condenó fue por fistol infidente y relapso, por sus adoratorios al Torah y por hablar el idioma hebreo.     Esta Constanza y su hermano Alonso de la Garza eran hijos de Herman Garza de la Garza quien se casó en Sevilla con Beatriz Núñez; y al parecer esta familia fue a vivir a Lepe, Huelva, donde nacieron sus hijos.  

También por ahí encontré una historia de un tal Juan de la Garza, que por allá de 1535 había protagonizado una pelea con heridas de navaja cuando era parte de la tripulación en un galeón español que atracó en un puerto de América del Sur; este Juan de la Garza era un gaditano, que es el gentilicio para las personas oriundas del Puerto de Cádiz, España, y que ha de haber andado por lo menos en los 18 años de edad; o sea que nació en Cádiz por el año de 1517.  

Otro dato interesante es el que me dio mi amigo español de la ciudad de Huelva, España, el señor Ángel Custodio Rebollo Barroso, cuyo correo electrónico dice: “hace unos días, estudiando un tema del Archivo General de Simancas, me encontré con el Capitán Agustín de la Garza, quien pertenecía a la milicia de Buenos Aires en Argentina y el expediente comprende desde 1791 hasta  1798. He conseguido leer completo el legajo que forma este expediente de 79 paginas y encuentro a un hombre obsesionado con enviar instancias al rey ofreciéndole un plan secreto para conseguir que Inglaterra devuelva Gibraltar. Siempre dice que es un plan muy secreto y que hay que efectuarlo con el máximo sigilo para que ni siquiera sospeche el enemigo. Casi todas las instancias están informadas al margen por lo militares, catalogando las ideas de Agustín de la Garza, como propias de una persona que no esta en su sano juicio”.  

También platica mi amigo Ángel Custodio que su esposa nació en Burgos, Santander, España, y que es nieta de José Aguirre Sainz de la Garza, un veterinario que vivió en un pueblo a unos 20 kilómetros de Santander.  

Hay otro personaje “de la Garza” ubicado allá por los 1600 en Compostela, Nueva España, lo que ahora es el Estado de Nayarit o el de Colima, pero no he tenido la oportunidad de transcribir los documentos que tratan sobre una probanza de sangre como requisito para pertenecer al Santo Oficio de la Inquisición.

Hubo un tiempo en que encontré por internet domicilios de personas con apellido de la Garza que viven en España; redacté una carta y la envié por correo postal; algo así como 30 domicilios y de ello me contestaron por internet 2 señores.  

Uno de ellos es el señor abogado Joaquín Homs Sánz de la Garza, de la ciudad de Barcelona, quien me platica que la señora Eloisa de la Garza, su bisabuela materna, ostentó un Ducado que hace tiempo se había perdido por desuso pero que actualmente ya está rehabilitado.  

El otro señor que respondió mi correo fue el señor Manuel Espinosa de la Garza, hijo de Josefina Plácida de la Garza y López Seoane, nieto de  Don César de la Garza y Tapia, y bisnieto de don Jerónimo de la Garza, nacido por 1757 en un pueblo del norte de la provincia de Burgos, tal vez Balmaceda; y tataranieto de un gran metalurgista español don Francisco de la Garza,  quien después de remitirme al tomo G,  página 917 de la enciclopedia Espasa,  me dice que según recuerda por las platicas que alguna vez su madre decía que estos “de la Garza” habían venido de Méjico hacía varias generaciones.  

En la enciclopedia Espasa tomo G,  página 917 dice: “garza {francisco de la), Biog. Metalurgista es­pañol, nació en Valdenoceda en 1757 y murió en Madrid en 1832. Estudió matemáticas en la corte y luego conti­nuó sus estudios en la Escuela Especial de Almadén, creada por el alemán Enrique Astorr, siendo el pri­mero que salió con titulo de aquel centro; En 1788 sucedió á Hoppensak en la dirección de las minas de Almadén y de Ahnadenejos, desempeñando al mismo tiempo importantes comisiones. En 1796 pasó á Ale­mania y Austria para ampliar sus conocimientos, que, á su regreso á España, aplicó con gran ventaja á nues­tras minas. En 1801 fue de nuevo nombrado direc­tor de las minas de Almadén y luego teniente de su­perintendente subdelegado del gobernador, destinos que desempeñó por espacio de catorce años, en los que introdujo notables mejoramientos en el aprovecha­miento de minerales, Al ser organizado en 1825 el Cuerpo de ingenieros de minas, garza fue nombrado inspector general segundo del mismo. Se le debe: Observaciones y experimentos sobre el beneficio de las minas de plata por la amalgamación, publicadas en el tomo III de los Anales de Ciencias Naturales; Mi teoría sobre las utilidades y ventajas que puede produ­cir el carbón de piedra descubierto en Espiel Bébncz y Vtílarroya, acompañada de un plano del valle de Espíel; Informe dado en el año de 1756... sobre e! estado y mejoras de que es susceptible la mina de Almadén; Traducción de; lecciones de Geometría subterránea publicadas por el profesor M&eling en nSZ¡ y Traduc­ción de la obra de Juan Federico Eiler  

también  Espasa incluye:

garza y bañuei.os (ciríaco de la), Biog. Pintor español, nació en Juvilla del Agua (Burgos), Fue discí­pulo de la Escuela Especial de Pintura y de Marcelino Santamaría, Obras principales: La primera hazaña del Cid (1897); Dragon y 1-lares (1899); Madre y maes­tra (1301); Una Pastoral verde, y Toma sepilas (1904).  

Ya por esta parte del camino tengo el sol de la mañana enfrente y se dificulta ver la carretera; estoy  a las orillas de Santander Jiménez, Tamaulipas y decido hacer un alto de trayecto para respirar aire fresco, escuchar el canto de los pájaros y ver algunas mariposas volar.

 

Aquí en Jiménez, Don José de Escandón y Helguera, fincó residencia familiar después de haber fundado las villas del Nuevo Santander; hoy los niños de los ejidos caminan con los libros bajo el brazo por la vereda a su escuela; los señores a lomo de burro van a la labor, y los techos de las chozas soplan humo de leña de mezquite con aroma a café hervido y frijoles de olla, cuando  no muy lejos se escuchan los aplausos de las señoras que echan con las manos las tortillas del nixtamal de maíz.  Alguien dijo que las señoras le aplauden a Dios por haber inventado el maíz;  milagrosa fuente de alimento natural.  

Ya son las 8 de la mañana, apenas voy a cruzar el punto de revisión militar de Las Norias y un anuncio dice que a la izquierda a 75 kilómetros está Burgos.  Los señores del ejército muy amables me preguntan que de donde vengo y a donde voy;   geográficamente les respondo pero después de reanudar el camino me quedo pensando que, viéndolo bien esa respuesta  ni yo mismo la sé.  

Poco mas adelante por la carretera está la intersección a mi destino; hago otra parada para tomar una fotografía velada a la señora que vende camarón fresco de la Laguna Madre, sutil sabor a salado refugio de mar, con jugo de limón y salsa picante, a quien no se le ha de antojar. 

Apenas a unos metros de iniciar este tramo final de mi ida, un señor me pide “raid” él se llama Rosendo González Padilla y va para Cruillas a renovar su credencial de elector para votar, y porque le van a dar una ayuda del gobierno por ser adulto de la tercera edad; su motivo de estar parado a la orilla de la carretera es para esperar que pase alguien que  lo lleve y porque solo hay dos autobuses de transporte público, uno que viene de San Fernando y pasa por ahí como a las once de la mañana, mismo que se regresa en seguida ese mismo día, y que éste sí se detiene a levantar pasaje de la gente que le hace la parada por el camino; y el otro que vine de Reynosa, llega por la tarde y se regresa al día siguiente por la mañana;  pero es vía directa y no levanta pasaje ni siquiera en San Fernando.  Me platicó este señor, que su papá había tenido tierras en un ejido de por aquí, pero que ya luego cuando heredaron, sus hermanos las vendieron para irse a vivir a la ciudad; que él solo conservó un rancho donde tiene algunas chivas y que ya no siembra maíz porque le sale mas caro, y ahora prefiere comprar lo que necesita para el uso diario; también me platicó que tres de sus ocho hijos se fueron de mojados para trabajar al otro lado, del Río Bravo, Rio Grande.   

Ya estoy llegando a Burgos y el anuncio de bienvenida dice que tiene una población de 975 habitantes; después en pláticas con algunos señores del pueblo alguien me dijo que esa cifra ya no es real, que hoy son mas.  ¿cuántos mas podrán ser? ¿ tal vez algunos 1500?  

Lo primero que hice al entrar al pueblo fue ir directamente donde la plaza central; en el ambiente se siente el afable ánimo de la gente porque hoy 30 de abril se festeja el dia del niño; y

por lo pronto se trata de antes almorzar para empezar a trabajar; ahí está el restaurante “3 hermanos Cano” y sirven un exquisito machacado con huevo, de rechupetearse los dedos; el machacado es carne de res seca machacada, o sea fregada con un martillo de madera, y deshebrada.      

Después de rentar una habitación en el hotel del señor Arnulfo Salinas Guillén regreso a la plaza central donde está la presidencia municipal y la Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Loreto fundada en 1749 por Fray Simón del Hierro; su templo parroquial fue construido en 1792 y las vigas de madera en su cielo fueron traídas de Europa.

 

Plaza de Burgos, Tamaulipas    


Caminando por ahí en sus calles la gente me dice que en Burgos ya no hay personas con apellido “de la Garza”; solamente una familia que hoy vive por la Calle Juárez, la que en 1900 se llamaba Calle del Comercio;  ésta familia es la de don

 

Antonio de la Garza que fue casado con Patricia Ochoa, y que por el año de 1947 se fue a vivir a Brownsville, donde casó en segundas nupcias. Hijo de este Antonio de la Garza fue Jacinto de la Garza Ochoa, que nació en Burgos por el año de 1910, era peluquero y  murió en Burgos por el año de 1984.

Jacinto de la Garza Ochoa casó en Burgos, Tamaulipas con Carlota García Chávez, hija de Emilio García, y de María Refugio Chávez, una familia del ejido El Pedregal, jurisdicción de Burgos.

Jacinto de la Garza Ochoa tuvo por hijos a: Silvestre 1932, Alfredo 1934, Ernesto 14 de julio de 1936, Antonio 1938, María del Carmen 1940, Alicia 1942, José Luis 1944, María Monserrat 1946, Arturo 1948, y Jesús Daniel 1950.   Jacinto procreó diez hijos, y todos se llevaban dos años de edad; entonces pregunté curioso:   ¿oiga, y todos con la misma?   a lo que alguien respondió:   “si, pero con diferente señora”.  

Ya desde antes en el hotel me habían dicho que entre los señores mas viejos del pueblo y que saben platicar la historia antigua de sus habitantes, están don Gustavo Cano Coronado, don Andrés Flores Cavazos, y don Rómulo Flores Treviño; también supe que hay un señor llamado Isidro Garza Cavazos, pero le dicen “Chiro” y que es muy dicharachero; el clásico parlanchín de pueblo que a todo le acomoda una historia para el deleite de los interlocutores.  

   

No quiero dejar pasar la oportunidad de mencionar que cuando llamé a la puerta en casa de don Gustavo Cano Coronado, sentí de inmediato su prestancia hospitalaria; desde el preciso momento cuando a primera vista de nuestras caras él dijo: “pásale te estaba esperando” …   todavía no termino de preguntarme porqué dijo eso,  si él no sabía que yo iba a llegar.

Pero mejor pienso nada al respecto, y es que dicen que es de mala suerte ser supersticioso.  

Que manera tan cordial de atender una visita que no fue convidada.

No pude negarme a la invitación de comer al medio dia un sabroso arroz y unos exquisitos chiles rellenos de picadillo y de queso.

A media platica que ya estábamos bien entrados don Gustavo Cano Coronado, su señora y yo, se escucha alguien toca la puerta y ya luego llegan y entran un señor y una muchacha; ellos son don Godofrey Polanco González, que nació en Burgos en 1930, hijo de Félix Polanco y de Tomasa González;  la muchacha, no supe cómo se llamaba, pero es como de algunos 45 años;  a Godofrey se le veía entusiasmado y no era para menos, ahí estaba y había llegado para participar a sus vecinos y amigos, el compromiso nupcial contraído recientemente con la señora que le acompañaba.

  

 Entonces estoy como a las 12:30 del dia con don Gustavo Cano Coronado;  él me dice que de lo que se acuerda a sus 82 años, es que su ancestro Justo Cano se casó con Micaela Robles, y lo siguiente es su genealogía:

1.- Félix Cano casó con Petra Treviño<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

1.1.- Justo Cano casó con Micaela Robles.

1.1.1.- Severo Cano Robles nació por 1853 y casó con Luz Zúñiga

1.1.1.1.- Rodolfo Cano Zúñiga.

1.1.1.1.1.- José Cano; casó con una “de la Garza”

1.1.1.1.2.- Tadeo Cano; se fue para Pharr, Texas.

1.1.1.1.3.- Roberto Cano; casó con Ana Chávez; se fue a Pharr, Tx.

1.1.1.1.4.- Rodolfo Cano; casó y se fue a vivir a California.

1.1.1.1.5.- Severo Cano, nació en Burgos Tam.  el 21 de diciembre de

                 1902.

1.1.1.2.- Everardo Cano Zúñiga nació por 1878; casó con María Ángela

            Zúñiga; y en segundas nupcias casó con Severiana Coronado.

1.1.1.2.1.- Arturo Cano Zúñiga; casó con Juanita Coronado, hermana de

              Severiana Coronado,  la segunda esposa su papá; y también

              hermana de Juan Coronado, esposo de su cuñada Susana Cano

               Zúñiga.

1.1.1.2.2.- Angelita Cano Zúñiga; casó con Ambrosio García.

1.1.1.2.3.- Susana Cano Zúñiga; casó con Juan Coronado.

1.1.1.2.4.- Anita Cano Zúñiga; casó con Julián García, hermano de Nicasio

                  García; el esposo de su cuñada Jacinta Cano Coronado.

1.1.1.2.5.- Antonio Cano Coronado; casó con Victoria Zúñiga.

1.1.1.2.6.- Jacinta Cano Coronado; casó con Nicasio García.

1.1.1.2.7.- Sofía Cano Coronado; casó con César Treviño.

1.1.1.2.8.- Gustavo Cano Coronado; nació en Burgos, Tamaulipas el 8 de

               enero de 1926; casó con Anita Galván, y en segundas nupcias con

               María del Socorro Mendoza.

1.1.1.2.9.- Paulita Cano Coronado; casó con Juan Ramírez, hermano de

              Carlos Ramírez, el esposo de su cuñada Lilia Cano Coronado;.

1.1.1.2.10.- Porfirio Cano Coronado; emigró para California.

1.1.1.2.11.- Lilia Cano Coronado; casó con Carlos Ramírez.

1.1.1.2.12.- Ramiro Cano Coronado; casó con Santos Cuevas.

1.1.1.2.13.- Manuela Cano Coronado; casó con Adán Zúñiga; primo de

                Victoria Zúñiga, la esposa de Antonio Cano Coronado.

1.1.1.2.14.- Bertha Cano Coronado; fue soltera, no se casó.

1.1.1.2.15.- Rodolfo Cano Coronado; casó con Hercilia de León.

1.1.1.2.16.- Sebastián Cano Coronado; casó con Celia Zúñiga.

1.1.1.2.17.- Eduardo Cano Coronado; célibe.

1.1.1.3.- Fernando Cano Zúñiga; casó con Emeteria Pérez.

1.1.1.3.1.- Reynaldo Cano Pérez; casó con Pomposa Palacios.

1.1.1.3.2.- Domingo Cano Pérez.

1.1.1.3.3.- Carmela Cano Pérez; casó con Eleuterio Cano, hijo de Lorenzo

                  Cano.

1.1.1.3.4.- Alicia Cano Pérez.

1.1.1.3.5.- Fernando Cano Pérez; mejor conocido como “sellando”.

1.1.1.3.6.- Genaro Cano Pérez; casó con Eugenia García.

1.1.1.3.7.- Antonia Cano Pérez; casó con Santiago Sánchez.

1.1.1.3.8.- Tomás Cano Pérez; se fue para Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas.

1.1.1.4.- Segundo Cano Zúñiga; casó con Julia Flores.

1.1.1.4.1.- Eva Cano Flores; se fue para California.

1.1.1.4.2.- Esthela Cano Flores; casó con Jesús Guerra.

1.1.1.4.3.- Segundo Cano Flores; casó con Consuelo Cano de la Garza, hija

                 de Raymundo Cano González, y de Gregoria de la Garza Flores.

1.1.1.4.4.- Francisca Cano Flores; casó con Ramiro Rios.

1.1.1.4.5.- Julia Cano Flores.

1.1.1.4.6.- Marilú Cano Flores.

1.1.1.5.- Justo Cano Zúñiga; casó con Celia Robles; del ejido El Sarnoso.

1.1.1.5.1.- Justo Cano Robles;  se fue para Pharr, Tejas.

1.1.1.5.2.- Severo Cano Robles; se fue para Pharr, Texas.

1.1.1.6.- Manuela Cano Zúñiga; casó con Espiridión Robles; del Sarnoso.

1.1.1.6.1.- Juan Robles Cano.

1.1.1.6.2.- Reynaldo Robles Cano.

1.1.1.6.3.- Manuel Robles Cano.

1.1.1.6.4.- Manuela Robles Cano.

1.1.1.7.- Loreto Cano Zúñiga; casó con Raquel Treviño; sin descendencia.

1.1.2.- Paula Cano Robles (ella y Josefa su hermana se fueron a Tampico)

1.1.3.- Josefa Cano Robles se casó con Samuel Kelly.

o sea que ya a esas alturas, eran las 6 y media de la tarde y lo que siguió fue regresar al hotel por una refrescante ducha y continuar pa’ lante.  

Ya para terminar ese fructífero dia del niño en Burgos, habría de regresar al restaurante “3 hermanos Cano” para la cena y ver si podía encontrar por la plaza al señor Elías Cano, que me habían dicho es la hora que él andaba por ahí;  y por suerte estaba llegando de la labor, cansado y sudado.  

 

No puedo dejar de estar sorprendido por la amable disposición con la que una vez mas las personas de Burgos están abiertas para platicar la historia de sus familias.

Lo siguiente es la genealogía del señor José Elías Cano:
1.- José de Jesús Cano Solís, casó con Micaela Polanco.
1.1.- Estanislao Cano Polanco, casó con Nicolasa Borrego.
1.1.1.- Elías Cano Borrego, casó con Lidia Zúñiga Elizondo.
1.1.1.1.- Jesús Cano Zúñiga, casó con Rosa Alonso.
1.1.1.2.- Horacio Cano Zúñiga, se casó con Elba Garza Zúñiga.
1.1.1.3.- Aroldo Cano Zúñiga, casó con Elba Chávez.
1.1.1.4.- José Elías Cano Zúñiga, casó con María Dávila.
1.1.1.5.- Concepción Cano Zúñiga.
1.1.1.6.- Heraldo Cano Zúñiga, casó con Laurentina Cisneros.
1.1.1.7.- Rosa Cano Zúñiga, casó con Feliberto Chávez.
1.1.1.8.- Ramiro Cano Zúñiga, casó con Gaudelia Cisneros.
1.1.1.9.- Nicolasa Cano Zúñiga, casó con Carlos Dávila.
1.1.1.10.- Estanislado Cano Zúñiga, casó con Silvia Cardona.
1.1.2.- Guadalupe Cano Borrego, casó con Israel Camarillo Garza.
1.1.2.1.- Raquel Camarillo Cano.
1.1.2.2.- Enedelia Camarillo Cano, casó con Juan Castañon Vásquez.
1.1.2.3.- Israel Camarillo Cano.
1.1.2.4.- Gilberto Camarillo Cano, casó con Josefa García Gutiérrez.
1.1.2.5.- Alicia Camarillo Cano.
1.1.2.6.- Miguel Ángel Camarillo Cano.
1.1.3.- Octavio Cano Borrego, casó con Consuelo Coronado.
1.1.3.1.- José Ángel Cano Coronado, casó con Lucila Sánchez.
1.1.3.2.- Moisés Cano Coronado.

Al siguiente dia me enfrasqué con don Andrés Flores Cavazos, su hermano don Luis y con don Inocente Cano Coronado, lisonjeros amigos  señores ochenteros, con los que fui en carro por las calles del pueblo reconociendo las casas donde vivieron algunas antiguas familias; después estacionamos frente al hotel y entramos en una vieja casa donde vivió don Miguel de la Garza y su esposa doña Dionicia de la Garza.

 

   

A luego digo yo que al papá de Ciro R. de la Garza y Pepe de la Garza del rancho Palos Blancos no he sabido de quien son hijos ellos, y de pronto sin dudarlo arremete don Andrés Flores afirmando que son hijos de Santos de la Garza; y además hace una historia que platicaba la gente de antes de cuando El Pedernal ya era un rancho grande allá por 1909, y que se desbordó el Rio Conchos, y que toda la gente que ahí vivía  hubo de irse a otros lugares mas altos para resguardarse; y que no era para menos porque eran cuatro rios que cuando llovía se juntaban y que todo era  mucha agua.

Hubo un momento en que pregunte sobre los minerales de la región; y me dijeron que si, que aquí se extraían minerales, era el plomo y también otra piedra blanca que brillaba como plata, quien sabe como se llama; pero mas que todo eso era allá por San Nicolás y San Carlos, no muy lejos de aquí.

Lo que pasó con las minas fue que se vendían y cambiaban mucho de dueño, luego se hizo una huelga de los trabajadores, las partes no se pusieron de acuerdo y después ya nada siguió siendo bueno para el mineral.  

Mas tarde fuimos a Los Chorros, lo que son cascadas de agua que se forma por la confluencia de dos vertientes y que ya después desemboca a un arroyo que circunda al pueblo de oeste a sureste.

 

Los Chorros

Burgos, Tamaulipas es pueblo hermano de Burgos, Santander, España, y de Pharr, Texas, U.S.A. en marzo de 2007.

El Señor del
Perd
ón

Nuestra Señora de Loreto de Burgos

 

 

Portal de la Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Loreto de Burgos



Arroyo de
Burgos y al
fondo el
cerro de su
escudo

a Calle Juárez frente la plaza

 

 

esquina calles Juárez y Capitán Antonio Leal de León
casa donde vivió don Balmore de la Garza;  calles Hidalgo con capitán Antonio Leal de León y Guerra;   



nótese la tronera en el Fuerte anexo en la esquina.

fierros  ganaderos


Raymundo Caro Gonzalez
1944-1955


Guillermo Treviño C
1939-1962


Romulo Flores Treviño
1956-1958


Romulo Treviño, Jr.
1970-1971

lgunos presidentes de la Asociación Ganadera Local de Burgos

 

 

CARIBBEAN/CUBA

Raul Alarcon Sr.
 

Raul Alarcon Sr.

Pioneer: Raul Alarcon Sr. in 1999.  
He "made us all realize, 'Hey, there are opportunities 
out there,' said colleague Eugenio Bryan.


From Times Staff and Wire Reports
June 14, 2008

Raul Alarcon Sr., a Cuban exile who built a Spanish- language communications and entertainment empire in the U.S., died Wednesday in Miami. He was 82.

Associates close to his family said Alarcon had been in declining health for several years.

A communications pioneer in Cuba, he founded his first radio station on the island in the early 1950s. When he came to the U.S. in 1960, he left behind a network of 14 stations that had been seized by Fidel Castro's government.

Alarcon started out as a disc jockey on a Spanish- language station in New York and purchased his first FM radio station in New York in 1983, marking the beginning of his Spanish Broadcasting Systems.

It is the largest publicly traded Hispanic-controlled media and entertainment company in the country, the company said on its website.

Eduardo Caballero, a former Spanish-language media executive who was a close friend of Alarcon, called him a "visionary and definitely one of the craftsmen of Spanish- language radio in the United States," the Miami Herald reported Friday.

Eugenio "Gene" Bryan, who once managed a New York station for the company and founded the trade journal HispanicAd.com, credited Alarcon's vision with helping to motivate other Hispanics.

"He had the vision of creating a radio company owned by Hispanics for Hispanics. . . . He made us all realize, 'Hey, there are opportunities out there. You can compete, building a great company and be respected.' He gave us all hope," Bryan said.

The company operates at least 20 radio stations, including KLAX-FM (97.9) and KXOL-FM (96.3) in Los Angeles, the music website LaMusica.com and the South Florida television station Mega TV. Other radio stations are in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Puerto Rico.

Alarcon served as chairman of the board of Spanish Broadcasting Systems until turning the company over to his son, Raul Alarcon Jr., in 1999.

Pablo Raul Alarcon was born Jan. 15, 1926, in Cuba. At 25, he started his first short-wave station, which was in Camaguey, Cuba.  In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife, Alma.  news.obits@latimes.com

RADIO PIONEER DIES: The creator of the second largest Hispanic owned Spanish language media company, Spanish Broadcasting System, Raúl Alarcón died at age
82 in Miami June 11.  The media company owns 21 radio stations spread across the nation. Most of them are in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. In New York, Alarcón purchased his first FM radio station for $3 million in 1983.

Alarcón, a native of Ciego de Avila, Cuba, came to the United States in the 1960s as an
exile from Cuba when Fidel Castro's government confiscated his 14 radio stations
on the island. Alarcon's son, Raúl Alarcón Jr., now manages the company.

Hispanic Link News Service, 1420 'N' St.
NW Washington, D.C. 20005-2895
Phone (202) 234-0280; Fax (202) 234-4090
E-mail: editor@hispaniclink.org
Publisher: Carlos Ericksen-Mendoza
Vol. 26 No. 24 June 16, 2008


SPAIN

Licenciado Barbosa
Barbosa y la Inquisición
La Santa Maria
La Niña Dolores
 


Licenciado Barbosa


Se llamaba Rui García Barbosa, aunque en muchos documentos figura como Rodrigo, algo que nos parece normal, porque equivale al mismo nombre. Había nacido en San Juan del Puerto, de lo que siempre presumió y era hijo de Pedro Rodríguez y Juana Gómez, vecinos de San Juan.

Eligió la carrera eclesiástica y en septiembre de 1549, le fue concedida una canonjía en la Iglesia Catedral de San Juan de Puerto Rico. Allí amplió sus estudios y obtuvo la licenciatura eclesiástica, y tras un corto periodo de estancia nuevamente en Castilla, al ser nombrado el 10 de mayo de 1560, Chantre de la Santa Iglesia Catedral de México, se reincorpora a Nueva España, lo que hace el 1 de septiembre de 1561, pero acompañado de Francisco Martín, de Moguer, de Juan de Almodóvar, de San Juan de Puerto Rico y de Gonzalo Díaz, de San Juan del Puerto.

Sus tres acompañantes figuran como criados, pero siempre debemos tener en cuenta que muchos de los que forman como criados en las expediciones a Indias, lo hacían para tener una mayor facilidad para embarcar y que le concedieran la correspondiente autorización.

La labor de García Barbosa en la capital mexicana fue importante y se introdujo en la élite intelectual, lo que le valió un bien ganado prestigio, lo que influyó para solicitar el deanato de la Santa Iglesia Catedral que. al parecer, no le fue concedido.

En 1551, Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, escritor español que había estudiado en la Universidad de Salamanca y fue profesor en 1546 de la Universidad de Osuna, llegó a Nueva España y al poco tiempo solicitó el Grado de Teología en la Universidad de México, para lo que en enero de 1566, es presentado un informe que dice así:

“ Yo el dicho secretario y en cumplimiento de lo proveydo e mandado por el dicho señor mastrescuela, notifiqué y sertifiqué a los señores doctores don Rodrigo Barbosa, chantre desta Iglesia de México, e al padre fray Bartolomé de Ledesma, que son los mas nuevos de la dicha facultad, e al señor doctor don Alonso Chico de Molina, Deán desta Santa Iglesia, lo contenido en el auto supraescrito e mandamiento del dicho señor mastrescuela, en sus personas e cada uno dellos por sí, los quales dixeron que lo harían.es pasó en dies e cho dias deste presente mes de henero de mil e quinientos e sesenta e seys años. Joan de Vergara (Notario)**

El tribunal examinador para el señor Cervantes de Salazar estaba compuesto por los magníficos y muy reverendos señores:

Don Sancho Sánchez de Muñón, Maestrescuela de la Iglesia Catedral, Cançelario de la Universidad de México y Doctor en Teología.

Doctor don Alonso Chico de Molina, Deán de la Santa Iglesia Catedral,

Doctor Rodrigo Barbosa, Chantre de dicha Santa Iglesia, y

Fray Bartolomé de Ledesma.

El 16 de noviembre de 1569, nuestro paisano el Licenciado Barbosa, seguía siendo el Chantre de la Santa Iglesia Catedral de México, pero le propusieron para el nombramiento de Maestrescuela de dicha Iglesia, conservando su puesto de chantre, no aceptando este nuevo cargo, por lo que posteriormente se recibió una Pragmática Real nombrando para este cargo a Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, que lo anhelaba desde hacia tiempo.

A la hora de otorgar testamento, Rui o Rodrigo García Barbosa, también tuvo presente a San Juan del Puerto y dispuso la fundación de dos capellanías a las que asignó unas importantes cantidades de dinero, que fueron administradas por sus familiares que residían aquí.

En mi búsqueda de datos sobre tan importante personaje, todo indica que el Licenciado García Barbosa pudo desempeñar como fiscal o algún otro cargo en la Santa Inquisición en México, pero aunque lo he intentado confirmar por todos los medios a mi alcance, no lo he conseguido, motivo por el que tendré que seguir indagando sobre ello, para corroborarlo o desmentirlo en su momento. 


Ángel Custodio Rebollo Barroso

Publicado en la Revista de Fiestas de San Juan 2008, de San Juan del Puerto (Huelva)




 


 Barbosa y la Inquisición

Para un pequeño trabajo que he publicado en la Revista de Fiestas de San Juan del Puerto, al documentarme sobre el Licenciado Rodrigo García Barbosa, nacido en San Juan, que tuvo en el siglo XVI, los cargos de Chantre y Maestrescuela de la Catedral de México, y ante mis sospechas que hubiera pertenecido al Santo Oficio, me he visto obligado a leer mucho sobre la Inquisición en Nueva España.

García Barbosa estaba en México en la época en que no bahía sido nombrado aún Inquisidor General y ejercía estaba labor el Arzobispo de México, Fray Juan de Zumarraga, que fue sustituido por el Arzobispo Alonso de Montúfar, denominándose a esta etapa de la “Inquisición Episcopal” que estuvo vigente hasta 1571, en que se constituyó el Tribunal nombrado por Real Cedula de Felipe II.

El Licenciado Barbosa estaba muy bien considerado por Montúfar y junto con Fray Bartolomé Ledesma, trabajaban muy vinculados, a las órdenes del Arzobispo, por lo que desde el primer momento pensé que nuestro paisano había pertenecido a la llamada Inquisición Episcopal.

Siempre creí que un hombre que además de los cargos que ostentaba, se había atrevido a enfrentarse al Deán de la Catedral, Doctor Chico de Molina y a Cervantes de Salazar, que quiso ser Maestrescuela antes que Barbosa, en aquella época tenía que pertenecer de alguna forma al Santo Oficio.

Efectivamente, mis sospechas fueron corroboradas cuando descubrí que Barbosa intervino en varios procesos, en unos como Fiscal y en otros como Calificador, cargos muy importantes en un tribunal inquisitivo. 

Dado que mi descubrimiento ha sido posterior a la publicación de mi artículo en la Revista, deseo que sirva como complemento del mismo.

Ángel Custodio Rebollo

Publicado en Odiel Información de Huelva, el 24 de junio de 2008


 


La Santa Maria

Mucho hemos oído y leído sobre este legendario barco que llevó a Cristóbal Colón a la gran aventura que significó el descubrimiento de América y por eso despierta el interés el libro escrito en el siglo XIX, con ocasión del cuarto centenario del descubrimiento, por el entonces Vicealmirante Víctor Maria Concas, y en el que narra un viaje que hizo a bordo de una reproducción de la Nao Santa Maria, partiendo de Cádiz el 10 de febrero de 1893 y haciendo escala en las Islas Canarias, arribó a San Juan de Puerto Rico el 30 de marzo de dicho año.

Después de unos días de estancia en La Habana, marchó a Nueva York y llegó finalmente a Chicago el 7 de julio de 1893.

La Nao quedó fondeada en la ciudad americana, donde le fue donada por el Gobierno Español. Si hubiera ocurrido años después, no se habría ni finalizado el viaje, por los enfrentamientos que hubo entre España y los Estados Unidos por la cuestión cubana.

El Vicealmirante describe la dificultad de manejo del barco diciendo; “Las guiñadas son increíbles, y la Nao, revolcándose, se deshace, amenazándonos los golpes de mar que rompen sobre el costado”

Estas eran las naves que llevó Cristóbal Colón, no solo en su primer viaje, sino en los restantes, demostrando claramente su pericia marinera y la del equipo de hombres de la costa de Huelva que le acompañaron.

El Vicealmirante dedicó su libro a “mis descendientes que vivan en 1992 y a los que entonces sean oficiales de la Armada, que algo útil encontrarán en él cuando se celebre el V Centenario del descubrimiento de América”

Ángel Custodio Rebollo  
custodiorebollo@terra.es
Publicado en Odiel Información de Huelva (España) el 17 de junio de 2008


 


LA NIÑA
DOLORES

 

            Las relaciones entre las cortes de Rusia y España se mantenían en un nivel de diplomática frialdad al negarse los monarcas españoles a conceder a los zares el título de Emperadores, obstáculos que desaparecen con Carlos III al reconocerlo en 1763, “complaciéndose en darle a la emperatriz de las Rusias, Catalina, el tratamiento de Imperial”. Satisfecha Catalina II, las relaciones entre Madrid y San Petersburgo volvieron a la normalidad.

            Sin embargo, cunde la alarma cuando el rey de España es informado de la presencia de colonos rusos en la costa noroccidental de América, con asentamientos comerciales en una amplia faja de territorio comprendido entre los 55º y 65º, así como la sospecha de que esta expansión podía continuar hacia el sur, poniendo en peligro el dominio de los españoles en California, razón por la que se proyectan una serie de campañas encaminadas a explorar las costas del el norte (Nueva Galicia) proclamando la soberanía de España sobre las tierras que se descubran.

            Con esta intención, desde el apostadero de San Blas, en Jalisco. y fundado por José de Gálvez, el Virrey Antonio María de Bucareli ordena una serie de expediciones destinadas, por una parte, a reforzar las dotaciones de los presidios de Monterrey, fundado en 1602 por Sebastián Vizcaíno, de Huelva, así como de San Diego, San Francisco, Reina de los Ángeles y Sonora, y, por otra, barrer las costas al norte de California para comprobar la existencia de factorías rusas. Las incursiones más importantes fueron las realizadas en 1774 por Juan Pérez Hernández que alcanzó los 55º de latitud, a bordo de la fragata Santiago; en 1775 por Bruno de Hezeta, el criollo Francisco de la Bodega y Cuadra, y Juan de Ayala que al mando, respectivamente, de las fragatas Santiago y Sonora, esta última conocida como la Felicidad , y el paquebote El Mexicano,  llegaron hasta los 58º, la actual Columbia Británica. Una copia de las cartas de esta expedición las utilizó el capitán Cook en su periplo de circunvalación al mundo; en 1779, Ignacio Fernando de Arteaga y Bazán (Aracena, 17-02-1731) y Cuadra, con las corbetas Nª Sª del Rosario, conocida como Princesa, y Nª Sª de los Remedios, llamada la Favorita , recién botadas en Guayaquil, navegaron hasta 61º. En este viaje, el alférez Mourelle en su Diario, además de los acaecimientos de la navegación, levantó planos y cartas, anotó la flora y la fauna de las regiones exploradas y las costumbres de los nativos y situó la posición del monte San Elías ( 5.984 m .).

            Pero no es hasta 1788, cuando se produce el primer contacto real entre rusos y españoles. Ese año, el navío San Pablo, al mando del capitán Alexei Tchirikov, envió dos botes a tierra en busca de agua, pero lo que encuentran es un navío español mandado por Esteban José Martinez con los que los barbudos cruzan unas palabras en un idioma que podía ser el ruso. Los botes, una vez hecha la aguada, desaparecen entre la niebla, sin que nunca más se supiera de ellos, pues su capitán, después de un largo periodo de espera y dándolos por perdidos, levó anclas arrumbando al norte. El almirante Vitus Bering, en el descubrimiento del mar y estrecho de su nombre, llevaba como lugarteniente a Tchirikov.

Confirmada la presencia de los súbditos de Su Majestad Imperial, ese mismo año zarpan de San Blas la fragata Princesa y el paquebote San Carlos al mando de Esteban José Martínez y de Gonzalo López de Haro que contactaron con la factoría de Kodiak, en Alaska (Tierra Grande), fundada por el comerciante Igor Shelikov, donde fueron amistosamente recibidos por los rusos. Este acercamiento de carácter oficial lo aprovechó España para presentar a la corte de San Petersburgo su soberanía sobre las tierras al sur del paralelo 61º. En estas expediciones se corrieron grandes riesgos, tanto por las bajas temperaturas, como por los hielos flotantes, los huracanes, las nieblas y el escorbuto que atacó a parte de las tripulaciones.

La bonanza de las relaciones entre ambos países hizo que el intercambio de visitas fuera bastante frecuente y, durante una de ellas, un buque ruso al mando del capitán Plejanov arribó, en visita de cortesía a la vez que para abastecerse de provisiones, al puerto de San Francisco, donde fue agasajado largamente por el gobernador de la plaza. Pero ocurrió que el capitán quedó prendado de la hija del gobernador, la Niña Dolores que, con apenas catorce años recién cumplidos, también se enamoró del apuesto oficial, quedando ambos comprometidos a casarse en cuanto Plejanov resolviera sus asuntos para tal evento que estimó quedarían ultimados  en el plazo de tres años. La novia nunca se enteró de que su hombre había fallecido a consecuencia de una pulmonía que contrajo en las heladas y húmedas llanuras siberianas cuando se dirigía a su patria para preparar el regreso junto a su Niña Dolores; sin embargo, ella le esperó hasta su muerte, siendo ya  una anciana, rechazando todas las proposiciones matrimoniales que a lo largo del tiempo se le presentaron. Había prometido esperar y cumplió la palabra dada mientras tuvo vida.

 

Alberto Casas

(albertocasasr@yahoo.es)

 

INTERNATIONAL

Porfirio Toledo Toledo, Padre de la Canariedad en América
José Antonio Ramos, Nuestro Timplista de Artenara
Italian Families and Individuals in El Salvador
Emigrantes Canarios
Diario El Carabobeño
Bibliografia De Genealogía Chilena
 


DON PORFIRIO TOLEDO TOLEDO
PADRE DE LA CANARIEDAD EN AMÉRICA



Don Porfirio con el doctor Delgado Plasencia, durante
la filmación de "La emigración canaria a Puerto Rico".

Editor: This is the opening and closing paragraphs of a very extensive obituary.|

Respeto y consideración

No es demasiado numerosa la gente que conoce la labor de don Porfirio, excepto los que han tenido la dicha de acompañarle en alguno de sus viajes y unas pocas 
autoridades culturales puertorriqueñas. Bien es cierto que en legislaturas anteriores, el alcalde de San Miguel le acogía como a un personaje entrañable; sin embargo, el nuevo alcalde no parece profesar los mismos afectos por los descendientes de quienes necesitaron salir una vez del municipio. Claro que nunca es tarde para mostrar el debido respeto, la debida consideración y el debido cariño a la persona que mejor ha cumplido en los últimos tiempo con ese deber de canariedad a que estamos sujetos cuantos nos hemos formado en esta hermosa cultura, legada por nuestros ancestros. Y no se puede ignorar que más allá de los credos, de las ideologías y de las fronteras, existe una gran familia pancanaria, repartida por todos los rincones del planeta.

Don Porfirio, cercano ya al siglo de edad, pequeño de cuerpo y grande de espíritu, es un genuino representante de esa familia trabajadora, pacífica, dispersa y, sin embargo, añorante de una patria lejana y atlántica, de unas pequeñas islas abotonadas al océano por almendros y volcanes.

El día 22 de mayo de 2008, después de haberse escrito este artículo se produjo la muerte de don Porfirio Toledo, en San Juan de Puerto Rico. Murió en su casa, rodeado de su familia y estuvo consciente hasta el último momento. Las manifestaciones de duelo por su fallecimiento han sido numerosas y todas coinciden en que se ha perdido, además de un hombre profundamente bueno, el principal valedor de la canariedad en el exterior. Descanse en paz.

Manuel Mora Morales
info@manuelmoramorales.com
http://www.emigrantescanarios.org/

Sent by Paul Newfield, Jr. skip@thebrasscannon.com
and Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com


 

José Antonio Ramos, Nuestro Timplista de Artenara.

Estimada Mimi:

Mi sobrina Loli desde mi natal, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Islas Canarias, Espana), me envio estos dos videos presentando a Jose Antonio Ramos, el mejor timplista que se haya conocido, junto con Totoyo Millares, el segundo de a bordo.

Es una gran perdida para el folklore canario. Los que emigramos y nos quedamos en tierras americanas lo llevaremos siempre en el corazon. En Venezuela y Cuba, tierras de islenos, lo extranaran mas que nadie.

Aprovecho para enviar este mensaje a Celso Hernandez, el cronista de Canarias en Puerto Rico.

Ayer murió José Antonio Ramos, nuestro timplista de Artenara.
Va por él:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLGA29HNNFs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd14Ps9HmyA=

alfonso2r@hotmail.com

 


Italian Families and Individuals in El Salvador
by Jaime Cader
jmcader@yahoo.com

The following is a list of Italian surnames (families) and individuals in El Salvador that I have been told about or have read about in books. This is not an exhaustive list and as some of my acquaintances told me about certain Italian families, it is possible that I have a few of the surnames spelled incorrectly. So readers are welcome to contact me about any spelling corrections or of any other Italian families in El Salvador that they are familiar with. I have also added a few notes in Spanish, i.e. surnames of non-Italians that individuals of Italian descent married, towns of residence, etc. 

Aberle (1846-1930), Juan -nacio en Italia y compuso la musica para el himno nacional de El Salvador

Arrieta (Reyes Arrieta Rossi fue rector de la Universidad Nacional y tambien ejercio otros puestos.)

Baratta
Bianchi (casado con una Duke)
Bignolo, (de Santiago de Maria, El Salvador)
Borghi (casada con un Guirola)
Borlasca, Augusto -fue Consul de Italia en El Salvador
Boscaino, tuvieron tienda
Bruni, Ingeniero Pedro (notable educador)
Canessa, Roberto Edmundo -en 1956 fue el candidato presidencial del Partido Accion Nacional.

Cappelaro
Carusso, tenian tienda de ropa
Castelli, tenian fundicion
Cristiani, Alfredo -presidente de El Salvador, 1989-1994.
Escapinni, Dr. Carlos
Feracutti, Alberto -nacio en Fermo, Italia en 1875.
Gotuzzo, Agustin p. -nacio en Parlofino (Senora), Italia en 1849.
Hizo su residencia en San Miguel, El Salvador.

Mazzini (Sonsonate, El Salvador)
Meardi
Palavacini, Paquito -conocido musico salvadoreño, creo el ritmo y composiciones llamadas "xuc".

Parducci (en San Vicente, El Salvador)
Pastori
Pazzuelo, Presbitero Domingo Bartolome -nacio en Bartolomea de Verona, Reino de Italia en 1871.

Pecorini, Dr. Francisco (nacio en San Miguel, ES)
Petrocelli, tenian tienda de ropa
Pincherli, Manfredo -nacio en Rovigno, Italia en 1874; fue el Encargado de la Legacion y Consulado de Italia en El Salvador.

Poma, Luis
Ruggiero, tenian tienda de ropa
Saccanini
Salandra, negocio de ropa
Sarti
Tandardini
Tineti, tenian fundicion
Tomasino
Tonna, Hugo -tenia tienda de ropa
Verri, tenian una reposteria

Also check the two editons of the "Diccionario Biografico de El Salvador" by B. Perez Marchant for more surnames. I want to thank my relative Rolando Moran (son of the late Dr. Rosendo Moran), who is acquainted with many families in El Salvador, for his assistance in the preparation of this list.


 


Emigrantes Canarios
http://www.emigrantescanarios.org

Saludos. Nuestro amigo, escritor y director de peliculas documental ( La Ruta del Gofio ) nos anuncia un site nuevo digno de nuestra visita. Manuel Mora Morales nos invita a participar en el desarrollo del site, sea nos invita a coloborar y hacerla crecer.  Vamos a darle apoyo.  Celso

alfonso2r@hotmail.com
MAPA DE EMIGRACIÓN
CANARIA LEYENDAS
FOTOS 
REPORTAJES 
LINKS Y DIRECCIONES 
ÓBITOS 
INFORMACIÓN PAÍSES 
AYUDAS AL EMIGRANTE
PROYECTOS DE DOCUMENTACIÓN 
FOLKLORE 
VIDEOS 
EVENTOS 
BUSCAR ANTEPASADOS 
NOTICIAS 
CÓMO PARTICIPAR 
CONTÁCTENOS 



 


Diario El Carabobeño
Historia y Tradición, Paez en Argentina

Eumenes Fuguet Borregales (*)
eumenes@cantv.net


El 13 de junio de 1790 nace en Curpa-Acarigua, el general en jefe José Antonio Páez; su heroica participación en la gesta emancipadora le valió varios cognomentos, tales como: "el Centauro", "el Taita", "el Impertérrito", "el Catire" y "el León de Payara", entre otros; fue tres veces presidente de Venezuela (1830; 1839 y 1861), y en tres ocasiones sufrió el exilio a causa de los avatares políticos (1848; 1850 y 1863). Un acertado retrato espiritual dibujado por el "poeta del pueblo", Andrés Eloy Blanco: 

"A través de Páez se llega inmediatamente a Venezuela, no hay un personaje que se haya parecido más a su autor, no hay un patriota que se haya parecido más a su patria, no hay un guerrero que se haya parecido más a su campo de batalla". 

Con la firma del Tratado de Coche, realizada el 23 de abril de 1863, entre los representantes de Falcón y Páez culmina la Guerra Federal (1859-1863), y se permite en agosto la salida honrosa de éste último hacia Nueva York. Con setenta y tres años a cuestas, durante su último exilio aprovecha el tiempo para escribir su autobiografía, publicada en 1868, y traducir del francés al castellano "Máximas de Napoleón aplicadas a la guerra". El 20 de julio de 1868 firma con Horacio Lewis un contrato para implementar un aparato desollador de ! ganado q ue permite desollar hasta mil reses por día; a tal fin emprende viaje al sur del continente, llegando en su primera escala a Río de Janeiro, adonde llega el 16 de julio, aprovechando la oportunidad para enviarle correspondencia al general José Ignacio Abreu y Lima, su antiguo edecán. El 7 de agosto llega a Buenos Aires, acompañado de la señorita Warner, su secretaria, y un cachorro llamado Pink; el 25 de agosto firma la patente para desollar durante diez años, actividad que a pesar de ser un método moderno, a la larga deviene en fracaso, el señor Lewis desapareció de Argentina sin explicación alguna. "El Centauro", es objeto de múltiples atenciones por parte de las autoridades civiles y militares, como también de la sociedad, que lo veían como un héroe, legendario personaje con una brillante hoja de servicios. A algunas recepciones asistía en regio uniforme de gala confeccionado en París; en ocasiones hablaba en inglés o en francés; por su elocuencia era el centro de atención; en su tiempo libre componía canciones. El 5 de diciembre, el presidente Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (1811-1888), distinguido político y escritor, autor en 1845 de la magnífica obra "Facundo, civilización y barbarie", decreta designarlo brigadier general del ejército argentino con goce de sueldo. El 5 de agosto de 1869 preside la comisión creada en Buenos Aires para socorrer a las víctimas del terremoto del Perú. El 24 de enero de 1870, el presidente de Bolivia, Mariano Melgarejo, dicta un Decreto de Honores concediéndole el grado de general de división. Una epidemia de fiebre amarilla lo obliga a salir de Argentina el 14 de abril de 1871 hacia Nueva York, con escala en Río de Janeiro. De nuevo fue objeto de banquetes de despedida del presidente Sarmiento y de sus amistades bonaerenses. En el norte vivía del apoyo económico que le facilitaban algunos amigos. El 15 de febrero de 1872 parte al Perú con escala en Panamá; en ambos países es atendido y sus méritos militares son reconocidos por parte de las autoridades y círculos sociales.! Al regr esar a Nueva York le acontece el fallecimiento el 6 de mayo de 1873, contaba ochenta y tres años, lo acompañaba su hijo Ramón y algunos amigos cercanos; sus restos ingresaron al Panteón Nacional el 19 de abril de 1886, precedidos de una solemne ceremonia, cuyo orador de orden fue Su Eminencia José Cardenal Quintero. La condecoración militar José Antonio Páez, en su Tercera, Segunda y Primera Clase; es decir, bronce, plata y oro, es concedida por años de servicios al personal de Suboficiales Profesionales de Carrera (S.O.P.C) de las Fuerza Armada Nacional, jerarquía incluida en la Ley Orgánica de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales, según Decreto de la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente de los Estados Unidos de Venezuela de fecha 14 de octubre de 1947, firmada por el Ejecutivo Nacional el 6 de noviembre. Por Resolución del Ministerio de la Defensa, de fecha 4 de junio de 1990, se estableció el 13 de junio de cada año como el "Día del Suboficial Profesional de Carrera de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales en la Honrosa Situación de Retiro". Su patrono es San Antonio de Padua, correspondiente al santoral del 13 de junio. Los S.O.P.C, egresados de las escuelas técnicas son militares altamente capacitados en la operación y mantenimiento del material y equipo sofisticado, asignados a cada uno de los componentes que integran la Fuerza Armada Nacional, actividad que realizan con alta mística, profesionalismo y eficiencia; para ellos el respeto y reconocimiento nacional. 

(*) General de brigada (Ej.)

Artículo enviado desde la página web del Diario El Carabobeño
Sent by Roberto Pérez Guadarrama
perezfru@movistar.net.ve


 

BIBLIOGRAFIA DE
GENEALOGÍA CHILENA
(Y DE REFERENCIA)

Editada, complementada y mantenida por
Mauricio Pilleux Cepeda

(Ultima actualización: 13 abril 2008)

 

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Editor: This is a remarkable website. So much information.  If you have any Chilena lines do explore it.   I checked on Lozano.  In addition to the accumulated information on Lozano, GOOGLE had a 'Spanish surname search.   Check it out.  Sent by John Inclan



HISTORY

Assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
The Bixby Letter 
 

Assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
Photograph by Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times 
Juan Romero and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, June 5, 1968. 

San Jose Man, Then a Busboy in Los Angeles 
recalls the night Robert Kennedy was shot.

By Patrick May
Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News, June 6, 2008
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9499167?source=most_emailed



A haunting memory for San Jose man who was with RFK on night of shooting

Juan Romero, of San Jose, at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial in downtown San Jose, Thursday June 5, 2008. In June 1968 Romero was a high school student, working the night shift job as a Bus Boy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He held and comforted Democratic Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy as he lay dying from a gunshot wound. Romero, a Mexican immigrant who grew up in East Los Angeles said, that at the time in his pocket he carried a rosary gifted to him by his mother, which he pulled out placed it in Kennedy's hand and prayed in Spanish. (MARIA J. AVILA/MERCURY NEWS) ( Maria Avila )

All day Thursday, hour by hour, Juan Romero replayed the day 40 years earlier when everything changed forever. 

It was June 5, 1968. It began like most mornings back then for the Los Angeles teenager, his mom pulling his foot to get him out of bed and off to school. But it ended late that evening, on the slippery kitchen floor of the Ambassador Hotel where a young Romero worked as a busboy, the blood from Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's head running through his shaking fingers. 

Now 58 and working in construction in San Jose, Romero paused Thursday after jackhammering a foot-thick slab of asphalt and recalled that terrifying day, captured in an iconic photo that appeared on front pages around the world. 

"Right about now, I'd be coming out of Roosevelt High, stopping to buy a soda from a mom-and-pop market in East L.A., then hopping onto the 22 bus, the first of four bus rides to get to the hotel on Wilshire," he said. 

He punched in. Within a few hours, he said, his path crossed Kennedy's and "my life changed forever." 

Kennedy had just won the state's Democratic primary. After making a victory speech at the Ambassador, the candidate slipped through the kitchen to avoid the crowds, but quickly landed in a crush of wide-eyed admirers. Romero was one of them, having been impressed by Kennedy the night before when he delivered him a room-service meal. A man of charisma and energy, he thought - "He didn't look at my skin or my age," he said. "He just made me feel 20 feet tall." 

Now, as Sirhan Sirhan opened fire, the sense of hope Kennedy had inspired in the young Mexican immigrant was engulfed by the chaotic scene that has haunted Romero ever since. 

"I felt the gunpowder burning me like a heater on my face," said Romero, fighting back tears. "I seriously thought it was just someone celebrating with firecrackers. Then I looked to my right and saw Bobby on the floor." 

Feet encircled the senator's body, but no one was moving. 

"I said someone should do something. I grabbed his forearm to get a reaction but he didn't respond. I kneeled down to keep his head from the cold water on the floor. And for a second that seemed like eternity, I was alone with him there, calling for help." 

Those images never faded - even years later after Romero had moved to San Jose, raising three daughters, a son and six grandkids. 

"I think I heard him ask, 'Is everybody OK?' or 'Everything's going to be OK.' I was told later that's impossible, that he was already gone, but I remember hearing it." 

After cradling Kennedy's head a moment, only to be pushed away by medical staff and Kennedy's wife, Ethel, Romero reached into his pocket and pulled out the rosary he had taken months earlier from his mother's glove compartment, a bit of religious insurance for a kid prone to mischief at school. 

"I put it in the palm of his right hand, wrapping it around his thumb so it wouldn't slip off. Then they pulled him away. And that was it." 

Not quite. Within a few hours, Kennedy was pronounced dead. And as the nation and the world mourned the death of another cherished political leader, a loss that would take decades for America to get its arms around, Romero began to live. 

"Meeting Bobby and then being with him when he died changed my life," said Romero, who struggled at first with anger. "I'm more tolerant of people now, whether it's my boss or a guy begging for a dollar. Bobby made me realize how lucky I was." 

In a way, Romero says Kennedy saved his life that day. 

"I've never doubted that my life would have taken another direction had I not been there with him. Maybe I never would have felt love for this nation, or the love of family. I was always called a taco vendor and wetback growing up; I could have become a gang member, full of anger." 

Losing Kennedy "made me realize how precious life is, and how great this nation is to have produced a man like Bobby." 

After the assassination, he moved to Santa Barbara and then returned to work at the Ambassador, but stayed only briefly, the hotel a place forever haunted for him. 

He and his wife soon moved to San Jose, where they settled down. He worked construction jobs and spent time with his family. 

After years of avoiding the limelight, haunted by the infamous photo of the young busboy holding the dying candidate, Romero now happily shares his experience, both the life lessons learned and the dreams broken forever. 

"If it were up to me, I'd be 
anonymous," says Romero. "But people tell me you can't tell Bobby's story without telling mine. I guess in
a way, we were connected from that day on." 

Contact Pat May at pmay@mercury news.com or (408) 920-5689.
The San Jose Mercury News, June 6, 2008
http://www.mercurynews.com
Sent by Dorinda Moreno fuerzamundial@gmail.com




 
The Bixby Letter 

If you remember, it was U. S. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall in "Saving Private Ryan," reading a Lincoln letter penned to a mother who had lost her five sons to the American Civil War that set the premise for the movie. While Marshall's reading of the famous "Bixby Letter" in the film was fictional, there was such a letter. This famous and controversial letter, acclaimed to be one of the finest pieces of Lincolnian prose, has its own fascinating story and is linked to the Dallas Historical Society.

Actually, historically, President Lincoln had his story a little off. Requested by Massachusetts's Governor John A. Andrew to write the letter, Lincoln sent his condolences to Mrs. Lydia (Parker) Bixby, a Boston widow who was to have suffered the loss of her sons. However, of her five sons who were supposed to have been killed, only two, Charles and Oliver, were lost in battle; Edward and George deserted the Union forces and Henry was honorably discharged. Mrs. Bixby, a suspected Southern sympathizer, destroyed the original letter upon receipt.

The letter was written on November 21, 1864 and published in the Boston Transcript four days later. Other newspaper copies were made and the letter became well-known. In 1891, copies were made for popular consumption that sold for $1.00. And, over the years, forgeries, claiming authenticity, appeared.

A mystery shrouds the letter as to who actually was its author. Studies have been made over the years of the syntax, style and language used and those studies are augmented by the supposed facts surrounding the creation of the letter. Some believe Lincoln was its author and others believe it was written by the President's secretary, John Hay.

The Dallas Historical Society is linked to this story because it has a copy of the Bixby Letter in its collection that looks pretty good. At the top of the letter is inscribed "A copy," but, after a cursory examination, and no one claiming expertise, the handwriting looks good, the paper is of the period and the ink has turned brown with age. The mystery continues!

If you are interested, just Google "Bixby Letter" to learn more.

-Thomas H. Smith, Ph.D. 

Sent by toby@dallashistory.org
Dallas Historical Society | P. O. Box 150038 | Dallas | TX | 75315


FAMILY HISTORY

National Archives Opens Online Digital Vault
USCIS Genealogy Service to Handle Citizenship Record Requests
Salt Lake Family History Library
Mexico IGI Batch Numbers
Improvements to the Family History Library Catalog 
Yahoo Announces New Latin American Sites
 

National Archives Opens Online Digital Vault


The National Archives and Records Administration just launched a new Web site to display photos, documents and other ephemera that tell our nation's collective history.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/insider/National
+Archives+Opens+Online+Digital+Vault.aspx


 


Naturalization Records Requests

USCIS Genealogy Service to Handle Citizenship Record Requests.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly the INS) will set up a fee-based Genealogy Program for responding to naturalization records requests.  Find out when it starts and what the fees are on the Genealogy Insider blog.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/insider/USCIS+Genealogy
+Service+To+Handle+Citizenship+Record+Requests.aspx


 

 


Salt Lake Family History Library

Many visitors to the Family History Library are interested in learning more about the Family History Library Patron Desktop, which is on all of our computers. We asked Gary Pack, an Information Specialist who helps manage the Library Desktop, to share briefly some of the reasons why it is such a valuable resource for our patrons. Here is his response:

* We now have over 2700 databases available in our "Databases at the Family History Library" link on the Desktop. 
* While in the Library, you can get direct access to any of the 2700+ Databases with a link from the Family History Library Catalog. 
* We have over 20 subscription websites that we pay for so you don't have to. These sites which can be used for free at the Library include: Accessible Archives, Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, Footnote.com, Godfrey Memorial Library, Heritage Quest Online, JSTOR, NewEnglandAncestors.org, One Great Family and World Vital Records. Come see many others, too! 
* We now have COMPLETE access to all of Ancestry.com resources here in the Library. This has put smiles on the faces of many of our guests. 
* You can access the Internet, our subscription websites, and print to our printers via our wireless network. 

The Patron Desktop is constantly changing and improving. Come visit us to see what we have added this week! 


 

 


Mexico IGI Batch Numbers 
http://mexicoigibatchnumbers.wetpaint.com/

Welcome to the Mexico IGI batch number experiment. I am hoping by creating a wiki many people will be willing to contribute IGI batch numbers as they find them. This will be an easy way for everyone to contribute and share batch information with others around the world.

As of 20 May. 2008 more than 3550 batch numbers for 32 states have been added. You can also find links to other sites with batch number information for Jalisco, Aguascalientes, and Zacatecas.

Within each state you will see a handful of different batch types. Here is what you can expect... 
  • As a general rule (not an exact science) batch numbers starting with the following letters have the following significance:
    • C = confirmations/baptisms of both males and females
    • J = confirmations/baptisms of males only
    • K = confirmations/baptisms of females only
    • M = marriages - try searching for both the groom and bride

For information about IGI batch numbers and how to use them please see the following blog post: http://hispanicgenealogy.blogspot.com/2007/07/igi-on-familysearchorg.html

Links to the following very helpful resources are also on the site: LDS Family Records 
Access millions of LDS records Absolutely risk free!  www.worldvitalrecords.com

Family Search
Billions of names across 15 decades Trace your family history here. 
www.Ancestry.com

Trace your Ancestry
Discover Your Roots. World Wide Family Tree. Find Your Ancestors! 
www.GeneBase.com  

Mexico Acta de Nacimiento
Copias certificadas originales Servicio rapido y economico 
www.actaexpress.com

Mormon Genealogy Search
Gov-Resources.com/Genealogy 
Search for Your Family & Ancestors Using Our Genealogy Databases! 
http://www.gov-resources.com/landingpages/genealogy.html

Sent by Maria Guangorena  carm1ta1@yahoo.com.mx

 

 

 


Improvements to the Family History Library Catalog 

PROVO, UT, May 14, 2008 — FamilyLink.com, Inc has teamed with FamilySearch to improve the user experience of the Family History Library Catalog for millions of people worldwide by adding new Web 2.0 functionality and enhancements. The improvements will also enable users to spend research time more efficiently by directing them to the information that will generate the quickest results.

FamilyLink.com's improvements to the catalog will make it searchable by major online search engines and allow users to annotate item descriptions—increasing their accuracy and enriching the content. 

FamilySearch's Family History Library Catalog is used extensively by family history enthusiasts. It is a window to the vast collection of genealogical resources amassed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the past 100 years—millions of microfilms, fiche, and books from 110+ countries throughout the world.

Genealogists use the popular online catalog to see if FamilySearch has any material that can help them in their research. Materials are then ordered on an interlibrary loan one FamilySearch's 4,500 local family history centers worldwide.

"The enhancements FamilyLink.com will help make to the Family History Library Catalog will increase its usability and exposure. Beginners will find it particularly easier to navigate, and searching and browsing will be more rewarding," said Paul Nauta, Manager of Public Affairs, FamilySearch.  

Improved Searchin: In a typical search of the Family History Library Catalog, users first identify known facts about a family and then go through a step-by-step process to locate records. Newly integrated FamilyLink.com tools will help users better identify information. Guided searches will help users decide what they want to learn about their families, point them to relevant records, help obtain and search the records, provide clues to more information, and assist with the application of the new information.

As part of the enhancement, FamilyLink.com will make searches more useful by allowing the user to browse, sort (by popularity, relevance, most used, etc.), and perform multiple searches. A new "probability engine" feature will calculate the likelihood that a particular source contains the desired item. It will also be able to search across someone's entire family tree to determine which ancestry lines have the highest likelihood of success based on known sources.

"We are excited to work with FamilySearch and to add this extensive catalog to our database collections," said Paul Allen, CEO, FamilyLink.com, Inc. "We have looked at doing this collaboration for quite a while. We will enhance the catalog by connecting it with new innovative tools, along with the best resources of our WorldVitalRecords.com databases, the FamilyLink.com social networking site, and our We're Related application in Facebook. Putting all of these resources together will dramatically change the meaning of 'search' in genealogy."

Social Networking: Another enhancement to the Family History Library Catalog will be its increased interactivity. Every entry in the catalog will link to an online or digital source, if available. The user will then be able to link directly to the publisher, buy the book, or search for the nearest copy.

FamilyLink.com will also add an annotation feature that allows users to suggest a new source, enhance an existing source by adding a place (location) or a time period, and rate and review a source based on its usefulness.

"We know that search traffic will increase on both the FamilyLink services and FamilySearch's site when users discover the new guided search tools," said FamilyLink.com President David Lifferth. "Last month we had over 700,000 unique visitors and 8.5 million page views. We are predicting that these numbers will more than double after the first quarter of use."

Media Contact: Whitney Ransom  whitney@familylink.com
Corporate Communications Director
FamilyLink.com, Inc.  ttp://www.worldvitalrecords.com

Paul Nauta: FamilySearch Public Affairs Manager  nautapg@familysearch.org 

About FamilySearch
FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization that maintains the world's largest repository of genealogical resources. Patrons may access resources online at FamilySearch.org or through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries. FamilySearch is a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. and is registered in the United States of America and other countries.

About FamilyLink.com, Inc.
FamilyLink.com, Inc. is a family of services that includes WorldVitalRecords.com, FamilyLink.com, and the We're Related application on Facebook. The focus of the company is to provide innovative tools to connect families. 

About WorldVitalRecords.com
Founded in 2006 by Paul Allen and several key members of the original Ancestry.com team, WorldVitalRecords.com, Inc. provides affordable access to genealogy databases and family history tools used by more than 600,000 monthly visitors. The site registers 9.4 million monthly pages views and has more than 30,000 subscribers. With thousands of databases—including birth, death, military, census, and parish records—WorldVitalRecords.com makes it easy to fill in missing information in your family tree. Some of its partners include Everton Publishers, Quintin Publications, Archive CD Books Australia, Gould Genealogy, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Archive CD Books Canada, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., SmallTownPapers®, Accessible Archives, Genealogical Publishing Company, Find My Past, Godfrey Memorial Library, Find A Grave, and FamilySearch. Investors include vSpring Capital and several angel investors.

Sent by Maria Guangorena
carm1ta1@yahoo.com.mx


 


Yahoo Announces New Latin American Sites
Yahoo Announces New Latin American Sites

Imagine a Chilean-born American citizen, sharing photos in his native language with friends in the U.S., Mexico, and his home country -- via home PC or mobile phone. 
Yahoo
is closing the gap between native Spanish speakers worldwide, regardless of locale, with the introduction of several new initiatives.
Hispanic Business Weekend Newsletter: June 13, 2008, Issue # 62