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Books
Education
Fiction/Non-Fiction
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Orange Co, CA

Table
 of 
Contents
Nov 2013

Los Angeles, CA
California
Northwestern US
Southwestern US
Middle America
Texas
Mexico
Indigenous
Archaeology
Sephardic
African-American
East Coast
Caribbean/Cuba
Central/South America
Philippines
Spain/Portugal/Italy
International

 


and 
Diversity Issues


NOVEMBER 2013
 158
th Online Issue

Editor: Mimi Lozano ©2000-2013

 



With Thankfulness to Those who have Lead the Way
DR. HECTOR P. GARCIA
The Hispanic Art Contest by Daisy Wanda Garcia, click  

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

Submitters to November Issue 
Arthur A. Almeida
Dan Arellano
Dr. Eve Armentrout Ma, Esq
Nora H. Barajas
Mercy Bautista-Olvera
Dinorah Bommarito 
Esther Bonilla Read
Michele Bonilla Lillie
Juana Bordas
Marie Brito
Eddie Calderon, Ph.D.

Roberto Calderon, Ph.D.
Gloria Candelaria
Rosie Carbo
Gloria Candelaria
Bill Carmena
Juan Castillo
Humberto Cavazos
Ángel de Cervantes
Amancio J. Chapa, Jr.
Robert Cortez
Sylvia Contreras
Jack Cowan
José Antonio Crespo
Carolina De Robertis
Sal del Valle 
Winston Deville 
Armando Durón  
Ivan Enrique Espinosa
John  Fernandez
Refugio S. Fernandez
Luis Álvaro Gallo
Daisy Wanda Garcia  
Delia Gonzalez Huffman
Isabel Gonzalez Hutchins 
M Guangorena  
Michael N. Henderson
Sergio Hernandez 
John Inclan

Miguel Juárez
Ralph Lambiase Sr.
Rick Leal
José Antonio López
Alfred Lugo
Jerry Javier Lujan
Juan Marintez
Jorge Mariscal
Jessica Mayorga
Cynthia McNaughton
Ramon Moncivais
Richard Montoya 
Dorinda Moreno
Fernando Muñoz Altea.
Enrique G. Murillo, Jr., Ph.D.
Tom Nash   
Rafael Ojeda
Mª Ángeles Olson
Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, Ph.D. 
Tte. Coronel Ricardo Palmerín
Jose M. Pena
Clotilde' Perez Rea Sofikitis 
Daniel L. Polino
Angel Custodio Rebollo
Refugio Rochin, Ph.D.
Jose Roman Gonzalez Lopez
Ben Romero  
Joe Perez   
 

Mo H Saidi, MD
Tony Santiago
Edith Serafin  Louis F. Serna
Sister Mary Sevilla
Anita Quintanilla 
Marisol Ramos 
Erasmo Riojas
Rogelio C. Rodriguez
Tomas Rodriguez
Freddie Roman
Ben Romero  
Frances Rios
Joe Sanchez
Tomas Saenz
Monica R. Sigla
Elena Strelkas
Javier Tobon 
Lenny Trujillo
Evelyn Ureña
Omar S. Valerio-Jiménez
Carlos Vasquez, DCA
Donivan Vecera
Pancho Vega
Elida Vela de Vom Baur
Margarita B. Velez
Yomar Villarreal Cleary
Kirk Whisler

femi@austin.utexas.edu 


Nikolai Lenin, the father of Russian communism, wrote in 1917: 
"Germany will militarize herself out of existence, England will expand herself out of existence, 
and America will spend itself out of existence."

 

 

UNITED STATES

Concerning Letters to the Editor by Mimi
The Hispanic Art Contest by Wanda Garcia
Latino Americans
2013 National Council of  la Raza ALMA Awards
Denial of a History is a Denial of a People by Wanda Garcia 
Hispanics Breaking Barriers - Volume 3 - Issue 3 by Mercy Bautista-Olvera
2013 Jose Marti Publishing Awards of the National Association of Hispanic Publications' 
Ruben Salazar was a Mexican-American journalist
Con Safos: Reflection from Up On the Hill, teaser by J.A. Velarde
El Movimiento, How Latino Americans Fought for Civil Rights by Esther J. Cepeda
The Tex/Mex Heritage of "Lady Bird" Johnson
Latinos 101, the Hispanic Heritage of the United States by Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, Ph.D.
The 1940's
Kilroy was here!

Concerning Letters to the Editor, I would like to say . . . . .

I so love receiving confirmation that Somos Primos is helpful and a positive contribution in the lives of readers, such as this email from senior Pancho Vega, who shares, "Cumplo 94, en buena salud y ocupado con negocios y servicio a la comunidad. Mil gracias for the historical work of "Somos Primos" that you continue to provide for so many of us, that continue with interest in our history. I look forward to the additional services that you will be providing.
Saludos y adelante, Pancho
panchovega13@aol.com

. . . AND from free-lance writer, Rosie Carbo from Dallas who writes: "Thank You So Much For Including My Article! As Always, the Somos Primos Newsletter Is Filled With Inspirational Stories!!  
God Bless You!  Rosie in Dallas~"  
rosic@aol.com
 

After the airing of  the 6 hour documentary, Latino Americans, friend Joe Sanchez [bluewall@mpinet.net], of  Puerto Rican heritage, from the East Coast wrote to me, of Mexican heritage on the West Coast applauding Latino Americans, as an  excellent documentary which managed to include the histories of all of varied Spanish heritage groups which had entered the United States at different time periods and for different reasons.  Joe said he was receiving lots of comments from friends and family concerning Latino Americans, and offered to send them along.

This program was pretty cool. It covered our migration from PR, along with those of the Dominicans, Cubans and other Hispanic groups.   Freddie Roman
freddieroman0821@yahoo.com 

Thanks for the feedback, Freddie. Editor Mimi Lozano does a great job letting the world know about the Hispanic heritage, accomplishments, and their contributions to America and around the world. Others have also gotten back to me on it. I will forward your comments to her. Glad to have had you as my partner in the 25 Pct., back in 1976
Joe Sanchez bluewall@mpinet.net 

What a great documentary . My family enjoyed and learned so much from these segments .
Humberto Cavazos  cavazos7h@aol.com 

You are right, we must support all our attempts to call attention to our rich culture. Somos Primos attempts to do this. And we need to support them in their efforts, thank you Joe. 
Tomas Rodriguez
Many Hispanics have made contributions throughout the world and throughout the years in politics, culture, law, language, religion, human rights, etc. People have to recognize that Hispanics are a proud, loving people, who enrich the lands and cultures, that they come into contact with. Joe, I am not an eloquent speaker/writer, as I would like to be, so please, understand that the foregoing comment is my best.
Stay well, Ralph

 

Athough I am NOT of Hispanic heritage Joe, I did forward your email to several family members who are. they are all in agreement that it would be a wonderful thing if all Hispanic Americans, and non Americans being of Latino background can learn each other's cultures and unite in loving and respecting one another. Some of our states in the United States, do have a lot of Spanish heritage in them such as Louisiana, Texas Nevada and California. Florida as well. I would really love to see when Dominicans and Puerto Ricans can learn to respect and love one another.

  I would like to see the Mexican people also be honored here in New York and know what their true worth is. there is also a lot of Spanish Native Americans that do not get the proper recognition. unity and respect those are the keywords educating every single Latino background is the greatest thing ever. all my love. y con mucho 

Y con mucho carino, Edith
Edith Serafin

Well Joe, to be honest with you I could have some Latino blood on my mother's side as at one time Spain did rule Naples and that's where my mother's family was from.

  I think there's prejudice in every race. Unity is the keyword Joe. as the old saying goes united we stand divided we fall. Education is another part of the unity. in my own family.  Its really disgraceful how we as human beings could be so empty minded. Please relay to your friend at SOMOS PRIMOS, I commend her tfor a job well done. 13 years is a long wait however , with all the progress that is happening, should make us feel very proud.  God bless you Joe, you're a great person.

Being Hispanic has been my "orgullo', we should all feel the same. Que viva Los Hispanos.

Evelyn Ureña

 

I would like to confirm my thankfulness for the hundreds of thousands of leaders who have come before us, who have given of  themselves,  tirelessly, dedicating their lives to help, uplift, inform, and educate those of us who share Spanish roots. Daily, I receive stories and tidbits of information that continue to broaden my vision, and continue to enlarge my embrace of others.  We have a  historical and global DNA connection to the world, which should awaken in us a realization of our role in viewing the needs of our nation for freedom, strength and security.   

Among the thousands of  sacrificial leaders is Dr. Hector P. Garcia . . . recognized below by a 7th grader in Texas.

 

THE HISPANIC ART CONTEST

By Daisy Wanda Garcia

Every year since 2007, the Victoria Alliance for Latino Education (VALE) organized by local organizations in Victoria, TX, sponsors a Hispanic Art Contest.  Middle school students in Victoria, TX and Port Lavaca, TX can enter this contest.  The purpose of the contest is to raise appreciation for art, show students the advantages of higher education, and bring awareness about the Hispanic Culture.  The stipulation is that the artworks depict some aspect of the Hispanic culture.

Blanca Sanchez, an art teacher in one of Victoria’s Middle Schools, encouraged her students to participate.  One of her 7th grade students Donivan Vecera  decided to enter the  art contest and had to create a piece about Hispanic Heritage. He asked his art teacher Ms. Sanchez what topic he should use and she suggested veterans.  As a follow up,   Donivan contacted Angel Zuniga, Commander of the American GI Forum, a veteran’s organization to get information about veterans.   Angel Zuniga recommended that Donivan select Dr. Hector P. Garcia as a topic because of his activism for veterans.  After researching Dr. Garcia, Donivan found that he stood up for Hispanic heritage and he was a physician who treated people even if they couldn’t pay.

 


Donivan
Vecera

Donivan decided to create a collage depicting the life of Dr. Garcia for his entry. Donivan, Ms. Sanchez and Donivan’s Mom Cindy went on the internet and found pictures of Dr. Hector Garcia and other relevant information about Dr. Garcia’s life.  Donivan made the collage over black drawing paper and used prisma colors for the visual effects. Donivan used symbols in his collage to depict key events in Dr. Garcia’s life.  For example, Dr. Garcia graduated from the University of Texas at Austin so Donivan looked for pictures of the UT mascot the longhorn.  The search was on to find the appropriate symbols to depict Dr. Garcia’s life. Dr. Garcia founded the American G.I. Forum (AGIF).  Since the flag is the emblem of the AGIF and the organization has chapters in many states,   Donivan used the U.S. flag as the background for his collage.  The bronze statue at Texas A&M University of Dr. Garcia symbolized education. This was the key to Dr. Garcia’s success because he came from obscurity and rose to help the Hispanic Community.  Donivan learned from the PBS documentary “Justice for My People.” that Dr. Garcia drove a blue Cadillac because the Cadillac was large and he could transport many people to meetings and AGIF conventions.   Donivan found a picture of the blue Cadillac and placed it in the collage.  Dr. Garcia was heavily involved in Hispanic fair labor rights and added the picture of Dr. Hector and his sister marching to the Texas Capital in support of the farm worker’s strike.  The caduceus symbolized that Dr. Garcia used his medicine to help and heal people.  The army helmet symbolized of Dr. Garcia’s military service and helping injured men. Donivan selected four medals which Dr. Garcia received to portray in his collage. These were The Medalla al Merito, 1952, for his work with Mexican American veterans, The U.S. Army's Bronze Star and six battle stars, 1942–1946, The Equestrian Order of Pope Gregory the Great from Pope John Paul II, 1990, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Reagan in 1986 symbolizing Justice, Freedom and Education.

According to Donivan’s teacher Blanca Sanchez, Donivan did not win the contest, but there was quite a bit of conversation about this piece from the public that viewed it.  The poster is displayed at the University of Houston in Victoria, TX.  When asked Donivan what lesson he learned from researching the life of Dr. Garcia.  Donivan response was “You can go far in life if you choose too”.   [Bianca Lopez  bel1050@yahoo.com


 
LATINO AMERICANS 3 BROADCAST.jpg


Congratulations to:
Daniel McCabe and John J. Valadez 


The Latino Americans DVD - shopPBS.org
The Latino Americans 
DVD PBS Price: $34.99
Softcover Book $18.00 
Latino Americans DVD and Book Combo
Price: $47.99 



Independent Lens: The Longoria Affair DVD - shopPBS.org

 Latino Americans chronicles the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have for the past 500-plus years helped shape what is today the United States. It is a story of people, politics, and culture, intersecting with much that is central to the history of the United States while also going to places where standard U.S. histories do not tend to tread.

http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=23148116&cp=20266096&utm_source=
PBS&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=#Details
 


http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XILc%2BDK3%2F4Cuh8j%2FDhi2%2Fof24rE7kH5o

http://almaawards.com/        
http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Arts/alma-award-winners.html
 
Sent by Jessica Mayorga  events@nclr.org 
 
Caller Times Corpus Christi Caller Times
10/05/2013 A: Main 
(0-1005a011ccct1.pdf.0)  Page A011

October 5, 2013, Powered by TECNAVIA  Copyright ©2013 Caller Times   10/05/2013
 http://callertimes.tx.newsmemory.com/eebrowser/frame/check.7427/php-script/print.php?p . . .    10/5/2013

 

Hispanics Breaking Barriers 

Volume 3 - Issue 3 
by 
Mercy Bautista-Olvera

The 3th   issue in the series “Hispanics Breaking Barriers” focuses on contributions of Hispanic leadership in United States.  Their contributions have improved not only the local community but the country as well. Their struggles, stories, and accomplishments will by example; illustrate to our youth and to future generations that everything and anything is possible.

 Serena Auñón:  Second Hispanic woman to become a NASA astronaut

Guillermo del Toro: (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡiˈʝeɾmo ðel ˈtoɾo];) Mexican film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist

V. Manuel Pérez:   Assembly member, District 56th and Assistant Majority Floor Leader of the California State Assembly

Maria Cardona:  seasoned public policy advocate and political strategist. Cardona is a national political commentator, and is currently a CNN and CNN en Español  

Maria Cristina González Noguera: First lady Michelle Obama’s Communications Director

 


Serena Auñón

Serena Auñón is the second the second Hispanic woman to become a NASA astronaut.

Auñón was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, but considers Fort Collins, Colorado, to be her hometown. Auñón's father is Dr. Jorge Auñón, a Cuban exile who arrived in the United States in 1960. Her mother is Margaret Auñón (pen name Maggie Sefton). She has three sisters. Serena is single.

In 1993, Auñón graduated from Poudre High School, Fort Collins, Colorado.  She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University, a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, and a Master’s of Public Health Degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch.  

 

She has been in Houston, Texas since 1997. In August 2006, Johnson Space Center NASA S originally hired Auñón as a flight surgeon to assist in medical operations for the International Space Station. In 2009, NASA selected Auñón as an Astronaut, and by 2012, she piloted a DeepWorker 2000 Submersible for an exploration mission off Key Largo, Florida.

Her greatest accomplishment is becoming a physician —“I love practicing medicine. I still love it. Medicine is my passion, and it makes me a better astronaut. The type of medicine I practice I have to listen and pay attention to every small detail, and I think that helps a lot as an astronaut. I haven’t been in space yet, but I understand all the problems that go on in space. If we need to design a medical kit for space, it definitely helps with that too,” stated Auñón.

 


Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡiˈʝeɾmo ðel ˈtoɾo]; is a Mexican film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist.

Guillermo del Toro was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He studied at the Centro de Investigación y Estudios Cinematográficos, in Guadalajara. He immigrated to United States as a young man, soon his family followed.

He is married to his high school sweetheart Lorenza Newton, cousin of Mexican singer Guadalupe Pineda. He started dating Lorenza when both were studying at the Guadalajara School of Sciences. He currently lives in California with his wife and two daughters, Mariana and Marisa. 

He wrote four and directed five episodes of the “La Hora Marcada, with other Mexican filmmakers such as Emmanuel Lubezki and Alvonso Cuaron.

In del Toro’s filmmaking career, del Toro has worked between Spanish dark fantasy pieces, such as “The Devil’s Backbone” (2001) and “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), and more mainstream American action movies as “Blade II” (2002). “Hellboy” (2004) and “Pacific Rim” (2003).

In 2007, the Academy Awards nominated del Toro for Best Original Screenplay for Pan’s Labyrinth.  The same year, the British Academy Film Awards awarded Guillermo del Toro for Best Film not for the English Language for “Pan’s Labyrinth”.  In 2008, del Toro won for Nebula Award Best Script for “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

In an interview with Robert K. Elder for his book “The Best Film You've Never Seen”, del Toro explains his careful methodology: “I’m as thorough and as well-prepared as I can be in my filmmaking, and that came from the discipline of having to work as a make-up effects artist many, many, many times in my life.”

He spent ten years as a special effects make-up designer and formed his own company, Necropia. He also co-founded the Guadalajara International Film Festival.   

He has directed a wide variety of films, from comic book daptations “Blade II”, “Hellboy” to historical fantasy and horror films two of which are set in Spain in the context of the Spanish Civil War under the rule of Francisco Franco. His films “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” are similar settings, protagonists and themes with the 1973 Spanish film “The Spirit of the Beehive”, widely considered to be the finest Spanish film of the 1970’s.  

On June 2, 2009, del Toro's first novel, “The Strain” was published.  It is the first part of an apocalyptic vampire trilogy co-authored by del Toro and Chuck Hogan. The second volume, “The Fall” was released on September 21, 2010. The final installment, “The Night Eternal” followed in October 2011.

He directed “Pacific Rim”, a science fiction film based on a screenplay by del Toro and Travis Beacham. "This is my most un-modest film, this has everything. The scale is enormous and I'm just a big kid having fun, stated del Toro.

 


V. Manuel Pérez

Assembly member V. Manuel Pérez serves as the Assistant Majority Floor Leader of the California State Assembly. First elected in 2008 and now in his third and final term, Assembly member Pérez represents the 56th Assembly District, which comprises the cities and communities in eastern Riverside and Imperial counties.

Manuel Pérez born in Indio and raised in Coachella, he grew up in a close-knit family that taught him the value of hard work determination, respect and service to others.

He attended public schools, graduated from University of California, Riverside, and earned a Master's Degree in Education from Harvard University.  He has served as a school teacher, a youth advocate, and a community healthcare director. He also served on the board of the Coachella Valley Unified School District.

During his first two terms in office, Pérez   served as chair of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy and devoted much of his policy focus to the state’s economic recovery.  He firmly believes in local economic development, supporting small business, and protecting local government. He also strongly advocates for continued investments in education, while ensuring a safety net for our most vulnerable communities.

Pérez has served as a member of the following Assembly Committees:  Government Organization; Health; Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy; and Rules.  He is the chair of the Select Committee on the Renewable Energy Economy in Rural California.  In prior legislative sessions, he has served on Accountability and Administrative Review; Aging and Long-term Care; and Veterans Affairs Committees. He also served as Vice Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus.

His accomplishments are to maintain small business to guarantee program and other measures to ensure loans and technical assistance, securing the approval for clean-burning, natural gas power plant to bring investment, jobs and energy reliability to the region. He helps to keep students in school by empowering administrators with narrow discretion to consider alternatives to suspension and expulsion for certain student offenses. Promoting access to the state’s safe Routes to School program for more walkable and pedestrian friendly communities.

 


Maria Cardona

Maria Cardona is a seasoned public policy advocate and political strategist. Cardona is a national political commentator, and is currently a CNN and CNN en Español political contributor, and has appeared frequently on MSNBC, FOX, Univision and Telemundo.

Maria Cardona:
I was born in Bogota, Colombia, and was 2 years old when her family immigrated to United States.       

Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist and currently heads the public affairs practice at Dewey Square Group, where she founded the Latinovations practice that focuses on Latino strategic outreach on national, state and local levels. Maria Cardona started Latinovations, the Latino strategies practice of public affairs firm Dewey Square Group (DSG), because she knew its services would be pertinent to the growing and influential U.S. Hispanic community. 

During the 2008, Democratic primary election, Cardona was senior adviser and spokesperson to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and served on the campaign’s Hispanic outreach team. During the 2008 general election, Cardona was a key surrogate for the Obama for America campaign.  

Previously, Cardona was a senior vice president for the New Democrat Network, and before that, the communications director for the Democratic National Committee. During the Clinton administration, Cardona served as a spokesperson at the U.S. Departments of Justice and Commerce. In addition, Cardona will also contribute to CNN en Español.

Conservative columnist David Frum was also named as a new CNN contributor.  

Cardona and Frum joined a deep bench of political contributors at CNN, which includes John Avlon, Paul Begala, Bill Bennett, Donna Brazile, James Carville, Alex Castellanos, Erick Erickson, Ari Fleischer, David Gergen, Roland Martin, Mary Matalin and Hilary Rosen, among others.  

She joined CNN network for the 2012 election season. A seasoned public policy advocate and political strategist, Maria Cardona has more than two decades of experience in the government, politics, public relations and community affairs arenas. She serves as Co-Chair of inSPIRE STEM USA, a coalition working to address America’s high-skilled jobs crisis and to strengthen the U.S. STEM education pipeline.  

She is recognized among the most influential Latinos in the country, Cardona is a Principal at the Dewey Square Group, leading the Multicultural and Public Affairs practices. Cardona founded DSG’s Latino Strategies practice, “Latinovations,” and is a respected advocate on Latino issues.  

 “My parents instilled in us a love of our culture, a fierce commitment to our language, and to be inclusive and invite people in even when we are seen with skepticism” stated, Cardona,” stated Cardona.

 


Maria Cristina González Noguera

First Lady Michelle Obama has chosen Maria Cristina González Noguera as her new Communications Director.

Maria González Noguera was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The White House biography about González Noguera said that she is married and has a one-year-old son.

Maria Cristina Maria Cristina González Noguera, known as “MC,” served as global vice president of Estée Lauder.  

In 1997, she received a Bachelor’s of Arts in International Relations from Tufts University. The university is a private university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts.

She has been working at of Estée Lauder since 2005. She is an experienced communications executive currently serving as the Global Vice President, Corporate Communications, for the Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (ELC). González Noguera advised the Company’s leadership team on strategic communications matters including government affairs, media relations, issues management, and employee engagement.

During her tenure at ELC she has played a significant role in leading and integrating the Company’s extensive corporate responsibility initiatives. Prior to joining ELC,   González Noguera was a Managing Director for the Washington, D.C., strategic communications firm Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates (CLS).  

“MC brings a fresh perspective and a wealth of expertise that will make her an incredible asset to our team,” said the First Lady’s announcement. “My time at the White House has been focused on ensuring all our children and families thrive, and as an experienced communications professional who shares my commitment to this mission, I know MC will be an outstanding partner.”

About her time at the company, she wrote on the site that she led a 20-person global team "responsible for enhancing and protecting the Estée Lauder Companies brand, one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of prestige beauty products, with over 27 brands sold in over 150 countries and close to $10 billion in revenue.”

González Noguera will be succeeding Kristina Schake, who, The Washington Post noted, “helped make Michelle Obama a viral video star and ubiquitous magazine cover presence.”

Schake, the Post said, “has been at Obama’s side as she has stretched the traditional role of a first lady to include ‘mom dancing’ on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night talk show and presenting the best picture trophy at the Academy Awards.”

 A writer in Forbes stated González Noguera’s appointment is significant for Latinos. “Most of all, please pay attention, she’s a world-class consumer marketing exec who just happens to be Hispanic,” the Forbes story said. “The [President] and [First Lady] both grasp the importance of excellence in consumer marketing and communications.”

First Lady Michelle Obama said her outgoing Communications Director will leave big shoes to fill and that González Noguera “brings a fresh perspective and a wealth of expertise that will make her an incredible asset to our team.”

 

 

 
HM101 masthead new      The National Association of Hispanic Publications'    
                         2013 José Martí Publishing Awards .  .  .  . 
October 3, 2013
2 Jose MartiAs the National Association of Hispanic Publications enters it's FOURTH decade of SERVICE and PROMOTION on the importance, power, and variety of newspapers, magazines, newsletters, websites, yellow pages, and more that combine to be Hispanic Print. The Conference was held October 2-5, 2013 at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel in Anaheim, California.

The Conference had more ad agencies and corporation present than at any in more than a decade - a wonderful sign for the future of Hispanic Print. The event also played tribute to a

man who inspired many of us, Zeke Montes, the NAHP President who passed away earlier in the year. Overall the Conference showed us there are many positive things ahead for theNAHP

The number of judges it took to judge this years awards was a record setting 55 judges. Administration for the awards process was handled by Kirk Whisler & Ana Patiño. 


The new category this year was Outstanding New Publication, a hotly contested category with many entries, another great sign about the future of Hispanic Print. The NAHP's José Martí

Awards are one of the oldest and the largest Hispanic media awards within the USA.

Click here for all 348 winners in the 2013 NAHP's Jose Marti Awards   

Click here to learn more of the benefits of being an NAHP member

About the NAHP

The National Association of Hispanic Publications, Inc. (NAHP, Inc.) is a non-partisan trade advocacy organization representing the leading Spanish language publications serving 41 markets in 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, with a combined circulation of over 23 million.

NAHP was founded in 1982 to promote Spanish language publications, the most effective medium to reach the fast growing Hispanic community. Membership is open to Spanish language and Hispanic owned newspapers, magazines and related media as well as businesses that offer products and services to this market throughout the United States.


What:  Annual The National Association of Hispanic Publications Annual Convention (NAHP)

When: October 2 - 5, 2013

Where: Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, Anaheim, CA

1717 S. Disneyland Dr.
Anaheim, California 92802


  • Journalist
  • Ruben Salazar was a Mexican-American journalist killed by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War on August 29, 1970 in East Los Angeles, California. Wikipedia
  •  

    2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the death of journalist Ruben Salazar, the first Latinojournalist to bring the issues of the Chicano community to mainstream America in the 1960s and ‘70s.

    Salazar was the first significant foreign correspondent of Mexican descent, and in 1969 became the first Latino columnist for a major newspaper. Salazar is seen by many as a martyr for the Chicano movement and a popular folk hero in the Mexican American
    community, but he was first and foremost a journalist who understood the power of the media.

    Salazar was born March 3, 1928, in Juarez, Mexico. He and his family moved across the border to El Paso, Texas, when he was 8 months old. They all became naturalized citizens. After graduating from El Paso High School, Salazar served in the U.S. Army in
    Germany from 1950 to 1952. He then attended Texas Western College (now known as University of Texas at El Paso) where he majored in journalism.

    Salazar was initially interested in becoming a cartoonist but that changed when he was in school and learned of a football game in Texas where the captain of one of the teams was not allowed to play because he was Black. In an editorial printed Nov. 8, 1947, entitled "One American Won't be There," Salazar questioned whether in the event of a war whether the U.S. military would refuse to allow the Black player to serve. “How many draft boards would tell Tempe's football captain: ‘Sorry, but you can't participate in this war; it is being fought exclusively by whites’? He would have been 19 years old when he wrote that.

    Salazar’s first newspaper job was with the El Paso Herald-Post. There he wrote investigative stories on the filthy and uncontrolled conditions of the jail, and the drug trade in El Paso. In the mid-1950s, Salazar moved to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and then to the San Francisco News. He then moved to Southern California where he worked for the Los Angeles Herald-Express, and then, in 1959, joined the Los Angeles Times. At The Times, Salazar began writing about Mexican-American political and social issues and on the U.S.-Mexico border. In 1965, Salazar got his first foreign reporting assignment to cover the U.S. military intervention in the Dominican Republican, and then later that year was sent to cover the Vietnam War. In the fall of 1966, Salazar left Vietnam and became bureau chief in Mexico City. He returned to Los Angeles at the beginning of 1969 to again cover the Mexican American community, which by now had become more militant.

    The Times wanted Salazar to explain Chicanos to Anglos and Anglos to Chicanos. But as the only Chicano reporter at The Times, and one of only a handful of Latinos working in mainstream media at the time, Salazar fought to avoid the mundane to focus on more serious issues facing the Chicano community. He told Newsweek magazine that his editors kept asking for stories explaining Chicanos to white people, but Salazar responded, “When you've been a reporter this long, you go for more significant, hardhitting
    stuff than telling why people eat enchiladas."

    In April 1970, Salazar left The Times to become news director of KMEX-TV, the then fledgling Spanish-language TV station in Los Angeles. Not wanting to completely sever their ties with Salazar, The Times made him a weekly columnist for the paper. At
    KMEX, Salazar produced stories on police abuse in the Chicano community and wrote columns for The Times that were critical of the police. Salazar told friends at the time that he had been threatened by the police and sheriff’s department for “stirring up the
    Mexicans” and that he felt he was being followed by law enforcement.

    On Aug. 29, 1970, Salazar covered the anti-Vietnam War Chicano Moratorium March in East Los Angeles. The march became violent after sheriff’s deputies tried to end the rally by going after protestors and dispersing tear gas. Salazar stepped into the Silver Dollar Café on Whittier Boulevard to momentarily escape the goings-on. While Salazar was inside the bar, a sheriff’s deputy knelt on the street in front of the bar and fired a 10-inch tear gas projectile through its curtained door. Several hours later, Salazar’s body was found inside dead after being struck by the projectile.

    Salazar was 42. He left a wife and three young children. An inquest into the shooting found that Salazar died “at the hands of another,” but no criminal charges were ever filed against the deputy who fired the deadly shot or the sheriff’s department. The Justice Department also refused to investigate Salazar’s death.

    Forty years later there are still a lot of unanswered questions, in part because the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department continues to refuse to make public eight boxes of records related to the shooting.

    In 2001, CCNMA established the Ruben Salazar Journalism Awards to recognize stories that demonstrate journalism excellence while contributing to a better understanding of California’s Latino communities.

    Salazar proved that a journalist can be an advocate for empowering a community while still maintaining journalistic integrity. As the Los Angeles Times eulogized him, Salazar was “sometimes an angry man as he observed the inequities around him, yet he spoke with a calm vigor that made his words all the more impressive and influential.”


    CON SAFOS: 
    Reflections From Up On the Hill - Teaser
    by J. A. Velarde

     

    Teaser trailer for the upcoming documentary film, "CON SAFOS: Reflections From Up On the Hill". This trailer premiered at the dA CENTER FOR THE ARTS, honoring Filmmaker Jesus Salvador Trevino on Oct. 12, 2013. This documentary explores the impact, significance of the groundbreaking Chicano Con Safos magazine of the 60's and 70's.  

    We are in the final stages...a few more interviews and we'll make the documentary available for the public....
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_UVMmmEMQk&feature=em-share_video_user 

    Sergio Hernandez 
    chiliverde@earthlink.net
     

    El Movimiento
    How Latino Americans Fought for Civil Rights
    By Esther J. Cepeda | HUMANITIES
    September/October 2013 | Volume 34, Number 5

    Soldiers of the 65th Infantry rest on maneuvers at Salinas, Puerto Rico, 1941. 
    The 65th went on to serve in Italy, Central Europe, and Germany.—Courtesy of the U.S. Army

    On the evening of September 10, 1945, eighteen days after President Harry Truman hung the Congressional Medal of Honor around his neck, a war hero, looking for a meal, entered a dining establishment in Richmond, Texas.

    The violence that ensued that night—and the subsequent lawsuit—proved a pivotal moment in the modern civil rights movement, and it happened a decade before Rosa Parks took her historic Montgomery City bus ride. Occurring in a little-thought-about corner of Jim Crow country, the event centers on Macario Garcia, a twenty-five-year-old Mexican national, who had earned the United States’ highest award for valor in action in Germany’s Hürtgen Forest.

    Garcia’s story is one of the dozens touched upon in a sweeping new PBS documentary, Latino Americans, a chronicle of the lives and experiences of Hispanics in the United States from the 1500s to the twenty-first century. The series covers the earliest settlers in California and Texas, and tells the stories of the waves of immigrants from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, and of civil rights heroes, among them Dolores Huerta and César Chávez. It also addresses the roots of the challenges today’s Latinos face in navigating an exciting, yet politically perilous, “Hispanic Moment.”

    Macario Garcia’s contribution is detailed in the third episode, “War and Peace,” which is about the estimated half-million Latinos from all over the country and Puerto Rico who served in World War II—often side by side with whites, instead of being segregated into separate companies as the million-plus African-American service men and women were.

    President Harry Truman awards the Congressional Medal of Honor to Macario Garcia in 1945
    .—Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration


    Never before had such a diversity of soldiers marched into battle together and sacrificed so much. But Latino Americans of the Greatest Generation did not win the respect they had hoped for. Though the war hastened vast societal changes—for example, desegregating many workplaces to support the war effort—Hispanics had hoped their service would afford them something more than the second-class citizenship they had lived with before the war.

    For Macario Garcia, the thirst to be recognized as equal manifested itself after a youth spent toiling in the fields with his family. Born in Villa de Castaño, Mexico, on January 2, 1920, Macario grew up in Sugar Land, Texas. His family had moved there in 1924 to pick cotton and tend cattle, in hope of scratching out a better life. Instead, they were met with harrowing poverty.

    When World War II broke out, Garcia, by then twenty-two, joined the United States Army and was assigned to Company B, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. Garcia landed on the beaches of Normandy in June of 1944, just two days after the D-Day invasion. By November 27, Garcia’s platoon was engaged in combat against the Germans in the vicinity of Grosshau, Germany. Surrounded by dense forest and limited by few roads, his company found itself pinned down by enemy fire.

    During the fighting, Garcia managed to destroy single-handedly two machine-gun nests, kill six Germans, and capture four, allowing two companies to charge up the hill in a successful assault. The bullets Garcia took in his shoulder and foot hospitalized him for two months.

    Later, while draping the Congressional Medal of Honor around Garcia’s neck, Harry Truman told him, “I would rather have one of these than be president of the United States.”

    When he returned to Texas, Garcia “was in the papers. He was on the radio,” says legal historian Michael Olivas in the film. “He was a genuine hero.”

    Olivas says Garcia was honored with a party and dance on September 9, 1945, at the nearby Richmond City Hall, spearheaded by the local chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens. LULAC organizers had seen the event as an opportunity to demonstrate to the larger community that Mexican Americans “deserved better than their hardscrabble fate” and “were ready to claim their share of postwar benefits and opportunities,” Olivas wrote in the Indiana Law Journal.

    The following evening, Garcia entered the Oasis Cafe, which was “at that time, the only night spot in Richmond,” says the café owner’s son, Louis Payton, who is interviewed in the documentary.

    “We had very few blacks or Mexican Americans come in and ask for service because we didn’t cater to their needs,” says Payton. “So, we just didn’t see any of them.”

    It is unknown how the confrontation actually occurred. The Oasis Cafe owner claimed that Garcia had stumbled in, drunk, demanding to be served. After he was denied service, Garcia proceeded to throw salt shakers, sugar bowls, water glasses, and other items at the mirrored walls, ultimately punching the owner, Donna Andrews, in the mouth.

    Garcia contended that he simply asked for service and was beaten with a baseball bat. The story might have ended there. But, in a twist that seems contemporary, the story went “viral” after the episode was mentioned on popular journalist Walter Winchell’s radio show.

    According to Olivas, it was Johnny Herrera, vice president of the LULAC chapter that had thrown the party the night before, who got word of the incident to Winchell and other reporters. Olivas speculates that the embarrassing publicity pushed Fort Bend County officials to bring charges of aggravated assault against Garcia.

    “Texas was the only southern state with a substantial Mexican population, so Jim Crow morphed into a form not found elsewhere in the agricultural South,” writes Olivas. In addition to the racial segregation practiced against African Americans, Mexicans experienced racial separation based on language, national origin, and immigration status.

    This atmosphere made Garcia’s very ability to obtain legal representation a minor miracle. Johnny Herrera, Garcia’s lawyer, cheerleader, and provocateur, was one of a very few Mexican-American professionals licensed to deliver legal services in a time when civil rights organizations such as LULAC were young, decentralized, and underfunded. What funding they did have, came from a tiny group of successful Hispanic businessmen.

    But the fire, the indignation, and the will to change their lot in life were not unprecedented: The will to fight for civil rights was by then already evident in Latino communities.

    There is another case—the Lemon Grove Incident—in which the Hispanic struggle for civil rights long predates the typical history book narrative of how the nation struggled to redefine itself during the civil rights movement of the mid 1950s.

    On January 5, 1931, Lemon Grove Grammar School principal Jerome Green turned away Mexican children at the schoolhouse door, directing them to a small, separate school, which came to be known within the local Mexican-American community as la caballeriza, meaning “the horse stable.” The subsequent boycott by parents eventually led to a landmark lawsuit that became the first successful school desegregation court decision in U.S. history, setting an important precedent for Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

    This pre-civil rights era promise that conscious challenges could lead to real social change did not end with Garcia’s ill-fated attempt at eating at the white club in town—though it must be noted that history does not leave us an accurate enough record to know if Garcia was indeed making a clearheaded political statement.

    According to Olivas, on February 17, 1946—just before Garcia’s trial was to occur—Bruno A. Garcia (no relation to Macario), another Mexican-American veteran from the area, was also refused service at the Oasis Cafe and was charged with disturbing the peace. In fact, Bruno Garcia and another Garcia, Magdaleno Garcia, apparently had a few drinks and attempted to duplicate the original Macario Garcia incident.

    Negative news coverage of this follow-up event fueled the belief around the country that the people of Fort Bend County were racially discriminatory.

    Ultimately, the negative publicity worked. Garcia’s trial was stalled time and again, but in June 1946 the county quietly dropped the charges against Macario Garcia. His lawyer, Johnny Herrera, and LULAC subsequently also ended their campaign to embarrass the Fort Bend officials.

    Staff Sgt. Garcia went on to become a counselor for the Veterans Administration, was sworn in as a U.S. citizen on June 25, 1947, then earned his GED, married, and settled in the Fort Bend area by 1952. He lived out a quiet life that ended in a car accident on Christmas Eve 1972.

    As the film notes, it is difficult to understand how an entire nation that was overflowing with admiration and gratitude toward veterans could treat some of them as second-class citizens. Yet, it kept happening.

    Another Texas son, Felix Longoria, whose story is also covered in Latino Americans, is not best known for dying in battle in 1945 during World War II, but for the fight that ensued when his body was finally returned in 1948 to his hometown of Three Rivers, Texas. The local funeral home refused to hold a wake for him because Longoria was Mexican American.

    It was this incident, on top of Macario Garcia’s confrontation and the general climate of hostility toward Latinos, that awoke a population unwilling to accept such poor treatment for veterans who had served honorably. The collective outrage over a persistent accumulation of disrespect can be considered a pivotal moment in the history of Latinos in the United States and a concrete advancement in the fight for civil rights for all across the country.

    It spurred Dr. Hector Garcia, who formed the American GI Forum in 1948, to fight the unequal treatment of Hispanic veterans and rally the community. Connected by a shared compassion for impoverished Latino children, Garcia and then-Senator Lyndon Johnson eventually formed an alliance over the Longoria incident.

    Senator Johnson settled the Longoria affair by arranging to have Pvt. Longoria’s remains interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The funeral took place on February 16, 1949, with the Longoria family flanked by Senator Johnson and a personal representative of the president of the United States.

    The relationship between Dr. Garcia and Johnson galvanized a community that saw itself grow into a national force in American politics, propel civil rights issues to the fore, and help put John F. Kennedy into the White House with the American G.I. Forum’s groundbreaking “Viva Kennedy!” campaign. Dr. Garcia’s passion for the well-being of Latino veterans and their parents, siblings, and children exerted an influence on Johnson, in part leading him to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Of course, the law did not change the day-to-day lives of Hispanics and African Americans overnight. But the series of events resulting from World War II veterans arriving home with increased expectations for themselves and their families led many people from different walks of life to come together to end segregation.

    In 1928, Lyndon Johnson (center) taught Mexican-American children in Cotulla, Texas, 
    an experience that influenced his later positions on civil rights and poverty.—Courtesy of the LBJ Library

    Those catalyzing events, much like the ones in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Selma, Alabama, put into motion a culture of fighting for equal protection under the law that has benefitted countless underrepresented groups to this day in a struggle that continues.

    Esther J. Cepeda is a nationally syndicated columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group and a freelance writer based in Chicago.

    GWETA, Inc. received $475,000 in development and production funding from NEH for Latino Americans. The six-part documentary will premiere Tuesday, September 17, on PBS.

    Sent by Juan Marintez  marinezj@msu.edu 


     

    THE TEX/MEX HERITAGE OF "LADY BIRD" JOHNSON
    Generations

    1st                        2nd                      3rd                     4th 
    Thomas Jefferson Taylor, Jr. married Minnie Lee Patillo
                                Thomas Jefferson Taylor III
                                 Antonio J. Taylor
                                Claudia Alta (Lady Bird) Taylor married Lyndon Baines Johnson  (37th President of USA)
                                                            Lynda Bird Johnson married Charles Robb
                                                                                        Lucinda Desha Robb
                                                                                        Catherine Lewis Robb
                                                                                        Jennifer Wickliffe Robb
                                                            Luci Baines Johnson married Patrick Nugent
                                                                                        Patrick Lyn Nugent
                                                                                        Nicole Marie Nugent
                                                                                        Rebekah Johnson Nugent

                                                                                                                                                

     

    LATINOS 101

    THE HISPANIC HERITAGE OF THE UNITED STATES

    Posted on Historia Chicana, June 22, 2011. Posted on Somos Primos, September, 2011;Revised May 31, 2011 to incorporate 2010 Census Data. Earlier version posted on Weekly Digest HispanicVista.com , October 24, 2003. Excerpt appears in Oxford Dictionary of Latinos and Latinas in the United States, Oxford University Press, 2005. This version incorporates commentary from “Hispanics: What’s in a Name?” (excerpted from the study American Hispanics: A Contemporary Perspective, Caravel Press, 1990) by the author and which ap­peared in Cambio Magazine, Phoenix, Arizona, July 12, 1990.

    By Felipe de Ortego y Gasca

    Scholar in Residence/Founding Member and Past Chair, Department of Chicana/Chicano and Hemispheric Studies, Western New Mexico University, 2007-Present; Founding Director, Chicano Studies Program, University of Texas at El Paso, 1st program in the state, 1970; Faculty Member, Graduate Mexican American Studies Program, San Jose State University, 1973-74; Founding Member, Mexican American Studies Program, Texas State University—Sul Ross, 1995;  Editor-in-Chief, ABC/CLIO Greenwood Encyclopedia of Latino Issues Today (2 Vols., forthcoming ).  

    A

    ccording to the 2010 Census, the total population of the United States was 305,305,818. The count for the Hispanic population of the United States was 50,477, 594, not counting the almost 5 million Puerto Ricans on the island. That would bring the Hispanic count to almost 55 million.

            Hispanic Heritage Month is not about celebrating the heritage of Spain and other Hispanic identified countries in the Americas and elsewhere. Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the contributions to the United States by Spain and other Hispanic identified countries in the Americas and elsewhere. That’s a critical distinction. Unfortunately, many Non-Hispanic Americans know little about the contributions to American life and culture by American Hispanics; that is, those Hispanics in the United States who are citizens of the United States either by birth or naturalization and, therefore, not (necessarily) citizens of Hispanic countries in the Americas and elsewhere. There are some instances where American Hispanics like other groups have dual citizenship.

    Another way to differentiate U.S. Hispanics from Hispanics in Spain and other Hispanic identified countries in the Americas and elsewhere is to think of the latter as Hispanic Americans and the former as American Hispanics. American Hispanics live and work legitimately in the United States. There are some Hispanics like members of other groups living and working in the United States legitimately with temporary documentation (Green Cards) while waiting to become American citizens. Those Hispanics who live and work in the United States without proper documentation are not considered American Hispanics. They are sometimes referred to as “undocumented workers.”

    Celebrating the Hispanic heritage of the United States actually started in 1967 with a proclamation by President Lyndon Baines Johnson recognizing the 16th of September of that year as Hispanic Heritage Day. The 16th of September is celebrated in Mexico and by Mexican Americans in the United States as Mexican Independence Day from Spain in 1821. The following month the President’s Cabinet (Inter-agency) Committee on Mexican Americans held a Mexican American summit in El Paso, Texas (see “Minority on the Border,” The Nation, 12/7/67 by the author). On September 17, 1968, House Joint Resolution 1299 (Public Law 90-498) was passed unanimously by voice vote proclaiming the week of September 15-22 as Hispanic Heritage Week. Subsequent presidents continued the tradition. On August 17, 1988 Air Force Colonel Gil Coronado successfully persuaded Congress to enact Public Law 100-42 designating National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 16 to October 15, spanning celebration of September 16th and Dia de la Raza (Columbus Day) on October 12. National Hispanic Heritage Month coincides with the independence days of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Chile also.

    Little known because American textbooks exclude it, the Hispanic heritage of the United States is older than the Anglo Heritage of the United States. By the time of the Plymouth Plan­tation in 1619, Saint Augustine (Florida) had been in existence for 55 years, and Santa Fe was already a thriving city. Throughout the vast expanse of the Spanish presence in North America, Spanish settlements of varying sizes dotted the landscape. Spanish exploration in what is now the United States took many forms. In 1536 Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca left for us a record of his travels through Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. And in 1592, Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá recorded in Virgilian cantos the exploits of the Spaniards at Acoma Pueblo near present-day Albuquerque. That text, Historia de Nuevo Mexico, is now  regarded as the first American epic.­ Over time, Santa Fe became ­the commercial center of Spain in what is now the United States and geographically critical in the westward expansion of the United States in what was known as “the Santa Fe Trail.”  

    W

    hat is the term “Hispanic”? What does it mean? Where does it come from? Why is it used to identify particular peoples of the Americas? Is the term “Hispanic” the same as “Latino”? Both the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” have been used for some time. More recently, however, the revivified term “Latino” has resonated with contemporary American Hispanics, many of whom perceive the term “Hispanic” as a label imposed on them by the bureaucracy of the U.S. Census Bureau. Actually, the term “Hispanic” cropped up in the early Spanish colonial period to designate persons with a biological tie to a Spaniard. In Spanish the term was “Hispano.” Later, the term evolved into “Hispano- Americano” to emphasize that Hispanos were also Americans since they were of the Americas. Historically, the United States appropriated that term for its own identity so that few Americans realize that all the populations of the Americas are Americans.

    The word “Hispanic” is one of those large rubrics like the word Catholic or Protestant. By itself, the word refers to all Hispanics (persons whose heritage derive from historical origins in Hispania-- Roman name for Spain), attesting to a common denominator, conveying information that the individual is an off-spring or descendent of a cultural, political or ethnic blending which included in the beginning at least one Spanish root either biological or linguistic or cultural. That means a Mexican Indian with no Spanish “blood” (as we understand that term) in him or her, but who speaks Spanish and has amalgamated, internalized, or assimilated the evolutionized Spanish culture of Mexico is considered an Hispanic just as an Indian of the United States who speaks English and has amalgamated, internalized, or assimilated the evolutionized Anglo cul­ture of the United States is considered to be an American though in the case of American Indians they are Ameri­cans both by priority (they were here first) and by fiat (the United States made them Americans by colonization and later by law).

    Talking about people in terms of labels can be misleading. For example, a person may be an Hispanic in terms of cultural, national or ethnic roots. Nationally Co­lon (Columbus) was a Spaniard though born in Genoa when it was part of the Spanish empire. Werner Von Braun (father of the American space pro­gram) was born in Germany and became an American citizen after his relocation to the United States from Nazi Germany. In Argentina there are Hispanics who have no “Spanish blood” but who, nevertheless consider themselves Hispanics, speak Argentine Spanish and are fluent in Italian or German, the languages of their immigrant forebears to that country.

    Put another way, the term “Hispanic” is comparable to the term Jew which describes the religious orientation of people who may be ethnically Russian, Polish, German, Italian, English, etc. There are Chinese Jews, Ethiopian (Falashan) Jews, Indian Jews, et al. So too the term “Hispanic” describes  people by linguistic orientation (Spanish speakers from countries whose principal or national language is Spanish). In the Americas there are more speakers of Spanish than English. These may be Mexicans, Nicaraguans, Cubans, Venezuelans, Chileans, Argen­tines, et al. Additionally, there are blended Hispanics often identified as Indo-Hispanics and Afro-Hispanics, Asian-Hispanics (including Filipinos) and a congeries of other mixtures. There are Hispanics who identify themselves as Black and many who identify themselves as White. There is an array of Chinese Hispanics, Lebanese Hispanics, Pakistan Hispanics, Hindu Hispanics, Jewish Hispanics (Sephards) et al. This all points to the fact that Hispanics are far from a homogeneous group. In the main, though, their common characteristics are language (Spanish or a derivative version of Spanish as well as a distinctively derivative ver­sion of English oftentimes called Spanglish) and religion (most are Catholic), though there is a growing number of Hispanic Protestants). There are other lesser characteristics as well.  

    A

    ccording to current demographic data, the United States has the 5th largest Hispanic popu­lation in the world exceeded only by Mexico, Spain, Columbia, and Argentina. By the year 2015 only Mexico will have a larger Hispanic population. In the year 2000, close to 7 million American Hispanics who reported themselves as such in the Census lived in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, another 3 million in New York City. Since 1980 the American Hispanic population of both cities almost doubled. And over the 1990's the His­panic population of the United States grew 58%. Since 1980 Mexican Americans almost doubled their population size. From 24 million American Hispanics in 1990, the 2010 Census enumerated 50.5 million U. S. Hispanics not counting the  4.5 million Hispanics in Puer­to Rico who are excluded from the count. In the 1990 count almost 4 million Hispanics in the United States were missed by the Census , and another 4 million or so undocu­mented Hispanics in the United States.

    At the start of the new millennium there were about 45 to 48 million Hispanics in the United States, making them the single largest minority group in the country. That is, 16% of the U.S. population was Hispanic. Or, 1 in 6 was Hispanic. As a group, American Hispanics are larger than the population of Canada (32 million) and more than twice that of Australia (20 million). Projections suggest that by the year 2050 1 in 3 Americans will be Hispanic. Peter Francese of American Demographics notes that “America really had no clue that the Hispanic population was that big.” But Steven Murdoch, the Texas demographer, has been aware of the growth of the Hispanic population in Texas. He has forecast that by the year 2040 Hispanics in Texas (Tejanos) will comprise 65% of the state’s population while the Anglo population of the state will have dwindled to 25%. Ten percent of the state’s population will be black or other.

    According to the 2010 Census, the Hispanic population grew from 35.3 million to 50.5 million (not counting Island Puerto Ricans). Per the U.S. 2010 Census count, Hispanics are in every state of the country. One report asserts that Hispanics are in every county of the United States. Hispanics make up the majority population in 28 major U.S. cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, most of them located in California, Texas, Florida, and New Jersey. The Hispanic population more than doubled in Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and South Carolina. 75% of Hispanics live in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. Five states are 15% or more Hispanic (New Mexico, 46.3%; California, 31%; Texas, 30%; Arizona, 22%; Nevada, 15%)  and five states are 10% or more His­panic (Colorado, 14%; Florida, 14%; New York, 14%; New Jersey, 12%; Illinois 10%). Nine states and the District of Columbia are 5% or more Hispanic (Connecticut, 8%; Idaho, 7%; Utah, 7%; DC, 7%; Wyoming, 6%; Washington, 6%; Oregon, 6%; Massachusetts, 6%; Rhode Island, 6%; Kansas, 5%). Five states account for almost 75% of the U.S. Hispanic population (California, 34%; Texas 20%; Massachu­setts, 9%; Florida, 7%; Illinois, 4%. These figures don’t take into account Census errors like the one in 1970 which failed to count some 3 million Mexican Americans. One of the reasons for so much difficulty in counting Ame­rican Hispanics is that a  significant number  report them­selves as White or Black, not Hispanic.

            In the 20th century, the U.S. Hispanic population grew 5 times faster than the overall population. Since 1980, the nation’s Hispanic population has grown by more than 40% compared to 7% for the overall population. At present growth rates, the American population is expected to reach 325 million by the year 2020. Projecting the U.S. Hispanic figures per their growth rates, they could number well over 60 million by the year 2020. That means that about 1 in 5 Americans could be Hispanic, roughly 20% of the U.S. population. (Counting Puerto Rico, the U.S. Hispanic population today is about 54.2 million—17.4% of the total U.S. population.) By the year 2050 some demographic forecasts expect the U.S. His­panic population to triple. At the moment, Hispanics account for more than half of the U.S. population  growth. Astonishingly, these growth rates are not fueled principally by immi­gration but by fertility. An extreme projection by the U.S. Census Bureau  suggests that by the year 2097, 50% of the entire U.S. population will be Hispanic, 30% will be black; 13% will be Asian, and only 5% will be white.

    In a 1988 study, the Arizona Republic of Phoe­nix in­dicated that in the year 2013 “Hispanics will make up nearly half of Arizona’s population, raising the prospect of their taking a strong leader­ship role in the state.” Despite these auguries for the population growth of American Hispanics, little planning if any has been undertaken for such an eventuality. In fact, compared to their size in the American population, American Hispanics are grossly underrepresented in most areas of American public life and policy. Like Blacks, they are congregated in the gladiatorial areas of sports. Despite their looming size, American Hispanics are almost never seen on mainstream network television news shows as hosts or discussants on American domestic and foreign policy issues. Except for special shows, American Hispanics are still largely invisible in the plethora of inane television programs. In film, non-Hispanics portray Hispanics (often badly). Many times in film and television Hispanics are often referred to by Hispanic names in the scripts, but never seen.  

    W

    ho are these people whose presence in the American population will have such a major force in the American future? Surprisingly, most Americans tend to think of U.S. Hispanics as a loose aggregation of “immigrants” who speak only Spanish, some­what aware that the largest number of them live in the Southwest, a fair number in the Mid-West, the Upper Middle Atlantic states and New England with a growing number in the American Southwest.

            Essentially, American Hispanics may be sorted into five groups: (1) Mexican Americans, many of whom identify themselves as Chicanos, an ideological designation that identifies their generation, (2) Puerto Ricans, some of whom identify themselves as Boricuas, (3) there are U.S. Hispanics who identify themselves as Hispanos (found mostly in New Mexico many of whom identify themselves as Manitos and are counted as Mexican Americans; in Texas a vast number if not most Mexican Americans refer to themselves as Tejanos; and in California, many Hispanic Californians who are descendents of the founding families in both Baja and Northern California refer to themselves as Californianos rather than Mexicans, (4) Cuban Amer­icans, and (5) Latinos–-Hispanics from countries other than Mexico, Cuba, Spain, and Puer­to Rico. A recent PEW Hispanic Center Report, When Labels Don’t Fit, explained that “only about one-quarter (24%) of Hispanic adults say they most often identity themselves by “Hispanic” of “Latino,“ adding that “about half (51%) say they identify themselves most often by their family’s country or place of origin—using such terms as Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran of Dominican.”

            Per the U.S. Census Count of 2010 the Mexican origin population grew by 54% and accounts for 63% of U.S. Hispanics, about 32 million. Two out of three U.S. Hispanics are Mexican Americans. Not counting Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans make up almost 10% of U.S. Hispanics with almost 4 million of them in the continental U.S. Almost 4 million of them live on the island of Puerto Rico. Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans make up almost 75% of the U.S. Hispanic population. In other words, 3 out 4 U.S. Hispanics are Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. The almost 2 million Cu­ban Americans in the United States, most of them in Florida, make up about 4% of U.S. Hispanics. Latinos, about 12 million of them with roots in Latin America make up the balance of U.S. Hispanics—25%. In other words, 1 out of 4 U.S. Hispanics is Latino, that is, from countries other than Mexico, Puerto Rico, or Cuba. There are other U.S. Hispanic groups, statistically not significant as groups, like Sephardic Americans (Hispanic Jews), Pacific Islanders with Hispanic roots, and American Filipinos who are not counted as Latinos but should be since Spain had a longer presence in the Philippines than in Mexico.

    In profile, U.S. Hispanics are a “young” population with a median age in 2010 of 27 years compared to 34 years for non-Hispanics. Hispanics are predominantly an urban population: 82% live in cities, compared to 65% of An­glos, though there is a trend of U.S. Hispanics migrating to rural areas. In terms of median income, in 2000, U.S. Hispanics earned an average of $23,300, some $2,450 more than blacks but some $2,600 less than Anglos. In 2010 median income for U.S. Hispanics was $40,200. Nearly 1 out of every 4 American Hispanics fell below the poverty level in 1999, more than thrice the ratio for Anglos. In 2000, American Hispanic unemployment rose to 13.8% compared to 7.2% for the total population. In 2010 Hispanic unemployment rose to 18% compared to 9.6% for the total population. While there were gains for some American Hispanics, most of these figures remained relatively unchanged in the year 2010 for the mass of American Hispanics who are still searching for America. Economic projections indicate that by 2012 Hispanics will represent a $1.3 trillion consumer market. In 2010, $21.3 billion in remesas (money sent to Mexico) were generated by Mexicans working in the United States.

    I

    mportantly, American Hispanics are not recently arrived immigrants to the United States. Given the finite immigration quotas for “Latin America” since 1924, the present population of U.S. Hispanics would not be as large if its source of growth were solely from immigration. Their sheer size in the American population points to the fact that American Hispanics are of longer duration in the United States and their growth stems principally from fertility. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2010 there were 98.8 births for every 1000 Hispanic women compared to 66 births per 1000 Anglo women.

    The initial core of Hispanics in the U.S. population came from the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, later renamed New York after the British acquired it in the 17th century. Later the Hispanic Jews (Sephardim) who came with the Dutch colony contributed significantly to the colonial revolutionary efforts of 1776 and to the later prosperity of the country. In the 19th century, in two swift “gains” within 50 years of each other, the United States “acquired” a sizable chunk of its Hispanic population, not counting the acquisition of Louisiana in 1803 with its Hispanic residents and Florida in 1819 with its Hispanic population. The first “gain” was as a consequence of the U.S. war against Mexico (1846-1848) out of which came the Mexican Americans of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. No one is sure of the numbers of ”Mexicans” who came with the dismembered territory (almost half of Mexico’s domain) but figures range from 150,000 on the low side to as many as 3.5 million (including Hispanicized Indians). The second “gain” of Hispanics occurred as a result of the U.S. war with Spain (1898) out of which came the Puerto Ricans, Filipinos, Guamanians, Virgin Islanders, and the first wave of Cubans (though Cubans had been emigrating to the American colonies first then the United States since the 17th century. In 1917 Cuba was cut loose by the United States. The figures for these groups range variously as well. But the point is that American Hispanics have been part of the United States historically for some time. In both the U.S. war with Mexico and the U.S. war with Spain, the United States “came” to the Hispanics, the Hispanics did not come to the United States. They were already on their land which the United States appropriated from them as a spoil of war. In both cases, Hispanics who came with the conquered territories were chattels of war. Unfortunately, Americans have tended to think of Hispanics in the United States as newly arrived and to confuse them with Hispanic Americans, the 400 million who populate the Spanish-language countries of the American hemisphere.

    Not all American Hispanics agree on the term Hispanic or Latino to identify themselves. Many American Hispanics from the Southwest, for example, prefer to be called Mexican Americans or Chicanos and think the term Hispanic is an arbitrary label imposed on them by a bureaucracy with a colonial mentality. Sandra Cisneros eschews the term Hispanic; she favors the term Latina. Many Puerto Ricans agree with that sentiment and prefer to be called Boricuas or Latinos. Other American Hispanics contend the term Hispanic dilutes their individual identities as, say, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, etc. At best, the term Hispanic is a convenient way to talk about a diverse group of people much the way we use the term American to talk about an equally diverse group of people. In vogue now with many Hispanics in the Southwest and elsewhere is the term Latino which could very well include Italians and other groups with links to Roman Latinization.

    This “looking for a name” has created particular problems for American Hispanics, especially in libraries (including the Library of Congress) and with bookstores and booksellers. Irma Flores Manger, an Austin librarian, thinks we are leaving a whole group of people in limbo without any positive literature about Chicanos or other Latino experiences in which the only books available are written by authors in English.  The books are not available in some libraries because if you are not familiar with the authors you will not buy the books as librarians.  The book stores usually have a small section on Latino Studies and sometimes our books are lumped in with immigration studies.  I don't why it's so hard for these stores to carry books by Chicano or Latino authors in English; there is usually a huge section for African Americans or Native American materials.

    The difficulty lies in the fact that indeed Americans (including librarians) do not really have a handle on the Hispanic taxonomy. For them all Hispanics are alike. Unlike African Americans who are not lumped in with Africans, American Hispanics are lumped in with Hispanics of Latin America. The Library of Congress is a good example of this lumping. When one wants to find material on African Americans in the Library of Congress one does not go to the African Section. They are found in the American Section. But to find materials on American Hispanics in the Library of Congress one has to go to the Hispanic Section where all other Hispanics are included also. Mostly, American book-stores have separate sections for African materials and for African American materials. Not so for American Hispanic materials. All Hispanic materials are lumped into the Hispanic section. Peddling the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ books in Spanish or English translation for Chicanos instead of Rudolfo Anaya’s works only strengthens the proposition that Americans do not differentiate between Hispanics because they don’t know who Hispanics are.

    Admittedly, there is much to a name. I’m an American Hispanic of Mexican stock who subscribes to a Chicano perspective of life in the United States. I’m not an Hispano because I’m not Spanish. And I’m not a Latino because I’m not from one of those “other” Spanish-language countries of the Americas. A Puerto Rican friend of mine explains that he’s an Hispanic of mainland Puerto Rican stock and subscribes to a Boricua perspective of life in the United States. Another friend of mine tells me he’s an American Scandinavian of Norwegian stock who is a registered Republican. I don’t find that confusing at all. We’re all Americans, rich in cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity.

            What’s in a name? Everything. That’s why my name is Felipe and my friend’s name is Sean. Names help to tell us apart. They also reflect our heritage and background. Unfortunately, many Americans tend to think the word Hispanic refers to a homogeneous group of people–which it does not, anymore than the word German, say, (as in German Americans) refers to a homogeneous group of people. American Hispanics come in all sizes, shapes and colors.  

    I

    deologically, Mexican American Chicanos say the term Hispanic diminishes their demographic priority when “lumped” with other American Hispanic groups (all of which are considerably smaller than the Mexican American group). Those Mexican American Chicanos contend that this lumping suggests that all U.S. Hispanic groups are equal in size and have passed through the same historical process in the United States, a suggestion not supported by the facts. Not all U.S. Hispanic groups have passed through the same historical process as Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans.  The historical process of these two groups has been distinctive, not shared by “other” American Hispanic groups in the United States. A sizable number of Mexican Americans and all Puerto Ricans are American territorial minorities by virtue of con­quest. For this reason, shrill groups of Mexican American Chicanos and Puerto Ricans have resented across the board applications of legal remedies (affirmative action, for one) for all U.S. Hispanics for historical discrimination they have not endured nor suffered. Militant members of these groups say that hiring a U.S. Hispanic of  Peruvian descent, say, to head a major federal program intended to remedy discrimination against territorial Hispanics does not remedy discrimination suffered by Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans at the hands of Anglo-Americans since their conquest and for whom these legal remedies were originally enacted if such remedies are applied across the board for all Hispanics whether or not they are members of  the  aggrieved  groups. Peruvian culture–while Hispanic–is not Mexican American culture nor Puerto Rican culture. There are notable linguistic differences as well.

    Additionally, Mexican Americans and Puer­to Ricans point out the difference between an “oppressed” territorial minority (the U.S. came to them) and “political or economic refugees” (they came to the U.S.) Many Chicano scholars explain that Hispanics  from  Mexico  who gravitate to San Diego, Tucson, El Paso, San Antonio, and Brownsville are migrating to a part of what once  was  their ancestral homeland until 1845/ 1848 (1853 in Southern Arizona with pur­chase of the Gadsen  Strip),  now considered “greater Mexico” (previously New Spain). Some Chicano scholars see this migration as analogous to the migration of Jews to Palestine, their ancestral homeland. Moreover, those same Chicanos point out, most Mexicans migrating to the United States are racially more Indian than Spanish. On their Indian side they are, thus, autochthonous people, here long before the Niña, the Pinta, the Santa Maria, and the Mayflower. They are not immigrants. They are of the Americas, sharing a common bond with the indigenous peoples of the United States and Canada.

            In view of the foregoing, plans for meeting the needs of American Latinos/Hispanics must take into account their over­whelming reliance on the English language, and particularly that 15% of the U.S. Hispanic population which is monolingual Spanish operant. For them Bilingual Education and Spanish-language publishing makes sense. What is not clear, however, is the number of American Hispanics in the  population group of 50+ who rely principally on Spanish for communication and Spanish language publications for news and information. Spanish is the primary language spoken at home by over 35.5 million people aged five or older. There are 45 million Hispanics who speak Spanish as a first or second language, as well as six million Spanish students, comprising the largest national Spanish-speaking community outside of Mexico. Roughly half of all U.S. Spanish speakers also speak English "very well."

            The United States is home to the second largest Mexican community in the world second only to Mexico itself comprising nearly 22% of the entire Mexican origin population of the world. Almost 11% of the American population are Mexican Americans. With the exceptions of Puerto Ricans and Cuban Americans, all other American Latino groups are significantly less than 1% respectively of the American population. Despite the numeric significance of Mexican Americans in the U.S. population, the U.S. Latino population is viewed by the non-Hispanic American mainstream as flat with all U.S. Latinos regarded equal in population.

    Reaching the 50 million plus American His­panic population requires knowledge of who they are and their centrality in the American future. All the more reason for Hispanic Heritage Month every day.  

    Copyright © 2011 by the author. All rights reserved.

       

    Dr. Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, Ph.D. (English: British Renaissance Studies, University of New Mexico, ‘71)
    Scholar In Residence (01.07-Pr), Cultural Studies, Critical Theory,Public Policy / Social Sciences, Humanities
    Chicano/Chicana and Hemispheric Studies, College of Arts & Sciences, Western New Mexico University
    P.O. Box 680, Silver City, New Mexico 88062. Office: 575-538-6410, Fax: 575-538-6178, Cell: 575-956-5541
    Campuses: Silver City, Gallup, Deming, Truth or Conequences, Lordsburg and on the Web  ortegop@wnmu.edu 

    Professor Emeritus of English, Texas State University System (Retired 1999)
    Founding Member (07) and Past Chair (01.08-08.11), Dep't, Chicano/a & Hemispheric Studies, WNMU
    Founding Director, Chicano Studies Program, UT El Paso, 1970-72 (1st in Texas)
    Faculty, Department of Graduate Mexican American Studies, San Jose State University, 1974-76
    Founding Member/Affiliate Faculty, Mexican American Studies, Texas State University-Sul Ross, 1995-99

    Editor-in-Chief, Greenwood Encyclopedia of Latino Issues Today (2 Vols., forthcoming) 
    Co-chair, Intellectual Freedom Committee, New Mexico Library Association, 2008-2013
    Board of Directors, SW New Mexico Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union, 2011-Pr 
    Advisory Board, Mayborn Literary Non-Fiction Conf, Grad School of Journalism, Univ of N. Tx, 2005-Pr
    Board of Directors, New Mexico Humanities Council, 2012-Pr; Former Bd Member, Texas Humanities
    Senior Fulbright Scholar in American Studies, University of Rosario, Argentina (1969)
    Member, LULAC Council 8003 (National Council of the Year 2012), District 3, Silver City, New Mexico

    World War II Veteran with military service during the Korean Conflict and early Vietnam Era:
    USMC, Sgt: American, Pacific, China Campaigns; USAF, Major (Threat Analyst/Profiler in Soviet Studies), 1952-62
    Air Force ROTC, University of Pittsburgh, commissioned 2nd Lt. USAFR, 1952; Flying School, Class 53-O
    Paid-up-for-Life Member, American Legion; Life Member, American G.I. Forum (Hispanic Vets)


    “The history of the lion hunt will always favor the hunter until lions have their own historians,” old African proverb


     
    Photos, posters, text and music of the 1940s.  OldBlueWebDesigns.com 
    http://oldfortyfives.com/decadeofthe1940s.html 
    Click on the the Last Line where it says "The 1940's"
    Sent by Rick Leal  ggr1031@aol.com 
     

    He is engraved in stone in the National War Memorial in Washington, DC- back in a small alcove where very few people have seen it. For the WWII generation, this will bring back memories. For you younger folks, it's a bit of trivia that is a part of our American history. Anyone born in 1913 to about 1950, is familiar with Kilroy. No one knew why he was so well known- but everybody seemed to get into it. So who was Kilroy?
    Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here
    In 1946 the American Transit Association, through its radio program, "Speak to America ," sponsored a nationwide contest to find the real Kilroy, offering a prize of a real trolley car to the person who could prove himself to be the genuine article. Almost 40 men stepped forward to make that claim, but only James Kilroy from Halifax , Massachusetts , had evidence of his identity.

    'Kilroy' was a 46-year old shipyard worker during the war who worked as a checker at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy . His job was to go around and check on the number of rivets completed. Riveters were on piecework and got paid by the rivet. He would count a block of rivets and put a check mark in semi-waxed lumber chalk, so the rivets wouldn't be counted twice. 
    When Kilroy went off duty, the riveters would erase the mark. 
    Later on, an off-shift inspector would come through and count the rivets a second time, resulting in double pay for the riveters. 

    One day Kilroy's boss called him into his office. The foreman was upset about all the wages being paid to riveters, and asked him to investigate. It was then he realized what had been going on. The tight spaces he had to crawl in to check the rivets didn't lend themselves to lugging around a paint can and brush, so Kilroy decided to stick with the waxy chalk. He continued to put his check mark on each job he inspected, but added 'KILROY WAS HERE' in king-sized letters next to the check, and eventually added the sketch of the chap with the long nose peering over the fence and that became part of the Kilroy message. 
    Once he did that, the riveters stopped trying to wipe away his marks. Ordinarily the rivets and chalk marks would have been covered up with paint. With the war on, however, ships were leaving the Quincy Yard so fast that there wasn't time to paint them. As a result, Kilroy's inspection "trademark" was seen by thousands of servicemen who boarded the troopships the yard produced.

     

    Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here
    His message apparently rang a bell with the servicemen, because they picked it up and spread it all over Europe and the South Pacific.
    Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here


    Before war's end, "Kilroy" had been here, there, and everywhere on the long hauls to Berlin and Tokyo . To the troops outbound in those ships, however, he was a complete mystery; all they knew for sure was that someone named Kilroy had "been there first." As a joke, U.S. servicemen began placing the graffiti wherever they landed, claiming it was already there when they arrived.
    Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here
    Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here
    Kilroy became the U.S. super-GI who had always "already been" wherever GIs went. It became a challenge to place the logo in the most unlikely places imaginable (it is said to be atop Mt. Everest , the Statue of Liberty , the underside of the Arc de Triomphe, and even scrawled in the dust on the moon.
    As the war went on, the legend grew. Underwater demolition teams routinely sneaked ashore on Japanese-held islands in the Pacific to map the terrain for coming invasions by U.S. troops (and thus, presumably, were the first GI's there).
    On one occasion, however, they reported seeing enemy troops painting over the Kilroy logo!
    Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here
    In 1945, an outhouse was built for the exclusive use of Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill at the Potsdam conference. Its' first occupant was Stalin, who emerged and asked his aide (in Russian), "Who is Kilroy?"

    Shangrala's Kilroy Was Here


    To help prove his authenticity in 1946, James Kilroy brought along officials from the shipyard and some of the riveters. He won the trolley car, which he gave to his nine children as a Christmas gift and set it up as a playhouse in the Kilroy yard in Halifax, Massachusetts .

    And The Tradition Continues...
    EVEN Outside Osama Bin Laden's House!!!


    Sent by Jose M. Pena  JMPENA@aol.com 

     


    HONORING HISPANIC LEADERSHIP

    Frank Martinez: 1924-2013,  artist and mentor dies at 89 
    Elisa Perez: 1926- 2013, Family Historian and Genealogist dies at 87
    Carlos Blanco-Aguinaga: 1926-2013, literary critic, fiction writer dies at 87 
    Jose Montoya: 1932- 2013, poet and artist dies at 81
    Raul Cortez: 1933-2013, businessman

    Frank Martinez: artist; dies at 89
    Aug. 9, 1924 - Aug. 17, 2013

    Specializing in regional and Mexican American themes, Frank Martinez painted murals for Los Angeles cathedral and the Smithsonian.

    September 02, 2013 By Devin Kelly


    Frank Martinez laid his shaking hands on the surface of the blank canvas. As before every painting, he said a prayer.

    Then the artist began his work. He applied acrylic paint and, with a rag, wiped it away. Shapes began to form and colors blended into one another.

    He used a piece of wood to draw straight lines, a task complicated by Parkinson's disease. Slowly, the mural took form, a layered portrait of early 18th century life, mission-building and Catholic faith in California.

    The mural, painted in 2003, hangs in the south ambulatory of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles — one of a number of public art pieces created by Martinez, a Pacoima muralist and painter whose humility and quiet style escaped widespread recognition but whose work was revered by a generation of Chicano artists in Los Angeles.

    Martinez died Aug. 17 at the Northridge Hospital Medical Center of complications from diabetes and end-stage renal disease, said his son, Frank Martinez. He was 89.

    Born in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrants, Martinez infused his art with the pride he felt in his Mexican American heritage.

    His paintings sold to collectors in Europe and Australia, and he created murals for the East Los Angeles Community Union, the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Smithsonian Institution and Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. His style, described as contemporary, was characterized by simplicity, texture and images of indigenous and Mexican American culture.

    One mural scaling a wall at San Fernando Middle School depicted Mexican American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez surrounded by farmworkers in the fields. Before the dedication ceremony in 1996, an emotional Martinez fretted over his speech — and later explained that speaking wasn't his strong suit.

    "It's very hard for me to put into words," he told the audience, "because one of the things I do best is to express things visually."

    Lalo Garcia, an artist based in the San Fernando Valley who viewed Martinez as an adopted grandfather, described him as a quiet man who spent more time encouraging young artists than promoting his own work.

    "He motivated us to be the best we could, to try to make statements with every piece you created," said Garcia, who credited Martinez with the development of his own artistic style.

    Francisco Alonzo Martinez was born in the Palo Verde neighborhood of Los Angeles on Aug. 9, 1924. His parents, both Mexican immigrants, worked as migrant farmworkers. As a child, Martinez traveled with his parents and worked in the fields, picking cotton, onions and lettuce, among other crops. At the same time, he began affirming his desire to be an artist.

    Martinez enlisted in the Army in 1943 and served as a medic in Europe during World War II. In a 2009 interview for the nonprofit organization StoryCorps, he recalled participating in the invasion of Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.

    After the war, Martinez traveled to London to study at the Borough Polytechnic Arts Institute. Returning to Los Angeles a year and a half later, he met and married Esther Silva, whose parents owned a grocery store in Chavez Ravine.

    He continued his studies at the Chouinard Art Institute, a precursor of CalArts, and then the Otis College of Art and Design. But with his family growing, he never earned a degree, and in 1956, he began working as a lamp designer for the Van Nuys-based Lavery & Co., a job he held for three decades.

    In 1976, Martinez was one of five California artists commissioned to paint a mural for the Smithsonian Institution for the nation's Bicentennial celebration. He traveled to Washington to complete his portion of the canvas, which depicted the early years of the pueblo of Los Angeles.

    His murals and easel paintings often focused thematically on regional history as well as pre-Hispanic and Mexican American history.

    The onset of Parkinson's disease eventually meant Martinez could no longer hold a brush without shaking. But he refused to let the disease overcome him — he continued to sketch almost until the day he died, keeping charcoals and a sketchbook at his bedside.

    Martinez is survived by his wife of 67 years, Esther; sons Joe Silva and Frank Martinez; a daughter, Sylvia Alvarado; seven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Son Ricardo died in 2007, and son Alfredo died in 2009.  devin.kelly@latimes.com

    Sent by Sister Mary Sevilla  
    marysevilla@mac.com
     


     
    http://primaelisa.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/screen-shot-2011-06-27-at-11-27-49-am.png Elisa Perez, Family Historian and Genealogist 
    April 29, 1926 – October 20, 2013
    Elisa Perez passed away on October 20th, 2013 after several months of being ill. She died at home in La Puente, California with her loving family present. Elisa Perez has lived in Southern California for her entire life. She has been involved in genealogy studies for many years. Elisa has traveled throughout the Southwest in order to compile a history of her family roots. In the process she has also compiled many historic facts and interesting stories regarding the history of many other Chicano families.
    Her blog can be found at: http://primaelisa.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/elisa-perez-april-29-1927-october-20-2013/ 


    October 21, 2013
    Dear Perez Family,
    My heart is heavy with sadness at this moment, and enjoined with yours at our great loss of “La Prima Elisa.” Your sorrow is my sorrow. Elisa and I had a very strong bond, which arose for our mutual love of history and our ancestral roots. I remember very vividly the first time I met her at my father’s house (Frank N. Lujan) in Las Cruces in the Spring of 1989, when she, Monti, and Dolly came out here is search of their roots. I gave them their first orientation as to the history of La Junta and some of our immediate ancestors. I then told her to visit Enrique Madrid, another cousin who still lives in Redford (El Polvo), to get a deeper perspective on our historical roots.

    I believe that she made around 15 trips in subsequent years to La Junta and Chihuahua tracing our family. My father took her on about eight of those trips and my brother Paco (Frank Jr.) took her about six or seven times.
     
    She dug much further than Enrique, my dad and I ever imagined she would do. She found the first Lujan in Chihuahua around 1707, and another one around 1730s. After that, she was able to trace the first Lujan in La Junta. Not only that, but she also dug out the genealogy of the Acostas, who were our Native American Ancestors, and belonged to the Jumano Tribe. You can Google the Jumano Indians and find out more. Also Google The Lady in Blue, (Sor Maria de Jesus de Agreda) because that is a most significant part of our history and heritage). 

    All members of the Perez family should feel most proud of the strong FOOTPRINT left by La Prima Elisa. Elisa asked me several times to whom she should leave the treasure trove that was her research. I told her that we have now incorporated the Jumano-Apache Tribe, and that we have been given a tract of land in Redford to build a community center that will be a repository of the writings, folk art and other things of interest to those who have ancestral roots in Redford. We are most interested in having her invaluable work find its resting place there, where her quest began, and to let it become a place where people can go to do their genealogical research. Many of the records that she has, can no longer be found anywhere. Of greater importance is the database of over 20,000 names of persons born in the La Junta area. That collection, to my knowledge is the most comprehensive database of its kind for the La Junta area, whose descendents are now spread out throughout the United States, with many who have a keen interest of knowing where they come from.

    Once again, primos, I join you in your sorrow, but feel honored in having develop that strong bond with your mother. I will miss her so much.  My Condolences, Jerry Lujan

    I for one am very interested in a more extensive genealogy of the Acostas. Crisanto was my great-great grandfather too, perhaps even one more great. My great grandmother was Matilde Acosta de Lujan, married to Secundino Lujan. I hope we can preserve all of her phenomenal genealogical research in the repository we are trying to establish in el Polvo (Redford) where our roots go very deep, and make her work accessible to all future generations of those who want to know from whom they come from. I know the Acostas were Jumanos, which have a rich story and heritage. Just Google the Jumano Indians, and also the Lady In Blue.

    We are in the process of reconstructing our own history from OUR perspective. All the written material on them comes from Americanos, who assume that we have disappeared as a tribe. Nothing could be further from the truth. We just had to go underground in order to survive the European onslaught. Everyone with these roots is welcome to join us. 
    Enrique Madrid our Tribal Historian, can be reached in Redford at 432-384-2339.

    I can be reached via email: jerry_javier_lujan@hotmail.com  or by cell 505-203-7609. 
    Jerry Javier Lujan, Albuquerque, NM

    I’m so upset about this sad news. She was such a delight to visit with and to exchange information on the family. We have lost a real treasure to be sure. My sympathy, and prayers, to all
    Tu Prima, Jan Dawson
    Thank you Elisa for all you have done for our family. You well be missed. Jessica Rede Escalante
    Rest in Peace, dear cousin. Thank you for all you have given to us, your family.  Love, Maggie Van Coops, Tina & Dick Miller
    I’m so sorry to hear of her passing. I believe we are related through Francisco Acosta whose one of his sons Crisanto Acosta was Elisa’s great great grandfather. I hope someone continues her great work. I have a lot of information about the Acosta’s. My great grandfather was Jose Ramos Acosta. He was one of the first settlers in the Big Bend area in West Texas. My email is hija220@sbcglobal.net. I would love to hear from someone. Some of my family members are mentioned in Sotelo’s book, “Ojinaga en una Loma. 
    Marta L. Herrera 

    Vanessa Blanca Ruiz de Lopez 
    Oh Dear, I am deeply saddened to hear of her passing. I only recently found this blog and it offered great insight into all of the wonderful Acosta family stories I have yet to discover. I was instantly inspired to know that someone, whom may very well be my own Prima, had already uncovered a lifetime worth of great family history. Thinking of you Prima Elisa. May you rest in peace.

    I Just can’t believe Our Lord above has called you to his side Elisa, I will miss you my friend, your emails, your helping hand , the stories we would have. I have lost a dear friend in you, and our family has surely lost a greatness. My condolences to your Loving family Elisa, So sorry I did not meet you sooner. She has brought our families together in so many ways, sharing her knowledge and stories, God Bless her, always willing to share what she had spent a life time gathering , The History of Our Family. With out her I never would have been able to bring the many branches of our family tree together, it was her Love for the Family and her work. And we Thank her from the very bottoms of our Hearts for all that she did and all that she brought forth and shared with us. May God Welcome you through those Gates of Gold and set you at his side for a job well done.
    All my Love, tu Prima Deb.  
    Debbie Rede Lopez-Pimentel
     
    Carlos Blanco-Aguinaga

    1926-2013

    Carlos Blanco Aguinaga, distinguished literary critic, fiction writer, and one of the founders of UCSD’s Literature Department, died in La Jolla on September 11, 2013.

    Born in Irún, in the Basque country, Blanco was 9 years old when he and his anti-Francoist family became exiles during the struggle between Republican loyalists and Falangist military forces (Spanish Civil War, 1936-39). The family’s journey began in France and eventually led them to Mexico City in 1938. Blanco went on to receive his B.A. from Harvard and his Ph.D. from the Colegio de México with a dissertation on the Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno. Together with Carlos Fuentes, Octavio Paz and others, Blanco was a cofounder of Revista Mexicana de Literatura, an internationally preeminent journal of Latin American letters. Prior to coming to UCSD he held positions at the Colegio de México, Johns Hopkins, and Ohio State University.

    In 1964, he was recruited as a founding member of UCSD’s Department of Literature. In the early decades of the La Jolla campus, he was – to remember just a few of his contributions – faculty advisor for the Mexican American Youth Association (MAYA; later known as MEChA); collaborator with Angela Davis and others in the proposal to create the Lumumba-Zapata College (later Third, now Marshall College); founder of Third World Studies; defender of exiled Chilean intellectuals after the military coup of 1973; and always a strong advocate for Chicano and Latin American studies. At the height of campus activism in the later 1960s, former Chancellor William McGill referred to Blanco as “one of our most formidable campus radicals.” Blanco’s influence on many Chicano/a students is evidenced by his inclusion in the UC San Diego “Chicano Legacy 40 Años” mural, a mosaic celebrating the Chicano Movement that was inspired by figures such as Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez.

    In the 1980s, he also taught in the Facultad de Letras of the University of the Basque Country (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea) in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. He became Professor Emeritus in 1994.

    His experience of exile, political commitment, literary sensibility, theoretical acumen, and generosity as a colleague and mentor contributed to make Carlos Blanco Aguinaga an especially influential intellectual, scholar of Spanish and Latin America literature and creative writer. Author of many books of literary scholarship, he was especially renowned for his work on Galdós – La historia y el texto literario: Tres novelas de Galdós (1978); Unamuno – Unamuno contemplativo (1959 and 1975); writers of the “Generation of ’98” – Juventud del 98 (1970, 1978, and 2000); a Marxist interpretation of Spanish literature (in collaboration with Iris Zavala y Julio Rodríguez Puértolas) – Historia social de la literatura española (1978-79); cultural production of the exiled Spanish community – Ensayos sobre la literature del exilio español (2006) and Emilio Prados: vida y obra – bibliografia – antologia (1960); and an influential study of Mexican writer Juan Rulfo. His novels, short stories, and memoirs – also exceptional testimony of his extraordinary and engaged life across multiple political cultures – include: Un tempo tuyo (1988; trans. A Time of Your Own, 1997); Carretera de Cuernavaca (1990); En voz contínua (1997); Ya no bailan los pescadores de Pismo Beach (1998); Por el mundo: infancia, guerra y principio de un exilio afortunado (2007); and De mal asiento (2010).

    Carlos Blanco Aguinaga is survived by his wife, Iris Blanco Arévalo, his daughters Alda and Maria Blanco, his son Renato Barahona, and two grandchildren: Amaya Blanco Ramírez and Ernesto Barahona Mallen. Blanco was preceded in death by a third grandchild, Isabel Blanco Ramírez. He also lives on in the hundreds of students and colleagues who had the privilege to learn from him.

    If you are interested in learning of plans to honor the contributions and memory of Carlos Blanco, please contact Professor Jorge Mariscal of the Department of Literature.

    Sent by Roberto Calderon, Ph.D. beto@unt.edu 
    Source: Jorge Mariscal gmariscal@ucsd.edu 

     

    Jose Montoya

    May 28, 1932 – September 25, 2013

    http://www.csus.edu/impact/images/montoya.jpg

    Jose Montoya joined the Navy during the Korean War, a noted poet, painter, musician and graphic artist. He has exhibited internationally Cuba, Mexico & Paris, as well as all over the United States. Jose Montoya attended San Diego City College as an art student.  He later transferred to the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts and a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from California State University, Sacramento. He began his career by teaching at Leland High School in Wheatland and at Yuba Community College.  Jose Montoya then taught for 25 years in the Department of Art Education at California State University at Sacramento (CSUS).

    In the 1970’s Jose Montoya joined students and members of the Chicano community and established the “Rebel Chicano Art Front,” later renamed the “Royal Chicano Air Force,” which organized cultural, educational, and political activities in the Sacramento area.  

    The following article is reprinted with permission from Jose Montoya’s son, Richard Montoya.  Richard is a member of the performance troupe Cultural Clash.

    G4TNOAMI.6Staff Photographer

     
    Jose Montoya, Sacramento poet and artist, dies at 81
    By Stephen Magagnini 
    smagagnini@sacbee.com 
    Thursday, Sep. 26, 2013 

    May 28, 1932 - September 25, 2013

    Jose Montoya, one of the original members of the Royal Chicano Air Force, retouches the mural he and several other artists painted in 1977 at Southside Park. Montoya and the artist worked in 2001 on the mural, which had been vandalized, for more than two weeks. 
    jose montoya cartoon

     

    Cartoonist Sergio Hernandez Honors Chicano Park Muralist Jose Montoya

    by on Sep. 28, 2013, under Chicano art, Cultura, Culture

    Artist/Cartoonist, LA Public Defender and Retired Defense Investigator via Sergio Hernandez honors Chicano Park Muralist Jose Montoya in cartoon. C/S

    Sergio Hernandez writes:

    “As a 19 year old artist the work of artist poet Jose Montoya had a profound influence on the direction of my work. Many years later when we were both older I was able to meet Jose and I told him of the way he affected my work..we became friends after this meeting. Good bye my friend rest in peace…”

     

    This entry was posted on Saturday, September 28th, 2013 at 11:44 am and is filed under Chicano art, Cultura, Culture
    Tags for this post: , , , .
    http://tucsoncitizen.com/hispanic-politico/2013/09/28/cartoonist-sergio-hernandez-honors-chicano-park-muralist-jose-montoya/

    Jose Montoya, Sacramento poet and artist, has died
    By Stephen Magagnini  The Sacramento Bee
    smagagnini@sacbee.com
     
    Published: Sep. 26, 2013

    Copyright 2013 The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 

    Jose Montoya, one of the most influential and inspirational figures in California Latino history, died Wednesday surrounded by family in his midtown Sacramento home. He was 81.

    As a boy, Montoya picked grapes with his family in Delano and Fowler in the blistering Central Valley heat. He vowed that farm work would not be his destiny, and instead became an artist and poet whose work galvanized the Chicano movement in the 1960s and ’70s. One of Sacramento’s poet laureates, Montoya was co-founder of the Royal Chicano Air Force, a collection of artists-turned-activists who used their words, music and images to fight for justice and equality for farmworkers and other marginalized Americans.

    His colorful, expressive paintings with bold strokes have been shown worldwide. His poetry mixed English, Spanish and barrio slang, exploring themes of struggle and injustice. 

    “With the passing of Jose Montoya, our community lost a gentle soul with an extraordinarily creative mind,” said Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna, whose late father, Mayor Joe Serna, launched his political career with Montoya’s guidance. “His poems gave us cause to reconsider our individual and cultural condition, called us to action when needed. He taught me respect for art as well as public service – his beautiful words crafted to make us think, feel and act with conviction will live on.”

    The son of farmworker champion Cesar Chavez, Paul F. Chavez, and United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez said in a joint statement, “We will always cherish Jose for how he inspired us as well as so many others through his art. But we will also remember him for the countless times when he walked picket lines, helped organize UFW events and fed the farmworkers during every major strike, boycott and political campaign. He was truly a servant of the farmworker movement and we will always be in his debt.”

    Montoya touched the lives of thousands of students during his 27 years as a professor of art, photography and education at California State University, Sacramento, along with high school and junior college students at Leland High School in Wheatland and at Yuba Community College. 

    “Jose taught us how to be bold, how to be courageous, how to be clear, how to be strong and that example empowered many people, generations of farmworkers who were subjugated and oppressed,” said Juan Carrillo, former director of the California State Arts Council, who helped Montoya co-found the RCAF. “In 1967, there was no Latino caucus in the Legislature, no Latino political presence and Jose Montoya absolutely helped politicize Latinos.”

    Montoya died Wednesday from a large lymphoma around his aorta in his home on D Street, said the oldest of his eight children, Gina Montoya, who, like her father, is an activist.

    At the end, he would roll his eyes and say, “Get the horses, I have to get into the sun,” and was also talking to his older brother and mother in the spirit world, Gina Montoya said.

    Jose Montoya was born May 28, 1932, in Escobosa, New Mexico. In a 1998 interview with The Sacramento Bee, he recalled how his mother stenciled the interiors of homes and churches. “We helped grind colors and mix them. We made stencils from discarded inner tubes and gathered colorants from creek beds. I remember chasing horseflies for her. She would dry them and grind their tails and mix them with egg yolk to produce an iridescent blue color that she was known for.
    “Later, when I was a student at the California College of Arts and Crafts, I learned about egg tempera. It was the same thing.”
    His family eventually came to the Central Valley looking for work and moved from Delano – where the United Farm Workers movement was born – to Fowler, 10 miles south of Fresno. He played football and served as art editor of the yearbook and was a big man on campus at Fowler High School, his daughter said. While picking grapes, he began drawing on the paper used to dry grapes into raisins.

    He joined the Navy during the Korean War, then went to San Diego City College on the G.I. Bill and moved to the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland to get his teaching credential. He taught art at Wheatland High School and Yuba Community College.

    In 1969, he and other Latino educators were invited to get their master’s degrees through the Mexican American Education Project at California State University, Sacramento. There, he and several other sons of migrant farmworkers formed the Royal Chicano Air Force, an artists’ collective committed to supporting the UFW while bringing art to the people.
    Originally named the Rebel Chicano Art Front, its initials led people to believe they were part of the Royal Canadian Air Force. “I said we’re not Canadians, we’re Chicanos, but we have an air force, we fly adobe airplanes,” Jose Montoya once said. “We wanted to be outrageous, we didn’t want to be boring so we now had an air force we could incorporate into the movement, which was about boycotting Safeway” to keep the chain from selling table grapes until farmworkers’ conditions improved. “We would show up to Safeway dressed in Air Force uniforms and driving a World War II jeep,” which got the media’s attention, Montoya said.

    Montoya and his fellow artists used Joe Serna’s garage to make silk- screen posters, and drafted their kids to picket every weekend. They helped Manuel Ferrales become one of the first Latinos elected to the Sacramento City Council, Gina Montoya said.

    During the Vietnam War, Montoya noticed it was poor students or students of color who were getting drafted, so he would put on the Rolling Stones “and blast it so loud because he was crying and didn’t want us kids to hear him,” his daughter recalled. “When I saw him over the stereo, just crying, it moved me, and I made my first protest sign in sixth grade and got sent to the principal’s office.”
    Jose Montoya became an organizer for the UFW throughout the Central Valley and spent every single Friday and Saturday on the picket line. “He held farmworkers deep in his heart and agonized over the excruciating work they did,” Gina Montoya said. Once, while her dad was playing golf, next to a field, he saw a farm labor contractor chastising some workers, and threw down his golf club, jumped the fence and interceded. “He told them, ‘You have rights, you don’t have to take that,’ and then he realized, what rights do they have?” she said.

    Montoya went on to mentor two generations of artists and activists at Sacramento State, where he taught art and ethnic studies for 27 years.

    “Jose Montoya made tremendous contributions to the intellectual, cultural and social fabric of our nation, and I will always appreciate the many opportunities he created for students as a Sacramento State professor,” said CSUS President Alexander Gonzalez. “He made Chicano art and culture accessible to millions of people during a transformative time in California’s history.”
    A tall, handsome hipster, Montoya celebrated the zoot-suit era of the 1940s, when he and other pachucos wore suits with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pants and a long coat with padded shoulders and wide lapels. He put people at ease with his good humor and genuine interest in their lives, and channeled his passion in poetry, murals and song.

    Around 1970, Montoya and the RCAF opened a community center on 32nd Street and Folsom Boulevard in east Sacramento, where they put on plays and music and offered silk screening and mural training. “Because my dad was such an extrovert and good at so many things he was just a natural leader, people looked to him for leadership and advice,” Gina Montoya said. “He’d always say to me, `you have gifts, but stay humble.’ That was a very important message for him. When asked his greatest accomplishment, he’d say, “my kids.”

    His children have carried on his legacy of art and activism: Gina Montoya is now vice president of community education for the Mexican American Leadership Defense and Education League, a civil rights organization that’s taken cases to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jose Montoya Jr. is an award-winning poet and writer who founded Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe. Carlos Montoya is founder, chairman and CEO of Aztec America Bank of Chicago. Richard Montoya is a filmmaker and playwright. Malaquias Montoya is also an executive for Aztec America. Vincent Montoya is an award-winning musician and co-founder of the two bands, Tattooed Love Dogs and Seventy. Tomas Montoya is a student at the Art Institute of Sacramento; Qianjin Montoya is a children’s art studio manager.
    Montoya is also survived by Mary Ellen Montoya, his first wife; his second wife, Juanita Jue, who brought her daughter Maya into the family; 19 grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
    Memorial services are pending.

    Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/26/5771228/jose-montoya-sacramento-poet-and.html#storylink=cpy 
    Call The Bee’s Stephen Magagnini, (916) 321-1072

    Sent by Mercy Bautista-Olvera 
    scarlett_mbo@yahoo.com 

      

    A Tribute to my father Jose Montoya

    By Richard Montoya

    Richard Montoya and his father Jose Montoya

    Just a few days now with Sacramento in my rearview - a moment to breath - to reflect - to think and make sense of a Man - a life - a body of works - I will miss his room and its sweet smells of sage and special medicina - a laugh -  his blessing on the forehead of his grandchildren. In the last few days there was I felt a need to inform you and be straight - so many loved this man - a few did not. There was a time the desire and need to be poetic – tho nobody turned a face or code switched like the Carlo Master that he was. I feel deep sadness now too that while the mythic       Jose will always be with us – the grand papa to hold a crying child – to say it’s gonna be ok and all those human things and assurances only he could do well these things are gone. Pop was human – there was fear and so much pain in the end - his mind so sharp and full of humor and courage too – the vessel gave way to the corruption of a frail body. He lived. He wrote. He captured.  He humanized.  He fought. He died looking death in the face. He would open and then he’d go back to the duel. Saying to those of us around his bed “to get the horses ready…” or keep the horses quiet.” Always poetic always warning Y ahora Sunday, night tucking in Mountee Boy – its hitting real hard locos: He’s Gone. Let it be. Let the vato rest…

    Aho for us all…
    (Submitted by
    Mercy Bautista-Olvera)


     
    Raul Cortez  June,1933 -  October 11, 2013
    Businessman 

    Editor Mimi:
    Raul Cortez is my first cousin. His mother and my mother were sisters. He was only 4 months older than me. I have so many wonderful memories of la familia getting together and us primos playing together at Griffith Park and Echo Park in Los Angeles. I also remember many family get-together in Sierra Madres were the Cortez family lived before Pleasanton. Las tias would play La Lotteria and us kids would play outside, even when it got dark. So much fun.

    Raul always had a love for cars. As a youth, he would build models of both planes and cars, carefully painted model planes hanging from the boy's bedroom ceiling. I was always so impressed with his ability, patience and attention to fine detail. I was not surprised when Raul made a career out of his love of cars. Raul had a sense of quality in life, in cars and dress, and was an outstanding businessman.

    Raul Cortez passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family on October 11, 2013 after a battle with cancer.  He was born in June,1933, in Los Angeles to Manuel and Adelfa Cortez as the oldest of four brothers.  He was raised in Pleasanton , CA and graduated from Amador High School in 1952.  Raul joined the Navy and served his country for four years, then attended San Jose State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.  After graduation, Raul made his living in the car industry where he became a much respected sales associate, reputable manager, and owner of various automobile dealerships.  

    Raul married his best friend and partner in life, Mariann, and they have been together for the past 50 years.  They have one daughter together, Michelle, with Raul having five children from a previous marriage, one of whom passed after his birth.  Raul and Mariann moved to Atascadero in 1980 with their daughter after purchasing the local Ford Dealership and renaming it Atascadero Ford with a business partner.   

    Raul was an avid lover of the lake and boating and could be found at Lake Nacimiento with his family when he wasn’t working.  He enjoyed water skiing, listening to music, doting on his grandchildren and vacationing at Lake Shasta in Redding , CA .  

    He is preceded in death by his parents, oldest son, Raul Cortez Jr. (Sonny); oldest daughter, Linda Cortez; and son Leon Matthew Cortez.  Raul is survived by his wife Mariann, daughter Debbie Cortez Islas, son John Cortez, and daughter Michelle Cortez Goossens, 16 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and his 3 brothers, Robert, Richard and Rudy, and their spouses / family.  

    At Raul’s request, there will be no services; a family celebration will be held in his honor.  

    The family would like to thank Central Coast Hospice, 253 Granada Suite D, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, for all their help during his last weeks in life and asks that any donations be made to them in his name in lieu of flowers.

    Sent by brother Robert Cortez 

     

     

     

     

     

     

    NATIONAL ISSUES

    Freedom of Speech issue
    Sergio Hernandez Cartoonist, Don't Vote For Any Incumbents
    Definition of Insanity 
    Court: Applicants wrongly denied US citizenship
    Judge: Tribal arrest a U.S. Issue

     
    On Constitution Day, a student in Modesto, CA was stopped from handing out copies of the US Constitution to fellow students because he was not conducting his exercise in free speech in the designated free speech zone at the college. 
     
    http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/23483119/california-college-bars-student-from-handing-out-copies-of-constitution%20-%20axzz2fSoOEM2j

    "For if men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter . . .  reason is of no use to us . . . dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter." ~ George Washington 

    "Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official."   ~ Theodore Roosevelt 

    Sergio Hernandez
    DEFINITION OF INSANITY

    Sent by Frances Rios  francesrios499@hotmail.com 
     
    In this Sept. 18, 2013, photo Sigifredo Saldana Iracheta, right and his wife Laura Saldana pose for a photo outside his sister's home in Brownsville, Texas. After a years-long fight, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared that Sigifredo Saldana had been a U.S. citizen since birth. In ruling for Saldana, the court dismissed the government's explanation of the error saying it had been perpetuated and uncorrected since 1978. (AP Photo/Christopher Sherman)

    Court: Applicants wrongly denied US citizenship

    by Christopher Sherman 

    BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — For more than two decades, Sigifredo Saldana Iracheta insisted he was a U.S. citizen, repeatedly explaining to immigration officials that he was born to an American father and a Mexican mother in a city just south of the Texas border.

    Year after year, the federal government rejected his claims, deporting him at least four times and at one point detaining him for nearly two years as he sought permission to join his wife and three children in South Texas.

    In rejecting Saldana's bid for citizenship, the government sought to apply an old law that cited Article 314 of the Mexican Constitution, which supposedly dealt with legitimizing out-of-wedlock births. But there was a problem: The Mexican Constitution has no such article.

    The error appears to have originated in 1978, and it's been repeated ever since, frustrating an untold number of people who are legally entitled to U.S. citizenship but couldn't get it.

    "What this looks like is nobody's ever checked it out. And it is shocking," said Matthew Hoppock, a Kansas City attorney who specializes in federal appeals related to immigration issues.

    Saldana's case was finally resolved earlier this month, when the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the government's explanation of a "typo" and ruled that he had been a citizen since birth. The error, the court said, had been "perpetuated and uncorrected" by the Department of Homeland Security.

    For the 49-year-old laborer and sometime carpenter, the Sept. 11 decision ended a grueling and costly ordeal. After serving a prison sentence for a 1989 drug conviction in Texas, he told authorities he was a U.S. citizen, but was deported in 1992. Between 2002 and 2007, he applied four times for a certificate of citizenship. Each time he was deported, he was separated from his family.

    "I have always lived with a fear in my house that whichever night, they'll arrive and arrest me," said Saldana, who was born in 1964 in the border city of Matamoros, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville.

    Days after the ruling, Saldana still seethed with frustration for all the rejections, for every time his family had to scrape together money to hire another lawyer. He rued time missed with his children, the low wages he endured as a worker without papers and the responsibilities that fell on his wife, Laura.

    Saldana argued that he automatically became a U.S. citizen at birth because his father was an American.

    But because his parents were not married, U.S. authorities claimed he should have been "legitimated" by age 21 in a process they claimed was governed by Mexican law, specifically the phantom Article 314.

    A 2008 letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services cited the article and said the only way for Saldana to gain legal legitimacy would have been for his parents to marry.

    The marriage never happened, but it didn't have to.

    Saldana's birth certificate registered with the Mexican state of Tamaulipas includes both his parents' names. The appellate court said that was enough.

    View gallery."
    In this Sept. 18, 2013, photo Sigifredo Saldana Iracheta, right and his wife Laura Saldana pose for …At oral arguments last month in Houston, Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod was incredulous.

    "So all along, that's been in this case, and you all have been citing this over and over again to people for years now, and you can't even look it up in Mexican law," Walker Elrod said to government attorney Aimee Carmichael. "It doesn't even exist."

    Homeland Security officials did not respond to a request for comment.

    The court said the government had "relied on provisions of the Mexican Constitution that either never existed or do not say what DHS claims they say."

    That last part references the government's use of a different provision of the Mexican Constitution, Article 130, to deny Saldana's claim in 2004. That article exists, but says nothing close to what the government claims.

    Hoppock said such mistakes are rare but become more common when interpretations of foreign law are involved. "Most of the people here talking about it don't really know what the Mexican Constitution says," he said.

    He added: "These people are citizens by their birth, and for 35 years the government has been telling them you are not citizens because of this law that doesn't exist."

    Ignacio Pinto-Leon, assistant director of the Center for U.S. and Mexican Law at the University of Houston Law Center, said the Mexican Constitution contains little related to family law and nothing about legitimizing out-of-wedlock births. The court's hypothesis that the government was actually trying to reference state civil code instead of the constitution is possible, but would still be mistaken, he said.

    It's unclear just how many cases have been affected by the error. The court's opinion cited four in addition to the original one in 1978, and there are surely others. Immigration cases are not open to the public.

    Kathryn Mattingly, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, which adjudicates immigration cases, said in an email that the agency is reviewing the appellate decision.

    Most denials are never appealed, often because the people involved do not have the money to pursue the matter to higher courts.

    Saldana didn't always have the money either, but he was persistent.

    He would "get to a certain point and have to stop, and a lot of people don't have the money to go beyond the initial denial," his attorney, Marlene Dougherty, said. "They figure 'Well, immigration said this so they're right.'"

    Many immigration attorneys are frustrated with the constant misapplication of the law, she added. But the recent decision in Saldana's favor gives her new hope.

    "Maybe things will be applied more fairly now," Dougherty said.

    Sent by John Inclan  fromgalveston@yahoo.com 


    WITNESS TO HERITAGE

    Save Tejano History Symposium' Held September 28th
    Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS)
    Thought you would like this history lesson
    San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy 
     



    Larry Amaro and Dan Arellano

    'Save Tejano History Symposium'
    Mexican American Cultural Center
    Austin. Sept. 28.


    Dan Arellano, "Ignacio Zaragoza", Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, 
    and Don Miles, author of Cinco de Mayo.
    Sent by Anita Quintanilla quintanilla50@yahoo.com 
     

    cmas masthead

    Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) has been to serve Texas and the nation as a leader in the intellectual development of Mexican American studies. The establishment of CMAS represents an institutional recognition of the importance of the Mexican American people in the history of the United States.

    News

    CMAS Announces Public Symposium Scheduled for Fall 2013

    The Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) will host a public symposium, "Fashionistas Fabulos@s," on November 7-8, 2013.

    CMAS Announces Public Conference Scheduled for Spring 2014

    The Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) will host a public conference,"Illustrating Anarchy and Revolution: Mexican Legacies of Global Change," on February 5-7, 2014.

    CMAS Announces Graduate Fellowships

    The Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) has awarded graduate fellowships to six students for the 2013-2014 academic year using funds provided by the Office of the President and the Graduate School.

    CMAS Announces Move to Burdine Hall

    The Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) has moved to the 5th floor of Burdine Hall effective July 26, 2013.

    http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/cmas/index.php 
    femi@austin.utexas.edu
     

     
    Thought you would like this history lesson

    Probably the best capsule of the history of our country ever put together. It's fascinating to watch the evolution of growth from the 13 colonies up to the present day -- with dates, wars, purchases, etc. all included. As much as you may know about American history, I guarantee you'll learn something from this short video clip.  

    Best history lesson you've had in a long time - maybe the best ever! You can click on each state for more about them.

    This “moving” map of the country, showing it from the beginning of the 13 states and going through the present.

    It includes the acquisitions from England and Spain, the Slave states, the Free states, a segment on the Civil war, it includes some mentions of Central and South America, etc.

    One of the things I especially liked was showing the Indian Nations as they were during the Indian Wars: Modac, Miwok, Mujave, Nez Perce, Flat Head, Crow, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Navajo, Apache, Dakota, Sioux, Kiowa, Wichita and Comanche.

    I know you'll enjoy this site, especially if you enjoy American history, but have forgotten a lot of what was learned in school. Turn on your sound, as the narration is a significant portion of the presentation.  

    Click on Play at the top:  http://www.animatedatlas.com/movie.html  

     

     
    San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy   
    TV History: FACT or FICTION?  OCTOBER 19, 2013 SATURDAY, 9am to 1 pm

    Austin Community College HistoryDepartment
    2013 Emeritus Professors Lectures
    "Sea of Mud: Retreat of the Mexican Army after San Jacinto: An Archeological Investigation" Dr. Gregg Dimmick
    PBS "Latino Americans"  www.pbs.org/latino-americans/en/  John J. Valadez, Producer

    Austin Community College, 
    Northridge Lecture Hall, Building 4000
    Austin, Texas

    The San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy is a Section 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve, reclaim, and restore the San Jacinto Battleground and build greater public awareness of the battle of San Jacinto, the culminating event of the Texas Revolution. No other nonprofit organization is devoted entirely to these goals.
    www.sanjacintoconservancy,org 



    ACTION ITEM

    The City of El Paso used the Lincoln Center until 2007, when it was shut down due to a mold outbreak.  Although community Mexican Americans wanted the Lincoln Center to be funded as a reflection of Mexican American history and heritage,  "a newly hired Historic Preservation Officer concluded that “no information on anyone of prominence had attended the school” or that she had “no information on anything of significance that happened in the building.”

    Miguel Juárez a doctoral student at the University of Texas at El Paso, as well as a member of the Lincoln Park Conservation Committee proved the power of a well-organized historical study to support and bring around change in attitudes, who writes:.  
    Pivotal to saving the building was a seminar paper I wrote in Dr. Julia Camacho's class in 2011 that uncovered the history of the building and the community. I used some of the seminar paper to write an article: "Why save Lincoln Center: For our gente," that was published online on Rio Grande Digital.com in 2012: http://www.riograndedigital.com/2012/01/13/why-save-lincoln-center-for-our-gente 

    On Tuesday, October 8th, the City of El Paso voted to re-acquire Lincoln School and develop plans to re-open it, after Mayor Oscar Lesser and Council members listened to an hour of impassioned statements from over half a dozen people a week before during the Call to the Public segment at the October 1st city council meeting.

    Miguel Juárez , MLS, MA, Doctoral student
    E-mail: MiguelJuarez.soha@gmail.com


     

    Why Save Lincoln Center: For Our Gente

    http://www.riograndedigital.com/2012/01/13/why-save-lincoln-center-for-our-gente/lincolnschoolhistoricall/

    Lincoln Park School in 1915

    The Rich History of an El Paso Landmark

    By Miguel Juárez  

    January 13, 2012  

    http://www.kvia.com/news/activists-get-extension-from-txdot-to-save-el-pasos-lincoln-center/-/391068/22218890/-/o6q90b/-/index.html      

    http://www.riograndedigital.com/2012/01/13/why-save-lincoln-center-for-our-gente/microsoft-word-document1/
    Freeway art and sweet rides.

    In 2011, the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT, requested its demolition by the City of El Paso because it “determined that the Center is not eligible as a historical structure nor its use contemplated in the future.” This meant TxDOT did not see Lincoln Center as a historical site. The city echoed this view by sending its newly hired Historic Preservation Officer to conduct an analysis of the center and she concluded that “no information on anyone of prominence that had attended the school” or that she had “no information on anything of significance that happened in the building,” as well as other issues. Her statements were unfounded.

    The fact is that the Lincoln Park community is a place that has tremendous historical significance, but it has been overlooked. It is situated in proximity to what was once Concordia, which was the site of the first Mexican community north of the Río Grande.

      In 1852, Hugh Stephenson built several buildings and his home at this site. In 1854, he built a chapel named “San José de Concordia el Alto” and the cemetery that still exists. The chapel was located at the corner of Rosa Street and Hammett Boulevard. On February 6, 1856, a deer gored and killed Juana Ascarate Stephenson and she became the first person to be buried in the Concordia Cemetery. Stephenson lost his land after the Civil War, but his son-in-law, Albert H. French, purchased the property at a federal marshal’s sale in 1867.

    In 1868, when the Magoffinsville Post was flooded, Fort Bliss moved to the area south of Concordia Cemetery (now the Lincoln Park community) and it became known as Camp Concordia. It operated as a military base from 1868-1876. The post was later abandoned in 1876 after the troops left El Paso before moving to Hart’s Mill from 1878-1883.

    In a 1989 article written by Mary Bowling and published in Password, the Journal of the El Paso County Historical Association, in 1975, Lillian E. Scott, who had been a teacher at Lincoln School for seven years passed away and she left behind a small journal with notes about her years associated with the school. Mary Bowling had been a student at Lincoln School in 1929 when the journal was found. Bowling subsequently transcribed Scott’s notes and developed a short history of the school up to 1951.

    Lincoln School, formerly known as Concordia School, was first opened as a one-room school in Camp Concordia in the Officer’s Quarters in 1868. Scott wrote in her notebook that, “it was furnished with long rough wooden tables and benches, and its pupils were children of military personnel.” In 1880, the school was expanded to a four-room adobe building that had served as a guard post between 1880 and 1990; later the school opened as a one one-room brick building on Grama Street near the Franklin Canal.

    Bordered by Concordia Cemetery to the North, the Ziegler Union Stockyards to the West, Lincoln Park area was a flourishing community comprised of mostly adobe buildings from as early as the late 1800s at the edge of civilization. In 1909, when the Lincoln Park Addition was registered with the El Paso City Clerk’s office, a two-room school building was created at the present site (4001 Durazno). After the creation of the neighborhood, from 1909 to 1915, Concordia School District #2 purchased various lots where Lincoln School would later expand. In 1915, Lincoln School was expanded to a red brick building with a basement and 13 rooms.

    Among the many students who attended Lincoln School, who later became prominent persons in the community, was State Representative Mauro Rosas, a former pupil of Grace Lord, who taught there for 31 years beginning in 1928. Rosas was born on December 5, 1925. He served in the US Army Air Corps and later became an El Paso Attorney. Rosas was also the first Latino State Representative from El Paso, Texas to serve in Austin during the Twentieth century in 1959 during the Fifty-Sixth and Fifty-Seven Sessions (1959-1963). Rosas was instrumental in building the El Paso Civic Center. He died September 10, 1993 and is buried at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery.

    Another prominent resident who attended Lincoln School was Dr. Manuel D. Hornedo. Hornedo was born on June 11, 1903. He attended El Paso Junior College and Texas School of Mines and Metallurgy (now UT El Paso). Hornedo taught at the El Paso Technical Institute for two years before receiving his M.D. degree from the Medical Branch of the University of Texas. He later joined the United States Public Health Reserve and worked at the El Paso City-County Health Unit in 1933 as a Clinician. In 1952, Dr. Hornedo was appointed Health Officer for the City and County of El Paso and Director of the El Paso City-County Health Unit.

    As late as 1953, Stephenson Street, named after the founder of the area, was located north of Durazno Street and East of Lincoln School. The street was removed in 1973 when the City of El Paso requested the use of the space beneath 1-10 for a public purpose–to develop open space and Lincoln Park was created. Nestor Valencia designed the park. A January 8, 1962 article in the El Paso Herald-Post signaled the arrival of Interstate 10 with the buying of land in El Paso’s East side. That same article featured a photograph that outlined the path the freeway would take from Virginia Street to Hawkins Street and through the Lincoln Park community.

    In 1970, EPISD sold Lincoln School and adjoining 23 acres to the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT so it could be used as a field office to build Interstate 10, Gateway East and West and eleven elevated structure or overpasses on 23 acres. In October 1970, the EPISD deeded the building to the State of Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT to be used as a staging location for the construction and maintenance of Interstate 10 and Gateway East and West. That was also the year Lincoln School was closed.

    In 1970 El Calvario, a stone church that had been built in 1933, that was located at the corner of Durazno and Martínez Streets, was demolished to make way for a freeway column to hold a section of Highway 54 leading to the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry. One of the options for Lincoln School that was considered in that period (1974) was for it to be used as a satellite campus for El Paso Community College.

    According to a report by the city of El Paso, Community Development Block Grant Funds were to used to renovate Lincoln Center: $100,000 in 1976 to renovate the center; $56,898 in 1978 to install an elevator; $24,950 in 1987 to replace the roof, and $29,000 in 1988 to repair and renovate bathrooms. The Lincoln Cultural Center, at the time was the only cultural arts center run by the city, and it operated from 1977 to 2006.

    From 1977 to 1987 it housed several Parks and Recreation offices; the League of Latin American Council Project Amistad offices; Project Bravo, and also featured a recreation room with pool tables, a meeting room and classroom for informal gatherings and a gallery that was used by local artists for monthly exhibits.

    Latino cultural arts center

    http://www.riograndedigital.com/2012/01/13/why-save-lincoln-center-for-our-gente/save-lincoln-parkl-2/

    Saving the past.  

    The Lincoln Arts Cultural Center was the only arts center run by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department in a predominantly Mexican-American community and it was used by the entire city, so by default, we can say that it served as the city’s first and last Latino cultural arts center. Currently, in 2012, there is no Latino Cultural Art Center in El Paso, a city where more than 80 percent of residents are Mexican and Mexican-Americans/Chicanos.

    In 1983, Bobby Aduato, Lincoln Center director, asked Chicano artist Felipe Adame to paint murals on the pillars under the Spaghetti Bowl freeway interchange at Lincoln Center. Adame sought to replicate the creation of murals at Lincoln Center like murals in Chicano Park in San Diego. He had been involved in the painting of murals at Chicano Park in San Diego for many years and continues to be involved today. Adame had hoped to paint additional murals on freeway columns but due to a lack of funding he could not paint more. It would not be until 1999 when other artists would advance his idea.  

    In addition to the exterior murals painted on the columns at Lincoln Park, other important murals were painted inside the Lincoln Center, one titled “Tribute to Abraham Lincoln,” painted by Artist Carlos E. Florés in 1984, as well as “Amistad/Friendship,” also by Florés, painted in 1985, assisted by Fermin Montes, Manuel Guzman, Ana Ramos, Flaviano Ortíz, Fernando Galvan, Carlos Casillas, and Enrique Florés. The murals were painted with funding from the El Paso Parks and Recreation Department and the Upper Rio Grande Private Industry Council (PIC).

    Florés attended La Academia de San Carlos. La Academia de San Carlos in Mexico City, the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. He studied painting under Maestro Luis Nishisawa. Nishizawa is recognized as one of México’s leading landscape artists of the 20th century. This is the same university attended by Méxican artists like Saturnino Herrán, Roberto Montenegro, Diego Rivera, and José Clemente Orozco.

    In 1985, the Lincoln Art Gallery presented “Juntos 1985” 1st Invitational Hispanic Art Exhibit organized by Paul H. Ramírez and myself. The exhibit featured prominent artists from El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, including the late Manuel G. Acosta, the late Rudy Montoya, the late Luis Jiménez Jr., the late Marta Amaya Arat, Ernesto P. Martínez, Mago Orona, Antonio Piña (who was a student at Lincoln School), Paul H. Ramírez, Miguel Juárez and Ciudad Juárez Artists: Noel Espinoza, Miguel Varela, Alicia Acosta De Sanz, Ildefonso Bravo, Velia Carranza, Elvira Fe de Mirano, Rebecca Antuna, Antoñio Arrellanes, Irma Camacho, and Lucina Chavéz. The Honorable El Paso County Judge Alicia R. Chacon, who was a city representative at the time, was instrumental in supporting the exhibit.

    The El Paso artists in the exhibition included a who’s who in El Paso Latino Art, including the late Manuel G. Acosta, and the late Luis Jiménez who created “Los Lagartos” in San Jacinto Plaza. In 1986, the gallery was the site of the “Juntos 1986: Hispanic Photographers Exhibit” that included notable Latino photographers, including Internationally recognized photographer Carlos Fernández. This exhibit led to the creation of the National Association of Chicano Arts (NACA) that changed its name to the Juntos Art Association in 1986 (presently a Latino Arts and Cultural organization in its 25th year).

    Numerous other El Paso artists and photographers have exhibited in the gallery and numerous performance groups have performed in the amphitheater next to Lincoln School. It is estimated that from 1981 to 2006, the Lincoln Art Gallery hosted about 3,000 local and school-children artists. Lincoln Center served not only the Lincoln Park Neighborhood, but also the residents of the Durazno and Chamizal Neighborhoods.

    Murals, hot cars and evacuations

    In 1999, Chicano Artist Carlos Callejo, who years earlier (1993-95) had been commissioned to paint a large mural titled “Our History,” in the El Paso County Courthouse at 500 East San Antonio Street in downtown El Paso, proposed and completed a mural project for Lincoln Park in conjunction with the Private Industry Council (PIC). He proposed to work with 80 students from various school districts. They also produced a video on the creation of the murals and sponsored art classes at the Lincoln Center. The project hired five artists to work with them in producing the murals. The artists included Cesar Inostroza, Fabian Arraiza, Steve Salazar and two women who were not artists but youth supervisors.

    Inostroza and Callejo continued painting murals after funding for the project ended. Callejo said each row of columns were dedicated to various themes, one row was titled “Memorial Walk” and was dedicated to historical figures such as Cesar Chavez, Ruben Salazar, Martin Luther King and another row was dedicated to the “Natural Elements:” Mother Earth, Father Son, etc. Callejo organized a community group that included individuals from the neighborhood to approve the themes for the murals.  

    http://www.riograndedigital.com/2012/01/13/why-save-lincoln-center-for-our-gente/lincolncenterphoto2l/

    Lincoln Center

    In 2005, the Latin Pride Car Club organized the “First Annual Lincoln Park Day” at Lincoln Park. The event was modeled after similar events held at Chicano Park in San Diego. A year earlier, in 2004, Hector González, firefighter and president of the Latin Pride Car Club, had e-mailed the City of El Paso concerning the fate of Lincoln Center. After the floods in 2006, the city had shut the center down with plans to reopen it. González’s fire unit had been called to help Saipan-Ledo residents evacuate their homes during the 2006 floods. Lincoln Center was used as a rescue station for people escaping the flooding in the Saipan-Ledo neighborhood, where 56 homes were destroyed.

    In 2006, the Latin Pride Car Club organized the “Second Annual Lincoln Park Day,” following in 2007 with the “Third Lincoln Park Day,” and in 2008, the “Fourth Lincoln Park Day.” In 2008, brothers Hector and David González and Artist Gabriel Gaytán created the Lincoln Park Conservation Committee or LPCC to advocate for the needs of Lincoln Park. In 2009 and 2010, LPCC presented the Fifth and Sixth Annual Lincoln Park Days.  

    In 2009, a mural titled: “El Corazón de El Paso,” was painted on a 30-foot-by-20-foot T-shaped freeway column by Gabriel S. Gaytán. Gabriel’s son, Gabriel Itzai assisted Gaytán in the painting of the mural, as did the members of the Latin Pride Car Club who helped with scaffolding and materials.  

    The idea for the mural came from David González a member of the Latin Pride Car Club, who sponsored the mural project and commissioned it. González gave a sketch to Gaytán who then added images of the Franklin Mountains as well as the star on the mountain, and Mexican pyramids that symbolized El Paso’s over 85 percent Mexican-American heritage and population. The main image of the mural was that of a human heart with highways as arteries. Freeways US 54 and I-10 meet at Lincoln Park and spread out to other highways throughout the city.

    In 2010, LPCC joined with residents and created a Neighborhood Association and became a Partners-in-Parks that made it possible to sponsor four events a year: Cesar Chavez Day in March, Lincoln Park Day in September, Día de los Muertos in November and Día/Day de La Virgen de Guadalupe in December. Proceeds generated from these events go back to offset expenses of organizing these events, for beautification of the park and the painting of murals by local area artists.

    The Lincoln Cultural Center and Park remains the social anchor and meeting place for the community and meetings are often held outside of the closed center. One of the goals for LPCC has been to collaborate with city of El Paso to make Lincoln Park and Center a cultural tourist destination for the arts. In partnership with the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau, in early 2010, the LPCC printed 10,000 full color brochures to promote the murals and the park.

    After years of trying to find out who owned Lincoln Center in a City Council meeting on October 4, 2011, El Paso City Manager Joyce Wilson stated that the city did not own Lincoln Center, that the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT was the rightful owner. At that same meeting, LPCC learned from Wilson that Lincoln Center was slated for demolition and that the newly renamed and remodeled O’Rourke Center (formerly the YMCA) at Virginia and Montana Streets (located four miles away) was the replacement for Lincoln Center.

    Using Freedom of Information Requests (FOIAs), LPCC requested e-mails from the city that documented their intent to tear down the center. These documents revealed that city officials had been planning the demolition since 2007, but had not officially notified residents.

    At a meeting Debbie Hamlyn, the Director of Quality of Life for the City of El Paso, presented a report to City Council regarding the demolition of Lincoln Center. Among her points was that the district had lost population and it no longer warranted a center. The LPCC stated that aside from low-income residents, this part of the city has a large undocumented population, and has historically been under-counted by the U.S. Census and that there were over 6,000 young people in immediate areas of Lincoln Center.

    At Annual Lincoln Park Day on September 25, 2011, thousands gathered to celebrate the park and unveil a new mural by Gaytán and experience one of the largest regional classic car shows in the city. At the same time, under the threat of Lincoln Center’s threat of demolition, LPCC initiated the “Save Lincoln Park,” campaign by hosting a press conference with attendees and Lincoln residents. On that day, LPCC was also able to collect 200 letters to city council members and more than 500 signatures on a petition to Mayor Jonathan Cook. LPCC subsequently presented those letters and petitioned to city representatives and Mayor Cook directly.

    Hamlyn pointed out that the building had issues with mold and asbestos due to the floods of 2006, however, several Open Records Requests (FOIAs) to the city failed to produce any evidence of asbestos. At the meeting, City Representative for District 3, Emma Acosta, introduced a resolution to grant a reprieve to Lincoln Center for six months while the city communicates with the neighborhoods surrounding Lincoln Center regarding its demolition. The resolution passed unanimously. Several LPCC members, supporters and community residents spoke on behalf of keeping Lincoln Center open and stopping its demolition.

    At the first public input meeting on January 11, 2012, six years after the public facility had been closed, at the Silva Health Magnet School, city engineer, R. Alan Shubert, stated that no asbestos had ever been found in the building. This was the first time city officials admitted that they had obviously communicated inaccurate information about asbestos having been the reason to close the building.

    Without a doubt, Lincoln School is the El Paso region’s first and oldest elementary school, created 14 years before the El Paso Independent School District was incorporated (EPISD was created in 1892). The proposed demolition of the building must be stopped and the City of El Paso needs to work with LPCC members and with citizens of El Paso and develop a plan to refurbish, restore and reopen Lincoln Center and not to destroy a building with so much history of our gente. Everyone needs to stand up for what is right and not just the residents of Lincoln Park.

    One of the ideas generated so far have been to reopen Lincoln Center as a Latino Cultural Arts Center, but more ideas are welcomed.

    The next community meeting to discuss Lincoln Center and to solicit ideas against its demolition is scheduled Saturday, January 14th at the Jefferson High School Gym, 4700 Alameda at 10 a.m.  

    El Paso Times article: http://www.elpasotimes.com/latestnews/ci_24264543/el-paso-city-council-votes-develop-lincoln-center 

    El Diario de El Paso article: http://diario.mx/El_Paso/2013-10-09_9ec6a261/acuerdan-resucitar-el-centro-lincoln/ 

    Channel 4 News: http://www.kdbc.com/news/lincoln-center-may-have-new-owner-city-decides-reacquire-building 

    KVIA News story about the one year extension (a significant win, given the building was to be torn down after October 1st)  
    http://www.kvia.com/news/activists-get-extension-from-txdot-to-save-el-pasos-lincoln-center/-/391068/22218890/-/o6q90b/-/index.html      

    "Why save Lincoln Center: For our gente," published online on Rio Grande Digital.com in 2012: http://www.riograndedigital.com/2012/01/13/why-save-lincoln-center-for-our-gente 

    Miguel Juárez MLS, MA, is a Doctoral student at the University of Texas at El Paso focusing on United States, Borderlands and Urban History, as well as a member of the Lincoln Park Conservation Committee. 

    Miguel welcomes any support to the El Paso Lincoln Center project.  He is especially looking for those who have a family or personal historical connection to it.   migueljuarez.soha@gmail.com  


    Latino soldiers
     Cebu, Phillipines, WW II

    USA LATINO PATRIOTS

    Century of Valor, Part Four, Vietnam War by Rogelio C. Rodriguez
    Korean War Marine Eugene A. Obregon Medal of Honor discovered
    Remembering Juan Francisco Herrera 
    The Story of Israel's Airforce that Led to Independence in '47
    Veterans History Project
    Experiencing War Stories from the Veterans History Project
    Comments on the 6-Hour Documentary, Latino Americans 
    Honoring Navy Commander Eugene A Valencia
    Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Army Slideshow
    New Effort In Support of Congressional Gold Medal for Hispanic Heroes of the 65th Infantry - The Borinqueneers
     

    Century of Valor
    Rogelio C. Rodriguez © 1999
    United States Military History
    Hispanic Americans in the United States Armed Forces
    uWorld War I  u World War II u Korean War uVietnam War

    Part Four
    Vietnam War, 1963-1973

     

    Vietnam had been under French colonial rule for nearly sixty years and also under Japanese rule during World War II. In 1954 the country of Vietnam was divided into the North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (the Republic of Vietnam). This was an outcome of an international meeting held at Geneva, Switzerland, otherwise referred to as the 1954 Geneva Conference. A Vietnamese Civil war ensued which gave rise to international attention and resulting in a limited international conflict. United States involvement began in 1961 with the signed treaty between South Vietnam and the United States to provide military and economic aid. In 1964 Congress passed a resolution calling for military action against North Vietnam which was provoked by the North Vietnamese torpedoing of U.S. destroyers in the Tonkin Gulf. United States involvement would escalate and lasted up until 1973. Similar to the Korean War, although Congress did not officially declare war during the Vietnam Conflict, the essence of the struggle was in all respects a war and thus the Vietnam Conflict can be characterized as the Vietnam War.

    The 1970 Census estimated Hispanic-Americans at 4.5% of the U.S. population, 9.148 million and an estimated 3.9% of the U.S. population in the 1960’s, 6.993 million [Cary Davis, Carl Haub, and JoAnne Willette, 1983. ‘US Hispanics: Changing the Face of America .' Population Bulletin, Vol. 38, No. 3, p. 8, Table 2].

    Hispanic-Americans were over-represented among Vietnam casualties, an estimated 7% of the casualties.

    Hispanic casualties, specifically for the Southwest where there was a high concentration of Mexican American population, were reported to be 19.4% from January 1961 to February 1967, and 19.0% from December 1967 to March 1969[1]. In contrast to the 11.8% Mexican American population[2] of the period, the casualty rates are relatively high.

    The Vietnam War Casualty Summary Report 2003, prepared by the Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, reported that there were 58,198 in-theater casualty deaths. It is estimated that 2,594,000 soldiers, sailors, and marines served in South Vietnam . It is estimated that there were 170,000 Hispanic airmen, soldiers, sailors, and marines who served in-theater during the Vietnam War. As in World War II and Korean War, Hispanics were identified as Caucasian. In addition, 17 prisoners of war and 65 missing in action airmen, soldiers, sailors, and marines of Hispanic heritage have been identified to date.

    In the book Vietnam Reconsidered: lesson from a war[3] the chapter on “Hispanics and the Vietnam War”, by Ruben Treviso, [pgs. 184-186], mentions the following:

    ·        One out of every two Hispanics who went to Vietnam served in a combat unit.

    ·        One out of every five Hispanics who went to Vietnam was killed in action.

    ·        One out of every three Hispanics who went to Vietnam was wounded in action.


    [1] Guzman, Ralph, Mexican American Casualties in Vietnam, Merrill College, University of

       California at Santa Cruz, [1970]

    [2] Based on 1960 report of U.S. Bureau of the Census.

    [3] Salisbury, Harrison E., New York: Harper and Row, 1984.


    Summary of Vietnam War Hispanic Casualties to Date

     

    Summary of Vietnam War Medals Awarded to Hispanics to Date

     

    Died - overall                                       Total

    3,091

    Killed in Action

    2,163

    Killed in Action – remains not recovered -found

    5

    Killed in Action – remains not recovered

    8

    Died of Wounds

    314

    Died of Injuries

    73

    Died of other causes

    331

    Died of other causes – remains not recovered

    4

    Missing in Action – died – remains unspecified

    22

    Missing in Action – died - remains recovered

    12

    Missing in Action – died –

    remains not recovered

    6

    Prisoners of War – died while captured 

     remains not recovered

    1

    Prisoners of War – finding of death –

    remains not recovered

    19

    Prisoners of War – finding of death –

    remains recovered

    4

    Prisoners of War – U.S. Civilian -finding of death – remains not recovered

    1

    Missing in Action - overall                 Total

    138

    Missing in Action – U.S. Civilian

     [undetermined status]

    1

    Missing in Action – Returned to Military Control

    1

    Prisoners of War - overall                  Total

    42

    Prisoner of War - escaped

    1

    Prisoner of War - released

    15

    Wounded – overall [1]                          Total

    n/a


    Overall Award and Decorations Count

    5,891

    Medal of Honor

    16

    Navy Cross

    29

    Distinguished Service Cross

    78

    Silver Star

    397

    Bronze Star

    1251

    Air Medal

    160

    Soldiers Medal

    6

    Purple Heart [1]

    3133

    Army Commendation Medal

    531

    Air Force Commendation Medal

    18

    Joint Service commendation

    240

    Navy Achievement Medal

    4

    Navy Commendation Medal

    10

    Note [1]: This figure does not include an undetermined number of wounded or injured in action personnel who have not been identified based on limited sources. These individuals may also qualify to be awarded the Purple Heart.

    In general, the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded. 

    This study provides a historical analysis of the participation of Hispanic Americans in the United States Armed Forces during four major conflicts in the last century - World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

    We are still uncovering many untold, forgotten or perhaps hidden stories of American valor and the call to duty. Relatively unknown is the extent of participation of a group of Americans – soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Spanish, Latin American or of Hispanic heritage – who have served their country with pride and distinction.  

    The facts and figures presented herein are a brief summary of an over-arching study that details the accounts of service men and women, individual details of casualties and award recipients, and selected images depicting military service personnel in the air, land, and sea forces. Information on over 250,000 military service personnel has been compiled from military records, historical documentation, and personal accounts. The identification of these military personnel is based on the accuracy and corroboration of these records. Careful attention has been placed on the compilation of casualties and award recipients, omissions or errors may exist.  

    According to the Defense Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Office, of the reported 1,711 non-accounted for personnel missing, 935 American remains have been accounted for and repatriated to the United States – post January 27, 1973.


    Vast amounts of records, unit histories, after-action reports, rosters, and casualty reports are continuously being researched. A partial list of resources used for this study is listed below:

    ·        U.S. National Archives & Records Administration

    ·        Library of Congress

    ·        Presidential Libraries

    ·        Public Libraries

    ·        University Libraries

    ·        Department of Defense: Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel

                  Office

    ·        American Battle Monuments Commission

    ·       Center of Military History

    ·       State Archives  

    Rogelio C. Rodriguez, B.S., M.S., hails from Santa Paula, CA and is a long time resident of Orange County, CA.  Mr. Rodriguez has been conducting military history research on Hispanic American veterans for over 15 years. His efforts are focused on comprehensive research to bring forth these untold stories.  His professional experience includes engineering, higher education management, and organizational learning and development consulting.

     

     

     
    Korean War Marine Eugene A. Obregon Medal of Honor discovered and will be presented to family by the El Rancho School District Board.
    By Alfred Lugo

    Doing research on Latino Veterans, I heard about the Eugene Obregon School in Pico Rivera. I also learned that Eugene Obregon’s Medal of Honor was also at the school on display. Being that I was on Bill Lansford’s Eugene A. Obregon Medal of Honor Monument Committee, I started to inquire about the Medal and I met and contacted El Rancho School Board member Mr. Joe Rivera.

    From our conversation, I learned that the school was closed due to declining enrolment and that the Medal was stored at the district office. I shared with Mr. Rivera that the Medal should not be stored but be displayed proudly. Mr. Rivera agreed. I suggested if it would be possible for the district to donate the Medal to the family or to the Eugene A. Obregon Medal of Honor Monument for permanent display.

    Mr. Rivera indicated that he would share my concern at the next school board meeting.

     

    At the August 8, 2013 school board meeting, El Rancho School Board Member Mr. Joe Rivera publicly requested that an item be placed on the agenda regarding the return of Eugene’s Medal of Honor to be discussed and voted on for approval at the district’s monthly meeting. In attendance at the school board meeting and speaking for approval were Marvin Smith, 11th Airborne, Ray Ramirez, 173rd Airborne Vietnam, Ricardo Lopez, Air Force and I, Alfred Lugo, Air Force. Mr. Galindo, El Rancho School District Superintendent was present and listened to our request.

    The item regarding the presenting Eugene A. Obregon’s Medal was unanimously passed by the school board. In response, Mr. Rivera and I have made arrangements for a Military Ceremony to be organized.

    All military and their families are welcomed to attend. The ceremony was held at the following location, October 10th:

    Pico Rivera City Hall

    6615 Passons Blvd.

    Pico Rivera, CA 90660

     

    The ceremony will begin at 7:00 P.M.

    Eugene Obregon and his Medal of Honor represents 43 other Distinguished Hispanic Medals of Honor Recipients.

    Obregon, Eugene Arnold Private First Class Marine Corps Company G

    3rd Battalion, 5th Marines

    1st Marine Division

    Second Battle of Seoul

    01950-09-26 September 26, 1950

     

    Remembering Juan Francisco Herrera 


    Born March 8, 1941 to Juanita Perez in Corpus Christi Texas. Attended Roy Miller High School in Corpus Christi Texas, awarded Football scholarship to Texas A&I Kingsville Texas under Football Coach Gilbert Steinke, major in Biology. He also attended the Army War College and UNC. He was inducted into the Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame in San Antonio.

    During his 33 year career in the U S Army, with 3 tours in Viet Nam as a helicopter pilot, numerous awards, commendations including the Distinguished Flying Cross. Flying military intelligence aircraft including fixed and rotary wing. Upon retiring as an Honorary Brigadier General, he taught English in Texas.

    He is preceded in death by his son John Frank Herrera. He is survived by his mother Juanita Perez Rea, wife Kathlen and her
    family, daughter Christina Horne and her family, one grandson Cullen, One brother Jose, sisters Teresa, Angela, Rose, Clotilde and many nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.

    Indeed Juan was a great Hispanic American soldier, loved and cherished by many.
    We accept everyone's condolences. On this day 10 th of October 2013, we lay him down to rest.
    We salute you.

    Written by Clotilde' Perez Rea Sofikitis 
    clotilderea@gmail.com  

    The Story of Israel's Airforce that Led to Independence in '47
     
    A STORY NOT KNOWN BY MANY
    The only four (4) airplanes Israel had when the War of Independence began in 1947 were smuggled from the Czech Republic. They were German "Messerschmidt-109's." They were assembled overnight in Tel Aviv and were never flight tested.
    This is a short & amazing video about their pilots. Contrary to popular perception (by the people who do not know history), the United States' assistance to Israel during the war of independence was quite different. Americans were not allowed to join the fight and an arms embargo had been established and was enforced by the FBI. ? At the same time, Arab armies were very well supplied by the same countries who maintained the arms embargo against Israel and of course had a great advantage in manpower & equipment. ?
    Here is the video: 

    Bill Carmena  JCarm1724@aol.com 
    Editor: Bill has a special interest in the Air Force.  He was a Navigator/Bombardier during his military service, and has a pilot license.

     

     
    Veterans History Project
    The Library of Congress, American Folklife Center
    Search Results for race:Hispanic . . . 829 total hits displayed in alphabetical order, first 12 listed 
    http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/search?query=race:Hispanic 
    Abrego, Salomon -- Private First Class, Army Veteran
    World War II, 1939-1945 - Normandy, France; Ardennes; Rhineland; Central Europe; Czechoslovakia; Germany
    Aceves, Frank Ibanez -- Electrician's Mate Second Class, Navy Veteran
    Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - United States Naval Training Center (USNTC), San Diego, Camp Pendleton, Coronado and Alameda, California; Midway Island; Vietnam
    Digitized content includes: video recording(s), photos View Digital Collection
    Acevedo, Joseph Walter -- Torpedoman's Mate Third Class, Navy Veteran
    World War II, 1939-1945 - San Diego Naval Training Station, California; New Guinea; Australia
    Digitized content includes: video recording(s), photos View Digital Collection
    Acosta, Paul E. -- Sergeant, Marine Corps Veteran
    Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Camp Pendleton, California; Vietnam
    Digitized content includes: video recording(s) View Digital Collection
    Aguilar, Jose Refugio -- Private First Class, Marine Corps Veteran
    Korean War, 1950-1953 - Camp Pendleton, California; Korea
    Digitized content includes: text transcription(s) View Digital Collection
    Aguilar, Peter S. -- Private First Class, Army Veteran
    Other - Fort Eustis, Virginia; Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
    Aguilar, Peter T. -- Staff Sergeant, Army Veteran
    Korean War, 1950-1953 - Camp Roberts, California; Japan; Kumwha, Korea; Punchbowl, Korea; Heartbreak Ridge, Korea; Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Rucker, Alabama
    Aguirre, Carlos -- Army, Army, Army Veteran
    World War II, 1939-1945, Korean War, 1950-1953, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Japan; Korea; Vietnam
    Aguirre, Reyner Aceves -- Seaman Second Class, Navy Veteran
    World War II, 1939-1945 - Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
    Digitized content includes View Digital Collection
    Alcon, Raymond Joseph -- Lance Corporal, Marine Corps Veteran
    Persian Gulf War, 1991 - Camp Pendleton, California
    Digitized content includes: text transcription(s) View Digital Collection
    Alegria, Roberto Antonio -- Sergeant, Marine Corps Veteran
    Persian Gulf War, 1991 - California; Texas; South Carolina; Okinawa, Japan; Philippines; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Iraq
    Alexander, Kenneth Raymond -- E-8, Army Veteran
    Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, 2001-present - Kuwait; Iraq; Afghanistan

    Sent by Bill Carmena  JCarm1724@aol.com 

     
    Library of Congress          http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-hispanic.html  Veterans History Project Home
    Hispanic American Veterans: Answering the Call (Experiencing War, Stories from the Veterans History Project, Library of Congress)
    Asked to serve their country in time of war, Hispanic Americans displayed loyalty, bravery, and persistence in the face of adversity. Some, especially those of the World War II generation, were familiar with discrimination back home but saw their service as affirming the ideals of democracy. From Charles Rodriguez, who fought with Merrill’s Marauders in WWII Burma, to Jose Mares, a teenager who survived incredible hardship as a POW during the Korean War, here are nine inspirational stories from the archives of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.
    Image: Sam DominguezSam Dominguez ARMY
    World War II

    Video Interview
    VHP Placeholder ImageJoe Dominguez
    NAVY
    World War II

    Video Interview
    VHP Placeholder ImagePatricino Gabaldon
    ARMY
    World War II

    Audio Interview, Handwritten Memoir
    Image: Jose MaresJose Mares
    ARMY
    Korea, Vietnam

    Video Interview, Photos, Cartoons, Memoirs, etc.

    VHP Placeholder ImageRadolfo Marquiz
    ARMY
    World War II, Korea

    Audio Interview
    Image: Alfonso PerezAlfonso Perez
    AIR FORCE
    World War II

    Video Interview, Photos
    VHP Placeholder ImageJuan J. Rocha
    AIR FORCE
    World War II

    Audio Interview
    Image: Charles RodriguezCharles Rodriguez
    ARMY
    World War II

    Audio Interview,
    Photos

    Image: Jose SolJose Sol
    ARMY AIR CORPS
    World War II

    Audio Interview, Photos
    More Stories...

    View Stories:

    Search the Veterans Database:

    View Previous Releases:

    1. Courage, Patriotism, Community
    2. Sweethearts, Buddies, Family Ties
    3. Life-Altering Moments, On a Mission,
      Hurry Up & Wait
    4. D-Day Anniversary
    5. Prisoners of War
    6. Voices of War (Companion Web site)
    7. Military Medicine
    8. War's End: VE- and VJ-Days
    9. Stories from the 2004 WWII Reunion on the Mall
    10. Forever a Soldier (Companion Web site)
    11. African-Americans at War: Fighting Two Battles
    12. Military Intel: the Inside Story
    13. The Art of War
    14. Women at War
    15. Asian Pacific Americans: Going for Broke
    16. World War I: The Great War

    Playing the audio and video files - Building the digital collection - Copyright and restrictions - Credits

    The Library of Congress Legal | External Link Disclaimer
    August 23, 2007
    Veterans History Project Home
    Contact Us

    Sent by Bill Carmena  JCarm1724@aol.com 

     

     
    CUENTO A BROWN SKINNED SAILOR by Erasmo Riojas 
     
    HOW SOON, I, personally forgot the discrimination that we as Latinos endured in the USA.
     
    As a matter of fact, that reminded me of when I reported to USNAS Anacostia D.C..  the "wheels" were trying to decide if I, as a BROWN SkINNED SAILOR belonged in the Black barracks or the white barracks.
     
    I ended up being compartment cleaner in the white barracks and slept and lived there with the white guys, NO PROBLEMO.
    No body hated or disliked me for being of Mexican descent.

    Erasmo "Doc" Riojas 
    http://www.sealtwo.org 
    docrio45@gmail.com

    Recommended sites by Erasmos:  

    Efforts Underway to Honor Eugene A. Valencia 
    Estimada Mimi,
    I hope that we can honor Navy Commnader Eugene A Valencia for his 23 ACE in WW II and in Korea.
    When I first learned that the Navy practiced in Pasco WA during WW II, I always include LT Valencia
    and his "Valencia Flying Circus" for his famed "Mowing Machine".
    John L. Scott Real Estate Agent Broker
    Thank you for sharing, Rafael Ojeda
    (253) 576-9547

     

    "photo images" in the last navy links for past to present images.

    http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2013/0913_hispanic-heritage/

     

     

    Soldiers behind a canon, which is hidden in the brush

    Hispanic Heritage in the U.S. Army

    MORE IMAGES

    Soldiers of 65th Infantry after an all day schedule of maneuvers at Salinas, Puerto Rico, August 1941, eating a meal. Anti-aircraft machine guns of Battery B, 51st Coast Artillery, on alert for planes on recent maneuvers near Punta Salinas, Puerto Rico, November 1941. Mr. Gonzalo Soanes, mayor of Caguas, explains how his town conducted blackouts to Lt. Col. F. Parra, Maj. Gen. Collins, and Lt. Gen. Andrews, Puerto Rico, November 1941.
    Hispanic Americans in the United States Army
    The U.S. Army recognizes the achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans. America’s diversity is a source of strength, and Hispanic Americans have not hesitated to defend and show their allegiance to this nation in many ways, but especially through their military service.

    Originally a week-long celebration approved by President Johnson, National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15– October 15) was enacted into law in 1988. The celebration heightens our attention to diversity and the many contributions Hispanics have made to enrich the United States.

    The observance commences on September 15 to coincide with the day several Latin American countries celebrate their Independence Day. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua celebrate their Independence Day on September 15, Mexico on September 16 (not on May 5 or “Cinco de Mayo”), and Chile on September 18. Columbus Day, “Día de la Raza”, is also celebrated during Hispanic Heritage Month.

    For years, the Army has forged relationships with Hispanic associations, and will continue to support and sponsor professional development forums. Through these relationships, the Army further increases awareness among key Hispanic audiences of the educational and career opportunities available in the Army.



    Sent by Bill Carmena  JCarm1724@aol.com 

     

     

    New NPRC Logo

     

    New Effort In Support of Congressional Gold Medal for Hispanic Heroes of the 65th Infantry - The Borinqueneers

     

    Washington DC - The National Puerto Rican Coalition (NPRC) is initiating a social and digital media campaign to enhance efforts to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the only Hispanic-segregated, active-duty military unit in U.S. history. Approximately 20,000 soldiers, a majority from Puerto Rico, served in World Wars I and II and in Korea, distinguishing themselves as true American war heroes and known as the 65th Infantry Division-The Borinqueneers. The Borinqueneer Congressional Gold Medal Alliance is a national, non-partisan, all-volunteer organization that, along with other major veterans' and Hispanic organizations like NPRC, has launched a campaign to recognize the sacrifices and dedicated service of the Borinqueneers. The overall goal is to build support among Members of Congress and increase the number of co-sponsors for The Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Act, H.R 1726 and S.1174.
    "Our organization with the assistance of National Media Inc. will apply 21st century social media technology to educate, engage, and secure more bill support from all Members of Congress. NPRC's tweeter account @NPRCAdvocacy will deliver messages weekly to Members of Congress, Capitol Hill staffers, community advocates, and media outlets," said Rafael Fantauzzi President & CEO of NPRC. "As we celebrate yet another Hispanic Heritage Month, we must remind Congress that Hispanics have defended freedom and fought in every war since the Revolutionary war. We are and will continue to be founders of America."
    The Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed by the U. S. Congress, has been awarded to other minority veterans who served in segregated military units, including the Native American Navajo Wind Talkers, the Japanese American Nisei Soldiers, and the African American Tuskegee Airmen.
    "For their dedicated service in Korea alone, the Borinqueneers received 10 Distinguished Service crosses, 256 Silver Stars, 606 Bronze Stars, and 2,771 Purple Hearts. These brave soldiers overcame the hurdles of segregation and prejudice while protecting our nation's interests and impacting American history and culture," continued Fantauzzi. "In 1951 General Douglas MacArthur praised the loyalty, valor, and courage of these Hispanic and diverse group of heroes, now it's time for Congress to validate those words and our community by bestowing them the Congressional Gold Medal."
    For more information: www.nprcinc.org/borinqueneers AND www.65thCGM.org.

     

    ABOUT NPRC
    The National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. (NPRC) is the premier non-profit non-partisan Hispanic organization representing the voice of the Puerto Rican community. NPRC is committed to enhancing the social and economic well-being of Puerto Ricans through policy development, research, advocacy, civic engagement, and education.

    www.nprcinc.org
    National Puerto Rican Coalition
    1444 I Street, N.W.
    Washington, District of Columbia 20005

    Sent by Rafael Ojeda rsnojeda@aol.com 


    EARLY LATINO AMERICAN PATRIOTS

    November 16, 2013: The 200th Anniversary of the “Battle of Medina
    Granaderos Out And About
    Granaderos National Meeting Held in Houston, Texas
    50th Anniversary San Diego's Cabrillo Festival
    Yo Solo, Bernardo de Galvaz on Stage of the American Revolution
    Los Españoles olvidados de la Isla de Guam 
     

     

    November 16, 2013    

    The 200th Anniversary of the “Battle of Medina

    The Battle of Medina Historical Society and the Southside Independent School District 
    presents this Historic and Educational Event. 

    The biggest and bloodiest battle ever fought on Texas soil. This battle was fought between the Spanish forces of General Juaquin de Arredondo and the Republican Army of the North led by Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara who founded the first constitutional government of Texas on April 6, 1813. Over a thousand Tejanos would fight and die in the battle of Medina. So disastrous was this battle that one third of the Tejano population would be dead, one third would flee to Louisiana and the remaining third would live in terror. So determined were our ancestors to achieve victory that they preferred to die on their feet than live on their knees and it was a fight to the last man.

    The reenactment will take place on the football field of Losoya High School 1460 Martinez-Losoya Road during the schools annual “Cardinal Days.” Reenactors should arrive at 10 AM on Saturday November 16, 2013 for rehearsal. All wishing to participate, including women and children must dress in period attire eg; Tejano, Indigenous, Spanish soldier or colonial frontiersman.

    Schedule of events

    • 10-11 AM Parade Line-up
    • 11:15 AM Parade begins
    • 12 PM Battle Reenactment begins
    • 12:30 Fest begins

    Dan Arellano President
    Battle of Medina Historical Society
    512-826-7569

     

     

    The Order of Granaderos y Damas de Gálvez – Founding Chapter
    OCTOBER 2013   
    w w w . g r a n a d e r o s . o r g    SAN ANTONIO, TX

    Granaderos Out And About

    Brook Hollow Library – Saturday, September 7

     


    Jesse & Miaoyin playing a tune.


                            Henry with bayonet charging.
    Joe Perez, Henry Alvarado, Michael Rojas, Jesse Benavides and Miaoyin Rojas marched through the Brook Hollow Library and into its conference room to give a living history presentation on Saturday, September 7th.

     Joe presented information about Gálvez’ Gulf Coast Campaign, Henry presented information on the weapons and Michael presented information on the Navarre Regiment uniform. Jesse and Miaoyin impressed the audience by playing Yankee Doodle and Jesse gave great information on the Colonial Drummer. Thanks go out to Fifer Debye Nicholl for arranging the event.  

    Visitors at the display table.

    Institute of Texan Cultures  
    Sunday, September 15

    Henry Alvarado and Joe Perez donned the uniform for Pioneer Sunday at the Institute of Texan Cultures where they staffed a living history table and spoke with several visitors to the institute that day. They joined the group Texas Time Travelers with their living history tables.

    Alamo Hall – DRT - Wednesday, September 25

    Governor Joe Perez gave a presentation at the Alamo on General Gálvez and Spain’s involvement in the American Revolution to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Alamo Couriers Chapter. At right is a picture of Joe standing with Vice President Linda Barfield (L) and President Martha Flietas (R). His presentation was very well received by the ladies of the Alamo Couriers Chapter who were a very gracious audience. Of course, Joe included information about the Texas Connection to the American Revolution.

    Sent by Joe Perez
    Governor, San Antonio Chapter
    Order of Granaderos y Damas de Galvez jperez329@satx.rr.com 
    www.granaderos.org 
    www.Facebook.com/GranaderosDeGalvez

     

    Granaderos National Meeting Held in Houston, Texas, 

    October 11 & 12, 2013

    Friday night welcome reception.  An important first step, this will be held in the garden atrium of the La Quinta Hotel at 7:30 PM.  The Houston Chapter will provide a variety of Spanish tapas including  jamon serrano, queso manchego, tortilla española, albondigas, and other savory delights.  Plus frozen Bellini and "killer" Sangria.  

    Saturday morning registration.  The National Meeting will begin with coffee and registration at the Bayou Bend Museum Educational Center, the renowned Houston "house" museum of American decorative arts from the 17th to the early 20th centuries.  The Gardens at Bayou Bend are on eight choice acres of River Oaks… "Que maravilla!  

    The meeting will be held at the state-of-the-art educational center, which houses an exceptional library and a gift shop loaded with tempting treasures.  Lunch will consist of a special tomato caprese salad, meat lasagna, vegetarian lasagna, and a variety of delicious sweets.  Our speakers’ session will be featured at the center.  

    The Clayton Library and “Cuban Papers.”  At 3:00PM we will tour the Clayton Library, one of the foremost genealogical libraries in existence.  It has documents and records pertaining to Texas and "Spanish" Louisiana.  Of particular note is the microfilm archive of Spanish historical documents known as the "Cuban Papers".  These cover much of the early history of the Spanish colonial period in North America during the American Revolution.   The papers resided in La Havana for over a century before finding their way to the Spanish archives in Seville.  

    The Briarhurst Garden.  Finally, at 7:00 PM, we will congregate at the beautiful Briarhurst Garden courtyard for a closing reception hosted by Mari Carmen Palle and Melanie Sarian.  It will feature homemade Spanish paella, a variety of entrees, and rivers of Bellini, sangria and Spanish wines.  La Madrileña Mari Carmen, who has delighted the Houston Chapter with her famous paella, will fire up her one-meter wide casarola for this special occasion. 

    Granaderos y Damas de Galvez of the San Antonio Chapter,

    I am forwarding information on the Annual National Meeting which is sponsored by the Houston Chapter this year. They have done a great job of making the meeting arrangements including dining, presentations and museum tours, all included in the price. Let's support our fellow Granaderos y Damas de Galvez of the Houston Chapter and have a good representation from San Antonio. This is an opportunity for us to have a good time with our fellow members from other chapters. I've already sent in a registration for myself, my wife and my daughter. We're going to have a good time. Come join us in the fun.

    Joe Perez
    Governor, San Antonio Chapter
    Order of Granaderos y Damas de Galvez


     

     

    50th Anniversary

    San Diego’s Cabrillo Festival

    Was Held September 28 & 29, 2013

     

    On June 27, 1542, Cabrillo set sail from Navidad on Mexico’s west coast with three vessels: San Salvador, La Victoria and San Miguel in search of gold and a route to the Orient and the Spice Islands. Sailing northwest into uncharted waters, they explored the west coast of Baja California. On September 17th they anchored at San Mateo, known today as Todos Santos Bay, Ensenada. A few days later they departed. Sailing north they landed on September 28th at "an enclosed harbor which was very good." Cabrillo named it San Miguel. We know it today as San Diego. Cabrillo and his men remained for six days, trading with the native Kumeyaay people living around the bay, exploring and taking on supplies and fresh water. On October 3rd they departed, continuing their voyage northward along the coast of Alta California. Although Cabrillo died of an injury before completing his journey, he is one of the most recognized figures of the Age of Exploration.

    Recibido de la Casda de Espana en San Diego
    Saludos, Mª Ángeles Olson 
    spainhcsd@cox.net
     

    On Sunday September 29, from 11:00AM to 4:00PM, Cabrillo Festival will celebrating the re-enacting of Cabrillo’s landing with music, dancing, and food from various countries; Native Americans, Mexico, Portugal and Spain. The event will be at Ballast Point Naval Base Point Loma. This is a free event.

    For more information, write Cabrillo Festival, Inc. P.O. Box 60718 San Diego, CA 92166-0718 or check us out on our web site.
    www.cabrillofestival.org
     

     

     
    Yo Solo, Bernardo de Galvaz on Stage of the American Revolution
    Thanks Joe for sending over the latest issue of your newsletter. I invite you and others to video another great presentation titled Yo Solo, Bernardo de Galvaz on Stage of the American Revolution. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoLcU-Nr_lU Enjoy.

    Michael N. Henderson, LCDR USN Ret
    Author, Got Proof! My Genealogical Journey Through the Use of Documentation

     

      “Los Españoles olvidados de la Isla de Guam”  

    Estimados todos,

    Acompaño la Intervención radiofónica en la emisora Es.Radio de Libertad Digital, de hoy domingo 29 de septiembre de 2013, en el programa “Sin Complejos”, dentro de la sección titulada “Españoles Olvidados”, en esta ocasión dedicado a “Los españoles olvidados de Guam” que solos, sin recursos y abandonados en medio del Pacífico desconocían el hecho de la guerra hispano norteamericana. El objetivo de todos estos artículos e intervenciones no es otro que hacer presente y actual nuestra memoria histórica en la idea de abonar el camino para recuperar la verdad histórica y cohesionar España.

    Fonoteca de Es.Radio: José Antonio Crespo nos habla de los españoles olvidados de Guajam o Guam, la isla del Pacífico hoy perteneciente a los EEUU de América.

    http://esradio.libertaddigital.com/fonoteca/2013-09-29/espanoles-olvidados-los-olvidados-de-guam-64316.html

    SECCIÓN ESPAÑOLES OLVIDADOS
    http://fonoteca.esradio.fm/c.php?op=resultados&id_seccion=119

    · En la publicación digital www.elespiadigital en la sección Informes publica el 15 de septiembre de 2013 el trabajo dedicado a los últimos defensores de la isla de Guam, olvidada en el Pacífico bajo el título “Los olvidados de la isla de Guam”.

    En este sencillo trabajo se saca a la luz otra tierra de españoles olvidados sembrada de topónimos hispanos, donde muchos dejaron su vida desde la exploración al asentamiento y poblamiento hasta su defensa final.

    http://www.elespiadigital.com/index.php/informes/2993-los-olvidados-de-guam
    Sent by José Antonio Crespo
    <rio_grande@telefonica.net


    BOOKS


    River of Hope: Forging Identity and Nation in the Rio Grande Borderlands, 
         by Omar S. Valerio-Jiménez 
    Brownsville by Oscar Casares
    The First Texas Independence, 1813, The Unlikely Tejano, José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara
         by José Antonio López
    Domestic Negotiations: Gender, Nation, & Self-Fashioning in US Mexicana & Chicana Literature & Art by Marci McMahon
     

    River of Hope: Forging Identity and Nation in the Rio Grande Borderlands

    Omar S. Valerio-Jiménez

    In River of Hope, Omar S. Valerio-Jiménez examines state formation, cultural change, and the construction of identity in the lower Rio Grande region during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He chronicles a history of violence resulting from multiple conquests, of resistance and accommodation to state power, and of changing ethnic and political identities. The redrawing of borders neither began nor ended the region's long history of unequal power relations. Nor did it lead residents to adopt singular colonial or national identities. Instead, their regionalism, transnational cultural practices, and kinship ties subverted state attempts to control and divide the population.

    Diverse influences transformed the borderlands as Spain, Mexico, and the United States competed for control of the region. Indian slaves joined Spanish society; Mexicans allied with Indians to defend river communities; Anglo Americans and Mexicans intermarried and collaborated; and women sued to confront spousal abuse and to secure divorces. Drawn into multiple conflicts along the border, Mexican nationals and Mexican Texans (tejanos) took advantage of their transnational social relations and ambiguous citizenship to escape criminal prosecution, secure political refuge, and obtain economic opportunities. To confront the racialization of their cultural practices and their increasing criminalization, tejanos claimed citizenship rights within the United States and, in the process, created a new identity.

    Published in cooperation with the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University.

    Endorsements  

    • "A sweeping, path-breaking achievement, River of Hope will stand as a benchmark study of the borderlands for decades to come. It is a compelling political and social history of identity formations, community building, and overlapping conquests from the earliest Spanish colonial settlements to nineteenth-century Euro-American towns. Omar S. Valerio-Jiménez interrogates how the people who called las villas del norte home created meaning in their lives against a backdrop of state formation, disenfranchisement, and violence."—Vicki L. Ruiz, author of From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America

    "River of Hope tells the complex story of how Spanish colonists settled Texas-Tamaulipas, how they became neglected Mexican citizens, and, ultimately, how they were transformed into unwanted American citizens as subjects of the United States. In this rich and nuanced work, Omar Valerio-Jiménez illuminates the struggles over land, identity, and love as native nations, Spain, Mexico, and the United States competed for this terrain."—Ramón A. Gutiérrez, coeditor of Mexicans in California: Transformations and Challenges

    "River of Hope not only documents the history of the Rio Grande area in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries but also provides a model for integrating the concerns of Chicana/o studies scholars, historians of the U.S. West, scholars of gender and ethnicity, theorists of state formation, and political scientists who study 'everyday forms of resistance.' An extraordinary contribution, the book opens up a wide-ranging discussion about the interplay between local and national discourses, particularly in places located on the peripheries of power and at times of rapid social, cultural, legal, and political change. This is genuinely original scholarship."—Susan Lee Johnson, author of Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush

    "River of Hope tells the complex story of how Spanish colonists settled Texas-Tamaulipas, how they became neglected Mexican citizens, and ultimately, how they were transformed into unwanted American citizens as subjects of the United States. In this rich and nuanced work, Omar S. Valerio-Jiménez illuminates the struggles over land, identity, and love as native nations, Spain, Mexico, and the United States competed for this terrain."—Ramón A. Gutiérrez, coeditor of Mexicans in California: Transformations and Challenges  

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Omar-S.-Valerio-Jiménez/e/B009WU5CWU/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0Omar Valerio-Jiménez was born in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and grew up in Taft, Corpus Christi, and Edinburg, Texas. After graduating from MIT, he worked as an engineer for five years before returning to graduate school at UCLA, where he obtained his master's and doctorate degrees in history. He has taught at universities in California, New York, Texas, and Iowa. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the History Department at the University of Iowa.

    His first book, River of Hope: Forging Identity and Nation in the Rio Grande Borderlands (Duke University Press, January 2013), combines his research interests in the histories of Chicana/os, the American West, and borderlands. The book explores state formation and cultural change along the Mexico-United States border during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It traces changes in ethnicity, citizenship, and gender relations among borderland residents as jurisdiction over the area passed from native peoples to Spain, Mexico, and finally the United States.

    Published: 2013  Pages: 384 
    Illustrations: 19 photos, 10 tables, 3 maps 
    Paperback: $26.95 - In Stock   978-0-8223-5185-6   Cloth: $99.95 - In Stock   978-0-8223-5171-9 
    Sent by Roberto Calderon, Ph.D. beto@unt.edu

     

     

                                  Oscar Casares

    In this book of well-written short stories by Brownsville native Oscar Casares, there is a not a curandero to be seen, or 13 mysticl senses.  There are a number of men with anger management problems and one or two prostitutes, not no witches of old women whave have conversations with God - - just an array of hard-working mexicanos, mostly male, who are living out their ordinary lives in Brownsville.   

    Seattle Times

    "Although the stories in Brownsville aren't linked by shared characters, they all so vividly evoke Casares's hometown that they seem to suggest a single narrative, similar in vein to James Joyce's Dubliners. Read Brownsville—and you've been to Brownsville."

    New York Times Book Review
    "In Oscar Casares's Brownsville, everyone is so close, tucked up snug against the Rio Grande, that people's quarrels irresistibly spill into on another's lives, like the Mexican soap operas that beam into their TV sets.... With a quiet mastery of the smallest detail, Casares puts on neighborly terms with the locals."

    Chicago Tribune
    "Oscar Casares's fine first collection of short stories creates a lively and memorable community of Mexican-Americans living on the Texas border. What he has achieved is rare: a kind of choral view of a culture that is at the same time remarkable for the individuality of the people portrayed and the variety of the stories."

    Entertainment Weekly
    "Brownsville is a slim but just about perfect debut story collection by Brownsville, Texas, wonder boy Oscar Casares. His characters are border-town castaways with one foot in Texas and the other in Mexico. Their stories, likewise, are Tex-Mex dramedies, sad and yet very funny.... Terrific."

    Miami Herald
    "Casares brings his hometown to dusty life with humor and compassion."

    Publishers Weekly
    "A fine debut collection....With skill and economy, Casares evokes the easygoing, plainspoken, yet slightly stagy voice of the guy on the neighboring bar stool—or nearby cubicle—describing his weekend....Probing underneath the surface of Tex-Mex culture, Casares's stories, with their wisecracking, temperamental, obsessive middle-aged men and their dramas straight from the neighborhood gossip, are in the direct line of descent from Mark Twain and Ring Lardner."

    Minneapolis Star Tribune
    "In Brownsville, a book that continues in the tradition of such great place-novels as Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, Casares keeps it simple. There is a gentleness in these stories—even stories about bullying and bullied men—that is hard to resist."

    Dallas Morning News
    "This is the real thing, the real life of south Texas mexicanos, without the mumbo jumbo."

    Washington Post
    "Marvelous....Brownsville has more to do with class than nationality, resembling early Steinbeck work more than anything else: Casares deals with work and its dignity, poverty and its challenges, the narrowness of human existence under constant assault by ingenious women and men."

    Back Bay Books, $13.95 paperback

     

    The First Texas Independence, 1813
    Unlikely Tejano, José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara

    By José Antonio López

     

    [The  

    Summarizes the life and triumphs of José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara Uribe, the first President of Texas.

    SAN ANTONIO, September 29 - Ask Tejano history aficionados about Lt. Colonel José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara, and they’ll quickly tell you that he is a most respected Tejano hero.

    However, many of them may be surprised to learn that he was not a Tejano. In reality, he was a “Neo Santanderense,” who was born, raised, and lived in the Province of Nuevo Santander. (Up until 1848, the Lower Rio Grande was entirely in Nuevo Santander (renamed Tamaulipas), since the Texas southern border was the Nueces River, not the Rio Grande.)

    So, how did Don José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara Uribe earn his place in Tejano history as the leader of the First Texas Revolution (1813)? The answer has two parts (see below). Part I follows the trail back to the planting of the earliest Spanish European roots of Texas. Then, Part II follows Don Bernardo’s fascinating career.

     

    Part I. In the early 1500s, the region known as Tejas (Texas) was familiar to Spanish government officials. Still, its exploration was an unhurried undertaking. Thriving communities were already slowly spreading west, north, and east from Mexico City. So, as regards far-off Texas, the Spanish were not about to over-extend their supply lines until they could do it effectively. Hence, it was not a matter of if, but when Tejas would be settled.

    In 1519, Captain Álvarez de Piñeda sailed by the Texas coast. Adhering to the Spanish reputation for good record keeping, he was the first to sketch the Texas coastline. In 1528, Cabeza de Vaca and three shipmates were washed ashore the upper Texas coast as a result of a devastating shipwreck. After their rescue, Cabeza de Vaca published a detailed account of their eight-year long experience. Very soon after, the Spanish made additional plans to explore Texas, but did not implement them. Reports from shipwreck survivors and Coronado’s and De Soto’s simultaneous travels from New Mexico and Florida increased interest in Texas.

    In 1691, Domingo Terán de los Rios became the first Texas governor, giving birth to Texas. In 1700, the San Juan Bautista Presidio and several missions were built along the strategic location near today’s Eagle Pass, Texas. Situated just south of the Rio Grande, the presidio became the “Gateway to Texas.” No European could enter Texas without first checking in at the presidio. By this time, the Spanish were concerned of encroachment on its lands by French agents looking to establish a foothold in the Mississippi River area of the Gulf of Mexico. As such, Spain decided to aggressively settle Texas to establish a defensive position. It was then that the first Spanish Mexican civilians came to Texas.

    It must be noted that volunteer pioneers who initially came to Texas, became its first citizens. Members of a rare breed of Spaniards, they were a hardy, independent people of faith and will. From 1718 – 1755, they sowed the first seeds of European-style civilization deep in the heart of Texas – San Antonio, Nacogdoches, La Bahia (Goliad), and the Villas del Norte along the Lower Rio Grande. (Although the Villas were in Nuevo Santander, not Texas, they were considered vital to the Texas homeland defense system against French and other intruders.)

    Part II. Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara and his colleagues were the products of a unique Las Villas del Norte “live and let live” frontline mindset. Each man was expected to follow a dual-track of responsibilities - sustaining the family and military duties. In times of crisis along the Lower Rio Grande, there were no soldiers to rely on. If they didn’t defend themselves, no one was going to do it for them. By their very independence nature, the Villas functioned as a vanguard position with its lightning-strike force of citizen soldiers (Compañía Volante).

    It wasn’t long before the chasm between New Spain aristocrats (peninsulares) and the rest of Mexico’s population (criollos, mestizos, and peasants) widened. Inequality was the rule, not the exception. Soon, as far as the lower social classes were concerned, unjust Spanish colonial policies were as problematic as French threats. The point of no return came on September 16, 1810, when Father Miguel Hidalgo issued his famous “Grito” taking freedom to the next level of equality for all, especially Mexico’s poor. Following is Don Bernardo’s brilliant military career:

    1811: Commissioned a Lt Colonel in Mexican Revolutionary Army; Chief General, Army of the North (First Texas Army); First Ambassador to the U.S.

    1812-1813: Commanded his troops in five successful battles: Nacogdoches, La Bahia, Rosillo, Bexar, and Alazán.

    April 1-2, 1813: As Texas’ First President; occupied Spanish Governor’s Mansion; took possession of The Alamo Presidio; On April 6, 1813, wrote and issued first Texas Declaration of Independence; On April 17, 1813, issued first Texas Constitution.

    1815: Led Tejano troops in Battle of New Orleans; 1820, Vice-President of Second Texas Republic under Gen. Long.

    1824: First Governor of Tamaulipas; Colonel of the Cavalry of Tamaulipas Colonel of the Active Militia of Tamaulipas; Commandant General of Tamaulipas. Commandant General (CEO) of the Eastern Interior States (Texas, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Nuevo Leon).

    Sadly, in 1825 Don Bernardo was forced to medically retire to his Revilla home. He had lost all his wealth and his request for a pension was denied. Showing no bitterness, he never blamed anyone for his loss. He lived his life to the fullest doing what he loved best: serving others. He died in Villa de Santiago, Nuevo Leon, in 1841.

    To learn more of our hero, please purchase my new bi-lingual Book, “The First Texas Independence, 1813,” which contains a short biography of Don Bernardo. It may be ordered through your local bookstore’s order desk or at these online bookstores: Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and Xlibris.com (by phone at 1-888-795-4274 ext. 7879).

    José Antonio (Joe) López was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and is a USAF Veteran. He now lives in Universal City, Texas. He is the author of three previous books: “The Last Knight (Don Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara Uribe, A Texas Hero),”; “Nights of Wailing, Days of Pain (Life in 1920s South Texas)”, and “The First Texas Independence, 1813”. Lopez is also the founder of the Tejano Learning Center, LLC, and www.tejanosunidos.org, a Web site dedicated to Spanish Mexican people and events in U.S. history that are mostly overlooked in mainstream history books.

    Published: 2013 
    Pages: 384 
    Illustrations: 19 photos, 10 tables, 3 maps 

    Paperback: $26.95 - In Stock 
    978-0-8223-5185-6 
    Cloth: $99.95 - In Stock 
    978-0-8223-5171-9 
    Sent by Roberto Calderon, Ph.D. beto@unt.edu

    Sent by Juan Marinez
    Contact Joe Lopez jlopez8182@satx.rr.com


     

    Domestic Negotiations:
    Gender, Nation, and Self-Fashioning in US Mexicana and Chicana Literature and Art by Marci McMahon

    Beto and all, Wanted to call your attention to a new book by our Tejas Mexican American Studies colega Marci McMahon, Domestic Negotiations: Gender, Nation, and Self-Fashioning in US Mexicana and Chicana Literature and Art (Rutgers, 2013). Note that director and actor Diane Rodriguez is the subject of Chapter 6! Please help me spread the word 


    Here are some links to the book:  

    http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/product/Domestic-Negotiations,4772.aspx  
    https://www.facebook.com/domesticnegotiationschicana  

    http://www.amazon.com/Domestic-Negotiations-Self-Fashioning-Literature
    -Transnational/dp/0813560942/ref=zg_bsnr_3048881_20
     

     

    Dr. Sonia Hernandez 
    Associate Professor of History 
    956-665-2323 (office) www.utpa.edu/history 
    Department of History & Philosophy 
    Co-Director, CHAPS www.utpa.edu/chaps 
    Mexican American Studies www.utpa.edu/mas 
    University of Texas-Pan American 

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

    EDUCATION

    Roxanne Ocampo, A Wise Latina by Mercy Bautista-Olvera
    Less educated Hispanic population presents both a promise and a challenge
    Cuento: My Father, the Miracle Maker by Esther Bonilla Read
    Why Your Mind is a Hurt Locker
    Ivan Enrique Espinosa Takes First Place in Texas A&M University
    Mandarin Returns Home -- SAT Scores Climb for Asian Americans
    Second Feria Educativa was held at the 2013 7th Annual "Festival Cardenas" 
     

    Roxanne Ocampo

     A Wise Latina

    By Mercy Bautista-Olvera

    Author of “Flight of the Quetzal Mama: 
    How to Raise Latino Superstars and Get them into the Best Colleges.” 

    Author Roxanne Ocampo – aka “Quetzal Mama” is a College Admissions Coach; her practice focuses exclusively on Latino students.

    Roxanne Ocampo was born and raised in San Jose, California in the Bay Area. She is married to Dr. Arturo E. Ocampo, a Civil Rights and Education Law Attorney. Together they have raised three children following the 10 Quetzal Mama Principles.

    Ocampo earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in English from California State University East Bay. 

    She strategized her own children’s pathway to Harvard and the University of Southern California. Roxanne Ocampo “Quetzal Mama” shares her strategies in her book, “Flight of the Quetzal Mama: How to Raise Latino Superstars and Get them into the Best Colleges.”

    Ocampo’s book was written for Latino parents, her advice for parents is not to look to understand why their children should go to college, but rather on how to get them there. Her writing comes from working directly with Latino students including traditional, non-traditional, first-generation, migrant, as well as undocumented students. It includes culturally authentic language and examples, recognizable colloquialisms, personal, and relatable stories. She addresses specific needs and challenges.

    Dolores Huerta, the Dolores Huerta Foundation President, stated “Quetzal Mama is empowering Latino students and parents to break down the barriers to their college success.”     

    "Impressive, well written, and straightforward. Quetzal Mama cuts to the chase. She doesn’t just tell you why your Latino children should go to college. She shows you how to get them there. ¡Apúrate! Get this book!” stated Fred M. Tovar, Director of Students Affairs, and Assistant Director of Admissions Stanford University School of Medicine.

    She travels throughout California conducting student and parent workshops regarding college admissions, and competitive scholarships. The students from her practice have earned national scholarship awards and admission to prestigious universities including the Ivy Leagues.

    She is a contributing author for “Joaquin” magazine. She is partnered with Project Ivy League USA, and at the 25th Annual Latino Leadership Network Conference in Long Beach, California.  

    She conducts workshops throughout California for middle school and high school students. The students from her practice have earned national scholarship award and admission to the most prestigious universities.

    Her book provides resources, tips, strategies, and practical wisdom. The content appeals to Latino students as each chapter includes culturally-authentic language and examples, recognizable colloquialisms, personal and relatable stories, and addresses our specific needs and challenges.

    This book will empower Latino parents so their children can achieve academic excellence, become the leaders they were intended to be, and make a valuable contribution to the country.

     

     

    Less educated Hispanic population presents both a promise and a challenge  

    By Juan Castillo

     

    Everyone talks about the Latino population boom in the Austin region, but did you know that Hispanic residents will become the largest portion of the Central Texas workforce sometime in the near future?

    What’s not clear is whether they will be driving the region’s economy or will be left behind, my colleague Dan Zehr writes in Sunday’s American-Statesman. That’s because the fast-growing Latino  population tends to be less educated as a whole, and skill levels required for meaningful, well-paying jobs keep rising.

    Zehr and I teamed up for an in-depth look at what some describe as an intersection between worrisome trends and encouraging opportunities.

    Latino higher education gaps are closing, thanks in part to the work of scholars and community, business and education leaders who have sought for more than a decade to better understand the wide range of factors that can influence educational outcomes for Latinos.

    One of the strategies they’ve employed is mentoring projects like the one at the University of Texas’ Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success).  There, students like Jacob Campos, a second-year biology pre-med major at UT, mentor younger students like Justin Mello, a junior at Austin’s Travis High.

    Though he was a top student at his Amarillo high school, Campos didn’t know who to turn to when it came time to apply for college and financial aid. He got help from a college talent search program targeting Latino students, and he won scholarships. Now Campos is giving back through his work at Project MALES.

    With his smallish frame and uber youthful looks, Campos, 19, seems perfect for the movie role of the high school undercover cop. The students he counsels are not much younger than him, and to get in their heads, Campos must do a delicate dance between nurturing trusting relationships and offering advice some might not want to hear.

    In 2012, Campos told Mello that he would need to lift his grades if he wanted to achieve his dream of going to UT. Campos thought Mello at first did not appreciate the advice.

    But mentoring is important and rewarding, Campos said. Mello picked up his grades and he credits Campos for his advice to keep a schoolwork to-do list, “to keep track of all the important stuff.”

    Mello, 16, said a good mentor is one who leads by example. “Jacob’s helped me,” he said.

    Zehr and I interviewed more than two dozen people for our stories, including researchers, mentors and education advocates who said Latino students can succumb to a culture of low expectations fed by various factors, including an unequal education and an educational system that treats Latinos differently, and textbooks which ignore their history, contributions and role models.

    Wanda Garcia, daughter of the late Mexican American civil rights icon Hector P. Garcia, said her parents drilled the expectation of a college education for their children. At home she could look across the dinner table and see the face of a civil rights warrior, but in the classroom, her textbooks did not hold up a mirror to Latino contributions.

    “There was no history for me to look at, to take pride in my culture,” Wanda Garcia said. “Mexican-Americans fought and died at the Alamo, but when you go to school, do you hear about them?”

    Garcia, who graduated from UT with degrees in zoology and chemistry, said that in being left out of textbooks and the historical record of Texas, Mexican Americans do not have a cultural identity.

    “Nor do we know our history,” she said. “When we don’t know our history, that takes away pride in our culture. I know I was called “dirty Mexican.” I was told I was stupid. Other kids had to go through this.”

    In recent years, Latino leaders have criticized state Board of Education decisions blocking efforts to include more Latino figures in textbooks, charging Republican board members with trying to rewrite history.

    “We have to make education more relevant, more factual,” said Jim Estrada, an Austin consultant and author who is on the board of the American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education. “We’re surrounded by cities like San Antonio, Laredo and all these names of rivers and states and people, yet we don’t know what’s occurring with our culture and our contributions.”

    Sent by Wanda Garcia 
    wanda.garcia@sbcglobal.net
     

     

     

     

    CUENTO: 

    My Father, the Miracle Maker
    by Esther Bonilla Read

    My father, an immigrant from Mexico, began working in Calvert, a small  town in Central Texas for a gentleman Monroe Miller sometime in the 1920s. He and my mother, also an immigrant from Mexico, married in 1927 and began a family.
    In those years schools were separate institutions for the various ethnic groups, Hispanics, the Blacks and the Anglos. Central Texas, where my parents settled, was no different from the other parts of the state: separate schools.
    My father was a hard-working, reliable, and trustworthy individual. In other words, his employer respected him and didn’t want to lose him. In 1935 my oldest brothers were eligible to begin public school. The problem was that their school, or the school assigned to Latinos was out of town and was a one room schoolhouse. The school for the Anglos was a two story building with a basement and it was located in town. The Blacks attended a school in their respective neighborhood.
    If my father drove his boys out to the one room country schoolhouse, he would be late for work. So he told his boss about the problem. His employer, an important citizen in our small hometown, spoke to the school board and the problem was solved. The town school would accept Latinos in their school. In other towns and states the schools remained segregated.
    Several years later when I was five years old and had to watch all my brothers and sister walk to a wonderful place called school, I asked my father why I couldn’t go. My father inquired about his five year old daughter attending first grade and it was approved. My first day of school was one of the happiest days of my life.
    Years after we had grown up, and married, I returned to our hometown to attend a reunion where I found out something else my father had done. A friend Jimmy Montelongo told me an interesting story.
    He said, “When I graduated from high school I was at loose ends. I walked from my home to the downtown area and back home. Your dad Ruben Bonilla stopped me as I passed his Texaco Service Station. He always asked, ‘Why aren’t you going to college?’”
    “I answered something politely, of course, but I didn’t even know how one even went to college. He kept on urging me and every time I walked by his place he always said, ‘Go to college. You are a smart boy. Look into it.’
    “I never looked into going to college, but after I married and my children began growing up I thought about what your dad had said. It wouldn’t leave my mind. So I sent the first child to college…and then the second one until all five went to college. At one time I worked four jobs, but my children went to college, and it was all because of your dad’s advice.”
    And so my father, the Miracle Maker, made a big difference in our educational lives, and in the lives of others Latinos. He did his job well.
    I saw the Latino stories last night, the stories dealing with the schools in LA. I thought about my education-small town but Great English teacher-just one English teacher. Typical small town approach.
    She made us learn 200 lines of poetry, some of which I can still recite. We read Shakespeare and the literature in the anthologies requred of High School students.
    We didn't have city type things like choir, drama, music etc., but a very good basic ed. I am so thankful.
    Esther Bonilla

     

     
    Why Your Mind is a Hurt Locker by Sean Brenner
    IS HEARTBREAK more than just a metaphor? Absolutely says UCLA professor of psychology Matthew Lieberman, whose research shows that as far as our brains are concerned, social rejection is just like physical pain. In his new book, Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to connect, Lieberman explains that the human brain is hardwired to seek interaction with other people, and that those connections are at least as important to human survival as food, water and shelter.

    Lieberman uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to analyze people's brain activity as they react to social scenarios. In one experiment, subjects lay down inside and machine while wearing electronic goggles that enable them to play a virtual game of catch with two other people (actually just avatars program into the game). At first the players shared the ball equally, but after a few minutes the virtual players toss the ball only between themselves, excluding the real person. Research subjects felt slighted, but their brain scans revealed something else.

    "When you're rejected, the parts of the brain that register physical pain are more active than when you are being included," Lieberman explained. " 'So hurt feelings' or 'heartbreak' are really metaphor."

    Lieberman's research also reveals that the human brain has an innate ability to consider what's important to other people – a system called mentalizing  That system is almost completely distinct from our system of thinking and reasoning about everything else in the world, he says. The metallizing system tends to activate almost immediately when the analytical system idles.

    This insight could improve how we learn. Lieberman says. Most teaching is aimed at the analytical system, but studies now suggest that the brain's social system can be highly effective for learning.

    "Math and science aren't intrinsically social, but we could turn teaching them into a social process, with 10th-graders teaching eighth-graders and eighth graders teaching sixth graders," Lieberman says.  The student who would improve most are the people doing the teaching.

    Source: UCLA, October 2013, pg. 12


     

    Ivan Enrique Espinosa Takes First Place in Texas A&M University

    Cal State Fullerton senior Ivan Enrique Espinosa took First Place in Texas A&M University's Dwight Look College of 
    Engineering's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) poster contest.  The mathematics and computer science major presented research he conducted through the Computing for Disasters REU summer program at Texas A&M University, funded by the National Science Foundation.  

    Espinoza's research focused on improving "Zero-Touch" software to make a virtural camera that can be read by other softrwaerd and to optimize the graphical performance.  He plans to pursue a doctorate in computer science and is vice president of CSUF's Video Game Design Club.  Orange County Register, Santa Ana, Oct 3, 2013 

     

     

     

    'Mandarin Returns Home' -- SAT Scores Climb for Asian Americans

    http://newamericamedia.org/2013/09/mandarin-returns-home----sat-scores-climb-for-asian-americans.php

    By Andrew Lam, New America Media, Commentary

    28 September 2013  

    According to The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, there’s a disturbing trend in SAT scores in America.

    Since 2006, the score over all has fallen 20 points, dropping from 1518 to 1498 in 2012, six years later. White students’ average score has fallen by a relatively small 4 points, though other ethnic groups have fallen by as much as 22 points.

    There’s one exception, however. Asian American students are scoring higher than ever before, and on average this population has seen their score rise by a shocking 41 points.

    The news does not shock the population that scores the highest, of course. Academic achievements have long been a nourished dream for many Asian Americans, a population in which 2 out of 3 are immigrants. It harkens back to the imperial courts of China and Japan and Vietnam. And these dreams of academic success have survived long journeys and refugee camps and, for many, they became a reality in America, where two out of three in the Asian American population are immigrants.

    Take my friend H. for example. In his first semester at UC Berkeley, H. painted a picture that harked back to a foreign and distant past. In it, a young mandarin in silk brocade and hat, flanked by banner-carrying soldiers, rides an ornate carriage down the road along which peasants stand and watch.

    We had just met then, and when he saw me looking at his painting, H. said, “Do trang nguyen ve lang” — Vietnamese for “Mandarin returns home after passing the Imperial Exam.”

    But H. didn’t need to explain. Like many Asian students from Confucian-bound countries — Vietnam, Singapore, Korea, Japan, and of course, China, what a family friend often called “chopstick nations” — I could easily decipher the image.

    In some ways, for us scholarship boys, it is the equivalent of Michael Jordan flying in the air like a god doing a slam-dunk — a dream of glorious achievement.

    H. was driven by an iron will to achieve academic success.

    While his dorm-mates put up posters of movie stars and sports heroes, the image he drew and hung above his desk was a visual sutra that would help him focus. There was no question of failure. Back home, an army of hungry, ambitious and capable young men and women were dying to take his place, and for H., a boat person who barely survived his perilous journey across the South China Sea, “dying to” was no mere idiomatic expression.

    No surprise then that almost three decades since my college days, Asian Americans dominate higher education.

    Though less than five percent of the country’s population, Asian Americans typically make up 11 to 30 percent at the country’s best colleges. In California, Asians form the majority of the UC system. And at Berkeley, Asian undergraduates reached the 39 percent mark in 2012, whereas whites are at 29 percent.

    The dream of upward mobility in Asia existed long before America ever existed. For over a millenia something of the American Dream had already taken place in East Asia, through the system of Mandarin examinations.

    Clans and villages pooled resources and sent their brightest to compete in the imperial court in hopes of having one of their own becoming a mandarin.

    Mandarins of various rankings, indeed, were selected by how well they fared through the extremely rigorous examinations. Those brilliant few who passed were given important bureaucratic duties and it was they who ran the day-to-day operations of imperial court.

    A mandarin could become governor, a judge, or even marry into the royal family. They oversaw the daily organizing of the government. A peasant thus could rise high above his station, honoring his ancestors and clans in the process. And it all hinged on his ability to pass the exams.

    That penchant for education hasn’t changed a whole lot since the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). If anything it has become intensified because the modern education system in various countries — but especially in the United States — has given opportunities to far more people than ever before.

    Given this shared value, it is no surprise that many Asian parents work three jobs, live in two separate continents for the sake of their children, or spend all their savings for private schools and private tutors in order that their children will have a chance at a good education. And consequently, their children, sharing a deep sense of filial piety and obligation, find that they need to honor and fulfill their debt by achieving academic success.

    The danger is that many learned to measure the world, themselves and their children solely through a pedagogic lens. That is, education is so worshiped that not getting good grades often means failing to achieve one’s destiny and thereby failing one’s own and one’s family’s expectations, bringing shame and loosing face.

    Indeed, what's barely explored, sadly, is the darker narrative, that subterraneous stream that runs parallel to this shining path to academic success. And for those who fail to make the grade, for those who buckled under the academic pressure, there's often a profound identity crisis that often leads to disappointment, depression, and, in some cases, even suicide.

    Besides, the real struggle begins after graduation. For many who did well on tests as students, that same momentum and drive fades when they reached professional life. Then there's the glass ceiling that barely cracks: for despite enormous change and progress, there's the persistent view of Asian Americans -- preserving ties to their homeland and private cultures -- as permanent outsiders.

    The reality is that to become real mandarins in America, it takes more than high scores on the SAT.

    Andrew Lam is the author of “Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora,” “East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres,” and, his latest, “Birds of Paradise Lost,” a collection of story about Vietnamese refugees in the Bay Area, which is now available on Kindle

    Source: From: Carlos Munoz [mailto:cmjr1040@gmail.com]
    Sent: Monday, September 30, 2013 4:32 PM
    Subject: Fwd: Someone has sent you a message from NationofChange

    Sent by Roberto Calderon   beto@unt.edu  

     

     Second FERIA EDUCATIVA was held at the 
    2013 7th Annual "Festival Cardenas"
    Held Sunday October 27, 2013 
    at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana





    With more than 100,000 people in projected attendance, the IE Regional Collaborative coordinated by the Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD) Organization, will host its second FERIA EDUCATIVA to be held at the 2013 Annual "Festival Cardenas". 

    With the theme of "UNA BUENA EDUCACION", the educational zone will take place alongside the full day of free fun, food and entertainment for the entire family, and will be the “Most Attended Educational Expo for Latino Students and Families EVER!”. 

    The educational expo zone designed to provide students and their families with information and resources that will facilitate student academic achievement and their pathway to college will take place on Sunday October 27, 2013 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, and runs from 9am to 1pm. The goal is to create a rich interactive space at the annual "Festival Cardenas" to help Latino students and families empower themselves with knowledge that will help them chart educational pathways; and along with providing quality food and entertainment, Cardenas Markets is dedicated to giving back to the community.

    Present and past recipients of the Cardenas Scholarships, alongside Puente Project students will serve as educational "ambassadors," with online social media components that will accompany the in-person exhibits and interactive activities provided by specified non-profits, school districts, governmental agencies, educational institutions, initiatives and projects, and the colleges and universities that make up a fraction of the IE Regional Collaborative. The larger event will also provide experiential field opportunities for students from the Public Relations Student Society of America - CSUSB Chapter.

    Among the specified joint planners and partners providing informational exhibits and interactive activities are:
    - University of La Verne
    - Mexican Consulate
    - Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE)
    - San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, Alliance for Education and MESA
    - Ontario/Montclair School District, Promise Scholars
    - Bright Prospect 
    - Chaffey College, Latino Faculty and Staff Association
    - New Futuro
    - Financial Aid Office and Student Admissions, California State University, San Bernardino


    *The 7th annual "Festival Cardenas" will feature headliner group “Los Tigres del Norte” and the larger event runs from 9am to 5pm at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Two free tickets to the event are available with the purchase of $50 or more in merchandise excluding liquor, tobacco, tax and California Refund Value at Cardenas Markets stores; kids 10 and under are FREE.

    The FERIA EDUCATIVA is a community-engagement activity where we inform and inspire, including...

    1. Enthuse a college-going and career-readiness culture for all students to be prepared for a full range of post-secondary options; 

    2. Engage parents and families, with special efforts to reach Latinos, as a critical component in believing that their children are "college material" and offer opportunities to understand their role in the college process, as well as other post-secondary career opportunities; 

    3. Distribute/exhibit/present educational and career information and post-secondary opportunities, and other materials pertinent to community well-being, and be available to support families; and

    4. Build collective commitment and a partnership model that includes active involvement from all sectors of the regional community.

    With a steering committee composed of a broad array of community stakeholders and organizations, coordinated by LEAD, and jointly planned with the Partners of the IE Regional Collaborative, our Educational Zone is intended to involve, engage, inspire, and inform families along their educational journey. 

    Thank you - Gracias, EM 
    --------------------------------------------------- 

    Enrique G. Murillo, Jr., Ph.D., Professor and Executive Director
    LEAD Organization
    California State University San Bernardino
    5500 University Parkway / Room CE-305
    San Bernardino, CA 92407 
    emurillo@csusb.edu 
    Tel: 909-537-5632
    Fax: 909-537-7040

    FICTION/NON-FICTION


    My Days as a Colonist/Soldier with Don Juan de Onate - Part 1 by Louis F. Serna
    Voices de la Luna, Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine, Editor: Mo. H. Saidi, MD, ALM

     
    Editor Mimi:  The piece below is in a category that Somos Primos will be identifying as Fiction/Non-Fiction.   I invite others who have written historical short stories to share with Somos Primos readers. 

    My Days as a Colonist / Soldier with Don Juan de Onate

    By

    Louis F. Serna

    Oct 2013

    Introduction

    This is the story of Luis Martinez, a colonist soldier who served in the Expedition of Don Juan de Onate’s great Entrada into what is now Nuevo Mejico in 1598. Luis is in fact a fictional character born in the mind of Louis Serna, noted author of some twelve books on the history of New Mexico.

    This is the only “fictional” work by Louis, in his forty plus year career of writing about New Mexico’s history and is based on actual facts of Onate’s epic journey into NM in 1598, as Louis relives the journey through his character, Luis, and what it must have been like to suffer through the incredibly difficult journey by intrepid men, women and children in the worst of traveling conditions, in the worst weather for traveling on foot, and in the face of possible Indian attacks and all kinds of dangers that one might encounter on such a trip. Serna’s literary style tries to capture the “feelings” of young Luis, and his fears and his accomplishments as a member of the Onate Expedition, with just a touch of humor and drama added.

    Louis acknowledges Paul Horgan, author of “Great River” and Manuel Encinias and his book, “Two Lives for Onate”, as his reference  for this series of articles. My thanks to these two authors and their wonderful books.

     

    My Days as a Colonist / Soldier with Don Juan de Onate – Part 1

    Louis F. Serna
    October 2013
    sernabook@comcast  

    ….. Well here I am along with two hundred and seventy other single men and a hundred and thirty families, waiting for word to come that we are finally ready to start our journey up into the mysterious country that is el Nuevo Mejico…! it’s been just a few days since I joined this rabble of human beings, cattle, pigs, goats, chickens, grumbling women, crying children, happy children, groaning oxen pulling noisy caretas, vaqueros on horses racing back and forth kicking up dust and leaving steaming piles of manure everywhere I step. Our so-called leaders are yelling out orders and cursing animals, people, the heat, and everything that seems to make them miserable…! I ask myself, “What am I doing here..???” It seems that there is a plan that we’re all expected to follow as we all head in the same direction, “para el Norte”, even though we’re spread out what seems like miles in all directions..! At the head of the “march” is the gran Gobernador himself, Don Juan de Onate, and his lieutenants, all clinging close to him as if to say, “look at me Don Juan… I am your faithful servant just waiting for your next order so I can gain a place in your good standing”…!

    I awoke this morning on the bare ground, wrapped in my mochila which I keep in the soldier’s carreta…, along with my weapons and basic survival kit… even though I really wasn’t sleeping thanks to all the noise around me… Will it ever stop..? I have other belongings, including my armor that are packed away in one of the many carretas carrying goods of other soldiers and I am trying to keep track of that carreta for the day when I will need my armor and weapons. Do our leaders really think that we are going to meet any welcome Indian tribes up ahead..? What with all the noise and dust we are kicking up that can be seen for miles ahead of us? I heard that the natives will have plenty of food in store for us, anxious to trade for our trinkets and our items that will be curious and useful to them.., but I’m afraid that they will be scared off by the time we get to their camps, in view of how we must look to them as we approach in this heavy cloud of dust we are kicking up, and all the noise being made by the drovers and the ever-complaining livestock, anxious to stop and feed and even more anxious to drink their fill of life giving water up ahead…!  I hope that the Indians we do meet will be in awe of us, as we are of them and will choose not to fight us. We were told that if we just let our officers and Indian scouts do the interfacing with the Indians we meet, we will be alright. We were also told to follow the great river, so we will always have water… but we were not told that there would be swamps, quicksand, mud, cliffs to descend and ascend, and endless sinkholes where the wheels of our carretas sink all the way to the cajon…! Getting everything wet, muddy and impossible to move… Dear Lord, forgive me for complaining so much, but why weren’t we told that our travel along this route would be such a penance..??? and why weren’t we told that the dangers of our travels would be just as deadly from all the rattlesnakes that seem to be everywhere, as the danger of ambush by the many Indians we have encountered along the outer edges of our caravan already, who like the wily coyote, snatch away the young borregitas and cabritas, as well as our chickens and anything else they can carry away on the run….! They seem to know that it is not worth the time and effort for us to chase them down over a small animal they obviously need for food. They know that we fear that a whole herd of bauling cattle might suddenly stampede away from the main herd if we run off to chase them..! After all, they live by any available opportunity to catch game or gather food however and wherever they can find it..! and their wives and children are just as hungry as ours..! and isn’t it wise to allow them this small prize in exchange for peaceful co-existance? Thank God that until now, those savages have only resorted to taking our animals for food and have not attacked us to kill or maim us as we were told to expect..! Our leaders have told us to pray that we do not encounter a large war party which would rather see us dead than as neighbors in this seemingly God forsaken country! We all agree among ourselves that at some point up ahead, we will surely have such a terrible encounter for it is probably what we ourselves would do if our homes and homelands were suddenly invaded by a large group of strangers with intentions of taking our homes, food sources, and our lands to use as their own..! and yet, the promises made to us in the beginning of this journey were that we would all become “men of worth” in this new land…, “Hidalgos…!!!” and that the lands and the riches up ahead would become ours to own for ourselves and for our families… our future generations would finally enjoy what we could never have in our mother country, Espana..!  and so we trudge along for another day in this long journey, and we suffer the hazards, the discomfort, the choking dust, the noise, and all the dangers to ourselves… always with our eyes on the prize…! The thought of owning our own destiny..! God willing, it will be worth it…. And God willing, Don Juan de Onate will at least fulfill just a few of his promises… and yet, if I should fall… perhaps a final time… it will have been worth it..! In any case, I will soon know my fate as it is already April of 1598 and the last of the expedition have joined up with us and we are only waiting for Don Juan to evoke his blessing so we can start this moving monstrosity northward.

    I see a group of men already building an altar under a grove of trees by the river, in preparation for tomorrow’s Mass. At last, we are finally ready to go and everyone is preparing themselves and their belongings for tomorrow’s departure following the Mass. We are all jubilant, despite our discomfort at having waited so long and the trip to this point… At last, we are ready to see this new kingdom that will become our home. God willing, we will all survive the journey….

    Louis Serna 
    http://sernasantos.blogspot.com/

     

    Louis F. Serna explains, the premise is that insight is gained by viewing the small details of the everyday life, of one of the colonist / soldiers as he trudges along, suffering the trials and tribulations that they all suffered, as they slowly trudged along the trail that led up to "El Norte"... the final destination of the Onate Expedition... It is a Fiction / Non-fiction piece. As you read this, put yourself in the shoes of the traveler and try to imagine what he is experiencing, what he is seeing and what he is thinking as they all move along in a great mass of humanity... heading "para el Norte", to the "promised land"  . . . 


     
     Voices de la Luna
    A Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine
    Editor: Mo H Saidi, MD, ALM
    Voices Online, Voices Facebook, Voices Blog, Voices Twitter
    Quarterly poetry and arts magazine with international flavor and a commitment to inspire, educate, and heal community members through the arts.

    Short-short bio:  

    Dr. Mo H Saidi was born in Iran and moved to the U.S. in 1969. He became a U.S. citizen in 1975. While teaching gynecology surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, he founded an OB/GYN group practice in San Antonio, Texas. He published over fifty scientific papers in American medical journals and a book, Female Sterilization: A Handbook For Women (Garland Publishing Co.). He has written over thirty short stories and completed two novels, Persian Marchers: A Novel and The Grant Writer. His first book of poetry, Art in the City, won the 2007 Eakin Award of the Poetry Society of Texas; his second book, The Color of Faith, was published by St. Mary’s University’s Pecan Grove Press in 2010, and a collection of short fiction, The Garden of Milk and Wine in 2012. His third book of poetry is scheduled to be published by Wings Press this year. He has published poems, essays, and short stories in literary and medical periodicals. He is the Managing Editor of Voices de la Luna: A Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine. He is a member of The Authors Guild. Saidi is married and has three adult children and three grandchildren.

     

    Yours, 

    Mo H Saidi, MD, ALM
    Managing Editor, Voices de la Luna
    A Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine
    Voices Online, Voices Facebook, Voices Blog, Voices Twitter
    Invites all to check out his website.
    |


    CULTURE

    Serna's Santos
    The Flamenco Peñas in Southern Spain  
    Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez,: NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert Webcast 
    Martha González, Musician, Dancer, College Professor, Activist , Author
    Latina Icon Magdalena Gómez Donates personal papers to University of Connecticut Archives
    Documentary: Paper Cutouts to Steel, The Art of Carmen Lomas Garza
    Sandias y Cascarones
    Statement by Armando Durón about Artist Jose Ramirez

    Statement by Armando Durón about Artist Ramon Ramirez

     
    Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion

    Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion

    SERNA'S SANTOS

    Hello..! My name is Louis F. Serna and I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I have enjoyed many "vocations" during my life, and in 2012, at age 72, I decided that I would combine my interests / talents as an artist, historian, author and woodcarver, to learn the wonderful art of creating wood carved Santos and Bultos in the traditional old Spanish / New Mexico style. 

    I was very fortunate to study and learn under the tutilage of Alcario Otero, renowned Master Santero of New Mexico and to work with other santeros such as Adan Carriaga, outstanding Santero of Albuquerque, who has built a beautiful Capilla in the rear of his Studio near Old Town Albuquerque. Adan, Alcario and others founded a Santero "school" which they call "La Escuelita de el Santo Nino de Atocha". 

    Other friends who are also santeros, some in training meet at the Escuelita regularly to carve, learn, and enjoy the company of others, dedicated to the art of santerismo.

    Contact me at sernabook@comcast.net or my cell (505) 933-3168 
    or home; (505) 291-0261.

    http://sernasantos.blogspot.com/ 

     

    Christ on the Cross
    The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven Our Lady of Guadalupe - 24" tall
    Our Lady of Guadalupe San Antonio
    The Crucifixion - 
    13" X18" For Sale
    Key to the Kingdom of Heaven     For Sale Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe
    18" For Sale
    San Antonio
    14" Tall - For Sale
     
    San Antonio y el Nino Jesus
    Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion
    Nuestra Senora de el Rosario Nuestra Senora de el Rosario Closeup
    Nuestra Senora de el Rosario
    San Antonio y el Nino Jesus Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion Nuestra Senora de el Rosario,  
    42" Tall - For Sale

    Close-up

    Nuestra Senora de el Rosario
    24" Tall - For Sale
     
    Santo Nino de Atocha de Cebu
    Michael the ArchAngel
    La Virgen Maria
    SANTA CECILIA San Francisco de Assis
    Santo Nino de Atocha de Cebu  
    19" Tall - for Sale
    Michael the ArchAngel
    17" Tall - For Sale
    La Virgen Maria
    14" Tall - For Sale
    Santa Cecilia
    18" Tall 
    San Francisco de Assis

     

    The Flamenco Peñas 
    in Southern Spain


    In Jerez de la Frontera, a city in lower Andalucía in southern Spain, one of the coolest things to do at night is to go to one of the flamenco peñas.  A peña is simply a social club, but in Jerez (and in many other cities and towns in the region), a whole lot of these clubs are run by and for people who love flamenco.  

    Jerez is often called the “cradle of flamenco” (la cuna del flamenco), so it´s not surprising that there are lots of flamenco peñas.  Some of the members are professional performers, but most are not.  Some are gitanos (Spanish Gypsies), but many are not.  All of them love flamenco, and love to talk about the flamenco greats – those of yesteryear as much as those of today.  

    Usually, the peñas are open every day in the evening, and members gather to drink and shoot the breeze.  The conversation usually revolves around flamenco, with a smattering of talk about soccer and the disastrous state of national affairs.  When they have had enough to drink, someone will start to sing.  

    And the singing continues on, and on, and on.  

     


    Palmas are essential to flamenco. 
      Photo by Antonio de la Malena


                                  The stage of Peña Chacón

    The members not only talk about flamenco – and sing – but the peñas have stages and seating, so that they can put on performances with local talent – and local talent consists of some of the finest professionals the art has to offer.   

    One of the unwritten rules of these performances is that they must be free and open to the public.  

    Yes, free flamenco.  Free GOOD flamenco!  

    (I can actually remember when one of the peñas, which had just moved into a large, new, well-appointed and clearly very expensive building, discussed charging an entrance fee, but that idea was shocking and was quickly shot down.)  

     

     

    In Jerez, the 6-8 peñas in the old part of town each used to put on one month of flamenco a year, with one performance a week during that month.  In addition, during the two-week long, internationally famous annual flamenco festival, the peñas would rotate the honor of hosting a late night show, starting around 1am, after all the theater presentations were over.   

    Now, some of them still do this but others no longer have the money for it.   

    In the past, city government provided the peñas with quite a bit of financial support but the economic crisis has eliminated that.  The savings and loans, local wineries (Jerez is home to sherry and fine brandies), and other big businesses also used to donate substantial amounts of  funding but again, the economic crisis has cut off a lot this money.  

    As a result, some of the peñas are on the verge of closing their doors, and others have drastically cut the rates that they pay the performers.  

    But there are still enough peñas presenting their month of performances (some specializing in the singing, others in the dance, and one even offering a month´s worth of free lessons in the complexities of the different flamenco forms) so as to keep flamenco very much alive for the aficionado, including those who come to the city from abroad purely to learn more about that lively, beautiful and emotional art form.  

                                    Dancer Carmen Herrera

     


    Singer Antonio de la Malena  
    Photo by Miguel Ángel Gonzales


    La Paquera, another famous singer from Jerez, recently deceased


                            Young guitarist Malena Hijo

    Eve A. Ma (Eva Ma; Dr. L. Eve Armentrout Ma, Esq.),
    Producer-Director, PALOMINO Productions
    www.PalominoPro.com
    www.PalominoProDVD-CD.com

     

    Manuel Torres,  famous Jerez singer of a generation ago.

    The author of this article, filmmaker Eve A. Ma, has shot a number of videos in Jerez de la Frontera and is currently working on a documentary about flamenco that she will co-direct with a famous flamenco singer from Jerez named Antonio de la Malena.  The documentary´s web site is www.FlamencotheLandMovie.com.  You can keep up with the news of its progress plus learn about her other work by signing up for Ma´s newsletter at www.PalominoProDVD-CD.com, where you will also have access to video clips and music from the documentary.  


     

    Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez,: NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert Webcast 

    Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez, a Chicano musician & culture bearer from San Diego, California, was honored at the 2013 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowships evening Concert evening, September 27 at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC.   The concert was free, open to the public and was also streamed live at www.arts.gov.  An archive of this event and other special events will be made available.

    A child of farm laborers with his own experience in the fields, Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez began composing music that touched on the struggles of the farm labor movement, leading to a long career of activism. He was frequently asked to play by César Chávez at rallies and marches for the United Farm Workers Union.

    http://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/2013-NEA-Heritage-Fellows-Concert.html  

    Liz Auclair
    Public Affairs Specialist | National Endowment for the Arts
    1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW | Room 525 | Washington, DC 20506
    auclaire@arts.gov | 202-682-5744 (p) | 202-682-5084 (f)
    arts.gov/artworks | @NEAarts  ??   

    Sent by Dorinda Moreno 
    pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com
     

     

     

     

    Martha González, Musician, Dancer, College Professor, Activist , Author

    Hi Mimi,
    I just wanted to call to your attention this young woman, Martha González    Wise Latina
    Musician, dancer, college professor, Activist , author, Alma Awards, Grammy winner with band Quetzal.
    M Guangorena  
    carm1ta1@yahoo.com.mx


     

     
    http://today.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/magdalena-Gomez1.jpg Latina Icon Magdalena Gómez Donates personal papers to University of Connecticut Archives

    October 4, 2013

    By: Suzanne Zack, University Libraries


    Magdalena Gómez in rehearsal for a production of her work: ‘Dancing in My Cockroach Killers,’ at Pregones Theater in New York City. The work is being presented Off-Broadway this fall. (Kayla Creamer Photo )

    A decade after Puerto Rico became a United States “protectorate” in the 1950s, scores of islanders streamed into New York City. Among them were poets, writers, musicians, and artists who used poetry and prose to question and examine their newfound identity, culture, and history in what became known as the Nuyorican Literary Movement.

    Magdalena Gómez, a figure in that nascent movement, who used her voice to decry the oppression she observed and encouraged the disenfranchised to work to realize their potential, has recently given her personal papers to the UConn Libraries’ Archives & Special Collections in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.

    “Magdalena Gómez can be considered the quintessential Renaissance woman: poet, playwright, performer, writer, and social activist,” says Marisol Ramos, curator of the Latin American and Caribbean Collections and librarian for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Latino Studies, Spanish, and Anthropology. “She is committed to Latina/o issues, and the rights of youth, women, and prisoners, as well as human rights as represented in her art, her writings, and her performances.”

    Ramos believes the campus community and those well beyond its borders will find Gómez and her personal papers a rich resource.

    Says Fany Hannon, director of the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center, “I’m thrilled the University has acquired the papers and works of a Latina icon like Magdalena Gómez. With negative Latino stereotypes perpetuated in the media, it is both refreshing and empowering to have the positive example of a person who strives to succeed every day. Anyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, cultural background, or social status, can identify with her work, which is synonymous with activism, community advocacy, and perseverance.”

    Gómez began as a performance poet at the age of 17 in New York, and was championed by scores of notable poets, but eventually left the Nuyorican Movement to follow her own path.

    For most of her life, both in New York City and, more recently, in Springfield, Mass., she has created her own unique style. She has toured nationally as a motivational speaker and teacher, and with Maria Luisa Arroyo, co-edited a book on bullying, Bullying: Replies, Rebuttals, Confessions, and Catharsis (2012), which gives voice to affected people, from young teens to those in their 80s.

    She recently witnessed the off-Broadway production of her work, “Dancing in My Cockroach Killers,” by the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and Pregones Theater, which opened to considerable acclaim on Sept. 19 and runs through Oct. 13. The production is a selection of her work, adapted and musicalized for theater.

    “Magdalena Gómez is a prolific, fierce writer whose work can find a voice in other artistic forms, like theater, music, even dance,” according to veteran performer, theater director, and dramaturge Rosalba Rolon, who directed Gómez’s production in New York.

    In addition to her writing, Gómez is the co-founder and artistic director of Teatro V!da, the first Latino theater in the history of Springfield, Mass., started in 2007 with support from the Latino Breakfast Club. She received a National Association of Latino Arts and Culture artist’s grant for her work on anti-bullying initiatives with Teatro V!da in 2010, and was named a Master Artist by National Endowment for the Arts presenters, the Pregones Theater.

    Gómez’s connection with UConn began several years ago, when she performed in Hartford with Fred Ho, an American jazz saxophonist, writer, and social activist. History professor and founding director of the Asian American Studies Institute Roger Buckley, who attended the performance, was so struck by Gómez’s poetry that he invited her to speak in his class. During the class, Gómez performed a monologue in which she drew an analogy between the American treatment of Japanese during the war and the physical violence she herself had experienced as a young woman, describing both actions as demonstrating a profound effect on the human condition.

    Gómez credits Ho (whose personal papers are also housed in UConn’s Archives & Special Collections) with introducing her to UConn through Buckley and Asian American Cultural Center director Angela Rola.

    “On the journey to liberation, we must be able to differentiate the essential self from the influences that have formed the cascara or outward shell of who we present to the world,” Gómez says. “Critical thinking and the questioning of authority allows us to embrace the liberating effects of imagination, invites us to honor our intuition, and encourages us to activate an intentional creative practice.”

    A special event will celebrate Gómez’s life and career and the arrival of her personal papers in the UConn Libraries’ Archives & Special Collections on Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre. For additional information, contact Marisol Ramos: Marisol.ramos@uconn.edu, or 860-486-2734.

    Enjoy!  Marisol

    Marisol Ramos
    Subject/Liaison Librarian for
    Latin American & Caribbean Studies,
    Puerto Rican/Latino Studies, Spanish & Anthropology
    & Curator of the Latin American and Caribbean Collections
    Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

    http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2013/10/latina-icon-donates-papers-to-uconn-archives /

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

     

     

    SANDIAS Y CASCARONES

    Estos cascarones fueron cortados con un láser de presisión de alta intensidad. Esto nos da una muy buena idea de lo que puede ser logrado con la tecnología láser. ¡Es increíble lo que se puede hacer con un cascarón de huevo y un láser!

    Nos podemos imaginar de lo que se trata una cirugía láser cuando se lleva a cabo en el ojo de alguna persona. Después de ver esto, ¿Cabe alguna duda de cómo la visión de alguien puede ser mejorada en tan sólo unos cuantos momentos? La ciencia es aveces maravillosa, y todavía está en la frontera de ganar nuevos conocimientos. 

     

    Sent  by  strelkas9@speedy.com.ar

     

     
    Documentary: Paper Cutouts to Steel, The Art of Carmen Lomas Garza

    A captivating documentary that traces the creative process by which Chicana artist Carmen Lomas Garza's paper cutouts become two-story steel murals that celebrate culture and transform an old motel into award-winning housing in a Houston barrio.
    Produced and Directed by Arturo L. Garza, Katudi Productions.

    The World Premiere was held in September during the California WINE COUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL. 

    Wine Country Film Festival website: http://wcff.us/2013/shorts-programs/art-transforms-an-arts-in-film-short-program /

    Katudi Productions website: http://papercutoutstosteel.com 

    Review in  http://www.elinkstoday.com/2013/09/01/documentary-paper-cutouts-to-steel-continues-to-another-festival/ 

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


     

    Statement by Armando Durón about Artist Jose Ramirez

     

    Jose Ramirez’s latest work for Avenue 50 Gallery is both a leap of faith and of vision for this veteran artist. Ramirez has long been known as a painter in the naïve style, with the continued use of a primary pallet for many years. Yet his works have always had social and political context that lie just below the surface of all those innocent faces. Two works in this exhibition are true to that genre.

    But it is his new works that are at once monumental and evocative of a change in style. Heaven n Hell and Mapa del Jardin can be called expressionist. Ramirez has used the same composition as in his previous works but has left images unfinished in a way that suggests suffering, death and even decomposition. Heaven n Hell is especially haunting. Using red to the point of complete saturation, Ramirez has called to mind global warming, bloody revolution or hell—take your pick. In his earlier work, Ramirez would have continued to paint until those familiar colors distinguished the people and the scenery. Here, Ramirez forces the viewer to take a closer look. By painting less, he has achieved more. The various stages of completion suggest the various stages of life as it is lived by those subjected to oppression, famine, war, violence and all their permutations.

    While some might think the piece is more about hell than heaven, this would be a misreading. The key is found in Mapa del Jardin where the same vegetation found in the background of Heaven n Hell is now in the foreground. The viewer is invited to navigate through the lush vegetation of Ramirez’s Eden garden to experience the other side of humanity, where, once past the suffering, heaven is just a step away. Our task is to find our way through to the city on the hill. The path is there but we can’t see it unless we deal with that suffering humanity that faces us.

    These works are a natural progression for an artist deeply committed to his art and to his long-held beliefs. It is important for the viewer to come along on this adventure. We too must grow out of our comfort zones; we too must confront our demons if we are to experience the lush garden of artistic satisfaction.

    -Armando Durón

    http://avenue50studio.org/statement-by-armando-duron-about-jose-ramirez 

    Avenue 50 Studioa 501(c)(3) non-profit art galleryMenuSkip to content 

     

     
    Statement by Armando Durón about Artist Ramon Ramirez

    Sky predominates in the latest work by Ramon Ramirez. Like an overture to a great movie or ballet, it sets the mood and hints at what Ramirez is trying to tell us. For us to hear, we need to see beyond that sky in each work to understand that these pieces are not about the cityscapes we see. They are beyond seeing…and into experiencing.

    The use of oils on canvas is considered ill-advised today as artists rush to finish as many works as they can as quickly as possible. Ramirez returned to oils in order to take his time in developing not only those skies and those structures below, but so that we too may contemplate the moment when we can reflect on where we have been and where we are going. Equally, this work is not about the constructed buildings that appear in the lower third of the canvas, which Ramirez as a trained architect is more than capable of drafting. Instead, the structures serve as the walls that keep one from gazing up and beyond our daily lives, often until our days are nearly done and it is too late to turn back. Their flatness against the canvas allows us to see past the structures and those skies.

    In the six works that comprise this series, Ramirez is showing us how we can make negative space the focus, if we let it. Here, it is the space in between the sky and the buildings and the palms. It is the space where the intellectual in conceptualism and the most spiritual in Zen quietly meet. It pulls us with a special gravitas that compels one to wonder where (s)he is ultimately headed.

    By omitting the cityscape in They Came to Watch Us Fall, Ramirez is taking this vector to its final point in the hope that we will take that moment we need to see what we might become if we are not careful. The palms are already ghosts—sometimes we already are—lamenting at the end of life, but now knowing why. Ramirez is gently warning us against this proclivity in the human condition.

    These contemplative works do not rely on metaphor or devise. They are straight forward if we only take that second to stop and look, listen and experience our existential selves. Can we take it? Yes, we can. Thanks Ramon!

    ̶ Armando Durón

    http://avenue50studio.org/statement-by-armando-duron-about-ramon-ramirez 
    Avenue 50 Studioa 501(c)(3) non-profit art galleryMenuSkip to content 



    Spanish SURNAMES . . . Fernandez

    Fernandez Genealogical Reunion
    27 July 2013 
    Corpus Christi, Texas

    Presentation 2: The First Fernandez to the New World 
    & God’s Intervention in Evangelization of the New World

    By Refugio S. Fernandez
    cnsfernandez1943@sbcglobal.net 

    PRESENTATION, Part 2: FERNANDEZ HISTORY
    1492- 1750

    Most of the images in this presentation come from google.com/images of _____.

    The story of the presentation comes mostly from the following books/sites, but there are others not identified here:

    1- Don Pedro Salazar de Mendoza, “Monarquia de Espana,” Don Bartholome Ulloa, Mercader de Libros, Madrid, 1770;

    2- Eugenio del Hoyo, “Historia del Nuevo Reino de Leon, 1577-1723” Editorial Libros de Mexico, S.A. Mexico, D.F., 1979;

    3- William H. Prescott, “History of the Conquest of Mexi , & History of the Conquest of Peru,” cooper Square Press, Inc imprint of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, New York, “Mexico” first published in 1843, and “Peru” first published in 1847;

    4- Hammond Ennis, “The Conquistadors,” Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1969;

    5- Hugh Thomas, “Rivers of Gold, The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan,” Random House Trade Paperbacks, New York, 2003;

    6- Hernan Mexia Mirabal, “Biografia Historica: Los Antepasados, a lo largo y mas alla de la Historia Argentina,” Carlos F. Ibarguren, 1983;

    7- www.catholic.org, “Our Lady of Guadalupe.”

    1- In early 1492, Spain conquered the last remaining stronghold of the Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula, at Granada. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela “la Catolica,” permitted the emir at Granada to leave with his Muslim horde in peace out of Spain.

    2- (miscosas-y-yo.blogspot.com) 


    Columbus had attempted several times to get funding from the Spanish crown for a voyage west, a shortcut he estimated to the Orient, to the Sp e Islands, Japan, and China. He would line up with peasants, citizens and rich 
    people every week at different towns where all spoke of grievances, health, and/or food shortages with the king & queen face to face. But Ferdinand and Isabella gave full attention to driving the Muslims out of Spain. When 1492 arrived, and Spain was able to finally conquer the last Muslim stronghold in Granada, Ferdinand and Isabella turned their attention to their countrymen and other initiatives.

     


    (http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/explorers/christophercolumbus.htm)   



    Queen Isabela “La Catolica” threatened to pawn her jewels to fund Columbus’ trip. 

    Spain’s treasury was virtually empty. Finally, the Church in Spain came up with funds  from its coffers for the trip.


    Print, colorized by author. 



    The first Fernandez men to come to the New World in the first voyage with Columbus were Rui Fernandez from Andalucia, Spain and two Gonzalo Fernandez men from Segovia. Rui was a close friend of Columbus, and he traveled with Columbus on the Santa Maria, the biggest ship. 

    (author) 


    Columbus departed Seville
    with his ships in early Aug 1492. He stopped near Cadiz, at the Franciscan monastery La Rabida. Columbus is said to have prayed before the Christ of La Rabida. Before he departed, Columbus and his crew were blessed by the monks Fray Francisco de Bolanos, Fray Juan Perez and Fray Antonio de Marchena who were instrumental in getting the Spanish monarchs to listen to Columbus.

    (http://history-christianchurch.blogspot.com/p/christopher-columbus.html)

     


    Spain funded three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, with 90 men, 24 on the Nina, 26 on the Pinta, and 40 on the Santa Maria.

    http://www.vernonkids.com/cedarmountain/4thgradelinks
    /columbus/columbus.h
    tm 


    (Colorized by Author) The color green identifies the islands and coastlines plored or observed by Columbus. He did not know the shapes nor zes of La Espaniola or Juana (Cuba).

    In early September 1492, after a month at the Canary Islands, loading food and supplies, he sailed west to search for the shortcut to the Orient. God must have been looking after him because during the months of th hurricane season in the tropics, he did not encounter any hurricane or bad weather. He arrived at San Salvador in early October. He named all the islands h encountered, starting with San Salvador, then Santa Maria de la Concepcion, Fernandina, Isabela, Juana (now called Cuba), Inagua Grande, and finally La Espaniola, or Haiti and Santo Domingo, as called today.

     


    (www.magnoliabox.com)

    <(en.wikipedia.org)

    He landed on the first island he discovered and claimed it for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela. When they got to “Juana”, the captain of the Nina, Alonso Pinzon, mutinied with his crew. He left Columbus, the Pinta and the Santa Maria behind and went to look for gold.

    Columbus first met native men, who were oblivious to their nakedness. The women stayed hidden behind trees or bushes. When the omen finally did come out in the open, Columbus’ men wanted to marry them right away, when they saw all those lovely Taino Indian women, naked. Nobod on the islands knew about covering their private parts.

     


    allposters.com

    Things were going well for Columbus until the ships reached the northwest coast of La Espaniola.  There, the Santa Maria hit a reef. The Taino Indians saw the Spaniards’ predicament and helped rescue them, and helped them transport their goods to the island.

    The Santa Maria could not be repaired. Because all th paniards could not return home on the smaller Pinta, Columbus had the Santa Maria dismantled and the lumber used to construct a fort to protect forty Spaniards, who had to stay behind. The fort was called La Navidad, because it was built on 25 Dec 1492. It was built near Taino settlements, not a good idea. The two Gonzalo Fernandez men were left behind. And Columbus sailed back to Spain in early January 1493. Along the way back near the islands, he encountered onso Pinzon, who was very apologetic, and showed Columbus a few pieces of gold he had found on some of the islands he had explored. They sailed to Spain with Columbus planning to take Pinzon to court for his mutiny. They got separated because of very violent storms at sea and arrived at different places in Spain. Pinzon died almost immediately after arriving in Spain.  
    www.pinterest.com



    Fernando and Isabela were overjoyed to see Columbus back so soon. Columbus came before the king and queen with six Taino Indians, exotic fruits like pineapples, exotic animals like parrots, and some gold. He was immediately rewarded with funding for another expedition. Excitedly, Columbus claimed there were “Rivers of Gold,” which was not true.

    en.wikipedia.org




    This second voyage the fleet consisted of 17 ships and 1500 men with some women. Many rich people along with soldiers, priests, sailors and laborers sailed to La Espaniola. Queen Isabela did not want women to go because she feared they could become prostitutes with so many men. The historian Bartolome de las Casas noted that if these personages from high society, “had known what the work would be, I do not believe that any one of them w have gone,” to the New World. They expected to easily find gold on top of the ground next to rivers and streams.

                                  Poster by author.

     


    Map by author

    Those locations in green are ones Columbus saw or explored. Borequin was the name that the natives, the Tianos, called it. Today it is known as Puerto Rico. Columbus sailed from the south, north, northwest, and found many more islands along the way to La Navidad, and he named them all. He found cannibals, called Caribs, and the remains of human parts, cooked or ready to be ooked. It appears that Columbus was very excited about his discoveries b se his ships sailed west and found some islands, then northwest and found some more; then north, then northeast, northwest, and west, then north again, than south, and finally west again. He discovered about 10 more islands.

    Columbus sailed from the south, north, northwest, and found many more islands along the way to La Navidad, and he named them all. He found cannibals, called Caribs, and the remains of human parts, cooked or ready to be ooked. It appears that Columbus was very excited about his discoveries b se his ships sailed west and found some islands, then northwest and found some more; then north, then northeast, northwest, and west, then north again, than south, and finally west again. He discovered about 10 more islands.

    When they arrived at La Navidad, the fort had been burned down. All the Spaniards, except for a doctor Juan Lepe, (Mary Johnston, “1492,”Little, Brown & Company, 1922 1922)                                                                                                                             Illustration by author
    After the return of Columbus, the Spaniards built another settlement, Monte Cristo, on the north o the island near the coast. They also found “crosses” and thought Christianity had gotten to the islands. But those crosses were used by the natives to warn when a hurricane was approaching. Because of extensive damage from hurricanes, Columbus had his brother Bartolome establish another settlement on the south side of the island for protection against the fury of hurricanes. The new settlement was called Santo
    Domingo. 


    Map by author.
    Red lines indicate a voyage away from Monti Cristi; where levander indicates the exploratory trip back to Monti Cristi.  

    Columbus made other discoveries during this voyage. Gold was discovered and mined in Espaniola. However, many well to do Spaniards returned to Spain after finding that gold did not lay on top of the ground rea to be picked up. They had to sweat and toil hard to get it out of the ground. They had not come prepared to work. Most of the laborers and farmers stayed in the new land where they could get their own land and slaves to work their land for free from the royal crown, plus no taxes for ten years. They could become Hidalgos, rich men of non-royal or non-noble blood.

     


    Map by author.
    THIRD VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS

    Historians have not found a listing of passengers in the third voyage of Columbus. It is known that he had great difficulty in obtaining passengers because word had gotten out that Columbus’s enthusiastic stories of his discoveries were not totally true. Gold could not be found easily in La Espaniola. In the spring of 1498, he bought six ships for supplies and personnel for Santo Domingo on La Espaniola. In late May 1498, he sent three ships directly to La Espaniola while the other three he took explore the New World from the south. He discovered the northern tip of Venezuela and the Windward and Leeward Islands all the way to the northern tip of Cuba. He always thought he was near Japan and China, but he was not even half way there.

     

    FORTH VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS
    Map by author.

    During his fourth voyage in 1502, Columbus discovered the Yucatan Peninsula down to Costa Rica.” In Jamaica, Columbus’ ships broke up due to termite damage. Two men had to sail in a canoe to Hispaniola to get help.  In the early 1520s, a rich merchant named Juan Fernandez de Castro, hopefully, not in our direct linage, got permission from the Spanish government to bring two thousand slaves. After this accomplishment, he asked for permission to bring another four thousand.

    (en.wikipedia.org) A legend existed among the natives of the New World which told the Aztecs that their god of learning,
    Quetzalcoatl, who was tall in stature, of white skin, black flowing hair, and with a beard, was going to come back from the East and was go g to change their civilization. The description came to be to the Aztecs, that of Hernando Cortez, the commander of the Spanish forces. The Incas and the Mayas had similar fears. In March 1519, the long expected “white god,” Hernando Cortez, arrived at the eastern shore of Mexico with eleven ships and five hundred conquistadors to conquer New Spain (Mexico) for Spain.7 Conquistadores were fearless fighters and battle hardened during the many battles in Spain again the Muslims. Therefore, three months later, the Aztecs were conquered. One of the first Christian acts of the Spaniards upon arrival at the port now called Veracruz was to participate in a Mass. The Tabasco Indians were amazed to see all these Spanish warriors in battle armor kneeling before a crucifix. Many Indians were baptized after that first Mass.

    Fourteen Fernandez soldiers came with Cortez, and a few survived the bloody battles with the Aztecs to become important personages as royal officials and soldiers in the
    formation of Mexico. The three from Sevilla and the two from the Province of Extremadura may be cousins or nephews in our Fernandez line.


    Graphic by Author

    It is said that the Spanish soldiers prayed before they went into battle with the Aztecs. The war lasted three months. The soldiers  said they had never experience a warrior so persistent in battle as the Aztecs. Hundreds of thousands of Aztecs appeared from all over Mexico. Montezuma died during the battles.

    During that “sad night,” Cortez barely escaped with many of his troops from the royal city. Thousands of Tlaxcalans were killed. And 40 conquistadors were captured. Some were tortured, quartered, cooked, eaten, and their roasted heads then thrown at Cortez’ army to terrorize it. Others were taken up to the pyramid of sacrifices and their hearts were taken out amid their agonizing screams, which Cortez and his troops heard from six miles away. They could do nothing about it except pray for their souls. When more Spanish reinforcement arrived, Cortez led his huge army of conquistadores and allied Indian nations against the Aztec capital.
    They killed almost every Aztec and burned all the buildings to the ground Then, there remained just an eerie silence in the city.


     

    In 1530, Nuno de Guzman explored among the Zacatecan & Chichimecan Indians of Nueva Galicia. Four Fernandez soldiers were with him. e, Alonso de Fernandez from Badajoz may have been a relative. In 1540, more Spanish soldiers arrived with three Fernandez. Two Francisco Fernandez, one from Caceres and one from Sevilla may have been our relatives. Also in 1540, one Fernandez accompanied Francisco de Coronado to southwestern United States. I have no formation on him.
    Graphics by Author
    From 1513 through 1538 a number of Fernandez men and women traveled to Santo Domingo, Cuba, Venezuela, Central America, interior of South America, and Guatemala, and Mexico. But our one ancestor, our 8th Generation grandfather, Juan Fernandez de Castro arrived from Spain at Santo Domingo in the spring of 1535.   


    Graphic by Author

    Around 1480, our 9th generation Fernandez grandfather, Hernando de Castro was born in Caceres, Extremadura, Spain. It is next to the border with Portugal. He came from a noble Jewish family who served several kings of Spain. In the Middle Ages, the De Castro family was one of the top five rulers and land owners in the peninsula. The family was very powerful and wealthy. This De Castro family, along with others from Portugal or near the Portuguese border had been Jews, but, were forced to convert to Christianity or Catholic, in order not to be forced out of Spain. So, they were “new Christians.”  In 1504, Hernando married Teresa Lopez de Figueroa, a lady-in-waiting for Queen Isabela.

    Royal records indicate that on 30 March 1504, the treasurer of Prince Felipe I and Dona Juana (la Loca), gave Teresa funds for her lady-in-waiting royal dress. Then about April 1504, Ochoa de Landa, the Royal Treasurer, gave Teresa funds for her wedding dress. I estimate that she and Hernando got married around June 1504. They had three sons: Hernando de Castro Figueroa, born in 1506; Juan Fernandez de Castro Figueroa, born around 1520; and Pedro Figueroa de Castro born around 1521. If you wonder why
    there is so much difference in years between the first son and the other sons, Hernando de Castro was sent by the king on diplomatic missions which took months and years of travel, especially to China, by sailing ship via South Africa. So, they were separated often.

    Report From Fernandez Pedigree Tree,  compiled by Refugio S Fernandez, Jul 2013
    Below is an alphabetical surname listing of all the ancestors on the tree from these dates 700 AD to 1492 AD

    Name                     Birth date                    Death date Name                      Birth date                     Death date

    Adosinda Abt. 718

    Estafania Alfonso

    Alfonso I 693 757

    Alfonso II Abt. 759 842

    Alfonso III Abt. 848 December 20, 910

    Estafania Alonso

    Luis de Acuna y Altamirano

    Munina of Alva

    Dona Maria Alvarez

    Dona Toda Alvarez

    Elo Alvarez

    Fernando Alvarez

    Toda Alvarez

    Teresa Ansurez

    Andregota Galindez of Aragon

    Aurelius Abt. 740 774

    Aurembiax

    Aurmbiax

    Enrique de Benavidez Bazán

    La Infanta Beatriz

    Cristina Bermudez

    Doña Inés de Rioboó Bermúdez

    Pedro Bermudez

    Bermudo

    Bermudo I Abt. 738 Abt. 797

    Bermudo II Abt. 939

    Pedro José Baltasar de Castro Cabrera y Bobadill 1631

    Andrés de Castro Cabrera y Bobadilla

    Doña Teresa de la Cueva y Bobadilla

    Félix de Castro y Bobadilla

    Francisca de Cárdenas Castro Cabrera y Bobadilla

    Francisca de Castro Cabrera y Bobadilla

    Inés de Castro Cabrera y Bobadilla

    Pedro Fernández de Castro Cabrera y Bobadilla 1570

    Rodrigo de Castro y Bobadilla

    Doña María Teresa de Pedrosa y Bracamonte

    Doña Juana de Almendros y Bustamante

    Alonso Carnero

    King Pedro I of Castilla

    Per Afán de Ribera y Castilla

    Fernan Gonzalez of Castille

    Dona Catalina de Mazuelo y Castro

    Doña María Josefa de Zúñiga y Castro

    Gregorio de Castro y Mazuelo Castro

    Joaquin de Acuna y Castro

    José Dávila Vergara Coello y Castro

    Juan de Acuna y Castro Castro

    Margarita Rosa Dávila Vergara Coello y Castro

    Maria de Acuna y Castro

    Maria Magdalena de Mazuelo y Castro

    María Teresa de Zúñiga y Castro

    Doña Ana Francisca Hermenegildade Borja y Centel

    Doña Rafaela Luisa de Castro y Centurión

    María Antonia de Castro y Centurión  April 06, 1690

    Rafaela Luisa de Castro y Centurión February 26, 1692/93

    Rosa María de las Nieves de Castro y Centurión

    August 26, 1691 March 14, 1772

    Juan Ruiz de Vergara Dávila y Coello

    Maria Conde

    Baltasar de Moscoso y Córdova

    Alvaro Gonzalez Coutin

    Alvaro Coutiño

    Diego Lopez Davalos

    Juan Vazquez de Acuna

    Mariana de Acuna

    Martín Vázquez de Acuña

    Antonia de Alencastre

    Mencia de Alencastre

    Diego Lopez de Arriaga

    Jimena de Asturias

    Alvaro Gonzalez de Ataide

    Doña Isabel de Ataide

    Martín González de Ataide

    María Luisa de Castro y Girón de Austria

    Antonio Vázquez de Bazán

    Pedro Gonzalez de Bazan

    Doña Isabel de Borja

    San Francisco de Borja

    Teodosio de Braganza

    Pedro de Cantabria  Abt. 675 730

    Alonso de Castilla

    Don Juan Infante de Castilla

    Fadrique de Castilla

    Juana Alfonso de Castilla

    Sancho de Castilla

    Violante Sanchez de Castilla

    Agustin de Castro

    Alfonso de Portugal y de Castro

    Alonso de Castro

    Alonso Jacinto de Castro

    Alonso Nino de Castro

    Alonso Osorio de Castro 1441 August 19, 1467

    Alvar or Alvaro Perez de Castro 1240

    Alvar Perez de Castro Abt. 1384

    Alvaro de Castro

    Ana de Castro

    Andres de Castro

    Andres Fernandez de Castro

    Angela de Castro

    Antonio de Castro

    Antonio Fernandez de Castro

    Antonio Fernandez de Castro

    Antonio Fernandez de Castro

    Bartolomé de Castro

    Beatriz de Castro

    Beatriz de Castilla y de Castro

    Bernarda de Castro

    Brianda de Castro

    Carlos de Castro

    Constanza de Castro

    Cristobal de Castro

    Diego de Castro

    Diego Lopez de Castro

    Dionis de Castro

    Dionisio de Castro

    Dona Juana Garcia de Castro

    Elio Fernandez de Castro

    Ello o Eilo o Eulalia Perez de Castro

    Emilia o Muja Andres de Castro

    Esperanza de Castro

    Esteban Fernandez de Castro

    Eusebia de Castro

    Fadrique de Castilla y de Castro

    Felipe de Castro

    Fernan Guitierrez de Castro

    Fernan Perez de Castro

    Fernan Rodriguez de Castro

    Fernan Ruiz de Castro

    Fernando de Castro

    Fernando Ruiz de Castro

    Francisca de Castro

    Francisco de Castro

    Francisco Benito de Castro

    Francisco Fernandez de Castro

    Garcia de Castro

    Gaspar Fernandez de Castro 1667

    Gaston de Castro

    Gonzalo Fernandez de Castro April 16, 1586

    Gregorio de Castro

    Guiomar de Castro

    Guiomar Fernandez de Castro

    Gutierre Fernandez de Castro

    Gutierre Ruiz de Castro

    Gutierrez de Castro

    Ines de Castro

    Inez Fernandez de Castro

    Inigo de Acuna y de Castro

    Isabel de Castro

    Jeronima de Castro

    José de Castro

    Juan de Castro

    Juan Alonso de Castro April 12, 1716

    Juan Fernandez de Castro

    Juan Fernandez de Castro Abt. 1520 1604

    Juan Garcia de Castro

    Juan Lopez de Castro

    Juan Luis de Castro

    Juana de Castro

    Juana Garcia de Castro

    Juana Ruiz de Castro

    Leonor de Castro

    Leonor Ruiz de Castro

    Lorenzo de Castro

    Luisa de Castro

    Magdalena de Castro

    Magdalena de Riano y de Castro

    Manuel de Castro

    Manuel Fernandez de Castro

    Manuela de Castro

    Mari Alvarez de Castro

    Maria de Castro

    Maria Andres de Castro

    Maria Josefa de Castro

    Maria o Sancha Guitierrez de Castro

    Mariana de Castro

    Mariana Francisca de Castro

    Martin Fernandez de Castro

    Mencía de Castro

    Mencia Alvarez de Castro

    N. Fernandez de Castro

    Nicholas Fernandez de Castro

    Nicolas de Castro

    Nicolas Fernandez de Castro

    Pedro de Castro

    Pedro Fernandez de Castro June 1343

    Pedro Fernandez de Castro

    Pedro Fernandez de Castro Abt. 1155 August 18, 1214

    Pedro Ruiz de Castro
    Polonia de Castro

    Ponce Guerao de Castro

    Rodrigo de Castro

    Rodrigo Fernandez de Castro

    Rodrigo Fernandez de Castro Abt. 1090 Abt. 1142

    Sancha Fernandez de Castro

    Sancho Fernandez de Castro

    Sancho Garcia de Castro

    Teresa de Castro

    Teresa Fernandez de Castro

    Urraca Fernandez de Castro

    Ventura de Acuna y de Castro

    Urzinda Munialona de Coimbra

    Domingo de Guzmán Fernández de Córdova

    Doña Francisca Josefa Centurión de Córdova  1668   1694

    Doña Juana Enríquez de Córdova

    Dona Isabel Maria Vazquez de Coronado

    Anton Garcia de Escalante

    Teresa de Figueroa  Abt. 1489

    Aldonza Vazquez de Fornelos

    Fernando Ruiz de Castro y Portugal Lignano de Ga

    Doña Lucrecia Lignano de Gatinara

    Alvar Ruiz de Guzman

    Dona Maria Ramirez de Guzman

    Dona Mencia de Guzman

    Francisco de Guzmán

    Diego Lopez de Haro

    Mencia Lopez de Haro

    Pedro de Haro

    Urraca Diaz de Haro

    Urraca Lopez de Haro

    Fernando Garcia de Hita    Abt. 1065  Abt. 1134

    Dona Francisca de la Camara

    Francisco de Castro y de la Camara

    Juan Alonso de Castro de la Camara

    Doña Catalina de la Cerda

    Maria Porcallo de la Cerda

    Pedro de Moncada y de la Cerda

    Beltrán de la Cueva

    Beltrán de Castro y de la Cueva

    Doña Jerónima de Córdova y de la Cueva

    Francisco de la Cueva

    Isabel de Castro y de la Cueva

    Juan de la Cueva

    Teresa de Castro y de la Cueva

    Dona Francisca de la Moneda

    Dona Victoria Sforza de la Somaglia

    Alvaro de la Torre

    Dona Isabel de la Torre
    Imbaut de la Tremoilla

    Dona Mencia Diaz de la Vega

    Mencia Diaz de la Vega

    Isabel de Lancastre

    Leonor Gonzales de Lara

    Pedro Nunez de Lara

    Doña Ana de Larrinaga

    Dona Mayor de Leguizamon

    Aldonza Rodriguez de Leon

    Countess Maria Ponce de Leon

    Fernando Alfonso de Leon

    Isabel Ponce de Leon

    Maria Ponce de Leon

    Rodrigo Alfonso de Leon

    Dona N. de Lila

    Gonzalo Yanez de Lima

    Doña Francisca de Londoño

    Doña Isabel de Losada

    Constanza de Lucio

    Doña Bárbara Alonso de Maluenda

    Martin de Maluenda

    Dona Barbara de Matanza

    Juan de Mazuelo

    Andres de Melgosa

    Doña Manuela Antonia de Mena

    Diego Sarmiento de Mendoza

    Doña Aldonza de Mendoza

    Doña Catalina Mariana de Silva y Haro de Mendoza

    Emilia Iniguez de Mendoza

    García Hurtado de Mendoza

    Ines de Mendoza

    Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza

    Doña Leonor Téllez de Meneses

    Suero Tellez de Meneses

    Emilia Iniguez de Mondoza

    Margarita de Monferrato

    N. Diaz de Montenegro

    Rodrigo de Moscoso

    Doña Jerónima de Noroña

    Juan Rodriguez de Palencia

    Dona Maria de Polanco

    Maria de Polanco

    Alvaro Jacinto Colon de Portugal

    Dionis de Portugal

    Fernando Ruiz de Castro y de Portugal 
              July 11, 1505 July 19, 1575

    Jorge Alberto de Portugal

    Leonor de Castro y de Portugal

    Pedro de Castro y de Portugal 1506

    Pedro Nuño Colón de Portugal

    Leonor de Renteria

    Mayor de Renteria

    Diego de Riano

    Doña Inés Enríquez de Ribera

    Fernando Joaquín de la Cueva Arias de Saavedra

    Juan de Salamanca

    Luisa de Salamanca

    Doña Mariana de Salazar

    Dona Isabel de Salinas

    Jorge Negreiros de Silva

    Alfonso Vázquez de Sousa

    Diego Lopez de Sousa

    Doña Leonor López de Sousa

    Doña Mentía de Sousa

    Martin Gil de Sousa

    Martin Gil de Soverosa

    Doña Inés Enríquez de Tavera

    Luis Colón de Toledo

    Dona Tomasina de Torquemada

    Estefania Perez de Trava

    Aldonza Lopez de Ulloa

    Lope Sanchez de Ulloa

    Doña María Constanza o Doña Mayor de Valcárcel

    Alonso de Valencia

    Fernando Alonso de Valencia

    Fernando Alonso de Valencia

    1384

    Aldonza Lorenzo de Valladares

    Dona Maria de Velasco

    Sancho Diaz de Velasco

    Doña María de Zúñiga

    Mencia de Zuniga

    Garcia Alvarez (born dead)

    Dona Maria del Castillo

    Dona Francisca del Peso

    Garcia del Peso

    Juan del Peso

    Lope Diaz

    Enderquina

    Leonor Enriques

    Ermesinda

    Princesa Estafania

    Alfonso Felipe

    Prince Felipe

    Juan Fernandez

    Trigidia Fernandez

    Fernando

    King Don Fernando II

    Hernando de Castro y Figueroa Abt. 1506

    Pedro Fernandez de Castro y Figueroa Abt. 1521

    Senora Flamenca
    Fruela I 722 768

    Fruela II Abt. 872

    Alvaro Gallo

    Urraca Garces

    Garcia I Abt. 870

    Juan Garcia

    Alejandro de Castro y Gatinara

    Doña Antonia Girón

    Doña Leonor de Acuña Girón

    Doña Teresa Téllez Girón

    Leonor de la Cueva y Girón

    Gomez

    Sancha Gomez

    Ximena Gomez

    Vizconde D. Guerao

    Adosinda Gutierrez

    Doña Mariana de la Piedad Osorio y Guzmán

    Hermesenda

    Maria Iniguez

    Rodrigo JerónimoPortocarrero

    Inigo Jimenez

    Jimeno Jimenez

    Sancha Jimenez

    Diego de Castro Bobadilla y la Cerda

    Diego Martinez de Soria y Lerma

    Francisco Fernández de Castro y Portugal Lignan

    Francisco de Riano Llantallida

    Maria Lobo

    Mencia Lopez

    Gil Manrique

    Constanza Manuel

    Eylo o Dona Ello Martinez

    Rodrigo Martinez

    Catalina de Castro y Matanza

    Dona Catalina de Castro y Matanza

    Mauregatus Abt. 724 789

    Dona Catalina de Castro y Mazuelo

    Gregorio de Castro y Mazuelo

    Dona Antonia Josefa Melendez

    Dona Leonor Melendez

    Francisco de Castro y Melendez

    Francisco Antonio de Castro y Mena

    Rodrigo de Castro y Mena

    Doña Francisca de Sardeneta y Mendoza

    Dona Maria Serafina de Figueroa y Mendoza

    Doña Mariana Jerónima Baeza y Mendoza

    Inigo Lopez de la Cerda y Mendoza

    Juan Manuel López de Zúñiga Sotomayor y Mendoza

    Elvira Menendez

    Munia

    Dona Leonor Munoz
    Pedro Nino

    Nuna

    Oneca

    Garcia Ordonez Abt. 1062 May 29, 1108

    Ordono Ordonez Abt. 1020 Abt. 1073

    Ordono I 821 866

    Ordono II Abt. 871 June 924

    Ordono III

    Elvira Ozores u Osorez

    Alvaro Osorio

    Ana de Castro Osorio

    Antonio de Castro Osorio

    Beatriz de Castro Osorio

    Doña Teresa Osorio

    Juan Alvarez Osorio

    Luis Osorio

    Maria de Castro Osorio

    Pedro Alvarez Osorio

    Rodrigo de Castro Osorio

    Rodrigo de Moscoso Osorio

    Rodrigo Enríquez Osorio o de Castro Osorio 1451 1521

    Teresa Osorio

    Elvira Ozores

    Dona Maria Pardo

    Alfonso Pedro

    Beatriz Pedro

    Dionis Pedro

    Juan Pedro

    King Pedro I

    King Pedro III

    Maria Gonzalez Pereyra

    Doña Leonor Pimentel Ponce

    D. Guerao Ponce

    Dona Isabel Paula de Soto y Portillo

    Guillén Ramón de Moncada y Portocarrero

    Antonio de Castro y Portugal

    Catalina de Castro y Portugal

    Catalina Fernández de Castro Girón y Portugal

    Doña María Alberta Fernándezde Castro y Portugal 1665 1706

    Fernando Ruiz de Castro Andrade y Portugal

    1548 October 19, 1601

    Fernando Ruiz de Castro y Portugal 1580 September 20, 1608

    Francisco Ruiz de Castro y Portugal

    Ginés Fernández Ruiz de Castro y Portugal

    Ginés Fernando Ruiz de Castro y Portugal 1666 1741

    Lucrecia Antonia de Castro y Portugal

    Lucrecia de Castro y Portugal

    María Catalina de Castro y Portugal

    María de Castro y Portugal

    Mariana Francisca de Castro y Portugal

    Nuño Fernando de Castro y Portugal

    Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro y Portugal

    Pedro Fernández de Castro Andrade y Portugal

    June 29, 1524 August 21, 1590

    Pedro Fernández de Castro y Portugal 1576

    Salvador Francisco Ruiz de Castro y Portugal

    Victoria de Castro y Portugal

    Ordono Ramirez  Abt. 981 Abt. 1023

    Teresa Ramirez

    Ramiro I          Abt. 790 February 01, 849/50

    Ramiro II         Abt. 898 950

    Ramiro III         961      June 26, 985

    Elvira Fernandez de Castro Renteria

    Gonzalo Fernandez de Castro Renteria 1598 Abt. 1646

    Juan Fernandez de Castro Renteria

    Luis Fernandez de Castro Renteria

    Maria Fernandez de Castro Renteria

    Doña María de Balboa Rivadeneyra

    Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas

    Urraca Ruiz

    José Zorrilla y Salamanca

    Garcia Sanchez I

    Garcia Sanchez I Abt. 919 February 22, 969/70

    Jimeno Sanchez

    Maria Sanchez

    Martin Sanchez

    Ramiro Sanchez

    Toda Sanchez

    Urraca Sanchez

    Sancho I 935 966

    Catalina de Portugal Castro y Sandoval

    Doña Catalina de la Cerda y Sandoval

    Doña Catalina de Zúñiga y Sandoval

    Alvaro de Santa Cruz

    Silo 783

    Sisalda

    Doña Mariana de Aliaga y Solís

    Joaquín Alvaro López de Zúñiga Sotomayor  October 10, 1777

    Manuel Joaquín Diego López de Zúñiga Sotomayor

    Suero Tellez

    Teresa

    Antonio de Fonseca yToledo

    Doña Teresa de Andrade Zúñiga y Ulloa

    Urraca

    Doña Mencía Vázquez-Coutiño

    Doña Bernardina Vicentelo

    Doña Leonor Francisca de Portugal y Vicentelo

    Vimorano Abt. 720

    Gonzalo del Rio y Zorilla

    Diego Fernández de Castro y Zúñiga

    José Alejo Antonio de Cárdenas Ulloa y Zúñiga

    María de Castro y Zúñiga

    Mariana de Castro y Zúñiga

    N. de Castro y Zúñiga 

     

     

    DNA

    Researching the DNA of Historical Figures 

    Abstract: Researching the DNA of Historical Figures 

    Genetic analysis strongly increases the opportunity to identify skeletal remains or other biological samples from historical figures. However, validation of this identification is essential and should be done by DNA typing of living relatives. Based on the similarity of a limited set of Y-STRs, a blood sample and a head were recently identified as those belonging respectively to King Louis XVI and his paternal ancestor King Henry IV. Here, we collected DNA samples from three living males of the House of Bourbon to validate the since then controversial identification of these remains. 

    The three living relatives revealed the Bourbon’s Y-chromosomal variant on a high phylogenetic resolution for several members of the lineage between Henry IV and Louis XVI. This ‘true’ Bourbon’s variant is different from the published Y-STR profiles of the blood as well as of the head. The earlier identifications of these samples can therefore not be validated. Moreover, matrilineal genealogical data revealed that the published mtDNA sequence of the head was also different from the one of a series of relatives. This therefore leads to the conclusion that the analyzed samples were not from the French kings. 

    Our study once again demonstrated that in order to realize an accurate genetic identification of historical remains DNA typing of living persons, who are paternally or maternally related with the presumed donor of the samples, is required.

    Keywords: genetic identification; ancient DNA; Y-chromosome; mitochondrial DNA; Louis XVI; Henri IV
    http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ejhg2013211a.html
     

     

    CUENTOS & STORIES
    "Memory is a moral obligation, all the time."
    -J. Derrida
    Sent by Devon G. Peña, Ph.D.

    Four Stories About Seniors by Ben Romero
    Chicken Nuggets
    Mutton Jeff
    The Closet Ballerina
    Life's Disappointments

     

    Editor:  The following four stories written by Ben Romero is based on the lives of residents in a senior facility, at which he is an administrator.

    CHICKEN NUGGETS

    A short story by Ben Romero  

    Hers is an old name, well-suited for a woman of her generation: Hilda. She loves to tell the story of her working life, and how she retired from the US Postal Service when she was a mere sixty. That was thirty-two years ago. Now her body is frail, but her mind is sharp, her voice strong.

    “I was the best damned clerk they ever had,” she says, straightening up in her recliner. We’ve shared our past so she knows our backgrounds are similar. For her, moving up in the organization had been out of the question. “When you love what you do and nobody can do it as good as you, it makes no sense to do anything else.”

    She had mastered many clerical duties during her thirty-five year postal career, but spent most of her time working the Register Room. It was a position that called for a responsible person with a strong mind and serious disposition. She would have liked to work five more years, but her ailing husband insisted they move from Phoenix to the central San Joaquin Valley. I asked what her favorite duties had been and was surprised when she said, “Handling the nuggets in the spring.”

    I had almost forgotten about the in-house postal term for day-old chicks in the mail.

    “Those chicken nuggets were the cutest things to handle. I liked them much more than the sacks of honeybees. That’s for sure.” A sly smile crosses her face, brightening up her eyes, if only for a moment. “Of course I also enjoyed handing the boxes over to the young fellas who came in to pick them up. Something about men in jeans can turn a woman on.”

    I take the opportunity to tease her. “When the doctor comes in to see you today, maybe he’ll be wearing jeans.”

    “Bah!” she says. “Before this killer cancer invaded my body I only went to the doctor if I was really sick. Five times I went over the years, and it seems each time the rabbit died.” She was referring, of course, to the old pregnancy tests.

    “I’ve met three of your children so far,” I say, hoping to keep her talking. I know the pain medication is wearing out and I want to keep her mind on other things.

    “One of my boys won’t be here,” she says. She blinks rapidly and a tear finds its way down her pale cheek. “He’s in prison… for tax evasion. Don’t ask me what got into him. That’s not the way his dad and I raised him.”

    “I’m sorry to hear that,” I say. “And your other child?”

    “Honey, my other child is older than you are. He was here last night. Let me show you what he brought me.” She wiggles in her chair to expose the thick cushion beneath her bottom. “It feels like a marshmallow.”

    She tries to laugh, but the pain overpowers her and she shuts her eyes and clenches her teeth.

    “Fifteen more minutes,” I say softly. That’s how long before her next dose of morphine. When our residents are placed on hospice, there is little we can do for them, except offer comfort and lend an ear.

    Hilda sits in silence for a long moment before opening her eyes. “Do you know what I wish?” she says. “I wish I could hold one of those baby chicken nuggets. Do you think I ever will?”

    “Probably,” I say, hating myself for lying. The unmistakable shadow of death is on her face. I doubt if she’ll last more than a few days. I leave her side and ask the caregiver to bring her morphine.

     

     

    MUTTON JEFF  
    A short story by Ben Romero

    His given name was Jacobo Monsanto, the same as his father, who came from the old country with his parents when he was just a boy. Somewhere along the way he adopted the name Jeff. He claimed it suited him well, even for a “Basque on American soil,” as he liked to say.

    From the first day he came to live in the assisted living facility, we had trouble keeping Jeff indoors, even after dark. He said he’d spent a lifetime tending sheep and was not accustomed to spending so much time under a roof.

    Jeff’s niece had a recliner delivered, along with a twin size bed and a small dresser, but he preferred to sit on an old ottoman.

    On quiet evenings he spoke about his life as a sheepherder. “I was often alone,” he liked to say, “but seldom lonely. The sheep were not great company, but Curly was the best companion a man could have. He was more than a dog. He was my family for twelve or fifteen years.” Each time he said those words his voice trembled and he wiped tears from his eyes with the back of a calloused hand. “Oh, I had a number of loyal dogs after Curly, but there was just not another like him.”

    Aside from his dogs, was there anything in particular he missed? “The nights were so quiet; I could hear the crickets a mile away. The stars were crystal clear, nothing like what you see here,” he said. “I never had use for a clock, just kept track of the position of the stars. I guess there’s too much distraction from artificial lights and polluted air in the city.”

    If not for the painful arthritis that plagued his joints, I believe Jeff would have continued his solitary existence in the remote high plains of northern New Mexico and eastern Arizona – even at eighty-five. “I’m reduced to using a walker to get around,” he sighed in frustration one afternoon. Even so, he refused to wear slippers, loafers, or tennis shoes, insisting on his worn work boots, which looked older than the faded jeans and checkered shirts that were his trademark.

    The day Jeff left us was both a sad and happy day. The other residents reasoned that he had been taken away to be in a better place. And they were right.

    It had been love at first sight. Sherry, the physical therapist was spending a few hours a week helping Jeff cope with diminishing mobility. One morning her car would not start and her elderly aunt, Gretchen, graciously gave her a ride to the facility. When Sherry introduced her to Jeff, there was an immediate attraction. She started visiting Jeff every afternoon, expanding her visits each time. And soon, he had no need for a walker. In fact, he developed a spring to his step. Eventually, he stopped grieving for old Curly and started taking pleasure in playing cards and exchanging stories with the other residents.

    After a few months, Jeff and Gretchen announced their plan to move in together. Jeff had been single his entire life and had no intention of getting hitched this late in the game, but living “in sin” with his “little leg of lamb” as he called her, was too good to pass up at any age.

    The last we heard of Jeff, he and Gretchen had purchased a new pick up truck, a camper, and a sheep dog and were planning a trip to Kansas in search of wide open spaces.  

     

     

    THE CLOSET BALLERINA

    A short story by Ben Romero  

    Gail is tall and slim, her frame solid and straight for a woman in her eighties. She moves with poise and elegance from room to room, often humming to herself. Sometimes, late at night, she does stretching exercises in her room. The only dessert she’ll allow herself is fresh fruit, preferably berries, and nuts. Whipped cream is absolutely out of the question.

    Before Gail’s sons placed her in assisted living, due to cognitive decline, she had spent her entire adult life as a homemaker. Her husband of fifty years was a successful banker and shrewd businessman who refused to retire. Five years ago, he slumped forward into his dinner plate one evening and died. The image plays itself in Gail’s mind frequently, when out of the blue, she’ll sit up straight and say, “He had mashed potatoes on his forehead and the paramedics wouldn’t let me wipe him clean. Nobody should have to die like that.”

    In the back of her closet, Gail keeps a pair of ballerina shoes, which are her treasure. She wears them only when the other residents are sleeping. Standing in front of her full-length mirror, she stretches and dances to music that is only in her head.

    Gail’s parents were immigrants from Poland. They worked hard and raised half a dozen children during the Great Depression. “I wanted to be a dancer,” she blurted out one day during dinner. “Momma understood, but Daddy wouldn’t hear of it. He assured Momma that giving me more household responsibilities would make me forget such nonsense.”

    In Gail’s room, there is a picture of a soldier in full uniform, shaking hands with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who later became President of the United States. “Rex swept me off my feet,” recounts Gail, full of enthusiasm. “He was dashing and handsome, afraid of nothing at all. At least that was what I thought at the time. I met him at a victory dance at the close of the war. I told Daddy I was going to my cousin, Nicolasa’s house to help her sew dresses for her sister’s wedding reception, and instead went to the dance and fell in love.”

    Days pass before I hear more about Gail’s life. As I drove her to a dentist appointment she must have felt compelled to share. “When I married Rex, we were not well off, but I was fortunate to not have to work. More than anything, I wanted to take dance lessons and pursue my passion as a ballerina.”

    “What stopped you?” I asked, pretending to be less interested than I really was.

    “My mother-in-law. Her husband died shortly after Rex and I married, and his mother came to stay with us – just temporarily, I was assured. Little did I know that she would be so controlling, and my fearless Rex was deathly afraid of her. She didn’t approve of a young bride dancing. And that was the end of that.”

    “How long did she stay with you?” I asked, pulling into the dentist’s parking lot.

    “Three years and seven months. She died in her sleep just two weeks before my first child was born.”

    “So then you had a baby to care for,” I concluded, opening the car door for her.

    “Oh, I didn’t mind caring for my baby,” she assured me. “I figured once she was weaned I could find a good nanny to help out and I could pursue my dancing. But shortly after she learned to walk, my daughter contracted polio.”

    Gail’s eyes welled with tears and I dropped the subject until we were headed back after the dentist appointment. “God knows I tried to love my daughter,” Gail began. “I just felt hopelessly trapped, and Rex was always so busy building his career. I wanted a normal daughter, one that might share my love for dancing, so I could encourage her to reach for the stars and become the person I could never be. I’m sorry to say I was actually relieved when our little Anna died, especially since I was already six months pregnant with Andrew.”

    Our conversation resumed shortly after dinner, while other residents were getting ready for bed. “Rex was the happiest man I ever knew. Louis was born to us when Andrew was three, and two years after that came Russell – you’ve met him. The boys loved sports as much as their father did, and guess who got stuck taking them to every practice and ballgame they were involved with. Me. The good Lord did not send us any more daughters, and I blame myself for that. No granddaughters either. Andrew never married, and Louis and Russell each have two boys. None of them has any interest in dancing.”

    I waited a long moment before asking my final question on the subject. “So what happens now?”

    Gail sighed deeply, brushing a tuft of thin white hair away from her forehead. “We all have our destiny and we do what we are compelled to do. Now, I dance for me,” she said, matter-of-factly. Closing her eyes, she smiled with satisfaction.

    In my profession as a care provider I’ve learned that some things are best left alone.  

     

    LIFE’S DISAPPOINTMENTS  

    A short story by Ben Romero
    bromero98@comcast.net  
     

    Dora had been a resident in the assisted living facility for several years when I began my employment there. She was friendly with the voice and demeanor of a woman much younger than her ninety-five years. Although she had been diagnosed with slight dementia many years prior, there was no indication that it was advancing. I suspect the diagnosis was wrong.

    “How long have you lived here?” I dared ask her one afternoon.

    “Longer than I care to remember,” she responded from the comfort of her worn recliner. Her walking was limited to short trips to the bathroom or to her bedroom, always clutching her bright-red walker, but moving with a steady gait. Most of her waking hours, however, were spent in her recliner, watching old Perry Mason reruns on television.

    I found myself speechless and she must have interpreted my silence as a need for further explanation.

    She smiled behind clear blue eyes, but it was a sad smile at best. “You see,” she continued, “I no longer measure time on a day-to-day basis as I used to when I was young. I measure it by life’s disappointments.”

    I immediately felt as if I could learn a lot from this woman and felt compelled to spend time conversing with her. During one of many talks that ensued, she surprised me with blunt details about her life.

    “I lost a son to the Viet Kong,” she remarked, without emotion. “He joined the military so he could learn to fly, hoping someday to become a commercial airplane pilot like his father. He would have done it, too, but fate plays cruel tricks on us sometimes. My husband had such high hopes for him, that he never could accept that he was gone. He drank himself to an early death, God bless his soul.”

    As we sat in the back patio one morning sipping coffee and discussing the wide assortment of flowers growing out of barrels, her mood seemed livelier than usual. She squinted against the morning sun, revealing deep lines on her forehead, and yet, her cheeks looked soft to the touch. A small cloud passed overhead, temporarily blocking the sun, and she shivered.

    “It was cold on the morning when my daughter passed away,” she said. “I shouldn’t complain. She was sixty-nine and lived a good life. With her husband dead and her kids off on their own, we had discussed moving in together like sisters. She was my oldest child and we had always been close.”

    “Is that when you came to live here?” I asked.

    Dora buttoned up her sweater and nodded. “A mother is not supposed to outlive her children. What else could I do? To be honest with you, I never expected to linger this long. I checked myself in, thinking I wouldn’t last the winter. But here I am, six years later.”

    The sun broke through the moving cloud. “And your grandkids?” I asked.

    She smiled and I could see her eyes sparkle. “They’re good kids,” she said. “The oldest is in her forties, owns her own business and never married. Her brother has a whole passel of kids, but has been divorced twice. They all send me cards and letters from time to time.”

    Dora abruptly left the facility while I was away on vacation. Unknown to me, her granddaughter had arranged to take her to live with her in San Diego. I treasure the postcard she sent me from Catalina, California a few weeks later. The only words on the card, written in bold letters with a shaky hand, were 

    ‘I NO LONGER MEASURE TIME BY LIFE’S DISAPPOINTMENTS’.



    FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH

    Gloria Candelaria, Crossroads 
    Cuento: A Future Homemaker for America by Michele Bonilla "Lillie"
    A Library for the People by Steve Mencher
    Historical necrologies can be important sources of information
    Reporte parcial de la Conferencia Iberoamericana de Genealogía
    From Kimberly Powell, your Guide to Genealogy
     

    Gloria Candelaria

    The Advocate  featured Hispanics in the Crossroads through Oct. 15 for Hispanic Heritage Month.

    Video by J.R. Ortega

    Using only a fingertip, Gloria Candelaria has the power to travel 220 years into the past.

    "The red line is where I come from," said the 75-year-old Victoria woman, tracing the family tree - her family line - that she drew nearly 40 years ago.

    The fading ink on the yellowing paper is framed in gold, about 4-by-3 feet and goes through every line of her family, not just her direct line.

    "It took me 30 days to print and 30 years to find the information," she said.

    Candelaria first became interested in genealogy at 10 years old, when her grandmother and grandfather would argue over who had the stronger ancestral history.

    Her grandfather's family, she learned, helped establish Albuquerque, N.M., in the early 1700s; and her grandmother's side established San Antonio soon after, she said.

    Her family migrated mostly from Spain to Texas, she added.

    Those moments were all Candelaria needed to be where she is now - an author of at least seven books. She has also taught several classes on genealogy and Crossroads Hispanic history.

    Her family tree dates back to 1794 and took her years of traveling across the U.S. and Spain to figure out.

    Most of the answers, however, were found in Austin and archives through birth, death and deed records.

    Any one, Hispanic or not, can learn their history, all it takes is patience and persistence, she said.

    "You just start off by putting your name down," she said.

    As she became older, Candelaria even roped her kids into the research process, spending Sunday afternoons visiting area cemeteries to write down names and dates in an attempt to piece together the family puzzle.

    Robert Shook, a Victoria historian who has known Candelaria for years, said the knowledge of her history and the histories of other families in the area is an asset to the community.

    Her curiosity to always know and learn more is a quality Shook wishes more people had.

    "I've found that she is not only very helpful with our Hispanics, but she has supported me and a couple of the project I've undertaken," he said. "Her attitude is very positive."

    Shook said Candelaria has taken time to help others with their histories as well.

    Over time, Hispanics have disconnected somewhat from their heritage, by ways of language and culture, he said.

    Though people get further from their roots, Shook has seen some interest about ancestry in today's youth.

    "I've been very optimistic about our attitudes in terms of the value of our past," he said.

    If there is any imprint Candelaria wants to leave on the world, it's the knowledge of her history, she said.

    She's proud that her Hispanic heritage has so much to offer communities. Every region needs a little flavor, she said.  "You're nothing if you don't know where you came from," she said.

    http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2013/sep/24/gloria_candelaria_jo_092613_220646/    
    Go to for a video by J.R. Ortega and information of books written by Gloria Candelaria.  

     

    CUENTO

     A FUTURE HOMEMAKER FOR AMERICA

    By Michele Bonilla "Lillie"

    Most people have only one family, but I have two; the family in which I was born and my foster family! When I was young, all the children in my class worked on family trees. The teacher gave each of us a form to fill out. Because I was living in a foster home, I added the names of my foster family. At that time I didn't know much about my birth-family, but I do now.

    I enjoy being a student at Bingham High School and try very hard to get good grades. Last year as a freshman, I enjoyed running cross-country. This year I am really involved in the Future Homemakers of America. Our major goal is to build good homes for America's future. As we study to become good homemakers, we learn many useful skills. One of my goals this year has been to improve my cooking, so I have been taking a home-ec class, saving recipes and doing more cooking at home for the family. In F.H.A. we look forward to the time when we can have happy families of our own.

    In January a special friend of mine had a dream about me and how I love to bake. We were mixing a huge cake to serve many people. The cake represented my genealogy. How great it could be to gather the records of my ancestors and share them with my other relatives. We needed some money to help pay for the project but not too much. We were so happy and excited about our super project. I realized that genealogy is much greater than I ever thought it would be, interesting and not too difficult. My friend wrote her dream and gave me a copy to keep.

    Last February, for one of our F.H.A. club projects, we were in charge of the Valentine's Day festivities for Sweetheart's Week. In order to qualify for the Sweetheart's Queen, we were judged on baking a cake, wearing a formal gown, and being able to answer questions about F.H.A.

    I thought about my cake for several days. I wanted it to be different and special. On Saturday, while I was mixing and baking my cake, I was thinking about how I would decorate it. When I finally opened the oven door, the fragrant lemon smell was wonderful! I laid the two heart-shaed layers on a cake board to cool, and placed them side-by-side like a twin valentine. I iced them with vanilla frosting, then decorated the shell borders and lettering in red.' The inscription read, "Home Is Where The Heart Is." As the finishing touch, I put a little brown frosted house by the word "Home," and a red heart after the words "Heart Is." It looked really pretty. I was chosen to be second attendant to the queen, and I had a wonderful time!

    I let my interest in genealogy slump for a while, but now that I am fifteen years old, I have started finding new and interesting things about my families.

    My foster parents, Ralph and Emily Lillie, have been good examples in my life. I am very happy in this family for we try hard to accomplish many fun things that we have set out to do. They support me in F.H.A. and other school activities. We work together in the garden and oh many different projects that must be done. They help me fulfill my short and long-term goals. I have enjoyed the other foster children that have come and gone through the years.

    My foster mom has told me much about the history of our family. Records have been kept and much genealogy has been done. Mom's family came from Denmark and Sweden; Dad's from England. Grandma has a large family history book. We enjoy reading about the families and attending reunions. Mom has encouraged me to find out more about my birth family.

    When I visit my birth parents, Frank and Margaret Bonilla, we sometimes talk about our family history. I learned that my father's parents sailed from Europe to San Francisco, then were sent to the Hawaiian Islands where they lived for many years. Some of my relatives live there today.

    My birth-mother's family also originated in Europe, but many years ago. She has helped me find much new information. I have learned many things about her background from reading old letters and books that belonged to my great-aunt. One day while working at my friend's home, it took me twice as long to finish because I was exchanging family information on the phone! The next day one of our Sunday School teachers was ill, and I was invited to take her place and share all my research experiences. It was really exciting and so much fun!

    I appreciated my friend's dream about mixing the huge.genealogy cake because I often dream. One night I dreamed that my friend, Jeanene Bateman, and I were sitting in my Spanish class. Jeanene had brought her lunch to class which was very unusual. I had brought Italian dressing to add a little spice to her salad. While we were sitting together at a class table, I spilled the dressing, and it ran all over the table. I tried putting the dressing back in the bottle but couldn't. I remember telling Jeanene that I couldn't put it back. Then I woke up.

    At first I thought it was just an ordinary dream, but later I thought that maybe it wasn't. I felt that this dream had something to do with my family history, so I call my birth-father to ask him where his mother was born. He answered, "She came from Barcelona, Spain." That evening I learned that many of my ancestors were Spanish. I wonder, if the Indian dressing, some of them had not "spilled over" from Italy. It will be exciting to find that out one day. I have encouraged Jeanen to start working on her own genealogy.

    I strongly believe it is important to learn about your family background. I am finish my second year of Spanish, saving my money and looking forward happily to a trip to Spain.

    Source: Roots & Branches by Connie Rector and Diane Deputy, pg. 12-15

     

     

     

    A Library for the People by Steve Mencher

    Imagine your local library filled with books that tell stories written by your friends and neighbors.  And those books were painstakingly made by hand, and the stories inscribed on the pages by hand, too.  That's the People's Library, a  project launched by a team led by arts activist Mark Standquist at the Richmond Public Library in Virginia.  He sees libraries "not as a space for disseminating histories, but for producing them."

    The process begins with discarded books which are used in papermaking workshops.  The recycled paper is then bound into old book covers. The library offers classes on writing memoirs, attracting aspiring autobiographers like Meldon D. Jenkins-Jones, 63. "I'm not going to be here forever," she says, "and all this information - my life, my legacy - is going to be for naught if it's not passed on."

    One day, after Jenkins-Jones writes her story, her book will take its place alongside bestsellers and classics.  Richmond residents will check it out, learn about her life and return it.

    Source: AARP Bulletin, September 2013

     

    Obituary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obituary
    A necrology is a register or list of records of the deaths of people related to a particular ... Historical necrologies can be important sources of information.

     

     
    La Conferencia Iberoamericana de Genealogía 

     

    Adjunto el reporte parcial de la Conferencia Iberoamericana de Genealogía que se desarrolló recientemente en Salt Lake City. Fueron 6 días pero tenemos hasta ahora los primeros 4.  Fue una experiencia maravillosa.

     

     

    Agradecemos a Luis Jose Prieto Nouel por su excelente y detallada crónica de los acontecimientos que hicieron historia en la Conferencia Iberoamericana de Genealogía, a la que se suma una selección impresionante de fotografías y como si fuera poco, las ponencias del día.

    Haz clic para ver la cronica del Día 1.
    Haz clic para ver la cronica del Día 2.
    Haz clic para ver la cronica del Día 3.
    Haz clic para ver la cronica del Día 4.

    http://conferenciadegenealogia.blogspot.com/2013/09/que-buena-cronica.html#!/2013/09/que-buena-cronica.html 

     
    From Kimberly Powell, your Guide to Genealogy
    About.com
    More Than One Choice: U.S. Census Records Online
    Most of us have a favorite resource for searching and browsing U.S. federal census records. But what do you do when you can't find an ancestor where you expect him to be? Or can't read a census image because it is blurry or faded? Don't miss the many other online alternatives for searching and viewing U.S. census records -- many of them free!
    Search Related Topics: us census us genealogy census records

    Top 10 Deadliest U.S. Natural Disasters

    Environmental and natural disasters have claimed the lives of thousands of people in the United States, wiped out entire cities and towns, and destroyed precious historical and genealogical documents. If your family lived in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, New England, California, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, Illinois or Indiana, then your family history may have been changed forever by one of these ten deadliest U.S. disasters.
    Search Related Topics: natural disasters timelines local history

    The Influenza Epidemic of 1918

    If you have ancestors who died or disappeared from your family tree between 1918 and 1919, then they may have been victims of the deadly flu pandemic, which infected an estimated 500 million people, nearly a third of the world's population, and caused the deaths of an estimated 50 million people.



    ORANGE COUNTY, CA

    Nov 9th: SHHAR meeting: Using Picture with your Genealogy and Personal Stories  
    Orange County 1800s Cultural Intermarrying

     

     


    November 9th: 
    Using pictures with your genealogy and personal stories  
       Hints and Tidbits from the Jones Family      
    FREE presentation, 10 am to 11:30
    Orange County Family Search Library
    674 S. Yorba
    Orange, CA  92863-6471

    Jim Jones, retired engineer, son, Jeffery Jones, working engineer and grandson, Anthony Jones, college student, will team up in making  a presentation on how to organize and manage your  picture in your computer. They will specifically discuss  scanning techniques, storing photos in folders by categories, and how to edit and enhance your pictures.  They will also show how pictures can effectively be used with your genealogy and family history.  A demo DVD  will be shown that will demonstrate how a picture collection can be developed with music that can be shown on special family occasions.  

    As the facility enlarged its book collection and added more computers for public use, it was renamed to Orange County Family Search Library.  Computer stations and volunteer assistance is available for free.  It is closed Sunday and Monday.
    On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, the facility is open from 9 am to 9 pm.  On Friday and Saturday, open from 9 am to 5 pm.  

    SHHAR meetings are held the second Saturday of the month.  From 9 to 10 assisted use of the computer by SHHAR Board members.  Presentation by special guest speakers or SHHAR Board members, from 10-11:30 am.

    For more information, please contact President, Letty Rodella, 714-776-5177  lettyr@sbcglobal.net 

     

     


    ORANGE COUNTY 1800s CULTURAL INTERMARRYING

    Extract of information on the Children of: Juan Pacifico Ontiveros & Maria Martina Osuna 
    from The Ranches of Don Pacifico Ontiveros by Virginia L. Carpenter, 1982

    Editor Mimi: Juan Pacifico Ontiveros was the grandson of a soldier who come from Mexico to California in 1781. Juan received the Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana grant in Orange County. He married Maria Martina Osuna in 1825. Their children's and grandchildren's and great grandchildren's marriages demonstrate the cultural mix and intermingling of Spanish blood lines with other groups. Notice the great grandchildren have lost Spanish given names, as well as surnames.

    1831 Maria Petra de Jesus Ontiveros— August F. Langenberger
    Grandchildren of Juan Pacifico Ontiveros and Maria Martina Osuna:
    Carola ——Louis Halberstadt
    Maria Regina —George Crockett Knox
    Adelaide -—Edward Schubert

    1833 Maria de la los Dolores Ontiveros/ Prudencio Yorba
    Angelina—Samuel Kraemer Zoraida ——J. Coleman Travis
    1835 Ramon Gulllermo Domingo Ontiveros/Magdalena Perez
    Marta Antonia —James W. Goodchild Adela——John T. Goodchild

    1837 Juan Nicolas Ontiveros/Marta Eustaquida Serrano
    Francisco—Clara Wegis 
    Celeste Cregoria—Crisonogo Chapman

    1840 Jose Florentine Ontiveras/Tomasa Arellanes
    1866 Esequel/Eva Mary Estudillo de la Guerra
    Great grandchildren of Juan Pacificio Ontiveros/Martina Osuna.
    Lawrence Frank—-Evelyn Thornton
    Alfonso T. Peter—Gertrude Brinkman
    Clarence Z.——Mildred Hartman
    Bernie A. ——Jessie M. Miller
    Marcella Thelma Mary-Crystal Marion Clover
    Richard B. -—Anna Sawyer
    Daniel Martin —Dolores Revane

    1842 Maria Rita Ontiveros/Juan Baptiste Ruifz
    David——Olivia Sturgeon
    Maria Presentacion- Bernard Pemassee
    Estanis——lnez Foxen

    1844 Salvador Ontiveros/Maria Zoraida Olivera
    Zoraida Gabriela—Louis F. Hughes
    Salvador Fulgencio-Henrietta Lee Lancaster 
    Maria Erolinda—Jacob Portenstein 
    Ernest Lesandro—Estelle Heller

    1846 Jose Dolores Ontiveros/Augustia Flores
    Abner——Carolee Butts 
    Hortensia——Ramon Goodchild 
    Delilah—-Patrick E. Hourihan

    1848 Abraham Ontiveros/Doraliza Vidal
    Eramus ——Edith Blanche Benett Frances 
    Edmund——Frances Plummer 
    Ida——Charles Nelson Fowler


    LOS ANGELES, CA

    Vintage Photographs of Los Angeles, Figueroa Tunnels and Angels Flight
    Nov. 23: Introduction to Navajo and Cherokee Nation Genealogy Research
    Cuento: A Brief Write up of my Life by Sister Mary Sevilla, Ph.D.
    Cuento: Filming to Find Grandma Rita by
    Sister Mary Sevilla, Ph.D.  
    Cuento: Wobblies in San Pedro by Arthur A. Almeida, Part 1 
    Cuento: My Father, Eusebio  by Nora H. Barajas

    Figueroa Tunnels, Los Angeles 1940s -  
    Later became the Pasadena Freeway, the First  Freeway in the United States.

    http://www.flickriver.com/photos/g_cliser/sets/72157625895927403 

    photo

    Angels Flight 1950s . . . .   http://www.flickr.com/photos/g_cliser/4354039081/ 

    Sent by Yomar Cleary 

     

    THE HISTORY AND GENEALOGY DEPARTMENT PRESENTS
    A SPLIT FEATHER: An Introduction to Navajo and Cherokee Nation Genealogy Research 
    Through the Eyes of a Citizen of the Navajo Nation

    SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2013,  1:00-3:00 p.m.

    Leland Morrill, born Leland Kirk, adopted before the Indian Child Welfare Act, shares his experiences researching his heritage and obtaining his Navajo Nation birth certificate and Navajo Nation Certificate of Indian Blood. Mr. Morrill will discuss resources and give tips on searching Navajo Nation and Cherokee Nation genealogy resources, the Dawes Rolls, and the United States Census.

    Central Library
    Meeting Room A - First Floor
    Los Angeles Public Library
    630 W. 5
    th  Street
    Los Angeles, CA 90071

    Sent by Cynthia McNaughton  
    Senior Librarian
    History & Genealogy Dept.
    Los Angeles Public Library


    CUENTO

    A Brief Write up of my Life by Sister Mary Sevilla

    I am the oldest daughter of five children who were all born in Los Angeles, California. My Dad Henry Gregory Sevilla was born in Mexico City on March 12, 1905. When Dad was 10 years old,  he and his family escaped the Revolution in Mexico. His family had been kidnapped by Poncho Villa, but that is another whole story.  

    My mother Mina Gospodnetich was born in Hollister, California in August 1904 and her parents were born in Croatia, which was called Austria at that time.  

    Neither of my parents completed their education. Mom finished ninth grade and went to work to support her parents. Dad finished third grade in El Paso and then his family consisting of his father and stepmother, one brother and four sisters migrated to Los Angles. Both of my parents were very intelligent and appreciated the formal education they had even though they were not able to complete it.  

    In school Mom always looked first at our conduct grades as she considered that most important. Effort came next followed by Grades. If conduct and effort were okay, nothing was said about the grades. I have to admit that my conduct grades were always lower than any of the five of us!  

    We all attended Catholic Schools just as our Mom had done and where she received a terrific education.  

    When I finished sixth grade and my siblings their respective grades, we moved to a small house in Manhattan Beach, actually a real fixer upper. We rented next door while our house was added onto and shored up by uncles, cousins and friends who came every weekend to make our house big enough for our parents and five growing children. Our home was always a happy place and some of the happiest memories were when so many family members came to re-build our house. We got to play with our cousins, their mothers brought potluck food and their Dads and older cousins did the work. We all enjoyed each other so much! They always spoke to Grandma in Spanish and talked to us in English. We did not learn Spanish at home as Dad was the native speaker and he was always at work.  

    I attended St. James School in Redondo Beach for seventh and eight grades and then entered high school at St. Mary’s Academy in Los Angeles. I loved my years there with lots of involvement in sports and other activities. Even getting to school on the public bus was fun because classmates were picked up all along the way and we always had good chats and lots of laughter.  

    During my senior year I began seriously thinking of becoming a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. They had taught me all my life and I thought of them as caring, considerate, fun and happy. They taught me to be concerned about others who did not have as much and could use a helping hand or a listening ear. This was the extension of my parents who were always helping others and gratefully accepted help when our house was being re-constructed.  

    Just to shorten this story a bit, I entered the convent in September after graduation in June 1953, enthusiastically embraced the life of prayer, study and work. After training I was assigned to teach two grades, 25 fifth graders and 25 sixth graders. In addition I was assigned to the boys’ yard for five years. As long as I kept them involved in kickball tournaments, etc. I had peace!  I must move along with my story. The short version is I taught 5th- to 8th grade students, mainly junior high, for 15 years at various Catholic schools in California. Next I was principal of three different schools. I loved all that I had been doing but it was time for something new but something  that would still help others.  

    My midlife career change began in 1985 with beginning another Masters degree, this time in Counseling. After graduation and passing California State Exams I became a Marriage, Family, Child Therapist. I found it to be a great honor for people to entrust me with their stories so that they could get help. It wasn’t long before I realized there was so much more to learn about the human condition. So I kept my private practice going and started a PhD in the same field finishing in 1996.  

    I continued my private practice as a therapist for 15 years and then the Sisters elected me into leadership for my community the Sisters of St. Joseph. I closed my practice to take on those responsibilities but still had plenty of opportunities to use my skills as a therapist.  

    I always managed to find interesting things to do along with my regular positions. The extras enriched me so much that I had more energy to do a good job.  

    All through my years as principal and afterward, I studied and became a Certified Graphoanalyst (Handwriting Analyst). It was a great tool for understanding and helping people to understand themselves and loved ones better.  In addition I lectured on the topic on 16 different cruise ships and my friends always love to companion me, as the cruise was my pay. I also gave seminars across the US to other Graphoanalysis chapters, as well as in England, Canada and Hawaii.  

    A few other ventures included ushering at the coliseum for the Olympics when they were in LA in 1984. We were privileged to be right there for the beautiful and spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as all the track events. Visitors were wonderful and cooperative and we enjoyed ushering them to their seats and answering questions.  It was a fabulous time for Los Angeles as everyone seemed so happy and the traffic was negligible.  

    I love to travel as it enriches my mind to be among people with different foods and customs and who solve the everyday problems in such unique ways. I experienced this most deeply in the late nineties when I joined a group from Los Angeles who had been setting up a camp for children on the Island of Badija, Croatia. The purpose was to help children to recover from the trauma they experienced by the ethnic wars in the Balkans. Many had lived through intolerable situations in which they witnessed death, destruction of their homes, schools and cities. Many had seen their parents, siblings and other family members killed or maimed. It was so satisfying to be with those children and watch them grow and become more confidant because of all the activities we planned for them. It was a privilege and a joy to be with them and for them.  

    Either before or after the camp each year, I visited my “jillions” of cousins who are mostly on the Island of Brac´. It has been a joy to walk the soil my grandparents walked, visit their village and add to our family genealogy.  

    In the year 2000 I completed a book called The Book! A Collection of Family Stories, Genealogy and Serendipitous Events that Resulted from the Search. You can probably tell from the title that I had a super time searching for lost cousins, doing research and having a number of unique experiences. I traveled to Mexico numerous times to research in the Archivo as well as visit cousins and friends there.  

    I am supposed to be semi-retired now but don’t have time to be! I still see clients for psychotherapy but not a full practice. I am on the board and committees of two agencies for the homeless, mentor students at Mount St. Mary’s College where I live. I also volunteer at HomeBoy Industries, an organization that gets gang members off the streets and helps them start new lives.  

    As the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants, I can say that my life has been very expansive. My siblings also had very good educations, all but one have advanced degrees and all have been gainfully employed and raised wonderful productive families. I consider having mixed ethnic backgrounds to be a real blessing because I learned so much from each side of the family. I grew up with mixed nationalities and that has truly enriched my life.    

    I can be reached at marysevilla@mac.com. Copies of The Book! are available.  

     

    CUENTOS

      FILMING TO FIND GRANDMA RITA

    by Sister Mary Sevilla, Ph.D.    

    [This article first appeared in the October, 2000 issue of SOMOS PRIMOS http://www.somosprimos.com , an online Hispanic genealogy/history newsletter.]  

    A friend once told me that when our ancestors are ready to be revealed, they will find a way. Neither she nor I could ever have thought of this fantastic and adventuresome happening.  

    I had long and painstakingly looked for information on the birth of my paternal grandmother, Rita SEVILLA, but kept running into dead ends. When Grandma died she left six children ages one and one-half to 13 years. Since they had been so young, no one knew when she was born and that bothered me. I was named after her and wanted to solve that mystery and give her a recognized place in history and in our family.  

    The adventure started when I received an e-mail from a man named Mike in Massachusetts, a documentary film producer working on a new exhibit for the American Family Immigration History Center, a new wing of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York. He was looking specifically for people of Latino/ Hispanic heritage who have made some good progress in their own family history. He had read online a short genealogical article that I had written for SOMOS PRIMOS. He asked if he could call me about being the subject of a short documentary film about researching my family history.  

    That phone call set in motion a three-month series of e-mails and phone calls with Mike and with the film producer, Kate. I had to demonstrate that I actually had documents and the step-by-step procedure for obtaining them. They also wanted to know if any critical documents were still missing. Yes to both.

    Mike and Kate consulted me about possible dates, places to film both here in California and in Mexico City. Even when the decision had been made that we really were going to make a film, I still had trouble believing it.  

    My film debut began at the Family History Center in Los Alamitos, California on Friday, 21 July 2000. The filming continued on Saturday at my apartment where I was interviewed extensively and shots were made of important family documents. The afternoon filming included a conversation about Grandma Rita with my cousins who had also been named after her.  

    Sunday, the film crew and I flew to Mexico City to continue filming. The first episode consisted of meeting a group of SEVILLA cousins in the patio of San Juan Bautista Church in Coyoacan. The filming with these cousins was especially rewarding for me because I had only met some of them since beginning my research four years ago. Three more of them were new to me that evening.  

    Monday was spent filming at Santa Veracruz Church where Grandma was thought to have been baptized. It takes hours for the film crew to set up and get the lighting just right. Then each scene has to be filmed five to seven times. I was flabbergasted to see the wall-to-ceiling books of sacramental records dating back to the 1600s. The excitement built up as the secretary pulled down each of the baptismal books of the years that Grandma Rita was thought to have been born. She painstakingly looked at page after page. I had the urge to grab the books and look for myself. Yes, her elusive record was found and I truly rejoiced and wiped the tears from my eyes so we could go on filming.  

    The third day in Mexico City, we filmed at the Registro Civil en Distrito Federal and found a record I had been seeking of one of Grandma Rita's children who had died as a toddler. That, too, was a very moving experience because now baby Gloria had her place in history and in our family.

    It was an incredibly enriching experience on so many levels that I had trouble even absorbing everything. The categories seemed to be: 1. Exciting document discoveries; 2. My cousins, Aguilar friends, and people I met -- producer, film crews, drivers, couriers, etc.; 3. Film/light materials/gadgets/communication devices; 4. The Hotel de Cortes, San Juan Bautista, Coyoacan, Santa Veracruz Church sacramental books. I truly feel enriched and blessed to have had these experiences.  

    On the flight home, I was marveling at all the events and activities of the last several days. It is truly remarkable to think that our brief family film will be one of only six to be placed in the Ellis Island Museum in New York. Yes, Grandma Rita Emilia Galvez Tresarrieu Sanchez Daniel Sevilla had a unique way of adding more pieces to the puzzle of her life. Who ever would have thought of a documentary film?

    If you have ancestors who are evasive, keep at it. You never know how or where they will present themselves.

     

    * * * * * Previously published by Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, Missing Links, Vol. 6, No. 2, 10 January


     

    CUENTO

      Wobblies in San Pedro by Arthur A. Almeida, Part 1 

    [Editor:  This is the introduction of a book written concerning the unionization of the waterfront workers in San Pedro. Somos Primos will be including segments from the book sharing the interviews that Art Almeida did with Paul Ware and Bob Bigelow, leaders in the effort.

    A group of radical thinkers and doers met in Chicago in the summer of 1905 to found the Industrial Workers of the World. The convention was a gathering of progressive visionaries. Their plan was to organize all workers, male and female, light skinned and dark, skilled and unskilled. Soon IWW propaganda spread over the planet, awakening members of the working class with new hope. Many workers had waited a long time for the coming of the One Big Union, the Wobblies. An organizer arrived that year in San Pedro to arouse the waterfront workers to the cause.

    This book includes interviews with two San Pedro Wobblies. Their accounts recall IWW activity on the waterfront during the tumultuous early 1920s. Fellow Worker Paul Ware was a longshoreman in San Pedro, and Fellow Worker Bob Bigelow was a member of the construction trades, a carpenter.

    Prior to that, Joe Hill, the most famous Wobbly, had been in San Pedro for several years beginning in 1910, writing, drawing cartoons, composing songs, arousing workers with some of the most beloved and enduring labor songs. In 1914, Joe Hill left the harbor town for Salt Lake City only to be tried on a trumped up murder charge and shot by a firing squad as protests poured into Utah from around the world.

    The turbulent IWW history continued locally through the early 1920s. IWW agitation and direct action aroused business interests to organize, combat, and put down the 1923 maritime strike. They won and hoped to put down the IWW for good. Those years in the 1920s are at the center of Paul Ware's and Bob Bigelow's involvement and discussion, personal records of two great men I had the privilege of interviewing for several hours in their homes. They met in San Pedro around 1921. Their friendship and respect for one another as fellow workers endured until their last days.

    Thanks also to Virgil Donatoni who introduced me to the Industrial Workers of the World. Unknown to him, he opened my eyes to the struggle of the working class and the IWW organization that fought militantly against the reactionary forces against it.

    My parents, Don Julian M. Almeida and Dona Natividad Almeida (en paz gozen), put me on the right path early. Both of my parents were charter members of their unions, my father of Local 1407, the lumber handling union, and my dear mother was a member of the Cannery Workers Union of America.

    My wife Irene has been part of this since 1956. Her patience and understanding regarding this endeavor no doubt came from her dad, Manuel G. Horta, charter member of the I.L.A. 38-82, a member in good standing from July 1933 until his passing in 1988. "Damn good hold man."

    To the ILWU, the greatest union on earth, I owe gratitude and thanks to the many stiffs I remember as fellow workers, my union brothers of Local 13. We Threw sacks, pulled paper, beamed up cotton, and suffered the stench of cattle hides, and some will remember with me the black sand from Australia and asbestosis from Africa. The containers after the above work piece of cake. Thanks to my winch driver and compadre, Hector Avilos of gang 107 or Hatch #1 or #7 as my opposition would say.

    My waterfront pal, Ralph Souza, was a troublemaker who never relented to those against members of the ILWU #13. Lena Griffith from Sweden shared her admiration with with me of the legendary Joe Hill. There are others lost to time who will forgive me for not mentioning their names.

    To the Sundstedt family, especially Frank the patriarch, sons Richard and Mark, and of course Mac in blessed memory – I am truly grateful.

    And finally to fellow worker Diane Carlson cook who came into my historical endeavors at a critical time. Diane enlarged and touched up the snapshots, typed and edited the interviews, retype documents and articles for legibility. She spent countless hours sorting through my boxes and notebooks of memorabilia. She checked fax and search for details and newspaper articles on key persons and events, formatted everything, put this all together. She wrote the footnotes and added much to the appendix. Thank you Swede for donating your time.

    I began collecgting IWW memorabilia in 1952. The prison photos and records are from the California State archives. Every diligent effort has been made to correctly identify articles, documents, faces in the photographs, mostly snapshots, including those donated by Paul where and Bob Bigelow from Virginia Bigelow's collection. Her photographs and fragile clippings often often lacked names, dates, and sources. In the event that something has been printed here without permission, the copyright owners should contact me.

    Yours in solidarity, Art Almeida,
    San Pedro, February 2012

     

     
    CUENTOS

    My Father, Eusebio Mejia by Nora H. Barajas


    My father, Eusebio Mejia, was born in Mexico and as a young man worked with his father running a small store. This was during the 1900s when the revolution started. Both my father and grandfather were recruited by Pancho Villa, to travel on the train with their store, along with the troops. My father had many harrowing experiences while traveling with Pancho Villa's troops.  Although Villa was not an educated man, he was one of the smartest war strategist at ahead of his time. Poncho Villa established himself and his followers as heroes of the poor.  He was a very tough, but honorable man.  He was good, but strict with  his troops One of the stories I remember my father telling me, was that when Villa learned that one of his men had continued looting,  after being warned to stop, Villa order the soldier to be shot, as an example to the rest of the men.

    Towards the end of the revolution, both his parents died, leaving my father to care for two younger sisters and one brother. Around 1925 he and his younger brother Francisco left for the United States,  leaving his sisters in the care of an older widowed lady Julia Rivera, who was to be my father's future mother-in-law.  They came, as many others have and continue to do so, to find a better life. They started working in pretty much whatever jobs they could get.

    For about two years he and his brother traveled in many states where ever work was available. They experienced and endured much discrimination along the way, but they survived. Some restaurants sold them food but would  not allow them to eat at the restaurant,  other restaurants refused any service. Yet my father was never a bitter person, and that really amazes me, even now.

    He was notified by mail that one of his sisters, Francisca, she was about 18 years old, the oldest of his sisters, had died. She left a baby, around two years old. By the time he arrived in what is Mexico, Francisca had been buried. He met and married my mother, Maria Rivera.  Both my father and his brother decided to go back to the United States.  They brought their youngest sister, and their nephew back with them. Since Eusebio had worked in the railroads, he was able to find work in the states as a train fuel stoker. He did that for about 20 years while moving around the states several times.  

    Eventfully, they settled in California and I was born in Norwalk, California. There were seven in our families, and I was right in the middle. I remember we were very poor but happy. We went to church often, my mother was very religious, and I can remember religious pictures throughout our house. We played outside most the time and loved it.  We had no toys, but made up our own games. I always felt loved and wanted. As we got older and things got better, we moved to Downey, California. There we had a bigger house, and that was the first time that I found out both my parents were very musical. I remember coming home from school one afternoon and hearing lovely music coming from our house. My father was playing the guitar and my mother a mandolin. Seems that when they were young and sometimes needed money, they would play at festivals.  People would pay money to hear them play.

    I can honestly say, that having my parents come to live in California was the best decision they ever made. All my family has continued to live here because we love it. It is a lot more crowded and the traffic is awful, but I am happy to say that I will never move away. I love California


     
    http://nottinghamcontemporary.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2046ab544d2d01203eb0b8d78&id=7918b7306f&e=f7321f970d
           Asco, First Supper (After A Major Riot) © 1974, Harry Gamboa Jr.
    Nottingham Contemporary


    Exhibit mounted by Geoffrey Farmer
    Let's Make the Water Turn Black, flash back to ASCO
    Asco were a ground breaking Chicano collective active between 1972 and 1987. They are best remembered for performances that resembled scenes from movies, which they staged without warning or permission in the politically charged environment of East Los Angeles. Harry Gamboa Jr’s photographs of Asco’s performances anticipate the staged photography of Cindy Sherman, Jeff Walls and other major figures in postmodern art working with photography.

    Geoffrey Farmer is one of Canada’s leading artists, known for his complex, playful and visually ravishing installations. Let's Make the Water Turn Black presents sixty moving sculptures built from salvaged movie props. Animated by computer, its population of characters move slowly in response to a live soundtrack, inspired by Frank Zappa.

    The official launch was held on Saturday 12 October.
    http://www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/ 
    http://www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/families
      
    Watch a short film on summer activities for children: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMRAHOKLa6U&feature=youtu.be 

    Sent by Dorina Moreno and Roberto Calderon



    CALIFORNIA 

    Junipero Serra - 300th Birthday in 2013
    Refugio Rochin Family in San Diego County 

    November 1: Family Remembrance Day, Agua Mansa Cemetery
    Women in Agua Mansa History 1838-1997 By Dr. R. Bruce Harley
     

    JUNIPERO SERRA – 300th BIRTHDAY IN 2013

    November 24, 2013 will mark the 300th birthday of Father Junipero Serra, the priest most thought of when discussing subjects related to the California Missions.  His full name was Miguel Joseph Serre (not Serra). This year, many facilities in Southern California are celebrating with special events.   

    There are two special places one may not think to visit for such an event.  They would be:
    Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum  - November 16, 2013, 12pm to 3pm  www.dominguezrancho.org 
    I am docent at the Rancho, and would enjoy your visit – come see me in action! 

    Huntington Library, San Marino, CA –  Exhibit going on NOW through Jan 6, 2014 www.huntington.org  

    Tip #1:  checkout FREE DAY on Huntington’s website!!  Be ready at your PC to order your FREE tickets at 9:00am SHARP on designated days for a visit to the gorgeous Huntington the following month!!! HUNDREDS of FREE tickets are ‘SOLD’ in less than five minutes!!  AND parking included too!!!!  

    Tip #2: What I do, is set up at my laptop a few minutes before 9:00am, and press F5 to refresh at 9:00am until the order form is active for me to start entering data.    

    Well getting back to history . . .  

    Here is one story I heard from someone who often portrays “Serra” at the Rancho and throughout the missions.  He seems to have done quite a bit of research about the priest and is very interesting to watch and listen.   This person shared that the priest had a Spanish soldier who would help Serra get up on a horse, or just in general get around as needed.  That soldier was Juan Jose Dominguez who owned the first Southern California 1784 Dominguez land grant where Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum exists today.  The impression was that Juan Jose was kind of Serra’s assistant, more for health issues than anything else.  Later, I read someplace, about how Serra was helped by a soldier to get up on a horse – confirming part of what I had heard.   It will be fascinating when I find the book that mentions the soldier by name.   

    Many know the history of Father Serra and the 1769 expedition, the California Missions, and the Native Americans.  A topic often taught in California schools during the fourth grade.  Except me, who does not remember that part of history in grade school.  But then, history was a least favorite subject too.  Today, one can find Serra information not only in tons of books, but on internet sites as well.   Serra is even one of the two statues representing California at the National Statuary Hall of Collections in Washington D.C..   

    There is book titled, “California – West of the West.”  I saw it on SALE at the discount bookstore named “Book OFF!” at Del Amo Mall (Del Amo, as in Susana Dominguez’s husband, from the Dominguez Rancho).  I bought TWO of these books after perusing its pages for only a few moments.  I knew I found a treasure for my book collection.  There was another book I came across, and can’t remember it now that wrote about Serra’s little unknown facts.  

    What I learned is that Serra almost did not live through his sickly and frail childhood (in Spain).  As an adult, he wanted to sail to the New World.  His superior was an obstacle.  But Serra figured out a way to circumvent his obstacle and approached higher authorities who approved the voyage.   

    Serra almost did not survive the transatlantic crossing.  He held “power praying” sessions that his ship not sink. Upon landing at the Mexico harbor and feet safely on ground, the ship exploded.  The praying was to Saint Barbara  (Santa Barbara).   

    Serra almost never made it to Mexico City, where he was to establish the first missions (not in “Alta California” as many may believe).  He practically starved to death on the trail from today’s Veracruz to Mexico City.  But a stranger helped and gave him bread that was so familiar.  But how as Serra was in a strange land far, far away from home.  He continues the journey and is lost in a jungle area.  Again he thought to be at the end of his days.  But a family helps Serra, and also gave him bread.   Hmmmm . . . same bread that stranger had given him, a distance back in a desolate area.      

    Soon after getting his strength back, the family directed Serra to safety and final destination, a small village.  He tells the villagers of the family who saved him.  What family they asked?  No one lives out there!  

    Serra came to believe his salvation from physical death was divine intervention.  And to add to the mix, all that walking was with a bad leg (hence the staff he carried).  He developed an open ulcer from a snake (or insect?) bite on that trail (I believe to Mexico City).  A wound that NEVER healed throughout the rest of this life.  And as they say, the “rest is history!”  

    There are 21 California Missions, in “Alta” California.  My husband and I ventured to about 16-17 of these missions over a period of two years which include the furthest south, Mission San Diego de Alcala; and the furthest north, Mission San Francisco Solano (in Sonoma, CA, north of San Francisco).  Our visits occurred long before I became a docent, long before owning a digital camera for easy photo storage.  

    Small talk about Serra and the California Missions are included in my tours at the Rancho.  In one room, there is a portrait of Serra surrounded in an antique map of Spain.  Directly across the room is a large model of infamous Juan Jose Dominguez dressed in 18th century soldier attire, and sitting on his horse.  

    Many guests in my public and school tours are not aware that missions first existed in Mexico’s mainland.  That missions already existed in Baja well before the California Missions were built.  That Serra arrived to Baja in the late 18th century and shortly afterwards, began his 1,000 mile journey to “Alta” California from Baja to start more missions.   

    When I toured Baja California Sur (BCS) in 2012, I visited a small library in San Antonio, BCS.  A fairly recent published book in Spanish showed there were about 38 missions in the entire Baja peninsula.  There were more missions in Baja than I thought!   

    Writing this story today, I came to realize I already visited seven missions in Baja. Two near Rosarito; one east of Ensenada; one in La Paz; one in Todos Santos; one in Santiago (northeast of San Jose del Cabo);  and the furthest south, San Jose del Cabo.   

    Would I have visited as many missions if Serra had not lived in the 18th century to do what he accomplished?  Somehow, it seems that his life, unknowingly, intertwined with my life in the 20th and 21st century.  And lastly, as I have stated in previous writings, that Serra’s 1769 expedition, also included an ancestor Spanish soldier whose bloodline continues to be tracked.  

    I LOVE the missions!

    Sylvia Contreras
    Sylvia@Linkline.com 
    562-422-3910

     

     
    Refugio Rochin Family in San Diego County 
    Hi Mimi:
     
    I am crafting an article on rural Latinos - something of a historical overview about my parents and their influence.  It will be published this summer for an audience of rural communities. I cover the Braceros of San Diego county and the role of Latinos in creating their own businesses.  I know that this type of history and legacy is foremost in your work. Some pics from my father's days in San Diego.

    Best wishes, Refugio
    First photo: my mother, Juanita
    1924: My father, Refugio Rochin, about 16 years old
    1935: Rochin's first big-time grocery in Coachella, Calif. 
    1940: El Mejicano, the restaurant Juanita operated while Refugio managed the grocery store next door.
    1947: Castorena and Rochin Provision Company, Oceanside, Calif.

    Refugio I. Rochin, PhD
    Professor & Director Emeritus
    UC Davis & UC Santa Cruz
    Cell: 831-419-2411
    Rrochin@gmail.com
    http://works.bepress.com/refugio_rochin/
    http://giannini.ucop.edu/Emeriti/rochin.htm


     

    Family Remembrance Day
    Friday, November 1, 2013 
    1 to 3 pm
    Agua Mansa Cemetery
    San Bernardino County Museum historic site
    California State Historical Landmark #121
    2001 W. Agua Mansa Road 
    Colton, California

    Join curator of history Michelle Nielsen for an afternoon of remembrance and celebration of family at the Agua Mansa Cemetery. This event will honor the lives of those buried at the cemetery and those who've gone before.

    Learn about the history of our Agua Mansa Cemetery

    H
    onor those buried at Agua Mansa, and your own loved ones, by adding to our
    Dia de los Muertors community altar.

    Enjoy a Dia de los Muertos performance by a quartet from Ballet Folkloric Cultural at 2:30 PM.

    Bring your lawn chairs for comfortable seating.

    Families are invited to clean and decorate the graves of their relatives.

    This program is included with paid admission.  Adults $5  Seniors/Military $4   Student/Adult $2.50
    Museum Association members and children under 5 are free.
    For more information, please call or email  Michele Nielsen, 909.3798.8609  mnielsen@sbcrn.sbcounty.gov

    Museum is open Fridays & the first Sunday of each month, noon to 3 pm Saturdays 11 am to 3 pm

    Sent by Lenny Trujillo
    lennytrujillo51@aol.com

     

     

    Women in Agua Mansa History 1838-1997
    By 
    Dr. R. Bruce Harley
    Retired Archivist, Diocese of San Bernardino

     

    Introduction

    As a community, Agua Mansa, California (located near the boundary line of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) was founded by pioneer Hispanics mosdy from Abiquiu in northwest New Mexico. Before that, Abiquiu was the last town on the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles. Consequently, Agua Mansa during the 1840s was the only new settlement along that trail and the first such settlement east of San Gabriel after the Mission Era (1769-1834).

    Agua Mansa, which dates back to 1842, was nearly wiped out by a great flood in 1862 and never really recovered. Its principal outpost across the Santa Ana River at La Placita was able to continue its existence to the 1930s by moving its location from the river bank up to the mesa called La Loma.

    By entering the scene before the appearance of very many Americans, the Agua Mansa community had a number of "firsts." The area included the first church, first school, first supervisorial district (the eastern portion of Los Angeles County), first voting precinct, first irrigation canal, first road (an upgraded Indian trail), numerous first agricultural endeavors, first mine at Slover Mt., and others.

    Agua Mansa and its twin, La Placita, were probably model settlements for California in the mid-nineteenth century. Unlike such notoriously riotous towns as Los Angeles and San Jose there were no drunken brawls in public. The people lived peaceful lives, cultivating their vineyards, fruit trees and vegetable gardens, raising horses, cattle and sheep, and upholding the hallowed Hispanic traditions of hospitality, devotions and community-wide celebrations of baptisms and weddings. For these family feasts guests came from as far away as San Diego and San Gabriel, and usually stayed about three days. All civic and social life gravitated around the village church, as in New Mexico and Old Mexico.

    The story of Agua Mansa begins in the eighteenth century when Spanish-speaking pioneers from Mexico as well as from Spain and other colonies settled the Chama Valley in northern New Mexico.

    These settlers quickly became self-reliant, as the rigid and hierarchic rules of Spanish colonial society established in the preceding sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were modified to meet local conditions. In addition, many Pueblo Indians and other tribesmen were assimilated into their close-knit agricultural communities.

    Unlike much of Latin America, there developed neither a well-defined class of hereditary aristocrats nor a class of destitute beggars. This was due to the land system and also the unique relationship between the Hispanics and the bands of nomadic Indians. This situation would provide opportunities for unlicensed trade as well as war booty.

    The Agua Mansa, California, pioneers carried on these northern New Mexico traditions until two social conditions eventually changed these peoples' way of life. One was United States of America action in absorbing virtually the northern half of the former colonial New Spain's claims (briefly held by the Mexican Republic after the 1810-1821 revolution against Spain) and then the U.S. legal control exercised after the 1848 treaty settled the American-Mexican War.

    So, for a brief period the Agua Mansans enjoyed the privileges of northern New Mexico before slowly giving way to counter-influences emanating either from Old Mexico across the nearby international border, or from the Los Angeles area along with newly-established American jurisprudence and customs. The arrival of large numbers of Americanos at San Bernardino in 1851 and Riverside in 1870 marked the death knell for the northern New Mexico way of life enjoyed by Agua Mansans for a generation or so.'

    Out of this milieu, the women's story in Hispanic New Mexico and then Agua Mansa emerges as a strong element in the larger story of pioneer men-women-children trekkers, traveling by horseback or muleback some 1200 miles over rough terrain, seeking a better life. Their impact on the social and economic scene assisted considerably in maintaining the firmness of institutions affecting home and family.

    As one authority on New Mexico history put it:2
    The culture of New Mexicans and especially of New Mexican women, was distinct in many aspects from that of central Mexico or other Mexican frontier territories (such as Alia California). In costume, language, religion, government, and legal right of women, the people of New Mexico kept strong ties to sixteenth-century Spain. Their ancestors had marched boldly through deserts infested with hostile Indians to found a colony (at El Paso) in 1598.... New Mexicans developed traditions in response to [their] isolation, to climate and terrain, and to their sedentary Pueblo Indian neighbors and also the nomadic tribes with whom they alternately fought and traded....

    In contrast to American women before the Mexican War, a New Mexican woman retained her property, legal rights, wages and maiden name after marriage, as did her female Spanish ancestors. She was not subject to American-style ideals or the double standard of sexual behavior, nor was there a prevailing assumption about being subordinate to men. One element of possible discrimination was skin color. New Mexican women valued light skins and protected their faces from the southwestern sun with a thick bone-meal paste or the juice of a red berry. Before the American conquest of the Southwest, which occurred shortly after the Agua Mansans' California trek, New Mexico as in colonial times remained an open society, offering its poor, its Pueblo and other Indians, genizaros, mestizos, "and to some extent its women opportunities to rise as high as their talent, or good luck would take them."3 This enlightened view toward women in general was also the inherited norm at Agua Mansa until California acculturation (i.e., the Los Angeles influence) and Americanization in general took hold by the 1860s.

    Endnotes
    1. Frances Leon Swadesh, Los Primeros Pobladores: Hispanic Americans of the Ute
    Frontier (Notre Dame, IN: University ofNotre Dame), 1974, passim and R. Bruce Harley, The Story of Agua Mansa: Its Settlement, Churches and People; First Community in San Bernardino Valley, 1842-1893 (San Bernardino, CA; Diocese of San Bernardino), 1998, passim.
    1, Janet Lecompte, "The Independent Women of Hispanic New Mexico, 1821-1846" The Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 12, no. 1 (Jan- 1981), p. 17-35.
    3. Gloria Ricci Lothrop, "Rancheras and the Land: Women and Property Rights in Hispanic California," Southern California Quarterly, vol. 76, no. I (Spring 1994), .. pp. 59-84, passim.

    Published by the San Bernadino County Museum Association
    Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 2,  Summer 2002



    NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES 

    For North Las Vegas's first Hispanic councilman, The Time is Now
     
    For North Las Vegas's first Hispanic councilman, The Time is Now

    North Las Vegas City Councilman Isaac Barron inside his office at North Las Vegas City Hall on Tuesday, October 8, 2013. This year Barron became the first Hispanic ever elected to the North Las Vegas City Council.

    He looks to the north and points out his old neighborhood, where, as a teenager, he fought and lost a battle against an apartment development that he thought would exacerbate problems in a high-crime area.

    Born in 1969 in Las Vegas to immigrant parents from Mexico and graduating in 1987 from Rancho High School, Barron teaches social studies at Rancho, where he also advises the Hispanic Student Union.

    In June, he was sworn in as the first Hispanic to serve on the North Las Vegas City Council.

    Barron had considered running for office for a few years. But he felt former Councilman Robert Eliason was a good representative, and so Barron waited for him step down before running. As soon as the 2012 elections wrapped up and voters turned from presidential to local elections, Barron launched his campaign. In the dead of winter, limping from a replaced hip and damaged right foot due to rheumatoid arthritis he had at age 12, Barron went door-to-door asking for support.

    He was elected to serve the Ward 1, which has the largest concentration of Hispanics in North Las Vegas. The ward also includes the downtown area, which is targeted for redevelopment. Besides development efforts, Barron is focused on a plan for graffiti removal and abatement, a program to display art and hold cultural events in unused city hall space, and working with the Regional Transportation Commission on improvements in the city.

    The Sun sat down with Barron to discuss his transition into government and his vision for North Las Vegas.

    Your father came to the United States during World War II as part of the Bracero program, which imported immigrant labor. What advice do you think he would have given you about serving in government if he were alive today?

    My dad was a very pragmatic guy. He would definitely tell me to keep my day job as a teacher. And, I’ve done that, because I think being a teacher gives you good background. When you’re a teacher, you have to accept each and every kid who comes through your door, whatever the background or baggage they’ve got, whether they are a valedictorian or a kid with an ankle monitor. Each and every constituent that shows up at my door, I have to address their needs. I think teaching keeps me well grounded.

    Have you gotten a lot of feedback and support from the Hispanic community after winning the election?

    There was one lady, she literally met me at the door with tears in her eyes. She is a Latina. It still touches me deeply. (Choking up) She came out and hugged me because she never thought she would see a Latino politician come and ask for support at her door. As a matter of fact, after we won, people asked me: "How do you feel being the first Latino?" And I said, "It’s about time." Ward 1 is a majority minority ward, and Hispanics live throughout much of the rest of our city. We haven’t had that voice. I want to give a voice to everyone, but particularly that segment that has been under-represented.

    Are there certain issues you want to address from the stance of minority representation and input?

    I’d like to see a little more diversification in our police force, fire department … in every department in our city. I’d like to see more hiring in our city of people from our high schools. Some day we are going to fill out our city staff, and I’d like very much to hire from within the city and to see a more diverse workforce, something that reflects the city we have.

    You are in charge of a ward that spreads from downtown North Las Vegas up north toward Apex. What’s your vision for such a diverse district?

    I made this analogy during the election. If the four wards of the city were a litter of puppies, I’m getting the pick of the litter. People may not believe that because parts of downtown are a little rundown. … There is no place in the state of Nevada with a future as bright as Ward 1. This is going to be the place to be. Not only do we have the historic part of North Las Vegas, which is going to be redone, but my ward also includes the I-15 corridor past the speedway and out to Apex. There will be an interchange built at I-15 and 215 that will help growth, and there is the Veterans Affairs hospital, as well. That will be a catalyst for a lot more investment in the medical industry. There is an ammunition company coming in, and other businesses are looking at moving into Ward 1 … Nowhere else has the potential that we do. On our part, it will take a little bit of guts, some vision, some hard work and lots of money, of course. That will come. I think the business community will notice that the bumbling North Las Vegas is a thing of the past.

    http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/oct/10/nlv-councilman/#.UlbFZ3ZaUXs.email

    Sent by Isabel Gonzalez Hutchins  
    IsabelSellsLV@aol.com
     




    SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES
       

    Nov 1: The Byzantine Connection to New Mexican Families
    Cuento: Is It Fideo or Vermicelli? by Margarita B. Velez
    Título de la unidad: "Orden de favorecer al capitán Diego Ramón y las misiones del Río Grande" 
    The New Deal was it a Great Deal?
    The Byzantine Connection to New Mexican Families
    November 1 at 3:30 PM
    In Part VIII of an ongoing series, Mr. Cervantes will explore the connection between certain New Mexican families and the Byzantines, (Haplogroup E1b1b1b). He will show a short film that will trace the history of these people. If you would like to learn more about the mark this ancient civilization made on the Iberian Peninsula then this presentation is for you.  He will discuss which families show the markers that are most identified with this ancient civilization.  Ángel de Cervantes is a History Instructor and the Project Administrator of the New Mexico DNA Project. For more information about the New Mexico DNA Project, visit their website on line at: http://www.familytreedna.com/public/NewMexicoDNA/default.aspx 

    I would like to invite you to attend a lecture on Anthropological Genetic Genealogy: The Byzantine Connection to New Mexican Families (Haplogroup E1b1b1b). If you would like to learn more about the mark this ancient civilization made on the Iberian Peninsula then this presentation is for you.   Offered through the University of New Mexico Continuing Education program.

    Here is a link to sign up for the presentation:
    Best Regards, Ángel de Cervantes
    Project Administrator
    New Mexico DNA Project
    Iberian Peninsula DNA Project

     
    CUENTO:   Is It Fideo or Vermicelli? by Margarita B. Velez

    When I was growing up in El Paso, our town was extending to the northeast desert. Fort Bliss was a vital link in America's defense and fast becoming an integral part of the community. Men were home from the war, basking in the warmth of a country at peace, raising families and contributing to the city's growth.

    My grandparents were immigrants who fled Mexico during the revolution and later bought a home close to Fort Bliss just within the city limits. On meager earnings, they reared seven sons and three daughters. Four of the boys served honorably in World War II while the young ones served in Korea and in the Vietnam conflict.

    As the family multiplied by marriage and grandchildren, the tradi­tion to visit grandparents weekly was honored by all. The grandkids frolicked in the sprawling yard and vast desert behind their house.

    Our entertainment was simple; we climbed the mountains and explored the desert's beauty. Once we laboriously dug out a barrel cactus for Abuelita who used it to make a delicious Mexican candy. The Del Norte Drive-in Theatre charged a ten-cent walk-in price and, as regular customers, we brought pillows and blankets to endure the hard cement benches provided for pedestrian moviegoers.

    We tried to befriend Lizzie, an eccentric woman of unknown age, recognizable in long skirts, a sun- bonnet and the red wagon she pulled wherever she went. Paul's Cafe on Dyer Street catered mainly to the soldiers from Fort Bliss but also delighted our palates with nickel ice cream cones. As teenagers, we haunted Swanky Franky's for pizza and enjoyed the latest rock-and-roll hits on the jukebox.

    As one of the first Mexican-American families to descend on this Anglo section of El Paso, we were sometimes treated like foreigners and heard derogatory slurs about our ethnicity and the broken phrases we spoke. In spite of that, eventually we found long lasting friendship and respect.

    The kids who taunted us as "dirty Mexicans" later became our best friends. Jimmy, Johnny, and Tubby were freckled-faced brothers who derided our broken English and called us names. As I waited for popcorn one night at the drive in's snack bar, they called me a "dirty Mexican," whereupon I nastily retorted, "you dirty white trash!" A fracas ensued where my cousins and I shoved, punched and kicked the three blond rascals.

    Despite Mama's admonitions that girls must never fight, I punched Tubby in the mouth and his lip bled. That stopped the melee and after tending to his wound, a new friendship blossomed between us. Like other American kids we were soon running in and out of each other's homes, often sitting at the family table to share a meal. Tubby learned to eat Mexican food and flour tortillas right off Grandma's griddle and my first taste of hominy grits was at his house. Tubby also learned a little Spanish and one day said, "Te amo, Abuelita^ and there was no question that he had come to love my grandmother. When Tubby tragically drowned before his fifteenth birthday, I grieved as though I'd lost my brother. But as Grandma and I prayed the rosary in the Baptist Church, no one treated us like strangers anymore; we had become as close as family.

    Only two stores served the area - Nabhan's Grocery Store and Shapley's Groceries. One day when Grandma sent me to buy "fideo," a family pasta favorite, it seemed only logical that the store would have it. To my consternation when I asked Mr. Shapley for the item, he didn't recognize it. After long moments of dialog, he finally gave up and said, "Go look, maybe you'll find it, I don't know what it is."

    I searched up and down the aisles until at last, there among packages of macaroni and spaghetti, I found it! I pointed to the printed red words; "Fideo Vermicelli" printed prominently against the yellow package as Mr. Shapley smiled at my find.

    "Vermicelli," he exclaimed rubbing his chin, "You call it fideo but I call it vermicelli!" On subsequent visits we often bantered about vermicelli and fideo and today I still remember the shopkeeper fondly.

    The weekly tradition to visit our grandparents continued despite the long and tedious bus ride to their house. One Sunday on the return trip we boarded a bus crowded with GIs on liberty pass headed for down­town El Paso.

    Finding a vacant seat, I surrendered it to Tia Chencha and a man in the adjacent seat gallantly gave his up. Tia Chencha wanted the seat for Tia Chita who was traveling with us and began to beckon her. The passengers were mostly Anglo men and Tia Chencha later explained that she didn't want to sound conspicuous when she called Chita who swayed from a strap at the front of the bus. She added an anglicized twist to the name as she confidently called, "Shit...Shit.. come here.. .there's a vacant seat."

    Muffled snickering erupted from the other passengers. Tia Chencha was confused but persisted with her urgent call. "Shit.. .Shit..." rang out comically while a red-faced Tia Chita tried vainly to ignore it as the crescendo of laughter mounted. Finally Tia Chita stormed down the aisle, angrily dropped on the seat and loudly chastised her sister's ignorance. Meekly we all witnessed the mortification that flooded them both when Tia Chita explained to a chagrined Tia Chencha exactly what she had been calling her.

    That incident propelled us to master the English language. Now if we stumble on a word we chuckle and forge ahead. We're proud, loyal, bilingual citizens of the America our fathers went to war for. We haven't forgotten where we came from or how we struggled to succeed.

    Tia Chencha
    speaks English flawlessly and today recounts the incident with relish. We profited from her ability to laugh at herself and from the perseverance that inspired her to learn the language. The episode proved that it's essential to speak this nation's tongue, not necessarily to assimilate but to become better citizens and more productive Americans. Tia Chita laughs sheepishly when the story is recounted but is glad that it motivated us to improve our lot.

    As we accepted the diversity of other cultures we enriched our own. When we laughed as we tripped on words like "chair" and "share" our sense of humor helped us to appreciate the value of communication. By sharing our friend's hominy grits and collard greens we accepted them totally, and in giving of ourselves, we flung open the door of friendship and understanding.

    Our country provides many learning opportunities and only when we allow it do the difference of our backgrounds get in the way. It's not necessary to forsake the culture or language of our heritage to become part of the melting pot; but it behooves us all to master English if we are to become articulate role models for our children. As we master America's tongue we must encourage others to persevere and also be willing to shoulder the burden of the war against illiteracy. Active participation in this battle will serve as an example for those who struggle and are at risk today.

    Although Grandmother never mastered her adopted country's tongue, she encouraged us to pursue education and set an example with her constant quest to learn. She praised and exalted each of our accomplishments no matter how small and she earned love and respect through her neighborliness. Her English vocabulary was limited but it included "I can, I will and I must."

    Therefore I will and I must be a soldier in this war against illiteracy by helping others become proficient bilingual citizens. After all, neighborliness is also an integral part of my heritage. Grandma was the perfect example of a neighbor and I wouldn't want to disappoint her. May she rest in peace.

    August 1995

     

     


    Título de la unidad: "Orden de favorecer al capitán Diego Ramón y las misiones del Río Grande" 
    Archivo: Archivo General de Indias
    Signatura: GUADALAJARA,232,L.9,F.167R-170V
    Fecha Creación: 1704-5-10 Salvatierra

    Real Cédula a [Francisco Fernández de la Cueva], duque de Alburquerque, virrey de Nueva España, comunicándole que por despacho de 7 de diciembre de 1695 se ordenó a ese gobierno que alentase y favoreciese al capitán Diego Ramón para que prosiguiese sus buenas operaciones en el adelantamiento de las misiones y reducción de los indios de la provincia de Coahuila por su conocimiento y experiencia de aquella tierra y de sus naturales y que se ha recibido carta de éste de 30 de enero de 1703 en la que expresa sus servicios de 35 años en América y los de su padre José Ramón, por los que se le confirió el grado de sargento mayor de la Compañía Volante del presidio del Río Grande, y que, según manifestaba éste, falta mucha tierra por conquistar desde este paraje hasta Nuevo México, bahía del Espíritu Santo y provincia de los Texas, y que por tener aquel presidio una guarnición de sólo 30 soldados y éstos, con el corto sueldo de 300 pesos, por lo que no había podido hacer entradas en tierras enemigas aunque él había participado en cuarenta campañas en aquellos parajes, sin haber perdido más que dos soldados y haber sido herido en tres ocasiones, y solicitaba que se aumentase la dotación de aquel presidio a 100 soldados con un sueldo regular de 450 pesos, para poder asegurar la conquista de las tierras que confinan con aquel presidio, obligándose a fundar una villa en medio de la provincia de Coahuila, sin coste para la Real Hacienda, poblada por españoles, y para que esto tuviera buena consecución suplicaba que se le concediese el gobierno de la provincia de Coahuila, agregado a la compañía del presidio de Río Grande por toda la vida. 

    Al mismo tiempo, fray Pedro de la Concepción y Urtiaga, de la Orden de San Francisco, procurador de los Colegios de Misioneros Apostólicos de Querétaro y de Guatemala, envió memorial en el que refería la gran utilidad que se seguiría con la fundación de otro colegio en la ermita de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de la jurisdicción de Zacatecas, para lo que se le concedió licencia y su prelado le nombró presidente de esta fundación, y expresaba también que el capitán Diego Ramón había contribuido mucho a los buenos sucesos de las misiones de Río Grande que están a cargo de los colegios de su Orden y que sería conveniente mantenerlo en el presidio y Compañía Volante, al menos durante el tiempo que durase el establecimiento de misiones y pueblos que asegurasen las que están fundadas. 

    Visto en el Consejo de Indias, donde han constado los buenos servicios del capitán Diego Ramón y los de su padre, se ordena al virrey que informe sobre los puntos del despacho de 7 de diciembre de 1695 y sobre lo representado por este capitán y por fray Pedro de la Concepción, y que se le favorezca para que continúe con sus buenas operaciones. Referente a la nueva población que se ofreció a hacer, encarga que se de parte al fiscal de dicha Audiencia, y con su acuerdo, traten y ajusten la forma en que se ha de encargar Diego Ramón de esta población, procurando que sea con partidos acomodados y que se ponga en ejecución, guardando en todo lo dispuesto por las leyes de población y las demás que tratan de estos puntos, debiéndosele advertir que en las entradas que haga en las tierras de indios ha de observar las leyes referentes a la querra que se les ha de hacer, que ha de ser defensiva y conforme se prescribe en ellas, dándole órdenes e instrucciones que aseguren el cumplimiento de dichas leyes, debiendo dar cuenta de lo que se ejecute en esta materia. 

     

    The exhibit will be up until February 9, 2014

    Sent by Carlos Vasquez, DCA carlos.vasquez@state.nm.us 


    MIDDLE AMERICA

    Virginia Martinez, Esquire, A Child of Great Expectations by Delia Gonzalez Huffman
    Tracing Pointe Coupée’s Creole Foundations to Nouvelle France : 1608-1745
     
     

    vIRGINIA mARTINEZ, Esquire
    a Child of great expectations

    by Delia Gonzalez Huffman
    Interview During the 2013 NCLR conference  
    New Orleans, July 23th 

    Virginia Martinez graduated from DePaul University School of Law in 1975. Before 1975 there were no Latina lawyers in Illinois. When she was accepted at DePaul School of law there were a total of 15 Latinos and four were women entering the freshman class.  

    When Virginia Martinez’s father Manuel Martinez was 14 years old, he came by himself to the United States from Mexico, he walked across the border to Texas and was immediately contracted to pick seasonal crops in California. 

    Manuel, like many other Mexicans who came before him, ultimately found full-time work in a Chicago steel mill. After an injury at the mill, he moved his family to Mexico for a year. When funds were depleted he returned to Chicago and attained a position with a printing company where he worked for over twenty-five years. 

    Virginia, a student at Harrison High School in the Little Village neighborhood graduated as an honor student. She went on to earn an associate’s degree through a work-study program at Loop College (now Harold Washington College).  Next, she worked as a secretary at an insurance company.  She believed she was content with an associate’s degree, and secretarial work, but her life took on a totally different direction.  Virginia's life ambition became clear when she took a weekend job as a secretary at a law firm in Pilsen, in the neighborhood she called home.  

    Virginia saw people in her community very much in need of legal services.  Many did not understand their legal rights, often signing contracts in English, despite being unable to read them.  She left the insurance company after a year. Virginia attended the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in the morning and worked for the law firm of Reyes and Lopez in the afternoon. Her “target” was to attain a master’s degree in social work.  

    Virginia Martinez attained her B.A. in sociology from UIC, graduating with departmental honors.  Acting upon the suggestion of Honoratus Lopez one of the law firm’s attorneys, she decided to pursue a law degree.  

    She graduated from DePaul College of Law in 1975, and that year became one of the first two Latinas licensed to practice law in Illinois. However, Virginia struggled to be taken seriously in her unprecedented role. During one court appearance, a clerk mistook her for a secretary and told her she couldn’t argue motions. Even Virginia's own clients at the community legal services office where she began her career, asked her if she was a real attorney.

    Despite these frustrations, her commitment to social change brought out her tenacity in using her “knowledge and education” to convince others to join her in advocating for justice and equal opportunity for all. Virginia Martinez did not realize she was constructing history.

     

    MALDEf training ground for advocating for REPRESENTATION.  

    A year after finishing law school, Martinez headed west for a one year civil rights internship in the San Francisco office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).  She returned to Chicago and in 1980 helped open MALDEF’S Midwest office. She soon began work on cases that would literally put her mark on the map:  a pair of lawsuits challenging the configuration of city aldermanic wards and state legislative districts, on the grounds that they had been deliberately drawn to divide the vote in Latino neighborhoods, a practice known as gerrymandering.  “They cut up Pilsen,” states Martinez. “The boundary line was drawn at Ashland Avenue, so the community would be divided in two. There were no Latino aldermen; there were no Latino state legislators.”   The configuration would have gained an unfair political advantage in elections and it would have been impossible to elect Latino candidates.

    The lawsuits—which were combined with similar cases filed by African American and Republican plaintiffs—resulted in a re-drawing of the voting district boundaries to create the first majority Latino aldermanic wards and state legislative districts.

    “If there’s anyone who deserves a place in history as far as the development of Chicago’s Latino community is concerned, it’s Virginia, because she tore down the wall that prevented Latinos from penetrating the political arena,” says Miguel del Valle, former City Clerk of Chicago, who was the head of a social services organization when Martinez recruited him to be lead plaintiff in the state legislative redistricting case. Del Valle himself credits that experience with prompting his own entry into electoral politics, which led to him serving 20 years as Illinois’ first Hispanic state senator.

    Returning to University of Illinois, ChiCago

    Over the next 15 years, Martinez held leadership and counsel positions with several advocacy organizations; ran her own law practice; advised Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Commonwealth Edison on Latino issues; did stints as a local television and newspaper commentator; and twice ran (unsuccessfully) for Chicago alderman. She did learn from her run for political office that you have to be determined and fearless when there is intimidation. Politics are not for the light hearted.  Her heart was to defend Latino's rights, to engage the community in discussion and change for women, such as, ensuring women’s reproductive rights, access to childcare for mothers, Latino and women’s issues, not being fully addressed by the city council and state legislatures.

    Martinez returned to UIC in 1998 to work at the International Center for Health Leadership Development.  She became director in 2000, and found a new area of interest, the field of collaboration. Initially funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the program brought together health professionals and community advocates to learn how to work collaboratively and establish partnerships. When the Center closed in 2007, Martinez rejoined MALDEF as a legislative staff attorney.

    In the right place

    At the MALDEF Midwest regional office, which encompasses 11 states, Martinez monitored state and local legislation, policies and regulations affecting Latinos, especially the growing number of proposals aimed at restricting undocumented immigrants. She drafted position papers responding to these actions, distributing them to government officials and the media. Martinez also represented MALDEF in everything from television appearances to meetings with community organizations. (You can read on-line the testimony and Presentation by MALDEF in 2009 on the Voting Right Act and Other Legal Requirements in Redistricting to the Senate Redistricting Committee Subject Matter Hearing, on December 8, 2009 where Martinez Legislative Staff Attorney of MALDEF assisted with testimony and presentation.) For further information on MALDEF go to www.maldef.org.

    From 1992-1997, Martinez was the Executive Director for Mujeres Latinas en Accion (please go to the www.mujereslatinasenaccion.org site for more detailed information) and has held positions for Voices for Illinois Children and the Latino Institute. Martinez is a founding mother of DePaul University Latino Law Students Association (LLSA), the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  

    She is now a Senior Policy Analyst for the Illinois Latino Family Commission and works diligently to address how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will change the current grant programs, organizations depend on to serve Latino families and their health needs. Monitoring ACA implementation, the Commission ensures that Latinos who represent the largest group of uninsured, receive the information and assistance they need to participate in new opportunities for health care coverage.  

    Virginia Martinez has been recognized in Today’s Chicago Woman One Hundred Women Making a Difference in Chicago, YWCA Achievement Award for Community Service, and Cook County State’s Attorney El Humanitario Award. She has also been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, and the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, just to name a few.  She will be recognized by DePaul University for her contributions to the College of Law in March, 2014.

    Martinez doesn’t see herself starting on this road to make history. She did what was before her, areas for social justice needed by Latinos. She advises young people to be ready to take advantage of windows of opportunity by being prepared. She says she was able to continue her educational path (even when she didn’t originally plan to) because she was always very strong academically. Her overall goal was to bring Latino issues to the decision makers who in the past saw Latinos as a marginalized group with no power.

    The broader vision, opened by her mother, laid the foundation for Virginia Martinez to stand boldly against injustices. Many of which she has fought with great dedication to correct. She doesn’t boast of her accomplishments. Her gray hair isn’t a mark of aging nor are the smooth lines etched on her face. Her gray hair frames a face of determination and she has earned each line. She left me with the clear impression that she has lived her life with commitment and integrity.   

    Twenty five years ago, I interviewed Cesar Chavez in Chicago.  I asked him what he thought was most important for children?  His has answer was immediate and emphatic, he said, "Our children need to attain higher education or they will always be in the fields."
     

    photo of Virginia Martinez

    Virginia Martinez did exactly that.  She has made one active addition to her life. She has found joy in dancing! I didn’t ask her what type of dancing, but I am sure she will put her full life-force into this endeavor too.  For article references and to advise of any corrections please contact Delia Huffman Special Project Consultant for SOMOS PRIMOS at delia_huffman@yahoo.com.

    Delia Huffman 317-925-7761 

     

    Virginia Martinez  
    Sr. Policy Analyst  
    Illinois Latino Family Commission  
    312-758-9364

    About the Latino Family Commission: The Illinois Latino Family Commission (ILFC) is a non-partisan independent state commission established by P.A. 95-619 to improve the opportunities and resources available to Latino families throughout the state. In carrying out its legislative mandate, the ILFC advises the Governor and General Assembly and works directly with State agencies to ensure that policies, services, and programs are responsive to the Latino community. The ILFC focuses on legislation, policy analysis, program development, research and advocacy to promote the social and economic well-being of Latino families and the equitable representation of Latinos in decision making, employment, contracting, and resource allocation across the State.

    LATINO PROVIDER SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE 
    A Health and Human Services Initiative of the Illinois Latino Family Commission 

    The Illinois Latino Family Commission has launched a very ambitious initiative to build the capacity of Latino-led health and human services agencies to remain competitive in the changing landscape created by the Affordable Care Act which will redirect a substantial proportion of current human service funding to private managed care entities. The goal of the initiative is to strengthen Latino led providers so they can participate in the new healthcare system and therefore improve the linguistic and cultural responsiveness of services and health outcomes for Latino families. 

    Objectives: 
    1) To Inform and create awareness among Latino led providers about the changes and implications of 
        ACA for their organizations and customer base 
    2) To strengthen Latino-led providers through sustainability planning and capacity building. 
    3) To facilitate the full participation of Latino-led organizations in the new health and human services 
        system, including managed care entities. 

     
    Tracing Pointe Coupée’s Creole Foundations to Nouvelle France : 1608-1745
    Julien Poydras Center 
    500 W. Main Street | New Roads, LA 70760  

    Pointe Coupée’s Creole foundations trace to some of the oldest founding families of North America —including Quebec , Montreal , the Illinois country, Mobile , New Orleans & Pointe Coupée. A gumbo of a trinity of peoples whose circumstances brought them together, creating our centuries-old Creole culture. 

    A special October event included a tribute to Glenn C. Morgan followed by a special appearance by the Pierite family—Tunica-Biloxi Singers & Legend Keepers. Judith Rabalais Scola will shared her fascinating research and travel discoveries about the founding families. After the Creole lunch,  Judi will continued her stories. The afternoon ended with stories and songs in Creole and English by Lloyd Bridgewater, Mary V. Jackson and Les Creoles de Pointe Coupée. 

    For more information, please contact:  www.pointecoupeehistory.com  
    Creole West Productions 
    Louisiana History Edutainment 
    Julie E. Lee | director@creolewest.com | 225.718.4275

    Sent by Winston Deville 
    deville@provincialpress.us
     



    TEXAS

    Santos Sandoval Celebrated Turning 100 years old
    José Miguel Arciniega Descendants Society
    San Antonio: Legacy South Project to study, archive a 'Tejano genesis'
    Descendents of Don Ignacio Gonzalez de Inclan, and Juana de Dios de Urrutia
    Cuento: Stolen Citizenship by Ramon Moncivais
    Inventory of the Félix D. Almaráz Papers, 1963-2002
    Cortina attacks Brownsville
    A&M San Antonio has formed "TCARA" Chapter

    A birthday party for Santos Sandoval was held Sept. 10 at Yorktown, Texas Nursing and Rehab Center. Sandoval celebrated turning 100 years old. 

    Santos Sandoval was born Sept. 10, 1913 in Garfield. A cake was made for the event by Sara Munoz. Local musicians Arturo Mata and Guadalupe Garcia performed some of Sandoval’s favorite music at the event. Sandoval joined the musicians on the violin. His cousin, Elida Vela de Vom Baur, visited from Salt Lake City to attend the event.

    Thanks to Elida for sharing with Somos Primos this joyful celebration.

    José Miguel Arciniega Descendants Society

    The José Miguel Arciniega Descendants Society celebrated the 220th Birthday of José Miguel
    Arciniega by dedicating his house at the corner of South Presa Street and Arciniega Street. The small
    house is all that's left of a large land grant awarded to José Miguel's father, Gregorio Arciniega, who
    arrived in San Antonio in 1803 as a soldier in the Second Flying Company of Alamo de Parras.
    Gregorio and his two brothers, also among the mounted lancers, and their families lived at the
    Álamo during that period.

    The house is on the property of and is owned by The Marriott Plaza San Antonio Hotel. It was agreed to change the name from the “Díaz House” to the “Arciniega House” after much research by the JMAD Society was presented to the hotel management.
    Joe Arciniega, the 4th great-grandson of José Miguel, gave a heartwarming re-enactment as José Miguel Arciniega.

    Robert Benavides presented Joe Arciniega a medal on behalf of the Sons of the Republic of Texas. Congratulations to Donna Deleon and the JMAD Society for this successful event. This is one of many ways to memorialize our historic Tejano leaders.

    Source: Los Bexarenos Genealogical and Historical Society, October 2013 newsletter via-eMail.

     

    San Antonio: Legacy South Project to study, archive a 'Tejano genesis'

    By Elaine Ayala
    eayala@express-news.net
     
    Updated October 12, 2013

    The Hispanic Heritage Center of Texas, in collaboration with Palo Alto College, Texas A&M University-San Antonio and city preservation officials, has launched a new history project called Legacy South that will study, archive and advance the story of San Antonio's pioneering Spanish and Tejano ranching families dating to the 1700s.
    Legacy South will focus on the 1750-1850 period and an approximately 200-square-mile area on both sides of the Medina River, said the center's founder, Rudi Rodriguez.
    The area encompasses Mission Espada in southern Bexar County and Wilson, Medina and Atascosa counties.
    “Legacy South will look at the significant ranching developments and achievements of the area,” Rodriguez said, comparing it to Jamestown, the first English settlement in the Americas. He called it “a Tejano genesis” that came to be known as “La Medina.”
    The project will consider geography, roads, crossings, creeks and land grants. Among its goals is to integrate its research into multidisciplinary coursework at partner schools and use it to lobby for national historical district designation and for historic landmarks at individual sites.
    Rodriguez said the history has been “absolutely lost,” noting especially Ignacio Pérez, who owned 30,000 acres straddling the Medina.
    “Their stories have not been told,” he said. “And we're here because of them.”
    While these ranchers had homes in San Antonio, they established ranching and farming operations near Lacoste, Macdona, Buena Vista and Losoya.
    Some descendants still own some of their ancestral land, some with original huts and chapels,jacales and capillas.
    Rodriguez, a businessman, trained architect and self-taught historian, has been researching Tejano history, including that of his own family, for more than a decade. He founded TexasTejano.com, which has produced exhibits and films. He's working on a documentary and exhibit on La Medina.
    Since January, Rodriguez has met with faculty members and others, anticipating a project kickoff on Nov. 13 at Palo Alto.
    City archaeologist Kay Hindes, who has studied several ranches, said the area holds “tremendous history.”
    “It's an extremely significant site to add to our knowledge of Texas pre-history,” she added, since indigenous habitation goes back 10,000 years.
    Amy Porter, assistant professor of history at A&M-San Antonio, said Legacy South is important to the university because its area of study includes land on which the university sits.
    She said various disciplines could be involved, but already she knows the school's history club will seek oral histories.
    Palo Alto College has agreed to archive the project's research and artifacts. Its president, Mike Flores, said that involvement was a natural.
    “It's important for students to understand where they come from, as they define where they want to go,” he said. “So Legacy South presents an opportunity for many of our students to study the region, but more importantly to study their ancestry and where their familia has come from.”

    Sent by Tom Nash  
    bartnash@swbell.net
     


     

    Descendents of Don Ignacio Gonzalez de Inclan, and Juana de Dios de Urrutia

    Don Ignacio Gonzalez de Inclan, native of Milan, Italy, married Juana de Dios de Urrutia, daughter of Captain Joseph de Urrutia,
    Commander of the presidio of San Antonio of Bexar, prov. of Texas, and Dona Rosa Flores de Valdez y de Hoyos
    Their son, Don Don Pedro Alcantar Gonzalez de Inclan y de Urrutia married
    in Sabinas Hidalgo, to Dona Maria Josefa Sandoval-Saenz, the daughter
    of Don Vicente Sandoval y Mesa y Dona Maria-Inez Saenz.
    Their son Don Jose Maria Inclan-Sandoval married Maria del Refugio Cabrera-Sosa, the daughter of Jose Leonardo Cabrera-Flores and Maria Ignacia Sosa-Flores
    Their son, Pedro Gonzalez de Inclan y de Cabrera married Maria del Refugio Baldazo-Villalon, the daughter of Catarino Baldazo-Barboza and Maria-Ramona Villalon-Saenz.
    Their son, Jose de Jesus Inclan-Baldazo married Maria Jacinta Sanchez-Rubalcaba, the daughter of Jose Miguel Sanchez-Sandoval (Great-Great grandson of Don Vicente Sandoval y Mesa and Maria-Inez Saenz) and
    Maria Francisca Concension Rubalcaba (of Monterrey N.L.,)
    Their son, Jesus Inclan-Sanchez married Natividad Sanchez-Villarreal, the daughter of Jose Norberto Sanchez y de la Serna and Maria Salome Villarreal-Flores.
    Their daughter, Simona Inclan-Sanchez married Ignacio Alfonso Perez, the son of Ignacio Perez and Angelita Segovia.
    Their two sons, Arturo and Ignacio Perez are both veterans of WWII.
    Compiled by John D. Inclan

     

     

    CUENTO

    Stolen Citizenship: Beneath the Shadow of the Capitol, 
    Chapter 1, by Ramon Moncivais

    On a cold, overcast morning, from four blocks from the state [Texas] capital, Guadalupe Navarro Moncivais gave birth to a son. Her husband had left for work even though she had gone into labor and had called for the doctor. From that day forward, Lupe, as your family and friends called her, was 18 years old when her five– pound son joined her. I was that baby born on December 11, 1931, in the cold house at 1002 Red River St. in Austin, Texas.

    My mother was the first person I saw, and I was her first child. She did not like the name Guadalupe Bay because that was my father's name, so she stuck in Ramon. She made me Guadalupe that Ramon Navarro Moncivais – too much name for such a little baby. In time, Ramon is what I would be called. 

    Little did either one of us realize the long, hard journey we had started. In the space that asked "Color" on my birth certificate, the doctor had written "Mexican." And he misspelled my last name. It was very easy to see that we would be mired in discrimination.
    The small three-room house where we lived had no electricity and no inside running water or a sink. Kerosene lamps were used to light each room. Since we had only two lamps, we spent a lot of time moving them from room to room.

    At night, we had wall-to-wall people sleeping on the floor of each room. There were ten people living in this little house, my mother's father and mother, my mother and father, two of my aunts, three of my uncles, and me.  With so many eyes watching, there wasn't much I could get away with!

    Like the rest of the houses around us, our house was built with single-wall construction, using 1 x 12 lumber for the walls with nothing between the cracks. The rooms had no ceilings, so the tin roof was visible from inside the house.

    When it rained, sometimes water would leak through the holes where the tin roof was nailed to the rafters. In a tin can that he put on the stove, my grandfather would melt tar and patch the holes. During the summer, after I was big enough, I used to help him scrape tar from the streets and store it in a glass jar. That way, he always had some when he needed to repair our roof.

    To cover the cracks and keep the wind out, my grandfather made a paste out of flour and water and glued newspaper over all the walls. He was forever bringing home newspapers, both for the walls and for us to use in the outhouse. Although he knew very well that the next rain would wash out his "wallpaper," he would be ready to start re-papering the walls. It was a constant battle.

    The rooms had wooden floors made of pine lumber that, like our walls, had cracks between them. In the winter, the cold wind found its way through the cracks in the floors and into our house. In one room, my mother put down a linoleum floor covering like those used in many houses around us. It was both durable and washable but very cold to walk on in the winter. In spite of the fact that the linoleum was very cheap, we could afford to put it in one room only.

    The foundation of the house rested on large cedar posts sticking up about three feet where they were buried in the ground. We used the crawl space under the house as our playground, especially when it rained. It was a wonder we didn't grow up brain damaged considering all the times we bumped our heads under the house.

    Then, there was the outhouse, a one-seater, constructed in the same fashion as our house. We kept to a minimum the time we spent in there. And it was a battle to use any season. What is surprising is that we did not burn it down since in the winter, we built a small newspaper fire on the floor to try to keep warm. Every three or four months, someone dug a new hole some five or six feet from the existing outhouse location, then moved and positioned the outhouse over this new spot. The old hole they filled up with the dirt from the new one. Behind the outhouse was a pile of ashes from the wood-' burning stove. Each pile would disappear with the next rain.

    The tired old stove in our small kitchen was forever in use: for heating the house, for cooking, for heating water for bathing in our #1 galvanized tub. When anyone was going to take a bath, water was heated and put in the tub that was set behind the stove. Everyone would leave the kitchen until the person was finished with his or her bath. The wood-burning stove was not used very much for two days at one point because Grandfather was sick; he was the only one who provided wood for the stove.

    Summers were no different from winters for trying to stay comfortable in the house. The tin roof warmed the house extremely well; sometimes I think it was hotter inside the house than out. Still, it must have been better than my grandfather's first home in Mexico.
    In 1877, my mother's father, Rafael Davalos Navarro, was born in Monclova, Mexico, in a tin shack that his father had built. My great-grandfather worked on a farm, and the owner had provided him with used material to build the little shack, complete with a dirt floor, and a small area for a garden. My grandfather and his father planted tomatoes, corn, peppers, squash, beans, and whatever seeds they could collect. They had a cow that provided milk, a goat, and some chickens.

    It was on this farm that Grandfather learned carpentry, a trade that he took with him to the United States and that helped him provide for his family. It was a trade he loved and would in time pass on to me.

    My grandfather had one brother who left for the United States. No one knows what became of him.

    In 1887, my mother's mother, Maria Caderra Cedilla, was bom in Saltillo, Mexico. Like my grandfather, she came from a very poor family and lived on a farm where both her mother and father worked, the same farm where she was born. She had two brothers who left Mexico and were never heard of again. Her two sisters also left. Isabel moved to Austin, and Clotilde, the oldest, moved to San Antonio.

    It must have been common for men to leave their families because of poverty and the lack of bare necessities. Most did not carry identification; many also changed their names to avoid being found out and sent back to Mexico. If they got sick or died in the United States, they were just buried in paupers' graves. 

    My grandmother and grandfather married in 1903 when she was 16 and he was 26. They had seven children, all bom in the United States.

     

     
    Inventory of the Félix D. Almaráz Papers, 1963-2002
    Descriptive Summary
    Creator: Almaráz, Félix D. (Félix Diaz), 1933-
    Title: Félix D. Almaráz Papers
    Dates: 1963-2002

    Creator Abstract:
    Dr. Félix D. Almaráz, Jr., is a professor of history at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He began teaching at UTSA in 1973, the first year the university offered classes. Working in the UTSA History Department, Almaráz has taught classes on the Spanish Borderlands, Spanish Colonial Texas, Imperial Spain, Modern Spain, history of South Texas, Modern Texas history, and the cultural origins of San Antonio. Books published by Almaráz include Knight Without Armor: Carlos Eduardo Castañeda, 1896-1958 and Tragic Cavalier: Governor Manuel Salcedo of Texas, 1808-1813.

    Content Abstract:
    The collection spans the years 1963 through 2002 and documents the teaching, research, writing, and service of Dr. Félix D. Almaráz, professor of history at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Materials documenting Almaráz's teaching career include syllabi, exams, notes, and teaching aids. Research and writing materials include corrected typescripts, research notes, and other materials. Service materials document Almaraz's relationship with the Texas State Historical Association and the Southwest Council of Latin American Studies, among other professional societies.

    Identification: UA 99.0009
    Extent: 21.1 linear feet (22 Boxes)
    Language: Materials are in English and Spanish.
    Repository: University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections

    http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utsa/00175/utsa-00175.html 
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Biographical Note

    Félix Diaz Almaráz, Jr., was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1933. He earned his diploma from South San Antonio High School in 1952, an Associate of Arts degree from San Antonio College in 1957, Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from St. Mary's University (San Antonio, Tex.) in 1959 and 1962, and a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico in 1968. His doctoral work focused on the administration of Governor Manual Maria de Salcedo of Texas.

    Almaráz began teaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in 1973, the first year the university offered classes. As of 2009, he remains a professor of history with UTSA. Before coming to UTSA, Almaraz held various positions in Texas and New Mexico. He taught at in the Harlandale Independent School District (San Antonio, Tex.) from 1960 to 1964 before pursuing doctoral studies. While studying at the University of New Mexico in 1966, Almaráz was employed as an Historical Information Analyst for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Following his doctoral work, Almaráz held teaching positions at St. Mary's University (San Antonio, Tex.), Pan American College (now The University of Texas--Pan American, Edinburg, Tex.), and the University of Texas at Austin. Directly before joining the UTSA faculty, Almaraz was the director of the Bilingual Education Center of the South San Antonio Independent School District.

    Working in the History Department, Almaraz has taught classes on the Spanish Borderlands, Spanish Colonial Texas, Imperial Spain, Modern Spain, history of South Texas, Modern Texas history, and the cultural origins of San Antonio.

    Almaráz's most recent honors include a 1994 President's Distinguished Achievement Award, an Excellence in Research award in 1988, and a Senior Fulbright Lectureship in the Republic of Argentina. He has published numerous books including Knight Without Armor: Carlos Eduardo Castañeda, 1896-1958 (Texas A&amp;amp;M University Press, 1999), Tragic Cavalier: Governor Manuel Salcedo of Texas, 1808-1813 (University of Texas Press, 1971), and Crossroad of Empire: The Church and State on the Rio Grande Frontier of Coahuila and Texas, 1700-1821 (University of Texas at San Antonio Center for Archaeological Research, 1979).
     

    Cortina attacks Brownsville

    September 28, 1859

    On this day in 1859, Juan Cortina rode into Brownsville and seized control of the town. Cortina had established himself as a champion of Mexicans living along the border in the years after the Mexican War. The incident that ignited the first so-called Cortina War occurred on July 13, 1859, when Cortina saw the Brownsville city marshall, Robert Shears, brutally arrest a Hispanic who had once been employed by Cortina. Cortina shot the marshall in the impending confrontation and rode out of town with the prisoner. Early on the morning of September 28, 1859, he rode into Brownsville again, this time at the head of some forty to eighty men, and seized control of the town. Five men, including the city jailer, were shot during the raid, as Cortina and his men raced through the streets shouting "Death to the Americans" and "Viva Mexico." Over the next several years Cortina fought Texas Rangers and U.S. regulars. His band threatened the stability of the Valley until 1861, when he was finally defeated. Thereafter he confined his activities to Mexico, where he died in 1894.

    Related Handbook Articles:

    Source: TSHA Texas Day by Day

     

    A&M San Antonio has formed "TCARA" Chapter

    I am happy to announce that Texas A&M San Antonio has formed a "TCARA" Chapter in furtherance of a "TCARA" History Association patterned after the National History Society a/k/a PHI ALPHA THETA History Honor Society Inc. - The main difference will be "TCARA" will not require a 3.1 GPA to become a member, which we believe will open what otherwise is a closed honor society.
    Background
    1) In 1921 at the University of Arkansas, Professor Nels Cleven had become convinced that a fraternity of scholars (which would accept men or women) was important for the study of history. He came to regard fraternities as “an essential spirit of the age…searchers all for Truth in History.” But there were no societies in History, and he was determined to remedy with the creation of Phi Alpha Theta also known as “PAT”
    “Pat” now has 900+ chapters and over 350,000 members who must have at least a 3.1 GPA in 12 or more hours of history and an overall GPA of 3.0 while graduate students must have a 3.5 GPA, and have completed approximately 30% of the residence requirements for the Master’s Degree. Being a closed honor society, “PAT” does little to promote or inspire the study of history among students or the general public at large.

    2) Professor Amy Porter of Texas A&M San Antonio has inspired us to find another approach to bringing history to the front of the education class and put a halt to its demise in our schools being taught as a bundle of uninteresting and nonessential statistical data relegated to coaches to numb the minds of our youth.

    3) Expanding on the basic ideas of “PAT”, we feel a college history association that brings history alive to Middle and High Schools students as well as college students and civic organizations will promote the study of history and grow college enrollment in pursuit of that discipline.

    4) For example: In your mind’s eye, imagine the effect several Texas A&M SA students of history would have giving mini lectures to middle and high school students as well as civic organizations. Not only would Texas A&M SA become renown throughout the country as an innovating growing college but one that promotes serious studies in history which equates to increased college enrollment.

    5) TCARA" has already established itself as a 501-C-3, non-profit; association devoted to the preservation and education of Texan and American History and is thus uniquely positioned to provide the basic elements necessary to bring this concept to fruition. Operating much like “PAT” as an independent association recognized by Texas A&M SA as a history fraternal society for its students, faculty, and alumni, it could expand by accepting chapters at sister A&M colleges and perhaps earn the moniker, “THE HISTORY COLLEGE OF THE NATION”. 

    6) What other college is better placed than Texas A&M SA having been built on one of the very ranches that supplied the cattle that made a major contribution toward winning the American Revolution? "TCARA" Historian Robert Thonhoff opened our eyes to Texas History by proving that Texas indeed had a sizable “steak” in winning the American Revolution.

    The "TCARA" Board of Directors will be expanded to include at least one Texas A&M SA History Professor and a Student Chapter President while the chapter itself would have an advisory council made up of the college president and its history staff. Most importantly, membership would be open to all students, faculty, and alumni regardless of GPA or major. The idea is to expand the study of history verses closing it off as “PAT” has done. 

    This is a huge leap forward for "TCARA" and as "TCARA" Board Members, we can all be proud of our accomplishment.
    Please respond with your vote "yea" or "nay" to increase the "TCARA" Board as stated above.

    Thank You.
    Jack Cowan, 
    Executive Director 
    "TCARA"   JVC4321@aol.com 


     

       


    MEXICO

    Los Virreyes de la Nueva Espana by Fernando Muñoz Altea
    Plaza Historica Batalla de Monterrey 1846
    Giovanni Battista Schiappapietra da Albisola al Nuovo Regno di Leon
            Correspondence of
    Amancio J. Chapa, Jr.
    Families of Salinas Victoria, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Volume Nine
    Heroe Olvidada: Capitan Don Pomposo Gomez
    Recordando a Mis Hermanos Mayores del Colegio Militar
    Soldados Norteamericanos muertos y sepultados en la Cd. de México,  durante la Guerra México-Estados Unidos 1846-1848
    Matrimonio de los Padres del Gral. de Bgd. Don Mariano Moret Viscaino
    Gemelas Ysabel Susana y Ana Maria, hijas de Don Tomas Jenkin y de Dona Ana Maria Jonson
    Matrimonio de Don Juan Zuazua y Dona Antonia de la Garza

     

    Los Virreyes de la Nueva España

    Virrey is a viceroy, province governor who represents the king. 

    En este libro, Fernando Muñoz Altea aporta datos que retan a la historiografía tradicional, sobre todo respecto de las fechas y lugares de nacimiento y fallecimiento de algunos Virreyes, que, hasta hoy, se asentaban de forma equivocada. También, nos presenta un muy completo análisis de las ascendencias de cada uno de los Virreyes, e incluso, en ocasiones, de las de sus consortes, permiténdonos rastrear los orígenes sociales de estos altos personajes y el entramado de sus relaciones familiares y políticas.

    Del mismo modo, Muñoz Altea incorpa los perfiles de los miembros de la Real Audiencia, a la que se daba en llamar la “Audiencia Gobernadora” cuando ejercía el poder, de forma interina, durante los interregnos entre un Virrey y su sucesor.

     

    Nadie mejor que Don Fernando Muñoz Altea para estos cometidos. Su trayectoria como genealogista y heraldista es harto conocida. Por más de medio siglo ha sido cabal cumplidor de sus funciones como “Rey de Armas” de la Real Casa de Borbón Dos Sicilias y en esta labor, su meticulosidad como investigador se ha acrisolado a niveles de reconocimiento general, tanto en Europa como en América, especialmente en su México, esa tierra que voluntariamente escogió para quedarse.

              En esta ocasión, Muñoz Altea va directamente a las fuentes documentales para recolectar y verificar los datos reseñados, logrando consignar informaciones que resultan verdaderos hallazgos que, puntualmente, harán revisar la historiografía de los Virreyes.

              La obra se incia con una Introducción sobre el Orígen del Virreinato en la que se describen los antecedentes históricos de esta institución política. Continúa con el extenso cuerpo dedicado a Los Virreyes y sus interinos, en el que se describen los perfiles genealógico-biográficos de todos los Virreyes de la Nueva España, así como de los Presidentes, Regentes, Decanos y Oidores de la Audiencia Gobernadora a quienes les correspondió asumir el gobierno de manera interina. Por último se consigna un colofón titulado Forjadores de un país, en el que se hace una reflexión final de la influencia de los Virreyes en la vida e historia de México.

              El acercarnos a estos seres humanos, que con defectos y virtudes rigieron los destinos de la patria incipiente, es un útil ejercicio de reflexión. Sus vidas y sus orígenes genealógicos nos ayudarán a entender mejor lo que somos y las razones de nuestra idiosincrasia actual.

     

              Estamos seguros de que, en lo adelante, este libro será una referencia importante para el estudio de los Vireyes en la historia mexicana.


    Editor: The very distinguished Don Muñoz Altea was born in Spain in 1926, and was recognized in his early youth for his interest and expertise in the history of the Spanish global exploration and colonization. Holding a Mexican citizenship since 1976, he has  contributed abundantly to the history of Spain's role in European expansion, and specifically in Mexico.  I particularly liked small bits of history, describing the activities of the Viceroy; the flow and sequence seemed easier to grasp.  Los Virreyes de la Nueva España includes the genealogy and history of 63 Vicroys: 

    From Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco [del 14 de noviembre de 1535 al 25 de noviembre de 1550] who established among other accomplished founded el Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, para indios nobles.

    To: Juan de O'Donoju y O'Ryan [del 3 de agosto de 1821 at 28 de septiembre de 1821] the very difficult year when Mexico achieved its independence from Spain. 

    To obtain a copy, contact the author directly, or send the cost of the book directly to his bank.

    Yo lo vendo directamente y su precio incluido el envio certificado es de 40 dólares. No se si su importe se puede ingresar directamente en el Banco de Santander que es donde tengo mi cuenta 60500692467 sucursal 7 Coyoacan, de la ciudad de México a mi nombre Fernando Muñoz Altea.

    De antemano te agradezco la ayuda que puedas darme y te mando un gran abrazo.
    Fernando 
    fmaltea@yahoo.es
       

    Address:
    Rte. Fernando Muñoz Altea
    Martin Mendalde 1416-8
    Col.Del Valle
    03100 Mexico D.F. 
    Mexico


     

    PLAZA HISTÓRICA BATALLA DE MONTERREY 1846
    Información del Patronato del Museo de la Batalla de la Angostura de Saltillo, Coah.






    Se hace del conocimiento, de las actividades siguientes: El pasado jueves 19 de septiembre asistieron con la represemtación de nuestro patronato el C. Hugo Díaz Amezcua y su hija Lorena a la presentación de la nueva embajadora de Irlanda en México, la señora Sonja Hyland, esto fue en la embajada de Irlanda en la Ciudad de México, les anexamos fotos de este evento.

    Mandado por 
    Tte. Coronel Ricardo Palmerín    duardos43@hotmail.com
    Así también les informamos que asistimos 7 miembros de nuestro patronato a la conmemoración de la Batalla de Monterrey, en la cual apreciamos la inauguración de la maqueta de este sitio. 

    Hola amiga Mimí.

    En las fotos nos encontramos un grupo de AMIGOS DE LA BATALLA DE MONTERREY DE 1846 Y DEL PATRONATO DEL MUSEO DE LA BATALLA DE LA ANGOSTURA ( BUENAVISTA ) DE SALTILLO, COAH.

    Primera foto. de izquierda a derecha: Historiador Juan José Silva, Carlos Gonzalez, Tte. Corl. Ricardo Palmerín, Hugo Diaz, General Gabriel Macedo Brito, Atrás: Isidro Berrueto,George Salvens y Reynaldo Rodriguez.

    Segunda foto: Señores Cazares, Gonzalez, Dr. Pablo Ramos, Historiador Ahmed Valtier, Arq. Arnulfo Cadena, Isidro Berrueto, Reynaldo Rodriguez, Tte. Corl. Palmerín, Gral. Macedo Brito, Hugo Diaz, Arq. Miguel Nuñez, el Gaitero, Atrás: George Salvens y Sra. y Juan José Silva.

    Los Arquitectos Arnulfo Cadena y Miguel Nuñez hicieron la maqueta del combate en el Fortín de la Tenería durante la Batalla de Monterrey de 1846 contra las tropas Norteamericanas al mando del General Zacarías Taylor.

    Ya te envié otro correo con más fotos e información dime si la recibiste.

    Saludos cariñosos para tí y los amigos de SOMOS PRIMOS.

    Tte.Corl. Ricardo Palmerín.  
    duardos43@hotmail.com
     
    Hola Mimí.

    Estimadas amigas y amigos.

    Envío algunas fotos de las Ceremonias efectuadas en la Plaza Histórica y en el Museo del Obispado de la Cd. de Monterrey, N.L. los días 21 y 22 del presente mes en conmemoración del CLXVII Aniversario de la Batalla de Monterrey de 1846

    El día 21 con la asistencia del Sr. Gral. de Div.D.E.M. Noé Sandoval Alcazar Comandante de la IV R.M., de representantes del Gobierno del Estado, del Municipio de Monterrey, miembros de Amigos de la Batalla de Monterrey de 1846, del Patronato del Museo de la Batalla de la Angostura de Saltillo, Coah. y público en general; después de la Ceremonia en que se hicieron los Honores a la Bandera, canto del Himno Nacional y palabaras alusivas por Lic. Jesús Avila Avila y el Representante del Gobernador del Estado; los Señores Arquitectos Arnulfo Zamora y Miguel Nuñez hicieron la presentación de la Maqueta de su creación referente a los Combates efectuados en el Fortín de la Tenería contra las tropas invasoras del Ejército Norteamericano al Mando del Gral. Zacarías Taylor.

    El día 22 en el Museo del Obispado se llevó a cabo una Ceremonia, un recorrido por las salas y platicas sobre la Batalla de Monterrey de 1846; para finalizar el Sr. Héctor Jaime Treviño Villarreal Delegado del INAH e Historiador y el Sr. Fernández del Museo del Obispado nos ofrecieron una deliciosa comida, gracias por sus atenciones.

    Muchas gracias a: Dr. Pablo Ramos B., Hist. Ahmed Valtier, Hist. Juan José Silva B. Lic. Jesús Avila Avila y demas personalidades asistentes a estos eventos.

    Saludos afectuosos.
    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero.  
    duardos43@hotmail.com
      

    Información del Patronato del Museo de la Batalla de la Angostura de Saltillo, Coah.

     

    Las Señoritas son amigas de la" Batalla de Monterrey de 1846 " y se vistieron con ropa parecida a la de la época.

    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero.

    duardos43@hotmail.com  

     

    Giovanni Battista Schiappapietra da Albisola al Nuovo Regno di Leon

     
    Dear Prima,
    I have had a request from a gentleman in Italy, who has recently published an Italian translation of the history written by our ancestor Juan Bautista Chapa and including Prof. Israel Cavazos Garza's writings on the life of Juan Bapt. Chapa.
    El Profesor was able to attend as a panelist and writer of the book's Introduction. The event was held in Genoa, Italy this past July.
    The gentleman's name is Luigi Schiappapietra and I would like to help him get the word out on the book, as it has some new findings and info on our Chapa ancestor.
    The title of the book is ' DAL ALBISOLA AL NUOVO REGNO DI LEON'
    Hope you can help with the info requested,
    Tu Primo, Amancio J. Chapa, Jr.
    La Joya, TX   ajchapajr@gmail.com 

    Dear Luigi,

    Thanks for the invitation, and congratulations for the initiative of publishing Giovanni Battista Schiappapietra’s book! Attached please find a biographical note (in Spanish, sorry!) of Giovanni Battista Schiappapietra, written by Bernando Chapa (downloaded from the internet).

    Best wishes, Oscar

    Oscar Schiappa-Pietra
    J.D., LL.M., M.Sc., LL.M., M.P.A.
    oscar_schiappa@post.harvard.edu

    +(51)98675-6617

    Full text of "Bibliotheca açoriana: noticia bibliographica das obras impressas e ..."  
    http://archive.org/stream/bibliothecaaori00cantgoog/bibliothecaaori00cantgoog_djvu.txt 
    Book which has entered into Public Domain, digital copy by Google.  

    Gent.li Signori, 
    Vi inviamo un secondo aggiornamento sulla presentazione del Libro: “Giovanni Battista Schiappapietra da Albisola al Nuovo Regno di Leon” che avverrà il giorno 18 luglio p.v. presso l’Archivio di Stato di Genova, Sala Manifestazioni via Santa Chiara, 28r.  Vi preghiamo di confermare la Vostra gradita partecipazione o tramite la presente e.mail, o per fax. 0039 0173 67180.
    Nella speranza di avervi con tutti noi porgiamo i più cordiali saluti

    Luigi Schiappapietra 
    info@fondazioneschiappapietra.org

    Tel. 0173/677492 Fax 0173/67180

    www.fondazioneschiappapietra.org

     

    Families of Salinas Victoria, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Volume Nine
    http://home.earthlink.net/~cnltmex/sv9.pdf  
    crispin.rendon@gmail.com

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

     

     
    HÉROE OLVIDADO: Capitán Don Pomposo Gomez
    Para mis amigos y amigas.

    Rescatando de las páginas del libro de la Historia olvidada, envío el registro de la defunción del Capitán Don Pomposo Gomez, muerto el día 14 de Septiembre de 1847.  Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días.

    Márgen izq. 921. El Capitan D. Pomposo Gómez Guarda Mayor del Alumbrado. Casado.
    En diez y seis de Setiembre de mil ochocientos cuarenta y siete, se le dió sepultura Eccca. en el Panteon de Sta. Paula al cadaver del Capitan D. Pomposo Gómez Guarda mayor del Alumbrado de esta Ciudad, casado que fué con Da. Ma. de los Angeles Ortega, murió el día catorce de varias heridas en la Calle de Sta.Tereza la antigua y vivia en la Calle de S. Pedro y S. Pablo No. 7.-

    Dr. Manuel Ygnacio de la Orta.
    Investigó y paleografió.
    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo Raúl Palmerín Cordero.
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León.
    duardos43@hotmail.com  

     

     



    " RECORDANDO A MIS HERMANOS MAYORES DEL COLEGIO MILITAR "
    El bautismo de LEANDRO VALLE MARTINEZ

    NO SOLO AL TTE. JUAN DE LA BARRERA Y LOS CINCO CADETES QUIENES MURIERON EN DEFENSA DE LA PATRIA Y DEL COLEGIO MILITAR LA HISTORIA LOS LLAMA "NIÑOS HÉROES",TAMBIEN A LOS QUE FUERON HECHOS PRISIONEROS DURANTE EL ASALTO A LA FORTALEZA DE CHAPULTEPEC, PUES MUCHOS ERAN DE CORTA EDAD COMO, LEANDRO VALLE, MIGUEL MIRAMÓN Y OTROS

    Uno de los Niños Héroes del 13 de Septiembre de 1847 fué el Cadete Leandro Valle, quien ingresó al Colegio Militar el 27 de Julio de 1844 a la corta edad de 11 años, se encuentra en la relación de los alumnos prisioneros del Ejército Norteamericano firmada por el Tte. Corl. Hitchcock; Don Leandro fué un distinguido General Liberal, combatió durante la Guerra de Reforma, Batalla de Salamanca 9 y 10 de Marzo de 1860, en la defensa de Guadalajara así como en Calpulalpam en el que se derrotó al Ejército Conservador, murió fusilado por sus enemigos después de haberlo aprehendido en un combate en las inmediaciones del Monte de las Cruces el 23 de Junio de 1861.  Fuentes del Registro. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días


    [Document #62, directly above, continues on the top of the next page.]
                                             
    Márgen izq. 62. Romulo José María Leandro Francisco de Paula.
    En la Ciudad de México á primero de Marzo de mil ochocientos treinta y tres : Yo el Br. Dn. José María Dávila Teniente de Cura de esta parroquia bautisé solemnemente á un niño que nació el día 27 y le puse por nombre: José Maria, Leandro, Francisco de Paula, hijo legitimo y de legitimo matrimonio de Don Romulo del Valle y de Doña Ygnacia Martinez ambos naturales de esta corte viven en la calle del Corazón de Jesus, de los abuelos paternos y maternos no dan razón fué padrino el Preb°. Don Manuel Hernandez. quien quedó impuesto de su obligacion y parentesco espiritual y para que conste lo firmo con el Señor Cura.- Dr. Antonio Cabeza de Baca. Br. José Mariano Davila

    Investigó y paleografió
    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero
    Miembro de Genealogía de Mexico y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León.
    duardos43@hotmail.com  

     

     

    Envío tres registros de Soldados Norteamericanos muertos y sepultados en la Cd. de México, 
    durante la Guerra México-Estados Unidos 1846-1848

    917. Un Yrlandez del Ejercito Norteamericano
    .
    En diez y seis de Setiembre de mil ochocientos cuarenta y siete, se le dió sepultura Ecca. en el Campo Santo de Sta. María al cadaver de un Yrlandez, Soldado del Ejército Norteamericano que fué muerto en la Calle de la Encarnación, no dieron su nombre ni estado solo dijeron que era Católico. Dr. Manuel Ygnacio de la Orta
    988 John Haque Soltero

    En veinte y ocho de Setiembre de mil ochocientos cuarenta y siete, hechas las ecsequias en esta parroquia se le dió sepultura en el Campo Santo de Santa María al cadaver de John Haque, soltero, natural de Pensilvania, Soldado del Ejército Norteamericano,Católico, se confesó murió ayer, Calle de las Capuchinas No.1

    989. John Storm Casado;

    En la misma fecha a John Storm en el mismo Campo Santo, casado, no dieron razón de su esposa, natural de Pensilvania, soltero, Soldado del Ejército Norteamericano, Católico, se confesó murió ayer Calle de las Capuchinas No. 1.- Ygnacio Velazquez de la Cadena

    Fuentes de los Reg. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los útimos Días.
    Investigó y paleografió
    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León
    duardos43@hotmail.com  

     

    Matrimonio de los Padres del Gral. de Bgd. Don Mariano Moret Viscaino

    HÉROE DE LA BATALLA DE MONTERREY DE 1846, 
    DEL REGIMIENTO ACTIVO DE GUANAJUATO

    Envío el registro eclesiastico del matrimonio de los Padres del Gral. de Bgda. Don Mariano Moret Viscaino HÉROE DE LA BATALLA DE MONTERREY DE 1846, DEL REGIMIENTO ACTIVO DE GUANAJUATO, así como el primer matrimonio de su Padre con Doña Anna Josepha de Figueroa efectuado el 22 de Septiembre de 1767, el registro de bautismo de un hermano llamado José Ygnacio Nicolas el 3 de Marzo de 1808, del registro del bautismo de Don Mariano no se encuentra el film correspondiente al año de su nacimiento que fué en 1812: Estos datos los localizó mi Esposa la Sra. Gloria Martha Pérez Tijerina de Palmerín

    Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días.
    Imprimí y paleografié
    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero.
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo Leon
    El primer matrimonio de su Padre con Doña Anna Josepha de Figueroa efectuado el 22 de Septiembre de 1767


    LIBRO DE MATRIMONIOS DE SAYULA, JAL.  1803

    " En beinte seis días del mes de Septiembre de mil ochocientos tres años el Br. Dn. José Gregorio Ponze de Leon Cura actual casó y beló infacie Ecca, a Dn. José Vicente Moret, Español originario y vezino de este Pueblo viudo de segundas nupcias de Da. Margarita Balencia cullo cuerpo se sepultó en esta Parroquia, ba para el tiempo de seis meses, con Doña Estefana de Jesus Viscaino, Española originaria de la Hacienda de Buenabista jurisdicción del pueblo de Tapalpa, y vezina de este tres años a esta parte, hija lexa. de Dn. Gregorio Viscaino, y de Da. Juana Maria Garcia de Alba, se les hizo sus informaciones, y se amonestaron en esta Santa Yglesia Parroquial en tres dias festivos inter misarum solemnia fueron padrinos Don Lorenzo Morett y Da. Maria Michaela Villabazo y testigos Dn. Juan Antonio Galindo y Dn. José Villalbazo y para que conste lo firmé como Parroco

    El registro de bautismo de un hermano llamado José Ygnacio Nicolas el 3 de Marzo de 1808
    Envío las imágenes de las defunciones del año de 1803 de una media hermana del Gral. de Bgda. Don Mariano Moret Viscaino y de la segunda esposa de su padre Doña Margarita Valencia.
    Márgen izq. Da. Thereza Morret Española Doncella Adulta Ha.La. S.C.

    En la Yga. Parroquial de Sayula en dies i seis dias del mes de Marzo de mil ochocientos tres años. Yo el Br. Dn. José Gregorio Ponze de Leon, Cura actual dí sepultura Ecca. a el cuerpo de Da. Thereza Morret, Española, Donzella Adulta, hija Lexa. de Dn. José Vicente Morret, y Da. Ana de Figueroa, recibio los Santos Sacramentos, se enterró con Missa y Vijilia,murió de fiebre total de fabrica beinte pesos dos rrs y para que conste lo firmé como Parroco
    Jose Gregorio Ponze de Leon

     

    Márgen izq. Da. Margarita Valencia Española casada S.C.

    En la Yga. Parroquial de Sayula en seis dias del mes de Abril de mil ochocientos tres años Yo el Br. Dn. José Gregorio Ponze de Leon, Cura actual di sepultura Ecca. a el cuerpo de Da. Margarita Valencia, Española casada con D. José Morret, recibió los Santos Sacramentos, se enterró con Missa y Vijilia, no testó por no tener Leg. murió de fiebre ygualmente se le hizo Nobenario Solemne de Dia--------y para que conste lo firme como Parroco. Jose Gregorio Ponze de Leon


    Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días
    Investigó y paleografio
    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo Leon
    duardos43@hotmail.com  

     
    Dos registros eclesiásticos de matrimonio correspondientes a las mismas personas
    Envío las imágenes de dos registros eclesiásticos de matrimonio correspondientes a las mismas personas, efectuado en la Villa de San Fernando de Austria ( Zaragoza, Coah. ) el día 30 de Marzo de 1783 el primero firmado por Fr. Pedro de Parras, Capellán Real del Presidio de Agua Verde dice:

    Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días

    " Habiendo sido mui necesario al servicio de Dios y del Rei, y como era publico y renuente en casarse Dn. Joseph Miguel de la Barrera soltero y Cabo de esta Compañia con Doña Petra Rodriguez Doncella, hija legitima de Don Bicente Rodriguez Theniente Coronel Reformado y de Doña Maria de la Encarnacion Gimenez su legitima muger; vecinos de esta Villa de San Fernando de Austria, y hallarse Doña Petra encinta del dho. Don Joseph Miguel de la Barrera y Cos: fueron sus padrinos Joseph Rodriguez, Soldado de esta Compañía y Da. Josepha Rodriguez testigos Joseph de Herrera, Miguel Valdez, Joseph Nicolas Barrera, Soldados de dicho Presidio: los case como lo ordena las instrucciones el Reverendo Padre Ministro de esta Villa Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura Perales, habiendose entregado las diligencias matrimoniales, y recibiendo de dicho Padre auto queda archibado: y para que conste lo firmo en dho. dia mes y año Vt Supra. "
    .
    " El segundo registro firmado por Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura Perales y de la misma fecha en la Parroquia de San Fernando de Austria, con la anuencia del Padre Predicador general Fray Pedro Parras Capellan Real del Presidio de Agua verde casé a Don Josef Miguel de la Barrera y Cos, Cabo de la Compañía de Agua Verde con Doña Petra Rodriguez. hija legitima del Teniente Coronel Don Vicente Rodriguez, y de Doña Maria Encarnacion Ximenez vezinos de esta Villa, no se leyeron las amonestaciones por convenir asi a la salud de sus almas y bien publico, como así mismo, no se velaron por ser tiempo prohivido fueron testigos Nicolas Barrrera, caravinero, Miguel Valdez soldado, y Jose Herrera soldado de la misma Compañia
    Investigó y paleografió

    Tte.Corl.Intdte.Ret.Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo Leon
    duardos43@hotmail.com  


     
    María Manuela Dolores Matamoros Guride (Guridi ) 
    Les envío las imágenes del registro del bautismo de María Manuela Dolores Matamoros Guride (Guridi ) hermana del Señor Cura Insurgente Don Mariano Matamoros

    Fuentes.Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días

    " En quatro de Abril de mil setecientos ochenta y cuatro, Yo el R.P. Fray Fernando Antonio Gomez con la licencia del Sr. Provisor, y Vicario General de este Arzobispado de Mexico, y tambien con la del Sr. Cura Dr. Dn. Antonio Venas baptize solemnemente y puse los Santos Oleos y Chrisma en esta Parrochia de Sa. Sta. Ana, a una criatura de tres dias de nacida, a quien puse por nombre Maria Manuela Dolores Española de esta parrochia, hija legitima de Dn. Josef Matamoros y de Doña Mariana Guride, vecinos de esta Ciudad y feligreses de dicha Parrochia, nieta por linea paterna de Don Alonzo Ramon Matamoros y de Doña Antonia Galindo y por la materna de Don Diego Guride y de Doña Catharina Gonzalez,fueron sus padrinos Don Meliton Garay y Doña Maria Arechavalo, casada con Josef Garay, Españoles feligreses de la Cathedral, les hice su obligacion y parentesco espiritual y para que conste lo firmó " Dr Antonio Venegas Dn. Fernando Antonio Gomez

    Investigó y paleografió
    Tte.Corl.Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genelaogía de Nuevo Leon

    Editor: Sorry just including the translation.  I misplaced the digitized copy of the document.
    Please contact primo Ricardo directly .  duardos43@hotmail.com  
    Matrimonio de Juan José Cadena

    Envío la imágen del registro del matrimonio de Juan José Cadena, mestizo con Rosalía Barrera Española, efectuado en la Villa de San Andres de Naba ( Nava, Coah.) el día 18 de Julio de 1806; el primero soltero, originario de Burgos y vecino de esta hace siete años hijo lexitimo de Tadeo Cadena y de Thomasa Cantú, la segunda, doncella originaria de Río Grande y vecina de esta Villa va para siete años, hija lexitima de Pragedis Barrera y de Gertrudis Valdez, los casó y veló infacie eclesie ante tres testigos que lo fueron Don Andres Zamora, Don Tomas Nandin y Don Joaquin Rodriguez, fueron padrinos Don Manuel Elguezabal y Doña Antonia Herrera y para constancia lo firmé en dicho día mes y año. Don Jose Cornelio de Ayala

    Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de Los últimos Días.

    Investigó y paleografió.

    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo Raúl Palmerín Cordero
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo Leon.
    De: Ricardo Raúl Palmerín Cordero <duardos43@hotmail.com>
    Fecha: 9 de octubre de 2013 
    Asunto: JENKIN BLACKALLER.
    Estimado Sam, amigas y amigos genealogistas.

    " En la Ciudad de Mejico a diez y ocho de Septiembre de mil ochocientos treinta. Yo el Bachiller D. Pedro Rangel Teniente de Cura de esta Parroquia bautizó solemnemente a las gemelas Ysabel Susana y Ana María que nacieron el día 24 de mayo del presente año, hijas legitimas de Don Tomas Jenkin y de Doña Ana Blackaller que viven en la calle de Capuchinas numero quince: Nietas por linea paterna de Don Tomas Jenkin y de Doña Ana Maria Jonson y por la materna de Don Juan Blackaller y de Doña Ana Maria Smith, todos naturales de Londres; de Isabel Susana fué su madrina Doña Ysabel Cochelet y de Ana Maria fueron sus padrinos Don Juan Macgrath y doña Ysabel Cochelet esposa del Consul Frances D. Jeorge Nerbile a quienes adverti su obligacion y parentesco espiritual y para que conste lo firmé con el Señor Cura ". Dr. Antonio Cabeza de Baca. Br. Pedro Rangel

    Transcribo como está escrito.
    Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Dias.
    Investigó y paleografió.
    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Soc. de Genealogía de Nuevo Leon
    duardos43@hotmail.com  

     


    " En la Ciudad de Mejico a diez y ocho de Septiembre de mil ochocientos treinta. Yo el Bachiller D. Pedro Rangel Teniente de Cura de esta Parroquia bautizó solemnemente a las gemelas Ysabel Susana y Ana María que nacieron el día 24 de mayo del presente año, hijas legitimas de Don Tomas Jenkin y de Doña Ana Blackaller que viven en la calle de Capuchinas numero quince: Nietas por linea paterna de Don Tomas Jenkin y de Doña Ana Maria Jonson y por la materna de Don Juan Blackaller y de Doña Ana Maria Smith, todos naturales de Londres; de Isabel Susana fué su madrina Doña Ysabel Cochelet y de Ana Maria fueron sus padrinos Don Juan Macgrath y doña Ysabel Cochelet esposa del Consul Frances D. Jeorge Nerbile a quienes adverti su obligacion y parentesco espiritual y para que conste lo firmé con el Señor Cura ". Dr. Antonio Cabeza de Baca. Br. Pedro Rangel
    Matrimonio de Don Juan Zuazua y Doña Antonia de la Garza
    Registro del matrimonio de Don Juan Zuazua y Doña Antonia de la Garza, siendo testigos Don Emeterio Pozas y Don Juan Francisco Castañeda.

    Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días.
    LIBRO DE MATRIMONIOS DE LA VILLA DE LA PUNTA DE LAMPAZOS.

    " En la Villa de la Punta de Lampazos en 28 de Abril de 1850, Yo el Presbitero Don Policarpo de Cardenas Cura Ynterino de esta Parroquia prebias las diligencias y proclamas de estilo en que no resultó impedimento alguno pasadas las 24 horas despues de leida la última monicion Casé y no Velé a Don Juan Zuazua con Doña Antonia de la Garza, fueron testigos Don Emeterio Pozas y Juan Francisco Castañeda y para que conste lo firmé ". José Policarpo de Cardenas.

    Investigó y paleografió.
    Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero.
    Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo Leon

     

    INDIGENOUS

    Star Quilts
    Tribal Arrest, a U.S. Issue 

     
    For many Native Americans, the star is a sacred symbol, equated with honor. The belief is a respected and longstanding tradition, inherited from their ancestors. The Assiniboine and Lakota Sioux Indian nations of Eastern Montana and North and South Dakota had a spiritual belief in the stars, especially in Venus, whose reflected light made it one of the brightest objects in the night sky with the appearance of a star. The planet Venus was their guiding star. It represented the direction from which spirits travel to Earth, symbolizing immortality.

    Star quilts are a tradition among several Native American Tribes. Star quilts are a patchwork quilts. Each piece represented a person - not any particular person - just a person. Every piece of the quilt was different. Every piece was necessary to a make a whole quilt. To the Sioux, star quilts represented a community of individuals who must work together to make a whole. Friendship was the thread that held the quilt together. The Sioux were very proud of their beautiful quilts. They used them as blankets and gave them as gifts on special occasions.

    American Indians have long been recognized for their superb artistry and craftsmanship, creating woven rugs and blankets, beadwork, basketry, pottery, ceremonial clothing and headdresses prized by collectors. But the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is home to one of the largest collections of a Native American art form that is hardly known at all: the quilt. Eighty-eight quilts—stitched by women from the Northern Plains tribes from the 1940s on—were acquired in 2007 from a spectacular collection put together by Florence Pulford.

    Lakota Sioux Star Throw Tribal Traditions of the Lakota Sioux

    This program provides needed work to “help us get on our feet, where we can stand strong and be proud again.”
    Germaine Moves Camp, Quilter

    Lakota Star Quilt
    Pulford, a San Francisco Bay area homemaker, first got interested in quilts of the Plains tribes in the 1960s. According to NMAI curator Ann McMullen, these quilts—many bearing a central octagonal star—functioned as both ritual and practical replacements for Plains Indians buffalo robes. Bison hides had grown scarce as herds were hunted nearly to extinction in a campaign to subdue the Plains tribes during the late 1800s. Missionary wives taught quilting techniques to Indian women, who soon made the medium their own. Many of the patterns and motifs, McMullen says, “have a look very similar to [designs painted on] buffalo robes.”

    Some of the quilts, including a highly pictorial piece entitled Red Bottom Tipi (Story of the Assiniboine), tell stories. Its dark blue stripe represents the Missouri River; figurative images depict the tepees of an Assiniboine camp and its inhabitants. But most of the Pulford quilts feature abstract geometric patterns. The museum bought 50 quilts from Pulford’s daughters, Ann Wilson and Sarah Zweng, who also donated an additional 38.

    Wilson recalls the genesis of the collection: “Since the 1940s, my father, a doctor, and my mother, and later the kids, went to a wonderful camp, a working ranch, Bar 717, in Trinity County in northern California,” she says.

    In the 1960s, Frank Arrow, a Gros Ventres Indian, came to Bar 717 from Montana to work with the horses and befriended Pulford and her family. “In 1968,” says Wilson, “Frank’s aunt invited my mother to come to the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana.” On that first visit, Pulford, who had a long-standing interest in Native American culture, was invited to a powwow and was given a quilt as a gift.

    “My mother was stunned by the poverty on the reservation, as I was when I spent a summer [there] at the age of 21,” Wilson says. “She saw that the quilts were made using feed sacks and other bits and pieces of material. She decided that these artists deserved better materials.” Pulford began buying fabric in California and sending it to artisans at Fort Belknap, Fort Peck and other Montana reservations, sometimes even driving a horse trailer packed with quilting materials.

    Pulford also began selling the quilts, using proceeds to buy additional fabric and turning over the remaining profit to the quilters. “This was the first time many of the women on the reservations had ever made any money,” Wilson recalls.

    It was during one of Pulford’s early trips to Montana that she met quilter Almira Buffalo Bone Jackson, a member of the Red Bottom band of the Fort Peck Assiniboine. The two women became fast friends, staying close until Pulford’s death at age 65 in 1989. “Besides their many visits,” says Wilson, “my mother and Almira kept up a long, very intimate correspondence. They wrote about my mother’s health, about Almira losing her husband, all sorts of things.” Twenty-four of the quilts in the NMAI collection, including Red Bottom Tipi, were designed and sewn by Jackson, who died in 2004 at age 87.

    “Almira was also a very talented artist in other ways,” says McMullen. In Morning Star Quilts, Pulford’s 1989 survey of quilting traditions among Native American women of the Northern Plains, she tells of a letter she got from Jackson that described a single month’s output: a baby quilt, two boy’s dance outfits, two girl’s dresses, a ceremonial headdress and a resoled pair of moccasins. “Almira was also well known for other traditional skills,” McMullen says. “Florence was especially intrigued by her methods for drying deer and antelope and vegetables for winter storage.”

              Almira Buffalo Bone Jackson (in 1994) once said that she would "dream the colors [of quilts] at night." (Michael Crummett)

    Which raises, it seems, an interesting question. In the world of fine art, how many gifted artists can count a working knowledge of curing meat among their talents?   Owen Edwards is a freelance writer and author of the book Elegant Solutions.

    Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/A-Spectacular-Collection-of-Native-American-Quilts.html#ixzz2gtoz4xGT
    Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

    http://tribaltraditions.org/index.php/home?page=shop.browse&category_id=22&gclid=CJXu_brzgLoCFYk9Qgod1GQAjw
     

    Native American Star Quilts Education
    Native American Star Quilts

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHYKJ-qPwL8 
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjar91ztil4
     

     

     
    Tribal Arrest, a U.S. Issue 
    The federal government can prosecute misdemeanor driving offenses on Indian reservations, a federal magistrate judge ruled in Helena, Montana, in rejecting a request to dismiss charges against a Blackfeet tribal leader and Montana state senator.

    U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong said the federal government shares jurisdiction with tribal governments.  Shannon Augare is charged with DUI, reckless driving and obstruction of a peace officer.  He is accused of fleeing a sheriff's deputy during a May traffic stop within reservation boundaries.

    Source: OC Register, Santa Ana, October 2, 2013



    ARCHAEOLOGY

     

    Archaeologists uncover Brazilian artifacts 
     

    Archaeologists uncover Brazilian artifacts 
    including thought to be toothbrush of Emperor Pedro II

    AP: September 18, 2013 

    RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — An ivory toothbrush thought to have belonged to Brazil's Emperor Pedro II and a minty toothpaste made by a European chemist for the Portuguese queen are among more than 200,000 pieces dating from the 17th through 19th centuries that archeologists have unearthed from a site in Rio de Janeiro being used for an extension the city's subway lines.

    A team of more than two dozen archeologists, historians and others began excavating the plot in northern Rio last March. The plot, once the site of a slaughterhouse, is near the former imperial palace and thought to have once been used as a landfill by the imperial family and others, team members said Wednesday.

    The area, now a construction site for Rio's massive subway expansion projects, has not only yielded an impressive number of objects but also pieces in remarkably good condition, team leader Claudio Prado de Mello said.

    "What is the most impressive is the intact state" of many objects, said Mello. "In archeology we usually find very fragmented pieces, but this time we're finding whole objects."

    The ivory toothbrush thought to have belonged to Dom Pedro II, who ruled over Brazil from 1831-1889, has turned brown with age. Its boar bristles are long gone, but the inscription remains legible: "His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil." A round white porcelain pot emblazoned with "to the Queen of Portugal Maria of Saboia" is thought to have contained mint-flavored tooth paste made specially for the queen by a chemist with offices in London and Paris.

    The site has also yielded dozens of intact glass and ceramic bottles thought to have once contained water imported from Europe for the imperial family. Six sealed bottles still contain unidentified liquids that the team plans to send to a laboratory for analysis. Dozens of coins and pipes were also found, along with a golden ring and a tie tack.

    The excavation area has been covered up pending the subway expansion project, which is scheduled to be ready ahead of the 2016 Olympic games that Rio is hosting. After project's completion, the excavations are to resume, Mello said.

    Sent by John Inclan 

    SEPHARDIC

    Book:  Jewish Treasure of the Caribbean Photo Exhibit
    Was Columbus a Jew?
    Del castellano al ladino por Angel Custodio Rebollo
     

    Book:  Jewish Treasure of the Caribbean Photo Exhibit

    Photo: Jewish Treasures of the Caribbean: a Photography Exhibit by Wyatt Gallery, Wed, October 2, 2013, 7:00pm 

At the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue, 70th St at Central Park W.

For over five years, acclaimed photographer and Fulbright Fellow Wyatt Gallery has been documenting Sephardic historical sites of the Caribbean.  Many of these precious sites are in danger of extinction as the Caribbean Sephardic communities dwindle.  Mr. Gallery will be giving our congregation the first preview of his beautiful fine-art photographs from his upcoming book "Jewish Treasures of The Caribbean".

JICNY is a Co-sponsor of this event.

WHEN: Wed, Oct 2, 2013
TIME: 7:00pm
WHERE: Shearith Israel, 2 W. 70th St at CPW
COST: FREE
CONTACT: ashultz@shearithisrael

FOR A LIST OF ALL JICNY EVENTS: www.jicny.com/events

    For over five years, acclaimed photographer and Fulbright fellow Wyatt Gallery has been documenting Sephardic historical sites of the Caribbean. Many of these precious sides are in danger of extinction as the Caribbean Sephardic communities dwindle.

    Through these majestic photographs, Mr. Gallery takes us into the four remaining synagogues with sand covered floors, the cemeteries from the 1600 and 1700s, as well as through the harrowing journey of how the Jews escape persecution and created a flourishing community in the Caribbean and what is now the United States. Mr. Gallery will be giving our congregation the first preview of his beautiful fine- art photographs from his upcoming book Jewish treasures of the Caribbean.

     

     

    Was Columbus a Jew? by Charles Garcia

     (CNN) -- Everybody knows the story of Columbus, right? He was an Italian explorer from Genoa who set sail in 1492 to enrich the Spanish monarchs with gold and spices from the orient. Not quite.
    For too long, scholars have ignored Columbus ' grand passion: the quest to liberate Jerusalem from the Muslims.
    During Columbus ' lifetime, Jews became the target of fanatical religious persecution. On March 31, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella proclaimed that all Jews were to be expelled from Spain . The edict especially targeted the 800,000 Jews who had never converted, and gave them four months to pack up and get out.
    The Jews who were forced to renounce Judaism and embrace Catholicism were known as "Conversos," or converts. There were also those who feigned conversion, practicing Catholicism outwardly while covertly practicing Judaism, the so-called "Marranos," or swine.
    Tens of thousands of Marranos were tortured by the Spanish Inquisition. They were pressured to offer names of friends and family members, who were ultimately paraded in front of crowds, tied to stakes and burned alive. Their land and personal possessions were then divvied up by the church and crown.
    Recently, a number of Spanish scholars, such as Jose Erugo, Celso Garcia de la Riega, Otero Sanchez and Nicholas Dias Perez, have concluded that Columbus was a Marrano, whose survival depended upon the suppression of all evidence of his Jewish background in face of the brutal, systematic ethnic cleansing.
    Columbus, who was known in Spain as Cristóbal Colón and didn't speak Italian, signed his last will and testament on May 19, 1506, and made five curious -- and revealing -- provisions.
    Two of his wishes -- tithe one-tenth of his income to the poor and provide an anonymous dowry for poor girls -- are part of Jewish customs. He also decreed to give money to a Jew who lived at the entrance of the Lisbon Jewish Quarter.
    On those documents, Columbus used a triangular signature of dots and letters that resembled inscriptions found on gravestones of Jewish cemeteries in Spain . He ordered his heirs to use the signature in perpetuity.
    According to British historian Cecil Roth's "The History of the Marranos," the anagram was a cryptic substitute for the Kaddish, a prayer recited in the synagogue by mourners after the death of a close relative. Thus, Columbus ' subterfuge allowed his sons to say Kaddish for their crypto-Jewish father when he died. Finally, Columbus left money to support the crusade he hoped his successors would take up to liberate the Holy Land .
    Estelle Irizarry, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University , has analyzed the language and syntax of hundreds of handwritten letters, diaries and documents of Columbus and concluded that the explorer's primary written and spoken language was Castilian Spanish. Irizarry explains that 15th-century Castilian Spanish was the "Yiddish" of Spanish Jewry, known as "Ladino." At the top left-hand corner of all but one of the 13 letters written by Columbus to his son Diego contained the handwritten Hebrew letters bet-hei, meaning b'ezrat Hashem (with God's help). Observant Jews have for centuries customarily added this blessing to their letters. No letters to outsiders bear this mark, and the one letter to Diego in which this was omitted was one meant for King Ferdinand.
    In Simon Weisenthal's book, "Sails of Hope," he argues that Columbus ' voyage was motivated by a desire to find a safe haven for the Jews in light of their expulsion from Spain . Likewise, Carol Delaney, a cultural anthropologist at Stanford University , concludes that Columbus was a deeply religious man whose purpose was to sail to Asia to obtain gold in order to finance a crusade to take back Jerusalem and rebuild the Jews' holy Temple .
    In Columbus ' day, Jews widely believed that Jerusalem had to be liberated and the Temple rebuilt for the Messiah to come.
    Scholars point to the date on which Columbus set sail as further evidence of his true motives. He was originally going to sail on August 2, 1492, a day that happened to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av, marking the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temples of Jerusalem . Columbus postponed this original sail date by one day to avoid embarking on the holiday, which would have been considered by Jews to be an unlucky day to set sail. (Coincidentally or significantly, the day he set forth was the very day that Jews were, by law, given the choice of converting, leaving Spain , or being killed.)
    Columbus' voyage was not, as is commonly believed, funded by the deep pockets of Queen Isabella, but rather by two Jewish Conversos and another prominent Jew. Louis de Santangel and Gabriel Sanchez advanced an interest free loan of 17,000 ducats from their own pockets to help pay for the voyage, as did Don Isaac Abrabanel, rabbi and Jewish statesman.
    Indeed, the first two letters Columbus sent back from his journey were not to Ferdinand and Isabella, but to Santangel and Sanchez, thanking them for their support and telling them what he had found.
    The evidence seem to bear out a far more complicated picture of the man for whom our nation now celebrates a national holiday and has named its capital.
    As we witness bloodshed the world over in the name of religious freedom, it is valuable to take another look at the man whosailed the seas in search of such freedoms -- landing in a place that would eventually come to hold such an ideal at its very core.
    Editor's note: Charles Garcia is the CEO of Garcia Trujillo, a business focused on the Hispanic market, and the author of "Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows." A native of Panama , he now lives in Florida . Follow him on Twitter: @charlespgarcia. Lea este artículo en español/Read this article in Spanish.

    Sent by Monica R. Sigla 

     

    Del castellano al ladino

    por Angel Custodio Rebollo

    Cuando los sefarditas emigraron a otros países por la orden de los Reyes Católicos, de expulsión de Sefarad, firmada el 31 de marzo de 1492, se llevaron no solo los pocos enseres y dinero que pudieron salvar, también fue con ellos nuestra cultura, nuestra forma de vivir y, lo principal, el idioma que se hablaba en Castilla en aquellos tiempos, un español que fueron adaptando al lenguaje de los países a los que les llevó el destino. Los sefarditas se propagaron por todo el mundo conocido de entonces, aunque hubo países donde se ubicaron con más rapidez, como Turquía, Marruecos, Egipto, además de muchos de los que entonces existían en Europa y donde formaron autenticas colonias, para unidos protegerse y ayudarse entre ellos.

    Hoy en día, aún hay zonas de esos países donde los descendientes de los que marcharon en los siglos XV y XVI, donde se habla el “ladino” que es como se bautizó a la lengua que ellos conversan.

    Muchas palabras se conservan respecto a su significado, pero con algunas alteraciones porque se han acoplado con el tiempo, a la lengua de sus países de residencia..

    En el lenguaje actual de los sefarditas, entre otras palabras se dice que una persona es “escasa”, cuando es muy avara. “refusar”, por rehusar o “emprendar” por empeñar o “movito” por abortar, todas ellas originarias de nuestr antiguo lenguaje.

    Algunas de las palabras que llevaron los sefardíes a otros países, han pasado a formar parte de léxico local o regional de su otro país, igual que cuando estuvieron entre nosotros los griegos, los fenicios o los musulmanes. dejaron muchas de las suyas entre nuestro léxico habitual y aún, después de siglos, conservamos adaptadas a nuestro idioma.

    A muchas poblaciones donde habían vivido entre nosotros, fueron ellos los que le designaron su nombre, como, entre otras, Toledo, que viene de la palabra “Toledoth”, que quiere decir “ciudad de la generación”

    Aun hoy en día, en muchos de nuestros pueblos, los mayores conservan costumbres y dichos que proceden de la época que vivieron entre nosotros, porque hay estudios que dicen que los primeros judíos llegaron a nuestras tierras con los fenicios.

    Ángel Custodio Rebollo 
    acustodiorebollo@gmail.com
       

     

     


    AFRICAN-AMERICAN


    Julian Abele, Prominent 
    African-American Architect 


    Duke University Chapel
    , Durham, NC (1932).
    Julian Abele (April 30, 1881 – April 23, 1950) was a prominent African-American architect, and chief designer in the offices of Horace Trumbauer. He contributed to the design of more than 400 buildings, including the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University (1912-15), the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia (1918-27), and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1914-28). He was the primary designer of the west campus of Duke University (1924-54).[4] Abele's contributions to the Trumbauer firm were great, but the only building for which he claimed authorship during Trumbauer's lifetime was the Duke University Chapel.

    Julian Abele was born in Philadelphia into a prominent family. His maternal grandfather was Robert Jones, who in the late eighteenth century founded the city's Lombard Street Central Presbyterian Church. He was also related to Absalom Jones, who established the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in 1794, the first black church in Philadelphia. A cousin, Julian Abele Cook, also practiced architecture and went on to design Howard University, and Abele's son, Julian Francis Abele, Jr. was an architectural engineer.

    Abele was the first black student to enroll in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and became the department's first black graduate in 1902. [6] This achievement was all the more noteworthy for the restrictions black students faced at the university, including not being able to live on campus or dine at the school's cafeteria.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Abele   
    For an extensive article on Abele's life, Out of the Shadows by Susan E. Tifft,  Smithsonian, February 2005



    EAST COAST 

    Cuento: Reminiscences of a Naval Aviator, WW II, by Daniel L. Polino
    Cuento: Fey Esperanza: Sustained by Faith and Hope by Juana Bordas
    Cuento: Every Day of Her Life by Carolina De Robertis
    Royal Pedigree of Juan Ponce de Leon 
     

    CUENTO

    SWIMMING LESSONS by Daniel L. Polino
    Reminiscences of a Naval Aviator, WW II
    Hometown,  Buffalo, New York 

    The way the Navy pushed swimming during cadet training, you'd tend to believe that we'd be expected to swim to Japan for the final act of the war. Several memories remain with me that I'd like to record.

    Part of the training involved a maintenance swim every three months. It • consisted of swimming a quarter mile in five minutes. The average cadet would cover the quarter mile using the crawl stroke, and five minutes was barely enough time. I personally preferred the breast stroke since it bothered my eyes less. However, the breast stroke is relatively slow, so it was to the amazement of the instructors that I was able to cover the quarter mile within the prescribed time period, using the breast stroke alone.

    Another requirement was the mile swim, which was performed in the local base pool, a total of 100 pool lengths without touching the sides. Any stroke could be used; and, there was an additional stipulation that if you failed to complete the mile, for whatever reason, you had to try again the next day. It was on my 98th length of the pool that I suffered a severe leg cramp, resulting in my right leg locking up in the folded position. The vision of having to drop out and repeat the effort the next day was so revolting that I swam the last two lengths without the use of that leg.

    One test that we had to endure was the Dilbert Dunker. It was a structure that simulated the cockpit of an aircraft, mounted on rails that allowed it to slip into the pool. It contained the seat belt and shoulder strap accessories along with the radio and oxygen connections to make your situation as realistic as possible. The idea was to escape from the cockpit, simulating a water landing, before you drowned. It really gave you a sinking feeling, since you could get tangled up and inhale some water before rescue.

    The grand finale, or course, was the death leap from the burning aircraft carrier. At Glenview, the swimming pool was located within the giant quonset building that also housed the drill floor. The ceiling was over 40 feet high. The idea was to simulate the condition where you had to leap into the flaming water from your aircraft carrier, and swim beneath the flames (simulated) to safety. To do this, the Navy rigged a platform, roughly four by eight feet, beneath the high point of the quonset roof, and directly over the edge of the swimming pool, near the deep end. The entrance to the platform was by landing net which hung down to the edge of the pool. The platform would never have met OSHA requirements since it only had a makeshift rope guardrail around it, and it was invariably wet and slippery. It was scary enough climbing the net to the platform in your bare feet. Maintaining your footing on the water- slicked platform added to the danger of the situation. Waiting your turn was nerve racking. It was at times like this that even the brave were frightened. The pool looked awfully small and shallow from that height. Some cadets had to be threatened, cajoled, or pushed. If you got to the platform and had the misfortune to wait for the cadet ahead of you to make up his mind to jump, it gave you time to look down, contemplate what could happen, and become frightened. My simple solution was to climb the net to the platform, timing it so that I'd be alone; and, upon reaching the platform immediately jump without looking down. It seemed to take forever to hit the water, but it worked. After hitting the water, you had to swim the length of the pool underwater. After the jump, the swimming was the easy part.

    Navy swim training had a big influence on me. I never enjoyed swimming after that!

     

     

    CUENTO

    Excerpt from The Power of Latino Leadership by Juana Bordas
    Pgs. 197-198, Fey Esperanza: Sustained by Faith and Hope

    In my family,  "Esta en las manos de Dios" (It's in God's hands) was never far from my mother's lips. My brother Chris needed a baseball .outfit; a stray dog wandered in, and David couldn't bear to part with in; my class needed costumes for the school play. And where were the cookies for the church social? "What are kookees?" my mother would ask. No matter what the need or challenge, somehow she always managed to get what was needed for her eight children and to help others in the community as well.

    God looked after her. How else could Celia Maria Bordas have ended up in the three-bedroom house at 3713 West Plait Street in Tampa, Horida—not far from the same ocean waters that lapped up onto the Caribbean shores where she was born—if God hadn't put her there? 

    Generations of Latinos simply believed in God's providence and guidance. In fact, my Tia Anita summed up her fe in six words. When asked about what was going to happen or something that was planned, she always prefaced it with "si Dios quiere" (if God wants this to happen). After the event happened, her response was "gracias a Dios" (thanks be to God), So coming or going, she had it covered.

    The waters of Hispanic spirituality run deep. Fe is a deeply seated thread that permeates everyday life and prescribes how people should treat one another. Building on the generosity, mutuality, and service orientation of their We cultural roots, Latino spirituality is a mandate for social responsibility—to do good for others and help others in need. Arturo Vargas recounts, "Even to this day, my mother is packing up a bag of non-perishables to take the church because it's the first Sunday of the month. We're supposed to take food for the hungry, and I'm thinking, 'Mama, you don't have that much yourself.'"

    Fe has been the sustainer—the integrating force holding Latinos together from the time of the conquest to colonization, being deemed a minority, and suffering discrimination. Faith engenders hope, humility, courage, gratitude, and celebration—all spiritual qualities that enrich leadership.

     
           CUENTO 

    Excerpt from Count on Me, edited by Adriana V. Lopez
    Pgs. 38-39, Every Day of Her Life by Carolina De Robertis

    Editor Mimi:  Carolina writes of her beloved friend and comadre Leila, to whom she taught the meaning of the word comadre a year and a half before Leila died of cancer.  Carolina writes of the strong bonds of friendship, which grew since they met in a Mills College writing class.
    During her final battle with cancer, Leila posted the following message on her blog:

    So please, friend, bless what you have and let go of fear for the future. Today is the only day you have got. You are breathing. Enjoy your breath. You are alive. Enjoy your life. Bless everybody who comes across your path. And the work? Bless your'work, too. Bless your town, your bills, your possessions. You are lueky to be here for all of it. if some of it gets taken away, fine, something else will take its place. You are an amazing confluence of billions of variables and nobody else is having your life right this minute.  

    And don't worry about hope. Just breathe and appreciate your breath. Everything arises from that.


    I return to these lines when I seek peace over losing Leila. I remember that she loved life with a vitality that inspired others around her to do the same, that even if she didn't manage to enjoy every one of her breaths (and who the hell does?) she most certainly enjoyed many. That she cooked delicious meals and fought for peace and justice. That she birthed two beautiful boys. That she achieved that rare thing in this world, a strong and happy marriage. That she sang her love for Lebanon, and for the planet. That she wrote.

    That she made the very best of her forty-seven years.

    I also return to these lines when I need guidance for myself. They give me courage on the days when writing seems difficult or impossible. They remind me of what's important. They return me to my breath, to confluence. They return me home.

    I am inside Leila's novel. I wrap her sentences around me, supple scarves of many colors. They smell of lemons and roses, coffee and secrets, wild thyme and olive oil soap. They smell of a Lebanon I have never been to and yet, through the portal of my comadre 's book, have come to love. As I move, wrapped in sentences, they rustle a mysterious language that my skin immediately understands. A language called Beauty. Her sentences speak directly to my body. They shake me awake and show me treasures. They show me what passion can forge out of the alphabet. They show me death: Leila's, and my own. Through that lens, life appears in sharp relief, with all its heat and urgency, all its roving noise, its pain and power.
    Your sentences are here, Leila, and they are singing. Like you, they belong to the world.

     

    Royal Pedigree of Juan Ponce de Leon 

    Juan Ponce de León (Nacio en Santervás de Campos, Valladolid) se cree que nacio el 8 de abril de 1460 y murio en el 1521, conquistador castellano de Puerto Rico y descubridor de Florida.
    De ascendencia noble, fue paje en la corte de Fernando el Católico y combatió en la conquista del reino de Granada. Se duda si su primer viaje a América lo hizo con Cristóbal Colón en 1493, o ya con Nicolas de Ovando en 1502. En todo caso, colaboró con éste en la conquista de La Española y recibió de él el encargo de conquistar la cercana isla de San Juan Bautista o Borinquén (Puerto Rico) en 1508.
    A pesar de la oposición de Diego Colón, consiguió ser nombrado gobernador de la isla de San Juan, en 1510. La isla se sometió sin dificultad, merced a la conversión del cacique Agüeybaná; Ponce de León pudo dedicarse a la fundación de ciudades y a la explotación de oro. Pero, tras la muerte del cacique Agueybana, los amerindios se sublevaron contra la dominación española y el régimen de encomiendas al que se les había sometido a trabajos forzados. Tras una dura lucha, Ponce de León se impuso a los nativos y tomó contra ellos sangrientas represalias.
    Más tarde descubrió una zona al norte de las islas del Caribe, a la que llamó La Florida, ya que fue descubierta el día de Domingo de Resurrección, llamado en España Pascua Florida, por tocar siempre en el principio de la primavera.
    Se pasó el resto de su vida buscando la fuente de la eterna juventud, que según una leyenda se encontraba en ese lugar.

    Alfonso IX, Rey de Leon & Galicia y Aldonza Martinez-de-Silva
    Su hija
    Aldonza Alfonso-de-Leon cc Pedro Ponce-de-Cabrera, Senor de Villa de Aria
    Su hijo
    Fernan Perez-Ponce-de-Leon cc Urraca Gutierrez-de-Meneses
    Su hijo
    Fernan Perez-Ponce-de-Leon cc Isabel Perez-de-Guzman
    Su hijo
    Pedro Ponce-de-Leon, IV Senor de Marchena cc Sancha de Baeza-y-Haro
    Su hijo
    Pedro Ponce-de-Leon, 1st Count of Arcos cc Maria de Ayala-y-Guzman
    Su hijo
    Juan Ponce-de-Leon-y-Ayala, 2nd Count of Arcos cc Leonor de Guzman-y-Silva, Leonor Nunez-y-Prado, y Catalina Gonzalez-de-Oviedo
    Su hijo con Catalina Gonzalez-de-Oviedo Lope Ponce-de-Leon cc Catalina de Perea-Carrizosa
    Su hijo
    Juan Ponce-de-Leon, Adelantado de Florida cc Beatriz de Luna-y-Ponce-de-Leon
    Su hijo
    Juan Gonzalez-Ponce-de-Leon, Conquistador de Mexico con Cortes en Noche Treste

     Título de la unidad: "Informaciones: Juan González Ponce de León" Archivo: Archivo General de Indias
    Signatura: MEXICO, 203, N.19
    Fecha Formación: 1532
    Informaciones de oficio y parte: Juan González Ponce de León, conquistador. Fue intérprete y espía en la conquista de San Juan de Boriquen y Nueva España.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Who's Who of the Conquistadors, by Hugh Thomas. Page 192-195.
    cc Francisca de Ordas, Hermana de Diego de Ordas, Conquisator de Mexico. Who's Who of the Conquistadors, by Hugh Thomas. Page 102-105.
    Juan Gonzalez-Ponce-de-Leon, Conquistador cc Francisca de Ordas.
    Sus descendientes viven en Puebla, Chihuahua, EU.

    John Inclan  
    fromgalveston@yahoo.com

     

    CARIBBEAN/CUBA

    Review of Film: "Una Noche" captures Cuba's Lost Generation by Mirta Ojito
    U-2 Spy Photos of Cuba in '62
    The History of women in Puerto Rico, Part 1 By: Tony “The Marine” Santiago
    Mejor respuesta -  La existencia de Cuba
     

    Review of Film: "UNA NOCHE" CAPTURES CUBA'S LOST GENERATIONS
    by Mirta Ojito
    Mao35@columbia.edu  

    In 'Una Noche,' three teens leave Cuba on a raft.   From the small screen of my iPad I glimpsed my city, and my heart sank. There was my barrio, Santos Suarez, in all its faded glory. A cruel shell of its old self. There was my old middle school in La Vibora. I think. Its hard to tell, but I thought I recognized the mustard-colored walls and graceful arches of its cavernous hallways. Who knows? Lots of buildings in Havana have good bones, yellow walls and elegant touches. 

    I worried about the buildings when I recently saw the film Una Noche, but I wept for the people. The ruins, I'm used to. Dilapidated walls and destroyed facades can be rebuilt with cement and bricks. But it takes a lot more to rebuild” from the inside generations of disfranchised, disconnected, and rudderless people. 

    Shocked and angry at the amorality and aggressiveness of the characters in the film, I sought out the British-born director of Una Noche, Lucy Mulloy, who, as it happens, lives in New York. We had lunch. Lentil soup and a tabbouleh salad, but neither one of us was enjoying the food or the view of a peaceful and pretty park in the center of bustling Manhattan. 

    I asked Lucy if her film was all true, if that was truly Cuba today, if there is no decency left on the island. 

    She looked at me with her big brown eyes, with what I now know was compassion, and said that it was all true, the locations were real and the people were non-actors representing what she had witnessed in Cuba. But it was not the only truth. During the decade that she lived on and off the island, she also met young people who study and work, as well as kind neighbors and attentive partners. 

    The film is also about love, many manifestations of love, she wrote to me later in a note. Yes, but what stunned me into silence when I reached the end wasn't the love filial, maternal, romantic but the sight of so many sweaty, selfish, foul-mouthed and frustrated people who drink too much and use sex as a weapon or as a commodity. 

    Una Noche tells the fictional story of three young people who want to escape Cuba on a raft. Though it ends badly, it could have been worse. Lucy, who began working on her film as a student at New York University, says she was inspired by a story that she heard in Havana's Malecon about three teenagers who left in a raft. Only two were brought back to shore by the capricious currents of the Gulf of Mexico. 

    The story she heard was so gruesome that she decided to make it more palatable. To tell more here would be to ruin the ending of the film for those who haven't seen it, and everyone needs to see it. 

    Despite the societal degradation the film depicts, there are moments of tenderness and solidarity: A mother warming up milk for her son, a little boy offering to get a doctor for a drunken teenager and a weathered old man helping a would-be balsero inflate a raft. Lucy captures that, because, she said, she wanted to reflect the complexities of Cuba, the gray areas. Yet, she also said, the character of the naive 13-year-old girl who shuns prostitution sprung from her imagination. 

    I didn't meet anyone quite that innocent, she said. 

    I wondered then if Raul Castro had seen the movie when it played in Havana last December, just months before he chided Cubans for being so rude and amoral. This is how The New York Times described Castro's frustration in a story on July 23. 

    In a speech to the National Assembly, Mr. Castro said that Cubans's behavior from urinating in the street and raising pigs in cities to taking bribes had led him to conclude that, despite five decades of universal education, the island had regressed in culture and civility. The reporter goes on to cite Castro's chagrin because Cubans have lost their honesty, decency, sense of shame, decorum, honor and sensitivity to others problems. 

    What the article doesn't say is that those values have been lost not despite five decades of universal education, but because of it. After all, who was doing the educating in Cuba? Who has been in charge for more than five decades? In the 1970s, the only time in Cuban history where the island was truly isolated, to speak correctly and to address grown ups in the formal second person usted instead of tu was considered bourgeois. 

    My fifth-grade teachers made fun of my mother because she insisted on calling them senoritas rather than companeras. On my walk to middle school, I was occasionally the target of kids who threw stones at my feet because I was too white, whatever that meant. And who can forget the acts of repudiation during the months of Mariel? 

    Many years have passed since, and sweeter memories have replaced the bitter incidents of my childhood, but Lucy's film brought it all back, the envy, the chivatos (snitches) in the neighborhood, the fears because the seeds of all the ugliness Castro is now complaining about were planted long ago, perhaps as early as when the children of my generation were taught to replace our loyalty to, and respect for, our parents with a silly slogan:  Fidel es mi Papa¡ y Cuba es mi Mama¡.

    Fidel turned out to be a cruel and neglectful father. And Cuba oh Cuba!  a very weak and defenseless mother.

    Sent by Sal del Valle saldelvalle@msn.com

    2013 Miami Herald Media Company
    http://www.miamiherald.com  



     
    U-2 Spy Photos of Cuba in '62

    NSA archived photos taken before, during, and after the Cuban Missle Crisis.

     

     

    The History of women in Puerto Rico
    Part 1
    By: Tony “The Marine” Santiago
    nmb2418@aol.com   

    It seems to me that the contributions which Hispanic women have made to society have all too often been overlooked and seldom mentioned. I was inspired by a user in Wikipedia to write an article about the women of Puerto Rico. I mean, if it wasn’t for a wonderful Puerto Rican woman, I wouldn’t have the loving children and grand children that I now have and as a matter of fact it is thanks to a Puerto Rican woman that gave birth to me that I am here writing this in the first place. With the help of two other users that go by the names of Mercy, Anooneemos and my friend Nelson Denis, I wrote a brief history of the women in Puerto Rico. It is my own personal way of honoring them all. I hope that you enjoy it.


    Introduction 

    The history of women in Puerto Rico traces back its roots to the Taínos, the inhabitants of the island before the arrival of Spaniards. During the Spanish colonization the cultures and customs of the Taíno, Spanish, African and women from non-Hispanic countries blended into what became the culture and customs of Puerto Rico. Many women in Puerto Rico were Spanish subjects and were already active participants in the labor movement and in the agricultural economy of the island.

    Upon the arrival of Americans in 1898, women once again played an integral role in Puerto Rican society by contributing to the establishment of the state university of Puerto Rico, women's suffrage,[women's rights, civil rights, and to the military of the United States.  

    During the period of industrialization of the 1950s, women in Puerto Rico took jobs in the needle industry, working as seamstresses in garment factories. Many Puerto Rican families also migrated to the United States in the 1950s, which included women. Currently, women in Puerto Rico have become active in the political and social landscape in the continental United States in addition to their own homeland, with many of them involved in fields that were once limited to the male population, as well as gaining influential roles as leaders in their fields.

                                                                              Pre-Columbian era

    Puerto Rico was inhabited by the Taíno, one of the Arawak peoples of South America before the arrival of Spaniards. Taíno women cooked, tended to the needs of the family and their farms, and harvested crops. Single women walked around naked while married women wore an apron to cover their genitals—the length of which was a sign of rank. Women who were mothers carried their babies on their backs on a padded board that was secured to the baby's forehead. Women did not dedicate themselves solely to cooking and the art of motherhood; many were also talented artists and made pots, grills, and griddles from river clay by rolling the clay into rope and then layering it to form or shape. Together with the men, Taíno women also carved drawings made from stone or wood with a raised tail used as a backrest. Doctor Diego Alvarez Chanca, who accompanied Columbus on his second voyage, made the following observation: “The Taina women made blankets, hammocks, petticoats of cloth and lace. She also weaved baskets.”

    Some Taíno women became notable cacique (tribal chiefs). Such was the case of Yuisa (Luisa), a cacica in the region near Loíza, which was later named after her.  The Spanish soldiers arrived to the island without women, which contributed to many of them marrying the native Taíno women.
      

    The ''La Rogativa'' sculpture portrays three women and a priest participating in a procession.  

     

     

     Spanish colonial era (1493-1898)   
                                            

    Spain encouraged the settlement of Puerto Rico by offering and making certain concessions to Spanish families who were willing to settle the new colony. Many farmers moved to the island with their families and together with the help of their wives developed the land's agriculture. High ranking government and military officials also settled and made Puerto Rico their home.  Puerto Rican women were commonly known for their roles as mothers and housekeepers. They contributed to the household income by sawing and selling the clothes which they created.  Women's rights were unheard of and their contributions to the island's society were limited.  The island, which depended on an agricultural economy, had an illiteracy rate of over 80% at the beginning of the 19th century. Most women were home educated. The first library in Puerto Rico was established in 1642, in the Convent of San Francisco, access to its books was limited to those who belonged to the religious order. The only women who had access to the libraries and who could afford books were the wives and daughters of Spanish government officials or wealthy land owners. Those who were poor had to resort to oral story-telling in what are traditionally known in Puerto Rico as Coplas and Decimas.

    Despite these limitations the women of Puerto Rico were proud of their homeland and helped defend it against foreign invaders. According to a popular Puerto Rican legend, when the British troops lay siege to San Juan the night of April 30, 1797, the townswomen, led by a bishop, formed a ''rogativa'' (prayer procession) and marched throughout the streets of the city singing hymns, carrying torches, and praying for the deliverance of the City. Outside the walls, particularly from the sea, the British navy mistook this torch-lit religious parade for the arrival of Spanish reinforcements.  When morning arrived, the British were gone from the island, and the city was saved from a possible invasion.

                                                    Women from Africa           

    The Spanish colonists, fearing the loss of their labor force, also protested before the courts. They complained that they needed manpower to work in the mines, the fortifications and the thriving sugar industry. As an alternative, Friar Bartolomé de las Casas, suggested the importation and use of black slaves. In 1517, the Spanish Crown permitted its subjects to import twelve slaves each, thereby beginning the slave trade in their colonies.

    According to historian Luis M. Diaz, the largest contingent of African slaves came from the Gold Coast, Nigeria, and Dahomey, and the region known as the area of Guineas, the Slave Coast. However, the vast majority were Yorubas and Igbos, ethnic groups from Nigeria, and Bantus from the Guineas.

    African women worked in the fields picking fruits and/or cotton, in the master’s house as maids or nannies. In 1789, the Spanish Crown issued the "Royal Decree of Graces of 1789", also known as "El Código Negro" (The Black code). In accordance to "El Código Negro" the slave could buy his freedom and thus the former slaves became known as “freeman” or “freewoman”.

    On March 22, 1873, slavery was "abolished" in Puerto Rico, but with one significant caveat. The slaves were not emancipated - they had to ''buy'' their own freedom, at whatever price was set by their previous owners. Puerto Rican cuisine and culture at the time were highly influenced by that of the traditions of the Spanish and Tainos.  However, the influence by the introduction of various aspects of the African culture began to make itself felt in the island. Besides the introduction of the "Bozal" Spanish, a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, and the language spoken in the Congo, and the typical dances such as Bomba or Plena which are likewise rooted in Africa. Puerto Rican cuisine also has a strong African influence. The melange of flavors that make up the typical Puerto Rican cuisine counts with the African touch. Pasteles, small bundles of meat stuffed into dough made of grated green banana (sometimes combined with pumpkin, potatoes, plantains, or yautía) and wrapped in plantain leaves, were devised by African women on the island and based upon food products that originated in Africa.

                    The painting ''Baile De Loiza Aldea'' portrays a Puerto Rican woman of African descent dancing to ''bomba''.  

    In 1820, Celestina Cordero, a "freewoman", founded the first school for girls in San Juan. Despite that fact that she was subject to racial discrimination because she was a black free women, she continued to pursue her goal to teach others regardless of their race and or social standing. After several years of struggling her school was officially recognized by the Spanish government as an educational institution. By the second half of the 19th century the Committee of Ladies of Honor of the Economical Society of Friends of Puerto Rico (Junta de Damas de Honor de la Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País) or the Association of Ladies for the Instruction of Women (Asociacion de Damas para la instruccion de la Mujer) were established. Cordero was the older sister of Rafael Cordero.

    Women from non-Hispanic Europe     

    In the early 1800s, the Spanish Crown decided that one of the ways to curb pro-independence tendencies surfacing at the time in Puerto Rico was to allow Europeans of non-Spanish origin to settle the island. Therefore, the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 was printed in three languages, Spanish, English and French. Those who immigrated to Puerto Rico were given free land and a "Letter of Domicile" with the condition that they swore loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church. After residing in the island for five years the settlers were granted a "Letter of Naturalization" which made them Spanish subjects.

    Early Irish women, such as the ones pictured, immigrated to the Americas, 
    including Puerto Rico, in the 1850s.  

    Hundreds of women from Corsica, France, Ireland, Germany and other regions moved and settled in Puerto Rico with their families. These families were instrumental in the development of Puerto Rico's tobacco, cotton and sugar industries. Many of the women eventually intermarried into the local population, adopting the language and customs of their new homeland. Their influence in Puerto Rico is very much present and in evidence in the island's cuisine, literature and arts. The cultural customs and traditions of the women who immigrated to Puerto Rico from non Hispanic nations blended in with those of the Taino, Spanish and African to become what is now the culture, customs and traditions of Puerto Rico.

    Early literary, civil, and political leaders

    During the 19th century, women in Puerto Rico began to express themselves through their literary work.  Among these women was María Bibiana Benítez, Puerto Rico's first poetess and playwright. In 1832, she published her first poem ''La Ninfa de Puerto Rico'' (The Nymph of Puerto Rico) and her niece, Alejandrina Benitez de Gautier, whose own ''Aguinaldo Puertorriqueño'' (Ode to Puerto Rico) was published in 1843, has been recognized as one of the island's great poets.                                                              

    The first Puerto Rican Flag, the Lares revolutionary flag of 1868, knitted by Mariana Bracetti  
    Puerto Rican women also expressed themselves against the political injustices practiced in the island against the people of Puerto Rico by the Spanish Crown. They took upon themselves the revolutionary cause of Puerto Rican independence. The first Puerto Rican woman to become an ''Independentista'' and who struggled for Puerto Rico's independence from Spanish colonialism was María de las Mercedes Barbudo. Joining forces with the Venezuelan government, under the leadership of Simon Bolivar, Barbudo organized an insurrection against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. However, her plans were discovered by the Spanish authorities - she was arrested and exiled from Puerto Rico, never to return.  

    In 1868, many Puerto Rican women participated in the uprising known as ''El Grito de Lares'' Among the notable women who indirectly or directly participated in the revolt and who became part of Puerto Rican legend and lore were Lola Rodríguez de Tio and Mariana Bracetti. Lola Rodríguez de Tio believed in equal rights for women, the abolition of slavery and actively participated in the Puerto Rican Independence Movement. She wrote the lyrics to La Borinqueña, Puerto Rico's national anthem. Mariana Bracetti, also known as ''Brazo de Oro'' (Golden Arm), was the sister-in-law of revolution leader Manuel Rojas and actively participated in the revolt. 
    Bracetti knitted the Lares Revolutionary Flag. The flag was proclaimed the national flag of the "Republic of Puerto Rico" by Francisco Ramírez Medina, who was sworn in as Puerto Rico's first president, and placed on the high alter of the Catholic Church of Lares, thus becoming the first Puerto Rican Flag. Upon the failure of the revolution, Bracetti was imprisoned in Arecibo along with the other survivors, but was later released.

                               American colonial era (1898-present)                                                    

    Cover of ''The San Juan News'' announcing the decision on ''Gonzales v. Williams'' in which Puerto Ricans were not declared to be alien immigrants when traveling to the United States. The case was argued in court by Isabel González , a Puerto Rican woman.

    Puerto Rico became an unincorporated territory of the United States, an American colony as defined by the United Nations decolonization committee, when Spain ceded the island to the United States after the Spanish-American War in accordance with the Treaty of Paris of 1898.

    Soon after the U.S. assumed control of the island, the Americans worried that overpopulation of the island would lead to disastrous social and economic conditions, and instituted public policies aimed at controlling the rapid growth of the population. To deal with this situation, in 1907 the U.S. instituted a public policy that gave the state the right "to sterilize unwilling and unwitting people".  The passage of Puerto Rico Law 116 in 1937 codified the island government's population control program.  This program was designed by the Eugenics Board and both U.S. government funds and contributions from private individuals supported the initiative. However, instead of providing Puerto Rican women with access to alternative forms of safe, legal and reversible contraception, the U.S. policy promoted the use of permanent sterilization. The US-driven Puerto Rican measure was so overly charged that "women of childbearing age in Puerto Rico were more than 10 times more likely to be sterilized than were women from the U.S."

    Women such as Ana Roque de Duprey opened the academic doors for the women in the island. In 1884, Roque was offered a teacher's position in Arecibo, which she accepted. She also enrolled at the Provincial Institute where she studied philosophy and science and earned her Bachelor's Degree. Roque de Duprey was a suffragist and in 1903, was one of the founders of the University of Puerto Rico. From 1903 to 1923, three of every four University of Puerto Rico graduates were women passing the teachers training course to become teachers in the island's schools. Many women also worked as nurses, bearing the burden of improving public health on the island.

    From 1898 to 1917, many Puerto Rican women who wished to travel to the United States suffered discrimination. Such was the case of Isabel González who was a young unwed pregnant woman who planned to find and marry the father of her unborn child in New York. Her plans were derailed by the United States Treasury Department, when she was excluded as an alien "likely to become a public charge" upon her arrival to New York City.  González challenged the Government of the United States in the groundbreaking case ''Gonzales v. Williams'' (192 U.S. 1 (1904)). Officially the case was known as "Isabella Gonzales, Appellant, vs. William Williams, United States Commissioner of Immigration at the Port of New York" No. 225, argued December 4, 7, 1903, and decided January 4, 1904.  Her case was an appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York, filed February 27, 1903, after also having her Writ of Habeas Corpus (HC. 1-187) dismissed. Her Supreme Court case is the first time that the Court confronted the citizenship status of inhabitants of territories acquired by the United States.  González actively pursued the cause of U.S. citizenship for all Puerto Ricans by writing and publishing letters in the New York Times.

    The Americanization process of Puerto Rico also hindered the educational opportunities for the women of Puerto Rico since teachers were imported from the United States and schools were not allowed to conduct their instruction using the Spanish language. Women who belonged to the wealthier families were able to attend private schools either in Spain or the United States, but those who were less fortunate worked as housewives, in domestic jobs, or in the so-called needle industry. Women such as Nilita Vientós Gastón, defended the use of the Spanish language in schools and in the courts of Puerto Rico, before the Supreme Court, and won. Nilita Vientós Gaston was an educator, writer, journalist and later became the first female lawyer to work for the Department of Justice of Puerto Rico.

    Suffrage and women's rights

    As in most countries, women were not allowed to vote in public elections. The University of Puerto Rico graduated many women who became interested in improving female influence in civic and political areas. This resulted in a significant increase in women who became teachers and educators but also in the emergence of female leaders in the suffragist and women rights movements. Among the women who became educators and made notable contributions to the educational system of the island were Dr. Concha Meléndez, the first woman to belong to the Puerto Rican Academy of Languages, Pilar Barbosa, a professor at the University of Puerto Rico was the first modern-day Official Historian of Puerto Rico, and Ana G. Méndez founder of the Ana G. Mendez University System in Puerto Rico.

    The increase in women's rights of the early 1900s led to the first Puerto Rican women to work in positions traditionally occupied by men, including the first medical practitioners in the island. Drs. María Elisa Rivera Díaz and Ana Janer started their practices in 1909 and Dr. Palmira Gatell in 1910. They were followed by Dr. Dolores Mercedes Piñero who earned her medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Boston in 1913. In 1914, Rosa González earned a degree in nursing, established various health clinics throughout Puerto Rico and was the founder of ''The Association of Registered Nurses of Puerto Rico.'' González authored two books related to her field in which she denounced the discrimination against women and nurses in Puerto Rico. In 1978, she was the first recipient of the Public Health Department of Puerto Rico Garrido Morales Award.

    In the early 1900s, women also became involved in the labor movement. During a farm workers' strike in 1905, Luisa Capetillo wrote propaganda and organized the workers in the strike.  She quickly became a leader of the "FLT" (American Federation of Labor) and traveled throughout Puerto Rico educating and organizing women. Her hometown of Arecibo became the most unionized area of the country. In 1908, during the "FLT" convention, Capetillo asked the union to approve a policy for women's suffrage. She insisted that all women should have the same right to vote as men. Capetillo is considered to be one of Puerto Rico's first suffragists. In 1912, Capetillo traveled to New York City where she organized Cuban and Puerto Rican tobacco workers. Later on, she traveled to Tampa, Florida, where she also organized workers. In Florida, she published the second edition of "Mi Opinión". She also traveled to Cuba and the Dominican Republic, where she joined the striking workers in their cause. In 1919, she challenged the mainstream society by becoming the first woman in Puerto Rico to wear pants in public. Capetillo was sent to jail for what was then considered to be a "crime", but the judge later dropped the charges against her. In that same year, along with other labor activists, she helped pass a minimum-wage law in the Puerto Rican Legislature.

    In 1929, Puerto Rican women who could read and write were enfranchised and in 1935 all adult women were enfranchised regardless of their level of literacy. Puerto Rico was the second Latin American country to recognize a woman's right to vote. Both Dr. Maria Cadilla de Martinez and Ana María O'Neill were early advocates of women's rights. Cadilla de Martinez was also one the first women in Puerto Rico to earn a doctoral degree.

                                                            Puerto Rican women in the U.S. military                                               

    Puerto Rican Army nurses, 296th Station Hospital, Camp Tortuguero, Vega Baja, PR.

    In 1944, the U.S. Army sent recruiters to the island to recruit no more than 200 women for the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Over 1,000 applications were received for the unit which was to be composed of only 200 women. The Puerto Rican WAC unit, Company 6, 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, a segregated Hispanic unit, was assigned to the Port of Embarkation of New York City, after their basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. They were assigned to work in military offices which planned the shipment of troops around the world. Among them was PFC Carmen García Rosado, who in 2006, authored and published a book titled "LAS WACS-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Segunda Guerra Mundial" (The WACs-The participation of the Puerto Rican women in the Second World War), the first book to document the experiences of the first 200 Puerto Rican women who participated in said conflict.

    That same year the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) decided to accept Puerto Rican nurses so that Army hospitals would not have to deal with the language barriers.<ref name=Women/> Thirteen women submitted applications, were interviewed, underwent physical examinations, and were accepted into the ANC.  Eight of these nurses were assigned to the Army Post at San Juan, where they were valued for their bilingual abilities.  Five nurses were assigned to work at the hospital at Camp Tortuguero, Puerto Rico. Among them was Second Lieutenant Carmen Lozano Dumler, who became one of the first Puerto Rican female military officers.

    Not all the women served as nurses: some served in administrative duties in the mainland or near combat zones. Such was the case of Technician Fourth Grade Carmen Contreras-Bozak who belonged to the 149th Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. The 149th Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) Post Headquarters Company was the first WAAC Company to go overseas, setting sail from New York Harbor for Europe on January 1943. The unit arrived in Northern Africa on January 27, 1943 and rendered overseas duties in Algiers within General Dwight D. Eisenhower's theater headquarters, T/4. Contreras-Bozak, a member of this unit, was the first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions.

    Another was Lieutenant Junior Grade María Rodríguez Denton, the first woman from Puerto Rico who became an officer in the United States Navy as member of the WAVES. The Navy assigned LTJG Denton as a library assistant at the Cable and Censorship Office in New York City. It was LTJG Denton who forwarded the news (through channels) to President Harry S. Truman that the war had ended.

    Some Puerto Rican women who served in the military went on to become notable in fields outside of the military.  Among them are Sylvia Rexach, a composer of boleros, Marie Teresa Rios, an author, and Julita Ross, a singer.

    Sylvia Rexach, dropped-out of the University of Puerto Rico in 1942 and joined the United States Army as a member of the WACS where she served as an office clerk. She served until 1945, when she was honorably discharged. Marie Teresa Rios was a renowned Puerto Rican writer who also served in World War II. Rios, mother of Medal of Honor recipient, Capt. Humbert Roque Versace and author of ''The Fifteenth Pelican'' which was the basis for the popular 1960s television sitcom "The Flying Nun", drove Army trucks and buses. She also served as a pilot for the Civil Air Patrol. Rios Versace wrote and edited for various newspapers around the world, including places such as Guam, Germany, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and publications such the Armed Forces ''Star & Stripes'' and ''Gannett'' During World War II, Julita Ross entertained the troops with her voice in "USO shows" (United Service Organizations).

      Puerto Rican women in the revolt against United States rule                                                   

    The arrest of Carmen María Pérez Roque, Olga Viscal Garriga, and Ruth Mary Reynolds; three women involved with the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who were arrested because of violations to the Puerto Rico Gag Law. The law was later repealed as it was considered unconstitutional.

    In the 1930s, the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party became the largest independence group in Puerto Rico. Under the leadership of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, the party opted against electoral participation and advocated violent revolution. The women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was called the Daughters of Freedom. Some of the militants of this women's-only organization included Julia de Burgos, considered by many to be Puerto Rico's greatest poet.

    Various confrontations took place in the 1930s in which Nationalist Party partisans were involved and which led to a call for an uprising against the United States and the eventual attack of the United States House of Representatives of the 1950s. One of the most violent incidents was the 1937 Ponce massacre, in which police officers fired upon Nationalists who were participating in a peaceful demonstration against American abuse of authority. About 100 civilians were wounded and nineteen were killed, among them, a woman, Maria Hernández del Rosario, and a seven-year-old child, Georgina Maldonado.

    On October 30, 1950, the Nationalist Party called for a revolt against the United States. Known as the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s, uprisings were held in the towns of Ponce, Mayagüez, Naranjito, Arecibo,Utuado, San Juan and most notably in Jayuya which became known as the Jayuya Uprising. Various women who were members of the Nationalist Party, but who did not participate in the revolts were arrested. Among them Isabel Rosado, a social worker, was falsely accused by the US Government of participating in the revolts. Dr. Olga Viscal Garriga, a student leader and spokesperson of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party's branch in Río Piedras, was also falsely accused Other women who were leaders of the movement were Isabel Freire de Matos, Isolina Rondón and Rosa Collazo.                                                

    The military intervened and the revolts came to an end after three days on September 2. Two of the most notable women, who bore arms against the United States, were Blanca Canales and Lolita Lebrón.

    Blanca Canales is best known for leading the Jayuya Revolt. Canales led her group to the town's plaza where she raised the Puerto Rican flag and declared Puerto Rico to be a Republic. She was arrested and accused of killing a police officer and wounding three others. She was also accused of burning down the local post office. She was sentenced to life imprisonment plus sixty years of jail. In 1967, Canales was given a full pardon by Puerto Rican Governor Roberto Sanchez Vilella.

    Lolita Lebrón was the leader of a group of nationalists who attacked the United States House of Representatives in 1954.  Lebrón's mission was to bring world attention to Puerto Rico's independence cause. When Lebrón's group reached the visitor's gallery above the chamber in the House, she stood up and shouted "¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!" ("Long live a Free Puerto Rico!") and unfurled a Puerto Rican flag. Then the group opened fire with automatic pistols. A popular legend claims that Lebrón fired her shots at the ceiling and missed.  In 1979, under international pressure, President Jimmy Carter pardoned Lolita Lebrón and two members of her group, Irving Flores and Rafael Cancel Miranda.


    Plaque honoring the women of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party  

     

     

    • Mejor respuesta - Elegida por el usuario que pregunta . . .  La existencia de Cuba
    La existencia de Cuba, como la del continente americano en general, era prácticamente desconocida por los europeos hasta finales del siglo XV. Cristóbal Colón llegó a tierra americana el 12 de octubre de 1492 que desembarcó en una pequeña isla del archipiélago de las Bahamas. Los nativos llamaban a aquella isla Guanahaní (actualmente Watling). Él la llamó San Salvador, por ser la que lo salvó del desastre.

    El día 27 de octubre de 1492 Colón llegó a Cuba, a la que llamó Juana en honor del príncipe Juan, primogénito de los Reyes Católicos. En 1515, la misma isla sería llamada Fernandina, por decisión de Fernando el Católico; pero incluso durante los primeros tiempos de la colonización se impuso en nombre de Cuba, que era como la conocían sus pobladores primitivos.

    Fuente(s): http://www.nodo50.org/izca/historiacuba.…

    Sent by Dinorah Bommarito bommaritodv@sbcglobal.net

     

    CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

    Informaciones Genealógicas

    Genealogia Familiar

     

     

    Informaciones Genealógicas

    Animado del mejor deseo de compartir y disfrutar con todas las personas que nos gustan las genealogías, he decidido llevar adelante esta idea de sacar regularmente un boletín que nos permita, mantenernos informados sobre las distintas inquietudes que se presentan sobre el tema de las genealogías. Editor: Luis Álvaro Gallo Martínez. luis.a.gallo@gmail.com Bogotá D.C. – COLOMBIA ISSN. 1794-8959

    Concurso portada libro "Genealogías del Suroeste Antioqueño".

    Me permito hacerles llegar los proyectos de portada para el libro "Genealogías del Suroeste Antioqueño", invitándolos a escoger una,  
    Reciban un cordial saludo

     

     

    Genealogia Familiar

    http://www.genealogiafamiliar.net/ 
    Sent by Jose Roman Gonzalez Lopez
    yammer+re+330940011+net+470210+bd52e597105ec0a2b7c017be7c7314cbbc4daf0d@yammer.com
     

    Archivos y documentos

     

    Linajes

     

    Base de datos

     

    La investigación genealógica e histórica se documenta en los archivos. Desde un códice medieval hasta la documentación más moderna y actual puede sernos útil para avalar documentalmente nuestra historiografía familiar. Ascendencia y descendencia tanto de las familias que forman parte de la sociedad argentina, como de las que se caracterizaron durante la época virreynal, y aún de aquellas cuyos orígenes se pierden en el tiempo. Nuestra base de datos atesora más de 200.000 fichas personales, correspondientes a igual número de individuos, integrantes de más de 71.000 familias, cuyos datos proceden de más de 1.300 fuentes diferentes.


    ¡Bienvenidos!

    Vivimos años de cambio. Una Argentina parece desvanecerse en un pasado cada vez más olvidado para ser reemplazada por otra Argentina nueva. Hay quienes miran a una y otra, y encuentran pocas semejanzas. Este contraste entre una Argentina que solo vive en el recuerdo o la idealización de algunos y la realidad que nos enfrenta cada día es estridente.

    Sin embargo, aún queda en la memoria colectiva de nuestro pueblo la nostalgia de una Argentina que quiso ser más.

    Con sus aciertos y desaciertos, hemos escrito una historia tumultuosa que nos llevó de la conquista fundacional a la Independencia y de ahi a las guerras civiles que finalmente desembocaron en unos años de prosperidad culminando tal vez en el Primer Centenario, para seguir en inestabilidad política, golpes militares y cuantas otras oportunidades perdidas durante el Siglo XX que se prolongan hasta nuestros días.

    Mas allá de ser una realidad geográfica, nuestro pais está formado por los millones de personas que vivieron, en carne propia, esta nación llamada Argentina. Algunos jugaron papeles determinantes y casi solos fueron capaces de cambiar el curso de nuestra historia. Otros se destacaron en sus áreas respectivas: gobernantes, escritores, artistas, médicos, militares, filántropos o religiosos. Sus logros contribuyeron a mejorar la vida de sus compatriotas o a veces de toda la humanidad. Millones y millones más existieron en el cariño de sus familias y tal vez nunca se ganen un párrafo o una mención en un libro de historia.

    En tiempos donde la palabra "memoria" se ha convertido en una herramienta política, esta página genealógica pretende mantener vivo el recuerdo de nuestros antepasados que, muchas veces sin conocerse entre ellos o hasta luchando por intereses opuestos, tramaron de forma conjunta y através de los siglos ese tejido social y cultural que hace de la Argentina un país diferente a las otras naciones del mundo.

    Es nuestro deseo que las vidas que recordamos en estas páginas sirvan, no para vanagloriarse con méritos ajenos, sino para tener siempre presente que fueron hombres y mujeres como nosotros los que a través de la historia supieron estar a la altura de los acontecimientos y pudieron crear un país mejor para sus hijos.

    Que todos ellos nos alienten a re-encontrar aquel camino de grandeza que supimos caminar en el pasado.

    Publicidad

    Publicite en Genealogía Familiar y acceda a un óptimo posicionamiento de su publicidad que aportará a su imagen de marca un muy interesante valor añadido.

    Acceda aquí para informarse y contratar su espacio publicitario en Genealogía Familiar.

    Sobre Genealogía Familiar

    Durante décadas, Carlos F. Ibarguren Aguirre canalizó su pasión por la historia y la genealogía en su monumental obra de once tomos que él tituló "Los Antepasados, a lo largo y más allá de la Historia Argentina".

     

    THE PHILIPPINES

    The New Miss World is Filipina Megan Young
     
    AND THE NEW MISS WORLD IS . . . Miss Philippines Megan Young, right, reacts after winning the Miss World pageant final. AP

    Before her, no Filipina had won the prestigious crown in the 63-year-old London-based pageant.

    Here is the news that we all want to know and read from our newspapers which have been saturated with not so good ones. Another Filipina winning an international beauty contest and this is the first time that we ever have a Miss World winner. A month ago we just had a Filipina winning the Miss Suprational beauty held in Minsk, Byelarus, a former republic of the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. So far we have beauties winning the Miss Universe, Miss International (three of them), and other world beauty contests.
     
    I am really proud, elated, and extremely happy to have a Miss World from our country in 2013 as I was and still am when another Filipina won the Miss Suprational beauty contest last month. And of course I am happy for our other beauties who won first prize in the international beauty competitions.
    http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/files/2013/09/megan-young-wins-miss-world-2.jpg
    PHILIPPINES’ PRIDE Newly crowned Miss World Megan Young of Philippines, center, waves, after winning the Miss World contest, in, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. Young beat candidates in 128 countries and became the first Filipina to win the title in the pageant’s 63-year history. AP

     

    http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/127875/megan-
    young-crowned-miss-world
     
    Saturday, September 28th, 2013

    PHILIPPINES’ PRIDE Newly crowned Miss World Megan Young of Philippines, center, waves, after winning the Miss World contest, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. Young beat candidates in 128 countries and became the first Filipina to win the title in the pageant’s 63-year history. AP
    MANILA, Philippines—Megan Young of the Philippines is the new Miss World.

    AND THE NEW MISS WORLD IS . . . Miss Philippines Megan Young, right, reacts after winning the Miss World pageant final. APIn a glittering finale on the Indonesian resort island of Bali Saturday, Young bested 128 beauty queens from around the world to win the coveted title in a contest broadcast to more than 180 countries worldwide.  In the finals, Young beat five other finalists, including France and Brazil. She thanked the judges for choosing her and promised to “be the best Miss World ever”.
    The 23-year-old Filipino actress pledged to “just be myself in everything I do, to share what I know and to educate people.”
    Before her, no Filipina had won the prestigious crown in the 63-year-old London-based pageant. With Agence France-Presse
    MANILA, Philippines - Miss Philippines Megan Young is Miss World 2013. In the coronation held Saturday, Sept 28, in Bali, Indonesia, the actress turned beauty queen bested 126 candidates from all over the globe, earning for the Philippines its first Miss World title.
    Rappler live blogged the event.  Young, who placed first among the top 10 semifinalists also won in the Top Model challenge event and excelled in the Beach Fashion pre-pageant challenge, where she was among the 11 finalists. In the question and answer portion where the candidates were given 30 seconds to tell the judges why they deserve the crown, Young expressed her belief in a "core value of humanity" which guides people's actions. She hopes to use this to show others how they may contribute to society.

    1st place: Megan Young (Philippines)
    2nd:  Marine Lorpheline (France)
    3rd: Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter (Ghana)

    CONGRATULATIONS, MEGAN YOUNG! Thank you for representing the Philippines! Photo by Jory Rivera

                 














    Photo by Jory Rivera 
    For the "Beauty with a Purpose" challenge, Megan chose to extend aid to flood victims in the Philippines. Watch her Miss World video here:
    http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/specials/miss-world/39817-megan-young-miss-world-2013 

    Sent by Eddie Calderon, Ph.D. placido05@yahoo.com



    SPAIN / PORTUGAL / ITALY

    La Prueba Del Humo by Angel Custodio Rebollo
    You are Probably Descended from Charlemagne and Other Royalty by John Inclan
    Giovanni Battista Schiappapietra da Albisola al Nuovo Regno di Leon
            Correspondence of
    Amancio J. Chapa, Jr.
    Britos in Portugal by Marie Brito
    Una guerra por una oreja Por José Antonio Crespo-Francés

    LA PRUEBA DEL HUMO

    Entre los muchos vascos que acudieron en el medioevo a Andalucía para luchar al lado del rey de Castilla, se encuentra Gonzalo Peraza y Martel, quien le prestó tan buenos servicios que Enrique III le donó el Señorío de Almonaster.

    Obtuvo una licencia real del castellano para conquistar en las islas Canarias, pero en realidad lo que hacían era una labor de depredación obteniendo sustanciosos botines en cada incursión.

    A su mando salió una expedición (compuesta por vizcaínos y sevillanos), formada por cinco navíos y atacaron a unos guanches que les habían recibido pacíficamente, haciendo cerca de un millar de prisioneros. Cambiaron a unos ochocientos por víveres y el resto de ciento sesenta guanches, entre los que iban un gran número de mujeres, los llevaron cautivos para venderlos como esclavos en Castilla.

    Pero entre los capturados estaban los reyes de Titoreygatra (Lanzarote), recayendo la sucesión en la Princesa Ico y esto originó un serio conflicto, ya que se formaron dos bandos entre los nativos; unos que estaban a favor de Ico y la consideraban la legal heredera, pero había otro sector que decía que la Princesa Ico no pertenecía a la nobleza canaria, porque era fruto de unos supuestos amores extramatrimoniales de la reina Fáina con el almirante castellano Martín Ruiz de Avendaño.

    Entonces decidieron hacer lo que llamaban “prueba del humo”. Consistía esta prueba en encerrar en una choza a la Princesa Ico con tres de sus doncellas, producir humo en cantidad y si la princesa tenía sangre extranjera, moriría y si era pura canaria, resistiría el humo y viviría. Las doncellas murieron y la princesa Ico vivió, aunque para ello se había valido de una esponja mojada, con la que se tapó la nariz y había respirado a través de ella.

    Los reyes de Lanzarote no regresaron jamás a la isla, por lo que se supone que fueron vendidos en algún mercado de esclavos del sur, ya que por la zona de Huelva, había dos lugares de venta, uno en Gibraleón y otro en la costa del Algarve, en Lagos, y varios entre Cádiz y Granada.

    Ángel Custodio Rebollo

     

     

    You Are Probably Descended from Charlemagne and Other Royalty

    http://wr.readspeaker.com/a/webreader/webreader.php?cid=614UTGIA9WMJTJYZZC7QU9BUME4KT5KP&t=typepad_free&url=http%3A//blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2010/03/you-are-probably-descended-from-charlemagne-and-other-royalty.html&title=You-Are-Probably-Descended-from-Charlemagne-and-Other-Royalty
    http://blog.eogn.com/.a/6a00d8341c767353ef01311005721e970c-popup If you are of European descent, you are probably a descendant of Charlemagne. Once you are able to prove your line of descent from him, you will then find thousands of links to other royalty in your list of relatives.

    Charlemagne had twenty children over the course of his life with eight of his ten known wives or concubines. Genealogists have shown that fourteen presidents of the United States, including George Washington, Ulysses Grant, Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt, and the Bushes are all descendants of the King of France who lived from 2 April 742 AD to 28 January 814 AD.

    It is rare indeed that the genealogy of a person of European descent, when traceable, doesn’t hit nobility somewhere. And once it hits one European noble, whether you like it or not, nearly the whole tribe joins your family. Those folks got around.

    The reason is simple. First, make a guess how many ancestors you have. It may be a larger number than you thought. Obviously, you have two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, sixteen great-great-grandparents and so on in a geometric progression. Moving backwards, each generation introduces double the number of ancestors of the previous generation.

    What is not so obvious is the size of the numbers when you go back twenty or thirty or forty generations:
    20 generations: more than one million ancestors
    30 generations: more than one billion ancestors
    40 generations: more than one trillion ancestors!
    Of course, those numbers assume there are no duplicates in your entire family tree. One problem: there are always duplicates. Next, one trillion is a much larger number than the total number of people who have ever lived.

    Whatever the real number of your ancestors, you are descended from a huge number of people. Within these billions of ancestors, you will always find royalty, assuming you are able to trace back that far. It would be impossible to have a billion or a trillion ancestors without some royalty appearing someplace in your family tree.

    Professional genealogists tell us that Charlemagne appears in almost every European descendant's family tree. Your challenge is to go out and document your line(s) of descent.
    ---------------------------------
    PS. I have traced my family back to Charlemagne via
    Princess Elizabeth (Beatriz) Hohenstaufen of Swabia marriage to St Fernando III, King of Castile-Leon.
    Sincerely,
    John Inclan 
    fromgalveston@yahoo.com
     


    Britos In Portugal

    Compiled by Marie Brito in July 2008 
    Earthchild_Marie@Yahoo.com

    Portuguese Brito genealogy begins in early 1200 AD with this book: 
    "NOBLE LINAJE de PORTUGAL, ENTRONCADO CON OTRAS ILUSTRES CASAS DEL MISMO REINO Y de CASTILLA."
    1st Generation: Juan Anez de Brito, a quien el Conde D. Pedro de Bracelos llama N. de Brito, es el mas antiguo caballero de este 
    linajede que se tiene noticia. Caso con dona Magdalena de Acosta (hija de Gonzalo de Acosta, Privado del Rey Don Alfonso III de Portugal) y fueron padres de
    1- Maria Anez de Brito, mujer de Gonzalo Vasquez de Moura, y
    2- Alfonso Anez de Brito, que sigue.

    2nd Generation: Este Alfonso Anez de Brito, Senor de esta casa, fue llamado el Clerigo de Evora, porque tuvo dos hijos Obispos, como luego se vera, y caso (1) con dona Ousenda de Oliveyra, hija de Pedro de Oliveyra, de la que tuvo los siguientes hijos:
    1- Juan de Brito, Obispo de Lisboa, que sigue.
    2- Martin de Brito, Obispo de Evora, que instituyo el mayorazgo de Fonteboa en 1283, segun consta en las notas de Juan Bautista 
    Lavana al <Nobiliario> del Conde D. Pedrode Bracelos; pero D. Luis de Salazar y Castro afirma en su "Historia de la casa de Silva," tomo II, pag 5, que la fundacion de ese mayorazgo la hizo el  Obispo D. Martin en 1 de Julio de 1349.
    3- Constanza Alfonso, mujer de Men Rodriguez de Vasconcelos, y
    4- Leonor Alfonso de Brito, esposa de Gil Ruiz de Yola, del que tuvo a Constanza Gil de Yola, de la que se dice, por error, en el 
    <Nobiliario> del Conde D. Pedro que fue segunda mujer de su abuelo Alfonso Anez de Brito. Esta dona Constanza Gil de Yola caso con  Juan Gomez de Silva. Con sucesion que encontrara en la casa de Silva.

    3rd Generation: Juan de Brito, Obispo de Lisboas, tuvo per hijo, segun consta de las escrituras que tenian los Condes de Arcos, sus descendientes, a

    4th Generation: Martin Alonzo de Brito, que contrajo matrimonio con dona Isabel Alfonso (hija de Alfonso Martin Frojao Y de dona Inez Dade, su mujer), naciendo de ese enlace, entre otros,
    1- Martin Alonso de Brito, segundo del nombre, que sigue, y
    2- Maria o Violante de Brito, mujer de Vasco Martin de Merlo.

    5th Generation: El primero, Martin Alonso de Brito, segundo del Nombre, caso con dona Mayor Rodriguez (hija de Mayor Estevez y nieta de Esteban Mafaldo, de los que era el mayorazgo de San Esteban de Beja, que entro por ese matrimonio en la casa de Brito) y fueron padres de

    6th Generation: Juan Alonso de Brito, primero del nombre, que tuvo por hijo y sucesor a

    7th Generation: [DID THIS FAMILY BEGIN THE EMMIGRATION?]
    Juan Alfonso de Brito, segundo del nombre, y Senor del mayorazgo de Beja, que caso con dona Violante Nogueira, Senora del 
    mayorazgo de San Esteban (hija de Alfonso Anez Nogueira, Alcaide mayor de Lisboa, y de dona Juana Vasquez de Almada), naciendo de esa union los siguientes hijos:
    1- Men de Brito, que sigue.
    2- Alvaro de Brito, que caso con dona Isabel de Almeida, herman del primer Conde de Abrantes, de la que tuvo a Simon de Brito, que contrajo matrimonio con dona Maria de Sousa, naciendo de este enlace, entre otros hijos, Francisco de Brito, que, como 
    primogenito, heredo la casa de sus padres, y caso con dona Beatriz de Silva y Brito, cuyo estado y sucesion se desconoce."
     [Did Francisco de Brito and his wife emigrate to Spain?]
    "3- Simon de Brito, del que no tenemas mas noticias." 
    "4- Isabel de Brito, esposa de Gonzalo de Ataide, Senor de Cayon,padres de Catalina de Ataide Brito, que contrajo matrimonio con Juan de Lima, segundo Vizconde de Villanueva de Cerveira, y 
    5- Ines de Brito, esposa de Fernan Martinez de Sousa y madre de Juan Fernandez de Sousa, Senor de Bayon y de Criceyra.

    8th
    Generation: El Primero, Men de Brito, heredo los mayorazgos de sus padres y se unio en matrimonio con dona Grimanesa de Melo. Fue su hijo

    9th Generation: Luis de Brito, ascendiente por varonia de los Vizcondes de Villanueva de Cerveira y de los Marqueses de Tenorio, y del que fue sucesor

    10th Generation: Lorenzo de Brito, Senor de los mayorazgos de San Lorenzo de Lisboa y de San Esteban de Beja, que caso con dona Antonia de Castro Y de Castro y fueron padres de
    1- Luis de Brito, que sigue.
    2- Mateo de Brito, del que no hay noticias." [Did Mateo go too?]
    "3- Esteban de Brito, que murio con el Rey Don Sebastian en la batalla de Alcazarquivir.
    4- Diego de Silva de Brito, cuyo estado ignoramos, y" [Did Diego go too?]
    "5- Juana de Castro, que caso con Luis de Sousa, Alcaide mayor de Beja. Con sucesion.

    11th Generation: El primogenito de esos hermanos, Luis de Brito y de Castro, heredo los mayorazgos de sus padres y caso con dona Ines de Lima (hija unica y heredera de Francisco de Lima, quinto Visconde de Villanueva de Cerveira, y de dona Beatriz de Alcazoba, su mujer), naciendo de ese enlace, entre otros hijos,

    12th Generation: Lorenzo de Lima de Brito, sexto Vizconde de Villanueva de Cerveira, Senor de los mayorazgos de su padre y del Consejo de Estado de Portugal, que contrajo matrimonio con su prima dona Luisa de Tavora, en la que procreo a
    1- Luis de Lima de Brito, primer Conde de Arcos, de quien por hembra proceden los demas de este titulo.
    2- Juan Fernandez de Lima de Brito, que fue en Castilla Capitan general de la Caballeria del ejercito de Galicia, Marques de
    Tenorio y Conde de Crecente, por merced de Felipe IV. Caso con dona Francisca Luisa de Sotomayor, y fueron padres de
    a) Gaspar Lima de Brito y Sotomayer, segundo Conde de Crecente, que murio sin tomar estado.
    b) Fernan Yanez de Sotomayor Lima y Brito, segundo Marques de Tenorio, tercer Conde de Crecente y esposo de dona Petronila Maria de Mendoza y Chaves.
    c) Luisa Maria de Sotomayor, mujer de Felipe de Cardona, sexto Marques de Guadalete y Almirante de Aragon. Con descendencia.
     d) Maria de Sotomayor, esposa de Gaspar Ramirez de Arellano, primer Conde de Pena-Rubia, y
    e) Juana de Sotomayor,que caso en Cerdena con Jose Mazones y Castelvi, Conde de Montalvo. Con sucesion."

    [Portuguese sailors discovered the island of Madiera off the coast of Africa in 1419 and the Azores Islands in 1433.]

    Note on Generation 5: "Del Martin Alonso de Brito citado en el parrafo cuarto de la anterior rama proceden tambien los Brito, Alcaides mayores de Beja, y otros caballeros de este apellido.

    Generation 1: Artur de Brito, Alcaide mayor de Beja, caso condona Catalina de Almada (hija de Juan Vazquez de Almada, Senor 
    de Pereya, y de dona Violante de Castro), y fueron padres de 
    1- Lorenzo de Brito, Copero mayor del Rey Don Manuel de Portugal"
        [King Manuel of Portugal came to the throne in 1495.]
        [Brazil was discovered in 1500 by Pedro Alvarez Cabral]
    2- Esteban de Brito, Alcaise mayor de Beja, que de su esposa dona Juana Coutino tuvo a Margarita de Brito, que contrajo
    matrimonio con Pedro de Sousa, Conde de Prado. 3- Gabriel de Brito, Alcaide mayor de Aldea Gallega, que
    sigue, y
    4- Jorge de Brito, Copero mayor del Rey Don Manuel, que caso con dona Violante Pereyra, naciendo de este enlace
    a) Artur de Brito, Copero mayor del Rey Don Juan III, y" [King John the third became king of Portugal in 1521, after the Jews had been forced to leave the country because of the Inquisition. King Philip II of Spain conquered Portugal in 1580 and lost it to John, Duke of Braganza in 1640. John was crowned John the 4th, King of Portugal,  in 1640.
    "b) Gaspar de Brito, Trinchete del Cardenal Infante Don Alfonso, 
    que contrajo matrimonio con dona Blanca Freyre y fueron padres de Luis de Brito, Paje del Cardenal Ray, y Maria de Brito, esposa de Jorge Manuel, Comendador de San Vicente.

    Generation 2: El tercero de esos hermanos, Gabriel de Brito, Alcaide mayor de Aldea Gallega, caso dos veces: la primera con dona Felipa de Miranda, y la segunda con dona Margarita de Meneses. Del primer matrimonio dejo estos hijos:
    1- Jorge de Brito, que sigue, y
    2- Luis de Brito, Alcaide mayor de Aldea Gallega, que de su esposa dona Catalina de Coutino tuvo a Jeronimo de Brito, Alcaide
    mayor de Aldea Gallega.

    Generation 3: Jorge de Brito. Contrajo matrimonio con dona Marie Enriquez (hija de Alfonso Enriquez, Senor de Barbacena),
    naciendo de ese enlace
    1- Damian de Brito de Miranda, Mayordomo de la Infanta Dona Maria. Con sucesion, y
    2- Felipa Enriquez de Brito, segunda mujer de Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, Duque de Arcos.

    De otra rama que radico em Almeida (Portugal) fue Generation 1: Diego de Brito Freire, natural de Almeida, que caso con 
    dona Guiomar de Corvalls y Biera, de igual naturaleza, y procrearon a Generation 2: Pedro Biera de Brito, natural de Almeida, que contrajo matrimonio con dona Maria de Paiva Fonseca, de la misma naturaleza, y fueron padres de Generation 3: Pedro Brito Freire y Paiva, natural de Almeida y caballero de Clatrava, en cuya Orden ingreso en 1645.


    ARMAS: Traen los Britos: Escudo losanjado de gules y plata, con los nueve losanjes de esta metal cargados de leones rampantes de gules. (Escudo 1.167.)

    Biliografia.--<Linajes y Blasones>, de Juan Francisco de Hita, en el tomo I de su <Nobiliario>, M., fol. 269.
    ---Obras de Miguel de Salazar, M, tomo V, fol. 305
    ---<Nobiliario>, de Jeronimo de Villa, M., fol. 24
    ---<Relaciones genealogicas de los Marqueses de Trocifal>, de Antonio Suarez de Alarcon, imp., pags. 44,53,62,70,80, y 406.
    ---<Historia de la Casa de Lara>, de Luis de Salazar y Castro, imp., tomo I, pag 534.
    ---<Historia de la Casa de Silva>, del mismo autor, imp., tomo II, pags. 4,5,44,84,106,112,114,276,331,356,360,416,429 y 441.
    ---<Nobiliario>, del Conde D. Pedro de Bracelos, con notas de Juan Bautista Lavana, imp., pag 336. 
    ---Expediente de pruebas de nobleza del caballero de Calatrava Pedro Brito Freire y Paiva (1645), Archivo Historico National.

    The foregoing was copied from the book Diccionario Heraldico Y Genealogico de Apellidos Espanoles Y Americanos by Alberto and Arturo Garcia Carraffa, volume 10 and 11, published in Madrid Spain in 1946, (pages 68 to 72.) 

    The IGI of www.FamilySearch.org has a Francisco Brito, born calc 1500's in Portugal. No submitter or sources given, just a note to check theancestral file prior to 1991.

    Georgia Atkinson, a Brito researcher in California, sent me this:
    "The following is the little bit of information that has come my way over the years....The name Brito is Portuguese. In 1521-22, Antonio de Brito commanded a Portuguese expedition in the East Indies.

    "In the sixteenth century, [1500s] Portuguese adventurers and mercenaries were found in Burma and Siam, the most famous being Phillip De Brito who was made governor of Siam. He ruled independently for fourteen years, even marrying the daughter of a leading chief.

    "Tragic narratives of shipwrecks became a popular literary form in Lisbon in the sixteenth century, for nearly every Portuguese at home had known someone on the voyages to the East Indies and many had lost kinsmen and friends in the frequent disasters of the sea. A notable collection describing eighteen famous wrecks of this period was edited by Bernardo Gomes De Brito in 1735-36 under the title, "Historia Tragico-Maritima." In the seventeenth century [1600s] a number of leading Portuguese were in the military service of the Spanish kings. Gregorio De Brito defended the town of Lorida for the Spanish against the Portuguese." 

    From the World Book Encyclopedia:
    'The village of Brito, a part of the city of Braga, is in north-western Portugal near the Cavada River. Brito was founded by
    the Romans about 290 AD. It is about 30 miles NE of Porto, a major city which gave Portugal its name when the Spanish Christians took the area from the Moors in the Middle Ages.

    Henry of Burgandy was a French knight who fought against the Moslems. He was made Count of Portugal by the Spanish king in
    1094 AD and given a large land grant. Henry's son, Alfonso Henriques, continued conquering and in 1143AD took the title, King of Portugal. He captured Lisbon in 1148 and made it his capital.

    King John I of the House of Avis came to the throne in 1385; he made a permanent alliance with England in 1386. King John's son,
    Prince Henry the Navigator, encouraged exploration by sea; the Azores Islands off the coast of Africa were discovered in the early
    1400's. The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed by Spain and Portugal in 1494, gave the Eastern part of South America to Portugal.

    In 1500, Portugal discovered Brazil. In 1580, King Phillip II of Spain seized the Portuguese throne, causing a war with England,
    Holland, and France. A Portuguese nobleman--John the Duke of Braganza, suceeded in pushing out the Spanish rulers in 1640. He
    was crowned as John IV and became the first king of the House of Braganza.'

    There is a film in the SLC Family history Center on Baptisms, marriages, and obituaries beginning in 1558 and ending in 1869
    of the parish records of Sao Joao Batista, Igreja Catolica in Brito, Braga, Portugal. It is handwritten in Portuguese, and yes
    the people have surnames. FAMILIAR surnames! Ask for film #s 1387497 and 1387498. 
     
    Una guerra por una oreja. El "medio hombre" que derrotó a la "invencible inglesa". 

    Apreciados amigos, Os remito esta sencilla publicación de este domingo 11 de agosto de 2013 en www.elespiadigital.com con el artículo titulado: “Una guerra por una oreja: el medio hombre que derrotó a la invencible inglesa”, dedicado a la figura heroica de Blas de Lezo.

    Por José Antonio Crespo-Francés* 

    Lo afirmo desde el principio de estas líneas, hay dos personajes heroicos que, si nuestras autoridades tuvieran un mínimo de responsabilidad histórica, les erigirían sendos merecidos monumentos en la capital del reino. Uno de los personajes a los que me refiero es Blas de Lezo y el otro Gutiérrez de Otero, ambos derrotaron heroicamente y sin paliativos en 1741 y 1797, respectivamente, a la marina británica.

    http://www.elespiadigital.com/images/stories/Documentos/Blas%20de%20Lezo%20y%20Olavarrieta.pdf 
    This is accompanied with very clear visuals.  Excellent information.   31 page study.

     


    INTERNATIONAL

    Stunning Images Of A Tunnel Found From Gaza Strip Into Israel, by Amir Cohen 
    Israel Army: 2nd Tunnel From Gaza Found, Destroyed
    Taquiyya
    Iran Trying to Recruit Latin American Youths

     

    Stunning Images Of A Tunnel Found From Gaza Strip Into Israel, Amir Cohen / Reuters  Oct 13, 2013

    The Israeli military said Sunday it discovered a concrete-lined tunnel dug from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and charged militants planned to use it to attack or kidnap Israelis. Israel has again frozen the transfer of all construction materials to the Palestinian territory.

    The Israeli military’s running battle against smugglers and militants in the Gaza strip, which is controlled by the group Hamas, last week exposed a mile-long, concrete-lined tunnel passage believed to have been in use for more than a year.

    The Israeli military said the tunnel was detected during a routine patrol and was the third such tunnel found in the past year. Hamas blew up the Gaza side of the tunnel after figuring out that Israel had detected it, the Israeli military said.

    A Hamas military spokesman in Gaza, Abu Obeida, said on his official Twitter account that “thousands” more tunnels would be dug out. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the discovery of the “terror tunnel” shows that Hamas continues to prepare for fighting against Israel.

    In 2006, Hamas and other militant groups used a tunnel to sneak into Israel, killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped a third, Gilad Shalit, holding him hostage in Gaza for five years before he was released in a prisoner exchange. Hamas has largely observed a cease-fire with Israel that was brokered by Egypt since November 2012.

    Maj. Guy Inbar, an Israeli military spokesman, said the halt on all construction material to Gaza, announced Sunday, was enacted for security reasons. Hamas had been using construction materials approved by Israel for civilian purposes to build tunnels like the one discovered, added Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, Israel’s Southern Command chief.  “The tunnel is extremely advanced and well prepared” Brig. Gen. Mickey Edelstein, commander of Gaza Strip division, told reporters.

    Massive amount of concrete and cement have been used to build this tunnel.”  The Israeli military estimated that 500 tons of cement and concrete were used in the construction of the tunnel, and the structure took more than a year to build.

    "The tunnel is extremely advanced and well prepared" Brig. Gen. Mickey Edelstein, commander of Gaza Strip division, told reporters .

    AMIR COHEN, REUTER + DAVID BUIMOVITCH/AFP / Getty Images 
    Israeli officials said the tunnel had two exits in an open area.  The exits were roughly one mile from an Israeli village, Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha.

    The Israeli military estimated that 500 tons of cement and concrete were used in the construction of the tunnel, and the structure took more than a year to build. Israeli officials said the tunnel had two exits in an open area.

    AMIR COHEN, REUTER + DAVID BUIMOVITCH/AFP / Getty Images 
    Concrete walls and arches lined the tunnel…  And electrical cords could be seen along its walls.

    Concrete walls and arches lined the tunnel...

    The exits were roughly one mile from an Israeli village, Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha.

    AMIR COHEN, REUTER + DAVID BUIMOVITCH/AFP / Getty Images 
    The military invited journalists into the tunnel, dug about 60 feet underground and roughly nearly six feet high.  

    And electrical cords could be seen along its walls. The tunnel also included ventilation shafts.

    AMIR COHEN, REUTER + DAVID BUIMOVITCH/AFP / Getty Images 
    The tunnel had a rail for a small trolley, “probably intended to transfer terrorists or soldiers from side to side rapidly,”
     said Israeli defense minister, Moshe Yaalon.  The tunnel also included ventilation shafts.

    The Israeli military also showed empty food wrappers, work gloves, and an axe-like digging tool it said it had found inside. One of the cookie wrappers was dated June 2013, indicating workers had been inside the tunnel in recent months, reports AP .

    AMIR COHEN, REUTER + DAVID BUIMOVITCH/AFP / Getty Images 
    The Israeli military also showed empty food wrappers, work gloves, and an axe-like digging tool it said it had found inside.  
    One of the cookie wrappers was dated June 2013, indicating workers had been inside the tunnel in recent months, reports AP.

    Click here: Israel Army: 2nd Tunnel From Gaza Found, Destroyed - ABC News

    Israel Army: 2nd Tunnel From Gaza Found, Destroyed

    Israel's military says it has found and destroyed a second tunnel dug from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into Israel.

    The military says it blew up the tunnel on Tuesday. It says the tunnel was packed with explosives and stretched dozens of meters (yards) into Israel.

    Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai warned that the surrounding area is dangerous and "threats are still imminent."

    On Sunday, the military said it discovered a long, concrete-lined tunnel from Gaza into Israel, which it said militants planned to use to attack or kidnap Israelis.

    Gaza's Hamas rulers and their allies have dug tunnels into Israel before. It was through one such tunnel in 2006 that militants sneaked into Israel, killed two soldiers and kidnapped a third, Gilad Schalit, who was held hostage for five years.

     

    TAQIYYA To advance his goal, a Muslim can lie to the enemy, the non-Muslim infidel, with total impunity & religious sanction.
     

    Iran Trying to Recruit Latin American Youths

    With lure of religious classes, Iran seeks to recruit Latin Americans
    Joby Warrick, Washington Post, August 11, 2013

    The Mexican law student was surprised by how easy it was to get into Iran two years ago. By merely asking questions about Islam at a party, he managed to pique the interest of Iran’s top diplomat in Mexico. Months later, he had a plane ticket and a scholarship to a mysterious school in Iran as a guest of the Islamic Republic.

    Next came the start of classes and a second surprise: There were dozens of others just like him.

    “There were 25 or 30 of us in my class, all from Latin America,” recalled the student, who was just 19 when he arrived at the small institute that styled itself an Iranian madrassa for Hispanics. “I met Colombians, Venezuelans, multiple Argentines.” Many were new Muslim converts, he said, and all were subject to an immersion course, in perfect Spanish, in what he described as “anti-Americanism and Islam.”

    The student, whose first name is Carlos but who spoke on the condition that his full name not be used, left for home only three months later. But his brief Iranian adventure provides a window into an unusual outreach program by Iran, one that targets young adults from countries south of the U.S. border. In recent years, the program has brought hundreds of Latin Americans to Iran for intensive Spanish-language instruction in Iranian religion and culture, much of it supervised by a man who is wanted internationally on terrorism charges, according to U.S. officials and experts.

    They describe the program as part of a larger effort by Iran to expand its influence in the Western Hemisphere by building a network of supporters and allies in America’s backyard. The initiative includes not only the recruitment of foreign students for special study inside Iran, but also direct outreach to Latin countries through the construction of mosques and cultural centers and, beginning last year, a new cable TV network that broadcasts Iranian programming in Spanish.

    Regional experts say such “soft power” initiatives are mainly political, intended in particular to strengthen Tehran’s foothold in countries such as Venezuela and Ecuador, which share similar anti-American views. But in some cases, Iranian officials have sought to enlist Latin Americans for espionage and even hacking operations targeting U.S. computer systems, according to U.S. and Latin American law-enforcement and intelligence officials.

    A report issued in May by an Argentine prosecutor cited evidence of “local clandestine intelligence networks” organized by Iran in several South American countries. The document accused Tehran of using religious and cultural programs as cover to create a “capability to provide logistic, economic and operative support to terrorist attacks decided by the Islamic regime.”

    Singled out in the report is an Iranian cleric and government official, Mohsen Rabbani, who runs several programs in Iran for Latin American students, including the one attended by Carlos. A former cultural attache in Buenos Aires, Rabbani was accused by Argentina of aiding the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in that city that killed 85 people, the country’s deadliest terrorist attack.

    Iran rejected the allegations and has sought to dismiss the Argentine prosecutor as a “Zionist.” Rabbani has denied any role in the bombing or any other terrorist operation.

    But Rabbani has made no secret of his interest in drawing in young Latin Americans who admire Iran’s fiery defiance of the West. A report for Congress by IBI Consultants, a Washington-based research company that advises U.S. government agencies on Latin American terrorism and drug-trafficking networks, estimated that more than 1,000 people from the region have undergone training, mostly under Rabbani’s supervision, in Iran since 2007.

    Only a handful of graduates have talked about their Iranian schooling publicly. One of those is Carlos, who was struck by the effectiveness of a program that isolated a small group of foreign students and subjected them to weeks of theological and political indoctrination. He recalled how some classmates who had seemed merely curious about Iran and its religion ended their study as committed disciples.

    “Some of them,” he said, “I’d call crazy-obsessed.”

    A friendly invitation

    What exactly the Iranians saw in Carlos is not clear, even to him. When he encountered his first Iranian government official, at an embassy reception in 2010, he spoke no Farsi and knew little about the country or its religion beyond what he had seen on TV.

    At the time of the diplomatic party, Carlos was enrolled as a first-year student in the law program of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Mustering his courage, he introduced himself to Mohammad Ghadiri, the Iranian ambassador, and blurted out that he was interested in learning about Islam. The diplomat was warm and polite, and the two followed up by telephone the next day.

    “Why don’t you stop by the embassy,” Ghadiri asked, according to Carlos’s account.

    At the Iranian mission, Ghadiri mentioned a special course in Iran that had been set up for Latin American university students just like Carlos. If he was willing, the Iranians would pay for everything, the ambassador said. He could be enrolled in the next semester’s classes, just a few months away.

    Carlos thought briefly and agreed to go.

    “I was scared, but they took care of everything,” Carlos said of the start of his strange odyssey to a country he knew little about. His Iranian sponsor, he recalled, “just seemed like a nice guy who wanted to help me learn about his country.”

    The tall, solidly built Mexico City native, now 21, described his encounter during an interview in a West Coast city that is his temporary home while awaiting a decision on a U.S. asylum application. The Washington Post agreed not to reveal some particulars about his identity, including his full name, because of his fear that Iranian officials may attempt to retaliate for his account.

    After the embassy meeting, things happened so quickly that Carlos barely had time to consider what he was doing, he later recalled. The youth was given plane tickets and a letter of acceptance for the Iranian school he would be attending, the Oriental Thought Cultural Institute, in the ancient city of Qom.

    Of the institute’s director he knew nothing, having never heard of Rabbani or his alleged ties to terrorism in Argentina and elsewhere. Later he would encounter the former cultural attache at the school and learn of his prominence from Iranian television programs and Web sites, where Rabbani is a tireless proponent of exporting Iran’s Islamic revolution to the Spanish-speaking world.

    In addition to the training centers he runs, Rabbani helped start Iran’s largest Spanish-language Web site and was instrumental in launching HispanTV, a cable network that broadcasts Iranian programs and commentary in Spanish. Rabbani would boast in a 2011 interview of having shattered “the American myth” by helping drive Latin American opinion away from the West and toward Iran’s vision of revolutionary Islam.

    Target of suspicion

    After landing at the airport in Tehran, Carlos was promptly met by a Spanish-speaking escort and a driver who took him to Qom, the center for Shiite theological study for half a millennium. There he found himself surrounded by Spanish-speaking students representing almost every country in the Western Hemisphere.

    All of them lived, ate and studied together for three months on a rigorous schedule that rarely allowed them to socialize or mingle with students from a parallel school for European converts in a neighboring building, Carlos said. He described his fellow students as intense, serious and seemingly in the thrall of the school’s religious teachers.

    “All the classes were ostensibly religious, but the teachers would interject politics all the time,” Carlos said. “If the subject was economics, the message was about how the United States was manipulating the economy for its own benefit.”

    According to Carlos’s account, the institute’s Iranian staff began to view the young Mexican with increasing suspicion. In March 2011, school officials seized cameras and tape recorders Carlos had brought from home and accused him of being a spy. Carlos left the school one evening and found his way to the Mexican Embassy in Tehran, where he sought his government’s protection.

    Eventually he was allowed to leave for Mexico, but Iranian officials, then and in the months that followed, hinted that they were not finished with Carlos. Later that year, Ghadiri, the former Iranian ambassador to Mexico, told a reporter in a Spanish-language news interviewthat his government had kept track of the young Mexican’s whereabouts.

    “I have information,” Ghadiri told the journalist.

    Iran’s broad outreach

    Although he witnessed the daily bombardment of anti-American messages, Carlos said he did not observe overt attempts to recruit students for anything other than learning. Iranian officials insist there weren’t any.

    Indeed, the officials are open about their ongoing efforts to attract promising young foreigners through programs such as the Oriental Thought Cultural Institute, and they are hardly alone in doing so. The State Department spends millions of dollars annually on officially sponsored U.S. travel for foreign students as well as budding journalists, politicians and civic leaders.

    “Cultural and academic exchange is a normal practice among countries, and Iran as a country that enjoys a remarkable number of high-rating scientific and cultural institutions is not an exception,” said Ali Miryousefi, a spokesman for Iran’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York. “Iran, like the U.S. and many other countries, admits every year hundreds of students from Africa, Asia and other regions.”

    But for some U.S. officials, the worry is that the increased recruitment is tied to a larger effort to woo not only individuals, but countries. Iran has more than doubled the number of embassies in Latin America since 2005 — from five to 11 — while building 17 cultural centers and numerous mosques throughout the region. Its HispanTV network beams daily into millions of Spanish-speaking households, with programming such as a dramatic series that brings an Islamic perspective to the Christian story of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

    “Iran is ramping up its strategic messaging to the region,” Ilan Berman, vice president of the Washington-based American Foreign Policy Council, told a recent congressional hearing. The prevailing message is “one that promotes its own ideology and influence at the expense of the United States.”

    Not all those messages manage to penetrate. Some of Iran’s overtures in the region have been firmly rejected by Latin American governments who see little benefit to cozying up to Tehran, a relatively weak economic power viewed by most Western countries as a pariah because of its sponsorship of terrorism and its controversial nuclear program.

    The State Department acknowledged in a report last month that Iran has “increased its outreach” to Latin America in recent years, but also concluded that Iran’s overall influence in the region is “waning.” Whatever Tehran’s intentions, U.S. diplomats and regional experts said, Iran’s ruling clerics are losing sway because of a severely weakened economy and repeated foreign-policy stumbles such as promising aid that never arrives. Even viewership for HispanTV and its “Santa Maria” drama remains small, they said.

    ‘I have nothing’

    Carlos, who was unsettled by the Iranians’ comments about watching him, became increasingly fearful after a series of incidents in which he says he and his friends were followed by men they recognized from the Iranian Embassy. On one occasion, strangers with Middle Eastern features asked for Carlos at his parents’ home. After local authorities in Mexico dismissed his concerns, Carlos traveled to the United States in 2012 to file an application for asylum.

    Carlos said he has little money and few prospects in the United States and has sometimes gone hungry, but he is too afraid to return home. Of his three months in Iran, little remains, he said, besides bad memories and an Iranian visa in his passport, stamped with arrival and departure dates for a journey that changed his life.

    “I once had a bright future in Mexico, but here I have had to start all over again, and I have nothing,” he said. “Since the day I got back, things have never been the same.”

    http://matthewaid.tumblr.com/post/57959168041/iran-trying-to-recruit-latin-american-youths
     

     

    TABLE OF CONTENTS


    UNITED STATES 
    Concerning Letters to the Editor by Mimi
    The Hispanic Art Contest by Wanda Garcia
    Latino Americans
    2013 National Council of  la Raza ALMA Awards
    Denial of a History is a Denial of a People by Wanda Garcia 
    Hispanics Breaking Barriers - Volume 3 - Issue 3 by Mercy Bautista-Olvera
    2013 Jose Marti Publishing Awards of the National Association of Hispanic Publications' 
    Ruben Salazar was a Mexican-American journalist
    Con Safos: Reflection from Up On the Hill, teaser by J.A. Velarde
    El Movimiento, How Latino Americans Fought for Civil Rights by Esther J. Cepeda
    The Tex/Mex Heritage of "Lady Bird" Johnson
    Latinos 101, the Hispanic Heritage of the United States by Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, Ph.D.
    The 1940's
    Kilroy was here!

    HISPANIC LEADERS
    Frank Martinez: 1924-2013,  artist and mentor dies at 89 
    Elisa Perez, Family Historian and Genealogist dies at 87
    Carlos Blanco-Aguinaga: 1926-2013, literary critic, fiction writer dies at 87 
    Jose Montoya: 1932- 2013, poet and artist dies at 81
    Raul Cortez: 1933-2013, businessman dies at 80

    WITNESS TO HERITAGE
    Save Tejano History Symposium' Held September 28th
    Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS)
    Thought you would like this history lesson
    San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy 

    NATIONAL ISSUES
    Freedom of Speech issue
    Sergio Hernandez Cartoonist, Don't Vote For Any Incumbents
    Definition of Insanity 
    Court: Applicants wrongly denied US citizenship
    Judge: Tribal arrest a U.S. Issue

    ACTION ITEMS
    Why Save Lincoln Center: For Our Gente 

    EDUCATION
    Less educated Hispanic population presents both a promise and a challenge
    Cuento: My Father, the Miracle Maker by Esther Bonilla Read
    Why Your Mind is a Hurt Locker
    Ivan Enrique Espinosa Takes First Place in Texas A&M University
    Mandarin Returns Home -- SAT Scores Climb for Asian Americans
    Second Feria Educativa was held at the 2013 7th Annual "Festival Cardenas" 

    CULTURE
    Serna's Santos
    The Flamenco Peñas in Southern Spain  
    Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez,: NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert Webcast 
    Martha González, Musician, Dancer, College Professor, Activist , Author
    Latina Icon Magdalena Gómez Donates personal papers to University of Connecticut Archives
    Documentary: Paper Cutouts to Steel, The Art of Carmen Lomas Garza
    Sandias y Cascarones
    Statement by Armando Durón about Artist Jose Ramirez
    Statement by Armando Durón about Artist Ramon Ramirez

    FICTION/NON-FICTION
    My Days as a Colonist/Soldier with Don Juan de Onate - Part 1 by Louis F. Serna
    Voices de la Luna, Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine, Editor: Mo. H. Saidi, MD, ALM

    BOOKS

    River of Hope: Forging Identity and Nation in the Rio Grande Borderlands, by Omar S. Valerio-Jiménez 
    Brownsville by Oscar Casares
    The First Texas Independence, 1813, The Unlikely Tejano, José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara by José Antonio López
    Domestic Negotiations: Gender, Nation, & Self-Fashioning in US Mexicana & Chicana Literature & Art by Marci McMahon

    LATINO PATRIOTS
    Century of Valor, Part Four, Vietnam War by Rogelio C. Rodriguez
    Korean War Marine Eugene A. Obregon Medal of Honor discovered
    Remembering Juan Francisco Herrera 
    The Story of Israel's Airforce that Led to Independence in '47
    Veterans History Project
    Experiencing War Stories from the Veterans History Project
    Comments on the 6-Hour Documentary, Latino Americans 
    Honoring Navy Commander Eugene A Valencia
    Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Army Slideshow
    New Effort In Support of Congressional Gold Medal for Hispanic Heroes of the 65th Infantry - The Borinqueneers


    EARLY LATINO PATRIOTS
    November 16, 2013: The 200th Anniversary of the “Battle of Medina
    Granaderos Out And About
    Granaderos National Meeting Held in Houston, Texas
    50th Anniversary San Diego's Cabrillo Festival
    Yo Solo, Bernardo de Galvaz on Stage of the American Revolution
    Los Españoles olvidados de la Isla de Guam

    DNA
    Researching the DNA of Historical Figures 

    CUENTOS & STORIES
    Four Stories about Seniors by Ben Romero
    Chicken Nuggets
    Mutton Jeff
    The Closet Ballerina
    Life's Disappointments

    FAMILY HISTORY
    Cuento: Gloria Candelaria, Crossroads 
    Cuento: A Future Homemaker for America by Michele Bonilla "Lillie"
    A Library for the People by Steve Mencher
    Historical necrologies can be important sources of information
    Reporte parcial de la Conferencia Iberoamericana de Genealogía
    From Kimberly Powell, your Guide to Genealogy

    ORANGE COUNTY, CA
    November 9th, Using Picture with your Genealogy and Personal Stories  
    Orange County 1800s Cultural Intermarrying 

    LOS ANGELES, CA
    Vintage Photographs of Los Angeles
    Nov. 23: Introduction to Navajo and Cherokee Nation Genealogy Research
    Cuento: A Brief Write up of my Life by Sister Mary Sevilla, Ph.D.
    Cuento: Filming to Find Grandma Rita by
    Sister Mary Sevilla, Ph.D.  
    Cuento: Wobblies in San Pedro by Arthur A. Almeida, Part 1
    Cuento: My Father, Eusebio  by Nora H. Barajas
     

    CALIFORNIA
    Junipero Serra - 300th Birthday in 2013
    Cuento: Refugio Rochin Family in San Diego County 

    November 1: Family Remembrance Day, Agua Mansa Cemetery
    Women in Agua Mansa History 1838-1997 By Dr. R. Bruce Harley

    NORTHWESTERN US
    For North Las Vegas's first Hispanic councilman, The Time is Now

    SOUTHWESTERN US
    Nov 1: The Byzantine Connection to New Mexican Families
    Cuento: It Fideo or Vermicelli? by Margarita B. Velez
    Título de la unidad: "Orden de favorecer al capitán Diego Ramón y las misiones del Río Grande" 
    The New Deal was it a Great Deal?  

    MIDDLE AMERICA
    Virginia Martinez, Esquire, A Child of Great Expectations by Delia Gonzalez Huffman
    Tracing Pointe Coupée’s Creole Foundations to Nouvelle France : 1608-1745

    TEXAS
    Santos Sandoval Celebrated Turning 100 years old
    José Miguel Arciniega Descendants Society
    San Antonio: Legacy South Project to study, archive a 'Tejano genesis'
    Descendents of Don Ignacio Gonzalez de Inclan, and Juana de Dios de Urrutia
    Cuento: Stolen Citizenship by Ramon Moncivais
    Inventory of the Félix D. Almaráz Papers, 1963-2002
    Cortina attacks Brownsville
    A&M San Antonio has formed "TCARA" Chapter

    MEXICO
    Los Virreyes de la Nueva Espana by Fernando Muñoz Altea
    Plaza Historica Batalla de Monterrey 1846
    Giovanni Battista Schiappapietra da Albisola al Nuovo Regno di Leon
            Correspondence of
    Amancio J. Chapa, Jr.
    Families of Salinas Victoria, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Volume Nine
    Heroe Olvidada: Capitan Don Pomposo Gomez
    Recordando a Mis Hermanos Mayores del Colegio Militar
    Soldados Norteamericanos muertos y sepultados en la Cd. de México,  durante la Guerra México-Estados Unidos 1846-1848
    Matrimonio de los Padres del Gral. de Bgd. Don Mariano Moret Viscaino
    Gemelas Ysabel Susana y Ana Maria, hijas de Don Tomas Jenkin y de Dona Ana Maria Jonson
    Matrimonio de Don Juan Zuazua y Dona Antonia de la Garza

    INDIGENOUS
    Star Quilts
    Judge: Tribal Arrest a U.S. Issue 

    ARCHAEOLOGY
    Archaeologists uncover Brazilian artifacts 

    SEPHARDIC
    Book:  Jewish Treasure of the Caribbean Photo Exhibit
    Was Columbus a Jew? by Charles Garcia
    Del castellano al ladino por Angel Custodio Rebollo

    AFRICAN-AMERICAN
    Julian Abele, Prominent African-American Architect 

    EAST COAST
    Cuento: Reminiscences of a Naval Aviator, WW II, by Daniel L. Polino
    Cuento: Fey Esperanza: Sustained by Faith and Hope by Juana Bordas
    Cuento: Every Day of Her Life by Carolina De Robertis
    Royal Pedigree of Juan Ponce de Leon 

    CARIBBEAN/CUBA
    Review of Film: "Una Noche" captures Cuba's Lost Generation by Mirta Ojito
    U-2 Spy Photos of Cuba in '62
    The History of women in Puerto Rico, Part 1 By: Tony “The Marine” Santiago
    Mejor respuesta -  La existencia de Cuba

    CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA
    Informaciones Genealógicas
    Genealogia Familiar

    PHILIPPINES
    The New Miss World is Filipina Megan Young

    SPAIN/PORTUGAL/ITALY
    La Prueba Del Humo by Angel Custodio Rebollo
    You are Probably Descended from Charlemagne and Other Royalty by John Inclan
    Britos in Portugal by Marie Brito
    Una guerra por una oreja Por José Antonio Crespo-Francés

    INTERNATIONAL
    Stunning Images Of A Tunnel Found From Gaza Strip Into Israel, by Amir Cohen 
    Israel Army: 2nd Tunnel From Gaza Found, Destroyed
    Taquiyya
    Iran Trying to Recruit Latin American Youths

     

     

      10/27/2013 12:59 PM