 Artist: Eddie Martinez, Click to Part 2, "Walking the streets of Spain while sketching and listening for voices from the past." |
Somos Primos
Editor: Mimi Lozano ©2000-2015
"Not to know
what happened before we were born is to remain perpetually a child.
For what is the worth of a human life unless it is woven into the
life of our ancestors by the records of history?" |
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Letters to the Editor |
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| Dear Mimi: This news about Galvez are wonderful! I had no idea and I'll share with all my Spanish speaking groups. You do a magnificent job for all of us. Very Happy New Year to you and yours. Fondly, Maria Rieger lareina250@att.net
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Once more-all this info just blows me away. How you collate all this is astounding. Happy New Year, Corinne Joy Brown corinnejb@aol.com P.O. 415 Midway City, CA 92655-0490 mimilozano@aol.com www.SomosPrimos.com 714-894-8161 |
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"If you take away religion, you can't hire enough
police."
~ Clay Christensen, Professor Harvard School http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=YjntXYDPw44&sns=em |
| "He who dares not offend cannot be honest" ~ Thomas Paine | |
| "All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies." ~ John Arbuthnot | |
| "No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the Congress is in session." ~ Mark Twain | |
| "Every government interference in the
economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force,
to some men at the expense of others." ~Ayn Rand |
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"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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Clips from 1970 July 4th TV special, hosted by John Wayne Why Is Hollywood Only Making One Film About Latinos in 2015? by Adam Hofbauer Gina Rodriguez Wins The Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy by Yvonne Villarreal SACNAS and "Spare Parts" movie by JV Martinez About Dr. Jose "JV" Vergara Martinez - Physicist A Renaissance of Hispanic Culture by Dr. Lino García The Star by Daisy Wanda Garcia Introduction to Construction Work Is Getting More Deadly, But Only For Latinos by David Noriega If you tell a lie often enough eventually it will be accepted as fact by Dan Arellano Harry Truman was a different kind of President. Suggested money saving cuts from the National Budget |
 Clips
from 1970 July 4th TV special, hosted by John Wayne. two minutes of well
known Hollywood celebrities singing God Bless America. Sent by Frances Rios, a member of the Juaneno Band of California indians, San Juan Capistrano, California. francesrios499@hotmail.com http://biggeekdad.com/2014/09/john-wayne-1970/#.VCHJXVfNNJ8.email |
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This year, Hollywood will offer as many widely released studio films about monkeys as it will about Latinos. Both movies, Monkey Kingdom and MacFarland, USA, will be released by Disney, slot fillers in the annual winter doldrums. Luckily for the monkeys, though, they won't be depicted as in need of a redemptive white man to save them from their own crippling circumstances. What is baffling about the near total absence of Latino stories slated for 2015 is how it reflects the film industry's lingering indifference towards a demographic that has quietly become one of the most dependable subsections of cinema-goers. In 2013, the MPAA determined that while Latinos only made up 17 percent of the US population, they represented 32 percent of frequent moviegoers. Last year, a six-year study of cinematic race and ethnicity by USC found that a full quarter of US tickets were purchased by Latinos, who often made up 20 percent of lucrative opening weekend grosses. And yet Latinos represented only 4.9 percent of total speaking roles in the films studied, with an overwhelming tendency to be depicted as hyper-sexualized, criminal, or both. One would assume that a studio system so desperate for ideas that it would earmark 2015 for reboots of everything from Point Break to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. would see these numbers as a clear indication of an audience primed for their own cinematic depiction. That assumption would be dead wrong. The "true" story of the nation's first all-Latino high school track team, MacFarland, USA depicts the all-too-familiar uplift of scrappy but hard-working people of color by a roguish but lovable white man. For Disney, it's the second such story in as many years, following 2014's borderline bomb Million Dollar Arm, with Jon Hamm learning to be a better man by pulling a few Indian men out of obscurity through the magic of baseball. MacFarland, however, has already received advance praise for its earnest depiction of Latino characters. And in its story of the everyday struggle of rural Latino farm workers, the film stands alone this year in reflecting the real-life struggles of millions of Americans. But therein lies the problem. Latinos may have become one of the country's most dependable ticket-buying blocs, but if they want to see themselves on movie screens as anything but impoverished migrants or supporting characters in 2015, they're out of luck. Noah Gittell called this disparity between audience and representation a set of "absurd statistics." They're hard numbers made even more absurd by the recent success of numerous Latino-centered productions on both the small and big screens. The 2013 import Instructions Not Included quietly became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film in US history. 2014's animated The Book of Life, featuring a story and production design inspired by the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, unceremoniously earned $90 million amidst a crowded Halloween release schedule. That same year, the only high-profile studio release to feature a full Latino cast was Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. Much like MacFarland, USA, the film was dumped into the fallow winter months, where it nonetheless grossed $90 million globally on a $5 million budget. A cursory glimpse at events like the 2014 Miami Film Festival reveals a wide range of films from numerous Latin American countries primed for US releases. Meanwhile, the last two years have seen a slow expansion of Latino-led television shows, with CBS's Cristela and the CW's Jane the Virgin drawing audiences but doing little to encourage their networks' respective parent companies' interest in cinematic projects. Warner Brothers, which owns the CW, will release both the above-mentioned Point Break and Man From U.N.C.L.E. revivals, but has no plans for the upcoming year that involve Latino-based stories or characters. Still, there have been some isolated voices of optimism in recent months, specifically Vulture's prediction that, "The future of movies will be more Latino." Such perspectives look at the appointments of Latino executives and the creation of studio multicultural divisions as signs of increasing inclusivity. But at least as far as 2015 is concerned, it's hard to find much substance in Vulture's claim that, "After decades of under-representing Latinos, Hollywood is slowly starting to come around" - without a heavy emphasis on "slowly." 2015 promises several high-profile films by Latino directors, from Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's Norman Rockwell-meets-Magneto origin story Little Boy to Jaume Collete-Serra's Liam Neeson action vehicle Run All Night. But these films are uniformly void of situations or characters that reflect any aspect of the Latino experience. Even creatively powerful Mexican auteurs like Guillermo Del Toro continue to head films with zero indication of Latino-based characters or situations. (Not to mention that the above directors represent exclusively Spanish and Mexican backgrounds, leaving mainstream directors from any other Latin American country or indigenous group nonexistent.) As Beyond the Lights director Gina Prince-Bythewood told Flavorwire in November, there are plenty of opportunities available for directors of color, so long as they don't involve directing anything outside of an unspoken Caucasian default. As Bythewood explained, "(The) people making decisions are going to green-light films that they identify with and that make sense to them, and there are no people of color running studios." Studio executives shouldn't be singled out as oblivious oppressors operating in a vacuum. The bias against ethnic diversity remains deeply coded in all aspects of culture, including photographic technology itself. As Syretta McFadden explained in an essential piece for BuzzFeed in 2014, film stock emulsion coating, the basic chemical compounds that determine how film interacts with light, were long designed with Caucasian skin as their default. Kodak modified stocks to favor brown and red tones in the late 1970s, but only in response to advertising companies wishing to photograph wooden furniture. As McFadden points out in an interview with NPR, Kodak only developed a standardized color balance system for multiple skin tones as recently as 1995. Meanwhile, the transition to digital photography brought the Nikon Coolpix's tendency to assume Asians were constantly blinking and low-light sensors designed to focus only on light-skinned faces. This is an ethnic "othering" that NPR's Eric Deggans recently explored across multiple aspects of the entertainment industry, from the racial insensitivity of leaked Sony emails to the absence of people of color in year-end awards season consideration. Deggans echoed the gap in Latino audiences and films when he criticized Hollywood's reluctance to diversify, "even when there's evidence that breaking down those walls will actually make better films and more money." Still, it's helpful to remember that lower-budget features can often arrive without much advance notice (Selma, as just one example, didn't even begin principal photography until April of last year). The arc of production schedules stretches longer than the public face of release dates and casting announcements, and it is possible that the coming months could produce a more diverse range of production announcements. But conclusions can only be drawn from existing information, which indicates a cinematic calendar all but devoid of Latino stories onscreen for the next 12 months. It all amounts to an industry-wide apathy towards change that is not just absurd, but borderline masochistic. Fewer movie tickets were sold in the US in 2014 than in any year since 1995. Adherence to franchises and price-gouging tactics (4D seating, anyone?) couldn't keep the tickets that were sold from earning a three-year industry low. Such numbers should force studios to cater to the consistency of Latino ticket buyers, instead of doubling down on blind optimism for even bigger blockbusters while tossing out empty gestures about Latino executives and diversity initiatives. But therein lies a truth about institutionalized situation, in which populations outside of the assumed cultural default suffer by being unrepresented in media, while the media makers themselves feel the financial impact of their inability to adapt. One could begrudge studios a window of opportunity, or grant them a grace period in which to respond to demographic truths. But the viability of Latino films is nothing new. At the height of Hollywood's golden age, before movies had to compete with television or the Internet, MGM released Viva Villa, a biopic about Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. It was the highest-grossing film of 1934. Those audiences' descendants are still here - and they still love movies. And, even at the expense of their own profits, it doesn't seem that Hollywood cares. Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@msu.edu |
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It's was great at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards when the talented Gina Rodriguez who for Best Actress in a Television Comedy. Gina has been on a rapid rise since her talented performance in Filley Brown. I've appreciated the sincerity of her speeches over the year's - and her commitment to the Latino community. This is bound to be just the first of many such awards she will earn as her career progresses. The CW doesn't want you to remain a virgin to experiencing its freshman dramedy "Jane the Virgin." Fresh off the heels of the show's groundbreaking win at Sunday's Golden Globes -- lead Gina Rodriguez won for actress in a comedy -- the network is giving the uninitiated a chance to see what all the fuss is about by airing the first two episodes of the show Monday night, beginning at 8. The win for Rodriguez, a favorite among critics, was also a win for the CW -- it marked the network's first Golden Globe in its eight-year history. "We were bound for success, because the critics had my back," Rodriguez told reporters backstage following her win. "[The CW has] given me a place to fly, and I'm going to do everything I can to repay them for that." But the award extends beyond the superficial, added the starlet who had been a favorite to win. The award signifies a win for all Latinos, she said. "The nomination alone was a win for me because it allowed ... Latinos to see ourselves in a beautiful light," she said. "The win meant everything, a lot more than just me." She said she hopes the result will be more diverse programming on television to represent the "so diverse, so beautiful, so human" world. "Networks are seeing when you step out the door, it's a very diverse world, some just tan better than others," she chuckled. The win came hours after the CW had announced it had renewed the modest-performing dramedy for a second season. Making the day all the more sweet. "It's like eating red velvet and knowing its fat-free," she said. Source: Latino Print Network Our Goal Latino Print Network's goal with each issue is for you to say at least once "Glad I learned that". We also have several positive articles on positive outlooks for 2015. Volume 13, Number 2, January 13, 2015 Abrazos, Kirk Whisler Executive Editor, Latino Print Network 760-434-1223 kirk@whisler.com |
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Considering that my professional career as a scientist has included a significant effort to
conduct outreach on behalf of minorities and women in the sciences, admittedly focused
principally at the post-secondary school level, I am surprised, and somewhat
disappointed that it took the better part of the decade for me to fully appreciate the notable
success of four high school students then at the Carl Hayden Community High School
in Phoenix, Arizona. It is only now I became aware of the result having read the book
review written by Peter Carlson that appeared in the Washington Post (December 4,
2014. Page B2), Spare Parts, by author Joshua Davis. In reading the book, an account
about which a movie is to air on January 16, the account is extraordinary. Their success
in a national robotics competition was noted in the summer of 2004 by being awarded a
first place designation in the contest’s most prestigious category.Two additional items about this success stand out: (1) The high school students’ project competed against well financed and experienced college teams and (2) their robot entry was constructed essentially from spare parts. (The case is remindful of the success of the student music group, Landfill Harmonic, formed in 2011 in Paraguay, which taken together with the success of the Carl Hayden group reveals the remarkable manner nature has endowed substantially deprived human beings with ingenuity, creativity, andsurvival attributes. This writer attended the summer 2014 performance of the orchestra before a stand-up-only audience at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. ) Fact 1: That the high school students decided to compete in the college category and not in the category designation for high schools is consistent with a refrain you need hear only once if you are raised in the barrio, viz., “If you have nothing to lose, why not reach for the stars?”. My sensitivity to the account is colored by the early exposure to racism directed at individuals like myself while growing up in Arizona. Paramount among such experiences was once being told by my white high school principal that “Mexicans don’t do science,” a principal later recognized with a school named in his honor. Never mind that I obtained a doctorate degree in chemical physics and served in a post doctorate position at Cornell University, then went on to teach undergraduate physics for a decade before joining the federal government where I served 34 years as a research program manager and a senior science advisor. Fact 2: As one will also learn from Spare Parts, the hypocrisy associated with the lack of appropriate rewards warranted by the students for their success in plainly evident. At a time when the U.S. corporate sector is encouraging immigration of technically trained individuals all the while ignoring such potential of human resources extant among U.S. residents is unconscionable. (Decades ago such a desire was deemed “a good deal for America” (sic), as stated by an engineering professor at a major U.S. university, a comment about which I publicly expressed umbrage.) This mindset that continues to ignore comparable extant value among the nation’s population is simply abhorrent. Fact 3: The book also notes that the competitors that were awarded lower status in the competition received significant support to continue their studies and obtain well deserved unique employment opportunities. Fact 4: The Carl Hayden students were not accorded the same scholastic or employment benefits. In fact, according to Davis, the Carl Hayden students were denied these considerations because they “lacked papers”. This deemed deficiency was a sordid excuse for denying justice. There was a time when immigrants were welcomed with open arms to build the nation’s infrastructure and were thereby allowed residency on the spot such as with my father who worked on the railroad early in the 20th century. The experience associated with the Carl Hayden students is another vivid example of how prejudice in our nation continues to ignore needed human talent among undocumented U.S. raised individuals and how they are neutralized at best or repatriated at worst. J. V. Martinez jvmart@verizon.net
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I am one who has always been curious. However, my curiosity about nature did not blind me to the status of the Mexican American population at the time. Growing up in the Southwest in the mid-1900s I became aware that a colonial mentality existed, left over from the U. S.-Mexican war of the 1840s, a war that resulted in a loss of half of Mexico's land to the U.S. Although my parents immigrated to the U.S. after that war, even the Mexicans that had resided in the Southwest and their descendants were treated as a conquered people, viewed as second-class citizens. Use of the Spanish language was an easy marker for discrimination. I experienced numerous instances of discrimination. My elementary school was segregated, reserved only for children of Mexicans like myself. Though we spoke Spanish at home, I easily mastered English. In elementary school I found myself attracted to mathematics, music and spelling. These subjects have a strong analytic content requiring less mastery of English and may have been the reason I gravitated toward them. Copyright © 2002 SACNAS www.sacnas.org |
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I met JV Martinez at a Hispanic Senate Task
Force meeting in Washington, D.C. in the mid 1990s.
JV asked if I had been to the Smithsonian Science Center Museum. I said no, I had not. He said, "When you go, be sure and look for me. I was really puzzled because his business card stated he was with the Department of Energy. I questioned him. and he smiled and just said, "Look for me."
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| The first time I went to a Congressional Hispanic Task Force meeting, I decided I would visit as many museums, bookstores, and galleries before returning home. I looked forward to looking for JV in the Science section of the American History Museum. Wondering what I would find, I turned a corner, and suddenly there was JV Martinez smack in front of me, a full size mounted photo of JV. The mounted JV figure is on the right side of the photo. JV is standing on the left side. The discrepancy in size is because, JV was part of the exhibit and was standing on a raised platform. What a fun surprise, and how proud I was to see a Martinez surname among the science exhibit. About SACNAS |
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SACNAS is a society of scientists dedicated to fostering the success of Hispanic/Chicano and Native American scientists—from college students to professionals—to attain advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in science. SACNAS achieves mission impact through outcome-based programming and initiatives. |
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Acronym
for Society
for Advancement
of Hispanics/Chicanos
and Native Americans
in Science.
To learn more about our rationale, approach, and long term objectives, please go to: http://sacnas.org/about |
 Garcia: A Renaissance of Hispanic Culture by Dr. Lino García Border Life, December 21, 2014 http://riograndeguardian.com/author/linogarcia/by Dr. Lino García EDINBURG, RGV – Last month a much awaited statue of Col. José de Escandón y Helguera was officially unveiled and made available for students and community individuals to view and learn about the accomplishments of this military man called the ‘Father of South Texas.’ The vision for such an event occurred to me almost 36 years ago, when I wrote a letter to the editor of the McAllen Monitor informing the public of a need for a statue of such an illustrious individuals that few people knew anything about at that time. Such indication went unnoticed for several decades; however, it is my belief that historical events are realized only when certain segments of the population are ready, are in need of such a symbol, and are prepared to embrace the idea. This realization occurred this past November 18, 2014 on the campus of UTPA giving full strength to what I call the Renaissance of Hispanic Culture/History Awareness that had its beginning during the last few decades of late 20th, and into the 21st. centuries; an evolution of thinking that can only advance all Texans’ eminent future achievements. Since Texas Hispanics are poised to become a dominant force in the social/economic/cultural mosaic of this state, it is important that citizens from all backgrounds know and understand their co-workers/friends within their daily business/social/cultural environment. For decades, Hispanics and others citizens of this state have been denied access to early Colonial Spanish Texas history, one that details the accomplishments of such individuals as Col. José de Escandón y Helguera, who in 1749 brought settlers into newly established ‘villas’ along the Río Grande or Río Bravo. These hardy frontiersmen and women were work – ethics driven, who trail blazed an area by clearing the land, Christianizing the Native-Americans via Christian Missions, and who established many of the early institutions of Texas, also setting the high standards under which we all live and survive. Their descendants, later known as Tejano, are still very much active in all activities that define the region, and whose character elements are derived from the life of Col. José de Escandón y Helguera, who was born of wealthy and prominent families in Soto la Marina, Santander, Spain in 1700. He soon chose a military life, and was then sent by the Spanish Crown to ‘La Nueva España’ where he conducted military expeditions with exact precision, earning the respect of his superiors. It is no wonder, then, that when a decision was made by the Spanish Viceroy to settle this area known as the ‘Seno Mexicano’ Col. José de Escandón y Helguera was chosen. With a total of 1,500 soldiers Escandón proposed that seven ‘entradas’ be made all to converge on the Río Grande, Río Bravo or Ría de las Palmas (as Capitain Alonso de Pineda called it in 1519). Thus, on September, 1746 Col. José de Escandón y Helguera was duly appointed to carry on this series of settlements, called ‘villas.’ The following are his ‘villas’ established in 1749 in both what is now Northern México and South Texas, but then called ‘La Nueva España': 1.) Llera – the first settlement founded and named after Escandón’s wife – Doña Josefa de Llera y Ballas. 2.) La Villa de Santa Ana de Camargo, settled by my own ancestors – the Longoria-Chapa families and other early pioneers. At this event festivities were held to celebrate that included wine, drums beating, a flag flying, and a Holy Mass commemorating this historic settlement. 3.) Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Reynosa, under the command of Capitain Carlos Cantú whose direct descendant is Mr. John Cantú, the benefactor of this statue celebrated on campus of UTPA. 4.) La Villa de San Ignacio de Revilla, later known as Guerrero. 5.) Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, on the north bank of the Río Grande, the area now known as South Texas. 6.) La Villa de la Purísima Concepción de Mier. 7.) San Augustín de Laredo, founded on the north bank of the Río Grande, a city now known as Laredo. One of the earliest Spanish frontiersman to whom South Texas and Northern México is indebted is Col. José de Escandón y Helguera. He and his early Spanish settlers, later on known as ‘Tejano Vaqueros,’ made great contributions in terms of ranching, Christian Missions, presidios, commerce, cattle raising/cattle drives for profit, farming, and mining. Thus, this statue, now permanently a part of the new UT-RGV, is a symbol and a presence of a heritage that set the foundation for the culture now enjoyed by all Texans. A great ‘Thank You’ to Mr. John Cantú and family for their generous gift of the statue of Col. José de Escandón y Helguera given to the students and community individuals of this area; a statue now adorning the campus of the soon to be UT-RGV. Brownsville native Dr. Lino García, Jr., holds the chair of Professor Emeritus of Spanish Literature at UTPA. He can be contacted at: LGarcia@utpa.edu. Sent by Juan Marinez jmarinezmaya@gmail.com |
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| For two weeks in December as I arrived or departed from my house, I saw a glint from what I presumed to be a piece of foil in my driveway. With each encounter the shine glowed brighter and brighter. However, when I went to the spot to pick up the foil I could never find it. One morning as I was leaving my house, the glow of white light emanating from the foil was so brilliant it momentarily blinded me. | |
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I
remembered on one occasion, I went to visit my aunt Dr. Cleo Garcia.
Dr. Cleo was a historian and had traveled with Dr. Dalia Garcia throughout
Mexico and Spain researching Hispanic history. Dr. Cleo loved to
discuss her research and told me that we were descendant of Sephardic
Jews that left Spain, to flee the inquisition and settled in Mexico. At
the time, I did not really grasp the significance of what Dr. Cleo
said. Then,
Dr. Cleo gave me a reproduction of the Garcia coat of arms. She told
me about our roots in Spain and how the Garcias immigrated to this
continent. The
Garcia family had its origins in Galicia, in Northern Spain. In
1492, the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella issued an order
expelling all Jews from Spain. The day following the order,
Christopher Columbus set sail upon his voyage to the New World. The
Garcia ancestors were on some of the voyages that came to the New
World. In
1739, King Phillip V of Spain issued a royal decree for the
colonization of the coast along the Gulf of Mexico. The viceroy
of New Spain appointed Captain Jose de Escandon to explore and
colonize a new province named Nuevo Santander in South Texas. Escandon
brought in families already established in northern Mexico from the
states of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila. Blas Maria de la Garza Falcon
led the expedition to Nuevo Santander that included present day South
Texas. One family in the expedition lived in New Spain since
1550-fifty-eight years after Columbus discovered America. Some
Garcia family ancestors from Camargo were among the forty colonial
families de la Garza Falcon brought to settle Nuevo Santander. The
crown bequeathed land grants in Nuevo Santander to the Garcias as a
reward for their participation in the mission. Nuevo
Santander was ideal because of the proximity to the Garcia land grant
near the border town of Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. This is how the
Garcias arrived in Texas. Eventually, Garcias settled in
Mercedes Texas and opened a large mercantile store in south Texas.
In the 1900s my grandfather Jose fled Mexico because of the Mexican
revolution. My grandfather joined the other established Garcias in
Mercedes and operated a drug store. Grandfather apparently
knew about our Jewish roots but told none of his children until Dr.
Cleo uncovered the secret. My grandmother Faustina Perez de
Garcia was a devout catholic and raised her children accordingly. On
a recent note, Spain
is trying to make amends for the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492
by
passing a law that would allow the descendants of the expelled Jews to
receive Spanish citizenship after 522 years.
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Introduction to Construction Work |
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| Data analyzed by BuzzFeed News shows the construction industry is a different and more dangerous world if you’re a Latino worker. More likely to be undocumented and work for smaller, less regulated employers, Latinos are dying in ever-larger numbers even as the industry grows safer for everyone else.
[Editor Mimi: Previous 2000 data reflects the same differences between
accidental deaths of Latinos and non-Latinos.] A BuzzFeed News analysis has found that, in recent years, the risk of dying on the job has been growing for Latino construction workers at rates that far outstrip the rest of the industry. Fueled by the economic recovery and a nationwide construction boom, Latinos are dying in greater numbers and at increasingly disproportionate rates. |
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After the housing bust bottomed out in 2010, the fatality rate among Latino construction workers rose by nearly 20%. For non-Latinos, the fatality rate has dropped by more than 5%. David Noriega, BuzzFeed News Reporter, Jan. 6, 2015, http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidnoriega http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidnoriega/construction-work-is-getting-more-deadly-but-only-for-latino#.nyJr0xyjA Sent by Roberto Calderon Roberto.Calderon@unt.edu |
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If you tell a lie often enough eventually it will be accepted as fact by Dan Arellano |
Goliad, Texas, 1836, Massacre or Execution? : Currently and in the months to come re-enactors from all over the state will gather to perpetuate myths that unfortunately have been accepted as fact. Historians often say that if you tell a lie often enough eventually it will be accepted as fact. In the movie “Who Shot Liberty Valance,” the senator who was supposedly the man that had rid the community of a very bad man was trying to set the record straight by admitting that he in fact was not the one that had shot Valance. Not wishing to report the truth the reporter tears up his story and flings the paper into the fire and says, senator when the myth becomes larger than the truth we print the myth, thus Texas History. In 1836 there was no Geneva Convention thus no rules of war. The convention was not intended to support, condone or prohibit war; it was written to eliminate the injustices, and the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. Every sovereign nation on earth has the responsibility to protect its citizens and the right to defend its territory, and Mexico was doing just that in 1836. Dr Stephen Hardin in his book “Texan Iliad”, says that 80% of the combatants in the so called Texas Revolution were illegal rebels and Dr Phillip Tucker in his book “Exodus from the Alamo,” says that it was fought to preserve the institution of slavery, and did not Texas enter the Union as a slave state? A revolution is when the legal inhabitants of a sovereign nation take up arms against its legitimate government anything else is an invasion. By 1836 Mexico had issued the Torleon Decree which declared that a sovereign nation had the right to protect itself from terrorist, both foreign and domestic thus anyone captured attempting to over-throw the government would be executed. Thus the prisoners at Goliad were executed and not massacred. Those prisoners of war should not have been killed and this is not an attempt to justify what occurred. However the battle at San Jacinto was a massacre. The Mexicans at San Jacinto had been caught sleeping in their tents and most of them were unarmed and many were trying to surrender. The battle was over in 17 minutes but the butchery of unarmed Mexican soldiers went needlessly on, for hours. All citizens of every nation have the right to over-throw any government they feel to be unjust however in this country we do it at the voting booth which did not exist in Mexico in 1836. Dan speaks every Saturday and Sunday at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum, on Saturdays between 10 AM and 3 PM. and Sundays from noon to 3 PM. The first Sundays of the month is free admission. (Regular admission is $12.) The first Sunday of the month also offers free parking on Austin city streets so you could visit the museum with out spending a dime.
Dan Arellano Author/Historian |
| Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made
as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of
the other 32 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may
rest on what he did after he left the White House.
The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in,
which was in Independence,
Missouri . His wife had inherited
the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White
House, they lived their entire lives there. When he retired from office in 1952 his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year. After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them. When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me.. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale." Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise." As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food. Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in to untold wealth. Today, too many in Congress have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale. Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference! We ought to have cloned him for telling it like it is and being frugal with our tax dollars! Alfonso Rodriguez alfonso2r@yahoo.com |
| Suggested
money saving cuts from the National Budget
It is difficult to grasp the amount of monies these figures mean. I bolded the listings of any which were a billion, to better understand where the big money was going. A Thousand is ten
hundreds
1,000 |
| * Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy -- $445 million annual savings. * Save America 's Treasures Program -- $25 million annual savings. * International Fund for Ireland -- $17 million annual savings. * Legal Services Corporation -- $420 million annual savings. * National Endowment for the Arts -- $167.5 million annual savings. * National Endowment for the Humanities -- $167.5 million annual savings. * Hope VI Program -- $250 million annual savings. * Amtrak Subsidies -- $1.565 billion annual savings. * Eliminate duplicating education programs -- H.R. 2274 (in last Congress), eliminates 68 at a savings of $1.3 billion annually. * U.S. Trade Development Agency -- $55 million annual savings. * Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy -- $20 million annual savings. * Cut in half funding for congressional printing and binding -- $47 million annual savings. * John C. Stennis Center Subsidy -- $430,000 annual savings. * Community Development Fund -- $4.5 billion annual savings. * Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid -- $24 million annual savings. * Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half -- $7.5 billion annual savings * Trim Federal Vehicle Budget by 20% -- $600 million annual savings. * Essential Air Service -- $150 million annual savings. * Technology Innovation Program -- $70 million annual savings. *Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program -- $125 million annual savings.. * Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization -- $530 million annual savings. * Beach Replenishment -- $95 million annual savings. * New Starts Transit -- $2 billion annual savings. * Exchange Programs for Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Their Historical Trading Partners in Massachusetts -- $9 million annual savings * Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants -- $2.5 billion annual savings. * Title X Family Planning -- $318 million annual savings. * Appalachian Regional Commission -- $76 million annual savings. * Economic Development Administration -- $293 million annual savings. * Programs under the National and Community Services Act -- $1.15 billion annual savings. * Applied Research at Department of Energy -- $1.27 billion annual savings. * Freedom CAR and Fuel Partnership -- $200 million annual savings.. * Energy Star Program -- $52 million annual savings. *Economic Assistance to Egypt -- $250 million annually. * U.S.Agency for International Development -- $1.39 billion annual savings. * General Assistance to District of Columbia -- $210 million annual savings. * Subsidy for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority -- $150 million annual savings. *Presidential Campaign Fund -- $775 million savings over ten years. * No funding for federal office space acquisition -- $864 million annual savings. * End prohibitions on competitive sourcing of government services. * Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act -- More than $1 billion annually. * IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some services it offers (i.e. processing payment plans for taxpayers) to Treasury, instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget -- $1.8 billion savings over ten years. *Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees -- $1 billion total savings. WHAT'S THIS ABOUT? * Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees -- $1.2 billion savings over ten years. * Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of -- $15 billion total savings. *Eliminate death gratuity for Members of Congress. WHAT??? * Eliminate Mohair Subsidies -- $1 million annual savings. * Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- $12.5 million annual savings. * Eliminate Market Access Program -- $200 million annual savings. * USDA Sugar Program -- $14 million annual savings. * Subsidy to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) -- $93 million annual savings. * Eliminate the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program -- $56.2 million annual savings. * Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs -- $900 million savings. * Ready to Learn TV Program -- $27 million savings.. * HUD Ph.D. Program. * Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act. *TOTAL SAVINGS: $2.5 Trillion over Ten Years : $2,500,000,000,000 Sent by Oscar Ramirez osramirez@sbcglobal.net |
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| Walking
the streets of Spain while sketching and listening for voices from the
past, Part 2, Sevilla by Eddie Martinez, edited and translated in Spanish by Viola Rodriguez Sadler Oral history project: The Mexican side of Colton, California Equestrian statue of Bernardo de Galvez in Menard Park, Galveston Texas Statue of Col. José de Escandón y Helguera Descendant of rancho family seeks to mark historic graves by Martha Groves Chicano History Week (Feb 2-8) Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 31 Rolls of Undeveloped Film Shot by an Unknown WW2 Soldier Latinos, the Voting Right Act and Political Engagement José Joaquín de Arrillaga (1750-1814) Gravesite |
| View other heritage projects by Eddie at: http://www.eddiemartinezart.com/ |
| Oral history project: The Mexican side of Colton, California |
In exploring the written history of the Chicano "neighborhood" where I grew up in Colton, California, I found almost nothing that described the many elements that made us a self-sustaining, vibrant community. In fact, I found absolutely no mention of its existence as the "Mexican" side of town, or its existence as a city within a city. In a 1.3 sq. mile area, we had churches and schools. We had grocery stores, a bakery, barber shops, gas stations, a hardware store, a shoe store, liquor stores, night clubs, a dance hall, even a bullring. Yet, a 1952 list of businesses in Colton didn't mention a single one of the many in my side of town, "South Colton". Of course, I found no mention of the prejudicial practices that kept all the "Mexicans" in "their" part of town, the rules and curfew they had to abide by when visiting the white part of town, the segregated schools. No mention of the leaders of our community or our first political figures. All this compelled me to fill this gap of knowledge. I partnered with fellow educators Frank Acosta and Henry Vasquez and we decided to initiate an oral history project that would capture the knowledge held by our more senior residents before time and death stole their stories from us. We approached Cesar Caballero, Dean of the California State University, San Bernardino Phau library. With his support and encouragement, we have been interviewing Colton residents since November, 2013 and to date have conducted 40 interviews---each videotaped and each about 1-1/2 hours long. Among our interviewees have been the first Colton Chicano mayor and a World War II prisoner of war. The project is ongoing. When we finish, the library will have the interviews available to the university community and the general public on their website. Transcribed hard copies and DVDs will also be available. We are happy to share what we're doing and what we've learned about how to do it. My contact info is tomrivera1@yahoo.com and 909 213-0515. |
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Photoshop |
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Granaderos y Damas de Galvez, Mary Anthony Startz. She recommended that I send you information about our project to erect an equestrian statue of Bernardo de Galvez in Menard Park, in Galveston Texas. My SAR chapter has embarked on this project and we are successfully moving forward thanks to the support of the Galveston community and the Houston Spanish community. Please help us spread the word and offer your support to honor this great American hero who was sent to aide the colonist in their quest for independence by the King of Spain. |
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To assure the project will become a landmark, the committee chose a site on public land, in a high pedestrian traffic area. The Galveston City Council, the Director of Parks and Recreation has verbally approved a section of Menard Park, on the Southeast corner, in view of passers-by on Seawall Boulevard, and patrons of the Historic Pleasure Pier. Initial estimates of 3 million annual visitors to the Pleasure Pier makes this plat the most visible place on the Island.
Please visit our website for more information.
In the past two years I have been writing guest columns for the local
news outlets and online forums. These have centered around our
project, portrait of Galvez in Congress and the Honorary citizenship
initiative. My SAR chapter, the Granaderos y Damas de Galvez
organization, Casa de España de Houston and the Spanish Consulate's
office have been promoting Galvez and the statue project since early
2013. We hope that we can add your organization to our list.
We have recently submitted our first grant application and are working
on others.
We continue to raise awareness of Bernardo de Galvez and our statue
project and any assistance you wish to offer will be greatly
appreciated. We appreciate your response and support of our
project.
Thank You,
Bill Adriance,
Co-Chair Statue Committee
SAR Bernardo de
Galvez Chapter #1
PO Box 1, Galveston,
TX 77553
409-939-0205
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A Renaissance of Hispanic Culture by Dr.
Lino Garcia, Jr. |
EDINBURG, RGV – Last month a much awaited statue of Col. José de Escandón y Helguera was officially unveiled and made available for students and community individuals to view and learn about the accomplishments of this military man called the ‘Father of South Texas.’ The vision for such an event occurred to me almost 36 years ago, when I wrote a letter to the editor of the McAllen Monitor informing the public of a need for a statue of such an illustrious individuals that few people knew anything about at that time. Such indication went unnoticed for several decades; however, it is my belief that historical events are realized only when certain segments of the population are ready, are in need of such a symbol, and are prepared to embrace the idea. This realization occurred this past November 18, 2014 on the campus of UTPA giving full strength to what I call the Renaissance of Hispanic Culture/History Awareness that had its beginning during the last few decades of late 20th, and into the 21st. centuries; an evolution of thinking that can only advance all Texans’ eminent future achievements. Since Texas Hispanics are poised to become a dominant force in the social/economic/cultural mosaic of this state, it is important that citizens from all backgrounds know and understand their co-workers/friends within their daily business/social/cultural environment. For decades, Hispanics and others citizens of this state have been denied access to early Colonial Spanish Texas history, one that details the accomplishments of such individuals as Col. José de Escandón y Helguera, who in 1749 brought settlers into newly established ‘villas’ along the Río Grande or Río Bravo. These hardy frontiersmen and women were work – ethics driven, who trail blazed an area by clearing the land, Christianizing the Native-Americans via Christian Missions, and who established many of the early institutions of Texas, also setting the high standards under which we all live and survive. Their descendants, later known as Tejano, are still very much active in all activities that define the region, and whose character elements are derived from the life of Col. José de Escandón y Helguera, who was born of wealthy and prominent families in Soto la Marina, Santander, Spain in 1700. He soon chose a military life, and was then sent by the Spanish Crown to ‘La Nueva España’ where he conducted military expeditions with exact precision, earning the respect of his superiors. It is no wonder, then, that when a decision was made by the Spanish Viceroy to settle this area known as the ‘Seno Mexicano’ Col. José de Escandón y Helguera was chosen. With a total of 1,500 soldiers Escandón proposed that seven ‘entradas’ be made all to converge on the Río Grande, Río Bravo or Río de las Palmas (as Capitan Alonso de Pineda called it in 1519). Thus, on September, 1746 Col. José de Escandón y Helguera was duly appointed to carry on this series of settlements, called ‘villas.’ The following are his ‘villas’ established in 1749 in both what is now Northern México and South Texas, but then called ‘La Nueva España': 1.) Llera – the first settlement founded and named after Escandón’s wife – Doña Josefa de Llera y Ballas. 2.) La Villa de Santa Ana de Camargo, settled by my own ancestors – the Longoria-Chapa families and other early pioneers. At this event festivities were held to celebrate that included wine, drums beating, a flag flying, and a Holy Mass commemorating this historic settlement. 3.) Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Reynosa, under the command of Capitán Carlos Cantú whose direct descendant is Mr. John Cantú, the benefactor of this statue celebrated on campus of UTPA. 4.) La Villa de San Ignacio de Revilla, later known as Guerrero. 5.) Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, on the north bank of the Río Grande, the area now known as South Texas. 6.) La Villa de la Purísima Concepción de Mier. 7.) San Augustín de Laredo, founded on the north bank of the Río Grande, a city now known as Laredo. One of the earliest Spanish frontiersman to whom South Texas and Northern México is indebted is Col. José de Escandón y Helguera. He and his early Spanish settlers, later on known as ‘Tejano Vaqueros,’ made great contributions in terms of ranching, Christian Missions, presidios, commerce, cattle raising/cattle drives for profit, farming, and mining. Thus, this statue, now permanently a part of the new UT-RGV, is a symbol and a presence of a heritage that set the foundation for the culture now enjoyed by all Texans. A great ‘Thank You’ to Mr. John Cantú and family for their generous gift of the statue of Col. José de Escandón y Helguera given to the students and community individuals of this area; a statue now adorning the campus of the soon to be UT-RGV. Brownsville native Dr. Lino García, Jr., holds the chair of Professor Emeritus of Spanish Literature at UTPA. He can be contacted at: LGarcia@utpa.edu |
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Descendant
of rancho family seeks to mark historic graves by Martha Groves
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| Ernest Marquez, 90, with some of the concrete crosses he wants to install in his ancestors' graveyard in Santa Monica Canyon. (photos: Brian van der Brug, Los Angeles Times) |
| An unusual crop is sprouting in Ernest Marquez's backyard in West Hills: nearly two dozen 2-foot-high concrete crosses. The 90-year-old graphic designer wants to fulfill his long-held dream of creating nearly three dozen grave markers for his family's 19th century burial ground in Santa Monica Canyon. "Some time in the past, all the markers were taken or destroyed," Marquez said. With the exception of stones the family erected to mark the graves of his grandfather and grandmother, "the cemetery has remained empty of any identification of where a grave might be." In 1839, the Mexican government granted the area, known as the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica, to two Mexican citizens, Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes. The rancho eventually became parts of Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades. Not long after Francisco Marquez and his wife, Maria, moved to the canyon, two of their children died in infancy. Marquez buried them in the 1840s within view of the family's adobe home on what was then a wide-open upper mesa. In succeeding decades, more people were buried — perhaps 30 other family members, Native American servants and friends, including a dozen people who died of botulism after eating home-canned peaches at a New Year's Eve gathering to usher in 1910. Once the parcels were subdivided for houses, the cemetery became landlocked. Marquez family members used a 4-foot-wide easement to gain access. |
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One cross shows the imprint of three cattails plucked from the creek. Four rusty horseshoes form a pattern on another. "I don't want these to look like they came from a manufacturer," Marquez said while showing visitors around his backyard. He plans to mark the mass grave of those who died from the tainted peaches with rocks embellished with crosses or, in one case, a bird made of tile and leaded glass. |
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Set for now in his garden amid fallen oak leaves, the collection of crosses looks like a found-object art installation reminiscent, albeit on a much smaller scale, of Simon Rodia's Watts Towers. After almost a century of living, Marquez is content to move at his own pace. But he is determined to finish the job — before the time comes for his children to scatter his own cremated remains in the cemetery. "There's no evidence that the rancho period ever existed," he said. "There's nothing left that you can look at or touch to remind you. I don't want my ancestors to be forgotten." For more photos, please go to: Twitter: @MarthaGroves martha.groves@latimes.com Copyright @2015 Los Angeles Examiner |
Developer Rick Caruso unveils his plans for Pacific Palisades Once part of a large cattle ranch, the Pascual Marquez Family Cemetery stands amid stately trees and pricey houses on winding San Lorenzo Street. The city of Los Angeles has deemed it "extremely historic" for its connection to the region's early history. |
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A movement is underway to observe a National Chicano History Week (Feb 2-8). |
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Dear
Readers,
Please
know that plans (in the future) for the celebration of Chicano
History Week for 2015 in Michigan are currently underway and
gaining momentum. Here in Michigan in the cities of Lansing,
Saginaw, and Grand Rapids there have been numerous inquiries as to how
we will celebrate. If you want an idea of what we did in Lansing
last year, with this e-mail I am sending you a Word file attachment
of information from a web site run by Sr. Sein Benavides called
Cafecito Caliente at
http://www.cafecitocaliente.com/page/5/.
If
you like what you see, I hope you will let Mr. Benavides at seinpaul65@gmail.com know
how much you appreciate his putting that information from 2014 on
his web site. My hope is that in 2015 we can also
witness the celebration of Chicano History Week in every city
in each of the six southwestern states most affected by the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, i.e., Arizona, California, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. We will see.
In
the meantime, I hope you will enjoy the content printed below
contributed by Armandon B. Rendon. I am both honored and humbled
by his willingness to contribute to the discussion and discourse about
the importance of Chicano History Week. Enjoy and share with
others and with those you love.
Margarito
J. Garcia III, Ph.D.
(517)894-2881
December 27, 2014
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A.
Rendon writes:
The
concept of establishing a Chicano History Week revolving around the
date of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo has a lot of
merit. I agree with those who say it needs to have substance, such as
lessons designed for K-12 curricula, formal public discourses on the
numerous issues that scholars are writing about and researching today,
and so on.
Many
facets of the Chicano Movement erupted at about the same time, driven
by different concerns and leadership, in the mid-1960s, too many for
us to worry and waste time about in trying to set a specific starting
date or even issue. As Mike@windfirst suggests, we should not hide any
of the history: e.g., there were Raza who infiltrated movement groups
to act as informers and agents provocateurs for the police and the
FBI. We can't create and live by myths as USAmerica has done (like the
origin of Thanksgiving, George Washington's cherry tree, Manifest
Destiny, etc.). All the truth has to come out.
The
Chicano Movement is a culmination of everything that went on before,
even the exploitation and oppression of indigenous peoples, from which
we, mestizos, evolved, we have overcome--in 1992 we observed 500 years
of resistance, a resistance that still goes on. As I said in my book, Chicano
Manifesto, Chicanos are Indians with Spanish surnames. Any
Chicano history, I believe, must assert that fact as a starting point.
For
sure, there were the republics established by early Spanish and
Mexican settlers; the mutualista societies in the barrios, the
pre-1960s farm labor and mining unions, the pecan shellers and other
unions in San Antonio, and many others, the formation of LULAC and the
American GI Forum, all laid the foundation for the Chicano Movement:
we are part of the continuum of evolution and revolution that the
Chicano Movement brought to a head and that still underlies current
organizing and protests, even this very effort to set up a Chicano
History Week.
By
the way, I've noticed that more and more of the men and women who were
responsible for founding the various components that we know of as the
Chicano Movement are passing away. I suggest one aspect of a Chicano
history week is to make sure that an oral history program be launched
to capture the stories of those elders who were on the front lines and
suffered the trancazos at the hands of law enforcement and who laid
the foundations for present-day organizations.
More
Chicano Power to all of you. Armando
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| Dear Readers, Armando Rendon has written, “The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (TGH) is the most important document concerning Mexican Americans that exists.” (1971, p. 81). And part of the reason why the TGH is so important is because A LARGE NUMBER OF SPANISH-SURNAMED PEOPLES decided to stay in the lands which became the “legal” territory of the U.S.A. And so with the power of the pen, the political fate of thousands (millions?) of Chicanos remaining in those lands were sealed after 1848. Needless to say those lands eventually became the 10 southwestern states added to the union. In the case of my ancestors from what is now Texas, there was no doubt but that they were going to stay put, war or no war, treaty or no treaty. As such, we Chicanos and Chicanas, as a people, have a lot more to celebrate than other Spanish-surnamed persons around the world. This is because on the date of February 2, 1848, we Chicanos were supposedly granted all the protections and rights under the U. S. Constitution, and also citizenship status if we remained in the U.S. more than one year. Whether or not that actually occurred and/or has become a reality under the law since 1848 is another matter. That question is one of the chief reasons we need Chicano History in our K-12 schools, at our universities, and in the U.S. society as a whole. So I hope that the majority of you are enjoying the countdown to Monday, February 2, 2015, to celebrate the 167th anniversary of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (TGH). Nevertheless, I do know (from persons that have contacted me) that there are plans underway in various parts of the U.S. to celebrate within the seven days of Feb. 2 - 8, this year. In a previous e-mail to all my readers I sent you some photos and a write-up of what we did here in Lansing, Michigan last year. That activity involved giving high school age kids the opportunity to participate in a public reading of each of the clauses of our legislative resolution in an auditorium setting, with their parents and the public invited attend. Subsequent to the student readings, we then presented each of the students with a framed copy of the resolution for them to take home. After that, persons attending from various “CMAHLO” (Chicano, Mexican American, Hispanic, Latino, y Otros) community organizations were given three minutes to state why Chicano Studies was important to them. The activities ended with thanking everyone, especially the students. But the take-away from what I describe above is this: the way that you celebrate Chicano History Week (CHW) in your own geographic area does not have to be very elaborate or expensive. The first thing you have to do within your specific geographic area is to contact your state representative from your home legislative district, and obtain a copy of your specific state’s CHW resolution which will hopefully be available before Feb. 2, 2015. Do you know the name, phone number, and e-mail address of your district’s state legislator? If you don’t, then you should---especially if you are a Chicano or a Chicana! (Note: That information is on the Internet!) Finally, please know that “el movimiento” to initially get just six additional states in the Southwest to approve resolutions in their legislatures to recognize Feb. 2-8 as Chicano History Week, subsequently expanded to include a total of ten states from the Southwest in that goal. But what has occurred since that, is that now the states of Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York have also been contacted to join the effort to pass Chicano History Week resolutions in their states! If everything goes as hoped for, and all of these states succeed in passing their resolutions, THAT WILL BE A TOTAL OF SIXTEEN NEW STATES! AJUAH! So what are you going to do to celebrate with almost A THIRD of the nation? Margarito J. Garcia III, Ph.D. (Su Hermano Chicano) aicragjm1205@aol.com (517)894-2881 Copyright 2015 |
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In a message dated 12/26/2014 11:07:27 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
danarellano47@ATT.NET writes:
Dear Margarito,
Dan . . . this is wonderful. One thing that became
very clear with the Bernardo de Galvez portrait hanging and honorary
citizenship. Even though many of us had been working towards
visibility for Galvez for years and years, Teresa working with the
Spanish embassy accomplished it in one year.
Important lessons learned long ago by other
minorities groups seeking inclusion.
Finding the right people in the government is the way to go . . .
Do keep me informed.
God bless and best wishes for a great New Year . . . Mimi
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The Rescued Film Project Discovers 31 Rolls of Undeveloped Film Shot by an Unknown WW2 Soldier by Christopher Jobson on January 18, 2015 Founded by photographer Levi Bettwieser, the Rescued Film Project obtains unclaimed film rolls from the 1930s to the 1990s and develops them for the first time, salvaging hidden memories than might have otherwise been completely lost to time. In late 2014 at an auction in Ohio, Bettwieser discovered a lot of 31 undeveloped film rolls dating back to WWII with labels including Boston Harbor, La Havre Harbor, and Lucky Strike Camp. After acquiring the rolls of film, he set to work and developed dozens of usable negatives that somehow survived the last 70 years. The process was captured in this 10-minute film by Tucker Debevec. Bettwieser says that although many of the rolls were too damaged to develop, the majority of them resulted in usable prints, and he still has one larger format roll to develop that requires special supplies. Staring carefully at so many photos may have also resulted in an additional discovery. Bettwieser noticed a single unidentified soldier seems to appear in several different shots, and he suspects this may be the photographer who lent the camera to others in order to get shots of himself. You can scroll through dozens more photos over on the project’s website. Part of the Rescued Film Project’s mission is to connect photos with relevant places and people, so if you recognize anything, or if you have rolls of old undeveloped film, be sure to get in touch. (via PetaPixel) http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/01/31-rolls-of-ww2-film/ Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com |
| Latinos, the Voting Right Act and Political Engagement |
Hi, all, Wanted to urge all of you to record interviews with these men and women who were our first City Councilmen, County Commissioners, State Reps, etc. It’s critical that we develop these interviews as primary source materials so that we can learn more about our gente… The Voces Oral History Project started doing interviews with local elected Latino leaders, and their campaign staffs, about a year ago: first city councilman, first county commissioner, state rep, state senator, etc. We’re really blown away at what we¹ve found. These stories must be told and preserved. There are lots of repositories that would be glad to house your interviews. But if you can¹t find one, please consider depositing with with Voces here in Austin. If you¹re interested, go to our website: vocesoralhistoryproject.org and you’ll see our instructions on how to do interviews and all the forms we look for. Some of the questions we’re asking: *What was his/her pathway to leadership? * What did you see, or what were you told, that made you understand you needed to become politically involved? * Did you get any pushback from Anglos, or even your own group, when you decided to run? Please explain and give anecdotes. * Were there decisions you have made that were controversial? * Have you had mentors or a group of people who you could help him make decisions? Who were they and how did they help you? What decisions did they help you with? * What is you most proud of, as far as your work as a public servant? * What were the big issues you needed to concentrate on when you first started in politics? * What do you see are the issues today? * Did being Latino help/hamper your election, your time in office? * Did you have to change anything to be a more “acceptable” candidate? If so, what, why? What were the effects? We¹re holding a conference here in Austin in November Latinos, the Voting Right Act and Political Engagement. Thursday & Friday, Nov. 12 & 13, 2015 Thompson Conference Center, The University of Texas at Austin Campus Call for Abstracts/ Roundtable Proposals Submission Deadline of Abstracts/Roundtable Proposals: Monday May 25th deadline Would love to see you all there! Maggie |
| From Pablo Ybarra pabloybarra@gmail.com Date: 2015-01-02 Subject: JJ Arrillaga burial at Mission Soledad To: rumendoza@csumb.edu Ruben G. Mendoza, Ph.D., RPA, Professor Archaeological Science, Technology and Visualization Program California State University, Monterey Bay 100 Campus Center, Seaside, California 93955-8001 Dear Professor Mendoza, I am writing to you as a former visitor from Spain to Mission Soledad back in November 2012 and after seeing your name recently on that Mission's website. I am currently gathering signatures on Change.org to raise attention from competent authorities (Office of the Governor of California State, Embassy of Spain in Washington) on the historical importance of Governor Arrillaga and the condition of its burial and that of Mission Soledad as a whole. (You may see this on https://www.change.org/p/ram%C3%B3n-gil-casares-governor-arrillaga-memorial-monumento-al-gobernador-arrillaga I have done some research on my own through the Internet and have prepared an abstract, that you will be able to see in the pdf file attached, with the aim to also look for sponsoring companies and institutions to help with this work. I would be more than honored to get your feedback on this initiative I am currently undertaking. If you think this may be of interest to you I would be more than happy to organize a conference call on the subject. Yours faithfully, Pablo Ybarra 2015-01-20 Ruben Mendoza rumendoza@csumb.edu
: Dear Professor Mendoza, I am highly honored for your support and the referrals before the Soledad Mission Restoration Committee and the Diocese of Monterey. Their involvement would be more than a pleasure and a key element towards the fulfillment of the objective, as you indicated: to properly honor and recognize Governor Arrillaga on his last resting place.
I could may be help most on the Spanish side, by contacting the Embassy of
Spain in Washington and potential sponsors to help in restoration efforts,
especially those of the monument that apparently was placed on Governor
Arrillaga's burial shortly after his death (according to some bibliography I
found). I have already made initial contact with a friend working at one of
the Spanish companies working on the construction of the high-speed train
between San Francisco and Los Ángeles.
I would also like to mention that Mimi Lozano, editor of SomosPrimos http://www.somosprimos.com/,
copied herein, is already aware of this initiative and planning to publish a
reference to it on the February issue of this online publication.
I am also including in this e-mail Teresa Valcarce, a dual US-Spanish
citizen living in Washington that has been of tremendous help for me and
that has recently achieved something more than remarkable: the high
recognizition of Louisiana Governor Bernardo de Gálvez by US Congress by
granting him US honorary citizenship.
Best regards to you all,
Pablo
Dear Ms. Lozano |
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From: MIMILOZANO@aol.com Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2015 17:27:50 -0500 To: <tvalcarc@aft.org> Cc: <pabloybarra@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Arrillaga Dear Teresa . . . Thank you so much for making me aware of this project for improving the grave site of California governor Arrillaga. It is exciting and satisfying to see the effort is being promoted by a Spanish citizen. The project makes the point that there was a very real and important early Spanish presence in the United States. I was able to get some information from the page mounted for gathering support via the petition. I was not able to copy anything from the Adobe file. I guess I have a program missing from my new computer. I will let you know if I can not solve the problem. God bless, Mimi Lozano www.SomosPrimos.com 714-894-8161 In a message dated 1/6/2015 7:53:18 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, tvalcarc@aft.org writes: Querida Mimi, Espero que estes bien. Incluyo en este mensaje informacion sobre Arrillaga, otro español relevante que contribuyo a la historia de EEUU. Es una iniciativa que esta llevando un chico de Madrid, Pablo Ybarra, al que copio en este mensaje. Por favor, echale un ojo y dale a Pablo tu opinion/consejo/ayuda, etc… sobre el tema. Un beso muy grande a los dos, Teresa Valcarce
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| Governor Arrillaga Monument / Monumento al Gobernador Arrillaga Pablo Ybarra Madrid, Spain José Joaquín de Arrillaga - born in Guipúzcoa, Spain in 1750 - served twice as Governor of the Californias and was appointed first Governor of Alta California in early 19th century. Arrillaga died 200 years ago - in 1814 - and is the only Spanish Governor of California, in due exercise of its position powers, buried on US soil. / José Joaquín de Arrillaga - nacido en Guipúzcoa, España en 1750 - ejerció en dos ocasiones como Gobernador de las Californias y a comienzos del siglo XIX fue nombrado primer Gobernador de la Alta California. Arrillaga murió hace 200 años - en 1814 - y es el único Gobernador de California de la época española, en ejercicio efectivo del cargo, enterrado en suelo estadounidense. According to US historian Hubert Howe Bancroft, Arrillaga was 'an efficient and honest officer of most excellent private character, and a model governor as far as the performance of routine duties was concerned'. / Según el historiador norteamericano Hubert Howe Bancroft, Arrillaga fue 'un oficial eficiente y honesto, de excelente trato personal. Un Gobernador modélico en el cumplimiento de las obligaciones correspondientes a su cargo'. However, his tomb is shockingly semi-neglected in the ruins of Mission Soledad, 43 miles south of Monterey, CA. / Sin embargo, su tumba se encuentra sorprendentemente semiabandonada en las ruinas de la Misión de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, 68 km al sur de Monterrey, California. We want to raise the attention from both current California Governor and the Embassy of Spain in Washington to provide a worthy burial ground to Governor Arrillaga at Mission Soledad, CA. / Queremos llamar la atención tanto del actual Gobernador de California como de la Embajada de España en Washington para que den un digno emplazamiento al Gobernador Arrillaga en la Misión de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad. |
 Estado de la tumba de Arrillaga en noviembre de 2012 |
José Joaquín de Arrillaga
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Ø
El
historiador norteamericano HH Bancroft (1832-1918) destaca
algunos de los principales hitos en la hoja de servicios del Gobernador
Arrillaga en su obra “History of California' Volumen II:
Ø
José
de Jesús Vallejo (1798–1882) en
su manuscrito "Reminiscencias
históricas de California" describe a Arrillaga de la siguiente
manera: o
"Una
persona sumamente piadosa, celosísima del cumplimiento de sus deberes y
tan bueno que los soldados le habían dado el nombre de Papá Arrillaga" o
"Murió
estando en el poder y su muerte fue generalmente sentida por todos los
habitantes de razón y por los mismos indios que acudieron desde lugares
remotos a asistir a su entierro que fue en extremo concurrido” o
"Aun
muchos años después de su muerte, era tenido en tan grande reverencia
por los indios que el día 2 de noviembre acudían en tropel a dejar sus
ofrendas de flores del campo en frente de la bóveda en que estaban
encerrados los restos del mandatario” Ø
La
californiana Dorotea Valdez
confirma los comentarios de Vallejo en una entrevista publicada en
“TESTIMONIOS: Early California. Through
the Eyes of Women, 1815-1848”:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objetivos 1.
Funeral
por el 200º aniversario de la muerte del Gobernador Arrillaga en la
Misión Soledad
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José
Joaquín de Arrillaga (1750-1814)
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Ø
El
historiador norteamericano HH Bancroft (1832-1918) destaca algunos
de los principales hitos en la hoja de servicios del Gobernador
Arrillaga en su obra “History of California' Volumen II:
|
Ø
José
de Jesús Vallejo (1798–1882) en
su manuscrito "Reminiscencias
históricas de California" describe a Arrillaga de la siguiente
manera:
Ø
La
californiana Dorotea Valdez confirma los comentarios de Vallejo en
una entrevista publicada en “TESTIMONIOS: Early California. Through
the Eyes of Women, 1815-1848”:
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Objetivos 1.F1. Funeral por el 200º aniversario de la
muerte del Gobernador Arrillaga en la Misión Soledad
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Californiano family researcher Lorraine Fern sent the
following . . .
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January 9th, 1836 -- Frontier icon Crockett loses election, heads for Alamo January 26th, 1839 -- Republic passes homestead law, sets aside land for education The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848 by Dan Arellano English Policy in the New World: Plantation Settlements by Mimi Lozano |
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January 9th, 1836 -- Frontier icon Crockett loses election, heads for Alamo On this day in 1836, after losing his bid for a fourth term as a Tennessee representative to the U. S. Congress and traveling to Texas, Davy Crockett wrote his last extant letter and praised Texas as "the garden spot of the world," with the "best land and the best prospects for health I ever saw." With high optimism for his political future, he wrote that he fully expected to take part in writing a constitution for Texas. "I am in hopes," he wrote, "of making a fortune yet for my self and my family, bad as my prospect has been." Crockett could not foresee his fate at the battle of the Alamo, which occurred just two months later. Source: Day by Day Texas State Historical Association Editor Mimi: I did not know that Crockett had served three terms in Congress. I thought of him as a brave mountain man; apparently, he was a politician with a gun. |
January 26th, 1839 -- Republic passes homestead law, sets aside land for education
[not fulfilled] On this day in 1839, the Congress of the Republic of Texas passed two important pieces of legislation: a homestead act and an act setting aside land for public schools and two universities. The homestead act, patterned somewhat after legislation of Coahuila and Texas, was designed to encourage home ownership. [for whom?] It guaranteed every citizen or head of family in the republic "fifty acres of land or one town lot, including his or her homestead, and improvements not exceeding five hundred dollars in value." The education act was inspired by President Mirabeau Lamar's determination to establish a system of education endowed by public lands, but failed to produce the desired results immediately because land prices were too low for this endowment to provide revenue. There was also some popular indifference on the county level to the establishment of schools, as evidenced by the fact that by 1855 thirty-eight counties had made no effort even to survey their school land. Nevertheless, Lamar's advocacy of the program earned for him the nickname "Father of Texas Education." Source: Day by Day Texas State Historical Association |
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THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE
With all due respect to Martin Luther King Jr, Cesar
Chavez and Reis Lopez Tijerina, who recently passed away, the civil
rights movement did not begin in 1967. For our ancestors here in
Some Historians argue that the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo did not apply to
Reis Lopez Tijerina would argue that a treaty was the
Supreme law of the Land and that
the document called for equal protection under the
law for any Mexican that wished to remain on this side of the
border. However that was far from reality and that equal protection
sounded good in theory but not in reality. Our ancestors would
literally fight to maintain human and property rights even using the
unfamiliar new government court. Under the new government the people
had the right to petition the government for the redress of
grievances; however our ancestors would realize that this right
would not apply to them and their struggle within the system would
be to no avail.
Armando B. Rendon J.D. argues that the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo is a living document and it provides guarantees
which are protected not only on a domestic level but internationally
as well. His arguments are sound and valid and I recommend his
“Proposed Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to International Courts”
be read by serious students of
Nicolas Trist, Chief Clerk of the US State Department
would be sent to
Ulysses S. Grant would also write that “if
there had ever been a most unjust unprovoked war it was the War with
President Dwight D. Eisenhower in this countries
first visit to
I leave it to the reader to form his own conclusions.
Dan Arellano danarellano47@att.net
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| English Policy in the New World: Plantation Settlements by Mimi Lozano |
Here is a bit of history which provides
more insight into the difference between the colonization of the Spanish
and the colonization of the English. It explains why
the United States solution to the 'Indian problem' was to set up
reservations . . . where our ancestors married among the
indigenous population.
The English, . . . adopted a policy known as plantation
settlement: the removal of the indigenous population and its replacement with native English and Scots.
Initially, settlers in the Chesapeake colonies of Maryland and Virginia relied on white indentured servants as their primary labor force, and at least some of the blacks who arrived in the region were able to acquire property. But between 1640 and 1670,
a sharp distinction emerged between short-term servitude for whites and permanent slavery for blacks. In Virginia, Bacon's Rebellion accelerated the shift toward slavery. By the end of the century slavery had become the basic labor force in the southern colonies."
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Peter Chacon: California Assemblyman and Educator, June 10, 1925 – December 14, 2014 Reies López Tijerina: Indo-Hispano Activist, September 21, 1926 - January 19, 2015 Michele Serros: Author, Poet, Comedic social commentator, February 10, 1966 - January 4, 2015 |
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California Assemblyman Peter Chacon
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| "Just an every day story in the news paper, but, to
us who remember him as a boy, well it is a different matter. Like us, he
struggled, was one of the boys who carried a shoe shine box, went trough the alley's of down town Phoenix, looking for any thing that could be used at home. Being we were in the city, fire-wood was a very important item, so any kind of lumber was important.
We children of that time and place, crossed paths many times in hose days. We weren't
competitors; we were allies. We told each other where to go to find what ever we were looking for. We were all scavengers, in one way or another. It makes me feel so proud, to read of one mans success, in his toil for life, especially, when one recalls, the failures of so many." Rest in Peace Peter, you certainly earned it. Edward Alcantar apachebrave@me.com |
| Honorable Peter Chacon: Father of CA Bilingual Ed and Chicano Leader
Passed December 14, 2014 Biography of Peter Chacon 6/10/25 – 12/14/14 California State Assemblyman 1970-92 By: Paul Chacon Peter Chacon served in the California State Legislature from 1970 until his retirement in 1992 representing the urban core of San Diego. Upon his election, he became only the second Latino legislator elected to State of California public office in the past (100) years. Together with Alex Garcia, they formed the California Latino Legislative Caucus with a membership of just two. Peter was born in Phoenix, Arizona on June 10, 1925 to Severita and Petronilo Chacon. His father had served as a commander in Pancho Villa’s revolutionary army and he passed on to his family the passion and determination to fight for what they believe in and to defend the rights of those who can’t defend themselves. He was raised with three older sisters and three younger brothers as they grew up in relative poverty during the Great Depression. As a child, he used to gather cardboard boxes and loose wood for his mother to use for cooking in their wood burning stove. As a teenager, he shined shoes and parked cars in downtown Phoenix to help support his large family. In 1943, at the age of (18), he enlisted in the US Air Force and served his country as a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress. While serving in the European theatre, he flew (35) successful missions over Germany. On one such flight, his plane was hit and forced to crash land on a small island off the Italian coast where they were subsequently rescued. After two years of wartime service, he was honorably discharged and returned home to a hero’s welcome. As a result of the GI Bill, Peter was able to qualify and pay for a college education, becoming the first in his family to attend college. He enrolled in San Diego City College and ultimately San Diego State University where he earned his BA degree in education with a teaching credential in 1953 and an MA degree in school administration in 1960.
He is a lifelong member of Phi Delta Kappa, an honorary education fraternity. He accepted his first teaching assignment in Vista, CA. where he soon discovered Spanish speaking children were not taught to speak English but simply relegated to mentally retarded classes and shunned from the general school population.
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Many will remember that Assemblyman Chacon in 1976 authored
California's first major Bilingual Education bills. For more than two
decades Chacon was the leader in California on all educational issues
involving Latinos - and some of his efforts were carried to other
states. I worked closely with Pete on several issues in the late 1970s
and early 1980s and was always enormously impressed with the quality
of his work and his dedication to the underserved. Chacon also served
as co-founder of San Diego's Chicano Federation and was instrumental
in the founding of CABE, which is celebrating it's 40th anniversary in
early March in San Diego.
For more on Chacon, please click. . |
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Reies Lopez Tijerina looks through the window of the remains of his home in Coyote that was burned to the ground in this 1997 file photo. Tijerina came back to his land to celebrate sn anniversary of the raid at the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse. JOURNAL FILE Associated Press |
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Chicano Activist Reies Lopez Tijerina Dies at Age 88Albuquerque, N.M. Jan 19, 2015,
Family representative Estela Reyes-Lopez said the prominent activist died Monday at an El Paso,Texas, hospital, of natural cases. Nephew Luis Tijerina also confirmed the death. In 1967, Tijerina and followers raided the courthouse in Tierra Amarilla to attempt a citizen's arrest of the district attorney after eight members of Tijerina's group had been arrested over land grant protests. During the raid, the group shot and wounded a state police officer and jailer, beat a deputy, and took the sheriff and a reporter hostage before escaping to the Kit Carson National Forest. The raid sparked excitement among Mexican-American college students who identified with Tijerina's message of Latinos' displacement, and it led to years of court battles around land grant claims. Reyes-Lopez, spokeswoman for the social-justice advocacy group Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe, said Tijerina belonged to the organization. Like other civil rights activists in the 1960s, Tijerina put personal risks aside when he led efforts to mobilize Chicanos on the land ownership issue, she said. That was a very unpopular and very dangerous thing to do," she said. "He is very much considered a major figure in Chicano — not just Chicano — but for civil rights for this nation." Attorney Rees Lloyd said he first met Tijerina when Martin Luther King Jr. invited Tijerina to speak at a 1968 protest in Washington, D.C., against poverty. "The man was a giant," Lloyd, who became a friend and adviser to Tijerina, said of him. "The man was an orator of tremendous power because he spoke from the heart." Tijerina is survived by his wife of 22 years, Esperanza, and eight of his 10 children, Reyes-Lopez saidAbout Tijerina
Tijerina died on Martin Luther King Day
Carlos Ortega, a Chicano Studies lecturer at UTEP, pointed out that Tijerina was among the first Hispanic leaders to reach out and try to form coalitions with African-American activists. Tijerina reminisced about his past relationships with black leaders such as Jessie Jackson and Elijah Mohammed and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign. There is a very interesting book that documents and analyzes the alliance between Dr. King and Reies Lopez Tijerina within the framework of events leading up to the 1968 Poor People's Campaign, by Gordon K. Mantler, entitled Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-74 (The University of North Carolina Press, 2013). Mantler helped organize a very interesting retrospective recently at the Smithsonian Institution that built on his book, several segments are available at the C Span website: http://www.c-span.org/search/?searchtype=All&query=Gordon+Mantler Click to " See my
astringent memory of Reies Lopez Tijerina." by Michael
A. Olivas
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| Michele
Serros, who wrote about growing up Latina, dies at 48 It might have been an offhand wisecrack for comedian Jonathan Winters, but for aspiring writer Michele Serros, it was a profoundly funny observation. In a 2013 Huffington Post essay called "How Jonathan Winters Helped Me Find My Inner Latina Angst," Serros recalled how uneasy she once felt at a writers conference in Santa Barbara, 40 miles up the coast from the working-class Oxnard of her youth. Michele Serros wrote books that became required reading in Chicano studies programs, including “Chicana Falsa and Other Stories of Death, Identity, and Oxnard” and “How to Be a Chicana Role Model.” (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times). But during a seminar, fellow author Winters put the nervous Serros at ease. "These people from Santa Barbara love to brag and brag that they're fourth-, fifth-generation Californians," he said, taking a jab at his Santa Barbara neighbors. "I just look at them and say, 'Funny — you don't look Mexican....'" Serros burst into laughter while others in her group offered thin smiles. "I finally had an ally that afternoon," she wrote. "Sure, he was a white man and a white man from Santa Barbara who almost definitely had some money … but that particular day, he tapped into a voice, one that conveyed message with comedy that I was still struggling to find." Serros, who went on to establish her voice in sharply humorous poems, short stories and young adult novels about growing up Latina in Southern California, died Sunday at her home in Berkeley. She was 48. Serros was diagnosed in 2013 with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the salivary gland, her husband, Anthony Magana, said. Serros wrote books that became required reading in Chicano studies programs, including "Chicana Falsa and Other Stories of Death, Identity, and Oxnard" and "How to Be a Chicana Role Model." Her novels for teenagers were "Honey Blonde Chica" and "Scandalosa!," about the many identity crises of Evie Gomez, a Mexican-American surfer girl. Growing up with young adult novels, Serros noticed monotonous themes in the ones aimed at Latinos. It's "the three Bs", she told NPR in 2006. "It was always about barrios, borders and bodegas, and I wanted to present a different type of life, a life that truly goes on that we don't always see in the mainstream media." Serros wrote about everyday situations, often finding humor in the commonplace. Serros said she thought of herself as "a counter girl who got lucky." In her story "Live Better, Work Union," the narrator is a Latina cashier who feels her broad nose looks "too Indian" — an anxiety that Serros too felt when she was young. Serros drew on her retail experience "selling overpriced brushes to part-time art students and Styrofoam balls to frantic mothers who hissed at their children, 'This is NO way to make a solar system, not last minute like this! You need to plan ahead! Next time, you're on your own!' " "The following week, I'd see the same mothers hissing at the same kids," she wrote. "'This is NO way to make the Mission San Buenaventura! You need to plan ahead!' " Born in Oxnard on Feb. 10, 1966, Serros was the daughter of George Serros, an airport janitor who became a court reporter, and Beatrice Serros, a draftsman. Beatrice died in 1991. Serros' parents "wanted to make a home as close to the Brady Bunch as possible," she told the Dallas Morning News. "Every payday my mom would buy Kentucky Fried Chicken and we would wheel the TV out to the patio. That was the life we wanted." As a girl, Serros struggled with a troubled home life, an insatiable need to tell stories, and skepticism about her ambitions from her friends and family. Writing for advice to young adult author Judy Blume, Serros received a reply written in hot pink, felt-tip marker. Keep a journal, Blume told her. Tell the stories. Serros said her eyes were opened to Latino authors at Santa Monica College and then at UCLA, where she wrote "Chicana Falsa" in 1994. The title comes from a seventh-grade know-it-all calling her a "homogenized Hispanic" because of her horrible Spanish and literary interests. In the 1990s, Serros worked as a road poet for the Lollapalooza music festival. She later spent a year as a writer on the "George Lopez" show and did commentaries for NPR's "Morning Edition." Her first marriage, to rock musician Gene Trautmann, ended in divorce. She met her current husband in 2010 at Flacos, his vegan restaurant in Berkeley. When he recognized her as Michele Serros, her face lit up — until he revealed that they had gone to high school together in Oxnard. "Her face kind of fell," he said. They married the following year. In addition to Magana, Serros is survived by her stepdaughter Anastasia Magana, her father, George, and her sister Yvonne. She was so fond of chicharrones — fried pork rinds — that for a publicity shot, she once wore a dress made of the greasy treats strung on fishing line. She also wrote a poem about visiting an uncle and choking on one: Thoughts raced through my mind, Who'll take care of Miss Rosie, my pet goat? Still haven't got "Student of the Month." But more agonizing than Any of these things, Than any of this, I thought of the headline, The headline in my obituary: Chicharrones Choke Chicana Child to Death (in Chino). Oh my god, I couldn't die with a headline like that! steve.chawkins@latimes.com Twitter: @schawkins http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-michele-serros-20150107-story.html Another tribute to Michele Serros |
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Writer Michele Serros dies at 48 By David L. Ulin Los Angeles Times Book Critic contact the reporter Poet Michele Serros, shown reading at a school in 1997, has died at 48. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times) 
Michele Serros was a pure product of Southern California, influenced by pop culture and traditional heritage. Michele Serros was inspired to be a writer by a letter she received at age 11 from Judy BlumeI used to know Michele Serros — who died of cancer Sunday at her home in Berkeley at the age of 48 — a little bit. In the mid-1990s she and I, along with a bunch of other people, helped launch PEN in the Classroom, a program to put writers together with under-served students in Los Angeles-area high schools. For Serros this was an unlikely homecoming. Growing up in Oxnard, she found herself on the outside looking in. “We never said we lived in Oxnard,” she once explained of her family. “We always said we lived between Malibu and Santa Barbara.” What makes such a line so telling is that it sets up the tensions and the oppositions, as well as the sharp sense of humor, that occupied the center of Serros’ work. There’s a reason, after all, that her first book — published in 1994, while she was a UCLA undergraduate — was called “Chicana Falsa and Other Stories of Death, Identity and Oxnard,” a titled inspired by a high school classmate called La Letty, who “had a strong definition of what a Chicana was.” In a 1997 Los Angeles Times profile, Serros explained the conflict: “Here I was in school thinking maybe I’d go to college and become a writer. My Spanish was horrible, I wore Vans to school and La Letty was like ‘What a Chicana falsa you are.’ ” More to the point, Serros was writing about a different kind of Chicana experience. She was a pure product of Southern California, not unlike poets such as David Trinidad or Michele T. Clinton, influenced by pop culture as much as by a more traditional sense of heritage. “I grew up fourth-generation Californian,” she once explained. “To me, all my experiences — the beach, the malls, avocados — very Californian. I happen to be Chicana.” Sent by Frances Rios francesrios499@hotmail.com |
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The Condition of Latinos in
Education: 2015 Factbook |
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The Condition of Latinos in Education: |
Excelencia in Education is releasing “The Condition of Latinos in Education: 2015 Factbook” with analysis of the entire educational pipeline and the context in which Latino students are learning. Click on the following: “The Condition of Latinos in Education: 2015 Factbook” The 2015 Factbook provides timely information about current Latino student educational achievement and establishes a baseline from which to measure performance over time. Further, the individual fact sheets listed below support the diverse stakeholders in American higher education and the workforce who seek to improve Latino educational achievement and strengthen the country’s human capital. National Snapshot – 17%: In 2012, Hispanics were the second largest racial/ethnic group in the United States, with a total population of 53 million, while Whites were 63%. Latinos in Early Childhood Education – 39%: By 2050, Latinos are projected to represent more than one-third of the U.S. population under the age of 5, compared to Whites (31%), African Americans (13%), and Asians (7%). Latinos in K-12 Education – 70%: In 2012, the majority of recent Hispanic high school graduates enrolled in college, compared to their White (66%) and African American peers (56%). |
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When The Preuss School UCSD opened its doors in 1999, no one knew that it would become a national phenomenon. From the donors whose generosity literally built the school to the teachers, students and parents who took a chance to be part of an educational experiment, everyone involved believed in the vision for the school—the idea of equal access to a quality education. But none of them knew that Preuss would achieve the level of success that it has achieved today.
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Recognized by Newsweek as the top transformative high school in the nation for three years in a row, The Preuss School UCSD is a unique charter middle and high school for low income, highly motivated students who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college. Located on the UC San Diego campus, our students come from throughout San Diego County to take advantage of an environment that encourages intellectual risk-taking while offering an array of academic supports. The Preuss School began when a group of UC San Diego faculty began planning for the best way to increase the number of students in the university who come from low income or under-represented groups. Under the leadership of Cecil Lytle, provost of Thurgood Marshall College at the time, the group approached then UC San Diego Chancellor Robert Dynes and requested that a charter school for students in grades 6-12 be built and run by the university. |
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The Preuss School at a Glance Chartered by the San Diego Unified School District and operated by the University of California, San Diego. Housed on the UC San Diego campus in a facility funded entirely by private support.
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| The Walt Disney Company
Collaboration Will Award Scholarships to Top Hispanic Students Nationwide |
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LOS ANGELES, November 17, 2014-The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) today announced a $1 million commitment from The Walt Disney Company to provide scholarships to outstanding Hispanic students. The donation is part of a three-year agreement between Disney and HSF that will create The Walt Disney Company-HSF Scholarship Program. With this generous support, Disney and HSF will help hundreds of students across the country realize their full potential as leaders in their chosen professions, and as volunteers who give back to the community. In addition to funding the scholarships, Disney will also support the bilingual, multimedia Public Service Advertising campaign that HSF has created in partnership with the Ad Council. The ads will appear across ABC and ESPN platforms, encouraging parents to prepare, plan, and pay for college. "The Walt Disney Company is one of the most iconic and respected companies in the world, and we are thrilled to be working together," said Fidel A. Vargas, President & CEO, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, who made the announcement at the #LATISM14 conference of Latinos in Tech Innovation & Social Media held in Anaheim, Calif. "Support from insightful corporate partners like The Walt Disney Company makes it possible for HSF to increase the number of college scholarships we are able to award to outstanding Hispanic students, and to expand the educational resources and services we offer to Latino parents and their children." "Education is the foundation upon which dreams are built, and increasing access to higher learning is an investment with infinite returns for individuals and society as a whole," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. "That's why we're committed to raising public awareness and supporting even more outstanding Hispanic students with scholarships that encourage and empower them to achieve their goals." Today, one-fourth of all public school students in the U.S. are Hispanic, and research shows that 69% of Hispanic high school graduates are now going directly to college - a rate that is higher than that of the general population. "As a result of this unprecedented surge of Hispanic college-bound students, the need for information about college and financial resources available to students and families is greater than ever before," said Mr. Vargas. In addition to providing scholarships, HSF connects Hispanic students and parents with resources to help them navigate the journey to college and beyond. The organization's new scholarship season is slated to reopen on January 1, 2015 and close on March 30, 2015. Students can begin the application process immediately by creating a personal profile on HSF's website, HSF.net. You can follow us #DisneyHSFScholars. About the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Founded in 1975, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to Latino students, as well as related support services. HSF seeks to give students all the tools they need to apply to college, do well in their course work, graduate, enter a profession, excel, help lead our nation going forward, and mentor the generations to come. As the nation's largest not-for-profit organization supporting Hispanic American higher education, the Fund has awarded over $470 million in scholarships and provides a range of ancillary programs for students, HSF Scholars, and their families. HSF further strives to make college education a top priority for every Latino family across the nation, mobilizing our community to proactively advance that goal - each individual, over a lifetime, in every way he/she can. For more information about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, please visit: HSF.net, and follow us at #DisneyHSFScholars. About the Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of about $48.8 billion in its last fiscal year. Media Contacts: Vikki Gutierrez / David Jefferson Director of Marketing and Communication Corporate Communications Hispanic Scholarship Fund The Walt Disney Company vgutierrez@hsf.net david.j.jefferson@disney.com 310-499-5616 818-560-4832 This opportunity to nominate an extraordinary woman is brought to members by National Hispanic Business Women Association 2020 North Broadway Ave. Suite 100 Santa Ana, California 92706 Main: (714) 836-4042 Fax: (714) 836-4209 www.nationalhbwa.com |
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Achievement First is actively hiring for a few remaining 2014-2015
roles,
as well as for 2015-16 positions, all listed below. They’re eager to
talk with talented individuals who are interested in learning more.
Achievement First is Hiring for 2014-15 and 2015-16 Positions. Achievement First is a growing network of non-profit, high-performing, K to 12 urban public charter schools in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island. Our schools are focused on providing scholars with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges and to serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities. Achievement First currently operates 29 schools and will open 10-15 additional schools over the next five years. We strive to recruit a talented and diverse team of educators, and we believe our students are best served by a team that represents the global community for which our students are entering. For more information about Achievement First and to apply online, please visit our website at http://www.achievementfirst.org . Sent by Margarito J. Garcia III, Ph.D |
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The first biennial |
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Please join us for a one-day summit as we convene key stakeholders: teaching professionals and educators, researchers, academics, scholars, administrators, independent writers and artists, policy and program specialists, students, parents, families, civic leaders, activists, and advocates. In short, those sharing a common interest and commitment to educational issues that impact Latinos. to take place: Thursday, March 26, 2015 The University of Texas at San Antonio Main Campus in the University Center Ballroom One UTSA Circle San Antonio, TX 78249 With Live Online Global Webcast Summit Website: http://education.utsa.edu/leads/ Free Registration Open - attend Global LEAD either in-person, or as a Town Hall Viewing Event Partner watching via Global Webcast The purpose of the Global LEAD Summit is to bring attention and discussion to critical issues in Latino education worldwide.
This year’s Global LEAD will focus in engaging dialogue in order to help create bridges between Latino Education in Latin American and the US.
Representatives from different countries will form part of each panel ensuring that different sectors of the world will be able
to discuss some of the initiatives within those research fields. |
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| Future History Makers Award Application and Criteria HOPE and Estee Lauder Companies have partnered together to honor the accomplishment of future history making Latinas in local communities. The honorees should foster a unique spirit of passion, posses a vision that brings communities together or charts a new path of discovery. As “Future History Makers,” these Latinas strive for excellence and deliver their best efforts towards being positive role models and creating change. Who is a Future History Maker? For the past five years, HOPE has celebrated Future History Makers at the Latina History Day Conference, which is an annual conference established to recognize the historic and current achievements of Latinas, discuss community issues, and embrace Latina culture. Future History Makers are the next generation of Latina women working to make an impact in their community by involvement in activities or projects, advancing in an academic field, or pioneering groundbreaking research or inventions. Applicant Eligibility Criteria Currently enrolled as a full time undergraduate college student Earned a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA Must be 18-23 years of age Must submit a complete application packet for consideration Must commit to volunteer or intern with HOPE Applicant must not have been previously honored Must attend the Latina History Day Conference in March 13, 2015 Selected Honorees are responsible for arranging their own transportation to the conference Selection Process A panel of professionals will review all application packets and select applicants who will move forward to the interview phase of the selection process. Award Selected applicants will be honored as “Future History Makers” during the 24th Annual Latina History Day Conference at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Honorees are welcomed to bring a female role model as a guest (mother, mentor, aunt). Honoree and guest will be pampered by the Estee Lauder team with a special treat and then participate in a photo session. Honorees will also receive a piece of artwork from a local Latina artist, a prize package from Estee Lauder Companies, and will be featured on HOPE’s website and other additional publicity. More Information: Please contact Mayra Rojas-Garcia at 213-833-1996 or by email at mrojas@latinas.org if you have any questions regarding the application. [Sorry. . Application Due January 23, 2015 . . Think 2016.] Sent by Yvonne Duncan Yvonne.Duncan@mail.house.gov
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| Ryan Ruelas, One of the 100 2014 Influencer in Orange County, CA |
Age: 34 Job: Teacher – social science at Anaheim High School.  Bio: Graduated from Katella High School in 1999; undergraduate degree in politics from UC Santa Cruz; master’s in history from Cal State Fullerton. Ruelas has taught at Anaheim High for 11 years. He lives in Anaheim.Why he’s an influencer: In 2014, Ruelas helped to establish the BROS program at Cypress, South and Sycamore high schools. BROS is a student-run organization that blends elements of a fraternity, a community organization and a social club to shatter negative stereotypes of young Latino males by helping them excel in school, apply to college and serve their hometown of Anaheim. Ruelas, who serves as teacher adviser to BROS, started the group six years ago. The chapter at Anaheim High has more than 200 members. Ruelas recently was elected to the Anaheim City School District board. Biggest challenge: “Teaching responsibility to the students, particularly getting them to understand the need to meet commitments, follow through and understand that their actions affect the lives of others.” Work philosophy: “Kids come first with everything.” On education: “I believe that students can rise to the challenges we present, but educators have to be patient about making sure they get there. You have to be understanding if a student has a difficult home life, but also show them that education is the way to get them through their problems.” Inspiration: “Julie Spykerman, a former Anaheim High math teacher who taught me that you always need to have a backup plan. You could create the best lesson for a class, but if it doesn’t go over well, then you need to come up with another idea, fast.” Can’t do without: Cellphone, which contains contacts and calender information. What’s next: Establish a program that allows high school students in the Anaheim Union district to mentor elementary students. |
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| Editor Mimi: Although this is
directed to Tejanos, the points made are appropriate for understanding
the difficulties encountered by Hispanic youths throughout the
Southwest. Education – The Recipe for Success By José Antonio López Jan 10, 2015 San Antonio - It’s no surprise that today, the booming Hispanic population is a large part of Madison Avenue’s marketing agenda. To use one of capitalism’s greatest clichés, advertising products in Spanish is “good for business”. However, according to the latest series of surveys, at the same time that Main Street is profiting from this mega dollar market, the very same Hispanic consumers suffer from gross income inequality. Major research assessment also reveals another overall disheartening bit of news. Top-level wealth has set a new record; distancing itself further from middle income families whose average income has stagnated for over thirty years. That’s in addition to existing pain in minority racial/ethnic groups. For example, the net worth of Hispanics is one-tenth of non-Hispanic Whites. It’s a frustrating problem for Mexican-descent Texans at the very bottom of the quality of life scale. A recent San Antonio Express News article lists some sobering statistics. Career term lost earnings for today’s Mexican-descent Texans without a diploma amount to $27.6 billion; resulting in a loss of $18.2 billion in sales and a corresponding loss of $1.2 billion in state sales tax. Those stark figures come at a time when Texas state legislators continue to refuse to restore vital education program funds that they previously cut from the budget. The major cause of the disparity isn’t a revelation to the descendants of the first citizens of Texas struggling for equality since 1848. Still, one can’t miss the correlation between earning power and level of education. The question is how can we get the two factors to match each other? As a member of this group and as an 8th generation South Texan, I’m tired of hearing excuses. Also, I’m convinced we can fix it ourselves, so long as all the players involved commit to help. For example, Hispanic students in elementary, high school, and college/university grade levels: You are the main characters in the story. Being a winner depends on three things: high self-esteem, confidence, and hard work. Self-esteem comes from being proud of who you are and where you come from. Confidence means that you must believe in yourself and your ability to do great things. Hard work is vital because essential tasks that need doing are rarely easy to do. You must follow this basic 3-ingredient success recipe if you expect to have a solid, dependable lifeline for the rest of your lives. Parents don’t be intimidated. You have a moral obligation. Your ancestors left you a sense of pioneer spirit. Tap into it! Re-learn the virtue of sacrifice! Have courage! Instill in your children the value and power of education, self-discipline, and an unrestrained level of aspiration. Join the PTA and attend school board meetings. Most of all, be the anchor that secures the three “Ropes of Hope” for your children: (l) Build up their self-esteem by reminding them of their rich heritage that founded this great place we call Texas; (2) Demonstrate a can-do attitude so your children will attain confidence; (3) Lead by example and be a good role model so that they can see that hard work pays off. Teachers and School Administrators of Hispanic Students: Yours are important roles, too. Mexican-descent kids in Texas deserve a future where earning a college degree is the rule, not the exception. It is within your power to help forge a new path. The long-overdue Tejano Monument in Austin is showing the way. Carry its message into the social studies and history curricula, as already approved in the STAAR curriculum. Thereby, you will motivate Mexican-descent students in reclaiming their pioneer character. Advocate early Texas Spanish Mexican history stories as examples of American Exceptionalism, such as, José de Escandón, General Bernardo de Gálvez, and Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara. Successful Spanish Mexican-descent citizens in the community: Saving this group for last, my special plea goes out to those of you who (like me) were able to climb out of poverty so long ago. Let’s agree to give leadership just as successful people in other ethnic groups do. For example, what inspired us and shouldn’t we share our experiences with present-day youth in the barrio who are still trying to step onto the same ladder of success we used? The importance of our involvement is crucial. Over 47% of Texans 30 years of age and under are of Mexican-descent. Reports add that if the thriving economy in Texas is to continue, a corresponding educated, trained workforce is a must! Thus, closing the education gap is a most important objective. How can you help? Be a mentor. Equally important, if you fill positions of authority in the world of work, use your influence and let your voice be heard in Austin in support of providing the necessary education program funds to get the job done. Once before (in 1964), Mexican-descent Hispanics had a chance to do something about it, but as a group, we have steadily remained at the lowest economic level. In contrast, even though they have not yet reached income equality with white Anglo Saxon males, the Black community and women in general did not miss their chance and have made great strides. In comparison, Mexican-descent Texans are fifty years behind their minority group counterparts in achieving economic parity. It doesn’t have to be that way. Finally, let’s work on what unites us, not on what separates us. Regardless of political, economic, or religious motivations, we can solve the education gap dilemma from within. Our goal is a difficult one. It’s an uphill journey, but together we can help our young people reach their potential. In the inspiring words of President John F. Kennedy in 1962, “We choose to do difficult things not because they’re easy, but because they are hard.” |
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Texas Insights - January 2015, Volume V, Issue 3, What’s New? The Texas State Historical Association is proud to announce that the Texas Almanac Teacher’s Guide has been updated, with changes and additional graphics which will benefit both teachers and students. Each lesson provided has been re-edited and many activity sheets and guides have been added, which can be printed for student use. Bolder topography enables teachers to easily scan lessons to search for the right activity when teaching on one of the many topics covered in the Almanac. The addition of more photographs and graphics will appeal to students, and colorful mini-posters for many of the lessons have been created. The core set of 46 regular lessons were designed to be used with all sections of the Texas Almanac, and 16 special lessons were created for feature articles unique to each Almanac from 2006-2007 through the current 2014-2015 edition. All lessons list the TEKS and STAAR standards that they fulfill. A link if provided for teachers to request an answer key geared for the last three editions of the Almanac. The Texas Almanac Teacher’s Guide lessons and appendix tools can be downloaded on the Texas Almanac Website. For a limited time, the Texas State Historical Association has made the 2014-2015 edition of the Texas Almanac available to download for free. This includes the entire 752 page, full color book in digital form, an article by Texana writer Mike Cox titled, “Sketches of Eight Historic Ranches of Texas,” over 250 state and county maps including a pronunciation guide to Texas town and county names, Coverage of the 2012 elections and redistricting, weather highlights of the previous two years, a list of destructive weather dating from 1766, the 2012 Texas Olympic medalists, and the article, “The REAL Friday Night Lights,” which is a complete reference for Texas High School and College sports. To download your free copy of the Texas Almanac visit the TSHA Website. http://www.teachingtexas.org/enewsletter/January2015#new Lesson example below: |
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Cuauhtli Academy of Cultural Arts and Literature |
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The Academia Cuauhtli / Inauguration ceremony took place Saturday, January 17, 2015 To connect, go to: |
| We are happy to announce the inauguration of Academia Cuauhtli / Cuauhtli Academy—a language and culture revitalization project—at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. Students get taught in Spanish a Mexican American history and Tejano Studies curriculum in grade 4, targeting three nearby east Austin elementary schools—Metz, Sanchez, and Zavala. This initiative is a partnership involving Nuestro Grupo (our community based organization convened by the Texas Center for Education Policy and the Tejano Monument Curriculum Initiative, both at the University of Texas at Austin and NLERAP, its fiscal agent and national nonprofit organization), the Austin Independent School District, and the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. Special thanks, in particular, to our resident historian, Dr. Emilio Zamora, who inspired this curriculum through the Tejano History Curriculum Initiative. Thanks as well to the fantastic AISD team of curriculum writers as part of the Curriculum Writers Cadre, and most especially to our committed AISD dual language teachers who because of their efforts, the curriculum is TEKS-aligned (i.e., adapted to state standards) and is currently available in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 11. AISD's Chief Academic Officer Dr. Pauline Dow and ESB-MACC staff, especially Tiffany Moreno, and Laura Esparza from the Parks and Recreation Department have been awesome partners, as well. With a new grant from Humanities Texas https://www.facebook.com/humanitiestexas , the curriculum will expand from our current focus on migration, civil rights and local history to indigenous heritage, women, and the cultural arts. Even if so many of us individually—or as small families or collectivities—similarly held just such a dream, the expressed dream for a Saturday academy in the Austin community—according to its originating documents— goes back to the many years leading up to the founding of what was then called the “Mexican American Cultural Center”—same place at 600 River St. Also worthy of mention is that this has involved the participation of faculty from the following five Austin area universities: The University of Texas at Austin, Huston Tillotson, St. Edwards University, South University, and Texas State University. The Academia Cuauhtli / Cuauhtli Academy inauguration ceremony takes place on Saturday, January 17, 2015 from 11:00AM-3:15PM at the new and truly exquisite AISD Performing Arts Center located at 1500 Barbara Jordan, Austin, Texas 78753. The Academia Cuauhtli Saturday Academy itself will take place on the grounds of the beautiful Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Culture Center (pictured) located at 600 River St. in central Austin on Town Lake—and right next door to east Austin. We are so grateful to our participating principals, parent support specialists, and parents at these schools. AISD's Chief Academic Officer Dr. Pauline Dow and ESB-MACC staff, especially Tiffany Moreno, and Laura Esparza from the Parks and Recreation Department have been awesome partners, as well. All are welcome to attend this joyful celebration of a broad-based community effort! Sinceramente, Dr. Angela Valenzuela
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Conversation With Carlos Santana |
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Q: You might be best remembered for "Black Magic Woman" and
"Oye Como Va." Is there anything you'd like to bring back from the '60s? A: We need more loving, more events in the streets, with congas, music and colors and people dancing. When you dance, you shake off fear. Anything else? What's missing more than anything is the principle expressed in songs like "Imagine," "One Love," "Blowin' in the Wind," "What a Wonderful World," "What's Going On." If you play them 24 hours a day in shopping malls or elevators, you can stop a lot of violence, assaults on women, child abuse. The songs remind humans, when they listen to them, to be more compassionate. You first played the violin with your dad as teacher. I tried. But the more I tried, the more I suffered because I knew I couldn't get the beauty of tone that he had. His sound was very elegant and romantic. I sounded like an alley cat. After you switched to your electric guitar, you promised your mom you'd still practice the violin. Do you? No, no, I'm grateful I don't. I really found my voice in the guitar. And your parents realized that? It takes time sometimes to believe that your children's dreams can become real. It's almost like you have to prove to parents that the vision from your soul is unstoppable, that you're not wasting your life on something that is not real. How have your relationships with your three children changed now that they are adults? |
Your breakup with your first wife, Deborah, after 34 years was extremely painful. Any advice for others? Yes! Do it lovingly and do it honorably, and accept that, that particular relationship has been accomplished. I had a choice: either to do that or to go out like Robin Williams. At that moment, my veins hurt. My heart was being burned alive. But all that remains from the past relationship is beauty and blessings. In 2010, you married Cindy Blackman, on tour now as Lenny Kravitz's drummer. Will she be your drummer? Lenny Kravitz needs to find another drummer. She's going to be my drummer, and I'm going to be her guitar player. There's going to be equality in vision and direction — and I'm really content with that. Are you looking forward to having grandchildren? I'm looking forward to having another child; that's what I'm looking for. Yeah, if my kids don't hurry up. A baby named Joshua if it's a boy and Milagro de Luz if a girl. You mention laughter a lot in your memoir. Cindy and I watch a lot of videos of Rodney Dangerfield. He's so funny. It's important to laugh. That's a T-shirt: "Laugh at fear." You and your family created the Milagro Foundation. You also have commercial lines of salsa, shoes and tequila. Everything that we do with shoes, tequila, this or that, goes to help young people with education, with healing psychologically, a whole myriad of things to help people all over the world, women and children. Is there one very important thing boomers need to know? Con tu luz, sí se puede. With your light, it can be done. Carlos Santana's memoir, The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light, came out Nov. 4. |
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| Angel Ng was born in Los Angeles, California on October 17th, 2002 to parents who had relocated to the United States from the Mexican state of Nayarit. At a very early age, she exhibited a love of music which encompassed singing at first and then blossomed, in elementary school, to include violin and trumpet. In 2013, she entered and won a city-wide vocal competition that included 640 entrants of all ages held annually by the prestigious Colburn School of Performing Arts' Conservatory of Music. She was the youngest winner in the history of the event. The honor also included an all- expenses-paid scholarship for her to attend the prestigious institution. Almost immediately, Colburn's maestros focused on teaching her the Bello Canto vocal techniques which led in record time to her becoming a Coloratura soprano. To get an idea of her growth in this area in less than a year, click on to a YouTube performance of the then 12 year old singing 'Vilia' from Franz Lehar's famed operetta, 'The Merry Widow,' accompanied on piano by her Colburn vocal coach Roberta Garten: http://youtu.be/ORo8YsMyvU0 In that very same year, she also won the Los Angeles Secondary School Music Teachers Association's 'Grammy' for her performance of the violin classics. In the meantime (in her spare time?),she had also fallen in love with mariachi, the music of Mexico that had won the UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) Patrimony for 2011. Although the vocal requirements are much different, her versatility shined through as she was asked to sing with many luminaries of that genre including Mariachi Champagne de Jeff Nevin, the two-time Grammy Award-winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, Mariachi Imperial de Mexico, Mariachi Monumental de Juan Jose Almaguer, Mariachi Reyna de los Angeles, Mariachi Sol de Mexico, and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan. Check out her performance (accompanied by Mariachi Monumental) of the classic anthem of Jalisco, 'La Charreada (The Rodeo), popularized by Linda Ronstadt in her 1987 best selling album, 'Canciones de Mi Padre' by clicking onto: http://youtu.be/5GCJOD3PMk8 And finally, as proof of her all-American versatility, you can check out her 'pop chops' by watching and listening her perform (ala Whitney Houston) 'I Will Always Love You' by clicking onto: http://youtu.be/xwNdx0VyEGE Every genre, every language, a professional grade violinist and trumpeter as well, What else do you need to know about this youngster who has just turned 13? How about where you can see her perform: At the iconic oceanfront Rosarito Beach Hotel How about when you can see her perform : Saturday evening, April 13th, along with Spettacolare (the two-time Grammy Award winning 'Beto' Jimenez' Italian super group) and the two-time Grammy Award-winning (and eight time Grammy Award-nominated) Mariachi Divas AND on October 2nd, at the 6th Annual Rosarito Beach International Mariachi & Folkloric Festival as part of the four day event (Please Save The Dates: September 30th-October 3rd). ALL...100%...of the net proceeds for these events goes to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Rosarito. For more information, re: tickets and hotel packages, please contact Rosy Torres, President of the Club de Ninos y Ninas de Rosarito at: rosymtorres@hotmail.com or by phone at: (661) 614-0335 Source: Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/article/the-next-best Sent by Gil Sperry |
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THE REAL FACE OF SANTA CLAUS by Ryan Scheel Catholic, Catholic Traditions in a Modern World |
When you were a child, how badly did you want to sneak downstairs on Christmas Eve and see what Santa really looked like? You probably imagined him with a big white beard, jolly belly, red cheeks, and fur lined coat. But according to scientific analysis and computer models, Saint Nicholas, the 4th century Bishop of Myra who Santa Claus is based on, would have looked a bit different than the Nordic woodsman of popular culture and more like a 4th century Byzantine Bishop. 
According to The Saint Nicholas Center St. Nicholas’ remains are buried in the crypt of the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari, Italy. These bones were temporarily removed when the crypt was repaired during the 1950s. At the Vatican’s request, anatomy professor Luigi Martino from the University of Bari, took thousands of minutely-detailed measurements and x-ray photographs (roentgenography) of the skull and other bones.
Professor Luigi Martino examining skull of St. NicholasProfessor of forensic pathology at the University of Bari, Francesco Introna, knew advancements in diagnostic technique could yield much more from the data gathered in the 1950s. So in 2004 he engaged expert facial anthropologist, Caroline Wilkinson, then at the University of Manchester in England, to construct a model of the saint’s head from the earlier measurements. Using this data, the medical artist used state-of-the-art computer software to develop the model of St. Nicholas. The virtual clay was sculpted on screen using a special tool that allows one to “feel” the clay as it is molded. Dr. Wilkinson says, “In theory you could do the same thing with real clay, but it’s much easier, far less time-consuming and more reliable to do it on a computer.” Mark Roughley and Caroline Wilkinson explain development of the new image at St. Nicholas Catholic Primary School in Liverpool Copyright © 2002-2014 St. Nicholas Center Caroline Wilkinson updated her original 2004 work ten years later, in 2014. This new image incorporates the latest 3D interactive technology and facial reconstruction system as she had further developed it at the University of Dundee and Liverpool John Moores University. Working in the new Face Lab at the School of Art and Design, she and Mark Roughley have produced a more advanced image using the most up-to-date anatomical standards, tissue depth data from the region, and computer graphic imagery techniques. The result is a middle-aged man with a long beard, round head, and square jaw. St. Nicholas also had a severely broken nose that healed asymmetrically. “This is the most realistic appearance of St Nicholas based on all the skeletal and historical material. It is thrilling for us to be able to see the face of this famous 4th century Bishop,” said Professor Wilkinson. The new image was unveiled at St. Nicholas Catholic Primary School. The school is adjacent to the LJMU’s School of Art and Design. Wilkinson continued, “It was important to us to involve the local children in the reveal of the latest depiction of the face of St Nicholas and I hope that they will think of his face every year on St Nicholas’s feast day.” The result of the project is the image of a Greek man, living in Asia Minor (part of the Greek Byzantine Empire), about 60-years old, 5-feet 6-inches tall, who had a heavy jaw and a broken nose. Press reaction to the facsimile tended to imply that good Saint Nicholas had had a brawling past, hence the broken nose. It is more likely, however, that his nose was broken when imprisoned and tortured during the persecution of Christians under Roman Emperor Diocletian. http://ucatholic.com/blog/the-real-face-of-santa-claus/ |
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| Three Kings of Orient January 6th is the feast of the Three Kings. Here is the famous song entitled, We Three Kings of Orient Are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULU_UXwXy4o
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Music from the Canary Islands
Los Sabandeños - Folías de libertad - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QZ5VgTfbYY&feature=related
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To be or not to be, a Spanish speaker? by Margarito J. Garcia III, Ph.D. |
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Felipe Urrutia, singer, songwriter, and collector of Nicaragua’s traditional music dies The father of northern Nicaraguan folk music, Felipe Urrutia, died on Dec. 26 at his home in El Limon in the Department of Esteli just a month before his 97th birthday. While Don Felipe wrote some songs of his own, he was best known for recovering, singing, and recording traditional folk melodies including songs sung by the followers of Augusto Sandino in the north of Nicaragua in the 1920s and 30s. The name of his group, Don Felipe y Sus Cachorros (Don Felipe and his Pups), was first used by Carlos Mejia Godoy—who introduced him at a program which was recorded in 1984—because the group was composed of his sons, grandsons, nephews, grandsons, and later great grandsons. Mejia Godoy said Urrutia was “A man who carried the people in his heart.” The National Assembly adopted a resolution honoring Urrutia for the cultural legacy that he left to his country and First Lady Rosario Murillo highlighted his musical contribution and his humble origins and called him a “tireless fighter for the Sandinista cause.” “We are all Don Felipe’s pups; we grew up hearing his voice,” she said. (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 26, 27, 28; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 27, 28; La Prensa, Dec. 28, Jan. 1) Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com
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BAJA CALIFORNIA: February 28th, Three internationally acclaimed performing groups:
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| The Rosarito Beach Hotel is proud to announce that on Saturday evening, February 28th, it will be hosting an event headlining three internationally acclaimed performing groups: the Latin Grammy-nominated Trio
Ellas: The Blue Agave, a quintet featuring their Grammy award-winning Musical Director Andy
Abad; and Danza Irlandesa, a multiple competition award winning Irish step dancing company directed by Tijuananense maestro Fernando Lopez. ALL...100%...of the net proceeds will go to the benefit of Club de Ninos y Ninas de Rosarito (The Boys and Girls Club of
Rosarito). The evening's festivities will open with a short performance by the Club's young harpists and dancers. Q: Where is the event being held? A: The historic Salon Mexicano Main Showroom of the iconic oceanfront Rosarito Beach Hotel Q: How do I buy advance tickets? A: Click onto: www.clubrosarito.org and follow the prompts. They are priced at $25 each for General Admission and $35 each for VIP. Parties of ten can book a complete VIP table subject to availability Q: Can I pay with a credit card? A: Yes, the website has full PayPal capabilities Q: Are special hotel rates available for the weekend of the event? A: Yes, you may contact the hotel directly at their link: http://rosaritobeachhotel.com to book your rooms. Please mention the special code TRIPLE TREAT to get the special per night rates for Friday and Saturday: Coronado Tower double occupancy ocean front rooms for $70/night plus tax; Pacifico Tower double occupancy ocean front rooms for $90/night plus tax Q. How about some additional details on the talent that will be performing? A: Suemy Gonzalez, Nelly Cortez, and Stephanie Amaro are Trio Ellas. Their CDs ('Con Ustedes' and 'Noches Angelinas") have been nominated for Latin Grammy-awards. The group has toured internationally and most recently were invited to participate in an event in Ipiales, Colombia featuring the world's best vocal/instrumental trios. Selections from their latest recording reached #1 on both the Latin Music Billboard Charts AND Reverbnation. Andy Abad, the Musical Director of The Blue Agave. was part of the Grammy Award-winning group Shadowfax while he was still in college. Since then he has toured and recorded with, as well as directed, arranged, and wrote music for, amongst others: Clay Aiken; Marc Anthony; The Backstreet Boys; JC Chavez; Lady GaGa; Jewel; Juan Gabriel: Josh Groban; Ricardo Lemvo; Makina Loca; Sam Mangwana; Ricky Martin; Bonnie Raitt; and Robi (Draco) Rosa. Danza Irlandesa are the top terpsichoreans directed by Professor Fernando Lopez who is dance maestro at one of Mexico's top rated music and art programs at Baja's prestigious Prepa Federal Lazaro Cardenas. Over the last two decades his students have won several of the country's major dance Competencias (Competitions) including two victories at the Annual Rosarito Beach International Mariachi & Folklorico Festival as well as headlining at the Annual International Dance Extravaganza held at Tijuana's legendary CECUT (Cultural Center). Q: Can you address the actual purpose for the event? A: The event is called the International Triple Treat Benefit Concert because ALL...100%...of the proceeds benefits the causa noble's two projects: the Rosarito Shores Club, within walking distance of the concert venue, is operational and offers a daily full schedule of activities for up to 100 at risk local children AND the under-construction Colonia Lucio Blanco facility. The second location, which will ultimately service up to 600 members, is scheduled to open its 4000 square foot Multi-Purpose facility and adjacent sports fields (soccer and basketball) in June. As noted in this article's very first paragraph, the activities on February 28th will feature an opening performance by the Club's harp students. The youngsters have received all of their training on instruments provided by donations and were taught by local professional musicians serving as volunteers. This is especially significant since instrumental music instruction has not been part of the Mexican public school curriculum since 1934. Q. If I have any other questions, who can I contact? A. You may contact either the Club's President, Rosy Torres at: rosymtorres@hotmail.com or (661) 850-1773 or the Club's Vice President, Gil Sperry at: gilsperry@yahoo.com or (661) 614-0335 If you'd like to visit either OR both facilities and see how the funds from all Club benefit events are being used, please let Rosy or Gil know. Everyone is very proud of what's being accomplished to help the next generation of Rosarito Beach's leaders be all that they can be! |
| Murals Under the Stars by Gregorio Luke . . . 2014 Yearly Report |
Dear Mimi, During my many years as a Diplomat and Museum Director, I wrote annual reports for my superiors. I found the practice useful, because it forced me to summarize and account for my work. Now that I do not have any bosses, I write my yearly reports for my wonderful audience that makes my career possible. So here’s to you dear friend with my gratitude and friendship.  ON THE ROAD I will remember 2014 as the year we took MURALS UNDER THE STARS on the road. It was an exhilarating ride, I felt like Bob Dylan’s tambourine man, “beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free.” Every week, for 12 weeks, I loaded the family van with projectors and inflatable screens to lecture in parks, beaches, parking lots and plazas. Among the memorable shows, I remember a presentation on MARIACHI music in the City of Lynwood, attended by thousands of people. As surprise guest, we had the granddaughter of Pedro Infante sing a few songs. In Granada Beach, I lectured on ERNEST HEMINGWAY, right by the ocean. The wind was so strong that our volunteers had to hold on tight to the screen so it would not blow away. The last show was on VINCENT VAN GOGH, at Long Beach’s Art Exchange. While I spoke, several artists were painting. Fernando de Necoechea invited me to introduce LA’s Mayor Eric Garcetti for a speech on the arts. I also lectured in Florida, Arizona and Texas and Gary Keener invited me to present GAY GREATNESS in the Magnet Center in San Francisco’s Castro Street, epicenter of the Gay world. My show is a celebration of LGBT’s contributions—it was warmly received. I was also happy to return to the East Los Angeles Civic Center to present Day of the Dead lecture. It is a beautiful stage surrounded by a lake with ducks, it would be an ideal scenario to present Swan Lake, maybe someday…  GLORIA CONTRERAS IS 80 My mother, GLORIA CONTRERAS turned 80 in 2014 and was celebrated all year. In April, Eduardo García Barrios, head of the Youth Orchestras of México, organized a spectacular concert with 90 musicians, 125 singers and 35 dancers. Between ballets, I provided biographical sketches. Gloria Contreras premiered a ballet dedicated to MALALA YOUSAFSAI, the girl shot by the Taliban who won the Nobel Peace Prize. The music was composed by Arturo Márquez (see YouTube link). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHTsLkIg56U Then in November, UNAM organized two concerts with live music that included her famous HUAPANGO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQwjIDnl8Bc For the actual day of her birth (November 15th), the full orchestra played for her Las mañanitas with the audience singing along, the dancers brought a Mariachi band to sing, La Gloria eres tu. But my favorite moment happened when she demonstrated her dance exercises in public with a group of 20 year olds.  MEETING SOUTH AMERICA ARTISTS In the international arena, María Elena Beneito invited me to be part of the jury of the Argentinean International Art Biennale and to offer a seminar that included lectures on VINCENT VAN GOGH, FRIDA KAHLO, and a new presentation on PABLO PICASSO. I’m planning the US premiere of this show in 2015. In Buenos Aires, I fulfilled my desire to see the mural Ejercicio Plástico by David Alfaro Siqueiros that has just been restored. He paints himself as if he were inside a bubble, surrounded by women swimming outside. I had the chance to reconnect with my friend Ana Candiotti, who creates powerful portraits of indigenous people. In Buenos Aires I posed for Eugenio Cutica, one of Argentina’s leading contemporary artists. I still have not seen the portrait he made of me.  CONQUERING THE ANDES Artist Angel Ricardo Juárez, who has won gold medals in the Florence and Argentina Biennales, introduced me to his friend educator Miguel Benestante, who led a group of 40 Argentinean teenagers across the Andes, in a route similar to that of liberator San Martín. I was fortunate to be part of that delegation and stayed in a monastery with the kids. In the Municipal Palace of Rancagua I lectured on PABLO NERUDA. Through the good offices of Gonzalo Moraga and the Embassy of Mexico I secured a tour in Chile. In San Carlos I was received by Francisco Olate, we went to Chillán and in the school were Siqueiros painted his great mural, I gave a lecture on his art. In San Carlos, I lectured on the three great muralists. In Santiago, I presented a Frida Kahlo lecture, invited by Marcela Vicuña. Marcela organized an exhibit, in which forty Chilean women painted self-portraits as a tribute to Frida. My friend Carlos Larrain opened his home to me, served the best wines and showed me the houses of Pablo Neruda.  BELLAS ARTES, TIJUANA AND MATAMOROS In México, I returned to the Palacio de Bellas Artes to present in the Sala Ponce, the murals of Maestro ARTURO GARCIA BUSTOS. I remained active in México’s Universities. In UNAM (National Autonomous University of México) I lectured for their Encuentros de Ciencias y Artes and in my alma mater UAM (Autonomous Metropolitan University) I participated in a symposium analyzing the cultural impact of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). I did an unforgettable presentation in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, one of the most violent cities in Mexico, my friend Consul Rodolfo Quilantán, invited me to lecture for 3,000 kids in the Convention Center. Instead of lecturing from the podium I jumped right in to the audience, mixing it up with the kids, for two hours the place became the largest class room in the world, we laughed, learned and had a great time. For a while we forgot about the violence surrounding us. Local newspapers treated my lectures as front page news, above the fold. In Tijuana’s main cultural center CECUT I presented a tribute to OCTAVIO PAZ in his centennial and offered a theatrical version of my MIGUEL COVARRUBIAS show. Monet Ravenell, a beautiful African American dancer, interpreted Josephine Baker’s Banana Dance, Tehani Sarreal did Balinese dances with shimmies lasting over 45 seconds. Olga Rodríguez and Alfredo García from the Taller Coreográfico de la UNAM, performed the legendary ballet Zapata by Guillermo Arriaga. After the show we celebrated in the Cardini restaurant, were the César Salad was invented. Also in Tijuana, I curated an exhibit by OSCAR CASTILLO that included his portraits of César Chávez and the Chicano movement. This exhibit was held outdoors, each photo was about 8 square feet. The show was seen by thousands of people.  ARCOS TAKES OFF ARCOS took off in 2014. In addition to presentations in communities and schools, we opened offices with LA NET in the beautiful Villa Riviera Building in Long Beach. The place has walls big enough for exhibits and with the help of Cynthia MacMullin, we presented the work of Colombian artist Tatiana Montoya. We received our first grant from supervisor Don Kanabe and hosted our first fundraiser. We finished the year with a great POSADA. Erika Valencia organized a grand party, complete with piñatas, ponche and delicious Mexican food. Victor Mala Espina and Daniel Sosa led the singing. We even had TWO LIVE DONKEYS for the procession, courtesy of Gonzalo Moraga. Another highlight was a recreation of the Nacimiento inspired by poet Carlos Pellicer. Again, Cynthia MacMullin curated the show with the assistant of Grant Taylor. I presented my lecture JESUS HIS LIFE IN ART. All through the year, I continued to do my program ENCUENTROS that airs every Wednesday at 10:30 pm on KPFK 90.7 FM. I also did several shows on Spanish TV. As an example of my work in the media, I’m enclosing links to my 90 minute show of Christmas music on KPFK and a TV show on Posadas on Telemundo. https://www.hightail.com/download/UlRUbUpkQ1JLVlhtcXNUQw https://www.hightail.com/download/UlRUbUpkQ1JBNkhMbjhUQw http://archive.kpfk.org/mp3/kpfk_141224_213030luke.MP3 http://archive.kpfk.org/mp3/kpfk_141224_223045luke.MP3  FAMILY MATTERS On the family front, my wife Lyndee Knox had a great year with her non-profit LA NET, as well as her career as author and scholar. I am proud to say she lectured at Harvard. In spite of her excruciating schedule, Lyndee found time to assist me with ARCOS and be a great Mom to our children. Our son Andrés discovered football. With the help of Coach Patrick Sounders, he learned to receive and run the ball. I tried to help by “playing defense” but was no match for my strong son, who at 12 seems to be 16. Can you imagine me as a football Dad? Andrés is also very much into theatre and will play two roles in an upcoming version of Frozen. Amara is also thriving. Her teachers at New City school refer to her as “little Miss Sunshine.” She is a happy child, always singing and hugging our dogs. On a sad note, this year we lost my bulldog Greta, who was ferocious with everyone except me and became my constant companion and our Shetland sheepdog Capy, a gentle soul, who took care of our kids as if they were part of his flock. In his later years he developed a taste for bananas. Fortunately, we still have our dogs Scarlet and Maxi, our ancient cat Conesa, as well as our rabbit, dove, guinea pig and beta fish.  In 2015, we look forward to consolidating ARCOS as an organization and cultural center. We want to organize more exhibits, launch a travel program and hold regular salons. In 2015 I would like to lecture in Europe and the East Coast. We are already planning another MURALS UNDER THE STARS season in parks and plazas this summer. So, if you have any ideas and would like to volunteer or contribute in any way, please contact us. Join the ARCOS dream! Yours always, Gregorio Luke ARCoS President and CEO P.S. I want to share an inspiring phrase by Robert Fulghum: “I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge, myth is more potent than history, dreams are more powerful than facts, hope always triumphs over experience, laughter is a cure for grief, love is stronger than death.” |
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International Latino Book
Awards National Association of Hispanic Publishers Gálvez/Spain - Our Forgotten Ally in the American Revolutional War: A Concise Summary of Spain's Assistance, by Judge Edward F. Butler, Sr. Seeking Latino Newspapers for Digitizing Project LARED-L is a National Latino/Chicano Network Hidden Enemy by Jessey Munoz Champion of the Barrio: The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty by: R. Gaines Baty The World of the Mexican Worker in Texas; The World War I Diary of José de la Luz Saenz The Adventures of Nolda and His Magical Scooter by Armando Rendon Rethinking the Chicano Movement by Marc Simon Rodriguez Backroads Pragmatists: Mexico's Melting Pot and Civil Rights in the United States By Ruben Flores Civil Rights: Is There More to the Story? by Shana Burg Democratizing Texas Politics: Race, Identity, and Mexican American Empowerment, 1945–2002 By Benjamin Márquez ‘Our America,’ by Felipe Fernández-Armesto |
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During the past 16 years Latino Literacy Now has honored over 1,600 authors and publishers from around the USA, Latin America and Spain for their contributions to advancing the offering of quality fiction and non-fiction for Latinos in the USA. These awards are now the largest Latino cultural awards in the USA.
We've seen the difference these awards have made in the acceptance, sales and marketing of books aimed at Latinos in the USA. During the past decade we've seen the number of books in English and Spanish aimed at Latinos in the United States more than doubled.
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The International Latino Book Awards are held annually by Latino Literacy Now, a California 501c3 non-profit, in conjunction with Las Comadres para las Americas, and REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (an affiliate of the American Library Association).
The Awards this year will be presented during the American Library Association Convention June 26-29, 2015 in San Francisco. The Awards will be presented June 27th.
Awards Chair 760-434-1223 In addition, we will have a booth at both CABE and REFORMA
conferences for Award Winning Authors to sell and sign from. |
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| CABE's 2015 conference will be March 4-7, 2015 in San Diego. The conference should have around 4,000 educators at it and is the largest conference in the USA of Latino educators. |
REFORMA, the national association of Latino librarians, Conference will be April 1-4, 2015 in San Diego. They are anticipating 700 librarians from around the USA and Mexico. |
| During a survey by the National Association of Hispanic Publishers, Hispanic newspapers has shown that readership has increased. |
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U.S. Hispanic Publications Circulation : 15,598,696 Average Readership: 38,996,740… and GROWING !!! *Publications Increase by
the Numbers:
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GÁLVEZ
/SPAIN -- OUR FORGOTTEN
ALLY IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR: by
Judge Edward F. Butler, Sr.
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| Without Spanish assistance during the American Revolutionary War, we would still be under the British flag. Galvez was always one step ahead of the English: He drove the English out of the lower Mississippi River by defeating them at Manchac, Baton Rouge & Natchez. His Spanish army and militia defeated the English at St. Louis. His Spanish army and militia captured the British fort and their warehouse of weapons, food and supplies at Niles, Michigan. He led the attacks on Mobile and Pensacola and drove the British from the Gulf coast. Spain provided as much if not more financial support as France during the American Revolutionary War. Spanish soldiers fought the English in Europe, Central America, South Africa and India. On one day the Spanish fleet captured 55 British ships, including 8 war ships, taking over 2,500 crewmen as prisoners, & seized over 1,500,000 English Pounds value of the cargo on those ships. "Wonderful book! You have done a great, great service here. Thank you!" "Should be on the shelf of every school
library." "This book is the first book written on the involvement of Spain in the American Revolution that ties in all the intricate ingredients necessary to understand the full scope of the War. It is superbly written and documented and will no doubt find its way beside other notable authors such as Chavez,
Loya, Jackson and Chipman to mention a few. If there were one book that should be listed as required reading for history majors,
Galvez/ Spain - Our Forgotten Ally In The American Revolutionary Way: A Concise Summary Of Spain's Assistance should be that book." |
| Digitizing Latino Newspapers |
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•Bronce
(San José, CA, 1968-69)
Margo
Gutiérrez, MA., MLS L
L I L A S B E
N S O N
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| LARED-L is a National Latino/Chicano Network |
Estimados/as Colegas: There are a lot of listserv subscribers, but only a few actually 'Get It.' By 'Get It,' I mean that folks actually understand the potential power of listservs networks to empower 'La Gente' by bringing them together from throughout the country on a 'Cyber Discussion Forum' such as LARED-L. LARED-L is a National Latino/Chicano Network because we have subscribers from throughout the USA, mostly the West Coast, Southwest and Intermountain Regions. Today, you may have received a messages from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, El Paso, Chicago, California, New York., Dallas, Denver, or Salt Lake City. Yet, were all joined together through the power of LARED-L. http://www.lared-latina.com/subs.html LARED-L might be considered an International Network as well, because we have some subscribers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Argentina. Listserv Networks provide Latinos/Hispanics/Chicanos a Cyber-Platform where we can come together to discuss vital issues and concerns related to nuestra comunidad. There are other Latino Listservs, but many are specialized lists. ie., Such as listservs for Engineers, Librarians, etc., These Listservs have their own discussion rules and protocol, and socio-political issues are rarely addressed. LARED-L is unique in that we have an 'Open Forum' that encourages discussion of ethnically relevant social and political issues. The term 'Open Forum' can refer to several things, depending on who is speaking and what the context is. All of these meanings, however, imply the open exchange of ideas and information, usually to better the common good. The word 'Forum' comes directly from the Latin. In Roman times, the Forum was an open marketplace where people could make purchases, have discussions with other citizens, and try to reach agreement on matters of public interest. Some of these meanings have carried through to modern day on Cyber-Space. Friends, the growth and expansion of the LARED-L, depends largely on us. Do we care enough to tell a family member, friend, colleague or associate about LARED-L? This person could be a soldier, college student, colleague, or associate residing anywhere in the country or the world and still be able to join our Cyber-Network. I want to encourage each one of you to help just "one person" to join our Cyber Network. You can make it HAPPEN. All you need to do is to forward this message to a friend, colleague, or associate and direct them to the LARED-L visit at: http://www.lared-latina.com/subs.html Alternatively, you can just send me your friend's name and email address, and I'll be glad to add them directly to LARED-L: La Gran Voz del Pueblo Atentamente, Roberto Franco Vazquez rvazquez@lared-latina.com or rcv_5186@aol.com |
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Friends, I am honored to introduce you to a new book titled "Hidden Enemy." Its focus is the life experiences of a Chicano Vietnam veteran who faces the difficulties and challenges living with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The stories in the book reflect the personal experiences of U.S. Marine Oscar Munoz. He was born in El Paso Texas and raised in Arizona. It is a reality and emotional book that embodies the values and family history of many Chicanos and Latinos who fought in Vietnam. I encourage everyone to purchase the book. It is a must read book for our community, especially those involved with Chicano or Ethnic Studies. |
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Thank you Oscar and your brother Jessey Munoz for taking the time to write your story. I am sure it will touch the corazon and memories of our parents, brothers, sisters, Tios, Tias and camaradas who have served and are currently serving in our armed services. Adelante!!Gus Chavez guschavez2000@yahoo.com My tour of duty in Vietnam started in February 1969 and ended after 11 months and 20 days. I returned home in February 1970 as a Lance Corporal of the U.S. Marines. My family and friends do not know exactly what I endured while in Vietnam but those memories are in my head. So many of these faded fragments come and go yet other events I can recall moment by moment, detail by detail. I endured hardships yet I served my country well. In order for me to forge ahead, I need to write down my thoughts. I write this book so that I may voice my feelings and see my life on paper. Living as a veteran with PTSD is difficult. Having served as a U. S. Marine has been a life of honor. Perhaps the most difficult part of moving ahead is dealing with the deaths that I saw in the battles in Vietnam. Those memories have remained engraved in my head. The battles that I fought are penned in this book. These are not the only encounters with the enemy that I had but these are the events that I am constantly reminded of when my PTSD consumes me. About Jessey Munoz: Oscar Muñoz served in the U. S. Marines from February 1969 to February 1970. This book is based on his war experiences while serving in Vietnam. He has been honored with service medals. Oscar is married to Norma. They live in San Diego. Oscar has 3 children and has been blessed with 2 grandchildren. Jessey Muñoz has self-published one poetry book and two children’s books. This is his first non-fiction book. He has been an educator for the past 35 years. He graduated from Brigham Young University and earned his Masters from Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas. He and his wife, Pat, have three children and one grandson. Ordering Information 6 x 9 color paperback ISBN: 9781478741572 |
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Patriots from the Barrio by Dave Gutierrez
Frank, I just finish reading the book and it amazing
to read about all of the young Mexican American young men who saw
the National Guard as a way to getting a steady $21.00 a month and
extra when you did training. That was a big salary jump for the many
who only had farm work and or some limited service jobs available to
them. Dave Gutierrez does a outstanding piece of writing and weaving
historical events within the legacy of Company E.
I got some real great memories from his writing of the nicknames that were given to many if not all of the Mexican American service men. O, there were women as well who he mention who join the WAX's.
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After reading Dave inclusion of "Ruben" I
reflected just how many other "Ruben" got a similar letter. As
you may know repatriation started in the late 1920s, but increased
substantially during the Great Depression, therefore it went pass 1933
when as many as two million people of Mexican descent were forced or
pressured to leave the US.
On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 3:25 PM, Frank Luna <frankluna@hotmail.com>
wrote:
Sent by Juan Marinez jmarinezmaya@gmail.com |
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Champion of the Barrio: The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty by: R. Gaines Baty Buryl Baty was a winning athlete, coach, builder of men, and an early pioneer against bigotry. In 1950, after serving in the second world war and then quarterbacking the Texas Aggies during the glory days of the old Southwest Conference, Baty became head football coach at Bowie High School in El Paso. He quickly inspired his athletes, all Mexican Americans from the south side ghetto, the Segundo Barrio, with his winning ways and his personal stand against the era’s extreme, deep-seated prejudice—to which they were subjected. However, just as the team was poised to win a third championship, an unthinkable tragedy turned their world upside down. Years later, these former players reflected on how Coach Baty had influenced them to be worthy and successful men, and dedicated their school’s stadium in his name. They also inducted him into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame. |
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In this poignant memoir, R. Gaines Baty also describes his own journey to get to know his father. Coach Baty’s life story is portrayed from the perspectives of nearly one hundred individuals who knew him, in addition to many documented facts and news reports. NFL Hall of Famer Raymond Berry provides a heartfelt and relevant foreword, and Gene Stallings, Ray Sanchez (El Paso Sports), Alexander Wolff (SI), Roger Staubach, Kent Hance, Nolan Richardson and others have endorsed the book. A university professor labeled this an important and historic piece of work. It is an inspiring true story of leadership and triumph. Champion of the Barrio, The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty is published by the Texas A&M University Press, and is available for pre-purchase at www.Amazon.com and www.Barnesandnoble.com for delivery in February, 2015. See www.ChampionoftheBarrio.com for more information. R. GAINES BATY, Coach Baty’s son, founded and directs an executive search firm in Dallas, serving high-growth and Fortune 500 companies. He was an accomplished athlete in high school and college, receiving All-Southwest Conference and All-Era honors. In 2011, he was inducted into the Garland, Texas, Sports Hall of Fame. What Readers Are Saying: "This is an evocative, heartfelt book about borders--a border town; the invisible border that divided Texans in the mid-20th century; and how Buryl Baty, an Anglo man with a football pedigree, reached across that line to influence scores of Latinos through the game he knew and loved. Champion of the Barrio is an important contribution to our understanding of the power of sports to reach, teach, and transform and a vivid portrait of an inspirational figure who was cut down too soon."--Alexander Wolff, author, Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure "The spirit of Buryl Baty lives on so strongly in our hearts and minds because this man was a hero to us all. Coach Baty was a god-send, touching so many lives. He left us too soon, but he left his legacy of inspiration, social consciousness, and love. This book is a must read!"--Nolan Richardson Jr., Hall of Fame, NCAA National Championship Coach, and graduate of Bowie High School in the Segundo Barrio of El Paso "Perhaps the most talented and gifted athlete to ever come out of Paris High School . . . a coach would consider himself mightily blessed to get one Buryl Baty during his coaching career."--Raymond Berry, NFL Hall of Fame player and Super Bowl coach, NFL All-Time Team, and Retired Number 82 for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts "You could not grow up in Paris, Texas without knowing about Buryl Baty. I've heard about him all my life, and now I know why. He took on the world, and he won. This is an inspiring account and a great read."--Gene Stallings, former head coach at Texas A&M University, St. Louis Cardinals, and the National Championship University of Alabama; and College Football Hall of Fame "I knew Buryl Baty well. He created a glorious era and legacy for his team and school, and it was unbelievable how he captured El Paso's heart. This is a gripping story -- that brought tears to my eyes. Buryl Baty's name lives on."--Ray Sanchez, former writer and editor of the El Paso Herald-Post, author of seven books, member of five Halls of Fame, recipient of several journalism awards, and consultant for the movie Glory Road “The author describes his father as a hero and a legend, and by the end of the story the case is made. Buryl Baty was an athlete and a coach, but he is a legend because he inspired young Latinos to reach for a better life. The young people of El Paso’s Segundo Barrio faced prejudice every day . . . many readers will be shocked at the vicious treatment Coach Baty’s young players received in Snyder and Big Spring. Discrimination against Latinos is not as familiar to most Americans as discrimination against African-Americans. Coach Baty’s fight against racism and bigotry should resonate with readers.”—Michael Barr, author, Remembering Bulldog Turner, Unsung Monster of the Midway "I believe in this story and in the power of one person to change the lives of the young people entrusted to his care—in this case a football team who Coach Baty would not allow to be discriminated against. It is powerful and uplifting."—Frances B. Vick, coauthor of Petra’s Legacy and Letters to Alice "It's fun learning about Coach Baty. He could run. He could pass. He was a great leader on and off the field. It's a great story about a great man."--Roger Staubach, executive chairman of Jones, Lang, LaSalle; Heisman Trophy winner; and Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame quarterback "A great story about a man who touched lives and is still touching them even though he is gone . . . His son, Gaines Baty, was a student of mine at Texas Tech and played football for the Red Raiders. He is a fine man who had a great dad. This book is a good read about character and football."--Kent Hance, former Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, US Congressman, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, and Texas State Senator Sent by Roberto Calderon, Ph.D. Roberto.Calderon@unt.edu |
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Claiming Rights and Righting Wrongs in Texas
Overview: The World of the Mexican Worker in Texas;
In Claiming Rights and Righting Wrongs in Texas, Emilio
Zamora traces the experiences of Mexican workers on the American home
front during World War II as they moved from rural to urban areas and
sought better-paying jobs in rapidly expanding industries. Contending
that discrimination undermined job opportunities, Zamora investigates
the intervention by Mexico in the treatment of workers, the U.S. State
Department's response, and Texas' emergence as a key site for
negotiating the application of the Good Neighbor Policy. He examines
the role of women workers, the evolving political struggle, the rise
of the liberal-urban coalition, and the conservative tradition in
Texas. Zamora also looks closely at civil and labor rights?related
efforts, implemented by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
and the Fair Employment Practice Committee.
Emilio Zamora, Professor Fellow, George W. Littlefield Professorship in American History E.zamora@austin.utexas.edu Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@msu.edu |
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The World War I Diary of José de la Luz Sáenz
by J. Luz Sáenz (Author), Emilio Zamora (Editor), Ben
Maya (Translator)
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Review: The Seeds of the Mexican American Civil Rights
Movement
By Marco Antonio Abarca VINE VOICE on September 24, 2014 Format: Paperback Verified Purchase Soon after war was declared against Germany, Jose de la Luz Saenz volunteered to join the U.S. Army. Saenz was a teacher and family man from South Texas. He volunteered instead of waiting to be drafted because he wanted to show his patriotism and commitment to the country of his birth. During the Great War, Saenz kept a diary which he published in Spanish in1933.
Saenz' diary can be read on many different levels. At
its core, Saenz' diary is a chronicle of his life as a front line
American soldier fighting in the trenches of France. As an educated
school teacher, Private Saenz was given the opportunity to work in his
battalion's headquarters unit where he served as a French language
translator. Although he was in a support unit, Saenz was up close to
the fighting and experienced war in all of its random brutality. Jose
de la Luz Saenz was a good writer and did a solid job of recounting
his wartime experiences. The Great War produced many great first
person narratives. As a diary, Saenz' work is good but not great.
The real value of Saenz' diary is as a political text.
In 1917, Saenz was a member of Texas' very small Mexican American
middle class. At that time, living conditions for Mexicans and Mexican
Americans were especially difficult. The society was openly racist and
very violent. Saenz saw military service during war as the catalyst
that would change how Mexican people were treated in Texas. Taking up
arms in service of the United States was a political action which
would allow veterans and their families to assert that they were
United States citizens with all the corresponding rights. These
political themes run throughout Saenz' diary and that is what makes it
such an interesting book
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ON THE
MARCH WITH THE ST.
PATRICK’S BATTALION ___________________________________________________________________________________ LAS AVENTURAS DE NOLDO Y SU PATINETE MÁGICO EN MARCHA CON EL
BATALLÓN DE SAN PATRICIO by
Armando Rendón Publisher: Starry Night Publishing (www.starrynightpublishing.com) Click
on the links below for a copy: Kindle
Edition
Nook
Edition The Adventures of
Noldo and His Magical Scooter on the March with the St. Patrick’s
Battalion
is the story of a Mexican American boy who is magically transported from
1950’s San Antonio, Texas, to the early days in 1847 of the war
between the U.S. and Mexico. On his adventure, he gains a new
perspective on the causes of the war and meets some of the Irishmen who
became known as the San Patricios, a band of soldiers who forged a bond between the
Irish and Mexican people that persists to this day. Noldo discovers a
century-old treasure that helps him befriend a tough red-haired newcomer
to the barrio. Noldo helps us feel what it was like to live in a
community that was still trying to pull itself out of the hard times of
the Depression and the war years that followed. His story reinforces the
family and social values of a community which had been deprived of many
opportunities by the mid-1900s. Finally, the story forges a link for
Chicanos to their roots in the Southwest, to the critical importance of
a history-changing conflict, and to a history that has been otherwise
excluded from school textbooks and the mass media. Las Aventuras de Noldo y Su Patinete Mágico
en Marcha con El Batallón de San Patricio es
un cuento de un joven méxico-americano que se encuentra mágicamente a
principios del comienzo de la guerra entre los Estados Unidos y México
de 1847 siendo él de San Antonio, Texas de los 1950s. Durante su
aventura adquiere un entendimiento más amplio de las causas de la guerra y
conoce algunos de los soldados irlandeses conocidos después como los
San Patricios, unos soldados que se unieron a los mexicanos formando una
amistad que perdura hasta la actualidad. Noldo descubre un tesoro
centenario que le permite ayudar a un pelirrojo endurecido recién
llegado al barrio. Noldo nos ayuda a entender lo que es vivir en una
comunidad que aún luchaba para levantarse de los tiempos duros de la
Depresión de los 1930 y los años de guerra que siguieron. Su historia
afirma los valores familiares y sociales de una comunidad excluida de
muchas oportunidades para los 1950s. Por fin el cuento establece un
puente para los chicanos con sus raíces en el suroeste con la
importancia crítica de un conflicto que cambió la historia que hasta
la fecha se ha excluido de los libros de texto escolares y de los medios
de comunicación. Read also the first in The Adventures
of Noldo series: Noldo and his
magical scooter at the Battle of the Alamo Lean también la primera en la serie de Las
Aventuras de Noldo: Noldo y su
patinete mágico en La Batalla de El Álamo About the
author Armando Rendón is an award-winning author as a finalist in the
2014 International Latino Book Awards. He grew up in the West Side
barrio of San Antonio, Texas, and much of our hero’s story and
background sounds a lot like the life and times of the author. Armando
moved to California in 1950, but he stored away his childhood memories,
he now believes, so he could write this first in a planned series of
stories about the adventures of a Mexican-American boy growing up in a
challenging period in U.S. history during and right after World War II.
He authored Chicano
Manifesto, the first book about Chicanos by a Chicano, in
1971. He is also the founder and editor of the online literary magazine,
Somos en escrito, which he
launched in November 2009; it can be accessed at www.somosenescrito.blogspot.com. Nota sobre el autor Armando Rendón es ganador de un premio
literario, como finalista en el concurso, Premio Internacional del Libro
Latino de 2014. Rendón creció en el barrio del oeste de San Antonio,
Tejas, y gran parte de la historia de su héroe y de su ambiente semejan
bastante la vida y la época de su autor. Armando se mudó a California
en 1950, pero ahora cree que atesoró sus recuerdos de infancia para
escribir esta primera en una serie pensada para contar las historias de
un chicanito que creció en un período de desafío de la historia de
los Estados Unidos, durante y justo después de la Segunda Guerra
Mundial. Armando es autor del Chicano
Manifesto, el primer libro sobre los chicanos
escrito por un chicano, en 1971. Es fundador y editor de la revista
cibernética, Somos en escrito, creada en noviembre de 2009 y
accesible al: www.somosenescrito.blogspot.com. Armando vive en Berkeley, California. The original painting
for the cover
is by famous San Antonio artist, Joe Villarreal. El cuadro original en
la cubierta fue pintado por Joe Villarreal, famoso artista de San
Antonio. For
more information / Para más información Contact/comuníquese con
Rendón at/al armandobrendon@gmail.com,
o tel. 510-219-9139. |
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Chapter
2 “Abuelita! ¿Donde esta?” where was she, he called out, as he shook himself out of the parlor chair to look for his grandmother. Abuelita didn’t answer right away, so she must be in the backyard. He walked the few steps to the back door and peered out. She wasn’t in sight but the door to the barn, which was really like an overgrown shed, was ajar. Noldo opened the screen door and started to run out but paused a moment to make sure the door didn’t slam. He was always getting into trouble for letting the door bang shut—he didn’t want that to happen just now. In a few steps he was at the shed door, and he could
hear his grandmother rummaging about among the tons of used and
discarded junk that had piled up over the years. Noldo loved to poke about among the many things that had been stored in the shed: an old washing machine that needed to be cranked by hand, a broken chair hanging from the rafters, tools, brooms and an old chest of drawers filled with gadgets that no one knew how to use anymore. In the back section of the shed was the prize relic: a Ford Model A. Often, after checking that he had enough gasoline and the tires were pumped up (they were actually flat and worn out), Noldo would crank up the engine, then climb into the driver’s seat, rev the engine, letting out the brake as he drove off to one of the many places he had read about in his school books or seen in movies. Sadly, the old car—his grandpa’s—was rusting away; it sat up high on wooden blocks, but in Noldo’s mind, it was still road-worthy and capable of traveling up mountains and across oceans. Against the wall near the old Model A was Noldo’s own creation, a scooter that he and Rafas had patched together with lumber and nails they had scavenged from the shed and neighborhood. The key part had been the single metal skate he had found in the callejón that ran behind his grandmother’s house. Every once in a while, he would sneak in and make sure the scooter was still in its corner and dust it off with a rag he kept there. Even in the gloom of the shed, the scooter’s wheels picked up the sunlight that filtered into the old barn—to Noldo, it seemed ready to take off as soon as he could step on its running board. Still, he had to convince his abuelita that it was safe for him to ride la máquina, the machine, as she called it. “Hola, abuelita. ¿Le puedo ayudar en algo?” he called out, offering to help her with whatever she was doing. The inside of the shed, which on this end had a lower ceiling, was mostly filled with garden tools, a lawnmower, rakes, and other objects. Some of the stuff, which hung from the rafters or on hooks in the walls, had been gathering dust and rust for as long as Noldo could remember. For him, though, it was a place of mystery and adventure; he just knew that some of the things could tell a story if they had mouths. “Arnoldo, sí, ven, ayúdame con esta canasta. Esta llena de cosas que quiero tirar a la basura,” his grandma answered out of the gloom toward the back of one of the corners. She needed help hauling out a wicker basket filled with things she wanted to throw in the trash. Noldo couldn’t believe it. Abuelita had never thrown anything away! “Sí, cómo no, abuelita. Déjeme sacarla para usted.” Noldo went into the shed as soon as he heard his abuelita’s request: of course, he would help her take out the basket; besides, he was really curious to learn what she had decided to dump. Maybe, too, he wanted to get on her good side so he could ride his scooter. Noldo could make out his grandmother as his eyes became accustomed to the shadows. She was a short woman, her figure always erect when she stood or strode anywhere; her once jet-black hair was now quite grey and as always spun into trenzas, braids that were wound around the top of her head. She had taken the precaution of donning a large scarf, to avoid the dust and cobwebs that reigned in the less used areas of the garage. As he got next to his grandma, he stooped to grab the basket. “Ten cuidado, m’ijo, esta pesada,” his abuelita warned him to take care with the heavy container. The basket was so heavy that Noldo, who was wiry and strong despite his gangly body, had to drag it out into the hard-packed area of dirt near the door to the shed. “¡Chispas! Abuelita, de veras, está bien pesada,” Noldo told her with a grunt, agreeing with her that the basket was truly quite heavy. As he glanced at the basket, Noldo’s curiosity ached
to discover if he could what kinds of things abuelita was discarding; he
was sure some of it was really neat stuff. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Extracto
de Las Aventuras de Noldo y Su
Patinete Mágico en Marcha con El Batallón de San Patricio: autor,
Armando Rendón Capítulo
2 --¡Abuelita!
¿Dónde está? Gritó en voz alta buscándola, se movilizó para
levantarse del sillón para salir a buscar a su abuela. Pero su abuela
no contestó en seguida así que tenía que estar en el traspatio. Se
acercó a la puerta de atrás para asomarse por la malla; no la miraba
por ningún lugar pero la puerta grande del establo, de verdad un
cobertizo grande, estaba entreabierta. Noldo
abrió la puerta de malla y empezó a salir corriendo pero se detuvo un
instante para cuidar que la puerta no diera un golpe. Siempre lo regañaban
cuando la puerta cerraba con un golpe. Y no era el momento para
olvidarse de eso. En
dos pasos estaba en la entrada, y podía oír a su abuela hurgar entre
las toneladas de objetos usados, abandonados y acumulados a través de
los años. A
Noldo le encantaba explorar entre todas las cosas que se habían
guardadas en ese cobertizo. Una máquina de lavar que funcionaba a mano
con una manivela, una silla rota colgada de las vigas, herramienta,
escobas y una cómoda llena de cosas que ya nadie sabía como usar. En
el mero fondo del cobertizo estaba lo mejor, una reliquia que se llevaba
el premio: un Fotingo Modelo A. Frecuentemente,
después de revisar que tuviera bastante gasolina y que las llantas
estuvieran infladas (de verdad estaban ponchadas y desgastadas), Noldo
le daba al motor con la manivela, luego subirse detrás del volante,
acelerar el motor, aflojar los frenos y se arrancaba a uno de los
lugares de los que había leído en sus libros escolares o visto en el
cine. Lamentablemente, el carro viejo, de su abuelo, se estaba
desgastando enmohecido. Estaba sobre bloques de madera pero en la
imaginación de Noldo todavía era bueno para la carretera y podía
subir por montañas y atravesar los mares. Recostado
contra la pared cerca del Fotingo viejo estaba su propia creación, el
patinete que él y Rafas habían armado de tablas y clavos pepenados del
cobertizo y del barrio. Lo más importante había sido el patín viejo
que se habían encontrado en el callejón detrás de la casa de su
abuela. De
vez en cuando se metía a escondidas para asegurarse que el patinete aún
estaba en la esquina y le pasaba una garra que allí tenía para
quitarle el polvo. Aún en la oscuridad del cobertizo las ruedas del
patinete brillaban con la reflexión de los rayos de sol que se
filtraban en el viejo establo. Para Noldo parecía que estaba listo para
despegar en el momento que se subiera. Sin
embargo, aún tenía que convencer a su abuelita que no había peligro
en que anduviera en “la máquina”, como ella le decía. --Hola,
abuelita, le puedo ayudar en algo-- gritó, para ofrecer ayudarle en lo
que estuviera haciendo. Adentro
del cobertizo, que del lado donde estaba más bajo el techo, estaba
lleno mas bien de herramienta para el jardín, la máquina para cortar
el zacate, rastrillos, y otras cosas. Unas cosas colgadas de las vigas,
de los ganchos en las paredes tenían años enmohecidos
acumulando polvo desde que tenía memoria Noldo. Pero para él,
sin embargo, era un lugar de misterio y aventuras; estaba seguro que si
pudieran hablar contarían muchas cosas. --Arnoldo,
sí, ven, ayúdame con esta canasta. Está llena de cosas que quiero
tirar a la basura-- le contestó su abuela desde la oscuridad de una
esquina. Necesitaba ayuda para arrastrar una canasta de mimbre llena de
cosas que quería tirar en la basura. Noldo
no lo podía creer. La abuela nunca tiraba nada. --Sí,
como no, abuelita. Déjeme sacarla para usted--
Noldo entró al cobertizo en cuanto oyó lo que le pedía. Claro que le
ayudaría a sacar la canasta, además, tenía la curiosidad de ver qué
era lo que iba a tirar. También, quizá, quería quedar bien con ella
para poder andar en su patinete. Al
acostumbrarse los ojos a la oscuridad, Noldo alcanzó a reconocer la
figura de su abuela. Era una mujer chaparrita, pero siempre derechita de
pie o caminando por dondequiera que fuera; su cabello antes negro
azabache ahora era mas bien gris siempre en trenzas enroscadas arriba de
la cabeza. Tenía un pañuelo sobre la cabeza para evitar el polvo y las
telarañas que abundaban en los lugares menos usados del garaje. Al
lado de su abuela se agachó para agarrar la canasta. --Ten cuidado,
m’ijo, está pesada-- le advirtió su abuela para que tuviera cuidado.
La canasta estaba tan pesada que Noldo, a pesar de ser delgaducho era
fuerte, tuvo que sacarla arrastrando hasta cerca de la puerta del
cobertizo donde la tierra estaba dura. --¡Chispas!
Abuelita, de veras está bien pesada-- le dijo a su abuela, de acuerdo
que estaba bien pesada. Al
ver la canasta, Noldo tenía curiosidad para descubrir qué cosas eran
las que estaba tirando su abuela. Estaba seguro que tenía que haber
cosas muy interesantes. Armando
Rendón,
an award-winning author, grew up in the West Side barrio of San Antonio,
Texas, and much of the hero’s story and background sounds a lot like
the life and times of the author. This novel about the St. Patrick’s
Battalion is second in a planned series about the adventures of a Tejano
kid growing up in a challenging period in U.S. history during and right
after World War II. The first story, Noldo
and his magical scooter at the Battle of the Alamo, was a finalist
in the 2014 International Latino Book Awards. Copies of both books are
available from bookstores, and online outlets. Rendón is founder and
editor of the online Somos en escrito Magazine; he is author of Chicano
Manifesto, the first book about the Chicano Movent, also available
online. Armando
Rendón, ganador de premio literario, creció en
el barrio del oeste de San Antonio, Tejas, y gran parte de la historia
de su héroe y de su ambiente semejan bastante la vida y la época de su
autor. Esta novela que trata de El Batallón de San Patricio es la
segunda en una serie planeada acerca
de un Tejanito sobreviviendo en la época difícil de la historia de los
EE.UU. durante y justo después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. La primera
historia, Noldo y su patinete mágico en la Batalla
de El Álamo, fue finalista en el concurso, Premio Internacional del
Libro Latino de 2014. Copias están disponibles de ambos libros en
librerías y servicios en línea. Rendón es fundador y editor de la
revista en línea, Somos en escrito; además es autor del Chicano Manifesto, el primer libro acerca del Movimiento Chicano,
también disponible en línea.
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Rethinking the Chicano Movement New York: Routledge (December 2014), 212pp. By Marc Simon Rodriguez Overview: In the 1960s and 1970s, an energetic new social movement emerged among Mexican Americans. Fighting for civil rights and celebrating a distinct ethnic identity, the Chicano Movement had a lasting impact on the United States, from desegregation to bilingual education. Rethinking the Chicano Movement provides an astute and accessible introduction to this vital grassroots movement. Bringing together different fields of research, this comprehensive yet concise narrative considers the Chicano Movement as a national, not just regional, phenomenon, and places it alongside the other important social movements of the era. Rodriguez details the many different facets of the Chicano movement, including college campuses, third-party politics, media, and art, and traces the development and impact of one of the most important post-WWII social movements in the United States. Review "With Rethinking the Chicano Movement, Marc Simon Rodriguez has artfully placed El Movimiento into its rightful place in American civil rights history. Rethinking is a critical addition to the undergraduate classroom, a significant reinterpretation of the movement’s legacy, and an exceptional read for anyone interested in Mexican American and civil rights history. This book is a must read."—Michael Innis-Jiménez, author of Steel Barrio: Mexican Migration to South Chicago, 1915-1940 "This book offers a compelling narrative of the Chicano movement, bringing to light its broad history, successes and limitations, as well as much new information on the struggle. Rethinking the Chicano Movement is a tremendously ambitious and important work."—Brian D. Behnken, author of Fighting Their Own Battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Texas "Rodriguez has written an interesting and fresh interpretation of the Chicano movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is an exciting book combining dramatic chapters with an insightful and balanced analysis. Historians will welcome this superbly rendered synthesis. It is ideally suited for students seeking to understand the social ferment that surrounded the Chicano struggle for equality and justice."—Zaragosa Vargas, author of Crucible of Struggle: A History of Mexican America from Colonial Times to the Present About the Author: Marc Rodriguez is currently Associate Professor of History and Managing Editor of the Pacific Historical Review at Portland State University in Oregon. Rodriguez has taught history, law, and Latino Studies at Princeton University, and served as the Director of the Civil Rights Heritage Center at Indiana University, South Bend. His book, "Tejano Diaspora," won the 2012 NACCS Tejas Nonfiction Book Award, given by the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) Tejas Foco. http://www.amazon.com/Marc-Simon-Rodriguez/e/B004APTIMW/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 Hardback and Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0415877428 ISBN-10: 0415877423 Edition: 1st Sent by Roberto Calderon, Ph.D. Roberto.Calderon@unt.edu |
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Backroads Pragmatists: Mexico's Melting Pot and Civil Rights in the United States By Ruben Flores Reviews: "A tremendously ambitious book, Backroads Pragmatists is uncommonly original and broad in conceptualization and research. The emphasis on ideas and their transnational circulation makes this the most important work on Mexican American civil rights struggles in the last decade."—Benjamin Johnson, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee "A powerful reminder that the one-way intellectual relationship North Americans often assumed for U.S.-Latin American intellectual relations was simply not the case. The influence of Mexican social reform in the United States promises to be of great interest to scholars in any number of fields, including U.S. and Mexican history as well as borderlands and transnational history."—Alexander Dawson, Simon Fraser University Overview: Like the United States, Mexico is a country of profound cultural differences. In the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution (1910-20), these differences became the subject of intense government attention as the Republic of Mexico developed ambitious social and educational policies designed to integrate its multitude of ethnic cultures into a national community of democratic citizens. To the north, Americans were beginning to confront their own legacy of racial injustice, embarking on the path that, three decades later, led to the destruction of Jim Crow. Backroads Pragmatists is the first book to show the transnational cross-fertilization between these two movements. In molding Mexico's ambitious social experiment, postrevolutionary reformers adopted pragmatism from John Dewey and cultural relativism from Franz Boas, which, in turn, profoundly shaped some of the critical intellectual figures in the Mexican American civil rights movement. The Americans Ruben Flores follows studied Mexico's integration theories and applied them to America's own problem, holding Mexico up as a model of cultural fusion. These American reformers made the American West their laboratory in endeavors that included educator George I. Sanchez's attempts to transform New Mexico's government agencies, the rural education campaigns that psychologist Loyd Tireman adapted from the Mexican ministry of education, and anthropologist Ralph L. Beals's use of applied Mexican anthropology in the U.S. federal courts to transform segregation policy in southern California. Through deep archival research and ambitious synthesis, Backroads Pragmatists illuminates how nation-building in post revolutionary Mexico unmistakably influenced the civil rights movement and democratic politics in the United States. Published in cooperation with the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University. Ruben Flores teaches American studies at the University of Kansas. URL: http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15223.html Backroads Pragmatists 360 pages | 6 x 9 | 26 illus. Cloth 2014 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4620-9 | $45.00s | £29.50 Ebook 2014 | ISBN 978-0-8122-0989-1 | $45.00s | £29.50 A volume in the Politics and Culture in Modern America series |
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Civil Rights: Is There More to the Story? by
Shana Burg http://shanaburg.com/2009/01/civil-rights-is-there-more-to-the-story/ |
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http://www.shanaburg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ruben-flores1.jpg http://www.shanaburg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/gonzoles-left.jpg http://www.shanaburg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/gonzales-right.jpg When Professor Ruben Flores told me about his research looking at the similarities between the fight for Mexican American civil rights and African American civil rights, I knew I had to interview him for my blog. Here’s our conversation: So how did you get interested in this? As an undergraduate I became interested in the civil rights movement and the NAACP school desegregation cases of the 1950s. I was interested in the use of social science in the federal courts and how anthropology and sociology were used to argue against segregation. For example, these sciences were being used to show that despite what many whites believed, there weren’t any differences in intellectual abilities among the different cultural communities of the nation. The researchers also showed that segregating black and whites created inferiority complexes among black children. Well, okay, but what does that have to do with Mexican Americans? As I was researching the NAACP cases, I found references in their files to a series of cases that involved not blacks but Mexicans and Mexican American students in the American West–California, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. These cases were from about 1944 to 1951. I found a similar use of social science in the courts in both sets of cases. I didn’t understand why there was no historical analysis of these cases in the American West, because they seemed so similar to the NAACP cases, especially because the same NAACP attorneys who later argued the Brown case participated in them. Two examples of pivotal school desegregation cases in the American West were Mendez v. Westminster and Delgado v. Bastrop.Did you know that Mendez v. Westminster was the first case in which a federal judge ruled that separate but equal was inherently unequal? So it didn’t make any sense to me that there was a division between cases in the West and the Deep South. It seemed to me that you could integrate these things. Where did the photos of the mural come from? What is this mural? (The photos are posted at the top of this page. Click on each one to see a larger view.) These are photos that I took. The mural depicts the history of white American immigration to Arizona on the right, the history of Mexican American immigration to Arizona on the left, with the meeting of school children from each of the two cultures depicted in the center of the mural. In the background of the center portion is a public school set in rays of the sun. This is the community’s way of celebrating the mixing of cultures that occurred as a result of the federal Gonzalez v. Sheely desegregation case argued in Arizona in 1951. The mural is located on the handball courts of the Tolleson Independent School District in Tolleson, Arizona. Tolleson was the district that was sued in the Gonzalez case. Was the segregation against Mexican Americans similar to the segregation faced by black Americans in the early 1900s? It’s difficult to make easy comparisons about practices that were so deeply entrenched, but I do think that it’s important to pay attention to differences as well as similarities. From the moment blacks came on the continent, for example, they were slaves. By 1950, you’re talking about 350 years of American social practice that discriminated against blacks. Discrimination against Mexicans can be traced to the early years of the American republic, too, but as a practice against an entire group of people, it reached its widest stretch when Mexicans first started coming into the country in large numbers, from 1915-1930. By this time in the twentieth century, America was already witnessing the emergence in the university and the court systems of strong anti-racism arguments. There was already an institutional push to get rid of racism. As I said, however, one has to be careful when generalizing. Racism was as strong against Mexicans as it was against blacks in some communities of early twentieth century America, though it wasn’t ever as universal or as long as that structural racism against blacks. What were some of the ways that Mexican Americans were discriminated against in the US in the early part of this century? They weren’t allowed into the better-equipped white public schools. In some cases they didn’t have bathroom facilities and water fountains. The discrimination was the lack of equal facilities and resources for school success. If you have available to you better teachers or courses, then you have a better chance of going onto college. Was there discrimination in restaurants and other public facilities? It was never as universal as the discrimination against blacks in the Deep South. But there were scores of communities that had restrictions against mixing of Mexican-Americans and whites in the public parks, in zoos, public transportation, and in some cases restaurants and cafes. There are stories of high-ranking Mexican officials visiting Texas who couldn’t go into a café to get a cup of coffee. It seems the worst cases of discrimination against Mexican Americans occurred in Texas. These discriminatory laws were in city codes. They were very prevalent in the Texas border towns. Well, I know that many of the Jim Crow laws referred to “Negroes and other non-whites,” so did the Jim Crow laws affect Mexican Americans too? Is this what you’re talking about? There were two sets of laws—those used against blacks, the Jim Crow laws, and also a separate set of regulations used against Mexican Americans. You didn’t necessarily have the presence of blacks and Mexicans in the same communities. Sometimes in the literature the statutes against Mexican Americans are referred to as the Juan Crow laws. Who were the major leaders? George Isidore Sanchez was a professor of education at the University of Texas in Austin. He helped to find the plaintiff in the Bastrop case that I mentioned above. This case was filed by a mom named Minerva Delgado. There was an administrative move to consolidate the schools in this rural county. In the process of consolidating, they ended up segregating the Mexican American kids. Minerva Delgado said, “Wait just a minute. My kids grew up here, they were born in the US, they speak English, they’re loyal to this country and they have nothing to do with Mexico.” She couldn’t understand why they had to be separated. She won the case. So is that what your research is all about? Showing what the two struggles had in common? Is it true that they really had so much in common? Well, looking at it from the top levels looking down, there are similarities that deserve more research. Ultimately, the extent of a common struggle remains open and will remain so until more work is done by scholars. But judges in the federal courts were writing opinions and borrowing from each other. And within the major anti-segregation groups like the NAACP and the American Jewish Congress, there was some sense that what was happening in the West and the South were part of one large story. I’m trying to show that the fight against segregated schools is better understood as a national campaign that involved multiple sets of students, rather than as a single campaign that only involved blacks in the Deep South. Teacher Resource: This web page contains an excellent video. In it, Sylvia Mendez talks about the conditions that existed for Mexican Americans which led to her parents’ participation in the landmark case Mendez v. Westminster. Ruben Flores is a research fellow at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas in Austin and an assistant professor at the University of Kansas. For more information about Professor Flores’s research, you can contact him at: flores@ku.edu . http://shanaburg.com/2009/01/civil-rights-is-there-more-to-the-story/ Hardcover: 360 pages Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (May 28, 2014) ISBN-10: 0812246209 · ISBN-13: 978-0812246209 · Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.2 x 9.5 inches |
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Democratizing Texas Politics: Race, Identity, and Mexican American Empowerment, 1945–2002 Austin: University of Texas Press (January 2014), 255pp. By Benjamin Márquez URL: http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/books/mardem Description: By the beginning of the twenty-first century, Texas led the nation in the number of Latino officeholders, despite the state’s violent history of racial conflict. Exploring this and other seemingly contradictory realities of Texas’s political landscape since World War II, Democratizing Texas Politics captures powerful, interrelated forces that drive intriguing legislative dynamics. These factors include the long history of Mexican American activism; population growth among Mexican American citizens of voting age; increased participation among women and minorities at state and national levels in the Democratic Party, beginning in the 1960s; the emergence of the Republican Party as a viable alternative for Southern conservatives; civil rights legislation; and the transition to a more representative two-party system thanks to liberal coalitions. Culling extensive archival research, including party records and those of both Latino activists and Anglo elected officials, as well as numerous interviews with leading figures and collected letters of some of Texas’s most prominent voices, Benjamin Márquez traces the slow and difficult departure from a racially uniform political class to a diverse one. As Texas transitioned to a more representative two-party system, the threat of racial tension and political exclusion spurred Mexican Americans to launch remarkably successful movements to ensure their incorporation. The resulting success and dilemmas of racially based electoral mobilization, embodied in pivotal leaders such as Henry B. González and Tony Sánchez, is vividly explored in Democratizing Texas Politics. Benjamin Márquez is Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His book, Mexican-American Political Organizations: Choosing Issues, Taking Sides won the Best Book Award from the Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. Benjamin Marquez l University of Wisconsin His teaching and research interests are in political sociology and American politics. He has published extensively on Latinos and American politics; his research has focused on Mexican American social movement organizations. He is currently the Director of the Chicano/Latino Studies Program. His latest book, Democratizing Texas Politics: Race, Identity, and Mexican American Empowerment, 1945-2002, was published by the University of Texas Press in 2014. His current project is a book on the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). A senior scholar of Latino political action examines the intriguing incongruities in post–WWII Texas politics, particularly the curious flourishing of Latino leadership during the state’s simultaneous transition to conservatism. Sent by Roberto Calderon, Roberto.Calderon@unt.edu
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‘Our America,’ by Felipe Fernández-Armesto |
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Review by Julio Ortega, January 17, 2014 Remapping the Territory In “Our America,” Felipe Fernández-Armesto, a British historian of Spanish heritage at the University of Notre Dame, recasts the pilgrimage of Hispanics in the United States as a rich and moving chronicle for our very present. His book navigates five centuries of painful documents, atrocious statements and dubious literature to argue that the United States was, from its beginning, as much a Spanish colonial southern enterprise as an unending march westward. After long periods of migration, deportation and accommodation, the next United States could well be a pluricultural bilingual power, updating the American dream. “Our America” is perhaps the first history to make the case for this nation’s becoming a bright Latin American country. From the brave conquistadors who dreamed of the legendary North American city of Cibola, the Fountain of Youth and the mythical kingdom of Queen Calafia, to the Texas secessionists who revolted against Mexico’s emancipation of its slaves (“the protection of slavery was among the most urgent economic reasons for rebellion,” Fernández-Armesto writes), to the Native Americans who saw the bison disappear from their prairies before being almost eliminated themselves, this story is one of random violence, intentionally inflicted pain and wanton killing (not to mention smallpox). The narrative moves easily from panoramic views and exemplary cases to interpretation and reflection. Fernández-Armesto’s first conclusion advances his main claim: “The U.S. empire, in short, was like the Spanish empire and the Mexican empire and Mexican imperial republic that succeeded Spain in North America, mixing mercies and malignity.” Spain, Mexico and the United States all turned to “subjugating, exploiting, victimizing and sometimes massacring.” Borges took the United States side in calling the Alamo “that other Thermopylae.” Octavio Paz protested. But the earliest representations of Nova Britannia were not too different from those of Nueva España: “most excellent fruits . . . much warmer than England, and very agreeable to our natures.” José Martí, the spokesman for the Cuban independence movement, advanced the notion of “Our America” in 1891 to distinguish it from Anglo-America, afraid of the idea of a Pan-America, a United States without borders. The 19th-century California novelist and playwright Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, the first Mexican-American female author to be published in English, rewrote “Don Quixote” and denounced “how we would be despoiled, we, the conquered people.” From a different perspective, a woman interviewed by The New York Times in 1856 spoke for many when she declared that “white folks and Mexicans were never meant to live together anyhow and the Mexicans had no business here.” This book is especially adept at following the construction of the United States territory as it defined its borders beginning in the early 1800s. Time and again, those borders were traced through rebellion, looting and murder. Spanish forces, Mexican armies and United States troops competed ferociously, with opportunists and landowners ready to join the shooting. In 1819, Spain renounced claims to Florida while the United States renounced Texas. But Mexico’s independence from Spain resulted in its losing Texas to immigrants from the United States, the “illegal aliens” of their day. John Quincy Adams said, “In this war, the flag of liberty will be that of Mexico, and ours, I blush to say, the flag of slavery.” Stephen Austin, on the other hand, saw the war between the Texans and Mexicans as one “of barbarism and of despotic principles, waged by the mongrel Spanish-Indian and Negro race against civilization and the Anglo-American race.” Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story The frontiers multiplied along with the cast of characters. The United States Land Commission of 1852-56 remade the map of California, redistributing estates at will. In Texas one wealthy Hispanic family defended its property in the courts for 50 years and lost. Other Hispanic landowners were shot or lynched. Things worsened with the California gold rush as nationality became an issue. Recent American citizens were excluded from the gold fields after California joined the Union, and they often turned to social banditry as a means of resistance. Probably the first Hispanic hero working as a bandit showed up in the 1890s in “El Hijo de la Tempestad,” by Eusebio Chacón, which may have been the blueprint for Zorro. Joaquín Murrieta is another popular hero of these early cultural wars. People doubted his existence but not his death at the hands of the Rangers. (Let’s hope Quentin Tarantino isn’t paying attention.) Though not cited by Fernández-Armesto, Carlos Fuentes is the Latin American author whose engagement with the many Mexican-United States borders became a poetic exploration. The frontier, he wrote, is a scar because the Rio Grande border is a historical body still alive. Its melancholic genealogy is a matrix of human sacrifice, recycling racism, marginalization and subjection. It is a brutal irony that President Obama, elected in Spanish (¡Sí, se puede!) and with a majority of Hispanic votes, has a record of more than 1.4 million deportations, many of which have expelled students and separated families. Fernández-Armesto dutifully deals with this changing landscape, writing with detail and gusto. He accounts for the incorporation of territories (in 1853, Tucson and nearly 30,000 square miles were transferred from Mexico to the United States); takes care of the adventurers (William Walker failed to incite rebellion in Baja California and Sonora, then invaded Nicaragua in 1856 only to be ousted); and pays attention even to “socialists” like the ones who rode into Mexico to exploit the Mexican Revolution. Puerto Rico was frozen in a zombie citizenship as a “free associated state,” a colonial euphemism. Cuba, of course, was a colonial dream. After American troops left the country in 1902, the United States maintained a puppet government for over 50 years. And there remains the hell of Guantánamo, designed by lawyers as an extralegal military base for prisoners of undeclared wars. One of the darkest hours registered in this book is the abduction of orphans by an Anglo mob in 1904, after the Sisters of Charity, in New York, sent abandoned children to Arizona for adoption by Mexican families. In a climax of racism and anti-Catholicism, the white locals seized the children. The district court ruled against “half-breed Mexican Indians,” who were “impecunious, illiterate,” saying that some good “Americans . . . assisted in the rescue of these little children from the evil into which they had fallen.” “Fraternization was unthinkable,” Fernández-Armesto says. In his 1925 book of essays “In the American Grain,” William Carlos Williams, born of a Puerto Rican mother and a British father, advanced the extraordinary notion that the United States’ Spanish beginnings were mythical, poetic, heroic but, first, modern — that is, made up by mixture. “Our America” documents Williams’s statement and opens space to follow new developments and drives. After all, America’s cultural history includes more than chewing gum (from Mexico) and Coca-Cola (from Peru). Latin American history has been not only a memory of things past but also a series of brave new projects of the future. The United States, for good and ill, has always made up an intrinsic part of its horizon. Because of the presence of Hispanics and the imperative of the Spanish language, Latin America is an inextricable part of the United States’ future. This book is also the history of that better mañana. OUR AMERICA A Hispanic History of the United States By Felipe Fernández-Armesto 402 pp. W. W. Norton & Company. $27.95. Julio Ortega, a professor of Hispanic studies at Brown University, is the author of “Transatlantic Translations.” A version of this review appears in print on January 19, 2014, on page BR8 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Remapping the Territory. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/books/review/paperback-row.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0 Sent by Jack Holtzman, Ph.D. jmelvyn@earthlink.net |
| See my astringent memory of Reies Lopez
Tijerina (813-816 in this piece, or 2-4) Michael A. Olivas Email: molivas@uh.edu http://www.law.uh.edu/ihelg/homepage.html |
UMKC Law Review Spring, 2008 Law Stories: Tales From Legal Practice, Experience, and Education *811 REFLECTIONS UPON OLD BOOKS, READING ROOMS, AND MAKING HISTORY Michael A. Olivas [FNa1][FNa1] Copyright (c) 2008 Curators of the University of Missouri; Michael A. Olivas Being a professor gives one many pleasures, and, at 57, I am noticing how these satisfactions have changed over time. Early on, all that counted was the race to publications, with some nod towards the quality of placement and the externally-driven clocks of tenure and promotion. In the next phase, I was acutely aware of audience, and produced a number of pieces that were more policy-driven, in the hope that I could reach readers and judges in different arenas. At a certain point, these merit badges began to decline in importance, and I have been driven by assisting students more, especially my research assistants-I actively solicit them from my classes and contacts at the University of Houston Law Center and require all of them to make a good faith effort to seek judicial clerkships after graduation. Nearly twenty have now done so, and I kick myself both for not having clerked myself after law school and for not picking up on this type of sponsorship earlier in my career. Finally, like some hidden National Security Agency cryptographer who finally sees how the pieces of flotsam and jetsam connect and discovers a network of spies or some deeper meaning in life's texts, I have recently seen something of a convergence in my own work, tying together many personal and professional threads that were always there but not evident to me. This generous invitation to write a law story, especially one that did not need to have many footnotes, has given me the eureka moment of epiphany, where the clouds cleared and I could feel the various strands coming together. The Flotsam and the Jetsam: Five Not-So-Easy Pieces Item one: Professor Richard Delgado contacted me to suggest I write a book on a variety of academic stories. He and Jean Stefancic are the editors of the important Critical America series, and he challenged me to write down a number of the ideas he knows are floating around. It is only fair, and symmetrical, since many years ago I had urged him to write a book, and then he became a man on fire, writing about ten books and editing the series for NYU Press. Out of the blue, in the summer of 2006, he sent me this note: I just reread Merit Badges, [FN1][FN1] which my librarian sent me (Jean and I are at a writers' colony in Port Townsend, WA) in a packet. I liked it even better the *812 second time, and still urge you to write a book, perhaps for our series, that combines memoirs and anecdotes/chapters from your life with political and legal analysis. This would be a new genre, which you would pioneer, and would fill a niche in nonfiction writing that no one else is better prepared to fill. I could see chapters on your childhood, mixed with reflections on poverty, welfare reform, and affirmative action; ones on your seminary period using that as a springboard to discuss freedom of religion and church-state issues; and ones based on your law school and teaching career to discuss equal protection, the right to education, and discrimination and affirmative action in upper-level jobs. [FN2][FN2] When I sent him the list of things I was working on, he sensed-through the e-mails, not in person-some ambivalence, and being Richard, he said so. Richard and I are close, and his remonstrance struck me. I wasn't really ambivalent, and I keep a pretty strong writing schedule; in fact, I had just finished the third edition of my casebook and its damned Teachers Manual, [FN3][FN3] and a big writing project on the legal history of a case to which I was trying to draw people's attention and had already booked about a dozen lectures, [FN4][FN4] over and above my other travel and lecturing obligations. But he was right that I did not appear to be excited by them. Had I reached a point where no writing projects were exciting me? Had my deep well finally run dry, like so many others had in my arid native New Mexico? I need not have worried. Spurred by his invitation to put together a book proposal, I did so, even if it was on a different topic than the one he had identified. A request by another publisher actually tipped me over the lethargy point, when I was invited to review a project on a topic I really wish I had chosen myself: an analysis of higher education legal topics, including defamation cases by faculty against each other and other such topics-ones I follow both as a student of higher education and as a college law casebook author. When I reviewed the proposal, and urged them to “run, not walk” to sign up the author, the editor thanked me for the “lovely and helpful” review and invited my own proposal some time. There they were-two invitations from two great presses to move forward with book proposals. To be sure, these were two different projects, but solicitations hold out the promise of a first date, where you just do not know how it will go, but it moves you off the dime with the expectation. As a result, I am actually doing both of these projects, on parallel tracks, one a collection of academic essays, or essays about academic life, and a book on Plyler v. Doe, [FN5][FN5] the *813 case about the rights of undocumented children to attend public schools in the U.S. Plyler was a Texas case, in part a Houston case, and I have written a half dozen articles and chapters on the topic. [FN6][FN6] But, remarkably, there has never been a full-length book on the case in the twenty-five years since it was decided, so I hope to re-examine the case and its importance through the lens of this past quarter century. Item two: on June 5, 2007, an important date in Mexican American history was commemorated-the fortieth anniversary of the violent takeover of the Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico courthouse by Reies Lopez Tijerina, a native of Texas who was leader of a small group of family members and others in his itinerant ministry. A New York Times story recalled the raid and its historical significance: His existence is far removed from the days when he was a leader in the land-rights struggle in New Mexico. He was thrust into the national spotlight in 1967 after leading an armed raid on a courthouse in Rio Arriba County in which two men were shot and others taken hostage. That violence led to a manhunt for Mr. Tijerina and more than two years in prison; his exploits were celebrated in folk songs like “The Ballad of Rio Arriba.” That event injected radicalism into the Chicano rights movement and was the crowning moment for a man with an unconventional personal trajectory. Largely self-educated, Mr. Tijerina traveled throughout the United States as a Pentecostal evangelist before founding a utopian religious community in the Arizona desert with 17 families in 1956. It was as leader of that group, Valle de Paz, where Mr. Tijerina says he had a vision involving three angels, an event advancing him into advocacy over the land grants the Spanish crown had given settlers centuries ago in what is today's Southwest. He formed the Alianza Federal de Mercedes Reales, which claimed that Anglo speculators took control of much of that land in violation of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848. Since the turbulent 60's, however, Mr. Tijerina has largely fallen from public view. His politics evolved from confrontation to coalitions, and he wrote a lengthy memoir in Spanish, “Mi Lucha por la Tierra” (“My Fight for the Land”), published in Mexico in 1978. After his house in New Mexico was *814 destroyed by fire in 1994, Mr. Tijerina moved to Uruapan, in central Mexico, where he married for a third time and lived quietly until decamping last month to Juarez. “People are continuously surprised to find out he's still alive,” said Rudy V. Busto, a professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of a new book on Mr. Tijerina's religious thinking. “He could easily be dismissed as absolutely crazy, but if you sit with him and give him an opening he will convert you,” Professor Busto said. “His worldview is internally consistent and based upon an adherence to divine authority found in sacred and historical texts.” Mr. Tijerina still employs a preacher's mastery of communication, citing Scripture and law, repeating his main points and reaching out to his audience, sometimes tapping them on the shoulder. On immigration, he said illegal immigrants were “simply coming back to their land,” a nod to Mexico's control of the Southwest until the mid-19th century. “Bush's own ranch is on stolen land,” he said, explaining how Texas, including President Bush's ranch near Crawford, was wrenched away from Mexico by secessionists in 1836. Rose Diaz, a research historian, said, “Reies has a right not to trust government.” Ms. Diaz secured Mr. Tijerina's personal papers for the political archives at the University of New Mexico. The documents, which include declassified parts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation file on Mr. Tijerina, show that the agency monitored him for more than a decade while repeatedly trying to infiltrate the Alianza. At times, Mr. Tijerina's thinking veers into the bizarre. He insists with prophetic intensity and theological references, for instance, that the United States is flirting with nuclear disaster through its military actions in the Middle East. He is also immersed in Jewish Scripture and history, and frequently refers to Israel's military strength and tension with radical Islam. [FN7][FN7] The Times story is a good summary of the events and a largely-sympathetic portrayal of Tijerina. Buried in the police-blotter details is the short reference: “two men were shot.” What the article does not do is name the victims of the raid: one of the two was the Tierra Amarilla deputy sheriff, Daniel Rivera, while the other was my cousin, Eulogio (Eloy) Salazar, the courthouse jailer. Cousin Eloy was called as a fact witness in the trial that ensued, but before he could testify, he was taken and beaten to death with a baseball bat or other stick. The police officials who found his body, near the small town of Canjilon, New *815 Mexico, indicated that they had never seen such a brutal murder. While his murderers were never brought to trial, my father's family from the area always felt that Tijerina and his brothers and supporters were the only ones who benefited from Salazar's death. Colleagues who are familiar with this complex history also have suggested that police authorities might have been responsible, but I do not live near the grassy knoll, and so have come to accept that we will never know who did exactly what. I do not write here to fill out the record, for I am not sufficiently-arm's length and thus would make a poor scholar of the events. The record is surprisingly spare, however, and few authoritative books have appeared on the raid or its aftermath. I am also not as forgiving as Cousin Eloy's widow, who is also my cousin, Casilda Olivas Salazar. At 93, she still lives in the house near the TA courthouse that Eloy built in the 1960's and never finished because of his murder. She spends her days with her daughters and grandchildren, takes a van to the Pojoaque Cities of Gold casino to play bingo (at 90, she cut down from 32 cards to 24, saying it was “not ladylike” to play so many cards) and a game she recently took up, Texas Hold ‘em, where she won $2500 on her first foray into the sport. She called me in August 2007 to tell me she had made us a quilt from scrap cloth we had taken to her in the summer, when we went to call upon her and pay respects. She hid in plain sight from the reporters who were sniffing out Tijerina commemorative stories, and to the best of my knowledge, she has never spoken publicly about the events or her husband's murder. She was a housewife and mother, and after her children were grown, she became the cook and serving lady in the local public schools. While we were at lunch at the town's only diner, a number of the people there came up to greet her and commented that they especially remembered her enchilada lunches and bizcochito cookies from their school menu. I remember clearly when I was a boy, and my father and grandfather-who had grown up in Tierra Amarilla, and who were heirs to the Olivas homestead in nearby Brazos, New Mexico-took us to the courthouse to see Cousin Eloy, whom I recall clearly as a gruff, no-nonsense kind of man. He once locked me and my brothers in the jail in a “scared straight” kind of fashion when we misbehaved. We hung tough for about five minutes and then began crying to be released, in a scene reminiscent of the movie Salt of the Earth, where the jailed wives and mothers banged on the bars, crying. Eloy released us, on the promise that we would not be cochinos any longer, one of the first times I heard the derogatory word applied to me. Item
five: in a recent article (in fact, it came in the mail the day I
started this essay, as an omen of some sort), in Aztlan, the leading
journal in Chicano Studies, a careful scholar looks at what he
characterizes as Hero Making in El *820 Movimiento: Reies Lopez
Tijerina and the Chicano Nationalist Imaginary, [FN16][FN16]
and I realize that Cousin Casilda has it right. If I am going to pursue
this Padre Martinez project to its logical conclusion, then I need to
harbor no additional hatred in my heart. I was in high school when it
happened, and I am reading documents that were printed by forebears over
150 years ago. To undertake such a project requires a purer heart than I
began it with, and so I seek absolution from the priests who have gone
before me and who mattered so much in my life and intellectual
formation, and I move on. But
there is one last vexing burr in my saddle. For a collateral project,
about a largely-unknown legal incident involving a Mexican American
veteran of World War II who is disrespected in a Richmond, Texas,
restaurant and refused service, even after winning the Congressional
Medal of Honor, I realize that the historical discourse has simply
ignored Mexican Americans. [FN17][FN17]
Of course, I know this, drawing back to the characterization of Padre
Martinez in Willa Cather's novel and many other pieces of evidence. As I
forgive the uneducated Tijerina, with whom I shared both my Cousin Eloy
and the transformative moment in a library reading room, I still need to
resolve my grievances against a more educated intellectual foe, Samuel
Huntington, one whose views genuinely have harmed me. In
his recent work, Harvard historian Huntington has attributed a variety
of ills to the immigration of Latinos, in particular Mexicans, both
documented and undocumented. Among his many charges is the conclusion
that persons of Mexican origin are fatalistic, unambitious, and docile.
For example, he opines:
[Author Jorge] Castaneda cited differences in social and economic
equality, the unpredictability of events, concepts of time epitomized in
the manana syndrome, the ability to achieve results quickly, and
attitudes toward history, expressed in the “cliche that Mexicans are
obsessed with history, Americans with the future.” Sosa identifies
several Hispanic traits (very different from Anglo-Protestant ones) that
“hold us Latinos back”: mistrust of people outside the family; lack
of initiative, self-reliance, and ambition; little use for education;
and acceptance of poverty as a virtue necessary for entrance into
heaven. Author Robert Kaplan quotes Alex Villa, a third-generation
Mexican American in Tucson, Arizona, as saying that he knows almost no
one in the Mexican community of South Tucson who believes in
“education and hard work” as the way to material prosperity and is
thus willing to “buy into America.” Profound cultural differences
clearly separate Mexicans and Americans, and the high level of
immigration from Mexico sustains and reinforces the prevalence of
Mexican values among Mexican Americans. [FN18][FN18]
*821 Huntington is crudely reductionist and misinformed about
virtually all the negative traits with which he paints Mexicans, and he
is particularly uninformed about the docility and passiveness of Mexican
Americans. Had he read further and deeper into Mexican and Mexican
American history, he would surely have eventually discovered the long
history of resistance and struggle against their lot in life, especially
in employing unyielding courts to press their case against racist
oppression. Even when the courts were hostile and when the State went to
great lengths to disenfranchise them, Mexican American plaintiffs and
their lawyers have a substantial record of aggressively-and
successfully-pressing claims and
looking to the legal system for redress. Indeed, even if it had been
true that Mexicans are a passive lot, it is an odd and cruel turn to
accuse persons so substantially marginalized by the advantaged in U.S.
society that they cannot be assimilated or accommodated because they had
somehow failed to resist that very oppression. [FN19][FN19]
Whatever these putative “Mexican values” are, Instituciones de
Derecho is surely not evidence of Mexican perfidy or apathy. If there
truly were a Mexican “obsession” with history, it likely exists
because those who continue to ignore the history of Mexicans in the U.S.
or paint them as inferior are ignorant of these stories, and willfully
so. How could anyone who knew this history assert that we have “little
use for education”? In the movie Stand and Deliver, math teacher Jaime
Escalante, exasperated at his students, shouts at them, “You burros
have math in your blood.” Instituciones
de Derecho and Algunos Puntos de Logica are evidence, such as were the
glorious Latin American pyramids and other architectures of the New
World that existed before Huntington's Pilgrims and Jamestown, of a
truth almost entirely hidden from the light-that there is an
extraordinary Latino world that is part of our collective cultural
heritage. Just as the European Archbishop Lamy failed to excommunicate
Padre Martinez, or to silence him, and just as Padre Martinez realized
that with the new colonizing and occupying government he couldbest serve
by training lawyers for the new United States regime, I can only imagine
how the academic world would have been if he and Padre Angelico Chavez
and Arnoldo DeLeon had written our history and others had read it. What
would history read like if we wrote the treatises and the novels, and if
we still had the printing presses? Those of us with their DNA must do
so. We burros have history in our blood. [FN1].
Michael A. Olivas, Reflections
on Academic Merit Badges and Becoming an Eagle Scout, 43 Hous. L. Rev.
81 (2006). [FN2].
E-mail from Richard Delgado, University Distinguished Professor of Law,
Derrick Bell Fellow, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, to Michael
A. Olivas, William B. Gates Distinguished Chair of Law, University of
Houston Law Center (May 11, 2006) (on file with author). [FN3].
Michael A. Olivas, The Law and Higher Education: Cases and Materials on
Colleges in Court (3d ed. 2006) (with Teachers' Manual). [FN4].
“Colored Men” and “Hombres Aqui”: Hernandez v. Texas and the
Emergence of Mexican-American Lawyering (Michael A. Olivas ed., 2006). [FN6].
Michael A. Olivas, Plyler v. Doe, Toll v. Moreno, and Postsecondary
Admissions: Undocumented Adults and “Enduring Disability,” 15 J.L.
& Educ. 19 (1986); Michael A. Olivas, Storytelling
Out of School: Undocumented College Residency, Race, and Reaction, 22
Hastings Const. L.Q. 1019 (1995); Michael
A. Olivas, IIRIRA,
the DREAM Act, and Undocumented College Student Residency, 30 J.C. &
U.L. 435 (2004); Michael A. Olivas,
Plyler v. Doe, the Education of Undocumented Children, and the Polity,
in Immigration Law Stories 197 (David A. Martin & Peter H. Schuck
eds., 2005); Michael A. Olivas, Immigration-Related
State and Local Ordinances: Preemption, Prejudice, and the Proper Role
for Enforcement, 2007 U. Chi. Legal F. 27 (2007);
Michael A. Olivas, Lawmakers Gone Wild? College Residency and the
Response to Professor Kobach, 61 SMU L. Rev. (forthcoming 2008). [FN7].
Simon Romero, 60's Latino Militant Now Pursues a Personal Quest, N.Y.
Times, May 5, 2006, at A16; see also William E. Schmidt, Ethnic Tensions
Rise in New Mexico After Arson, N.Y. Times, July 16, 1982, at A8 (houses
burned after 1982 land disputes). [FN8].
Juan Romero, Reluctant Dawn, A History of Padre Antonio Jose Martinez,
Cura de Taos (Taos Connection 2006) (1976). See also Fray Angelico
Chavez, But Time and Chance: The Story of Padre Martinez of Taos,
1793-1867 (1981). [FN9].
Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop (Vintage 1971) (1927). [FN10].
Fray Angelico Chavez, Origins of New Mexico Families in the Spanish
Colonial Period: In 2 Parts: The Seventeenth (1598-1693) and the
Eighteenth (1693-1821) Centuries (Calvin Horn Publisher 1973) (1954). [FN11].
Jose Maria Alvarez, Instituciones de derecho real de Castilla y de
Indias (1818) (available in Beinecke Rare Book Room, Yale University).
My thanks to the Beinecke Southwestern Collection Curator George Miles
for his generous assistance during an October 2007 visit. [FN12].
Philip Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography (2000); Philip
Gaskell & Clive Hart, Ulysses: A Review of Three Texts (1989). [FN13].
Olivas, supra note _Ref192346192\h \* MERGEFORMAT 3. [FN14].
Reies Lopez Tijerina, Mi Lucha por la Tierra 34 (Fondo de Cultura
Economica 1978); Reies Lopez Tijerina, They Called Me “King Tiger”:
My Struggle for the Land and Our Rights 9 (Jose Angel Gutierrez ed.
& trans., 2001). [FN15].
I have taken this thumbnail sketch of Padre Martinez's complex life and
works from Romero, supra note _Ref192376867\h \* MERGEFORMAT 8. [FN16].
Lee Bebout, Hero Making in El Movimiento: Reyes Lopez Tijerina and the
Chicano Nationalist Imaginary, 32 Aztlan: J. Chicano Stud. 93 (2007). [FN17].
Michael A. Olivas, The “Trial of the Century” That Never Was: Staff
Sgt. Macario Garcia, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the Oasis
Cafe, 83 Ind. L.J. (forthcoming 2008). [FN18].
Samuel Huntington, The Hispanic Challenge, Foreign Pol'y, Mar.-Apr.
2004, at 30, 44. [FN19].
For examples of the many excellent histories of this period, see Arnoldo
De Leon, They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes Towards Mexicans in
Texas, 1821-1900 104 (1983); David Montejano, Anglos and Mexicans in the
Making of Texas, 1836-1986 (1987); Neil Foley, Straddling the Color
Line: The Legal Construction of Hispanic Identity in Texas, in Not Just
Black and White: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on
Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in the United States 341 (Nancy Foner
& George M. Fredrickson eds., 2004); George A. Martinez, Legal
Indeterminacy, Judicial Discretion and the Mexican-American Litigation
Experience: 1930-1980, 27 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 555 (1994);
Ariela J. Gross, “The Caucasian
Cloak”: Mexican Americans and the Politics of Whiteness in the
Twentieth-Century Southwest, 95 Geo. L.J. 337 (2007). 76
UMKC L. Rev. 811 END
OF DOCUMENT
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Korean War Veterans Memorial located on the Washington, DC mall. Video: Vietnam, Service, Sacrifice, and Courage Ceremony to honor revived monument by Erika I. Ritchie A Beachside Retreat for Veterans Video: The Longoria Affair Her military mission in 1944 helped fellow Hispanic women by St. John Barned-Smith |
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Korean War Veterans Memorial located on the Washington, DC mall. is one of the most inspiring War Memorials in our Nation's Capital https://www.youtube.com/embed/AZuPrQBSDCs For more information, go to www.koreanwarvetsmemorial.org/
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| Vietnam, Service, Sacrifice, and Courage |
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The video is 28 minutes long, so be sure you have time to watch it all the way through. There are thousands of similar accounts of those who served in Vietnam, and this video does a great job of accurately expressing many of those experiences. A mufti-dimensional tribute to those who served in Vietnam. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6_5gJVXK0gI "The veteran with the gray hair wearing the blue shirt who was initiated into combat when he and his buddies killed a bunch of water buffalos at night thinking it was Charlie, is a member of the Palm Coast Florida Purple Heart 808 of which I am a member. He tells some very interesting story as do the others.
God bless all the Vietnam brave
men and women who, even though some felt we
should not have been in Vietnam, went anyway to
serve their country and their fellow soldiers,
unlike Wanna-be hero Geraldo Rivera, and
President Bill Clinton, and other so called
celebrities, not to mention those that are now
running our country and sending our troops into
arms way without proper support. And remember
Benghazi? That’s goes for both parties when it
comes to support of our troops. Semper Fi,
Garry Owen, and God bless our law
enforcement officers and troops."
Sent by Joe
Sanchez
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| WATCHING THIS VIDEO.....BROUGHT ME TO TEARS' 'GET YOUR HANDKERCHIEFS READY.... YOU ARE GOING TO SEE VIDEO AND YOU ARE GOING TO SEE AND HEAR THE STORIES OF POWS FROM THE VIETNAM WAR. YOU WILL ALSO SEE AND HEAR FROM ONE OF THE LONGEST PRISONERS OF WAR DURING THE VIETNAM WAR ...." A MEXICAN AMERICAN BY THE NAME OF EVERETT ALVAREZ, JR. (HE WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN PILOT SHOT-DOWN OVER NORTH VIETNAM WAS CAPTURED AND TORTURED HE SPENT 8YEARS AND 7MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY AS (POW). HE TOLD ME THAT HIS BUDDIES WERE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE AND ANOTHER BY TAPPING ON THE WALL '(MORSE CODE). I AM HONORED THAT THE HMOH HAD THE FORESIGHT TO FLY AND MEET COMMANDER EVERETT ALVAREZ, JR. IN ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND. I ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD ALLOW ME THE HONOR OF PUTTING HIS STORY IN AN 8FT.XY 8FT. PANEL AND TRAVEL AROUND THE UNITED STATES...HE SAID HE WOULD BE HONORED WE BOTH SIGNED WRITTEN AGREEMENT ALLOWING THE HMOH TO DO HIS STORY. I PROCEEDED AND FINISHED PUTTING HIS STORY TOGETHER...IT TOOK ME ABOUT 6-7 MOS. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE DAY OF THE UNVEILING OF "RETURN WITH HONOR" EXHIBIT IN ARKANSAS. EVERETT ALVAREZ WAS WITH US. THE MOMENT EVERETT ALVAREZ PULLED THE STRING THAT WAS COVERING THE PANEL IMMEDIATELY EVERYBODY WAS ABLE TO WATCH. THERE WAS A BIG APPLAUSE EVERETT HAD TEARS IN HIS EYES HE WAS WATCHING HIS STORY AS POW IN VIETNAM IN 8FT BY 8FT. PANEL. PEOPLE WERE CLAPPING HE THEN STEPPED UP TO THE PODIUM AND SPOKE... HEARING EVERETT SPEAK AND TELL HIS STORY IS WHEN PEOPLE BEGAN TO CRY THE CAMERAS WERE ROLLING. I SAW GENERALS AND WOMEN WALKING AWAY CRYING BECAUSE OF THE PAIN THEY WERE WATCHING AND HEARING THE MOANING FROM THE CROWD. IT IS A MOMENT THAT WILL LIVE WITH ME FOREVER'.....THANK YOU MR. ALVAREZ FOR ALLOWING HMOH THE HONOR....GOD BLESS YOU' AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY" P.S. I JUST REMEMBER SOMETHING ELSE. WHEN RICK COCHRAN AND I WERE INTERVIEWING MR. ALVAREZ' AT HIS OFFICE IN MARYLAND, MR. ALVAREZ WAS SITTING DOWN IN HIS CHAIR...... AND ON TOP OF HIS DESK WAS A "BRONZE STATUTE" OF A " POW BOUND AND ON HIS KNEES" HE WAS LOOKING UP' AND ON THE BOTTOM OF THE STATUTE WERE INSCRIBED THESE WORDS:.... ' I LOOK NOT TO THE GROUND FOR I HAVE NO SHAME..... I LOOK NOT TO THE HORIZON FOR THEY NEVER CAME.... I LOOK TO GOD'.... I LOOK TO GOD'.... GOD BLESS AMERICA' THE MOMENT I SAW THE STATUTE AND READ WHAT WAS INSCRIBED ON THE FOOT OF THE STATUTE...' I TOLD RICK COCHRAN GET YOUR CAMERA AND TAKE A PICTURE OF THE STATUE'.. HE DID....I HAD THE PICTURE ENLARGED AND YOU CAN SEE THE STATUTE BY GOING TO OUR WEBSITE. I DID ALL OF THIS WITH TREMENDOUS RESPECT AND HONOR FOR LT. COMMANDER (RETIRED) EVERETT ALVAREZ, JR.. A TRUE HERO TO SURVIVE AND WHAT HE HAD TO GO THROUGH FOR EIGHT YEARS AND SEVEN MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY. GO TO www.hispanicmedalofhonor.org WATCH EVERETT ALVAREZ EXHIBIT (RETURN WITH HONOR) Thanks, Rick Leal, President HISPANIC MEDAL OF HONOR SOCIETY (HMOH) |
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Ceremony to honor revived monument by
Erika I. Ritchie |
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It was just three days into Raul Avina’s first combat experience, the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II, when shrapnel blasted through his back, arms and legs. As he lay there, several corpsmen ran up the hill to help him and another fallen Marine. Without their help, Avina later told his family, he wouldn’t have survived. In the 36-day battle that ended with Marines raising the American flag at the top of Mt. Suribachi 4,000 Marines were killed and 15,000 were injured. Nearly 40 years later on June 17, 1983, Avina, then 73, unveiled a sculpture he crafted from rebar, concrete and heavy mesh at what was then Naval Regional Medical Center Camp Pendleton. Top Marine and Navy officials attended the ceremony for the Hospital Corpsman Combat Memorial. Avina, known for his artworks, designed and built the sculpture depicting three Navy hospital corpsmen running to a Marine on the side of a mountain in his Oceanside garage. It took him two years. For 31 years, Avina’s monument stood in front of the hospital. A year ago this week, a new four-story, 500,000-square-foot replacement hospital opened at Camp Pendleton and Navy officials planned to relocate Avina’s 17-foot-monument. During the move, the sculpture broke apart. Part of Avina’s original pieces were salvaged. Contractors used photographs, renderings and its old footprint to re-create a new one. On Friday, Navy and Camp Pendleton officials including at least 20 of Avina’s family will dedicate the new monument. Improvements include new texture of Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. Avina’s original cement figures were re-cast in bronze with patina applied to protect against the weather and sun. For Dan Avina, one of Avina’s sons, the unveiling will continue a legacy his father had hoped to create when he began building the first monument in his garage in Oceanside. “He built it in sections and suspended them from joists in the garage and almost pulled the whole garage down.” Dan Avina said. “When he finished it, he transported it in pieces out to the lawn at Camp Pendleton. I don’t know how he assembled it. It was truly garage art.” That garage art later would become the inspiration for the hospital's logo. Its image is incorporated into the hospital’s logo and is seen at the hospital’s entry and is printed in hospital linens and scrubs. Raul Avina died in 2003, at the age of 93. “At the ceremony, I will look up into the heavens and give him a good ‘thumbs-up,’ and say ‘Pops, you did something that will last,’” Dan Avina said. Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or Twitter: @lagunaini http://www.ocregister.com/articles/avina-644913-hospital-monument.html |
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A Beachside Retreat for Veterans by Daniel Langhorne, staff writer Orange Country Register, Published: Dec. 22, 2014 Luke Peters, Everyday Heroes
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Luke Peters faced a conundrum with what he should do with his second home in Huntington Beach during the offseason. During the spring and fall, the three-story home with a view of the Huntington Beach Pier sat empty. Peters, a 37-year resident of Fountain Valley, decided to donate those weeks to military veterans. “I just figured I’ve got a safe job and a safe business, and people are always putting their life on the line,” Peters said. Peters has hosted six veterans during the past two years and wants to encourage other vacation homeowners to do the same. He built dreamrenting.com to invite homeowners to host veterans and their family, and to invite the public to nominate a deserving veteran. As president and CEO of Air & Water, an e-commerce company that sells portable appliances such as humidifiers, ice makers and wine coolers, Peters has supported the Freedom Alliance. Among the nonprofit organization’s activities is providing scholarship to the children of fallen or injured veterans. It was through working with that charity that he saw the need to help people who fight for the United States. The biggest struggle for Peters is to persuade other homeowners to participate. Peters said homeowners are reluctant to give up time at their vacation rentals for free. “The idea is just to help people because it doesn’t take a lot of work to do it,” Peters said. One strategy that Peters is pursuing to drum up interest among homeowners is to have veterans write letters or film video testimonials about their time at the vacation home. Peters believes such content is valuable to homeowners as they market their rental homes to potential customers. Renters may be more likely to go with a vacation rental that supports veterans than one that doesn’t. “You’re doing something good, but it might also be good for business,” Peters said. Lt. Josh Lopez of San Marcos lost his right leg below the knee while serving with the Marine Corps in North Helmand, Afghanistan. He learned about dreamrenting.com during an event hosted by Freedom Alliance at a cigar lounge in Washington, D.C. Lopez drove with his wife and two young sons across the country after spending 21/2 years at a hospital in Maryland. They stayed at Peters’ beach house for two weeks after arriving in California. At that time, Lopez was concerned with the transition into civilian life, finding a place for his family to live and searching for a job. “The biggest thing was to get away from everything and not have the stress,” he said. “It took me away from everything else that was going on at the time.” The best thing for Lopez was to see his children have an opportunity to do things like other kids instead of being cooped up in a hospital with him. “I haven’t seen them as happy as when we were at the beach,” he said. Contact the writer: 714-796-7831 or dlanghorne@ocregister.com
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| Dear Readers, At that web site below you will also have an opportunity to view some video clips of the film called The Longoria Affair. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/longoria-affair You will also find the following description of the film: Sixty years ago in Three Rivers, Texas, the only funeral home in town refused to hold a wake for Felix Longoria, a decorated Mexican American soldier killed in battle during World War II. Longoria’s widow was told, simply, “The whites wouldn’t like it.” Those words became front-page news across the country, sparking outrage and setting off a series of events that would come to be known as the Longoria Affair. The incident fueled the rise of a national civil rights movement led by Mexican American veterans, and bitterly divided Three Rivers for generations to come. Two stubborn and savvy leaders, newly elected Senator Lyndon Johnson and activist Dr. Hector Garcia, formed an alliance over the incident. Over the next 15 years, their complex, sometimes contentious relationship would help Latinos become a national force for the first time in American history, carry John F. Kennedy to the White House, and ultimately lead to Johnson’s signature on the most important civil rights legislation of the 20th century. Today the town of Three Rivers still struggles with its past. Local musician and activist Santiago Hernandez wants to honor Felix Longoria by naming the post office after him. But many Anglo residents are angered by the idea. They believe discrimination against Mexican Americans never existed in their town and the Longoria Affair was blown up for political gain. Past and present collide as Mexican Americans and Anglo Americans engage in a bitter struggle over the meaning of civil rights and the history of segregation. The Filmmaker: Director John J. Valadez is a founding member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. His previous films include: The Chicano Wave(PBS, 2009), The Last Conquistador (P.O.V., 2008), High Stakes (CNN, 2005)Matters of Race (PBS 2001), and Passin’ It On (P.O.V., 1994). There is another web site entitled 45 thoughts on “The Longoria Affair: A Battle for Civil Rights” at: http://theactivistwriter.com/2010/11/09/the-longoria-affair-a-battle-for-civil-rights Enjoy this information and please share the information with your friends and colleagues. Margarito J. Garcia III, Ph.D. aicragjm1205@aol.com (517)894-2881 Copyright 2015 |
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Her military mission in 1944 helped fellow Hispanic women |
 Mercedes Vallejo was driving into San Antonio in the spring of '43 when she saw a poster of Uncle Sam, with his grizzled old beard and a top hat. "It said, 'I need you,'?" she recalled, imitating the poster with a jab of her well-manicured fingers. She and her friends were intrigued. She was too young to join the U.S. Army's Women's Army Corps, so she lied about her birth date and was able to enlist. Her friends didn't pass WAC requirements. "We were crazy, doing it as a fling," said the 92-year-old veteran at her granddaughter's north Houston home. That impulse would lead her on a brief military career that took her to several states, forced her to fight homeland wars of ignorance and sexism, and, as a Hispanic woman, made her an unlikely cog in America's war effort. Mercedes Flores, 92, entered the military in 1943 and was tasked with recruiting a "squadron" of Hispanic women from across South Texas for the war effort. Now Mercedes Flores, she was a butcher's daughter, one of 18 children who grew up just outside of San Antonio. Military training took her to Louisiana, Georgia, Colorado, then back to Texas. Her lieutenant at Kelly Field in San Antonio then came to her with an unusual request: travel across South Texas to recruit a "squadron" of Hispanic women.
Texas' business incentive programs need restructuring, Person at El Paso veterans facility apparently shoots doctor, Court ruling for Texas Children's in Medicaid dispute could save Suspect in boy's death arrested Houston Zoo raises general admission, expands admission-free Walker County commissioner regrets arrest
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Uncovered history Flores' story was almost lost to obscurity, until a budding historian stumbled across a reference to the squadron in a book while working on her doctorate degree. Valerie Martinez spent years tracking down records in archives across the country, sending letters to hundreds of veterans seeking information about the group and other Latino and Latina service members. The 29-year-old graduate student of history at the University of Texas at Austin found a few news articles about the squadron in American papers - the story even made one newspaper in Mexico - but little else. "Finding these women has been hell," she said, laughing. Many details about the squadron are still cloudy: It's unknown how many women actually ended up getting recruited, though Martinez said she believes the number could be as high as 40 or 50. How many are still alive is also unclear. |
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After tracking down Flores, however, some of the gaps are finally getting filled in.
Approximately 350,000 women served in the Armed forces in WWII. The WAC - the female branch of the Army - contained about a third of that number. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Her-military-mission-in
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| Book: Mexican Americans in the Making of America
by Neil Foley Colbert's Raid: The Last Battle of the American Revolution between Spain and England by Rueben M. Perez |
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Tom Saenz recommends Neil Foley his recently published
book: "Mexican Americans in the Making of America". It
was one of my Christmas presents and I have started reading it
-informative, interesting and enlightening! I find me right in
the middle of it all and I am sure those of you with Mexican American
ancestry will too! It is kind of a take off on the Spanish
Patriots (Granville Hough series) but this time the focus is the
Mexican Americans. Neil Foley is a historian and does have
Mexican American ancestry-his mother was Mexican and his father was
Irish! http://books.google.com/books/about/Mexicans_in_the_Making_of_America.html?id=hmtvBAAAQBAJ
Tom Saenz |
| "Colbert's Raid":
The Last Battle of the American Revolution between Spain and England By Rueben M. Perez |
Seldom does Colbert's Raid gets mentioned, even though it was the second battle that occurred west of the Mississippi River, and the last battle of the American Revolution between Spain and England. St. Louis was the first battle and Colbert's Raid was the second battle fought against Britain, by the united forces of the Spanish and American Colonies. They were battles fought on Spanish territory. In addition, Colbert's Raid was the only battle fought in what is now the state of Arkansas. The battle took place in the Delta region about one hour southeast of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, near the intersection of the Arkansas and Mississippi River (modern-day Gillett, in Desha County on the banks of the Arkansas River). Although the American Revolution was over for the colonies when Lord Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, for Spain it continued with the Battle of New Providence, Bahamas, May 8, 1782. Peace negotiations ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the war. Bernardo de Gálvez returned to Spain in 1783 and was named to fill the position of Viceroy of New Spain arriving in Veracruz on May 26, 1785 and on to Mexico City in June. BATTLE OF ARKANSAS POST (FORT CARLOS): (COLBERT RAID OR COLBERT INCIDENT) The Arkansas Post settlement was established in1686 by the French and over time, a series of forts, villages, and towns existed in the vicinity. The “Post” initially was a trading base for the French and later a military post for the soldiers. Spain gained control of the Post and area when France ceded the region at the end of the French and Indian War. Following the declaration of war against the British, in 1779, to avoid flooding, Spanish Lt. Balthazár de Villers moved the post back to Écores Rouges. The settlers fearing attack insisted on building a fort they could seek protection in case of an attack. Lt. Villiers had the fort rebuilt and named it Fort Carlos III after the king. The Post Commander was Jacobo DuBreüil and forty Spanish soldiers were assigned to defend the fort along with help from their allies the Quapaw Indians. Throughout the war the British strategy was to capture Fort Carlos, thereby easily harassing the Spanish and American traffic on the Mississippi. Captain James Colbert led British troops, a force of eighty-two consisted of British combatants and Chickasaw Native Americans. Floating down the Mississippi they encountered two Spanish trading vessels and captured them. The skirmish of the last battle of the American Revolution between Spain and England took place two months following a preliminary peace treaty between Spain and Great Britain; however, news traveled slow and had not reached the Mississippi Valley until after the raid. Early in the morning of April 7, 1783, the British laid siege to the Spanish fort. AN ACCOUNT OF ‘COLBERT’S RAID.’ The Spanish Commander at Arkansas Post wrote the account to his superiors, recounting the raid: Jacobo du Breüil to Estevan Miro, May 5, 1783: “Colbert entered this place on the seventeenth of last month, at 2:30 in the morning…at the head of a hundred whites and fourteen Chickasaws took possession of all of the houses, with no obstruction from a party of eight soldiers, a sergeant which forms the garrison of the fort. They [Colbert’s party] seized the Lieutenant Don Luis de Villars with all his… The four principal men of the settlement with their families got away, escaping to the mountain with six others who were all that made up the village, except the women and children of the hunters. These got away and came to my house, not without danger.” He goes on to state: “As the first shot was at the Lieutenant’s house, with which they had broken the lock on the door, our garrison ran at once to that place and mixed with them, but as they were superior in numbers to us they killed two soldiers, the one belonging to the hunters and the other a negro of the neighborhood. They seized the Point and five other soldiers. The sergeant got away from three of them who were trying to take him, and ran like a rabbit. Then they made no further movement to kill us when they knew that the sergeant had escaped, and then they took all of the people in the place prisoners and embarrassed us more by taking our cannon. All of this happened in less than half an hour, when they decided to strike the fort, which due to its bad location one could approach within pistol shot before being seen. Then we began again a fight, which lasted from 3 o’clock in the morning until 9 o’clock, piercing like a sieve the palisades with carbines, but the bullets penetrated no more than an inch, because of the evergreen oak of which the palisades were made. Of seeing this, I decided to make a formal blockade with artillery. I decided that before giving them a chance to form a battery, that it would be good idea to make a great sally…With the four Arkansas [Quapaw Indians] who were fortunately in this post, this gave me fourteen men who had just escaped from the hands of the enemy a little while ago. I gave the order to yell as the Indians do when they attack.” The next part of the account relates Villars’s wife carrying a flag of truce and all firing was immediate ceased. On a piece of paper, Colbert had written in French, “M. Le Capitaine Colbert is sent by his superiors to take the post of Arkansas and by this power Sire, he demands that you capitulate.” Signed James Colbert, April 17. 1783. |
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Data from the Orotaba, Isle of Tenerife, Canary Islands |
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| Many Whites Today Would Have Been Classified as Black in
the 1940s European Ancestors hailed from three different groups Asian Native American Dogs |
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Many Whites Today by Annalee Newitz
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The U.S. has a long history of using pseudoscience to classify people by race. So what happens when we try to use a legitimate science? A new study of a large data sample from personal genomics company 23andme reveals that people's genetic backgrounds have little impact on their racial self-identification. Carl Zimmer has a terrific article on the study over at the New York Times, where he points out that identifying people by race has long been an American obsession. There have been many bizarre laws governing race in U.S. history, including the notorious "one drop" rule, which held that having only one African ancestor made a person black (this idea was written into a lot of U.S. laws during the early twentieth century, and was used to enforce segregation). Interestingly, if the "one drop" rule held today, a lot of people who think of themselves as white would have to change their status. 23andme scientists found that, among other things, "over six million European-Americans have some African ancestry." One has to assume that some of the white people trying to enforce the one drop rule 70 years ago had black ancestry. Writes Zimmer: On average, the scientists found, people who identified as African-American had genes that were only 73.2 percent African. European genes accounted for 24 percent of their DNA, while .8 percent came from Native Americans. Latinos, on the other hand, had genes that were on average 65.1 percent European, 18 percent Native American, and 6.2 percent African. The researchers found that European-Americans had genomes that were on average 98.6 percent European, .19 percent African, and .18 Native American. These broad estimates masked wide variation among individuals. Based on their sample, the resarchers estimated that over six million European-Americans have some African ancestry. As many as five million have genomes that are at least 1 percent Native American in origin. One in five African-Americans, too, has Native American roots. Dr. Mountain and her colleagues also looked at how ancestry might influence ethnic identification. Most Americans with less than 28 percent African-American ancestry say they are white, the researchers found. Above that threshold, people tended to describe themselves as African-American. There are a lot of other fascinating findings in the study, and some revealing geographical differences between the genetic backgrounds of people who identify as black. It's important to be cautious with studies like this, however, because they draw on a data sample that is inherently biased. This wasn't a survey of random Americans; it was a survey of people who paid 23andme to sequence their genomes. So we're not seeing data on people who are too poor to afford a DNA test from 23andme, or who don't care about their genetic ancestry. That said, it still reveals a lot about how racial identity is an ever-shifting cultural and legal idea. Read more at the New York Times: |
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European Ancestors hailed from three different groups
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| The modern European gene pool is likely a bit confused now, with international travel spreading people far and wide. However, in the case of native Europeans whose family never left the continent, it has been found that they likely boast a cocktail of genetic information from three distinct "tribes" of ancestors. That's according to a study recently published in the journal Nature, which details how a mysterious population with Siberian roots also contributed to the mysterious genetic landscape of ancient Europe. Prior to this discovery, it had been assumed that the Europeans originally consisted of only two groups: unassuming pale skinned farmers and darker skinned hunters, complete with stunning blue eyes. Now, evidence resulting from genetic analysis from nine ancient European remains found in Sweden, Luxembourg, and Germany, who lived between 8,000 and 7,000 years ago, tells a different story. These ancient samples were compared to the DNA sequencing of more than 2,300 present-day people from around the world, and connections were drawn. According to the study, seven of the nine remains were of the aforementioned swarthy blue-eyed hunter-gatherers. While their genetic profile is not a good match for any modern European, it was found that their genes live on in smalls ways. These genes mixed with the profile of Europe's earliest farmers, who boast the pale skin and brown eyes commonly seen today. "Nearly all Europeans have ancestry from all three ancestral groups," Iosif Lazaridis, first author of the study, said in a statement. "Differences between them are due to the relative proportions of ancestry. Northern Europeans have more hunter-gatherer ancestry - up to about 50 percent in Lithuanians - and Southern Europeans have more farmer ancestry." He adds that the third group "of ancient North Eurasian ancestry is proportionally the smallest component everywhere in Europe, never more than 20 percent, but we find it in nearly every European group we've studied." This last genetic group also explains the recently discovered genetic connection between Europeans and Native Americans, where remains of ancient Siberians indicate that these European contributors also were from the group that crossed the Bering Straight into the Americas more than 15,000 years ago. "We are only starting to understand the complex genetic relationship of our ancestors," added co-author Johannes Krause. "Only more genetic data from ancient human remains will allow us to disentangle our prehistoric past." http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/9092/20140918/european-ancestors-hailed-three-different-groups.htm |
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Asian Native American Dogs
The arrival of Europeans in the Americas has generally been assumed to have led to the extinction of indigenous dog breeds; but a comprehensive genetic study has found that the original population of native American dogs has been almost completely
preserved . .
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In fact, American dog breeds trace their ancestry to ancient Asia, Peter
Savolainen says. These native breeds have 30 percent or less modern replacement by European dogs,
says Savolainen, a researcher in evolutionary genetics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. "Our results confirm that American dogs are a remaining part of the indigenous American culture, which underscores the importance of preserving these populations," he says. Savolainen's research group, in cooperation with colleagues in Portugal, compared mitochondrial DNA from Asian and European dogs, ancient American archaeological samples, and American dog breeds, including Chihuahuas, Peruvian hairless dogs and Arctic sled dogs. They traced the American dogs' ancestry back to East Asian and Siberian dogs, and also found direct relations between ancient American dogs and modern breeds. "It was especially exciting to find that the Mexican breed, Chihuahua, shared a DNA type uniquely with Mexican pre-Columbian samples," he says. "This gives conclusive evidence for the Mexican ancestry of the Chihuahua." The team also analysed stray dogs, confirming them generally to be runaway European dogs; but in Mexico and Bolivia they identified populations with high proportions of indigenous ancestry. Savolainen says that the data also suggests that the Carolina Dog, a stray dog population in the U.S., may have an indigenous American origin. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-07-asian-native-american-dogs.html#jCp Sent by John Inclan fromgalveston@yahoo.com and Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com |
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FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH |
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Rootstech Conference, February 12–14, 2015, Salt Lake City, Utah Find the right family history app for the job with the new FamilySearch App Gallery Top 50 Resources: Genealogy by Barry Newsletter |
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Laura Bush and Donny Osmond to Share Family Stories at RootsTech
Conference |
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Rootstech 2015 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting events of the year. As the largest family history event in the world, it is the perfect place to be inspired to discover and share your family stories and connections—past, present, and future. Whether you’re an avid genealogist or you are just getting started, RootsTech has something for everyone. Adding to the excitement of this year’s conference, RootsTech welcomes former first lady Laura Bush and daughter Jenna Bush Hager. The former first lady will talk about life in the White House and the importance of family during those eight years, as well as reflect on the difficult days following September 11. Jenna Bush Hager, an NBC The Today Show special correspondent, will join her mother onstage for a fireside chat where they will share family stories as a new mother and grandmother. Join us at RootsTech for many other inspiring and educational experiences, including: Inspiring keynotes sessions with entertainer Donny Osmond, New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jacobs, innovator and technologist Tan Le, and of course the Bushes. Over 200 Classes for all experience levels, including such topics as using social media for family history and preserving and sharing your family photos. A “Getting Started” track is offered for beginners. Entertaining events with special guest performers, including American Idol finalist David Archuleta, musician and YouTube sensation Alex Boyé, the award-winning One Voice Children’s Choir, and the cast of Studio C from BYUtv. An expo hall of hundreds of family history and technology exhibitors available to help you with things such as scanning photos, recording stores, and building a family tree. Come and celebrate your family across generations at RootsTech 2015 taking place February 12–14, 2015, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah. Admission to RootsTech 2015 starts at $19 for a one-day pass and $39 for a three-day pass. Visit RootsTech.org for more information and to register. |
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FamilySearch Launches New App Gallery |
SALT LAKE CITY (January 13, 2015)—FamilySearch.org today launched its online app gallery to help patrons more easily find partner applications or services to enhance their family history efforts. With just a few clicks, patrons can now search more than 50 apps to find those that meet their specific need, platform, operating system, and price. For example, if a patron is looking for a highly-rated app that will help them find specific records in their family tree, the app gallery will allow them to filter and find several relevant partner apps to choose from. The FamilySearch App Gallery can be found at FamilySearch.org/apps . The FamilySearch App Gallery, available online and accessible from a variety of handheld devices, allows patrons to browse, find, and learn about applications developed by FamilySearch partners. The gallery links patrons to partner sites where they can access and download the applications. Partner offerings in the FamilySearch App Gallery interact with and support FamilySearch Family Tree. Patrons are encouraged to try the apps that fit their unique needs and to provide ratings and reviews. “FamilySearch is a great resource, but FamilySearch alone can’t do everything. That’s why we work with partners to provide complementary tools and resources and why the FamilySearch App Gallery is so important,” said Dennis Brimhall, FamilySearch CEO. “We’ve had partners for many years, and now we want to make it easier for our patrons to know about them and to find the apps they need.” https://familysearch.org/apps FamilySearch Press Release January 13, 2015 |
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TOP 50 RESOURCES: Genealogy by Barry Newsletter |
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29 December 2014 This is the 50th edition of the email newsletter which is sent several times monthly. Genealogy by Barry Newsletter provides insights to help you gather, organize, and preserve information about your ancestors and share what you find with others. The newsletter is sent to subscribers several times each month. http://genealogybybarry.com/ |
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David Belardes, historian, Juaneño activist, died December 29th February 14: SHHAR, Don Garcia, The Genealogical Services Offered by Family Search Author Alex Moreno Areyan SHHAR 2015 Calendar of upcoming Speakers National Hispanic Business Women's Association Northgate Market's Niche by Heather Skyler Preserving History by Stefan Weichert Chicano Heroes de Aztlan Exhibit, March 7th Reception ARCOS, Arts in Communities and Schools Santa Ana Deliberately Burned Down Its Chinatown in 1906 --And Let a Man Die to Do It by Gustavo Arellano |
| David Belardes, San Juan Preservationist
by Meghann M. Cuniff |
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David Belardes, patriarch of a California family with ties to the early days of Mission San Juan Capistrano, died
Monday, December 29th. He was 67. About 70 people, including Msgr. Michael McKiernan, pastor and rector of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano, gathered in the mission’s Sacred Garden for a ringing of the mission’s bells in Belardes’ honor several hours after he died at Mission Hospital. Belardes had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer several months ago. “With David’s passing, that’s a history book that’s been closed,” said his cousin, Jerry Nieblas, who led the bell-ringing. “We’ll never be able to take it off a shelf and reference it.” |
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Belardes worked to preserve historic sites in San Juan Capistrano and Juaneño burial grounds throughout Orange County. Via
Belardes, a residential street on the city’s west side that runs through the family’s original land, is named for his father. San Juan Capistrano Historical Society President Tom Ostensen recalled how Belardes volunteered countless hours teaching society members about artifact retrieval and documentation, as well as helping to identify people in the society’s collection of historical photos. He had long been involved in preservation projects at Mission San Juan Capistrano and worked as a consultant on Native American issues after he retired as a school custodian. Belardes also was a founding member of the California Mission Studies Association and often spoke at historical seminars and programs around the state. He was one of the few residents who understand the area’s deep history, Nieblas said. “Our numbers are small now, and they’re getting smaller,” Nieblas said. Belardes didn’t shy from involvement in political, and often controversial, issues. He was once chief of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians. After other tribal leaders later denounced him, he went on to start his own faction, which the other group doesn’t recognize. He sued Mission San Juan Capistrano in 2009 over a memorial garden for the late Monsignor Paul Martin that was built on part of a cemetery at the mission where Juaneños are buried; a settlement kept some of the memorial in place while calling for the mission to better recognize the Acjachemen ancestry of those buried there. More recently, Belardes led the preservation of the historically significant Blas Aguilar Adobe in San Juan Capistrano amid disputes about its direction that led to the resignation of three longtime board members. One of those former board members, Ilse Byrnes, said Belardes should be remembered for his passion for history. “He was just an enormous source and resource for historic preservation,” Byrnes said. Ostensen called Belardes’ work with the Blas Aguilar Adobe “an outstanding example of his positive contributions to the community.” “David was a encyclopedia of local history, folklore and cultural resources,” Ostensen wrote in an email. Belardes is survived by his sister, Donna Belardes Murphy, and two sons, Domingo and Matias. His family plans to honor him with a traditional Catholic rosary on Friday at the Serra Chapel and a funeral Mass at Mission Basilica on Saturday. He’ll be buried next to his wife, Aurora “Cha Cha” Belardes, who died in 2009. Contact the writer: mcuniff@ocregister.com or 949-492-5122. Twitter: @meghanncuniff. Sent by Frances Rios francesrios499@hotmail.com
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February
14th For more information, please contact President Letty Rodella, lettyr@sbcglobal.net
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| Presenter and Author Alex Moreno Areyan
receives special recognition from SHHAR President, Letty Rodella during
January SHHAR meeting. Alex is the author of three books on
Southern California cities. His recent book, Beach Mexican
is about his personal assimilation and identify in Redondo Beach. Alex a retired Human Resources administrator with a Master's degree from the University of San Francisco, was a migrant worker in his youth. |
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His two prior books, Mexican Americans in Redondo Beach and Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, document the presence and frequently overlooked contributions of Mexican Americans who shaped the histories of these communities. | |
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SHHAR 2015 Calendar of upcoming
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January
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December 2014-January 2015 Edition Highlights
Download the Complete December 2014-January 2015 News Brief Here
NHBWA 2020 N. Broadway, Suite 100 Santa Ana, CA 92706 (714) 836-4042 info@nationalhbwa.com
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Northgate Market's Niche
by Heather Skyler |
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Miguel González is the third oldest of 13 siblings, 12 of whom work for Northgate Markets. When they bought the market, neither Miguel nor his father knew anything about running a grocery store, but today there are 40 Northgate González Markets from Culver City to Chula Vista employing 5,500 people. It was 1980. Miguel González was working at a Garden Grove wire factory and his father was a dishwasher at the Biltmore Hotel when they decided to pool their money and invest in an apartment building. Instead, the real estate agent showed them a grocery store for sale called Northgate Market. The price had been drastically reduced, so Miguel and his father made an offer, and Northgate González Market was born. Neither Miguel nor his father knew anything about running a grocery store, but today there are 40 Northgate Markets from Culver City to Chula Vista employing 5,500 people. And their success has not been solely monetary. In 2012, Michelle Obama visited their Inglewood market to highlight Northgate’s mission of bringing healthy food to underserved communities. The beginning, however, was bumpy: When they closed escrow on that first store, González’s father revealed he had spent a portion of his money on necessary home expenses and was now $7,000 short. Miguel attempted to borrow the money but was unable to get a loan; he was forced to use the money he’d set aside to get the business off the ground. When the store opened, he had a check for only $230. “The previous owner cashed the check for me,” he explained, “and that’s how I started the business. We had no experience and no money left.” The lack of funds forced them to keep the original name of the market, but González soon came to see this as a positive. “It was a good name for us because we came from the south and called the U.S. ‘North.’” Focusing on a niche: González moved to the United States at age 17 from the Mexican state of Jalisco. While working at the wire factory, he bought a small shoe store in Norwalk. “I called it a Mexican shoe store,” recalled González with a smile. “Because all the shoes were imported from Mexico.” Most of his customers were Latino. He used the same marketing technique – focusing his attention on the Latino community and importing familiar products – at Northgate Market. The plan was so successful, he was able to open a second grocery store in Anaheim less than two years later. In 1986, they opened a third Northgate Market in La Habra. Store No. 4 opened in Pico Rivera in 1988, and in 1990 they opened their third Anaheim store, along Harbor Boulevard. “That was the store that really helped us grow,” said González. “It was very high volume. We got a loan for $200,000 and were able to pay it off in three months because the store was so profitable.” When the first store opened, customers sought out items they couldn’t find elsewhere: fresh chilis, fresh cheese, carnitas, chicharrons and Mexican cookies. But it wasn’t just the familiar food that drew in Latino customers. “They wanted to be treated in a different way,” explained González. “Many of them weren’t bilingual. They weren’t understood at Ralphs or Albertsons. Coming to us, we knew what they wanted and we could talk to them.” González also saw that his customers had a need for services such as check cashing and money transfers. “Quite a few of our customers worked in the fields and wanted to cash their checks but had no ID. We researched that and leased a space so we could do that. Now we have our own money transfer company. We were trying to provide everything they couldn’t get and a place where they felt at home.” Today, the company’s focus is shifting: “Immigration from Mexico is almost zero, so who are our customers?” González said. “They are still second- and third-generation Hispanics and also Anglos who are in love with Mexican food.” Northgate Market now offers more prepared foods, such as marinated pre-cut meats for customers who don’t know how to prepare it themselves or who don’t have the time. Northgate has been a family business since its inception. González, age 64, is the third oldest of 13 siblings. He is co-president of Northgate, sharing the title with his youngest brother, Oscar, 44. Currently, 12 of the 13 siblings work for Northgate, all receiving the same salary, no matter the position. In addition, there are 30 second-generation family members working at the markets and two third-generation: González’s teenage granddaughters. Health, education and growth: González’s dream is to make Northgate the employer of choice in Southern California. “When people think about where to work, I want them to think of Northgate,” he said. With this goal in mind, Northgate encourages education, health and growth for its employees. The company has opened clinics in the parking lots of its stores to offer free flu shots, vaccinations, and cancer and diabetic screenings to its employees and the community. It’s Viva La Salud program has incorporated marketing to highlight healthy options. Colorful bilingual tags now point out healthy foods in the market and explain nutritional content. Events with health in mind are scheduled throughout the year, from cooking classes to help with understanding the Affordable Care Act. Co-president Oscar González, who is on the board for USC’s Food Industry Management Program, has led the charge to provide educational opportunities to his workforce. Four years ago, he partnered with Cerritos College to offer free English classes and other college courses. Miguel González said, “We tell our employees that we want to grow and we want to grow with our people, and the only way to be ready for that challenge is if they prepare better. My greatest satisfaction is when I see someone who started as a box person, and now they are a store director.” Contact the writer: hskyler@ocregister.com |
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Preserving History by Stefan Weichert |
| Historical audio recordings are stacked everywhere at Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Oral and Public History, leaving little room for more. Employees, students and interns sit shoulder to shoulder at their computers with little space to do their jobs. The current space just isn’t big enough, said Natalie M. Fousekis, director of the Center for Oral and Public History at the Pollak Library. “It limits our possibility to carry out our humanity-based mission to preserve history, educate students and bring these stories to the public.” The 5,600-square-foot center, which records historical interviews and displays them for the public, plans to move three floors up, which will more than double its space. For that to become a reality, the center needs to raise $3.25 million before a 2016 deadline. At this point, $920,000 has been raised, with a recent $150,000 donation from Orange County homebuilder and philanthropist Maj. Gen. William Lyon and his family. The center’s research area will be named “The William Lyon Family Reading Room.” The National Endowment for the Humanities will provide $425,000, when or if the center raises $1.25 million. “We have received great support from the university and donors. That’s crucial for this to succeed, which I’m sure it will,” Fousekis said. The center’s expansion planning began in 2009. The new office space is 10,709 square feet and will house a project room for students, a climate-controlled room for the archive, a conference room for workshops and courses, larger offices and reading rooms for students. The center was established in 1968 and has more than 5,200 interviews, transcripts, photographs, documents and related material of Southern California residents. Among items in the archive are interviews with former classmates of Yorba Linda-born former President Richard Nixon and collections of stories from Japanese American citizens during World War II and Mexican Americans during the Great Depression. Since 2002, more than 250 interviews focused on war and society including World War II and the Cold War have been recorded. Famous Californians such as civil rights activist Dr. Sammy Lee, Orange County Superior Court Judge Frederick Aguirre, Republican politician Marian Bergeson, Santa Ana-based title company First American Financial Corp.’s founder Donald P. Kennedy, who died in 2012, and South Coast Plaza owner Henry Segerstrom have also told their story to the center during the years. “Oral history is always critical. When people die, their stories die with them. We only have a small window to get these stories recorded,” Fousekis said. “They are the people that remember the women’s rights movement and civil rights movement,” she said. These stories are important to capture and remember, she said. In the future, the center will focus on subjects such as women’s roles in politics plus a project called “Hitler’s Europe to the Golden State.” Right now, the center is finishing a recording of businessman Lyon. His father’s stories have already been recorded. To help collect Southern California’s history, the Center for Oral and Public History hires students from the university, including undergraduate Natalie Navar, 25.. She has helped digitize audio recordings and interview residents such as Aguirre and freelance, self-taught photographer Kathy Sloane. “When I first started working here, I wasn’t sure if a job in an archive or museum was something for me, so this was a great way to try it,” said Navar, who will finish her degree in spring. “I have done around 20 interviews, and it has been great so far. It’s all about getting them recorded, before people pass away,” she said. Once they’ve died, their stories are gone, she said. Contact the writer: sweichert@ocregister.com |
| "Chicano Heroes de Aztlan" Exhibit 207 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, Ca. 92701 Mark you Calendars, the reception is March 7th, 2015 at 6 p.m. Santa Ana College is sponsoring an art exhibit at the Artist Village in the Santa Ana College Art Gallery (Sentora building) for the month of March 2015. The theme of the show will be on American Hispanics who have made a positive difference in the history of the U.S.A. Caroline McCabe, Gallery Coordinator for Santa Ana College. Abram Moya Jr.
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 Sophocles said that: “Whoever neglects the arts when he is young has lost the past and is dead to the future.” Sadly this is exactly what is happening to our children today. In most schools, funding for the arts has been cut. Every time I see kids glued to a screen without uttering a word, I imagine the contrast to a kid that sings or paints. Art is the great antidote, because it is the only activity where we transform what we imagine into something real and tangible. Art is creation. When ARCOS comes to a school, we install our giant 40 x 20 foot inflatable screen and with our 5,000 lumen projectors we show murals LIFE SIZE. Our presentations stimulate kids to go to museums, read, and create art themselves. The beauty of ARCOS is that it is simple, but we have a big impact. In a single day we can cover a whole school. In a year we can reach tens of thousands of students. Gregorio Luke President and CEO http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GregorioLuke/79f85f6991/56c8151328/b33966cae8/referral_code=share
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Santa
Ana Deliberately Burned Down |
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| The atmosphere was jovial as more than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Santa Ana on May 25, 1906, to watch their civic dream come true: the burning of the city's Chinatown. Politicians and residents alike had long pushed for the torching, and now was the time to do it. The once-thriving area--bounded by present-day Main, Third and Bush streets--was almost vacant, atrophied over the years by anti-Chinese laws that made a peaceful life there impossible. Health officials had just condemned Chinatown's few remaining buildings, rounding up out the last residents as onlookers jeered. A representative of China's minister to the United States was rushing in from Los Angeles, seeking to stop the planned kindling. But Santa Ana would be denied no more. Families gathered to witness the destruction, along with law enforcement and businessmen--the whole town, it seemed. "It was like a big picnic, or a Fourth of July," an eyewitness recalled decades later. A fire marshal was on the scene to douse coal oil on Chinatown's structures and set the blaze. But light drizzle throughout the day put a damper on everyone's plans; the fire marshal couldn't strike a spark. That delay thinned the original crowd to a couple of hundred curious onlookers as the evening arrived. But when the first flames curled up to the sky around 8 p.m., visible for blocks around, a stampede returned "in time to see the fun," according to the Santa Ana Evening Blade. Meanwhile, the man who made the fun possible lay in a cot about 50 yards away, alone in a tent surrounded by barbed wire and under the watch of a guard. A sign nearby warned, "LEPROSY: KEEP OUT." A doctor had diagnosed Wong Woh Ye with the dreaded disease just a day earlier--the perfect excuse for the Santa Ana City Council to push out Ye and the last of Chinatown's residents. They were put in a quarantine zone, within eyesight of their former neighborhood as it turned to ashes, close enough to hear the crowd's approving roar. This inferno is oft-told in the annals of Orange County history, almost always presented as a necessary destruction. "An eyesore to us all," declared Nellie Tedford, a founding member of the Orange County Historical Society and an eyewitness to the blaze, in the 1931 collection Orange County History Series: Volume One. "The sight and smell of the premises was objectionable to the entire community," wrote Charles D. Swanner, who witnessed the burning as a 12-year-old, in his 1953 memoir, Santa Ana: A Narrative of Yesterday. OC's most fabled historian, Jim Sleeper, described the area "as a pretty ratty-looking place and got worse." It's as if repeating that Santa Ana's Chinatown deserved to disappear, historians and residents could justify in their minds the nasty means to the enclave's hellish end. But such a stance misses an obvious, long-ignored point: In order to rid Santa Ana of Chinese once and for all, doctors and politicians were willing to let a man die. * * * * * Santa Ana's Chinatown began in the wake of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a federal law that prohibited the country's immigrants from legally entering the United States or ever becoming citizens. Although Chinese had peacefully lived in Orange County since the 1870s in Anaheim and Tustin, popular opinion was turning against them. In 1879, Denis Kearney--the California activist who coined the infamous phrase "The Chinese must go!"--stopped in Santa Ana in 1879 to preach his xenophobic message. But the Chinese kept coming. Santa Ana was becoming a midway point between Mexico (where an increasing number of Chinese were landing before illegally entering the United States) and Los Angeles, and the city's residents needed their cheap services. By 1882, downtown Santa Ana boasted two Chinese wash houses; lodging, drugstores and curio shops soon sprang up. A vegetable garden and barn served as a commons of sorts because the Chinese dominated the vegetable-delivery business in Orange County in those days. Adolph Butz, owner of a plumbing store across the street from Chinatown, told a historian decades later that he thought 200 people lived there at its height, but he also complained the area "became a menace to health" and "had a bad effect on the value of nearby property." Soon, residents declared war. An 1886 Santa Ana Standard editorial titled "The Heathen Chinee" railed against "his dark ways and vain tricks." By 1888, the Santa Ana City Council had formed a committee given the task of asking downtown property owners to not rent to Chinese. "The location of Chinamen right in the heart of the city is a great detriment to all property in the neighborhood," the Evening Blade wrote in an article simply titled "Remove the Chinese." "We suggest that immediate action be taken to eradicate this plague spot--this eyesore of the city." Editorials and offers didn't work, so white citizens began a campaign of terror. Men threw rocks at the Chinese, with little fear of repercussion; kids openly stole from their stores. The region's newspapers cast Chinatown as a den of iniquity, its residents barely human. A popular chant of the era was "Chin, chin, Chinamen, chin, chin, Chinamen, you eat rats!" In 1893, unidentified men burned down a Chinese boarding house in western Santa Ana, shooting at lodgers as they tried to escape. Robberies were so frequent that vegetable sellers buried their money in the ground. Tensions were high enough that in 1896, celery farmers in present-day Fountain Valley had to hire guards to protect their Chinese workers from Americans. Ong Q. Tow Even when the Chinese tried to do good, Americans smacked them down. Native-born Ong Q. Tow, who owned a shop in Chinatown and had built a replica of the U.S.S. Maine in the wake of its sinking to display his patriotism, tried to enlist in Company L. That was Santa Ana's chapter of the State Guard, which was preparing to fight in the Spanish-American War. They refused his request, citing his Chinese heritage. (Tow went on to enlist anyway, becoming one of the first Chinese-Americans to fight in the Army.) The anti-Chinese offensive worked. The 1900 Census showed only 19 people remained in Chinatown. That was too many for the city fathers, though. So in 1901, Santa Ana sent its mayor, a councilman and a Chamber of Commerce member to a statewide convention in San Francisco that sought to renew the Exclusion Act and share strategies on how to rid California of Chinamen; it was the only OC city to send a delegation. In 1904, the Santa Ana City Council passed a law severely penalizing Chinese abalone fisherman; seems they were outfishing their Anglo counterparts, and, as the Los Angeles Herald wrote, "the less wily Caucasians were compelled to resort to ordinances" in order to compete. That year, the council also acquired a lot in Chinatown to build a new City Hall and gentrify the Chinese away. City founder William Spurgeon suggested they relocate near the municipal dump, but residents there opposed having "Celestials" so near their homes. The solution, according to the Evening Blade? After paying the Chinese $400 and giving them 30 days "to settle their business affairs," the city should ban them from Santa Ana altogether and finish off Chinatown. "The burning of [the area]," they wrote, "will be the occasion of a sort of celebration of the consummation of the first part of the plan to rid the city of undesirable residents." So by the time doctors found a supposed leper there two years later, the city's consensus had already been reached: The Chinese had to go. And now they had the perfect scapegoat. The threat of leprosy and other diseases had long been used by Americans to rid their towns of the Chinese, usually by mobs. |
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Government-sponsored leveling of Chinatowns, however, were rare. In 1900, Honolulu's district burned down after officials set fire to it, ostensibly to fight bubonic plague. But when San Francisco officials announced they weren't going to allow the local Chinese to rebuild Chinatown after the city's devastating April 1906 quake, the Chinese government protested, and the neighborhood was rebuilt without incident. While the atmosphere was always right for Santa Ana to rid itself of its Chinatown, officials kept hesitating, as if waiting for an excuse to shield them from accusations of racism. And they found it in Wong Woh Ye. Nothing is known about Ye's life; he appears in no business directories, census lists or voter rolls. Newspapers reported he had lived on and off in Santa Ana's Chinatown for 20 years and that he had come down with something that left sores on his skin, although roommates remarked he was eating all his meals and was getting no worse. But someone lost to history alerted Dr. Jesse M. Burlew, a private practitioner who visited Chinatown on May 24, 1906, and saw Ye. He deemed Ye a leper and alerted members of the city's health board, who, the Evening Blade said, found "a startling state of affairs" filled with "sickening filth" ready to contaminate the city's vegetable supply. Santa Ana Health Officer John I. Clark warned housewives to not buy their greens from the Chinese anymore, with the Evening Blade writing that "the Mongolians are wily enough to hide the loathsome signs [of disease] as long as possible." Ye and seven other Chinese were quickly quarantined on the south side of the Chinatown lot, in tents surrounded by barbed wire; Ye received his own tent "until such time as the supervisors can provide a more suitable place for him." Their belongings were left behind to "probably be confiscated and burned," per the Evening Blade. The following night, the city's Board of Health issued a resolution calling for Chinatown's end by fire "as the most effectual method of destroying and stamping out the germs of leprosy." The measure passed unanimously the following morning at a special City Council meeting. There was some discussion about whether they were authorized to burn down the buildings without the permission of owner Martha Shaffer--one council member wondered why they couldn't be boarded up until she returned from Hermosa Beach. Shaffer's attorney warned the council that "they would regret taking such extreme measures," according to the Los Angeles Times. But the attorney, the Times chortled, "was requested to attend to his own affairs, and not try to advise the trustees as to their authority on this matter." Meanwhile, Santa Ana's city attorney, while openly questioning the constitutionality of demolishing the enclave, shrugged and said, "Do it, burn these buildings up and take the consequences." The final okay came from Orange County District Attorney Horace C. Head, son of a Ku Klux Klan member who helped Orange County secede from LA County. He reassured the council that no criminal charges would be filed. "Well, gentleman," Head told them with a smile, "[any complainers] would have to come to me for warrants, and I don't think that you need fear any criminal suit." In less than 48 hours, Santa Ana officials had accomplished what had been discussed for years. Although the council tried to keep its decision quiet, word quickly got around town, leading to the massive crowds that saw Chinatown in flames that night. There wasn't much to eradicate by then: four houses, a store, the barn and the vegetable garden. The fire "was as picturesque an event as could be imagined," the Times cooed. Firemen arrived on the scene to protect City Hall from damage; city officials clubbed to death the cats, dogs and chickens the Chinese kept that tried to run away. Willie Ching Wing, a prominent member of Los Angeles' Chinatown, arrived in Santa Ana after the fire started. The quarantined Chinese had let him know about their troubles, and Wing initially told the Times that "he understood [the fire] was being done by people who wanted to drive his countrymen out of the city." He found his countrymen hungry and shivering, huddled in one tent to keep warm in the pounding rain; the city had to move them to Salvation Army barracks and finally feed them. Ye was left behind. Wing returned to LA, reassured by the promises of city leaders that the exiles would be compensated for their losses and be given lodging. He told the Evening Blade before departing that "everybody here has treated the China boys well." But he'd been had. The Times reported the following day that Ye "was left to die as best he may," with the sick man complaining his medicine "was all gone." While Ye's compatriots remained in the Salvation Army barracks, council members decided that not only would they not get a settlement or new homes, but also they had to leave the city immediately. Word of this got back to Wing, who came back to Santa Ana on June 4 with a representative from the Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce to investigate. Two days later, they brought along Dr. Ralph Williams, a dermatologist tasked with investigating Ye's condition. The three went to Santa Ana City Hall, demanding an explanation from Burlew. But by the time Santa Ana officials took them to the tent, Ye was dead. Burlew said he had last seen him the previous afternoon, but that a guard was supposed to monitor him at all times and "why [the guard] failed to notice his death" would be investigated; it never was. Burlew did an autopsy along with other Santa Ana doctors and concluded that Ye did, in fact, die of leprosy. Newspapers initially reported that Williams agreed with Burlew's diagnosis. But in an extraordinary interview with the Los Angeles Examiner, the doctor not only stated he felt Ye didn't have the disease, but he also blasted Santa Ana officials for the measures they took against the sick man. "What the man died of I don't know, for I did not see him before death," Williams said. "I can't believe that a man could die of leprosy without showing any of the ordinary signs of the disease." The comments so angered Burlew and city officials that they lodged a complaint against him with the Southern California Medical Association, demanding censure. What, if any, follow-up happened is lost to the proverbial dustbins. But this much is certain: There is no death certificate for Ye, and his burial plot is unknown. In August 1906, Burlew sent a letter to the Southern California Practitioner, the trade magazine for doctors in Southern California, to try to clear his name. "It was claimed by Los Angeles Chinamen, backed by their Los Angeles American medical advisers, that the case was not one of leprosy and that an injustice was being done the Chinks, through the ignorance of Santa Ana's physicians," Burlew wrote. He admitted that Ye's immediate cause of death wasn't leprosy, but rather pneumonia. But Burlew stood by his diagnosis. He went on to become a pioneering doctor in Orange County, the first local surgeon to be made a fellow of the American College of Physicians and Surgeons; the Burlew Medical Library and Health Resource Center at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange is named after him. Although Ye was dead, Wing wasn't done. The Times reported that the Chinese counted their losses at $1,562.55, a figure the paper mocked on June 8 by opining their "entire possessions could not amount to a third of this sum." The city countered with $100, to be split among the seven survivors; Wing told them to refuse the offer and instead sue, using Williams' findings to show that Santa Ana "acted without warrant in ordering" Chinatown burned. They never did, and they never lived in downtown Santa Ana again, leaving for the outskirts of the city or other Chinatowns in Orange County until those places were also destroyed. The last Chinese in Santa Ana, Lee You, left the city in 1923, returning to his homeland. Almost a year after the burning of Chinatown, Shaffer wrote to the council. The landlord had never been paid for its sacking and demanded $1,200 in lost rent. The city fathers openly laughed--a former member said the city wasn't "liable for a copper center," while the mayor at the time, Arthur J. McFadden, said they "need not rush into" paying Shaffer anything. It wasn't until 1910 that the council responded to Shaffer--the city clerk wrote her a letter stating that her "claim is outlawed, and we are prohibited from paying it." Getting rid of Chinatown became a point of pride for all residents. The Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce quickly put out a pamphlet extolling the virtues of the town for businesses, making sure to note that "Santa Ana has no Chinatown." Republican John N. Anderson, in his successful 1912 campaign to become a state senator for the 39th district, cited his work "remov[ing] several of the old shacks" of Chinatown as reason for voting him in. When a Japanese man got a license to open a laundry the year before, the City Council quickly revoked it; one council member declared, "This is a white man's town," while former District Attorney Head told the council "that if the city revokes the license, the Jap will not go to court." |
| The threat of leprosy and other diseases had long been used by Americans to rid their towns of the Chinese, usually by mobs. Government-sponsored leveling of Chinatowns, however, were rare. In 1900, Honolulu's district burned down after officials set fire to it, ostensibly to fight bubonic plague. But when San Francisco officials announced they weren't going to allow the local Chinese to rebuild Chinatown after the city's devastating April 1906 quake, the Chinese government protested, and the neighborhood was rebuilt without incident. While the atmosphere was always right for Santa Ana to rid itself of its Chinatown, officials kept hesitating, as if waiting for an excuse to shield them from accusations of racism. And they found it in Wong Woh Ye. Nothing is known about Ye's life; he appears in no business directories, census lists or voter rolls. Newspapers reported he had lived on and off in Santa Ana's Chinatown for 20 years and that he had come down with something that left sores on his skin, although roommates remarked he was eating all his meals and was getting no worse. But someone lost to history alerted Dr. Jesse M. Burlew, a private practitioner who visited Chinatown on May 24, 1906, and saw Ye. He deemed Ye a leper and alerted members of the city's health board, who, the Evening Blade said, found "a startling state of affairs" filled with "sickening filth" ready to contaminate the city's vegetable supply. Santa Ana Health Officer John I. Clark warned housewives to not buy their greens from the Chinese anymore, with the Evening Blade writing that "the Mongolians are wily enough to hide the loathsome signs [of disease] as long as possible." Ye and seven other Chinese were quickly quarantined on the south side of the Chinatown lot, in tents surrounded by barbed wire; Ye received his own tent "until such time as the supervisors can provide a more suitable place for him." Their belongings were left behind to "probably be confiscated and burned," per the Evening Blade. The following night, the city's Board of Health issued a resolution calling for Chinatown's end by fire "as the most effectual method of destroying and stamping out the germs of leprosy." The measure passed unanimously the following morning at a special City Council meeting. There was some discussion about whether they were authorized to burn down the buildings without the permission of owner Martha Shaffer--one council member wondered why they couldn't be boarded up until she returned from Hermosa Beach. Shaffer's attorney warned the council that "they would regret taking such extreme measures," according to the Los Angeles Times. But the attorney, the Times chortled, "was requested to attend to his own affairs, and not try to advise the trustees as to their authority on this matter." Meanwhile, Santa Ana's city attorney, while openly questioning the constitutionality of demolishing the enclave, shrugged and said, "Do it, burn these buildings up and take the consequences." The final okay came from Orange County District Attorney Horace C. Head, son of a Ku Klux Klan member who helped Orange County secede from LA County. He reassured the council that no criminal charges would be filed. "Well, gentleman," Head told them with a smile, "[any complainers] would have to come to me for warrants, and I don't think that you need fear any criminal suit." In less than 48 hours, Santa Ana officials had accomplished what had been discussed for years. Although the council tried to keep its decision quiet, word quickly got around town, leading to the massive crowds that saw Chinatown in flames that night. There wasn't much to eradicate by then: four houses, a store, the barn and the vegetable garden. The fire "was as picturesque an event as could be imagined," the Times cooed. Firemen arrived on the scene to protect City Hall from damage; city officials clubbed to death the cats, dogs and chickens the Chinese kept that tried to run away. Willie Ching Wing, a prominent member of Los Angeles' Chinatown, arrived in Santa Ana after the fire started. The quarantined Chinese had let him know about their troubles, and Wing initially told the Times that "he understood [the fire] was being done by people who wanted to drive his countrymen out of the city." He found his countrymen hungry and shivering, huddled in one tent to keep warm in the pounding rain; the city had to move them to Salvation Army barracks and finally feed them. Ye was left behind. Wing returned to LA, reassured by the promises of city leaders that the exiles would be compensated for their losses and be given lodging. He told the Evening Blade before departing that "everybody here has treated the China boys well." But he'd been had. The Times reported the following day that Ye "was left to die as best he may," with the sick man complaining his medicine "was all gone." While Ye's compatriots remained in the Salvation Army barracks, council members decided that not only would they not get a settlement or new homes, but also they had to leave the city immediately. Word of this got back to Wing, who came back to Santa Ana on June 4 with a representative from the Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce to investigate. Two days later, they brought along Dr. Ralph Williams, a dermatologist tasked with investigating Ye's condition. The three went to Santa Ana City Hall, demanding an explanation from Burlew. But by the time Santa Ana officials took them to the tent, Ye was dead. Burlew said he had last seen him the previous afternoon, but that a guard was supposed to monitor him at all times and "why [the guard] failed to notice his death" would be investigated; it never was. Burlew did an autopsy along with other Santa Ana doctors and concluded that Ye did, in fact, die of leprosy. Newspapers initially reported that Williams agreed with Burlew's diagnosis. But in an extraordinary interview with the Los Angeles Examiner, the doctor not only stated he felt Ye didn't have the disease, but he also blasted Santa Ana officials for the measures they took against the sick man. "What the man died of I don't know, for I did not see him before death," Williams said. "I can't believe that a man could die of leprosy without showing any of the ordinary signs of the disease." The comments so angered Burlew and city officials that they lodged a complaint against him with the Southern California Medical Association, demanding censure. What, if any, follow-up happened is lost to the proverbial dustbins. But this much is certain: There is no death certificate for Ye, and his burial plot is unknown. In August 1906, Burlew sent a letter to the Southern California Practitioner, the trade magazine for doctors in Southern California, to try to clear his name. "It was claimed by Los Angeles Chinamen, backed by their Los Angeles American medical advisers, that the case was not one of leprosy and that an injustice was being done the Chinks, through the ignorance of Santa Ana's physicians," Burlew wrote. He admitted that Ye's immediate cause of death wasn't leprosy, but rather pneumonia. But Burlew stood by his diagnosis. He went on to become a pioneering doctor in Orange County, the first local surgeon to be made a fellow of the American College of Physicians and Surgeons; the Burlew Medical Library and Health Resource Center at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange is named after him. Although Ye was dead, Wing wasn't done. The Times reported that the Chinese counted their losses at $1,562.55, a figure the paper mocked on June 8 by opining their "entire possessions could not amount to a third of this sum." The city countered with $100, to be split among the seven survivors; Wing told them to refuse the offer and instead sue, using Williams' findings to show that Santa Ana "acted without warrant in ordering" Chinatown burned. They never did, and they never lived in downtown Santa Ana again, leaving for the outskirts of the city or other Chinatowns in Orange County until those places were also destroyed. The last Chinese in Santa Ana, Lee You, left the city in 1923, returning to his homeland. Almost a year after the burning of Chinatown, Shaffer wrote to the council. The landlord had never been paid for its sacking and demanded $1,200 in lost rent. The city fathers openly laughed--a former member said the city wasn't "liable for a copper center," while the mayor at the time, Arthur J. McFadden, said they "need not rush into" paying Shaffer anything. It wasn't until 1910 that the council responded to Shaffer--the city clerk wrote her a letter stating that her "claim is outlawed, and we are prohibited from paying it." Getting rid of Chinatown became a point of pride for all residents. The Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce quickly put out a pamphlet extolling the virtues of the town for businesses, making sure to note that "Santa Ana has no Chinatown." Republican John N. Anderson, in his successful 1912 campaign to become a state senator for the 39th district, cited his work "remov[ing] several of the old shacks" of Chinatown as reason for voting him in. When a Japanese man got a license to open a laundry the year before, the City Council quickly revoked it; one council member declared, "This is a white man's town," while former District Attorney Head told the council "that if the city revokes the license, the Jap will not go to court." http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2014/12/santa_ana_chinatown_1906_history_orange_county_california.php?utm _source=Newsletters&utm_medium=email |
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The
House of Aragón,
Historic Novel of Los Angeles
by Michael Perez National Institute for Baseball Studies, Whittier College |
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The
House of Aragón, Michael Aragón’s parents, Anastacio and Amalia Aragón, were the first to welcome him. He would later become friends with their son, Michael. The priest understood Michael’s love for God and country and his fall from grace by building the House of Aragón, the Brotherhood, La Eme. Separate and apart, the Chicanos created a world unto themselves. As outcasts, the barrio of East Los Angeles became their world. It is the wall that separated them from those who hated them. Over the generations, the gangs learned from their predicament. In the White Man’s world, he made all the rules. |
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In the barrio the rules were made by those who count, and those who counted were the Family. That group of Chicanos who made up the Brotherhood came together out of a need for survival. Forging a secret crime syndicate, they killed for money and power. Later, these vatos locos or crazy guys, took what they felt was theirs, creating La Eme, that crime syndicate. Michael would later go from patriot war hero to protector of the barrio and then became a barrio gangster. In the end, he would pay for his folly. To read the chapter: Click here: Michael Perez
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INSTITUTE
FOR BASEBALL STUDIES GRAND OPENING was January
16, 2015
In addition to the ribbon cutting, brief comments will be made by
Joseph L. Price, Genevieve S. Connick Professor of Religious Studies at
Whittier College, and Terry Cannon, Executive Director of the Baseball
Reliquary, who are co-Directors of the Institute for Baseball Studies;
and Charles Adams, Professor of English at Whittier College, and Mike
McBride, Professor of Political Science at Whittier College, who are
Associate Directors of the Institute.
Also included will be a raffle of baseball books and memorabilia.
Refreshments, including hot dogs, peanuts, and Cracker Jack, will
be served. Attendees are
also invited to view the Institute for Baseball Studies’ current
exhibition, “Long Road to Glory: The Harlem Globetrotters and the
House of David,” on view in the Wardman Library beginning January 10,
2015.
The Institute for Baseball Studies is a collaborative effort of
Whittier College administrators and faculty members, and the Baseball
Reliquary, a Pasadena-based nonprofit, educational organization
dedicated to fostering an appreciation of America’s art and culture
through the prism of baseball history and to exploring the national
pastime’s unparalleled creative possibilities.
The Institute for Baseball Studies’ research collection
includes books and periodicals, the papers of distinguished baseball
historians and journalists, the Baseball Reliquary’s organizational
history and documentation, and a variety of materials that will support
multifaceted and interdisciplinary studies at Whittier College, and will
prompt the exchange of ideas, the development of research initiatives,
and the creation of public symposia and programs highlighting
baseball’s significance in American culture.
The Institute for Baseball Studies will be accessible to
students, scholars, and the general public.
Beginning Friday, January 23, the Institute will be open to the
public on Fridays between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. during the school
year and at times when the Mendenhall Building is open.
The Institute will be open on other days by appointment only.
For further information, contact Institute for Baseball Studies
co-Directors Joseph L. Price by e-mail at jprice@whittier.edu
or by phone at (562) 907-4803; or Terry Cannon by e-mail at terymar@earthlink.net
or by phone at (626) 791-7647. We
also invite you to visit, and to become a member of, the Institute for
Baseball Studies Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/347883628706532/.
The Institute for Baseball Studies is supported, in part, by a
POET Internship provided by Whittier College and by a grant to the
Baseball Reliquary from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. |
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February 26-28, 2015: Conference of California Historical
Societies Sainthood announcement of Father Junipero Serra spurs hope to see Pope The History of Neighborhood House in Logan Heights: Mary Barrios, Early Years by Mary Garcia Pete Chacon paved way for Latinos in California San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission in Carmel, California 2015 National Hispanic Business Women Association California Educational Scholarship Program 1901 shipwreck near Golden Gate found by Carl Nolte Replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo's 500 year old flagship being built |
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February 26-28, 2015: Conference of
California Historical Societies Spring Symposium hosted by Lompoc Historical Society, Santa Barbara County For information: info@californiahistorian.com http://www.californiahistorian.com |
HISTORY OF LOMPOC The completion of the coastal railroad between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 1901, and the subsequent extension of a spur into Lompoc, provided the impetus for growth in the Valley. Fields were cleared and leveled for agricultural production of specialized crops including flower seeds. The flower seed industry so dominated agricultural production that the area was dubbed the "Valley of Flowers." In 1941, Camp Cooke was established as an Army training base which was renamed Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1958. The Base was the first missile base of the United States Air Force.The Space Shuttle program was slated to begin launches in the late 1980's. However, when the Challenger exploded during take-off in 1986, the West Coast Shuttle Program was terminated, leaving Lompoc in a severe recession. The Lompoc Valley responded to the Shuttle disaster by focusing on tourism as a means of fighting its way through the recession. By focusing on the natural beauty of the Valley, its flower industry, the pristine Central Coast, and by developing a successful downtown mural program, the City of Lompoc has built an excellent tourism industry that is to this day a primary component of the Lompoc economy. Today, the City of Lompoc is dubbed "The City of Arts and Flowers." The weekend's program is highlighted by a unique tour of Vandenberg Air Force Base, a journey to Old Town Lompoc where we will be sure to see the famous murals and an unforgettable gathering at the La Purisima Mission. There will be plenty to see and do, so plan to come early or stay late!
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| SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – The pope’s surprise announcement this week that Father Junipero Serra will be made a saint is prompting speculation about a papal visit to California, including possibly to the historic Orange County city where he established Mission San Juan Capistrano.
San Juan Capistrano has deep ties to Serra. The mission’s Serra Chapel is the only chapel still in existence where he delivered a Mass, and his likeness is on the city’s official seal. Garments and other relics that once belonged to Serra are still housed at the mission. And two of the city’s high schools are named for him, along with a main arterial I-5 on- and off-ramp, a park and a plaza. Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano also is the only place in the region where the pope can celebrate Mass; Pope John Paul II proclaimed it a basilica in 2000, the only one on the West Coast. “The fact that we have the basilica is huge,” said Jan Siegel, a longtime San Juan Capistrano resident who researches Serra. “He certainly has been recognized in town.” Of course, the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove is well-equipped for a papal visit, and other cities have strong ties to Serra, too. San Diego is home to Serra’s first mission, Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, founded in 1769, and a museum, trail and high school there bear his name. Los Angeles is home of the largest archdiocese in the country, and Serra is buried at the Carmel Mission in Monterey County, where he died in 1784. “That’s going to be a battle within the dioceses,” said Siegel, who recently visited Serra’s birthplace in Spain. “Carmel’s going to want to say something. Santa Barbara’s going to want to have something to say. But we can claim we have the actual site where he gave Mass.” Officials with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange did not return calls late Friday afternoon. No official travel plans have been released, but Pope Francis said Thursday that he’d be canonizing Serra, founder of nine California missions, during his trip to the United States in September for the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. “His announcement caught virtually everyone by surprise,” the Rev. Monsignor Arthur Holquin, pastor of Mission San Juan Capistrano from 2003 until last year, wrote in an email. “We were not anticipating it at all. I had to chuckle when I happily heard the news. It was ‘typical’ Pope Francis!” Contact the writer: mcuniff@ocregister.com or 949-492-5122 Twitter: @meghanncuniff |
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| The History of Neighborhood House in Logan Heights: Mary Barrios, Early Years |
By Maria E. Garcia Mrs. Barrios was born in 1929. Her mother was very strict, and young Mary was not allowed to play with the neighborhood children. She says her only outings were to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Mary’s family was a blended family. Her father and her mother were both widows and came to the marriage with children. They also had children together and at one point a woman that worked at the cannery gave her mother a baby boy. This woman felt she could not return to Mexico with a child born out of wedlock. This very big family lived at 1870 Newton Ave. At the age of 10 or 11 Mary was finally allowed to go to Neighborhood House. Her half bothers were allowed to go at a much earlier age. We have seen this double standard over and over again. Her older sister, to quote Mary, “brought English to the house.” She went to school and learned English and her young siblings learned English from her. In order to learn English her mother took night classes. The History of Neighborhood House in Logan Heights: Mary Barrios, Early Years http://sandiegofreepress.org/category/columns/history-of-neighborhood-house/#.VApgbmMXPis Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com
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Opinion
By Dan Walters | dwalters@Sacbee.Com Sacramento Bee (January 15, 2015)
There are two dozen Latinos in the California Legislature today, including Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, but when Pete Chacon unexpectedly won a seat in the state Assembly 44 years ago, he became one of only two.
Not only was it unusual for a Latino to be a legislator in 1970, but Chacon did it the hard way. He took a leave of absence from his teaching job, sold his house to raise funds and campaigned for a year to unseat a seemingly secure incumbent in a San Diego district that was just 8 percent Latino in makeup.
Chacon, who went on to serve 22 years in the Assembly, died last month at age 89. His death went largely unnoticed, but he played a key role in opening opportunities for Latinos to gain political power during the last two decades.
During his last Assembly term in 1991 and 1992, Chacon chaired the Assembly's redistricting committee, named to the position by Willie Brown, the Assembly speaker who once boasted of being the "ayatollah of the Legislature."
The mild-mannered Chacon was expected to be a chairman in name only and stand aside while Brown's staffers and hired experts, using data from the 1990 census, secretly drew maps to divvy up Assembly and congressional seats to help Brown's allies and discomfit his rivals, just as they had 10 years earlier.
Everyone knew that Republican Gov. Pete Wilson would veto a partisan Democratic gerrymander and throw the issue into the state Supreme Court, so the infighting was over who would control the detailed demographic data on which the competing plans would be based, in anticipation of hearings before a panel of judicial masters.
And that's when Chacon, who had survived 35 missions as a World War II B-17 turret gunner, showed how tough - and independent - he was by staring down Speaker Brown.
The Democrats' maps were viewed by Latino activists as protecting white and black incumbents while minimizing Latino opportunities to win legislative seats, particularly important because voters had passed term limits in 1990, thereby forcing higher levels of turnover in the Capitol.
Alan Clayton, an adviser to Latino rights groups, recalls that at his request during a committee hearing, Chacon ordered Brown's minions to hand over the all-important demographic data, thereby making it possible for Latinos to present their own maps to judges who would have the last word. Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com |
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San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission in Carmel,
California |
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ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) - Pope Francis said that during his trip to the United States in September he would canonize Junipero Serra, a missionary who brought Christianity to the west of the United States in the 1700s. "In September, God willing, I will canonize Junipero Serra in the United States, who was the evangelizer of the west of the United States," he told reporters aboard the plane taking him from Sri Lanka to Manila on the second leg of his Asian tour. Francis is due to visit Philadelphia for a world gathering of Catholic families. While Philadelphia is the only official stop on the tour so far, he is widely expected to visit New York to address the United Nations and Washington to meet President Barack Obama. Holding the canonization ceremony in the United States opens up the possibility he might visit the western part of the country where Serra worked as a missionary. Serra, who was born on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1713, went to the Americas in the middle of the 18th century and led one of the first Franciscan missions in California. He arrived in San Diego in 1769 and spent most of the rest of his life there before dying at a mission in Carmel near Monterey in 1784. "It’s wonderful to think that this new saint once walked the road that is now the Hollywood Freeway and called it El Camino Real, 'The King’s Highway'," Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said in a statement. The archbishop said there are "no official plans" for the pope to visit California but people are anticipating hearing more about his plans for this latest canonization. The Pope said since Serra has for centuries been considered a holy man, he had waived Church rules that require a second miracle to be attributed to the candidate for sainthood after his beatification. He said Serra was "a great evangelizer". (Reporting by Philip Pullella, additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Jeremy Laurence) |
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The 2015 NHBWA Educational Scholarship Application window is now open! Program Description: The National Hispanic Business Women Association (NHBWA) Educational Scholarship Program has awarded 146 educational scholarships to deserving students since the program inception. This achievement has been possible thanks to the support of our members, corporate sponsors and donors. Applicants Must Meet The Following Criteria: Be a student residing in Southern California Attending or planning to attend any accredited College or University in the USA Participating in some form of community service Pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree Is in need of educational financial assistance Be a student in good standing with at least a 3.0 GPA or higher Must be at least a college or university Freshman status Go to: www.nationalhbwa.com The 2015 Guidelines & Application Packet COMPLETED APPLICATION MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN MARCH 27, 2015 MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO OUR SCHOLARSHIP FUND HERE This opportunity brought to you by NHBWA 2020 North Broadway Ave. Suite 100 Santa Ana, California 92706 Main: (714) 836-4042 Fax: (714) 836-4209 http://www.nationalhbwa.com |
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'Bay Area’s Titanic’: 1901 shipwreck near Golden Gate found |
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Combining new technology with detective work, scientists found and then got their first look at San Francisco’s most famous shipwreck — the passenger ship City of Rio de Janeiro, which sank in the Golden Gate nearly 114 years ago with the loss of 128 lives. The location of the wreck has been one of the region’s biggest maritime mysteries. The ship had not been seen since it crashed into the rocks on the San Francisco side of the Golden Gate in early 1901. The Rio was discovered with a remote submersible last month, broken and covered with sediment, only half a mile from San Francisco in 287 feet of water. The scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration took 3-D and sonar images of the sunken ship. “It is a great discovery,” said Robert Schwemmer, maritime heritage coordinator for the Office of National Maritime Sanctuaries. The wreck of the City of Rio de Janeiro was the biggest maritime disaster in this region. “It is often called the Bay Area’s Titanic,” he said. |
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The
replica of Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo’s 500 year old flagship,
is being built at Spanish Landing in San Diego Bay by the Maritime
Museum. Most of the construction is being accomplished by volunteers using the “original” tools and methods of the 16th century. There are tours, displays planned by the San Diego Maritime Museum. In fact, the Museum is planning to stage the official launch of the vessel in late February 2015. |
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NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES |
| 1969 Map of Private Internet Connections Changing Latino Demographic in Utah Highlighted in New Book by University of Utah Professor Boulder County Latino History Project - City of Boulder resolution Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia by Matt Novak |
![[]](internetmap.jpg) |
The line in this map shows all of the private world's
Internet connections in 1969.
Prior to that the Internet connections were primarily government connections. |
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Changing
Latino Demographic in Utah Highlighted in New Book by University of Utah
Professor |
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Armando Solórzano's "We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe: Recuerdo, Celebracion y Esperanza: Latinos in Utah" tells important history of Latinos in Utah Newswise (University of Utah) (January 20, 2015)
The book, "We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe: Recuerdo, Celebracion y Esperanza: Latinos in Utah," was designed with support the Office of Equity and Diversity and the Office of Academic Affairs, which contributed to production costs to make the book affordable for schools and other places in the community that might not have easy access to a higher education institution.
The book covers several aspects of a changing Latino demographic in Utah, including a rich cultural history. It examines anthropological evidence that the Aztecs, the ancestor of the Mexican-Americans, were part of the Uto-Aztec groups that inhabit the territory of Utah 5,000 years before the arrival of the Europeans. It moves on to chronicle the era of the Dominguez-Escalante expedition and the multiple challenges the Mormon pioneers faced when they entered Mexican territory, said Solórzano, an associate professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies and the Ethnic Studies Program.
The history includes the story of the development of the first Hispanic communities in Utah near Monticello, and progressed as Latinos found jobs as miners, railroad workers, and Mexican migrant workers. An important contribution of Latinos to the history of Utah and to the history of the nation, was participation in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and the more recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Solórzano noted. More recent chapters of Latino history in Utah, including the state's Chicano civil rights movement, are also depicted.
"The whole idea of the book is to debunk the misinterpretation that the history of Latinos in Utah is a twenty century history," Solórzano said. "The book also offers a very comprehensive collection of photos and visual materials that help the reader to situate him/herself in specific periods of time. The book was designed for a larger audience by including a bilingual edition, by providing a chronology and a bibliography that invites the reader to go deeper in their understanding of Latinos in Utah, and by providing a history of how the research of Latinos have been influenced by different methodologies, political interests, and religious motivations."
Solórzano said University of Utah administration contributed to publication costs in order to extend the outcomes of the research to communities, and to provide information that increases a better understanding and acceptance of the different ethnic groups in the state.
"Fascinating, beautiful, accessible, and moving, this book offers essential reading for any Utahn," said Kathryn Bond Stockton, a distinguished professor of English and associate vice president for equity and diversity at the University of Utah. "What a vibrant part of the history of our peoples can be found in these pages. Indeed, in this gorgeously illustrated volume, families, mining, railroads, civil rights, and religion all come together to tell gripping stories we need to encounter, teach, and remember. The Office of Equity and Diversity, with such pleasure, supports this vital project."
As part of that effort, Latino representatives and community leaders are currently preparing a petition to the Utah State Office of Education to make the book part of state curriculum in public schools.
"In previous research we found that one of the causes for the high drop rates of Latinos from High School is their identity. This identity is shaped by the lack of information and by educational institutions that don't have a history of representation of minorities in their curriculum," said Solórzano.
Solórzano's latest publication follows on earlier work related to the Dignity March that took place in March 2006 in Salt Lake City. At the Dignity March, more than 43,000 Latinos marched from the City Hall to the Capitol to demand a more comprehensive immigration reform. The new book attempts to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the march and to document the history of immigration in the state of Utah, he said.
Sent by Juan Marinez jmarinezmaya@gmail.com |
| Boulder County Latino History Project - City of Boulder resolution On December 16th 2014, the Boulder County Latino History Project was formally recognized by the Boulder City Council for our innovative work. The City Council made a declaration supporting our past work and encouraging our "ongoing effort to tell the immeasurably valuable stories of Latino life in the Boulder area." What a beautiful and powerful event. Way to go, Team!! |
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to right: Tom Martinez, Phil Hernandez, Linda Arroyo-Holmstrom, Marjorie McIntosh. Scenic Lens www.sceniclens.com Amway IBO #1456119 720.351.1563 Sent by
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Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia by Matt Novak http://mattnovak.kinja.com |
| http://gizmodo.com/oregon-was-founded-as-a-racist-utopia-1539567040?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003# When Oregon was granted statehood in 1859, it was the only state in the Union admitted with a constitution that forbade black people from living, working, or owning property there. It was illegal for black people even to move to the state until 1926. Oregon's founding is part of the forgotten history of racism in the American west. Waddles Coffee Shop in Portland, Oregon was a popular restaurant in the 1950s for both locals and travelers alike. The drive-in catered to America's postwar obsession with car culture, allowing people to get coffee and a slice of pie without even leaving their vehicle. But if you happened to be black, the owners of Waddles implored you to keep on driving. The restaurant had a sign outside with a very clear message: "White Trade Only — Please." It's the kind of scene from the 1950s that's so hard for many Americans to imagine happening outside of the Jim Crow South. How could a progressive, northern city like Portland have allowed a restaurant to exclude non-white patrons? This had to be an anomaly, right? In reality it was far too common in Oregon, a state that was explicitly founded as a kind of white utopia. America's history of racial discrimination is most commonly taught as a southern issue. That's certainly how I learned about it while going to Minnesota public schools in the 1980s and 90s. White people outside of the South seem to learn about the Civil War and civil rights movements from an incredibly safe (and often judgmental) distance. Racism was generally framed as something that happened in the past and almost always "down there." We learned about the struggles for racial equality in cities like Birmingham and Selma and Montgomery. But what about the racism of Portland, Oregon, a city that is still overwhelmingly white? The struggles there were just as intense — though they are rarely identified in the history books. According to Oregon's founding constitution, black people were not permitted to live in the state. And that held true until 1926. The small number of black people already living in the state in 1859, when it was admitted to the Union, were sometimes allowed to stay, but the next century of segregation and terrorism at the hands of angry racists made it clear that they were not welcome. Oregon's Trail to Whitopia Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia  Cape Horn, Columbia River, Oregon photographed by Carleton Watkins in 1867 (Getty's Open Content Program) Oregon has had more than its fair share of utopia community experiments. The definitive book on the topic is Eden Within Eden: Oregon's Utopia Heritage, where you'll find plenty of those utopian communities catalogued. But the book kind of misses the forest for the trees in not recognizing the fact that the entire state of Oregon was founded as a kind of racist's utopia. Race isn't explored in the otherwise excellent book. Thousands would travel to Oregon in the 19th and 20th centuries, looking for their own versions of utopia. Some brave and noble people made the journey that would become cartoonishly immortalized for at least three generations now in the computer game Oregon Trail. But unfortunately for people of color, that pixelated utopia and vision of the promise land was explicitly designed to exclude them in real life. This is not to pick on Oregon in particular as being particularly racist and terrible. The de facto exclusion of any non-white people from a number of businesses, institutions, and communities occurred throughout the Northeast, Midwest, and West. Oregon seems to have been just a bit more vocal and straightforward about it. I spoke over the phone with Walidah Imarisha, an educator and expert on black history in Oregon and she was quick to explain that the state is only really exceptional in that it bothered to proclaim its goals of white supremacy so openly. "What's useful about Oregon as a case study is that Oregon was bold enough to write it down," Imarisha told me. "But the same ideology, policies, and practices that shaped Oregon shaped every state in the Union, as well as this nation as a whole." Today, while 13 percent of Americans are black, just 2 percent of Oregon's population is black. This is not some accident of history. It's a product of oppressive laws and everyday actions that deliberately excluded non-white people from a fair shot at living a life without additional obstacles being put in their way. Life's hard enough as it is. But life as a person of color in Oregon would prove to be like trying to play Oregon Trail in a roomful of Klansmen while the computer lab is on fire. The Messy Birth of Oregon Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia
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Face of a movement: Reies López Tijerina fought for Chicano rights by Ramón Rentería "El Tigre" Reies López Tijerina, Por Felipe de Ortego y Gasca Tejano Land Grant Society Arizona to require civics test for high school Edward Rosenstock Alcantar Connecting with Arechabala Carrillo Family Members Laura K. Munoz, Romo v. Laird: Mexican American Segregation & Politics of Belonging in Arizona The St. James Hotel Monument by Louis F. Serna |
Face of a movement: Reies López Tijerina fought for Chicano rights by Ramón Rentería El Paso Times POSTED: 2/12/2012 Photo: Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times Tijerina, who now lives in El Paso, is often described as one of the important leaders in the struggle for civil rights for Mexican-Americans. |
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Reies López Tijerina looks more like a respected abuelito alone with his thoughts than the once-radical activist whose relentless struggle in the 1960s put the national spotlight on land rights issues in New Mexico and the Southwest."Some people think I'm dead," he said. "But the spirit of the cause still excites me." He is routinely identified as a warrior in the early Chicano movement, along with César Chávez, the farm labor organizer in California; Colorado Chicano activist Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales; and La Raza Unida Party co-founder José Angel Gutiérrez in Texas.At 85, Tijerina spends what's left of his days in a cramped two-room tenement in Downtown El Paso, surrounded by books, Bibles, newspaper clippings, paintings and pictures - countless reminders of his turbulent life as a social activist most active in the 1960s and '70s. "I am happy and proud God has given me 85 years," he said. "Nobody can erase my story." Born in Texas, Tijerina is the only major activist in the Chicano movement who served time in prison as a result of his activism. Tijerina takes oxygen and medicine for angina, a heart condition, and acknowledges that his mind wanders sometimes and that he once came close to dying during the five years he has lived in El Paso. He still talks with his hands like the traveling evangelical preacher that he once was. In 1963, Tijerina founded La Alianza Federal de Mercedes, a grass-roots organization, to reclaim Spanish and Mexican land grants held by Mexicans and Indians in the Southwest before the United States- Mexican War. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed after Mexico was defeated, guaranteed that Mexican citizens could keep their land grants. The Alianza argued that the U.S. government stole millions of acres of land from Hispanics. Tijerina recently made a rare public appearance at the New Mexico Statehouse in Santa Fe at an event honoring the 164th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In New Mexico, Tijerina is perhaps best known for leading an armed raid on June 5, 1967, at the Rio Arriba County Courthouse in Tierra Amarilla. A state police officer and a jailer were wounded. Tijerina said he has been invited to Tierra Amarilla this summer for a ceremony commemorating the 45th anniversary of the courthouse raid. A lawyer once affiliated with La Alianza is organizing the event. Eulogio Salazar, the wounded jailer, was slain in 1968 just days before he was scheduled to testify whether it was Tijerina who shot him. Tijerina has argued for years that the slaying was a politically motivated hit designed to taint him and the Alianza. Tijerina still asks: "How could I kill him, my friend who fed my children while I suffered hunger?" José Angel Gutiérrez, a Dallas-area lawyer and co-founder of La Raza Unida Party in Texas, translated Tijerina's memoir, a manuscript first written in Spanish, and published by Arte Public Press in Houston as "They Called Me King Tiger."Gutiérrez was a young Chicano in South Texas affiliated with MAYO, the Mexican-American Youth Organization, when he first learned about Tijerina and his land-grant fight in New Mexico through underground newspapers."What he did for my generation and the Chicano movement was to capture our imagination about our true birth certificates," Gutiérrez said in a phone interview. "He introduced us to this whole idea that we have rights written into basic documents and that treaties were the supreme law of the land." Source: Armando Vazquez-Ramos californiamexicocenter@gmail.com |
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| Reies López Tijerina passed
away January 19th on Martin Luther King Day. Please click to
Hispanic Leaders for more on his life. |
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"El Tigre" Reies López Tijerina |
| Felipe de Ortego y Gasca es catedrático en residencia de la Western New Mexico University. Es conocido como el historiador del Renacimiento Chicano en literatura. "El Tigre" Reies López Tijerina, uno de los cuatro jinetes del Movimiento Chicano de los años 60, dejó de existir hace unos días, apagándose así una de las voces más notables de esa era. De esos cuatro —Rodolfo "Corky" González, Cesar Chávez, Tijerina y José Ángel Gutiérrez—el único que todavía vive es José Ángel Gutiérrez. Durante los años de inicio del movimiento chicano, González fundó en Colorado "La Cruzada para la justicia social, en California Chávez organizó los Campesinos Unidos, en Nuevo México Tijerina se dedicó con La Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres a recuperar las tierras en Nuevo México tomadas por por el gobierno de los Estado Unidos. Y en Tejas, González formó el partido político de La Raza Unida. A principios del Movimiento Chicano los cuatro jinetes proyectaban las esperanzas de los México-Americanos en "el otro México" (el México en los Estados Unidos), esperanzas que surgían tras más de un siglo de penuria y maltrato en los Estados Unidos como vencidos de la guerra injusta de este país contra México durante los años 1846-1848. Pero la voz más vocifera de los cuatro fue la de Tijerina, quizá porque fue ordenado como ministro pentecostal de la Asamblea de Dios. Por ese papel vio la miseria en la cual vivían los México-Americanos y la discriminación que sufrían además de la injusticia de los terrenos mexicanos robados por la ley imperial de los Estados Unidos y el desdén de los Americanos contra los descendientes de la generación mexicana de la conquista. Conocí a Tijerina en 1967 durante el juicio en Las Cruces, Nuevo México, por el asalto a la corte en Tierra Amarilla en 1967. Durante las semanas del juicio me impresionaron tanto que escribí un cuento titulado "The Coming of Zamora" basado en los datos del juicio. El cuento se publicó en El Grito (Spring 1968) y se republicó en la antología The Chicano: From Caricature to Self-Portrait, New American Library 1971). Desafortunadamente, personas históricas de perspectivas contradictorias son héroes o villanos. Para muchos, Tijerina fue un hombre valiente, para otros un vendido vanidoso. Era una persona carismática inspirando a generaciones de los de abajo a superar la pobreza y el hambre. Era hombre de la paz, pero muchas veces circunstancias determinan destinos diferentes a los esperados. Es decir, muchas personas no son lo que parecen ni quien dicen ser. Pero eso no retractar de lo bueno que ha se hecho en la vida. A pesar de la mala fama que de vez en cuando circulaba sobre el carácter de Tijerina logró alcanzar fama internacional en 1967 con las circunstancias armadas en Tierra Amarilla de Nuevo México. Recordando la biografía de su vida, Tijerina era menor en edad que yo por menos de un mes. Pero éramos de la misma generación. De vez en cuando nos encontrá-bamos en pasada aqui y halla y nos entreteníamos con el widiwidi. Durante el periodo de su encarcelación escribió una carta que yo considero equivalente a la carta que escribió Mar-tin Luther King, Jr. de la cárcel en Birmingham. La fama de Tijerina como agente del movimiento chicano se desparramó por todo el país. Tijerina no era un hombre de la violencia. Por lo menos nunca vi eso en el hombre. Era de voz fuerte y nunca temía expresar su opinión. Pero hombre de la violencia? No! Aunque muchos lo han caracterizado como hombre violente por su activismo y el homicidio esclarecido del carcelero Eulogio Salazar quien muchos sospechan fue cometido o mandado por Tijerina. Eso nunca se comprobó. Pero Michael Olivas, primo de Salazar y profesor de leyes en la Universidad de Houston no aclara a Tijerina como héroe. La última vez que vi a Tijerina fue durante la junta en El Paso, Texas en 2012 conmemorando el cuadragésimo aniversario de La Raza Unida. Tijerina estaba padecía de Alzheimer pero recordaba lo suficientemente de mi y nuestras charlas pasadas. Platicamos un poco de sus penas con el FBI y la CIA y las latas con el gobierno federal. Mucha verdad pero para muchos pura paranoia. Según David Correia, autor de Properties of Violence: Law and Land Grant Struggles in Northern New Mexico, el activismo de Tijerina transformó la historia de las concesiones de ranchos en Nuevo Mexico. Lastima, como Marco Antonio declara en la obra de Shakespeare ante el catafalco de Julius Caesar: lo bueno que el hombre hace se entierra con el hombre; lo malo que ha hecho sigue para siempre en la memoria (traducción libre). |
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Dr. Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, Ph.D., Alum: Pitt, UTx, UNM Scholar in Residence (Cultural Studies, Critical Theory, Public Policy) PO Box 680, Miller Library, Western New Mexico University Silver City, New Mexico 88062, e-mail: ortegop@wnmu.edu ; O: 575-538-6410, F: 575-538-6178, C: 575-956-5541 Campuses: Silver City, Gallup, Deming, Truth or Consequences, Lordsburg and on the Web |
| Tejano Land Grant Society | Arizona to require civics test for HS |
| A meeting was held by the Tejano Land Grant Society on
January 31st, organized by Arnulfo Sierra. For more information by this new organization.
If you are having trouble with login, please send an email to porcion103@gmail.com
Visit Tejano Land Grant Society at: http://tejanolandgrantmovement.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network Sent by Walter Herbeck tejanos2010@gmail.com |
Arizona becomes first state to require civics test for high school
Arizona has become the first state in the nation to require students
to pass a 100-question civics test to graduate from high school. That
test questions are actually from the civics portion of the test that
the U.S. government gives to immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens. Check out this Civics test from USA TODAY: http://usat.ly/1C8EtZt |
| Edward Rosenstock Alcantar Connecting with Arechabala Carrillo Family Members |
| To whom it may concern: My name is Edward Rosenstock Alcantar. I am 87 years old, born on April,3, 1928, in Nogales, Arizona. For practically my entire life, I have lived with these names. About 10 months ago, I became aware of a reality of my life that prior to, I had no knowledge off. My mother, Elisa Rosenstock, was born in Guaymas, Mexico in 1910. The only history we had to was an oral history, that was passed on to us. My mother and her siblings were separated during the Civil War in Mexico ( 1905-1927). It was a long protracted war. My mother and her siblings were separated and adopted by different families and had no contacts to each other forever 48 years. My mothers oldest sister was 12 years old when these children lost their parents. Julia ( my aunt), was a twin, his name was Roberto. Her grandmother,( my great-grand mother) came and visited with the children, right after the loss of their mother. She came and took Roberto with her, promising to return very shortly. My aunt Julia, never saw or heard from her grandmother again. The same with Roberto. So,here is this 12 year old girl, with a little girl of 5 (Sara) and my mother, who was 3 years old ( her real name then was Aurora). They were in a little mining village of San Yisidro ( in Mexico). Some of the villagers became concerned and had a little town meeting. The result was that certain people in that town elected to adopt the children. My aunt Julia, went to live with a local business family. My mother (Aurora- renamed Elisa) was adopted by Frederick Rosenstock and his wife Matilde. This family were American citizens from Tucson, Arizona. Frederick's brother, Albert and his wife Josephina adopted my mother's sister, Sara. Frederick Rosenstock. They soon returned to Arizona and settled in Nogales, just across the border of Mexico. As I stated earlier, all of these people lost contact from each other and did not see each other for close to 48 years. This now takes us to the beginning. My aunt Julia being the oldest ( 12 at that time) in her later years wrote her history down for her family. There was a young Basque Spaniard from Seville Spain by the name of Ricardo Thompson Arechabala. He and his family were living in Mexico City, Districto Federal ( DF), Mexico. ( same as saying New York,New York). At a young age (.?) He joined the Mexican military. He attended their Military Academy, graduated and was assigned to an Infrantry division. During his service time, he was assigned to different posts. One in particular was a small island off the coast of Mexico, where he served close to one year. He was there with his wife ( my grandmother) Florentina Coronel Carrillo and his twin children, Julia and Roberto and an added daughter, my aunt Sara. This very small island had a very notorious end after my grandfather left. During my grandfather's service prior to his marriage to my grandmother ( Florentina), he served in various posts. One in particular was outside of Guadalajara close to Tequila (Hostipaqatillo). It seems that one evening he heard this beautiful voice singing. He followed the sound and it took him to this Rancho. It was a fair size ranch, an the family there were very amiable and respectable. We believe that they were also Spaniards. Well came to pass that because of the young lady's singing abilities she was persuaded to go to the big city and try her luck there. Well as we are aware of the history of the early Cabaret singers, they were not well thought of in some social singers. It seems that Ricardo Arechabala, found Florentina Coronel Carrillo in Mexico City, courted her, and married her, supposedly, they had a military wedding. Supposedly, very much against the wishes of his mother, Julia Thompson Arechabala. According to my aunt Julia, ( named after my grandfathers mother). The family, with the permission and assisted by the military, the family made a trip to Spain, and visited relatives there. On their return he was assigned to Cipperton Island. After their return from there, Ricardo was assigned to El Fuerte, Sinaloa,Mexico where the government was having trouble with the Yaqui Indians. There was a military skirmish there on April 27th of 1913. My grandfather Ricardo was killed. 3 months later, my grandmother, Florentina Coronel Carrillo, died in child birth, twins, boys that did not survive. My aunt Julia, who was 12 years old, had to take the box in which my grandmother had put the babies in, take it to the cemetery and leave the box, as there was no one there to assist her. She told me, that that was one of the hardest things she ever had to do in her life. The only people that have the key to our family history, is the Mexican Government, And they refuse to assist us. There are 4 battle surviving brothers of this family, we wish that the government for whom our grandfather died, would find it in their hearts to give us his full name And date of birth. We understand that our grandmother is buried In Guyamas some where. Submitted by the above principal's Grand son. Edward Arechabala Rosenstock. Alcantar January 22,2015 Sent from my iPad http://www.avast.com Thank you Laura this is the crux of the whole matter, dates. We know that our grandmother was born in Hostipaquillo in the State of Juarez, Mexico. It was a small village mostly suited to family farming and ranching my grandmother was born there in 1879. Their rancheria was a family compound, populated of family siblings. As one became of of age, he was allotted a certain section of land and animals, to start his own family, thus preserving the ranch as a whole, but increasing in working hands. We must remember that opposed to city living, rancherias and built their every need. In my grandmothers case, because she was a female, she did have the right of inheritance. When she became well known because of her singing abilities, she decided to go to Mexico,DF and try for a musical career there. My grandfather, Ricardo Arechabala, very soon learned that she was was performing in the city and re-aquainted with her. Theirs was a whirl-wind romance, that shortly led to a marriage. According to my aunt Julia, the oldest of the children, although, her twin brother Roberto was present, our grandmother relied relied very much on my aunt Julia. We have no knowledge as to whether our grandmother was still performing musically at this time. According to my aunt, there was a very strong hate on our great grandmothers ( Julia Thomson) against our grandmother Florentina. We don't know the specifics, but, in those days, many woman entertainers were not looked on favorably. Or perhaps, being that There is no mention of Ricardo Arechabala Senior, one would have to assume that our great grandmother's life style was threatened by Florentina, taking away Julia's mainstay. The above is all conjecture on my part. But the facts are this: Ricardo Thompson Arechabala was a Basque Spaniard from Sevilla. He was a military man, graduated from the military academy of Mexico, aprox,1905, served at various posts, including Clipperton Island, off the shore of Mexico. Ricardo was sent with his outfit to quell a Yaqui indian uprising in El Fuerte Sinaloa, Mexico, and was killed there on April, on April 27, 1913. Our grandmother Florentina very pregnant at this time, died 3 months after her husbands death, due to child birth complications. She is buried somewhere in Guaymas, Mexico. This is the same town my mother was born in, in 1910. Very soon after Ricardo's and Florentinas deaths our great grandmother made an appearance At where my aunt Julia and siblings were staying. She presented her self under the guise,that she was stopping fora very short time, but would return right away to take charge of and care for the children. What she did do, was to take Roberto with her. She, unfortunately, was never seen or heard of again. Aunt Julia and her 2 sisters were parceled out to people in the village they were at. My aunt Sara and my mother went to the families of two bothers, Frederick and Albert Rosenstock, native born Americans from Tucson, Arizona. My aunt Julia went to a family that needed a Nanny for their children. Julia later made her way to California. Through word of mouth, and re-telling their story among the Latino population, the sisters finally made contact. Strange too, while living in Lake wood, California, I frequently went to Artesia, asmall village about 1o minuets from where I lived, ad I frequently made eye contact and nodded to this particular individual, as if he wanted to know who I was, and vice versa. Well "Pilo" turned out to be my aunt Julia's oldest son. He lived in a small court close to where I used to go buy my Mexican food. So I actually had knowledge of him, before we knew, we were first cousins. Well, this is the saga of our mother's side of the family. Some where in Mexico. At this time, in this century, there is the rest of the story. May our children, take an interest in this and help to bring closure to it. Edward R. ( Arechabala) Alcantar |
| The St. James Hotel Monument by
Louis F. Serna Early Spanish..? Early Hebrew..? Early Knights Templar..? Who knows for sure….? |
My name is Louis F. Serna and I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was born in Springer in 1941, and later lived in Cimarron, in northern NM. I now live in Albuquerque, NM. I have enjoyed many "vocations" during my 74 years, and perhaps one of the most enjoyable for me has been my interest and studies of historical people, places, events, and wonders of New Mexico, my home state. I am especially intrigued by mysterious and unexplained objects and events that seem to appear so obviously out of place in the generally accepted recorded history of the state... and it seems so obvious that these "objects" should not be where they are found, without explanation of how they got there. I have written several articles and books about all these subjects over the years. The "objects" seem to be ignored for the most part, by those professionals who one would think would be most interested in them, archaeologists..! and yet the mystery of their existence continues unsolved and seemingly totally ignored! Perhaps the most intriguing is the world famous Roswell Incident where a craft from outer space crashed and was recovered by our military. Also of some intrigue is the Los Lunas Decalogue Stone, a large basalt rock with ancient Phoenician / Hebrew /Middle Eastern writing on it just 25 miles southwest of Albuquerque. For years, the writing appears to be treated as a "curiosity" even though it dates back to a time long before Europeans are supposed to have been in this area, and even before Columbus! There are other "curiosities" around the state that defy explanation as to why they are where they are... They should not be there... but they are...! One is forced to believe that the historical authorities of NM simply do not want the history of the state, as we have been taught that it is, changed or up-dated in any way..! The reasons can only be imagined! One of those "mysteries" that I am currently researching surfaced near my hometown of Cimarron, New Mexico in July of 2013, in the northern part of the state. My wife and I were visiting family and friends in Cimarron and we stayed the night in the old St. James Hotel. As I do every time we stay there, I walked around the historic and interesting "wild west" hotel, and I noticed a strange stone object standing off next to a desk in the lobby. As I am prone to do, I looked the interesting stone over carefully and took pictures of all four sides of the stone for later research. I asked the Hotel Manager about the stone and she knew nothing about it so I knew this would become another of my "investigative projects..!" Later, in a phone conversation with Ed Sitzberger Jr., I discovered that about 1986 a local prominent rancher by the name of Milton McDaniel found the monument in the mountainous high country above the Chase Canyon just north of Cimarron at the place called the "Ring Place" in the Valle Vidal area. That area is well known today to hunters, vacationers, mountain hikers and rugged individuals who enjoy hiking in the "high country". The "Ring Place" was a small community that started out as a 320 acre plot of land that Timothy and Catherine Ring purchased from the Maxwell Land Grant Company about 1880. They started a ranch that quickly became a vigorous mining, ranching and railroad community. By 1920 the community had died out. I noticed that the Beaubien Miranda Land Grant, which became the Maxwell Land Grant was just east of the Ring Place. Thinking that the stone might be an old Spanish Land Grant corner marker, I quickly discounted that as the stone does not imply anything to do with that. The Village of Cimarron is just south of the Ponil Canyon which is at the base of the Chase Canyon road. (Some may recall that Ponil Canyon is the site of the famous Black Jack Ketchum gang hideout, where the gang fought a deadly gun battle with a Sheriff's posse after robbing a train in the 1800's..!) The Ring Place is further up that canyon road. Cimarron is located on Highway 64, about 20 miles west of Springer which is on Interstate 25 in northern New Mexico. Some time after McDaniel found the odd looking stone "monument", he discussed it with Ed Sitzberger Jr., the owner / manager of the St. James Hotel at Cimarron and asked him if he'd like to have it to display in the hotel lobby as a curiosity for visitors to marvel at. Ed gladly took the monument and placed it in the lobby where he quickly forgot all about it and where it has been ever since. The object of discussion and the purpose of this article, is that monument. The stone is what I refer to as the St. James Monument and is a solid obelisk - like stone with carved symbols all around it. The monument stands approximately 42 inches tall and has four sides approximately 12 inches on each side. Each side has what appears to be a "sun" symbol carved at the top with "radiations" emitting from it., reminiscent of the Egyptian "Ra" sun-god symbol. Below the sun symbol is what appears to be the symbol of a royal crown... or mountainous peak range... below that is what appears to be a walled design, made of bricks or stones stacked on each other... below that is what appears to be a structure such as a church steeple or mosque or ? Below that is a Christian Templar cross, seemingly a Crusader's cross... below that is a "Y" symbol that in ancient times was used by travelers to tell other travelers, "use this road - it is better". A Jewish Rabbi friend of mine tells me it is the ancient symbol of a Menorah? Below that is what appears to be another structure, such as a wall made of stacked brick or stone... and below that is a carved half circle depression that appears as if it could be a way to "stand" the monument upright on a base of sorts. All of these suggestions are my own and could be interpreted in several other ways... it is only what makes sense to me... The entire series of carvings / symbols seem to me to imply that it was created by a Christian person or one with Christian authority, (in view of the crosses), but for what purpose? Why would this object be placed or left high in the mountains of northern New Mexico? Because Mr. McDaniel was such a prominent local rancher, it is doubtful that he would not be truthful about stating that he found it there. The stone does not appear to be indigenous to the stone / rock found in that area, so where did it come from? Because it appears to be so weathered and old, I don't believe it was carved by anyone locally and certainly not by native Indians who would not have had the metal tools to produce the carvings, nor does it appear to have been carved by early Hispanic settlers, so that would imply that it was carved elsewhere.., perhaps even in the Middle East, given that it contains so many symbols of that region. If the stone is as old as it appears, ( perhaps 1000 AD to perhaps pre-Columbus 1492), someone of "authority" would have commissioned that it be produced, then transported by ship, then "ported" across very difficult country, to be placed where it was found??? But why there and by whom?? And for what purpose?? So many questions and to date.., so few answers..! (See photos at end of article). Upon first seeing it, I thought that perhaps it could be a "corner" marker for an old Spanish Land Grant but the symbols don't seem to identify with anything having to do with a Spanish land grant. In hopes of finding out what the stone is and to answer the many questions it asks… I have reached out to the following officials, authorities and State Offices in hopes of finding answers; Dec 19, 2013 - Ed Sitzberger Jr., past owner of the St. James Hotel and the person who received the stone from Milton McDaniel, the stone "finder". He knows nothing about the stone. I spoke with several other Cimarron "locals" in hopes of finding out anything relative to the monument and no one knows anything about it. Dec. 20, 2013 - Marc Simmons, my friend and prominent historian and author of New Mexico history. Marc has never seen anything like it, only a few cairns in the area. (Piled stones to mark trails, etc.). He suggested I contact the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuqurque. Dec. 24, 2013 - Greta Pullan, Head Librarian - National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque. She has never seen anything like this and cannot associate it with anything "Hispanic". Dec. 27, 2013 - Billy Vigil, BLM - Albuquerque. I spoke with Billy and he knows nothing about the stone and referred to UNM. Jan 14, 2014 - David A. Phillips Jr., Research Associate of Anthropology at UNM. David has never heard of anything like this and in view of his time and other reasons, he will only investigate the stone if it is "in situ"… "buried in the ground". I also contacted Dr. Romeo Hristov, noted UNM Archaelogist, famous for discovering the preColumbian "Calixtlahuaca Head" in 1933, buried in the ruins of Calixtlahuaca in the Toluca Valley of Mexico which was destroyed by the Aztecs in 1510 AD. The small stone head is the exact likeness of a Roman seaman, complete with a seaman's hat and a full beard which dates to 200 AD..! Another "object", buried under two stone slabs, that just should not have been there, but there it was..! Dr. Hristov was not able to help me at this time. Jan 23, 2014 - Helen Taylor, ABQ Journal News Reporter, Albuquerque. She has never heard of the stone in past journal articles. Jan 27, 2014 - Dr. Steven Collins, Trinity Southwest University. I contacted him on the advice of my friend, Dr. Denis Ismael Otero, Rabbi of Tora Unleashed, http://www.toraunleashed.com/info@torahunleashed.com. I met with Dr. Otero at his office and we discussed the stone at length. He is an expert on early Hebrew text and he felt that there are several symbols that could be interpreted as being early Hebrew. He suggested I contact Dr. Collins. I spoke with Dr. Collins on the phone and unfortunately, he was not helpful. Feb 14, 2014 - Internet searches / research. Visit "Sacred Stones in the Desert" The BAS Library. Similar stones found in the Middle East and referred to as "Massebaoth" stones. Mar 12, 2014 - Jan Biella, Deputy State Preservation Officer and State Archaeologist. Office of the N.M. State Historian, (referred to her by Rob Martinez, SRCA at the office of the State Historian). Nov 2, 2014 - Scott Wolter, archaeologist and producer of the hit TV program, AMERICA UNEARTHED. His staff responded to me that Scott is very busy elsewhere on film location and they will review my "tip" and respond if they need more information. No further communications. Nov 13, 2014 - Charles Cameron - Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, Albuquerque Lodge No. 60. I spoke with him on the phone since some symbols on the stone appear to be Masonic in appearance. Nov 20, 2014 - I emailed Charles Cameron and he responded, telling me that he was very busy and that he would review my information and blog. He said he does not see any masonic symbols and suggested I visit the TV program, AMERICA UNEARTHED. Dec 16, 2014 - Dave Matthews - City of Albuquerque - GOV. I discussed the monument with Dave and sent him a copy of my research in hopes that he can refer me to someone who can help me. No response. Dec - 24, 2014 - I was referred to Richard Simms, DCA in the Office of Historical Sites by Jan Biella's office. We communicated by email and he is attempting to find someone in the area who can help me. I am somewhat dismayed but not surprised or discouraged at the amount of "insignificance" that so many persons "in authority" who I thought would be helpful, have not been. I intend to continue to investigate and pursue the mysteries of this strange object and I hope that those who read this article might know something about this stone or another like it and that they will refer my article to someone who might be helpful to me, or refer me to others. I am determined to solve this mystery and when I do, I will submit my findings to Mimi Lozano for her to post on SOMOS PRIMOS, my favorite magazine. So what is my current interpretation / theory as to what this monument is? See photos attached / below; |
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| Laura K. Munoz, Romo v. Laird: Mexican American Segregation and the Politics of Belonging in Arizona Western Legal History, Special Issue, Arizona Legal History Volune 26, Numbers 1 &2 97-132 (2013) |
This work is amazing as to just how the Mexican American community was engaged in making sure that they, we, were included; this case pre-dates Mendez vs Westminster by at least 20 years. It a new piece of research coming from the Arizona case of Romo v. Laird. Hope you will find it as interesting. Don't hesitate to contact Michael Olivas. Juan Marinez Laura K. Muñoz, an Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, has completed an interesting follow up piece to her original Separate but Equal? A Case Study of Romo v. Laird & Mexican American Schooling, 15 OAH Magazine of History, 28-35 (2001), where she reprinted the unpublished decision of Arizona’s early desegregation case, Romo v. Laird (1925). It has been analyzed by a small number of historians and legal scholars, such as George Martinez, Richard Valencia, Vicki Ruiz, and myself. This new case study—with additional details and backstory—is dated 2013, but just appeared, due to publishing delays. She has made this case her own, and I pass on the new article so all of you can make it yours as well. These early cases all arose in the context of very few Mexican American lawyers, terrible juries, overtly racist judges, hostile legislatures and school boards, Jaime Crow practices, and virtually no overarching Latino legal strategies, many years before MALDEF’s founding in 1967-68. This next year will bring us the towering biography of George I. Sanchez by Carlos Blanton (Yale U Press), so look for it in fine bookstores everywhere. And Arturo Rosales is finishing a book on the fascinating Alonso Perales. I, for one, hope that someone as accomplished as Carlos and Arturo will write a biography on Gus Garcia as well, and on these other courageous and extraordinary Mexican American educators and lawyers. We are always right to be reminded of how far we have come, but also how many miles there are to travel until we sleep. Happy holidays to all, Michael Olivas MOlivas@UH.EDU Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@msu.edu |
| Why Do Farmworkers Still Lack Workers'
Comp? by Marianne L. Bowers NMSU Student Series, January 12, 2015 |
| Frontera NorteSur Editor's Note: Frontera
NorteSur continues with our series by New Mexico State University
student writers. Today's contribution examines the continued legal
wrangling over a 2011 ruling by New Mexico State District Court Judge
Valerie Huling that the exclusion of ranch and farm laborers from the
state workers' comp system is unconstitutional. The author of the
article, Marianne L. Bowers, recently graduated from New Mexico State
with a master's degree in government. She also holds a J.D. It has been more than three years since the New Mexico workers' compensation law’s exclusion for farm and ranch workers was declared unconstitutional by New Mexico District Court Judge Valerie Huling in a lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty (NMCLP) against the New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration (WCA). The WCA is the state agency tasked with enforcing the New Mexico’s Workers’ Compensation Act. According to the WCA Guidebook for Employers, 2014 edition, posted on the WCA website: “The Workers’ Compensation Administration was created to assure the timely delivery of benefits to injured workers at a reasonable cost to employers. Workers’ compensation is a system of insurance that protects workers and employers from some of the losses caused by on-the-job accidents and job-related illnesses.” Job-related accidents and illnesses are abundant among New Mexico farm and ranch workers. A 2012 survey of New Mexican field and dairy Workers conducted by the NMCLP, in which 60 New Mexico dairy workers and 193 New Mexico field workers were surveyed, found that 47% of the field workers reported having experienced at least one pesticide-related health problem and 53% of the dairy workers surveyed reported that they have been injured while working on a dairy in New Mexico. Gail Evans, NMCLP director, recently told FNS that the WCA is still violating Judge Huling’s ruling three years later. According to Evans, the WCA has not informed its entire staff around the state that the farm and ranch exclusion has been ruled unconstitutional. What's more, she added, the WCA continues to issue statements that imply it is appealing the issue of the constitutionality of the exception. It is not. The WCA has never challenged the district court’s ruling that the exclusion was unconstitutional, according to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, the second highest court in New Mexico. The Court of Appeals noted that Judge Huling’s decision “stands” and the WCA is “bound” by it. Yet the WCA has not taken any definitive measures to implement the judge’s ruling, and instead has sent mixed messages to employers. In the WCA Guidebook for Employers, 2014 edition posted on its website, the WCA still tells employers that “coverage is not required for farm and ranch laborers,” but suggests ag industry employers take out workers' compensation coverage. A statement on the WCA website reads as follows: "A District Court in Bernalillo County has declared the farm and ranch exclusion unconstitutional. Cases are pending before the Court of Appeals that should determine how the District Court’s ruling applies to employers of farm and ranch laborers throughout the state. All employers, including employers of farm and ranch laborers, are strongly encouraged to get workers compensation coverage for their employees." In an effort to force the WCA to comply with the District Court ruling, the NMCLP sought and obtained an injunction against the WCA last July. The injunction, issued by Judge Huling, prohibits the agency from taking any position contrary to her ruling and threatens sanctions against the agency if it continues to ignore her ruling. That was six months ago. Meanwhile, the Employers’ Guidebook and website remain unchanged. “We will consider requesting monetary sanctions if [the WCA] continue[s] to violate the law," Evans said. FNS contacted the WCA seeking clarification of the agency’s position and received this response from Diana Sandoval-Tapia, WCA Public Information Officer: “Since the WCA posted its update on the farm and ranch statutory exclusion, several developments have occurred in the District Court and Court of Appeals. Two cases are currently pending appeal before the Court of Appeals, Noe Rodriguez and Maria Aguirre, that should clarify employers’ right to raise the farm and ranch exclusion as a defense to a workers’ compensation claim. The farm and ranch industry has filed an amicus brief in the Rodriguez appeal. The WCA is not a party to either Rodriguez or Aguirre, but the Uninsured Employers’ Fund is a party to the Rodriguez appeal. On October 17, 2014, a District Court in Bernalillo County issued a supplemental order ruling that the WCA is bound by the District Court’s determination that the farm and ranch exclusion is unconstitutional, but the District Court also ruled that its determination is not binding on workers’ compensation judges or the Uninsured Employers’ Fund. Plaintiffs to the District Court action have appealed the supplemental order to the Court of Appeals. The WCA hopes and anticipates that all three cases will provide clarity from appellate courts on the obligation of farm, ranches, and dairies statewide to procure workers’ compensation insurance coverage.” The Uninsured Employer's Fund is administered by the WCA. The two cases pending before the Court of Appeals, besides the one to which the WCA is a party, are workers’ compensation claims filed by injured farm and dairy workers. In both cases, the workers' employers contend that they are not bound by Judge Huling’s order. Noe Rodriquez is the worker in the first case seeking workers’ compensation benefits. He was employed as a dairy worker at Brand West Dairy in Lovington, New Mexico, when he was pushed up against a metal door by a cow and head-butted, causing him to fall face first into the concrete. Consequently, he suffered severe injuries to his head, resulting in neurological damage. He was hospitalized for eight days, two of which were spent in a coma. Rodriguez remains paralyzed on one side of his face and has significantly decreased sight in one of his eyes. Farmworker Maria Aguirre is the claimant in the second case. She tripped while picking chile for M.A. & Sons Chili Products in southern New Mexico's Hatch Valley and felt intense pain in her arm. Aguirre's left wrist was fractured, and she was forced to undergo surgery and open reduction internal fixation of the left distal radius. To this day, Aguirre still suffers the effects of her injury and is not able to perform farm work like she did prior to the injury. A friend-of- the-court brief has been filed by the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, Dairy Producers of New Mexico and Dairy Farmers of New Mexico in the Rodriquez case in which their attorney argues that the farm and ranch worker exclusion is constitutional because it is rationally related to legitimate government purposes. According to the brief: “Farm and ranch workers are often seasonal and, as such, inherently transient. Moreover, some farm and ranch workers . . . are undocumented. Undocumented workers are often difficult to locate and, because they are undocumented, they often avoid contact with governmental authorities. Thus, administering their workers’ compensation claims presents a challenge.” The industry organizations and their lawyer also argue that broader economic benefits come from the farm and ranch worker exclusion. "The farm and ranch labor exception is founded on the Legislature’s determination that lowering the costs of producing farm, agricultural and ranch products translates into decreased costs to the public for the products, fruits, vegetables, meat, etc. produced by New Mexico’s farms, ranches and dairies,” the brief states. On the other hand, Judge Huling earlier noted the economic costs to society related to the workers' comp exclusion. “According to the State of New Mexico, the more workers included in workers’ compensation coverage, the better, because coverage is generally positive," Huling wrote. The district court judge continued: "Also according to the State, there are negative impacts on society at large by not having all workers covered by workers’ compensation. These include a negative impact on the health system since there are more uninsured patients, a negative impact on tax payers who ultimately must cover the costs, and a negative impact on society since uncovered injured workers cannot return to work as quickly as those with coverage. There is a negative impact on injured workers and their families since those without coverage do not have the same access to health care as those with coverage, and those without coverage rely on public benefits more than those with coverage.” The WCA has taken no direct position in the lawsuits pending in the Court of Appeals despite its direct involvement with the entities that deal with the issue. In addition to its involvement with the Uninsured Employers’ Fund, the Director of the WCA appoints the workers’ compensation judges and is responsible for reviewing aspects of their performance. The WCA argued to Judge Huling, and Judge Huling agreed, that the Fund was not specifically named as a party in the lawsuit filed by the NMCLP and, therefore, it is not bound by Judge Huling’s decision. Despite the close relationship between the WCA and the workers’ compensation judges, Judge Huling declined to extend her ruling to the judges. The NMCLP is appealing Huling’s ruling that the Fund and the workers’ compensation judges are not bound by her decision that the exclusion is unconstitutional. By taking no affirmative action on Judge Huling’s decision that the exclusion is unconstitutional, and by stating that the issue still requires clarity, farm and ranch labor legal advocate Evans maintained that the WCA is acting against the interests of the workers and supporting the position taken by employers and the farm and ranch industry in the pending workers’ compensation claims. On this score, the Workers' Compensation Act provides that the rights and interests of the employer are not to be favored over those of the employee. FNS asked the WCA whether it has communicated with the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, Dairy Producers of New Mexico or the Dairy Farmers of New Mexico since Judge Huling declared the exclusion unconstitutional. WCA Public Information Officer Diana Sandoval-Tapia replied that WCA staff has, in fact, communicated by phone and by email with staff of the Cattle Growers Association regarding the farm and ranch issue. In order to obtain copies of the emails, FNS was told to submit a formal Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) request. FNS has submitted the IPRA request. Despite the claim by the WCA that the issue is complicated, the WCA acknowledges that it is bound by the District Court’s determination that the farm and ranch exclusion is unconstitutional. The Rodriquez and Aguirre lawsuits have been consolidated for oral argument before the Court of Appeals. A court date is scheduled for Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in the Albuquerque Court of Appeals Pamela B. Minzner Law Center. The NMCLP expects a decision from the Court of Appeals a few months after oral argument. "The WCA should stop violating Judge Huling’s order and abide by her decision. The website and Employers' guide should be updated to show that the farm and ranch exclusion is unconstitutional," insisted the NMCLP's Gail Evans. "The WCA staff should be formally advised that the exclusion is unconstitutional. Three years of refusing to follow the law is enough." -Marianne L. Bowers For an earlier FNS story that gives background to Judge Huling's ruling: http://fnsnews.nmsu.edu/100-years-of-no-workers-comp/ Frontera NorteSur: on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news Center for Latin American and Border Studies New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico For a free electronic subscription email: fnsnews@nmsu.edu |
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Jose Antonio Navarro Cenotaph Unveiling Signature Houston Mural Set for Restoration by Jayme Fraser Spanish Cannon Comes Home to the Alamo Settling Texas, Castroville Coal Mining in Las Minas, Santo Tomas Coal Field by Erasmo "Doc" Riojas Comments on the 1954 Laredo Flood by Gilberto Quezada Frank Nieto Lujan by Prima Elisa |
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Signature Houston Mural Set for Restoration |
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Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle— Henry Gilbert walks in front of the mural "The Rebirth of Our Nationality" along Canal Street Monday. Carlos Calbillo picked up curls of dried paint from the sidewalk and held out his hand, showing friends a light blue flake that once was a dark purple and pointing out the soft cream remnant of a rich brown. "Look at this now," he said, gesturing behind him to the chipped 4,000-square-foot mural on the side of an empty East End warehouse. "This is history." Once the largest mural in Houston, "The Rebirth of Our Nationality" has faded, but Harris County now has a plan to restore the painting that stretches the full 5900 block of Canal Street. Excitement, however, has been tempered by the same cultural and artistic tensions that influenced the 1973 painting as well as suspicions county officials already decided who would repaint the mural at the heart of Chicano and East End identity. "They haven't fired up any bulldozers yet, so I think there's time still to talk," said Calbillo, an East End activist and filmmaker. The county purchased the old Continental Can Company factory in 2012 for about $3 million just before property prices spiked in the neighborhood near downtown where public investment and development has fueled a revitalization. Within a few weeks, the county will begin the first stages of refurbishing the 260,000-square-foot warehouse into a records storage facility and new headquarters for the Precinct 6 Constable staff. County officials hope the building will open early next year. Share your memories of East End mural Reporter Jayme Fraser would like to gather people's memories of the mural at 5900 Canal Street, "The Rebirth of Our Nationality." It could be about seeing it created, watching it fade, its message for Chicano pride or what it has meant to you. Email them to Jayme.fraser@chron.com Included in the more than $8 million renovation budget is $70,000 for the restoration of the "Rebirth" mural. "It definitely is symbolic that the East End itself is going through a rebirth," said Gonzo 247, the artistic moniker chosen by the East End native recognized widely for his downtown "Houston" mural. "The wall itself will have its own rebirth along with the neighborhood," he said. Leo Tanguma, too, is excited to oversee the project from his home in Denver. "Over the years there were some efforts - halfway measures - to redo the mural," he said. "After speaking with the county the last two years, I really feel this is it." Tanguma, born into a family of cotton pickers in Beeville, studied art at Texas Southern University, where world-renowned African American artist Dr. John Biggers encouraged him to study Mexico's "Great Four" social muralists. Tanguma traveled there and studied under David Alfaro Siqueiros, known for his vivid images laden with symbolism of political struggles. When Tanguma and fellow college artists painted the "Rebirth" mural in 1973, Canal Street was among the busiest roadways in Houston. Some drivers yelled obscenities at the politically motivated artists. Others gathered to learn the stories depicted on the wall. "We'd stand in front of the mural explaining the history and the heroes," Tanguma said. "It is about the Chicano movement, rediscovering our incredibly beautiful history. Many of the kids had no concept of their racial mixture. They didn't know the legends." At the mural's center, two Chicanos lean out from an iconic red flower that rests on a bed of skulls, an image that would be repeated by other muralists. Above their heads, a waving banner reads, "TO BECOME AWARE OF OUR HISTORY IS TO BECOME AWARE OF OUR SINGULARITY." Today, those words are indistinguishable. "I watched him paint this when I was a teenager," said Rosa Guzman, a neighborhood leader. She smiled at the cracked paint as though its colors were still vivid. "Our history is coming back." |
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 Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle—Henry Gilbert walks in front of the mural "The Rebirth of Our Nationality" along Canal Street Monday. |
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She was glad someone finally secured permission from Tanguma to restore the mural, which she said was why previous attempts to fix it never came to be. It will be at least two months before the county puts the renovation project's final contracts out to bid. John Blount, Harris County's director of engineering and architecture, said all work to the mural will have to wait until crews near completion and have cleared from the area. "While it's under construction, we'll start reviewing artists to do the restoration," he said. That decision is likely to be contentious in the tight-knit community known as a haven of creative types. It was a childhood inspiration to art for many East End natives. Its themes of cultural identity likely mean Chicano activists will want one of their own selected for the restoration. Tanguma left Houston after other artworks were vandalized or stolen and their themes bitterly criticized, leaving fractures in the neighborhood and Chicano art community that nonetheless claims his mural as their own. Tanguma, whose approval is critical for the county to move forward, shared a clear vision for the mural's new life. "The only artist I would support is Gonzo," he said. "His style is a little bit different than the rest of the Chicanos, but I want to have a new personality interpret it for future generations. It will not exactly be the way we did it, but in a new style." The statement of support has riled other artists with ties to the East End, although none wanted to speak on record about their frustrations. Gonzo said he is giddy from Tanguma's compliments, but cautions a final decision is not made until the county reviews proposals submitted by interested artists. He also said the job is too big for one man and, if selected, would want to make the restoration a community project. He knows he is not the only one who misses the days when it was impossible to pass the wall without staring at it. "It lost its presence," he said. "It was larger than life and I think that art in Houston, Texas should be larger than life. You should be able to walk up to a piece and be enveloped by it. Hopefully it'll come back in vivid color, full of life again."
Other residents set aside the debates among artists and activists, to encourage unity and celebrate the chance to pass East End heritage to the next generation. Many who learned of the project at a community meeting Saturday drove over to the faded wall, swapping memories of the neighborhood in the rain. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Signature-Houston- |
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Spanish Cannon Comes Home to the Alamo
A Dedication of Alamo Defenders' cannon was held Saturday, January 24, 2015 in San Antonio,
at The Alamo. The event was organized by the San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy |
| A significant Spanish cannon has been returned to The Alamo. The barrel bears the Spanish royal crest and has the exact damage as other Alamo cannons that have been previously discovered to have been at the battle. Both of the cannon's trunnions have been broken off and the fire hole is not spiked. Researchers believe that this cannon was used by the Alamo defenders in February-March 1836. A ccording to the cannon's provenance, it was sent from San Antonio to the French family in Philadelphia sometime in the 1880s as a payment for a debt. Howard B. French displayed the cannon on the lawn of his country estate called Aulderbrook. In 1986, J.P. Bryan heard of the cannon's existence and went to Philadelphia to investigate. Although the cannon had been sold, Bryan was able to locate and buy it from the collector who had purchased it. He then shipped the cannon back to Texas and auctioned it to raise money for the Texas State Historical Association. Mr. John McRae purchased the cannon and had a carriage constructed for the artillery piece. The cannon was donated to San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy. Under the direction of Mr. Jim Jobling, the Conservancy had the cannon conserved at the Texas A&M Conservation Research Lab. The cannon is on loan to the Alamo from the Conservancy. An official dedication and "thank you" was made to donors and Dr. Gregg Dimmick discussed the history of the cannon. 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 military event of the Texas Revolution. No other nonprofit organization is devoted entirely to these goals. In 2010, the San Jacinto Battleground was included on Preservation Texas' Most Endangered Places list. Preservation Texas is the statewide partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To find out what you can do to help, visit www.sanjacintoconservancy.org San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy sjbc-texas@usa.net | 808 Travis, Suite 1429 P. O. Box 940536 Houston, TX 77094-7536 Copyright © 2015 |
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Settling Texas, Castroville On December 29, 1845, the sovereign nation known as the Republic of Texas became the 28th state of the United States of America. In the ten years of Texas' independence before becoming a U.S. state, the Republic actively sought settlers. One man who played a critical factor in increasing Texas' population was Henri Castro. Born in 1786 in Bayonne, France, Castro's family was of Portuguese-Jewish descent. An ambitious young man, he was appointed by the Governor of Landes (Southwestern France) to greet Napoleon, and, later, in 1806, served in Napoleon's honor guard. After the fall of Napoleon, Castro moved to the United States. Although he became an American citizen in 1827, he returned to France in 1838 to become a partner in a bank. In that role, he worked to negotiate a loan for the Republic of Texas. In gratitude, President Sam Houston appointed him Consul General for Texas at Paris. In 1842, Castro contracted a land grant on the Medina River in Southwest Texas and was required to find at least 600 families or single men to come to Texas. After recruiting settlers from all over France, he chartered seven ships of settlers, the first of which arrived at the Port of Galveston on January 1, 1843. The new settlement, which was named Castroville, was established in September 1844. Three more settlements of Castro recruits were then settled: Quihi in 1845, Vandenburg in 1846, and D'Hanis in 1847. To ensure the success of his settlements, Castro used his own funds - more than $200,000 - to make certain that the settlers had everything that they needed. Although Castro had established his own settlement in Castroville, he decided to return to France in 1865. On his way to France, while still in Mexico (where his ship was to disembark), Castro became seriously ill and passed away on November 31, 1865. Sent by Rosalinda Mendez Gonzalez mendez.rosal@gmail.com |
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COAL MINING IN LAS MINAS: SANTO TOMAS COAL FIELD
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I was born in "Las Minas"
aka: Dolores TX,
now a cattle ranch privately owned |
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TO: THC Marker Team Thank you for working with us on this project. We accept the revised marker inscription. Please proceed with the foundry casting of the marker. Feel free to contact us and let us know if you need us to do anything to further facilitate this process. Sincerely, Jeanette Hatcher, ___X__1. I am the CHC chair or marker
chair. I have distributed the marker inscription to all interested
parties for comment. I have carefully reviewed the inscription, and
there are no errors (factual, typographical or interpretive). Therefore,
the inscription for the Official Texas Historical Marker is accurate as
written and foundry casting can proceed. |
COAL MINING IN LAS MINAS: SANTO TOMAS COAL FIELD
CANNEL
COAL WAS MINED FROM THE SANTO TOMAS COAL FIELD BETWEEN 1881 AND 1939 AND
SEVERAL MINING TOWNS, COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS LAS MINAS, DEVELOPED DURING
THIS TIME. THE TOWNS WERE LOCATED IN THE VICINITY OF THE POINTS OF
ACCESS TO THE MINES. THE TOWNS CONSISTED OF MINERA (CARBON), DARWIN
(CANNEL), DOLORES ( LAS
MINAS’ QUALITY COAL AND THRIVING ECONOMY ATTRACTED ENGINEERS,
INVESTORS, LABORERS, MINERS, RAILROAD DEVELOPERS AND MANY OTHERS. LAS
MINAS AND THE SANTO TOMAS COAL FIELD’S PRODUCTION DIRECTLY IMPACTED MANY OF THE
INHABITANTS OF LAS MINAS WERE MEXICAN OR MEXICAN AMERICAN. HOWEVER
CITIZENS IN LAS MINAS MIGRATED FROM THE EASTERN AND MID-WESTERN UNITED
STATES AS WELL. THE LOCAL POPULATION OVERCAME DIFFICULT LIVING
CONDITIONS SUCH AS THE LACK OF ELECTRICITY AND RUNNING WATER,
UNDERFUNDED SCHOOLS, DISEASE AND MINE FIRES. DESPITE THESE CHALLENGES,
THE INHABITANTS OF LAS MINAS CONTRIBUTED MANY CULTURAL AND CIVIC
LEGACIES TO THE REGION SUCH AS LOS MATACHINES DE LA MARKER
IS PROPERTY OF THE STATE OF
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After the horrific flood of 1954, which knocked down the west wall of our modest two room house at 402 San Pablo Avenue (our house was across the street from the Zacate Creek), we ended up living at 210 Iturbide Street. And then, in 1958, we moved to a very old five room stone house with a long screen porch at 801 Zaragoza Street, at the corner of Zaragoza and Santa Ursula, and adjacent to the American Legion, Post 59. The original rectangular stone house, built around the early or mid-1800s, consisted of four small rooms, all in a row, with very high ceilings and the walls on the inside and outside of the house were about two feet thick, and fronted Zaragoza Street. The front of the house only had one window, which was added when the house was remodeled, and three double wooden doors eight feet high. The east wall also only had one window. One of the doors was remodeled into a modern door in the 1930s, along with the addition of a bathroom, kitchen, and the screen porch, and the floor. And, to the rear of the house was a small backyard on a very high cliff overlooking the Río Grande and Nuevo Laredo. When we moved in, I was in the seventh grade and my mother would tell me that she had heard stories from the neighbors and from the previous tenants, whose husband taught at Martin High School, that General Antonio López de Santa Anna had slept in that house on his way to San Antonio in 1836. Well, not knowing any better, naturally I believed my mother, and consequently, I told my classmates about this fantastic story. It was not until I was attending St. Mary's University, studying and cataloguing the Laredo Archives under the tutelage and supervision of Miss Carmen Perry that I found out differently. General Santa Anna could not have stayed in Laredo and in our house in 1836 because when he went to San Antonio de Bejar to fight at the Alamo, he did not travel through Laredo. He went to San Antonio de Bejar by way of the Upper Camino Real, from Mexico City == San Luis Potosí == Saltillo == Monclova == Presidio del Río Grande (close to Eagle Pass) == San Antonio de Bejar. However, twenty-three years earlier, in 1813, General Joaquin de Arredondo and his army stayed in Laredo for a few days and he took the Lower Camino Real to San Antonio de Bejar. In General Arredondo's army was a young lieutenant by the name of Antonio López de Santa Anna. It is plausible that when General Arredondo and his army spent the nights in Laredo, they could have stayed in the house and in the other stone houses close to and surrounding the plaza de San Agustín. Afterwards, the Royalist Army under the command of General Joaquin de Arredondo marched towards San Antonio de Bejar and confronted the Republican Army of General José Alvarez de Toledo y Dubois on August 18, 1813 at the battle of the Medina. Regrettably, in the mid-1970s, the house was demolished to make room for a parking lot. Otherwise, the house would still be standing and it would have been included as an important part of the Villa de San Agustín Historic District, which encompasses the area where the house once stood. Gilberto Quezada
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Frank Nieto Lujan by Prima Elisa |
| You will find this most
a interesting impression of my father Frank Nieto Lujan as written
by La Prima Elisa our renowned family genealogist. December 1,
2014 ~ Jerry Lujan
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Notre Dame Archives: Louisiana and the Floridas
Source Some great facts about New Orleans, Louisiana Hector P. Garcia Centennial Birthday Commemoration, 2014, Omaha, Nebraska Kansas City, Kansas public library January 17, 2015 honors Dr. Hector P. Garcia Forum for Hispanics/Latinos in Ohio and their friends in the nation Building in Newton, Kansas which deserves attention Baton Rouge, Louisiana Historical Markers, Photos by Bill Carmena Our Views: Big honor for Galvez Helen Torrence Bey, “Mother Bey” |
| Notre Dame Archives: Louisiana and the Floridas Source: Wade Falcon . Have found a few gems here myself . Good luck .
Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com
http://archives.nd.edu/mano/
Editor Mimi: Sorry I could not increase the size of the fonts, the links were lost when I attempted to do so. This is fascinating information which makes the point of the very real presence of the Spanish in Florida in 1513. Notre
Dame Archives: Louisiana and the Floridas
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Some great facts about New Orleans
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Things You Probably Didn’t Know About New Orleans
Sharing a few: 8. New Orleans has more total mileage of canals, both above and below ground, than Venice in Italy. 12. New Orleans is one of the few US cities that has been run under three different flags. It was founded by the French, had a period under Spanish rule, was ruled under the French again and then was eventually sold to the United States. 13. New Orleans was the only place in the world where slaves were allowed to own drums, which eventually lead to the city’s creation of jazz music. 23. New Orleans voodoo queen Marie Laveau’s tomb receives more visitors each year than Elvis Presley’s grave. 26.
Although New Orleans’ famed neighborhood may be called the French
Quarter, most of the buildings were influenced by Spanish architecture. |
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Our organization hosted a 100 year anniversary birthday celebration in Omaha last year. I still remember the day I met Dr. Garcia, back in 1989, at a convention in Omaha, Nebraska. |
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Our event was arranged through the cooperation of the Latino American Commission of
Nebraska. A State-wide proclamation commemorating Dr. Garcia's
death was prepared for the event. I consider Dr. Garcia as the most important Mexican born American in our nation's civil rights history. Que Viva Hector P. Garcia!!!  Hector P. Garcia Day in the State of Nebraska as Proclaimed by the Governor of Nebraska on the anniversary of his death.....on July 9th, 2014. |
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| If I may add to this discourse, as, thanks to rvazquez, the materials have been forwarded.....In the photo with six people posing with a Hector P. Garcia mosaic and the Govenor of Nebraska, Honorable Heinemann, the object being held by the white haired dude to the right, is a list of Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Latinos, who, while having an address in the State of Nebraska, died in a War Theatre for the United States of America. The sent photo, with a bunch of dudes and a Dudette, posing, was taken at the Omaha Chapter of the American GI Forum, in Omaha, Nebraska, after awards were given in honor of the greatest American that ever lived in my life-time, Dr. Hector Perez Garcia...... |
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| Event Sponsors: Mexican American Historical Society of the Midlands, Omaha Chapter and the Jerry Garcia Chapter of the American GI Forum, and the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Centennial
Committee..... Below is the identification of each person in the Hector commemorative photo 2014 taken of officials at the Omaha Chapter of the American GI Forum, to commemorate Hector P Garcia's 100 Birthday on January 17, 2014. |
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Rigo Perez - Bank Branch Manager 1st Natl Tony Gonzalez - and Paco Fuentes from the Boys and Girls Club .Ricardo Ariza - Multicultural Offce of Creighton University in Omaha .Carolina Quezada, Executive Director of the Chicano Awareness Center John Navarette , the Vice National Chairman of the American GI Forum Jose F. Garcia of the Mexican American Historical Society/Trustee - Nebraska State Historical Society Larry Bradley - Commander Omaha Chapter of the American GI Forum Rick Arrellano - Lifetime member of the American GI Forum Mayors Office Representative Omaha Chapter member. Lazaro Spindola - Executive Director of the Nebraska Latino American Commission Ms. Olivas - Commissioner on the Latino American COmmission Larry Bradley - Commander of the Omaha Chapter of the American GI Forum Honorable Governor for the State of Nebraska - Gov. Heinemann John Navarette - Vice-Chairman of the National American GI Forum Jose F. Garcia - Founder of the Mexican American Historical Society - Trustee on the Nebraska State Historical Society - American GI Forum National Historian -
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Jose' F. Garcia razatimes@gmail.com Mexican American Historical Society of the Midlands, Omaha en Aztlan, Nebraska |
| Recommending a book: Company E,
a former National Guard company from Texas.
To celebrate Dr. Garcia's birthday the year, a chapter from the book on
Dr. Hector Garcia was shown from the video "American GI Forum" on January 17,
2015 at the Kansas City, Kansas public library.
Rudy Padilla opkansas@swbell.net Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@msu.edu |
| Forum for Hispanics/Latinos in Ohio and their friends in the nation. |
This list is created to forward event announcements, useful information and political, but nonpartisan news and opinions to people in Hispanic/Latino communities and their friends in the nation. Its main purpose is to facilitate communications among and by ordinary people in Hispanic/Latino communities and their friends, like you, to promote your common interests as well as well-being for all people in the Greater Dayton area, in Ohio, farther in the United States and beyond in the world. Munsup Seoh Volunteer MPEN Organizer forum-hispanicamericans@sympa.mpen-ohio.net |
| Building in Newton, Kansas which deserves
attention Yesterday I was made aware of a building in Newton, Kansas which deserves attention. Originally built in 1888, the structure is historically significant to Latino history as it housed the first business owned by a Hispanic owner in that city’s Main Street. The Cuellar family opened the Cuellar Sewing Machine Company in 1967, a business they owned for 40 years. The building is for sale and has been threatened with demolition since the summer. While there are several folks in Newton interested in the preservation of the structure, no one has offered to purchase it for restoration. A special thanks to Kamila Platt – a friend of the Cuellar family – for making us all aware of this story. We will keep you updated – please get the word out! Here is more on the building and on the contributions made by the Cuellars: http://hchm.org/building-at-815-main/ (see this link for an extensive architectural description and the earlier history of the bldg. which was built in 1888) In 1971, it became the location of Cuellar Sewing Machine Co. Rosalio ‘Russ’ Cuellar grew up in Newton. After graduating from Newton High, Cuellar worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, but soon he was looking for another opportunity. He started working for the Singer Sewing Machine Co as a salesman and technician. By 1967, he was able to open his own store in Newton. Four years later, he became the “first Hispanic business owner on Main Street in Newton” when he moved his business to the building at 815 Main. In addition to his business, Cuellar served as a court interpreter and was active in various community organization and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. He married Judy Macias in 1951 and they had six children. Cuellar died in 2010 at the age of 79. In 2003, the building at 815 Main was included in “Main Street Historic District No 2? on both the National Register and Kansas Register of Historic Places. At that time the building was described as an “elegantly designed building . . . one of the eye-catching gems of Main Street. It has a three-sided bay window, topped by a cast iron railing; above a metal cornice with urn finials at each end, and a Mansard roof.” Billie Jo Wilson, Historic Preservation Planner, City of Newton, provided additional architectural information from the nomination forms for the National Historic Register. Sylvia M. Gonzalez | MANAGER OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS P 210.223.9800 F 210.223.9802 NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION Villa Finale: Museum & Gardens 401 King William Street San Antonio TX 78204 www.PreservationNation.org www.VillaFinale.org Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com
Thank you Dorinda . . .
I wonder if anyone has looked into contacting the Singer
company to see if they would be interested in purchasing the property
and making it a museum.
There is SO much information that could tie into the museum about the
Mexican factory workers. My mother and several of her
sisters sewed in the garment district in Los Angeles.
The museum could include the Cuellar business, and also the garment
industry all over the US. That would be great PR for the
Singer company.
But even if the building is demolished, photos should be quickly
gathered and deposited with the local library, with a plan
to place a plaque on any new structures.
Just checked . . . there seems to be a large museum in
Newton, Kansas.
Also the racial balance clearly shows Hispanics are the largest
minority.
The
racial makeup of the city was 86.73% White,
2.30% African
American,
0.53% Native
American,
0.66% Asian,
0.03% Pacific
Islander,
6.84% from other
races,
and 2.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of
any race were 12.73% of the population.
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| Baton Rouge, Louisiana Historical Markers I took the pictures and helped clean some of the markers . Most were installed for the Bicententenial in 1976. Bill Carmena, JCarm1724@aol.com http://www.canaryislanders.org/staging/brmarkers.html ©2005 Canary Islanders Heritage Society of Louisiana |
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Text reads: SPANISH TOWN -- |
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Text reads: The first cemetery in Baton Rouge was the Cemetery of La Yglesia de los Dolores de la Virgin, Our Lady of Sorrows. Established in 1792 by order of King Carlos IV of Spain. This present cemetery was established in 1824 and the remains of Baton Rouge's first settlers were moved here from the original Spanish cemetery. (This monument is erected in their memory by grateful citizens and parishioners in 1991.) |
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| Text reads: SITE OF SPANISH BATTERY 1779 -- Behind an orchard on a mound near this site artillerymen under Spanish Governor Bernardo Galvez placed a batter of six cannon and on September 21, 1779 after a three-hour bombardment forced the surrender of the British fort located about one thousand yards north on the bank of the river. | Text reads: FORT SAN CARLOS -- Here on a bluff of the river stood the old star-shaped Spanish fort from which the West Florida parishes were governed in Spanish colonial days 1779-1810. It was captured by the forces of the West Florida Republic led by Philemon Thomas, Sept. 23, 1810. |
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Text reads: PINO HOUSE -- Little cottage typical of the wood
frame residences of early Spanish Town. Originally the house was
one room deep with galleries, front and rear. The original lot
160 feet wide and extending from North Street to Spanish Town Road was
purchased by Antonio Pino in 1825 from Etienne, son of Don Carlos de
Grand Pre, Spanish commandant at Baton Rouge.
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Text reads: SITE OF BRITISH FORT OF BATON ROUGE -- Large earthen fort built 1779, mounting thirteen cannon commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Dickson. Manned by about four hundred British soldiers, German mercenaries, and one hundred civilians. Surrendered to Spanish forces of Governor Bernardo Galvez, September 21, 1779. Terms included surrender of the British fort at Natchez and ended British control of the lower Mississippi River |
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Our Views: Big honor for Galvez Acadiana The Advocate Baton Rouge, Louisiana January 3, 2014
There is a large portrait of Galvez hanging in the Louisiana State Capitol meeting room that was the old Supreme Court chamber, and his portrait is in the Cabildo, but probably few know of the story of Bernardo de Galvez y Madrid. Now, his merits will get more attention as the staunch ally of the American republic’s earliest days is being recognized officially by the United States Congress. |
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Bernardo de Galvez |
When France and Spain backed the fledgling American republic, more out of hostility to England than anything else, the role of such French heroes as the Marquis de Lafayette was critical on the Atlantic coast. On the Gulf Coast, it was the Spanish governor of Louisiana whose energy and enthusiasm for aiding his allies won victories in the most significant battles of American independence fought outside the English colonies. A historical marker near Galvez Plaza in downtown Baton Rouge marks where the Spanish drove the British out. He led troops against Pensacola with particular bravery. He had taken Mobile earlier, so the British were left with no bases on the Gulf Coast to attack the rebellious colonies. The pivotal role of the port of New Orleans in supplying the American revolutionaries was a consequence of his industry in our support. Given the British control of the sea at the time, that was no small advantage to America. Galvez was an enthusiastic colonizer as well. Galveston in Texas was named in his honor, as, of course, is St. Bernard Parish, named after the governor’s patron saint but honoring the governor as well as the parish’s heritage of Spanish settlement. And the resolution in Congress noted the Spaniard’s role in brokering the Treaty of Paris that recognized U.S. independence in 1783. With Iberville, Bienville and LaSalle — the famous French explorers — the name of Galvez is recognized by a state office building in Baton Rouge. Beyond Louisiana, he is recognized for his friendship with a portrait in the U.S. Capitol and a statue near the State Department, but the former honor was late in coming; only this year, after noting that the Continental Congress had intended to put up Galvez’s portrait but apparently forgot to do it, did fans of the Spanish general get the picture in the meeting room of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Still, this latest honor, pushed by U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, of Pensacola, Florida, is a remarkable addition to earlier accolades. Names like Lafayette, Sir Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa are in the small and elite company of honorary citizens of the United States. “He played an integral role in securing our nation’s independence,” Miller said in a statement about the Galvez resolution. That he did. We commend Miller for pushing the cause. It is a richly deserved tribute to one of America’s good friends and effective allies. Sent by Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com who writes . . . "Today's editorial from the Advocate. One correction Mobile fell AFTER Baton Rouge not before. Nice article. Bill" |
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Helen Torrence Bey, “Mother Bey” 84 years young “How to Live” and “What to Eat” : “I am here to express the divine essence of life, what we can give to our bodies to make it a more perfect temple. To give out to the world love, peace, truth and justice for a better world...that’s heaven.” |
Helen Torrence Bey, “Mother Bey,” is a spiritual leader living in Bonner Springs, having grown up in Kansas City, KS. She was born in Serepta, Louisiana, right across the border from Arkansas and deeply influenced by her maternal grandfather. “Mother Bey” is a retired social worker, community activist, long time Kansas resident, (KCKS) ,and business owner. She founded and ran a group home for children for 11 years. She also founded and ran several business including a beauty shop and restaurant. She is a Divine Minister of the Morris Science Temple, and a long time KC Black United Front Member. Born in the middle of the 19th century, Mother Bey says, her maternal grandfather took himself and his mother out of slavery when he was 13. “He just took her hand and walked off the plantation,” starting his own farm where he worked all his life, until he died at 104, she says. He was never ill; he didn’t even wear glasses. The doctor said his heart just gave out. At 104, says Mother Bey, he still had all his own teeth and had never been in a hospital or on medication. He was a medicinal healer, she shares. Mother Bey remembers going down home to visit him when she was about 14, and they walked three miles from the train station to his farm; he was about 94 at that time, she estimates. Says “Mother Bey,” “I am no better than anyone else and no one is better than I. She doesn’t like titles and emphasizes that you have to be humble and that it isn’t about her; “it’s the God in her.” “Mother Bey” continues: “We come to Earth to express God; this body is a vehicle for God. We need to take care of ourselves, body, mind and spirit, so God can have a better residence and can work through us here on Earth. ..This is the only thing that is going to heal this world..tapping into the divine knowledge in us, right now, not after we die.” As a child, growing up in Kansas City, Kansas, she suffered upper respiratory problems and had her tonsils out. In 1960 she read a friend’s Prevention Magazine and started a quest for a healthy lifestyle and eating. Now she walks regularly, dabbles in weight lifting and always eats greens, al dente, kale, collards, mustard's and turnips. Sometimes she breaks the stems off and makes a green smoothie with them. She tries to eat as close to raw as she can. She loves beans, lentils and brown rice. While she acknowledges being raised on white rice, she shared that white rice has been processed to actually take the nutrients out of it so she eats brown rice. She particularly loves pinto, navy, white, northern, and lima beans and she strives to eat them fresh and shells them herself like her family did when she was a child. “A lot of people don’t know about that, she says.” She doesn’t eat canned food or white potatoes which are just starch without nutrients she says. She recommends eating sweet potatoes which are good for you. She recommends baking them and not using sugar. Finally, she eats fish that are wild caught, but not a lot because of the mercury content. She doesn’t eat farm raised fish because of the antibiotics and processed and unhealthy food substances they feed the fish. She eats some turkey occasionally and doesn’t eat out; a lot of that restaurant food has a lot of salt she says which contributes to high blood pressure. She also eats a lot of salads and fresh vegetables. “Mother Bey” concludes by sharing that it is crucial that human beings give some thought to their purpose in life and that figuring this out and nurturing it will lead us to a lot of other things: “There was a purpose in our coming to earth and it is important that we give some time and thought to who we are and what our purpose is. Everything in nature gives something…the trees… are giving something as well as receiving. Why are we different? We are not here just to soak up. We are here to give back. As a higher form of life, it is even more important that we give back. When we figure this out, this world will be a heaven.” In Memory of Charity Mahouna Hicks, Detroit Global Peace, Human Rights and Environmental Leader "This is about waging love; we love ourselves, we love our children, we love the earth, we love all of life. So This is not a protest this is actually an act of waging love. The love we are talking about is the love of life not the love of death." ----Charity Mahouna Hicks May my words increase love, understanding and compassion. May they be as beautiful as our children. Maria Whittaker, Program Director Local2Global Advocates for Food Sovereignty http://fssg.blogspot.com |
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St. Nicholas Church on Ground Zero "Out of the Ashes" 7 January 2015
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The Orthodox Greek community in downtown Manhattan, New York, has another reason to celebrate, as the reconstruction of the church of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero finally started last month.
After 13 years of negotiations with the region's Port Authority, work has begun on the Greek Orthodox church that will be the only non-secular building at Ground Zero. Many believe it will become one of the most visited churches in the US. It is planned to be completed by Easter 2017.The original St Nicholas Church - a tiny townhouse standing right below the Twin Towers - was destroyed when the South Tower collapsed after the attacks of 11 September, 2001. The new church will also be a small building, made of stones extracted in Vermont and covered by a cupola that lights up from the inside at night. 
The Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, who designed the church, explains his inspiration to the BBC.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30691875 Produced by Matt Wells and Anna Bressanin Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@msu.edu |
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1915 First Incorporated Black City in Texas 1792 Spanish census records 247 male and 167 female mulattoes Ben Ammi Ben-Israel, 75: led black group to Israel Slave trade museum planned for Episcopal Cathedral in Providence, Rhode Island The Selma Voting Rights Struggle: 15 Key Points By Emilye Crosby Forty Acres and a Mule By Rick Beard |
| 1915 First Incorporated Black City in Texas | 1792 Spanish census 247 male and 167 female mulattoes |
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December 26th, 1929 -- Independence Heights is independent no longer On this day in 1929, the city of Independence Heights was formally annexed by Houston. The Wright Land Company had originally secured the land, incorporated in 1910, and developed a new community for blacks. By doing its own financing the company made it possible for people with small incomes to become homeowners. Resident contractors built most of the houses and churches. Independence Heights incorporated in 1915, with a population of 600; according to a Houston Post story dated January 17, 1915, it was the first incorporated black city in Texas. In November 1928 Independence Heights residents voted to dissolve the city's incorporation because of their desire to become a part of Houston. In 1989 a Texas Historical Commission marker was placed on the grounds of Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church to mark the city site. Source: Texas Day by Day TX State Historical Assn |
December 31st, 1792 -- Official Spanish census records 247 male and 167 female mulattoes On this day in 1792, an official Spanish census recorded 247 male mulattoes, 167 female mulattoes, 15 male Negroes, and 19 female Negroes in a total population for Texas of 1,617 males and 1,375 females. Thus the black and mulatto population constituted 15 percent of the total population. Spanish law required free blacks to pay tribute, forbade them to carry firearms, and restricted their freedom of movement. In practice Spanish officials ignored such restrictions. After the Mexican War of Independence (1821), the Mexican government offered free blacks full rights of citizenship, but numerous free blacks fought for Texas independence--some fearing Anglo retribution if they did not serve, and others sharing Anglo beliefs about the Mexican government. However, the Congress of the Republic of Texas and, following annexation, the state legislature passed a series of increasingly repressive laws governing the lives of free blacks. The increased restrictions and the rise in white hostility resulted in a virtual halt to additional free black immigration to Texas. The United States census reported 397 free blacks in Texas in 1850 and 355 in 1860, though there may have been an equal number of free blacks not counted. Source: Texas Day by Day TX State Historical Assn |
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Ben Ammi
Ben-Israel, 75: led black group to Israel The spiritual leader of the African
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Ben Ammi Ben Israel died Saturday (January 10th) at the age of 75, the group said. He was born Ben Carter in Chicago in 1939. The group considers him the Messiah. He maintained that some black Americans were descendants of the biblical tribe of Judah. He said they migrated to West Africa after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and were eventually sold as slaves to the United States centuries later. In 1966, he had a vision that the angel Gabriel told him to “return to the holy land by way in which we came,” Yafah Baht Gavriel, a spokeswoman for the group said. He then gathered his few hundred followers, mainly from Chicago, and led them to Liberia, the West African republic settled by freed slaves in the 19th century. In a statement, the group said that time was spent “shedding the many detrimental habits that as an enslaved people, they had acquired.” They moved to Israel in 1969 and settled in Dimona, a poverty-stricken town in the southern Negev desert, which was then a melting pot for immigrants. “Ben Ammi’s immense love for the Land of Israel remained constant throughout his life – from the initial awakening to his Hebraic roots,” the group said. But Israel didn’t know what to make of the newcomers, who adopted Hebrew names and a West African style of dress, and the government was unsure where they fit under the country’s “Law of Return,” which gives citizenship to almost any Jew who requests it. The group refused to convert to Judaism, even though it would have entitled them to citizenship. They considered themselves the true Jews of ancient Israel, and they followed a lifestyle they said was based on the Torah and Ben Israel’s teachings, but without traditional Judaism’s rabbinical interpretations. Members dress in colorful, self-made clothes, practice polygamy, shun birth control, and refrain from eating meat, dairy products, eggs and sugar. The group has about 3,500 members in Israel and thousands more in the U.S, the Caribbean, Africa and the U.K. The African Hebrew Israelites say they have chosen a way of life dedicated to serving Yah, or God. They address each other as “saint.” At first they were met with a mixture of welcome, skepticism and bewilderment. But over time, the community, known in Israel as the “Black Hebrews,” became widely accepted. Many of them entered Israel as tourists and were in the country illegally until the Interior Ministry granted them temporary residency in 1992. They were granted residency status in 2003. Living mostly in Dimona, they established businesses in crafts and tailoring, formed a respected choir, started a factory producing tofu ice cream and set up several vegan restaurants. The group also does aid work in Africa. In Ghana, a country where it says tribes have Hebraic connections, members teach organic farming methods and have drilled dozens of water wells. Several members have achieved prominence. Two singers from the group represented Israel in the annual Eurovision song festival in 1999. Another singer was killed in a Palestinian shooting attack at a Jewish family celebration in the Israeli city of Hadera in 2002. The group said it was shocked by the passing of their beloved founder. “While obviously deeply saddened at the loss of our Holy Father’s physical presence,” said Ahmadiel Ben Yehuda, a spokesman, “we are nevertheless emboldened in knowing that his spirit truly lives in each and every one of us. His example and focused commitment to Yah and His people will be an eternal flame in our hearts and a guiding light on our path.” He said the group’s leader had been sick for about a year but would not disclose the cause of death, in keeping with the family’s wishes. http://blackchristiannews.com/2014/12/leader-of-african-hebrew-group-that-believes-some- blacks-are-descendants-of-an-israelite-tribe-dies-at-75/#more-87243 Source: BCNN1 Black Christian News Network One The #1 Daily Black Christian Internet Newpaper |
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Museum on slave trade planned for Episcopal Cathedral in Providence, Rhode Island Published: November 16, 2014 by Paul Davis, Journal Staff Writerpdavis@providencejournal.com
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The Cathedral of St. John Episcopal Church, on North Main Street in Providence, has been shuttered for 2-1/2 years, but could reopen as a museum and reconciliation center.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A shuttered church could soon shine a light on Rhode Island’s dark role in the slave trade. |
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On this 50th anniversary year of the Selma-to-Montgomery March and the Voting Rights Act it helped inspire, national attention is centered on the iconic images of “Bloody Sunday,” the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the interracial marchers, and President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act. This version of history, emphasizing a top-down narrative and isolated events, reinforces the master narrative that civil rights activists describe as “Rosa sat down, Martin stood up, and the white folks came south to save the day.” Today, issues of racial equity and voting rights are front and center in the lives of young people. There is much they can learn from an accurate telling of the Selma (Dallas County) voting rights campaign and the larger Civil Rights Movement. We owe it to students on this anniversary to share the history that can help equip them to carry on the struggle today. Editor Mimi: This is an excellent essay with an outstanding collection of photos and websites. Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com
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Forty Acres and a Mule |
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In a Jan. 15, 1865 letter from Savannah, Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman reported to his wife, Ellen, that Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton “has been here and is cured of that Negro nonsense” – namely, Stanton’s insistence that black regiments be included in his army, an idea Sherman steadfastly opposed. But if Sherman won that particular fight, he knew he faced a much larger challenge: his treatment of blacks during his triumphant campaign through Georgia. Only two weeks earlier, Sherman had received a warning from Army Chief of Staff Henry Halleck. “While almost everyone is praising your march through Georgia,” Halleck wrote, “a certain class … says that you have manifested an almost criminal dislike of the negro, and that you are not willing to carry out the wishes of the government in regard to him.” Three days later, on Jan. 2, 1865, Salmon P. Chase, who had recently been confirmed Supreme Court chief justice, urged Sherman to do something to counteract his reputation for “harshness and severity” toward the freedmen that “causes worry to many.”  A drawing of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and his troops on parade in Savannah, Ga., January 1865. Credit Library of Congress “Uncle Billy,” as his troops affectionately called him, had never hidden his racial antipathies. In a July 1864 letter from Atlanta, he insisted that “a nigger is not a white man, and all the Psalm singing on earth won’t make him so.” Around the same time, Lincoln reminded Sherman that, the deployment of black troops “being a law, it must be treated as such by all of us.” He closed with the gentle question, “May I ask therefore that you will give your hearty cooperation?” The response was vintage Sherman. After reassurances of his “highest veneration for the law” and promises to “respect it always,” he reminded his commander in chief that he had more pressing matters at hand. “When I have taken Atlanta and can sit down in some peace,” Sherman promised, “I will convey by letter a fuller expression of my views.” In light of his battlefield successes, Sherman’s recalcitrance might well have elicited little further response, were it not for an incident in early December 1864 at Ebenezer Creek, a tributary of the Savannah River about 20 miles from the Atlantic Coast. On Dec. 9, the 14,000 troops of the Union XIV Corps crossed the waterway on a pontoon bridge assembled by Yankee engineers. Behind them trailed hundreds of freedpeople who had attached themselves to the column. Before the former slaves also had a chance to cross, Brig. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, the Corps commander (and no relation to his near namesake, the Confederate president), ordered the bridge disassembled. Estimates of the number of freedmen, women and children behind the troops vary widely, from a few hundred to as many as 5,000, and Davis’s decision may well have been a premeditated move to rid his column of the camp followers. In any case, mayhem ensued. Col. Charles D. Kerr of the 126th Illinois Cavalry witnessed “a scene the like of which I pray my eyes may never see again.” Desperate to keep up with the Union forces, men, women and children “rushed by the hundreds into the turbid stream, and many were drowned before our eyes.” The fate of those who remained on land, left without food or shelter, with vengeful Confederates nearby, “was scarcely to be preferred.” Kerr dismissed claims that the abandonment of the refugees was an act of military necessity occasioned by inadequate rations. “There was no necessity about it. … It was unjustifiable and perfidious.” Some greeted Kerr’s report with skepticism, but he insisted that “no writer who was not upon the ground can gloss the matter over for me.” It remained for another Illinois soldier, Maj. James A. Connolly, to act on the matter. Two weeks after the incident he wrote a letter to his congressman, hoping to get the matter “before the Military Committee of the Senate.” Not surprisingly, Connolly’s letter found its way to a different forum — the newspapers — and on Jan. 9, 1865, Stanton arrived in Savannah to investigate. Sherman later wrote that “Stanton inquired particularly about General Jeff. C. Davis who he said was a Democrat and hostile to the negro.” A meeting with Davis, during which he claimed that his actions had been motivated solely by military grounds — the need for the pontoons elsewhere — and Sherman’s own dismissal of the claims as “cock-and-bull” and “humbug,” only partially assuaged the secretary of war’s concerns. Stanton next asked Sherman to organize a meeting with leaders from Savannah’s black community. Stanton and Sherman met with 20 men on the evening of Jan. 12. All were ministers or lay leaders from the city’s black churches, and 15 were former slaves. Stanton posed a dozen questions to the group. Asked to draw a distinction between slavery and freedom, 67-year-old Garrison Frazier, a former slave who had been selected to act as spokesman, responded, “Slavery is, receiving by irresistible power the work of another man, and not by his consent.” Freedom, he continued, “is taking us from under the yoke of bondage, and placing us where we could reap the fruit of our own labor.” The best way the freedpeople could take care of themselves, Frazier responded to one question, was “to have land, and turn it and till it by our own labor . . . [so] we can soon maintain ourselves and have something to spare” All but one of the group wanted to live separately from whites, “for there is a prejudice against us in the South that will take years to get over.” Toward the meeting’s end, Stanton asked Sherman to leave the room, and then asked a final question about black Savannahians’ feelings about the general. If Stanton was expecting critical comments, he got a surprise. Sherman, reported Frazier, was “a man … [whose] conduct and deportment toward us characterized him as a friend and a gentleman. … We have confidence in Gen. Sherman,” he concluded, “and think that what concerns us could not be under better hands.” A decade later, Stanton’s slight still rankled. “It certainly was a strange fact,” Sherman wrote in his “Memoirs,” that “the character of a general who had commanded a hundred thousand men in battle, had captured cities … and had just brought tens of thousands of freedmen to a place of security” should be called into question. Sherman successfully resisted Stanton’s subsequent insistence that he bring black troops into his ranks. But what he did next was much more significant. On Jan. 16, he issued Special Field Orders No. 15. The order “reserved and set apart for the settlement of the negroes now made free by the acts of war and the proclamation of the President of the United States … the islands from Charleston, south, the abandoned rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. Johns River, Florida.” Subject to several bureaucratic strictures, “each family shall have a plot of not more than (40) forty acres of tillable ground … in the possession of which land the military authorities will afford them protection, until such time as they can protect themselves, or until Congress shall regulate their title.” The order encouraged the enlistment of “young and able-bodied negroes” in the service of the United States, and guaranteed anyone enlisting the right to “locate his family in any one of the settlements at pleasure.” Finally, the order provided that “no white person whatever, unless military officers and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted to reside; and the sole and exclusive management of affairs will be left to the freed people themselves, subject only to the United States military authority and the acts of Congress.” Disunion Highlights Explore multimedia from the series and navigate through past posts, as well as photos and articles from the Times archive. Stanton’s role in drafting the order remains a subject of debate. He certainly approved the final draft and previewed it with Maj. Gen. Rufus Saxton, the Union commander who would administer the land redistribution. Given his stance on racial matters, it is hard to attribute any motives beyond the utilitarian to Sherman, and Order No. 15 was truly a strategic masterstroke. As one of the general’s less forgiving biographers writes, “With his order, Sherman had washed his hands of his ‘Negro problem,’ rid his army of any serious potential black content, purged his columns of large numbers of black camp followers, passed the unwanted blacks onto a man he despised, Saxton, and at the same time neutralized Republican criticism of his racial motives and practices.” With Saxton, whose abolitionist sympathies were well known, now in charge of the freedpeople who had proven such a burden, Sherman was free to do what he did best — fight — and he soon set out to carve a path of destruction through the Carolinas. Special Order No. 15 would prove to be a hollow victory for the freedpeople and those supporting their efforts to establish a new life in freedom. It provided only possessory title to the lands in what came to be known as “Sherman’s Reservation”: the occupants could claim the fruits of their labor, but would not own the land outright unless granted title by the federal government. Nonetheless, blacks from Savannah and the surrounding regions quickly began to settle along the coast and islands. The Rev. Ulysses L. Houston, who had attended the Jan. 12 meeting, led a group of his congregants to the Island of Skidaway, near the mouth of the Savannah River. There 99 households drew lots for the plots carved out of 5,000 acres, and several acres were set aside for a school and church. By June 1865, approximately 40,000 blacks had settled on 400,000 acres of land. Under Sherman’s orders, the Union army provided mules no longer fit for military use to work the land (although the army intended to reclaim the animals once they had recuperated). By the end of 1865 the Freedmen’s Bureau, which had been established by Congress in March of that year, controlled 435,300 acres of land eligible for redistribution in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. The bureau’s control was illusory. By the fall of 1865, former owners of the Sherman Reservation acreage, armed with special pardons granted by President Andrew Johnson, began demanding its return. When Saxton resisted, Johnson fired him in January 1866 and instructed Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, the head of the Freedmen’s Bureau, to return the confiscated land – ideally, the president added, in a way that was mutually agreeable to the original owners and the freedpeople who had claimed it. Such agreement, of course, proved impossible to reach. Those freedpeople continuing to occupy confiscated land were generally given a choice: sign work contracts, thereby accepting peonage, or leave. Most left, taking with them, if they were lucky, the crops they had planted in 1865. Although the Freedmen’s Bureau still controlled 223,600 acres at the start of 1866, that total shrank to just 75,329 acres, all but 650 of which were in South Carolina, within 18 months. Even staunch Confederate sympathizers bridled at such injustice. When a federal soldier told Mrs. George J. Kolluck that ex-slaves would be forced to return to work for wages for their former owners, she answered, she reported to her son that she answered, “very quietly, ‘this is what your Government calls “Freedom”? The injustice to us in robbing us of our property does not begin to compare to the cruelty to the negro himself.’” Follow Disunion at twitter.com/NYTcivilwar or join us on Facebook. Sources: Stephen Ash, “The Black Experience in the Civil War South”; John G. Barrett, “Sherman’s March through the Carolinas”; William A. Byrne, “’Uncle Billy’ Sherman Comes to Town: The Free Winter of Black Savannah”; Douglas R. Egerton, “The Wars of Reconstruction: A Brief, Violent History of America’s Most Progressive Era”; Michael Fellman, “Citizen Sherman: A Life of William Tecumseh Sherman”; Charles Bracelen Flood, “Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that Won the Civil War”; Steven Hahn, et al., eds., “Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1867: Land and Labor, 1865”; M.A. De Wolfe Howe, ed., “Home letters of General Sherman”; Jacqueline Jones, “Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War”; Lee Kennett, “Sherman: A Soldier’s Life”; John F. Marszalek, “Sherman: A Soldier’s Passion for Order”; Robert L. O’Connell, “Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman”; Claude F. Oubre, “Forty Acres and a Mule: The Freedmen’s Bureau and Black Land Ownership”; Willie Lee Rose, “Rehearsals for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment”; Anne Sarah Rubin, “Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory”; William Tecumseh Sherman, “Memoirs”; George C. Westwood, “Sherman Marched — and Proclaimed ‘Land for the Landless’”; An Act to Establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees; Minutes of an Interview Between the Colored Ministers and Church Officers at Savannah with the Secretary of War and Major-Gen. Sherman; Special Field Orders, No. 15. Rick Beard, an independent historian and exhibition curator, is the author, most recently, of “Black Soldiers in the Civil War” for the National Park Service.http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/forty-acres-and-a-mule/?ref=opinion&_r=0 Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com |
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Let Us Not Accept Historical Myths by Mimi Lozano 120 Years of Lakota History on This Calendar A Genealogist Who Spent His Life Building a Cherokee Archive Retires American Indian tribes can grow and sell marijuana on their lands María Martínez: Story of an Indigenous Woman by Evelyn Puga Aguirre-Sulem ¿Y tú cómo te llamas?. Las voces de los pueblos indígenas por Benicio Samuel Sanchez |
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| January 3rd, 1850 -- Presidio County established
On this day in 1850, Presidio County was established from Bexar Land District with Fort Leaton as the county seat. The area around the present town of Presidio on the Rio Grande, known as La Junta de los Ríos, is believed to be the oldest continuously cultivated farmland in Texas. The first Spaniards probably reached La Junta in 1535 when Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca crossed on his trek across Texas. The entrada of Juan Domínguez de Mendoza and Father Nicolás López in 1683-84 established seven missions at seven pueblos along the river in the La Junta area. The area remained devoid of permanent settlements, however, because neither the Spanish nor, later, the Mexican government could control the Apache and Comanche Indians in the area. With the 1846 annexation of Texas, Americans recognized the economic potential of the frontier along the Rio Grande, and by 1848 Ben Leaton had established Fort Leaton on the site of an old Spanish fort. Although the 1850 United States census reported no population for Presidio County, a sufficient number lived there to establish the county. Several Americans irrigated crops and grazed herds on the Rio Grande in the 1850s and 1860s, and rancher Milton Faver became the first to move away from the safety of the river. Presidio and Marfa are the main communities in Presidio County.
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January 8th, 1865 -- Kickapoos rout Confederates in battle of Dove
Creek
On this day in 1865, about 160 Confederates and 325 state militiamen lost a battle against the Kickapoo Indians about twenty miles southwest of present San Angelo. A month earlier a scouting party had discovered an abandoned Indian camp and, assuming the group was hostile, dispatched forces to pursue them. A militia force under Capt. S. S. Totten and state Confederate troops under Capt. Henry Fossett set out, but the two forces lacked a unified command and full communication. When the troops and militiamen finally rendezvoused near the
timbered encampment of the Kickapoos along Dove Creek, the forces concocted a hasty battle plan. The militia waded the creek to launch a frontal attack from the north, while Confederate troops circled southwestward to capture the Indians’ horses and prevent a retreat. A well-armed Indian fighting force, possibly several hundred strong, easily defended their higher, heavily-wooded position as the militiamen slogged through the creek. The Confederate force was splintered into three groups caught in a heavy crossfire. |
| Editor Mimi:
You know how sometimes a bit of information jumps out at you, mainly
because it is not consistent with history as you've known it. This
historic tidbit by the Texas State Historical Association triggered that
reaction with me. The first article refers to seven missions established at seven pueblos along the Rio Grande in the La Juna, area . . . which remained devoid of permanent settlements, because neither the Spanish nor, later, the Mexican government could control the Apache and Comanche Indians in the area.
The Indian tribes were subdued when Texas was annexed by the United
States, and an overwhelming numbers of non-Hispanics immigrants
took over control of the state. Hum . . so where does the anti-Spanish sentiments
among our own youth come from? At least in Texas, we have historic
data that the Apache, Comanche, and Kickapoo won and held the areas for over a hundred
years. |
January 13th, 1847 -- Future scalp hunter, John Joel Glanton, enlists in army |
| On this day in 1847, John Joel Glanton enlisted in Walter P.
Lane's company of rangers for service in the Mexican War. The South Carolina native had arrived in Texas in time to serve in the Texas Revolution, and was a member of John Hay's company of Texas Rangers between the wars. He served with distinction in the
invasion of Mexico under Zachary Taylor. Always a controversial figure, Glanton's career turned sinister after the Mexican War when he traveled to Chihuahua and became the leader of a band of scalp hunters. The memoirist Sam Chamberlain met and rode with Glanton during this period. Eventually the authorities in Chihuahua accused Glanton and his gang of scalping friendly Indians and Mexicans for bounties, and drove him into Sonora province. There he resumed his activities. He and his gang seized and operated a river ferry controlled by the Yuma Indians. While operating the ferry, they killed Mexican and American passengers alike for their money and goods. Finally, in mid-1850, they schemed to kill a party of Mexican miners who used the ferry, but before they carried out their plot, the Yumas attacked the ferry and killed Glanton and most of his men. Glanton himself was scalped.
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So, we observe and can conclude that much of the border
problems were perpetuated not by the Spanish heritage colonists, but
by the latter arriving influx and domination of the Americans. So primos, let's rethink our relationships with those of us who are proud of both our indigenous and Spanish heritage. We can not change history, but by examining facts and the results of those facts, we can understand it better and not accept historical myths.
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| There Are 120 Years of Lakota History on This Calendar The visual recording of life in the nation sheds light on a vanished culture By N. Scott Momaday, Smithsonian Magazine |
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| The old man Poolaw gave me my Indian name, Tsoai-talee (Rock tree boy), when I was an infant. Poolaw was a notable figure in the Kiowa tribe, an arrow maker and a calendar keeper. He died soon after I was born, and I regret that I did not come to know him. Nonetheless I feel close to him, for I have being in the name he gave me. Tsoai, the rock tree, is what the Kiowas call Devils Tower, the monolithic outcropping in the shape of a tree stump, rising from the plains on the edge of the Black Hills in Wyoming. Tsoai is a principal landmark on the old migration route of the Kiowas from the Yellowstone River to the Southern Plains. According to Kiowa legend, it is the tree that carried seven sisters into the heavens where they became the stars of the Big Dipper. The story links the Kiowas forever to the stars, to relatives in the night sky. Some years later my father and I went to the house where Poolaw had lived. In a bureau drawer in Poolaw’s bedroom, preserved by his family, were two items of interest—a human bone and a ledger book. Of the former my father said, “This is the forearm of a man named Two Whistles. I know nothing more about it.” Who was Two Whistles, I wondered, and how did the bone come into Poolaw’s possession? I encountered unrecorded history, if that is not a contradiction in terms. The other item was a pictographic calendar begun by an unknown person and carried on by Poolaw. It covers just more than 100 years from 1830 on. Each year is represented by two entries, one for summer and one for winter, presumably the most important events of the year. Here I found history recorded. This was not history as I had encountered it before, but it was nonetheless a valid idea of history, reduced to an essential concept, composed in the language of imagery. Pictographic calendars, originally painted on hides, were kept by two tribes in particular, the Kiowa and the Sioux, or Lakota. They have come to be known as “Winter Counts”—so called because each year was believed to commence with the first snowfall. In 1998, inside a long-unopened trunk, a winter count was discovered in Ontario, California. Today it is one of the treasures in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The “Rosebud Winter Count” (for the Sioux reservation in South Dakota where it likely was collected) is a piece of muslin, 691/2 by 35 inches, on which is drawn a pictographic calendar. There are 136 pictographs, mostly in black ink embellished with colored washes. The images—marking events documented elsewhere (an entry for 1833-34, “the year the stars fell,” refers to the Leonid meteor shower of 1833) or particular to the tribe (1865-66 was the year “Four Crows stealing horses were killed”)—appear to extend from 1752 to 1887. One can imagine the unidentified artist setting his task. The questions he faces on the blank sheet of muslin are much deeper than what happened when. “Who am I?” he asks, “and who are my people? Where did we come from? What happened to us to make us who we are? What have been the markers of our being—joys and sorrow, losses and gains, triumphs and defeats? It is my will to show a part of our path from the time of origin to the present. It is in the power of my mind and my hand. It is appropriate that I should be the keeper of the story.” The artist’s mission is no less than the identification of his tribe in time and space. What interests me most about the winter counts is their relation to language, to expression verbal and visual—language in the abstract. It is a crucial link between the oral and written traditions, not unlike the Rosetta stone, the Dead Sea scrolls, the walls of Lascaux. It is reflection and enigma, history and myth. Like the bone of Two Whistles, it is both a story and a story to be told, of Man’s quest to know himself, composed in the language of imagery. Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/120-years-lakota-history-on-calendar-180953641/#FkIKDBoWZ3MMWKZr.99 Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
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Tom Mooney sits next to his retirement gift from the staff of the Cherokee Heritage Center. |
| A Genealogist Who Spent His Life Building a Cherokee Archive Retires Source: Cherokee Nation, 12/14/14 When Tom Mooney started working as a genealogist and archivist for Cherokee Heritage Center on December 6, 1976, he had one filing cabinet to store items. After 38 years, Mooney has retired from the Cherokee Heritage Center, leaving behind a vast collection of more than 400,000 historical documents and items that fill hundreds of square feet of space at the museum. After nearly four decades of work at the premier Cherokee cultural center in Park Hill, Oklahoma, Mooney said it still has not sunk in that he no longer has to work at the museum. “It’s been a long, happy ride. I’m still making plans to come here next week and looking ahead to what’s to come next month. Mentally, I’m not there yet,” Mooney said. “Although, it will be really nice to sleep in some mornings.” Hundreds of well-wishers celebrated the conclusion of Mooney’s career with a retirement party Friday afternoon at Cherokee Heritage Center. The Cherokee Heritage Center staff presented Mooney with a framed “Unbroken Friendship" mat. Dr. Candessa Tehee, executive director of the Cherokee Heritage Center, applauded Mooney’s efforts during his tenure, citing his dedication and hard work for helping build the extensive archive collection with very little budget and very little conservation support. “He has a real passion for Cherokee history and culture. During his time here, he’s done pretty much every job there is to do at Cherokee Heritage Center,” said Tehee. “He’s been a shining beacon for Cherokee culture during his tenure. Although he is moving on to retirement, he’s not going to leave us. He’ll continue to spend some time here and help out when he wants. We’re happy to have him as long as he wants to help.” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker also had high remarks for Mooney as he presented him with a “One Fire” Pendleton blanket in recognition of his efforts. “Tom is synonymous with the Cherokee Heritage Center, and we have all greatly benefited from his hard work throughout the last 38 years,” Baker said. “He has built an extensive collection of documents and artifacts that allows us to better share Cherokee history.” In 1987, Mooney authored “Exploring Your Cherokee Ancestry,” an award-winning basic genealogical research guide that is still in print today and can be purchased at the Cherokee Heritage Center gift shop. In 2012, Mooney was awarded the Stalwart Award by the Cherokee National Historical Society. The award is given to a Cherokee Heritage Center supporter who has served as a longtime member, volunteer, employee, board member or associate and has significantly contributed to the center’s success. Mooney said that while he will not be on hand to do archival work full-time, the collection is in good hands with Jerry Thompson taking over the archivist role. Thompson has worked alongside Mooney for more than a year. “Jerry’s got a love for it. That’s what you’ve got to have,” Mooney said. “You’ve got to love and respect the documents. If you don’t do that, you’re in the wrong business. He understands that you have to serve the Cherokee people because it is their collection.” Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/12/14/genealogist-who-spent-his-life-building-cherokee-archive-retires-158216 Sent by Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com |
| American Indian tribes can grow and sell marijuana on their lands as long as they follow the same federal conditions laid out for states that have legalized the drug, the US Justice Department has said. AP, December 12, 2014 |
Oregon US attorney Amanda Marshall said on Thursday the announcement addresses questions raised by tribes about how legalization of pot in states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado would apply to Indian lands. Only three tribes have expressed interest in growing and selling marijuana, said Marshall, who co-chaired a group that developed the policy. One is in California, one in Washington state and one in the midwest. She did not name them. “That’s been the primary message tribes are getting to us as US attorneys,” Marshall said from Portland. “What will the US as federal partners do to assist tribes in protecting our children and families, our tribal businesses, our tribal housing? How will you help us combat marijuana abuse in Indian County when states are no longer there to partner with us?” Marshall warned the announcement is not a green light to tribal authorities — and that marijuana is still illegal under federal law. The US government’s prosecution priorities – pot-related gang activity, violence, sales to kids and trafficking – continue, she said. Problems could arise for tribes with lands in states that still outlaw marijuana, due to the likelihood that marijuana could be transported or sold outside tribal boundaries, she added. Seattle attorney Anthony Broadman, whose firm represents tribal governments throughout the West, said the announcement represents a “potential for an enormous economic development tool here. “If tribes can balance all the potential social issues, it could be a really huge opportunity,” Broadman said. But those social issues are monumental. “Indian tribes have been decimated by drug use,” Broadman said. “Tribal regulations of pot are going to have to dovetail with tribal values, making sure marijuana isn’t a scourge like alcohol or tobacco.” Tribes selling marijuana may not be subject to state and local taxes, allowing them to undercut off-reservation sales. In Washington, taxes add 25% to the price of pot. But Alison Holcomb, a primary drafter of Washington state’s legalization measure, said most people in larger states won’t want to drive to far-flung reservations to buy pot. “The reality is that so much of the market depends on convenience; it’s not just price that drives consumer choices,” Holcomb said. The Yakama Nation in Washington state recently passed a ban on marijuana on the reservation and is trying to halt state regulated pot sales and grows on lands off the reservation where it still holds hunting and fishing rights. The Hoopa Valley Tribe in Northern California has battled illegal pot plantations on its reservation, where they cause environmental damage. Marshall said with 566 tribes around the country recognized by the federal government, there will be a lot of consulting going on between tribes and federal prosecutors. As sovereign nations, some tribes have their own police, some rely on federal law enforcement, and some call in state and local police. With limited resources and vast amounts of territory to cover, federal prosecutors will not prosecute minor cases, Marshall said. The tribal policy is based on the so-called “Cole Memo” of August 2013, named after the deputy attorney general who wrote it, in which the Justice Department said the federal government wouldn’t intervene as long as legalization states tightly regulate the drug and take steps to keep it from children, criminal cartels and federal property. In all, the memo said, US attorneys reserve the right to prosecute for eight issues: Sales to kids; marijuana proceeds going to criminal enterprises; shipping marijuana to states where it is illegal; illegal sales, firearms and violence; drugged driving and other public health issues; growing marijuana on public lands and possession of marijuana on federal property. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/11/indian-tribes-can-grow-and-sell-marijuana-on-lands |
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María Martínez: Story of an Indigenous Woman By Evelyn Puga Aguirre-Sulem on June 16, 2010
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María Martínez Aldana was born in 1939 in Ixtlahuaca, a small village located in the municipality of San Martín de las Piramides in the state of Mexico. María does not know exactly the day of her birth, “I have two birthdays”, she says, smiling, but what she knows is that this year she will celebrate her 71st. birthday. Although she has slowed down in recent years, Mariquita, as she is normally called, still runs the family house and looks after two of her eleven grandchildren as their primary carer. Growing up after the Mexican Revolution at the time when the Mexican government launched a de-indigenisation movement of the population in order to create a unique Mexican identity, María lived through the time when many indigenous men and women migrated to the urban areas of Mexico as the only option to improve their living conditions (CDI 2006, Oehmichen Bazan 2005, Reyes Ruiz 2010). María Martínez is my grandmother and my chief inspiration for conducting sociological research in the areas of gender, indigenous people and migration. Since my parents were both finishing their professional training and working at the same time, I lived most of my childhood at my grandparents’ house. In fact, it could be said that I was essentially raised by my grandmother. Given my long personal association with María, the story I tell here may be different from those recorded by oral historians or journalists who usually interview their subjects in two or three sessions. The tale I tell here is one I experienced and heard many times while growing up at María’s home, and through more recent deep conversations with her. For the purposes of this work María agreed to be taped and to make public her life-experiences. I also recall conversations that I held with María’s mother, Altagracia (my great-grandmother) in my frequent visits to her place before she died in 1996. Thus, the close relationship and affection that we feel for each other has given me the courage to risk writing the story of this indigenous woman in my own words but relying on hers for descriptions of the most dramatic events in her life. Feminist scholars, anthropologists, and others have been debating the value of recording life histories for many years. Women’s lives stories, under a feminist approach, may allow to document their lives and activities, which were previously largely seen as marginal and subsidiary to men’s, and to understand women in context (Bryman 2008, Friedlander 1994). Nevertheless life stories can also be seen as exploitative and of limited generalisability (see Skeggs 2001). I must admit that I had great reservation in making my grandmother’s and family history public for the purpose of an article, but I decided to proceed for two main reasons. First, I see María’s story as a way to contextualize issues about gender relations among indigenous communities in Mexico, indigenous identity and de-indigenisation in Mexico, and especially the struggles of indigenous women in the realms of rapid and almost forced modernisation and development in Latin America. In this work I refer to María as an indigenous woman, even though the story I tell does not focus entirely in her indigenous origins. If this sounds contradictory, it should, for that is precisely the point. The fact that María was born in a poor peasant community with pre-Hispanic vestiges and that she was denied the right to learn the indigenous language marks her as descendant of those whose culture was diminished five hundred years ago and who have since been condemned to occupy the bottom rung of Mexico’s socio-economic ladder. While María never expresses shame about her indigenous origins, she sees her life and the lives of her relatives as a steady struggle to improve their socio-economic circumstances, a struggle often requiring the rejection of those traditions identified as “indian” [sic] and acquire, when possible, attributes associated with upward mobility which involved (and still involve) the aspirations of the white western society. My second reason for writing about María’s story is simple and direct: she had a tough but wonderful story to tell which gave texture and inspiration to the ‘social aspects’ I want to explore and analyze. Thus, in this work I present María’s story in two sections. The first one is dedicated to María’s childhood and her upbringing. Here I relate the social environment where María grow up and the opportunities and/or disadvantages that, as indigenous person and woman, she faced. The second section relates to her migration to Mexico City and her incorporation to the labour force, again under the circumstances that her indigenity and gender represents. In this section, I also recount María’s hasty partnership and maternity, and then I briefly end with her current life situation. María’s story: Childhood María Martínez Aldana is the 12th of 14 children. Her name at birth was María Ascención Martínez Aldana García, but later on she regularised her birth certificate and decided to be officially named María Martínez Aldana. María’ story reaches back to the days of her grandparents, one of whom was still alive when she was a young girl (her father’s mother Dominga). María’s grandparents lived through the Mexican Revolution of 1910. She said that they were not originally from Ixtlahuaca (she does not know where exactly they came from) but they were forced to move to this previously isolated region because María’s grandfather did not want to be recruited by the Mexican army or by the Zapata’s army during the revolution: “they [her grandparents] did not like to be involve with guns”. María’s mother, Altagracia, married with Vicente (María’s father) when she was fourteen. Altagracia did not go to school and as María points out “she was all the time pregnant”. Altagracia had fourteen children but, according to María, she may have being pregnant more than twenty times. Unfortunately some of her children died soon after they were born. Altagracia started work when María was around six years old selling aprons and clothes in small quantities at the market of San Juan, a two hours commute from Ixtlahuaca by donkey. Vicente was originally from San Luis, a village near to Ixtlahuaca. Since a young age, Vicente worked in an hacienda[i] that produced pulque[ii].Vicente was in charge of extracting the aguamiel[iii] from the cactuses and of the fermentation process. Apart from his work in the hacienda, Vicente owned a small piece of land where corn, beans and squash was cultivated for family consumption. Meat consumption was rare but when this was affordable mostly came from Altagracia’s flocks of chickens and turkeys. The family home was very modest; the house consisted of one room with a thatched roof and dirt floor. Vicente, Altagracia and their fourteen children lived there, they slept in petates [iv] or wooden boards and cooked in a corner of the room. They did not have any water, electricity or drainage services until 1996, the last time I visited the town. In my frequent visits to “el rancho” (as we used to call Ixtlahuaca) I remember collecting potable water from a community pipe and going to the toilet in a latrine located around fifty meters away from the main house. María recalls daily life in Ixtlahuaca with humour: “look, at the end of the day it was easier. We did not have to do any household work apart from cooking. Not even sweeping the floor! It could not be dirty…it was made of dirt!” Neither men nor women in the family wore shoes or sandals. Women used to wear naguas (skirts) and men dressed in white trousers and tops, a typical outfit worn at that time by indigenous men and campesinos (peasants) through Mexico. Nobody in the family worn underwear and they had at most three changes of clothes. When María talks about her childhood, she refers to it with mixed feelings. She highlights extreme poverty as part of her upbringing but she also recognises that she had unforgettable happy moments. Since María was one of the youngest children, she emphasized the figure of one of her eldest sisters, Irene, almost fifteen years older than her, who taught her many things: My mum was very busy with the other children and her sales. My mum was all the time pregnant, so my sister was like my second mum. My mum said that at the same time I was born Irene also had her first baby and she used to breast feed me because my mum did not have enough milk for the other children. María never have a doll or toy, but she created her own by painting faces on long flat stones, along with her younger sisters Mercedes and Juana. “We also used to play with pinto beans. Those with white spots were our ‘cows’ and we built barnyards with little pebbles for our ‘cows’”. One of María’s greatest memories refers to January 6 of every year when the family celebrated Altagracia’s birthday. As María mentioned, this was the date when they ate a traditional mole[v], played music and danced: “I think that was the only day when my parents had some fun. I used to have fun too! I stepped on my father’s sandals and I danced with him”. María has nothing but great admiration for her grandmother Dominga, whom she describes as a woman with strong personality but with a great heart because “she used to defend my mum from my father’s abuses”. María recalls one occasion when Dominga beat in public her own son Vicente because he beat Altagracia. Once, María says, Dominga even put her son in jail when Vicente beat Altagracia so harshly that Altagracia bled from her head: My grandmother Dominga and my sister Erminia went and talked with the judge… or like the police in the community [the village was ruled under customary law] and he took my father to the jail. Dominga would do everything to defend my mum. María remembers with sadness that her father discharged his rage or solved his problems by getting drunk with pulque and beating María’s mum: “Mercedes and I tried to stop him, but he was very strong…he beat my mum in the face”. María went to school until third year. Her mother was against it. Altragracia wondered, if none of María’s previous brothers and sisters went to school so why should María have to go? But María’s father realised that she was interested in learning and allowed her to go to school: “I sat under the sun next to my father when he was reading something. He knew how to read… a little bit, so I asked him all the time about the meaning of the letters”. She started school when she was nine years old and she walked (without shoes) every day around six kilometres to the nearest primary school. “I loved going to school. I even remember that the name of the school was María Elena Vargas de Cruz. I was a very good student, I got great marks but one day my parents decided that enough was enough”. María stopped going to primary school in order to look after her younger siblings and to start working. Altagracia found María a job as a baby sitter; she used to look after a little girl. María remembers that with her first payment she bought herself a pair of plastic sandals and a dress for her mum. In her teens, María became a problem for the family when she became fourteen years old and showed no signs of “becoming a woman”. With no sign of having a period, Altagracia took María to the doctor of San Martin de las Piramides because she was worried that something was wrong with María. María remembers very well that the doctor told her mum: “everything is fine with her; there are women that get their first period until they are 16 or 17. Let her enjoy her childhood, she will be fine”. Going to Mexico City and getting married With so many in the family and not enough income to cover their basic needs, María was sent to Mexico City to work as a maid in wealthy houses. First she was sent to learn the skills with her sister Irene who was already a full time cleaner of two wealthy single men that lived in Colonia Anzures[vi]. María recalls the first time she went to Mexico City or El Distrito, as she calls it, with a mix of melancholy and astonishment in her eyes. María saw the city as a big monster which intimidated her but at the same time captivated her. Can you imagine getting off from a donkey and getting into a bus? (she laughs) Then when I arrived at El Distrito I saw people living in a different way. They had water, electricity, all the services… I liked that. I also saw that women in the city were different, very elegant with stilettos and nice clothes! And me (she laughs) I was wearing my sandals and my naguas like India [sic] María[vii]. It was at that time when Irene cut María’s braids, and according to María it helped her to disguise her origins and to keep her hair tidy. While working as a maid in Colonia Anzures, María kept visiting Ixtlahuaca every so often to bring money to her family and to work in the fields when there was not enough work in Mexico City. Then, during one of her frequent returns to her town she met the man who is now her husband. María was sixteen years old when she eloped with Carlos (my grandfather). María narrates that she met Carlos through her brother in law, Margaro. Margaro was married with Marciana, María’s sister, and Carlos was Margaro’s nephew. Getting married, or more accurately, taking a partner and having children for María seems to have been a rite of passage. As she says, “every woman in el rancho had to have a man. So I thought … I also have to get married. There was no other option; my destiny was to get married”. A few months after María eloped with Carlos she fell pregnant with her first child: “one should have babies, although I was scared because I was very young and I did not know what it meant to be a mum”. She also stopped working as a maid and settled down with Carlos in Mexico City. Carlos and María got married few weeks before the arrival of their first child because at that time the Mexican government required that parents were married in order to register a child. Along with her six children, María kept working in ‘informal’ jobs such as selling wool in los tianguis (flea markets), knitting jumpers, or cooking typical Mexican snacks that her children sold door to door. As a housewife, as she calls herself, María remembers the rewarding experience of selling Avon beauty products: “I enjoyed selling beauty products. We [the fellow sellers] used to meet every so often and have breakfast together, and the best seller obtained prizes. I once got a hanging clock as a prize”. Nowadays María still lives with Carlos, has eleven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and two more will be born soon. She nowadays battles diabetes and her recently diagnosed senile dementia. [i] Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Haciendas originated in land grants, mostly made to Spanish conquerors in Latin America. [ii] Pulque is a milk-coloured, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant (cactus), and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. [iii] Aguamiel is the sap of the maguey plant. Also called honeywater, it has been used in Mexico as a medicine. In its fermented state this produces pulque. [iv] Petate is a bedroll used in Central America and Mexico. Its name comes from the nahuatl word petlatl. The petate is woven from the fibers of the palm of petate. [v] Mole from the nahuatl mulli or molli (sauce or concoction) is the generic name for several sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces. In contemporary Mexico, the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar to one another, including black, red, yellow, and green moles. [vi] Colonia Anzures is a upper middle class area in Mexico City. [vii] La India Maria was a character on TV that portrays and ridicules indigenous people in urban areas of Mexico. The character speaks a mix of Spanish and indigenous languages and it is dressed in traditional garb consisting of traditionally braided and ribboned hair, colourful native-type blouses and skirts. References Bryman, A. (2008) Social Research Methods, Third Edition ed., Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. CDI, C. N. p. e. D. d. l. P. I. (2006) Percepción de la imagen del indígena en México : diagnóstico cualitativo ycuantitativo, Mexico City: CDI, Comision Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indigenas. Friedlander, J. (1994) ‘Dona Zeferina Barreto: Biographical Sketch of an Indian Woman from the State of Morelos’ in H. Fowler-Salamini, and M.K. Vaughan, eds., Women of the Mexican Countryside, 1850-1990., Tucson & London: The University of Arizona Press, 125-139. Oehmichen Bazan, C. (2005) Identidad, Genero y Relaciones Interetnicas. Mazahuas en la Ciudad de Mexico., Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Reyes Ruiz, I. (2010) ‘Relato de un Zapoteco en proceso de aculturación’, available: http://www.mty.itesm.mx/dhcs/deptos/ri/ri-802/lecturas/lecvmx112.html [accessed 22-January-2010] Skeggs, B. (2001) ‘Feminist Ethnography’, in P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamont, J. Lofland, and L. Lofland, eds., Handbook of Ethnography., London: SAGE - See more at: http://sociologicalimagination.org/archives/254#sthash.G59YuDOc.dpuf Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com |
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¿Y tú cómo te llamas?. Las voces de los pueblos indígenas para nombrar a la
gente. Nombres indígenas . . . Benicio Samuel Sanchez |
| Creo que para todos los padres de la Tierra dar nombre a un hijo es uno de los rituales más importantes de su vida. Es lo primero que se le da al recién nacido, además del alimento. Cuando los padres piensan el nombre que le pondrán a su hijo, en realidad están imaginando y creando expectativas sobre el futuro del niño o de la niña. Pensar cómo se llamará esa criatura que vive dentro del vientre de la madre, o que duerme en el regazo de la mujer que la engendró, provoca, sin duda, una comunicación muy grande entre todos los familiares del niño o de la niña. Así, con la niñez se inicia un nuevo paso y con ello se procura construir un futuro mejor para los recién nacidos y para el mundo. El nombre implica la pertenencia a un núcleo familiar; con él llevará a la familia dondequiera que vaya y, a su vez, él o ella lo dará a toda su descendencia. Poner el nombre a un niño es uno de los rituales con los que algunos padres inician a los hijos en el mundo actual, en el mundo de la comunidad, dentro de la cultura a la que pertenecen. Realizar un ritual con la comunidad, ya sea en la tribu, en el clan, en la familia o en la iglesia, será poner en manos de todos los mejores deseos para la humanidad. Con esta sencilla acción se les otorgan a los iniciados los instrumentos que tenemos: los dioses, la fe en ellos, las fuerzas de la naturaleza, la humildad; lo que los padres tienen y quieren para sus hijos, lo que cree cada pueblo que les hace falta. Se les inicia con agua, se les pone en la tierra, se les da alimento y consejo; se les pone en manos de los sabios para que les transmitan la historia, les recuerde cuáles han sido los caminos por los que hay que transitar y se les instruya para que cuando tengan dificultades las solucionen como los antepasados lo hicieron, y así construyan nuevos caminos acompañados de un vigilante que estará pendiente de ellos, para que no tengan miedo, pues en el nombre se les da la fuerza. Los padres ponen el nombre, los padrinos lo ratifican, los hijos lo llevan, la comunidad los reconoce como parte de su pueblo; todos pertenecen a un gran pueblo. Cuando los demás pronuncian un nombre identifican quién es ese o esa que responde a sonidos especiales y ven todo lo que es esa persona; conocen sus sentimientos, sus actitudes, su fuerza y su debilidad. Saben, cuando la llaman, que responderá o que sus oídos escucharán todos los significados que le hablan de la naturaleza, de Dios, de sus padres, hermanos, parientes y ancestros. Es por medio del nombre que el niño reconoce cada parte del universo, lo hace más grande, con él crea su propia historia y reconstruye la historia de su pueblo. Los nombres expresan parte del mundo —Nasacopac, la tierra sobre la que andamos y trabajamos—, de la naturaleza —Ajaniame, la vida—, del cosmos —Kurikueri, Señor del Fuego— y del universo —Suawaka, estrella fugaz. El nombre nos da parte de los dioses, de lo humano, de lo universal y de cada uno de los pueblos a los que pertenecemos, es lo que desde antes de nacer somos y lo llevaremos hasta que nos den otro: Iurheni, Amecatzin, Yaitowi, Teohua, Sunu. En cada una de las lenguas indígenas se nombran colores, sentimientos, adjetivos, plantas, animales, cuerpos de agua, fenómenos naturales, cerros, puntos cardinales, cuevas, sitios sagrados, seres mitológicos, constelaciones, al sol, a la luna, al rayo, flores, semillas, ceremonias y rituales de los ciclos de vida y los ciclos agrícolas, el crecimiento del maíz, objetos rituales o de uso cotidiano, ritos de curación y mortuorios, ofrendas, el parentesco y la gastronomía. Todos estos elementos están asociados tanto a las creencias religiosas como a la cotidianidad, ya que en muchos casos existe una denominación común y otra sagrada para un mismo objeto o ser. Semejante es el caso de los nombres propios; por ello, en este libro mostramos una lista que incluye nombres y apellidos en varias lenguas indígenas, así como otros vocablos que expresan o describen procesos productivos, naturaleza, sentimientos y características físicas del mundo de los indígenas. Como ya se mencionó, en el nombre propio, la mayoría de las veces, se entreveran las expectativas que la familia y la comunidad han volcado hacia el individuo, lo estigmatizan, lo reconocen y lo incorporan a un sistema de reglas, dando así por sentado que ese individuo es responsable, pertenece al grupo y debe cumplir los distintos roles que tendrá que llevar a cabo dentro del ciclo de vida. En ocasiones, una manera de manifestarlo es mediante rituales y ceremonias. Por ejemplo, entre los huicholes se celebra anualmente el Tatei Neixa —el cual se lleva a cabo en temporada de cosecha—, los niños que ya han cumplido cinco años hacen su primer recorrido simbólico a Wirikuta y, al terminar la ceremonia, son presentados a los dioses y a la comunidad como ciudadanos. Por su parte, los tarahumaras (rarámuri) celebran el Wekobétame, ritual de fuego mediante el cual se protege a toda la comunidad—y al niño— del rayo y de los seres que habitan en el agua, pero también es el momento en el que se bautiza a los niños, siguiendo la tradición católica, en este caso precedida por el weobeame (chamuscador), quien será padrino ritual de los bautizados. Similar es la Danza del Fuego, con la que se da la bienvenida a los niños kumiais (kamia) cuando han cumplido dos años de edad. Los coras (náayari) realizan un mitote en el que presentan ante el sol a los niños pequeños al amanecer del sexto día. Por otro lado, los chatinos (cha’cña) entierran el cordón umbilical en alguna ciénaga y la placenta en un lugar húmedo, como las orillas de un río; ambos son cuidados por el Padre Sol, a quien se le pide cuide y lleve a bien el crecimiento del recién nacido. Todas estas ceremonias tienen un mismo fin, presentar a los niños con los dioses y con la comunidad e invitarlos a que continúen llevando a cabo el costumbre. En un gran número de pueblos, el individuo, además de identificarse con un nombre, vive acompañado por un espíritu que corre el riesgo de ser capturado por fuerzas extrañas, por eso se teme revelar el nombre, el cual se complementa con un apodo o con un término de parentesco. También, existen casos en que no se acostumbra ponerle nombre a un recién nacido por temor de que le sea robado por medios mágicos; será hasta la madurez, cuando pueda defenderse, que se le asigne un nombre. Entre los lacandones (hach winik) se creía que el establecer inmediatamente un nombre hacía que peligrara la vida del recién nacido, por lo que durante los primeros años de vida le daban un apodo, como el de Och, que quiere decir “mapache”. Caso similar es el de los kikapú, donde el “nombrador” o padrino propone dos nombres al padre del niño; éste elige uno, que será como lo nombre la comunidad, mientras que el otro sólo se usará después de su muerte. Existen casos en los que cada integrante del pueblo puede tener varios nombres, por lo regular asociados a sueños, a características físicas y sociales, o relacionados con la naturaleza. Hasta hace poco tiempo, los kiliwa (ko’lew) poseían dos nombres: el que usaban en la cotidianidad y otro secreto, que designaba la relación del individuo con algún ancestro. Los huicholes llegan a tener muchos nombres en el transcurso de su vida; cuando nacen, las personas mayores que han soñado con ellos les ponen uno o varios nombres. También pueden adquirir otro relacionado con sus características físicas. Por otro lado, entre los tepehuanos (o’dam) el nombre se elegía por ciertas características físicas que se manifestaban al andar o reír. También se elegían por algún objeto que les llamara la atención, por ello todavía encontramos nombres como Cielo Estrellado, Coyote Caído, Lluvia Fuerte. En este mismo pueblo existía la creencia de que el nombre tenía que reflejar la personalidad que debería tener el niño al llegar a edad adulta; en el nombre se ponían las esperanzas de lo que los demás esperaban de él, y así, tenía que ser ágil, inteligente, fuerte, etcétera, según lo dictará su nombre, de lo contrario perdía prestigio ante la tribu y podía defraudar a su familia. Desde hace muchos años, el uso del santoral y del bautizo católico entre los pueblos es parte de la costumbre indígena. En un principio se debió a la influencia de la Iglesia y de la arraigada discriminación hacia las tradiciones de los pueblos. Ahora podemos decir que toda la población indígena lleva, por lo regular, dos nombres que están basados en dos mundos. Por ejemplo: los seris (con caac), tradicionalmente eligen un nombre relacionado con la naturaleza y otro basado en el santoral católico. No obstante, existen casos en los que ya no se asigna el nombre tradicional, como sucede entre los jacaltecos, que han perdido el uso de nombres de origen maya y en la actualidad sólo llevan a los recién nacidos a la iglesia para bautizarlos. Por su parte, los triquis acostumbran llevarlo al registro civil y asignarle un nombre del santoral católico. En los últimos años se ha desplazado ligeramente el uso del santoral católico por la práctica de asignar nombres de artistas, personajes de la pantalla chica o grande, personas que conocieron en algún momento, que leyeron en algún documento. Situación que es más evidente entre los pueblos que están, geográficamente, cercanos a las ciudades, más pendientes de los medios masivos de comunicación, o entre los migrantes que en los lugares de destino conviven con una variedad de costumbres y culturas que les ofrecen muchos nombres diferentes. Los 62 pueblos indígenas que habitan en la nación hacen uso de su lengua y nombran al mundo a través de ella. Cabe mencionar que cada lengua indígena no sólo tiene rasgos culturales del pueblo que la práctica, sino también préstamos que devienen de relaciones vecinales, alianzas, desplazamientos y migraciones. Así, entendamos que la lengua representa una larga historia de convivencia diaria con el entorno natural, social, económico y cultural; es una parte de la memoria histórica del grupo al que representa, es un diálogo entre la historia y la cotidianidad, es una construcción milenaria de las voces que nombran. Benicio Samuel Sanchez Genealogista e Historiador Familiar Email: samuelsanchez@genealogia.org.mx Website: http://www.Genealogia.org.mx Cell Phone: 811 191 6334 Skype: Genealogia.org.mx "Haz tu Arbol Genealogico...El Arbol mas Hermoso de la Creacion" Por medio de la historia familiar descubrimos el árbol más hermoso de la creación: nuestro árbol genealógico. Sus numerosas raíces se remontan a la historia y sus ramas se extienden a través de la eternidad. La historia familiar es la expresión extensiva del amor eterno; nace de la abnegación y provee la oportunidad de asegurarse para siempre una unidad familiar”. (Élder J. Richard Clarke, Liahona julio de 1989, pág.69) * Nuestra pagina web oficial la encuentras en http://www.Genealogia.org.mx |
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Introduction to. . . |
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Chapter Three "The New World" is an effort to provide broad sweeping information of La Influencia de España in North America which has been here for several centuries. Yet, most Americans know little of Spain's role in the settling of the Spanish New World. The exploration of these lands and their settlement were but a few of the contributions made by Spain and its people. One can only surmise that this is due to Spanish history being so long neglected in the United States. Unfortunately, it may also be due to the Anglophile nature of its people who for so long have admired Britain, its people, and culture and celebrated it to the near exclusion of all others. |
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Genie’s Gifts: Part Two:
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|
Genie Milgrom, My
15 Grandmothers, The Journey of My Soul from the Spanish Inquisition to
the Present, c. 2012 Genie Milgrom, ISBN: 1478297077;
ISBN 13: 978-1478297079
Genie Milgrom, How
I Found My 15 Grandmothers, A Step by Step Guide/Como encontre a Mis 15
Abuelas, English/Spanish Edition, c. 2014 (Amazon.com) Genie Milgrom website: www.geniemilgrom.com |
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“Sweeping
to the Center of the Room” ”[Under] the
Spanish Inquisition . . . the Jews. . . forcibly converted to
Catholicism . . . were no[t]. . . allowed to affix mezuzahs to the
doorposts at the entrance to their homes.
. . . Women used to sweep the dirt . . . to the center of the
room to avoid having the trash go out the front door as a sign of
respect to where the mezuzah used to be.
This strange custom is one that many descendants of Crypto Jews
recount as being taught to them still today.
This was one of the earliest traditions that I learned from both
my grandmother and my mother.”
Genie
Milgrom, dedication page, How I Found My 15 Grandmothers, quoted
with permission.
In our previous issue of Somos Primos (January 2015), we
looked at Genie Milgrom’s first book, My 15 Grandmothers, The
Journey of My Soul from the Spanish Inquisition to the Present,
where she describes the amazing process by which she was drawn to
Judaism from the time of her Catholic childhood, underwent conversion to
Judaism years later, and embarked on the process of researching her
maternal ancestry. Her journey led her to discovering the secret of her Converso
ancestors in the little town of Fermoselle, Spain.
In her next book, which is printed bilingually in an
English/Spanish edition, How I found My 15 Grandmothers, A Step by
Step Guide/ Como encontre a Mis 15 Abuelas (c. 2014), she identifies
in a well detailed and organized process how she uncovered her ancestral
maternal lineage, and she offers valuable insights from her own
experience to people seeking their converso Jewish ancestry.
For the record, here are the names of her 15 grandmothers, as
they appear in her first book My 15 Grandmothers, on page 149: Ascension Diez Flores
As we know, in Spain names like Rodriguez and Fernandez end in –ez,
while in Portugal, such names end in –es:
Rodrigues and Fernandes. (I
have read and heard that the –ez
means “Eretz Zion”, the Land of Zion, i.e., the Holy Land: Israel.
A few years ago, a student of mine wrote a research paper on his
family names and stated that he learned that the “EZ”
ending meant in Spanish “Eres
Zion” – You are Zion, i.e., you are a Jew.)
The reason Genie’s ancestry appears sometimes ending in –ez
and sometimes in –es is, as
she describes in her first book, because her family in the town of
Fermoselle on the Spanish side of the Duero River often had to flee to
the Portuguese town of Mogadouro on the opposite side of the river, live
there for years until the Inquisition in Portugal came calling, then
they would escape back across the river to Spanish Fermoselle.
In her first book My 15 Grandmothers, Genie also
identifies a fuller list of the changing surnames on her family tree
(changed in an attempt to hide their identities from the Spanish
Inquisition). These include,
in addition to those listed above, Acebedo,
Acevedo, Carvajal, Castro,
De la Torre, De la Torre
Villar, De la Puente, Garcia,
Gonzales, Gonzalez, Guerra,
Juarez, Maldonado, Manzana, Montes,
Perez, Ramos, Robles,
Serrano, Velasco, Villarino
(this is only a partial list of what she presents on pages 150-151).
In her list, there is a family name that struck me as very odd:
“Seisdedos” (Six-Fingers)
– until it dawned on me that this must refer to the six-pointed Star
of David!
Genie’s website: www.geniemilgrom.com
contains her genealogy in the form of a family tree, where even more
names appear as she has continued to do her research.
In her first book, My 15 Grandmothers, Genie writes: “The Spanish Kings wanted to
make sure that for all eternity, generations would know who had been a
Jew. It was this very
paranoia that allowed me to find actual notarial records of my family
from five hundred years ago. For
this, and for nothing else, I thank them.”
(p. 148)
In her second book, How I Found My 15 Grandmothers, A Step by Step Guide / Como encontre
a Mis 15 Abuelas, Genie offers us a most useful guide.
While its focus is on researching maternal family lineage to
discover Jewish converso
ancestry, her guidelines are very good for any researcher in a foreign
country to follow, and not just for Spain and Portugal. Her book
is divided into the following chapters: Introduction:
Here
Genie briefly retells her story of how she came to discover and research
her converso ancestry. Chapter One:
Why Do You Want to Know? Among the
things she discusses here is DNA testing:
“I
highly recommend Family Tree DNA
that can be found at www.familytreedna.com.
Family Tree has the most comprehensive data base for detecting
and matching Jewish ancestry. Bennett
Greenspan, their director and CEO, is easily reached by e-mail and
very quick to answer specific questions about your possible Jewish
ancestry. What is most
interesting about these tests is that they put you in in touch with
others that match your own DNA. . . . You will be able to print out a
certificate with your Haplogroup, which is the category that your DNA
falls in, and you can also print a full color migration map.
Family Tree DNA will then give you an opportunity to join groups
that are led by an administrator that is working with a specific region
or last name. In my case, I
joined the Ramos Family Project,
the Carvajal Family Project,
and a Cuban Project. The
administrator will keep you apprised of new and relevant information as
more people join and get tested.” (pages 2-3) Chapter Two: A Brief History A brief
summary of “the history of the Iberian Peninsula and its relationship
with the Jews,” including such things as taxation policies of the
Spanish Crown, forced conversions, the
Spanish Inquisition, and the implications for doing research and tracing
ancestry in these areas. Chapter Three: Gathering Family
History Very
detailed step-by-step guide on how to proceed, how to keep records of
what you find, what documents and types of things to look for, where to
look, and how to stay on track. Chapter Four:
The Tough Questions Here Genie presents questions to ask
of family members when you interview them, and discusses what you might
find under each question or what the implications might be of the
answers you receive. Some of
the questions pertain to cousin intermarriages, special customs in the
kitchen or while cooking, checking eggs for blood, lighting candles, a
shawl being placed around the shoulders of a couple being married, a
family custom to bury the dead within a day or as soon as possible, a
family custom to change the name of a seriously ill child, a belief that
the family descends from royalty. (Among
the traditions she mentions, for example, in my family we observed the
practice of sweeping to the center of the room, which she describes in
the opening quote. We were
also told what she identifies in her question #22:
“Did
anyone ever mention that mixing meat and milk could make you ill?”(p.
29). We were also taught to
do something that I now know pertains to Jewish kashering (making
chicken kosher): we were
taught to heavily salt the inside of the chicken, patting in the salt
well, then to carefully rinse it all out.
Jewish people are prohibited from eating or drinking the blood of
animals.) Chapter Five:
A Word about Cemeteries This
chapter discusses the usefulness of looking at family headstones:
“In Mexico, for example,
there are still headstones that will have the Catholic cross and a
Jewish symbol also present such as a shin, a chai, Star of David or even
a small menorah.” (page 35). Chapter Six:
Analyzing and Categorizing Your Work This
chapter details how to take your research and build it into a
genealogical study of your family and how to construct your family tree.
It is very practical and very focused on keeping you on track. Chapter Seven: Names, Names and
More Names Genie
here describes the physical process of recording your work, your
documents, and all the different ways names can be researched, because
one approach may not yield results but a slightly different approach
will prove rewarding. Chapter Eight:
Internet Resources for Jewish Ancestry Here she
presents some of the major and best internet sources for researching
your family history, and she describes what you will find under them.
One of the sites, for example, is www.sephardim.com
about which Genie writes: “This
site, in my opinion, is truly the best one and not because it has more
historically Sephardic names than other web sites but because every
single name listed is documented with a primary source.” (p. 56).
She then describes what types of records you will find here, how
to record the information you find, and in giving us an example from her
own research, she offers list of sources, books, etc. that contain very
useful information. For
example, one of them is “’Sangre
Judia’ (‘Jewish Blood’) by Pere
Bonnin. A list of 3,500
names used by Jews, or assigned to Jews by the Holy Office (la Santo
Oficio) of Spain.” (p. 59)
Another site is www.sephardicgen.com
: “This
site is very rich in content. . . . Jeff
Malka has worked on this site for many years and has amassed an
incredible amount of resources . . . . It contains information for
Sephardic heritage around the world. . .” (p. 61).
Genie also provides websites and names of archives from the
Spanish government and types of records they contain.
She additionally offers us “sites that are off the beaten path
but have vast amounts of information . . .” (p. 63).
To mention just two: http://www.jackwhite.net/iberia/
“Jack
White has done incredible
work on this site that is packed with Jewish history relating to Crypto
Jews . . . also links you to
other sites, books, and films on the topic of Crypto Jewry” (p.
65). https://script.byu.edu/Pages/Spanish/en/welcome.aspx
“This
is one of the most helpful websites.
It is a step by step guide on how to read ancient Spanish scripts
. . ..” (p.65). Chapter Nine:
Researching the Town Where Your Family Originated In doing
family research, there are sources for finding out about family names
and ancestry, and also very useful sources on finding information on the
town or city one’s ancestors are from. Here
she presents how to approach this part of the research, and introduces
us to a very valuable resource: “I recommend the following website that was compiled by
Dr. Mario Saban who wrote several books on Crypto Jewish names while
in Argentina and now, living in Spain, maintains the following site:
www.tarbutsefarad.com
“. Chapter Ten:
Going ALL the Way Back This is
an important chapter about actually traveling to Spain to do research
there, how to prepare in advance, what materials to bring, and how to go
about doing the research once you are there.
Contains very useful “pointers,” including what you are
likely to encounter when you are into the 1700s, 1600s, 1500s, and how
to work around the difficulties that may arise.
She also provides a list of excellent books to consult or read
ahead of time. Epilogue At the
end of her book is an Epilogue, where Genie introduces us to the
professional genealogist whose work proved invaluable for her quest: “I cannot imagine what my life would be like today if G-d had not
placed Fernando Gonzalez del
Campo Roman in my path.” Genie
then turns the narrative of this chapter over to Fernando who describes
in a fascinating way his involvement in Genie’s search.
It is well worth reading. He
lives in Madrid, Spain, and can be reached at postmaster@tusappelidos.com
. The
second half of her book is the Spanish version, Como encontre a Mis 15 Abuelas,
Una guia paso a paso, following the same outline and
presenting all the information and sources in Spanish.
Genie’s bilingual English/Spanish website:
www.geniemilgrom.com
is very precious. It
contains her story in brief, her family tree which has continued to grow
as she researches more, wonderful links, and a beautiful video “In
Search of My Roots” that is a gem in itself.
Genie Milgrom truly is a pioneer who has gone through great
difficulties, striven to great lengths and great depths, and reached
great heights to catch “the brass ring” that her ancestors threw
into the ocean. Genie wrote
in her first book My 15 Grandmothers, how her grandfather had
left her “crumbs” for her to find and follow back, which she did,
painstakingly fulfilling what King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes:
“Cast
your bread upon the waters, and in days to come, you shall find it.”
A fitting conclusion to the gifts Genie has made us with her
research, her hard work, her unswerving dedication to discover the truth
of her roots, is a statement she makes (p. 75) in her book How I
Found My 15 Grandmothers: “I know that G-d
works in mysterious ways, and I am now certain of His hand in my own
journey. Had I not had all
of these experiences that seemed negative and brick walls at the time, I
would not have been able to share with you how to get around all of the
hurdles.” Thank you
Genie, for your precious gifts, above all, the gift of yourself.
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After 522 Years, |
| Children gather outside
the El Transito synagogue and Sephardic Museum in Toledo, Spain. Founded
in 1357, the synagogue was converted into a church following the
expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Spain is now preparing to pass
a law that would allow the descendants of the expelled Jews receive
Spanish citizenship. Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images |
|
As night fell recently over the Spanish city of Toledo, Hanukkah
candles lit up empty streets outside the medieval El Transito
synagogue.Folk songs in Ladino — a blend of Spanish and Hebrew —
wafted across the garden of the synagogue, which is now the Sephardic
Museum. Sefarad means Spain in Hebrew and the term refers to Jews of
Spanish descent.
But not a single employee of Toledo's Sephardic Museum is actually Jewish. Spanish Jews today number in the low tens of thousands — a fraction of the Jewish population in France, Germany or the United Kingdom. But Toledo's cobblestone streets were once home to one of Europe's largest and most vibrant Jewish communities. "A 13th-century poem describes Toledo's Jewish life — with eight to 10 synagogues, and a Jewish library," says historian and museum director Santiago Palomera. "Tax records show this was the most important Jewish enclave — like New York and Silicon Valley combined, in terms of contributions to medieval Spain's culture and economy."  The
interior of the 14th-century El Transito synagogue in Toledo, Spain.
The synagogue's walls are intricately carved with Hebrew prayers, in
marble and gold, and Moorish designs — representing the mix of
Jewish and Arab traditions that coexisted in Spain during the Middle
Ages. Here you can see the knave of the synagogue, where Torah
scrolls were once kept. Courtesy of
Museo Sefardí Jews prospered in medieval Spain, under Muslim and Christian rule. But that changed in 1492, when the Catholic monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, expelled them.Some 300,000 Jews — up to a quarter of the Spanish population — had to convert to Catholicism, flee Spain or were killed in theSpanish Inquisition. Now their descendants may become Spanish again, under a new draft law approved by Spain's government. It would grant Spanish citizenship to descendants of Jews expelled in 1492. A recent amendment would let them keep their current citizenship too. |
|
Spain says it wants to rectify what it calls a "historic
mistake." The measure still needs approval by both houses
of Spain's parliament, and is expected to become law this spring. "I think it's fair reparation on the part of the Spanish state, for the injustice that occurred in 1492," says Mauricio Toledano, secretary-general of theFederation of Jewish Communities in Spain, which is one of the groups that will help the Spanish government evaluate passport applications from Sephardic Jews around the world. The Spanish Constitution prohibits awarding nationality based on religion. But Toledano says applicants don't necessarily need to be Jewish themselves. "The question is, were your ancestors Spanish Jews in 1492?" he says. "If the answer is 'yes,' whether you're Jewish, Christian, Muslim or whatever today, that has nothing to do with it." Some Muslim groups have noted this offer doesn't apply to them. Their ancestors were also expelled as Spain's Catholic kings consolidated power.Some Jewish groups have also complained about requirements that applicants pass tests on Spanish and Sephardic culture, and travel to Spain at their own expense to apply. |
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Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
Itzhak Levy, seated in his Jerusalem apartment, holds
a copy of a book on his family's history. Levy's ancestors were
expelled from Spain. But he says he's not interested in the offer of
Spanish citizenship because he doesn't feel that Europe today is
supportive of Israel. |
|
Many families don't know the religion
of their ancestors more than 500 years ago. But names can be a clue.
Toledano traces his Jewish ancestry back to Toledo. He estimates
that some 3 million people are believed to be descendants of Spain's
expelled Jews. Itzhak Levy, seated in his Jerusalem
apartment, holds a copy of a book on his family's history. Levy's
ancestors were expelled from Spain. But he says he's not interested
in the offer of Spanish citizenship because he doesn't feel that
Europe today is supportive of Israel. Sent by John Inclan fromgalveston@yahoo.com
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Lobos y Perros Rabiosos: The Legacy of the Inquisition in the Colonization of New Spain and New Mexico C. Michael Torres, cmt0rres@yahoo.com Student Papers, (History) Department of History, 5-11-2012, 72 pages University of Texas at El Paso, DigitalCommons@UTEP This essay will utilize historic documents to illustrate a predisposed religious and racial mindset concerning the Jewish population that existed in Iberia from the time of Christian Rome, and in New Spain from Cortes.s conquest of the Aztecs. Early documents presaged the treatment of the Jews in Spain and set the stage for continuing intimidation, persecution, and exploitation of Jews, crypto-Jews and conversos after they made their way to the New World. The formidable presence of the Holy Office of the Inquisition and the Catholic religious orders would impact the 4 commerce and colonization of New Spain in that they directly influenced the lives, livelihood, and geographic settlement of Jews, crypto-Jews, and other conversos. Examination of Inquisition procesos documents from Mexico.s Archivo General de la Nacion (National Archives), plus the work of Richard Greenleaf, Stanley Hordes, Solange Alberro, France V. Scholes and others reveal the extent and depth of the Inquisitions and the Catholic religious orders. influence, particularly in the provinces of Nuevo Leon and New Mexico. This history becomes all the more interesting as the Edict of Expulsion forbade the
presence of Jews in Spain or any Spanish possession. Additionally, due to the suspicion of the
conversos, Queen Isabella restricted immigration to the New World to Old Christians who could
prove that their four grandparents had already converted to the Catholic
faith. By the late fifteenth century Christians co-opted from the Moors the concept of Holy War (Jihad) and
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| AMCHA is the Hebrew word meaning “Your People" |
Text extracts from Blog by Gary Fouse, 12/26/2014 The AMCHA Initiative is a pro-Jewish interest group founded by UC Santa Cruz Professor of Hebrew, Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and UCLA Professor Emeritus, Leila Beckwith. In the interest of full disclosure, I am proud to count both of them as friends and colleagues. I regularly post their news bulletins and letters on my blog, Fousesquawk. For the past few years, the AMCHA Initiative has been very active in complaining to the University of California and California State University about professors who have been using their classrooms to promote the boycott, divest and sanctions movement against the Jewish state of Israel and voice their condemnations of Israel in general. In most cases, the universities have begrudgingly answered their letters but taken no action using academic freedom as their reasoning-even when one professor used-and still uses- a California State University Northridge web server to spread his own propaganda against Israel-a clear abuse of university resources. |
 |
In another recent case, AMCHA complained about expressions advocating murder of Israeli soldiers at San Francisco State University.
In addition to writing letters to university officials, AMCHA has written letters to state and local politicians bringing their concerns to their attention as well. Recently, California Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D) wrote his own letter of concern to UC President Janet
Napolitano. |
|
One of the unfortunate results of this never ending campaign of hate and propaganda against Israel has been a rise of anti-Semitism on campuses in which Jewish students who support Israel have found themselves being intimidated by the pro-Palestinian forces on campus as well as by teachers in the classroom. Pro-Palestinian speakers regularly appear on California campuses and often use anti-Jewish language that goes far beyond opposing Israel. Recently, AMCHA scored an important victory when the University of California decided that it was not proper for graduate teaching assistants to use the classroom to demonize Israel and advocate for the BDS movement. Subsequently, AMCHA asked for a clarification. Did that policy also apply to full-time professors? http://cdn1.eaglerising.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Anti-Israel.png This week, AMCHA received an affirmative response from UC Provost Aimee Dorr. The policy indeed applies to all professors per the Regents Policy on Course Content. Here is the announcement from the AMCHA Initiative, which contains Provost Dorr's response. The obvious question is-does this policy apply only to the Israel issue because of the anti-Semitic concerns? Here is the actual UC Course Content policy (2301). http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/governance/policies/2301.html Regents Policy 2301: Policy on Course ContentApproved
June 19, 1970 Students who enroll on the campuses of the University of California are parties to a moral and contractual relationship in which the University, on its side, is obligated to provide quality education, to recognize student achievement with grades and degrees which have an accepted meaning for transfer to other institutions, for graduate work, and for careers. The Regents are responsible to the people, to the faculty, and to the students to see that the University is faithful to this contract. They have the responsibility to see that the value of the diploma is not diluted, that it maintain its meaning to graduates and to future employers. They are responsible to ensure that public confidence in the University is justified. And they are responsible to see that the University remain aloof from politics and never function as an instrument for the advance of partisan interest. Misuse of the classroom by, for example, allowing it to be used for political indoctrination, for purposes other than those for which the course was constituted, or for providing grades without commensurate and appropriate student achievement, constitutes misuse of the University as an institution. It should be understood that the Board of Regents has always recognized the importance of an "open forum policy" on the campuses, of a free exchange of ideas, and of pursuit of the truth wherever it may lead--popular or unpopular though that may be. There are many hours available during the daily activities of students and faculty for free discourse on matters of concern to them as citizens. It cannot be argued successfully that it is necessary to interrupt progress of an academic course or to modify grading procedures to provide such discussion. It is the Regents' responsibility to the very concept of a University to protect the institution from the misuse of the classroom and to ensure the rights of all to teaching and learning. Therefore, it is The Regents' policy that no campus, no academic college, no department, and no instructor distort the instructional process in a manner which deviates from the responsibilities inherent in academic freedom. The right of students to have their classes held on the regularly scheduled basis and to be taught by the instructor whose responsibility it is to teach the course in question is to be upheld.
I would hope that this model can spread around the country and be used to bring reform to all our universities. |
 EErasing Israel by Yvette Alt Miller HarperCollins’ map expunging Israel is only the latest example of the quest to rewrite history without the Jewish state. |
Publishing giant HarperCollins began 2015 by publicly apologizing for selling maps of the Middle East that omit Israel. The company insisted that erasing Israel from maps were necessary since displaying the reality of Israel’s existence would be “highly offensive” to their customers in the Middle East region. The Israel-scrubbed maps were simply reflecting “local preferences”. It’s not only Harper Collins maps that present a world without the Jewish state. In recent years, numerous cultural exhibits, historians, and religious works have all worked hard to erase any trace of Israel and Jewish history there. Here are some examples of the quest to rewrite history – without the Jewish state. (1) Palestinian Authority: Denying the Jewish Temple Visitors to Jerusalem today can pray at the Western Wall, the last vestige of the magnificent Jewish Temple that once stood on that site, until its destruction by Roman forces in 70 CE. Archeological sites in the area have unearthed remains from the Temple, including the remains of a bridge that led to the Temple, pottery, ritual baths and engravings. In the face of extensive historical and archeological evidence, it would seem impossible to deny the history of the Temple Mount – yet, incredibly, for years the Palestinian Authority has been committed to doing just that: erasing any trace of Jews’ connections with Judaism’s most holy site. US negotiator Dennis Ross recalls that in 2000, in the midst of US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat raised only one idea: that there never was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. “I will not allow it to be written of me (in history) that I have…confirmed the existence of the so-called Temple underneath the mountain,” Arafat insisted to various shocked diplomats. Current Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas concurs, declaring that Jews “cannot come and claim” there ever was a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. (2) Throwing Away Jewish History The Islamic Waqf has destroyed many of the irreplaceable archeological objects documenting an ancient Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. Under cover of “renovating” the Temple Mount, Waqf workmen have used heavy machinery to dig up areas containing highly sensitive, ancient objects. As far back as 1982, United Nations labeled the Temple Mount an “endangered” historical site due to the wanton destruction of Jewish artifacts, and the situation has only worsened over time. In 2007, Ira Pasternak, an official of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, was permitted to view work on the Temple Mount; what he saw shocked him: huge tractors were used to dig up a floor, exposing ancient treasures, which were then tossed away into a garbage dump. Since 1996, the Waqf has built two new mosques in subterranean areas of the Temple Mount, including one in Solomon’s Stables. Pipes and other construction elements were drilled into ancient stones, and Jewish decorations thousands of years old were painted over. (3) Israel-Free Textbooks HarperCollins’ maps are not the only educational materials to delete any mention of the Jewish state. Children attending schools run by the Palestinian Authority are routinely presented with books and maps that deny the existence of Israel; one 12th Grade textbook is typical in referring to “the so-called State of Israel”, and accompanying the lesson with a map depicting all of present-day Israel wrapped in a Palestinian flag and pierced by a key, symbolizing ownership. Children’s television programs reinforce this message: the Palestinian Authority’s educational program Best Home teaches kids “there is no such thing as Israel”. Hamas’ Tomorrow’s Pioneers kids’ TV show instructs “There is no Israel; only Palestine”. The problem isn’t confined to Palestinian media. In 2013, it emerged that an English-as-a-second-language textbook published in Britain – and praised by the Duke of Edinburgh as “extremely well-planned and constructed” and very impressive – contained a map that labeled all of Israel “Occupied Palestine”, erasing the Jewish state entirely. Even when Israel’s existence is acknowledged, it’s often to create a negative impression. One recent study found that fully 84% of references to Israelis in all textbooks used by the Palestinian Authority are derogatory in tone; the same study revealed that a common goal advocated in both Palestinian Authority and Muslim schools within Israel is “martyrdom-sacrifice through death”. (4) Erasing “Israeli” When Israeli Arab (and citizen) Haitham Khalaily made the semi-finals of “Arab Idol” – a spinoff of the popular “American Idol” TV franchise – in October 2014, he was described not as Israeli, but Palestinian, by the contest organizers, despite his citizenship and residence in the Jewish state. Few people commented on this silent erasure of the word “Israeli” – until that dreaded term was used live on Saudi Arabian TV: a map on Saudi Arabia’s MBC TV network showed (correctly) that Khalaily is from Israel; viewers flooded the station’s phone lines, demanding an apology and threatening a boycott. MBC quickly backed down, blaming the use of the word Israel on air on a “technical error”, and reverting to their usual Israel-free programming. Even in more liberal countries, realistic depictions of the Jewish state can be branded offensive. In 2012, Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority nixed an Israeli Ministry of Tourism ad: although Israel’s borders were clearly delineated, the Authority worried customers might gain the impression that Israel controlled disputed territory; they also objected to the use of the Hebrew terms “Judea and Samaria” instead of the English “West Bank”. For some, the very term “Israel” is anathema: at their annual conference in June 2014, the Presbyterian Church considered removing the word Israel from Church prayers. (The resolution was defeated, but a linked resolution – to divest from companies that deal with Israel – passed.) (5) Boycotting the Jewish state The move to boycott Israeli goods, cultural figures and academics helps remove the Jewish state from public consciousness. The erasure of Israel can come in some surprising places. In 2014, the Holocaust Educational Trust Ireland banned any mention of the Jewish state – participants weren’t allowed to so much as utter the banned word “Israel” – from Ireland’s national Holocaust commemoration. At times, removal of references to Israel is silent. Readers in areas of Scotland governed by the West Dunbartonshire Council near Glasgow might not realize why they cannot find books by Israeli authors, or books published in Israel, on their local library’s shelves: since 2011, their council has boycott all such books, and even advised other regional councils who are interested in doing the same. What Can We Do? HarperCollins apologized for its Israel-free maps and pledged to stop selling them in the face of stinging criticism. We each have a duty to stand up, not be silent, and protest when we see Israel unfairly maligned. Stay informed. Read your local Jewish press. Familiarize yourself with how Israel is portrayed in your community. Stand up and be counted. Write letters. Organize facebook campaigns. Call attention to instances where Israel is being erased or unfairly criticized. Work with others. You don’t have to counter anti-Israel bias alone. Team up with friends and colleagues. You can also turn to on-line resources such as, aish.com, www.honestreporting.com and www.camera.org for help in standing up for Israel. Published: January 3, 2015 http://www.aish.com/jw/me/Erasing-Israel.html |
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| Nation News Research finds Neanderthals probably weren't brutish, inferior cave men January 25, 2015 by The Washington Post |
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This Jan. 8, 2003 file photo shows a reconstructed Neanderthal skeleton, left, and a modern human version of a skeleton, left, on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Photo Credit: AP Maybe it's their famously protruding brow ridge or perhaps it's the now-discredited notion that they were primitive scavengers too dumb to use language or symbolism, but somehow Neanderthals picked up a reputation as brutish, dim and mannerless cretins. |
| It turns out that Neanderthals were capable hunters who used tools and probably had some semblance of culture, and the DNA record shows that if you trace your ancestry to Europe or Asia, chances are very good that you have some Neanderthal DNA in your own genome. The bad rap began when the first Neanderthal skull was discovered around 1850 in Germany, says Paola Villa, an archaeologist at the University of Colorado. "The morphological features of these skulls â?? big eyebrows, no chin â?? led to the idea that they were very different from us, and therefore inferior," she says. While the majority of archaeologists no longer believe this, she says, the idea that Neanderthals were inferior, brutish or stupid remains in popular culture. Neanderthals first appeared in Europe and western Asia between 300,000 and 400,000 years ago. They are our closest (extinct) relative, and their species survived until 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, when they vanish from the fossil record, says Svante Paabo, director of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and author of "Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes." Why these relatives of ours thrived for so long and then ended their long, successful run about the same time that modern humans began to spread remains a point of debate and speculation. One theory holds that Neanderthals went extinct because they were inferior to the modern humans they encountered. But in a paper published in PLOS One last year, Villa and Wil Roebroeks, an archaeologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, conclude that a comparison of Neanderthals and modern humans simply doesn't support what they call the "modern superiority complex," or the notion that Neanderthal were inherently inferior to the modern humans who overlapped with them. Compared with humans today, Neanderthals were shorter, stockier and heavier built, with bigger bulges on their bones where muscles attach. But there's no reason to think that they were dumb, Villa says. Their brains were actually slightly larger than ours, and archaeological sites have turned up evidence that Neanderthals used personal ornaments including bird feathers, claws and shells smeared with ochre. The use of such ornaments supports the idea that Neanderthals were capable of symbolism and abstract thought, Villa says. Some of them may have been artists. In September, a research team working in Gibraltar (a British colony at the southern end of Spain) published a description of a rock engraving found in a cave that they say is the first known example of Neanderthal art. The engraving consists of multiple crossed lines that were created, the researchers write, "by repeatedly and carefully passing a pointed lithic [stone] tool into the grooves, excluding the possibility of an unintentional or utilitarian origin." The engraving, the researchers say, demonstrates a Neanderthal capacity for abstract thought and expression. They also appear to have buried their dead. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science last January, researchers document evidence from the La Chapelle-aux-Saints archaeological site in France showing a Neanderthal burial site. Twisted fibers found on stone tools at another French site suggest that Neanderthals knew how to make string or cordage, and six stone arrowheads recovered there imply that they also used complex projectile techniques â?? tasks that would require advanced thinking. Starting about 200,000 years ago, Villa says, European Neanderthals used tools made with pitch, a glue material that doesn't occur naturally but must be synthesized from tree bark. Modern experiments show that producing pitch with the resources available to Neanderthals requires a high degree of technical knowledge. Once thought to be scavengers incapable of hunting, they actually were accomplished big-game stalkers who thrived by hunting a wide range of animals in a variety of environments, the latest research shows. Along with the idea that they were scavengers came the notion that Neanderthals ate a very limited diet, consisting mostly of large or medium-size mammals â?? dietary constraints that would have left them less adaptable to changes in the environment than early modern humans. But research simply doesn't bear this out. Luca Fiorenza, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of New England in Australia, has examined the teeth ofNeanderthal fossils found in Italy and found evidence that they were consuming shellfish, seeds and probably wild plants. The advent of advanced DNA technology has added a rich new layer to our understanding of Neanderthals and their relationship to us. In 2010, Paabo, who heads the Neanderthal Genome Project, and a large group of colleagues published the first draft of the Neanderthal genome, and in early 2014 another research team presented genome sequences from DNA extracted from the toe bone of a Neanderthal fossil found in Siberia. "Neanderthals are the closest evolutionary relatives to present-day people," Paabo says, and the DNA evidence shows that some of our ancestors didn't just overlap in time with the Neanderthals, they also bred with them. "It's quite clear that Neanderthals have mixed with modern humans," Paabo says, contributing on the order of 1 to 2 percent of the DNA found in people living today who trace their roots to Europe or Asia. "We now have a quite good date for when this mixing happened â?? somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago â?? right about the time that modern humans expand out of the Middle East and Africa to colonize the rest of the world," he says. In March, a team that included Paabo published further DNA findings suggesting that human-Neanderthal intermixing may have decreased fertility in male Neanderthals, perhaps contributing to their disappearance. Given the timing, it seems reasonable to guess that Neanderthal's extinction may have had something to do with the arrival of modern humans, Paabo says, but it's not clear whether modern humans killed them off or simply outdid them in the competition for habitat. Some people have theorized that modern humans displaced Neanderthals because they were somehow innately superior, but the evidence simply doesn't bear this out, Villa says. The two species' dietary habits and behavioral traits were not as dissimilar as originally thought. Most likely, there were probably multiple causes of theNeanderthals' disappearance, she says. "People are beginning to accept the idea that Neanderthals became extinct, but not fully and completely, and the process took some millennia â?? it was not instantaneous." One thing is clear: Neanderthals never entirely vanished. "They live on a little bit in people today," Paabo says. |
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Fotos Socidad de
Genealogia de Nuevo León Facebook: Sociedad Genealogica y de Historia Familiar de Mexico La Sociedad Nuevoleonesa de Historia Aztec App Brings Historic Mexico Codex Into the Digital Age Exploring Colonial Mexico: Stone Retablos: San José Chiapa El Índice Genealógico de Bautismos y Matrimonios sobre tu apellido Families of Saltillo, Coahuila, Vol 13: 2014 Year End Report by Crispin Rendon Informacion, Investigó y paleografió, Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero: Matrimonial del Sr. Don Julio Gracida Somohano y Doña Rosario Porchini Gómez El natalicio de Don Francisco González Bocanegra por Bautismo de María Petronila de la Trenidad Cuellar de León Defunción de Doña Rosa Felipa Martinez de Castro |
| FOTOS SOCIDAD DE GENEALOGÍA DE NUEVO LEÓN. |
 En la foto Tte. Corl. Palmerín, Welester Alvarado Carrillo haciendo entrega de un Reconocimiento al Sr. Fernando Elizondo Treviño por su trabajo como Tesorero de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León., al fondo se encuentra sentado Samy hijo de nuestro amigo Sr. Benicio Samuel García Sanchez. |
Estimados amigos y amigas de la Sociedad
de Genealogía de Nuevo León.
Amigos Genealogistas e Historiadores
Envío a Uds. las fotos tomadas el día
14 del actual en el Club de Ejecutivos de San Pedro
Garza García, N.L. con motivo de la entrega de la
Presidencia de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo
León que hizo nuestro compañero Sr. Welester
Alvarado Carrillo a la Lic. Carmen Leticia Acuña
Medellín.
Felicitaciones Welester y mucho éxito
para la Lic. Lety.
Un afectuoso saludo de su amigo.
Tte. Corl. Ricardo Palmerín Cordero.
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En esta foto se encuentran la Lic. Carmen Leticia Acuña
Medellín actual Presidente de la Sociedad de Genealogía de
Nuevo León y el Sr. Benicio Samuel García Sanchez Presidente
de Genealogía de México.
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Facebook:
Sociedad Genealogica y de Historia Familiar de Mexico
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Leopoldo Espinosa presidencia de la SNHGE La Sociedad Nuevoleonesa de Historia, Geografía y Estadística |
 Nueva dirigencia de La Sociedad Nuevoleonesa de Historia, Geografía y Estadística (SNHGE), renovó ayer su directiva para el período 2015-2016, donde Leopoldo Espinosa Benavides, rindió protesta como nuevo presidente de esa organización. El presidente saliente José Reséndiz Balderas, que terminó su período 2012-2014 rindió su último informe de actividades, y entregó la estafeta a Espinosa Benavides , quien hizo uso de la palabra y pronunció su primer discurso, donde destacó que con la riqueza de hombres que tiene esa agrupación hará lo necesario para que esta sociedad tenga larga vida. Sent by Benicio Samuel Sánchez García, Genealogista e Historiador Familiar Email: samuelsanchez@genealogia.org.mx Website: http://www.Genealogia.org.mx |
| Aztec App Brings Historic Mexico Codex Into the Digital Age MEXICO CITY — Jan 15, 2015 A 16th century document considered one of the most important primary sources on the Aztecs of pre-Columbian Mexico went digital Thursday with a new app that aims to spur research and discussion. The Codex Mendoza is a 1542 illustrated report ordered by Spanish viceroy Antonio de Mendoza that details sources of riches, Aztec expansion and territorial tributes, and chronicles daily life and social dynamics. The new interactive codex lets users page through the virtual document, mouse-over the old Spanish text for translations into English or modern Spanish, click on images for richer explanations and explore maps of the area. Presented by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, the digital codex is available free both on the Internet and through Apple's App Store as a 1.02-gigabyte app. "Never before had these tools been used to amplify understanding of a document of these characteristics," said Ernesto Miranda, the institute's director of academic innovation. The original Codex Mendoza was compiled by Aztec and Spanish artisans to inform the king of Spain about conditions in the viceroyalty. But the boat carrying it to Spain was attacked by French buccaneers and it never reached its destination. In the mid-17th century it came to be in the collection of University of Oxford, and it has remained there since. Miranda said that until now, Mexican or other researchers who wanted to consult the codex had to track down one of the rare copies, which were only available in English, or make a costly trip to England. "This is a virtual repatriation" of the document, he said. "We are in discussions with other European institutions that hold different Mexican codices," Miranda added. "This should be the first of a series." The National Institute of Anthropology and History created the app in collaboration with Oxford's Bodleian Library and King's College London. Codex
site: http://codice.manuvo.com |
| Exploring Colonial Mexico: Stone Retablos: San José Chiapa http://colonialmexico.blogspot.com 2015 begins with a series on the few surviving colonial Mexican altarpieces made from stone or stucco. We follow these with a folio on one of our favorite colonial monuments, the grand Augustinian priory of Yecapixtla, in the state of Morelos. Richard Perry |
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For our initial post of 2015, and as an introduction to our new series on Mexican stone
retablos, we look at one of the most distinctive and unusual Pueblan churches, that of San José
Chiapa, located northeast of the city of Puebla close to the state of Tlaxcala in the shadow of the volcano Malitzín. In addition to an intriguing back story, San José Chiapa boasts dramatic architecture and rare works of art including its luminous main altarpiece. But first the history: San José Chiapa enjoys a special association with the flamboyant and controversial Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, a 17th century bishop of Puebla and briefly the archbishop and viceroy of New Spain, whose sumptuous library remains one of Puebla’s prime attractions. Among the many political and ecclesiastical issues in which he was embroiled, his conflict with the Jesuits in Puebla was the most bitter. His attempt to secularize the holdings of the religious orders and secure their traditional tithes, thus increasing Crown and episcopal revenues, was firmly resisted by the Jesuits, prompting a protracted series of lawsuits, papal proclamations and political maneuvering. Things reached a point in 1647, when, under threat of arrest by the incoming viceroy and fearing subsequent local unrest, Palafox fled the city of Puebla to take refuge in the remote highland village of San José Chiapa with its rustic local chapel. |
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Although Palafox ultimately failed in his bid to humble the Jesuits, the state of Puebla and the community of San José Chiapa did not forget him.
A century later, in the mid 1700s, the then bishop of Puebla, Francisco Fabián y Fuero, built the present church to honor Palafox. It was completed in 1769—as it happened, only two years after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Mexico.
This history is reflected in the design and iconography of the striking church front as well as the unique main altarpiece inside. |
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| Its most prominent decorative elements are the brilliantly whitewashed estípite pilasters to either side of the porch, set dramatically against a painted, brick red background and incorporating painted relief medallions. The Palafox y Mendoza crest The three principal escutcheons emphasize the special connection with Bishop Palafox. The two flanking the entry are emblazoned with heraldic shields like those in the 1728 portrait (above). On the right are the arms of the noble Palafox y Mendoza family of Aragon, and to the left, the Palafox episcopal seal—a heart with a crucifix inscribed with his motto "The Crucifix is My Love" framed by a tasseled galero hat. |
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The Spanish imperial arms The third escutcheon, in the overhead gable, displays the Spanish Royal arms with the quartered lions and castles of Leon and Castile at center, surrounded by other symbols and framed by the chain of the aristocratic Order of the Golden Fleece—intended as a tribute to Bishop Palafox' devoted support of royal authority. Since most Spanish royal insignia have been erased from Mexican buildings since Independence, this remains one of the few still in place. Slender neoclassical bell towers with tiled cupolas complete the picture. Of special interest are the forged iron crosses atop the cupolas, which bear the archiepiscopal insignia of the miter, crozier and patriarchal cross. |
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| The Retablo Mayor Inside the church, the imposing main altarpiece is one among a rare handful of Mexican retablos carved in stone* instead of the customary wood. In addition, the chosen stone is tecali, or Mexican alabaster, a colorfully striated, translucent marble that is quarried in Puebla in a variety of tints—here a warm silvery/green. Probably dating from the late 1760s, the altarpiece features twisted, salamónica columns and several stone statues of saints, including the Virgin Mary swaying against the window. |
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The centerpiece of the retablo is the Crucifixion with the Two
Marys—no doubt a reference to Bishop Palafox' motto—an amazing work of art especially considering the difficulty in working this kind of stone. * Other late colonial stone retablos in Mexico include those in the cathedrals of Puebla (Los Reyes) and Chihuahua, The Santuario de Guadalupe in Aguascalientes, El Carmen in San Luis Potosí, San Pablo El Viejo in Mexico City and Huentitán near Guadalajara, several of which we plan to describe in future posts. |
Updates: Recently, after centuries of petitioning, Bishop Palafox has been beatified, the first stage in eventual canonization, testimony to his continued relevance and veneration among poblanos. As we shall see, Palafox was also involved in another seminal stone altarpiece in Puebla. text © 2015 Richard D. Perry. images by Niccolò Brooker and Benjamin Arredondo. additional source material: La Capilla de San José Chiapa by Francisco de La Maza México, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 1960. We accept no ads. If you enjoy our posts you may support our efforts by buying our guidebooks on colonial Mexico |
| El Índice Genealógico de Bautismos y Matrimonios sobre tu apellido |
Solicita el libro genealógico más importante: El Índice Genealógico de Bautismos y Matrimonios sobre tu apellido Obtén esta información para consultar rápidamente los registros parroquiales mas importantes de México. Registros entre 1500 -1880 Se crean 5 índices: Bautismos en orden Cronológico Bautismos en orden Alfabético Matrimonios en orden Cronológico Matrimonios en orden Alfabético Lista de Parroquias consultadas y los registros de tu apellido obtenidos Más información por email: genealogia.org.mx@gmail.com o bien consulta a nuestro especialista: SamuelSanchez@genealogia.org.mx |
Families of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico Volume Thirteen 2014 Genealogy Year End Report by Crispin Rendon The database has grown to over 336,000 records, up 33,000 records from the year 2013. Most of the new records come from the research required to produce the 15 volume series on the Families of Saltillo, Coahuila. Additional records came from the research completed, with the help of Mary Lou Montagna and Consuelo Canalez Garza, for the upcoming book on the families of El Potosi, Galeana, Nuevo Leon and with the completed research help of volunteers Mary Lou Montagna and Mario Davila for volume one of the Galeana families. Some database records came from family trees submitted in return for ancestor reports. I very much enjoy creating them. Thanks to all of you that referred your friends. Those reports ranged in size from a three page 5 generation report to a 476 page 20 generation book. The number of ancestor reports grew from 78 in 2013 to 129 in 2014. Some ancestor books were converted from English into Spanish. The Top 20 mtDNA list expanded and with interest should continue to do so. There is more funding than needed candidates. A new report will be out in April. As you probably know I do this research because I enjoy it, not for money. Some un-named people sent me unsolicited money again this year. Those funded were deposited into the Mexican DNA Project for mtDNA testing. There are more funds in a Kiva account for when the need arrives. Until then, much of those funds are helping Mexican businesswomen obtain loans. The Families of General Teran, Nuevo Leon books were recreated. They are posted online by the Los Bexarenos Genealogical and Historical Society on their website http://www.losbexarenos.org/ http://home.earthlink.net/~crisrendon/scmv13.pdf For those of you with an interest of Reynosa, Tamaulipas a new e-book by Mario Davila may be the thing for you. You can learn more about it on facebook. https://www.facebook.com/VillaDeReynosa The e-book has marriage information from the Reynosa church records 1790-1811. It is a very attractive book. I purchased the Lee James Nichols' book on the same subject for $55.00 a year ago. Mario's book has more details. The e-book is for sale on Google Play for a very modest price. If you have any questions regarding the Reynosa e-book email the author. Mario Davila mariojdavila@yahoo.com Best Regards, Crispin Rendon crispin.rendon@gmail.com Sent by Jose M. Pena |
| Información matrimonial del Sr. Don Julio Gracida Somohano y Doña Rosario Porchini Gómez Parroquia del Sagrario de la Santa Iglesia Metropolitana de México, en el mes de Abril de 1852. |
| Genealogistas e Historiadores. Envío a Uds. las imágenes de la Información matrimonial del Sr. Don Julio Gracida Somohano y Doña Rosario Porchini Gómez. Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días. Num. 65. INFORMACION MATRIMONIAL de D. Julio Gracida S. y de Da. Rosario Porchini. Recibida en la Parroquia del Sagrario de la Santa Iglesia Metropolitana de México, en el mes de Abril de 1852. Por el Cura D.D. Agustín Rada. " En la Cd. de México a veinte de Abril de mil ochocientos cincuenta y dos, ante mí el D.D. Agustín Rada, Cura de esta Parroquia de esta Santa Iglesia Metropolitana compareció Don Julio Gracida a fin de contraer matrimonio con Doña Rosario Porchini. Soltero de veinte y tres años de edad, natural y vecino de esta Capital, hijo legítimo de D. Victorio Gracida y de Doña Guadalupe Somohano difta. de profesion comerciante que vive en el Hospital de Terceros en el Entresuelo, casa del medico, hace cuatro años y antes en la calle de Sn. Lorenzo 2a. desde que nació. Que de su espontanea y libre voluntad quiere contraer matrimonio con la referida Doña Rosario Porchini, con la que no tiene impedimento de consanguinidad ni de afinidad. En la misma Ciudad dicho día, mes y año ante mi el infrascrito Cura compareció a fin de contraer matrimonio con el Sr. D. Julio Gracida, Doña Rosario Porchini, Doncella de diez y seis años de edad, natural de la Ciudad de Puebla, vecina de esta Capital desde su infancia, hija legítima de Don Juan Maria Porchini difunto, y de Doña Mariana del Carmen Gomez, que vive en la calle de Tacuba del No. 25 hace dos meses y antes en la misma Tacuba y en las del Hospicio y Vanegas de esta feligresía desde pequeña ". Investigó. Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo Palmerín Cordero. duardos43@hotmail.com Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León. |
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El natalicio de Don Francisco González Bocanegra |
 Genealogistas e Historiadores. Esta fecha 8 de Enero recordamos el natalicio de Don Francisco González Bocanegra autor de la letra de nuestro Himno Nacional, envío a Uds. las imágenes de los registros eclesiásticos de su bautismo y defunción. Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de Los últimos Días. Sagrario de la Cd. de San Luis Potosí, S.L.P. Márgen izq. Franc°. de Paula, Luciano, José Antonio, Agustin del Carmen de S. Rafael. Se dio testimonio hoi 14 de En°. de 1824. Se dió copia el 5 de Septbre. de 1904 a peticion de los Sres. D. Felipe Marrique de Lara y D. Jacobo Dávalos. " En el año del Sr. de mil ochocientos veinte y quatro á nueve de Enero, en la Yglesia Parroquial de esta Ciudad de San Luis Potosí, Yo el Dr. D. José Antonio de la Lanza, Abogado de la Audiencia Nacional de Mexico, de licencia que me confirio el Dr. Br. D. Juan Franc°. Aguiar. Cura Juez Ecco. encargado de esta dha. ciudad y su partido, por ausencia del Sr. Dr. D. Tomas Vargas bautizé solemnemente puse oleo y Chrisma á un ynfante Ciudadano de un dia de nacido, a quien puse por nombres Franc°. de Paula Luciano, Jose Antonio, Agustin del Carmen de S. Rafael. h.l. de D. José Maria Gonzalez Yañez natural de los Reynos de Castilla y de Da. Ma. Francisca Bocanegra y Villalpando oriunda del Real de Pinos: fueron sus padrinos D. José Antonio Jaranco, y su madre politica Da. Mariana Sagred de este vecindario y para que conste lo firmé con el expresado Señor Cura." |
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| Sagrario Metropolitano de la Cd. de México. Márgen izq. 200. Franc°. Gonzalez Bocanegra. casado. 37 años. Tifo. " En doce del mes de Abril de mil ochocientos sesenta y uno se le dió sepultura Ecca. en el Panteon de----- al cadaver de D. Franc°. Gonzalez Bocanegra, casado que fué con Doña Guadalupe Gonzalez del Pino, el que habiendo recibido los Santos Sacramentos murió ayer en la calle de San José del Real No. 6. Dr. Eulogio Ma. Cárdenas." Panteón de San Fernando. |
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| Investigó y paleografió. Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo R. Palmerín Cordero. duardos43@hotmail.com Miembro de Genealogía de México y de la Sociedad de Genealogía de Nuevo León. |
| BAUT. Y DEF. EN EL REAL PRESIDIO
DE SANTA ROSA ROSA MARIA DEL SACRAMENTO. Las imagenes del bautismo de María Petronila de la Trenidad Cuellar de León ( 1749) y la defunción de Doña Rosa Felipa Martinez de Castro ( 1760), esposa del Capitán Don Miguel de la Garza Falcón fundador del Real Presidio de Santa Rosa María del Sacramento. ( Cd. M. Múzquiz, Coah. ).- |
| Bautismo de María Petronila de la Trenidad Cuellar de León ( 1749 |
 " En la Yglesia parochial del real presidio del Sacramento en siete dias del mes Junio de mil setecientos quarenta y nuebe años bautise solemnemente puse oleos y chrisma a una niña española de ocho dias nacida aquien puse por nombre Ma. Petronila de la Trenidad hija lejitima de Santiago Cuellar y de Francisca de Leon fueron sus padrinos el Capn. Miguel de la Garza y Phelipa Martinez su esposa aquienes adberti el parentesco espiritual Y por que conste lo firme. Vt. Supra. B. Carlos Sanchez de Zamora ". |
| Y la defunción de Doña Rosa Felipa Martinez de Castro ( 1760), esposa del Capitán Don Miguel de la Garza Falcón fundador del Real Presidio de Santa Rosa María del Sacramento. ( Cd. M. Múzquiz, Coah. ).- |
 " En la Yglecia Parrl. de este real Precidio del Sacramento en diez y seis dias de Marzo de setecientos sesenta años. dí Eclesiastica sepultura á Da. Rosa Phelipa de Castro viuda de Dn. Miguel de la Garza. murio de muerte natural se le administraron los Santos Sacramentos. textó se le hizo entierro mayor, y porque conste lo firme. Br. Carlos Sanchez de Zamora ". |
| Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos 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. |
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| La Revista del Instituto de Cultura Puertoriqueña |
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Hola Prima: Quiero compartir este sitio del Instituto de Cultura con los primos puertorriquenos. Saludos, Dinorah En ésta, su Tercera Serie, la Revista del ICP entra a la virtualidad con una edición electrónica, descargable y gratuita. Anualmente se compilarán de manera impresa los tres números correspondientes al año natural de la revista. Para su lectura o descarga visite el siguiente enlace: http://issuu.com/revistaicp Revista del ICP, Tercera Serie, Número I Revista del ICP Número I de la Tercera Serie de la Revista del ICP. http://issuu.com/revistaicp/docs/revista_del_icp_tercera_serie_ Revista del ICP La Revista del Instituto de Cultura Puertoriqueña <<<< Click for images from previous issue covers
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| History and Mission of The Organization of American States Correspondence with OAS La cultura del Bosque. Alejandro Perez Becerra Boletín de Genealogias Colombíanas, Editor: Luis Álvaro Gallo Martínez |
| History and Mission of The Organization of American States |
| The Organization of American States is the world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C., from October 1889 to April 1890. That meeting approved the establishment of the International Union of American Republics, and the stage was set for the weaving of a web of provisions and institutions that came to be known as the inter-American system, the oldest international institutional system. The OAS came into being in 1948 with the signing in Bogotá, Colombia, of the Charter of the OAS, which entered into force in December 1951. It was subsequently amended by the Protocol of Buenos Aires, signed in 1967, which entered into force in February 1970; by the Protocol of Cartagena de Indias, signed in 1985, which entered into force in November 1988; by the Protocol of Managua, signed in 1993, which entered into force in January 1996; and by the Protocol of Washington, signed in 1992, which entered into force in September 1997. The Organization was established in order to achieve among its member states—as stipulated in Article 1 of the Charter—"an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence." Today, the OAS brings together all 35 independent states of the Americas and constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere. In addition, it has granted permanent observer status to 69 states, as well as to the European Union (EU). The Organization uses a four-pronged approach to effectively implement its essential purposes, based on its main pillars: democracy, human rights, security, and development. http://www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/inter_american_treaties_A-69_discrimination_intolerance.asp Calendar of events: http://www.apps.oas.org/oasmeetings/default.aspx?Lang=EN
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| Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Barbados Belize Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile Colombia |
Costa Rica Cuba 1 Dominica (Commonwealth of) Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana |
Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname The Bahamas (Commonwealth of) Trinidad and Tobago United States of America Uruguay Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) |
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In a message dated 1/27/2015 1:36:37 P.M. Pacific Standard
Time, RRojas@oas.org writes:
Dear
Mrs. Lozano, It
is a pleasure to address you on behalf of the Department of
International Law of the Organization of American States (OAS),
regarding your letter dated December 29, 2014. Let
me inform you that no States have become party to the
Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination
and Related Forms of Intolerance yet. In
this context, we request you to review the follow link i March,
to see if the Convention will entry into force in that month. http://www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/inter_american_treaties_A-68_racism_signatories.asp Please,
do not hesitate to contact me if you need more information. Kind
regards, Roberto Roberto
Rojas Dávila.
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In a message dated 1/27/2015 2:39:06 P.M. Pacific Standard
Time, MIMILOZANO@aol.com writes:
Dear Mr. Rojas Davila, Roberto . . . Thank you for your response. I realize that the focus of the conference is on racial discrimination, however, I had to stop and respond to a statement in the treaty text:
"ALARMED
by the surge in hate crimes motivated
by race, color, lineage, and national or ethnic origin;" .
Clearly the alarming surge in hate crimes encircling our
globe, are based more on religious held beliefs, and the
desire of Islam to dominate the world with Sharia law. Intolerance
of the Islamic position creates problems and wholesale
murder. It is not the race, color, lineage, national or
ethnic origin of an individual. .
In order to deal with it the issue of "hate
crimes" the Organization of American States must
recognize the real problem, embedded in the Islamic tenets,
which in the 20th century holds no intolerance for
other religions.
Mutual respect is needed, and there is no evidence that Muslim
tolerance for other religions is on the horizon.
Respectfully,
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In a message dated 1/28/2015 8:23:35 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, RRojas@oas.org writes: Dear
Mrs. Lozano, Thank
you for your e-mail. Let me inform you that the OAS also adopted
the Inter-American Convention against of All Form of
Discrimination In
this treaty, the States Members express: DISTURBED
by the fact that various parts of the world have seen a general
increase in cases of intolerance and violence motivated by
anti-Semitism, Christianophobia, or Islamophobia, and that
directed against members of other religious communities,
including those with African roots; Also,
for purposes of this Convention: Please,
do not hesitate to contact me if you need more information. Kind
regards, Roberto Roberto
Rojas Dávila. |
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ALEJANDRO PEREZ BECERRA |
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JUGUEMOS EN EL BOSQUE |
LA
SECTA DE LOS 15
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De
la serie de los personajes La secta de los 15, VIII Técnica mixta con resinas sobre madera. 30 x 40 cm |
| Consideraciones sobre: La cultura del Bosque. Recuerdos que retornan desde esos lejanos 60 en los que me dejaba embaucar por la literatura fácil del pensamiento irreal y desconfiando de los maestros de la lógica que nos aconsejaban huir de la magia y de la religión para alcanzar el territorio de la Filosofía.Pero no... yo me dejaba seducir por estos escritos ligeros, de historieta berreta y sin ilustraciones,o fotos borrosas seguramente trucadas donde uno ponía las imágenes a su gusto y medida, como en el radioteatro de esos tiempos. Pasaban por mis manos,toda la contracultura del comic y el sensacionalismo.Y de remate ; El retorno de los Brujos. Eran tiempos de Hippies, naturismo, revoluciones lejanas y guerras frías. Hervidero de datos y mas datos. Nada comprobable, pero que contestaban todo y un poco mas. Nombres, lugares, textos y fechas imposibles de verificar. Todo terminaría en aquella frase de Bergier ( o de Pawells, que es lo mismo), "Nosotros solo queríamos hacer poesía" con que justificaron su fracaso. Pero las dudas se habían enquistado en nosotros. Como ahora con el arte, (o lo que sea esto), algo marcó nuestros orígenes y nos deformó para siempre, algo con el sabor del bosque y lo desconocido. Desconocido para siempre. Alejandro
Perez Becerra |
| BOLETÍN DE GENEALOGÍAS COLOMBIANAS Editor: Luis Álvaro Gallo Martínez REVISTA “ANCESTROS” Muchas gracias por la buena acogida que ha tenido la revista. Ya se encuentra en las principales librerías del país. Y desde ya anunciamos que estamos recibiendo material para la publicación del número dos. Preferimos artículos cortos, para así poder darles la oportunidad a varios colaboradores. ARCHIVO HISTÓRICO DE POPAYÁN. Nuestro colaborador Reinaldo Ágredo Tobar, nos ha vuelto a pasar este informe sobre el Archivo Histórico de Popayán, detallando los principales documentos. En el Archivo Histórico de Popayán (Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas José María Arboleda Llorente) (Universidad del Cauca) se pueden consultar: Documentos de la Notaría Primera de Popayán, desde 1583 hasta 1969 Documentos de la Notaría Segunda de Popayán, desde 1.926 a 1968 Actas del Cabildo Municipal de Popayán Archivos de la familia Mosquera Archivos de la familia Arboleda Documentos pertenecientes al General Carlos Albán Actas del Concejo Municipal de Popayán. Archivos históricos de la Universidad del Cauca. Libros de Sebastián de Belalcázar (son los documentos más antiguos que posee el archivo. Datan de los años de 1541 a 1572). Archivos notariales de los municipios de Almaguer, Iscuandé, Bolívar, Silvia, Puerto Tejada y Guapí. Documentos de la antigua Gobernación de Popayán. Documentos del archivo judicial “El Carnero”. Documentos de las distintas comunidades religiosas que tuvieron sede en Popayán. Archivos de la Gobernación de Popayán y del Estado Soberano del Cauca. Colección completa del Diario El Liberal de Popayán. Revistas sobre temas históricos y sociales. Colección de tesis de grado de los estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias. PUBLICACIONES Antonio Herrera-Vaillant, Presidente del Instituto Venezolano de Genealogía, nos ha entregado otra de sus obras, publicada por la editorial Planeta, de Caracas, donde nos muestra las actividades comerciales del Libertador Simón Bolívar, libro que ha tenido una gran acogida. Incluso la cadena de televisión, CNN, hizo una presentación de este libro, aprovechando para hacer una comparación entre el Libertador y la actividad económica de la actualidad en Venezuela. Condolencias. Presentamos un saludo de condolencia al doctor William Jaramillo Mejía, por el fallecimiento de su señora madre, señora doña Alba Mejía Marulanda de Jaramillo Arrubla, acaecida en la ciudad de Pereira, en los primeros días del mes de diciembre. ANEXO Con el presente Boletín adjuntamos la investigación sobre el apellido Angulo, realizada por el señor don Alberto Corradine Angulo. UN MAGNIFICO 2015. Nuestros mejores deseos para que este año, 2015, que acaba de comenzar, sea lleno de buenos resultados, sigamos progresando en nuestros interesas, Y podamos ver realizados los frutos de nuestras actividades. Para todos un fuerte abrazo.? Luis Alvaro Gallo http://www.genealogiascolombianas.blogspot.com Sent by Samuel Benecio Sanchez |
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| The first Philippine and Asian President of a US Bar Association by Eddie AAA Calderón, Ph.D. The
Marines in the Philippines During Early 1900s’ to Late 30s’
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| The first Philippine and Asian President of a US Bar Association by Eddie AAA Calderón, Ph.D. eddieaaa@hotmail.com |
It is indeed a great pride and pleasure for Filipinos and Asians especially yours truly to share this very good news to everyone in the USA, my country, my cyberspace friends and acquaintances, the world, and the Somos Primos magazine. We do have many good news of Filipino accomplishments
in the US on all facets of human endeavour whether they are in politics
and government including the military, in educational institutions,
journalism, etc. But I would like to focus my attention on the first Filipina
and Asian president of the Chicago Bar Association from the
year 2012 to 2013. Her name is Atty. Aurora Austriaco.
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| Editor Mimi . . . This collection of photos are so good. I did not want to leave any out or reduce their size . . . A bit of a collage. |
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Shipmates and Friends
Here’s a flashback of our Philippine History . . . The
Marines in the Philippines During Early 1900s’ to Late 30s’
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There was a strong relationship between our Marines in China and our Marines based in the Philippines Islands (PI). Since the Philippines had established naval bases and was stocked to serve as a logistics center for both the Army and Navy, it was natural that both men and supplies reaching China would be drawn from here. Through WWI, a number of Marines started out their Asiatic cruise by being stationed at Cavite or Olongapo. After a year or two, they might be selected or volunteer to serve in China. |
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addition, many of the Marines aboard ships of the Asiatic Fleet would
return to the Philippines for their annual gunnery qualification course,
or when their ship was in dry dock at Olongapo or for additional
training ashore. After WWI, when the Navy abandoned the idea of
maintaining large bases in the Philippines, the number of PI based
Marines dropped, but a number of China Marines elected to finish off or
extend their Asiatic tour with an assignment to either Cavite or
Olongapo. From the accounts I’ve read, being stationed in the
Philippines could rival a China tour, with plenty of opportunities to
mix with the local women, augmented by lots of cheap alcohol. The
social aspect aside, the Philippines also offered open land to conduct
large scale training exercises, several fine firing ranges and a well
maintained hospital system. |
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 Cavite Field Music’s 1909
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Marine, Second Regiment. Olongapo Barracks. Photo by L.M. Shera.
Shera was active in the Philippines from 1902 through at least 1909.
He took a number of outdoor portraits of Marines standing in front of
their barracks, each wearing this same pistol belt. |
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Hiking around the Santa Rita
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Olongapo Naval Base |
Officers Quarters, Olongapo |
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Esteban Street, Olongapo, c 1931-33 |
Main
street Olongapo, C 1931-33 |
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Cavite Naval base, with USS Heron
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Entrance to Cavite Naval Base |
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Mt Mayon, 1938 Eruption << Trumpeter Ken Pusel
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 Cavite Marines, 1931-33. |
The
NCOs’ at the Marine Barracks, Olongapo. The first NCO on the
left, front row is 1st Sgt James Jordan, an old China Marine.
Jordan is featured in a short story in Charles Jackson’s book
“I am Alive.” |
 Dreamland Cabaret, a large two-storey dance hall popular with the Marines in the 1920’s and 30’s. |
A Subic Bay Dance Hall.
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| I hope you enjoy viewing the history of our past. . . Poppo Olag poppoolag@verizon.net | |||
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Gran Canaria sand sculptures |
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¡Felices Fiestas desde Gran Canaria! Alfonso Falcon My friend Alfonso Falcon on the Gran Canaria says that sand sculptures are
famous in the Canaries. |
| Museo Militar Regional De Canarias Many photos and information concerning the Military Regional Museum of the Canary Islands http://www.vinuesa.com/jurasdebandera/museo_canarias.htm
Sent by Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com |
| Los Islenos of St Bernard Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj8wToHKQ2o Lots of photos. A nice tribute. Enjoy Sent by Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com |
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| Teresa Valcarce by Ángel Custodio Rebollo |
Teresa Valcarce Ángel Custodio nos trae esta semana la curiosa historia del cuadro de Bernardo de Gálvez, que nos lleva hasta Nueva España, recordando así una parte de la historia de América. 7 enero 2015 Imagen del cuadro. / Foto: www.bernardodegalvez.eu Ángel Custodio. El pasado mes de diciembre se ha colocado con toda solemnidad en el edificio del Capitolio de los Estados unidos de América, un cuadro, obra del pintor Carlos Monserrate, con la figura de Don Bernardo de Gálvez,(Conde de Gálvez y Vizconde de Galvestón), militar y político español, héroe de Pensacola y nombrado por el Presidente Obama, ciudadano de honor de los Estados Unidos. Bernardo de Gálvez ha sido, hasta ahora, casi desconocido para muchos españoles y estadounidenses, pero gracias a la labor de una malagueña afincada en Washington llamada Teresa Valcarce y casada con Donald Foley, que durante dos años y con un entusiasmo contagioso, ha visitado despachos y autoridades norteamericanas y españolas, incluida nuestra Casa Real,, para reivindicar como se merece a la figura de Bernardo de Gálvez. Lo conseguido por Teresa es digno de los mayores elogios, pues son ciudadanos de honor de los Estados Unidos; Winston Churchil, William Penn, el fundador de Pensilvania y su segunda esposa, Teresa de Calcuta, el Marqués de Lafayette y Casimir Pulaski. Bernardo de Gálvez nació el 23 de julio de 1746 en Macharaviaya en la provincia de Málaga y murió en Tacubaya, Nueva España, el 30 de noviembre de 1786. Y entre sus muchas andanzas militares, ya que combatió en campañas en Portugal, Francia, entre otras, y fue muy activo e intervino en nombre de España, en la guerra de la Independencia de los Estados Unidos. Por eso, al leer en la revista “Somos Primos” que la Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research edita en los Estados Unidos en Internet y en la que me honro en colaborar, el agradecimiento de Teresa Valcarce a todos los que le han ayudado para llegar a buen fin de esta tarea, deseo manifestar, en nombre de muchos españoles y andaluces, que los que tenemos que dar las gracias a Teresa somos nosotros por reivindicar la extraordinaria labor y heroicidad de nuestro compatriota., Muchas gracias Teresa. Ángel Custodio Rebollo acustodiorebollo@gmail.com Publicado el 7 enero 2015 en “Huelva Buenas Noticias |
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La
Batalla de la Isla de Saltés
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» El 17 de julio zarparon de Lisboa rumbo al Cabo San Vicente 21 galeras, 1 galeota y 4 naos al mando de almirante Joâo Alfonso Telo, con la orden de aniquilar a la flota castellana que había en Andalucía, pues tenían noticias que no había muchos barcos y presentían una rápida victoria. Ángel Custodio Rebollo. Eran los primeros días de julio de 1381 y el puerto de Lisboa presentaba un especial movimiento, hombres que iban cargados de objetos pesados que depositaban en las embarcaciones y un griterío de órdenes y mensajes que movían a la gente en todos los sentidos. La flota portuguesa estaba preparando sus barcos para cubrir un enfrentamiento con la flota castellana, ya que desde 1.369 los dos países estaban enfrentados en las que se llamaron “las guerras fernandinas”. El 17 de julio zarparon de Lisboa rumbo al Cabo San Vicente 21 galeras, 1 galeota y 4 naos al mando de almirante Joâo Alfonso Telo, con la orden de aniquilar a la flota castellana que había en Andalucía, pues tenían noticias que no había muchos barcos y presentían una rápida victoria. Al mismo tiempo el rey portugués ordenó que tiraran al mar a los marineros castellanos y destruyeran todos los barcos que encontraran en su ruta. La travesía tuvo muchos percances ya que el estado del Atlántico era tormentoso y de los que los marineros llaman de “mala mar”, por lo que la flota se dispersó, llegando las primeras 12 galeras a la costa algarvía. Cuando los castellanos que los esperaban con 17 galeras en la costa onubense, al mando del almirante Sánchez de Tovar, éste percibió lo precario del estado en que venían los barcos portugueses, ordenó a sus capitanes virar y poner rumbo a Huelva y adentrarse en su ría frente a la isla de Saltés, que era donde los marineros palermos le habían señalado como lugar más seguro para enfrentarse al enemigo. La primera oleada de barcos portugueses siguió a los castellanos hacia la ría de Huelva creyendo que los tenían acorralados y allí fue donde los hombres de Sánchez de Tovar los cercaron y apresaron a los barcos lusos, no sin antes vengar a los pescadores onubenses cuyos barcos habían hundido y a ellos arrojados al mar para que se ahogaran, para lo cual le aplicaron lo que se llamaba “moja de pies”, que consistía en tirar a los prisioneros al agua con los pies atados. La segunda oleada de galeras portuguesas sufrió la misma suerte y la última decidió virar en redondo y volver a Lisboa para informar de lo ocurrido. El Almirante Sánchez de Tovar puso rumbo a Sevilla con las galeras apresadas arrastrando los pendones por el agua. Al final de noviembre del mismo año, Sánchez de Tovar bloqueó Lisboa durante un mes, lo que obligó a los barcos portugueses a refugiarse en Sacavem. Publicado en Huelva Buenas Noticias el 12 de enero de 2015 Recommended
site sent by Ángel Custodio Rebollo |
| LA BATALLA DE LEPANTO El domingo 11 de enero de 2015 Desde que me interesé por esta batalla clásica siempre he querido desentrañar en detalle tres aspectos. En primer lugar el desarrollo de la batalla, cómo y porqué la Liga Santa salió victoriosa, en segundo lugar el significado que tuvo la derrota de la armada del Imperio otomano para la civilización europea y finalmente tratar de responder a la pregunta de si se pueden establecer comparaciones entre la situación que condujo a Lepanto y el conflicto de hoy entre Occidente y el yihadismo. http://www.elespiadigital.com/index.php/informes/8099-la-
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DE PEDRO RIVERA AL MARQUÉS DE RUBÍ
El domingo 4 de enero de 2014 en la sección Informes de la publicación digital www.elespiadigital.com aparece el artículo titulado ”El Lejano oeste español
olvidado: De Pedro Rivera al marqués de Rubí (4)” para dar a conocer las visitas de inspección a la frontera del norte de Nueva España realizadas a lo largo del siglo XVIII para establecer la línea defensiva
presidial.
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| España perdió más de 30 barcos mientras ayudaba a la independencia de EE.UU. JOSÉ MARÍA LANCHOABC_CULTURA / MADRID Día 21/01/2015 - |
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Recuento del esfuerzo bélico que acompañó a la ayuda financiera y los méritos de Gálvez, ya reconocidos por Washington |
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de 30
barcos perdió España mientras apoyaba la independencia de
Estados Unidos.
Probablemente el aporte más significativo –y decisivo- español
a la independencia de los Estados Unidos, junto con el enorme
esfuerzo financiero, fue ese, la propia Armada. A pesar de la
relevante e incansable actividad de los Gálvez (Bernardo y Matías)
por su entidad, desde el primer día, 22 de junio de 1779, en
que España
declara la guerra a Inglaterra,
la Armada marca la diferencia del conflicto y desactiva el
principal recurso militar británico: su propia marina. Todos
los detalles del conflicto y la lista
de barcos perdidos y su potencial en cañones en
el blog Espejo de Navegantes . . . .
http://abcblogs.abc.es/espejo-de-navegantes/2015/01/21/el-factor-olvidado-la-armada-espanola-en-la-independencia-de-los-estados-unidos/ |
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DR. LINO GARCÍA, JR., A GRAND AMBASSADOR OF TEXAS by Dr. Julio Cuesta Domínguez
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| SEVILLA, Spain – Last September, Dr. Lino García, professor emeritus at UT-Pan American, my good friend and renowned specialist on Hispanic Culture revisited the land of his ancestors in Spain following an invitation to lecture on Texas history at the over four-centennial University of Oviedo, Asturias, in northern Spain. Dr. García came to lecture over his longstanding research work and on his profound sentiments on Texas and the so called Tejano culture. Ever since I met him many years ago at our Tulane University alma mater, Texas, its history and culture have been Lino´s passion. His enthusiasm for Tejano culture and his positive understanding of the singularity of Texas within United States’ history, traditions and way of life, though, were not at all strange to me. From the times I was a graduate student in Kingsville enjoying the hospitality and warmth of the Mauricio González family in Falfurrias, I was warmly taken as one of theirs. I was involved in many of their daily activities and made a part of their enlarged family in Premont, Benavides, Palito Blanco, Hebbronville, Freer, San Diego, and Corpus Christi. Bill and Alberta Word in Falfurrias were also instrumental in my discovery of everyday life in South Texas. Bill, an expert pilot and my flight instructor, flew me over those beautiful lands of King Ranch and Padre Island. No doubt, very easily I could identify myself with people and their ways, as well as with those places and landscapes I have always cherished and will never take out of my heart and mind. Even in my spoken English I take pride in having kept my Texan accent and musicality. A Stetson hat from Hobbs in Falfurrias still presides over the entrance hall at home in Seville. As with Dr. García, I also became a passionate Texan, a love of which I am proud to give a daily testimony. Dr. García shares his Texas devotion with his revere to his family and cultural roots in the Iberian Peninsula, and that is the reason why he is a well-recognized expert on the Spanish Golden Age. It is hard to find an aspect of Spanish past and present times that Dr. García does not have a command on. As a matter of fact, all along the three-day journey from Oviedo to Seville, crossing Spain from the northern coast to the Guadalquivir river valley, my wife Carmen and myself enjoyed Lino´s familiarity in practically every single historical site we visited or drove by. But what impressed the many Spaniards and non-Spaniards we met along our way was his openness and readiness to talk about Texas. “Soy Tejano, para servirle” was Lino´s recurrent greeting. Spain is smaller than Texas, with a difference of approximately 135.000 square miles. The Spanish population density of approximately 231 people per square mile, however, differs considerably from that of 98 people per square mile in Texas. Population density goes parallel to historical and artistic density, which means that anywhere you go by in the Iberian Peninsula there is a population group, a city, a village, a monument, a portion of the Spanish millennial history. Dr. García is, indeed, a scholar, but is also an ambassador. If anything shall distinguish an ambassador´s profile from a scholar´s is his familiarity with the many aspects of the host country as well as his commitment and his full knowledge of his home country. That is exactly what my dear friend Lino García fulfils to levels of excellence and has so profusely put in practice during our week long stay and journey in Spain. In all the places we visited – Oviedo, León, Salamanca, Yuste, Jarandilla de la Vera, Trujillo, Mérida, Seville – Lino never missed the opportunity to make a reference to Texas, its history and its people, dates and names included. And I, as a proud witness, kept telling myself: “What grand an Ambassador the Republic of Texas—as it reads in the Texas Capitol rotunda in Austin – has dispatched to Spain.” And, Texas and my dear South Texas should be proud of him, a good United States citizen, too. Thank you, Lino. Dr. Julio Cuesta Domínguez holds a Ph.D in Spanish Literature from Tulane University. He is president of the Heineken-CruzCampo Foundation in Sevilla, Spain. He can be reached at: julo.cuesta@heineken.es Source: Rio Grande Guardian, January 2, 2015 http://riograndeguardian.com/dominguez-dr-lino-garcia-jr-a-grand-ambassador-of-texas/dominguez_julio_cuesta_2/ Sent by Walter Herbeck walterhole@gmail.com |
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Levi Villarreal 27 de diciembre de 2014 http://l.facebook.com/l/jAQHv-gQIAQEDZ-jpsxRcxG-wBdY3aU-dE6PJtP_mjRIwig/segeheca.blogspot.com/2014/05/conferencia
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Je Suis Charlie! Cartoon by Sergio Hernandez |
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| Video:
; A look Inside Charlie Hebdo, Their Creative
Process & the Making of a Fateful Cartoon Charlie Hebdo Before the Massacre. Editor Mimi: So sad knowing that all those discussing and selecting the next anti-Muslim cartoon, were murdered. In French with English subtitles. Source: Comics/Cartoons, Current Affairs| January 10th, 2015 http://www.openculture.com/ |
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Comparing a Radical Muslim with a Radical Christian |
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| Editor Mimi: I
really appreciated receiving this cartoon. I was beginning to
read comparisons equating the actions of the early Christians
soldiers of medieval times with the activities of current
radical Muslims in the 20th century . . . AS
justification by Jihadists for the current brutalities perpetuated on their
victims.
This cartoon made the comparison very
clear. As Christians we can easily respond: However, we are warned to "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8
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| Dr Hammond's doctorate is in Theology. He was born in Cape Town in 1960, grew up in Rhodesia and converted to Christianity in 1977. This is Adapted from Dr Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat:
Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life. Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components. Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges. When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well.. Here's how it works: |
| As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving Minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in: United States -- Muslim 0.6% Australia -- Muslim 1.5% Italy -- Muslim 1.5% China -- Muslim 1.8% Norway -- Muslim 1.8% Canada -- Muslim 1.9% |
At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytise from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs. This is happening in: Denmark -- Muslim 2% United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7% Germany -- Muslim 3.7% Spain -- Muslim 4% Thailand -- Muslim 4.6% |
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| From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population.
For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world. |
5% This is occurring in: Switzerland -- Muslim 4.3% Philippines -- 5% Sweden -- Muslim 5% The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5% Trinidad & Tobago -- Muslim 5.8% France -- Muslim 8% At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under
Sharia, the Islamic Law. [This is already
occurring in some parts of the US.] |
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| When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris, we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam, with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections, in: Guyana -- Muslim 10% Kenya -- Muslim 10% India -- Muslim 13.4% Russia -- Muslim 15% Israel -- Muslim 16%
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After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in: Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8% At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and on-going militia warfare, such as in: Bosnia -- Muslim 40% Chad -- Muslim 53.1% Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7% |
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| From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and
Jizya, the tax placed on infidels, such as in: Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4% Albania -- Muslim 70% Sudan -- Muslim 70% Qatar -- Muslim 77.5% 100% will usher in 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of Peace.. Here there's supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in: Afghanistan -- Muslim 100% Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100% Somalia -- Muslim 100% Yemen -- Muslim 100% |
After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and in some ways is on-going in: Bangladesh -- Muslim 83% Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1% Egypt -- Muslim 90% Syria -- Muslim 90% Tajikistan -- Muslim 90% Gaza -- Muslim 98.7% Jordan -- Muslim 92% United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96% Pakistan -- Muslim 97% Iraq -- Muslim 97% Iran -- Muslim 98% Morocco -- Muslim 98.7% Palestine -- Muslim 99% Turkey -- Muslim 99.8% |
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'Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe against the world, and all of us against the infidel.' -- Leon Uris, 'The Haj' It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under 100% Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations live in ghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which they live by Sharia Law. The national police do not even enter these ghettos. There are no national courts, nor schools, nor non-Muslim religious facilities. In such situations, Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. The children attend madrasses. They learn only the Koran. To even associate with an infidel is a crime punishable with death. Therefore, in some areas of certain nations, Muslim Imams and extremists exercise more power than the national average would indicate. Today's 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world's population. But their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and all other believers. Muslims will exceed 50% of the world's population by the end of this century. [Some Muslims in US Muslim ghetto areas are openly practicing polygamy.] Adapted from Dr Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat. Please forward this important information to any who care about the Future of our Country. Quite an eye opener. Sent by Yomar Villarreal |
| MAPPING THE GLOBAL MUSLIM
POPULATION Source: http://www.pewforum.org/2009/10/.../mapping-the-global-muslim-population/ |
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Note:
Red
represents 5.0% or more At this point, Muslims will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/ muslimjourneys/items/show/169 Dearborn, Michigan 2010 census, population of 98,153. Irvine, CaliforniaThe
Islamic Center of Irvine was
founded |
Editor Mimi: It appears that the Muslim strategy to acquire dominion over the United States is different. Rather than working from the bottom up, the approach appears to be from the top down, to implement control and place shariah law over the US Constitution. Policy makers in high positions in government, have expedited the transition by allowing sharia laws in some areas to supercede over the U.S. Constitution. Note the information below. |
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Center for Security Policy http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/category/shariah/shariah-threats-to-american-law/ |
Since 2007 the Center has been a leader in researching the anti-constitutional and national security threats posed by those who would bring a parallel system of shariah laws to American courts, policymakers media and civil society. The Center is leading two projects to stop efforts to censor free speech about Islamist extremism. The first project launched with the November 2011 publication of the book Lawfare: the War Against Free Speech: A First Amendment Guide for Reporting in an Age of Islamist Lawfare, is aimed at preparing journalists and journalism students to write accurately about shariah and Islamism. In 2010 the Center researched state appellate cases finding 50 representative cases in 23 states where shariah law was introduced; in 27 of those 50 cases either the trial or appellate judge** ruled in favor of shariah over constitutional principles or state public policy. These shariah-compliant judgments–typically enforcing “comity” with foreign shariah laws– have often resulted in a denial of equal protection to American Muslim women or children seeking justice in American courts. The Center’s website shariahinamericancourts.com provides extensive and detailed information on the issue. American Laws for American Courts: The Center supported legal and statutory research for model state-level legislation to prevent enforcement of foreign legal decisions in American state courts when that enforcement would violate the Constitution or state public policy. Supported by a wide range of organizations nationwide, that legislation has been enacted in three states and is being considered by over 15 other state legislatures. Protecting Free Speech from Shariah Censorship: The Center supports and helps coordinate efforts worldwide to protect free speech from censorship by Shariah blasphemy laws. Shariah authorities continue to attempt stifling free discussion of Muhammad, the Koran, Islam, and Muslims. Eruptions against The Satanic Verses, the Danish cartoons, and Pope Benedict, which caused hundreds of deaths, effectively complement lawsuits against individual writers and artists. Muslim Brotherhood front organizations such as CAIR, MPAC or MAS seek to intimidate and silence their critics through lawsuits. The Center supports efforts to defend against those lawsuits and to take the initiative in legal action to preserve civil liberties. |
**Appellate
judges are appointed in some states by the President, elected in
others, and both in still others.
State Senators can recommend and do approve appointments. |
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Incredible WWI Tribute In London Looks
Like A River Of Blood… |
 World War I, known at the time as the Great War, was thought to be the war that would end all future wars. All sides suffered an incredibly high number of needless deaths and the war devastated an entire generation. In fact, the sheer amount of destruction and death has only been eclipsed by World War II.Since it ended, all countries involved have held memorials to remember their fallen dead who sacrificed their lives for the good of their country. This fact is all the more so in England, where nearly a million people lost their lives. What they've done to commemorate their fallen soldiers is truly beautiful, while also helping us understand the true scope of these soldiers' sacrifice. Even a hundred years later, we should not forget their incredible acts of heroism. The moat that surrounds the Tower of London has long stood empty and dry. But now, what may look like gushing blood from it's very walls, is actually something beautiful. For the past few weeks, a team of 150 volunteers has been placing red ceramic poppies one by one around the Tower. The last poppy will be symbolically planted on the last day of the installation: November 11, Armistice Day. Each evening, the Last Post will be sounded and a selection of names of the dead read out loud. It's stunning and sobering commemoration that befits the Great War. |
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Regardless of why their countries went to war, we should never forget the selfless acts of these brave men. Please share their story, and help remember their lives, by forwarding this far and wide. |
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Text is extracted by Mimi from the article: |
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17,500 Germans gathered together today, singing traditional Christian songs, to carry Christian crosses as an expression of Christian supremacy, to protest against Islam, and to fight off the Islamization of Germany. They are part of a very passionate group called
PEDIDA or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the
Occident, and they are here to make sure Germany remains German and Christian. |
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| These patriotic Germans gathered together to sing Christmas carols, which are really majestic traditional Christian
songs, and to triumph Christianity above Islam. They are fighting to prevent the "watering down" of their Christian-rooted culture and traditions. According to one report:
There is a mounting public backlash over what many perceive as the government's indifference to the growing influence of Islam in German society. This backlash represents a potentially significant turning point.
Despite efforts by German politicians and the media to portray PEGIDA as neo-Nazi, the group has taken great pains to distance itself from Germany's extreme right. The group says that it is "apolitical" and that its main objective is to preserve what is left of Germany's Judeo-Christian culture and values. Our correspondent in Germany Peter Schmidt reported that: "The Anti-Islamisation Movement in Dresden, Germany grew even bigger, the Media is downplaying it, first they said it was 10.000, then it was 17.500, but in reality it was more than 25.000 people who sang Christian Christmas Carols, we also had a Minute of silence for the 140 murdered Children in Afghanistan just recently, as well as the Victims of the latest terror attack in Dijon, France as well as any other victim of Islamic violence! All the Christmas Songs we sang, were Christian songs. Before each Song the words of the song were said loud and clear, therefore the Name of the Lord was said and sung from more than 25.000 tongues!!!" |
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When I look at these protests, and how they are dramatically increasing, and when I see how they are intensifying in their zeal and their patriotism, I see God's hand; I see God's hand bringing back the land that belongs to Him, and restoring it to the glorious Faith that created Christian civilization. It is Christianity that made Western Civilization, and it will be Christianity that will restore Christendom. These protestors are pioneers for the restoration of Christendom. The genius of Western Europe sprouted from the glorious light of Christianity, it is from the Holy Faith where we received our justice, our arts, our culture, and the beauty that lies at the center of our civilization. Christianity has stood the test of time, and it will never disappear. Christianity will never go away! It will always be here to fight the evildoers, to confront them, and to destroy them! In the words of the French philosopher, Rene Chateaubriand, As for us, we are convinced that Christianity will rise triumphant from the dreadful trial by which it has just been purified. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Sent by Odell Harwell odell.harwell74@att.net |
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" European Life Died In Auschwitz " |
"I walked down the street in Barcelona and suddenly discovered a terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz ... We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world. The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned. And under the pretence of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity, ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty, due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride. They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime. Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts. And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition. We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs. What a terrible mistake was made by a miserable Europe! |
| WW II - British Military Cemetery in Libya
Desecrated Anti-Christians/ Anti-Jews desecrate grave-stones in Libya http://www.youtube.com/embed/RtgbvotqVFE?rel=0 |
Keep up with Jihadist
activities around the world Christian Broadcasting Network: http://www.cbn.com/tv/stakelbeckepisodes |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS HERITAGE PROJECTS
CULTURE
BOOKS AND PRINT MEDIA
LATINO PATRIOTS
EARLY LATINO PATRIOTS
CALIFORNIA
SOUTHWESTERN, US TEXAS CARIBBEAN REGION
SPAIN
INTERNATIONAL
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02/01/2015 07:40 AM
Upon his
return to San Diego, Peter served as President of the local Catholic
Youth Organization (CYO) where he met the group Secretary, Jean Picone.
Upon his retirement from politics in 1992, Peter and his wife Jean were living in Placerville, CA and devoted themselves to teaching English to Spanish speaking farm workers and Spanish to English speaking members of their church congregation. For many Spanish speaking Latinos, he translated legal documents and taught classes to become an American citizen.
I was called by the CA Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins office that the Assembly Session will be closed in January with a Special Honor and Tribute to the Honorable Peter Chacon.
May our Beloved, Humble, Respected and Incredible Friend and Champion PETER CHACON Rest In Eternal Peace!
The interview with Mrs. Barrios came about because her granddaughter Val had read some of the articles about Neighborhood House. Val contacted me saying that her grandmother was always talking about her Neighborhood House experience. With Val as the go between we made arrangements to meet. On January 15th we met for our interview.
I was able to tell Mary where I had seen that picture and about the Singing Mothers. In the mural of the women at César Chávez Park, her mother can be seen standing directly behind Lupita. Mary’s mom is the woman with very long braids.
Mary remembers when the adobe structure behind Neighborhood House was built. She recalls seeing the men mixing mud and hay and setting the adobe brick out back to dry. She says in those days no one touched them. The adobe brick would sit on the playground under the warm sun and would not be bothered.
Pete
Chacon paved way for Latinos in California
