Rope artist stays in the loop
By Carlos Alcalá, calcala@sacbee.com, May 28, 2009
James Barrera loves telling kids that Batman started like them.
"Batman," he said, "is actually a Mexican living out of Mendota, California."
The lineage goes like this:
Batman was inspired by another masked character who preceded him: Zorro.
Zorro, the character, was a 19th century California noble, an avenger of wrongs against the downtrodden. (By the way, a zorro volador is a flying fox, a kind of bat. See, it's not that far from Zorro to Batman.)
Zorro, in turn, is thought to have been inspired by Joaquin Murrieta, described by some as a bandit but by others as a Mexican-born avenger who attempted to right 19th century injustices – the Mexican Robin Hood.
Murrieta's history is a bit fuzzy, but Barrera's appearances are always sharp as a whip – literally so, because he performs with a 7-foot bullwhip.
He uses the plaited leather whip in an exhibition of skill, precisely snapping the heads off carnations held in his teeth or flicking it to grab a scarf held by a volunteer.
Barrera has an act with a lineage of its own. It's an act that can be matched by few.
He has taken elements of traditional cowboys of the United States and Mexico, mixing trick roping with whip tricks from Australia and a smattering of good old-fashioned storytelling.
It's modeled on Will Rogers, whose famous stage shows featured roping tricks and commentary on the day's news.
Barrera focuses more on history, especially that of the Mexican vaqueros and charros.
"Everything that the American cowboy is has been learned from the Mexican vaqueros," he said.
Even Rogers was inspired when he saw the Mexican Vincente Oropeza performing with ropes at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
Barrera's combination of history and action stagecraft is a winner, especially for kids.
That's why Kate Ramos booked Barrera at Leonardo da Vinci School in March.
"Not only was it great for the kids to see something that was that physical, but it was also cultural," said Ramos, a parent who works on a committee planning cultural programs for the school.
"My son came home and made a whip and tried to cut flowers out of his mouth for a week," Ramos said.
Barrera stresses safety, though. When he does tricks with kids, he uses a softer rope than the hard ropes of plastic or maguey fiber that some trick ropers use.
And the tricks he performs take years of practice, not a week.
He has yet to perfect another whip act he wants to take to the stage: snapping cards out of the air, like a trick shooter.
His practice began with roping.
His aunt – "not a person to take no for an answer," he said – had asked him to help out with a dance troupe.
He found himself on stage trying to fill time between performances of the dancers.
"I did the little lasso thing … and the audience loved it," he said.
He'd grown up helping on an uncle's ranch, and like any man of the West, "you took the tools you worked with and used them for play," he said.
After that one improvisation, he spent a summer practicing with ropes two hours a day.
His act was born when he folded in the stories.
"I've always had a love toward history," Barrera said.
And he loves bringing it to kids, hoping they, like Ramos' son, might think about taking it up.
"Maybe they'll continue practicing this art when I'm too old and feeble," he said.
And Murrieta, Zorro and Batman will ride again.
Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Latino seafood in Baltimore
South Beach meets Harbor East
New seviche bar Talara brings a Nuevo Latino flavor to President Street
By Elizabeth Large | Sun Restaurant Critic, May 27, 2009
Loud salsa music, South Beach atmosphere, mojitos, a live-wire bar crowd, outdoor seating - what's not to like with the opening of Talara (615 President St., TalaraBaltimore.com) in Harbor East?
Well, if you're not a fan of raw fish, you might not be so excited about Baltimore's colorful new seviche bar. In which case, think of seviche as sushi: the next generation. Or tell yourself it's not really raw fish at all; it's lime-marinated, which acts to preserve the seafood, and flavored with good things like cilantro and chile.
But not to worry if you're still not convinced. The Nuevo Latino restaurant is offering plenty of Latin American tapas like pork empanadas, a cheese tasting plate, corn and goat cheese croquettas, mini-paellas, and ... ahi tuna sliders? OK, maybe that last isn't authentically Latin American, but it sounds good. Menu items range from $8 to $14.
Interestingly, chef/owner Yves Carreau was born and raised in France. He's also the proprietor of two restaurants in Pittsburgh, Sonoma Grille, a " California wine restaurant" and Seviche, which sounds very much like Talara.
Talera is open Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Valet parking is available for $8, or you can self-park in the garage for $5 after business hours.
New seviche bar Talara brings a Nuevo Latino flavor to President Street
By Elizabeth Large | Sun Restaurant Critic, May 27, 2009
Loud salsa music, South Beach atmosphere, mojitos, a live-wire bar crowd, outdoor seating - what's not to like with the opening of Talara (615 President St., TalaraBaltimore.com) in Harbor East?
Well, if you're not a fan of raw fish, you might not be so excited about Baltimore's colorful new seviche bar. In which case, think of seviche as sushi: the next generation. Or tell yourself it's not really raw fish at all; it's lime-marinated, which acts to preserve the seafood, and flavored with good things like cilantro and chile.
But not to worry if you're still not convinced. The Nuevo Latino restaurant is offering plenty of Latin American tapas like pork empanadas, a cheese tasting plate, corn and goat cheese croquettas, mini-paellas, and ... ahi tuna sliders? OK, maybe that last isn't authentically Latin American, but it sounds good. Menu items range from $8 to $14.
Interestingly, chef/owner Yves Carreau was born and raised in France. He's also the proprietor of two restaurants in Pittsburgh, Sonoma Grille, a " California wine restaurant" and Seviche, which sounds very much like Talara.
Talera is open Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Valet parking is available for $8, or you can self-park in the garage for $5 after business hours.
Latino baseball exhibit added to Hall of Fame
The HOF adds a Latino exhibit
Jorge Arangure, Jr., ESPN, May 27, 2009
A recent informal survey by the Hall of Fame concluded that its number of Spanish-speaking visitors had not significantly increased during the past three years, which is not surprising. What is there for Latinos?
The new exhibit has a plethora of authentic relics, like this Cuba jersey.
Only seven of the 289 Hall of Famers are Latino, and the Hall of Fame electorate (there will be only roughly 20 Latino voters from a total of an estimated 600 voters this year, according to the Baseball Writers Association of America) hardly represents the percentage of Latinos on the field, much less reflects the number of Latino fans.
And that's been an improvement from the time when Latinos weren't represented at all.
In previous years, how could voters (either from the BBWAA or from the Veteran's Committee) have accurately gauged the cultural impact of a certain Latino player when they might not have been aware of how a player's contributions extended beyond American borders? Who but those familiar with the Latino experience could have accurately gauged the context -- the cultural alienation, the racism -- in which Latino players performed?
Consider the case of the Cuban Luis Tiant, whose statistics favorably measure with contemporaries Jim Bunning and Jim "Catfish" Hunter, both of whom are Hall of Famers. Neither Catfish nor Bunning experienced the difficulties that Tiant faced being dark-skinned, Latino and Spanish-speaking at a time when such things could be an impediment to a player's success.
In fact Tiant's father, who pitched in the Negro Leagues, never was given the opportunity to pitch in the majors.
Hall of Fame curator John Odell said such issues played no part in the development of ¡Viva Baseball!, the Hall's new permanent display that celebrates Latinos' contributions to the sport. But such an exhibit is an important step in creating a Hall that accurately represents baseball's diversity on the field and its growing Latino fan base.
Getty Images
A trophy ball that was given to a Latin player in 1871.
"Exhibits at the Hall are never designed with generating audience as an objective," Odell wrote in an e-mail. "As a history museum that chronicles the many stories that baseball touches upon, we evaluate our exhibit needs based on trends, achievements, and cultural contributions to the game … Certainly the opening of ¡Viva Baseball! could not have been more perfectly timed than right now. The rise of the Latino star is not a new story but today's collection of Latin players at the Major League levels has never been greater."
Certainly the exhibit is a triumph. Created by the Hall with the help of an advisory board comprised of scholars who have exhaustively written about the game's Latino roots, the exhibit spans decades and crosses borders in a space of about 1,000 square feet.
For the grand opening last weekend, the Hall brought in two of the seven Latino inductees, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda, and also Roberto Clemente Jr., son of Roberto Clemente, who was the first Latino Hall of Famer.
Also present were Dodgers scouting legend Ralph Avila, who helped transform the Dominican Republic into baseball's largest talent pool, and current Rays scout Andres Reiner, who, while with the Houston Astros, was critical in the rise of Venezuelans in the game.
Getty Images
Johan Santana's original scouting reports from 1995.
Avila and Reiner donated several of their scouting tools, including speed guns and stopwatches, which are on display. Perhaps the most interesting of those is Reiner's scouting report for Mets star Johan Santana, whom Reiner signed in 1995.
"Taking as reference that he has only started to pitch 6 weeks ago, his curve ball is very good with good rotation, but basically he is in a learning stage," the report reads.
Yet for all the good the exhibit represents, a larger sense of inclusion will come when more Latinos are inducted, whether they are players from the past or current stars. But such legacies may suffer because of unfortunate timing. The rise of the Latino as transcendent superstar in the game in the past 20 years comes at the same time as performance-enhancing drugs, meaning Latino fans are likely to see the exclusion from the Hall of some of the biggest Latino stars to have ever played.
Players such as Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada are all long shots at this point to be elected because of their links to PEDs. Even a former star like Sammy Sosa, who has never failed a test nor has had any solid evidence brought to light against him, may not got elected. Mere circumstantial evidence taints Sosa's candidacy.
If baseball is to truly celebrate Latinos in baseball, then perhaps it may be the perfect time to revisit the candidacy of several pioneers, whose importance to the game goes beyond their statistics. Noted Latino baseball scholar Adrian Burgos Jr., author of "Playing America's Game," sends the following list of players who should be considered: Tony Oliva, Orestes "Minnie" Minoso, Louis Tiant, Vic Power, Felipe Alou, Davey Concepcion, Adolfo Luque and Negro League players Alejandro Oms, Horacio Martinez and Tetelo Vargas.
Either in addition to their statistics or in spite of them, these players merit consideration for their overall contributions to the game. In the case of Alou, the first Dominican to regularly play in the majors (Ozzie Virgil is the first Dominican to appear in a game), his statistics alone don't merit consideration in the Hall, though he was a three-time All-Star who twice led the league in hits. But when you also consider Alou's managing career-- he was the first Latino to win a manager of the year award -- his impact in helping the game grow in Latin America is immeasurable.
"Through the exhibit, people will see us as human beings," Cepeda, who waited 25 years from the end of his playing career to be elected into the Hall, said. "To get here we had to go through many obstacles."
Write Jorge at jorge.arangure@espn3.com in English or Spanish.
Jorge Arangure, Jr., ESPN, May 27, 2009
A recent informal survey by the Hall of Fame concluded that its number of Spanish-speaking visitors had not significantly increased during the past three years, which is not surprising. What is there for Latinos?
The new exhibit has a plethora of authentic relics, like this Cuba jersey.
Only seven of the 289 Hall of Famers are Latino, and the Hall of Fame electorate (there will be only roughly 20 Latino voters from a total of an estimated 600 voters this year, according to the Baseball Writers Association of America) hardly represents the percentage of Latinos on the field, much less reflects the number of Latino fans.
And that's been an improvement from the time when Latinos weren't represented at all.
In previous years, how could voters (either from the BBWAA or from the Veteran's Committee) have accurately gauged the cultural impact of a certain Latino player when they might not have been aware of how a player's contributions extended beyond American borders? Who but those familiar with the Latino experience could have accurately gauged the context -- the cultural alienation, the racism -- in which Latino players performed?
Consider the case of the Cuban Luis Tiant, whose statistics favorably measure with contemporaries Jim Bunning and Jim "Catfish" Hunter, both of whom are Hall of Famers. Neither Catfish nor Bunning experienced the difficulties that Tiant faced being dark-skinned, Latino and Spanish-speaking at a time when such things could be an impediment to a player's success.
In fact Tiant's father, who pitched in the Negro Leagues, never was given the opportunity to pitch in the majors.
Hall of Fame curator John Odell said such issues played no part in the development of ¡Viva Baseball!, the Hall's new permanent display that celebrates Latinos' contributions to the sport. But such an exhibit is an important step in creating a Hall that accurately represents baseball's diversity on the field and its growing Latino fan base.
Getty Images
A trophy ball that was given to a Latin player in 1871.
"Exhibits at the Hall are never designed with generating audience as an objective," Odell wrote in an e-mail. "As a history museum that chronicles the many stories that baseball touches upon, we evaluate our exhibit needs based on trends, achievements, and cultural contributions to the game … Certainly the opening of ¡Viva Baseball! could not have been more perfectly timed than right now. The rise of the Latino star is not a new story but today's collection of Latin players at the Major League levels has never been greater."
Certainly the exhibit is a triumph. Created by the Hall with the help of an advisory board comprised of scholars who have exhaustively written about the game's Latino roots, the exhibit spans decades and crosses borders in a space of about 1,000 square feet.
For the grand opening last weekend, the Hall brought in two of the seven Latino inductees, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda, and also Roberto Clemente Jr., son of Roberto Clemente, who was the first Latino Hall of Famer.
Also present were Dodgers scouting legend Ralph Avila, who helped transform the Dominican Republic into baseball's largest talent pool, and current Rays scout Andres Reiner, who, while with the Houston Astros, was critical in the rise of Venezuelans in the game.
Getty Images
Johan Santana's original scouting reports from 1995.
Avila and Reiner donated several of their scouting tools, including speed guns and stopwatches, which are on display. Perhaps the most interesting of those is Reiner's scouting report for Mets star Johan Santana, whom Reiner signed in 1995.
"Taking as reference that he has only started to pitch 6 weeks ago, his curve ball is very good with good rotation, but basically he is in a learning stage," the report reads.
Yet for all the good the exhibit represents, a larger sense of inclusion will come when more Latinos are inducted, whether they are players from the past or current stars. But such legacies may suffer because of unfortunate timing. The rise of the Latino as transcendent superstar in the game in the past 20 years comes at the same time as performance-enhancing drugs, meaning Latino fans are likely to see the exclusion from the Hall of some of the biggest Latino stars to have ever played.
Players such as Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada are all long shots at this point to be elected because of their links to PEDs. Even a former star like Sammy Sosa, who has never failed a test nor has had any solid evidence brought to light against him, may not got elected. Mere circumstantial evidence taints Sosa's candidacy.
If baseball is to truly celebrate Latinos in baseball, then perhaps it may be the perfect time to revisit the candidacy of several pioneers, whose importance to the game goes beyond their statistics. Noted Latino baseball scholar Adrian Burgos Jr., author of "Playing America's Game," sends the following list of players who should be considered: Tony Oliva, Orestes "Minnie" Minoso, Louis Tiant, Vic Power, Felipe Alou, Davey Concepcion, Adolfo Luque and Negro League players Alejandro Oms, Horacio Martinez and Tetelo Vargas.
Either in addition to their statistics or in spite of them, these players merit consideration for their overall contributions to the game. In the case of Alou, the first Dominican to regularly play in the majors (Ozzie Virgil is the first Dominican to appear in a game), his statistics alone don't merit consideration in the Hall, though he was a three-time All-Star who twice led the league in hits. But when you also consider Alou's managing career-- he was the first Latino to win a manager of the year award -- his impact in helping the game grow in Latin America is immeasurable.
"Through the exhibit, people will see us as human beings," Cepeda, who waited 25 years from the end of his playing career to be elected into the Hall, said. "To get here we had to go through many obstacles."
Write Jorge at jorge.arangure@espn3.com in English or Spanish.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Latino designers outfit Barbie
For 50th birthday, Barbie gets new international wardrobe
By ARIANNA DAVIS, McClatchy Newspapers
MEXICO CITY -- In her 50 years, Barbie has grown from a mere childhood toy to an international cultural icon.
Barbie's birthday was marked by a series of exhibits all over the world sponsored by her manufacturer, Mattel, that featured the evolution of the doll, born Barbara Millicent Roberts.
In Mexico, the exhibit highlighted a cultural progression. Ten Latino designers presented outfits designed specifically for a doll that had once symbolized a light-skinned, fair-haired ideal of beauty.
"People don't realize that, culturally, Barbie has been more than just a doll," said Juan Carlos Frank, who said he's been a Barbie collector since 1978. "When Barbie changed to Barbie Malibu in 1977, she had darker skin, and for the first time, children with darker skin could actually relate to their dolls; before then, they only knew of the fair-skinned Barbie, and she was what all the little girls wanted to be."
Frank said that rather than focus on Barbie's 50th birthday, Mexicans should note that Latina designers had been invited to join the ranks of designers such as Ralph Lauren and Christian Dior, who've also designed for Barbie.
"The fact that Latina designers were selected to design for this iconic doll's birthday is monumental," Frank said. "In the past, the designers that have designed for Barbie have only been more mainstream designers."
Frank was one of the many collectors that Mattel called upon to lend dolls to its large exhibit in Mexico City, which featured the original Barbie, Career Girl Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, Black Barbie and Hispanic Barbie, who made her debut in 1983.
Roberto Isaias, the director general of Mattel Mexico, said that months of work and planning went into the exhibit. He said he hopes that the people of Mexico will appreciate the event as more than just the celebration of a doll.
"Tonight, this isn't just something for this Barbie doll, but it's something for us," he said at the Barbie exhibit's opening at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City in early March.
"We should be proud of our designers and what this doll has come to signify for young Latinas," Isaias said. "And if you ever doubted the influence of Barbie and if she was important, tonight we can see just how important she is."
Among the designers chosen to create outfits for the doll were the famed pair Sofia Casares and Alejandra Albarran, creative directors of the brand Alessa Casati.
"Mattel selected designers that are established and have made an impact on fashion in Mexico," said Casares, who along with Albarran has dressed the likes of Eva Longoria and Liv Tyler. "To us, Barbie is an icon of every woman's childhood and femininity, so it was nothing but fun designing for the doll. I felt like a little girl all over again."
Casares and Albarran, whose clothing can be found at Saks Fifth Avenue in Mexico, chose to design intricately patterned pale pink dresses for Barbie.
Dalia Pascal, a designer born in Uruguay who gained fame in Mexico for her jewelry and accessories, designed a long dress with ethnic jewelry for the showcase.
"The truth is that the experience of creating an outfit for Barbie was something other people may think is trivial, but for me it was wonderful," she said. "I felt so honored to be selected and I'm very proud of the work that I've done for the doll."
It was not until the 1970s, Frank said, that Mattel began to realize the importance of children recognizing their roots through their toys.
"So they started to focus on creating dolls so that black and Latina and Chinese and whatever race of girls all over the world could identify with their own race and who they are at a young age," Frank said.
Frank said that Mattel selected from designers who have been featured in department store collections all the way up to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
"These aren't just any designers, but Latino designers, so we should be proud," Frank said. "They are the designers and fashion icons of our people and of our generation."
(Davis graduated this month from Penn State University. This article was reported from Mexico City for a class in international journalism.)
By ARIANNA DAVIS, McClatchy Newspapers
MEXICO CITY -- In her 50 years, Barbie has grown from a mere childhood toy to an international cultural icon.
Barbie's birthday was marked by a series of exhibits all over the world sponsored by her manufacturer, Mattel, that featured the evolution of the doll, born Barbara Millicent Roberts.
In Mexico, the exhibit highlighted a cultural progression. Ten Latino designers presented outfits designed specifically for a doll that had once symbolized a light-skinned, fair-haired ideal of beauty.
"People don't realize that, culturally, Barbie has been more than just a doll," said Juan Carlos Frank, who said he's been a Barbie collector since 1978. "When Barbie changed to Barbie Malibu in 1977, she had darker skin, and for the first time, children with darker skin could actually relate to their dolls; before then, they only knew of the fair-skinned Barbie, and she was what all the little girls wanted to be."
Frank said that rather than focus on Barbie's 50th birthday, Mexicans should note that Latina designers had been invited to join the ranks of designers such as Ralph Lauren and Christian Dior, who've also designed for Barbie.
"The fact that Latina designers were selected to design for this iconic doll's birthday is monumental," Frank said. "In the past, the designers that have designed for Barbie have only been more mainstream designers."
Frank was one of the many collectors that Mattel called upon to lend dolls to its large exhibit in Mexico City, which featured the original Barbie, Career Girl Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, Black Barbie and Hispanic Barbie, who made her debut in 1983.
Roberto Isaias, the director general of Mattel Mexico, said that months of work and planning went into the exhibit. He said he hopes that the people of Mexico will appreciate the event as more than just the celebration of a doll.
"Tonight, this isn't just something for this Barbie doll, but it's something for us," he said at the Barbie exhibit's opening at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City in early March.
"We should be proud of our designers and what this doll has come to signify for young Latinas," Isaias said. "And if you ever doubted the influence of Barbie and if she was important, tonight we can see just how important she is."
Among the designers chosen to create outfits for the doll were the famed pair Sofia Casares and Alejandra Albarran, creative directors of the brand Alessa Casati.
"Mattel selected designers that are established and have made an impact on fashion in Mexico," said Casares, who along with Albarran has dressed the likes of Eva Longoria and Liv Tyler. "To us, Barbie is an icon of every woman's childhood and femininity, so it was nothing but fun designing for the doll. I felt like a little girl all over again."
Casares and Albarran, whose clothing can be found at Saks Fifth Avenue in Mexico, chose to design intricately patterned pale pink dresses for Barbie.
Dalia Pascal, a designer born in Uruguay who gained fame in Mexico for her jewelry and accessories, designed a long dress with ethnic jewelry for the showcase.
"The truth is that the experience of creating an outfit for Barbie was something other people may think is trivial, but for me it was wonderful," she said. "I felt so honored to be selected and I'm very proud of the work that I've done for the doll."
It was not until the 1970s, Frank said, that Mattel began to realize the importance of children recognizing their roots through their toys.
"So they started to focus on creating dolls so that black and Latina and Chinese and whatever race of girls all over the world could identify with their own race and who they are at a young age," Frank said.
Frank said that Mattel selected from designers who have been featured in department store collections all the way up to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
"These aren't just any designers, but Latino designers, so we should be proud," Frank said. "They are the designers and fashion icons of our people and of our generation."
(Davis graduated this month from Penn State University. This article was reported from Mexico City for a class in international journalism.)
Monday, May 25, 2009
Latinos highlighted on CNN special
CNN Plans Latino Documentary
Network Will Also Follow Up on 'Black in America’
by R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 5/25/2009
Following last year’s successful Black In America documentary series, CNN will turn its cameras on America’s Latino community with the two-part documentary series Latino In America premiering in October.
CNN, which will also revisit the African-American community in July with Black In America 2, hopes to use the In America franchise to draw more attention to the struggles and triumphs of diverse communities, according to Mark Nelson, vice president and senior executive producer for CNN Productions.
“The In America brand strand gives us the opportunity to look at groups of people in America that have been misreported or in some cases neglected [by the media],” Nelson said.
Latino In America, hosted by CNN personality and Black In America host Soledad O’Brien, will focus on the growing U.S. Hispanic population and the pertinent issues that face the community.
“We found out with Black In America that many people who watched were not only black but Hispanic as well,” Nelson said. “This is the fastest-growing minority group in America today, but we don’t understand how really diverse this group is. The show focuses on how Latinos are changing America and how America is changing Latinos.”
The first part of the series will explore the lives of people across the country who share the surname “Garcia,” the eighth most popular family name in America. The second part focuses on how four different communities are meeting the challenges of disparities, immigration and discrimination in terms of language, education, citizenship, and cultural identity.
Celebrities such as Edward James Olmos, Eva Longoria Parker, Jesse Garcia and Lupe Ontiveros will also be featured in the documentary.
Nelson said CNN will create a Spanish-language version of Latino In America, although it’s unclear when and where that version will be aired.
On the Black In America 2 front, Nelson said the network will look to continue the dialogue started with last year’s inaugural Black In America series, which drew 13 million viewers. The first Black In America 2 segment, “Today’s Pioneers,” will debut July 22, with the second part, “Tomorrow’s Leaders,” airing the following evening.
“What we heard was that viewers wanted more solutions,” Nelson said. “We’ve got an economy that is sick, and it usually affects the have-nots more than the haves. But in spite of the economy, there are remarkable things that are happening out there; there are people who are taking it upon themselves to make changes, and we want to show how that’s happening.”
A third special, CNN & Essence: Reclaiming the Dream, will be tied to the African-American women’s magazine’s July Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.
As part of the Black In America 2 rollout, Nelson said CNN will launch a dedicated Web site (www.cnn.com/blackinamerica) for the franchise in June.
Nelson added that the In America franchise may also be expanded in the future to focus on other multicultural communities.
“We’re in the business of weighing the important issues of our time and the fascinating people and stories that impact those issues — that includes other cultural and ethnic groups,” said Nelson.
Network Will Also Follow Up on 'Black in America’
by R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 5/25/2009
Following last year’s successful Black In America documentary series, CNN will turn its cameras on America’s Latino community with the two-part documentary series Latino In America premiering in October.
CNN, which will also revisit the African-American community in July with Black In America 2, hopes to use the In America franchise to draw more attention to the struggles and triumphs of diverse communities, according to Mark Nelson, vice president and senior executive producer for CNN Productions.
“The In America brand strand gives us the opportunity to look at groups of people in America that have been misreported or in some cases neglected [by the media],” Nelson said.
Latino In America, hosted by CNN personality and Black In America host Soledad O’Brien, will focus on the growing U.S. Hispanic population and the pertinent issues that face the community.
“We found out with Black In America that many people who watched were not only black but Hispanic as well,” Nelson said. “This is the fastest-growing minority group in America today, but we don’t understand how really diverse this group is. The show focuses on how Latinos are changing America and how America is changing Latinos.”
The first part of the series will explore the lives of people across the country who share the surname “Garcia,” the eighth most popular family name in America. The second part focuses on how four different communities are meeting the challenges of disparities, immigration and discrimination in terms of language, education, citizenship, and cultural identity.
Celebrities such as Edward James Olmos, Eva Longoria Parker, Jesse Garcia and Lupe Ontiveros will also be featured in the documentary.
Nelson said CNN will create a Spanish-language version of Latino In America, although it’s unclear when and where that version will be aired.
On the Black In America 2 front, Nelson said the network will look to continue the dialogue started with last year’s inaugural Black In America series, which drew 13 million viewers. The first Black In America 2 segment, “Today’s Pioneers,” will debut July 22, with the second part, “Tomorrow’s Leaders,” airing the following evening.
“What we heard was that viewers wanted more solutions,” Nelson said. “We’ve got an economy that is sick, and it usually affects the have-nots more than the haves. But in spite of the economy, there are remarkable things that are happening out there; there are people who are taking it upon themselves to make changes, and we want to show how that’s happening.”
A third special, CNN & Essence: Reclaiming the Dream, will be tied to the African-American women’s magazine’s July Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.
As part of the Black In America 2 rollout, Nelson said CNN will launch a dedicated Web site (www.cnn.com/blackinamerica) for the franchise in June.
Nelson added that the In America franchise may also be expanded in the future to focus on other multicultural communities.
“We’re in the business of weighing the important issues of our time and the fascinating people and stories that impact those issues — that includes other cultural and ethnic groups,” said Nelson.
From smooth jazz to heavy Hispanic sounds
WNUA signs off jazz for Hispanic format
BY LEWIS LAZARE, SunTimes, May 23, 2009
As first tipped here months ago, Clear Channel Radio has finally switched formats at beleaguered smooth jazz WNUA-FM (95.5).
On Friday, after jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis finished his 9 a.m. show, the station introduced a Spanish format that Clear Channel management characterized as Spanish hot adult contemporary.
For promotional purposes, the station now will be referred to as "Mega 95.5," but no new call letters have been announced. The new playlist will range from Juanes and Mana to Enrique Iglesias and Paulina Rubio.
After axing scores of staff in recent months at WNUA and the five other radio properties it operates in the Chicago market, Clear Channel also now plans to add nearly 30 new bilingual staffers and on-air talent to operate Mega 95.5.
Clear Channel's hand was forced at WNUA by the rapid decline in ad revenue at the station in recent months. In April, WNUA pulled in barely a third of the ad revenue it was generating a year ago.
Management apparently believes it can generate more ad dollars by going to a Spanish-language market. The latest census figures indicated Hispanics comprise 15.2 percent of Illinois' population.
BY LEWIS LAZARE, SunTimes, May 23, 2009
As first tipped here months ago, Clear Channel Radio has finally switched formats at beleaguered smooth jazz WNUA-FM (95.5).
On Friday, after jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis finished his 9 a.m. show, the station introduced a Spanish format that Clear Channel management characterized as Spanish hot adult contemporary.
For promotional purposes, the station now will be referred to as "Mega 95.5," but no new call letters have been announced. The new playlist will range from Juanes and Mana to Enrique Iglesias and Paulina Rubio.
After axing scores of staff in recent months at WNUA and the five other radio properties it operates in the Chicago market, Clear Channel also now plans to add nearly 30 new bilingual staffers and on-air talent to operate Mega 95.5.
Clear Channel's hand was forced at WNUA by the rapid decline in ad revenue at the station in recent months. In April, WNUA pulled in barely a third of the ad revenue it was generating a year ago.
Management apparently believes it can generate more ad dollars by going to a Spanish-language market. The latest census figures indicated Hispanics comprise 15.2 percent of Illinois' population.
Hispanic public radio kept silent by strike
Strike leads to Wash. Spanish radio conflict
By MANUEL VALDES, Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE — Washington state's first Spanish-language public radio station, a key source of information for the Latino community in the Yakima Valley, is scrambling to fill air time amid a dispute between a new station director and her newly unionized employees.
A strike by the small work force has led Granger-based Radio KDNA to use on-air content from stations in California, and volunteers to fill in for the production team, which walked off the job May 16 in the latest and the most heated episode of a long-simmering internal fight.
For more than two days, the station went silent.
"It's sad. It's not fair. The information from the station goes out to the public, and it's very important for the whole community," said Velia Lewis, who works with farmworkers in the Yakima Valley and has listened to KDNA since moving to the central Washington area in 1996.
Lewis said KDNA plays an important part in the community through its news and public service announcements. Unlike other stations in the area, she said, it's not an entertainment station.
"When I moved here, I didn't know where to look for jobs, or where to interview. KDNA helped me in getting to know the community in Yakima," Lewis said in Spanish.
Radio KDNA started in 1979, pioneering public radio in Spanish for the Pacific Northwest. The station started serving the area's Latino farmworker population in the heavily agricultural region. Over the years, the station has cemented its role in the Yakima area as one of that community's main sources of information.
Yard sales, health care announcements and parenting tips are among the many subjects the programming covers. The station is part of the nonprofit organization Northwest Communities' Education Center Board.
The strike is "having a huge impact," said Sandra Aguilar, who works for Catholic Charities Housing Services and knows the station's role in Yakima. "The greatest impact is on the agency itself, and but it's also impacting the listeners a lot, it's impacting at a large scale, it's impacting the farm workers, they're not getting information."
Maria Fernandez, 35, was hired by the station's board of directors last year to replace Ricardo Garcia, the station's longtime manager.
Fernandez and her staff clashed almost immediately. Then the small staff unionized, becoming part of the Teamsters Union Local 760. Accusations began flying between the two feuding parties. Nine of the 13 paid staffers are out in the strike.
Fernandez said her attempts to introduce a stricter work environment and more accountability led to discontent among her employees. She also has started changing programming to attempt to reach a broader audience.
"I believe if we're going to be good stewards of taxpayer money, and we're going to get paid for eight hours of work, we should work for eight hours," Fernandez said. "It's sad that it has to come down to this point, we've been trying to work with them in good faith. I expected many challenges when I took the job. I couldn't have foreseen one being a strike."
Jesus Sosa, speaking on behalf of the workers, said Fernandez has unjustly reprimanded workers and has introduced a hostile work place environment, where employees can't express disagreements with management.
The strike was called after Fernandez fired two employees, said Sosa, who is the station's production manager.
The strikers want "the return of the employees, and a stop to this anti-worker attitude," he said. "They look for anything that we do bad to get us, instead of talking to us, giving us training."
Sosa said the union has filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. Meanwhile, Fernandez said the station can be sustained by volunteers for as long as needed.
"There's has to be mediation because I think people are digging their feet in," Aguilar said. "Ultimately, the station's purpose is to serve the people, it's a voice for the farmworker. I think people need to remember the work they're doing."
By MANUEL VALDES, Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE — Washington state's first Spanish-language public radio station, a key source of information for the Latino community in the Yakima Valley, is scrambling to fill air time amid a dispute between a new station director and her newly unionized employees.
A strike by the small work force has led Granger-based Radio KDNA to use on-air content from stations in California, and volunteers to fill in for the production team, which walked off the job May 16 in the latest and the most heated episode of a long-simmering internal fight.
For more than two days, the station went silent.
"It's sad. It's not fair. The information from the station goes out to the public, and it's very important for the whole community," said Velia Lewis, who works with farmworkers in the Yakima Valley and has listened to KDNA since moving to the central Washington area in 1996.
Lewis said KDNA plays an important part in the community through its news and public service announcements. Unlike other stations in the area, she said, it's not an entertainment station.
"When I moved here, I didn't know where to look for jobs, or where to interview. KDNA helped me in getting to know the community in Yakima," Lewis said in Spanish.
Radio KDNA started in 1979, pioneering public radio in Spanish for the Pacific Northwest. The station started serving the area's Latino farmworker population in the heavily agricultural region. Over the years, the station has cemented its role in the Yakima area as one of that community's main sources of information.
Yard sales, health care announcements and parenting tips are among the many subjects the programming covers. The station is part of the nonprofit organization Northwest Communities' Education Center Board.
The strike is "having a huge impact," said Sandra Aguilar, who works for Catholic Charities Housing Services and knows the station's role in Yakima. "The greatest impact is on the agency itself, and but it's also impacting the listeners a lot, it's impacting at a large scale, it's impacting the farm workers, they're not getting information."
Maria Fernandez, 35, was hired by the station's board of directors last year to replace Ricardo Garcia, the station's longtime manager.
Fernandez and her staff clashed almost immediately. Then the small staff unionized, becoming part of the Teamsters Union Local 760. Accusations began flying between the two feuding parties. Nine of the 13 paid staffers are out in the strike.
Fernandez said her attempts to introduce a stricter work environment and more accountability led to discontent among her employees. She also has started changing programming to attempt to reach a broader audience.
"I believe if we're going to be good stewards of taxpayer money, and we're going to get paid for eight hours of work, we should work for eight hours," Fernandez said. "It's sad that it has to come down to this point, we've been trying to work with them in good faith. I expected many challenges when I took the job. I couldn't have foreseen one being a strike."
Jesus Sosa, speaking on behalf of the workers, said Fernandez has unjustly reprimanded workers and has introduced a hostile work place environment, where employees can't express disagreements with management.
The strike was called after Fernandez fired two employees, said Sosa, who is the station's production manager.
The strikers want "the return of the employees, and a stop to this anti-worker attitude," he said. "They look for anything that we do bad to get us, instead of talking to us, giving us training."
Sosa said the union has filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. Meanwhile, Fernandez said the station can be sustained by volunteers for as long as needed.
"There's has to be mediation because I think people are digging their feet in," Aguilar said. "Ultimately, the station's purpose is to serve the people, it's a voice for the farmworker. I think people need to remember the work they're doing."
Latino benefit for Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Latino celebrities boost 'Think Beyond' benefit
Carolyne Zinko, Chronicle Staff Writer, May 24, 2009
Social activism and fashionistas will cross-pollinate to make "activistas" out of guests at two events this week pairing Latin fashions with charitable causes.
San Rafael entrepreneur Molly Robbins started Piensa Mas ...This shirt designed by actress Rosario Dawson will be up ...This shirt designed by actress Eva Longoria will be up fo... View More Images
Piensa Mas Alla ... Think Beyond, a runway show featuring celebrity-designed T-shirts to be sold at live auction, is coming up on Friday. The event, created by San Rafael entrepreneur Molly Robbins, is in its second year and raised $25,000 in 2008 for the Palomita Education Fund, which puts money toward college scholarships for Latinos by working with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund in San Francisco.
The fashion show, to be held at Terra SF, an event space in the SoMa district, runs $75 a ticket for general admittance and $100 for VIP admittance (including valet parking and early cocktail hour). It will focus on the live auction of T-shirts for men and women designed and autographed by 10 Hollywood celebrities such as Eva Longoria Parker, Christina Milian, Andy Garcia, Tony Romo, Rosario Dawson and others. Each celebrity will have autographed only the shirt designed and submitted for the show.
Robbins, a native of Mexico City, came to the United States to attend UC Berkeley. She runs a fashion and marketing company with two clothing lines. Palomita can mean little sweetie, popcorn or little dove, but it also means checkmark, and in Robbins' case consists of pajamas and underwear. Her second line, Chucho, is a line of T-shirts depicting graphics and logos from across Latin America that are nostalgic without being offensive - as Robbins said some designs with dice, skulls and the Virgin Mary can be.
The daughter of a lawyer, she values education.
"As corny as it sounds, I have two passions: creating through fashion, and education," she said. "I was offered a very good education and wouldn't be where I am if I hadn't had that."
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, some 21 percent of Latinos drop out of high school annually, more than twice the national average.
Celebrity-designed T-shirts will be available for sale on the Palomitaclothing.com Web site, but without the designer's autograph. The event will also include a silent auction.
Performance art: On Thursday, six local designers will show their lines in an evening of performance art - not a standard runway show - at Seam of Consciousness ... Fuerza Femenina to benefit Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a program that assists immigrant women with legal rights issues.
The show is run under the auspices of Faction, a group of female designers and artists hoping to raise money through art and fashion for social justice causes. The group has partnered in the past with Darfur Peace and Development, Pride at Work, and Radar with Michelle Tea, among others.
Tickets are $10 to $25, sliding scale.
The fashion show features the works of designers Rachel Znerold, Nikole Lent, Moriah Lueders, Angela Dix, Kari Koller and Lula Chapman. The evening ends with a dance party with music by DJ Altair Nouveau and Chris Vick.
Fashioning change
-- Think Beyond: 6 to 10 p.m. Fri. at Terra SF, 511 Harrison St. $75 and up. For tickets and information, go to palomitaclothing.com/events.
-- Seam of Consciousness: 8:30 p.m. Thurs. at the Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St. Tickets $10-$25 at the door. For information, go to myspace.com/factionsf.
E-mail Carolyne Zinko at czinko@sfchronicle.com.
Carolyne Zinko, Chronicle Staff Writer, May 24, 2009
Social activism and fashionistas will cross-pollinate to make "activistas" out of guests at two events this week pairing Latin fashions with charitable causes.
San Rafael entrepreneur Molly Robbins started Piensa Mas ...This shirt designed by actress Rosario Dawson will be up ...This shirt designed by actress Eva Longoria will be up fo... View More Images
Piensa Mas Alla ... Think Beyond, a runway show featuring celebrity-designed T-shirts to be sold at live auction, is coming up on Friday. The event, created by San Rafael entrepreneur Molly Robbins, is in its second year and raised $25,000 in 2008 for the Palomita Education Fund, which puts money toward college scholarships for Latinos by working with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund in San Francisco.
The fashion show, to be held at Terra SF, an event space in the SoMa district, runs $75 a ticket for general admittance and $100 for VIP admittance (including valet parking and early cocktail hour). It will focus on the live auction of T-shirts for men and women designed and autographed by 10 Hollywood celebrities such as Eva Longoria Parker, Christina Milian, Andy Garcia, Tony Romo, Rosario Dawson and others. Each celebrity will have autographed only the shirt designed and submitted for the show.
Robbins, a native of Mexico City, came to the United States to attend UC Berkeley. She runs a fashion and marketing company with two clothing lines. Palomita can mean little sweetie, popcorn or little dove, but it also means checkmark, and in Robbins' case consists of pajamas and underwear. Her second line, Chucho, is a line of T-shirts depicting graphics and logos from across Latin America that are nostalgic without being offensive - as Robbins said some designs with dice, skulls and the Virgin Mary can be.
The daughter of a lawyer, she values education.
"As corny as it sounds, I have two passions: creating through fashion, and education," she said. "I was offered a very good education and wouldn't be where I am if I hadn't had that."
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, some 21 percent of Latinos drop out of high school annually, more than twice the national average.
Celebrity-designed T-shirts will be available for sale on the Palomitaclothing.com Web site, but without the designer's autograph. The event will also include a silent auction.
Performance art: On Thursday, six local designers will show their lines in an evening of performance art - not a standard runway show - at Seam of Consciousness ... Fuerza Femenina to benefit Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a program that assists immigrant women with legal rights issues.
The show is run under the auspices of Faction, a group of female designers and artists hoping to raise money through art and fashion for social justice causes. The group has partnered in the past with Darfur Peace and Development, Pride at Work, and Radar with Michelle Tea, among others.
Tickets are $10 to $25, sliding scale.
The fashion show features the works of designers Rachel Znerold, Nikole Lent, Moriah Lueders, Angela Dix, Kari Koller and Lula Chapman. The evening ends with a dance party with music by DJ Altair Nouveau and Chris Vick.
Fashioning change
-- Think Beyond: 6 to 10 p.m. Fri. at Terra SF, 511 Harrison St. $75 and up. For tickets and information, go to palomitaclothing.com/events.
-- Seam of Consciousness: 8:30 p.m. Thurs. at the Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St. Tickets $10-$25 at the door. For information, go to myspace.com/factionsf.
E-mail Carolyne Zinko at czinko@sfchronicle.com.
Latino book of the month giveaway continues
Latino Book Month Giveaway 3rd winner announcement
Examiner, May 22, 2009
Latino Book Month Giveaway continues...
The third week of the Latino Book Month Giveaway has reached its end and it's my pleasure to announce the winner...
Our third lucky winner is... Color Online!!!!!
Congratulations! You've won the set of five books listed below!
Please send me your snail mail address to mayra.calvani@gmail.com so I may forward it to Valerie Russo, the publicist at Hachette who will be sending you the whole set of 5 books listed below. Happy reading!
The Latino Book Month Giveaway will continue for one more week until the end of the month, so please keep sending comments for a chance to win. People who have left comments since the contest started (May 1st) are still eligible to win in the upcoming week. New visitors, all you need to do is leave a comment during any of my posts dated May 1-31.
The 4th and last winner will be announced next Friday, May 29th
Examiner, May 22, 2009
Latino Book Month Giveaway continues...
The third week of the Latino Book Month Giveaway has reached its end and it's my pleasure to announce the winner...
Our third lucky winner is... Color Online!!!!!
Congratulations! You've won the set of five books listed below!
Please send me your snail mail address to mayra.calvani@gmail.com so I may forward it to Valerie Russo, the publicist at Hachette who will be sending you the whole set of 5 books listed below. Happy reading!
The Latino Book Month Giveaway will continue for one more week until the end of the month, so please keep sending comments for a chance to win. People who have left comments since the contest started (May 1st) are still eligible to win in the upcoming week. New visitors, all you need to do is leave a comment during any of my posts dated May 1-31.
The 4th and last winner will be announced next Friday, May 29th
Latino baseball players' story told
Exhibition tells story of Latinos in major league baseball
By Kevin Baxter, LA Times, May 23, 2009
When Juan Marichal came to this country to play baseball more than half a century ago, he remembers being a lonely, frightened teenager.
"It was a very difficult time," he said Friday. "When you come [to] a country where you didn't know the language, you didn't know the culture . . . it's tough, especially at that age."
At the time, only one Dominican player had reached the major leagues -- and he was discovered on a playground in New York City. But while Marichal was trying to find his way, he also was cracking open the door to what has become one of the greatest influxes of foreign-born talent in the history of U.S. sports.
Since 1980, four seasons after Marichal's Hall of Fame career ended, nearly 8% of all major leaguers have come from the Dominican Republic, a country with a population smaller than Los Angeles County's. And nearly one in every five players in the majors has come from Latin America.
"I never thought that some day we were going to be No. 1 [in] Latin players at the major league level," Marichal said.
What began as a trickle became a flood, changing everything about baseball, from the way players are scouted and signed to how the game is played.
That changing landscape is something the Hall of Fame has spent years exploring in preparation for today's opening of ¡Viva Baseball!, one of the largest and most ambitious exhibitions in the museum's history.
"There's no more relevant story in baseball in this era than the role of Latinos and the positive impact Latino baseball has had on Major League Baseball," said Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. "When you look at . . . the last 20 or 30 years, you could argue convincingly that there's been no greater impact on baseball than from the Caribbean-basin countries."
Certainly no area outside the U.S. has produced more talent. Since 1980, Mexico, for example, has sent more players (72) to the major leagues than Canada (65), while Cuba (40) has produced nearly as many as Japan (46), though the Dominican Republic still beats them all (417).
"This is not merely a Major League Baseball story. This is a cultural story," said John Odell, the lead curator on the exhibit."There are some things you can measure. But there's another element that Latin players bring to the game. And it's passion. They bring a certain style to the game."
It's a story the museum tells in a groundbreaking way, using videotaped interviews with Latino members of the Hall of Fame as well as current All-Stars, who tell their stories in their native language. English subtitles are used. In fact, every display in ¡Viva Baseball! features English and Spanish.
"It's not only the sights and the feel and the flavor, but it's the sounds as well," Idelson said of the overall exhibit.
That is especially true in one four-minute multimedia presentation narrated in both languages by Hall of Fame Dodgers broadcaster Jaime Jarrin that takes viewers into the grandstands at a game in Venezuela.
A part of the exhibition is devoted to former Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela; artifacts from Campo las Palmas, the developmental baseball academy founded in 1987 in the Dominican Republic by Dodgers scout Ralph Avila; an interview with Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero; and the sombrero that Angels owner Arte Moreno gave Manager Mike Scioscia on the day Moreno became the first -- and still only -- Latino owner in major league history.
But the exhibition -- which will have a permanent home in the museum, joining installations on women's baseball and African American ballplayers -- doesn't ignore some of the darker chapters in the Latin American baseball story, such as charges of exploitation, the banning of dark-skinned Cubans and Puerto Ricans in the days before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, problems of racism and acculturation and current controversies involving drugs, signing bonuses and fraudulent birth certificates.
"We don't spend a lot of time on it, but we recognize that all is not sweetness and light," Odell said. "There are abuses that take place. If we didn't bring those issues up and say we recognize -- and everybody recognizes -- that these are issues, it would undermine our ability to say 'but there are good things that are taking place.' "
Marichal, still the only Dominican in the Hall of Fame, said the recognition is flattering and overdue.
"I think that's wonderful," he said of the exhibit, but "the Latin players deserved that a long time ago."
kevin.baxter@latimes.com
By Kevin Baxter, LA Times, May 23, 2009
When Juan Marichal came to this country to play baseball more than half a century ago, he remembers being a lonely, frightened teenager.
"It was a very difficult time," he said Friday. "When you come [to] a country where you didn't know the language, you didn't know the culture . . . it's tough, especially at that age."
At the time, only one Dominican player had reached the major leagues -- and he was discovered on a playground in New York City. But while Marichal was trying to find his way, he also was cracking open the door to what has become one of the greatest influxes of foreign-born talent in the history of U.S. sports.
Since 1980, four seasons after Marichal's Hall of Fame career ended, nearly 8% of all major leaguers have come from the Dominican Republic, a country with a population smaller than Los Angeles County's. And nearly one in every five players in the majors has come from Latin America.
"I never thought that some day we were going to be No. 1 [in] Latin players at the major league level," Marichal said.
What began as a trickle became a flood, changing everything about baseball, from the way players are scouted and signed to how the game is played.
That changing landscape is something the Hall of Fame has spent years exploring in preparation for today's opening of ¡Viva Baseball!, one of the largest and most ambitious exhibitions in the museum's history.
"There's no more relevant story in baseball in this era than the role of Latinos and the positive impact Latino baseball has had on Major League Baseball," said Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. "When you look at . . . the last 20 or 30 years, you could argue convincingly that there's been no greater impact on baseball than from the Caribbean-basin countries."
Certainly no area outside the U.S. has produced more talent. Since 1980, Mexico, for example, has sent more players (72) to the major leagues than Canada (65), while Cuba (40) has produced nearly as many as Japan (46), though the Dominican Republic still beats them all (417).
"This is not merely a Major League Baseball story. This is a cultural story," said John Odell, the lead curator on the exhibit."There are some things you can measure. But there's another element that Latin players bring to the game. And it's passion. They bring a certain style to the game."
It's a story the museum tells in a groundbreaking way, using videotaped interviews with Latino members of the Hall of Fame as well as current All-Stars, who tell their stories in their native language. English subtitles are used. In fact, every display in ¡Viva Baseball! features English and Spanish.
"It's not only the sights and the feel and the flavor, but it's the sounds as well," Idelson said of the overall exhibit.
That is especially true in one four-minute multimedia presentation narrated in both languages by Hall of Fame Dodgers broadcaster Jaime Jarrin that takes viewers into the grandstands at a game in Venezuela.
A part of the exhibition is devoted to former Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela; artifacts from Campo las Palmas, the developmental baseball academy founded in 1987 in the Dominican Republic by Dodgers scout Ralph Avila; an interview with Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero; and the sombrero that Angels owner Arte Moreno gave Manager Mike Scioscia on the day Moreno became the first -- and still only -- Latino owner in major league history.
But the exhibition -- which will have a permanent home in the museum, joining installations on women's baseball and African American ballplayers -- doesn't ignore some of the darker chapters in the Latin American baseball story, such as charges of exploitation, the banning of dark-skinned Cubans and Puerto Ricans in the days before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, problems of racism and acculturation and current controversies involving drugs, signing bonuses and fraudulent birth certificates.
"We don't spend a lot of time on it, but we recognize that all is not sweetness and light," Odell said. "There are abuses that take place. If we didn't bring those issues up and say we recognize -- and everybody recognizes -- that these are issues, it would undermine our ability to say 'but there are good things that are taking place.' "
Marichal, still the only Dominican in the Hall of Fame, said the recognition is flattering and overdue.
"I think that's wonderful," he said of the exhibit, but "the Latin players deserved that a long time ago."
kevin.baxter@latimes.com
Latino musicians showcased
Pachanga helps showcase Latino musicians
by Sandra Zaragoza, Austin Business Journal, May 21, 2009
Austin has become a mecca for music festivals and it seems only fitting that a Latino music festival would jump into the fray.
Now in its second year, Pachanga Latino Music Festival is expanding its lineup and introducing children-focused entertainment in hopes of broadening its appeal to all Austinites.
The festival is taking place on May 30 at Fiesta Gardens, a park on Bergman Avenue in East Austin. In addition to showcasing more than 19 bands on three stages, there will be food vendors and arts and crafts booths.
Pachanga’s Producer Rich Garza, of Giant Noise PR, said Pachanga is filling a void in Austin and beyond.
“What makes us different from other Latino festivals is that we are trying to showcase the breath and depth of Latino music,” Garza said.
Festival goers can expect to hear Tejano, Regional Mexican, Mariachi, Salsa, Hip Hop and Indie Rock.
By adding established Latino entertainers like Michael Salgado, a Tejano singer and accordionist, the festival hopes to appeal to the wider Latino base. Other headlining acts include: Mexican Institute of Sound, Chris Perez Band and Brownout. The new Ninos Rock Pachanga area will offer entertainment and Mexican folk arts and crafts activities.
Garza hopes to attract around 4,000 to the 2009 festival, which this year has drawn sponsors Austin Energy, Bud Light, 7-Eleven and State Farm Insurance. Last year, about 3,500 people attended the festival.
Ultimately, Garza said he would like to grow Pachanga into one of Austin’s “marquis” music festivals.
The city reaps both economic and marketing benefits from its renowned music festivals. SXSW Music Festival brings in 157,000 music industry professionals and fans and generates about $103 million for the city. By the same token, Austin City Limits, which is happening in October this year, generates an economic impact of $27 million.
But when it comes to making a music festival work financially, many in Austin have tried and failed.
One music festival producer that seems to be getting the formula right is Transmission Entertainment, which produces Fun Fun Fun Fest and Mess with Texas.
The three-year-old Fun Fun Fun Fest attracted 7,000 music lovers last year, said James Moody, co-owner of Transmission Entertainment. Moody is expecting even more people at this year’s festival, which takes place around November.
“We are excited about its growth, but we want it to be a mid-size festival, not a monster,” Moody said.
Moody believes there is plenty of room in the market for more music festivals if they are “done right.”
“There’s a lot of people that don’t understand the market,” Moody said. “You need a good idea, strong marketing and the talent booking has to be amazing for it to really take off.”
The amount of time it takes for a festival to be successful varies, but a general rule-of-thumb is three years.
“If a festival is not profitable in three years then, they might want to look at other opportunities,” he said.
That said, Moody believes that Pachanga’s chances for long-term viability are high.
“The Latin market is looking for more organized events and Pachanga is doing a great job,” Moody said.
szaragoza@bizjournals.com
by Sandra Zaragoza, Austin Business Journal, May 21, 2009
Austin has become a mecca for music festivals and it seems only fitting that a Latino music festival would jump into the fray.
Now in its second year, Pachanga Latino Music Festival is expanding its lineup and introducing children-focused entertainment in hopes of broadening its appeal to all Austinites.
The festival is taking place on May 30 at Fiesta Gardens, a park on Bergman Avenue in East Austin. In addition to showcasing more than 19 bands on three stages, there will be food vendors and arts and crafts booths.
Pachanga’s Producer Rich Garza, of Giant Noise PR, said Pachanga is filling a void in Austin and beyond.
“What makes us different from other Latino festivals is that we are trying to showcase the breath and depth of Latino music,” Garza said.
Festival goers can expect to hear Tejano, Regional Mexican, Mariachi, Salsa, Hip Hop and Indie Rock.
By adding established Latino entertainers like Michael Salgado, a Tejano singer and accordionist, the festival hopes to appeal to the wider Latino base. Other headlining acts include: Mexican Institute of Sound, Chris Perez Band and Brownout. The new Ninos Rock Pachanga area will offer entertainment and Mexican folk arts and crafts activities.
Garza hopes to attract around 4,000 to the 2009 festival, which this year has drawn sponsors Austin Energy, Bud Light, 7-Eleven and State Farm Insurance. Last year, about 3,500 people attended the festival.
Ultimately, Garza said he would like to grow Pachanga into one of Austin’s “marquis” music festivals.
The city reaps both economic and marketing benefits from its renowned music festivals. SXSW Music Festival brings in 157,000 music industry professionals and fans and generates about $103 million for the city. By the same token, Austin City Limits, which is happening in October this year, generates an economic impact of $27 million.
But when it comes to making a music festival work financially, many in Austin have tried and failed.
One music festival producer that seems to be getting the formula right is Transmission Entertainment, which produces Fun Fun Fun Fest and Mess with Texas.
The three-year-old Fun Fun Fun Fest attracted 7,000 music lovers last year, said James Moody, co-owner of Transmission Entertainment. Moody is expecting even more people at this year’s festival, which takes place around November.
“We are excited about its growth, but we want it to be a mid-size festival, not a monster,” Moody said.
Moody believes there is plenty of room in the market for more music festivals if they are “done right.”
“There’s a lot of people that don’t understand the market,” Moody said. “You need a good idea, strong marketing and the talent booking has to be amazing for it to really take off.”
The amount of time it takes for a festival to be successful varies, but a general rule-of-thumb is three years.
“If a festival is not profitable in three years then, they might want to look at other opportunities,” he said.
That said, Moody believes that Pachanga’s chances for long-term viability are high.
“The Latin market is looking for more organized events and Pachanga is doing a great job,” Moody said.
szaragoza@bizjournals.com
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Hispanic TV gets new lineup
Inner Tube: New telenovelas for Telemundo
By Richard Huff, May 19th 2009
Spanish-language network Telemundo will launch six tele.novelas next season.
"It's a good time to be in the Hispanic media business," network president Don Browne said Monday.
Browne said the network was experiencing its best ratings ever with original fare. Part of the business sucess of the programming comes from Telemundo's ability to integrate sponsor products into the shows at the creative level.
For example, General Motors was looking to position the Malibu as a car that would be driven by a young professional woman. Soon, a character was created to fit that description in an upcoming show.
"Our content is very contemporary, very real, very relevant," Browne said.
Among the new telenovelas are "Ninos Ricos, Probres Padres," about a 17-year-old and her mother who move from Mexico to the U.S. to live with a wealthy aunt, and "El Clon," a show about a woman who falls in love with a guy who dies, and is cloned 20 years later.
By Richard Huff, May 19th 2009
Spanish-language network Telemundo will launch six tele.novelas next season.
"It's a good time to be in the Hispanic media business," network president Don Browne said Monday.
Browne said the network was experiencing its best ratings ever with original fare. Part of the business sucess of the programming comes from Telemundo's ability to integrate sponsor products into the shows at the creative level.
For example, General Motors was looking to position the Malibu as a car that would be driven by a young professional woman. Soon, a character was created to fit that description in an upcoming show.
"Our content is very contemporary, very real, very relevant," Browne said.
Among the new telenovelas are "Ninos Ricos, Probres Padres," about a 17-year-old and her mother who move from Mexico to the U.S. to live with a wealthy aunt, and "El Clon," a show about a woman who falls in love with a guy who dies, and is cloned 20 years later.
Latino artists wanted
"Call for Artists: Arte Latino" 2009-05-21 until 2009-07-20
Smithtown Township Arts Council, St. James, NY
The Smithtown Township Arts Council is now accepting entries for Arte Latino, an exhibition in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month August 22 to September 23, 2009 at the Mills Pond House Gallery. The exhibition seeks to explore the unique cultural and artistic narratives that define being Latino in America.
Open to all media that expresses the experience of being Latino in the United States or that communicates the history of their journeys or their culture that connects them with their Latin heritage. Entry deadline: July 20, 2009. Must be submitted as 300 ppi jpeg files on CD only. For prospectus send SASE to STAC, 660 Rte 25A, St. James, NY 11780 or visit www.stacarts.org.
Smithtown Township Arts Council, St. James, NY
The Smithtown Township Arts Council is now accepting entries for Arte Latino, an exhibition in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month August 22 to September 23, 2009 at the Mills Pond House Gallery. The exhibition seeks to explore the unique cultural and artistic narratives that define being Latino in America.
Open to all media that expresses the experience of being Latino in the United States or that communicates the history of their journeys or their culture that connects them with their Latin heritage. Entry deadline: July 20, 2009. Must be submitted as 300 ppi jpeg files on CD only. For prospectus send SASE to STAC, 660 Rte 25A, St. James, NY 11780 or visit www.stacarts.org.
Latinos offered digital package by Time Warner
Time Warner Cable Launches Latino-Targeted Digital Video Package
“El Paquetazo” features mix of English and Spanish-language channels
By David Tanklefsky, Broadcast News Room
Time Warner cable of New York launched El Paquetazo, a digital video package designed to appeal to a wide audience of New York City's Latino residents, on Wednesday.
The package combines more than 40 Spanish-language channels with more than 80 English-language networks for $35 a month. El Paquetazo also includes 18 high-def channels in the sports, news and music genres.
"All New Yorkers bridge many worlds," said Jeffrey Hirsch, Time Warner Cable's regional president of residential services. "This new programming option reflects the bi-cultural landscape of which so many Americans are a part."
The package offers more than two dozen broadcast channels like WCBS, WNBC and WABC, as well as Spanish-language news channels WXTV Univision and WNJU Telemundo. In the sports tier, ESPN News and Fox Soccer channel are also part of the package alongside ESPN Deportes and Fox Sports Espanol. El Paquetazo also offers some religious, educational, young adult, music and movie channels.
"For almost one-third of our residents, Spanish is spoken fluently," Hirsch said. "We understand these households want programming that reflects their lives-a mix of Spanish and English."
“El Paquetazo” features mix of English and Spanish-language channels
By David Tanklefsky, Broadcast News Room
Time Warner cable of New York launched El Paquetazo, a digital video package designed to appeal to a wide audience of New York City's Latino residents, on Wednesday.
The package combines more than 40 Spanish-language channels with more than 80 English-language networks for $35 a month. El Paquetazo also includes 18 high-def channels in the sports, news and music genres.
"All New Yorkers bridge many worlds," said Jeffrey Hirsch, Time Warner Cable's regional president of residential services. "This new programming option reflects the bi-cultural landscape of which so many Americans are a part."
The package offers more than two dozen broadcast channels like WCBS, WNBC and WABC, as well as Spanish-language news channels WXTV Univision and WNJU Telemundo. In the sports tier, ESPN News and Fox Soccer channel are also part of the package alongside ESPN Deportes and Fox Sports Espanol. El Paquetazo also offers some religious, educational, young adult, music and movie channels.
"For almost one-third of our residents, Spanish is spoken fluently," Hirsch said. "We understand these households want programming that reflects their lives-a mix of Spanish and English."
Professor promotes Latino comic books
OSU professor shares story of Latino comics
Steve Skok, The Lantern, 5/21/09
Rocketo is a futuristic superhero who discovers lost cultures and civilizations. Paco Ramone is a street savvy break-dancer who uses sound and music to defeat his enemies. Ohio State professor Frederick Aldama hopes that these characters can teach people about a range of subjects: from the historic representation of Latino characters to how the brain interprets stories and ideas.
Aldama's new book, "Your Brain On Latino Comics: From Gus Arriola to Los Bros Hernandez," includes 21 interviews with Latino authors. It seeks not only to catalog a variety of comics, but also to examine how the human brain reacts to images and text while reading stories.
"The book not only tells you the story about Latinos in comic books," Aldama said, "it tells you something as foundational as how we can imagine other places, how we can feel, or be emotionally moved by, something that is not in our present tense experience."
Take for example the series "Rocketo," created by author Frank Espinosa. The series takes places 2,000 years in the future and Rocketo is the only person who can navigate Earth after a disaster that shifted continents and oceans.
"The character Rocketo is special because he is the only living memory of spaces, where the different continents are on the planet," Aldama said.
Aldama says comics such as "Rocketo" can be used as an alternative way of portraying actions, events and situations to readers who may not otherwise be able to imagine them.
"Storytelling is one aspect of being able to imagine a hypothetical situation," Aldama said. "It's just that novelists, comic book authors, artists, sculptors, scientists, we've all sort of chosen different ways to educate and refine the direction of that foundational impulse."
One detail unique to comics, which Aldama examines in his book, is the gutter that separates each illustration on a page. Aldama says these gaps allow readers to interpret for themselves what is happening between frames.
"In that movement you might imagine, more clearly, something like a leap, and I might imagine more clearly a step," Aldama said.
Aldama also explained that the book will study different representations of Latino characters over the course of history.
"For the sociology professor, for the history professor it's important because it can tell us something about the kind of audiences that were being imagined by those comic book authors in a particular place and time," Aldama said.
"Your Brain On Latino Comics" will be featured at Comic-Con in San Deigo, one of the world's largest stages for comic books and popular arts. Aldama is confident that it will appeal to academics as well as everyday comic enthusiasts.
"I wrote it with a crossover audience in mind," Aldama said. "What I do is sort of digest all the brain science and stuff to make it very user-friendly."
"Your Brain on Latin Comics: From Gus Arriola to Los Bros Hernandez," set for release June 1, will be available at the Wexner Center Bookstore. The store will host a book signing for Aldama at 5:20 p.m. on May 22.
Steve Skok can be reached at skok.2@osu.edu.
Steve Skok, The Lantern, 5/21/09
Rocketo is a futuristic superhero who discovers lost cultures and civilizations. Paco Ramone is a street savvy break-dancer who uses sound and music to defeat his enemies. Ohio State professor Frederick Aldama hopes that these characters can teach people about a range of subjects: from the historic representation of Latino characters to how the brain interprets stories and ideas.
Aldama's new book, "Your Brain On Latino Comics: From Gus Arriola to Los Bros Hernandez," includes 21 interviews with Latino authors. It seeks not only to catalog a variety of comics, but also to examine how the human brain reacts to images and text while reading stories.
"The book not only tells you the story about Latinos in comic books," Aldama said, "it tells you something as foundational as how we can imagine other places, how we can feel, or be emotionally moved by, something that is not in our present tense experience."
Take for example the series "Rocketo," created by author Frank Espinosa. The series takes places 2,000 years in the future and Rocketo is the only person who can navigate Earth after a disaster that shifted continents and oceans.
"The character Rocketo is special because he is the only living memory of spaces, where the different continents are on the planet," Aldama said.
Aldama says comics such as "Rocketo" can be used as an alternative way of portraying actions, events and situations to readers who may not otherwise be able to imagine them.
"Storytelling is one aspect of being able to imagine a hypothetical situation," Aldama said. "It's just that novelists, comic book authors, artists, sculptors, scientists, we've all sort of chosen different ways to educate and refine the direction of that foundational impulse."
One detail unique to comics, which Aldama examines in his book, is the gutter that separates each illustration on a page. Aldama says these gaps allow readers to interpret for themselves what is happening between frames.
"In that movement you might imagine, more clearly, something like a leap, and I might imagine more clearly a step," Aldama said.
Aldama also explained that the book will study different representations of Latino characters over the course of history.
"For the sociology professor, for the history professor it's important because it can tell us something about the kind of audiences that were being imagined by those comic book authors in a particular place and time," Aldama said.
"Your Brain On Latino Comics" will be featured at Comic-Con in San Deigo, one of the world's largest stages for comic books and popular arts. Aldama is confident that it will appeal to academics as well as everyday comic enthusiasts.
"I wrote it with a crossover audience in mind," Aldama said. "What I do is sort of digest all the brain science and stuff to make it very user-friendly."
"Your Brain on Latin Comics: From Gus Arriola to Los Bros Hernandez," set for release June 1, will be available at the Wexner Center Bookstore. The store will host a book signing for Aldama at 5:20 p.m. on May 22.
Steve Skok can be reached at skok.2@osu.edu.
Latina makes U.S. Naval Academy look good
U.S. Navy has a hit with Latina at the ad helm
Press Release
The United States Naval Academy (USNA) has hired a woman and a Latina to produce a recruitment campaign aimed at attracting women and minorities. Her name is Deborah Franco and she has developed what is being touted as the most successful campaign the USNA has ever had!
Deborah is a member of the Director’s Guild Association, which makes her a big rarity as a director and female, which claims only 20 percent female directors. But as a female and Latina, she is only one of 2 percent of all directors who are members of the DGA.
Deborah has written and created a 7 series graphic novel "Bravo Zulu" for the United States Naval Academy as part of the "Fulfill Your Destiny" Campaign intended to increase women and minority applicants. Last week the USNA released the first in the series of "Bravo Zulu".
Deborah’s previous work included 30 and 60-second spot commercials that have run with much success on network television.
“I find it interesting how creative people in Hollywood are diversifying themselves with creative projects and I also find it super interesting that the United States Naval Academy hired me, a Latina female writer/director, to get the job done,” says Deborah Franco.
This campaign has been the most successful in attracting new applicants for the USNA to date! Since the campaign's roll out, there has been the highest number of minority applications ever: 4,384, an increase of almost 50 percent over last year.
"Fulfill Your Destiny" campaign was created by Deborah and, in addition to the commercials, promotional videos and now graphic novels, she is planning to role out a few more "Hollywood-esque" ideas for the campaign.
Press Release
The United States Naval Academy (USNA) has hired a woman and a Latina to produce a recruitment campaign aimed at attracting women and minorities. Her name is Deborah Franco and she has developed what is being touted as the most successful campaign the USNA has ever had!
Deborah is a member of the Director’s Guild Association, which makes her a big rarity as a director and female, which claims only 20 percent female directors. But as a female and Latina, she is only one of 2 percent of all directors who are members of the DGA.
Deborah has written and created a 7 series graphic novel "Bravo Zulu" for the United States Naval Academy as part of the "Fulfill Your Destiny" Campaign intended to increase women and minority applicants. Last week the USNA released the first in the series of "Bravo Zulu".
Deborah’s previous work included 30 and 60-second spot commercials that have run with much success on network television.
“I find it interesting how creative people in Hollywood are diversifying themselves with creative projects and I also find it super interesting that the United States Naval Academy hired me, a Latina female writer/director, to get the job done,” says Deborah Franco.
This campaign has been the most successful in attracting new applicants for the USNA to date! Since the campaign's roll out, there has been the highest number of minority applications ever: 4,384, an increase of almost 50 percent over last year.
"Fulfill Your Destiny" campaign was created by Deborah and, in addition to the commercials, promotional videos and now graphic novels, she is planning to role out a few more "Hollywood-esque" ideas for the campaign.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Renaming street after Latino leader important
Chavez street name is about a permanent recognition of the Hispanic community
by Lawrence J. Maushard, Oregon Live, May 18, 2009
My, The Oregonian's editorial writers, as evidenced in "Cesar Chavez: A divide, or a bridge?" (May 15) are especially prickly these days.
The idea isn't to inflict pain, no matter what you believe one person says on the matter.
No, the idea is ensure a very obvious and public demonstration of demographic presence in a particular community. A permanent and constant recognition of the Hispanic community in the city of Portland. That's what this is about.
Doing so by renaming a major urban boulevard is a time honored and important gesture domestically and around the world.
Hey, when one side comes out on top after a revolution, or one generation takes its rightful place in serious power politics, then they eventually validate the changes by renaming a few streets to some of their champions.
Street renamings are a bit old school, for sure. But tradition obviously has its place. And this is certainly one of them, I feel.
The generation that now takes a seat at this bounteous Cascadia table has every right to leave behind its calling cards in our collective communal psyche.
Moreover, when people and institutions, like The Oregonian, actively attempt to deny the reasonable recognition of an ethnic or cultural group's presence, then you have to wonder, Why?
Racism, xenophobia, nativism, Know-nothingness. Take your pick. They all apply.
Let's never forget that in the heyday of the all too real Oregon Klan, The Oregonian famously took a noncomittal head-in-the-sand position, according to many serious historians.
Also, during the round-ups of the entire Japanese-American community, U.S. citizens included, in Portland in 1942, The Oregonian facilitated the ethnic cleansing with propaganda photo features of faux pleasant living conditions in the city's barb wire and guard-patrolled detention camp, located on the site of the present day Expo Center.
The Oregonian has a lot to live down and learn from. And it really has a lot of nerve to advise any minority group about the rights and wrongs of honoring its heroes.
One more thing. Cesar Chavez was a labor leader, a union man fighting for civil rights. How can anyone therefore trust The Oregonian, an infamous union-busting company, to offer any valid editorial discourse on the proper means to honor the people who devoted everything they had to improving the living standards of the poor and working class?
When push comes to shove, this publication is not on the side of the vulnerable people in this community. This editorial is just another example of how The Oregonian proves that maxim every day.
Lawrence J. Maushard is a journalist and author who lives in Southeast Portland. www.maushard.net
by Lawrence J. Maushard, Oregon Live, May 18, 2009
My, The Oregonian's editorial writers, as evidenced in "Cesar Chavez: A divide, or a bridge?" (May 15) are especially prickly these days.
The idea isn't to inflict pain, no matter what you believe one person says on the matter.
No, the idea is ensure a very obvious and public demonstration of demographic presence in a particular community. A permanent and constant recognition of the Hispanic community in the city of Portland. That's what this is about.
Doing so by renaming a major urban boulevard is a time honored and important gesture domestically and around the world.
Hey, when one side comes out on top after a revolution, or one generation takes its rightful place in serious power politics, then they eventually validate the changes by renaming a few streets to some of their champions.
Street renamings are a bit old school, for sure. But tradition obviously has its place. And this is certainly one of them, I feel.
The generation that now takes a seat at this bounteous Cascadia table has every right to leave behind its calling cards in our collective communal psyche.
Moreover, when people and institutions, like The Oregonian, actively attempt to deny the reasonable recognition of an ethnic or cultural group's presence, then you have to wonder, Why?
Racism, xenophobia, nativism, Know-nothingness. Take your pick. They all apply.
Let's never forget that in the heyday of the all too real Oregon Klan, The Oregonian famously took a noncomittal head-in-the-sand position, according to many serious historians.
Also, during the round-ups of the entire Japanese-American community, U.S. citizens included, in Portland in 1942, The Oregonian facilitated the ethnic cleansing with propaganda photo features of faux pleasant living conditions in the city's barb wire and guard-patrolled detention camp, located on the site of the present day Expo Center.
The Oregonian has a lot to live down and learn from. And it really has a lot of nerve to advise any minority group about the rights and wrongs of honoring its heroes.
One more thing. Cesar Chavez was a labor leader, a union man fighting for civil rights. How can anyone therefore trust The Oregonian, an infamous union-busting company, to offer any valid editorial discourse on the proper means to honor the people who devoted everything they had to improving the living standards of the poor and working class?
When push comes to shove, this publication is not on the side of the vulnerable people in this community. This editorial is just another example of how The Oregonian proves that maxim every day.
Lawrence J. Maushard is a journalist and author who lives in Southeast Portland. www.maushard.net
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Latino rock legends talk
'Land of a Thousand Dances' authors talk Chicano rock
Authors David Reyes and Tom Waldman know the history and what they'd like to see and hear in the future.
By Reed Johnson, LA TIMES, May 16, 2009
In 1998, when David Reyes and Tom Waldman first published their authoritative history of Chicano rock 'n' roll in Southern California, "Land of a Thousand Dances," their home state was in upheaval. The aftershocks of Proposition 187 (1994) were rattling California politics. Thousands of migrants pouring in from war-torn Central America were remaking the landscape of Latino L.A. And the rock en español movement was erupting, hinting at a potentially seismic shift in Latino cultural tectonics.
A decade later, Los Angeles has a Mexican-American mayor, Latino artists are increasingly visible in U.S. culture, and the "Latinization" of American life is occurring in practically every state. But one thing hasn't changed, the authors say. Most Chicano rock bands, despite their continuing creativity, remain marginal to the mainstream rock scene.
"We still to this day don't have a model for what it means to make it, and really make it, in the Anglo market for a Chicano band," said Waldman, 52. "What's remained elusive is that huge worldwide success."
That's partly the result of marketing decisions made by record companies and the music industry, say the authors, who'll be appearing Sunday at Skylight Books in Los Feliz. They'll be joined by Lysa Flores, one of several younger Chicano artists who get considerable ink in the updated edition of "Land of a Thousand Dances," which has just been reissued by the University of New Mexico Press, with a new introduction and photos.
But the authors also believe that Chicano artists face unusual challenges in American society, where they're pressured to maintain a strong sense of Mexican identity but also to assimilate. As the men state in their book's conclusion, Chicano musicians, from Ritchie Valens to Los Lobos and beyond, have labored to incorporate Anglo-American pop music as well as Mexican and Latin influences.
"This not only contradicts the racists," the authors write, "but also the radicals, who while postulating a distinct Chicano identity seem to forget that Chicanos have been intimately connected to American life for decades."
"We're still not out of that restrictive definition of what a Chicano musician is, in America," said Waldman. For many Chicano rockers, he adds, the crucial question remains: "How do I resist the pressures both from Anglos and Chicanos to be the kind of musician they want me to be?"
The urge to venture past restrictive musical boundaries helped bring Reyes, 56, and Waldman together in the late '70s, when they worked together at Tower Records in West Covina. Reyes already was a budding music historian and archivist, amassing a vast personal collection of vinyl and vintage photographs. The store's clientele was a mixture of punk rockers, English-speaking suburban rockers into the likes of Journey and Cheap Trick, plus Latinos from El Monte and Pomona.
The two men discovered a mutual fascination with Valens, Chicano rock's founding icon, as well as with seminal Chicano rock bands such as Thee Midniters and Cannibal & the Headhunters (who once toured with the Beatles), and with influential disc jockeys Art Laboe, Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg and others who helped popularize the East L.A. sound.
Dismayed that most conventional histories of rock 'n' roll had ignored Chicano rock, or failed to elucidate its social context, Reyes and Waldman determined to write an alternative history. They began culling material from Reyes' personal collections and tracking down some of the old-timers for taped interviews. Many of the veteran musicians, who'd never been solicited by writers before, were eager to share memories.
"The word started spreading we were doing this, and that helped a lot," said Reyes. "Great stories. We couldn't fit 'em all in the book."
Only a few months after the book's original publication, the authors were approached by L.A.-based filmmaker Jon Wilkman about making a documentary about Southern California Chicano rock. The fruit of that collaboration, "The Chicano Wave (La Onda Chicana)," will be seen as part of a four-hour PBS series, "Latin Music USA," in October.
Despite a dearth of live-music venues in East L.A., and the authors' view that rock en español's success has splintered an already fractured Spanish-language music market, Waldman and Reyes believe that Chicano rock can continue to flourish with artists such as Flores, the politically charged Quetzal and Ozomatli, and a number of emerging Latino bands from L.A.'s middle-class suburbs.
In preparing the book's new edition, Waldman said, "David and I looked at some of the young bands. And I think they want to rock."
reed.johnson@latimes.com
Authors David Reyes and Tom Waldman know the history and what they'd like to see and hear in the future.
By Reed Johnson, LA TIMES, May 16, 2009
In 1998, when David Reyes and Tom Waldman first published their authoritative history of Chicano rock 'n' roll in Southern California, "Land of a Thousand Dances," their home state was in upheaval. The aftershocks of Proposition 187 (1994) were rattling California politics. Thousands of migrants pouring in from war-torn Central America were remaking the landscape of Latino L.A. And the rock en español movement was erupting, hinting at a potentially seismic shift in Latino cultural tectonics.
A decade later, Los Angeles has a Mexican-American mayor, Latino artists are increasingly visible in U.S. culture, and the "Latinization" of American life is occurring in practically every state. But one thing hasn't changed, the authors say. Most Chicano rock bands, despite their continuing creativity, remain marginal to the mainstream rock scene.
"We still to this day don't have a model for what it means to make it, and really make it, in the Anglo market for a Chicano band," said Waldman, 52. "What's remained elusive is that huge worldwide success."
That's partly the result of marketing decisions made by record companies and the music industry, say the authors, who'll be appearing Sunday at Skylight Books in Los Feliz. They'll be joined by Lysa Flores, one of several younger Chicano artists who get considerable ink in the updated edition of "Land of a Thousand Dances," which has just been reissued by the University of New Mexico Press, with a new introduction and photos.
But the authors also believe that Chicano artists face unusual challenges in American society, where they're pressured to maintain a strong sense of Mexican identity but also to assimilate. As the men state in their book's conclusion, Chicano musicians, from Ritchie Valens to Los Lobos and beyond, have labored to incorporate Anglo-American pop music as well as Mexican and Latin influences.
"This not only contradicts the racists," the authors write, "but also the radicals, who while postulating a distinct Chicano identity seem to forget that Chicanos have been intimately connected to American life for decades."
"We're still not out of that restrictive definition of what a Chicano musician is, in America," said Waldman. For many Chicano rockers, he adds, the crucial question remains: "How do I resist the pressures both from Anglos and Chicanos to be the kind of musician they want me to be?"
The urge to venture past restrictive musical boundaries helped bring Reyes, 56, and Waldman together in the late '70s, when they worked together at Tower Records in West Covina. Reyes already was a budding music historian and archivist, amassing a vast personal collection of vinyl and vintage photographs. The store's clientele was a mixture of punk rockers, English-speaking suburban rockers into the likes of Journey and Cheap Trick, plus Latinos from El Monte and Pomona.
The two men discovered a mutual fascination with Valens, Chicano rock's founding icon, as well as with seminal Chicano rock bands such as Thee Midniters and Cannibal & the Headhunters (who once toured with the Beatles), and with influential disc jockeys Art Laboe, Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg and others who helped popularize the East L.A. sound.
Dismayed that most conventional histories of rock 'n' roll had ignored Chicano rock, or failed to elucidate its social context, Reyes and Waldman determined to write an alternative history. They began culling material from Reyes' personal collections and tracking down some of the old-timers for taped interviews. Many of the veteran musicians, who'd never been solicited by writers before, were eager to share memories.
"The word started spreading we were doing this, and that helped a lot," said Reyes. "Great stories. We couldn't fit 'em all in the book."
Only a few months after the book's original publication, the authors were approached by L.A.-based filmmaker Jon Wilkman about making a documentary about Southern California Chicano rock. The fruit of that collaboration, "The Chicano Wave (La Onda Chicana)," will be seen as part of a four-hour PBS series, "Latin Music USA," in October.
Despite a dearth of live-music venues in East L.A., and the authors' view that rock en español's success has splintered an already fractured Spanish-language music market, Waldman and Reyes believe that Chicano rock can continue to flourish with artists such as Flores, the politically charged Quetzal and Ozomatli, and a number of emerging Latino bands from L.A.'s middle-class suburbs.
In preparing the book's new edition, Waldman said, "David and I looked at some of the young bands. And I think they want to rock."
reed.johnson@latimes.com
Hispanic filmmakers to learn from Robert Redford
Redford teams up to train minority filmmakers
Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Robert Redford is collaborating with the state of New Mexico to expand training for Native American and Hispanic filmmakers.
The program, "Sundance in New Mexico," will be based at Los Luceros, a state-owned historic home along the Rio Grande. It will be used for programs and workshops.
The actor and director, who puts on the yearly Sundance Film Festival, says the program grew out of his long-standing love for the state and his commitment to furthering opportunities for American Indian and Hispanic filmmakers.
The collaboration begins this weekend with a panel discussion featuring director John Sayles and others in Santa Fe.
Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Robert Redford is collaborating with the state of New Mexico to expand training for Native American and Hispanic filmmakers.
The program, "Sundance in New Mexico," will be based at Los Luceros, a state-owned historic home along the Rio Grande. It will be used for programs and workshops.
The actor and director, who puts on the yearly Sundance Film Festival, says the program grew out of his long-standing love for the state and his commitment to furthering opportunities for American Indian and Hispanic filmmakers.
The collaboration begins this weekend with a panel discussion featuring director John Sayles and others in Santa Fe.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Latino and Jewish communities celebrate
L.A. Jewish, Latino communities to celebrate
JTA.org, May 11, 2009
LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- The Jewish and Latino communities will join in a “Fiesta Shalom” at the spot where the Israeli flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles.
The site is in front of the Breed Street Shul in Boyle Heights, once the city’s largest Jewish enclave but now predominantly Latino. The flag was raised there on May 15, 1948.
Thousands of people from the two communities, joined by Boyle Heights’ African Americans and Asians, are expected at the May 17 event. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other dignitaries are scheduled to address the crowd.
Breaking new bilingual ground, the weekly Jewish Journal and the Hispanic daily La Opinion will jointly publish an English-Spanish insert in their May 15 editions, with both publications looking toward future collaborations.
Israeli Consul General Yaakov Dayan conceived the novel celebration and enlisted City Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district includes Boyle Heights, the Jewish federation, organizations and business enterprises.
Boyle Heights evolved into Los Angeles’ largest shtetl in the five years following World War I, when the city’s Jewish population rose from 19,000 to 45,000, and remained predominant until the late 1940s. As a growing number of Latinos, as well as African Americans and Asians, moved in, Boyle Heights became a vibrantly diverse community.
Fiesta Shalom has historical antecedents in the 1894 multiethnic Fiesta de Los Angeles and the Friendship Festival of the 1940s, which pioneered the Jewish community’s outreach to other ethnic groups.
In its modern incarnation, “Fiesta Shalom will, we hope, send the message of unity and mutual support between American communities and Israel from Los Angeles to the entire United States,” Dayan said.
Huizar said that “as a Latino growing up in Boyle Heights, I know very well about the community’s storied Jewish and Latino histories. Fiesta Shalom gives us the unique opportunity to come together to celebrate these two cultures that have been so influential in making Boyle Heights and Los Angeles the vibrant communities they are today.”
JTA.org, May 11, 2009
LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- The Jewish and Latino communities will join in a “Fiesta Shalom” at the spot where the Israeli flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles.
The site is in front of the Breed Street Shul in Boyle Heights, once the city’s largest Jewish enclave but now predominantly Latino. The flag was raised there on May 15, 1948.
Thousands of people from the two communities, joined by Boyle Heights’ African Americans and Asians, are expected at the May 17 event. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other dignitaries are scheduled to address the crowd.
Breaking new bilingual ground, the weekly Jewish Journal and the Hispanic daily La Opinion will jointly publish an English-Spanish insert in their May 15 editions, with both publications looking toward future collaborations.
Israeli Consul General Yaakov Dayan conceived the novel celebration and enlisted City Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district includes Boyle Heights, the Jewish federation, organizations and business enterprises.
Boyle Heights evolved into Los Angeles’ largest shtetl in the five years following World War I, when the city’s Jewish population rose from 19,000 to 45,000, and remained predominant until the late 1940s. As a growing number of Latinos, as well as African Americans and Asians, moved in, Boyle Heights became a vibrantly diverse community.
Fiesta Shalom has historical antecedents in the 1894 multiethnic Fiesta de Los Angeles and the Friendship Festival of the 1940s, which pioneered the Jewish community’s outreach to other ethnic groups.
In its modern incarnation, “Fiesta Shalom will, we hope, send the message of unity and mutual support between American communities and Israel from Los Angeles to the entire United States,” Dayan said.
Huizar said that “as a Latino growing up in Boyle Heights, I know very well about the community’s storied Jewish and Latino histories. Fiesta Shalom gives us the unique opportunity to come together to celebrate these two cultures that have been so influential in making Boyle Heights and Los Angeles the vibrant communities they are today.”
Orlando to host Hispanic film festival
Hispanic film festival issues call for entries, submission rules
TC Palm, May 11, 2009
ORLANDO — The Orlando Hispanic Film Festival announces a call for entries for the 2009 Hispanic Film Festival slated for Sept. 16-20.
The festival is open to U.S. and International films in five categories: Features, Shorts, Documentaries, Short Documentaries, and 3-D Animated Shorts. The film must include at least one cast or crew member of Hispanic descent or have a film with Hispanic-themed subject matter.
All films submitted must be in the NTSC format, DVD-R, or VHS and meet the length duration requirements. Films submitted in Spanish are strongly recommended to have English subtitles and films in English, Spanish subtitles.
Regular entry deadline is May 19, extended deadlines run through July 3.
For further details, log on to www.ohfilmfestival.com.
TC Palm, May 11, 2009
ORLANDO — The Orlando Hispanic Film Festival announces a call for entries for the 2009 Hispanic Film Festival slated for Sept. 16-20.
The festival is open to U.S. and International films in five categories: Features, Shorts, Documentaries, Short Documentaries, and 3-D Animated Shorts. The film must include at least one cast or crew member of Hispanic descent or have a film with Hispanic-themed subject matter.
All films submitted must be in the NTSC format, DVD-R, or VHS and meet the length duration requirements. Films submitted in Spanish are strongly recommended to have English subtitles and films in English, Spanish subtitles.
Regular entry deadline is May 19, extended deadlines run through July 3.
For further details, log on to www.ohfilmfestival.com.
Latino film festival at UCLA
Film Festival captures look at film-making
By Bethany Powers, Today UCLA, May 12, 2009
Festival looks at Latino roles over 80 years of film-making
Chon Noriega, an award-winning professor of cinema and media studies at UCLA, has a major role in a film festival that lets viewers look broadly at how Latino characters were portrayed over eight decades of film-making.
chon-noriegaNoriega, director of the Chicano Studies Research Center, put together the lineup of 32 movies that are being shown on Turner Classic Movies as part of the Race & Hollywood: Latino Images in Film Festival that is taking place throughout May.
To assemble this series of movies that feature Latino characters in significant or leading roles over the last 80 years in Hollywood, Noriega spent countless hours over the last eight months viewing film after film.
"It's interesting to go back and see how Latinos have been portrayed in film," said Noriega, who is the author of "Shot in America: Television, the State, and the Rise of Chicano Cinema" and editor of nine books dealing with Latino media, performance and visual art. "Although you may not agree with the portrayal, it's good to see how they were used."
Appearing with co-host Robert Osborne, Noriega introduces viewers to each film and provides background information on the lineup.
What makes this film festival even more remarkable is that many of the movies he chose are being seen for the first time since their original release. Noriega said that although he identified roughly 70 films that could have been included in the festival, some, it turned out, were harder for him to track down in order to obtain rights.
Among the classics are "Ramona" (1910) and "The Mark of Zorro" (1920). Also included in the lineup are such contemporary films as "The Milagro Beanfield War" (1988), "La Bamba" (1987), "The Mambo Kings" (1992), "Stand and Deliver" (1988), "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (1983) and "Lone Star" (1996).
screen2
Teacher Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) nurtures self-esteem among his gang member students in "Stand and Deliver" (1988).
"The series looks broadly at the role of Latino characters in the history of film," he said. Hollywood directors generally chose to portray Mexican-American, Puerto Rican or Cuban-American characters in their movies so these three major ethnic groups are primarily seen in the festival.
But although the characters are Latino, nearly one-third of the movies in the festival featured white actors playing these roles. Noriega noticed that it wasn't until the 1980s when Latino producers began to become more prominent in film-making, and more Latino actors began appearing in significant roles.
screen1
in "Mexican Spitfire" (1940), actress Lupe Velez used her talent for comedy to break through the stereotypical Latina role.
To add context to the films, Noriega did considerable homework — researching the actors, gathering reviews of the movies when they were first released and tracking down original sources to get a firsthand connection to the films.
The films are being shown 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout May. They are grouped together by theme or genre. For example, on some evenings, boxing movies or comedies will be screened. Each night's programming will center on a particular theme, such as images from the silent era, views of border towns, interracial relationships and Latino representations in past and current westerns.
One of Noriega’s favorites among the films he chose was once titled "And Now Miguel," made in 1953. He knew it was a quasi-documentary, but it wasn't until he did more research that he realized the film was based on a real person, who is still alive today.
For a schedule of the movies being shown throughout the month, go here. To see trailers and film clips, go here.
By Bethany Powers, Today UCLA, May 12, 2009
Festival looks at Latino roles over 80 years of film-making
Chon Noriega, an award-winning professor of cinema and media studies at UCLA, has a major role in a film festival that lets viewers look broadly at how Latino characters were portrayed over eight decades of film-making.
chon-noriegaNoriega, director of the Chicano Studies Research Center, put together the lineup of 32 movies that are being shown on Turner Classic Movies as part of the Race & Hollywood: Latino Images in Film Festival that is taking place throughout May.
To assemble this series of movies that feature Latino characters in significant or leading roles over the last 80 years in Hollywood, Noriega spent countless hours over the last eight months viewing film after film.
"It's interesting to go back and see how Latinos have been portrayed in film," said Noriega, who is the author of "Shot in America: Television, the State, and the Rise of Chicano Cinema" and editor of nine books dealing with Latino media, performance and visual art. "Although you may not agree with the portrayal, it's good to see how they were used."
Appearing with co-host Robert Osborne, Noriega introduces viewers to each film and provides background information on the lineup.
What makes this film festival even more remarkable is that many of the movies he chose are being seen for the first time since their original release. Noriega said that although he identified roughly 70 films that could have been included in the festival, some, it turned out, were harder for him to track down in order to obtain rights.
Among the classics are "Ramona" (1910) and "The Mark of Zorro" (1920). Also included in the lineup are such contemporary films as "The Milagro Beanfield War" (1988), "La Bamba" (1987), "The Mambo Kings" (1992), "Stand and Deliver" (1988), "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (1983) and "Lone Star" (1996).
screen2
Teacher Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) nurtures self-esteem among his gang member students in "Stand and Deliver" (1988).
"The series looks broadly at the role of Latino characters in the history of film," he said. Hollywood directors generally chose to portray Mexican-American, Puerto Rican or Cuban-American characters in their movies so these three major ethnic groups are primarily seen in the festival.
But although the characters are Latino, nearly one-third of the movies in the festival featured white actors playing these roles. Noriega noticed that it wasn't until the 1980s when Latino producers began to become more prominent in film-making, and more Latino actors began appearing in significant roles.
screen1
in "Mexican Spitfire" (1940), actress Lupe Velez used her talent for comedy to break through the stereotypical Latina role.
To add context to the films, Noriega did considerable homework — researching the actors, gathering reviews of the movies when they were first released and tracking down original sources to get a firsthand connection to the films.
The films are being shown 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout May. They are grouped together by theme or genre. For example, on some evenings, boxing movies or comedies will be screened. Each night's programming will center on a particular theme, such as images from the silent era, views of border towns, interracial relationships and Latino representations in past and current westerns.
One of Noriega’s favorites among the films he chose was once titled "And Now Miguel," made in 1953. He knew it was a quasi-documentary, but it wasn't until he did more research that he realized the film was based on a real person, who is still alive today.
For a schedule of the movies being shown throughout the month, go here. To see trailers and film clips, go here.
Latino journalists losing in tough economy
Blacks, Latinos, Asians lose as newsrooms shrink
By Nisa Islam Muhammad, Final Call, May 13, 2009
(FinalCall.com) - The fight to increase diversity in newsrooms received a stunning blow April 16 when the American Society of News Editors annual newsroom census revealed U.S. newsrooms became less diverse in 2008 from the year before.
The percentage of Black, Asian, Hispanic and Native American journalists in the nation's newsrooms dropped from 13.5 percent in 2007 to 13.4 percent in 2008. The percentage of these same journalists in supervisory positions also declined, from 11.4 percent in 2007 to 11.2 percent in 2008 despite efforts to influence their retention rates in newsroom management.
“Industry layoffs affect people of color disproportionately and destroy the gains we have made during past years,” said Rafael Olmeda, president of UNITY president, an alliance of four national associations representing more than 10,000 journalists of color. “The small two-percentage point increase in online journalists of color is the one encouraging point in the results.”
“It is disheartening that the vision articulated by ASNE is still such a distant goal after years of benchmarks, committees and commitments,” Mr. Olmeda said.“We are not a luxury.Part of the reason the industry is suffering is because it has not grown the audiences to support it.”
Black and Asian journalists received the hardest hits and are losing jobs at a faster rate than Whites and other minorities, setting back progress made over decades through diversity initiatives.
Newsroom jobs held by Black journalists were cut by an alarming 13.5 percent in 2008, making them the single most targeted group for job losses in newsrooms across the country, according to the ASNE study.
“While NABJ recognizes the current economic downturn, newspapers must stop the bloodletting of Black journalists now,” said National Association of Black Journalists President Barbara Ciara. “It is unconscionable that this industry is willing to jeopardize the accuracy, integrity and bottom line of its publications. Diversity is not only good business but it inspires diversity in content too.”
In all, nearly 400 Black journalists lost their jobs in 2008, representing the largest drop in all minority employment and reducing progress toward diversity in newsrooms to 1998 census levels.
Four-hundred fifty eight newspapers still have no minorities in their newsrooms and this number has been growing since 2006.Only 111 out of 633 newspapers surveyed have achieved parity with the minority population in their communities.
“Newsrooms without Black journalists are unacceptable,” Ms. Ciara said. “NABJ calls on industry leaders to re-commit to making diversity a priority—even in this difficult climate.”
The decrease in minority representation in newsrooms runs counter to general population trends, which project the United States will become a “majority minority” country by mid-century.
“This is about social dominance,” said Gary Howard, founder and president of the REACH Center for Multicultural Education.Mr. Gary has 35-years of experience in diversity leadership and training.“It's a system of privilege and preference reinforced by power that favors certain groups over others.A key piece is who gets to construct what's real, even if it's not true.
“The issue of dominance is all over the media.Fewer and fewer small companies exist while larger companies give us the news.When you lose journalists of color you lose a different race lens.The media is a hugely dominant influence in our lives.When you have social dominance over the media you're in trouble.”
UNITY is inviting industry organizations, including ASNE, to a summit this summer to address specific and realistic recommendations that can help newsrooms achieve their diversity goals.
American daily newspapers lost 5,900 newsroom jobs last year, reducing their employment of journalists by 11.3 percent to the levels of the early 1980s.
The overall job loss was the largest one-year decline in employment in the history of the ASNE census and followed a drop of 2,400 a year ago. Since a peak of 56,400 reported in 2001, newsroom jobs have decreased by 9,700. The highest employment level in the survey's history was 56,900 reported in 1990.
“The loss of journalists is a loss for democracy,” said ASNE President Charlotte Hall. “The loss of people of color from our newsrooms is especially disturbing because our future depends on our ability to serve multicultural audiences. ASNE is committed to keeping newsroom diversity on the front burner even in tough times.”
In this decade, there has been a net increase of Latino, Asian and Native American journalists and a net decline of Black journalists.
By Nisa Islam Muhammad, Final Call, May 13, 2009
(FinalCall.com) - The fight to increase diversity in newsrooms received a stunning blow April 16 when the American Society of News Editors annual newsroom census revealed U.S. newsrooms became less diverse in 2008 from the year before.
The percentage of Black, Asian, Hispanic and Native American journalists in the nation's newsrooms dropped from 13.5 percent in 2007 to 13.4 percent in 2008. The percentage of these same journalists in supervisory positions also declined, from 11.4 percent in 2007 to 11.2 percent in 2008 despite efforts to influence their retention rates in newsroom management.
“Industry layoffs affect people of color disproportionately and destroy the gains we have made during past years,” said Rafael Olmeda, president of UNITY president, an alliance of four national associations representing more than 10,000 journalists of color. “The small two-percentage point increase in online journalists of color is the one encouraging point in the results.”
“It is disheartening that the vision articulated by ASNE is still such a distant goal after years of benchmarks, committees and commitments,” Mr. Olmeda said.“We are not a luxury.Part of the reason the industry is suffering is because it has not grown the audiences to support it.”
Black and Asian journalists received the hardest hits and are losing jobs at a faster rate than Whites and other minorities, setting back progress made over decades through diversity initiatives.
Newsroom jobs held by Black journalists were cut by an alarming 13.5 percent in 2008, making them the single most targeted group for job losses in newsrooms across the country, according to the ASNE study.
“While NABJ recognizes the current economic downturn, newspapers must stop the bloodletting of Black journalists now,” said National Association of Black Journalists President Barbara Ciara. “It is unconscionable that this industry is willing to jeopardize the accuracy, integrity and bottom line of its publications. Diversity is not only good business but it inspires diversity in content too.”
In all, nearly 400 Black journalists lost their jobs in 2008, representing the largest drop in all minority employment and reducing progress toward diversity in newsrooms to 1998 census levels.
Four-hundred fifty eight newspapers still have no minorities in their newsrooms and this number has been growing since 2006.Only 111 out of 633 newspapers surveyed have achieved parity with the minority population in their communities.
“Newsrooms without Black journalists are unacceptable,” Ms. Ciara said. “NABJ calls on industry leaders to re-commit to making diversity a priority—even in this difficult climate.”
The decrease in minority representation in newsrooms runs counter to general population trends, which project the United States will become a “majority minority” country by mid-century.
“This is about social dominance,” said Gary Howard, founder and president of the REACH Center for Multicultural Education.Mr. Gary has 35-years of experience in diversity leadership and training.“It's a system of privilege and preference reinforced by power that favors certain groups over others.A key piece is who gets to construct what's real, even if it's not true.
“The issue of dominance is all over the media.Fewer and fewer small companies exist while larger companies give us the news.When you lose journalists of color you lose a different race lens.The media is a hugely dominant influence in our lives.When you have social dominance over the media you're in trouble.”
UNITY is inviting industry organizations, including ASNE, to a summit this summer to address specific and realistic recommendations that can help newsrooms achieve their diversity goals.
American daily newspapers lost 5,900 newsroom jobs last year, reducing their employment of journalists by 11.3 percent to the levels of the early 1980s.
The overall job loss was the largest one-year decline in employment in the history of the ASNE census and followed a drop of 2,400 a year ago. Since a peak of 56,400 reported in 2001, newsroom jobs have decreased by 9,700. The highest employment level in the survey's history was 56,900 reported in 1990.
“The loss of journalists is a loss for democracy,” said ASNE President Charlotte Hall. “The loss of people of color from our newsrooms is especially disturbing because our future depends on our ability to serve multicultural audiences. ASNE is committed to keeping newsroom diversity on the front burner even in tough times.”
In this decade, there has been a net increase of Latino, Asian and Native American journalists and a net decline of Black journalists.
Coach helps Latino students with scholarships
Ark. volleyball coach establishing scholarship
USA Today
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas volleyball coach Robert Pulliza and his wife Jamie are establishing a non-athletic scholarship aimed at Hispanic students.
The Robert and Jamie Pulliza Opportunity Scholarship is a $1,500 renewable fund for students of Hispanic heritage in Benton and Washington counties.
"Jamie and I are extremely excited to be here in Fayetteville and to show our appreciation to our fans and our community, we wanted to establish this scholarship," Pulliza said.
Pulliza, a Puerto Rico native, is beginning his second year as Arkansas volleyball coach.
The scholarship is intended for non-athletes. An applicant must be a United States citizen or legal permanent resident.
USA Today
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas volleyball coach Robert Pulliza and his wife Jamie are establishing a non-athletic scholarship aimed at Hispanic students.
The Robert and Jamie Pulliza Opportunity Scholarship is a $1,500 renewable fund for students of Hispanic heritage in Benton and Washington counties.
"Jamie and I are extremely excited to be here in Fayetteville and to show our appreciation to our fans and our community, we wanted to establish this scholarship," Pulliza said.
Pulliza, a Puerto Rico native, is beginning his second year as Arkansas volleyball coach.
The scholarship is intended for non-athletes. An applicant must be a United States citizen or legal permanent resident.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Latino culture taught through salsa lessons
Salsa lessons include Latino culture
By PETE SHERMAN, THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER, May 08, 2009
Julio Barrenzuela, a salsa fixture in Springfield, is making a serious effort to introduce the dance and the Latino culture behind it to schoolchildren in the city.
Spending a day and a half at Black Hawk Elementary School this past week, Barrenzuela, 28, got started with some second- and third-graders Wednesday afternoon. He began with questions.
“How many Spanish-speaking countries are there?” he asked. Moments later, he revealed it’s 21.
“Who wants to grow up?
“Who wants to go to school?”
These aren’t icebreakers. Barrenzuela wants to use salsa as a way to build cultural awareness and help children develop social skills and make healthy life choices.
He tends to adjust his message depending on the audience.
“For older kids, salsa is a gateway to talk to kids about staying in school, drugs, using a skill to meet more people and enjoy them,” Barrenzuela said. “I’ll ask them, ‘What are three other things you can do to improve? Three things you don’t want to do?’”
Regarding the last question, getting pregnant is a common answer from teenage girls, Barrenzuela said.
After Barrenzuela had the Black Hawk students count to 10 in Spanish, Italian and French, he got down to business.
“Can I have the guys over here and the ladies over here?”
“Your first salsa step is always going to be with your right foot,” he said to the girls.
For smaller children, Barrenzuela mostly sticks to simpler, merengue-style moves, which was the case at Black Hawk. Within minutes, dance music was pumping through the gym and roughly 20 children were following Barrenzuela’s moves, wriggling hips, waving arms and stepping back and forth in unison. In one class, a group of girls wouldn’t let go of him. In another, the boys were the ones hanging on.
“I like dancing, because it gets me fun and active,” said Black Hawk second-grader Jacob Thomas Brubaker-Lee. “Salsa dancing might be one of my favorite things. It seems familiar. Maybe from TV.”
For the past several months, Barrenzuela has been holding such lessons in schools as well as after-school programs hosted by the Springfield Urban League. He considers himself in the pilot phase of a more ambitious plan, leading workshops for physical education and Spanish teachers on integrating dancing with more serious life lessons.
A graduate of Lanphier High School who studied marketing at Southern Illinois University, Barrenzuela taught salsa at SIU, including to members of a VFW lodge.
“That’s Mexican, ain’t it?” Barrenzuela recalls being asked. He figured he might be in for a rough night.
“But within 45 minutes, they had changed their stigma and were dancing along. Through this, people walk away with a different appreciation of Latino.”
Black Hawk principal Bob Mitchell, a former art teacher of Barrenzuela’s at Washington Middle School, recruited him to help with a family fitness night at his school. Mitchell said his original intention was to find a instructor in Zumba, a dance/aerobic exercise, but a Black Hawk teacher recommended Barrenzuela.
“I recognized him from Washington,” Mitchell said, before joining in on the merengue lessons for a few minutes Wednesday. “He was a little more shy then. But he’s always been likable. For fitness night, he was very well received.”
Mitchell said salsa lessons complement another program the school is using that addresses healthy living.
“He talks about the culture, speaks to them in Spanish. He gives them the whole gamut of stuff in a short amount of time,” Mitchell said.
Barrenzuela has plans to beef up his presentation.
“If I pursue a higher-education degree, perhaps in educational psychology, maybe in five to 10 years I can raise the status quo, of cultural awareness, education. I think I can do it.”
The Springfield School District appears willing to see what’s possible. However, it hasn’t made any commitments.
“The district has been working diligently with Mr. Barrenzuela, as he has a great deal to offer both in the academic and physical realms,” said Jane Chard, managing principal of secondary programs for the district. “Hopefully … there may be opportunities to incorporate his work,” she said.
Pete Sherman can be reached at 788-1539.
Salsa dancing, which features a mixture of Latin and Afro-Caribbean influences, was created by Spanish-speaking people from the Caribbean, although the term itself originated in New York. The name "salsa" is the Spanish word for sauce, suggesting a spicy mixture of ingredients.
By PETE SHERMAN, THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER, May 08, 2009
Julio Barrenzuela, a salsa fixture in Springfield, is making a serious effort to introduce the dance and the Latino culture behind it to schoolchildren in the city.
Spending a day and a half at Black Hawk Elementary School this past week, Barrenzuela, 28, got started with some second- and third-graders Wednesday afternoon. He began with questions.
“How many Spanish-speaking countries are there?” he asked. Moments later, he revealed it’s 21.
“Who wants to grow up?
“Who wants to go to school?”
These aren’t icebreakers. Barrenzuela wants to use salsa as a way to build cultural awareness and help children develop social skills and make healthy life choices.
He tends to adjust his message depending on the audience.
“For older kids, salsa is a gateway to talk to kids about staying in school, drugs, using a skill to meet more people and enjoy them,” Barrenzuela said. “I’ll ask them, ‘What are three other things you can do to improve? Three things you don’t want to do?’”
Regarding the last question, getting pregnant is a common answer from teenage girls, Barrenzuela said.
After Barrenzuela had the Black Hawk students count to 10 in Spanish, Italian and French, he got down to business.
“Can I have the guys over here and the ladies over here?”
“Your first salsa step is always going to be with your right foot,” he said to the girls.
For smaller children, Barrenzuela mostly sticks to simpler, merengue-style moves, which was the case at Black Hawk. Within minutes, dance music was pumping through the gym and roughly 20 children were following Barrenzuela’s moves, wriggling hips, waving arms and stepping back and forth in unison. In one class, a group of girls wouldn’t let go of him. In another, the boys were the ones hanging on.
“I like dancing, because it gets me fun and active,” said Black Hawk second-grader Jacob Thomas Brubaker-Lee. “Salsa dancing might be one of my favorite things. It seems familiar. Maybe from TV.”
For the past several months, Barrenzuela has been holding such lessons in schools as well as after-school programs hosted by the Springfield Urban League. He considers himself in the pilot phase of a more ambitious plan, leading workshops for physical education and Spanish teachers on integrating dancing with more serious life lessons.
A graduate of Lanphier High School who studied marketing at Southern Illinois University, Barrenzuela taught salsa at SIU, including to members of a VFW lodge.
“That’s Mexican, ain’t it?” Barrenzuela recalls being asked. He figured he might be in for a rough night.
“But within 45 minutes, they had changed their stigma and were dancing along. Through this, people walk away with a different appreciation of Latino.”
Black Hawk principal Bob Mitchell, a former art teacher of Barrenzuela’s at Washington Middle School, recruited him to help with a family fitness night at his school. Mitchell said his original intention was to find a instructor in Zumba, a dance/aerobic exercise, but a Black Hawk teacher recommended Barrenzuela.
“I recognized him from Washington,” Mitchell said, before joining in on the merengue lessons for a few minutes Wednesday. “He was a little more shy then. But he’s always been likable. For fitness night, he was very well received.”
Mitchell said salsa lessons complement another program the school is using that addresses healthy living.
“He talks about the culture, speaks to them in Spanish. He gives them the whole gamut of stuff in a short amount of time,” Mitchell said.
Barrenzuela has plans to beef up his presentation.
“If I pursue a higher-education degree, perhaps in educational psychology, maybe in five to 10 years I can raise the status quo, of cultural awareness, education. I think I can do it.”
The Springfield School District appears willing to see what’s possible. However, it hasn’t made any commitments.
“The district has been working diligently with Mr. Barrenzuela, as he has a great deal to offer both in the academic and physical realms,” said Jane Chard, managing principal of secondary programs for the district. “Hopefully … there may be opportunities to incorporate his work,” she said.
Pete Sherman can be reached at 788-1539.
Salsa dancing, which features a mixture of Latin and Afro-Caribbean influences, was created by Spanish-speaking people from the Caribbean, although the term itself originated in New York. The name "salsa" is the Spanish word for sauce, suggesting a spicy mixture of ingredients.
WANTED: Latino Veterans for parade
Memorial Day parade seeks more Latino veterans
By ROEL GARCIA, The Holland Sentinel, May 10, 2009
Vietnam veteran Sergio Orozco has lived in the Holland area for about 20 years, yet he’s never marched in the Holland Memorial Day Parade.
“I’ve never been invited,” said Orozco, 64, of Fillmore Township, who served in the U.S. Army.
The Holland Memorial Day Parade Committee is now extending the invitation to Latinos and other minorities interested in participating in the annual parade.
“We want all veterans to feel it’s their parade and be honored. We want them to march,” said Diana Van Kolken, committee co-chairwoman.
Interested in marching?
For information on how to participate or march in the Memorial Day parade, call Diana Van Kolken at (616) 396-4588 or Judie Zylman at (616) 392-9070.
Orozco participated in the South Haven parades when he lived in Glenn. Since then, he’s not marched in a parade.
When he marched in those parades, Orozco was the lone Latino marching. The same went for the time he marched in a parade in a small town in Indiana.
“I don’t know why we (Latinos) don’t march in the parades,” he said. “I’ve never marched here in Holland, but it wouldn’t hurt me any to march every once in awhile.”
This year’s parade will start at 9:30 a.m. on May 25 in downtown Holland.
The parade will start on Eighth Street and finish at Pilgrim Home Cemetery.
Marta Muniz feels Memorial Day is special. Her father, Candelario Garcia, was a World War II veteran and is buried at Pilgrim Home Cemetery.
Muniz’s father never marched in the parade.
“It’s something I wish he’d done. I don’t know if he just didn’t know how to be in the parade or what,” Muniz said.
Muniz talked with Van Kolken and is trying to get the word out to all veterans to march in the parade.
She also talked to her brother, who served in Vietnam, and some friends to try to get them to participate.
The parade committee will start placing flyers out this week to alert all veterans about the opportunity to march.
Veterans do not have to wear uniforms or walk — convertibles will be available to transport veterans unable to walk, said committee co-chairwoman Judie Zylman.
“We’ll line up veterans on Eighth Street in line with the war they served in. And if they served in between, they can choose whether they want to go with the war ahead or the war behind,” Zylman said.
By ROEL GARCIA, The Holland Sentinel, May 10, 2009
Vietnam veteran Sergio Orozco has lived in the Holland area for about 20 years, yet he’s never marched in the Holland Memorial Day Parade.
“I’ve never been invited,” said Orozco, 64, of Fillmore Township, who served in the U.S. Army.
The Holland Memorial Day Parade Committee is now extending the invitation to Latinos and other minorities interested in participating in the annual parade.
“We want all veterans to feel it’s their parade and be honored. We want them to march,” said Diana Van Kolken, committee co-chairwoman.
Interested in marching?
For information on how to participate or march in the Memorial Day parade, call Diana Van Kolken at (616) 396-4588 or Judie Zylman at (616) 392-9070.
Orozco participated in the South Haven parades when he lived in Glenn. Since then, he’s not marched in a parade.
When he marched in those parades, Orozco was the lone Latino marching. The same went for the time he marched in a parade in a small town in Indiana.
“I don’t know why we (Latinos) don’t march in the parades,” he said. “I’ve never marched here in Holland, but it wouldn’t hurt me any to march every once in awhile.”
This year’s parade will start at 9:30 a.m. on May 25 in downtown Holland.
The parade will start on Eighth Street and finish at Pilgrim Home Cemetery.
Marta Muniz feels Memorial Day is special. Her father, Candelario Garcia, was a World War II veteran and is buried at Pilgrim Home Cemetery.
Muniz’s father never marched in the parade.
“It’s something I wish he’d done. I don’t know if he just didn’t know how to be in the parade or what,” Muniz said.
Muniz talked with Van Kolken and is trying to get the word out to all veterans to march in the parade.
She also talked to her brother, who served in Vietnam, and some friends to try to get them to participate.
The parade committee will start placing flyers out this week to alert all veterans about the opportunity to march.
Veterans do not have to wear uniforms or walk — convertibles will be available to transport veterans unable to walk, said committee co-chairwoman Judie Zylman.
“We’ll line up veterans on Eighth Street in line with the war they served in. And if they served in between, they can choose whether they want to go with the war ahead or the war behind,” Zylman said.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Latina diva in the making
The Mercado Report: Idol Iraheta could be the next Latino Diva
By Humberto Caspa, La Prensa San Diego, May 8, 2009
I have a confession to make. Like millions of Americans, I’m hooked on Fox’s reality show American Idol. I’m not yet one of those maniac TV viewers who ponders when the show is over. I haven’t counted impatiently the days, hours, and minutes before host Ryan Seacrest starts a new show the following week.
Instead of sending out my vote to save my favorite contestant, I’m more interested in who is more likely to shake up the market beyond Hollywood’s glamour and economic boundaries.
This season is almost obvious that current idol king, David Cook, will pass the torch on to Adam Lambert, even though the two female judges, Kara Dio Guardi and Paula Abdul, are cajoling people to vote for Allison Iraheta and soccer moms are crossing fingers for all-American good boy Danny Goky.
When push comes to shove, neither the judges nor the baby-boomers determine the outcome of the Idol game. Teens and young adults do, and they are more likely to vote, and deservedly so, for Lambert. He is a quite bizarre guy, but also has proven to be a unique performer, and is equipped with the most formidable pipes of the season. He can rock, sing R&Bs and even do Lambada in a mixed Bolivian-Brazilian style.
All seems to suggest, like previous Idol winners, Lambert will pocket a fat check after one or two hit songs. I have doubts, however, that his success will reach out other none mainstream markets and his music will be able to appeal to those markets south of the border. So far no idol king has conquered –in a way Madonna or Michael Jackson or Shakira did— the Latino market. Lambert has the pipes, a bonita face, but not a Latin soul.
As we all know there are 14 million people of Latino descent in the United States; that’s close to 15% of the total population. Latin America alone has half a billion people in various countries. Most of them speak Spanish, many do Portuguese, and some speak English and French. Last year alone, Aventura, a soothing R&B-bachata band from Puerto Rico, enabled to grab a tiny fraction of the Latino market, turning its latest song “Mi corazoncito” into a piece of gold. The group sold more than 4 million copies across the U.S. and Latin America.
The Latino market in the U.S. is up for grabs. Some stars like Vicente Fernandez and Juan Gabriel have remained loyal to their style and language, concentrating exclusively on the Spanish-speaking population. But others like Colombian diva Shakira and Puerto Rico heartthrob Ricky Martin chose to crossover to mainstream America and made fortunes as a result.
American Idol contestant Allison Iraheta can do the same. By all measures, she is unlikely to win the 2009 contest. Nonetheless, she is potentially the next Latina diva, someone who can perhaps awaken the spirit of Selena, and revive Rock en español. Selena didn’t speak Spanish well. Yet she started out her stellar career in the Spanish world and from there she made a huge leap to mainstream America right before her unfortunate death.
Selena has set a big precedent for U.S.-Latino artists. Iraheta is uniquely positioned to conquer both mainstream America and the Latino market. She already has name recognition, possesses a unique funky style and great pipes. Her face even resembles the famous Bratz doll, favorite among Latino children. Iraheta is the reason why I’m so hooked on Fox’s reality show. Poor me.
Update: Allison Iraheta was voted off the show this past Wednesday.
By Humberto Caspa, La Prensa San Diego, May 8, 2009
I have a confession to make. Like millions of Americans, I’m hooked on Fox’s reality show American Idol. I’m not yet one of those maniac TV viewers who ponders when the show is over. I haven’t counted impatiently the days, hours, and minutes before host Ryan Seacrest starts a new show the following week.
Instead of sending out my vote to save my favorite contestant, I’m more interested in who is more likely to shake up the market beyond Hollywood’s glamour and economic boundaries.
This season is almost obvious that current idol king, David Cook, will pass the torch on to Adam Lambert, even though the two female judges, Kara Dio Guardi and Paula Abdul, are cajoling people to vote for Allison Iraheta and soccer moms are crossing fingers for all-American good boy Danny Goky.
When push comes to shove, neither the judges nor the baby-boomers determine the outcome of the Idol game. Teens and young adults do, and they are more likely to vote, and deservedly so, for Lambert. He is a quite bizarre guy, but also has proven to be a unique performer, and is equipped with the most formidable pipes of the season. He can rock, sing R&Bs and even do Lambada in a mixed Bolivian-Brazilian style.
All seems to suggest, like previous Idol winners, Lambert will pocket a fat check after one or two hit songs. I have doubts, however, that his success will reach out other none mainstream markets and his music will be able to appeal to those markets south of the border. So far no idol king has conquered –in a way Madonna or Michael Jackson or Shakira did— the Latino market. Lambert has the pipes, a bonita face, but not a Latin soul.
As we all know there are 14 million people of Latino descent in the United States; that’s close to 15% of the total population. Latin America alone has half a billion people in various countries. Most of them speak Spanish, many do Portuguese, and some speak English and French. Last year alone, Aventura, a soothing R&B-bachata band from Puerto Rico, enabled to grab a tiny fraction of the Latino market, turning its latest song “Mi corazoncito” into a piece of gold. The group sold more than 4 million copies across the U.S. and Latin America.
The Latino market in the U.S. is up for grabs. Some stars like Vicente Fernandez and Juan Gabriel have remained loyal to their style and language, concentrating exclusively on the Spanish-speaking population. But others like Colombian diva Shakira and Puerto Rico heartthrob Ricky Martin chose to crossover to mainstream America and made fortunes as a result.
American Idol contestant Allison Iraheta can do the same. By all measures, she is unlikely to win the 2009 contest. Nonetheless, she is potentially the next Latina diva, someone who can perhaps awaken the spirit of Selena, and revive Rock en español. Selena didn’t speak Spanish well. Yet she started out her stellar career in the Spanish world and from there she made a huge leap to mainstream America right before her unfortunate death.
Selena has set a big precedent for U.S.-Latino artists. Iraheta is uniquely positioned to conquer both mainstream America and the Latino market. She already has name recognition, possesses a unique funky style and great pipes. Her face even resembles the famous Bratz doll, favorite among Latino children. Iraheta is the reason why I’m so hooked on Fox’s reality show. Poor me.
Update: Allison Iraheta was voted off the show this past Wednesday.
Latinos changing the complexion of Disneyland
In Disneyland's shadow, a rising new demographic
Anaheim
By Tony Barboza, LA Times, May 9, 2009
A brick wall separated Julio Perez's childhood home from Disneyland, where his father worked in the laundry room.
On that side was the Anaheim that America knew, the quintessential Orange County suburb where expanses of orange groves gave way to rows of 1950s tract homes and a signature theme park.
On his side was the neighborhood where Perez, 30, spent his 1980s childhood: a dense, vibrant, heavily Latino island where parks filled with soccer players and families grilled carne asada. Today, his side of the wall has become the new face of Anaheim.
Anaheim's Latino population has more than tripled since 1980 and now stands at 186,000, making Orange County's second-largest city the latest to become majority Latino -- at 54.5% -- according to new census estimates.
But unlike Southern California's impoverished gateways for Latino immigration -- such as Los Angeles' Pico-Union neighborhood or Santa Ana, one of the nation's most heavily Latino large cities, whose proportion of foreign-born residents has been ranked second only to Miami's -- Anaheim is pointed toward a future as a middle-class Latino community like Whittier and Downey, demographers say.
Some, like Perez, point to the emergence of a new social order, one in which a full spectrum of Latinos can find a place, from the recent immigrant to the newly minted middle-class family.
"So maybe there's been an exodus of middle-class people from other backgrounds," said Perez, a political director for a union. "But now there's larger diversity for Latinos . . . there's more access socially."
The population shift puts Anaheim, a city of 342,000, ahead of Los Angeles and Riverside in percentage of Latino residents.
Anaheim today is a sprawling community that stretches from the upscale neighborhoods of Anaheim Hills on the east side to the cramped apartments and aging 1950s-era houses on the west. It's a place where the manicured resort district and bustling sports arenas are for tourists and the bustling flea markets and Sunday afternoon lucha libre wrestling matches are increasingly for the locals.
Jesus Cortez, 28, a Cal State Fullerton student and landscaper who has lived in west Anaheim since he was 9, recalled the neighborhood's transition as white families moved out and Latinos settled in, buying up even the nicest houses.
"It tended to be half and half, then it became the majority," he said. "Now you see more carnicerias, more taquerias."
Councilwoman Lorri Galloway attributes her reelection last fall to campaigning among Latinos in central and western Anaheim, a community she said typically has been ignored while mostly white politicians courted loyal voters in the upper-class neighborhoods in the city's east side. That won't be the case much longer, she suggests.
Anaheim's transition from a mostly white suburb to a majority Latino city parallels the dramatic changes Southern California cities have experienced as immigration surged and communities diversified.
Now, as immigration slows, demographers envision places like Anaheim emerging as stable settling grounds for Latinos rather than depots for immigrants.
In Anaheim, fewer than half of Latinos are now foreign-born. Though housing figures are not broken down by ethnicity, about half the residents own their own homes and the median annual income is a healthy $58,000.
"It's the dream of having a single-family house and a white picket fence and a dog," said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC.
An increase in home ownership probably was one factor propelling the rise of Latinos in Anaheim. During the housing boom earlier this decade, upwardly mobile Latinos bought homes in record numbers, freeing up space for more recent immigrants in apartments.
"Now it's a heterogenous mix," said Louis DeSipio, a professor of political science and Chicano/Latino studies at UC Irvine.
"It's two things: Latinos moving in and non-Latinos moving out."
Leading the way for change was the lure of jobs in manufacturing, service and technology, which gave the city the second-highest job growth in Orange County over the last 15 years, just behind Irvine, according to a report by the Orange County Business Council.
Unlike Santa Ana, Maywood or Huntington Park, which have all-Latino city councils, the new majority in Anaheim has made few political gains.
"We don't have the juice up there in the City Council," said Amin David, leader of Los Amigos, an Orange County Latino advocacy group that meets in Anaheim once a week for breakfast. "We don't even have an entree. For anything to happen, of course, it takes three votes, and we don't get much progress."
David said it may be time for Latino representation to be boosted by carving the city into council districts. Currently, all five council seats are elected at large.
Latinos have not always felt entirely at home in Anaheim, which was founded as a colony of German farmers in 1857 and has a history of racial tension. In the 1920s, four Ku Klux Klan members were elected to the City Council and briefly took control of the government, earning the city an uncomfortable nickname: "Klanaheim." Decades later, in 1978, strife between the Latino community and police erupted in a riot at Little People's Park, where charges of police brutality led to reforms in the Anaheim Police Department.
You'd never know that now looking at the Anaheim Marketplace, a spacious indoor swap meet where droves of mostly Spanish-speaking families browse hundreds of stalls, shopping for jewelry, clothing and pets, and show up in force for beauty pageants, quinceañeras, weddings and carnivals.
For many of them, Anaheim is feeling more like home. A place to move up, open a business and buy a first home.
But even for entrepreneurs like Jose Luis Quintana, 41, who moved here from Guerrero, Mexico, 20 years ago and owns a gift shop in a stall named "Joseph's Place," progress is measured.
Anaheim today, he reflected, is a more comfortable place than decades ago, when he worked painting cars and was one of the few Mexicans in his apartment building. But there are growing pains.
"It's a suburb that's developing into a city," he said, sitting behind the counter, listening to a radio. "We're a bigger population now. We're more crowded and there's less space."
tony.barboza@latimes.com
Anaheim
By Tony Barboza, LA Times, May 9, 2009
A brick wall separated Julio Perez's childhood home from Disneyland, where his father worked in the laundry room.
On that side was the Anaheim that America knew, the quintessential Orange County suburb where expanses of orange groves gave way to rows of 1950s tract homes and a signature theme park.
On his side was the neighborhood where Perez, 30, spent his 1980s childhood: a dense, vibrant, heavily Latino island where parks filled with soccer players and families grilled carne asada. Today, his side of the wall has become the new face of Anaheim.
Anaheim's Latino population has more than tripled since 1980 and now stands at 186,000, making Orange County's second-largest city the latest to become majority Latino -- at 54.5% -- according to new census estimates.
But unlike Southern California's impoverished gateways for Latino immigration -- such as Los Angeles' Pico-Union neighborhood or Santa Ana, one of the nation's most heavily Latino large cities, whose proportion of foreign-born residents has been ranked second only to Miami's -- Anaheim is pointed toward a future as a middle-class Latino community like Whittier and Downey, demographers say.
Some, like Perez, point to the emergence of a new social order, one in which a full spectrum of Latinos can find a place, from the recent immigrant to the newly minted middle-class family.
"So maybe there's been an exodus of middle-class people from other backgrounds," said Perez, a political director for a union. "But now there's larger diversity for Latinos . . . there's more access socially."
The population shift puts Anaheim, a city of 342,000, ahead of Los Angeles and Riverside in percentage of Latino residents.
Anaheim today is a sprawling community that stretches from the upscale neighborhoods of Anaheim Hills on the east side to the cramped apartments and aging 1950s-era houses on the west. It's a place where the manicured resort district and bustling sports arenas are for tourists and the bustling flea markets and Sunday afternoon lucha libre wrestling matches are increasingly for the locals.
Jesus Cortez, 28, a Cal State Fullerton student and landscaper who has lived in west Anaheim since he was 9, recalled the neighborhood's transition as white families moved out and Latinos settled in, buying up even the nicest houses.
"It tended to be half and half, then it became the majority," he said. "Now you see more carnicerias, more taquerias."
Councilwoman Lorri Galloway attributes her reelection last fall to campaigning among Latinos in central and western Anaheim, a community she said typically has been ignored while mostly white politicians courted loyal voters in the upper-class neighborhoods in the city's east side. That won't be the case much longer, she suggests.
Anaheim's transition from a mostly white suburb to a majority Latino city parallels the dramatic changes Southern California cities have experienced as immigration surged and communities diversified.
Now, as immigration slows, demographers envision places like Anaheim emerging as stable settling grounds for Latinos rather than depots for immigrants.
In Anaheim, fewer than half of Latinos are now foreign-born. Though housing figures are not broken down by ethnicity, about half the residents own their own homes and the median annual income is a healthy $58,000.
"It's the dream of having a single-family house and a white picket fence and a dog," said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC.
An increase in home ownership probably was one factor propelling the rise of Latinos in Anaheim. During the housing boom earlier this decade, upwardly mobile Latinos bought homes in record numbers, freeing up space for more recent immigrants in apartments.
"Now it's a heterogenous mix," said Louis DeSipio, a professor of political science and Chicano/Latino studies at UC Irvine.
"It's two things: Latinos moving in and non-Latinos moving out."
Leading the way for change was the lure of jobs in manufacturing, service and technology, which gave the city the second-highest job growth in Orange County over the last 15 years, just behind Irvine, according to a report by the Orange County Business Council.
Unlike Santa Ana, Maywood or Huntington Park, which have all-Latino city councils, the new majority in Anaheim has made few political gains.
"We don't have the juice up there in the City Council," said Amin David, leader of Los Amigos, an Orange County Latino advocacy group that meets in Anaheim once a week for breakfast. "We don't even have an entree. For anything to happen, of course, it takes three votes, and we don't get much progress."
David said it may be time for Latino representation to be boosted by carving the city into council districts. Currently, all five council seats are elected at large.
Latinos have not always felt entirely at home in Anaheim, which was founded as a colony of German farmers in 1857 and has a history of racial tension. In the 1920s, four Ku Klux Klan members were elected to the City Council and briefly took control of the government, earning the city an uncomfortable nickname: "Klanaheim." Decades later, in 1978, strife between the Latino community and police erupted in a riot at Little People's Park, where charges of police brutality led to reforms in the Anaheim Police Department.
You'd never know that now looking at the Anaheim Marketplace, a spacious indoor swap meet where droves of mostly Spanish-speaking families browse hundreds of stalls, shopping for jewelry, clothing and pets, and show up in force for beauty pageants, quinceañeras, weddings and carnivals.
For many of them, Anaheim is feeling more like home. A place to move up, open a business and buy a first home.
But even for entrepreneurs like Jose Luis Quintana, 41, who moved here from Guerrero, Mexico, 20 years ago and owns a gift shop in a stall named "Joseph's Place," progress is measured.
Anaheim today, he reflected, is a more comfortable place than decades ago, when he worked painting cars and was one of the few Mexicans in his apartment building. But there are growing pains.
"It's a suburb that's developing into a city," he said, sitting behind the counter, listening to a radio. "We're a bigger population now. We're more crowded and there's less space."
tony.barboza@latimes.com
Latino veteran QB settles in as Raider
Commentary: Raiders mentor Garcia yearns to play
By Paul Gutierrez, pgutierrez@sacbee.com, May. 10, 2009
ALAMEDA – This is going to be interesting. On paper, and in theory, it makes all the sense in the world.
Sure, Jeff Garcia is ready to enter the next phase of his career. Of course he's ready to become a backup quarterback and (yikes) wear that phrase that signals the end is near, "mentor" for JaMarcus Russell. And yes, Garcia and the Raiders are saying all the right things.
Thing is, that same dogged determination, that same fierce work ethic that propelled him to a 10-year (and counting) NFL career after being undrafted out of San Jose State and spending five seasons in the wilderness of the Canadian Football League might not let the transformation go so smoothly.
This is a proud four-time Pro Bowl player who has started all but eight of the 124 NFL games in which he has appeared. Three of those came 10 years ago with the 49ers, when he was getting his legs under him in the wake of Steve Young's career-ending concussion.
Garcia has had to work twice as hard to enjoy half the success, and he's ready to give that up now, to serve as a caddie?
"It's not an easy role to accept because of the competitive nature that is within me," Garcia said. "I struggled with it when I was in Philadelphia. … I had a hard time just sitting on the sideline watching; I wanted to be part of the game.
"That didn't mean I was a negative distraction for the team. I still did my work. I still held my head up high. I still tried to be whatever I needed to be for Donovan (McNabb), which is what I'll be here for JaMarcus. But deep inside, we're all competitors, and we all play this game to be on the field, not to be on the sidelines."
So if he knew the deal with the Eagles in 2006 with a five-time Pro Bowl player and perennial MVP candidate in McNabb at the helm and still struggled with his lot, what's Garcia going to do if and when the unproven commodity that is Russell falters in his make-or-break season and Raider Nation starts calling for his head?
Not to start a QB Controversy in minicamp – that wouldn't be fair – but while Garcia takes the P.C. route, in the back of his mind, he must be thinking he's the better man for the job.
Uh oh.
On one hand, he doesn't really sound like a 39-year-old gunslinger ready to ride off into the sunset. Paging Brett Favre.
On the other, Garcia's fire and competitive spirit are exactly what the laid-back Russell needs to kick-start him in this pivotal campaign.
Still, the line between competing to push the incumbent and becoming a distraction is a fine one.
Not that Russell, who seems more comfortable hanging with defensive linemen, has noticed. Or is letting on.
So I asked Russell what a guy like Garcia – with such an inspirational, impressive résumé – brought to him.
"He brings a lot," Russell said with a Cheshire cat grin. "As far as his personality, he's a good people person. He's got good people skills on and off the field. I just sit and watch and admire him. … "
Nothing is ever as it seems. So while on the surface, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful relationship between mentor and mentee, you might see a storm brewing beneath the surface. Stay tuned.
Garcia must fully embrace his role. Russell must accept his tutoring. Otherwise, this will be more than interesting. More like ugly.
By Paul Gutierrez, pgutierrez@sacbee.com, May. 10, 2009
ALAMEDA – This is going to be interesting. On paper, and in theory, it makes all the sense in the world.
Sure, Jeff Garcia is ready to enter the next phase of his career. Of course he's ready to become a backup quarterback and (yikes) wear that phrase that signals the end is near, "mentor" for JaMarcus Russell. And yes, Garcia and the Raiders are saying all the right things.
Thing is, that same dogged determination, that same fierce work ethic that propelled him to a 10-year (and counting) NFL career after being undrafted out of San Jose State and spending five seasons in the wilderness of the Canadian Football League might not let the transformation go so smoothly.
This is a proud four-time Pro Bowl player who has started all but eight of the 124 NFL games in which he has appeared. Three of those came 10 years ago with the 49ers, when he was getting his legs under him in the wake of Steve Young's career-ending concussion.
Garcia has had to work twice as hard to enjoy half the success, and he's ready to give that up now, to serve as a caddie?
"It's not an easy role to accept because of the competitive nature that is within me," Garcia said. "I struggled with it when I was in Philadelphia. … I had a hard time just sitting on the sideline watching; I wanted to be part of the game.
"That didn't mean I was a negative distraction for the team. I still did my work. I still held my head up high. I still tried to be whatever I needed to be for Donovan (McNabb), which is what I'll be here for JaMarcus. But deep inside, we're all competitors, and we all play this game to be on the field, not to be on the sidelines."
So if he knew the deal with the Eagles in 2006 with a five-time Pro Bowl player and perennial MVP candidate in McNabb at the helm and still struggled with his lot, what's Garcia going to do if and when the unproven commodity that is Russell falters in his make-or-break season and Raider Nation starts calling for his head?
Not to start a QB Controversy in minicamp – that wouldn't be fair – but while Garcia takes the P.C. route, in the back of his mind, he must be thinking he's the better man for the job.
Uh oh.
On one hand, he doesn't really sound like a 39-year-old gunslinger ready to ride off into the sunset. Paging Brett Favre.
On the other, Garcia's fire and competitive spirit are exactly what the laid-back Russell needs to kick-start him in this pivotal campaign.
Still, the line between competing to push the incumbent and becoming a distraction is a fine one.
Not that Russell, who seems more comfortable hanging with defensive linemen, has noticed. Or is letting on.
So I asked Russell what a guy like Garcia – with such an inspirational, impressive résumé – brought to him.
"He brings a lot," Russell said with a Cheshire cat grin. "As far as his personality, he's a good people person. He's got good people skills on and off the field. I just sit and watch and admire him. … "
Nothing is ever as it seems. So while on the surface, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful relationship between mentor and mentee, you might see a storm brewing beneath the surface. Stay tuned.
Garcia must fully embrace his role. Russell must accept his tutoring. Otherwise, this will be more than interesting. More like ugly.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Latinos and baseball project
Grand slam for Latino history
By SEAN NEALON, The Press-Enterprise, May 6, 2009
Mariachi bands played, families picnicked and cars sometimes provided the lighting during amateur and semi-pro Sunday baseball games that galvanized Mexican-American communities throughout Southern California during the early to middle 20th century.
Preserving that spirit -- along with baseball's importance as an assimilation and political tool for Mexican-Americans -- is the aim of "Latino Baseball History Project: The Mexican-American Experience," an archive and traveling exhibit that will now be housed at Cal State San Bernardino.
"Baseball was more than just a pastime," said university librarian Cesar Caballero, who spearheaded the establishment of the baseball project at the school. "It was a social glue in some of these communities."
The project started in 2004 at Cal State Los Angeles, where Caballero was then a librarian, with a focus on Los Angeles. It showed how Mexican-Americans thought of baseball -- America's pastime -- as a way to assimilate. It also conveyed how baseball helped lay the groundwork for civil rights struggles.
The move to Cal State San Bernardino is meant to broaden the project to Southern California. The next phase is to launch it nationally and expand it to other Latino groups.
At Cal State San Bernardino, oral histories from former players and memorabilia -- such as photos, uniforms and baseball gloves, which are part of a traveling exhibit -- will be kept at the Pfau Library.
Cal State San Bernardino librarian Cesar Caballero led the effort to bring the Latino baseball archive and exhibit to the university.
Also, students in Cal State San Bernardino history classes will likely collect oral histories from Inland players and archive exhibition materials. And the university plans to create books about the history of Latino baseball that can be used to teach at elementary, middle and high schools.
How it Started
Amateur and semi-pro baseball in Mexican-American communities peaked between the 1920s and 1940s, and continued through most of the 20th century, Mexican-American baseball experts said.
The peak coincided with the rise of industrialization, said Richard Santillan, a Cal Poly Pomona professor, who has studied Chicano studies since 1972. Packing houses, steel mills and railroads sponsored teams made up of their employees.
Players also competed on teams sponsored by cities, businesses and the Catholic Church, Santillan said. Most games were on Sundays because that was only day players didn't work.
Semi-pro players would travel throughout the Southwest and sometimes into Mexico, Santillion said. Some players worked their way up to Major League Baseball.
Jose Alamillo, a Chicano/a studies professor at Cal State Channel Islands, wrote a book, "Making Lemonade out of Lemons," that focused on citrus workers in Corona.
Baseball games provided citrus workers with an avenue to learn about conditions in other workplaces and helped them organize, debate strategies for advancement and build solidarity. This, Alamillo argues, helped lay the groundwork for post-World War II civil rights struggles.
Alamillo, whose father and grandfather played on lemon company-sponsored teams in Santa Paula in Ventura County, interviewed former players from Riverside, San Bernardino and Corona, including Jim "Chayo" Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, 80, is a lifelong Corona resident who played for, coached and managed baseball and softball teams in Corona, Cucamonga and Colton. He still coaches today.
Tomas Benitez sets up a Mexican-American baseball display of Ted Williams, whose mother was Mexican, at Cal State San Bernardino.
Rodriguez started playing semi-pro baseball for the Corona Athletics when he was 14. Before the color line was broken in professional baseball, he remembers playing African-American and Japanese-American teams.
He thinks it's great the Mexican-American baseball project is expanding to Cal State San Bernardino.
"It's good for the Mexican-American players to get recognized," he said.
The Project Grows
The Mexican-American baseball project is the idea of Terry Cannon, executive director of the Baseball Reliquary, a nonprofit in Pasadena devoted to creating an appreciation of American art and culture through baseball.
The Baseball Reliquary creates exhibits and honors players in the "Shrine of the Eternals." Players are inducted based on distinctive play (good or bad), unique personality and baseball imprint.
In fall 2004, Cannon noticed empty display cases at the Cal State Los Angeles library. He asked Caballero about setting up an exhibit focused on Mexican-American baseball history in Southern California, an idea Cannon had thought about for years.
Caballero signed on.
Meanwhile, Cannon asked Caballero if a couple of graduate students might be interested in collecting oral histories of former players. Francisco Balderrama, a Cal State Los Angeles history professor, liked that idea.
Balderrama created an entire oral history class focused on the project. He taught the class in fall 2005, expanding it from 15 to 25 slots to accommodate student demand.
The following spring, with help from a $5,000 grant from the California Council for the Humanities, the exhibit debuted at the Cal State Los Angeles library.
It has since traveled to Los Angeles Trade Technical College, the Pomona Public Library and a community organization in Brawley.
This coming school year, Alamillo, the Cal State Channel Islands professor, and Santillan, the Cal Poly Pomona professor, will teach classes modeled after Balderrama's course.
Santillan, a lifelong Los Angeles Dodger fan, and Balderrama, who favors crackerjacks and hot dogs over double plays and sacrifice flies, are also working on a book about the project.
To the Inland Area
At Cal State San Bernardino's Pfau Library, display cases are filled with baseball cards, paintings, programs and photos, including one of Rodriguez.
Tomas Benitiz, an artist and member of project's advisory committee, filled a display case with mini-shrines he created to honor former Mexican-American professional players, including Bobby Avila, Hank Aguirre and Ted Williams, whose mother was Mexican.
Cherstin Lyon, an assistant history professor at Cal State San Bernardino, said the projects fits nicely into the public history degree curriculum.
Public history classes tend to prepare students for non-teaching history jobs, at places such as archives, libraries, museums and historical societies, Lyon said.
She teaches oral history classes. She said it's logical for students in those classes to conduct oral histories on former baseball players in the Inland area.
"We're always looking to get students engaged in real projects with real outcomes," Lyon said.
Reach Sean Nealon at 951-368-9458 or snealon@PE.com
By SEAN NEALON, The Press-Enterprise, May 6, 2009
Mariachi bands played, families picnicked and cars sometimes provided the lighting during amateur and semi-pro Sunday baseball games that galvanized Mexican-American communities throughout Southern California during the early to middle 20th century.
Preserving that spirit -- along with baseball's importance as an assimilation and political tool for Mexican-Americans -- is the aim of "Latino Baseball History Project: The Mexican-American Experience," an archive and traveling exhibit that will now be housed at Cal State San Bernardino.
"Baseball was more than just a pastime," said university librarian Cesar Caballero, who spearheaded the establishment of the baseball project at the school. "It was a social glue in some of these communities."
The project started in 2004 at Cal State Los Angeles, where Caballero was then a librarian, with a focus on Los Angeles. It showed how Mexican-Americans thought of baseball -- America's pastime -- as a way to assimilate. It also conveyed how baseball helped lay the groundwork for civil rights struggles.
The move to Cal State San Bernardino is meant to broaden the project to Southern California. The next phase is to launch it nationally and expand it to other Latino groups.
At Cal State San Bernardino, oral histories from former players and memorabilia -- such as photos, uniforms and baseball gloves, which are part of a traveling exhibit -- will be kept at the Pfau Library.
Cal State San Bernardino librarian Cesar Caballero led the effort to bring the Latino baseball archive and exhibit to the university.
Also, students in Cal State San Bernardino history classes will likely collect oral histories from Inland players and archive exhibition materials. And the university plans to create books about the history of Latino baseball that can be used to teach at elementary, middle and high schools.
How it Started
Amateur and semi-pro baseball in Mexican-American communities peaked between the 1920s and 1940s, and continued through most of the 20th century, Mexican-American baseball experts said.
The peak coincided with the rise of industrialization, said Richard Santillan, a Cal Poly Pomona professor, who has studied Chicano studies since 1972. Packing houses, steel mills and railroads sponsored teams made up of their employees.
Players also competed on teams sponsored by cities, businesses and the Catholic Church, Santillan said. Most games were on Sundays because that was only day players didn't work.
Semi-pro players would travel throughout the Southwest and sometimes into Mexico, Santillion said. Some players worked their way up to Major League Baseball.
Jose Alamillo, a Chicano/a studies professor at Cal State Channel Islands, wrote a book, "Making Lemonade out of Lemons," that focused on citrus workers in Corona.
Baseball games provided citrus workers with an avenue to learn about conditions in other workplaces and helped them organize, debate strategies for advancement and build solidarity. This, Alamillo argues, helped lay the groundwork for post-World War II civil rights struggles.
Alamillo, whose father and grandfather played on lemon company-sponsored teams in Santa Paula in Ventura County, interviewed former players from Riverside, San Bernardino and Corona, including Jim "Chayo" Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, 80, is a lifelong Corona resident who played for, coached and managed baseball and softball teams in Corona, Cucamonga and Colton. He still coaches today.
Tomas Benitez sets up a Mexican-American baseball display of Ted Williams, whose mother was Mexican, at Cal State San Bernardino.
Rodriguez started playing semi-pro baseball for the Corona Athletics when he was 14. Before the color line was broken in professional baseball, he remembers playing African-American and Japanese-American teams.
He thinks it's great the Mexican-American baseball project is expanding to Cal State San Bernardino.
"It's good for the Mexican-American players to get recognized," he said.
The Project Grows
The Mexican-American baseball project is the idea of Terry Cannon, executive director of the Baseball Reliquary, a nonprofit in Pasadena devoted to creating an appreciation of American art and culture through baseball.
The Baseball Reliquary creates exhibits and honors players in the "Shrine of the Eternals." Players are inducted based on distinctive play (good or bad), unique personality and baseball imprint.
In fall 2004, Cannon noticed empty display cases at the Cal State Los Angeles library. He asked Caballero about setting up an exhibit focused on Mexican-American baseball history in Southern California, an idea Cannon had thought about for years.
Caballero signed on.
Meanwhile, Cannon asked Caballero if a couple of graduate students might be interested in collecting oral histories of former players. Francisco Balderrama, a Cal State Los Angeles history professor, liked that idea.
Balderrama created an entire oral history class focused on the project. He taught the class in fall 2005, expanding it from 15 to 25 slots to accommodate student demand.
The following spring, with help from a $5,000 grant from the California Council for the Humanities, the exhibit debuted at the Cal State Los Angeles library.
It has since traveled to Los Angeles Trade Technical College, the Pomona Public Library and a community organization in Brawley.
This coming school year, Alamillo, the Cal State Channel Islands professor, and Santillan, the Cal Poly Pomona professor, will teach classes modeled after Balderrama's course.
Santillan, a lifelong Los Angeles Dodger fan, and Balderrama, who favors crackerjacks and hot dogs over double plays and sacrifice flies, are also working on a book about the project.
To the Inland Area
At Cal State San Bernardino's Pfau Library, display cases are filled with baseball cards, paintings, programs and photos, including one of Rodriguez.
Tomas Benitiz, an artist and member of project's advisory committee, filled a display case with mini-shrines he created to honor former Mexican-American professional players, including Bobby Avila, Hank Aguirre and Ted Williams, whose mother was Mexican.
Cherstin Lyon, an assistant history professor at Cal State San Bernardino, said the projects fits nicely into the public history degree curriculum.
Public history classes tend to prepare students for non-teaching history jobs, at places such as archives, libraries, museums and historical societies, Lyon said.
She teaches oral history classes. She said it's logical for students in those classes to conduct oral histories on former baseball players in the Inland area.
"We're always looking to get students engaged in real projects with real outcomes," Lyon said.
Reach Sean Nealon at 951-368-9458 or snealon@PE.com
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