Tomás' Picks

The era was brief, but influential. Revisit those years with a classic road trip. There are plenty of options too — wine or gold country, or a stop in Carmel or San Diego. Not every history lesson includes margaritas, but this one does.”*

Giovanni Lanaro was born in Los Angeles, grew up in La Puente, attended Cal State Fullerton, and coaches and trains at Mt. San Antonio College. Yet, when the torch is lighted during opening ceremonies this summer at the Beijing Olympics, the world’s sixth-ranked pole vaulter will be with Mexico, not the United States.

“I will always compete for Mexico,” said Lanaro, whose mother was born there. “I will never compete for any other country.”"*

Plans for meeting the needs of American Hispanics must take into account their overwhelming reliance on the English language, although for the 15 percent of the U.S. Hispanic population that is monolingual Spanish operant, Spanish-language publishing makes sense. Reaching the 40 million-plus American Hispanic population requires balance.
…
In a letter to Críiticas, an English Speaker’s Guide to the Latest Spanish Language Titles, Irma Flores Manger encourages the magazine to “include reviews of books by Latinos written in English,” citing relevant reasons. While expressing sympathy with her reasons, the editors responded that their “current focus is on the Spanish-language publishing world.” Críticas fills an important space, but if that space is focused only on the Spanish-language publishing world then that space is not the space of U.S. Hispanics. For in focusing only on Spanish language publishing Críticas believes that U.S. Hispanics are essentially a Spanish-language reading group or that non-Hispanic English speaking Americans are interested in Spanish-language materials. Both are tenuous assumptions. In a recent Census Bureau 2000 Supplementary Report on immigration in the 90’s, two-thirds of the children of Hispanic immigrants from this period “rated themselves as speaking English very well” which, by extension, makes them English-language readers as well.”*

For more than 26 years I served on the border, first as a Border Patrol agent, and eventually as sector chief in McAllen and later El Paso, Texas. I know first hand what it takes to keep our enemies out, including drug dealers and human traffickers. For years in Congress I’ve worked to advance and improve our nation’s border security and reform our immigration laws.

From fighting to end the so-called catch-and-release policy on non-Mexicans caught crossing the border, to working to provide our Border Patrol with the resources they need. I’ve always kept the mindset that this is not about Republicans or Democrats. It’s about doing what’s right for our country. One thing was clear to me from the beginning both as a Border Patrol agent and as a member of Congress. We cannot solve our nation’s immigration and border security problems with a piecemeal approach. “*

IN a fifth-floor art gallery in Pilsen, Chicago’s fashionable Latino neighborhood, vibrant guitar chords were pouring out an open window on a recent Friday night. Four Latina artists were showing their paintings, and the shoebox of a gallery was jammed with a mixed, talkative crowd. Some swayed in time to the music, swigging beer and sipping wine. The din seemed to be drawing art patrons and good-time Chicagoans from all over the huge building at 1932 South Halsted Street, the central site of an every-second-Friday art walk.

Many come to the art walk from the suburbs or other parts of the city, but like much of Chicago these days, the affair draws its real energy from the city’s surging Latino population. One of the painters whose work was on display — Carolina Reyes — moved to Pilsen from a North Side neighborhood two years ago to paint. “Being a Latina, I’m still searching to learn more about my culture,” she said.”*

Violins and independent variables. Trumpets and sloping graphs. What do they have in common?
At Math Through Mariachi summer camp, about 100 young musicians are learning algebra to the tune of music notes. “*

Saline County, Kan., is a vivid example of the impact new Hispanic residents can have on a community.

The population of the county north of Wichita has grown less than 2% this decade to 54,583, but its Hispanic population has jumped 28%. A majority of that growth came not from immigration but a greater number of births than deaths. Hispanics made up 6% of the population in 2000 and almost 8% by 2006, when they totaled 4,183.

The growth has required the county to provide more public services — and it has also helped local businesses fill jobs.”*

IMMIGRATION POLICY stirs up angry debate, but among the islands of calm are English language classrooms where immigrants can learn the skills they need to engage in American life and be more effective workers. If only there were more of these islands.

To tap the power of communication, a group of civic, business, union, and nonprofit leaders gathered last week to launch the English Works Campaign. It’s a promising statewide effort to make English classes more available to immigrants.”*

In this political season, immigration is the issue that everyone’s taking pains not to discuss. The presidential candidates are merely paying the same lip service to border security. Congress has all but abandoned comprehensive immigration reform, and the Bush administration continues to pile all their immigration-policy eggs in the border-security basket. But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening. Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff, in an April trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, made clear his determination that 670 miles of border fence, already under construction in Arizona and California, be completed by the end of the year. The border fence project has faced embarrassments–illegal immigrants employed to build the wall, a “Virtual Fence” project that cannot distinguish humans and vehicles from livestock and bushes–but those setbacks pale in comparison to its fundamental flaws. Below, six simple reasons a fence spanning the U.S.-Mexico border is bad polic”*

Scientists were fascinated by the ghostly find: a human skeleton buried in an Aztec temple with a clay, skull-shaped whistle in each bony hand.

But no one blew into the noisemakers for nearly 15 years. When someone finally did, the shrill, windy screech made the spine tingle.

If death had a sound, this was it.”*

Sitting on a beach or by the pool with a guide to summer reading, but no advice on what’s rocking the Latin music world? Look no further. Here are a few albums that could make this a summer to remember.
“*

Presumptive presidential nominees Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) will speak at the League of United Latin American Citizens during the organization’s national convention at the Washington Hilton Hotel on July 8th. Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) will appear at the organization’s Presidential Banquet on Friday, July 11th. All three Senators underscore the importance candidates are placing on the Latino vote in the upcoming election.

McCain will speak at LULAC’s Unity Luncheon at noon on July 8 in the International Ballroom of the Hilton at 1919 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Obama will speak at an “Open Dialogue with Obama” Forum on the same day at 4:30 p.m. in the International Ballroom. Senator Clinton is scheduled to address the convention’s Presidential Awards Banquet at 7 p.m. on July 11.

The Presidential candidates Senator Obama and Senator McCain will appear before hundreds of Latino leaders from across the country, community, political and business leaders at the 79th annual convention of the nation’s oldest and largest Hispanic advocacy group. “The candidates are vigorously vying for the Latino vote,” said Rosa Rosales, LULAC National President of the 115,000-member organization. “Our voting power has been an important factor in the last decade and it is becoming more critical with each election, particularly in key battleground states such as Florida, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. At least 9.2 million Latinos will cast their votes this November.”

LULAC, a nonpartisan civil rights organization, is participating in a nationwide voter registration drive aimed at significantly increasing the Hispanic vote in the Nov. 4 election. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, “Hispanics constitute a sizable share of the electorate in four of the six states that President Bush carried by margins of five percentage points or fewer in 2004 — New Mexico (where Hispanics make up 37% of the state’s eligible electorate); Florida (14%); Nevada (12%) and Colorado (12%). All four are expected to be closely contested once again in 2008.”

The theme of LULAC’s convention, America’s Latino Community Center Stage, highlights the importance of Latino voters in determining the next president. “Every year the LULAC national convention draws attention to the challenges facing Latino,” said Ms. Rosales. “This year will be no exception as we focus on such issues as voter participation, education, immigration and health care reform and the need to increase Latino representation in the highest levels of government and corporate governance. We are delighted that Senator Obama, Senator Clinton and Senator McCain will be joining us as we work on these critical issues.

For more information or to register for the convention visit,

I was the type of kid who got nervous during show and tell. My face would turn crimson. I’d shuffle my Keds. I haven’t progressed all that much. So when I was invited to La Cosa Nostra, the perverse and profound late night Spanish-language show on America TeVe, my response was “Umm….”

My Spanish is far from perfect. I stammer when I speak English in front of a camera. In May, I wrote a New Times feature on the unpredictable and sexy show. The producers and cast were wonderfully open and accessible. There was no decent excuse for me not to be aside from televised embarrassment, which probably should have been enough.”*

Curious, and with time on his hands, Savage encountered an enfeebled old woman, dirt poor and “stone blind.” She’d spent the entire 19th Century in Alta California, she said with a cracked voice and proud Castilian accent. She’d taught school, nursed the sick, and helped administrate Mission San Diego. She owned three ranchos and lost them after the American invasion. Now the “good old soul” lived on the charity of others, which she decried as a burden to her. Although Bancroft preferred male histories, Savage decided to record the ancient woman’s story.”*

Once known mainly as cheaper alternatives to U.S. or European destination spas, Mexico’s spas now offer thoroughly unique experiences that combine sophisticated treatments from all over the world with indigenous rituals such as the temazcal sweat house and native materials like nopal cactus, volcanic ash, chocolate, vanilla and honey — all from Mexico’s tropical forests. Here are 10 of Mexico’s most outrageous spas. “*

Over the years I have had the pleasure of visiting many predominant Euro-American churches. Without fail, some well-meaning person would usually approach me and ask a question that literally left me speechless.

Sadly, the following questions have actually been said to me. In true David Letterman fashion, however, I list here, based on my experiences, the Top Ten questions you should never ask a Hispanic visitor to your church. “*

Honk if you love Hispanics.

A license plate that touts “Hispanics Discovered Florida” may soon join the 109 specialty tags drivers can choose from.

The idea to celebrate the contributions of Hispanics came from National Hispanic Corporate Achievers, a Longwood group that sponsors minority job fairs. The plate would become a fundraising tool to support job and mentorship programs.”*

In an effort to rally Hispanic voters locally, Democracia USA, a national civic-engagement group, has registered nearly 9,800 new Latino voters in Pennsylvania, and nearly 3,700 in New Jersey, since January.

Of the new Pennsylvania voters, nearly two-thirds live in Berks and Lehigh Counties and one-fifth live in Philadelphia, Democracia president Jorge Mursuli said at a news conference yesterday at the National Constitution Center.”*

President Michelle Bachelet pushed to permanently ban whaling along Chile’s sprawling coast at the opening Monday of the weeklong International Whaling Commission meeting.

Bachelet endorsed making Chile’s coastal waters - more than 3,100 miles long and up to 200 miles from shore - a whale sanctuary. The proposal still must be approved by Congress.

Chile, which shares economic rights to the waters with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, has not hunted whales since the 1970s. It was not clear if approval will be needed from other countries.”*

The rusty fence may divide the beaches of U.S. and Mexico, but it can’t break up a yoga class.

A few dozen yoga aficionados rolled out their mats Sunday on both sides of the wall between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego. The international group stretched and meditated together before exchanging hugs through the fence bars.

The session was organized by the Border Meetup Group, which promotes cross-border understanding by staging social events on the divided beach. “*

SUMMERTIME is paleta time. These Mexican ice pops — chock-full of chunks of fresh fruit and available in a hypnotizing array of colors and clear, not-too-sweet flavors — conjure images of hot afternoons in the park, time spent on a bench under a shady tree, clear blue skies dotted with red, white and green balloons.

That’s not just some idyllic Latino-Rockwellian fantasy. On a recent 80-degree-plus weekend in the courtyard of Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, a family of five took advantage of a park bench and a view of a replica of the Ángel de la Independencia, each of them holding fast to summer by his or her Popsicle stick. Customers at the nearby Paletería La Michoacana, a small, often crowded shop tucked into a corner of the plaza, lined up for paletas in flavors such as tamarindo, hibiscus flower and mango con chile. (If summer in L.A. had a flavor, it might be mango con chile.)”*

A sinuous coil of murky water winds through the Tijuana River Valley. On each side of the U.S.-Mexican border, residents eye each other warily, caught in the cross-currents of political intrigue and economic polices that make the floodplain seem almost orderly by comparison.

Wedged between the ocean, the border and the southern fringes of suburban San Diego, California, the valley is contested territory. Horse ranchers and bird fanciers make their home here, but the valley also serves as a flashpoint for migrants desperately seeking entry into the United States. A patchwork of state, local and federal agencies with competing interests makes collaboration difficult. Enforcement, conservation, and recreation all vie for top priority.”*

Last week we published a report from the Spanish film festival in London which addressed the distribution difficulties facing Spanish cinema. Yesterday we received a response from none other than Pedro Almodóvar. We’re happy to publish this below, followed by a response from the editor of guardian.co.uk/film”*

HispanicTips is about to reach two milestones. It will complete it’s third year at the beginning of July and will reach 40,000 posts/items this week. Do you realize how big this is, what a valuable resource it is? Yet, something rather important is still missing – financial stability.

Now before I go on, I want to say that about a year and half ago I was quite vocal about the site’s financial situation, ran a sponsorship drive and honestly wrote about the ups and downs . While the drive helped raise some money, it didn’t come close to providing a firm footing for the site. In the end, I simply shut my mouth and stilled my fingers because I received feedback from some that said that I wouldn’t be able to get advertisers interested if they thought the site might be ‘unstable.’ So I shut up and worked harder and kept going.

I have been quiet long enough. The sudden closing of the Los Angeles based Tu Cuidad magazine brought that home to me. What happens to those who like something and then one day it just vanishes. Not that I fault the magazine, I am simply using them as an example. I represent new media. I want you to know my story, my situation so that one day you won’t wake up and find me gone. It is part of the story of HispanicTips, of Hispanic media of Hispanics in media.

It would be so easy for me to give up, remove the site and disappear, but I don’t want to nor do I have plans to do this. That isn’t the way I do things. Instead, I feel that keeping you informed not only of Blogante news but of how HispanicTips is doing would be healthier than keeping silent. That is the reason I have decided to write this. I want an open line of communication between you and me. Perhaps there is an entrepreneurial/image risk in doing this but keeping my mouth shut hasn’t worked wonders for me yet.

So the question is (and I ask it of myself daily), how can I make HispanicTips financial stable? I have no doubt that it can be, but I still don’t have an answer other than to provide the best service possible and at that I truly do succeed.

I have become an aggregation master and created an aggregation masterpiece. With my laptop, cell phone and an internet connection, I can create something wonderfully useful and unique. There is no other site or person that covers a single diverse subject as well, in my opinion. You should be as proud of HispanicTips as I am for it really is a jewel of a site and it is a valuable resource that deserves financial stability as well as prosperity.

I have several honest questions that some of you may want to answer.

• Why haven’t Hispanic/Multicultural ad agencies, marketers embraced HispanicTips and other Hispanic blogs? I find it curious and would love to hear some honest answers.
• Do you think that HispanicTips can’t be a financially successful business? Is the model wrong?
• Is the fact that HispanicTips is in English part of the problem? Hispanic media seems connotes Spanish media.
• If you were able to creatively partner with HispanicTips in some way what would you do, how would it look, what would be the benefit to both?
• If something as useful, relevant and respected as HispanicTips can’t attract advertisers what is the future of other Hispanic internet startups and blogs?

I will leave you with this. HispanicTips isn’t going anywhere but up (at least in my dreams and not up in smoke). If I can do all of this on less than a shoe-string budget, imagine what I could unleash given the proper resources? One day I pray you will be witness to the creative entrepreneurial and beneficial ideas that lay stored in my head.

Just last year, an increasingly powerful grass-roots movement celebrated its success in killing an effort to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants. Its influence spread as a procession of presidential candidates proclaimed their support.

But now there are just two candidates for the nation’s top office, Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). And both have taken immigration stands that restrictionist groups find appalling.”*