FrontPage Stories

Writerz Block, Embracing One Element of Hip Hop

By Raymond R. Beltran

There are four elements to the hip hop culture: rapping, dj-ing, break dancing and graffiti, according to Marcus Tufono. He’s the program director at Writerz Block, a graffiti arts studio in South East San Diego.

Their mission is to educate the community about the art of graffiti, and at the same time, provide an open air studio for local youth to hone their skills of the culture.

Writerz Block staffer, Sergio Gonzalez, inside an office soon to be a classroom for graphic arts students in South East San Diego. Photo by RRB.

“We’re trying to destroy the perception of graffiti as vandalism,” Tufono says. “Graffiti is an art form, and here, we show the best of what it has to offer.”

He and Executive Director Brian Lagemann lecture without end about technique and tools for artists. “Softballs” are fat caps, or spray can tips that spray paint the size of soft balls, usually used to fill in a wide area. “Skinnies” are tips that have a thin spray, usually for outlining.

Techniques of lettering vary as well. There’s “bubble lettering” that portray letters of names or words as liquefied and exaggerated, “regular lettering” which are easier to read but usually accompanied by cartoons or characters, and then there’s the all out abstract “wildstyle,” where one strand of a letter will continue on throughout an artist’s name like cursive.

All-City is the ultimate trophy though, has been since graffiti’s introduction three decades ago. That means your work is seen throughout the community (hence the title “All City”) and gives urban youth, as artists, a recognition they hardly experience otherwise.

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Sweetwater Adult School Students Capture Missions’ Beauty
“Missions of California” art exhibit showcases local students’ talents
Long the subject of artists’ study, admiration and critique, California missions serve as wonderful examples of distinct period architecture, beautiful foliage and religious symbolism. Thanks to the artistic talents of Sweetwater Adult School students, the 21 missions, and their artistic relevance, currently occupy center stage in the new Bonita Museum and Cultural Center’s “California Missions” display. The exhibit features water color and acrylic paintings by students from the Chula Vista, National City and Montgomery Adult Schools along with a brief history of each mission.

The Hidden Heart of David Avalos
By Mark R. Day
When artist David Avalos decided to exhibit his latest art show in North County, he asked USD professor Gail Perez for suggestions on what to call it. “How about ‘Bury My Heart in Escondido?’ said Perez. Avalos, a National City native, ran with the idea, eventually choosing the title, “Mi Corazon Escondido.”

What National Women’s History Month Means to the Women of the Hispanic Caucus
Hispanic Women Leaders Speak on National Women’s History Month
Washington, DC – In 1981, the U.S. Congress established National Wo-men’s History Week. Later, in 1987, Congress expanded National Wo-men’s History Week to National Women’s History Month. Each year, the President issues a special Women’s History Month Proclamation during the month of March. This proclama-tion marks the beginning of National Women’s History Month.

Stories

Logan Heights Parents Are Stirred Up Over New School Boundaries
By Raymond R. Beltran
Logan Heights- Voter-approved Proposition MM funds may have provided new campuses in Logan Heights, but parents at Perkins Elementary are concerned with the district’s proposal about how to fill new classrooms.

Una miradita al futuro
México del Norte
Por Jorge Mújica Murias
Corre el año 2012. Unos 150 mil trabajadores llegan anualmente a los Estados Unidos con las visas legales para trabajar aprobadas en la Reforma Integral de Inmigración de 2007. No son trabajadores “huéspedes”, porque el término estaba tan quemado que lo cambiaron a “invitados especiales laborales”. Pero muchos de ellos no son tratados como invitados.

Statewide Mobilization for Peace in Iraq, Immigration Reform, and Peace Among the Divergent Ethnic and Racial Communities
The National Alliance for Human Rights (NAHR), and other statewide organizations committed to the promotion of human rights, social justice, and empowerment will hold an “Anti-War, Pro-Immigration Reform, and Peace in Our Communities” March and Rally, on Saturday, March 17 in San Bernardino, California.

Buscan profesionalizar a las organizaciones de la sociedad civil
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
El gobierno de Baja California convocó esta semana a un seminario de estrategias de actualización y profesiona-lización, dirigido a las organizaciones de la sociedad civil (OSC’s) de la región.

Real Estate Armageddon
Reality of real estate sets in
By Alberto Marrero Salas
Over the last two years we have been amazed by our immigration law clients purchases of homes. Families of four with a combined income of under $25,000 were buying homes in areas such as Palmdale, Bakersfield, Huntington Park, Bell and other ethnically diverse neighborhoods through-out the Los Angeles area.

BioBridge Program Helps UCSD Scientist Bring the Excitement of Biological Discovery into Area High School Classrooms
On a recent Saturday morning in Chula Vista, 25 science students from four San Diego County high schools were in a classroom learning about the wonders of DNA research, specifically how to isolate and purify protein samples originating from jellyfish and corals. Observing the isolated genetic specimens through laboratory vials and petri dishes, they become particularly enthused by the impressive array of fluorescent colors the specimens emit during the science exercise.

Dar para Recibir
LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Karina Flores-Hurley
En todos los lugares del mundo y en todas las relaciones humanas que existen, se aplica lo siguiente: un tanto de lo que tú das, es lo que esperas recibir en algún momento de tu vida. Estados Unidos no es la excepción. Este país abrió sus puertas para que muchos inmigrantes lograran el ‘sueño americano’ y hoy, son estos mismos inmigrantes quienes retribuyen al sistema a través del pago de impuestos.

The Glass is Half Full
By Javier Sierra
You may have observed that the weather has been very peculiar lately.

Suspenden Demolición de Toreo de Tijuana
+El Instituto de Cultura de Baja California con apoyo del Ayuntamiento de Tijuana
El Instituto de Cultura de Baja California (ICBC) suspendió la demolición del Toreo de Tijuana, como parte de las acciones encaminadas a la protección de dicho inmueble.

Editorial and Commentary

Editorial:
Hazelton, PA on Trial
Last year the little town of Hazelton, PA passed the strictest immigration law in the land that would fine landlords who rented to undocumented immigrants. It would deny business permits to companies that employ them and also require residents to register with the city to prove their citizenship. The town was described as the most racist in the United States.

Commentary:
On Discrimination: Mendez v. Westminster
By Humberto Caspa, Ph.D
“I couldn’t handle it any longer,” complained a father, “I had to get my kids out of Tewinkle Middle School because I couldn’t stand seeing them not learning anymore.”

Comentario:
Discriminación: Méndez v. Westminster
Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D.
“No pude más”, se quejaba un padre de familia en la ciudad de Costa Mesa, California, “tuve que sacar a mis niños de la escuela de intermedio Tewinkle porque ya no soportaba ver como se atrasaban”.

Comentario:
La hipocresía
Por José R. Uzal
Los Estados Unidos siguen dándose el lujo de usar la inmigración para manipular la opinión pública. No tiene sentido que nuestra nación ponga la inmigración ilegal en el centro del dialogo nacional habiendo suficientes leyes vigentes para resolver un problema que nunca debió llegar a las presentes proporciones.

The Public Forum . . . El Foro Publico
The Trial of Agustin Aguayo
Eyewitness account by Fernando Suarez del Solar
The fifth of March. 9 a.m. The US military base in Würzburg, Germany. We enter the building where a trial will be held—the court martial of conscientious objector Agustin Aguayo. His family is nervous, his daughters still do not fully understand what may happen to their father, his wife Helga displays a fearlessness that masks what she really feels.

Tezozomoc Speaks
Los gringos de Colorado no tienen Mexicanos to pick their crops. They went and passed the strictest anti-immigrant legislation in the land and now they’re having troubles! Seems they can’t find enough workers and all those jobs the Mexicans were taking away from Americans – forget about it! Farmers have raised the pay from $5.15 an hour to $9.60 an hour and still can’t get the gringos to come out and work!

Etc. Etc. Etc.
Entertainment, Reviews, Sporting news, and other tid bits

¡ASK A MEXICAN!
SPECIAL READER FEEDBACK EDITION
Dear Readers: Muchas, muchas responses to my March 8 column asking whether I should keep this column’s gold-toothed, mustachioed, sombrero-wearing fat Mexican logo and what should I name him. The overwhelming majority of ustedes support amnesty for the wab, but a few folks also made articulate arguments in favor of deportation. Following are pro and con letters from gabachos and wabs alike:

¡Tic Tac Tiempo!
Acclaimed writer of Latina heroines, Sandra Cisneros, reads in Escondido
By Raymond R. Beltran
Since the release of her first novel House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros has become a writer whose poetry and stories are standard reading in schools and college campuses, throughout the country.

El Legendario Trío Los Panchos en Tijuana
Por: Paco Zavala
Aunque ya los años han pasado y, muchos a decir verdad el romanticismo que invade el ambiente al escuchar a un trío de guitarras bien pulsadas, haciendo muchos ornamentos en su ejecución y acompañadas por tres excelentes voces bien acopladas, con un estilo único y difícil de confundir, el legendario Trío Los Panchos, se encontrará de visita en Tijuana, presentando su show el próximo viernes 16 de marzo a las 8:00 pm. en uno de los salones de espectáculos del Hotel Camino Real, enclavado en la Zona del Río Tijuana.

Radio Bilingüe celebrates 25 years of the ‘Viva El Mariachi’ Festival
Radio Bilingüe will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its internationally renown “¡Viva el Mariachi!” Festival, on Sunday, March 25, at the Fresno Convention Center- Selland Arena from noon to 5 p.m.

Esther González Joven Soprano Ensenadense Interpretara el Rol de Mimí en la Opera La Boheme
Por: Paco Zavala
“La Boheme”, ópera de Giacomo Puccini, es una de las óperas de repertorio más famosas de todos los tiempos, será representada en Tijuana el próximo día sábado17 de marzo, en una producción de la compañía independiente Opera de Tijuana, con la intervención en el reparto de valores artísticos de la comunidad bajacaliforniana.

Sister Act Drawing Rave Reviews at BVHS
By John Philip Wyllie
Three years ago as a freshman, Bonita Vista senior Sasha Beltran made a big splash in the Baron pool. She has gone on to become one of the finest Baron freestylers in recent memory. Now a senior, she is looking to cap what has been a brilliant career by paring her already excellent time down even further. Joining her this year in the pool is her younger sister Monique. A 100-meter butterfly specialist, the younger Beltran has the same determination and drive as her older sister. Together, they pack a powerful one-two punch for coach, Steve Wiggs.

Sainz Stars for Sundevils
By John Philip Wyllie
Over the years, Mt. Carmel High School senior, Alex Sainz has enjoyed playing football and soccer, but he has discovered his real passion with lacrosse.

Top West Coast U17 Youth Soccer Teams Battle For Championship
On March 23-25, the top eight Under 17 Men’s soccer teams from Red Bull National League 17’s West Region will meet head-to-head at the University of California San Diego’s fields in conjunction with the Nomads Coaches Showcase Tournament 2007.

Luis Castillo impartirá clínica de Fútbol Americano en República Dominicana
Luis Castillo, el jugador dominicano que milita en los Chargers de San Diego, impartirá una clínica acerca de los fundamentos del Fútbol Americano, deporte de gran arraigo en Estados Unidos y que comienza a generar gran interés entre la juventud dominicana, precisamente por el trabajo de Castillo en la National Football League (NFL).

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