Volume XXVII Number 50 December 12, 2003

FrontPage Stories

A Deeper Issue at the Centro

By Raymond R. Beltrán

“People ask us, ‘Well, why don’t you go create your own cultural arts center?’,” says Victor Payán, member of the Save Our Centro Coalition (SOCC). “And the answer to that is: This was our cultural stage for thirty years, and outside the Centro, we’ve started other groups and organizations, and we’ve continued serving our cultural community … So I ask, if they wanted a cultural arts space, why didn’t they start their own?”

Save Our Centro Coalition member, Endy, creates dialogue with Centro Cultural de la Raza patrons last Friday evening to discuss the current Centro picket. Photo by Mariajulia Urias.

As the Centro Cultural de la Raza, begins to exhibit their partnership with new sponsors, artists that had formerly been part of the Centro’s once progressive activity continue to hold the picket line with no sign of laying the three-year issue down for one second, and their following continues to grow.

On Friday, December 5, SOCC members held strong to the picket line while the Centro and Farmers Insurance Group held a photography exhibition and contest, Farmers Insurance Young Americanos Youth Photography Competition. The event acts as a companion piece to Edward James Olmos’ Americanos photography exhibition held at the Centro, which Olmos declined to attend after hearing about the SOCC picket.

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From Fernando Suarez del Solar in Iraq:
Hello everyone:
All is as well as can be. I was finally able to go to the place where my son Jesus had his accident, a very lonely place near where there used to be an Iraqi National Guard base. I was able to stand in the exact spot where Jesus fell. I placed the crucifix that my wife gave me in the ground and prayed, asking that wherever he is that he help us find peace.

De: Fernando Suarez del Solar en Iraq
Hola a todos,
Todo marcha como debiera. Finalmente pude estar en el lugar en que mi hijo Jesús tuvo su accidente, un lugar desterrado, cerca de donde se encontraba la base de la Guardia Nacional Iraquí. Tuve la oportunidad de estar en el punto exacto donde mi hijo cayó. Coloqué en ese lugar un crucifijo que mi esposa me dió y recé preguntándo que donde quiera que se encuentre, nos ayude a encontrar la paz.

Group faults Bush administration’s affirmative action policy
By Laura Withers
WASHINGTON — Six months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of affirmative action procedures at the University of Michigan Law School, civil rights activists argue that the Bush administration has done little to support the decision.

Clash of Values in Spanish-Language Newspapers
By Marcelo Ballvé
An investment stampede into Latino print media this year is transforming the business. Media corporations’ bottom-line motivations and mainstream news values are beginning to eclipse an old guard of community-based entrepreneurs and journalists.

Stories

The City Chases Taggers, A Teacher Embraces Them
By Raymond R. Beltrán
San Diego City Mayor Dick Murphy held a press conference Wednesday, December 10, in Paradise Hills with District 4 Councilman Charles Lewis and Police Chief Bill Lansdowne to discuss the activity of the city’s new Graffiti Strike Force.

La Prensa Persa
“La Prensa Persa” Receives Recognition from New California Media
By Kathy Hadizadeh
“La Prensa Persa” (The Persian Press) column of La Prensa San Diego weekly newspaper was awarded by New California Media (NCM).

Politica a la Mexicana
Marta de Fox
Por Luz Aída Salomón
Al conocer a Marta María Sahagún Jiménez como Directora de Comunicación Social del entonces Gobernador, Vicente Fox, dejaba la impresión de ser una mujer chaparrita, vivaracha y dinámica; que ocultaba sus problemas maritales con Manuel Bibriesca y su derrota en sus aspiraciones por ser alcaldesa de Celaya, Guanajuato, bajo las banderas del Partido Acción Nacional (PAN). Sin embargo, hay que reconocer que no perdió su sentido de ubicuidad, pero se volvió hermética y obsesiva porque se publicara sólo información positiva de Fox.

San Ysidro Teacher Honored for Humanitarian Efforts
Ray Lozada Receives Bishop Buddy Award
A San Ysidro teacher who has helped troubled students succeed was honored with the Bishop Charles Francis Buddy Award at the University of San Diego Dec. 6. The award, named for one of USD’s co-founders, is presented each year to a USD graduate in recognition of extraordinary contribution and commitment to humanitarian causes.

Colegio Southwestern Construye Nuevo y Moderno Centro de Desarrollo Infantil
Costará $6.5 Millones y Servirá a 120 Niños Cada Día
CHULA VISTA — Estudios académicos lo han demostrado. Los niños que sobresalen en sus estudios preescolares tienen más probabilidades de sobresalir en la primaria, la secundaria, y subsecuentemente en la universidad. Gracias al nuevo Centro de Desarrollo Infantil (CDC) del Colegio Southwestern (SWC), muchos más niños tendrán acceso a una educación preescolar de calidad.

A New Voice for the Latino Community in Mid-City San Diego
By Patricia Hodge
They come from different backgrounds, different life-styles, and different ethnicities but their mission is the same: to help the Mid-City San Diego neighborhood.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Ellen Alderton, Traducción de Karina Flores
VIH / SIDA: Lo Que Ignoras Puede Dañarte (Incluso Matarte)
En las pasadas dos décadas, el VIH / SIDA se ha convertido en una fuerte amenaza para la salud mundial. Sólo en los Estados Unidos, los Centros para el Control de Enfermedades reportan más de 816,000 casos de SIDA desde el surgimiento de esta enfermedad a inicios de los años ochenta. Durante el mismo período de tiempo, casi medio millón de americanos han muerto de SIDA.

Editorials

Editorial:
Say Good-bye to the Chargers
 With all this talk about a new stadium and the threat of moving the team, we haven’t said too much about the whole San Diego Chargers fiasco. They’re much like a spoiled child. No matter how much you give them, they always want more, and we have gotten weary of hearing them continually asking for more. And, quite frankly, the discussion about plans for a new stadium, outside of the realm of being a fan, has little to do with the Hispanic community!

Editorial:
Hispanic leaders have something they can protest?
Of all the issues that face the Hispanic community, Hispanic leaders in San Diego have finally found an issue that they can latch on to and fight for … whether or not a non-profit group will erect a statue of Pete Wilson at “San Diego’s Walk of Fame” in Downtown San Diego.

Comentario:
¿Estrategia idónea o no?
Por Humberto Caspa, PhD.
Los constantes impasses entre los representantes de los dos partidos políticos más importantes en el Legislativo de California están induciendo al gobernador Schwarzenegger a proceder por la vía populista. En su forma más simple, el politólogo Inglés Eduard Shils describe al populismo como “la supremacía de la voluntad del pueblo y la relación directa de éste con el liderazgo”. En la práctica, por ejemplo en América Latina, donde el populismo o neo-populismo ha sido imperante desde la década de los 40s, este fenómeno social ha permitido la salida rápida de los conflictos; aunque a la larga, los problemas simplemente se postergan, no se solucionan, vuelven con mayor intensidad y virulencia.

Commentary:
Bush Shows That Politics Is Theater
by Sheldon Richman
Politics is corrupt theater. Actors set the mood, and some members of the audience have their pockets picked.

Commentary:
The New European Union: A Challenge for 25 Countries
By Emmanuelle Le Texier
2004 will be a challenging year for the building process of the European Union. Almost fifty years have passed since the founding members (Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and Luxembourg) took the political decision to create the European Union.

Guest Opinion:
“Game Planning For A Winning Ballpark District”
By Bob O’Donnell
After years of planning, litigation delays and construction, we can actually see the promise of a new and beautiful downtown ballpark. Soon San Diegans will be attending Major League Baseball and other events at a state-of-the-art venue in which we can all take pride.

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

A Literary Highlight of 2003
La Calaca Review is a bright collection of new voices
By Michael V. Sedano
La Calaca Review, Un Bilingual Journal of Pensamiento & Palabra, released on December 1, comes early enough to order holiday gifts for friends who enjoy discovering vibrant new writers. A bellwether work of literary importance, students of United States literature will recognize in La Revista Calaca a parallel to 1969’s El Espejo: The Mirror, that introduced the genre of Chicano Literature, launching several important literary careers.

Editan Nuevamente Frontera de Palabras Border of Words, Premio Binacional de Novela Joven
Por: Paco Zavala
La letras conforman un tema de carácter infinito e interminable que a todas y en todas las culturas cautivan sus cambios, adelantos, movimientos, temas y demás metamorfosis inherentes a su proyección y desenvolvimiento.
Salvando la partida
Christina Milian destaca en ‘Love don’t cost a thing’
By Jose Daniel Bort
El genero de las películas para adolescentes, con algunas excepciones, se han caracterizado por ser “pastillitas” de goma de mascar graciosas y simplonas. Su objetivo es hacer gastar dos horas a los muchachos sin necesidad de distraerlos mucho de los arrumacos con su pareja de turno.

Big Fish
By Jose Daniel Bort
This is Tim Burton at its best. This pitch perfect nostalgic comedy fuses effortlessly fact and fiction to the point a completely new reality is created. Garcia Marquez used the same technique in his famous “100 years of solitude”. Many filmmakers (Marquez himself) have tried to translate this into film, with mild to awful results. Burton’s take into the sub-genre is the best I have ever seen.

Mosaico de Actividades Culturales en Tijuana
Por Paco Zavala
El advenimiento del mes de diciembre trae para los mexicanos luz de paz, alegría y regocijo en el marco de todas las festividades decembrinas, pero no todo es miel en pencas, cada año como por arte de magia también se presenta el viacrucis en todo el contorno de la República Mexicana con el jaleo que año con año entablan los que sin decirlo se sienten los amos y señores del país, ¿Quienes? los señores legisladores (diputados), año con año entablan una enconada lucha para demostrar quien tiene más poder, porque los intereses de los mexicanos les importa un bledo y la mitad de otro, primero se inician los jaleos, con cuanto les corresponderá de aguinaldos, porque trabajan tanto que realmente se lo merecen, ¡¡¡Bola de Canículas!!!.

Macuilxochitl's Kiva:
East Coast Latino Metal Act, Ill Niño, To Appear at House of Blues in Anaheim
By Francisco H. Ciriza
Hot off the heels of a successful European jaunt, New Jersey’s Ill Niño has recently to the U.S. and is set to make an appearance in southern California. The super-hard rocking outfit will be performing with Sevendust at the House of Blues at Anaheim (HOB), Tuesday, December 16, 2003.

Calendar of Events......
By Berenice Cisneros
** Los peinados elegantes volverán a estar de moda para estas fiestas del 2003. El clásico peinado recogido, junto con un color castaño cálido y ropa rica en colores y texturas, ofrecen un look de gran estilo con elegancia y sencillez.

Erik Morales And Erik Chavez:
“Brave Warriors Collide” February 28
By Fiona Manning
Two-time world champion Erik ‘El Terrible’ Morales breezed into Jesus Chavez’ hometown of Austin, Texas on Tuesday morning and managed to upstage the local hero in a barb-trade presser for their ‘Brave Warriors Collide’ world title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 28.

Conociendo a Tom Flores
En el año en que debutó la American Football League en 1960, encabezó la liga en porcentaje de pases completados y menor cantidad de intercepciones. 

Hispanic Health Run/Walk
If you’re ready to turn off the television and start taking your health seriously for the year 2004, here’s the place to be. On Wednesday, December 31, 2003 at noon, runners and walkers will be meeting at Sunbridge Park in Chula Vista to participate in a 5k run/walk in order to promote health and physical fitness in the Mexican community.

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