Volume XXIX Number 11 March 18, 2005

FrontPage Stories

Voz Alta: Being and Becoming

By Michael Klam

Maybe it all started with a pin drop. But not that faint sound that makes all heads turn in a quiet room. The noise, in this case, hit the floor, the walls, the ceiling and made the kind of explosion in silence that can tear an ear completely off. BOOM! The performer flew back in a flash of pyrotechnic lightening, his feet flying over his head. Some audience members scrambled for the exit. Others sat in ear-ringing shock. Others cheered. The smoke detectors went off. It was part of a game-skit put on by the Anarchist Think Tank called Imminent Jeopardy. The point of it all: Bring the Bushite war on terrorism home and throw it in the laps of Americans.

Voz Alta board members (left to right) Adrian Arancibia, Cecil Hayduke, Stephanie De La Torre, and Norberto Cisneros.

A question had been posed in the category of Bush or Stalin? The contestant, a shill, a stunt performer named Junk Boy, answered his query incorrectly and was subsequently “blown up.” A small charge on his chest, between his shirt and a protective vest, sent him and half the audience reeling.

What does an anarchist show that employs chaos theory to blur the line between art and reality have to do with Voz Alta, a Chicano-run space originally created to provide opportunities for emerging young Latino writers? Perhaps the answer lies in an ever-changing and progressive theory of identity for Voz Alta.

According to cultural theorist, Stuart Hall, “Identity is both being and becoming.” Identity as being offers a sense of unity and commonality. Identity of becoming, on the other hand, is a process of identification, which shows the discontinuity in identity formation.

For the rest of the story please follow this link:


Community Organizes for Charter System at Gompers Middle School
By Perlita R. Dicochea
In the face of great challenges and political power plays, the Gompers Work Group accomplished their goal: to earn approval of a new charter from the San Diego City Schools Board of Trustees.


Los Rostros del Cine Mexicano: El Cine de Oro según Carlos Monsiváis
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
¿Quién puede olvidar el bello rostro de María Félix al despertar de una serenata en Enamorada? ¿El llanto desgarrador de Pedro Infante por la trágica muerte de su hijo en Nosotros los Pobres , o la sonrisa chueca de Cantinflas después de marear con sus frases a Joaquín Pardavé en Ahí está el detalle?


Stories

Roosevelt residents delighted about Españada delay
 Neighbors say City Council’s decision was good.
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
Maria Elena Lansing bought her house on Roosevelt St. 10 years ago. Since then, she said she has invested tens of thousands of dollars in that house, which was built in 1924 and is registered as historical.


Los residentes de Roosevelt contentos por retraso a Españada
Vecinos indican que el Cabildo de la ciudad tomó una buena decisión
Por Pablo Jaime Sainz
Maria Elena Lansing compró su casa en la Calle Roosevelt hace 10 años. Desde entonces, ella le ha invertido miles de dólares, la cual fue construída en 1924 y está registrada como histórica.


Análisis:
Se empiezan a sentir los cambios en el gobierno municipal de Tijuana
Por: Paco Zavala
Fueron quince años de predominio político del partido blanquiazul en la ciudad de Tijuana, la ciudadanía ya comenzaba a aburrirse de que cada tres años en el proceso electoral se diera de lo mismo, pero como siempre se vive con la esperanza y no con la realidad, el cambió se dió, pero con un partido que ya se conocía cuales eran sus estrategias para ganar las elecciones y su perspectiva de gobierno.


México del Norte
Por Jorge Mújica Murias
Querer y no Poder
Habrá quien diga que aquí parecemos disco rayado o que ya de plano nos faltan las palabras, pero hay que decirlo otra vez: no nos sorprende.


First Person
Cafeteria Blues: Temp Work Puts American Dream On Hold
By Pedro Paulo Viegas De Sa
I have been a temp worker in the cafeteria at Stanford University for two and a half years now — and I have only gotten a dollar raise since I started. Working as a temp in the Bay Area is a sure ticket to nowhere. The boss sees you as something discardable, like used toilet paper.


Month-Long César E. Chávez Celebration to be Presented at UC San Diego During April
The life and accomplishments of César E. Chávez, labor leader and champion of human rights, will be observed with a month-long series of diverse activities during April at the University of California, San Diego. Activities will continue through May 2. All events are free and open to the public.


Southwestern College Honors César E. Chávez With Candle Light Vigil, Scholarship Breakfast Fundraiser, and Other Events
CHULA VISTA—Southwestern College (SWC) students, faculty, and staff will honor the memory and legacy of Cesar E. Chávez, civil rights, Latino, farm worker, and labor leader, with a series of events on the College’s main campus. They include:


Tesoros que Enferman
Por Pastor Luis García
Aunque para enojarse se necesitan dos personas. Para reconciliarse se necesitan tres. Hay tantas cosas que vamos dejando en nuestra cuenta por cobrar por lo que alguien nos hizo, que al final los intereses que van acumulando son tantos que nos cobran la cuenta a nosotros mismos. Esos intereses se llaman resentimientos.


LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Ricardo J. Galarza
La reforma del Seguro Social golpearía a la comunidad hispana con fuerza arrolladora
La administración Bush ha empezado a ejercer un fuerte lobby en el Congreso y ante la opinión pública con el fin de impulsar la reforma del Seguro Social, proyecto bandera de su segundo mandato.


Editorials

Editorial:
MARCH 17: St. Patrick’s Day
We Honor The Brave Irishmen, The Men of The “San Patricio Battalion” for Their Role in The Mexican-American War!
Last Saturday, March 12, our Irish friends jumped the gun and held their parade in celebration of St Patrick’s Day, which is actually on the 17th of March! The Irish must do what they have to do! Unfortunately, La Prensa San Diego did not have its annual piece ready and it wasn’t scheduled to run until today (March 18)! Nevertheless, better late than never. La Prensa San Diego feels responsible to bring to our readership the contributions that our Irish friends brought to our countrymen from Mexico.


Commentary
The GPU delayed. What’s next?
By Earl Jentz
News that the approval of the General Plan Update for Chula Vista has been delayed by the city is bittersweet. Despite Mayor Padilla’s claim that the city needs more time to process public opinion (as the sole reason for the delay) the fact remains that the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the General Plan Update was inadequate and fatally flawed.


Comentario
Delincuentes de Cuello Blanco
Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D
Tanto en nuestro país como en América Latina, los enjuiciamientos de los presidentes de empresas o chief executive officers (CEO) son noticias de último momento. El advenimiento de este tipo de delincuentes se debe, ante todo, al periodo de desajuste económico, a la ortodoxia del libre mercado y al debilitamiento del aparato estatal. Así de simple.


Commentary:
How Do We Rationalize our Children Being Militarized?
By Ernie McCray
In a recent rap session I had with a classroom of 4th graders about the world, the Iraq War came up and a girl blurted out “War is stupid” which brought on a hearty “Yeah!” or two from a couple of her peers and a 60’s style “Right on” from me.


Commentary:
Schwarzenegger Fails to Level California’s Playing Field
By Tammy Johnson
The deadline for introducing bills for the current legislative session has passed, and the resolve of Governor Arnold Schwar-zenegger and state legislators will soon be put to the test. If last year’s record gives us anything to go by, bills that raise the state’s fairness quotient will die quickly on the Governor’s desk. Instead of creating a level playing field for all Californians as he promised to do, Schwarzenegger spent most of the year kicking sand in our eyes.


Commentary:
 “REAL ID ACT”: Nothing to do With IRAQ or National Security
 By Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (D-CA)
As the proud daughter of immigrants, I am pleased to be serving my country as a Member of Congress. It is a great honor to be giving back to America, a country that has given so much to my family. Like millions of immigrants, my parents came here in search of the American Dream for their children - to secure for them a quality education and a promising future.


Commentary:
President’s Budget Shortchanges Latino Students
By Congressman Rubén Hinojosa Chair, CHC Education Task Force
Do you pack a lunch for your children in the morning and then watch them as they make their way to school? All parents want the best for their child and hope that the future holds bountiful opportunities for success. Unfortunately, it is a grim reality that less than 60 percent of Latino students receive a high school diploma and less than 10 percent a college degree. As if the obstacles weren’t tough enough, now President Bush is proposing severe budget cuts that will slash many educational programs that assist thousands of students, from preschool through college. These cuts will be extremely harmful to the Latino community; making it more difficult for our youth to graduate and succeed in a high-tech, information society.


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


El Lugar del Nopal: Ten years of art, culture and good food in Tijuana
By Luis Alonso Pérez
Tijuana is a city with a flourishing artistic community that for many years was eager to share its work and interact with other artists. At the same time it developed a demanding public that searched for a place where they could enjoy a musical presentation, a poetry reading or a painting exhibition sipping on a good glass of wine.


El Lugar del Nopal: Diez años de arte, cultura y buena comida en Tijuana
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
Tijuana es una ciudad con una comunidad artística floreciente, que por muchos años estuvo sedienta de compartir su trabajo e interactuar con artistas de mayor trayectoria. Al mismo tiempo se fue desarrollando un público exigente, que buscaba un lugar en donde pudiera disfrutar de una presentación musical, una lectura de poesía o una exposición de pintura acompañado de una buena copa de vino.


National City a major influence in writer’s life
 Novelist Mary Castillo will be reading from her first novel “Hot Tamara” at Bay Books, in Coronado
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
When Mary Castillo was a kid, she would take the 602 bus from her great-grandmother’s house near 24th. St. to the National City Public Library.


Easter Week Activities
Easter Lilies Bloom in Balboa Park’s Historic Botanical Building
BALBOA PARK — From Friday, March 26, through Wednesday, April 14, Balboa Park’s 90-year old wood-lath Botanical Building will be filled with 300 fragrant Easter lilies. Built for the 1915–16 Exposition, along with the adjacent Lily Pond, the historic building is one of the largest lath structures in the world. Designed by Carleton M. Win-slow, the Botanical Building is 250-feet long, 75-feet wide, and over 60-feet tall and filled with an ever-changing landscape of beautiful and interesting plants. The view of the Botanical Building with the Lily Pond in the foreground is one of the most photographed scenes in Balboa Park and a “must-see” destination in San Diego.


Estará de Visita Desde Louisiana el Grupo Rockero “Palo Viejo”
Por: Paco Zavala
La música desde tiempos inmemoriales ha acompañado al género humano en todas sus manifestaciones. Actualmente con la inquietud que prevalece sobre todo en la juventud, muchos congéneres aficionados a expresarse usando como conducto la música, se unen o se reúnen con el fin de practicar, promoverse y buscar la posibilidad de prevalecer y consolidarse.


MACUILXOCHITL KIVA
 Andrea Echeverrí and Julieta Venegas Each to play Region
By Francisco H. Ciriza
Two of Rock en Español’s premier female artists will be in the San Diego/Tijuana region this weekend. And while the two share a similar elevated status among their peers and are both well-respected by critcs, their styles and personalities contrast more than they compare, yet both have achieved a relatively large amount of success and are respected artists in and out of the Latin music world. Both recently spoke to La Prensa San Diego.


VAMOS AL CINE
Una Medea para segundas partes
Naomi Watts regresa al papel que la convirtió en estrella en “The Ring Two”
Por Jose Daniel Bort
La secuela del hit del 2001 “The Ring” tiene todos los defectos de las segundas partes de las películas exitosas: es rimbombante, showcera y pretende ser aun más escalofriante que la primera. Aunque ésta nueva producción del japonés Hideo Nakata tiene una serie de falsos comienzos, al final éste anillo la mete por el aro del terror.


Escuchamos los Trinos de la Primavera Acompañados de Música, Teatro y Danza
 Por: Paco Zavala
Cada año el mes de marzo se viste de gala, porque es el mes que representa la alegría, el regocijo, es cuando el sol empieza a calentar por las mañanas al entrar la estación de la primavera, que ocurre el día 21 de marzo.


Chavez a Rising Star on Both Sides of the Border
 By John Philip Wyllie
Last summer, while still only 15, Bonita Vista High School’s Eliana Chavez was the winning pitcher for Baja California regional team in the U-22 Mexican national championship game. She hopes that someday soon she will represent Mexico in Olympic competition, but for now she is focused on helping the undefeated Bonita Vista Barons retain their Mesa League title.


Return to Archieves Page