FrontPage Stories

Approximately 40 teachers, parents and school children protested at a Chula Vista Elementary School District School Board meeting on Sept. 14 because of a recent transfer of five veteran teachers from Castle Park Elementary School. The controversial transfer has been perceived by some as a mere power-play by Superintendent Lowell Billings — with the net result being a lower quality of education for the largely Hispanic school. “They still don’t have a credentialed special ed teacher, teaching special ed class; they’re just rotating subs,” said one of the transfered teachers Peggie Myers. “There’s not a whole lot of learning going on there.”

Billings does have the right to make an administrative transfer with certain conditions, according to Myers, but she believes Billings has misinterpreted his rights. “If the board gets away with this, they will do this to other teachers,” she said.

The transfered teachers had over 50 years of teaching experience between all of them. “We need to get this out to the Hispanic community,” she said. “If this had happened at Allen, Sunnyside, Tiffany, or Hedenkamp we wouldn’t be standing here right now.” Photos by J.D. Hawk.

What Does the September 16th Really Mean
By Heriberto Escamilla, Ph.D.
In the early hours of September 16th 1810, a sixty-year old priest agonized over the choices before him. His close friend Ignacio Allende had just informed him that the hated gachupines had discovered the criollo plot to establish an independent Mexico and were on their way to arrest him. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the former dean of the College of San Nicolas at Valladolid in Michoacan (now Morelia) was a truly compassionate cleric who sought to empower the Meztizo and Indigenous masses. Perhaps he foresaw the ten years of bloodshed that a military confrontation with the better-equipped Spaniards would bring, or maybe the overwhelming weight of oppression blinded him to any other option. In any event the decision for rebellion must have been painful, one that came after considerable prayer, mediation and anguish.

Celebración de la Memorable Fecha Septembrina de 1810
Por Paco Zavala
La guerra de Independencia dividió profundamente a la sociedad mexicana establecida en aquellos tiempos. Pasó de una vida tranquila y conservadora a una azaroza tempestad, arrebatada por el huracán de fervor patrio revolucionario que se desató incontenible hasta lograr su objetivo, en aquella memorable madrugada del 16 de septiembre.

‘Unfinished Business’ on Mexico’s Independence Day
By Alberto Huerta
It is a very hot Sunday afternoon. I stand in the square of the Alhondiga de Granaditas in the city of Guanajuato, Mexico. A large, impressive powder-colored building that seems to smell of gun powder, it is now a museum that houses Mexico’s history from pre-Colombian times to the present.

Right and Left Both Have the Color Line at the Center
By Roberto Lovato
NEW YORK— This election year, both parties are taking credit for their supposed progress on the ever-ticklish topic of race.

Stories

Apoya “Greenpeace” el Rechazo a la Instalación de Plantas de Gas
Por Julieta Martínez
TIJUANA, BC. — La organización internacional Greenpeace se sumó a la lucha contra la instalación de plantas almacenadoras de gas natural en territorio bajacaliforniano por considerar que son muy riesgosas e innecesarias.

Six San Diego Latinos Named Local Heroes During Hispanic Heritage Month
Six San Diego Latinos have been named local heroes as part of the Hispanic Heritage Month Local Hero Awards, a program honoring outstanding members of the Hispanic community. The heroes were selected for their exceptional commitment and contribution to San Diego through community activism, the arts, business, education and social services. The honorees include Sylvia Galvez, Jovita Juarez, Beatrice Fernandez, Mario Aguilar and Beatrice Zamora Aguilar, and Lupe Ortega.

U.S. Army to Honor Latinos’ Contributions to the Military
WASHINGTON, DC — Their names and actions span the centuries and are recorded in battlefields, walls of honor, monuments and the pages of our nation’s military history. Their selfless sacrifices, sense of duty and indomitable valor have ensured their place in our pantheon of heroes. They have helped change our world for the better. These are the inestimable contributions Latinos have made to America through their service in our country’s armed forces.

La Independencia se Vive en Tijuana
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
Durante el mes de septiembre los mexicanos conmemoramos nuestra independencia de España de la forma que más nos gusta: Con una gran fiesta.

Independence revives in Tijuana
By Luis Alonso Perez
In September, Mexicans celebrate their independence from Spain the way most like it: With a big Fiesta. Celebrating is in our culture, it’s in our blood. Festivities last all month long, we even call it patriotic month.

KPBS-TV Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15), KPBS offers its viewers special programming celebrating the people, places and culture of Latin America. The following are some of the programs to watch for starting in September. Additional programs will be added through October.

Notas de la Ciudad de Tijuana
Por: Paco Zavala
Una construcción siempre implica riesgos, algunas veces los accidentes son graves porque cobran vidas humanas, además de cuantiosos daños materiales; en el accidente que ocurrió en la obra del Distribuidor Vial Centenario, hace unos días, únicamente retrasará la construcción de la obra una semana, sin gastos o costos adicionales para el Ayuntamiento, así se informó.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
MedlinePlus en español: su receta para una vida saludable
¿Necesita información sobre la diabetes de su mamá? ¿Quiere ayudar a sus hijos con las tareas de ciencias? ¿Se ha propuesto perder peso mediante dieta y ejercicios?

IXCHEL AHAU
By Diana Gomez
What makes the difference………The difference between being poor or wealthy
On one of my trips to the south of Mexico, I listened to this short story:

Editorials

Editorial
Public Funds Squandered by Director Reint Reinders!
ConVis, formerly known as the Convention and Visitors Bureau, was recently audited and very serious misuses of public monies were discovered such as: Employees received $4,320 in parking allowances when they did not have any parking expenses; The Director Reint Reinders received a $50,000 tax-free loan to name just a couple of misuses. But with the promise to tightening up the reins on expenditures, and a slap on the wrist, by paying back a paltry $82,546 to the city of San Diego, everything is all right.

Commentary
A Texas Miracle or Smoke and Mirrors?
By Dan Wever
I just saw a 60 minutes program about how Houston cheated on their results of drop out students in order to help Bush win the election by keeping the Texas Miracle alive. George W. Bush’s victory in the presidential election of 2000 was in part helped greatly by his claim to improving education and test scores in Texas during his Governorship. His claim that the “Texas Miracle”, the improved test scores on standardized tests in Texas, was led by him while he was governor of Texas. The public believed him.

Commentary
Kerry’s Hawkish Pose Gets Him Into Trouble
By Jorge Mariscal
The controversy over Sen. John Kerry’s service in Vietnam raises a number of tough issues for peace activists and voters. But one thing is clear: Kerry is trapped by the hawkish image he has so carefully cultivated.

Comentario
La Contienda Por el Senado
Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D
La contienda política por el Senado de California se muestra cuesta arriba para el candidato conservador Bill Jones. Las encuestas recientes dan una ventaja sólida de 15 puntos a favor de Barbara Boxer, la candidata de los demócratas. Incluso en materia económica, Boxer tiene la delantera. Hasta junio pasado ya había colectado cerca de $7 millones de dólares; Jones apenas juntó $1 millón.

An Open Letter
CSUSM President Haynes’ Decision Protested by Faculty
(Editor’s Note: On Monday of this week, Karen S. Haynes, President of California State University San Marcos, emailed the university community informing them that a proposed campus sponsored appearance by Fahrenheit 9/11 director, Michael Moore, would be postponed “until later in the academic year, and after the election, pending agreement between his schedule and ours, and until we can consider how to provide a balancing perspective.” Campus and community response was immediate. Numerous letters and emails from individual faculty, staff, and departments expressed dismay, disagreement, outrage, and protest.

Tezozomoc Speaks
¿Qué Tal? ¿Everyone celebrate “La Independencia?” Pos I think we are suppose to be happy that we won Independence from “Los Españoles.” Some of my cuates wonder when Mejicanos are going to celebrate the Independence from the PRI? Others wonder when we (RAZA-Los Mestizos from Los Españoles) who came to this land called Mejico- Alta sometime after 1492 going to celebrate our INDEPENDENCIA???

The Public Forum . . . El Foro Publico
Regarding Immigrant Day
When we are asked to reflect on the number of people who die while crossing illegally into our nation (referring to article published Sept., 10 “Immigrant Day”), I can’t get the picture out of my mind of the little 4-year-old boy who died in that Texas trailer along with 18 other human beings. But it is ironic that the Catholic church, whose opposition to modern birth control methods are a part of the reason for the desperate poverty that drives people into desperate measures, leads the Immigrant Day observations.

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

Book Review
Burro Genius
By Katia Lopez-Hodoyan
At age 20 Victor Villaseñor made a promise to himself and to God. Forty-four years later that oath he took to become a published author is still going strong. His most recent book and Pulitzer prize nominee “Burro Genius” presents Villaseñor’s life as a Mexican American child confronted with constant discrimination in his local school system; a struggle he was able to endure with the support of his family and his spiritual connection with nature and God. This last published piece is a miracle, as he describes it. He wrote 19 drafts before it was published and began writing the piece before he was diagnosed with severe dyslexia later on in his life. Today at 64 years of age, Villaseñor tells of how he endured a total of 265 publisher rejections before finally getting the green light.

Participarán Reconocidos Especialistas Mundiales en el Primer Encuentro de la Cátedra Iberoamericana Sobre la Niñez y su Universo Audiovisual “El Niño y la Frontera”
Por: Paco Zavala
La niñez es tema importante en cualquier parte del mundo. Acabamos de sufrir dos atentados terroristas, uno sucedió en Rusia y el otro en la China Milenaria, en los cuales los niños han sido víctimas. Estos dos hechos sangrientos, el mundo civilizado los rechaza y los conjura con energía y con horror.

Local Filmmaker Paul Espinosa to Screen Episode of New Latino Arts and Culture Series at MOPA
Local filmmaker Paul Espinosa will screen an episode of the new Latino PBS documentary series Visiones: Latino Art and Culture at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 6 pm. This episode features San Diego artists The Taco Shop Poets.

Port of San Diego Seeking Artists for Three Public Art Projects
Opportunities for artists to have their talent displayed along San Diego Bay are currently available through the Port of San Diego’s Public Art Program. Requests for Proposals have been issued for three new projects. They include: a “trompe l’oeil mural for the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal, a tribute to San Diego’s cannery workers and a site furnishings and amenities program. Below is a brief description of each project.

MACUILXOCHITL KIVA
Miami’s Power Pop Phenom Volumen Cero Return With Second CD, Estelar
By Francisco H. Ciriza
Latin power-pop has emerged as a major force under the rock en Español umbrella thanks to host of bands such as Jumbo from Monterrey, Zoe from el D.F. and most recently, Miami natives, Volumen Cero. Claiming influences from Brit-pop of the sixties and seventies to KISS and on to post punk, these groups mix heavy doses of noisy guitars and driving rhythms with fuzzy bass and layered vocals rich with harmonies and creative production to form a unique genre of modern sounds.

VAMOS AL CINE
El diseño de las aventuras
En Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow todo se inventa
Por Jose Daniel Bort
“Sky Captain” es una mezcla de Indiana Jones, las películas del cine negro de los cuarenta y la tecnología ultramoderna de computadoras. El resultado es un pastiche variopinto con excelentes ideas y vistas de puntura en su manufactura.

La Oreja platinada
La oreja de Van Gogh recibe reconocimiento y anuncia gira
Por Jose Daniel Bort
Por las ventas de su cuarto disco “lo que te conté mientras te hacías la dormida” el grupo español “La Oreja de Van Gogh” ha recibido un Disco de Platino al vender doscientas mil copias en todo el territorio norteamericano. Y para celebrarlo, los cinco jóvenes hispanos concretarán una gira nacional que los llevará por las ciudades más importantes de la geografía nacional del 6 al 26 de octubre.

The Latino Loop
Alejandro Wins Grammys
Congrats to all the winners and nominees of the Latin GRAMMY awards! Alejan-dro Sanz was a big winner, taking home numerous a-wards for “No Es Lo Mismo”, including Record, Album & Song of the Year, as well as Best Male Pop Vocal Album and more.

Mosaico de Actividades Culturales en Tijuana
Por Paco Zavala
Después de disfrutar de las celebraciones de las Fiestas Patrias, en las que además de rendir honor a los heróes, también se le dió “vuelo a la hilacha”, asistiendo a los diferentes festivales que en las distintas fuentes se organizaron para concelebrar estas fechas tan importantes y tan significativas para los mexicanos; se vuelve a la vida normal, ya, ¡por allá! en la lejanía, escuchamos como en sueños el murmullo de algunos villancicos y de campanas navideñas, que comienzan a sonar.

Salinas Fills a Leadership Role for Aztecs
By John Philip Wyllie
With a new coach, more than a dozen new players and a new system, San Diego State’s women’s soccer team is in the midst of some major changes this season. After struggling to a 7-10-2 record and finishing fourth in the Mountain West Conference a year ago substantial changes were clearly warranted. Head coach Michael Giuliano will be looking to his senior leadership to get the Aztecs back on track. One of those seniors is Aztec co-captain and right flank midfielder, Gina Salinas.

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