BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick continually looks for ways to connect with the residents of Massachusetts. He relies on YouTube (check out his talk about the swine flu here), he has an office in Springfield whose director, Elizabeth Cardona, serves with distinction as the eyes and ears of Patrick when he cannot attend an event, and now, he has started a tradition by offering to hold press conferences with the ethnic news media on a regular basis.
The conglomerate media does not connect with Russians, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Brazilians, Korean, Haitian and a plethora of other communities.
Patrick knows this and that is why he
The conglomerate media does not connect with Russians, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Brazilians, Korean, Haitian and a plethora of other communities.
Patrick knows this and that is why he
Latino Arts, Blogs, Culture & Politics.
Our Stories. At Last.
Our Stories. At Last.
All Rights Reserved Copyright 2009 AriadneMedia Inc. Natalia Muñoz is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
Gov. Patrick Reaches Out to State's Ethnic Media in a Historic First
A photography exhibit that reveals how the legacy of the strong grandmother influenc es her granddaughter today will be on view in the Community Room May 4th through June 29th. An opening reception will be held on Monday, May 4th from 6 to 8 p.m. Nuestras Abuelas: Their Hope, Our Strength is a mixed media exhibit that gathers the stories and photographs of Latinas of all nationalities to honor their abuelas (grandmothers).
Nuestras Abuelas includes photographs from the 1930s, 40s and 50s, key decades in which American foreign policy influenced or imposed political development across Latin America. Grandmothers from Puerto Rico, Guatemala and Mexico are among the countries represented in this exhibit.
The three Latina members who created the project discovered that their own grandmothers helped shape who they are today and the work that they do in the community. Their stories are included in Nuestras Abuelas. An essay written by the granddaughter that describes the relationship between her and her grandmother accompanies every photograph.
The project was created by Northampton resident Natalia Muñoz, founder of La Prensa del oeste de Massachusetts, which each month publishes photographs of grandmothers. Longtime Puerto Rican community advocate Noemí E. Valentín, also of Northampton and assistant editor for La Prensa, is a curator of the exhibit along with art researcher Waleska Santiago of Springfield. Writer Revan Schendler of Northampton served as project advisor.
Nuestras Abuelas includes photographs from the 1930s, 40s and 50s, key decades in which American foreign policy influenced or imposed political development across Latin America. Grandmothers from Puerto Rico, Guatemala and Mexico are among the countries represented in this exhibit.
The three Latina members who created the project discovered that their own grandmothers helped shape who they are today and the work that they do in the community. Their stories are included in Nuestras Abuelas. An essay written by the granddaughter that describes the relationship between her and her grandmother accompanies every photograph.
The project was created by Northampton resident Natalia Muñoz, founder of La Prensa del oeste de Massachusetts, which each month publishes photographs of grandmothers. Longtime Puerto Rican community advocate Noemí E. Valentín, also of Northampton and assistant editor for La Prensa, is a curator of the exhibit along with art researcher Waleska Santiago of Springfield. Writer Revan Schendler of Northampton served as project advisor.
“we want to move this process. We can’t continue with a broken immigration system. It’s not good for anybody. It’s not good for American workers. It’s dangerous for Mexican would-be workers who are trying to cross a dangerous border.” President Obama
Driver’s licenses for undocumented workers will be on the agenda when Richard Chacón, executive director of the state’s Office for Refugees and Immigrants, presents his list of recommendations to Gov. Deval Patrick in July.
“It’s going to be part of the conversation,” he said at a recent community meeting in Springfield sponsored by the Alliance to Develop Power, Northampton’s Center for New Americans and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Immigrants and Refugees.
It’s not promise of implementation but it is a step in addressing one of many vexing immigration policies.
“It’s going to be part of the conversation,” he said at a recent community meeting in Springfield sponsored by the Alliance to Develop Power, Northampton’s Center for New Americans and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Immigrants and Refugees.
It’s not promise of implementation but it is a step in addressing one of many vexing immigration policies.
wants to stay in touch with us. He knows that we are not solely messengers but also ambassadors.
The recent meeting with Patrick at the Statehouse is part of the change that he promised to bring as governor.
For all his power and position, Patrick is an unassuming governor who is much more than a skilled politician. He is a statesman and humanitarian.
We don't always agree on everything , but we always agree the fundamentals of what he aims to accomplish.
The meeting with the ethnic media was long overdue - by decades, really - and we are grateful to Gov. Patrick for his commitment to stay connected.
The recent meeting with Patrick at the Statehouse is part of the change that he promised to bring as governor.
For all his power and position, Patrick is an unassuming governor who is much more than a skilled politician. He is a statesman and humanitarian.
We don't always agree on everything , but we always agree the fundamentals of what he aims to accomplish.
The meeting with the ethnic media was long overdue - by decades, really - and we are grateful to Gov. Patrick for his commitment to stay connected.
Cinco de Mayo Celebrations
Ring Hollow
Ring Hollow
A Beef with Mama Iguana
The consumer-driven Cinco de Mayo events in the area serve as a reminder to many of us that we still have a lot of educating to do. For instance, a Northampton restaurant called Mama Iguana serves up delicious tortilla soup in an environment meant to evoke Mexican flavors. But Mama Iguana fails to get it right,its owner, Claudio Guerra, having opted to showcase movie posters that depict the American equivalent of minstral movie posters. His restaurant also features Puerto Rican folk art, which, in a respectful environment, would be a nice homage to the many Latino cultures in the area. But it appears that Guerra does not know the difference nor cares to know the difference between art that is politically charged and racially offensive and art that is a sampling of a particular country or region of a country. This is suprising given that Guerra celebrates the Spoleto Festival in the naming of his flagship restaurant adorned by a variety of posters from the annual festival celebrated in Spoleto, Italy. Read here about the Festival di Spoleto. I did write a note to him a year ago on this very issue, and did not hear back. Nor have I have been back to any of his restaurants. Natalia Muñoz/Editora/La PrensaMA
The consumer-driven Cinco de Mayo events in the area serve as a reminder to many of us that we still have a lot of educating to do. For instance, a Northampton restaurant called Mama Iguana serves up delicious tortilla soup in an environment meant to evoke Mexican flavors. But Mama Iguana fails to get it right,its owner, Claudio Guerra, having opted to showcase movie posters that depict the American equivalent of minstral movie posters. His restaurant also features Puerto Rican folk art, which, in a respectful environment, would be a nice homage to the many Latino cultures in the area. But it appears that Guerra does not know the difference nor cares to know the difference between art that is politically charged and racially offensive and art that is a sampling of a particular country or region of a country. This is suprising given that Guerra celebrates the Spoleto Festival in the naming of his flagship restaurant adorned by a variety of posters from the annual festival celebrated in Spoleto, Italy. Read here about the Festival di Spoleto. I did write a note to him a year ago on this very issue, and did not hear back. Nor have I have been back to any of his restaurants. Natalia Muñoz/Editora/La PrensaMA
Pray The Devil Back To Hell is a reviting film on how a group a women, many of them the mothers of wounded or killled children, formed a movement to start a peace process in Liberia, a country devastated by decades of civil war.The peace movement was key to the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the first female president of Liberia, founded in the mid-1800's by formerly enslaved blacks in the United States.
Read more about Johnson Sirleaf here.
And see the movie.
Read more about Johnson Sirleaf here.
And see the movie.
Of Human Bondage
in the United States
in the United States
By Marie Grady
Robert Hillary King has the letters “L-O-V-E” etched into the skin on his fingers. He has a soft N’Orleans drawl and a caramel, freckled face under his black knit cap that reminds you up close a little of the actor Morgan Freeman.
Those hands make candy these days - “Freelines” he calls them - a recipe he mastered in a place that was as about as far from the sweet taste of liberty as they come.
King was born 100 years after slavery officially ended in this country, but he came of age in a prison that stood on the grounds of a former plantation in the backwoods of Louisiana. At the prison named Angola, men in bondage - most of them black - shucked cotton for 2 ½ cents an hour under the watch of white guards on horseback.
“Slavery exists in this country.”
. Continues
Robert Hillary King has the letters “L-O-V-E” etched into the skin on his fingers. He has a soft N’Orleans drawl and a caramel, freckled face under his black knit cap that reminds you up close a little of the actor Morgan Freeman.
Those hands make candy these days - “Freelines” he calls them - a recipe he mastered in a place that was as about as far from the sweet taste of liberty as they come.
King was born 100 years after slavery officially ended in this country, but he came of age in a prison that stood on the grounds of a former plantation in the backwoods of Louisiana. At the prison named Angola, men in bondage - most of them black - shucked cotton for 2 ½ cents an hour under the watch of white guards on horseback.
“Slavery exists in this country.”
. Continues
By Mari Castañeda
In local cafes and bars, posters hang announcing the beer and food specials in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Establishments across the country are utilizing this Mexican holiday for their own consumer benefit
while the media and political pundits rage against Mexican immigrants and people of Mexican descent while also promoting xenophobia through overzealous descriptions of the swine flu. I don’t find this to be
ironic, I find it typical of the way capital and racism intersect with cultural cooptation.
And when my son comes home, crying because kids at schoolare telling him to stay away from them because he’s Mexican (and it doesn’t matter that he was born in the US and his family has a longer history in this country/continent that most of his classmates); and simultaneously, his school and the local eateries are celebrating Cinco de Mayo as if the attacks on Mexicans aren’t happening, it enrages me to no end and convinces me even more that there is still a lot of work to do. So I urge you, please make use of your voice and speak up against the media’s demonization of Latinos and the political-economic cultural context that creates a world where someone like my son is disparaged for who he is - a Chicano in the U.S. Ya basta!
Mari Castañeda is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst
In local cafes and bars, posters hang announcing the beer and food specials in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Establishments across the country are utilizing this Mexican holiday for their own consumer benefit
while the media and political pundits rage against Mexican immigrants and people of Mexican descent while also promoting xenophobia through overzealous descriptions of the swine flu. I don’t find this to be
ironic, I find it typical of the way capital and racism intersect with cultural cooptation.
And when my son comes home, crying because kids at schoolare telling him to stay away from them because he’s Mexican (and it doesn’t matter that he was born in the US and his family has a longer history in this country/continent that most of his classmates); and simultaneously, his school and the local eateries are celebrating Cinco de Mayo as if the attacks on Mexicans aren’t happening, it enrages me to no end and convinces me even more that there is still a lot of work to do. So I urge you, please make use of your voice and speak up against the media’s demonization of Latinos and the political-economic cultural context that creates a world where someone like my son is disparaged for who he is - a Chicano in the U.S. Ya basta!
Mari Castañeda is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst
"Llegaremos a tiempo"
por Rosana
por Rosana
"Volver" por Almodóvar
La Prensa Video Library
Gov. Patrick's Community Forums
The purpose of these Forums is to provide local residents with an opportunity to learn more about our financial challenges and interact in a dialogue concerning the current economic climate that the state is undergoing. We invite you to join us and to share this information with others who might be interested in attending these Forums. Please feel free to contact our office if you need any additional information.
Elizabeth Cardona
Director of Western Massachusetts
Governor's Office
436 Dwight Street, Room 300
Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 784-1200-Tel.
(413) 784-1203-Fax
email Elizabeth Cardona
Click here for schedule
The purpose of these Forums is to provide local residents with an opportunity to learn more about our financial challenges and interact in a dialogue concerning the current economic climate that the state is undergoing. We invite you to join us and to share this information with others who might be interested in attending these Forums. Please feel free to contact our office if you need any additional information.
Elizabeth Cardona
Director of Western Massachusetts
Governor's Office
436 Dwight Street, Room 300
Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 784-1200-Tel.
(413) 784-1203-Fax
email Elizabeth Cardona
Click here for schedule
The (Re) Discovery of Women Artists from the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean
Part II
Dominican Republic
By Waleska Santiago
This article is the second in a three part series about women artists in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. The first article presented women artists from Puerto Rico. The current article presents
Part II
Dominican Republic
By Waleska Santiago
This article is the second in a three part series about women artists in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. The first article presented women artists from Puerto Rico. The current article presents
women from the Dominican Republic.
The final article, in the near future, will be about women from Cuba. As in the first article, I focus on women born before the twentieth century. Women artists born before the 20th Century in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, have not been adequately acknowledged.
Continues
The final article, in the near future, will be about women from Cuba. As in the first article, I focus on women born before the twentieth century. Women artists born before the 20th Century in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, have not been adequately acknowledged.
Continues
Educational Opportunities
LatPro- Best jobs for Hispanic, Latino and Spanish and Portuguese bilinguals
We The People
La Prensa inaugurates a new feature called "We The People," in which we take a minute to get to know leaders in the community.
This week we begin the series with Milagros Johnson, director of the Office of Consumers Affairs in Springfield City Hall.
This week we begin the series with Milagros Johnson, director of the Office of Consumers Affairs in Springfield City Hall.
CONSUMER TIP
Are debt collectors harassing you?
Are debt collectors harassing you?
For me, beyond the narrower confines of my being a Caribbean Latina and New Yorker cheering for the girl raised in the Bronx projects, Sotomayor’s background has the street creds, grittiness and understanding of how "the law affects people’s everyday lives" that President Obama himself has said he’s looking for in his Supreme Court candidate.
Sunday morning Colin Powell went on "Face the Nation", ostensibly to debate the future of the Republican party. But late in the interview, Powell was walked, oh so delicately, into the past by moderator Bob Schieffer. The general was asked what he knew about the use of waterboarding and other "unpleasant things," to use last week's Cheneyism, and Powell gave what in Washington is known as a non-denial denial.
Here's what he was almost denying: an ABC news report , one of several such reports, that pinpoints Powell as a member of the Principals Committee which met frequently to approve, in excruciating detail, what should be done to whom in the pursuit of interrogation enhancement. Why were the Secretaries of State and Defense and the National Security Advisor (Ms. Rice, at the time) dragged into such close-up work deep in the muck of detainee abuse? Because the CIA was even then getting cold feet about being hung out to dry if Cheney ever started losing the argument, and wanted high-level fingerprints all over the operation.
Here's what he was almost denying: an ABC news report , one of several such reports, that pinpoints Powell as a member of the Principals Committee which met frequently to approve, in excruciating detail, what should be done to whom in the pursuit of interrogation enhancement. Why were the Secretaries of State and Defense and the National Security Advisor (Ms. Rice, at the time) dragged into such close-up work deep in the muck of detainee abuse? Because the CIA was even then getting cold feet about being hung out to dry if Cheney ever started losing the argument, and wanted high-level fingerprints all over the operation.
In other words, for the same reason that Republicans have been spending the past two weeks trying to checkmate Nancy Pelosi -- to spread the web of guilt for these practices widely enough that no one individual, or few individuals, can be factually, or politically, held responsible.
So, why was General/Secretary Powell treated with such kid gloves on this question? Why hasn't he been given the "Full Pelosi", hammered by questions about what he knew, and what he personally approved? Is it because Washington has already forgiven and/or forgotten Powell's role in making the final "close" on the sale of the Iraq War? In D.C., apparently, Powell's credibility has experienced seamless reweaving.
That just leaves the rest of us.
So, why was General/Secretary Powell treated with such kid gloves on this question? Why hasn't he been given the "Full Pelosi", hammered by questions about what he knew, and what he personally approved? Is it because Washington has already forgiven and/or forgotten Powell's role in making the final "close" on the sale of the Iraq War? In D.C., apparently, Powell's credibility has experienced seamless reweaving.
That just leaves the rest of us.
By Congressman John W. Olver
On May 26, President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Maria Sotomayor to succeed retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. Judge Sotomayor is currently serving on the Second Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals, a position she has held for over a decade. Her legal record shows her to be a thoughtful moderate with the ability to carefully weigh the facts of a case and all aspects of the law before reaching a decision.
Her position with the Second Circuit is the culmination of a career spanning almost three decades. She has worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York and is a respected law professor at both the New York and Columbia Universities. If she is confirmed to the Supreme Court, she will replace Justice Souter as the only justice with trial experience – a useful preparation for a judge at any level.
On May 26, President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Maria Sotomayor to succeed retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. Judge Sotomayor is currently serving on the Second Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals, a position she has held for over a decade. Her legal record shows her to be a thoughtful moderate with the ability to carefully weigh the facts of a case and all aspects of the law before reaching a decision.
Her position with the Second Circuit is the culmination of a career spanning almost three decades. She has worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York and is a respected law professor at both the New York and Columbia Universities. If she is confirmed to the Supreme Court, she will replace Justice Souter as the only justice with trial experience – a useful preparation for a judge at any level.
Congressman John W. Olver
By Russell Simmons
Today, we celebrate Juneteenth, a day commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery on June 19, 1865. Yesterday, after 144 years, the United States Senate apologized for slavery. With a unanimous vote, America has begun her healing process. For our country will never be able to heal itself without atoning for the sins of our past. We have finally recognized that in order for us to move forward as a people in this beautiful nation, we need to acknowledge the pain that we all have suffered because of slavery. The pain has lasted for the past 144 years, and now with our government taking the right step in apologizing, I know that we can begin to heal. The effects of slavery on our communities have been devastating. The devastation does not stop because of the apology; however these are words that we needed to hear. We all needed to hear. This was a day that many of us have dreamed about for our entire lives.
Today, we celebrate Juneteenth, a day commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery on June 19, 1865. Yesterday, after 144 years, the United States Senate apologized for slavery. With a unanimous vote, America has begun her healing process. For our country will never be able to heal itself without atoning for the sins of our past. We have finally recognized that in order for us to move forward as a people in this beautiful nation, we need to acknowledge the pain that we all have suffered because of slavery. The pain has lasted for the past 144 years, and now with our government taking the right step in apologizing, I know that we can begin to heal. The effects of slavery on our communities have been devastating. The devastation does not stop because of the apology; however these are words that we needed to hear. We all needed to hear. This was a day that many of us have dreamed about for our entire lives.
This was a day that many who were at the forefront of this struggle could not enjoy because they are no longer with us. And for those heroes, I go to work every day to make sure that they are never forgotten.
With my newly appointed position as the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Permanent Memorial to the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, I vow to work on behalf of our young people to make sure that we never have to feel this sort of pain again. As we all know, slavery and human trafficking exist all around the world, at record numbers. We must remember the past, however we also must work to prevent our mistakes from happening again in the future. I will work even harder in my roles as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, and I urge you all to take a moment to recognize the importance of the actions of the United States Senate. Let the healing continue...
With my newly appointed position as the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Permanent Memorial to the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, I vow to work on behalf of our young people to make sure that we never have to feel this sort of pain again. As we all know, slavery and human trafficking exist all around the world, at record numbers. We must remember the past, however we also must work to prevent our mistakes from happening again in the future. I will work even harder in my roles as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, and I urge you all to take a moment to recognize the importance of the actions of the United States Senate. Let the healing continue...