Volume XXIX Number 08 February 25, 2005

FrontPage Stories

A guided trip through the murals of Diego Rivera

By Luis Alonso Pérez

“We are about to witness the work of a colossus” said Gregorio Luke, seconds before the theatre’s lights went off so those present could admire, almost in life-size, what Luke describes as “The expressive force of Mexican Culture”.

The conference and projection of Diego Rivera’s work took place last Friday February 18th, in USD’s Institute for Peace and Justice. Gregorio Luke was invited by the Mexican Cultural Institute of San Diego and the Mexican General Consulate of San Diego, as a part of their conference cycle called “Los Rostros de México”.

Gregorio Luke y mural de Rivera al fondo.

For Luke, San Diego feels just like home, since he lives and works in Los Angeles as the director of the Museum Of Latin-American Art (MOLA) in Long Beach. But the invited lecturer has more than twenty years of experience as cultural and art promoter, as well as having a great knowledge of the Latin-American culture since he worked for more than ten years as a Mexican consul for cultural affairs in the United States.

A vast collection of photographic material of Diego Rivera’s artistic life was projected in a large screen, at the same time; the lecturer was narrating carefully selected passages of Rivera’s interesting personal life.

The work projected revealed the eclecticism of his fast-changing influences and his never-ending search for innovative styles. His explorer spirit, restless temperament and solid ideological convictions, took him to remote places around the world, allowed him to work side by side with some of the most important painters of his time, and overall led him to a very intense life, full of triumphant events and depressive periods, which caused him a great deal of pain, but made him express other people’s suffering through his work, and at the same time creating a piece of art useful to society.

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Un viaje guiado por los murales de Diego Rivera
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
“Estamos a punto de presenciar el trabajo de un coloso”, anunció Gregorio Luke, segundos antes de que el teatro se oscureciera, para que los asistentes pudieran admirar, casi en tamaño real, lo que el conferencista describió como “la fuerza expresiva de la cultura mexicana”.


Miembro de la Mesa Directiva dice estar ‘orientado hacia los estudiantes’
En enero, Jaime Mercado empezó su primer periodo en la Mesa Directiva del Distrito Escolar de Sweetwater
Por Pablo Jaime Sainz
Jaime Mercado conoce al Distrito Escolar de Sweetwater muy a fondo.


Board member says he’s ‘student-oriented’
 In January, Jaime Mercado began his first term at Sweetwater School District Board
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
Jaime Mercado knows the Sweetwater Union High School District right to its core.


De Músicos, Poetas, y Locos…
By Heriberto Escamilla
When I was little and we made our regular trips back to Mexico, I liked spending time with my mother’s family more than my father’s. My grandmother had children well into her 40’s so some of my aunts and uncles were only a few years older than me. I liked the companionship but to put it in today’s terminology, my mother’s family had drama. They were alive. My maternal relatives argued, they cried and they laughed and sang more often and more openly than did my father’s more formal kin. The maternal grandfather I remember was a tall man with the colorful expressiveness of a sailor. Legend has it that in his prime, he had been a shrewd merchant, always looking to buy or sell something for a few extra pesos. He was a man that was easily influenced by women and spirits of the alcoholic variety. I’ve heard that he left a small fortune on the makeshift poker tables scattered throughout the state of Nuevo Leon. My maternal grandmother on the other hand, a woman scarcely 4 feet tall, made up what she lacked in stature with unbending character and presence. Rumor has it that mi abuelita’s contorted face and body were life long reminders of an early encounter with an ornery bull. I believe it, but the grandmother that I remember was an affectionate saint who unwearyingly doted over her youngest son, born with Down’s Syndrome, until he passed away at the age of 21.



Stories

Unraveling Waters
By Katia Lopez-Hodoyan
Part Two of two
The mere amount is gruesome and unsettling. An average of 50 million gallons of sewage tainted water is poured into San Diego Coastal beaches every day; a quantity that for decades has turned enticing and beautiful beaches into a deceiving health hazard for thousands of beach goers. The problem is not a new one. It is the end result of the Tijuana River Estuary treatment plant that is not designed to process over 25 million gallons of sewage each day from Tijuana. Nonetheless, the amount of sewage transferred from Tijuana into the U.S plant often exceeds this sum. The outcome of the latter results in the expulsion of untreated surplus sewage into San Diego Coastal waters. When this occurs, beach closures are inevitable, as they have been for over 30 years.


México del Norte
Por Jorge Mújica Murias
Spanglish only, por favor
“Si yo viviera en México, haría un esfuerzo para aprender Hispanic. Si van a vivir en este país, tienen la obligación moral de aprender el lenguaje”.


Organizaciones Civiles de Baja California
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
La historia nos ha enseñado que cuando en una sociedad existe una carencia muy grande, que no puede ser satisfecha por el gobierno, los individuos comienzan a unirse para formar grupos altruistas de ayuda a su comunidad.


Sweetwater High Students Prepare for New Year in Style
 Actors, media moguls, CEOs and the top political leaders in California spent the day reaching out to women from all walks of life at the 2004 California Governor’s Conference on Women and Families. And among the crowd were ten Sweetwater High School students.


LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Karina Flores-Hurley
Identidad Robada
Ana y Sergio no podían contener su emoción. Después de tantos años de trabajo por fin habían conseguido unos ahorros y la posibilidad de pedir un préstamo de vivienda. Al parecer, el sueño de la casa propia se volvería realidad. Sin embargo, cual sería su sorpresa cuando, al llegar al banco, el crédito les fue negado pues su reporte de crédito reflejaba un fraude financiero.


Ser Santo es Toda una Lucha
Por Pastor Luis A. Garcia
Hace poco veía una foto donde habían miles de personas arrodilladas en actitud de oración. Estas personas pertenecían a una religión del medio oriente muy mencionada últimamente. Me pregunté que pasaría si todo aquel que se dice Cristiano se arrodillara un minuto al día para pedir a Dios por las cosas que necesitamos como sociedad, si acaso pudiera generar un cambio.


Editorials

Editorial:
Eminent Domain reaches down to the core
Eminent Domain is an issue that has dominated the community of National City and perplexed its’ political leaders for some time now. This situation is not particular to National City, it is topic of paramount importance to the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista, and is presently being heard before the U.S. Supreme Court which is deciding the question of personal property rights versus public use, which could make this issue moot in the near future.


National City Spotlight:
Links in the Chain
By Ted Godshalk
Since the New Year, the National City City Council/CDC has discussed and voted on several significant issues, which will have a lasting influence on the community. Let us review these issues, thinking about them as links in a chain, and consider the interests which tie them together.


Commentary
Peace of Mind VS. a Gamble: The Social Security Debate
By U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
The White House has embarked on a mission to convince the people of our country that Social Security is in dire need of drastic change in order to save it for all workers.


Commentary:
The Dems’ Hispanic problem
Imagine the surprise!
By Mark Mellman
Before November, public polls showed Sen. John Kerry with 65 percent of the Latino vote. “Kerry is winning the Latino vote by a margin greater than Al Gore’s,” one analyst proclaimed.


Comentario
La Esperanza Nunca Muere
 Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D
A pocas horas de culminar la reunión con sus “aliados” Europeos, la luz del diálogo y cordura política nuevamente se hacen presentes alrededor del Presidente George W. Bush. Hubo varias ocasiones como ésta durante su primera gestión administrativa, pero el tesón de sobrellevar los planes de gobierno a su manera, con arrogancia desmedida y sin tacto político, le hicieron capitular confrontando con sus propios aliados. Muchos intelectuales académicos prevén que la segunda gestión es la más creativa, la menos pugnante y más constructiva. Haber si con Bush se cumplen esas premisas.


The Public Forum . . . El Foro Público
Letters from the Web:
The Sun Article
The Sun article regarding illegal immigrants (invasion) told the truth.


Tezozomoc Speaks
Los Racistas, that tried to pass an Initiative to bar “Undocumented Immigrants” from getting a California Drivers License, couldn’t get the money, or the signatures, to place the Initiative Petition in the 2006 Ballot! El Governor, who is trying to tell our Gente that he is our “Gran Amigo,” had VETOED a previous bill that had granted “Undocumented” (code word for all RAZA!) the rights to apply for a driver’s license.

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


Haunting and Mature: Lisa Gonzales’ Arroyo a remarkable, startling little book
By Daniel A. Olivas
In the editor’s note to Lisa Gonzales’ book of short stories, Arroyo, Francisco Aragón lets us know two things. First, the mission of Momotombo Press “is to promote emerging Latino/a writers” in a chapbook format. Second, the press intends to cast a very wide net and “opt for a spirit of inclusion.” How inclusive? Aragón tells us that Gonzales, who grew up in Fairfield, California, listened to her mother’s stories which included migration. But not “migration from, for example, Michoacán to Bakersfield—but rather: migration from Portugal to Hawaii, from the Philippines to Hawaii.” Aragón also notes that Gonzales’ desire to write was sparked by two Latino/a writers: Sandra Cisneros and Junot Diaz. Aragon had no doubt that Gonzales was nothing if not a Momotombo author.


Entrega de Diplomas en la Academia de Guitarra Popular de Carlos López
Por: Paco Zavala
Participando en un am-biente festivo y familiar en el que reinó la paz, la convivencia, la cordialidad y el compañerismo, nos apersonamos el pasado domingo 19 del corriente mes a la 1:00 pm. en el domicilio de la Academia de Guitarra Popular del maestro Carlos López, en el Fraccionamiento Rubio de la ciudad de Tijuana, institución en la que los alumnos que terminaron su curso de guitarra popular, recibieron de manos de su maestro el Diploma, que los acredita como alumnos egresados, en virtud de haber terminado los estudios correspondientes al estudio de la pulsación de tan hermoso instrumento musical.


Emilio Estefan seeks “Nuevas Voces de América”
By Geneva Gamez
MIAMI, FL. –In a recent interview with Estefan, he talked about his latest project, “Nuevas Voces de America,” the newest reality based TV show he is co-producing and directing with Telemundo and Estefan Television Productions. The show is about twenty young Latinos who aim and are in competition to become the next popular Latin music artist. “I am very excited about this project,” exclaimed Estefan, “this show is something completely different than what you’ve seen before.”


MACUILXOCHITL'S KIVA
Mezklah seeking to raise awareness
By Francisco Ciriza
Once again delving into the community-based music and art scene of the near-north, Los Angeles, La Prensa San Diego spoke to Greg Hernandez of the progressive alt-rock duo known as Mezklah.


La Cultura y el Arte en Tijuana
Por: Paco Zavala
La ciudad de Tijuana, a pesar de los riesgos que se corren al salir a la calle a cualquier hora del día o de la noche, por efectos de la inseguridad que se vive, la actividad cultural y artística continúa con su marcha.


VAMOS AL CINE
¡Ahí viene el Lobo!
 Los creadores de Scream intentan una nueva franquicia con “Cursed”
Por Jose Daniel Bort
El dúo dinámico de Kevin Williamson en el guión y Wes Craven en la dirección, responsables por la exitosísima serie de las películas Scream, vuelven a las andadas otra vez. Con Cursed, este par creativo le pone su toque personal a la leyenda del Hombre Lobo.


Sibling Rivalry a Motivator for Jimenez
By John Philip Wyllie
Bonita Vista High water polo jack-of-all-trades Berenice Jimenez remembers clearly how she became interested in playing water polo. It was purely a case of sibling rivalry.


 Sanchez Shooting for CIF Hoops Championship
By John Philip Wyllie
Midway Baptist’s Erica Sanchez played a huge role during the regular season in leading the Citrus League West champions to their second consecutive conference banner. Averaging more than 24 points per game, the 6’1” forward ranked near the top among the county’s leading scorers. With the Division V CIF San Diego Section Tournament now underway, Sanchez isn’t finished yet.


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