Volume XXVI Number 44 November 1, 2002

FrontPage Stories

Day of the Dead

By Sandra Torres

Dia Del Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition honoring the dead that dates back to ancient history. November 1st, All Saints Day, and November 2nd, All Souls Day are the designated days for this holiday. The traditions are based on a blended history of cultures and creeds, including those of the Aztecs and Mayans. The Day of the Dead is a time to honor, commemorate and remember friends, family, and ancestors. It’s a day to welcome the spirits home.

Madelene Kashiwagi 8 years-old points to her Day of the Dead clay skull shemade for the alter.

It is believed that on the Day of the Dead, the spirits of those who have passed away, are allowed to return and reunite with their families for one night. One of the traditions practiced to welcome the dead is the making of an altar in their honor. The altar is usually placed in the home, or at their gravesite. The altar is laden with the person’s favorite foods, sweets, and drinks. Bread representing the food needed for survival, salt to season the food and purify, and water to quench the thirst and purify. A candle is lit for each of the dead, representing faith and hope. Pictures, personal items, and flowers also decorate the altar, along with any other items commemorating the departed.

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Día de Los Muertos
 Por Mariana Martinez
“Para el habitante de Nueva York, Paris o Londres, la muerte es palabra que jamás se pronuncia porque quema los labios. El mexicano, en cambio, la frecuenta, la burla, la acaricia, duerme con ella, la festeja, es uno de sus juguetes favoritos y su amor más permanente. Cierto, en su actitud hay quizá tanto miedo como en la de los otros; mas al menos no se esconde ni la esconde; la contempla cara a cara con paciencia, desdén o ironía”.

Missing Ingredient for Democracy – The Right To Vote
 By Jeff Milchen
Maybe it’s a mean streak in me, but as I hear repeated exhortations to do my civic duty at this time of year by “exercising my right to vote,” I’ve been known to goad a particularly earnest person with the comment, “But I don’t have a right to vote.”

Analysis
The Blueprint and What Jeff Lee’s Candidacy Means
 By Victor Menaldo
What is the essence of good teaching and good learning? What are the instructional methods and materials demanded by a high-quality education? Who should control what children learn and how they learn it? Who is to judge if a child’s learning experience has been successful and by what measure? What is the purpose of education?

Stories

Southern Shift – Brazil’s Lula More Nationalist Than Leftist
 By Francisco Jose Moreno and Alejandro Eggers Moreno
Headlines across the world shout about Brazil’s new “leftist” president. But Luis Inacio Lula da Silva won a landslide victory in Latin America’s largest economy by blurring traditional ideological boundaries and forming a broad-based, nationalist coalition of Brazilians ready to take on U.S. economic priorities and global financial institutions.

Sweetwater District Announces Next Inductees Into Alumni Hall of Fame
 They came from mostly humble backgrounds and took diverse paths to success in life. But the 13 men and women chosen as this year’s inductees into the Sweetwater District Alumni Hall of Fame shared a common trait a tremendous will to succeed.

UCSD Reaches Out to First-Generation College Students
 More than 150 high school seniors from San Diego and Imperial Counties – the majority of who will be the first in their families to attend college – visited the campus of the University of California, San Diego last Saturday to learn the rudiments of successfully applying to UCSD and other University of California schools.

Worrisome Income, Poverty Data for Latinos Signal Need for Measures to Spark Economic Opportunity
 Washington DC — New information about income and poverty in America released by the U.S. Census Bureau sends clear signals that policy-makers must take immediate steps to strengthen measures that invest in workers and improve the economic well-being of families. The data reveal that, between 2000 and 2001, income fell and poverty remained high for Latinos.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Diego Alvarez
El voto hispano hará la diferencia
La política siempre será importante en una comunidad. Nuestros gobernantes, quienes escriben las leyes y las hacen cumplir, son elegidos por la sociedad. Sin embargo, una de las razones por las cuales a veces los hispanos no obtenemos los mismos beneficios que el resto de los mortales, es precisamente por que no ejercemos nuestro derecho al voto, es decir, no elegimos a nuestros gobernantes, esos que en un momento dado nos podrían beneficiar.

Prevención de la Diabetes Antes de su Aparición
Los latinos corren más riesgos de padecer diabetes
 Algunas noticias recientes plantean la inquietud de que la diabetes continúa en aumento. Según la Asociación de Diabetes de Estados Unidos (ADA), la diabetes tipo 2, la forma de diabetes más común, ha alcanzado proporciones de epidemia ya que en la actualidad afecta a 17 millones de estadounidenses y mata a más personas por año que el cáncer de mama y el SIDA juntos. Además, es la principal causa de insuficiencias renales, amputaciones de miembros y aparición de ceguera en adultos.

Community Notes:
 Operation Gobble Alert!
10th Anniversary Crusade
For the past decade, I have led successful efforts to fight hunger and provide for struggling families during the holiday season. Our success can be attributed to the many generous, energetic and caring people across the state who have come forward to give of their time and resources. However, far too many families still go hungry.

Editorials

Endorsement
Governor’s Race A Case of Deception
 Democrat Governor Gray Davis VS Republican Bill Simon
The race for Governor has been conducted without much participation of the Mexican American electorate. A great deal of political propaganda has been put out by the Republican leadership attesting to the fact that the Mexican American voters were defecting from Democratic Governor Gray Davis to the Republican candidate Bill Simon.

Endorsements
San Diego School Board Needs to Change
De Beck and Lee Represent the Best Opportunity
Four years ago Alan Bersin became the Superintendent of the San Diego City Schools and with him came Anthony Alvarado and the much-touted “Blueprint for Student Success”. In order to ensure fulfillment of the Blueprint a school board majority was required and this majority was found in and with the elections of Sue Braun, Ron Ottinger, and Ed Lopez whose campaigns were financed and supported by the Chamber of Commerce, the San Diego Union Tribune, and big business. Since then Bersin and Alvarado have had carte blanc authority to do whatever they felt was necessary to carry out the Blueprint.

Endorsements
 Sweetwater Union High School District Needs Changes In Its Troubled Board of Trustees
 Relationships between Sweetwater Board members have led to an uncomfortable situation at Board meetings. The ability to conduct business in a dispassionate manner has become more and more difficult. As a consequence the school district is floundering. There is little that can be done to bring the present Board members to function in the interest of the Sweetwater School District. Money has become the hammer that now controls what happens. It is pervasive.

Endorsement
 Cecilia Garcia-Kirk Our Choice for Member of City Council, National City
 Cecilia Garcia-Kirk, a dedicated community activist for the past 18 years, convinced the Board of Editors of La Prensa San Diego that she was the best candidate for the 2nd seat for the National City, City Council. We believe she will complement the selection of Ron Morrison as Mayor and Francisco “Frank” Parra as City Councilpersons to bring a new dedicated team to City Hall.

Endorsement
Time for a Change at the Otay Water Board
 The Otay Water Board has been an embarrassment, a shambles, since the last elections. The shenanigans that have been going on there have been well documented in the news medias and in court documents. And the voters have been waiting to make a change with this board.

Ballot Recommendations
 Election Day is November 5

Commentary
Court Re-emphasizes Importance of Civil Liberties
 By Brian Gilmore
Attention, Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Despite the war on terrorism and our personal uncertainties, the most important ideals about America remain intact.

Commentary
Alert For Seniors and Disabled Persons Who Currently Have Medicare and Medi-Cal
By Ben Medina, M.D.
The following is an alert concerning plans that are being proposed by San Diego County Health and Human Services that would affect seniors and disabled persons who currently have Medicare and Medi-Cal. The county is planning to begin voluntary enrollment but the long-term plan is to make it mandatory for those with Medicare/Medi-Cal to join a managed care plan.

Comentario
Alerta Para Personas de la Tercera Edad e Incapacitadas Que Tienen Medicare y Medi-Cal
 Por Ben Medina, M.D.
Esta es una alerta para proveer información acerca de planes de salud que el Condado de San Diego está proponiendo y que afectarían a personas de la tercera edad y personas incapacitadas que tienen Medicare y Medi-Cal. El Condado está planeando empezar registro voluntario pero el plan a largo plazo será hacerlo obligatorio para aquellos con Medicare/Medi-Cal a que se unan a un plan de salud administrado.

Commentary
Proposition 47: Putting California’s Students First
 By Marivic Tolentino
It’s elementary: Proposition 47, a school bond measure on the ballot this November 5, is one of the most critically important school construction initiatives in our state’s history. California must act now to improve the basic infrastructure of our educational system. At stake: our futures.

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

La Muerte Está de Fiesta 
 · El IMAC organiza celebraciones del Día de Muertos en diferentes lugares de la ciudad de Tijuana.

Convocatoria Para Encontrar Un Cronista para la Ciudad de Tijuana.
 Por: Paco Zavala
En Tijuana existe un Comité Cronista de Tijuana, que en cumplimiento de la encomienda que otorgó el Presidente Municipal del H. XVII Ayuntamiento C. José de Jesús González Reyes, busca para presentar una terna para que el H. Ayuntamiento designe a quien será el Primer Cronista de Tijuana.

Reseña
 El Cuento del Cafecito
 Después de leer con detenimiento y con avidéz este hermoso libro de “El Cuento del Cafecito” de Julia Alvarez, queda un agradabilísimo sabor. Como su nombre lo describe es un cuento que hace mención a una situación relacionada con el café.

Mosaico de Actividades Culturales en Tijuana
 Por Paco Zavala
Las tradiciones mexicanas continúan conservándose muy a pesar de que las influencias de otros países aportan su granito de arena para olvidarnos de ellas, pero no es así, el mexicano de corazón se aferra a ellas con amor y pasión arrebatadoras, dramáticas y conservadoras. Si Ud. no ha tenido la oportunidad de viajar al interior de México, sería excelente idea que lo planeara para sus próximas vacaciones y se dará cuenta de que las tradiciones en México se conservan firmemente arraigadas a la historia, a la tradición misma, al mexicanismo, a la costumbre y a la vivencia, en el centro del país a las tradiciones la influencia de costumbres extrañas les hace lo que el viento a “Juárez” Unicamente quitarle el sombrero.

Calendar of Events . . .
 By Berenice Cisneros
Indoor Custom Car Show
Join us from 10-5 pm at the Community Concourse Golden Hall 202 C St., Sunday, November 3rd for a show that will display over 200 of Southern California’s most exotic custom vehicles including Low Riders, Imports/Racers, Hot Rods, Trucks and SUV’s. There will also be Sweepstake Cash Prizes, a hot Bikini Contest, and a Celebrity Autograph Session.

Duarte Delivers Fantasy Baseball Message at Hall of Champions
 By John Philip Wyllie
It’s more than 120 miles between Calexico and San Diego. But for Calexico Unified School District mentor teacher and athletic director Carlos Duarte, Saturday’s two-hour road trip was one well worth taking.

NABO superfeather champ Yoni Vargas: “Boxing Is Like Marriage - You Have To Give 100%”
 By Fiona Manning
 NABO super featherweight champion Yoni Vargas who was sidelined by a hand injury last month and forced to cancel his ESPN fight against Martin O’Malley, is hard at work preparing for his next fight, tentatively scheduled for late this month or early December.

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