FrontPage Stories

Stimulating the mind en español

La Ronda is perfect for Spanish-speaking seniors

By José A. Álvarez

Staying mentally and physically active is a must for people of all ages, especially for seniors. The members of La Ronda, a Spanish-speaking social group, know this all too well. That’s why once a month, the group gathers to discuss culture and politics. They sing. They dance. They travel. They eat and socialize. And, most importantly, they have fun.

Members of La Ronda applaud the dj’s rendition of one of their favorite songs.

“It’s a way to have fun, to get out of the house,” said Celia Purón, who, together with a group of friends, founded La Ronda two years ago. “There are a lot of people who don’t leave their home. They don’t have a diversion. For me, it’s a great satisfaction to see people happy,” she said in Spanish, a requirement to participate in the group.

When La Ronda started, about 10 people attended their monthly meetings. Today, about 30-40 participate in the social gathering, which takes place the third Tuesday of each month at the Norman Park Senior Center, 270 F Street in Chula Vista. For their meeting, everyone brings their favorite dish for lunch and is encouraged to also bring a friend. They even bring a disc jockey who plays their favorite music and also sings for them.

Reynolds S. Heriot and his wife Pilar became regulars at the group’s gathering about 12 months ago. The couple said they decided to join La Ronda to be around “like-minded” people. Heriot serves as La Ronda’s master of ceremonies.

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Estimulando la mente…en español
La Ronda es perfecta para personas de edad avanzada
Por José A. Álvarez
Mantenerse activos física y mentalmente es algo necesario para todos, especialmente para las personas de edad avanzada. Los miembros de La Ronda, un grupo social de habla hispana, están conscientes de ello. Por eso, una vez al mes, el grupo se reúne para hablar de cultura y política. Cantan. Bailan. Viajan. Comen. Pero, más importante que todo, se divierten.

Centro Cultural de la Raza Hires Armed Officers to Attend Community Meeting
• Community Activists say boycott is still in effect
By Raymond R. Beltrán
What was supposed to be a historical meeting on Sunday, November 6, at two o’clock, that would have began mending a tarnished relationship between the Chicano community and the Centro Cultural de la Raza governing board, turned into a three hour stand off between the two feuding parties due to the hiring of armed, off duty police officers.

France Burns – Is Europe Next?
NEWS ANALYSIS
By Paolo Pontoniere
All the elements for the outbreak of youth rebellion are present in Western Europe. Hardly unique to France are the marginalized second or third generation immigrants out of place in their parents’ old countries but not fully accepted by their own. So are unemployment, social discrimination and underclasses packed in dismal neighborhoods of despair.

Working immigrants may help economy, experts say
By David Kassabian
WASHINGTON – A panel of economic, legal and public policy experts told a House committee Wednesday that immigrants, both legal and illegal, are a key part of the U.S. economy and don’t hurt native job-seekers to the extent commonly thought.

Stories

Se instalan Mesas de Recepción para acreditar el pago a Ex-Braceros
Los Trámites son Gratuitos y Directorio de funcionarios por entidades
Por: Luis Manuel de la Teja
En una investigación especial indagamos el directorio de representantes Estatales de las Unidades de Enlace que instalaran las Mesas de Recepción para verificar la validez del padrón que se registro en la Secretaria de Gobernación, a fin de comprobar la identidad del solicitante que aplicó para el Fondo de Apoyo Social para Ex Trabajadores Migratorios.

Curar El Alma, Sanar El Cuerpo
Médicos indígenas oaxaqueños visitan Estados Unidos para compartir sus conocimientos.
Eduardo Stanley
Durante siglos, la arrogante medicina occidental negó cualquier valor a la medicina tradicional. Quienes acudían a los curanderos eran vistos como ignorantes. Pero algo está cambiando en esta percepción. Quizá saber que en su breve historia, el todopoderoso antibiótico está perdiendo la guerra con las enfermedades. O que numerosos males no tienen cura a pesar de las declaraciones altisonantes de organizaciones y empresas que ganan millones a costa de la salud—y enfermedad—de la población.

El General Francisco “Pancho Villa” y la Gesta Revolucionaria de 1910
“Más de Un Millon de Mexicanos Muertos en las Guerrillas de la Revolución Mexicana”
Por: Paco Zavala
Se dice muy fácil, pero el derramamiento de sangre de hermanas y hermanos mexicanos de más de un millón de mexicanos, costó al pueblo de México la gesta revolucionaria de 1910.

Border Round-Up
The Census from Hell?
Gathering vital statistics on the US-Mexico border is not an easy chore. Originally scheduled to conclude October 29, Mexico’s 5-year census is barely winding to a close. In different border cities, census-takers have confronted yapping street dogs, closed doors, suspicious residents, and difficult security guards at gated, upper-class subdivisions. A labor dispute over unpaid wages broke out in Ciudad Juarez between contracted census takers and the federal National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI), while two census takers assigned to the Ciudad Juarez area spent hours one day lost near the Samalayuca sand dunes until they were rescued. Since contracts for many temporary census workers expired, INGEI supervisors were marshaled to conclude the count. Thousands of residences may have been omitted from the survey.

Las tradiciones Purépecha creciendo fuera de Michoacán
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
La comunidad Xanicha de Rosarito hizo gala de su ancestral cultura Purépecha, en un evento especial de Día de Muertos celebrado en el Instituto de Cultura de Baja California (ICBC), en el que demostró que el estar fuera de su tierra no ha mermado tradiciones, al contrario, los ha hecho florecer de una nueva manera.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Karina Flores-Hurley
La Vejez: Un Proceso Como Cualquier Otro
‘Envejecer es un proceso. También lo es invertirlo’. Esta frase forma parte de un anuncio publicitario publicado en el centro periférico de la ciudad de Manhattan, y que el Doctor Andrew Weil utiliza en su libro ‘Salud con la Edad’ para ejemplificar uno de los movimientos de consumo más grandes de los últimos años; lo que hoy conocemos como la cultura ‘anti-aging’ o ‘anti-envejecimiento’.

Editorials

Editorial:
Is National City Politically for Rent?
There is a line in one of the Godfather movies that the character Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, with anguish, states: The more I try to get out (of the crime business), the more they drag me back in! This is how we feel when it comes to National City politics.

Commentary:
Legislators and Advocates Join to Demand Race-conscious Policies
By Megan Izen
California legislators and organizers convened for the release of the 2005 Legislative Report Card on Race and to discuss a policy agenda for the next legislative year at the Racial Equity Policy Summit in Oakland, California. The report was authored by the Applied Research Center and released with the California NAACP, Californians for Justice, California Church Impact and the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network.

Commentary:
Summit of the Americas Leaves Region More Polarized
By Teo Ballve
In an effort to show that improving U.S. ties with Latin America would be a top priority of his administration, George W. Bush’s first official trip abroad was to Mexico. “Muchos gracias, amigo,” said the president in February 2001, thanking his Mexican counterpart for the welcome. President Bush added he felt “entre familia” (among family) by the warm reception of his Mexican hosts.

Commentary:
Bush Must Learn from Clinton
by Patrick Basham
With the White House shrouded in scandal, the biggest obstacle to George W. Bush’s political comeback is that he’s no Bill Clinton. The heaviest millstone around the president’s political neck isn’t the case against Scooter Libby or the continuing investigation into Karl Rove. Rather, it’s the growing public perception that, unlike President Clinton in the 1990s, Bush is presiding over an unsuccessful, even incompetent, administration.

Comentario:
El Secreto del Viaje a China
Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D
¿Cuál fue el objetivo central del viaje del Gobernador Arnold Schwarzenegger a la República Popular de China? Tal vez tomarse unas fotos con su esposa y amigos en la Gran Muralla. O, como dicen los medios de comunicación, recordarles a los chinos que las copias de sus películas y la de sus amigos de Beverly Hills tienen que tener el sello de autenticidad del autor.

Commentary:
Dunbar on my Mind
by Ernie McCray
Soon, the day after Thankgiving, I’ll be in my birthplace, Tucson, surrounded by old childhood friends. We’ll laugh and cry as we reminisce about way back when we were at Dunbar, an all black first through ninth grade school.

TEZOZOMOC SPEAKS:
Q-VO Gente…Pos “I’m sorry pero the elections en Califas done me in! Glad that many of you votaron a todo dar! El Jefito tries to always give you his best analysis that he can on the issues and candidates. But as he said, we didn’t have too much to say on the candidates. But you did well, Gente, on the issues! We sent a strong message to the Gobernador!

The Public Forum . . . El Foro Publico
No more Wal-Mart!
I went to watch a documentary at the Environmental Health Coalition’s offices in National City. It was called “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Lower Prices.” If you get a chance to see it, go. The funniest part was when they showed a bit from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” where first they play a news segment of undocumented migrants being arrested at a Wal-Mart and then they cut to this woman in the parking lot who says, “I am astounded!” Then Jon Stewart says, “Astounded? Lady, you just bought a sweatshirt in there for 29 cents!!”

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

Tina Ramirez, Founder of Ballet Hispánico, is Awarded the National Medal of Arts
• The first Latina dance artist to receive the Nation’s highest cultural honor
New York - Tina Ramirez, Founder and Artistic Director of Ballet Hispanico, has been awarded the National Medal of Arts for her enduring contributions to the field of dance. President George W. and Mrs. Bush presented the award in an Oval Office ceremony at the White House on Thursday, November 10, 2005.

La fotografía de Ingrid Hernández: Registros fotográficos de la realidad tijuanense
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
Para Ingrid Hernández existe una línea muy delgada entre los espacios públicos y los privados. Al haber crecido en el restaurante de sus padres, desarrolló la idea de considerar los espacios públicos como propios. Para Ingrid, las calles de Tijuana son un espacio público que le pertenece y que le apasiona registrar con el lente de su cámara.

Estrena Opera de Tijuana el Montaje de Romeo y Julieta, de Charles Francois Gounod
Por: Paco Zavala
La Sra. Teresa Riqué, Directora de la Compañía de Opera de Tijuana, importante institución independiente, la que desde su fundación ha presentado al público tijuanense y de la región, espectáculos vinculados con la ópera y con el espectáculo de buen gusto. Desde que apareció en la panorámica cultural de Tijuana, ha presentado producciones operáticas importantes, de las que podemos mencionar a: Madame Butterfly (2002), Pagliacci (2003). Don Pasquale (2004) y El Barberito de Sevilla (2004), solo por mencionar algunos montajes operísticos. También a esta institución se le debe el montaje del fabuloso espectáculo de: Opera en la Calle, que este año 2005 obtuvo un éxito sin precedentes.

Museum of Man Continues 90th Anniversary Celebration With Exhibit Spotlighting Colorful History
The San Diego Museum of Man will continue its 90th birthday celebration with “Reflections,” an exhibition opening Sat., Nov. 19 and continuing through September 24, 2006 which showcases rare and significant objects representing 90 years of the Museum’s collection history.

DiJazz: Presentando la vanguardia del Jazz en Tijuana, retransmitiendo al mundo entero
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
Los Jazz Sessions están de regreso en Tijuana, para una sesión especial de una sola noche el sábado 26 de Noviembre, con la participación estelar del Jason Robinson Trio. Un concierto que todo amante del buen jazz debe escuchar, sin importar el lugar del mundo en donde esté.

Nativa 2005: Festival of Traditional Arts of Baja California
A project that unites indigenous communities, organizations of Mexico and the US
Native artists from the Pai-pai, Kumiai, Cucapa and Kiliwa communities will gather in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico to take part in an interactive marketplace featuring the traditional arts of Baja California. This is a wonderful opportunity for the public, buyers and specialists to interact directly with indigenous artists and learn about the handcraft traditions that have been passed on from countless generations of native peoples of the peninsula.

Entretenimiento en Casa
Por Jose Daniel Bort
Cine Colombiano en DVD
Diego Cadavid de Betty la Fea estelariza “Te Busco”
Al igual que su contrapartida televisiva, el cine colombiano ha estado cobrando fuerza últimamente a nivel nacional. Todavía no se ha logrado la distribución masiva de una película de ese país en los cines, pero en el mundo del video siempre existen posibilidades de conseguir ejemplos de esta filmografía. Uno de ellos viene en forma de comedia y se llama “Te busco”, estrenándose esta semana.

Velarde Contributing on the Field and In the Classroom
By John Philip Wyllie
When Carlos Velarde joined Carl Parrick’s Bonita Vista Baron football team several years ago, he did so with some lofty expectations to live up to both on and off the field. His father (Carlos Sr.) was born in Mexico, raised in Logan Heights and selected as a National Football Foundation Hall of Famer. Four years later he graduated from Harvard University.

Bullfight World
By Lyn Sherwood
Birth of a Notion
Some 11 years ago, Fred and Lisa Renk purchased a ranch home on a 60-acre plot of land in the hamlet of Santa Elena, Texas. Although it was in the middle of the nowhere, it was rich with mesquite and ebony trees, not to mention rattlesnakes and all other sorts of creepie crawlie critters. But, to Fred, the former novillero, student at the Mount Carmel Convent, and stepfather of Matador David “El Texano” Renk, it represented the nucleus of a dream. He named it Rancho La Querencia, which would, one day, become a taurine center, second to none in the United States.

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