The Olympian High Winning Team: Back Row (left to right): Ben Mendler, David Pulido, Josh Rodriguez, Alex Beltran-Silva, and Colin Grylls Front Row(left to right): Gerald Bregg, Allie Echevarria, Celina Barr, Louis Calderon, and Mr. Ken Boulton.

The Sweetwater Union High School District has had a long history of champions in the annual San Diego County Academic Decathlon. This year, Olympian High became the newest Sweetwater District school to win the title. Since 2000 the title has been held by Hilltop High-4 time champion, or Southwest High-6 time champion.

Competing against 16 other teams, Olympian emerged as the winner after 10 different academic events scoring 40,472.2 points and winning in 9 out of the 10 subject areas. The subject areas included Art, Economics, Interview, Language/Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science and the Super Quiz Relay.

In addition to the team winning the overall title, Olympian won 43 individual medals – 17 gold, 18 silver and 8 bronze. Standouts for the team included Seniors David Pulido, Allie Echevarria, Alex Beltran-Silva, Celina Barr, Colin Grylls and Gerald Bregg; Juniors Louis Calderon and Josh Rodriguez; and Ben Mendler.

Coached by Social Science teacher, Ken Boulton,who led Southwest High to their 6 wins. Additional support was provided by fellow Olympian teachers Dr. Ben Fabian, Steve Rodriguez and Eric Mabrey.

The team is now in Sacramento for the State Academic Decathlon Championship from March 11-15.

In the month of March we celebrate two great movements, both associated with minority rights – Cesar Chavez Day and International Women’s Day.

Both movements were similar in scope. In the 1900s, women were fighting oppression and inequality, becoming more vocal and active in their campaigning for change when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

Cesar Chavez Day is celebrated for Chavez’ selfless dedication to farm workers and worker rights, economic justice, civil rights, environmental justice, peace, nonviolence, empowerment of the poor and disenfranchised.

Both movements were fighting for the rights of the underrepresented to bring about change, equality, and a better life for all. Women were and are considered a minority not in numbers but in the rights afforded them. International Women’s Day was started in the early 1900’s and in 1920 women finally received the right to vote. But that was not the end of their struggle.

Today women are still fighting for equality, in particular equality in the workplace where they still earn less then their contemporaries and are limited by the all too real glass ceiling. And while women are fully engaged in politics they have as of yet had a women candidate represent their party for President. All too often women candidates and women doing the work of men have had to prove that they are as tough as men. We are reminded of the news story this week of the female Naval captain who was fired from her job for cussing out her suborinates – a case of a women having to act tough?

Cesar Chavez also fought for workers rights: the right for fair pay, humane treatment, the right to go the bathroom (farmers did not provide port-a-potties or the time to take a bathroom break), the right to work without pesticides being spayed on them, and the list goes on. But the symbol of Chavez reached way beyond the fields and became a symbol for Chicano Rights and Hispanic Rights. He became the focal point for community leaders to follow and fight for the rights of local communities, for political representation, social justice, and environmental justice. Chavez achieved success for the farmworkers, but just like for the women this was not the end of the road but merely the beginning.

With the recent events unfolding before us, the “Compton Cookout” at UCSD and in Texas where the highest ranking Republican, running for his party’s Gubernatorial nomination, lost a one-sided race to a unknown, who was underfunded. It wasn’t even close. Victor Carrillo lost by 60% of the Republican vote. Carrillo said that his name drove voters to support his opponent David Porter. We still have a long way to go.

It is just not in politics but through the whole spectrum of society that both women and Hispanics have still to fight for equality. And while many like to look at the growing population of Hispanics and declare that we have achieved equality this is the furthest thing from the truth.

The truth is that we are a long way from equality and the first step is to recognize the problem and then to work on solving the problem as a community.

For many years politicians in Sacramento have seized, borrowed, or diverted billions in local taxpayer dollars typically used for local public safety and dedicated road repairs, transportation improvements and local public transit funds which Californians have voted overwhelmingly to protect. Yet, in spite of these voter-approved mandates, state politicians have discovered new and creative ways to get around them and continue the vicious cycle of seizing, borrowing, or diverting local funds.

It is not yet a year ago, that Sacramento borrowed 2 billion dollars from city, county, transit, redevelopment and special district funds. The assault continues, as politicians are threatening to take or borrow funds produced in gas taxes paid at the point of sale—which can only spell one thing: disaster for transportation improvement projects which improve the condition and safety of our roads. This year alone, the state raided 2.05 million dollars in redevelopment funds, diverted 910 million dollars away from local transit agencies, and threatened to take voter approved Prop 42 funds which dedicates revenues from the state’s share of the sales tax on gasoline to transportation projects.

We need not look further than our own city hall to see the devastating toll of Sacramento’s actions, where the imminent threat of cuts to core services is right around the corner; and on the chopping block are core services such libraries, parks, and our men and women in police and fire.

Raiding and borrowing local government funds not only hurts core services essential to the public good; it hurts business and the opportunity for economic development. With shrinking budgets and the need for revenue, it is not too long down the line where the city halls will entertain the option of increasing local fees and taxes, further harming already struggling businesses. Paired with seizing of redevelopment funds, businesses dependent on much needed business development programs and projects are left to close shop.

The solution is clear: protect the services critical to California’s future from more state raids on local government, public safety, emergency response, public transit, transportation improvements, and the projects that enable our ability to move forward with crucial economic development projects and job creation.

A measure called the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Protection Act, which targets the ballot in November, may be just what we need to finally put an end to future raids on local funds. The initiative: “Prohibits the State from taking, borrowing or redirecting local taxpayer funds dedicated to public safety, emergency response and other local government services. It would also revoke the State’s authority to borrow local government property tax funds… Protects transportation and public transit funds from state raids… Protects local taxpayers by keeping more of our local tax dollars local where there’s more accountability to voters, and by ensuring once and for all that our gas taxes go to fund road improvements… Supports Reform to state government and enhance fiscal accountability.”

In this age of credit, Sacramento goes one swipe too many with its fiscally irresponsible decisions to borrow its way out of a budget hole with no regard for the vital needs of today or future Californians who are left with the consequential result.  If we don’t repay those loans, our children will—with interest. And when they write their senator or assembly-person they will just as quickly receive a letter back: “Will you be paying Credit or Debt?” It’s time to take a stand.

Ed Herrera is President of the Chula Vista Civic Association and CEO of the San Diego South County Chamber of Commerce

As the highest-ranking female member on the House Armed Services Committee, I have the opportunity to see first-hand the significant contributions of our women in uniform.  Women of all races and ages have served in every military conflict since the Revolutionary War, including our current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  But despite their many accomplishments, female servicemembers are not always recognized for their role on the battlefield.  Nor do they always receive the tools they need to serve safely and effectively in combat.

I recently had the opportunity to lead an all-female Congressional Delegation to Afghanistan. The primary purpose of our trip was two-fold: to see how women in combat are adapting to their increasing role, and to view the situation in Afghanistan from a woman’s perspective. In addition to meeting with top military officials, including General McChrystal, my colleagues and I were able to visit with female servicemembers to learn about some the unique challenges still facing women in combat.

There are currently over 29,000 women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet they continue to encounter barriers not experienced by their male counterparts. Female servicemembers are less likely to be promoted to leadership positions, less likely to receive vital combat training (even though they de facto serve on the front lines), and less likely to have access to women doctors or female-oriented care. But one thing they are more likely to experience is sexual assault or abuse while serving in the Armed Forces.

Last year, the Department of Defense reported a 7.6% increase in the number of sexual assault cases involving military personnel. Part of this increase is accounted for by an increase in the number of victims willing to report their assaults and greater transparency in military reporting procedures. But the underlying issue of sexual assault continues to exist, and female servicemembers continue to be the majority of victims.

When I spoke to women, including Latinas, on the ground in Afghanistan, they said the military has taken significant steps to prevent and prosecute assaults. This is, of course, encouraging. But the reality is that women continue to serve in a military environment that is not always welcoming and is, at times, outright misogynistic. That’s why counselors and rape kits are now common in war zones, and why there is still only one female four-star general in the entire military.

One of my top priorities in Congress has been working with our military leaders to create an inclusive environment for all our women in uniform. In 2005, I successfully revised the Uniform Code of Military Justice to include a meaningful sexual assault statute that better protects victims and empowers prosecutors. And more recently, in the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act, my HASC colleagues and I were able to include a provision to create a sexual assault database, which will document reported cases of assault across the services and encourage greater accountability in each military branch.

Moving forward, we have to continue to expand opportunities for female servicemembers of all races and combat discrimination in all its forms. Sexual abuse and other acts of misogyny violate the core principals of our Armed Forces. The challenges facing female servicemembers – obstacles to promotion, discrimination, and sexual assault – are challenges that affect the strength and integrity of our entire military.  Congress and our military leaders must work harder, together, to create a military environment that encourages and supports the women soldiers who serve this country.

Congresswoman Sanchez serves as Vice Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee and is the ranking female member on the House Armed Services Committee. She is a recognized leader on national security, intelligence, and counterterrorism issues and is committed to preparing our Armed Forces for a new generation of security challenges. Rep. Sanchez is also a member of the Blue Dog Democrats, the New Democratic Coalition, and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. In 2005, Congresswoman Sanchez was appointed by Speaker Pelosi to serve on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), a bicameral Congressional Committee that continually monitors matters relating to the U.S. economy, including unemployment and foreclosures.

Update on Pearl Quinones. Quinones laid-off with 5 months left before being eligible for full retirement benefits, this after working in San Ysidro for 19 years. Apparently the board member leading the charge to lay-off Quinones was Raquel Beltran who also works for Ben Hueso who is running for assembly against Quinones. Politics being played here? You decide….

Enlace, the Union Tribune version of a Hispanic press… now down to two employees. Last week long time editor, 25 years, Aida Bustos was let go, along with their sports editor Abraham Nudelstejer…

The watch is still on to find out what ever happened to the investigation of Chula Vista city council person Steve Castañeda that the city attorney turned over to the LA attorney to the tune of $200(?) dollars per hour back in Nov. ’09. After three months you would think a report would be turned over. Man the bill for this one is going to be a whopper….

For a city that is facing major budget problems sure is spending the dinero, there is that Castañeda investigation, and now $2 million for the police brutality case that was awarded to ICE agent Sergio Lopez…

For Chula Vista Police this is not the first time for them: in 2008 Christian Morales was stopped in the driveway of his home after being “mistaken” as a trailer thief and was beaten… he collected $400,000 from the city.

Editor’s Note: The University of Arizona Wildcats hosted Los Angeles State on February 6, 1960, when the 6-foot-6 senior, Ernie McCray, scored 46 points – a UA record to this day.

By Ernie McCray

I was in Tucson, my hometown, not too long ago to celebrate scoring a whole lot of points (46) in a basketball game 50 years ago.

And what you might need to know is that after putting on such a show I didn’t celebrate with my teammates later at a popular eatery because old Jim Crow couldn’t care less about the athletic exploits of a half-naked tall skinny Negro.

But such days are long gone back in the Old Pueblo. While in town I was shown around by a dear friend and former student of mine, Debbie Sisco Rich, the CEO of the girl scouts there. What she exposed me to warmed my heart. She took me out to Sabino Canyon, my favorite plot of land out there in the burning sand of the Sonoran Desert (I am a Sonoran to the bone), and introduced me to some of the brightest and cutest children imaginable who, paired with Peace Corps volunteers, had come to understand the lives and living conditions of people in countries around the world, Nicaragua, Senegal, China and the Honduras to name a few. They were celebrating “World Thinking Day.” What a wonderful thing to do.

These girls have been on my mind lately as I reflect on UCSD’s “Compton Cookout,” the off-campus party which ridiculed Black History Month in a “World Non-Thinking Day” kind of way, I’d have to say.

On the one hand, you’ve got young children discussing issues that affect struggling people throughout the planet, learning about their economies and their constant struggles to survive, learning how to use their voices to make themselves heard on issues that are important to humankind so they can better achieve their potential as global citizens and become loving and caring leaders.

And then, on the other hand, you’ve got a handful of the “brightest of the brightest” students in California abusing their responsibilities and privileges, making up asinine schemes to get their peers to act like “ghetto chicks” and wear gold chains and gold teeth and trousers below the behind, proving that a mind truly is a “terrible thing to waste.”

What it all confirms for me is if there is any hope of a better world it lies with our children. But here’s the rub: children are the masters of mimicry and eventually they’ll most likely duplicate what they see and segue into grownups like the confused young adults at UCSD and abandon good thinking for the mindless variety.

It’s the climate that has to change. Even in the racist environment that was prevalent in my old stomping grounds 50 years ago there was very little chance that somebody would have left a noose dangling in the library or draped a KKK like pillowcase over a statue. Other than Amos and Andy and a couple of black actors in movies going “Who dat say who dat when I say who dat?” or “Feets don’t fail me now” there wasn’t a climate of racial buffoonery like there is today.  The “N” word and “bitches” and “ho’s” weren’t staples in our songs and weren’t terms up for just anybody to grab. Baby mamas and baby daddies weren’t glamorized. It was too freaking hot to wear 50 pounds of bling around one’s neck.

Today, in this Hip-Hop world, all of the above is legitimized. World wide. If that doesn’t change, today’s children, even with all the hope they represent, can’t help but continue the pattern – and believe me they are watching because I’ve rapped with a number of them about what has happened in their town.

I would suggest to UCSD students and staff and whoever else is concerned that they not only work towards increasing the campus’s diversity but also strive to alter the images that the Hip-Hop world creates practically unchecked. Watch what you buy. Watch what you wear and how you wear it. Watch how you express yourself, how you roll.

They would not only be doing a great service to themselves and to their school but they just might help pave a way to the making of a better world by showing children how problems are solved in communities when creative thinking is at the core of their efforts.

Well, anyway, that’s how one sees things when one has been among children on “World Thinking Day.”

Ernie McCray is a retired educator after 37 years with San Diego Unified School District.

A diverse group of Californians acted on the courage of their convictions on Friday, March 5, 2010, by embarking on a 260-mile March for California’s Future in order to highlight the need for quality public services and education in the Golden State.

The marchers hail from both Northern and Southern California and include a Los Angeles probation officer, a San Diego community college professor, a teacher and community organizer from Watsonville, a retired Berkeley adult educator, and two L.A. teachers.

“California has always been seen as a place where anything was possible, if you worked hard enough.  Unfortunately, equality of opportunity in the Golden State has diminished,” said probation officer Irene Gonzalez, “and if the budget cuts being contemplated at the state level are allowed to happen, the California dream will vanish for generations of Californians.  That’s why I’m marching.”

The march, sponsored by the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and a coalition of labor, education, and civil society groups including the American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), began with a rally at Mount Moriah Baptist Church in L.A., after which marchers traveled to Bakersfield to begin their walk.    

Following in Cesar Chavez’s footsteps, hundreds of firefighters, nurses, in-home care workers, students, and police officers will join the marchers for parts of their 260-mile trek from Bakersfield to Sacramento.

“At a time of record home foreclosures and record unemployment across the nation and California, we need to invest in our public services and institutions to protect us from the economic storms that Wall Street has unleashed,” said Gonzalez. “This is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and we need to restore quality public education and public services, rebuild a government that serves all Californians, and create a fair tax system to fund our state’s future.”

Polls routinely show that a majority of California voters support public services and want to see programs like education, environmental protections, child care, health care, job training, mental health services, etc. adequately funded.  The existence of these programs speaks to our desire as citizens to promote fairness and equality in our state by codifying these values in public policy. Each one of us will have ample opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to these ideals in the coming weeks. The march is expected to last 48 days, culminating on April 21 and 22 at the state capitol.

Willie Pelote Sr. is an assistant director for AFSCME.  AFSCME’s 1.6 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.

La batalla por la bancada máxima de Sacramento tendrá dos contendientes políticos muy especiales.

Mientras los demócratas apostarán por un político muy experimentado, los republicanos probablemente tendrán a una mujer cuya trayectoria política es nula, pero sus dotes económicos y de negocio son admirables.

¿Cuál de los dos candidatos es el indicado para resolver los problemas económicos del estado?

Por un lado está Meg Whitman, ejecutiva calculadora, inteligente, con bastante experiencia en el campo de los negocios y la economía.

Por el otro lado se ubica Jerry Brown, quién no sólo fue gobernador en dos oportunidades, sino que también ocupó cargos en la mesa directiva del colegio de Los Ángeles, fue secretario del estado, dirigente máximo del partido demócrata, alcalde de la ciudad de Oakland y actualmente es procurador del estado de California.

Brown se gana una A en la política, Whitman, por el contrario, se aplaza con una F mayúscula.

Las debilidades del currículum político de Whitman se pueden apreciar a leguas. Lo más triste y tal vez lo más vergonzoso es no haberse inscrito para votar por su candidato de preferencia en las elecciones presidenciales, municipales y del distrito. Se hizo republicana hace algunos años; sólo para participar en las elecciones de noviembre.

Sin embargo, en el plano académico y educativo, Whitman se saca una A. Aparte de haber sido una de las mejores alumnas de su generación en el High School, pisó dos de las universidades más prestigiosas del país. Hizo sus cursos de licenciatura en la Universidad de Princeton y estudió una maestría en Administración de Empresas en la Universidad de Harvard.

Brown tampoco se queda atrás. Inicialmente fue seminarista de una congregación de jesuitas, aunque nunca la concluyó. Cambió a Dios por el diablo (la política). Estudió una licenciatura en la Universidad de California Berkeley y luego adquirió un título de leyes en la Universidad de Yale.

Asimismo, Whitman adquiere una A en cuestiones económicas y de negocio. La ex presidenta de E-Bay, después de su graduación de Harvard, trabajó en el estado de Ohio como gerente de una empresa. Después buscó otras oportunidades en San Francisco, trabajando para Bain & Company como consultora. En 1989, se convirtió en vicepresidente del área de planeamiento estratégico de Walt Disney. Y finalmente se incorporó a la compañía de E-Bay, donde hizo relucir su brillantez en el negocio.

Los electores de California tendrán que elegir entre un aplomado político, o una mujer con una experiencia económica envidiable.

Tanto Brown como Whitman tienen sus propias cualidades y debilidades. Cualquiera de los dos puede ser un elemento crucial para resolver los problemas que nos afectan.

Hay que hacer constar, sin embargo, que en Sacramento no sólo se requiere de sabiduría económica o experiencia política, sino que también es necesario que nuestro líder tenga el carácter y la fuerza para doblegar intereses de todo tipo.

Tal vez Brown es demasiado experimentado y conoce con demasía los contubernios que se gestan dentro del sistema político, pero sus conocimientos y experiencia parecen ser los más adecuados en medio de legisladores que les encanta aferrarse a su partido político. Whitman tiene trayectoria económica, pero su debilidad política puede ser explotada por sus enemigos.

Al final, usted es el que decide. A votar se ha dicho.

Humberto Caspa, Ph.D., es profesor universitario. E-mail: hcletters@yahoo.com

By Gustavo Arellano

 Dear Mexican: When I was in high school, everyone called the Mexican students like myself “cheddars.” I’m not sure where this originated from, or what it really has to do with Mexican culture. When I have asked other Mexicans what this means, they are not sure, either. “Cheddar packing” is a term used to describe a car full of Mexicans. I hope you can answer this for me—muchas gracias!

Denver Doll

Dear Cheddar: “Cheddar” in the context you heard it has nothing to do with the sabrosísimo cheese but is rather the Denver way to call a Mexican a wab—which is to say, it’s a regional ethnophaulism (otherwise known as an ethnic slur) used to deride Mexicans as wetbacks. It’s a mongrelized form of the word ‘chero, itself a contraction of the word ranchero, literally meaning a rancher but in Mexican Spanish also denoting someone from the countryside. “Cheddar” is a prime example of how Mexican-hating is such an art form in the United States that it even has provincial variants—for instance, the “cheddar” of Chicago is “brazer” (short for bracero), nosotros in Orange County call our backwards Mexicans wabs, and cabrones in Oxnard, California deride wabby cheddars as TJs, the English acronym for Tijuana. “The number and nature of nicknames and particularly derogatory nicknames for particular ethnic groups in America is a reflection of the strengths of the ethnic conflicts in which they have been involved and the kinds of ill-feeling that such conflicts generate,” wrote Christie Davies in her 2002 study of ethnic humor, The Mirth of Nations.

 What’s most amazing about this American regional Mexi-bashing phenomenon is that these words find their most enthusiastic usage among the Mexican community. Even our intellectual giants play the juego — “What difference does it make, he was not anything but another brazer that could not speak English,” wrote Chicana author Sandra Cisneros in The House on Mango Street, her classic semi-autobiographical novel of fictional vignettes about growing up Mexican in Chicago. Everywhere the Mexican travels with his trusty burro to lecture, he asks the audience what’s their version of wab—and everywhere the Mexican goes, he learns a new anti-Mexican ethnophaulism. So, gentle readers: what do ustedes call the unassimilated Mexicans—the wabs and brazers and cheddars—in your city or region? Please mention the slur and where it’s used, and please refrain from nationally used slurs like beaner, wetback, cockroach, Mexican’t, mexcrement, and Guatemalan, The more regional, the better, and I’ll print the best results in a coming columna!

In the Jim Morrison biography, No One Here Gets Out Alive, the authors relate how, when the Doors played Mexico, they were amazed how crazed the Mexican men were for the Doors to perform their song “The End.” It was explained to the Doors that Mexican men loved the part of the song where Morrison sings of wanting to kill his father and fuck his mother. And, sure enough, when Morrison came to that part of the song in concert, the Mexican men in the audience loudly sang those murderous/incestuous lyrics themselves. What’s that all about?!

Curious Doors Fan

Dear Gabacho: It’s not the Oedipus complex in us, contrary to what the Lizard King’s Mexican handlers told him—it’s the melodrama. Hombres love the camp inherent to machismo, from moaning out “Llorar y llorar” (“Cry and cry”) in the José Alfredo Jiménez classic “El Rey” (The King) or singing all the stanzas of the Sartrean ditty “Un Puño de Tierra” (A Fistful of Dirt) while clutching their compa’s shoulders to openly crying while hearing “Canción Mixteca.” Mexicans love the Doors the same reason they adore ranchera singers—the combination of virility and vulnerability, the copious use of leather, the great music masking hysterics. By the way, gracias for accepting the Mexican love for the Doors and not dwelling on its seeming incongruity like so many gabachos do when they realize cheddars can like music that don’t involve Spanish lyrics, tubas, or songs about cockfights.

Ask the Mexican at themexican@askamexican.net, myspace.com/ocwab, facebook.com/garellano, youtube.com/ask amexicano, find him on Twitter, or write via snail mail at: Gustavo Arellano, P.O. Box 1433, Anaheim, CA 92815-1433!

Incumbent will be responsible for coordinating the development of the organization’s Workforce Investment Act plan and will act as a liaison to EDD on issues pertaining to the WIA plan, assisting in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and providing technical assistance internally and externally to our staff and training providers on legislative and policy issues. Will also be responsible for overseeing contracting issues for the Youth and Workforce Advancement Division (WAD) program teams and will take the lead in assisting the Vice President/COO with Work-force Partnership, One-Stop and Service Provider compliance with Non-discrimination and Equal Opportunity (EO) and Program Grievance/Criminal Complaints Policies and Procedures. Job skills required: Research, Knowledge of WIA, One-Stop and other applicable federal, state and local legislation, Knowledge of Procurement, Knowledge of Accounting Principles, Ability to interpret legislation/regulations. Bachelor degree in related field of study, or equivalent preferred but not required and/or 5 years of relative work experience. Salary low to mid $40’s. Send cover letter and resume in attached word file to:

SD Workforce Partnership 3910 University Ave Suite 400 San Diego, Ca 92105 Fax (619) 528-1153 or Careers@workforce.org
For job description and application go to www.sandiegoatwork.com EEO/ADA employer. Auxiliary aide and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

The Programmer Analyst will develop innovative, object-oriented Web-based and desktop solutions that facilitate regional information sharing and enhance workflows for internal and external clients. Qualifications: a degree in software engineering, computer science, IT or related field and recent experience creating client/server applications and data driven Web sites. SANDAG offers competitive salaries and benefits. Visit www.sandag.org/jobs or call (619) 699-1900 for information. Closes: Friday, March 26, 2010. EOE.

FOX5 in San Diego is looking for a talented newscast producer to work in a digital production environment.(desk top editing, managing multiple feeds sources and rundowns.

You should be fearless, creative and cutting edge. Knowledge of Final Cut Pro a plus — and the ability to make quick decisions a must. Candidates must have prior line producing skills and above all a team player.

KSWB-News Departmen
t7191 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

La fe mueve montañas, dice el conocido refrán.

Eso fue exactamente lo que su fe hizo que un grupo de inmigrantes irlandeses hicieran en el siglo 19, cuando decidieron morir en manos de los yankees protestantes antes que matar a sus hermanos mexicanos católicos en la guerra entre Estados Unidos y México.

Ese grupo de irlandeses, conocidos como el Batallón de San Patricio, eran inmigrantes recientes que al llegar a E.U., el ejercito les daba un arma para obligarlos a ir a pelear en contra de los mexicanos. En aquel entonces los irlandeses eran discriminados y tratados como ciudadanos de segunda clase por los estadounidenses de origen inglés.

En cambio, los irlandeses, siguiendo lo que les dictaba su conciencia y su fe, desertaron y se unieron al ejército mexicano.

Al terminar la guerra, Estados Unidos ahorcó a los San Patricios por traidores, para después enterrar su historia, que rara vez se encuentra en la historia oficial del país.

Ahora una de las bandas irlandesas más exitosas rinde tributo a este grupo de hombres en un disco donde la música tradicional de Irlanda se entrelaza con la diversidad de la música mexicana.

El disco, “San Patricio”, de The Chieftains, una de las bandas irlandesas más galardonadas en las últimas décadas, es un viaje a las almas de dos naciones que comparten una historia de discriminación, invasión y despojo, como lo son México e Irlanda.

Pero más que nada, es recordar a ese batallón de irlandeses que dieron sus vidas a favor de una causa que ellos creían con fervor era lo más justo: defender a México de las fuerzas invasoras yankees.

“Los hombres del batallón de San Patricio son recordados hasta este día por muchas generaciones mexicanas, como héroes que pelearon valientemente en contra de una guerra injusta y agresiva”, dijo el fundador y representante de The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney.

El disco, que salió el martes 9 de marzo, justo a tiempo para la celebración del Día de San Patricio el 17 de marzo, incluye un desfile de algunas de las personalidades más emblemáticas de la música mexicana y chicana.

Los legendarios Tigres del Norte, por ejemplo, hacen un dueto junto a The Chieftains en “Canción mixteca”, una canción tradicional que captura el sentimiento de nostalgia que sienten los inmigrantes al estar lejos del terruño. La canción de cierto modo representa como se deben haber sentido los inmigrantes irlandeses que se encontraban en suelo extranjero en América.

También, el reconocido guitarrista estadounidense Ry Cooder tiene un papel importante en el disco, contribuyendo la canción original “The Sands of Mexico” y tocando en varios de los temas.

La mexicoamericana Lila Downs participa en canciones como “La iguana” y “El relámpago”. La cantante ranchera Chavela Vargas interpreta “Luz de luna”, mientras que Los Cenzontles, cuyos integrantes incluyen a miembros de Los Lobos, se encargan de “El chivo” y “Ojitos negros”.

Pero más allá de las voces, “San Patricio” sobresale por unir a dos culturas y las músicas de dos naciones. Así, el disco mezcla la música norteña, el bolero, el son jarocho y la ranchera con la música tradicional de Irlanda. Los dos instrumentos que se escuchan por todo el álbum son el violín, o fiddle, y el arpa, instrumentos importantes en la música de ambas culturas.

“San Patricio” de The Chieftains es un disco que dejará saber a todos los irlandeses-americanos que tienen mucho en común con los mexicanos en ambos lados de la frontera.

Faith moves mountains, goes the old saying.

That’s exactly what faith made a group of Irish immigrants do in the 19th century, when they decided they’d rather die at the hands of the Protestant Yankees rather than kill their Mexican Catholic brothers in the Mexican-American War.

That group of Irishmen, known as the Batallón de San Patricio, were recent immigrants that on arriving to the U.S., the army would give them a gun to make them go fight against the Mexicans. At that time, the Irish were discriminated against and treated like second-class citizens by Americans of English origin.

But the Irish, following their consciousness and faith, deserted the U.S. army and joined the Mexicans.

When the war ended, the United States hanged the San Patricios for betrayal, later burying their stories, stories that are rarely told in official history textbooks.

Now one of the most successful Irish bands is paying tribute to these men in an album where traditional Irish music blends with the diversity found in Mexican music.

The album, “San Patricio,” by The Chieftains, one of the most renown Irish bands in the last four decades, is a trip through the soul of two nations that share a history of discrimination, invasion and theft: Mexico and Ireland.

But more than anything, the album remembers those Irishmen who gave their lives in favor of a cause they truly believed was the right thing to do: To defend Mexico from the invading Yankee forces.

“The men of the San Patricio Batallion are remembered by generations of Mexicans to this day as heroes who fought bravely against an unjust and thinly veiled war of aggression,” said The Chieftains’ founder and frontman, Paddy Moloney.

The album, which was released on March 9, right on time for Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17, includes a parade of some of the most popular acts in Mexican and Chicano music.

The legendary Tigres del Norte, for example, appear in a duet with The Chieftains in “Canción mixteca,” a traditional song that captures the nostalgia that immigrants feel for being far from their homeland. The song perhaps represents the way the Irish immigrants felt when they were in foreign soil in America.

Also, renown American guitarist Ry Cooder plays an important role in the album, singing the original song “The Sands of Mexico” and performing in several of the songs.

Mexican-American singer Lila Downs performs in songs such as “La iguana” and “El relámpago.” Ranchera singer Chavela Vargas sings “Luz de luna,” while Los Cenzontles, whose members include some of the Los Lobos musicians, take care of “El chivo” and “Ojitos negros.”

But beyond the voices, “San Patricio” stands out for uniting two cultures and the music of two nations. Thus, the album combines norteña, bolero, son jarocho, and ranchera, with traditional Irish music. The two instruments that can be heard throughout the album are the fiddle and the harp, two important instruments in both cultures.

The Chieftains’ “San Patricio” is an album that will remind all Irish-Americans that they have much in common with Mexicans on both sides of the border.

Admission to Viva Jazz is $10 at the door. Members of KSDS and the Museum are $8. For more information on Early Evening @ Mingei, call 619-239-0003, extension 106 or visit www.mingei.org.

¡Viva México! — Heroes and Artisans celebrates the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence (1810), the 100th of the Mexican revolution (1910) and the folk art that colorfully and vitally expresses the nation’s spirit. Just as the heroes of independence and the revolution were great artisans in crafting the nation’s constitution, laws and institutions, so are its many artisans also cultural heroes, vibrantly perpetuating Mexico’s historical memory and its distinctive, exuberant and vital artistic tradition. A complementary exhibition, Tempering Memory is an intimate exhibition of photographs of historical locations in Mexico by Tijuana-based photographer Julio Rodriguez.

   Presented in collaboration with Centro Cultural Tijuana and the Mexican Consulate in San Diego, the exhibition continues through January 2, 2011. Curators are Khery Camara Thiam and Cynthia Saucedo Villalobos. 

Mingei International Museum is located at 1439 El Prado in Balboa Park. Current exhibitions are SONABAI — Another Way of Seeing and Fisch Out Of Water — Sea Creatures of Arline Fisch, Transformed By Fire – June Schwarcz Enamel Vessels – From the Forrest L. Merrill Collection and Fifty-Six Chinese Hatboxes – and one hat!.

Mingei International Museum exhibits folk art, craft and design from all eras and cultures of the world. Its two museums – in Balboa Park and downtown Escondido – feature Southern California’s largest and richest collection of mingei – art of the people. For more information visit www.mingei.org

Rana Santacruz escribe y canta en todos los temas. Foto de Adam Cohen.

(KPRENSA) – A medida que el maquillaje étnico de Estados Unidos de América cambia, su música también lo hace. Y con una variedad de influencias en su bolsillo Rana Santacruz hace música para esta nueva nación.

El debut como solista de Santacruz, Chicavasco —lanzado marzo 9, 2010— es el producto de una vibrante visión musical definida por su crecimiento en la Ciudad de México y por su contacto tanto con canciones clásicas Mexicanas como con MTV.

Santacruz escribe y canta en todos los temas. Toca el acordeón así como una variedad de instrumentos de cuerdas y para enriquecer sus canciones recluta a una docena de músicos que agregan un colorido Folk Neo-clásico con violín, chelo, banjo así como con instrumentos tradicionales Mexicanos como el guitarrón, vihuela, tuba y trompeta.

Nacido en México D.F., Santacruz gozó de considerable éxito con La Catrina, banda de rock en español  ahora considerada de culto, que después de ser cortejada por diferentes disqueras firmó con una transnacional a finales de los ‘90s. Su primera experiencia con la industria musical no fue un cuento de hadas; después de grabar en México, Madrid y Miami el CD no encontró la aceptación esperada en la radio y desmoralizada, La Catrina se desintegró en el  2001.

En 2002, con ánimos de saltar las restricciones del pop-rock Mexicano, Santacruz se mudó a Nueva York. Tomando influencias que van desde el Cine De Oro Mexicano, Realismo Mágico de novelas de Garcia Marquez, músicos como Tom Waits, The Smiths, The Pogues y el Bluegrass Norteamericano, Santacruz comenzó a componer una colección de canciones que asimilan estas eclécticas influencias.

El resultado, Chicavasco — nombrado así por un poblado del estado de Hidalgo donde La Catrina dio un show un tanto cuanto surrealista – es hermosamente concebido y producido artesanalmente. Esto no es sorprendente; Alex Venguer, quien co-produjo el album junto con Santacruz, recientemente ganó el GRAMMY  por “Mejor Album de Folk Tradicional” por su trabajo en High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project de Loudon Wainright.

Las letras de Rana Santacruz, interpretadas con pasión y convicción, nos recuerdan a las clásicas canciones de Chavela Vargas, Agustín Lara y Jose Alfredo Jiménez en las que los romances son un tanto amor, otro tanto tragedia y a veces incluso otro tanto comedia. “La cultura Mexicana es sumamente compleja pero muchas de sus manifestaciones tradicionales como la música y películas antiguas están llenas de sentimientos muy inocentes, dulces  y hasta ingenuos”, dice el cantautor. “En este disco traté de rescatar esta simplicidad y aterrizarla lo más posible en cada una de las canciones”.

Al día de hoy, Santacruz se ha ganado un público muy heterogéneo en showcases como South by Southwest (Austin, TX) y Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival (NY). Su música es en efecto música para una nueva América o quizás para un nuevo mundo.

Rana Santacruz puede ser encontrado en el Internet en: www.ranasantacruz.com; www.myspace.com/ranasantacruz

Santacruz estará presentándose en el Winstons de San Diego en Marzo 26, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego, CA 92107. (619) 222-6822.

(KPRENSA) – As the ethnic make-up of America changes, so does its music. And with a passel of influences under his belt, Rana Santacruz makes music for that new America.

Santacruz’s solo debut Chicavasco —released on March 9, 2010— is the product of a vibrant musical vision that was shaped by growing up in Mexico City and coming of age in a musical world informed by MTV, where all styles of music are accessible like never before.

Santacruz writes and sings the songs, as well as playing accordion and a variety of stringed instruments. To flesh out his tunes, he enlisted a cast of a dozen versatile musicians who add a folk and neo-classical flare with violin, cello, sax and jaw harp as well as traditional Mexican mariachi instruments like guitarrón, vihuela, trumpet and tuba.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Santacruz had considerable success with his rock en español band La Catrina. Courted by a number of labels, the group signed with a major label in Mexico in the late ‘90s. His first experience with the music industry was a classic crash-and-burn; after recording in Mexico, Madrid and Miami, the CD failed to deliver a quick radio hit and his demoralized group soon disbanded.

In 2002, setting his sights well beyond the insular Mexican pop scene, Santacruz made the move from Mexico City to New York City. Drawing on influences including the golden age of Mexican cinema, the magical realism novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, musicians like Tom Waits, the Smiths and the Pogues, and American bluegrass, Santacruz set about recording a collection of songs assimilating those disparate influences.

The resulting CD, Chicavasco — named for a small town in the state of Hidalgo where La Catrina played a particularly surreal concert — is beautifully conceived and artfully produced. Not surprising since Alex Venguer, who joined Santacruz in producing the disk, just took home a GRAMMY for “Best Traditional Folk Album” for his part in Loudon Wainright’s High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project.

Like the classic Mexican songs of Chavela Vargas, Agustin Lara and Jose Alfredo Jimenez, Santacruz’s lyrical descriptions of romance are equal parts love and tragedy, and delivered with passion and conviction.  “Mexican culture is very complex, but in a lot of traditional art forms like old songs and films, you find very pure, sweet feelings,” he said. “I tried to rescue this simplicity and bring my songs down to earth as much I can.”

To date, Santacruz has won over American audiences of all stripes at showcases like Austin’s South by Southwest and New York’s Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival. Santacruz’s music is indeed music for a new America, if not a new world.

Rana Santacruz can be found on the Internet at: www.ranasantacruz.com or www.myspace.com/ranasantacruz

Santacruz will be playing in San Diego at Winstons on March 26th, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego, CA 92107. (619) 222-6822.

If you like Carlos Mencia’s type of comedy, you’re going to love “Our Family Wedding,” a film based on stereotypical aspects of Mexican culture to try to be funny.

The film, which opens Friday, March 12, tells the story of Lucia Ramirez, played by “Ugly Betty” actress America Ferrera, and Marcus Boyd, portrayed by Lance Gross, a recently engaged young couple who keep their wedding plans a secret, then suddenly spring the news on their families.

Mencia plays Miguel Ramirez, the hard-working, macho Mexican immigrant father who opposes his daughter Lucia marrying without the traditional courtship –but a major factor in him opposing the wedding is the fact that Marcus is African-American.

Miguel, who owns a car restoration and towing business, has expected his whole life that his daughter would marry another Mexican man, one who shares the same family values and traditions.

Nothing could be farther from the truth: Marcus’s father is Brad Boyd (played by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker), a radio personality who likes to fool around with young women and who raised Marcus as a single father.

“Miguel’s like ‘wait a minute, I don’t know who he is!”, said Mencia in the production notes.  “What do you mean you’re getting married?’ Whatever happened to ‘hey, I’m going to take your daughter to dinner.’ We skipped all that! And you’re not having sex, right?!!”

The two fathers’ personalities crash since the first moment they meet, often turning their scenes into a battle of the ethnicities –which culture is better, Mexican or African-American?

Although we’re used to seeing Mencia making ethnic jokes about his Latino background, it is not common for Whitaker to be funny on screen. In fact, he won his Oscar in 2006 for his portrayal of an Ugandan dictator in “The Last King of Scotland.”

“Our Family Wedding’s” topical spin on clashing family ideals and the challenges of doing a comedic role would generate the right amount of synergy for him to say “yes” to the film. 

Whitaker accepted the role, excited to try his hand at comedy. 

“I’ve played a lot of roles that are emotionally and psychologically challenging,” he explains in the production notes.  “So I decided it was the right time to explore a new side.” 

One of the film’s producers, Steven J. Wolfe, said that audiences will be surprised by Whitaker’s comical skills.

“We don’t think of Forest Whitaker as funny because we’ve seen him deliver so many indelible, dramatic, and serious performances that resonate in our heads like ‘The Last King of Scotland.’ But in fact, he’s really amazing with comedy and I think people are going to have fun seeing a side of him they don’t often get to see.”

Mencia and Whitaker are the protagonists of the film. Together, they create such opposite characters that just looking at them side by side makes you laugh.

But Mencia admits to initially having trepidations about starring opposite Whitaker.

“I was like ‘Oh my God! He has an Academy Award. I gotta come on strong, I can’t suck,’” Mencia jokes.

On set, the two found common ground from which to work organically. 

“Forest would look at me and say ‘did you feel that?’  And I’d be like ‘yeah, I felt that’ or ‘no, that was kind of weird.’  And we’d talk about the scenes.  It was so amazing to be able to speak to somebody like that,” Mencia said.

“Our Family Wedding” also stars veteran-actress Lupe Ontiveros as the typical Mexican grandmother who tells her funniest jokes in Spanish.

This is a film for people who just want to laugh while eating pop-corn. It is definitely not for those who get easily offended when you see all of your stereotypical family roles on screen, from the cholo cousin to the metiche tía from the rancho in Mexico.

Si te gusta el tipo de comedia de Carlos Mencia, entonces te va a encantar “Our Family Wedding”, un filme basado en aspectos estereotípicos de la cultura mexicana para tratar de ser chistosa.

El filme, que estrena el viernes 12 de marzo, cuenta la historia de Lucía Ramírez, interpretada por la actriz de “Ugly Betty”, America Ferrera, y Marcus Boyd, con el actor Lance Gross, una joven pareja recientemente comprometida que ha mantenido sus planes de boda en secreto, y de repente le cuentan la noticia a sus familias.

Mencia interpreta a Miguel Ramírez, el padre mexicano, que es el típico macho trabajador que se opone a que su hija Lucia se case sin el tradicional cortejo; pero un factor principal a su oposición a la boda es que Marcus es afro-americano.

Miguel, quien es dueño de un negocio de renovación de autos y de grúas, toda su vida ha esperado que su hija se case con un hombre mexicano, uno que comparta los mismos valores y tradiciones familiares.

Nada podría estar más lejos de la verdad: el padre de Marcus es Brad Boyd, interpretado por el ganador del Oscar, Forest Whitaker, una personalidad de la radio que le gusta andar con jovencitas y quien crió a Marcus como padre soltero.

“Miguel dice, ‘espera un minute, ¡yo no sé quien es él!’”, dijo Mencia en las notas de producción. “¿Cómo que te vas a casar? ¿Qué pasó con ‘hey, voy a llevar a su hija a cenar’. ¡Nos brincamos todo eso!”

Las personalidades de los dos padres chocan desde el primer momento en que se conocen, seguido convirtiendo sus escenas a una batalla entre razas —¿cuál cultura es mejor, la mexicana o la afro-americana?

Aunque estamos acostumbrados a ver a Mencia contando chistes raciales acerca de su origen latino, no es común para Whitaker ser chistoso en la pantalla. De hecho, ganó el Oscar en 2006 por su papel como dictador de Uganda en “The Last King of Scotland”.

Los retos que representaba interpretar un papel de comedia en “Our Family Wedding” hizo que Whitaker aceptara.

“He hecho muchos papeles que son retos emocionalmente y psicológicamente”, dijo. “Así que decidí que era el momento apropiado para explorar un nuevo lado”.

Mencia y Whitaker son los protagonistas del filme. Juntos, crean papeles tan opuestos, que sólo mirarlos lado a lado te hace reír.

Pero Mencia acepta que al principio dudaba en actuar junto a Whitaker.

“Yo decía, ‘Él ya tiene un Oscar. Tengo que ser fuerte. No debo actuar mal’”, dijo bromeando Mencia.

“Our Family Wedding” también incluye a la veterana actriz Lupe Ontiveros como la típica abuela mexicana que cuenta sus mejores chistes en español.

Esta es una película para personas que sólo quieren reírse mientras comen palomitas de maíz. Definitivamente no es para aquellas que se ofenden fácilmente cuando miran los papeles estereotípicos que existen en sus propias familias, desde el primo cholo hasta la tía metiche del rancho en México.

Vernon Mortensen and Neil Trusso both served as Co-Executive Producers and Kelly Parks has been assigned to handle Chamaco’s local San Diego promotions. In addition to Chamaco, Unconventional Films is the production company behind the highly successful comedy, The Crusader (99% Funny on Funny or Die) and the sci-fi/horror movie, Universal Dead, starring DB Sweeney and Dough Jones.

Neil Trusso, who first came to San Diego while serving as an elite US Navy SEAL says, “It is an honor to be invited to the San Diego Latino Film Festival. It’s a great venue and San Diego is the perfect place to showcase a movie with deep Latino roots.”

Vernon Mortensen, a retired US Navy SWCC, first moved to San Diego in 1988 when he attended the Navy’s boot camp here, and later met Neil in 1993 when the two were deployed to Somalia as part of the same Naval Special Warfare Task Unit. “We’ve been best friends and business partners ever since.”  He says and quickly adds, “Chamaco is a perfect candidate for the SDLFF because it is one of only three American independent movies who qualified for money from the Mexican Film Fund.

Kelly Parks, a long time San Diego resident and the world’s only Ex-CIA/Rocket Scientist/Stand-up Comic/ Screenwriter, first joined Unconventional Films in 2007.

Screenings of Chamaco will take place at the Ultra Star Mission Valley Cinemas in the Hazard Center on March 13th at 6:30 pm, March 17 at 9:45 pm, and March 20th at 4:00 pm.

Participants sign a petition at a rally to protest against cuts to public education in California at the San Diego City College community college.

Tens of thousands of university students, faculty and others rallied today on university  campuses throughout California to protest unprecedented budget cuts to public education and related social services.

Faced with a still struggling economy and a $20 billion deficit, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been asking for, and getting, massive budget cuts to the state’s world class public education system from grade schools to universities.

These cuts, which figure in the billions of dollars, have resulted in university faculty and staff layoff, tuition increases, fewer classes yet larger groups of students and cutbacks in other educational services. Programs designed to help low income and minority students have also been on the chopping block.

As the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems become increasing more expensive and provide fewer opportunities many students end up attending community colleges, whose budgets have also been deeply cut.

“There’s this huge bottleneck with these budget cuts that is increasing the competition for classes, keeping many students out,” said Justin Chacon, 38, a professor of Chicano studies at San Diego City College, in San Diego, California, where one third of the student population in Hispanic.

“As they cut courses at the UC and CSU campuses more students who are able to get into the UC or able to get into the CSU are now going to the community colleges, which has created a tremendous pressure on us,” said Chacon. “It’s estimated that this year a quarter of a million community college students will be squeezed out.”

Community colleges have traditionally been more accessible to low income and minority students, where they can learn vocational skills or study to move on to a higher learning institution. Community colleges often are the places for new immigrants to learn skills and English, allowing them to better integrate into society.

Bretzner Leyssa Gonzalez, 19, center, participates in a rally to protest against cuts to public education in California at the San Diego City College community college. Protests and rallies against cuts in education were held across the state, as well as in other locations around the country.

At City College about 1000 people gathered for a lively rally at the campus center. The faces varied widely; from pierced noses and Che Guevara T-shirts, to young African women with head scarves. The majority of faces were some shade of brown or black.

Some classes were conducted in solidarity with a student walkout and a free speech session was held on the lawn.

Among them was Sandra Galindo, 43, a single mother from Mexico with three daughters and the dream to study education and work with children of migrants.

Yet, like thousands of others budget cuts have severely impacted Galindo’s ability to continue her studies. Gal-indo’s financial assistance comes with the stipulation that she finish her studies within five years. But, with many required classes cut she is continually postponing her education.

“Mi tiempo está contado, yo tengo que apurarme lo más que pueda porque después de este tiempo yo tengo que entrar a trabajar y voy a seguir estudiando pero me va tocar mucho más tiempo terminar”, dijo Galindo.

“Es una presión constante, te ayuda pero no te ayuda, te dan poquito pero te lo cobran con sangre, tenemos úlceras, tenemos gastritis, no dormimos, es mucho estrés, es ayuda entre comidas”, añadio Galindo.

Her story was one of many that were recounted at the rally. Many students both young and old must work to maintain themselves while studying and live under the specter of a ticking clock as time runs out on their financial support.

For Naomi Salas, 25, her studies in sociology have been a revolving door.

People are only supposed to be here for two years and then they can transfer on to a four year university,” said Salas.

“But most of the students have been here more than four years. I’ve been here six years because there’re no classes. And, if you drop behind they put you on probation and you get disqualified from financial aid, even if the reason you have to drop your classes is because you have no money to get books.”

The sentiment is echoed by teachers who wish they could meet the demands of their students.

“We’re having to do a lot more with a whole lot less,” added Chacon.

By Kent Paterson

By most accounts, she was an outgoing girl who loved to sing and dance.

Tejana legend Selena was her idol. The John Adams Middle School student loved sports, books and butterflies. And she was someone whose smile could lift a depressed person’s heart. That’s how relatives remembered 15-year-old Jamie Barela. On March 4, 2010, nearly six years to the day she vanished with her older cousin Evelyn Salazar, Jamie Barela was finally given a proper burial .

Barela and Salazar were among the 11 women found murdered and buried close together on Albuquerque’s West Mesa on February 2, 2009. After months of pain-staking work by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator and North Texas University, Jaime’s remains were officially identified in January. She was the last West Mesa victim buried.

“Somebody took a bright smile away from us,” said mother Jayne Perea. “For me, it’s not closure,” said the Albuquerque resident, who is working for justice with relatives of other murdered and still-missing women in Albuquerque. “I don’t want (any one) to go through what I do.”

All the West Mesa victims went missing between 2003 and 2005. Many vanished from a section of Albuquerque where drugs, gangs and violence are realities of daily life.

Despite a $100,000 reward offered by the Albuquerque Police Department, no suspects are in custody for the murders of Barela and the other women.

The Duke City teen was from an extended New Mexican family. Adam Tachias recalled playing with his sister at family ranch near Mt. Taylor west of Albuquerque, where cattle and horses recalled a  New Mexican past when rural folkways and not big-city social traps were more the stuff of daily life. For a spell, Jamie stayed with an aunt in Leadville, Colorado.

After Jamie vanished, rumors flew. Variously, it was reported she was alive and well in Espanola, in Colorado, even Canada. A cloak of mystery shrouded her disappearance. Several relatives said they were never questioned by police about Jaime’s possible whereabouts. According to half-sister Antoinette Tachias, the police considered Jaime a runaway.

Except for a visit to draw a DNA sample a few months ago, mother Jayne Perea said she had not been visited by Albuquerque police since 2004.

When news broke of the mass grave on the West Mesa last year, Antoinette said she did not suspect her little sister was among the victims.

“I hope they try to do everything they can to catch this person,” she said after Jaime’s funeral. “I think that’s really scary. What kind of person, or persons, would do something like that?”

As the West Mesa story developed, parallels were drawn with the mass killings of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, only a straight-shot, four hour drive on 1-25 south of Albuquerque. El Diario de Juarez even sent a reporter to New Mexico to cover the story.

Historically connected, both Ciudad Juarez and Albuquerque share a common Spanish language, a deep-rooted Catholic religion, a history of trade and migration along the old Camino Real, and a modern commerce of both legal and illegal goods. Both cities also grapple with a legacy of violence against women.

On March 4, the very the same day as Jaime Barela’s funeral, local media reported that the body of an unidentified woman was discovered by workers in an irrigation ditch south of Albuquerque. The Bernalillo County Sherriff’s Department subsequently identified the dead woman as 47-year-old Debbie Martinez.

Although the circumstances of the Ciudad Juarez femicides might be different than the West Mesa murders, striking similarities exist between the two sets of crimes: questioned police investigations, the recovery of multiple homicide victims at a common site and the accidental discovery of a crime scene by a passer-by.

The Albuquerque victims were working-class women of color, and more than a few New Mexicans questioned whether a long string of disappearances that culminated in the West Mesa find would have been allowed to continue if the missing persons were wealthy and white.

“(Police) did not do investigating the right way it should have been done, and they could have prevented these women’s deaths,” contended Lupe Lopez-Haynes, the sister of Beatrice Lopez, who disappeared in Albuquerque back in 1989, but was never found alive or dead.

Recently, Lopez-Haynes and other Albuquerque residents learned first-hand about the Ciudad Juarez femicides. Traveling to New Mexico earlier this year, Irma Monreal and Paula Flores, mothers of two young women murdered in Ciudad Juarez in 2001 and 1998, respectively, shared their experiences at an Albuquerque gathering.

“Even with the threats, these women keep going. They show no fear. They don’t stop,” said Lopez-Haynes, who is trying to get to the bottom of the truth of what happened to her sister. “It gave me the strength to keep on going with this.”

Human rights advocates and cultural workers in the US, Mexico and Australia plan to pay homage to the women of Ciudad Juarez and Albuquerque during this year’s International Women’s History Month celebration in March. Organized under the theme “A Prayer for Juarez,” specific information about the events is available on Internet sites set up under the same name.

Los Angeles’ Los Abajo Printmaking Collective and Casa 0101 are helping produce the southern California segment of the project. According to a summary provided by co-organizer Kay Brown, the events will include mural exhibits, “guerrilla performance art,” plays, book and poetry readings, discussions, and showings of several fiction and non-fiction films about the border femicides. A new version of California producer’s Lorena Mendez Quiroga’s documentary “Border Echoes” will premiere. Authors Alicia Gaspar Alba and Diana Washington Valdez are scheduled to give presentations at separate events this month.

In Albuquerque, about 100 artists and others from different walks of life and nationalities responded to “A Prayer for Juarez,” according to co-organizer and painter Deborah Gavel.  On March 20-21, three art showings and related events scheduled for the New Mexico city will focus on the local women’s murders as well as the Ciudad Juarez slayings.

“I thought it would be a good idea to link West Mesa since it is right here and in our own backyard,” Gavel said. “The more I read about the daughters of Juarez, the more I see similarities.”

Emphasizing sculptural design, the Albuquerque exhibits will “metaphorically symbolize the women and their vulnerability,” Gavel said.

Gavel said an important goal of the project is to bring the community together to honor the women. “It’s been a deeply emotional experience for me to work on this during the last three months, and I hope it’s touched the hearts of all those who’ve worked on this,” she added.

Inspired by common issues that transcend borders, activists like Gavel are making sure that victims of gender violence in the US and Mexico are not forgotten.

In Albuquerque, many people remember Jaime Barela. She was buried in the time of Lent, on a day when the first stirrings of spring burst through a long, hard winter. In a month when the seedlings of next year’s crop are almost ready for planting, the morn-ing’s green chile had that residual late-season zing. Roadrunners dashed in the streets, while snow melted from the chameleon-like Sandia Mountains. Later in the day, a red sunset splashed across the West Mesa.

At the cemetery where she was interred, Jaime Barela drew scores of friends and relatives, family members of other West Mesa victims and representatives of the news media. Prior to releasing an armful of heart-shaped balloons that read “I love you,” brother Angelo spoke through tears.

“The time for my sister was very short,” he said. “I just want everyone to take the best memory you have of her.”

While the balloons caught a northerly wind and quickly disappeared, Jaime’s casket was lowered into the ground. Crows then swooped into the cemetery, making their usual racket. Soon, in another old New Mexican ritual, the migratory birds will head north. Almost as if they will follow Jaime into eternity.

Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news Center for Latin American and Border Studies New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico.