Elenamary

One of my favorite musicians, Envelope, has a song “I Am Not Poor (Just Broke)” where he states he isn’t poor in that he has a house to live in, isn’t starving and even can afford to buy some PBR now and again. That is how I feel. I am not poor, I got a house and running water, and electricity sure I don’t have health care but I’ve got enough to buy my mocha.

That said if I did have money I wouldn’t mind spending it on going out, but since I don’t , I hate spending money on shows.

For example, last week, my mami, Olga and I went to see the Ballet Folklórico at the Palace Theater. It was awesome, as it always is. My mother and Olga loved it.   I loved seeing Olga dance in her seat or her mouth drop open with awe and joy. But I refuse to pay for that stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. We stood outside of the show with a sign “We Need 2 Tickets”.  I don’t know why we used a sign that said 2 when we needed 3 but that isn’t the point. We were going to try and get cheap or free tickets. If we had bought tickets it would have totaled a minimum of $75.00. I just can’t do that.  We were able to get three tickets together from a wonderful man, whom I need to send a thank you note to.

It is easy to get into big shows for free. For example if you are going to a crew game, especially by yourself, stand near will call. People always pick up tickets for a party of four when only three of them showed up. You can ask them if you can have their ticket. Someone is bound to say yes. I am hoping to do this again October 12th when David Sedaris preforms with the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus (this group is fantastic—I love going to their shows). Cheapest tickets are 32.50 before the additional fees, and I am not poor but I am broke. If you see me standing outside of the Palace Theater and you have an extra ticket, think of me.

The Migration of the Monarch butterfly from the US state of Ohio to the Mexican state of Michoacan has always been special to me as I have grown up in Ohio and my mother is from the State of Michoacan.

Jim Robey: Dawn of autumn is a great time to be outside
Dayton Daily News -Dayton,OH,USA
The monarch migration in Ohio peaks in early to mid-September and continues into October. These butterflies are migrating to Mexico.

The monarchs are migrating
Zanesville Times Recorder - Zanesville,OH,USA
The peak migration for Ohio monarchs is Sept. 8-26, with the butterflies arriving in Mexico in mid-November.

I went with my mom and Olgita to see the Ballet Folklorico last night. It was awesome.

Mexican troupe to share tradition
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
Ballet Folklorico de Mexico will perform at 7:30 pm Thursday in the Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St. Tickets cost $20 to $30 at the Ohio Theatre box.

Ceremony celebrates Latino achievements
Bowling Green News - Bowling Green,OH,USA
Students were honored for their academic achievements and contributions to the Latino community during the 18th annual Diamante Community Awards Friday night.
The Diamante Awards were created in 1989 by IMAGE, a chapter of a northwest Ohio Latino nonprofit organization, in order to recognize Latino contributions

Spanish network signs on Nov. 1
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
Azteca America, a broadcasting network based in Los Angeles, will begin broadcasting Nov. 1 on its new local affiliate, WCPX-TV (Channel 48). The station is designed to give central Ohio Latinos a local broadcast voice, said Orozco, who also is the general manager and part owner of WXOL (1550 AM), a Spanish-language radio station known as RadioSol. In Ohio, Latino buying power increased 247 percent from 1990 to 2006. As a result, advertisers increasingly look to media that can reach that growing demographic. The Latino population in Franklin County was 35,526 in 2005, up about 11,200 from five years earlier, according to U.S. census data. Central Ohio is home to at least five weekly and biweekly Spanish-language newspapers, a magazine and at least two radio stations.

This article was written in the most racist hostile offensive tone of any article I read this week regarding Latinos in Ohio.

Northern Panhandle police officers take crash course in Spanish
Daily Mail - Charleston - Charleston,WV,USA
MOUNDSVILLE — Friday was graduation day for 30 law enforcement officers who took a crash-course in Spanish to address the growing number of arrests involving illegal immigrants and undocumented workers in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle… Sheriff John Gruzinskas said there have been “increasing incidents with Spanish speaking people whether they are legal or illegal.”… Traffic stops on Interstate 70, which runs though Burgoyne’s county, accounted for most of the arrests, but he said undocumented construction workers account for more arrests now…”I think the word is traveling around that 14-mile stretch of interstate in the Northern Panhandle wasn’t the best place to be traveling if you’re an illegal,” Burgoyne said.

Yes, the democratic presidential candidates debated in English on Univision a Spanish language channel.

Yes, the democratic presidential candidates who speak Spanish fluently (Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd) were banned from speaking in Spanish on the Spanish language network because it would give them an unfair advantage.

Of course Richardson and Dodd have an advantage in speaking Spanish, but that doesn’t make it unfair. Would we ban Hilliary Clinton from discussing women’s health issues because she has an unfair advantage, having a vagina and all? Would we ban Barack Obama from discussing what it is like to be a studly black man because he would have an unfair advantage with that sexy body of his? Would we ban Dennis Kucinich from discussing short men from Ohio with crazy hair who have wives ten times hotter than themselves?

I like that I have the option of a candidate who speaks Spanish. I like that I have the option of a candidate from Ohio, I like that I have the option of a womyn candidate, I like that I have the option of an African-American candidate. I like options. Let the candidates play with their full deck and let me the voter decide who I like, do not restrict the candidates by language. Language is an attribute. Language skills are needed in international diplomacy.

I enjoyed reading about Condoleeza Rice and how while on a trip to Russia she corrected her Russian interpreter. Condoleza Rice studied Russian but wanted an interpreter just in case she needed them. Language is a skill and I admire it.

One of the admirable qualities of Pope John Paul II was his ability to communicate to the masses in many languages. It has been argued that he spoke 10 languages. Pope John Paul II made attempts to speak to the masses in their own language.

And don’t we often hear the quote from John F. Kennedy “Ich bin ein Berliner”?

The importance of language in politics is much like the important advice given to all travelers; the two most important things you can do when traveling is to know how to say “Thank you” and “Please”. With those two phrases you can win over just about anyone and they will be thoroughly impressed.

I didn’t need Hillary, Barack, Dennis, or John, to do their whole speech in Spanish. All I needed was for them to make an attempt at the end of their speech, to say in Spanish “Thank you for this opportunity”.

Sure, some of us may have giggled (I know I giggled in 2000 when I heard Al Gore attempt to speak in Spanish) but we giggle and greatly appreciate the effort. In fact your attempt to say one phrase in Spanish might end up carrying more weight then that of Bill Richardson spending the whole debate speaking in Spanish. Because what I want to know as an informed voter is can you pull off diplomacy?

Dear Ohio Democratic Party,


Wsup ya’ll old fogies? I am about to let you in on some secrets on reaching Latino voters in Ohio.


Let’s look at some background information first.


According to the 2000 census there were an estimated 217,123 Latinos in Ohio. Of those Latinos there were an estimated 93,622 Latinos under the age of 20. That is approximately 43% of Latinos in Ohio were 20 or under.


I do not know how many Latinos in the state of Ohio are eligible to vote in state or federal elections (for that matter local elections—we can get to that issue another day). What I do believe is that most Latino voters are potential voters. That is to say they, potential voters, are U.S. Citizens born to undocumented parents who are for the most part still too young to vote.


In 2004 I worked on and for Get Out the Vote Campaigns (GOTV). While I am a big fan of GOTV campaigns, I am not sure they work in the short term, and in the long term they don’t work at all. The same goes for registering voters. We can register Latinos who historically have voted democratic but unless Latinos are informed about the issues, that does not mean they will continue to vote, and more importantly vote informed.


Let me quote one of my favorite columnists Gustavo Arellano from his book “¡Ask A Mexican!” (can be purchased online at Tianguis)

Week in and week out, ¡Ask A Mexican! portrays Mexicans as perfect Republicans: homo-hating, Jew-baiting, Negro-bashing, chino-trashing religious fanatics who believe in free markets and self-determination and want to wipe Guatemalans off the map. Various polls identify this Mexican GOP gene. The most comprehensive, a 2003 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center, found 80 percent of Latinos disapprove of abortion, 40 percent think divorce is unacceptable, and 72 percent hate gays (by comparison, 60, 24, and 59 percent of gabachos felt the same regarding each respective topic).-pg 39

The National Council of La Raza found that:

Latinos remain highly discerning voters; they are much more likely to vote for a candidate based on issue positions than on simple party affiliation. This suggests that much of the Hispanic vote remains “up for grabs” in future election, and that, while outreach counts, policy matters more. Policy makers and party officials would be well-advised to keep this in mind in future policy debates.

The deal is then that we need to not just register Latino voters, and not just get out the vote expecting they will vote democratic. We have to inform the voter. Isn’t that what an ideal democracy has, informed voters?


And here is the thing, Ohio’s Latino population is still young and growing rapidly. Now is the time to reach our potential voters, if we reach our potential voters we can create a strong foundation for the democratic party.


We need to think progressively on reaching young Latino voters and potential voters, if we don’t think progressively we are going to end up having to figure out how to get people to change their minds or view the democratic party differently, rather than starting with the fresh slate of potential we have now.


Here is how we create informed democratic voters in the Latino community:


1. Reach out to young children with summer camps on democracy. The Ohio Center for Law Related Education offers awesome summer camps on law and citizenship. Why can’t Ohio Democrats offer a summer camp on government? Learn about your right to vote, about the role of the state legislature, local city governments? Teach youngsters about their civil rights when they get pulled over by the police while driving (and what the rights of their parents are!)


2. Support the DREAM Act. Advertise your support of it, on the local Spanish radio station.


3. Offer scholarships. The scholarships can be an exchange for volunteering to work on a democratic campaign. Volunteer for your local democratic candidate and get a $500 scholarship to an in-state university institution. When people volunteer on a campaign they have a feeling of making a difference and of being part of the difference, of being part of the institution. We want people to feel that the Democratic party is THEIR party. I bet odds are too that once you’ve worked on a campaign your more likely to work on another and stay politically active.


4. Show that the ODP is a party for women. While Latino society may have its dose of machismo it does not mean that women don’t have the final say-so. It is women who get men to work, the kids to school, and the family to church, it is women who have the final say-so. Make sure that women understand that democrats support them and their decisions. Find ways to reach women in grocery stores, doctors offices, and banks.


While Latinos may disapprove of abortion, divorce, and gays, the truth is they actually don’t. Huh? You see ask a Latina women if she disapproves of abortion and she may say yes, but you may find out she has had one. If it weren’t for Latina’s getting abortions I wouldn’t have a job. And I can only imagine that as these young Latinas become of voting age more will be pro-choice, especially when it comes to themselves. Latinas need and want good sexual health care and prenatal care. If we can let them know the democratic party supports safe sex based education, affordable health care (that means abortions too), and prenatal care we can win them over. Right now these women depend on organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the Columbus Health Department and Columbus Neighborhood Clinics. We’ve got to support health care and let it be known we support womens health more than republicans.


5. Work with banks. Offer classes with banks and workshops with banks on opening a bank account. Make sure you know why it is important to have a bank account. It is important for when buying airplane tickets back to your home country, it is required at the border when trying to bring a car into Mexico, it accrues interest, is safe, and you can deposit/cash your check without a huge fee as normally occurs with check-exchange stores and the Mexican groceries. Make sure that people know that the ODP supports them.


6. Open cultural centers in urban-Latino neighborhoods of Toledo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Dayton. These centers should have historical information and current resources. It should be a place where you can learn about People of Color who have been and are active in the Democratic Party. Their should be books on the Chicano movement, on the womyns movement. Their should be information about current races, candidates and issues. Their should be free talks from the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, League of Pissed off Voters.


I hope ODP, that you start recruiting potential voters now. Now! Not in a few years when the Republican party has won them over because Latinos were registered to be voters but never registered to be informed voters.


Here is looking to the future and growth of turning the Potential Latino Voter into the Informed Latino Voter!

-Elenamary

Urban Scrawl this Saturday at Dodge Park (667 Sullivant Ave). There will be live art with skateboarders, graffiti walls, and music. (You can read more about it here and here). Some of my favorite people in the world will be there.  In alphabetical order:

Derek Stewart

Ease the Medic (Mike Finch’s band)

Marvin The Robot (The one and only Miles Curtiss)

Zero (E)

So the big news this past week was a raid in Fairfield, Ohio. I am tired of this stuff, and it hurts every time it happens. Reminds me of the 1930’s or last week. Here are the headlines for Latino happenings in Ohio:


160 immigrant workers arrested in raid on Ohio poultry plant
World Socialist Web Site - Oak Park,MI,USA

Early Tuesday morning, 300 federal immigration agents, aided by local police and sheriff’s deputies, descended on a poultry processing plant outside of Cincinnati, Ohio and arrested 160 immigrant workers.

I found this next one funny because it was written up by WorldPoultry.net located in the Netherlands?!

Ohio chicken plant raided for illegals
WorldPoultry.net - Doetinchem,Netherlands

Following a 2-year investigation, some 160 people were arrested in an immigration enforcement raid at a Koch Foods poultry processing plant in Fairfield, Ohio

Man seeking to cool off drowns in Ohio River
Kentucky.com - Lexington,KY,USA

A construction worker looking to cool off drowned in the Ohio River, Oldham County police said…Police have not released the man’s name, but said he was 38-years-old, Hispanic and from the Louisville area

.


US immigrants worry as families face deportation
Reuters Canada - Toronto,Ontario,Canada

A day after one of the largest workplace immigration raids in Ohio, the Hispanic community in Cincinnati’s suburbs was scrambling to track down missing family members and arrange care for children whose parents were caught up in the raid.

Increase in SAT participants is encouraging - an editorial
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland,OH,USA

Just as impressive, this year’s group includes record numbers of Hispanic, black and Asian-American participants, as well as a much larger number of low-income test-takers.

Toledo, Ohio is also home to the Farm Labor Organizing Committe (FLOC) an AFL-CIO union in existence since the 1960’s it is our Midwest version of the United Farm Workers (UFW). FLOC has strong union roots in Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina, particularly with pickles and tomatoes.

AFL-CIO’s Linda Chavez-Thompson in Toledo for Labor Day Parade
Toledo Blade - Toledo,OH,USA

The daughter of Mexican- American sharecroppers, she rose through the union ranks to become executive vice president of the AFL-CIO. She is the first Hispanic to hold the office.

The raid cost $4 Million dollars? To arrest 161 people? That is aproximately $24, 845 per person ignoring the fact that a lot of those people were later found to either legally be here or granted humanitarian stays.

Aid sought for raid detainees
Cincinnati Enquirer - Cincinnati,OH,USA

The federal raid on a Butler County company that led to the arrest of 161 suspected illegal immigrants Tuesday cost $4 million, a state official told more than 40 people who met Saturday to determine how to help families affected by the raid.

Raid Impacts Hispanic Community
WKRC TV Cincinnati - Cincinnati,OH,USA

One of the main concerns for Latino leaders is that amongst the people that have been detained and put in those buses, are parents of children who’s future right now, is uncertain. Jorge Neri, President of Lulac in Butler County: “Most of these kids are US citizens, they are in school right now, what is going to happen to those kids. A lot of single mom’s a lot of women work in this plant.”

Cincy Hispanic Community Not Happy With CC’s WLW
Streaming Magazine - West Palm Beach,FL,USA

Cincinnati’s Hispanic community says Clear Channel’s WLW-AM is guilty of “blatant racial discrimination against them” following the recent airing of a segment called “Speaking to An Illegal Alien,” which featured translations of Spanish phrases such as, “Be careful with those hedge clippers around the garden….The previous instance of offense came in May, when the station put up billboards featuring a Hispanic man and a donkey, called “The Big Juan.”

Cincinnati Hispanic Fest largest in region
Cincinnati Catholic Telegraph - OH, United States

Volunteers, exhibitors and, of course, guests, are invited to attend the annual Cincinnati Hispanic Festival, held at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds Sept. 8-9.

Dear Southwest Xicanos, Chicago Xicanos, Cali Xicanos,

You grew up with Xicano language, literature, music, artwork, politics. For me it was something I had to discover. Columbus, Ohio is on the verge of its first Xicano movement (which I will write about later this week). With our Xicano movement will come music, but for now I have to use a different medium in order to obtain my Xicano music, and yes it is owned by Rupert Murdoch, it is myspace. The website has allowed me to access awesome Xicano music that I otherwise would have never known about it. Below are a few, enjoy!

Los Abandoned: I actually first heard about Los Abandoned from El Pocho Abogado’s entry about them. I often think of El Pocho Abogado as that guy who is light years away from where I’ll ever be when it comes to great music. They are lead by strong fem vocals, to sweet electronic music, that makes me want to jump around and bump into people while singing along. Their lyrics are bilingual, they are awesome and you should go listen to them. On myspace they categorize their music as “New Wave/Latin/Indie”. Go listen to “A La Mode”.

Aztlan Underground: While I discovered them on myspace they do have their own official website. Their music is political, no doubt about it. In their band description they describe themselves as “The dormant giant has awakened. Throughout the Southwest known to Chicanos as Aztlán, the movement of the struggle is still in effect and greater than ever. Treated as foreigners in our own land, Aztlán Underground(AUG) was founded to voice the anger and frustration of the poor and powerless…AUG captures the psyche and transcends to all ethnic groups, capturing a universal rhythm to convey their message of “self-determination and decolonization.” Their lyrics are bilingual, political, and their music, is as they describe it, “Psychedelic, Regional Mexican, Pop Punk”.

Down aka Kilo: Okay, I owe this one to El Pocho Abogado too, well I don’t know if the word ‘owe’ is correct. His lyrics are not progressive, in fact they are misogynistic, but his song Lean like a Cholo is catchy as hell, so enjoy it for what its worth, a catchy bubblegum hiphop song.

Los Dryheavers: They, Los Dryheavers, actually have a non-myspace website here. Their music is sweet dude punk music. I know that sentence doesn’t make much sense…to you, but it does to me… Anyway, sweet dude, like cool awesome kid you want to spend the summer going to punk shows with, this is sweet dude punk music. They site their influences as Vicente Fernandez, The Clash, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, and The Ramones….come on ya’ll you know it is going to be good. Their lyrics are also bilingual.

The Fresas: If you like Los Abandoned you’ll love The Fresas. They remind me of Elastica, I have fond memories of driving in Mexico from my mom’s house to my grandmother’s house with Elastica blaring and people giving me funny looks. The only thing that makes me sad about Las Fresas is that unless you guys go encourage them and help me help make them big, we in Ohio will never get to see them preform. Help a girl out! Go listen or even download for free their song Dang B. They are poppy, they are bouncy, they make me smile, yeahhhhhhhhhhh.

Girl in a Coma: Rocking (very young) Xicana ladies out of San Antonio Tejas. I heard about Girl in A Coma from Latina Lista Blogcasts. Their record label is Blackheart Records, thats right Joan Jett’s record label which also signed The Eyeliners putting these rocking Xicanas in some very good musical company. Their music in indie rock, it can slow down to the form of Sinéad O’Connor type balled to a rocking song that reminds me of some late ’90s Grrrrrl rock.

Mad Mexicans: Out of Tejas, these guys are straight up rock, their song style reminds me a lot of Molotov’s album Donde Jugaran Las Niñas. Catchy hooks, hardkore rock, that makes you want to roll down the window and say “Ain’t no party like a Mexican party, ’cause a Mexican Party rock all night long” or if you wanna get political “Three cheers for a blind society, raise a glass to a broken democracy”.

The Mormons: Out of California, these chavos make fun of an easy target…Mormons. They dress in that gdman colonizing uniform of the Mormons: the black pants, short sleeve white button down shirt, black backpacks, and bike helmets! They are comical with great music which finding a combination of both is hard to find. Their music is punk rock, with an occasional bit of sing along peppiness that I enjoy and I’ve seen them define themselves as “Latin Music” on myspace, with their backgrounds as they told me are “Vince and Joey are Mexican and Jimmy Is Chilean”.

Los Nativos: Straight out of the Mid-West, no not Chicago, and no not Ohio (sadly), Los Nativos are from Minnesota. Los Nativos are on the same label (Rhymesayers Entertainment) as Brother Ali, Atmosphere, and Columbus Ohio’s Blueprint. I guess this is the closest it gets to Columbus having politically active Xicano music and I damn fine with it since good lord it is AWESOME! Their music is straight up hip-hop, it is just plain good, you want to drive with it, you want it while you are working around the house, you want it all the damn time…go give it a try.

Anyone else wanna mention some other good Xicano or Latino music?