In the world of American art and photography, there is one center. New York. Here, careers are made or destroyed.
This metropolis touts their power. What happens in New York according to sycophants reverberates worldwide. Artists must submit to the Big Filter.
Chicanas and Chicanos are not a concern to the Big Filter. In fact, Raza does not exist in their myopic eyes. Other cultures and groups supersede Raza. The Big Filter doesn’t hate Raza; they are just ignorant and arrogant.
They are ignorant of a growing arts community. Also arrogant to assume their pain, love and creations are manifest. Raza has to be content to sit on the sideline.
A New Yorker will pass through the Big Filter’s sieve easily. Apparently they have the appropriate ethnic or religious qualifications. Yes, they may be smarter too. What are Raza to do?
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Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
What I Want For the Holidays - Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 EC VR II
[Click on image to enlarge. Yes, I want this lens. Who wouldn't. I think, I am in love. Article by DPReview.com]
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, December 10, 2009 – Nikon Europe today announces a new super telephoto lens to replace the AF-S VR NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED. The AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II features the new generation of Vibration Reduction technology (VR II) and a new A/M focus mode, making it an ideal choice for sports, action and wildlife photographers. This lens is designed for those who are serious about photography.
Zurab Kiknadze, Product Manager Lenses, Accessories & Software, Nikon Europe says: "The AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II comparatively light weight and compact dimensions make it a perfect choice for hand held super telephoto photography, particularly when used with a teleconverter. The new VRII system offers four or more stops of compensation, and makes this a really practical solution for the news and wildlife photographer". The evolution of the NIKKOR lens reflects a commitment to developing a range of products tailored to photographers’ needs, and it strengthens the line-up of high-performance NIKKOR lenses.
Sharper action images
The AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II features the second generation built in Vibration Reduction (VRII), providing the ability to shoot at shutter speeds up to four stops slower so sharper images can be achieved when using the camera for hand-held shooting. In addition, the new A/M mode added to existing M/A and M modes enables autofocus priority even if the focus ring is being handled during shooting. Weighing in at 2,900g this is a lens that ticks every box for those who are serious about action photography.
Built for any environment
This super telephoto lens is designed with the photographer in mind and has the same excellent optical system as its predecessor. Those who need extreme speed and quiet to capture wildlife, can rely on the autofocus with a built-in silent wave motor to ensure you won’t disrupt the action. To top off the extensive features,, this lens is also sealed to withstand the affects of dust and moisture, allowing photographers to keep shooting whatever the conditions. Finally, the lens construction features eleven elements in eight groups, including three ED glass elements and Nano Crystal Coat.
Article courtesy of DPReview.com and photo by Nikon USA
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Friday, December 11, 2009
Time For A Massage?
Christmas is just around the corner and I have found the perfect gift. Give your partner a Swedish massage. Here are some G rated videos that offer great instruction. Massage is a great way to destress after a hectic 2009.
Here is the link to the page and below is a sample video:
http://givebestmassageever.com/tag/effleurage/
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Here is the link to the page and below is a sample video:
http://givebestmassageever.com/tag/effleurage/
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Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Culture Clash is proposed to help spur an LA theater's revival
[Click image to enlarge. Photo by Don Bartletti of the Los Angeles Times]
The LA Times is reporting that Community Redevelopment Agency of the city of Los Angeles is undertaking an initiative to revamp the Westlake Theatre. The Agency plans to make the space into a performance and multimedia center, with facilities for stage and music performances, film, and community and social events. In addition, the Latino performance ensemble, Culture Clash, is set to become the resident theatre company of the space.
"They're very popular; they attract a big audience," said CRA Administrator Leslie Lambert speaking to the LA Times. "Ethnically, they fit perfectly with that community. They're very much in touch with that community. [And] they'll bring in audiences from elsewhere."
A historic MacArthur Park theater could become the permanent new home of the performance trio Culture Clash under an ambitious city plan to bring more cultural amenities to the heavily Latino urban neighborhood.
Under a proposal spearheaded by the Community Redevelopment Agency of the city of Los Angeles (CRA/LA), the Westlake Theatre, which was built in 1926 and currently is used for a swap meet, would be converted into a multi-use entertainment space for live theater, film screenings, musical performances and community and social events. The project also would include the creation of 49 units of affordable housing and a 300-space parking garage.
According to CRA officials, the Music Box@Fonda, which runs the Music Box theater in Hollywood, would operate and program the revamped Westlake Theatre, and Culture Clash, the popular and respected Latino performance ensemble that is marking its 25th anniversary this year, would become the facility's resident theater company. In addition to performing at the theater for a minimum of 30 days per year, Culture Clash would provide youth-oriented programming and instruction in writing and acting, said Leslie Lambert, the CRA's administrator for its Hollywood and Central region.
Richard Montoya of Culture Clash, who with colleagues Herbert Siguenza and Ric Salinas has operated as a gypsy ensemble since the group moved from the Bay Area to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, praised the Westlake Theatre as "a grand old faded lady" and said the trio was excited about finally acquiring a "bricks and mortar" home of its own.
"Thank God there's angels in bureaucracy -- there are -- that have said, 'You guys deserve a home,' " Montoya said in a recent interview. "We're, like, two Salvadorans, one Chicano, there's a need in the area."
However, he emphasized, MacArthur Park is "not an area devoid of culture. No, it's a very, actually, sophisticated place."
Indeed, the new facility is intended to enhance the revitalization of one of the city's most culturally rich neighborhoods, following a long period in which soaring crime rates and economic decline marred the area's image. The 633-acre Westlake Recovery Redevelopment Project Area was conceived in 1999 with the aims of stimulating economic development, rehabilitating existing housing and businesses, creating new housing, and improving public infrastructure and services. Other neighborhood projects include buffing up building facades.
Last week, the CRA's board of commissioners voted to begin negotiations with the project's developers, Millennium Partners, which will have up to 15 months to produce a formal plan to convert the 18,000-square-foot structure and the 1.2-acre site, which is bounded by Wilshire Boulevard, 6th and Alvarado streets and Westlake Avenue.
Plans call for the facility's ground floor to be used for retail; and there has been discussion of adding a central courtyard and a rooftop restaurant. The city will help the swap meet vendors operating in the building to find new quarters.
Lambert estimated that the total cost of the project would be between $20 million and $25 million. She said it is likely that a not-for-profit entity would be formed to assume ownership of the building or else lease it from CRA, which purchased the structure in 2008.
The project would be funded by "largely if not entirely public money," she said, and historic tax credits could be applied, given the building's landmark stature.
Millennium -- which, Lambert said, was chosen as the project's overall developer after a lengthy process of competitive application and soliciting community input -- has developed mixed-use properties, including apartment complexes, hotels and office space.
Neither Music Box nor Millennium representatives could be reached for comment.
Lambert said the theater's old proscenium stage will have to be rebuilt, and retractable seats will be installed. Reduced ticket prices for Culture Clash performances will be offered to area residents, she added.
Montoya said that having a permanent space would enable Culture Clash to extend its creative endeavors and share its resources and knowledge with emerging artists.
"At least turn the keys over to some young people and say, 'We're done, we're just over here if you need us, but here's the keys to the asylum.' "
reed.johnson@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Professors receive awards for Hispanic cultural contribution
Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez and Paul Espinosa, professors in ASU's Department of Transborder Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, are recipients of awards from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. The awards recognize energy, expertise and remarkable contributions to the Hispanic community.
Vélez-Ibáñez is the recipient of the Outstanding Support of Hispanic Issues in Higher Education Award. The award distinguishes someone who demonstrates exceptional accomplishment in the academic community and support of Hispanic issues.
Vélez-Ibáñez, who chairs the Department of Transborder Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, conducts transnational field research in two rural valleys in California and New Mexico and their sending communities in Mexico. His area of study focuses on applied anthropology, complex social organizations, culture and education, ethno-class relations in complex social systems, migration and adaptation of human populations, political ecology, qualitative methodology and urban anthropology. Vélez-Ibáñez has written five books, three of which are based in original field research.
Espinosa is the recipient of the Outstanding Latino/a Cultural Award in Fine or Performing Arts Award. The award recognizes Latinos/as who have contributed significantly to understanding of the Hispanic community and culture through a medium in the arts.
Espinosa is the winner of seven Emmy awards. He has written, directed and produced numerous dramatic and documentary films focused on the U.S.-Mexico border region. His work includes "Taco Shop Poets" (2002), "The Border" (1999), "... And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him" (1996) and "The Hunt for Pancho Villa" (1993).
Vélez-Ibáñez and Espinosa will be honored in March at the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education National Conference, "Raíces y Alas/Roots and Wings: A Mal Tiempo/Buena Cara."
The association each year honors people in six categories concerning the improvement of the conditions of Latinos/as pursuing a degree in higher education. The recipients are selected from open nominations by a subcommittee of the association.
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Sunday, November 08, 2009
Jesse Treviño's evolution shown at Museo Alameda in San Antonio
[Click photo to enlarge. Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Express-News.]
By Elda Silva - San Antonio Express-News
In a sense, Jesse Treviño became a Chicano artist in Vietnam.
Hit by the blast of a booby trap and a sniper's bullet, the 19-year-old Treviño lay bleeding in a rice paddy, his body peppered with shrapnel. A medic injected him with morphine, he recalls, and as the drug began to kick in, he reflected on his life.
"I was thinking about my mother, my brothers, the barrio where I grew up and all those images — 'I want to paint them'," says Treviño, 62. "That's what I was thinking: 'If there's any way I can come out of this alive, I'm going to paint those places and those people.' "
He did, of course, survive, but ultimately Treviño lost his right arm to his injuries. He was right-handed, and he had to work through physical pain and depression to train himself to paint with his left. More than 40 years later, Treviño can look back on a battlefield promise to himself fulfilled.
The artist, best-known for his photorealist paintings of the West Side and murals such as the nine-story "Spirit of Healing" downtown, is having his first retrospective. "Jesse Treviño: Mi Vida" opens Thursday at the Museo Alameda.
"A retrospective is something that when you work hard, there's something there at the end for you that makes it worthwhile," Treviño says.
Curated by Ruben C. Cordova, the exhibit takes viewers through what Treviño calls his "journey of art," from a painting he made as a Christmas gift for a teacher in 1957 to his 2008 homage to Earl Abel's diner. The evolution of Treviño's content and style become apparent along the way.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is "Mi Vida," a mural Treviño painted on his bedroom wall in the early 1970s. Never exhibited publicly before, it is the first painting he attempted after his right arm was amputated.
Not only is the retrospective the first for Treviño, it is also the first for the Museo Alameda, which celebrated its second anniversary in April. In a way, it is fitting that the artist and Smithsonian affiliate share the milestone, given that Treviño was instrumental in early efforts to create the Latino arts and culture museum. It's also fitting given the artist's stature in the community.
"I'd say he's the best-known artist in San Antonio," says Cordova, an art historian whose book "Con Safo: The Chicano Art Group and the Politics of South Texas" was recently published by UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press. "Is there anybody else that you would even say is nearly as well known as he is?"
A convincing argument can be made on the basis of Treviño's mural work alone. Across Milam Park from the Museo Alameda, "Spirit of Healing" towers high above the trees on the faÁade of the Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital. Since it was completed in 1997, the ceramic tile mural of a guardian angel comforting a child has become one of the city's best known landmarks. On the West Side, a few blocks from where Treviño lives, his "Our Lady of Guadalupe Veladora" sculptural mosaic adorns the Guadalupe Theater.
"My whole career as an artist is in terms of what kind of things I can do here in San Antonio to make it a much more beautiful place," Treviño says.
Even though Treviño's work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Art and included in catalogs for high-profile traveling exhibits such as collector Cheech Marin's "Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge," the artist remains relatively unknown outside of his hometown, Cordova says.
"I hope we'll have a catalog or at least a book at some point, because I think that's what's really going to be necessary for Jesse to enter into art history," he says. "I think one of the problems is that even when his work has appeared in catalogs . . . (it hasn't been) discussed at all; that there isn't really an art historical literature, but that is the norm for Chicano artists."
Treviño's artistic legacy has also been, at times, overshadowed by his dramatic life story, Cordova says. With this retrospective, he's hoping to change that.
When Treviño was a student at Fox Tech High School, he won a scholarship to the Art Students League in New York. There, he studied with William F. Draper, a portrait painter and former combat artist. From Draper, Treviño learned to paint in broad, loose strokes, using patches of color to compose instead of outlines, Cordova says.
To earn money while going to school, Treviño got a job at a Greenwich Village portrait shop, earning up to $200 a night. Among the works from Treviño's New York period, the exhibit includes a portrait of Ringo Starr he made to attract customers. There's a look of concentration in Starr's eyes, and his lips are slightly parted as if caught mid-sentence. The musician's portrait is one of the examples of pop culture and Americana in the show.
"I wanted to not simply look at (Treviño's work) through a Chicano lens, taking everything else out," Cordova says. "He's part of the American experience. The Chicano identity didn't come up until subsequently."
Treviño was happy in New York. But he had only been there a year when he was drafted into the army.
"I just had enough time to go from New York to San Antonio to see my mom, and then I went into training for Vietnam," he says.
Treviño arrived in Vietnam in December 1966. About two months later, he was wounded.
"When I got out, I didn't get out the same," he says. "What happened to me, I felt had ruined — completely taken — my career as an artist."
While Treviño was recuperating, fellow veteran Armando Albarran persuaded him to try drawing and painting with his left hand. The artist resisted at first but ultimately relented. A portrait of Albarran is included in the exhibit.
In spite of some initial success, Treviño didn't believe he could become a professional artist. He enrolled at San Antonio College to become a teacher. One of his instructors was artist Mel Casas, known for his "Humanscape" paintings such as "Brownies of the Southwest."
While Draper is the teacher that is usually referenced in regard to Treviño, "he took nothing from the way of painting" he learned in New York when he came back to San Antonio," Cordova says. "He was painting in a very painterly style, kind of like John Singer Sargent, so it's the antithesis of what he's known for. I think it was an interesting experience, but I think it's really Mel Casas that made him an artist."
Casas, however, doesn't necessarily see it that way.
"Oh, I don't know about that," says the artist, 79. "I was one of the teachers. That's about it. One thing I'll say though, I think (the retrospective) is an honor that he should have had a long time ago. He's a very talented artist."
Treviño made the pop surrealist painting "Zapata" in 1969 for one of Casas' class assignments. The piece, painted with spray paint, combines images of the revolutionary leader, a Spiro Agnew watch and a food stamp coupon.
"It looks like a painting that could be done today," Cordova says.
Cordova also sees Casas' influence in "Mi Vida." Painted on a black background, like Casas' "Humanscapes," it is pop surrealist meditation on Treviño's life. At the center of the 8-by-14-foot mural is a Purple Heart dangling from a prosthetic hand. Other images surface from the inky depths of the painting: a spectral self-portrait of the artist in combat gear; the face of a young woman Treviño knew in high school; the Ford Mustang he purchased with his disability pay; a capsule of the painkiller Darvocet. Treviño painted it over the course of a year.
"That was one of my first pieces — which wasn't bad — I did with my left hand ," he says. "I remember that as almost the beginning of my whole career."
"I think what's most amazing to me is how strong his works were immediately after losing his arm," Cordova says. "The paintings he did in the very late '60s and early '70s, they're pretty astonishing. I'm maybe most amazed by those because I would just assume that he'd need a long time to retrain. But it's just like he reloaded and came right out and painted better than ever."
With "Los Camaradas del Barrio," a portrait of a group of friends leaning against a '57 Chevy, Treviño began moving toward his signature photorealist style, Cordova says. These are the paintings that Treviño is known for, works such as "Guadalupe y Calaveras," "Mis Hermanos," and "Progreso" that show the people and places of the West Side.
"There isn't a bad painting he did in the '70s," Cordova says.
By the early '80s, however, Treviño had begun to move away from that type of hyper-realism. Paintings such as "Rosita," his portrait of legendary singer Rosita Fernandez from 2006, show looser, more painterly touches. In the painting, Fernandez stands on the River Walk at night. The strings of Christmas lights that hang from the trees behind her are haloed by soft blurs of color. Cordova points out the singer's jewelry and the details of her dress are rendered in thick daubs of paint.
Though Treviño continues to paint on canvas, his focus in recent years has been on public art.
"The public pieces, you don't have to go inside a building to see (them)," he says. "They're part of the landscape."
Currently, he is working on a Hispanic Veterans Memorial he designed with Gabriel Quintero Velasquez. Plans are to install the 130-foot steel sculpture on an island in the middle of Lake Elmendorf on the West Side. Treviño imagines it as a place where families will gather on holidays such as Veterans Day and the Mexican celebration of DÌa de los Muertos to honor family members.
"I'm always trying in some way to do things that bring honor to the veteran, because I'm a veteran," he says.
Treviño doesn't often talk about his experience in Vietnam, though he says it's impossible to separate what happened to him in the war and his art.
"Sometimes I look back and I think, 'Wow! How did I get that done?' Because I've done so much more now — this way — then when I had my right hand," he says. "And it all started with those paintings that I had run across my mind."
"Jesse Treviño: Mi Vida" continues through Feb. 28 at Museo Alameda, 101 S. Santa Rosa Ave. (210) 229-4300 or www.thealameda.org.
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California cuts clip classes, futures
[Click photo to enlarge. Photo by Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer/LA Daily News]
Some of the 250 Los Angeles Vallege college students respond to a speakers question during a noon time campus rally on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, about growing concerns over the budget crisis. (Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer/LA Daily News)
Hammered by state budget cuts, Los Angeles community colleges are being forced to jettison up to one-third of their classes this year even as campuses swell with laid-off workers from the recession.
Despite some $2.2 billion in voter-approved construction and modernization projects, the nine campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District must cut hundreds of classes this spring.
The reductions mean students must wait longer to get the classes they need in order to graduate from the two-year community colleges or transfer to a four-year school.
"It bites," Ryan Grella, 19, of Sylmar, a chemistry major at Valley College who couldn't get his required courses, said during a demonstration held this week to protest the state budget cuts. "I could have been applying for transfers right now.
"Instead, I'm stuck here another year."
Faced with a $48 million cut in state funding, the LACCD was forced to scrap half of its summer classes and up to 9 percent of its offerings in the fall. Winter inter-session courses are also expected to be cut by half or eliminated altogether.
But the major impact may be this spring, when classes will likely vanish by the hundreds, leaving thousands more students — and instructors — in the lurch.
"It's a nightmare, an absolute budgetary nightmare," said Art Gillis, director of the Program for Accelerated College Education at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. "Spring is one thing, but our big worry is what other classes will be cut in the next 12 months.
"We cannot fulfill our mission — to educate everyone who applies."
What worries college administrators are the thousands of students slated to be turned away by four-year universities.
California State University Northridge, which also has fewer and larger classes this year because of a $41 million budget reduction, plans to shed 2,800 students next year.
Those students are expected to line up at community colleges already ballooning from a record number of students — many of them older students laid off during the recession — seeking job training, certificates or degrees.
This year saw a nearly 5 percent rise in enrollment in community colleges across the state, including campuses throughout Los Angeles, where the average class size has swelled to 40 students.
Enrollment could have jumped
But if the college classes hadn't been eliminated, local administrators say enrollment would have jumped by 10 percent instead.
"We're maximizing all available space in the classrooms," said Tyree Wieder, interim chancellor for the Los Angeles Community College District and the former president of Valley College. "We're all suffering reduction in services. We're told in the next two years, we may see some turnaround, but we don't know for sure."
"We're all working together to weather the storm."
As community college campuses grow - with fuller classes in new buildings made possible by $6 billion in taxpayer-approved bonds — their services to students will be fewer.
That means less access to faculty and counselors. Fewer campus services. Higher student fees. More crowded classrooms. And more student hurdles getting the classes they need to graduate.
"The people in the San Fernando Valley have all benefited from having a quality higher education system," said Patrick McCallum, a legislative advocate for the California Community College District. "And we are now dismantling what made California great."
This spring, community colleges across the Valley will offer 5 percent to 10 percent fewer classes than a year earlier. Mission College in Sylmar will cut 51 class sections, Valley College in Valley Glen will cut 160 sections and Pierce College in Woodland Hills will cut another 225.
Administrators say they are trying to preserve core courses required for student graduations or university transfers.
"We're taking a really hard hit," said Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, vice president of academic affairs at Pierce College, which has reduced course offerings by 17 percent. "We're trying to minimize the damage.
"The idea is to concentrate on what students need."
At Mission College, administrators are cutting its five-week winter session of 66 classes. The classes are among nearly 200 class sections eliminated this year.
"Those specific classes for the completion of a degree, or a transfer to another university, may not be available," Alma Johnson-Hawkins, its vice president of academic affairs, said. "It's a struggle."
At Valley College, class sections are being whittled 30 percent this year because of a $7 million cut to its budget. But while last year's classes packed 34 students, this year's now push 40.
"I'm looking into my crystal ball and seeing more people losing their homes, more people losing their jobs, more people who are coming to us for opportunities to learn - and they're not here, because California has cut the budget," Sandra Mayo, its vice president of academic affairs, said.
"The money is not there. We still need to serve the people. I don't know what to do."
Protesting the budget squeeze
On the Valley College quad this week, about 250 students held a town hall meeting. Wielding such banners as "Bail us out," and "Why us?", they protested the budget squeeze on services.
Students complained that during the 1980s, 17 percent of state money was spent on higher education and 3 percent on prison. Today, it's 9 percent to universities and 10 percent on convicts.
Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, was expected to answer questions but didn't show after an all-night legislative session.
Students said they felt trapped, their dreams of graduating put on hold.
Nancy Pineda has studied at Valley College two years and had hoped to transfer to the University of California, majoring in Chicano studies and French.
But the political science class she needed to take this summer was canceled, and an English class this semester was full.
"I'm very worried," said Pineda, 19, of North Hollywood, the only member of her family to attend college. "I'm at my last year at Valley College. I need five classes to transfer out.
"If I don't finish the classes in the spring, the University of California won't take me."
Mission College
Enrollment: 10,000
Spring semester classes cut: 51
School-year classes cut: 15 percent
Pierce College
Enrollment: 24,000
Spring semester classes cut: 225
School-year classes cut: 17 percent
Valley College
Enrollment: 20,000
Spring semester classes cut: 160
School-year classes cut: 30 percent
Article courtesy of the LA Daily News
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Friday, November 06, 2009
Off target
A new show at the Colorado Springs, Colorado Sangre de Cristo Arts Center unveils the importance of fact-checking ... or not
by Edie Adelstein
Maria Lopez's upcoming exhibit at the Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center features colorful, abstract works depicting Christian scenes. But the most eye-catching aspect of the Pueblo artist's self-titled show came within a press release.
"Her works," the Sangre wrote of Lopez, "are currently in the art collections of celebrities such as: Barack Obama, Dane Cook, Cheech Marin, George Lopez, Carlos Mencia, Chris Rock, David Letterman, Martha Stewart, Conan O'Brein [sic], Wanda Sykes, Tracy Morgan, John Leguizamo and others."
Sure enough, Lopez's Web site, lopezme.com, listed more than 20 celebrities who have one of her works in their "estate collections," and recently, the Pueblo Chieftain published an article that mentioned some of those names.
Asked her secret, Lopez happily shares: She goes to concerts, stand-up shows and other public appearances — and gives the works to famous people's handlers and representatives. She admits she doesn't know whether any of her works actually make it into celebrities' homes at all.
The Indy contacted several celebrity representatives about Lopez's paintings. While most inquiries were not returned, Melissa Richardson Banks, a representative of Cheech Marin, says she has no record of Lopez's work, despite Marin being an avid collector of Chicano art.
"I manage the collection, and I don't know who she is," says Banks, who adds that she'll ask Lopez to remove Marin's mention from her site.
A representative from Martha Stewart's publicity firm didn't know where to begin to look, but shares Banks' view that Lopez's paintings were probably classified as simple fan gifts, which generally reside well outside of estate collections.
When asked about the discrepancies, Lopez says she didn't know that her self-promotion — which she sees as both business plan and fan hobby — might have been seen as misleading.
Slim standard
At best, Lopez may be faulted for aggressive idealism or reckless naïveté. Either way, her claims didn't set off alarms at the Sangre.
Its curator of visual arts, Karin Larkin, approved Lopez's works hanging in the museum. She says she did not fact-check Lopez's credentials, and in fact is unapologetic about it. (Disclosure: Larkin is an ex-professor of mine.)
"Basically, we print the information that she gives us," says Larkin, adding, "To be quite honest, whose collections she's in doesn't really factor into my decision as to whether or not I display her. And the information that goes out into the press releases, I don't necessarily put together."
Plus, Larkin adds, "She's a foyer show. It's not like one of the big galleries that we're putting together."
Sangre's marketing specialist Nicki Hart, who assembled the press release, says taking information straight from the artist is good enough: "I take it in good faith that that information coming from the source is correct."
If that sounds strange, what's stranger is that few people in the arts sector seem bothered by it.
Dewey Blanton, an American Association of Museums media representative, says that in public relations, doing background research is a given, even if there's no standard for fact-checking exhibit information. And yet minutes later, Blanton calls back to confess that if he himself were an overextended, underpaid employee in a "small museum," he may be apt to overlook such things.
Kimberley Sherwood, a board member for the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and a local nonprofit consultant, puts it this way: "I think there's a lot of room for innocent mistakes ... when we have fairly slim resources and people wearing many hats doing lots of different kinds of tasks ... there's a lot of room for understanding.
"I don't know that there's anything really there," says Sherwood of the situation, "other than perhaps a slim staff working hard to get their programming schedule out there so that they can encourage people to come and look at cool art."
In nearly a half-dozen calls, no one was willing to comment on the record about any dangers inherent to the Sangre's sloppiness.
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center curator Tariana Navas-Nieves is careful to say that all institutions are different, but that FAC releases and gallery text are fact-checked.
"I would say that every museum has their own processes on selecting artists to exhibit, or art into their collection," she says. "And obviously all museums generally fact-check the information, the biographical and support information for each artist."
Official approval
The irony here? Lopez probably doesn't need to embellish her biography. Recently, Lopez submitted a group of works to Navas-Nieves for consideration to become part of the FAC's permanent collection as a gift. And Lopez's art was accepted, receiving Navas-Nieves' formal recommendation as well as museum committee approval.
"My presentation of the works has to do with the works," says Navas-Nieves. "In her case, I found interesting how she takes religious subject matter and gives it kind of a modern take. ... So my selection of those works was based on that."
Meanwhile, at the Sangre, Hart says the staff is working on a plan for future situations like this one, but is not yet giving specifics. As of press time, Sangre had not released any clarification or statement. However, Lopez has changed her Web site, writing now that celebrities' paintings "were gifted."
— edie@csindy.com
by Edie Adelstein
Maria Lopez's upcoming exhibit at the Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center features colorful, abstract works depicting Christian scenes. But the most eye-catching aspect of the Pueblo artist's self-titled show came within a press release.
"Her works," the Sangre wrote of Lopez, "are currently in the art collections of celebrities such as: Barack Obama, Dane Cook, Cheech Marin, George Lopez, Carlos Mencia, Chris Rock, David Letterman, Martha Stewart, Conan O'Brein [sic], Wanda Sykes, Tracy Morgan, John Leguizamo and others."
Sure enough, Lopez's Web site, lopezme.com, listed more than 20 celebrities who have one of her works in their "estate collections," and recently, the Pueblo Chieftain published an article that mentioned some of those names.
Asked her secret, Lopez happily shares: She goes to concerts, stand-up shows and other public appearances — and gives the works to famous people's handlers and representatives. She admits she doesn't know whether any of her works actually make it into celebrities' homes at all.
The Indy contacted several celebrity representatives about Lopez's paintings. While most inquiries were not returned, Melissa Richardson Banks, a representative of Cheech Marin, says she has no record of Lopez's work, despite Marin being an avid collector of Chicano art.
"I manage the collection, and I don't know who she is," says Banks, who adds that she'll ask Lopez to remove Marin's mention from her site.
A representative from Martha Stewart's publicity firm didn't know where to begin to look, but shares Banks' view that Lopez's paintings were probably classified as simple fan gifts, which generally reside well outside of estate collections.
When asked about the discrepancies, Lopez says she didn't know that her self-promotion — which she sees as both business plan and fan hobby — might have been seen as misleading.
Slim standard
At best, Lopez may be faulted for aggressive idealism or reckless naïveté. Either way, her claims didn't set off alarms at the Sangre.
Its curator of visual arts, Karin Larkin, approved Lopez's works hanging in the museum. She says she did not fact-check Lopez's credentials, and in fact is unapologetic about it. (Disclosure: Larkin is an ex-professor of mine.)
"Basically, we print the information that she gives us," says Larkin, adding, "To be quite honest, whose collections she's in doesn't really factor into my decision as to whether or not I display her. And the information that goes out into the press releases, I don't necessarily put together."
Plus, Larkin adds, "She's a foyer show. It's not like one of the big galleries that we're putting together."
Sangre's marketing specialist Nicki Hart, who assembled the press release, says taking information straight from the artist is good enough: "I take it in good faith that that information coming from the source is correct."
If that sounds strange, what's stranger is that few people in the arts sector seem bothered by it.
Dewey Blanton, an American Association of Museums media representative, says that in public relations, doing background research is a given, even if there's no standard for fact-checking exhibit information. And yet minutes later, Blanton calls back to confess that if he himself were an overextended, underpaid employee in a "small museum," he may be apt to overlook such things.
Kimberley Sherwood, a board member for the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and a local nonprofit consultant, puts it this way: "I think there's a lot of room for innocent mistakes ... when we have fairly slim resources and people wearing many hats doing lots of different kinds of tasks ... there's a lot of room for understanding.
"I don't know that there's anything really there," says Sherwood of the situation, "other than perhaps a slim staff working hard to get their programming schedule out there so that they can encourage people to come and look at cool art."
In nearly a half-dozen calls, no one was willing to comment on the record about any dangers inherent to the Sangre's sloppiness.
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center curator Tariana Navas-Nieves is careful to say that all institutions are different, but that FAC releases and gallery text are fact-checked.
"I would say that every museum has their own processes on selecting artists to exhibit, or art into their collection," she says. "And obviously all museums generally fact-check the information, the biographical and support information for each artist."
Official approval
The irony here? Lopez probably doesn't need to embellish her biography. Recently, Lopez submitted a group of works to Navas-Nieves for consideration to become part of the FAC's permanent collection as a gift. And Lopez's art was accepted, receiving Navas-Nieves' formal recommendation as well as museum committee approval.
"My presentation of the works has to do with the works," says Navas-Nieves. "In her case, I found interesting how she takes religious subject matter and gives it kind of a modern take. ... So my selection of those works was based on that."
Meanwhile, at the Sangre, Hart says the staff is working on a plan for future situations like this one, but is not yet giving specifics. As of press time, Sangre had not released any clarification or statement. However, Lopez has changed her Web site, writing now that celebrities' paintings "were gifted."
— edie@csindy.com
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Photography Studio Flash Choice
[Click photo of Profoto D1 Air kit to enlarge]
Recently I have been researching various brands of portable studio strobes for purchase. I need something that is rugged and easily transportable from location to location. The units I've been looking at vary in price from $99 to thousands.
I need a strobe that gives me plenty of bang for my buck. Here is what I am looking for; repeatable color temperature, high quality build, radio and/or light synchronization, low weight, medium power output, fast recycle time, quality accessories and of course a great price. In the past I have used Norman, Speedotron and Broncolor units. All of these brands are excellent for professional work.
There are some very affordable brands offered online by companies like Adorama. Adorama has been around for decades and sell the complete range of photographic equipment and supplies. The Adorama $99 Flashpoint system with free shipping and no tax is a great example of an affordable studio light.
What stops me and others from purchasing a Flashpoint strobe is that you can't examine them before purchasing. You have to be content looking at the website, pictures and specifications before you purchase. In the end, if the product doesn't make the grade, you have to ship them back. Yes, you will have to find the receipt, repackage the product, go to the post office and sadly pay for return shipping. Such is life in the Internet age. By the way, do you know what age is next?
One brand that really impresses me is Profoto. Along with being fully digital and a rental house workhorse, the Profoto D1 Air system allows you to trigger your flash from as far as 1,000 feet. Yes, the fact they are also a status symbol hasn't diminished their value in my eyes. These Swiss made gems can make any studio photographer more productive.
If you enter a budget studio you may find cheap brands like White Lightning or Alien Bees. Yes, they work okay. I am considering Alien Bees as an affordable option.
Middle of the row brands include Calumet Travelite and Photoflex Starflash. Low-power two-light kits from these manufacturers are in the $800 to $1,300 price range. I have had my grimy little fingers on these flash units and they are well made. In the end (they say) you get what you pay for, but with the advent of affordable Chinese labor, new products can now be offered at a much lower price without sacrificing too much quality. What is your budget?
One brand that really impresses me is Profoto. Along with being fully digital and a rental house workhorse, the Profoto D1 Air system allows you to trigger your flash from as far as 1,000 feet. Yes, the fact they are also a status symbol hasn't diminished their value in my eyes. These Swiss made gems can make any studio photographer more productive.
If you enter a budget studio you may find cheap brands like White Lightning or Alien Bees. Yes, they work okay. I am considering Alien Bees as an affordable option.
Higher-end studios usually can afford (see tax write off) Profoto and Broncolor. These reliable and accurate brands are designed for professional photographer’s with plenty of commercial clients. Only a busy pro can rationalize spending thousands on these workhorses.
Middle of the row brands include Calumet Travelite and Photoflex Starflash. Low-power two-light kits from these manufacturers are in the $800 to $1,300 price range. I have had my grimy little fingers on these flash units and they are well made. In the end (they say) you get what you pay for, but with the advent of affordable Chinese labor, new products can now be offered at a much lower price without sacrificing too much quality. What is your budget?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
UFW Photographer George E. Ballis Fights Cancer
George Elfie Ballis has been dealing with jaundice from a blocked liver and gall bladder from pancreatic cancer the past month and a half and may not live much longer.
MAIA’s REQUEST
Please do not call here to ask questions, express love or sympathy as we need to focus on caring for George. E-mails are preferable.
If you are in the Bay Area, please let us know if you are available to help Maia get back and forth from Oakland (Montclair district) at her sister’s home to the Veteran’s Hospital in SF in the AM and home in the PM Mon. and Tues. Oakland phone: 510-339-3587
For those of you who want more details:
He just learned his prostate cancer was in remission in early September. A few weeks later he had severe jaundice. We thought is was a stone, but it was cancer. Things are happening quickly. They tried in Fresno VA unsuccessfully then successfully at SF Veteran’s Hospital to place a tube (stent)t in his common bile duct,
He has lost weight and is a lovely fluorescent yellow. He is feeling weak, tired and disoriented from liver toxicity. He is not in pain, but his skin itches badly and that keeps him awake at night. Yesterday he was very lucid and stronger than he has been since his release from San Francisco VA a week ago. We had some concerns about his platelet count being very low.
History:
The Fresno VA found and tried an endoscope-down-the-throat procedure to remove a blockage that they suspected was cancer in the pancreas blocking his common bile duct; but sent him to SF VA the following week for their superior equipment.
I took him to the San Francisco VA Emergency when his symptoms got worse. He had a procedure there the next day where the docs placed a tube through his blocked common bile duct (for gall bladder and liver) to open it to his intestine. His CT scan showed he still has large deposits of bilirubin in his liver, but it had a place to exit for 2 days. When he was released 4 days late, we got a flat driving home on I5. We ended up having the tow truck drive us home. The 5 hour trip lasted 8 ½ hours and we got home in the dark. He was feeling badly 2 days after they placed the stent and his bilirubin count went down 1 point from 31 to 30. This week bilirubin was up to 36. Normal is 1, so it indicates the duct Is clogged again for some reason - either the bilirubin is very dirty, or the stent got pressed by pancreatic cancer. So his continued liver toxicity is causing brain fog, disorientation and weakness.
During the MRI diagnostics, they found a mass in his pancreas and a small mass in his liver. We just got a PET scan (will pinpoint all his cancer) but do not have the results. We will then know if has spread to his liver.
We leave for Oakland today, he is in SF VA tomorrow AM and the procedure to place a stronger metal stent is Mon., which will allow his bilirubin levels to go down if it works. That may return his brain function and allow him a possible 3 months of life.
Smiling Seriously,
Maia Ballis for George Elfie Ballis
SunMt
559.855.3710
Box 314
Prather, CA 93651
Information from a Daniel del Solar email
-30-
MAIA’s REQUEST
Please do not call here to ask questions, express love or sympathy as we need to focus on caring for George. E-mails are preferable.
If you are in the Bay Area, please let us know if you are available to help Maia get back and forth from Oakland (Montclair district) at her sister’s home to the Veteran’s Hospital in SF in the AM and home in the PM Mon. and Tues. Oakland phone: 510-339-3587
For those of you who want more details:
He just learned his prostate cancer was in remission in early September. A few weeks later he had severe jaundice. We thought is was a stone, but it was cancer. Things are happening quickly. They tried in Fresno VA unsuccessfully then successfully at SF Veteran’s Hospital to place a tube (stent)t in his common bile duct,
He has lost weight and is a lovely fluorescent yellow. He is feeling weak, tired and disoriented from liver toxicity. He is not in pain, but his skin itches badly and that keeps him awake at night. Yesterday he was very lucid and stronger than he has been since his release from San Francisco VA a week ago. We had some concerns about his platelet count being very low.
History:
The Fresno VA found and tried an endoscope-down-the-throat procedure to remove a blockage that they suspected was cancer in the pancreas blocking his common bile duct; but sent him to SF VA the following week for their superior equipment.
I took him to the San Francisco VA Emergency when his symptoms got worse. He had a procedure there the next day where the docs placed a tube through his blocked common bile duct (for gall bladder and liver) to open it to his intestine. His CT scan showed he still has large deposits of bilirubin in his liver, but it had a place to exit for 2 days. When he was released 4 days late, we got a flat driving home on I5. We ended up having the tow truck drive us home. The 5 hour trip lasted 8 ½ hours and we got home in the dark. He was feeling badly 2 days after they placed the stent and his bilirubin count went down 1 point from 31 to 30. This week bilirubin was up to 36. Normal is 1, so it indicates the duct Is clogged again for some reason - either the bilirubin is very dirty, or the stent got pressed by pancreatic cancer. So his continued liver toxicity is causing brain fog, disorientation and weakness.
During the MRI diagnostics, they found a mass in his pancreas and a small mass in his liver. We just got a PET scan (will pinpoint all his cancer) but do not have the results. We will then know if has spread to his liver.
We leave for Oakland today, he is in SF VA tomorrow AM and the procedure to place a stronger metal stent is Mon., which will allow his bilirubin levels to go down if it works. That may return his brain function and allow him a possible 3 months of life.
Smiling Seriously,
Maia Ballis for George Elfie Ballis
SunMt
559.855.3710
Box 314
Prather, CA 93651
Information from a Daniel del Solar email
-30-
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Steve Anchell's Route 66 Photography Exhibition
Photo and text copyright 2009
Jesús Manuel Mena Garza.
All rights reserved.]
Wearing a Leica M7 named “Sonny” around his neck, Steven Anchell strolled into the Gallery at the Creative Center for Photography in Los Angeles for the opening of his exhibition titled, Route 66. The photographer and author, noticeably late, was cordial and available to discuss his work with the modest gathering. Anchell is a photographer with an international reputation. He leads numerous photography workshops including one scheduled for Cuba in 2010. He is the author of several books on photography including The Darkroom Cookbook. His portfolios include; documentary, landscape, food, fine art, commercial and architectural photography.
The exhibition consisted of forty black and white photographs typical of documentary photography. Documentary photography is a couple steps removed from family snapshots taken with a Kodak Brownie, but those steps are crucial and hard-fought. They allow his work to ascend into the realm of fine art.
A fine art photographer needs a keen eye, an advanced sense of composition and mastery over current technology. Anchell is facile in both digital and analog photography. Anchell, as his publication credits indicate, has mastered the darkroom. The 57-year-old photographer noted, “My favorite developer is D76H. I make it from scratch. It is much better than the stuff that is already prepared.” Having feet firmly planted in both camps is typical of photographers of his generation.
In this series, the photographer used a variety of film formats to capture his images. They included 6x7 roll film, 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 inch sheet film. The photographer said, “Though I use both, I prefer film over digital. Film is more personal.” He added, “The photographs for this series were taken over several years. Sometimes I would go out for a couple weeks, sometimes a month, to take pictures.”
The 16x20 inch silver gelatin prints explore the remnants of Route 66, the iconic American highway as it meanders from Chicago to Santa Monica. Shot under natural light, the auteur has captured retro diners, vintage cars and quaint restaurants. Witnessing the state of decay of the infrastructure within various communities was paramount in this production. Roland Barthes, in his classic essay, Rhetoric of the Image explains, “What we have is a new space-time category: spatial immediacy and temporal anteriority, the photograph being an illogical conjuction between here-now and the there-then.”
In Sting Spot of the West, New Mexico, Anchell captures a dusty car from the forties parked for what seems decades in front of an Indian trading post. This image illustrates excellent gradation of tones limited only by the variable contrast Ilford paper. If the negative were printed on a graded fiber based paper like Ilfobrom Galerie, the final product would have been improved. I feel his paper choice was one of convenience.
Another print that I found compelling was Wigwams, Rialto California. The quirky faux Plains Indian residences were definitely out of place and kitsch. A small pathway leads the eye towards the three pyramid-shaped dwellings. The closest tipi was darker offering a contrast to the brighter row of tipis arcing gracefully behind.
The exhibition consisted of forty black and white photographs typical of documentary photography. Documentary photography is a couple steps removed from family snapshots taken with a Kodak Brownie, but those steps are crucial and hard-fought. They allow his work to ascend into the realm of fine art.
A fine art photographer needs a keen eye, an advanced sense of composition and mastery over current technology. Anchell is facile in both digital and analog photography. Anchell, as his publication credits indicate, has mastered the darkroom. The 57-year-old photographer noted, “My favorite developer is D76H. I make it from scratch. It is much better than the stuff that is already prepared.” Having feet firmly planted in both camps is typical of photographers of his generation.
In this series, the photographer used a variety of film formats to capture his images. They included 6x7 roll film, 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 inch sheet film. The photographer said, “Though I use both, I prefer film over digital. Film is more personal.” He added, “The photographs for this series were taken over several years. Sometimes I would go out for a couple weeks, sometimes a month, to take pictures.”
The 16x20 inch silver gelatin prints explore the remnants of Route 66, the iconic American highway as it meanders from Chicago to Santa Monica. Shot under natural light, the auteur has captured retro diners, vintage cars and quaint restaurants. Witnessing the state of decay of the infrastructure within various communities was paramount in this production. Roland Barthes, in his classic essay, Rhetoric of the Image explains, “What we have is a new space-time category: spatial immediacy and temporal anteriority, the photograph being an illogical conjuction between here-now and the there-then.”
In Sting Spot of the West, New Mexico, Anchell captures a dusty car from the forties parked for what seems decades in front of an Indian trading post. This image illustrates excellent gradation of tones limited only by the variable contrast Ilford paper. If the negative were printed on a graded fiber based paper like Ilfobrom Galerie, the final product would have been improved. I feel his paper choice was one of convenience.
Another print that I found compelling was Wigwams, Rialto California. The quirky faux Plains Indian residences were definitely out of place and kitsch. A small pathway leads the eye towards the three pyramid-shaped dwellings. The closest tipi was darker offering a contrast to the brighter row of tipis arcing gracefully behind.
The fact that the images were not framed in a traditional manner but simply nail mounted by the staff of Freestyle Photographic Supplies limited the aesthetics of the exhibition. The use of Plexiglas sheets also caused annoying glare to interfere with viewership. Overall the show was well produced, though poorly attended. I counted only a dozen people that were not staff at the event. The silver gelatin prints were for sale at $650 each. Other sizes were available starting at 8x10 inch prints mounted on 14x18 inch, 4-ply museum board for $224. Additionally, digital prints mounted on a similar board were being offered at a lower price.
Having exhibited my documentary photographs at venues across the nation, I find a certain kinship with his work. Anchell, like me, apparently enjoys capturing the subtle textures and cultural symbols that mark a fading American landscape. With the encroachment of cheap foreign products, the epoch of the Pontiac and tipi are fading, only to be captured as mementos by adventurous documentary photographers.
Derrick Price, referring to Martha Rosler, an influential Rutgers University author and artist states,
The photographs from the Route 66 series could be retroactively published in Life or Look magazines. These two magazines were popular in the mid-20th century and were filled with lavish photographic essays. They consistently presented the documentary works of talented photographers ranging from Margaret Bourke-White to W. Eugene Smith to Robert Capa. Anchell is of a generation that would have been exposed to these magazines. They may have influenced his work. These coffee table staples have long disappeared like the malt shops on Route 66. Their remnants or facsimiles are now only accessible as curiosities.
The role played by Anchell and other documentary photographers is comparable to that of a hunter. Their goal is to travel to an exotic or even banal location and “shoot” their quarry. They return home triumphant with the desiccated representation and proudly nail it to the wall. In the city or ‘burbs, far removed from the original context of the image, locals leer at the circumstances presented in two-dimensions. The photographer’s purpose is to entertain a largely disconnected audience with great stories and brilliant images, all claiming a parallel reality. The “show” is the successful culumnation of a long and tedious photographic odyssey. In her essay in Public Information Desire, Disaster, Document, Abigail Solomon-Godeau wrote, “There is a risk that irrespective of the photographer’s intentions the subject becomes an object and spectacle.”
Anchell’s Route 66 exhibition does not explore more explicit forms of documentary photography popular today. In the genre, the presentation of the image of a starving African or Asian against a sterile museum wall is typical. The juxtaposition and its effect on viewership are intentional and profitable. Eminent photography historian Naomi Rosenblum wrote, “Efforts to focus on ‘real life’ with all its grittiness, as opposed to the idealized world visible in print ads and on television, increased the voyeuristic tendencies that had always been inherent in photography.” As potential photographic subjects, at what point does our reality transition to grittiness and becomes condescending?
We are bombarded by information everyday. Photographers have been given a unique opporuntity, a chance to explore the corners of a groundglass and gain intimate knowledge of a select subject. For an instant in time a photographer can ignore the harrassing confusion surrounding them and focus on a scene others may have dismissed.
The process of photographic production, especially documentary photography, is an opportunity to inject yourself into disucussions about our transitioning world. According to Minor White, in Susan Sontog’s seminal book, On Photography, “the photographer projects himself [herself] with everything in order to know it and feel it better.”
Some may find the decaying infrastructure photographed in Route 66 not worthy of exhibition. While others would relish the opportunity to capture a scene headed towards oblivion, to witness and preserve it for future generations. A great documentary photographer can facilitate the transfer of valuble information from one generation to another. The photographs in this show have given me additional impetus to continue taking pictures in my sphere and to expand my role as messenger and voyeur.
Having exhibited my documentary photographs at venues across the nation, I find a certain kinship with his work. Anchell, like me, apparently enjoys capturing the subtle textures and cultural symbols that mark a fading American landscape. With the encroachment of cheap foreign products, the epoch of the Pontiac and tipi are fading, only to be captured as mementos by adventurous documentary photographers.
Derrick Price, referring to Martha Rosler, an influential Rutgers University author and artist states,
“to understand it [documentary photography] we need look at history, and she characterizes documentary as a ‘practice with a past’. A past, we might add, which, despite changing technologies, practices and fashions, was always concerned to claim for documentary a special relationship to real life and a singular status with regard to notion of truth and authenticity.”In the digital age, the photograph is subject to artistic compliance. Can a documentary photographer capture “real life or truth”? This “claim” is invariably tainted by subjective analysis and invariably exposed in production. Yes, documentary is not as contrived as studio photography and there can be an “authentic” and “special relationship.”
The photographs from the Route 66 series could be retroactively published in Life or Look magazines. These two magazines were popular in the mid-20th century and were filled with lavish photographic essays. They consistently presented the documentary works of talented photographers ranging from Margaret Bourke-White to W. Eugene Smith to Robert Capa. Anchell is of a generation that would have been exposed to these magazines. They may have influenced his work. These coffee table staples have long disappeared like the malt shops on Route 66. Their remnants or facsimiles are now only accessible as curiosities.
The role played by Anchell and other documentary photographers is comparable to that of a hunter. Their goal is to travel to an exotic or even banal location and “shoot” their quarry. They return home triumphant with the desiccated representation and proudly nail it to the wall. In the city or ‘burbs, far removed from the original context of the image, locals leer at the circumstances presented in two-dimensions. The photographer’s purpose is to entertain a largely disconnected audience with great stories and brilliant images, all claiming a parallel reality. The “show” is the successful culumnation of a long and tedious photographic odyssey. In her essay in Public Information Desire, Disaster, Document, Abigail Solomon-Godeau wrote, “There is a risk that irrespective of the photographer’s intentions the subject becomes an object and spectacle.”
Anchell’s Route 66 exhibition does not explore more explicit forms of documentary photography popular today. In the genre, the presentation of the image of a starving African or Asian against a sterile museum wall is typical. The juxtaposition and its effect on viewership are intentional and profitable. Eminent photography historian Naomi Rosenblum wrote, “Efforts to focus on ‘real life’ with all its grittiness, as opposed to the idealized world visible in print ads and on television, increased the voyeuristic tendencies that had always been inherent in photography.” As potential photographic subjects, at what point does our reality transition to grittiness and becomes condescending?
We are bombarded by information everyday. Photographers have been given a unique opporuntity, a chance to explore the corners of a groundglass and gain intimate knowledge of a select subject. For an instant in time a photographer can ignore the harrassing confusion surrounding them and focus on a scene others may have dismissed.
The process of photographic production, especially documentary photography, is an opportunity to inject yourself into disucussions about our transitioning world. According to Minor White, in Susan Sontog’s seminal book, On Photography, “the photographer projects himself [herself] with everything in order to know it and feel it better.”
Some may find the decaying infrastructure photographed in Route 66 not worthy of exhibition. While others would relish the opportunity to capture a scene headed towards oblivion, to witness and preserve it for future generations. A great documentary photographer can facilitate the transfer of valuble information from one generation to another. The photographs in this show have given me additional impetus to continue taking pictures in my sphere and to expand my role as messenger and voyeur.
[Please note that footnotes are not incorporated in this article. For a copy with complete footnotes in MS Word, contact Jesús Garza.]
Bibliography
Bibliography
Anchell, Steve "," Route 66 (Email response, October 19, 2009).
Anchell, Steve, interview by Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. Route 66 Hollywood, CA, (November 15, 2009).
Barthes, Roland. "Rhetoric of the Image." In Classic Essays On Photography, edited by Alan Trachtenberg, 269-286. New Haven, CN: Leete's Island Books, 1980.
Price, Derrick. "Surveyors and Surveyed: Photography out and about." In Photography: A Critical Intrucuction, edited by Liz Wells, 65-112. New York, NY: Routledge, 2006.
Rosenblum, Naomi. "Documentary Photography: Past and Present." In Photography's Multiple Roles, 84-119. Chicago, IL: The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College of Chicago, 1998.
Solomon-Godeau, Abigail. "Inside/Out." In Basic Critical Theory for Photographers, 125-132. Oxford, England: Focal Press, 2007.
Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York, NY: Picador, 1977.
Anchell, Steve, interview by Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. Route 66 Hollywood, CA, (November 15, 2009).
Barthes, Roland. "Rhetoric of the Image." In Classic Essays On Photography, edited by Alan Trachtenberg, 269-286. New Haven, CN: Leete's Island Books, 1980.
Price, Derrick. "Surveyors and Surveyed: Photography out and about." In Photography: A Critical Intrucuction, edited by Liz Wells, 65-112. New York, NY: Routledge, 2006.
Rosenblum, Naomi. "Documentary Photography: Past and Present." In Photography's Multiple Roles, 84-119. Chicago, IL: The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College of Chicago, 1998.
Solomon-Godeau, Abigail. "Inside/Out." In Basic Critical Theory for Photographers, 125-132. Oxford, England: Focal Press, 2007.
Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York, NY: Picador, 1977.
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
I Wish More Colleges Offered These Courses
[Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales by Jesus Manuel Mena Garza]
UCSB Chicano Studies Courses
LOWER DIVISION
1A-B-C. Introduction to Chicano Studies (4-4-4) Staff
An introduction to the historical and contemporary development of the Chicano community, interdisciplinary in nature, and focusing upon such components as the educational, sociological, and political. The course will critically analyze the societal context in which La Raza has sought to maintain and develop its culture.
10. Introduction to Chicano History (4) Garcia
Prerequisite: lower-division standing. Same course as History 10. Students who have received credit for Chicano Studies 9 may not take this course for credit.
The historical heritage of the Chicano from Indian and Spanish origins to the contemporary period. Particular stress will be placed on the interpretation and analysis between key periods in world and U.S. history to the experience of Chicanos.
11. Introduction to Race and Ethnicity in American History(4) Staff
Prerequisite: lower-division standing. Same course as History 11.
An introduction to the issues of race and ethnicity as they have affected the course of United States history from the colonial era to the present. Race and ethnicity will be dealt with as ideological issues as well as the history of particular race and ethnic groups in a pluralistic America.
12. Introduction to Chicano Spanish (4) Lomeli
Prerequisites: consent of instructor and some basic knowledge of Spanish.
The course will introduce students to tne Spanish language and help them to acquire oral and written skills, distinguish between standard speech of popular variants, and learn the Chicano Spanish lexicon.
UPPER DIVISION
102A-B. Quantitative Research and Issues in Chicano Studies (4-4) Staff
This two-quarter course sequence examines quantitative research problems in Chicano Studies. The emphasis is on the effective use of social survey data in formulating public and private policy. Students also receive an introduction to the computer as a research tool.
106. Introduction to Latin American Studies (4) Staff
Prerequisite: any quarter of Chicano Studies 1A, 18, or 1C, or History 8, or upper-division standing.
The Latin American heritage of Chicanos will be explored from various interdisciplinary perspectives: history, culture, literature, politics, and education. Stress will be placed on major past and contemporary cultural, political, and I social movements from the pre-Columbian past to the twentieth century.
110. Research Methods in Chicano Studies (4) Staff
Prerequisites: Chicano Studies 1A-B-C.
Using Chicano studies topics, the course will introduce students to: (1) the epistemology of scientific inquiry (its history and contemporarv movements); (2) the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative methodologies; and (3) the mechanisms of research design (transforming an idea into a research plan).
115. Psychological Issues and the Chicano Child (4) Staff
To give the student an understanding of the fundamentals of psychology; to introduce tne fundamentals of child psychology; and to analyze and discuss pertinent psychological principles and research related to the Chicano child.
120. Bilingualism and the Chicano (4) Staff
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
An introduction to the study of bilingualism and the Chicano. The course will focus on tne sociolinguistic and educational implications of bilingualism.
121. Writing Experience for Bilinguals (4) Staff
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
A comparative analysis between Chicano Spanish, standard Spanish, and vocabulary building.
130B. The Chicano Quest for Educational Equality (4) San Miguel
Prerequisite: Chicano Studies 1A or 1B or 130A or upper-division standing.
This lecture course traces the legal, administrative, and political efforts made by Chicanos to secure more and better education for their children. It also assesses its impact and influ- ence on the public schools.
131. An Introduction to Issues in Chicano Bilingual Education (4) San Miguel
This is an introduction to bilingual education and its effect on Chicanos. Specific issues include the evolution and development of policy at the federal and state levels, theory and practice of bilingual education pertaining to Chicanos, the status and future of this program.
137. Chicano/Mexican Oral Traditions (4) Broyles-Gonzalez
Prerequisites.. upper-division standing and knowledge of Spanish and English.
The course will introduce students to the ancient roots of Chicano oral traditions. Contemporary forms of Chicano oral poetry, oral narrative, and drama will be examined, in addition to more ephemeral forms such as cabula, choteo, joke-telling, or dichos.
138. Barrio Poplar Culture (4) Broyles-Gonzalez
Prerequisite. upper-division standing
The course will explore various manifestations of popular and mass culture in Chicano urban and semi-rural communities throughout the southwest. Both secular and religious cultural phenomena will be analyzed (lowriders, saints, music, etc.). Relationships to mainstream culture will be examined.
139. Native American Heritage and Chicano Cultural Renaissance (4) Broyles-Gonzalez
Prerequisite: upper-division standing or Chicano Studies 1A, 1B, or 1C.
The course will explore the intense recourse to the Native American heritage during the Chicano cultural renaissance of the 1960s and 1970s. The rediscovery of the native ancestral cultures will be analyzed in poetry, prose, drama, the graphic arts.
140. The Mexican Cultural Heritage of the Chicano (4) Staff
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
A panoramic view of present-day Chicano traditions analyzed from a Mexican cultural heritage perspective in order to comprehend and appreciate the uniqueness and difference of present-day Chicano culture, its achievements, and contribution to the overall American culture.
141. Roots of Chicano Culture in Interdisciplinary Perspective (4) Staff
Prerequisites: upper-division standing, two or more upper-division courses in sociology, religious studies, or anthropology.
This course will give students a general understanding of the origins, development, and contemporary variation in Chicano culture from an interdisciplinary approach.
142. An Introduction to Chicano and Barrio Art (4) Staff
An introduction to Chicano and barrio art and their major exponents. This course will emphasize Mexican mural painting as forerunner of Chicano mural art.
143. Chicano/Mexican Film Studies (4) Lomeli, Fregoso
Study of Chicano and Mexican cinema to view film as an art form and projection of the film-maker. Techniques, messages, and ideology stressed as instruments which propose film truth within the context of Chicano and Mexican social experiences.
144. The Chicano Community (4) Segura
Prerequisite: upper-division standing, or Chicano Studies 1A, 1B, or 1C, or a prior course in sociology. This course is the same as Sociology 144.
Origins of the Chicano in rural Mexico; context of contact; patterns of settlement in the United States; the Chicano community, social structure, and social change; acculturation and generational patterns; community leadership and change.
145. Chicano Art: Symbol and Meaning (4) Favela
Prerequisite: any quarter of Chicano Studies 1A, 1B, or 1C, Chicano Studies 142 or Art History 1 or 7E, Art His tory 161C, 161D, or 161E, or upper-division standing.
This course traces the sources and historical development of symbols and forms that originated in the art of New Spain and Mexico and became crucial for the development of a contemporary Chicano art. Emphasis is given to artistic conceptions of America and Aztlan by Mexican, Mexican American, and Chicano artists.
146. Contemporary Chicano Art (4) Favela
Prerequisite: any quarter of Chicano Studies 1A-B-C, 142, or Art History 1, 7E, 161C, 161D, or 161E, or Chicano Studies 145, or upper-division standing.
The Chicano art movement is examined and appraised within the context of contemporary American art and the contemporary art of Mexico. This course provides a survey of major Chicano artists and developments in Chicano painting, sculpture, graphic, and conceptual art from the late 1960s to the present.
147. Chicanos and the Film Media: A Comparative History (4) Fregoso
This course examines the various ways Chicanos have been portrayed in Hollywood films. Their characterizations are contrasted with the portrayals of women, Blacks, Jews, gays, and lesbians. The content is chronological and thematic in its examination of recurrent minority images.
154F. The Chicano Family (4) Segura
Prerequisites: upper-division standing or Chicano Studies 1A-B-C or consent of instructor or prior course in sociology. Same course as Socioloy 154F.
This course provides an overview of historical and contemporary research on Chicano families in the United States. Changing viewpoints on the character of Chicano families and their implications with respect to policy issues are examined.
155R. Chicana Research Issues (4) Segura
Prerequisites: upper-division standing or Chicano Studies 1A-B-C or consent of instructor or prior course in sociology. Same course as Sociology 155R.
This course is designed to enable students to develop and implement a research project that explores in depth one or more facets of the Chicana experience. Students will select and gather information in one area of interest such as: family, health, education, or employment.
155W. La Chicana: Mexican Women in the U.S. (4) Segura
Prerequisites: upper-division standing or Chicano Studies 1A-B-C or consent of instructor or prior course in sociology. Same course as Sociology 155W. Not open for credit to students who have received credit for Chicano Studies 150A, 150B, or 150C.
Examines existing research on native-born and immigrant Mexican women in the United States with emphasis on family, education, employment, and politics. Analysis of the Chicana experience organized by considering how interplay between class, race, and gender affects access to opportunity and equality.
164. Chicanos and the Administration of Justice (4) Staff
A survey of police-barrio community relations including the role of police, police department theories and tactics, and the unique police problems of the Chicano community. In addition, the course will examine the organization of courts and the procedural issues and suggested reforms involved in the adversary system, from arrest to penal institutions.
168A-B. History of the Chicano (4-4) Garcia, Vargas
Prerequisite: any quarter of History 17A-B-C or any quarter of Chicano Studies 1A -B-C or upper-divion standing. Same course as History 168A-B.
The history of the Chicanos, 1821 to the present; traces the sociocultural lifeline, of the Mexicans who have lived north of Mexico.
168E. History of the Chicano Movement (4) Staff
Prerequisite: Any quarter of Chicano Studies 1A-B- or History 10 or Chicano Studies 10 or History 168B or Chicano Studies 168B or upper-division standing. Same course as History 168E.
An examination of the Chicano movement in the United States from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. Topics will include the student movement, the farmworker movement, the Plan de Aztlan, the Raza Unida Party, Chicana feminists, the anti-war movement, and Chicano studies.
168F. Racism In American History (4) Staff
Prerequisite: any quarter of History 17A-B-C or any lower-division course in Asian American studies, Black studies, Chicano studies or upper-division standing. Same course as History 168F.
This course will examine racism as a major ideological force in defining American society from the colonial era to the 1980s. Major focus will be in the changing nature of racism as ideology as well as the relationship of racism to specific minority groups such as Afro-American, Native American, Chicanos, and Asian American.
168G-H. United States-Latin American Relations (4-4) Staff
Prerequisite: any quarter of History 17A-B-C or any quarter of Chicano Studies 1A-B-C or 101.
Covers the history of United States-Latin American relations from the colonial period to the present. Topics to be covered include the Monroe Doctrine, the United States-Mexican War, Manifest Destiny, the Spanish-American War, Dollar Diplomacy, the Good Neighbor Policy, the Alliance for Progress, and the United States role in Central America.
168P. Proseminar in Chicano History (4) Staff
Prerequisite: History 168A or 168B, or Chicano Studies 168A or 168B, and consent of instructor. Same course as History 168P.
Studies in selected aspects of Chicano history with an emphasis on social and economic history.
169. Comparative Local History (4) Garcia, Vargas
This course analyzes local and regional history of Chicanos. Theories and methodologies of social, urban, and oral history will be examined. Public history programs for Chicano communities will be discussed. Students will develop a research prospectus for their research projects.
170A. Chicano Community Organizations (4) Segura
The day-to-day operations and success of contemporary Chicano community organizations is socio-historically analyzed. Emphasis is placed on whether particular organizations meet the actual or perceived needs of the Chicano community or of special interest groups within the community.
170B. Chicano Community Organizations (4) Segura
Prerequisite: upper-division standing or consent of instructor.
The theory of organizing within the Chicano community will be analyzed through field observations of currently operating Chicano community organizations.
171. The Chicano Urban Experience (4) Staff
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
This course traces the transition of Chicanos from a rural to urban population and examines trends in family size, language usage, segregation, and social inequality among Chicanos residing in cities. Issues of urban decay and community conflict are also examined.
172. Legal Issues in the Chicano Community (4) Staff
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Survey of recent state and federal laws and court decisions affecting the Chicano community. Special consideration will be given to landmark cases and decisions. Analysis will be made of opposing views on each case in a historical context.
174. Chicano Politics (4) Staff
Prerequisite: upper-division standing. Same course as PoliticalScience 174.
Political life in the barrio, political behavior of the Chicano community, andrepresentation of Chicanos by elected officials and interest groups.
175. Comparative Ethnic Movements (4) Segura
The purpose of this course is to examine the structural forces which strengthen ethnic identification and promote ethnic politics within the United States and other nations. Although the Chicano movement will be the central focus, various ethnic movements will be examined.
178. Theories of Social Changes and Chicano Society (4) Segura
This course will examine the dynamics of social change and its impact on the chicano community. Students will acquire a general understanding of basic theories and an introduction to the social structure and processes of change (urbanization, social mobility, etc.).
180. Survey of Chicano Literature (4) Lomeli
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with a general overview of all the literature written by Chicanos by covering all genres: poetry, novel, theatre, short story, and essay. The course aims to portray a people's experience through literature and show how that experience is manifested in a given work.
181. The Chicano Novel (4) Lomeli
Reading, analysis and critique of the contemporary Chicano novel as it pertains to the Chicano experience.
186A-B. Music/Dance of the Chicanos (4-4) Staff
A historical perspective of Mexican and Chicano music and dance with emphasis on the indigenous cultures and other contributing cultural elements which combine to form traditional and contemporary Chicano music and dance.
187. Introduction to Chicano Theater and Performance (4) Broyles-Gonzalez
Prerequisite:. upper-division standing.
A survey of the major Chicano theater and performance forms ranging from the traditional to the avant-garde contemporary. The diverse forms of performance will be studied as art forms and with regard to their respective social functions within Chicano communities.
188A. Chicano Theater: Origins to 1970 (4) Broyles-Gonzalez
Prerequisites: upper-division standing or ChicanoStudies 1A, 1B, or 1C, or any lower-division drama course such as Dramatic Art 60 or 60S.
Survey of the origins and development of borderlands theater, from native ritual and Indian-Hispano antecedents to today's Chicano forms. The genesis of Chicano theater will also be studied in relationship to Chicano culture and history.
188B. Contemporary Chicano Theatrer (4) Broyles-Gonzalez
Prerequisite: upper-division standing or ChicanoStudies 1A, 1B, or 1C, Chicano Studies 188A, or any lower-division drama course such as Dramatic Art 60 or 60S.
An analysis of conemporary Chicano forms of theatrical expression, ranging from barrio performances to mainstream commercial productions. The creation and presentation of Chicano dramatic forms will be analyzed in relationship to economic and historical realities affecting them.
188C. Chicano Theater Workshop (4) Staff
Prerequisites: Chicano Studies 188A or 188B or consent of instructor, knowledge of Spanish and English.
Reading and analysis of contemporary bilingual Chicano plays, in conjunction with acting and technical training. A dramatic piece will be rehearsed and performed.
189. Immigration and the U.S. Border (4) Garcia, Vargas
Prerequisite: upper-division standing or consent of instructor.
An analysis of the socioeconomic and political factors which have determined and continue to form the basis for the development of United States immigration policies and practices toward Mexico and the U.S-Mexican border.
190. Introduction to Chicano Poetry and Short Story (4) Lomeli
Reading and appreciation of Chicano poetry and poets. Analysis and critique of the Chicano short story with discussions on the realities and values presented on the Chicano experience and universe by the author.
191AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Chicano Studies (4) Staff
Corse may be taken up to three times (12 units) providing the letter designations are different. Designed to allow courses of varying topics in areas of expertise of visiting professors to broaden opportuniies for students. Examples might be: immigration, Native American, Mexican, or Latin American influences on the Chicano, legal issues, the migrants.
192. Field Research (4-8) Staff
Prerequisites: lower-level ethnic studies, sociology and/or anthropology course work, open only to juniors and seniors, consent of instructor. Eight units maximum may be applied to major.
Internship in contemporary urban problems and decision-making processes as they affect the Chicano. Internship based on directed research through observation, participation, and relevant readings. Student individually assigned, instructed, and supervised in field-work involving practical experience in decision making unit of local governmental social service agencies, or of community liaison agencies.
193. Seminar (4) Prerequisites,. two courses in Chicano Studies, consent of instrucor prior to enrollment and upper-division standing. To be offered intermittentiy, Special topics in Chicano Studies.
194. The Chicano Worker (4)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
A comparative analysis of the economic status of Chicanos. Special attention is given to the employment situation of chicanas, Chicano youths, and Mexican immigrants. Key topics are job and industry concentration, income, unemployment, and under-employment.
195. Seminar: Problems in the History of Chicano Art (4) Favela
Prerequisites: either Chicano Studies 145 or 146; upper-division standing and consent of instructor.
A definition of Chicano art will form the focus of this seminar. Students will conduct primary research and analyze pluralistic facets of Chicano art, artists, and art criticism within the context of mainstream American art and culture.
196. Practicum: Analysis of Chicano Survey Data (4) Staff
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
The course allows students an opportunity to conduct their own research project. With instructor supervision, students will formulate and exercute (through use of the computer) an analysis of data from an existing Chicano survey.
197. Topics Seminar: Education of the Chicano (4) San Miguel
Survey of the relationship between the schools and the Chicano child. Also included will be information on theories, methods, and resources necessary for developing and evaluating effective teaching strategies in meeting the educational needs.
198. Readings in Chicano Studies (1-4) Staff
Prerequisites: students must 1) have attained upper-division, standing, 2) have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding three quarters; 3) have completed at least two upper-division courses in Chicano Studies. Students are limited to five units per quarter and 30 units total in all 198/199 courses combined.
Readings in Chicano studies under the guidance of a faculty member in the department, Students must prepare a short plan of study and have it approved by the sponsoring faculty member.
199. Independent Studies (1-5) Staff
Prerequisites: students must 1) have attained upper-division standing, 2) have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding three quarters, 3) have completed at least two upper-division courses in ChicanoStudies. Students are limited to five units per quarter and 30 units total in all 198/ 199 courses combined.
596. Directed Reading and Research (2-6) Staff
Prerequisite. Graduate standing and consent of instructor.
Independent research involving advanced study on a particular Chicano studies topic. A written proposal must be approved by the department chair. Number of units depends on nature of the proposal.
University of California at Santa Barbara
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American Story With Latin Roots and Beats
[Photo: Ritchie Valens by Gil Rocha]
By LARRY ROHTER
NY Times
In the mid-1990s the documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Deane and Adriana Bosch would sometimes meet in the cafeteria and offices of WGBH in Boston to talk about programs they might make together. Ms. Deane had just finished producing the 10-part “Rock & Roll” series for PBS and wanted to do more about music. Ms. Bosch, a Cuban-American, was interested in making mainstream audiences more aware of Latin culture.
After more than a decade, during which they struggled to raise production money and worked on several other projects, the outcome of those brainstorming sessions is about to go on the air. “Latin Music USA,” a four-part series that most PBS stations will begin broadcasting on Monday, is an effort to bring those two different perspectives together, in much the way that Latin music itself is a fusion and hybrid.
“Our twin objectives were to engage the widest possible audience while also doing justice to the music for a more knowledgeable Latino viewership,” Ms. Deane said. “For people like me, this was a wonderful discovery. But for Latinos, this is the music they live and breathe, with artists they have known all their lives.”
Each hourlong segment in the series, produced in association with the BBC, focuses on a particular style, place or time. The first two programs concentrate on Latin jazz and salsa, genres that developed mainly in New York. Part 3, “Chicano Wave,” looks at forms of Mexican-American music that have emerged in the Southwest. The final episode, “Divas and Superstars,” features recent pop-oriented singers and producers mostly out of Miami or New York.
“We make documentaries about American history, and what we wanted to do was place this music as part of a history that we all share,” Ms. Bosch said. “We were trying to find the connections, find uniting factors, so that anybody anywhere in America can look at and identify with this story.”
Often, the series demonstrates, those linkages are almost subterranean. At one point in the first program, “Bridges,” snippets of hits by the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Young Rascals and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, including “Satisfaction” and “Day Tripper,” are juxtaposed with identical cha-cha or mambo riffs recorded years earlier and all but forgotten.
But the series shows that the influences don’t flow in just one direction. The accordionist Flaco Jimenez, for example, explains how German polka bands in Texas influenced his Tex-Mex style, playing riffs that illustrate his point. And the Tejano star Little Joe recalls a childhood picking cotton in Texas alongside African-Americans, who gave him a love for the blues.
“Latin Music USA” also includes rare and unusual archival footage. There are home movies of Ritchie Valens with his mother shortly before he died in the 1959 plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly; of a young Celia Cruz singing with a full orchestra in Cuba; and of musical performances tied to Cesar Chavez’s farmworkers’ union rallies.
Even stories familiar through movies and other parts of mainstream culture take on a new coloration thanks to the filmmakers’ efforts to track down supporting players. In one particularly moving vignette, Bob Keane, Valens’s producer and manager, remembers driving a Thunderbird to San Francisco from Los Angeles with Valens in the back seat playing his guitar and stumbling across the riff that powered the rock classic “La Bamba.”
In another, the producer Huey Meaux tells how he rescued the future country-music star Freddy Fender from a job in a Houston carwash that Mr. Fender, born Baldemar Huerta, got after serving a prison term in Louisiana on a questionable drug charge. That name change and Mr. Fender’s troubles with the law underscore some broader points the filmmakers wanted to make about the role of music in defining identity and enduring prejudice.
“It was hard to find original footage” of Mr. Fender, Valens and Little Joe “because we Mexican-Americans are almost like phantoms of history,” said John Valadez, who directed the “Chicano Wave” episode. “This film doesn’t pull any punches in terms of racism and struggle, but it’s not a bitter or angry film.”
All four programs are narrated by the actor Jimmy Smits, who was born in Brooklyn and grew up in New York and Puerto Rico. For him too, the project’s appeal was as much emotional and personal as intellectual: his parents, he said, met at the Palladium Ballroom, the hub of the Latin music dance scene in Manhattan during the 1950s, and he has vivid memories of hearing the boogaloo sound as a teenager.
In four hours “Latin Music USA” cannot possibly be comprehensive, and does not pretend to be. Mr. Smits said he was “already getting e-mail messages from friends asking why so-and-so was left out,” and each director and producer expressed regret about some favorite artist who did not make the final cut.
“We know there is so much more than one could do,” Ms. Deane said. “This is such a universe of great music, and we hope this series and the DVD and CD that go along with it will spur more thinking about programming in this area.”
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Apply for Chicana Chicano Studies Ph.D. Program at UCSB
[Click photo/poster to enlarge]
DEPARTMENT OF CHICAN@ STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA
The University of California at Santa Barbara is now accepting applications from students for its Ph.D. program in Chicana and Chicano Studies. The application deadline is December 15 for financial aid consideration, and January 1 without financial aid consideration.
Please feel free to forward this information and the attached copy of our Ph.D. informational poster to your students who are interested in applying to graduate school.
M.A./Ph.D. Program
http://www.chicst.ucsb.edu/phd/index.shtml
The M.A./Ph.D. program engages students in the interdisciplinary study of Chicana and Chicano history, culture, and politics. Our students explore Chican@ experiences in their most broad, comprehensive sense, informed by several philosophical and theoretical schools, historical and political scholarship, literary and religious traditions, artistic movements, mass media, and video and film. The M.A./Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies challenges students to understand social justice issues by linking theory, teaching, and scholarship in the academy and larger community.
UCSB Graduate Division
https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/
The Graduate Division is committed to excellence in research, diversity, and intellectual innovation in UCSB graduate education.
Those interested in applying to the program should visit the UCSB Graduate Division web site https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/programs/index.cfm?event=showProgramDetail&majorID=109 for information about the required application materials. Information about the on-line application process is available at https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/eapp/index.cfm.
Department of Chican@ Studies
http://www.chicst.ucsb.edu/
For more information contact Katherine Morales, Staff Graduate Program Advisor, Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, (805-893-5269)or kmorales@chicst.ucsb.edu.
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Monday, September 28, 2009
About Landscape Photography
[Photo copyright 2009 Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. All rights reserved. Click image to enlarge.]
Some photographers like to take landscape photos. I do too. But the simple fact remains, any landscape image won't even come close to actually being there. No camera can capture the subtle tones and textures resplendent in the natural world. Even the nature in your backyard (if you have a nice one) can be more vibrant than any print by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston or Imogen Cunningham.
That is why I don't take many landscapes. Obviously the seasons at Yosemite, Yellowstone and other natural venues repeat annually. If you go at the right time of year you can enjoy the real thing. The snowy river, the bright blue sky and the eroded canyons have not moved anywhere, yet.
Sometimes I will take a picture during a trip to remember the moment. But nature has to be seen smelled, touched, etc., up close and personal. Not experienced flat and impersonal. Photos of nature are just hollow remembrances, mementos. When you are in a gallery inspecting the desiccated remains of a landscape hanging on a sterile wall, do you ask yourself, I would rather be there than here?
When I walk (not drive) down the street, I am in awe (yes, I get giddy) of nature and architecture. I see art and sometimes history in subtle cracks, textures, shapes and hues.
What do I like
Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area I became familiar with the works of photographic legends Adams, Weston and Cunningham. If you are going to a gallery, I would suggest also investigating the work of Hiroshi Sugimoto and Minor White (earlier). They offer unique abstract images of the ocean. I consider their work more valuable and entertaining.
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Friday, September 25, 2009
Covert Memories from Miami
23 September 2009
By Saul Landau
In Miami, several retired U.S. officials remembered the early 1960s, when the CIA sent hundreds of employees to join other government bureaucrats to process and recruit thousands of Cuban exiles to destroy the Cuban revolution. Assassination plans abounded, from poisoned cigars and wetsuits for Fidel Castro, to a sniper rifle smuggled in by his comrade to a sophisticated poison pill. The capsule’s designer imagined the pills dissolving in Fidel’s chocolate milkshake, which he drank regularly at the former Havana Hilton Hotel’s ice cream bar. These Hollywoodesque creations came from the CIA laboratory of Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, the Agency’s ghoulish technology maven. Most of the plotters and erstwhile assassins of that era, like Gottlieb, have died.
One long-retired Air Force officer told me of his plan to undermine Fidel among Cuba’s guajiros (peasants). Given the shortages of consumer goods, it made sense to clandestinely drop tens of thousands of rolls of toilet paper on the island. On each leaf the guajiro would see a photo of Castro and Khrushchev together. “That would have given the guajiros a good laugh,” the perpetrator told me. “But the White House nixed it.” Perhaps Kennedy might have thought that if he approved such a prank, some joker in the U.S. could put the President’s and Bobby’s faces on toilet paper and sell the product throughout the United States; legal under the First Amendment.
Most Cubans who arrived in the days preceding what became the April 1961 Bay of Pigs “fiasco” assumed the U.S. government would deal with Fidel and his communists. Washington had never allowed such flagrant disobedience to go unpunished. By the summer of 1960, the Cuban revolution had the gall to seize property belonging to the mighty oil companies (the Cuban government nationalized Texaco and Esso after they refused to refine Soviet crude oil on orders from Washington). Such defiant behavior challenged the essence of the Monroe Doctrine: “Latin America is ours.”
Few inside the hub of operations questioned the premises. “It was the height of the Cold War, after all,” several retired officials explained as if this statement summarized the justification for everything. The West faced a relentless enemy of great power and U.S. agencies had to stop its expansion. Indeed, most of the world would have agreed, at least, that Cuba informally belonged to the United States, no matter what most Cubans thought of that assessment.
The secret plots to overthrow the revolutionary government had become the world’s most open secret. Miami became Planning and Operations Center for the CIA’s largest station (JMWAVE). One man, now in his late 50s, told me how a CIA official -- a Mr. Bishop -- had recruited his father in 1959. Their family moved to Miami along with hundreds of thousands of Cuba’s rich, professional and propertied middle classes. His father worked from a two story building in Miami Beach, one of hundreds of CIA properties in the area. Nearby, ships from the CIA’s navy would dock, load up with provisions (arms and bombs) and set off to the Cuban coast to wreak havoc or just drop or pick-up agents whose job was to subvert the new government. “It was routine, every day and sometimes twice a day.”
“I thought the invasion would come in October of 1960,” he told me, “or at least that would be the start of some intense guerrilla war. Everyone speculated if a full-scale invasion would occur or if men would be sent to the Cuban mountains to do what Fidel did to Batista.”
Eisenhower had obvious misgivings about the plan and passed the ball to Kennedy, who then suffered the ignominious defeat. Publicly, he accepted responsibility (“Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan.”). Privately, however, he sought revenge: the overthrow of the Castro government. His brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, directed a war of terror against Cuba; assassination attempts and sabotage, propaganda and economic war against an island of 6 million people.
In December 1960, I was on a tour with a group of students going to Cuba. Arriving at the Miami airport, we learned the pilots of our Cubana plane (each hour Pan Am and Cubana flew to Havana) had defected. While waiting for a new crew to fly over from Havana, a “spontaneous demonstration” erupted. Angry Cuban exiles screamed at the college students; some protestors threw punches and began to spit at the students. One asked a demonstrator: If Cuba is so terrible, you should want us to go. Then we’ll return and tell lots of people how awful things are.” The protestor looked puzzled. He turned to the team leader and asked for instructions. “Don’t talk, just spit,” he sneered. It appropriately summed up U.S. policy for fifty years.
Saul Landau is an Institute for Policy Studies fellow and filmmaker (DVDs available through roundworldproductions.com)
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Serie Project
Fall is finally on its way to Austin (Tejas), and with it we have some exciting news to share. Beginning this month, the Serie Project website now features a new and improved image gallery which will display higher quality images of our limited edition prints, along with current pricing and the opportunity to order our artists' work.
We were also lucky enough to have our work featured at 3 galleries this month, including a newly opened exhibit at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Also, if you're going to be in the Chicago area this week, be sure to visit our founder and director, Sam Coronado, at the Siglo XXI conference. This will also be a good opportunity to meet with the other members of Consejo Grafico, so we at the Serie recommend that you check it out! Several newer prints will also be available for sale at an art fair on the 25th and 26th.
Finally, this week is the last chance to snag a spot in one of Coronado Studio's successful workshop sessions for the month of September. The workshop will take place this Saturday, the 26th, and has a tuition of $200. Contact James to reserve your spot today.
Website
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Monday, September 21, 2009
Multiracial Experiences of Adults
Under the direction of Professors Brandon Yoo, Kelly Jackson, and Rudy Guevarra at Arizona State University, we are conducting a research study to examine multiracial experiences of adults over the age of 18 with multiple racial backgrounds. This area of research understanding the unique experiences of multiracial individuals is not clear, thus making your participating even more invaluable.
We are currently looking for multiracial individuals (i.e., have biological parents from different racial groups) to fill out a one-time, on-line questionnaire on the topic of race, ethnicity, and well-being, which will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary and confidential.
For your participation, your name will be entered into a raffle with opportunity to win a multiracial t-shirt. One out of every four participants will receive a t-shirt!
If you have any questions concerning the research study, please email them at multiracialproject@gmail.com
If you are ready to begin the survey, please click on link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=CMsj3OhPiuperiOb0NpZgQ_3d_3d
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009
40 Years of the Chicano Movement
[Photo of César E. Chávez in San José (1970) by Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. Click to enlarge. Copyright 2009 Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. All rights reserved.]
On Wednesday September 16, 6-8 pm in San José, California there will be the discussion, "Organizing en el Movimiento". The first of a series of discussions that seek to honor the contributions of (some of) those involved in San José's Chicano Movement.
Invited guests will be Sofia Mendoza (United People Arriba), Sal Alvarez (UFW), Adriana Cabrera-Garcia (MAIZ), and David Madrid (DeBug). Moderated by Maribel Martinez of the Cesar Chavez Community Action Center at SJSU.
Featuring music by Conjunto Libertad and the exhibiting of rare photos and art of the movimiento from Jorge Gonzalez.
Organizers
MAIZ (Movimiento de Accion Inspirando Servicio)
Cesar Chavez Community Action Center
Teatro Vision
Sponsoring Organizations
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The Chicana “Flower of Aztlan”
By Ernestina Garcia
The Chicana is indeed the flower of Aztlan because she is the most beautiful woman. She has an expansion of universal benevolence which comes from her soul. She is like a star which fills the hearts of our Raza movement. She can make the future of La Raza so astonishingly strong with her own strength.
Many Chicanos seem uncomfortable with the prospect of seeing Chicanas actively involved. Both our married and single Chicanas spend valuable time and energy trying to resolve the conflict they see between just being involved for their own personal satisfaction and the idea that they are involved to show the male that they too can be involved.
With the Chicana lies tremendous potential for commitment to serious struggle. With her participation, if we eliminate all the obstacles our movement will take speed and strengthen to a fantastic degree.
The Chicana recognizes that it is very important for our movement that men, women and children work together with mutual respect in all efforts related to our movement. Our Children are precious not just because they are our but because they are an expression of our people and valuable to the struggle for social justice in the United States.
The Chicana feels that without the recognition of all La Raza our movement will greatly suffer. It is important that she be considered in decision making, with due respect when offers opinions. Chicanas must be and will be fairly represented on planning committees, in workshops discussion groups as leaders and as spokeswomen for La Raza.
Most Chicanas want to have equal access to higher education in whatever field of endeavor that interests them. This means that if Chicanas want to become engineers or neurosurgeons they should be encouraged in every way. While being good wives and mothers in the tradition of our people, Chicanas also want to use their intelligence skillfully to strengthen and benefit all La Raza.
The Chicana is not saying she wants to be part of the White Woman’s Liberation. The White Woman’s Liberation does not attract most Chicanas because they realize the nature of the struggle for all Raza people and choose to struggle alongside their men.
Dated: September 10, 1976
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Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Download 2010 César Chávez Calendar. It's Free!
[Click on image to download printable JPG. A higher-quality PDF version is available for download at my website jmmgarza.com. Viva César Chávez.]
Download 2010 César Estrada Chávez calendar. Be the first in your neighborhood, barrio or gated community to download a FREE/GRATIS Super Chicana/o calendar. You don't have to be a Super Chican@ to own this fantastic calendar. Hispanics and others are also welcome to share in the glory.
Downloading Is Easy
All you have to do is "click" on the thumbnail image of the calendar to download. Save your downloaded 11x17 inch JPG and print two copies (a laser or inkjet printer works fine). By the way, you can easily downsize the JPG to make a letter size (8.5 x 11) print. Generously give one poster to your Chicana/o Studies (Hispanic Studies may not count!) or photography professor. They will be absolutely impressed by your excellent taste.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to phone me at (909) 557-7151 or send me an email.
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Thursday, August 27, 2009
Getting You into IU
The Indiana University Graduate School would like to make you aware of our fall recruitment program, “Getting You into IU” for promising minority students who are underrepresented in doctoral studies. This recruitment event will be held Thursday, October 8 through Saturday, October 10, 2009, at Indiana University’s Bloomington campus. Indiana University Graduate School will provide all travel, lodging, and meals for visiting participants selected for this program.
Applicants to “Getting You into IU” must be nominated to participate by an advisor, faculty member or other mentor. We invite you to share information about this event with students you work with. The attached document contains more information, including a list of participating IU-Bloomington PhD programs. More information can also be found at http://graduate.indiana.edu/campus-visit.php. The application deadline is September 2.
Christy Campoll
Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP)
Indiana University Graduate School
Kirkwood Hall 111
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone (812) 855-4039
Fax (812) 855-4266
http://graduate.indiana.edu/agep/
agep@indiana.edu
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Interview with author & poet Daniel Olivas
Mayra Calvani, examiner.com
It's an honor to have here today accomplished poet, novelist, short story writer and editor Daniel Olivas. As if this isn't enough, he also is an attorney with the California Department of Justice and a regular contributor to La Bloga, a very popular Chicano/Latino literature blog. Olivas was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions.
BIO: Born and raised near downtown Los Angeles, Daniel Olivas is the middle of five children and the grandson of Mexican immigrants. Olivas received his BA in English literature from Stanford University and law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. By day, he is an attorney with the California Department of Justice where he has worked in the Public Rights Division since 1990. He is married to his law school sweetheart, Susan Formaker, and they have a 19-year-old son, Benjamin. They make their home in the San Fernando Valley.
Olivas is also the author of five books of fiction including the forthcoming Anywhere but L.A.: Stories (Bilingual Press, fall 2009), and a children’s book, Benjamin and the Word / Benjamin y la palabra (Arte Público Press, 2005). He edited the landmark Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature (Bilingual Press, 2008). Olivas has been widely anthologized including in Sudden Fiction Latino (W.W. Norton, forthcoming 2010), and Hate Crimes: Social Issues Firsthand (Greenhaven Press, 2007). His writing has appeared in many publications including the Los Angeles Times, La Bloga, The Jewish Journal, The MacGuffin, Exquisite Corpse, El Paso Times, PALABRA,California Lawyer, The Elegant Variation, and New Madrid. His first poetry collection,Crossing the Border, will be published next year by Ghost Road Press.
Olivas has just learned that the University of Arizona Press has accepted for publication his first full-length novel, tentatively titled The Book of Want, which will be published in 2011.
MAYRA CALVANI : Thanks for this interview. It's a pleasure having you here at the Examiner. Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you started writing.
DANIEL OLIVAS: When I was very, very young—in preschool—I was creating little books. I loved telling stories. My parents always read to us and our house was filled with books. But I never imagined that someone would actually want to publish my books let alone that my books would be studied in college.
When I majored in English literature at Stanford, I purposely didn’t take any creative writing classes thinking that I wouldn’t be able to “do” anything with it. But I always remained creative in my non-academic activities. For example, I was a staff artist and then art director of Stanford’s humor magazine where I not only drew cartoons but also wrote a few pieces. In law school at UCLA, I was appointed editor-in-chief of the Chicano Law Review (it’s now called the Chicana/o-Latina/o Law Review) where I edited pieces and wrote a legal article on an important immigration court decision. As a lawyer, I’ve written many articles and essays for legal publications. Eventually, I started to write fiction. This was in 1998 when I started writing a novella. It was a way for me to deal with grief arising from my wife’s multiple miscarriages. I helped Sue and our son, Benjamin, with their emotions, but I wasn’t dealing with mine very well until I started writing. It proved to be quite cathartic.
After selling my novella to a small (and now defunct press), I couldn’t stop writing. Eventually, my short stories started being accepted by print and online literary journals. Then one of my poems was accepted by Lee & Low Books for a children’s anthology, Love to Mamá, edited by the great Pat Mora. I figured that as long as editors kept accepting my stories and poems, I’d keep writing.
CALVANI: You write in English with a little Spanish thrown in depending on the character. Can you tell a little about this “code switching” and why you utilize it in your writing?
OLIVAS: I admit that I’m a pocho. My Spanish is not very good. My parents were raising us bilingually but when I was three, I stopped speaking completely. This lasted a whole year. During that time, my parents panicked. They took me to be tested. At the end of the testing, the doctor told them that I was of normal intelligence but he strongly recommended that they cut all Spanish in the household. This was in the early 1960s so the bias against bilingual homes was fairly strong. In any event, my parents agreed to follow the doctor’s recommendation. So, I struggle with my Spanish but I try to have some of my characters switch between Spanish and English when it’s appropriate for that character. I want my fiction to ring true so I think it’s important that I do that.
CALVANI: Please tell us about your latest anthology, Latinos in Lotusland. It has garnered a lot of rave reviews. What inspired you to put this anthology together?
OLIVAS: I was sick and very tired of what allegedly well-read book critics called classic “Los Angeles fiction.” Whenever some critic said this, he or she typically referred to novels or short stories that involved movie moguls, starlets and Malibu scenery. Seldom did you see Chicanos or other non-white characters unless they fell into some ugly stereotype. I wanted to change this and bring together fiction by Chicanos and other Latinos about my hometown. The result was 34 amazing and powerful stories going back to 1947. We have authors who have written many books alongside writers who are at the very beginning of their careers. I am so delighted by the response we’ve had to the anthology. It has been and will be taught in universities such as Rutgers, UC Irvine, and Ohio State. And we’ve had Latinos in Lotusland readings from L.A. to Chicago to Denver to Santa Barbara and elsewhere. I’ve been so honored and enriched by the authors who are in the anthology.
CALVANI: Latinos in Lotusland is a great title. Why “Lotusland”?
OLIVAS: The original working title was Latino L.A. but Gary Keller, the director of Bilingual Press, wanted to explore other potential titles with me. So, he suggested that we use a nickname for Los Angeles. One nickname is “Lotusland” which harkens back to the mythological race of lotus (or “lotos”) eaters “represented by Homer as living on the fruit of the lotus and living in a state of dreamy forgetfulness and idleness” according to The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Therefore, the term has entered the English language to mean “a place or state of idle pleasure and luxury, contentment and self-indulgence.” (Websters New Millennium Dictionary of English.) Some non-native Angelenos decided long ago to pin it on Los Angeles. As William Safire explained in a New York Times essay:
“La-La Land is a play on the initials L.A., perhaps influenced by Lotos-land in ‘The Lotos-Eaters,’ a poem by Tennyson: ‘In the hollow Lotos-land to live and lie reclined / On the hills like Gods together.’ In his 1941 novel, The Last Tycoon, F. Scott Fitzgerald had a character describe Hollywood as ‘a mining town in lotus land.’”
Of course, I use the name “Lotusland” ironically. As I explain in my introduction to the anthology: “[N]otwithstanding the fact that the characters who populate this anthology may have feasted on the City of Angel’s lotus flowers, they do not live in blissful oblivion and they certainly have not forgotten who they are.”
CALVANI: You have written many short story collections. Have you written novels as well?
OLIVAS: My first book, The Courtship of María Rivera Peña (Silver Lake Publishing, 2000), was a novella but I do love the short story form. Every word has to count. I’ve even dipped into the very, very short story form such as flash, sudden and hint fiction (hint fiction is a story of 25 words or fewer). One of my very short pieces will be featured in W. W. Norton’s forthcoming Sudden Fiction Latino (2010), edited by Ray Gonzalez and Robert Shapard. However, I have written a full-length novel that is made up of linked stories, many of which have been published in literary journals already. It’s called The Book of Want (as of right now) and has just been accepted for publication by the University of Arizona Press for its Camino del Sol series. I am so excited by this. I have enjoyed many of the press’s titles over the years so I know they publish wonderful books. Their author list is a who’s who of Chicano and Latino literature including such names as José Antonio Burciaga, Stella Pope Duarte, Luis Alberto Urrea, Kathleen Alcalá, Ray Gonzalez, Pat Mora, Sergio Troncoso, and Juan Felipe Herrera, to name but a few. We have a tentative publication date of 2011.
CALVANI: Do you outline your stories beforehand or do your ideas develop as you write?
OLIVAS: I never outline. That would take the fun out of writing! I let my characters take me where they want to go.
CALVANI: Let's talk about short fiction writing. What would you say are the three most important elements of a great short story?
OLIVAS: I can’t speak for other writers or readers, but I think that interesting characters play the primary role for me. If I don’t have characters I care about, my story goes nowhere. The second most important element (for me) is conflict. Without conflict, a story is boring, to put it simply. The conflict could be big such as two robbers arguing over whether they should kill for money, or small such as which tie a widower should wear on the first date since his wife’s death. Conflict and how the characters deal with it is at the center of all great short stories. The third most important element revolves around language. This, for me, is the toughest element because it truly involves what we call “art.” There are a million ways to convey one idea, but not all paths lead to the creation of literature.
CALVANI: You're a regular contributor to La Bloga, a very popular Chicano/Latino literature blog. What do you blog about?
OLIVAS: We’re pretty freewheeling over at La Bloga but, obviously, our primary focus is on literature. My blog day is Monday. I do author profiles, interviews, book reviews, notices of literary events, listings of writing opportunities, things like that. I try to write my post on the weekend before it goes live. I also like to cover Chicano and Latino artists, community activists, store owners. In other words, I focus on what we call “culture.” We don’t get paid for what we do so we do as we please. La Bloga was founded in 2004 and I was invited to join as a contributor a couple of years ago after the founders read some of my work on another literary blog, The Elegant Variation, which was created by the novelist, Mark Sarvas. Right now at La Bloga, we have eight authors working on the blog. It’s a great virtual home and I’m in the company of dedicated, interesting writers. All kinds of gente read us: students, educators, judges, lawyers, editors, book publishers, etc. I find that La Bloga keeps me in touch with so many readers and writers in a way that was not possible 15 years ago.
CALVANI: What's in the horizon?
OLIVAS: Well, I’m working with Bilingual Press to put the final touches on my new collection, Anywhere but L.A., which comes out this fall. I then must turn to promoting that book which takes a lot of time and energy particularly because I’m a fulltime attorney, father and husband, not necessarily in that order. I have to squeeze whatever little time I can out of an already hectic schedule. Then I will turn to my poetry collection, Crossing the Border, which will be published in 2010 by Ghost Road Press. I’m writing short stories, book reviews, and essays, here and there, that I am submitting to various publications. I’m participating in book events, too. I’ve started a new novel but I’m having a little trouble making time for it. And I’m reading, reading, reading all kinds of wonderful books and print and online literary journals.
CALVANI: Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?
OLIVAS: Number one: Support Chicano and Latino literature! Number two: Read a book! Number three: Get involved in your community!
CALVANI: Thanks for the great interview!
For more information go to : www.danielolivas.com
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
Chicano Movement, circa 1968, subject of series talks in September
[Photo by Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. Click to enlarge.]
Chicano Movement: Subject of fall talks
This being the season of 40th anniversaries, a series of discussions on the Chicano movement for civil rights and its legacy will kick off Sept. 20 in San Jose.
The first of four panel discussions, "Community Based Organizing in the Movimiento, Then and Now, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Roosevelt Community Center near downtown San Jose. Admission is free to the public.
Participants from the movement will speak about how grass-roots organizers rallied Mexican-Americans to press for quality schooling, bilingual education, affirmative action, better labor conditions and improved policing. Younger activists will talk about extending the movement today to include women's and gay and lesbians's rights.
Scheduled panelists include Henry Dominguez, a longtime activist and current member of the Black Berets of San Jose; Adriana Garcia, a local poet and founder of MAIZ (A Spanish acronym for Movement Inspiring Service); Sal Alvarez, a former associate professor of social work at San Jose State University and officer with the national League of United Latin American Citizens; David Madrid, a youth counselor and member of Silicon Valley De-Bug, a collective of artists and community activists.
The series will continue on Oct. 14 and on dates to be selected in April and May of 2010. For more information contact MAIZ at 408-250-6965 or maiz_mex@hotmail.com.
Courtesy of San Jose Mercury News
Monday, July 27, 2009
Free Yourself from the Cables That Bind
[Click image to enlarge]Since the early 50s, I have enjoyed television. Even though my parents couldn’t afford a set, I could always peer through my neighbor’s window to watch a show. Yes, they knew I was there, and would politely close the drapes when it was late and time for me to go
I recently recycled my twenty year old Standard Definition (SD) set. Today, I am the proud owner of a new flat panel high definition (HD) TV. Programs delivered to my HDTV are beautiful to watch. Decades after I first fell in love with TV, I now view in amazement high-quality programming from the comfort of my sofa instead of my neighbor’s porch.
During the 50s and 60s, TVs received movies and sports at no charge. The ubiquitous roof-mounted antenna was king and you didn’t have to pay to play. The 70s saw a paradigm shift from free broadcast to fee based providers. Cable, satellite and telephone companies decided it was a good idea to demand a ransom to access movies, sports and occasionally a unique program.
I recently learned that basic cable (yes, I am cheap) doesn’t offer HD programming. Like bottled water, HD television programming has been repackaged and a fee extorted. I was forced to ask myself, do I really want to pay to watch broadcast HD television?
That’s when I decided to avoid cable fees and go direct to the source. I went old school and invested less than a hundred dollars on a roof-top antenna. After pointing the antenna towards Mount Wilson with technical help courtesy of www.antennaweb.org, I was amazed to find dozens of free channels. I compared the over the air signal to cable and found that my antenna delivered superior quality. Apparently that was because off-the air programming is not compressed and compromised like that offered by cable.
Granted, most of the channels I now receive are SD quality (like basic cable), but about a dozen channels have hours of crisp and clean HD. I didn’t have to pay a penny for the network fare the cable company was holding hostage. What a revelation to see shows like House, Bones and the national news in pristine HD.
Like you, I have plenty of bills landing in my mailbox each week. By cutting the cable umbilical cord, I will save hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year. Sadly, I will have to wean myself off some of my cherished cable-only shows like the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. But like my parents said, life is (ahem) tough.
Living without hundreds of cable channels still leaves me with plenty of options. Most of my favorite sit-coms, dramas and talk shows including David Letterman are free and in HD.
For the past few years I have made a modest effort to watch less football. This year, I can’t wait for the season to start. To my wife’s chagrin, I will revert to my feral state, anchored to my favorite chair. Thanks to my simple, money saving, roof-top antenna, I will enjoy many hours of free programming. Life is good and in my case delivered free to my TV via a simple roof-top antenna.
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
Chicana Artist Explores Heritage through Retablo Paintings
[Click image to enlarge. Photo from http://www.cristinaacosta.com]
Article courtesy of artdaily.org
Chicana artist Cristina Acosta has turned to sacred art as a means of exploring her religious and cultural heritage, incorporating aspects of her life, beliefs and family history into Madonna retablos.
"The tradition of the retablo (devotional image) reflects both the past and the present," said the artist, whose works are now on display as part of an exhibit of contemporary retablos at this southwestern U.S. city's El Museo Cultural.
The word "retablo" in Spanish dates back to the Renaissance and Baroque era and was used to refer to large screens that were placed behind altars in churches and were decorated with paintings, carvings, and sculptures.
These large altar screens then became prevalent in colonial Latin America as well, and by the 19th century oil-on-tin retablo paintings of Christ, the Virgin, and saints were commonly produced by amateur artists for devotional use in the home.
However, in parts of the southwestern United States, such as New Mexico and Colorado, retablos passed beyond the realm of sacred art into that of folklore.
Acosta said there are two types of retablos, one belonging to the tradition of Catholic saints and the other to that of "ex-votos," or offerings of gratitude.
She says the first group is similar to the concept of icon painting in Byzantine art, in which the figures of saints or the Holy Family are painted in accordance with strict liturgical rules that define how the main figure should be portrayed.
"The counterpoint to that tradition is the ex-voto retablo, for which there are no rules but rather (the artist) creates a personal vision to give thanks for a blessing (received) or when a petition was heard," she said.
It is within this folk tradition that her art is rooted.
Acosta said her retablos have served as a medium for meditating on her family heritage, her Latino identity and her role as a woman and an artist.
"My retablos are strictly related to my life, my Latina-Chicana cultural heritage in the southwestern U.S. and my personal opinions and life experiences," she said.
Acosta, who now lives in Oregon, grew up in a Catholic family - the daughter of an Anglo-American mother and a Mexican-American father - in southern California and attributes that upbringing to the prevalence of religious images in her art, but she says her art is not dogmatic and merely depicts her cultural heritage.
"This (ex-voto) form of retablo gives me the opportunity to connect with the religion of my childhood without having to struggle with dogmatic questions that do not always correspond with who I am now," she said.
Her Madonna retablos focus not so much on the Catholic figure of the mother but rather on the creative energy the Virgin evokes.
"When I work, I don't think about challenging religious thought or stereotypes, but I think the result of certain images does tend to run contrary to those traditions," Acosta said.
The artist pointed to her "La Conquistadora" (Our Lady of the Conquest) painting, which blends indigenous, ancient female images and concepts with the Catholic image of Mary.
Acosta also incorporates material in her work that alludes to her family history.
"My ancestors were well-known goldsmiths and silversmiths," said Acosta, whose paternal great-grandparents were descendants of the original Spanish settlers who founded cities and villages throughout New Mexico.
"That's why in my work I mix in gold, silver and copper metals into my oil paintings, (to) evoke the presence of those ancestors."
Acosta said the idea for the series of Madonna retablos displayed in the Santa Fe exhibit first came to her 20 years ago as dream images.
"The dreams began during my pregnancy," she said. "During that period I dreamed that I was a woman who was traveling north, crossing dusty plains and streams behind a ox-cart."
Acosta calls them her "Maria dreams," as that is how she remembers being called when those mental images and emotions came to her while asleep.
"The search for the meaning of those dreams eventually led me back to New Mexico, the land of my ancestors," Acosta said.
For more on the artist go to: http://www.cristinaacosta.com/
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Monday, July 06, 2009
Hurry Up and Wait For Your Sony BDP-S560 Blu Ray Player From SonyStyle
Like most of you, I hate being given the runaround. When I originally ordered my Sony Blu Ray player (BDP-S560) in mid-June, 2009, the folks at SonyStyle said it would ship on July 1. Well, apparently they weren't telling the truth. The SonyStyle website noted last week that the new Sony product wouldn't ship until late July. Today, the website noted in bright-red letters that the ship date has been moved to mid-August.
The folks (sales person) at SonyStyle said that I would get my player a month ahead of shoppers at BestBuy, Sears and other vendors. They were Sony. I believed them and now I have to wait for another month or two. By that time HDMI 1.4 versions may be out, making my $350 investment "old school."
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Wednesday, July 01, 2009
CALAVERAS CALLEJERAS
[Click on image to enlarge. Click on header or the link below to go to their blog]
If you are interested in amazing Chicano-identified documentary photography, check out this blog. CALAVERAS CALLEJERAS, Documentary Photography.
Here is a link: http://www.calaverascallejeras.com/Blog/blog.html
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
Mexican Grandma
[Story courtesy of Ben Cadena, San Jose, Califas]
During a trial in a small town in South Texas , the prosecuting attorney called his first witness, an elderly Mexican abuelita to the stand. He approached her and asked, "Senora Sanchez, do you know me?"
She responded, "si, I know you Mr. Williams. I know you since you were a mocoso chorriado, and frankly you've been a big disappointment to me, to your family and to your community. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people, and you think you're a big shot when you are nada, pura basura. Yes, I know you baboso."
The lawyer was stunned, not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, Mrs. Sanchez, "do you know the defense attorney?" again she replied, "claro que si. I've known Mr. Rodriguez since he was a mocoso travieso too. He's a lazy bueno pa nada, and he has a drinking problem. He can't keep a normal relationship with nobody, and he is the most pendejo lawyer in the state. And not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different viejas corrientes. One of them was your wife! You member? I know Mr. Rodriguez; his mama is not proud of him tambien."
The defense attorney almost died. The judge then asked both counselors to approach the bench, and in a very quiet voice said, "if either of you cabrones ask her if she knows me, i'll send you to the electric chair."
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Friday, June 12, 2009
The Quiet Tale of the Campus Mural
Bruna Nessif
Pasadena City College Courier
Photo by Chi Hong Wong
As students scurry up and down the stairs on the south side of C Building (Pasadena City College), they rarely take the time to acknowledge their surroundings.
But had they taken a glance up, right before turning toward the stairs in the break of the second and third floor, they would have seen a work of art from 1973 by former student Guillermo Martinez, whose appreciation was lost along with its meaning.
When the mural catches one's eye, it has a strong attraction. It almost demands attention. It depicts a lot of emotion, whether its of accomplishment or struggle, one cannot be fully certain. Its interpretation is not limited. The piece offers clues as to what it could mean, but ultimately the viewer makes his or her own conclusion.
Students, who take the time to examine the artwork, came up with their own ideas about what the artist was trying to convey.
"It seems like the man in the middle is a combination of different races and everyone branching off is a part of him, like we're not just one kind, we're a mix of many. It represents Mexican culture and diversity," said 20-year-old liberal arts major Kate Krag.
Many images in the mural symbolize and illustrate Mexican culture, exemplifying Chicano pride. When observing the work in detail, you can find somewhat hidden messages, like the phrase "Viva La Raza," which can be closely translated as "long live the people" (or race) in Spanish, illustrated on the bottom of the mural. This motto can make one believe that the historic event of the Chicano resistance is the concept of the painting.
The colors are vivid and loud, yet they complement each other well. It's a very detailed work, which once caught by the eye requires a good amount of time to fully observe and admire. The meticulous aspect of the art makes it a bit busy. There's so much going on that you're not sure what to look at first or how to connect each image. But it's so enticing you want to try anyway. Other students noted on the physical characteristics of the work, despite not knowing its purpose.
"It looks like the artist has a lot to say. It's an interesting concept. It has a nice medium, very fluid, but no idea what it means," said 18-year-old theater major Giselle Gilbert.
"It reminds me of L.A. art, something I would see while I'm on the 101," said 28-year-old liberal arts major Armando Lacayo.
The mural's location is random. It's in the rear of C Building, in between two floors. Some may feel it's out of place, but it is right where it should be. The piece is Chicano work that is displayed in the building where numerous students pass by multiple times a day, and some, learning Chicano Studies.
"The location's obscure, but the C Building is mostly for literature so its good," said 45-year-old music major Pablo Baza.
Some feel that the random location of the artwork gives the campus a sense of spontaneity.
"It's at an unexpected place, but that makes you feel like you never know where you'll run into something at PCC," Lacayo said.
The sad part is that few people know about the mural. They vaguely recall seeing it, but when asked, cannot identify it. Students running up and down those stairs are too busy to notice the art that surrounds their daily life or the work someone put in to convey a message.
The record of the painting on campus is not available. The only information found by Visual Arts and Media Studies Dean Alex Kritselis and the department was that Martinez was awarded a scholarship to UCLA, but refused to go because the Mexican movement spoke against giving in to the system. Martinez took his life to the streets and dedicated himself to doing street art. No one has heard from him since.
With the loss of it's meaning, the public might never know its message. At one point, an artist devoted himself to a canvas, indulging in his art utensils to portray an important time in the history of his culture, and yet it goes unnoticed and undocumented.
The meaning will always be ambiguous. It's lost art, whose history is gone. It will remain a mystery instead of a tool of remembrance and depend on the viewer to carry its significance.
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Judge Sonia Sotomayor
So what do you think about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
About Documentary Photography
[From my website, jmmgarza.com. Photo copyright 2009 Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. All rights reserved. Click on image to enlarge.]
Some documentary photographers treat their subjects like quarry in the jungle. They stalk them, take their shot and then hang their desiccated representation on a distant sterile wall. The jungle is the Amazon or the barrio, it is all the same. As outsiders, their images lack any humanity and show a visceral disdain for their subjects.
At the art reception, the shooter can be seen prancing around, weaving fanciful tales of his adventures to the spellbound audience. The assembled, saturated by the stench of privilege, sip on wine while esoteric rhythms waft in the background. The photographs remain mute. Surrounded, the captured photographs witness the decadence.
Jesús Manuel Mena Garza
February 12, 2007
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Real estate swings have affected minorities more than whites, study shows
Minorities bought homes at a faster pace than whites from 1995 to 2005, a Pew report says. But in recent years, declines in homeownership among blacks and Latinos were especially severe.
By Tiffany Hsu
The roller-coaster ride of the real estate market over the last 15 years has soared higher and plunged deeper for minorities nationwide than it has for whites, according to a study of homeownership released Tuesday.
The declines in homeownership among African Americans and U.S.-born Latinos in recent years were especially sharp, according to the study by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center in Washington.
Overall, the homeownership rate nationwide dropped from 69% in 2004 to 67.8% last year, a loss of 1.2 percentage points. The rate for black households, though, fell 1.9 percentage points, to 47.5%, reversing increases over four years. The rate for U.S.-born Latinos peaked in 2005 but has since fallen 2.6 percentage points to 53.6%.
The declines among the two minority groups were surprisingly severe, said Robert Kleinhenz, deputy chief economist at the California Assn. of Realtors.
"I don't think it's a function of ethnicity, or at least not exclusively, but has a lot more to do with the socioeconomic situations these households find themselves in," he said.
For Californians, Kleinhenz suspects, the swings are magnified because of traditionally higher home prices and an ownership rate that usually lags behind the national rate by about 10 percentage points.
"We're seeing much more severe corrections taking place in a much shorter period of time," he said. "High home prices drove large segments of the California population to experiment with new types of financing, many of which turned out to be problematic. Households at the margin were trying to get their piece of California homes."
Kleinhenz believes that ownership rates nationwide will start picking up as early as next spring but after that won't reach peak levels any time soon.
During the boom time, roughly 1995 to 2005, minority groups reached for the American dream at a much faster pace than whites did. Homeownership among whites increased 5.6 percentage points to 76.1%, while increases among minority groups ranged from 11.7 percentage points (to 60.8%) for Asians to 6.8 percentage points (to 53.3%) for immigrants. The rate for Latinos rose 9 percentage points to 56.2%, and for African Americans, 7.5 percentage points to 49.4%.
The statistics showed that the gap in homeownership between whites and minorities had narrowed but still remained significant, according to the study's authors, Rakesh Kochhar, Ana Gonzalez-Barrera and Daniel Dockterman.
They also found that blacks and Latinos were more likely than whites to take out higher-priced subprime loans, designed for borrowers with low credit scores. Just 10.5% of loans to whites in 2007 fit that category, compared with 27.6% of loans taken out by Latinos and 33.5% by blacks.
One surprise from the study was that the drop in homeownership hit U.S.-born heads of households harder than immigrants, who were less likely to be homeowners anyway.
The Pew study analyzed data from private and government sources, including the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
tiffany.hsu@latimes.com
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Back to Mango Street: After 25 years, Sandra Cisneros' coming-of-age novel still builds bridges connecting ... everyone
[Sandra Cisneros © John Dyer 2008]
By Connie Ogle
cogle@miamiherald.com
Sandra Cisneros had not yet been introduced to the writings of Virginia Woolf when she began her remarkable novel A House on Mango Street, but she instinctively understood that desperate longing for a space, a place, a room of one's own.
''Not a flat. Not an apartment. Not a man's house. Not a daddy's. A house all my own.'' Cisneros wrote. ``With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobody's garbage to pick up after. Only a house quiet as snow, a space for myself to go, clean as paper before the poem.''
''Of course,'' says Cisneros, now 54 and chuckling at such youthful audacity. ``I didn't want a room of my own. I wanted a whole house.''
The dissatisfied, fearful and, yes, angry young woman who wrote Mango Street -- just released in a 25th-anniversary Vintage paperback -- is a slightly strange but not unpleasant memory to Cisneros, who will discuss the book and its impact on the literary world Tuesday at Coral Gables Congregational Church.
''I began the book at 21 and finished it in my 28th year,'' she says from a Minneapolis hotel room while she searches for an outlet to plug in an iron. (``This is what you do on tour -- look for outlets.'')
``Imagine if you looked at the yearbook of your 20s. Imagine the things you're thinking. But for me the book has aged well. I do see a lot of wisdom. I see myself asking the right questions. I'm pleased I asked those questions in my 20s.''
Back then, the Chicago-born Cisneros had doubts about ''the expectations society and Latino fathers had for women.'' Her father, she writes in a new introduction, didn't understand why she wanted her own apartment or wanted to be a writer: ''The father wants his daughter to be a weather girl on television, or to marry and have babies.'' Teaching impoverished students caused her to ponder art's role in social change -- ``I felt a sense of impotency at being an educator with a whole class of girls who couldn't live my life. I was privileged compared to them, and I just felt overwhelmed by my sense of powerlessness to change their lives.''
GROWING FURY
And, privately, her fury was growing over entitled, would-be writers she met -- ''privileged with trust funds -- I didn't even know what a trust fund was til I was in grad school!'' -- who could casually call themselves artists and presume to decide what counted as literature.
From these roiling thoughts and emotions emerged bright, observant Esperanza Cordero, a young Chicana who lives with her family in a series of rented houses and apartments in Chicago. She longs for a real house, away from her neighborhood and her school where ``they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth.''
Readers responded enthusiastically to Esperanza and the colorful neighborhood figures to whom she introduced them: Cathy Queen of Cats, Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays, and Louie, His Cousin & His Other Cousin. A slim novel in 45 evocative vignettes, The House on Mango Street has sold more than four million copies in the United States and been translated into more than a dozen languages, most recently Greek, Thai and Serbo-Croatian. It is often the focus of community-reading initiatives in such places as Miami (in 2002), Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Fort Worth and El Paso, and this spring in Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and Santa Ana, Calif.
''It's such an important book, because it's the first encounter many non-Latinos had with Latino culture,'' says Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban and The Handbook for Luck. ``This is one of those books that's a bridge to the culture, and there's a Latina girl at the heart of it, the most forgotten of characters. No one put them center stage literarily or otherwise. For Esperanza to be front and center of our consciousness, a tiny ambassador to the Latino world, with her wonderful humorous and very specific observations, is a great gift.''
UNIVERSAL APPEAL
But the book has a universal appeal as well, says Cisneros' friend, author and playwright Denise Chavez.
''Sandra captured the essence of young womanhood,'' Chavez says. ``The book is based in the tradition of Latina culture but also has become a universal coming-of-age story. The writing is beautiful, the images profound. . . . Sandra was able to tap into the lushness and fecundity and grace and beauty of being a young woman. I told her I wish I'd written the book!''
Mango Street is taught in high schools, middle schools and even elementary schools. Vintage publisher Anne Messitte says it's the bestselling title on her backlist and that the company used the book to kick off its Spanish-language imprint in 1994.
''Over the years it has proved itself,'' says Messitte, who adds that her third grader's class has the book on its curriculum for next year. ``It renews itself with new audiences, and that's the definition of a classic -- to do that year after year, decade after decade, finding that connection with readers across a wide age range.''
Sue Rodriguez, lead teacher for the International Baccalaureate diploma program at Ferguson High in south Miami-Dade, taught Mango Street at Coral Gables and Coral Reef high schools throughout the late 1980s and '90s and says students always responded positively, especially at largely Hispanic Gables High.
''It's simple to read, though it's melodic and beautiful. But it's not a struggle for students, so they can think about it a lot,'' Rodriguez says. 'If I think back to what I was teaching in previous years before I read the book and started teaching more modern writers, we were still using that old lexicon of the so-called classics and yet not realizing that a lot of those books did not appeal to kids. As the world changed, and as technology burst onto the scene, we weren't going to get kids' attention with those books. The House on Mango Street has saved many an English teacher's sanity.''
Miami novelist Diana Abu-Jaber taught Mango Street at the college level in Oregon.
''There's magic in its brevity,'' she says. ``It's a little crystal of a book, and you can read through these fragments, these pieces, and get such a big, big story. . . . Its simplicity is deceptive. The child is able to look at hard, complex issues -- poverty, abuse -- and render them in this incredibly innocent, beautifully nonjudgmental form. I guess that's what a lot of us are looking for, to talk about the hard stuff in a really clear, simple way.''
MOSTLY A POET
Cisneros had viewed herself mostly as a poet when she started work on Mango Street, and her exquisite mastery of language is apparent in Esperanza's budding feminist voice. She is now author of the poetry collections Bad Boys, My Wicked Wicked Ways and Loose Woman; a story collection, Woman Hollering Creek; and the hefty novel Caramelo, about a Mexican-American family much like hers. But as a young woman at the Iowa Writer's Workshop -- she had previously earned an English degree at Loyola University -- Cisneros at times foundered.
''I was stumbling and bumbling around,'' she says. 'I didn't know about feminist Latina authors. I was hacking my way through thickets, thinking, `I know there's a path here somewhere.' What helped is when I realized there were no other working-class people, especially Latina or Americans of color, telling the story I needed. Emotion got me through. I was depressed. I got angry. . . . We saw a flood of viewpoints from people with power, and people who wrote other kinds of stories were made to feel as if they didn't count and made to feel inferior. So I wrote the book I wanted to read.''
Other writers were emboldened by her trailblazing.
''Twenty-five years ago there was no Latina literature,'' says novelist and memoirist Esmeralda Santiago. Mango Street 'was something we were looking for. I didn't know I was a writer then, but I was certainly looking for that story, that experience that was so particular to my life and the lives of people that I knew and loved. I grew up in public schools in New York, and we read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Carson McCullers and To Kill a Mockingbird, and those are wonderful books. However, they were at a remove from my experience. Sandra was able to show us that our stories, our lives, our experiences, were worthy of literature. Many writers like myself all of a sudden said, `OK, yeah! My life is interesting! I don't have to live in the Deep South to write!' ''
These days Cisneros, who lives in San Antonio with (at last count) six rescued dogs -- you can see them on her website, www.sandracisneros.com -- finds that assisting fledgling writers is paramount. She's writer in residence at Our Lady of the Lake University and president and founder of the Macondo Foundation, a group of writers, journalists and artists with an eye toward community-building and social change. The organization, incorporated in 2006, started in Cisneros' kitchen.
INTEREST IN ACTIVISM
Cisneros' attention may be drawn to new voices -- ''I want to use my energies now that I'm older to work with writers who are engaged in community building and activism'' -- but circumstances indicate readers will remain enchanted with Mango Street for years to come.
''It speaks to such a common experience for immigrants but also for people in general,'' says Haitian-born Miami author Edwidge Danticat. ``She writes about the Virginia Woolf premise taken to everyday life, people wanting their own roof over their heads. In this time when all we hear about is foreclosure and growing homelessness, and people living in cars, her book is even more poignant. It's more relevant than ever, given the climate. It's going to have another 25 years, at least. Each time you can read it differently, depending what stage you're at in your life. I read it when I was almost 20, and now I can imagine reading it to my daughters. All these little milestones in it are milestones in a young girl's life.''
For Cisneros, the fact that Mango Street continues to inspire and entertain is gratifying, but still she marvels at its effect.
''This book empowers readers,'' she says. ``And I wrote it from such a powerless place! That it has done that is amazing to me.''
-30-
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
George Lopez brings heat and spice to late night chat, the interview
TBS announced a new late-night talk show hosted by George Lopez that will premiere November 2009. This show will air on the network Monday through Thursday at 11:00 pm.
Lopez promises a "blended" late-night TV show that will hit needed pockets of the country starved for non-white comedic entertainment perspective.
Lopez spoke to assembled journalists on a conference call last week and joked with one from Miami, ''We're gonna have a Castro death-watch clock in the corner of the screen!''
The TBS talk show promised to be pure Lopez- said with jest and goodwill - to an audience who wants a more ethnic slice of celebrity life.
Lopez is a Mexican-American of humble origins married to a Cuban American, his wife Ann the donor of his life-saving kidney a few years back.
Now Lopez's 11 p.m. show, which will debut in November, will have more "sabor" and heat than his paler counterparts, Jay, Dave, Conan and Jimmy.
''For whatever reason, I have the ability to connect with people regardless of color or age,'' says Lopez of his comedic gifts, who took his stand-up comedy act and created a sitcom that ran on ABC from 2002-2007.
Lopez spoke to Monsters and Critics and some other online journalists the day of the announcement last week and shared his thoughts, and answered our questions.
What unique things do you see yourself bringing to late night chat?
George Lopez: Well, first of all, I’m not a white male. So I’m of color already. You put me and Craig Ferguson right next to each other and you’ll see a huge difference already.
I’m going to bring a more eclectic group of actors, a more eclectic music from Mana to Santana to Slash to Garth Brooks and all of them it’s –I know some pretty high profile people in Hollywood and in music and in comedy and actors and actresses. And they all seem to be pretty supportive of the idea.
And there’s just an audience that is beyond The Hills and Gossip Girl and I feel like I can pull those people to TBS and they can watch a show that is –I’m trying to be completely inclusive to bridge a gap that I think exists that – I watch TV and I’m a fan of TV. I’ve been watching it my whole life.
I think it’s still very much black and white. And what I do is I throw myself and my hat into the ring. And there’s the largest growing demographic of people in the United States are Latinos. And unfortunately a lot of the news regarding Latinos is all very negative.
Well, this today is a good story.
Is TV chat ready for you, will you be much different than what we have already?
George Lopez: Here’s the beauty of that. All of those shows have been on ABC, NBC, or CBS. Now, I don’t know if you are going to regret saying this to me because I am a little bit out there when it comes to standup.
But the head of TBS said, “Listen, George, we’re cable so take some liberties with the language.” I think they may come back to bite him in the ass.
So there’s certain – I think what Bill Maher – you look at Bill Maher on HBO. Incredibly funny and it does have some bite to it because of language. And you know you don’t have that option on NBC. I have the option on TBS and I’d rather have that bullet in my gun than not have it.
I’m sure a motherf*cker will slip out now and then.
Are you watching Jimmy Fallon on late night?
George Lopez: I’ve been aware –I know Jimmy. I know Jimmy pretty good from Saturday Night Live and I’ve talked to him a few times over the years. And I invited him to the Bob Hope golf tournament that I hosted last year and he was amazing. I mean, really, I mean, a talented cat.
I, unfortunately, am sleeping at that time, and I haven’t TiVo’d it because I didn’t want to be influenced by what he was doing or I didn’t want to say anything because I’d rather not know and only speak of him as trying to get his feet on a show taking over for somebody, which can’t be easy. You know what I mean?
Like I know he’s working hard. I know it’s a difficult job to do and I didn’t want to either have an opinion or give an opinion either way because I know it’s difficult to step into somebody, especially Conan O’Brien’s shoes.
Was that a good answer?
Also I’ll say to my benefit, I’ve never been happier not to be a white male than I am today.
You were the first guy to say, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” at a NASCAR race in Spanish.…
George Lopez: Actually, I didn’t say, “Gentlemen, start your engines.” I said, “Is there anybody out there who has an extra (churro),” but it just – nobody understood what I was saying at a NASCAR race.
They didn’t notice.
Do you feel like, with this show, that you will be perceived as a trailblazer in another way?
George Lopez: Well, I feel that Arsenio was the original trailblazer. I was fortunate enough to be on his show from June of 1989 to May of 1994. I think I made 16 appearances.
He and I became very friendly during that time. And in that time, I did The Tonight Show in 1991 on November 21, one of the last comedians to do The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
And Johnny Carson was very nice to me not only during the show but after the show. And I’ve been on The Tonight Show a couple of times with Jay Leno. And you know I’ve been on nine times on Ellen and I think ten times on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. And it’s all been great.
You know I’ve watched The Tonight Show and Letterman and you know Mike Douglas, like everybody, man. You hear everybody talk about Mike Douglas and Dinah Shore and Dick Cavett, fantastic.
And those shows – because I was a child of TV. I was an only child and I wanted to be a comedian...this year’s my 30-year anniversary of being a comedian.
Now what I feel with this talk show is that there’s an audience, obviously even just by looking at the people that I’m going to talk to in the next 40 minutes, that’s incredibly diverse and ethnically enhanced now that wasn’t there 30 years ago, 20 years ago, even 10 years ago.
So, we’re in a position now where it was tough to have a Latino guy who would cross over and appeal to everyone. With the success of George Lopez on Nickelodeon and for the 6 years it was on ABC, I have that luxury of – it’s almost become like one word, George Lopez, it’s never just George. I mean, I’m actually thinking about having the space removed and have it just be GeorgeLopez, one word.
I’m not afraid of a challenge. I’m not intimidated by having a camera on me. And over the last 10 years of being in Hollywood, I’ve made some pretty good high profile friends. You know Samuel L. Jackson was in my production pilot because I called him and so was Eva Longoria and Dane Cook and I used Shakira’s band.
So I’ve already been endorsed by some pretty high profile celebrities as wanting to be on this show. So I think those are all pluses in my favor.
Who would be your top five must-have guests on your show? And why?
George Lopez: Well, I’d love to have Michael Jackson on because he’s black and white. So he would appeal to a universal demographic.
Now he’s doing shows again. I was thinking about actually going to London to see one of his shows. I testified in his trial because I knew the accuser because I was his coach at a comedy camp at the Laugh Factory. And if Michael Jackson is performing it becomes a huge musical act.
But also, I’m a huge fan of Mana, they’re like U2, that politically relevant and that socially relevant. And I can’t remember the last time I saw Mana on English speaking TV. Now they have an opportunity to do that. I mean, they’re one of the biggest bands that’s ever performed and an incredibly successful, popular group for all fans.
But why not Latinos? Why shouldn’t Latinos have a show where they can see Denzel Washington and Mana on the same show?
I became friendly with Barack Obama because I was out there campaigning with him. And I went from Texas to Michigan to Virginia to Miami the day before the election.
So he helped me with a little piece that we did for the production pilot. So you know I’d love to have Barack Obama on.
But also, I’d love Michelle. You know Jay Leno had Barack but I’d love to have Barack and Michelle at the same time, baby. Why should only 60 Minutes get that? I’d love to have his mother on (too).
So yes obviously from Juanes to Santana to will.i.am to Garth Brooks, they’re all – everybody’s in play, except maybe Erik Estrada.
Why not?
George Lopez: Not a fan.
Will you delegate the monologue writing or do it all yourself?
George Lopez: What’s beautiful – even though it doesn’t work in basketball, I think it works in comedy. Player coaches never work in basketball. Like when Michael Jordan, I think, tried to be a player coach it didn’t work because you’re not going to take yourself out of the game or be objective.
I actually love collaborating because I have my own path now, and I’m not going to say something that would be something that I wouldn’t say. I mean, that’s to be organic to me and the edgier the better. And I’m not afraid to take on somebody or say something that somebody will find offensive because unfortunately in comedy, you can’t say anything really good without offending somebody.
How did this all come together at TBS? Do you prefer it to sitcoms?
George Lopez: I’m out of the sitcom business. I love the fact that I never thought I would get a sitcom nor did I ever think I would be in syndication nor did I ever think the show would be more successful in syndication than it was in production.
But that’s been kind of the way my career’s been where it’s all been unexpected. You know George Lopez can’t do this and I get nominated for two Grammys. I haven’t won, but I still got nominated for two Grammys, completely unexpected. I was number 9 on the top 10 Harris Poll and been on the Forbes list. I grew up dirt poor so I’ve exceeded my own expectations.
I’m not afraid of this challenge nor am I afraid to try to be a little – a little edgier nor am I afraid to take something and just make it my own. I’m not sure if you can reinvent the talk show format, but I think you can paint with different colors. And already we’re going to use more, obviously, brown and taupe and mauve and more colors than I think are being used right now in late-night.
When I was doing the show, I got a push by Jim Paratore who worked on Rosie O’Donnell and who’s working on Ellen. And this was – I probably was in my episode - in the 30s, and I met him and he said, “Would you consider doing a talk show?” And I said, “Look, I’ve got a show.” And he said, “Well, it’s not going to run forever, but when it’s over, at least please keep it in the back of your mind.”
So over the last 5 years that I would see that guy he would always mention it to me. And I’ve been out for 2 years. One of the reasons I find this challenge so interesting is because I believe that there’s an audience out there that’s not – that’s not being serviced. And it’s diverse.
It’s really what got Barack Obama elected. Barack Obama didn’t get elected solely on the white vote. And he got people to the polls who normally wouldn’t have voted and they voted and they stood in line for hours.
So seeing that inspires you to know that those people all have TVs. And especially being Latino I know that sometimes there are three TVs on in our house and two of them might be in Spanish and one of them’s in English, or two of them might be in English and one of them’s in Spanish. And that’s fine. And that all counts.
But I don’t think that’s represented by particularly the numbers that come out in Nielsen. I think we’re under-looked. And if you look at the newscast, I think that Spanish news and novellas beat the hell out of ‘How I Met Your Mother.’
TBS states there will be a “street party atmosphere”, elaborate please.
George Lopez: Well, when I shot my pilot in August, I shot it outside. And I used the entrance to ER, that whole ambulance entrance with the L train and we lit those pillars and we made – it had a depth and we used a (jumbo mart) from ER and we shot it out in the street.
And we didn’t use chairs. We used kind of an amphitheater feel and we had people pretty much almost not 360 but pretty – 240 around me.
And since I’m a standup, I’m not put out by people being right on top of me. And they were excited to see me because they know me already. And you know I used (Sam) Jackson. I called (Sam Jackson). He was on my show.
I called Eva Longoria. She was there. And I know Dane Cook, he was on. And I called Kaley Cuoco. I’ve known Kaley Cuoco since she was 16. And I used Shakira’s band.
So in that presentation outside, it already looked different. And then I didn’t use a desk. And I really don’t want to use cards. I don’t want to have to read what’s going to happen next. I mean, in 7 minutes I don’t think – I mean, if you do your work, I don’t think you need cards.
Where do you shoot the show?
George Lopez: I will be in L.A.. I’ll be at Warner Brothers.
It’s fantastic because it’s 3 minutes from my house, not that I’m opposed to drive but you know the closer to the house, the better.
How does the audience interact with you and the guests?
George Lopez: You know what I did is when I interviewed Eva for the pilot, I’d have the audience ask like three questions.
I don’t know if the people do that. And what I did is we didn’t screen the questions. So that’ll be different, you give a mic to somebody. I think you have to pay somebody every time they talk, but TBS has got some bank. They’ll be all right with that.
I’ll be funny and joking around and then slip in if they’ve ever been convicted of a felony. Now you know at that hour, after long days, I’d like to just have it be funny. I’d like to bring out the best in them and for me to have a good time with them. You know what I mean? I don’t want it to be heavy because that’s what Anderson Cooper’s for or Lou Dobbs.
What I want to do is sometimes do interviews in the middle of the people or put them 360 sometimes. I don’t think that there has to be like this kind of imaginary wall. I mean, look, I’m a Latino so I’m not four walls.
I don’t think there needs to be this kind of disconnect. I feel like it can all work and all work kind of together. You know we’re kind of together. I mean, I had a standing room only section on the pilot, and I intend to recreate that on the show in November.
So inclusive, closer, they can ask questions, I don’t want them to heckle but I don’t want them to feel like they’re not part of it just by coming and just watching and like they’re watching a movie. It’s not going to have a movie feel. It’ll have like you’re really there, like we’re going to be present.
I don’t know if we’ll use applause signs but if we do, they’ll be bilingual. I think that would be the first time you’ll have English and Spanish applause signs.
So I just, at that hour, 11 o’clock, just have it be a little – have some shit happen that is not on a card, that’s more spontaneous or an answer that you didn’t expect to get or a follow-up question that – I can’t say most of those guys would be afraid to ask – but a follow-up question that comes from my mind which thinks differently.
So, unique to my own sensibility and my own humor but ultimately they’ll understand that there’ll be a certain aspect of it that’ll be off the cuff. I think that is different already.
Will you cut your touring for this show?
George Lopez: I was on the road last week and then I was at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta and the marketing people and advertising, some of the – all of the marketing people and the head of TBS came to the show. And they’re very excited, as is Telepictures, as is Warner Brothers and you know as I am.
So I don’t intend it to cut into my tour schedule. As a matter of fact, in August on the – August 8 I’m doing a live HBO special from the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
And the weekend after that, I think I’m doing Radio City Music Hall in New York and then I’m going to take a little bit of a break and concentrate on getting the show ready in November.
So I intend to go full bore not only with the talk show but with the schedule and creating the next HBO special.
Does your audience at the standup gigs expect a “clean” TV George Lopez?
George Lopez: Well I didn’t like when kids came because they thought they were going to see the ‘Nick at Nite’ George Lopez. It’s almost like having two brothers and one is the bad brother when you come over you have to hide like your valuables and then one is the good brother that drives the Beamer and doesn’t tint his windows because it’s illegal.
So I managed to gradually and – although I think there’s been some people who have walked out, unfortunately. But they brought kids. And now it is posted everywhere, “For Mature Audiences and Over 18 Only.”
But I love my young fans. What I’ve done sometimes, too, is if there’s a couple of kids, like maybe seven kids, I’ll pull the kids out of the audience, give them their money back and then give them sweatshirts and t-shirts and meet them after the show. And they’re happy with that.
What do you think is the secret to any great late-night talk show?
George Lopez: Well, I’ve been on a lot of those shows, but I think what I – what appeals to me more – I mean, I love the energy of Ellen’s audience from the time they get in.
And I was telling Ellen the last time I was on – which was like a month ago – that I had a meeting and they had her show on and the sound was off and through the sound being off, those people looked like they were having a great time.
You know what’s going on in this country and what’s going on in the world and what’s going on economically and what’s going on with people financially is something that hasn’t happened in our lifetime. And there’s enough heavy shit out there.
So these people looked like they were happy. And I would like to continue that. And I was around Arsenio from ’89 for the 5 years he was on, and I don’t think I’ve ever stood on the side of a stage in the beginning of a show where there was more excitement than before Arsenio came out. And that was 20 years ago, so that audience went to him in droves.
And I believe that there’s an audience but kids of that audience and that’s bigger and more ethnically diverse which makes me want to be more inclusive and really makes me want to show TV that all of that is viable, that those dollars that people – that those people spend, that the money that African-American people have, and the Latinos have and that Asian people have and that everyone is branded.
Nothing is black and white anymore. You know Barack Obama has a white mother and his father’s Kenyan.
So it isn’t black and white anymore, man. It’s just – you know if anybody should know blended, it’s people now because every drink we have is blended. Everything’s blended
Read more: "George Lopez brings heat and spice to late night chat, the interview" - http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/features/article_1467578.php#ixzz0BMsIwLNz
Crean Archivo Digital de Antiguas Canciones Mexicanas
[Click headline to go to UCLA The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings]
Por E.J. TÁMARA © 2009 The Associated Press
El primer mariachi grabado, las canciones de un supergrupo pionero de lo que ahora se conoce como música norteña y las interpretaciones de la primera "Reina de la música tejana" son parte del archivo más grande de su tipo, 41.000 antiguos temas mexicanos que ahora están disponibles al público en formato digital.
Las joyas musicales del Cuarteto Coculense, Lydia Mendoza y el dúo precursor de música norteña Los Alegres De Terán son algunas de las piezas digitalizadas a partir de discos de 78 rpm grabados entre principios de 1900 y la década de los 50, bajo varios sellos discográficos.
"Este legado musical que nos dejan con esta colección no se compra con dinero", afirmó el jueves Hernán Hernández, integrante de Los Tigres del Norte, banda de música norteña que en el 2000 donó medio millón de dólares a UCLA para el estudio, investigación, adquisición, mantenimiento y diseminación de música tradicional y folclórica latina.
Pero debido a restricciones de derecho de autoría, la Colección Strachwitz Frontera de Discos de Música Mexicana y Mexicoamericana, disponible en la Universidad de California en Los Angeles (UCLA), cada una de las canciones sólo puede ser escuchada en su totalidad en computadoras del centro superior. Desde fuera de la UCLA sólo se puede escucharse los primeros 50 segundos de cada canción por internet.
Los discos originales de la colección, incluyendo los de 45 y 33 rpm que están por digitalizarse, pertenecen al alemán Chris Strachwitz, presidente de la Fundación Arhoolie, quien dijo que se enamoró de la música regional mexicana por la pasión que dejan traslucir las voces e instrumentos.
"Tiene el mismo tipo de soul y fuerza y agallas que vi en lo mejor de jazz, blues y country ... puede ser muy bonito. Es fuerte pero bonito. No sé como decirlo pero me sobrecoge", indicó Strachwitz, quien coleccionó música durante unos 60 años.
El Cuarteto Coculense es identificado como la primera banda urbana de mariachi. Conocida también como "La Alondra de la Frontera", Lydia Mendoza grabó más de 200 canciones en más de 50 álbumes durante su carrera de 60 años que comenzó en 1928. Los temas de Los Alegres De Terán, formado por Eugenio Abrego y Tomás Ortíz, fueron transmitidos por radio en Nuevo León alrededor de 1947, pero sólo acapararon audiencias grandes luego de comenzar a grabar en McAllen, Texas, de acuerdo con http://www.arhoolie.com
"La Colección Frontera será un recurso invaluable para estudiantes, investigadores y el público en general que quiera aprender más sobre la herencia musical en español de Estados Unidos", dijo Chon Noriega, director del Centro de Investigaciones de Estudios Chicanos.
Otros artistas incluidos en el archivo son: el Marichi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Los Hermanos Chavarría, de San Antonio, y los dúos femeninos Dueto Río Bravo, Las Hermanas Mendoza y Las Norteñitas.
En internet:
Colección Frontera en UCLA: http://frontera.library.ucla.edu
Fundación Arhoolie: http://www.arhoolie.org
Fundación Los Tigres del Norte: http://www.lostigresdelnortefoundation.org
Centro de Investigaciones de Estudios Chicanos: http://www.chicano.ucla.edu
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Monday, March 30, 2009
UCR Class to Investigate Documentary Photography
[Photo: John's Furniture, Globe, AZ Series, Click image to make larger. Copyright 2009 Jesús Manuel Mena Garza.]
California photographer Jesús Manuel Mena Garza will illuminate his and other documentary photographers work in a class offered at the University of California, Riverside, Extension. The course is titled, Documentary Photography and is scheduled for May 5 through June 2, 2009.
Garza explained, “The new class will give students an opportunity to explore how photography interprets our society. As a photographer, I feel it is important to capture a vanishing America before it inevitably disappears. The beauty of our communities and people should be immortalized on photographic paper.”
The photographers adds, “Students in the course will learn the art of visual storytelling — whether for a single editorial image, for feature stories or books or for creating a personal record of things observed. Students will explore ways to execute photos through a range of styles and subjects and create a story line from concept to final print.”
The class will inform students on diverse photographic processes. Students will learn to take better images with strong, sensitive and effective visual qualities by producing several themed projects. These same projects can work as a portfolio.
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Friday, March 20, 2009
Language, Culture & Global Studies in Education
The College of Education and Integrative Studies (CEIS) at Cal Poly Pomona invites applications to a tenure-tract position as an assistant professor in “Language, Culture & Global Studies in Education.
DEPARTMENT
The Department of Education seeks an Assistant Professor in Language, Culture and Global Studies in Education
POSITION TITLE AND DESCRIPTION
The Department of Education seeks a scholar/practitioner in supporting the education of English learners in the teacher credential and masters programs and invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position to begin fall, 2009.
The position presents an outstanding opportunity to develop and coordinate the department’s Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) certification program and contribute to a dynamic masters program. The successful candidate will be responsible for coordination, development and accreditation of the BCLAD program and will take the lead in monitoring the embedded Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) component of the single (secondary education) and multiple-subject (elementary education) credential programs. Opportunities exist to contribute to the Masters Program in Language Culture & Global Studies, in planning and curriculum development; course implementation; advisement and recruitment of candidates; chairing MA project/thesis committees and assisting in building collaborative partnerships with local school districts. The successful candidate must demonstrate commitment to serving students in the department as well as campus-wide initiatives such as student-centered instruction, service learning, and obtaining external funding. . The successful candidate will be expected to supervise preservice teachers in the credential programs. The successful candidate will also have opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in the Ethnic & Women’s Studies Department and will be expected to maintain connections with emerging Asian BCLAD needs for the region. Applicants whose work incorporates a global perspective and a demonstrated commitment to diversity in higher education are particularly encouraged to apply.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
• Earned doctorate in multicultural or multilingual education or closely related field in language, culture and global studies in education prior to September 1, 2009.
• Expertise in English language development among K-12 students, second language acquisition and literacy, and language policy.
• Demonstrated fluency in speaking and writing in academic Spanish.
• Knowledge of current research and best practices to raise the achievement of English Language Learners in K-12 schools.
• Evidence of emerging professional and scholarly productivity that aligns with the college’s commitment to social justice.
• A minimum of 3 years successful teaching experience or equivalent in diverse K-12 schools with English language learners.
PREFERRED/DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Experience in university teaching, supervising preservice candidates and advising of graduate students.
• Active participation in professional associations or networks related to area of expertise.
• Engaged scholarship agenda and professional practice (e.g., critical race theory, Freirean pedagogy, popular education, etc.).
APPLICATION DATE and HOW TO APPLY
To be considered for the position, applicants are required to submit a letter that includes a statement of their teaching philosophy within a multicultural environment (please give examples), a completed application form, curriculum vitae, a transcript showing highest degree earned from an accredited educational institution (unofficial copy allowed for initial screening), and the names and contact information of five references. Official copy of transcript and three recommendation letters will be required of finalists. Completed packages submitted by April 6, 2009 will receive first consideration. The position will remain open until it is filled. Materials submitted by the candidate will be available for examination by all tenured and probationary faculty of the department. Applications may be downloaded from our website at:
http://academic.csupomona.edu/faculty/docs/application.pdf
Electronic submission of application materials is encouraged
Please submit applications to
Language, Culture and Global Studies Search Committee
c/o Ms. Lisa Lee
College of Education and Integrative Studies California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 3801 West Temple Avenue Pomona, CA 91768-4016
Telephone: (909) 869-2318 Fax: (909) 869-4963
E-mail: lklee@csupomona.edu
The Department of Education is one of four departments within the College of Education and Integrative Studies. The Department is organized into two divisions: Educational Leadership and Teacher Education, and Graduate/Pedagogical Studies. Additional information is available at the University’s website, http://www.ceis.csupomona.edu.
THE UNIVERSITY: Cal Poly Pomona is a public university and one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The campus is located approximately 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and is part of one of the most dynamic economic and cultural regions in the country. The university is noted for its scenic and historic 1,400-acre campus, once the winter ranch of cereal magnate W. K. Kellogg, located within an hour’s drive of beaches, mountains and the desert. Within a 20-mile radius of the university is a multi-ethnic population of nearly 3.8 million people. Cal Poly Pomona has a rapidly growing student population currently at 19,000 (approximately 68% ethnic minorities). Students are enrolled in 62 baccalaureate and 18 master’s degree programs with approximately 1200 full-time and part-time faculty. The University is committed to diversifying its faculty and staff to better serve its multicultural student body, and has made educational equity one of its highest priorities.
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. The University seeks to recruit and regain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of California, to maintain the excellence of the University, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives and ways of knowing and learning. Cal Poly Pomona subscribes to all state and federal regulations and prohibits discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital status, age, religion, or veteran status. The University hires only individuals lawfully authorized to work in the United States. As required by the Clery Disclosure Act, the university’s annual security report is available at http://dsa.csupomona.edu/police/securityreport.asp.
http://academic.csupomona.edu/faculty/position.aspx?p_id=18
Monday, March 16, 2009
Desperate homeowners easy prey for scammers
Carolyn Said, SF Chronicle Staff WriterExiled Nigerian princes are old hat. The hottest come-on these days, clogging e-mail in-boxes, voice mail and radio airwaves, goes something like this: "Are you struggling with your mortgage? President Obama approved the new federal loan modification program. We can help lower your mortgage payment."
It's the foreclosure-rescue scheme, given up-to-the-minute credence by the fact that the president has in fact endorsed loan modifications, the reworking of home loans to make them more affordable.
Scores of individuals and companies have sprung into action, marketing their services to help homeowners stave off foreclosure. They charge thousands of dollars and promise to deliver huge monthly savings on mortgage payments.
With a record 5.4 million U.S. homeowners behind on mortgage payments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the pool of people desperate for help is huge.
But the services these "loan negotiators" provide generally are steps homeowners could take themselves, with little or no help. Those steps include contacting their lender, assembling their financial documents and writing a letter demonstrating hardship.
For those who want assistance, free help is available from counseling agencies supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the industry-backed HOPE hot line. And no one other than a lender can guarantee that a homeowner will qualify for reduced payments.
"People are in such a desperate place that it's low-hanging fruit," said Lisa Sitkin, an attorney with Housing and Economic Rights Advocates in Oakland. "We get calls (all the time) from people who paid someone to modify their loan" and never got the assistance.
Last week, Attorney General Jerry Brown warned homeowners to avoid mortgage scams masquerading as foreclosure assistance.
"Californians should be deeply skeptical of anyone who demands money up front and makes extravagant promises that they can save their home," he said in a statement.
Legitimate operators
Some loan modification consultants legitimately do try to negotiate lower payments. Many are former real estate agents, mortgage brokers or title agents. Craigslist last week had 61 help-wanted ads for loan mod reps throughout the Bay Area. Many ads pitched it as a patriotic way for people to help consumers, the country and themselves.
Aaron Ralls, a former corrections officer, works as an account executive for RJV Modifications, a Roseville (Placer County) company that charges $3,885 for a loan modification. The 17 account executives who handle loan modifications are paid on commission. He declined to state the amount.
Ralls said his company returns clients' money if it cannot secure them a lower mortgage payment, and turns away clients who seem unlikely to qualify for a modification because they don't have enough income.
"Whenever clients ask if they can do it themselves, I tell them, 'You absolutely can, but it's very hard because you get the runaround,' " he said. "You're calling the phone centers, getting the runaround, chasing fax machines. We do it all for the client."
Nasim Pakmanesh, production manager at Help-U-Mod in Walnut Creek, said his company's business model is to provide "forensic loan audits" for $1,500, then to refer clients to affiliated attorneys who charge about $1,000 to pursue a loan modification. He said the audit looks through the original loan documents to discover errors made when the loan was originated.
With the audit, "the attorney has more ammo to work with to negotiate for their clients," he said. "Instead of going in and saying, 'My clients can't afford the home and have a hardship,' they're saying, 'You guys approved a loan you shouldn't have - so what can you do for my clients?' Our audit will definitely increase the chances" of getting a loan modification.
'A feeding frenzy'
But Sitkin of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates said she doesn't think forensic loan audits accomplish anything beside sounding impressive.
"People are really proud when they tell me that they got it, but it's a false hope that it will stop foreclosure," she said.
Norma Garcia, senior attorney at the West Coast office of Consumers Union, said she is troubled that the loan-mod services are basically unregulated.
"Often it's not illegal to do what they're doing, but our concern is that some of the people who caused the mortgage meltdown are now profiting from it," she said. "It's a feeding frenzy in a loop. They're taking advantage of uninformed consumers to get money out of their ignorance."
Some loan-mod agents are out-and-out scammers.
"A lot of sham companies and con artists promise these vulnerable homeowners that if you just give us some money, we can do a loan modification, you can stay in your house and get your payment reduced," said Tom Pool, a spokesman for the California Department of Real Estate. "It is troubling that they're preying on those who don't have money to begin with. In many cases, the consumers use their credit card to pay the fees."
2 sent to prison
Last week, two loan-modification operators in Southern California were sent to prison for up to six years for grand theft.
"Ring members promised victims they would renegotiate their mortgages and reduce monthly payments," the attorney general's office said in a statement. After collecting up-front fees of $1,500 to $5,000, they "pocketed the money and did nothing to help victims."
Up-front fees, in fact, are one clear sign of a potential fraud, Pool said. California law strictly regulates how real estate professionals can collect advance fees, including a requirement that they have a contract approved by the Department of Real Estate. Homeowners can check the department's Web site (www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv_fees.html) to see whether that is the case.
"What we find is the rogue operators have flimsy contracts that don't meet the standard of current law," Pool said.
Gary Kishner, a spokesman for mortgage giant Chase, said he couldn't comment directly on loan modification services but added: "We encourage our customers to contact us directly."
Beware of loan modification offers
• There is no fee to talk to your lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor about a loan modification. A list of counseling agencies is at links.sfgate.com/ZMW. You can also call the HOPE hot line at (888) 995-4673 or online at www.995hope.org
• Beware of paying for housing counseling or loan modification assistance. The California Department of Real Estate offers advice on loan mod companies at www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv _fees.html. Check out attorneys at the State Bar of California's Web site, www.calbar.ca.gov
• Beware of anyone who offers to save your home if you sign or transfer over the deed to your house. Do not sign over the deed to your property unless you are working directly with your mortgage company to forgive your debt.
• Never make your mortgage payments to anyone other than your loan servicer without its approval.
It's the foreclosure-rescue scheme, given up-to-the-minute credence by the fact that the president has in fact endorsed loan modifications, the reworking of home loans to make them more affordable.
Scores of individuals and companies have sprung into action, marketing their services to help homeowners stave off foreclosure. They charge thousands of dollars and promise to deliver huge monthly savings on mortgage payments.
With a record 5.4 million U.S. homeowners behind on mortgage payments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the pool of people desperate for help is huge.
But the services these "loan negotiators" provide generally are steps homeowners could take themselves, with little or no help. Those steps include contacting their lender, assembling their financial documents and writing a letter demonstrating hardship.
For those who want assistance, free help is available from counseling agencies supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the industry-backed HOPE hot line. And no one other than a lender can guarantee that a homeowner will qualify for reduced payments.
"People are in such a desperate place that it's low-hanging fruit," said Lisa Sitkin, an attorney with Housing and Economic Rights Advocates in Oakland. "We get calls (all the time) from people who paid someone to modify their loan" and never got the assistance.
Last week, Attorney General Jerry Brown warned homeowners to avoid mortgage scams masquerading as foreclosure assistance.
"Californians should be deeply skeptical of anyone who demands money up front and makes extravagant promises that they can save their home," he said in a statement.
Legitimate operators
Some loan modification consultants legitimately do try to negotiate lower payments. Many are former real estate agents, mortgage brokers or title agents. Craigslist last week had 61 help-wanted ads for loan mod reps throughout the Bay Area. Many ads pitched it as a patriotic way for people to help consumers, the country and themselves.
Aaron Ralls, a former corrections officer, works as an account executive for RJV Modifications, a Roseville (Placer County) company that charges $3,885 for a loan modification. The 17 account executives who handle loan modifications are paid on commission. He declined to state the amount.
Ralls said his company returns clients' money if it cannot secure them a lower mortgage payment, and turns away clients who seem unlikely to qualify for a modification because they don't have enough income.
"Whenever clients ask if they can do it themselves, I tell them, 'You absolutely can, but it's very hard because you get the runaround,' " he said. "You're calling the phone centers, getting the runaround, chasing fax machines. We do it all for the client."
Nasim Pakmanesh, production manager at Help-U-Mod in Walnut Creek, said his company's business model is to provide "forensic loan audits" for $1,500, then to refer clients to affiliated attorneys who charge about $1,000 to pursue a loan modification. He said the audit looks through the original loan documents to discover errors made when the loan was originated.
With the audit, "the attorney has more ammo to work with to negotiate for their clients," he said. "Instead of going in and saying, 'My clients can't afford the home and have a hardship,' they're saying, 'You guys approved a loan you shouldn't have - so what can you do for my clients?' Our audit will definitely increase the chances" of getting a loan modification.
'A feeding frenzy'
But Sitkin of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates said she doesn't think forensic loan audits accomplish anything beside sounding impressive.
"People are really proud when they tell me that they got it, but it's a false hope that it will stop foreclosure," she said.
Norma Garcia, senior attorney at the West Coast office of Consumers Union, said she is troubled that the loan-mod services are basically unregulated.
"Often it's not illegal to do what they're doing, but our concern is that some of the people who caused the mortgage meltdown are now profiting from it," she said. "It's a feeding frenzy in a loop. They're taking advantage of uninformed consumers to get money out of their ignorance."
Some loan-mod agents are out-and-out scammers.
"A lot of sham companies and con artists promise these vulnerable homeowners that if you just give us some money, we can do a loan modification, you can stay in your house and get your payment reduced," said Tom Pool, a spokesman for the California Department of Real Estate. "It is troubling that they're preying on those who don't have money to begin with. In many cases, the consumers use their credit card to pay the fees."
2 sent to prison
Last week, two loan-modification operators in Southern California were sent to prison for up to six years for grand theft.
"Ring members promised victims they would renegotiate their mortgages and reduce monthly payments," the attorney general's office said in a statement. After collecting up-front fees of $1,500 to $5,000, they "pocketed the money and did nothing to help victims."
Up-front fees, in fact, are one clear sign of a potential fraud, Pool said. California law strictly regulates how real estate professionals can collect advance fees, including a requirement that they have a contract approved by the Department of Real Estate. Homeowners can check the department's Web site (www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv_fees.html) to see whether that is the case.
"What we find is the rogue operators have flimsy contracts that don't meet the standard of current law," Pool said.
Gary Kishner, a spokesman for mortgage giant Chase, said he couldn't comment directly on loan modification services but added: "We encourage our customers to contact us directly."
Beware of loan modification offers
• There is no fee to talk to your lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor about a loan modification. A list of counseling agencies is at links.sfgate.com/ZMW. You can also call the HOPE hot line at (888) 995-4673 or online at www.995hope.org
• Beware of paying for housing counseling or loan modification assistance. The California Department of Real Estate offers advice on loan mod companies at www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv _fees.html. Check out attorneys at the State Bar of California's Web site, www.calbar.ca.gov
• Beware of anyone who offers to save your home if you sign or transfer over the deed to your house. Do not sign over the deed to your property unless you are working directly with your mortgage company to forgive your debt.
• Never make your mortgage payments to anyone other than your loan servicer without its approval.
• Read full details on the administration housing plan at www.financialstability.gov
Sources: Financialstability.gov, California attorney general
E-mail Carolyn Said at csaid@sfchronicle.com.
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Friday, March 13, 2009
Just Another Repeater Radio Station
[Photo: Opie Taylor of the Andy Griffith TV Show... not radio]
Radio For the Rest Of Us?
I’ll keep this article brief. Most NPR stations are just repeater stations. They focus on programming that I consider East Coast highbrow. They rarely offer any local programming.
Here is how the NPR monolith works. Most NPR programming is produced at their flagship station, WGBH Boston. Before we get news and information, it is filtered (they have to make sure it isn't too progressive or contaminated by minorities) through a "sophisticated" Boston and New York filter. That is why NPR affiliates often blast the same material over the airwaves and dominate the left side of the radio dial. It gets awfully redundant.
Again, this bleached material has a definite East Coast bias. After listening to this corporate yammering (programming) you learn that East Coasters wouldn’t know a Chicano from a hole in the ground. This is not good news for us West Coast Chicanos. Changing NPR’s focus from YUPPIE news and features to more diverse fare is practically impossible. This is where the dinero (money) is and they are sticking to their network guns. But there is hope. The corporations don't own the future because Internet radio is on the rise.
Why is Internet radio so great? Apparently, production costs are relatively low, corporate donors aren't quite as important and you don’t have to own a big-fat production facility. In the interim, local repeater stations present vacuous programming like Boston Pops and A Prairie Home Companion. My wife loves this show.
Acculturated and somewhat assimilated, I also occasionally enjoy what the repeater stations offer, but I am not yet a clone of the famoso (famous) Opie Taylor - see photo above. I still like Tejano (American) music and an occasional story about people of color. The confluence of Chicanos and Internet radio will take place. Maybe the new paradigm shift has already taken place. It just isn't as obvious and as easy to access as the NPR stuff on the left side of the dial.
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