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June 30, 2009

Chicagoan Isai Madriz - Riding the Rails in Argentina

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Let’s see…it’s been a whopping 22 months since my favorite cyclist, Isai Madriz, mounted his rickety bicycle –the one with the picture of his girlfriend Danielle taped to it – to pedal from the ‘burbs of Chicago to Argentina and back up to Venezuela to raise money for low-income students to go to college.

I’ve written about him several times (read the September post on him here, and the most recent post from March here), chronicling his amazing adventures as he rides 22,500 miles from Montgomery, IL, a tiny ‘burb outside Aurora, to Tierra del Fuego (''Land of Fire'') at the southernmost tip of Argentina, then up to Caracas, Venezuela.

Why in the world would anybody do that? He’s doing it because after struggling to pay tuition and board at Humboldt State University in California, he wanted to make it easier on other young Latino students pursuing their college degree. So he decided to make the bike trip to raise funds for college-bound low-income Hispanic students.

On this incredibly long journey he’s been chased by dogs, broken several bones, been bitten by truly horrifying bugs, and fought off several debilitating viruses.

He crossed into South America August 11, 2008 and was in Colombia in early September. In February of 2009 he crossed into Argentina and just this week he sent me a note from Buenos Aires.

"During these last three months I’ve been a volunteer at the Patagonia Nature Foundation," Isai wrote in Spanish. "During my stay I’ve [helped] rehabilitate vulture, liberated a small, hairy armadillo, and served only the best lettuce leaves and roots to a very discriminating turtle."

"In mid-May I met a new friend, Adrian Marino, an Argentinian from the Silver City – who I met, ironically, one morning out on a deserted road back in January when he, too, was riding his bike. We hooked up and he introduced me to an engineering student named Javier Grange who let us use his garage to make a contraption to ride the rails."

Apparently, the boys designed, built, ripped apart, and rebuilt this two-bike frame five times before they got it to work on the rails serviceably, though screechily, but the friction on the rails made for too many sparks and they shortly abandoned the contraption for just regular biking (folks, I am NOT making this stuff up!).

Not to be discouraged, Isai and his travelling companion decided to try again.

"Right now we are preparing to continue our journey anew and we have constructed a new and improved apparatus for riding the rail so we can traverse the next 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) to Bolivia by rail," he gushed in his note. "I will keep you abreast of what happens."

No mention of how his fundraising efforts for the low-income college students are going, but in his earnest and self-effacing dispatches he seems to be having so much darned fun I just don’t have the heart to ask what I already know: you can’t squeeze blood from a stone – folks in South America are even poorer than "starving" college kids in Illinois.

But that’s where you come in!

As Isai continues on his way I’ll keep sharing his stories with you. If you’d like to help him help poor college kids you can send donations – which will go to the education fund, not to Isai’s travel expenses – to: Jesus Guadalupe Foundation, 902 S. Randall Road, Suite C-322, St. Charles, IL 60174. Write "For Isai" on the check.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Posted at 10:33 PM in Chicago, international relations, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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June 29, 2009

Barack Obama and Alvaro Uribe, Chapter 1

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

President Barack Obama met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe earlier today in the Oval Office around 3:40 p.m. EST. Seated in chairs in front of the fire place – beneath the George Washington photo – Presidents Obama and Uribe made remarks, paused for translations and photos, then took two questions. Sorta boring, really, in terms of theater.

But the drama of the developing situation in Honduras – against the backdrop of a White House administration furiously attempting to forge closer ties with the Latin American countries that were largely ignored by the Bush administration – made for a head-craning afternoon for those of us who care about our foreign policy toward Latin America.

I’m passing this along because – if today’s opening White House press conference question about whether the Obamas mailed a written condolence to the late Michael Jackson’s father is any indication – you won’t read much about it in the mainstream media. All quotes came from the White House Office of the Press Secretary, and my special thanks to today’s trusty pool reporter , USA Today’s David Jackson.

Obama started with the niceties, then zoomed in: "We discussed, most prominently, the interests of both countries in moving forward on a free trade agreement. This is something that has been discussed for quite some time. I have instructed Ambassador Kirk, our United States Trade Representative, to begin working closely with President Uribe's team on how we can proceed on a free trade agreement. There are obvious difficulties involved in the process and there remains work to do, but I'm confident that ultimately we can strike a deal that is good for the people of Colombia and good for the people of the United States."

Then President Obama made a quite bold statement, one that will surely be argued more in the coming days:

"I commended President Uribe on the progress that has been made in human rights in Colombia and dealing with the killings of labor leaders there, and obviously we've seen a downward trajectory in the deaths of labor unions and we've seen improvements when it comes to prosecution of those who are carrying out these blatant human rights offenses," Obama said. "President Uribe acknowledges that there remains more work to be done, and we look forward to cooperating with him to continue to improve both the rights of organized labor in Colombia and to protect both labor and civil rights leaders there.

Along those same lines, we obviously think that the steps that have already been made on issues like extrajudicial killings and illegal surveillance, that it is important that Colombia pursue a path of rule of law and transparency, and I know that that is something that President Uribe is committed to doing."

Obama, taking a page from Hillary Clinton’s book when she spoke in Mexico back in April, Obama too, took responsibility on behalf of the American People for the drug violence gripping so much of Latin America:

"It's important that the United States steps up and cooperates effectively in battling the adverse effects of drug trafficking.

And that includes, by the way, the United States reducing demand for drugs. We have responsibilities. We have responsibilities to reduce the trafficking of guns into the south that help strengthen these cartels and the flows of money and money laundering that at times involves not just the south – Southern Hemisphere but also the Northern Hemisphere. And so looking for additional ways that we can cooperate on those issues is very important."

The action then stopped, according to Jackson, "In what is beginning to become a tradition, the Colombian press corps requested and received a group photo with the president."

Apparently, Obama teased members of the pool for not wanting a picture of their own.

"You guys don't want to take a picture with me?," reporter Jackson quoted Obama as saying. "When a media member informed him that we're ‘too cool’ for that sort of thing, Obama said: ‘You're too cool, exactly - you guys are just too cool.’"

Uribe took the podium and, speaking in English, added his own bold statements:

"In the case of human rights, Colombia is rule of law in the utmost expression of public opinion participation. We -- I am the first with a duty to support of our armed forces, but for that reason of their honor, every soldier, every policeman in Colombia understands that we need credibility for this policing of democratic security, and credibility depends on effectiveness and on transparency. And transparency is a question of human rights.

Therefore, we are open, we are very receptive, to receive any advice, any suggestion on how we are going to fulfill our goal of ceasing civil violations of human rights in Colombia."

Wow, really? That’s a pretty humbled stance. What does that really mean? I have no idea.

Uribe, a president who enjoys a 70% approval rating in Colombia, followed up on a question from a reporter: "We have a recognition to advance in security, human rights, state restructure, to advance in economics, to advance in social cohesion, and for all these things it is very important to have the permanent support of President Obama, of the government of the United States, of the Congress of the United States."

During further Q&A, President Obama made this statement regarding the situation in Honduras:

"Well, let me first of all speak about the coup in Honduras, because this was a topic of conversation between myself and President Uribe.

All of us have great concerns about what's taken place there. President Zelaya was democratically elected. He had not yet completed his term. We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the President of Honduras, the democratically elected President there. In that we have joined all the countries in the region, including Colombia and the Organization of American States.

I think it's -- it would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backwards into the era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition rather than democratic elections. The region has made enormous progress over the last 20 years in establishing democratic traditions in Central America and Latin America. We don't want to go back to a dark past. The United States has not always stood as it should with some of these fledgling democracies, but over the last several years, I think both Republicans and Democrats in the United States have recognized that we always want to stand with democracy, even if the results don't always mean that the leaders of those countries are favorable towards the United States. And that is a tradition that we want to continue.

So we are very clear about the fact that President Zelaya is the democratically elected President, and we will work with the regional organizations like OAS and with other international institutions to see if we can resolve this in a peaceful way."

(Earlier in the day at the press briefing, Robert Gibbs the press secretary had confirmed that President Obama had not had any contact with President Zelaya Monday morning. He did say the White House had been working to avert the coup previous to the Friday incident, but didn’t give specifics on that or on whether there is a working plan for incentives or consequences for resolution of the incident.)

President Obama continued:

"With respect to the free trade agreement, obviously a lot of work has already been done on the free trade agreement, and we are hopeful that we can -- we can move forward to completion. I don't have a strict timetable, because I'm going to have to consult with Congress obviously on this issue. We've got a lot on our plates, if you haven't noticed. And I think that the burden is not simply on Colombia; I think Colombia has done a lot of excellent work. It is a matter of getting both countries to a place where their legislatures feel confident that it will be ultimately to the economic benefit of these countries.

I have noted a special concern that is bipartisan and shared both by this administration and Congress, that the human rights issues in Colombia get resolved. President Uribe has assured me that he is interested in resolving those issues. And, as I said, great progress has been made. I trust that we can make more progress. And I think that will help shape the overall environment in which this issue is being debated in Congress."

Asked by a Colombian reporter about term limits and whether Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should be limited in any way from running for re-election, Obama gave his standard answer about not getting involved in other countries’ democratic elections.

President Uribe, took the question as platform to discuss Colombia’s brand of democracy:

I said to President Obama, first, I am concerned, because I am a member of one generation of the four or five generations that have not lived one single day in peace in Colombia or prosperity. Therefore, I consider that Colombia needs to extend in that time security, democratic values, investment in social responsibility and social cohesion – with adjustments.

And I have said to President Obama what I want to say to you. Colombia is a country of solid democratic institutions. When we speak about institutions, we cannot speak in abstract about institutions. We have to speak about institutions in concrete terms. We have 1,102 mayors directly elected by the people; 32 governors. The regions in Colombia invest 51 percent of the public expenses. My government has built governments with all the regional governors and mayors regardless their political regions, and they have many, many political regions.

The justice, administration is independent in Colombia. Colombia has solid free press. Colombia has bodies, independent bodies, for control. Colombia is a country with very solid institutions.

I beg you, journalists, to separate the convenience or inconvenience of perpetuating the precedent with the qualification of our institutions. Anyway, our democratic institutions are totally solid."

Barack Obama and Alvaro Uribe, Chapter 2, to come.

Posted at 09:41 PM in Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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June 24, 2009

Ten who are making a big difference for us all – Chicago Latino List 2009

“Way more than 600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda”

Long story short: nearly every time there’s any sort of Who’s Who/Mover-Shaker/One-to-Watch list in “mainstream” publications there are few, if any, Hispanics on it despite there being a ton of awesome Latinos doing truly amazing things here in Chicago.

So, in order to help blunt this perceived shortage of Latino superstars I decided to start one.

I asked for nominations, got about 120, threw out the “usual suspects” – like elected officials and already well-publicized business and community leaders – narrowed the field to get a diverse group of immigrants, U.S.-born, younger, older, community, and business types, then did one-on-one interviews.

At the conclusion, I found five men and five women all dedicating their personal and professional excellence to making Chicago, Illinois, the U.S. – and sometimes the world – a better place.

Let me say it again: these people are not merely engaged in the noble task of empowering the Hispanic community, they have their sights set on making life better for blacks, whites, multi-ethnics, rurals, suburbans, urbans, immigrants, U.S.-born, and everyone in between.

And, yeah, these rock stars just happen to be Hispanic.

Please join me in getting your inspiration on as you read the stories of the ten incredible people who comprise the first annual “Chicago Latino List.”

Click on the title to read the full profile:

Concepcion Rodriguez, 45 – Scare-you-straight Caretaker of the Dead

A bilingual Funeral Director and embalmer, reformed gang member and volunteer gang intervention specialist, Rodriguez shows children and teens the grisly ravages of drugs, alcohol and the gang culture. She also talks to communities, affluent and needy alike, about how to reach out to kids they might not even think are at risk. Through her work, she has single-handedly saved the lives of hundreds of Chicago children.

Cynthia La Boy, 37 – Conqueror of All Obstacles

A single mother and professional living with a traumatic brain injury after a brutally violent crime, La Boy was told by her doctors she’d never be able to care for herself – much less go to college or have a career. Today she works at the Lake County Housing Authority as a bilingual assistant property manager connecting families to clean, safe living conditions and teaching them how to be responsible homeowners. A living miracle, she’s an award winning advocate and authentic voice for people living with disabilities.

Antonio Martinez Jr., 36 – Charmer of Benefactors

Martinez walked away from a successful dream career in sports marketing to become one of a very few Latinos in the field of professional fundraising. As Assistant Director of Development with the Chicago Community Trust, Martinez raises money to serve the basic human needs of the entire Chicago metropolitan region by supporting vitally-necessary community-based non-profit organizations.

John Viramontes, 57 – Voice to the Voiceless

An accountant by trade and lifelong community activist by heart, Viramontes dedicates his time to major issues including predatory lending, housing parity, rights for visual artists, and immigration. On an eternal quest for social justice, he’s devoted to improving the quality of life in Chicago neighborhoods and empowering struggling artists nationally by being a community presence and passionate spokesperson.

Dr. Ana Gil-Garcia, 54 – Leveler of Educational Inequalities

A tenured University Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, author, esteemed community leader, and forerunning advocate for Latino educational leaders, Gil-Garcia is a three time Fulbright scholar and an internationally acclaimed professional. Gil-Garcia, a published author, works tirelessly for a variety of community organizations and devotes most of her passion to ensuring the Chicago Public School system is a nationally-recognized leader in employing school administration leaders who accurately represent the diversity of their student communities.

Jose Oliva, 36 – Restaurant Worker Sentinel

A Policy Coordinator with Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Oliva is a driving force behind the legislative push to earn restaurant workers such common benefits as paid time off and job opportunity training. As the voice of both affluent teens working summer food service jobs and adults who support families with their back-of-house restaurant jobs, Oliva labors to fight poverty, racism and sexism while mobilizing local worker organizations. He not only teaches these groups how to become active and engaged in the federal political process, but he represents them in Washington, DC, as well.

Veronica Arreola, 34 – Professional Feminist

As Assistant Director for the UIC Center for Research on Women and Gender and the Director of Women in Science and Engineering Program, Arreola is a dedicated advocate for women’s rights, helping them maneuver professions that even today are still dominated by men. As a mother, accomplished blogger, and activist for women’s reproductive rights, she has won numerous awards for her work and is dedicated to helping women and girls advocate for themselves in Chicago and around the country.

Roberto Cornelio, 51 – Large Business Incubator

The Chief Operating Officer of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Cornelio – a former top executive at Fortune 500 companies – works to raise the funds, nurture the relationships and promote the programs that drive Hispanic business growth and foster the next generation of Hispanic business and business leaders. His work makes it possible for the Latino community’s instinct for entrepreneurship to thrive and, in turn, deliver jobs and opportunities to contribute to the overall economic development and job creation in Chicago and across Illinois communities.

Nelly Aguilar, 33 – Esquire to the Special

Attorney and dedicated special education advocate, Aguilar – mother to a son with Autism – works to protect the educational rights of children with disabilities. One of only approximately 15 lawyers specializing in the rights of students with special education needs, she campaigns for State and Federal law reform to help families’ secure medical, educational and recreational opportunities for their special needs children. Better still, she trains the next generation of attorneys who will serve the hundreds of thousands of Illinois children with disabilities.

Matthew Montez, 22 – De-myth-ifier of the Path to College

A former Pilsen/Little Village caseworker, recent college graduate and eternal optimist, Montez has just committed the next two years of his life to the Illinois Student Assistance Corps. After a seven-week training camp, he’s moving to Rockford to teach high school students how to prepare for, apply to and pay for college. Inspired most by those who avoid controversy and succeed despite adversity, his mission is to connect with high school students who will be the first in their family to go beyond a HS diploma, and teach them how to build enough social capital to get themselves into and through the rigors of college.

“Chicago Latino List 2009” was generously sponsored by the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Chicago White Sox, and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Restaurants. All nominees were independently nominated for this recognition; their rejection and/or selection to “Chicago Latino List 2009” was not, in any way, influenced by any disclosed or undisclosed personal or professional proximity to Esther J. Cepeda or to any sponsor of “Chicago Latino List 2009”.

Posted at 07:00 AM in Chicago, crime/violence/gangs/poverty, culture, Current Affairs, education, Health/Medicine/nutrition, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, kids/teens, politics, responsibility, Sports, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Antonio Martinez Jr., Chicago Hispanic List, Chicago Hispanic Stars, Chicago Hispanics, Chicago Latino List, Chicago Latino List 2009, Chicago’s Latino Rising Stars, Concepcion Rodriguez, Cynthia LaBoy, Dr. Ana Gil Garcia, Future Hispanic Leaders, Future Latino Leaders, Hispanic Chicagoans to Watch, Hispanic List Chicago, Hispanics to Watch, John Viramontes, Jose Oliva, Latino up and comers, Latinos to Watch, Matthew Montez, Nelly Aguilar, Roberto Cornelio, Veronica Arreola, “Chicago Latino List 2009”

Chicago Latino List 2009 - Dr. Ana Gil Garcia, Leveler of Educational Inequalities

“600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda”

It would take well over six hundred words just to list the many, many accomplishments of Dr. Ana Gil-Garcia.

She’s a

tenured University Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, a published author, a three time Fulbright scholar, and an internationally acclaimed professional.

When she’s not hosting professional visitors from Belarus, Italy, Armenia, Russia, Georgia, and Ecuador as a member of the International Visitor Center of Chicago, or advocating for Latinos in the academic field of science, she’s a member of the Advisory Council on Latino Affairs of the City of Chicago and a director of the Rotary One Club of Chicago for 2009-2010.

But what realllllly drives this woman is her quest to ensure the Chicago Public School system is a nationally-recognized leader in employing school administration leaders who accurately represent the diversity of their student communities.

“Latino school leaders are the minority. There are 70,000 Hispanic students in CPS but only 13.6% of school administrators are Latino, in Chicago! How can that be in such a multi-cultural city?” Gil-Garcia told me “There are 114 languages spoken in Chicago!”

The Venezuela-born, 54-year-old Gil-Garcia has a bit of a different view – a more global one – when it comes to why it’s important for there to be an equally representative cadre of Latino teachers in CPS.

“Chicago is not only for one racial or ethnic group. We have, in every school in Chicago, Hispanics mixing with the other groups,” she said, in response to my questioning how her crusade affects non-Latinos. “By having someone who is coming from a different background than the mainstream, that person will be more sensitive not only to Latinos but to anyone who is coming from a different cultural background, or who speaks a different language.”

I’ve not been on the bandwagon, instead advocating for high qualifications as the most important aspect of any school administrator, but Gil-Garcia makes a compelling case.

“Being a Latino or Hispanic doesn’t mean the administrator will be only serving one portion of the population, but that person would be serving a very large population of the entirety of CPS,” Gil-Garcia pressed.

“Last September Latinos used to be the second-largest population as it had been for 7 years, since this past year we are now number one – the largest population – followed by African-American students, then Caucasian kids, then Asian and Pacific Islander,” Gil-Garcia said. “When you take a look at the demographics of the teachers, white teachers are the majority, then second African-American then third are Latinos. It’s so much more dramatic in the numbers of school administrators and the number has been like that for 11 years – we haven’t grown.”

I, of course, immediately went to bat for the many, many kids who speak languages other than Spanish – like Polish – and are far from well-represented in CPS or in any other districts across Illinois, and Gil-Garcia retorted:

“When we get qualified Latino school administrators, the schools benefit not because she or he is Hispanic or Latino – it’s that the person, being from a different language and culture, has a deeper understanding of what the student and his or her family might be going through to get the learning to occur.”

Certainly I couldn’t argue that point, and more importantly, the work that she’s doing at Northeastern Illinois University – teaching graduate courses in the field of educational leadership to teach teachers who are in the process of becoming school leaders for K-12 schools – will absolutely ensure that there are highly-qualified administrators of all races and ethnicities to lead our diverse school populations.

It’s no easy task, but Gil-Garcia is inspired. “My inspiration is my mother, she taught me not to give up, not to despair,” Gil-Garcia said. “We talk every Sunday for at least two hours and she always asks me the same question: what have you done this week to help others?….I must always have a response.”

And the other thing Gil-Garcia’s mom always taught her?

“‘Haz bien y no mires a quien,’ which means ‘do good – for everybody.”

“Chicago Latino List 2009” was generously sponsored by the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Chicago White Sox, and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Restaurants. All nominees were independently nominated for this recognition; their rejection and/or selection to “Chicago Latino List 2009” was not, in any way, influenced by any disclosed or undisclosed personal or professional proximity to Esther J. Cepeda or to any sponsor of “Chicago Latino List 2009”.

Posted at 12:00 AM in Chicago, culture, education, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, kids/teens, responsibility | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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June 17, 2009

“Hoop Dreams” filmmaker makes “The Journey from Zanskar” via Chicago

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

After walking 17 four-to-twelve-year-old kids over a 17,500 foot pass from one of the most remote places on earth to a Buddhist monastery, Frederick Marx is coming home to Chicago to lead us on a journey toward the place in our hearts that’ll help these children finish their education.

Marx – now fifteen years removed from his star turn as the writer/producer who brought us the story of two black Chicago high school students who thought they had a shot at being pro basketball players in the critically acclaimed documentary Hoop Dreams – is again giving us the opportunity to study how people sacrifice in order to gain.

In The Journey from Zanskar, Marx chronicles the passage of a small band of children who were delivered by two Dalai Lama-dispatched monks from their remote village to a monastery where they’ll get the opportunity to learn their own language, culture, history, and religion.

The kids’ voyage away from family and to a life of study is critical because a new road will soon bring the outside world to Zanskar – the last remaining original Tibetan Buddhist society with a continuous untainted lineage dating back thousands of years – endangering its traditions and religious practices. It’s the sort of decimation that has already happened to many other Tibetan towns experiencing this version of gentrification.

Marx was drawn in by this slow, quiet drama.

"What really interests me as a filmmaker is the landscape of the human heart," Marx told me from his San Francisco home last week as he prepared the "preview cut" he’ll be screening at PRIMITIVE Gallery on June 26 and 27. "I’m so interested in heartbreak, in what people do, how they feel, what they think, and why they do what they do. Then when you throw all the layers of cultural differences and socio-economic realities, there’re just such amazing stories."

Marx started out on his own journey toward emotional and financial investment in these 17 kids when an old friend from Chicago called him up and asked if he’d be interested in a gig to go to Zanskar and film the monks for a group of people putting together a non-profit to support their work.

After Marx’ incredible expedition – "when, after climbing 14,000 to 17,000 feet to get over the pass, none of the animals could carry us I just thought ‘I’m going to die today,’" he chuckled – the non-profit failed to take off but Marx took the project upon himself.

"I said, ‘this is crazy, we have to do what we can to help these monks, these kids, and this school.’ So I took it over and it’s been my company’s project ever since," Marx said. His company, Los Angeles, CA-based Warrior Productions, is a non-profit, and his commitment to the 17 children whose story he tells in The Journey from Zanskar is 100% of the revenues – above the cost of production – the films garners.

Those pesky "cost of production" dollars are what brings him back home to the welcoming embrace of Chicago’s PRIMITIVE Gallery for an exclusive set of intimate screenings of this unfinished film in one of the holiest spaces I’ve ever visited.

"In terms of cash dollars, we only need about two hundred grand to get through the post production and then it’s all gravy," Marx said. "Then all the profits from the film will be funneled back to Zanskar for the monks and the kids."

Marx will be at the Friday screening at PRIMITIVE, 130 N. Jefferson, but if you can make it to the Saturday screening, Michael Fitzpatrick, the film’s composer, and Chicago’s own Harold Ramis (on a break from promoting the new Ghostbusters game) will gather with Marx in the breathtaking "Buddha Room" to watch the film.

"What you’ll see is this amazing example of service, of these monks doing what they can for these children, for these families and for the culture of this place they call home," Marx said. "To me there is no grater modeling of leadership than how they sacrifice and risk their own lives to help these families get a leg up."

"These monks demonstrate that the greatest joy in life just might come in doing what you can for others, and that’s the key message I hope people will respond to."

Watch YouTube clips of The Journey from Zanskar here or call PRIMITIVE at 312/575-9600 for more information on attending either the June 26 or 27 screening.

Posted at 11:44 PM in advertising/marketing/media/merchandising, Chicago, crime/violence/gangs/poverty, culture, education, Film, international relations, kids/teens, Religion, responsibility, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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June 14, 2009

Comparing the jilted hearts of Iranian, Mexican, and U.S. voters

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

How must it feel in the streets of Tehran today?

How must it feel to walk around, stunned, at the fresh bout of violence gripping this country that only days before was looking, to the rest of the world at least, like it was going to pull a u-turn under the leadership of a new president who might have been expected to not spew hatred toward the United States at every turn.

Don’t misunderstand – not everyone in Iran is upset today, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had many supporters, not the least of which were the poorer, working class, and many rural residents of the Middle Eastern country which lies snuggled between the Caspian and Arabian Seas.

Still, the images are indelible: yound green-clad students, fans of the losing candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi, setting fires to cars and throwing stones, older, black-draped women literally weeping and gnashing their teeth in what the New York Times, and many other news outlets, have called the worst street protests in a decade.

There’s anger, disappointment, and I imagine, a little something like what Charlie Brown felt every single time Lucy bamboozled him into thinking she wasn’t going to yank that football away from him at the last moment; loss. Loss of the hope that had seemingly blanketed Iran in the last weeks, the loss that comes with the feeling that an important election has been stolen from voters.

It reminded me of July 2006, when Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his opponent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) wrestled with the razor-thin margins for months to see who won the Mexican presidency. After several nail-biting months of re-counts, allegations of corruption and general uproar, Calderon was declared the winner on September 5, 2006, winning by a mere 243,934 votes (0.58%).

That July election set off nightmarish, sometimes violent protests that literally shut the city down for months and months as AMLO set up a shadow presidency and his supporters occupied the streets of Mexico vowing not to leave until justice was carried out.

I mentioned this parallel as a Tweet yesterday morning: "Crap! In Iran, Ahmadinejad claim's victory, as does his opponent. Hope it’s not another months-long drama like Calderon/AMLO in MX" to which one interested observer said, "right... or Florida in 2000!"

That gave me pause...No, I don’t think so.

Oh, I recall being as disheartened and angry as the next (non-Republican) guy that Al Gore lost to George W. Bush, and that the victory appeared to have been either the result of some horrible mechanical mishap or that – gasp – the people had gotten what they’d asked for and were about to get it good and hard.

But I don’t remember anyone getting into the streets for a good old-fashioned riot. Endless late-night talk show skits about "hanging chads" and "butterfly ballots" yes; fires and overturned cars like what happened in Chicago when the Bulls won the 1992 basketball championship – no.

I’m not saying we should have, I’m not saying violence is a good answer to any disappointment – no matter how devastating to a people or a country – but we are a long, long way from the Sam Adams tactics of our Founding Fathers.

There had been those who were very concerned that if President Barack Obama lost the 2008 election that all hell would break loose (read my column on Chicago election night plans here), but we can’t know what would have happened because our home-town boy won. In any case, I can’t imagine the sort of passion being aroused like what we’re seeing in Iran today.

God bless America, that security is our American privilege. Our thoughts should be with the people of Iran tonight.

Posted at 05:06 PM in crime/violence/gangs/poverty, culture, Current Affairs, international relations, politics | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

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June 08, 2009

Where in Chicago is Ecuador?

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

I’m taking a look at the presence of Ecuador in Chicago because in less than one month, Ecuador will find a piece of Chicago in it.

That’s right, I’m going to miss out on the barbecue and the fireworks (my first 4th of July outside the U.S.) because I’ll be travelling to the "Center of the World" with no itinerary and no reservations, just a rumpled piece of paper my aunt gave me last week at a family picnic with some long-lost uncle’s email and phone number. And I haven’t been there since I was four.

The plan is to land at Mariscal Sucre International Airport and let my stomach and eyes lead the way to the peaks of the Andes mountains, the monument to the Center of the World – where one can straddle the southern and northern hemispheres at once – and the Galapagos Islands – celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s "Origin of Species" – in no particular order. In a two-week time period, not including en-route stops to Miami and Panama.

So my first natural instinct (once I realized I’m less than 30 days from this trip I’ll literally pack for in twenty minutes time) was to look at my own birth place for insight.

According to the Chicago Community Trust’s Latino Landscape 2008, Chicago is home to 18,796 Ecuadorians who make up 1.09% of Chicago’s Hispanic community (these numbers are from 2006). We are the fifth largest national-origin group in Chicago behind Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Cuba.

My dad was part of the first wave in 1965–1976 (though he came from Quito via Mexico City where he’d lived for several years) who came and worked mainly in factories, retail and service industries and a second wave arrived in the 1990’s, frequently to join family, and to work in the restaurant, hotel, and garment industries.

Like the majority of Ecuadorians in Chicago, my half-Ecuadorian-half-Mexican family lived on the Northwest side – in Logan Square, Albany Park, Uptown, Lakeview, Irving Park, Belmont Cragin, Edgewater, and West Ridge – which, not surprisingly, is where all of the Ecuadorian restaurants in Chicago can be found.

One thing no one will tell you about Ecuadorians is that though they are intelligent, generous, and kind, they are also incredibly flighty! They are internationally-known for their tardiness, and in fact, Ecuador tried a campaign to eradicate "unpunctuality" but it flopped. And their government, well, let’s just say their new, University of Illinois-educated president Rafael Correa has now been around longer than many other presidents past.

Just as a quick example, I tried to call the office of the Ecuadorian Consul General in Chicago to verify the stats I cite here and none of the four phone numbers listed on various search engines and Ecuador-centric web pages actually worked. Tsk-tsk.

But we’re here, by golly, and in a few weeks I’ll be there.

I’ve already researched the fine points of the bull-penis soup and roasted guinea pig dishes I’ll surely confront in the local restaurants (though I’ll stop in a McDonald’s to see if everyone there eats Big Macs like my cousins do when they visit here: in layers starting from the top down!).

And I logged onto Tu Babel, the on-line regional Spanish dictionary to refresh myself on all the Ecuadorian-specific slang I grew up with in my grandmother’s house that I’ve since forgotten (I still get to hear "achachai!" every once in a while from my dad when he gets cold, but other words – like "canguil" for popcorn and "guagua" for child – will jar me into nostalgia).

So, I’m pretty much all set; now all I need is for any of the 18,796 Chicago-dorians to tell me where to go (or where to stay away from) while I find the other half of myself at the center of the world.

UPDATE: This came to me at 7:30am 6/11/09 from the White House Office of the Press Secretary:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 11, 2009

Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s call with President Rafael Correa of Ecuador

The President spoke with President Correa yesterday to congratulate him on his recent reelection and to commend the people of Ecuador for their commitment to democracy. The President stated his desire to deepen our bilateral relationship and to maintain an ongoing dialogue that can ensure a productive relationship based on mutual respect. President Obama expressed his support for a vibrant democracy in Ecuador that includes a free and independent press as the means of promoting human prosperity, security and dignity, which are important goals for both of our countries and for the people of the Americas.

Posted at 12:16 PM in Chicago, culture, Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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May 12, 2009

Why “English-only” laws look so good

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

People, bear with me here, I’m only a few days removed from having completed a frustrating and maddening master’s level class in effective teaching strategies to help English language learners pick up our baffling but beloved language, and a report that was just released has me climbing the walls.

But more about that in a moment, let me vent some more:

It was the kind of class where the teacher framed everything in terms of "cultural respect" and where all the students felt it was imperative to teach kids in their native language and that to insist otherwise was to buy into the evil construct of the "white man" trying to keep poor Latinos "down."

Much like my experience being an actual teacher in a classroom of non-native English-language speakers, where I was castigated as the lone weirdo who insisted on talking to and teaching her students in English, I was the freakish anomaly in this class.

I was the nutcase in the back of the room advocating for the hundreds of thousands of non-Spanish speaking students in school districts across the country, insisting that segregating students into Spanish-speaking sheltered classes was a recipe for a permanent underclass.

Every week we discussed interesting language acquisition stories in the media and I almost wish I could have one more Saturday to beg the others to understand the perils of "bilingual classes" taught exclusively in Spanish and how damaging it can be to those who need to learn flawless English in order to thrive in this country (this was my idea of "fun" if you can conceive it!).

My pleas surely would have fallen on deaf ears – after all, who is more committed to the status quo than "bilingual teachers" whose main claim to fame and employment is the ability to teach solely in Spanish? – but check this out: a report from the National Center for Education Statistics on Basic Reading Skills and the Literacy of America’s Least Literate Adults.

You can go directly to the PDF here, but let me just give you a taste of the horrifying statistics, gleaned from the 2003 National Adult Literacy Survey which was designed to measure functional literacy and administered to more than 19,000 adults (ages 16 and older) in households and prisons:

· Basic reading scores were highest for White adults and lowest for Hispanic adults

· Among adults with Below Basic prose literacy scores, 39 percent of those who spoke only English before starting school read fewer than 60 words correctly per minute (i.e., at the lowest Basic Reading Score level), compared with 72 percent of adults with a Spanish language background

· 30 million adults have Below Basic prose literacy; of those, 7 million are Hispanic

· Among adults who spoke a language other than English before starting school, BRS scores were lowest for adults who learned English at a later age. The average score was lowest for adults who learned to speak English after they turned 21 and highest for adults who learned English at age 10 or younger

· The BRS score of adults who learned to speak English after age 20 was 35 points lower than the BRS score of adults who learned to speak English at age 10 or younger.

I’ll cut the numbers off right there, though you should plow into this report if you’re interested in knowing at just how much of a disadvantage some people in this country are.

But the point I’m trying to make is illustrated by those last two bulleted items – and you didn’t need a fancy report to tell you this – it is absolutely crystal clear beyond any doubt that the key to Hispanic and Latino success in the United States is fluency in the English language.

It doesn’t require giving up culture, giving up a native language, or giving up speaking a native language in the home – it very simply requires a country single-mindedly dedicated to making learning English the number one objective for public school students. By hook or by crook.

Some people reflexively rail at the very thought of "English-only" legislation; there is currently a bill called the "English Language Empowerment Act" being bandied about in New York state. Pro-Spanish-language education advocates are already complaining that such a move would make it mandatory to teach children in – gasp!!!! – English.

But the unacceptable alternative is hoards of students who get dumped into public school "bilingual ed" classes and, after years of sheltered Spanish immersion classes, walk out of high school still not fluent in English (read more about my experiences as a bilingual ed teacher here).

And that alternative is a denial of the American Dream. It is, in fact, an American tragedy – and not just for them, but for us all.

Posted at 09:34 PM in crime/violence/gangs/poverty, culture, Current Affairs, education, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, kids/teens, politics, responsibility | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

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May 05, 2009

To boldy go where few Hispanics have gone before – to watch a Star Trek movie!

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

There I was, sitting inside my favorite Mexifood joint, Tacos El Norte, last Saturday enjoying my steak torta, watching the Phillies/Mets game on Fox en Espanol when I heard the play-by-play guy say something surprising, in Spanish:

"Don’t forget, opening this Friday – Star Trek like you’ve never seen it before!" My immediate reaction was: but I’ve never seen it before – at all.

Thinking it was some freakish anomaly, I went back to my torta when I heard it again – this time with a logo, indicating to me that it was a planned thing. The announcer said, in Spanish, "This isn’t your father’s Star Trek!" Uh, yeah, I know, because my dad never watched it!

My lunch companion, a gentleman as pasty-white and as "Trekkie" as a man who could actually score lunch with a woman could be was perplexed by my reaction. "Why’s that so weird?" he asked innocently.

"Latinos don’t watch Star Trek!" I gasped. Then I did two things:

1) I ranted, for a full three minutes (he timed me – this happens quite often and he’s keeping track as a sort of science experiment) about marketers who decide to spend money on advertising to Spanish-speaking audiences but don’t bother to create culturally-relevant messages to maximize their ad buy.

Sure, Star Trek went viral before "going viral" meant "global internet sensation" but the vast majority of Latin American immigrants to this country are from Mexico and, based on my own life experiences, Mexicans weren’t exactly saying "lo estoy dando todo lo que tengo capitan" – "I’m givin’ ‘er all she’s got captain" – in times of duress.

And here in the U.S., well, let’s just say William Shatner is no Don Francisco!

Star Trek was never on in my house and when it was I never got interested. I’ve written before about how in my honors science class our final project was based on the "prime directive" and I was clueless, and ultimately got a bad grade. (Read more on William Shatner as Jesus here)

2) I sent out a Tweet calling for Latino Star Trek Fans and I got a few interesting remarks:

Luis said: "Beam me up - esse!" Alexander said: "Esther Live long and prosper. There is no bigger fan than me. " Gerardo chimed in with: ""To boldly go where no man has gone before. That was my motto in high school too. HA!" And Gabriel added: "I'm a Mexican Star Trek fan!"

I did speak to two people, though who had something more to add. Victor Soto, a 29-year-old freelance TV producer whose parents emigrated here from Mexico before he was born told me, "Yeah, I obviously didn’t watch it with my dad – he probably didn’t even really know it existed so he’s definitely not a fan."

Victor, however, is a different story, "I’m a guy, y’know, I think it’s a cool show, I like the gadgets. I grew up watching ‘Next Generation’ with Patrick Stewart and all them. I’m definitely going to go see the new one."

I also had an interesting back-and-forth with labor-rights activist Jorge Mujica, the mastermind of the March 15 Movement and immigration reform rallies in Chicago. He said he’s definitely going if he can score some tickets and shared this about his deep love for Star Trek:

"Lemme put it this way: they had a black woman, an Asian, a Russian and an [assload] of "aliens" – now, that's diversity! The miniskirts played a role, also," Mujica said. He then brought up a great question: "Let's see if they have Latinos now."

You’re in luck Jorge! The miniskirted hottie this time around is indeed a Latina – Zoe Saldana, a Jersey girl from the Dominican Republic. The stars aligned!

Then Jorge said one more thing that made me really re-think the impact Star Trek has had on past and will on future generations:

"No, I don’t think my dad saw "Viaje a las Estrelas" ever in his life. I watched it at my cousin's because we didn’t have a TV and I always loved it," Mujica said.

"After being Tarzan and Robin Hood, I became Spock, I guess it always helped me imagine there had to be a better future than our present."

Posted at 08:00 AM in advertising/marketing/media/merchandising, culture, Current Affairs, Film, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, Science, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

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April 29, 2009

Cure for Hispanic Hysteria and Swine Flu is the same - chill out

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

I have the diagnosed cure for the Mexican Swine Flu Heebie-Jeebies, folks: take a chill pill.

Yes, just relax…all this stress about whether Juan Gonzalez is going to sneeze on you and make you sprout a pig-snout is just weakening your immune system.

And it’s not just the light-skinned, bilingually-challenged among us that are nervous about heading down to 26th street for the Wednesday night enchilada run, the brown-skinned, soccer-skill-blessed among us are trippin’ too – I’ve gotten several email messages from Latinos all over the country who are re-interpreting every sideways glance as some sort of anti-Mexican snub.

Not that it takes much for some to get freaked out, but there is, if you’ll pardon the pun, a germ of truth there. Since Sunday, the nation has gone from zero to hysterical and the "dirty Mexicans" everyone has been fretting about since the illegal-immigration issue reared its ugly head exactly four years ago just got dirtier.

Sunday, the press corps at the White House were nearly hyperventilating about whether Obama had been tested for Swine Flu since he’d been cavorting in the United States of Mexico with the likes of President Felipe Calderon two weeks before. Then they freaked out Monday when they found out one of the dignitaries whom Obama met while in Mexico dropped dead last Thursday. Not to worry, Mr. Felipe Solís, Director of Mexico’s National Anthropology Museum, died of a non-Swine-related pre-existing condition.

There’s been something for everyone in this almost-crisis: mainstream media have been having a field-day with this health scare because it’s made them feel necessary and relevant, immigrant bashers who’ve been waiting for just such an occasion to gleefully announce that THIS is exactly why we should have sealed the borders after the 86 amnesty are lovin’ it, and the special interest groups who are offended by everything are enjoying rightfully calling these extremists, um, extreme.

This press release arrived in my inbox from the National Council on La Raza today: "NCLR CONDEMNS THE SHAMELESS EXPLOITATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY: NCLR today condemned the assertions made by some members of the media that the outbreak of swine flu is linked to immigrants."

Tip for NCLR, don’t dignify the likes of a Michael Savage – who makes his dinero on talking smack about people – when, in reference to a U.S. outbreak that might well be linked to rich kids who went to Mexico on Spring Break, says something silly like: "Make no mistake about it: Illegal aliens are the carriers of the new strain of human-swine avian flu from Mexico."

Whatever.

It’s items like the one the Sun-Times News Group reporter Nick Firchau ran Wednesday about the Club America Mexican soccer team being asked to wear face masks as they walked through O’Hare airport that creep me out. They were also asked not to touch the fans, but you gotta admit, that’s probably decent advice.

In other bummer Mexican news, this city has canceled a Cinco de Mayo celebration this weekend over concerns over the swine flu. We’ve got all manner of travel between Mexico and the U.S. suspended – which is a downer for the 1,357,353 people of Mexican descent living in the Chicago area.

And the organizers of this year’s Million Mexican May Day March might be disappointed with a low turnout at Friday’s rally – they city is pressuring them to cancel or at the very least promise to wear face masks – though I’d imagine it’s hard to get too wound up for that sort of thing anyway, seeing as how the President and his whole administration have solemnly vowed to fix the U.S.’ batty immigration laws.

Nope, like a May 6 Dos Equis and Jose Cuervo hangover, this too shall pass. Scary Mexican Swine Flu 2009 (has FOX composed a special ominous theme jingle yet?) is no Captain Tripps, it will come and go like the Avian Flu scare did.

Remember, just relax. Keep your wits about you and like 99.9% of your continent-mates, you’ll be just fine.

Posted at 09:36 PM in Chicago, Current Affairs, Health/Medicine/nutrition, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, politics, responsibility, Travel | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

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April 21, 2009

Tempest in a taco shell – the Mexi-centric fast food blues

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

If you know me at all, you know I like to eat. A lot. My runs to the Taco Bell border are legendary – don’t get me started on the cinnamon twists, we’ll be here all night.

And so in that vein, I bring you some fast foodie news, one involving a pathetic and cowardly caving to political correctness and another violating the sanctity of two all-beef patties!

Exhibit A:

Burger King’s pathetic caving to lunatic political correctness.

Here’s the recap; so, according to The Nation’s Restaurant News, a restaurant industry trade paper, Burger King sells a thing called "the Texican Whopper" in Europe. It’s a flame-grilled patty topped with chile-con-carne, spicy jalapenos, onion, crispy lettuce and Cajun mayonnaise on a sesame seed bun, but that wasn’t the controversial part.

BK created an ad campaign featuring – gasp!!! – a tall "American cowboy" next to a midget (oops, I meant to say "little person") lucha libre wrestler with a Mexican flag cape.

Long-story-short (if you’ll pardon the pun – I just couldn’t resist!) Mexican ambassador to Spain Jorge Zermeno – who clearly hasn’t been to ANY lucha libre matches because he’d see all manner of tall and tiny luchadores wearing Mexican flag underwear, capes, masks, etc. – complained about the ads denigrating Mexico’s national image and improperly using Mexico’s national flag.

O.K., so I guess no more girlies wearing Mexican flag thong bikinis at Cinco De Mayo celebrations, huh? Darn.

But, I’m not going to complain about Jorge "I’ve got a stick up my butt" Zermeno, it’s his job to defend his mother country’s honor, ahem, abroad.

Nope, I reserve my disgust for Burger King – they’re cowards to bow to the pressure of a humorless bureaucrat. Their PR flacks released a statement Tuesday that said the commercials "were not intended to offend anyone." Duh.

It further stated: "Burger King Corp. values and respects all of its guests as well as the countries and communities we serve…With regard to the Texican Whopper advertisement shown in Spain and the United Kingdom, it was our intention to promote a product whose culinary origin lies in both the American and Mexican cultures, and was meant to appeal to those who enjoy the flavors and ingredients that each country offers."

Apparently Burger King will, from now on, appeal only to those who cannot bear to laugh at Mexican midgets who dress up in their country’s flags to make money off people who come out to laugh at them.

What’s this world coming to?

Exhibit B: Darn that Jim Skinner, what the heck is he doing to my Big Mac’s honor? Doesn’t he know wrapping it in a flour tortilla is going to make the racists hate Mexicans even more?!?!?!

O.K., so it’s not quite that serious. But, if you hadn’t heard, according to Advertising Age magazine, our pals at Oakbrook-based McDonald’s are testing the "Snack Wrap Mac," a half –beef-patty, with lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions that’s smothered in "special sauce" and wrapped in a flour tortilla. For a buck-forty-nine.

Huh?

Why would they do this? And, more importantly, why can’t I get one?

Of the 400 of the chain's 14,000 locations who get to take the new snack for a spin, our neighbors in Wisconsin, and those crazy Texas Hustonians get to feast their tastebuds on the Big tortilla-clad Mac but Chicago doesn’t get to take a taste test – that’s just plain loco.

Note to Jim Skinner: like the geniuses who combined peanut butter and chocolate, you might just have created my newest taste treat sensation by mixing my Taco Bell needs with my Mac daddy love…so let me at it, already.

Perhaps a trip to the Oak Brook McLaboratory for a quickie taste?

Posted at 05:53 AM in advertising/marketing/media/merchandising, culture, Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, politics, Television | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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April 19, 2009

Behind the scenes of Obama’s April 17 2009 trip to Latin America

“600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda”

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go with his Obamaness to Trinidad and Tobago but I am privileged enough to get readouts of press briefings and press releases delivered straight from the White House to my inbox, so I’ve had the opportunity to experience this trip to Latin America from a different perspective than most.

It’s been a whirlwind important trip and, as some media outlets have opined, probably the only time Latin America will get this much attention for some time, since there are so many pressing domestic issue for Obama to contend with.

I published the full transcript of the Joint Press Conference: President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon on April 16 2009 because I knew it wouldn’t get covered extensively in Chicago even though there are a breath-taking 1,357,353 Mexican – or Mexican-descended people, like me – in the Chicago metro area (and those were just 2006 numbers!).

But there are tons of Cubans here too – 18,875, to be specific (the fourth largest Latin American group in Chicago) – not to mention another 346,615 people from all the countries that gathered at Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago this weekend to be awed by the newest President of the United States.

Of course, all of the usual suspects came out including Evo Morales of Bolivia, Lula or Brazil, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign-educated prez of Ecuador (my father’s mother country) Rafael Correa, and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.

But some of the juiciest bits that happened this weekend were comments made by White House representatives – and Obama himself – during pressers in response to questions from pool reporters. Here are a few:

Friday April 17 Obama said this during the opening ceremony of the Summit of the Americas:

"To move forward, we cannot let ourselves be prisoners of past disagreements. I am very grateful that President Ortega -- (applause) -- I'm grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was three months old. (Laughter.) Too often, an opportunity to build a fresh partnership of the Americas has been undermined by stale debates. And we've heard all these arguments before, these debates that would have us make a false choice between rigid, state-run economies or unbridled and unregulated capitalism; between blame for right-wing paramilitaries or left-wing insurgents; between sticking to inflexible policies with regard to Cuba or denying the full human rights that are owed to the Cuban people."

Later Friday night, an unnamed Senior Administration official relayed this:

"And during that time, the President -- as I say, President Obama, walked across the room and introduced himself to President Chavez, and President Chavez said a couple of things. Consistent with the policy I took some heat from Scott for yesterday, I will not read out what President Chavez had to say. But it was very, very short. The President shook his hand, smiled, and then went back to his position in the line.

While in his position in the line he also had an opportunity to greet President Bachelet of Chile. The President has developed a very good relationship with her over the course of the last several months, and the President was eager to meet her and was glad he had the opportunity to do so. He had a long conversation with President Lula, who, as you all know, he's also developed a very good working relationship with. And while they were all chatting, President Ortega of Nicaragua came in and introduced himself to the President. And I think President Obama said in Spanish, it was his "gusto" to meet him, as well.

Q Said what?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It was his "gusto."

Q His pleasure.

Q Ortega walked over to him?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Ortega walked into the room, in the back of the room, and since the President was at the end -- back of the line, he basically had to walk past President Obama, and stopped and introduced himself.

Q They shook hands?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: They did.

From the Saturday April 18 background briefing before the UNASUR countries meeting:

ON CHAVEZ:

Q A follow-up on that- Can you say what message you took from Chavez giving a book about the exploitation of South America to President Obama?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: My personal view is, you know, it's a way for Chavez to get press questions and his picture taken again. I don't think, you know, I can really comment on what other individual leaders are trying to do. I think all of the leaders here from South America think that they are leaders of South America.

Q No, I understand that, but the platform -- he appears to be getting a -- doing everything he can to insert himself.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, this is the nature of the person and anybody who's been at international conferences with Chavez knows that if there's a camera around, he's going to find a way to get in it.

Q Yes, just a follow-up. In Mr. Chavez's brief comments, were they anti-U.S. in nature? And do you have any sense of whether his warmness, I guess you could say, over the last couple days is an indication of a new attitude from him towards the U.S.?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Look, I wouldn't want to characterize Chavez's emotions. He was critical of past U.S. policy. He was -- his comments about President Obama were -- expressed the hope that things have changed. He was civil in his remarks; he was critical of the past, however.

Q Follow-up on the question that she just asked, do you foresee in the near future or there has been any substance to this closeness between -- or new approach, let's put it that way, between Hugo Chavez and President Obama about exchanging again ambassadors? As you know, Chavez kicked out the U.S. ambassador last year, and the U.S. did the same. Do you think that, since there's a new chapter here, that the relationship between Venezuela and the United States could normalize with ambassadors?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: That question did not -- that issue of exchanging ambassadors did not come up. I think in a more general sense, given what the President is saying about dialogue with these countries, dialogue has obviously helped when ambassadors are in place. And that might -- that is something that's pretty obvious, it seems to me. But the kicking out of ambassadors is something that the Venezuelans did in solidarity with the Bolivians, actually. And it seems to me that it's -- the ball is in their court to try to fix that issue if we're going to have real dialogue.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm sorry, what?

Q Is it the President's intention to actually read the book that was offered by Mr. Chavez? And I have another one on Cuba.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The President is a very well-read man; I don’t know what his reading list is, though.

ON CUBA:

Q When you say -- when you say the President wants dialogue, do you think the President might go to Cuba soon to speak with the Cubans?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No. There was absolutely no discussion of that.

Q Did the discussion get past kind of microphone rhetoric -- did anybody bring an actual message from Cuba?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No.

Q And on Cuba, the President has said for some time that Cuba has to take concrete steps for the U.S. to engage more with Cuba. Does that position still stand, that Cuba has to take those additional steps or concrete steps?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Look, I think what we are is at a beginning, an initiation of a new process. The President has been clear that our goals are to see a democratic Cuba. He's also been clear that there are many issues that we have that we could discuss with Cuba -- human rights being one of them -- but there are other issues that relate to just the nature of a relationship between two countries in the same hemisphere. Migration, for instance, is a big issue that I don=t believe we've had recent talks with Cuba about.

So, no, there's no concrete benchmarks that have been laid out. What we're talking about is a process here.

Q The President has been asking for help to -- the other countries to participate in this process towards Cuba. I would like to know what kind of help can they offer. Do you expect, for example, Brazil to be a mediator, a facilitator, or what kind of support?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There is no request on the table by the President for any other country to be a mediator.

Q But when he speaks about helping, well, what does he mean?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think when he speaks about helping is the concern that we have that we live in a hemisphere of democracies, and for many of the countries, including many of the countries at the table this morning -- although he did not say it this way, I'm not putting words in the President's mouth -- they've lived through periods of dictatorship themselves and have a real understanding of what it means not to have a free press and open discussion and political parties and what have you. And that experience, perhaps, should in some way be reflected in how they deal with another dictatorship.

Q A question about something that happened yesterday. Evo Morales charged that Americans were behind the assassination plot against him and that he would only restore diplomatic relations with the U.S. when the President publicly repudiated that attempt. Do you guys have a comment on that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm not aware of the comment that you attribute to President Morales. I can try to get smart on that. I can tell you that I think it's President Obama's view that we do not engage in activities of the sort that are alleged in what you just read to me. But I'll try to get -- I'll take a look at what the assertion is.

Q I had one other question, I guess for any of you gentlemen, big picture. Can you talk about how many of the leaders -- if you don’t have a specific number, at least an idea -- how many of the leaders that President Obama has actually got to meet and maybe chat with? And how would you characterize their reaction to President Obama in meeting him for the first time?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: You know, I couldn't put an exact number on it, Ben. I can say that the President has gone out of his way to introduce himself to a lot of the members -- a lot of the Presidents, heads of state here. I mean, you saw that in action the other night. But in terms of an exact number, I'm not able to do it.

I can tell you that the general atmosphere in the meetings, in the working sessions and in the -- working sessions of the entire summit and the side meetings and multilateral meetings, and then in the conversations the President has had, the pull-asides and so forth -- generally have been remarkable for both their candor and their collaborative demeanor and collaborative outlook.

So I'll leave it to you to determine how that compares to past summits. They have all indicated that this strikes them as a new tone.

Q So there's a lot to be said for the exchanging of pleasantries?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think there's a lot to be said to getting the heads of government and heads of state of 34 countries together. They all represent a lot of people who are suffering at the moment a particularly difficult situation as it relates to the economy. And I think -- at least I can say for President Obama, as he has said to you all many times, he gets up every day trying to figure out what he can do to help those people, to create jobs. And I think this weekend was a good opportunity to press on his colleagues on the same topics.

Q One last -- you said "remarkable" for their candor. Why is it remarkable? I mean, I guess what I'm wondering is wouldn't it be expected that a new U.S. President would be greeted that way, would have that kind of candor? Or is it the history of this region maybe that makes that remarkable?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Ben, I actually confess to be saying that it's remarkable because this is the first summit that I've been to with the President. (Laughter.)

Q Glad I asked. (Laughter.)

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: You know, as I said, I leave it to you guys to put this -- you all have been to these before. I leave it to you all to put this in the context of the other summits. I did note that it was relatively cooperative. We elucidated for you last night some of the disagreements, and there's going to be disagreements, and disagreements on some very important issues. But it doesn’t mean that you can't disagree without being disagreeable.

Q Would you describe the summit in general as it comes to a close now as a success for the United States?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: You know, I would, Jeff. And I think that we had a lot of reporting in the run-up about how there would be this big clash. We didn't see that. Saw a lot of run-up about how there will be a lot of fighting over Cuba. We didn't see that. Because frankly I think the President set a tone in making clear that there are certain things that all the people represented here today hold in common, and it's the one thing -- it's one of the things that Cuba doesn’t have, namely, democracy, freedom of the press, freedom of association.

And so some of the worries that people set up didn't materialize. I think that's because the President came down with a very senior team -- not necessarily represented in this room. (Laughter.) He came down with a very robust agenda on issues that are of intense mutual interest: security, narcotics trafficking and energy and climate. So I think the President wanted to -- as he made clear in his opening statement -- look forward, not look back, not get dragged into these stale debates of the past that marked for him and for many of us social studies projects in high school, but now these are actually people's lives that are in the balance. And I think they had a very workmanlike, work-person-like summit.

Q Speaking of Cuba, was there any discussion today -- can you tell us if there was any discussion today in the SICA meeting?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The word was never uttered in the room.

Q Which word?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Cuba. It didn't come up in the SICA meeting at all.

Q Okay. The other question I have is, any readout of -- anything more than what the State Department put out last night about the Venezuela return -- and U.S. returning ambassadors to their respective posts?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No.

Q You mentioned that immigration was brought up. I was curious if you could expand on that a little bit -- what sort of issues specifically to do with immigration? What were they asking of the President?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Certainly. The issue of immigration is one that is important to the President. He has spoken on a number of occasions of his commitment to moving the debate forward on comprehensive immigration reform, first and foremost, to ensure that we have an immigration system that has a secure border, respects the laws of the United States and also respects our tradition as a nation of immigrants.

Obviously our immigration policy has a significant impact, particularly on the countries of Central America. The conversation was focused on -- and again, we don't read out what other Presidents said -- but they discussed as a general matter their interest that they follow this issue very closely, that it has significant implications for their own economies, in the form of remittances and other economic contacts between the United States and Central America.

It's an issue of central importance to these Presidents and they had a good conversation, where the President was able to lay out what he has laid out on a number of occasions in public about the work that he is doing to ensure that we have a 21st century immigration system in the United States.

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April 17, 2009

Full transcript of Joint Press Conference: President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon April 16 2009

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

(Mexico City, Mexico)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2009

JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

AND PRESIDENT FELIPE CALDERÓN OF MEXICO

Los Pinos

Mexico City, Mexico

4:29 P.M. CDT

PRESIDENT CALDERÓN: (As translated.) Ladies and gentlemen of the press, of the media, I would like to give the warmest welcome to Mexico to President Barack Obama, and to the delegation accompanying him. This is an historic event that will inaugurate a new era, a new relationship between our two countries.

Today in the meetings that we have held we have confirmed the determination of both governments to consolidate the very, very close contacts and links that join and bring together Mexico and the United States. We have new projects in important affairs such as security, migration, competitiveness, and global affairs.

As never before we have decided that the fight against multinational organized crime must be based on cooperation, shared responsibility, and in trust, a mutual trust.

Both governments recognize that the Merida Initiative is a very good starting point in order to strengthen cooperation in security. But we want to go beyond, we want to go further in order to liberate, to free our societies from the criminal activities that affect the lives of millions of people.

We have also agreed to expedite the times so that we can have available the resources for this Merida Initiative, and we have also decided to launch other activities that are in the hands of our governments. For example, we can adopt new measures for preventing illicit flows at the border, particularly the flow of weapons and of cash. We will also be strengthening our cooperation in information and intelligence in order to more efficiently fight against money laundering.

On the other hand, we have also agreed that both governments should produce propositions -- proposals for our cooperation so that we can eventually have reform in the United States with full respect to the sovereign decisions of both congresses -- of both nations, that is. Our governments will work in this sense to make migration an orderly, respectful process of human rights, a process in which human rights will be respected.

In energy and climate change, we have agreed to work together in order to guarantee a legal framework of certainty, transparency for the future; better use of cross-border resources such as gas and energy. And I have given to President Obama concrete proposals on climate change. One of them has to do with the integration of a bilateral market of carbon emissions, which coincides a lot with proposals that he has made to the U.S. audience, and other cooperation, ways of cooperation in climate change, such as something that Mexico has proposed, called the Green Fund.

We have also said that in addition to discussing our goals for carbon emissions that are linked in the fight against climate change globally, we must also act very soon in the design of new instruments, of new tools in order to fight against climate change. That is really the central proposal of the Green Fund.

And in a gesture of recognition, of acknowledgment on this topic, we know that President Obama and his government have made considerable efforts to provide new arguments to the discussion of this topic. We would also like to thank -- to welcome the possibility that Mexico might be the seat of the 16th U.N. conference on climate change that will be taking place in 2010.

We have recognized and acknowledged, ladies and gentlemen, that Mexico and the United States do not have to compete among themselves, but rather they must be able to take advantage of the complementary nature of their economies in order to compete as partners with regard to other parts of the world. We have the chance to make our region more competitive and to have greater, more agile production.

And we will be working in three areas. First, in the strengthening of the border infrastructure, I have also given to President Obama a proposal to facilitate the economic flows between both countries to improve the quality of life of the residents in the border areas, and to foster the development of our two nations through very specific projects on infrastructure at the Mexican-U.S. border.

Secondly, we believe it is essential to increase our cooperation and customs so that we can have a more efficient trade. And thirdly, we have also proposed to improve our cooperation in regulatory matters regarding tariff or non-tariff issues that very often make difficult our trade between two countries.

We have agreed with President Obama that we seek agreements to truly improve the economic situation not only of the United States but of the entire region and the world. We have stated our cooperation to strengthen the democracy of the market and of regional security.

In relation to President Obama's recent security to lift the restrictions for people from the U.S. to travel to Cuba and to be able to send remittances, Mexico acknowledges that this is a very constructive, positive step for the hemispheric relations, particularly for the region.

And finally, my friends, ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell you that I am absolutely convinced that President Obama's visit is just an initial step, the beginning of a relationship between two countries that are friends, neighbors, and must also be partners and allies.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much, President Obama, for your visit. The President Barack Obama now has the floor.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I want to begin by thanking the people of Mexico for their gracious welcome. And I want to thank President Calderón for the hospitality he has shown as a host.

You know, this is my first trip to Mexico as President, and I see this visit -- as I know President Calderón does -- as an opportunity to launch a new era of cooperation and partnership between our two nations, an era built on an even firmer foundation of mutual responsibility and mutual respect and mutual interest. We had a productive and wide-ranging conversation and I think we have taken some very important steps down that path.

It's difficult to overstate the depth of the ties between our two nations or the extraordinary importance of our relationship. It's obviously a simple fact of geography that we share a border, and we've always been bound together because of that geography. But it's not just that shared border that links us together. It's not only geography, but it's also culture, it's also migration patterns that have taken place that have become so important.

Our deep economic ties mean that whenever -- whatever steps that we're going to take moving forward have to be taken together. And that's why we worked hard, hand in hand at the G20 summit. And that's what we will continue to do at the Summit of the Americas and beyond, so that we can jumpstart job creation, promote free and fair trade, and develop a coordinated response to this economic crisis.

We also discussed our shared interest in meeting an immigration challenge that has serious implications for both the United States and for Mexico. My country has been greatly enriched by migration from Mexico. Mexican Americans form a critical and enduring link between our nations. And I am committed to fixing our broken immigration system in a way that upholds our traditions as a nation of laws but also as a nation of immigrants. And I'm committed to working with President Calderón to promote the kind of bottom-up economic growth here in Mexico that will allow people to live out their dreams here, and as a consequence will relieve some of the pressures that we've seen along the borders.

We also discussed what our nations can do to help bring a clean energy future to both countries. This is a priority for the United States. I know it's a priority for President Calderón. And I want to commend him for the work that he's already made in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the commitment that he's made even though Mexico is not required to do so under the Kyoto Protocol. And together, we're establishing a new Bilateral Framework on Clean Energy and Climate Change that will focus on creating green jobs, promoting renewable energy, and enhancing energy efficiency. I look forward to strengthening our partnership in the upcoming Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and in next year's U.N. climate negotiations, which I hope will be held here in Mexico.

Now, as essential as it is that we work together to overcome each of these common challenges, there's one particular area that requires our urgent and coordinated action, and that is the battle that's taking place with -- with respect to the drug cartels that are fueling kidnappings and sowing chaos in our communities and robbing so many of a future, both here in Mexico and in the United States.

I have said this before; I will repeat it: I have the greatest admiration and courage for President Calderón and his entire cabinet, his rank-and-file police officers and soldiers as they take on these cartels. I commend Mexico for the successes that have already been achieved. But I will not pretend that this is Mexico's responsibility alone. A demand for these drugs in the United States is what is helping to keep these cartels in business. This war is being waged with guns purchased not here, but in the United States. More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States, many from gun shops that line our shared border.

So we have responsibilities, as well. We have to do our part. We have to crack down on drug use in our cities and towns. We have to stem the southbound flow of guns and cash. And we are absolutely committed to working in a partnership with Mexico to make sure that we are dealing with this scourge on both sides of the border.

And that's why we're ramping up the number of law enforcement personnel on our border. That's why, for the first time, we are inspecting trains leaving our country, not just those entering it. That's why our Department of Homeland Security is making up to $59 million available to defend our common border from this threat to both of our countries.

Now, as we discussed in our meeting, destroying and disrupting the cartels will require more than aggressive efforts from each of our nations. And that's why the United States is taking the following steps: We've begun to accelerate efforts to implement the Merida Initiative so we can provide Mexico with the military aircraft and inspection equipment they need when they need it.

Yesterday, I designated three cartels as Significant Foreign Narcotics Drug Traffickers under U.S. law, clearing the way for our Treasury Department, working together with Mexico to freeze their assets and subject them to sanctions.

My National Homeland Security Advisor, who is here, General Jim Jones, as well as my Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, and my top advisor on homeland security and counterterrorism, John Brennan, are all meeting with their Mexican counterparts to develop new ways to cooperate and coordinate their efforts more effectively.

In addition, as President Calderón and I discussed, I am urging the Senate in the United States to ratify an inter-American treaty known as CIFTA to curb small arms trafficking that is a source of so many of the weapons used in this drug war.

Now, there are some of the common challenges that President Calderón and I discussed in our meeting and that we're going to be working on to overcome in the months and years ahead. It will not be easy, but I am confident that if we continue to act, as we have today, in a spirit of mutual responsibility and friendship, we will prevail on behalf of our common security and our common prosperity.

So I think that this is building on previous meetings that we've had. In each interaction, the bond between our governments is growing stronger. I am confident that we're going to make tremendous progress in the future. Thank you.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President, as well.

President Obama, as a candidate for your office, you said that you wanted to see the assault ban weapon -- the ban on assault weapons reinstated. Your Attorney General has spoken in favor of this. Mexican officials have also spoken in favor of it. But we haven't heard you say that since you took office. Do you plan to keep your promise? And if not, how do you explain that to the American people?

And, President Calderón -- I'm sorry, if I may -- would you like to see this ban reinstated? And have you raised that today with President Obama? Thank you.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, we did discuss this extensively in our meetings. I have not backed off at all from my belief that the gun -- the assault weapons ban made sense. And I continue to believe that we can respect and honor the Second Amendment rights in our Constitution, the rights of sportsmen and hunters and homeowners who want to keep their families safe to lawfully bear arms, while dealing with assault weapons that, as we now know, here in Mexico, are helping to fuel extraordinary violence -- violence in our own country, as well.

Now, having said that, I think none of us are under any illusion that reinstating that ban would be easy. And so, what we've focused on is how we can improve our enforcement of existing laws, because even under current law, trafficking illegal firearms, sending them across a border, is illegal. That's something that we can stop.

And so our focus is to work with Secretary Napolitano, Attorney General Holder, our entire Homeland Security team, ATF, border security, everybody who is involved in this, to coordinate with our counterparts in Mexico to significantly ramp up our enforcement of existing laws. And in fact, I've asked Eric Holder to do a complete review of how our enforcement operations are currently working and make sure that we're cutting down on the loopholes that are resulting in some of these drug trafficking problems.

The last point I would make is that there are going to be some opportunities where I think we can build some strong consensus. I'll give you one example, and that is the issue of gun tracing. The tracing of bullets and ballistics and gun information that have been used in major crimes -- that's information that we are still not giving to law enforcement, as a consequence of provisions that have been blocked in the United States Congress, and those are the areas where I think that we can make some significant progress early.

That doesn’t mean that we're steering away from the issue of the assault guns ban, but it does mean that we want to act with urgency, promptly, now. And I think we can make significant progress.

PRESIDENT CALDERÓN: Thank you for your question. I want to say that, in effect, on this topic -- not only on this topic, but on many of the other thorny topics of relations between the U.S. and Mexico, we have had an open, frank, trusting conversation between President Obama and myself. We have spoken of assault weapons. He is well aware of our problems.

And we have described it as it is from the moment that the prohibition on the sale of assault weapons a few years ago, we have seen an increase in the power of organized crime in Mexico. Only in my administration, in the two years and four months, we have been able to see -- or rather we have seized more than 16,000 assault weapons. And in the efforts we have made to track their origin -- and President Obama has referred to that -- we have seen that nearly 90 percent of those arms comes from the United States -- those weapons come from the United States. There are about 10,000 sales points in the U.S.-Mexico border -- only at the border.

On the other hand, I do believe that our relationship -- the new era we must build in our relationship between Mexico and the United States must be one with trust and respect. And we definitely respect the decision of the U.S. Congress and of the U.S. people in this regard, because they are very well aware of President Obama and his government's willingness to move forward on these issues.

We know that it is a politically delicate topic because Americans truly appreciate their constitutional rights, and particularly those that are part of the Second Amendment. I personally believe that as long as we are able to explain clearly what our problems in Mexico are, then we might also be able to seek a solution respecting the constitutional rights of the Americans, at the same time will prevent -- or rather avoid that organized crime becomes better armed in our country.

But we have to work on it. We have to work on it. But we fully respect the opinion of the U.S. Congress and we know that there's a great deal of sensitivity regarding this topic.

But there are many, many things that we can definitely move forward in. For example, in armament, it is not only a matter of seeing whether we can change the legislation on assault weapons -- we have already said what our position is -- but we might also be able to see whether they can apply existing legislation in Mexico and the United States on armament. For example, in Mexico it's a matter of enforcement, with the Export Control Act, for example -- this is in the United States -- I'm sorry -- prohibits the export of weapons to those countries where those weapons are prohibited.

And that is the case of Mexico. If we actually comply with the U.S. law -- or rather if everybody complies with the U.S. law that prohibits the sale of these weapons and their export to Mexico, we can move a great deal forward.

President Obama has made recent decisions in the last few weeks, and we value them and appreciate them -- for example, to reinforce the operational capability of U.S. border agencies in order to comply with this legislation and with other laws, in order to review the flows of entry not only into the United States, but also the outgoing flows, outgoing from the U.S., to make sure that there is no illicit money, in strict compliance with United States legislation. I think these are very important steps.

But there is a problem, and only as long as we build on this trust and we clearly explain to citizens of both countries how we must find a solution, we will be able to achieve one. We do so respectfully, presenting our position, knowing full well how the U.S. people feel about this and being fully respectful of the sovereign decisions that the United States might make, or that any other country might make.

One more thing -- one more thing I forgot to mention. One other thing we can do is to track the weapons that we have in Mexico. If we manage to detect weapons sold illegally in the United States in violation of this law on the control of weapons exports, or if, in the United States, they can have -- probably move forward on a good registry of armament or on the prohibition of certain massive sales of weapons, for example, to a hunter or to a common citizen -- we know that these people do not usually buy hundreds of rifles or assault weapons or grenades -- if we can move forward in those areas, I do believe that security both of the United States and Mexico will improve because those weapons are pointing against Mexican people and Mexican officials today.

But crime is not only acting in Mexico. It is also acting in the United States. Organized crime is acting in both countries. And I do hope that those weapons that are sold today in the United States and are being used in Mexico, I hope the day will never come in which they will also be used against the North American society or against U.S. officials, just like they are now being used in Mexico.

Q (As translated.) Good afternoon, Presidents. You are going to share four years of an administration, and there can be an in-depth change in this fight against organized crime in these four years. As of today, how can we establish the concrete objectives that in 2012 will allow us to say, fine, a new era began between Mexico and the United States back then?

Particularly I'm addressing this to you, President Obama. In addition to the chance that you will invest your political capital in being able to stop the flow of these weapons to Mexico, what can we hope for, what can we expect to see in terms of arresting the drug lords, the kingpins, in the U.S.? Because there are laws against corruption, but this is enabling now -- in other words, the U.S. market is now the biggest for drugs. And former President of Mexico, ex-President Fox, said that in the back they have only gotten little pats in the back from his predecessors. Can we hope for more from your administration?

And to you, President Calderón, with this new era, how can you measure the detention, the arrest of drug lords in the United States, and also putting a stop to the flow of weapons? How can you measure this?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I think that we can measure this in terms of the reduction in violence; in the interdiction of drugs; in the interdiction of weapons coming south; in the dismantling of the financial structures that facilitate these drug cartels; in the arrest of major drug kingpins.

So I think we know how to measure progress. The challenge is maintaining a sustained effort. And as I said, something that President Calderón and myself absolutely recognize, is that you can't fight this war with just one hand. You can't just have Mexico making an effort but the United States not making an effort. And the same is true on the other side.

I think both our efforts have to be coordinated; both of our efforts have to be strengthened. I've made some very concrete commitments, already sending additional resources, already making additional investments. These are measurable in millions and, ultimately, billions of dollars over several years. And I believe that President Calderón has used enormous political capital to deal with this issue.

Obviously the Mexican people, particularly along the borders, have suffered great hardship. And as a consequence, if we partner effectively -- and that's why I brought many of my top officials on this trip, to interact with their counterparts -- I'm confident that we're going to make progress. Now, are we going to eliminate all drug flows? Are we going to eliminate all guns coming over the border? That's not a realistic objective. What is a realistic objective is to reduce it so significantly, so drastically, that it becomes once again a localized criminal problem as opposed to a major structural problem that threatens stability in communities along those borders and that increases corruption and threatens the rule of law -- that's the kind of progress that I think can be made.

And so, we are going to -- we're going to work as hard as we can and as diligently as we can on these issues -- always mindful, though, that the relationship between Mexico and the United States cannot just be defined by drugs. Sometimes there's a tendency for the media to only report on drug interdiction or immigration when it comes to U.S.-Mexican relations. And one of the things that we talked about is the extraordinary opportunities for us to work together on our commercial ties; on strengthening border infrastructure to improve the flow of goods; on working on clean energy, which can produce jobs on both sides of the border.

So we're going to stay very focused on this. We're going to make this a top priority, but we just always want to remember that our relationship is not simply defined by these problems; it's also defined by opportunities. And that's what we want to take advantage of as well.

PRESIDENT CALDERÓN: Thank you, President. I agree a great deal with you and I fully thank you for your support and understanding in this very difficult topic. I think the question is very relevant. I see a big opportunity for President Obama and myself, since we are going to be sharing the next four years as heads of our administrations, I see a big opportunity here.

And on this issue, what I hope to see at the end of my administration is actually many things. One is a reduction in the levels of criminal activities in our countries related to organized crime, which is also related to drug trafficking -- they go hand in hand. We have a strategy with short-, midterm, and long-term objectives.

In the short term, for example, we have set out to recuperate the security and tranquility of our citizens, particularly in those areas that have been harder hit by the crime. And this is where we have the joint operations, where we are mobilizing not only our federal police but also the army -- and this, regardless of the fact that it is not an easy matter and it hasn't been and it can change in the course of time, but at least we begin to see fruitful results in some areas.

For example, in the last quarter -- or rather compared to the last quarter of last year, our first quarter of this year, there was already a drop of 27 percent in criminal activities. That is as an average for the entire country, only in Ciudad Juarez -- as of the joint operation that we launched in February, between February and March violent deaths in Ciudad Juarez, crime-related -- violence related to crime dropped by 80 percent.

Of course I understand that the spectacular nature of some of these operations has really attracted worldwide attention. But with a very difficult crime rate that we had last year, despite them, crime in Mexico was 10.7 deaths because of crime for every 100,000 inhabitants. It is less than what it is in Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela, or Brazil in Latin America, and it is also a lower number than the crime rates of many U.S. cities.

I believe one issue has to be, of course, that we have to cut down on crime in Mexico, for sure, but, number two, I hope, in the course of time, to be a safer border and a more efficient border. As long as -- if we are able to stop the flow of drugs, illicit money and weapons, we will have greater progress both in the United States and Mexico. And one way to measure this is by appreciating and valuing the technological capabilities, particularly of nonintrusive detection at the border, so that for those who do want to make business and do want to trade, that the border is open, and those who want to commit crime, the border will be a closed area.

One way to measure this -- and here U.S. cooperation is essential -- is to have the right technology, particularly nonintrusive technology that will enable us to have safe borders. And the initiative, the Merida Initiative, is very much focused on this.

Now, in the midterm, we would like a renewal of our police forces in Mexico. At the end of my administration, I would like to be able to have a new federal police that will be worthy of the citizens' trust and that will be efficient. And here U.S. cooperation is also fundamental. Why? Well, because on our side we are cleaning our house, we are sweeping everything from top to bottom so that all the police forces, from the top officials at the Attorney General's office, the army, the navy, that all officials in Mexico, all police officials that we can truly trust in their honesty, and that at the same time, technologically, they will be top-notch, as the rest of the world, in investigation, in databases. We want a scientific police, one that is very well-trained in technology, and U.S. help will be very welcome and it will be essential.

We also have a judicial plan for oral trials. And I think that as we fulfill these objectives, many of them have already -- are part of our agreement on safety, security and protection. With a shared responsibility that we now have with President Obama and his team, we are certain that we will reach these objectives and that our strategy, which is the correct one, will have many more possibilities of achieving success, and that at the end of our administration we will have a Mexico, a United States, that are much safer and freer of violence -- violence free, rather.

Of course, drug trafficking cannot be ended by decree. As long as there is a supply of high -- or rather, is high demand, there will be a high supply. But what we can control is the effect of criminal activities in society, to stop the actions of organized crime, and we can also act preventively in order to bring down the consumption of drugs in the United States, and in Mexico, too, which also begins to be a problem of great concern to us.

Q Mr. President, thank you. Mr. President.

President Obama, you said in an op-ed that was out today that your new Cuba policy was part of an effort to move beyond the frozen disputes of the 20th century. Why then is it so limited? Why not open the door for all Americans to visit Cuba? And what will you say to your colleagues at the Summit of the Americas who want you to do more?

And, President Calderón, what do you think the United States should do more on Cuba in order to improve relations with the region? Thank you.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, I don't think that we should dismiss the significance of the step that we took. We eliminated remittance restrictions and travel restrictions for Cuban Americans who have family members in Cuba. For those families, this is extraordinarily significant. For the people in Cuba who will benefit from their family members being able to provide them help and to visit them, it's extraordinarily significant. We took steps on telecommunications that can potentially open up greater lines of communication between Cuba and the United States.

And so I think what you saw was a good-faith effort, a show of good faith on the part of the United States that we want to recast our relationship. Now, a relationship that effectively has been frozen for 50 years is not going to thaw overnight. And so having taken the first step, I think it's very much in our interest to see whether Cuba is also ready to change. We don't expect them to change overnight. That would be unrealistic. But we do expect that Cuba will send signals that they're interested in liberalizing in such a way that not only do U.S.-Cuban relations improve, but so that the energy and creativity and initiative of the Cuban people can potentially be released.

We talk about the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba, but there's not much discussion of the ban on Cuban people traveling elsewhere and the severe restrictions that they're under. I make that point only to suggest that there are a range of steps that could be taken on the part of the Cuban government that would start to show that they want to move beyond the patterns of the last 50 years.

I'm optimistic that progress can be made if there is a spirit that is looking forward rather than backward. My guidepost in U.S.-Cuba policy is going to be how can we encourage Cuba to be respectful of the rights of its people: political speech and political participation, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of travel. But, as I said before, I don't expect things to change overnight. What I do insist on is that U.S.-Cuban relationships are grounded with a respect not only for the traditions of each country but also respect for human rights and the people's -- the needs of the people of Cuba.

And so I hope that the signal I've sent here is, is that we are not trying to be heavy-handed. We want to be open to engagement. But we're going to do so in a systematic way that keeps focus on the hardships and struggles that many Cubans are still going through.

PRESIDENT CALDERÓN: I would not pretend to give advice or suggestions to President Obama on this matter or any other. Let me just say what I personally believe -- or rather what I believe about the Cuban reality. The question that has to be posed rather is whether the U.S. embargo on Cuba has worked. The reality is that the embargo has been there long before we were even born, and yet things have not changed all that much in Cuba. I think we would have to ask ourselves whether that isn’t enough time to realize that it has been a strategy that has not been very useful to achieve change in Cuba.

I do think -- I share fully the idea we do not believe that the embargo or the isolation of Cuba is a good measure for things to change in Cuba. On the contrary; the reality that we see there is that the reality has not changed. And it's because of internal factors, mostly, of course, but also because of external reasons, such as the embargo. Because of that, the Cubans have become impoverished.

I greet -- I welcome the measures that President Obama has taken in order to change this attitude, and to try to attempt -- and the attempt must be appreciated -- to change the policy towards Cuba little by little. But what is clear to me is that we both share the same ideals. I think we would both like to see the world living at some point under a full democracy, a world with full respect for human rights, with no exceptions whatsoever. We would like to see a world working with people being able to take care of their families, to live in peace, and those principles that must protect humanity. That we do share.

We also share the idea that each nation must be respected in its own decisions. It's like we were saying a moment ago when we were talking about the prohibition of assault weapons. Of course, we do not want those weapons to be out in the streets, but at the same time we want those decisions to come from the people themselves and to be self-determinant. And it's the same for Cuba. But I believe that the steps President Obama has taken are very positive.

Mexico is a good friend of Cuba, and Mexico is also a good friend of the United States. We want to be a good friend of Cuba and of the United States. We want both things. And we know that one day, the day that these principles we believe in prevail, that day we will be able to be neighbors, the three of us -- the United States, Cuba and Mexico.

What are the principles we believe in? Democracy, human rights, but also liberty, property, trade, free trade, free economy. And I think as long as those principles can function and bring benefits to the Cuban economy, then things can begin to change. We cannot change anything that has already taken place in the past, but I am certain that as heads of state, we can do a lot to try to make a different future, both for the world, both for our countries, and also in relation to Cuba.

I told President Obama that the best of luck in this panorama that is now so totally different from what U.S. policy has been in the past. I hope for the best, and I hope that more expeditious steps could be taken so that we can move forward in this regard, and that everything will be done with good understanding. And as Mexico can contribute in any way for two of our friends to work out what they have between themselves, I hope that we can contribute. And if our best contribution is just to maintain our respect, that is fine.

Last question.

Q Good afternoon. For President Obama. Mr. President, -- as U.S. senator in 2006 voted in favor of the approval of the construction of the border wall. I would like to know, and I think Mexicans would like to know, what is your real commitment of your administration to present a new migratory -- comprehensive migratory reform? What would be its scope? And when would you approve this reform?

And on free trade, on NAFTA, it seems that because of the last events there's not a great deal of interest in the U.S. to apply or to comply with all the items in NAFTA. I would like to ask President Calderón whether you spoke of some of those issues during your conversations, whether you addressed the migratory issue and some of the NAFTA issues?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, with respect to the immigration issue, I think it would be useful to point out that I also voted twice for comprehensive immigration reform that would have provided a pathway for legalization and improvement of the orderly process of migration into the United States.

I've said before that we have to have a comprehensive approach, recognizing that the United States has a very legitimate concern -- if you've got hundreds of thousands of people from other countries coming into the United States without anybody knowing who they are, who when they arrive can often be exploited and, because they're not protected by various laws, undermine the wages of U.S. workers -- those are legitimate concerns on the part of the United States people and the United States government. And so working effectively with the Mexican government to create an orderly border is very important. And there are a whole host of strategies that we need to pursue.

What I've also said is that for those immigrants who are already in the United States -- and by the way, we focus a lot on Mexicans who have come into the United States, but the number of immigrants from Central America, from Ireland, from Poland are substantial as well; it's not -- this is not just an issue with respect to Mexico -- for those immigrants who have put down roots, may have come there illegally, I think they need to pay a penalty for having broken the law. They need to come out of the shadows, and then we have to put them through a process where, if they want to stay in the United States, they have an opportunity over time to earn that opportunity, for a legal status in the United States.

Now, we came close to getting that kind of reform done several years ago and then it became politicized. And my whole goal is to remove the politics of this and take a very practical, common-sense approach that benefits people on both sides of the border -- and creates a secure and safe border so you don't have people who are dying in the deserts as a consequence of a disorderly and illegal migration process. I think that's a goal that President Calderón and I share and one that we discussed during our bilateral meeting.

With respect to trade, Mexico is one of our largest trading partners. The amount of commerce that flows back and forth creates wealth in Mexico and it creates wealth in the United States. I have said repeatedly that I'm in favor of free trade. I know that there has been some concern about a provision that was placed in our stimulus package related to Mexican trucking. That wasn't a provision that my administration introduced, and I said at the time that we need to fix this because the last thing we want to do at a time when the global economy is contracting and trade is shrinking is to resort to protectionist measures.

My team is working with President Calderón's team to resolve this issue. I'm hopeful that we can resolve it in an effective way. It's not helpful to a number of U.S. producers who are interested in selling into Mexico and are fearful that they may be subject to countervailing tariffs or retaliation.

So we're going to see if we can get this fixed. But I can tell you that President Calderón and I are entirely on the same page in believing that we can create greater opportunities for trade and strengthen our commercial relationships between our two countries.

I have said before in the past, and I will continue to say, that as part of the NAFTA framework, that it would make sense for labor and environmental provisions to be enforceable within that agreement rather than just be viewed as a side agreement. But I recognize that we are in a very difficult time right now economically on both sides of the border and that those kinds of negotiations are going to need to proceed in a very careful and deliberate way, because we don't want to discourage trade; we want to encourage trade right now.

So I'm confident that our administrations are going to be able to work together, and it's going to be to the benefit both of Mexico and the United States.

PRESIDENT CALDERÓN: We spoke at length on migration and on trade, and particularly on the economy in general between both nations. President Obama is well aware, is very knowledgeable about the problem, and his position in favor of a comprehensive migratory reform is well known. I would simply repeat the idea -- refrain the idea that we share the objective of achieving an orderly, legal, productive migration between both countries.

I have said, and I maintain, that as a Mexican, as President of Mexico, it doesn’t make me particularly happy to see our people risk their lives going across a border, because I know that with every migrant that leaves we have the best of our people leaving -- the youngest, the most courageous, the strongest, the hardest-working -- they are the ones that are leaving. Because I have seen in many communities here in Mexico, and particularly the state I come from, where there are phantom towns now, where there are only the elderly, children, women, and no one else is left there.

So I am working hard to create in Mexico the conditions, the opportunities of work, of employment for our people here in Mexico. That is really the only way out that can put a stop to migration. I think that is the best way out, to create opportunities and employment in our country. But in the meantime, President Obama is very clear on what the problem consists of, and it's very important to establish those instruments that will enable people to come out of the shadows, as he himself has said, and that our region can gradually become more orderly, more legal and better migration flows.

I think the two of us share the idea that trade produces benefits on both sides of the border. Not only are there many Mexican workers that depend on their exports to the United States today -- by the way, in a very delicate situation that we're going through because of the economic situation, the drop in U.S. industry is very co-related to the drop in our Mexican industry -- but there are also many workers in the United States that depend on the purchases that we make of U.S. products. Today Mexican consumers are among the best buyers of U.S. products. Few consumers in the world buy as many U.S. products as we do here in Mexico.

So we must protect trade. And the best way of doing so is to allow it to flow naturally, with no restrictions. So going beyond the autonomous decisions that every country can take, and the legitimate exercise of the rights that are part of the pacts and agreements that we have in order to protect free trade, I agree with President Obama, we have to go further. We have to go beyond in order to improve trade between both our countries. And we do not want to restrict it. We can come to agreements; we might have certain differences; I believe that we can move a great deal forward in labor and environmental issues, but it concerns me that to reopen those things that have been proven to work well can merely create further obstacles and worsen the situation we have today.

Our focus today on practical matters -- and this is why --let me just mention three things that I believe we can work on. One is infrastructure at the border. I have talked to President Obama, I have shown him a list of 200 infrastructure projects of a larger or smaller scale that can generate employment both in the U.S. and Mexico at the border, and improve our competitiveness at the border. So we have focused on six projects of border bridges, border crossing points that can lead to further employment and prosperity for our people.

The second item is customs cooperation that will enable us to have better cooperation, more expeditious cooperation, with no drop in productivity -- to maybe have one single customs form, whether we're talking about exports or imports from one country to another; to have one single form that will allow us to reduce bureaucracy and make trade more expeditious.

And then also, third, concrete measures to have a harmonization of standards. Certain U.S. products, for example, need to have the units measured in pounds, and here we need them measured in kilos or in grams, we need to be able to have standards. If certain requirements differ from our two countries, I think we have to work towards a harmonization of these requirements.

So these practical matters that seem to be minor are actually quite important. And I think they can truly help us.

And let me wrap up by saying that one of the things we emphasized is that both of us are going through economic problems because of this international crisis that we're undergoing. But if we act intelligently we will understand that if we improve the North American competitiveness as a region that entails Canada, United States and Mexico, if we improve the competitive conditions of our entire region, vis-à-vis other regions such as Asia or Eastern Europe or the rest of Latin America, then I do believe we will be able to come out of this problem much, much faster.

Trade means opportunities, equal opportunities of employment and of prosperity for our peoples, always, always, and particularly today in these times of crisis and economic difficulties.

President Obama is undergoing tremendous efforts to improve things in the United States and he is exercising in international leadership to face this economic situation. We firmly support on our side this situation, doing everything we can in order to revert this critical situation. And I do believe one way to do it is by strengthening trade, not restricting it.

So, ladies and gentlemen, we now bring to an end our press conference. Thank you so much. We thank you.

END 5:24 P.M. CDT

###

Posted at 08:07 AM in crime/violence/gangs/poverty, culture, Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, politics, responsibility | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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March 24, 2009

Obama disappoints on immigration but Hispanics aren’t talking about it

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

I’ll give you a bit of insight into my world: I get a zillion crazy emails a day from anti- and pro- illegal immigrant interest groups.

"Stop deportations NOW!!!!!!!!, blah, blah, blah," and "Local Leaders call for REFORM, blah, blah, blah," sprinkled in with, "End Illegal Invasion NOW!!!!!, blah, blah, blah" and "If you ain't mad [about illegal immigration], you ain't payin' attention! blah, blah, blah."

But I have yet to get one that screams "Obama disappoints on immigration reform!!!"

That’s OK, that’s why I have subscriptions to actual newspapers and actually read them.

After getting heat from Latinos far and wide for daring to imply that Obama has been utterly flaccid on the issue of illegal immigration – my Tweet regarding Obama’s March 18 meeting with the Hispanic Congressional Caucus pretty much said it all: "Obama's 1hr "robust and strategic" meeting w/Congressional Hispanic Caucus yielded: we’ll work on [immigration] together…" pretty much said it all – someone else has finally noticed that Obama is not the Latino population’s great savior.

This is straight from today’s New York Times unsigned editorial:

March 24, 2009 Editorial - Obama Flinches on Immigration

In a little-noticed act of political faintheartedness, the Obama administration has pulled back from nominating Thomas Saenz, a highly regarded civil-rights lawyer and counsel to the mayor of Los Angeles, to run the Justice Department’s civil rights division.

Mr. Saenz, the former top litigator in Los Angeles for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or Maldef, was privately offered the job in January. The floating of his name led to fierce outbursts from anti-immigrant groups and blogs, which detest him for being so good at what he does.

He was a leader of the successful fight to block California’s Proposition 187, an unconstitutional effort to deny social services and schooling to illegal immigrants. He has defended Latino day laborers who were targets of misguided local crackdowns, from illegal police stings to unconstitutional anti-solicitation ordinances. An editorial in Investor’s Business Daily slimed Mr. Saenz by calling him "an open-borders extremist" and said Maldef wanted to give California back to Mexico.

None of it was true, but it was apparently too much for the White House. Mr. Saenz was ditched in favor of Maryland’s labor secretary, Thomas Perez, who has a solid record but is not as closely tied to immigrant rights.

Immigrant advocates are stuck with the sinking feeling that Mr. Obama’s supposed enthusiasm for immigration reform will wilt under pressure and heat. Representative Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, found it sadly unsurprising that a lawyer could be rejected for the nation’s top civil-rights job because he had stood up for civil rights. "In what other position do you find that your life experience, your educational knowledge and commitment to an issue actually hurts you?" he asked.

Mr. Obama may have avoided a nasty fight this time. But if he is ever going to win the battle to put 12 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship, he will to have to confront and dismantle the core restrictionist argument: that being an illegal immigrant is an unpardonable crime, one that strips away fundamental protections and forgives all manner of indecent treatment.

The Constitution’s bedrock protections do not apply to just the native-born. The suffering that illegal immigrants endure — from raids to workplace exploitation to mistreatment in detention — is a civil-rights crisis. It cannot be left to fester while we wait for the big immigration bill that may or may not arrive under this president.

Mr. Saenz would have been an ideal candidate to reaffirm values that have been lost in the poisoned immigration debate, had Mr. Obama dared to nominate him.

I’m not here to hate on the prez, rather, I’m glad that I’m not the only one who was remotely excited about this new presidency who realizes the man doesn’t actually walk on water.

Rather than blow his cover, though, all the major Latino organizations have been comedically tepid in their reaction to his stunning silence on the matter. Exhibit A: the press release that probably spurred the NYTimes’ editorial which was released last Wednesday by the National Council of La Raza.

Titled: "NCLR EXPRESSES PROFOUND DISAPPOINTMENT WITH DECISION AGAINST SAENZ" it quoted their supreme leader Janet Murguia thusly:

"I am confident that at his confirmation hearing Mr. Saenz would have been able to address any questions related to his litigation work on immigration based on the facts of the cases he argued and the law. Unfortunately he will not be given that opportunity," Murguía said. "This action may lead some to question whether the White House is ready to fulfill its promise on immigration reform."

Oooooh, I’m sure that made the Obama administration quake in their boots. You just wait until some strident activist starts whipping out their standard "If it weren’t for Latinos, Obama wouldn’t have gotten elected" line – and the White House completely ignores it. That’ll be quite the "ouch" moment, just you wait and see.

I’ve been asked time and time again when the issue of reform for this country’s miserably ineffective immigration laws will be taken up by the Obama administration and I always answer the same way – and as of today see no reason to alter my initial prediction: "Don’t hold your breath!"

Posted at 09:58 PM in Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, politics | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

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White House's Announcement of U.S.-Mexico Border Security Policy

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary

March 24, 2009ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER SECURITY POLICY: A COMPREHENSIVE RESPONSE & COMMITMENT

Today, Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg and United States Deputy Attorney General David Ogden will lay out the Administration’s comprehensive response to the situation along the border with Mexico. President Obama and his Administration are focused on all aspects of the U.S. relationship with Mexico because it is vital to core U.S. national interests.

The President is concerned by the increased level of violence, particularly in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, and the impact that it is having on the communities on both sides of the border. He believes that the United States must continue to monitor the situation and guard against spillover into the United States. And the President is firmly committed to ensuring our borders are secure and we are doing all we can to reduce illegal flows in both direction across the border.

We are taking steps on both sides of the border, working with our Mexican partners, to support the Mexican government’s campaign against the violent cartels and to reduce contraband in both directions across the border.

Under the Merida Initiative, we are investing $700 million this year to work in collaboration with Mexico on law enforcement and judicial capacity.

DOJ, DHS, and Treasury are all ramping up personnel and efforts directed at the Southwest border.

We are renewing our commitment to reduce the demand for illegal drugs here at home.

The President admires President Calderon’s courage and determination to confront and dismantle the drug cartels and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him in that fight. Mexico undoubtedly faces serious challenges, but it is vigorously confronting them. Mexico's drug-related violence is carried out among the warring cartels and against government forces. To the extent we have seen related violence in the United States it has been cartel-on-cartel.

Because this effort has so many facets, the U.S.-Mexico relationship and our efforts to help address the increase in violence in Mexico are being coordinated at the White House through the NSC and HSC. We are investing $700 million this year in enhancing Mexican law enforcement and judicial capacity and working closely to coordinate our efforts against the cartels.

Congress has appropriated (FY08 Supp, FY09 Omnibus) $700 million to support Mexico’s security and institution building efforts under the Merida Initiative. These funds will help to improve law enforcement, crime prevention and strengthen institution building and rule of law. That money will provide:

Increased capacity for Mexican border security efforts to help stem illegal flows in both directions across the border;

Non-intrusive inspection technology to enhance Mexican interdiction efforts;

Training for rule of law and judicial reform efforts;

Information technology to enable Mexican prosecutors, law enforcement, and immigration officials to communicate securely;

5 helicopters to increase air mobility for the Mexican Army and Air Force, and a surveillance aircraft for the Mexican Navy.

Support and training for implementation of Mexico’s new legal system and to strengthen observance of human rights by judicial authorities and police; and

Help for Mexican prosecutors’ offices to develop an effective witness and victim protection programs.

DoD has been and is continuing to work with its Mexican counterparts to increase information sharing, interoperability, and training and equipping of counternarcotics forces.

The Administration is committed to working with Congress to ensure that we fully fund our commitments under the Merida Initiative.

We are also coordinating our efforts with the Mexican government through regular high-level contact and at a working level with nine Merida Initiative working groups overseeing implementation.We are moving to more effectively disrupt illegal flows of weapons and bulk cash to Mexico and to ensure that our border security remains resistant to the flow of drugs and violence into the United States.

DHS is developing a plan to supplement resources on the southwest border that includes the following elements:

Doubling Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST) teams that incorporate foreign, federal and state/local law enforcement and intelligence officers

Tripling DHS Intelligence Analysts working along the Southwest Border

Increasing ICE attaché staff in Mexico in support of Mexican law enforcement efforts

Doubling Violent Criminal Alien teams located in Southwest Border Field Offices

Quadrupling the number of Border Liaison Officers working with Mexican law enforcement entities

oIncreasing southbound rail examinations

o Enhancing the use of technology at ports of entry, including backscatter mobile x-ray

o Increasing the number of canine units operating on the SW Border

o Increasing engagement with state and local Southwest border law enforcement

Making up to $59 million in current Operation Stonegarden funding available to enhance state, local and tribal law enforcement operations and assets along the border

Increasing the use of mobile license plate readers for Southbound traffic on the SW Border

DHS is also continuing Armas Cruzadas – A DHS/ICE-led bilateral law enforcement and intelligence-sharing operation to thwart export of arms from US into Mexico

DOJ is confronting the criminal enterprises responsible for violence in Mexico and trafficking drugs, illegal arms and bulk cash across the Southwest border.

The Mexican Cartel Strategy, led by the Deputy Attorney General, is

Working with federal prosecutor-led task forces that bring together all DOJ and DHS law enforcement components to identify, disrupt and dismantle the Mexican drug cartels through investigation, prosecution, and extradition of their key leaders and facilitators, and seizure and forfeiture of their assets;

Increasing focus on investigations and prosecutions of the southbound smuggling of guns and cash that fuel the violence and corruption;

Addressing any instances of spill-over violence into the U.S.; and

Attacking the cartels in Mexico itself, in partnership with Mexico’s PGR and SSP.

DEA is increasing its efforts:

Placing 16 new positions in its Southwest border field divisions (29% of DEA’s domestic agent positions (1,171 agents) are now allocated to the DEA’s Southwest border field divisions.

DEA is forming four additional Mobile Enforcement Teams (METs) to specifically target Mexican methamphetamine trafficking operations and associated violence, both along the border and in U.S. cities impacted by the cartels.

ATF is increasing its efforts by:

Relocating 100 personnel to the SW border in the next 45 days, using dedicated resources from the economic stimulus, to fortify its Project Gunrunner aimed at disrupting arms trafficking between the U.S. and Mexico that has resulted in ATF referring more than 1,500 defendants for prosecution involving more than 12,000 weapons; and

Continuing its eTrace Initiative which works with Mexican officials to forensically track weapons used in drug cartel violence. In FY07, Mexico submitted approximately 1,112 guns for tracing that originated in TX, AZ and CA.

FBI is stepping up its efforts along the SW Border by:

Creating a Southwest Intelligence Group (SWIG), a clearinghouse of all FBI activities involving Mexico;

Increasing its focus on public corruption, kidnappings, and extortion relating to SW border issues; and

Continuing its successful implementation of the Central American Fingerprint Exchange (CAFÉ) initiative -- which was developed to collect, store, and integrate biometric data from El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and the Mexican state of Chiapas into a central database accessible to US law enforcement -- as well as the Transnational Anti-Gang initiative -- which coordinates the sharing of gang intelligence between the U.S. and El Salvador.

OJP – Office of Justice Programs – is investing $30 million in stimulus funding to assist with state and local law enforcement to combat narcotics activity along the Southern border and in High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, andOCDETF – DOJ’s Organized Drug Enforcement Task Forces Program – is adding personnel to its strike force capacity along the Southwest border.

We are making concerted efforts to cut off funding for Mexican drug cartels.

Operation Firewall – A DHS-led comprehensive law enforcement operation targeting criminal organizations involved in the smuggling of large quantities of US currency.

Treasury has made targeting the financial networks of Mexican drug trafficking organizations a top priority and is committed to continuing to work with the Mexican government to disrupt drug money laundering operations. This includes continuing to pursue the use of Treasury authorities including the Kingpin Designation Act.

Treasury and other departments and agencies are collaborating closely with Mexico to analyze cross-border cash flows to try to distinguish legitimate activity from drug money laundering and other illicit transactions, as well as to support financial aspects of investigations by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement.

Treasury continues to provide the Mexican government with training on how to conduct financial analysis and financial investigations of drug cartels activities, examination of financial institutions and certain Merida-supported IT investments.We are renewing our commitment to reduce the demand for illegal drugs here at home.

Approximately $5 billion have been committed in the previous year for initiatives to reduce illicit drug use within our borders.

The Obama Administration is focusing on integrating substance abuse services into national healthcare systems with early screening, diagnosis and intervention as regular preventative medicine to reach the millions of patients who need treatment, and as a means to prevent millions more from becoming dependent.

Expanding treatment capacity of drug courts in the United States is a priority of the Obama Administration. The FY09 Omnibus includes $63.9 million for drug courts that bring judicial, law enforcement, and treatment communities, as well as other social and public services together with the goal of breaking a non-violent offender’s drug addiction.

Posted at 08:49 PM in crime/violence/gangs/poverty, Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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March 19, 2009

Chicago’s Latino Landscape 2008: a statistical portrait of Chi-Town Hispanics

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

On Monday the Chicago Community Trust published The Latino Landscape: A Metro-Chicago Guide and Non-profit Directory and put a copy into my greedy little hands.

You’ve noticed my very specific Hispanic data-tweets on Twitter? Totally ripped off from my Chicago-centric guide to all things Latin-American-ish in our region.

The Chicago Community Trust (and I) thank the Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiatives of the Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame and the CCT’s members of the community advisory board who brought this incredible collection of factoids, history, and community resources to life.

I’m pulling out only the juiciest bits and numbers because I’m a sucker for statistics. The cheeky headings are mine but all the information was taken from official government sources and tabulated by people waaaay smarter than me. You can check it all out – complete with cool charts – in your very own PDF copy, just make it to the bottom of this omni-Hispanic-bus column for the link.

GENERATION "1.5+"

Some definitions from The Pew Hispanic Center:

First Generation: Latinos born outside the United States or on the island of Puerto Rico.

Generation One and a Half: First-generation Latinos who arrived in the United States at or before the age of 10.6

Second Generation: Latinos born in the United States to immigrant parents.

Third Generation or higher: Latinos born in the United States to US-born parents.

"HISPANIC" OR "LATINO"?

In theory, the terms ‘Hispanic’ and ‘Latino’ are used interchangeably. They refer to a collective ethnic and political identity that is unique to living in the United States. In reality, though, it is a complex matter of preference.

The term ‘Hispanic’ was coined in the 1970s by the US government. Although mainly applied to Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, the government continues to use it to refer to Spaniards and Portuguese-speaking Brazilians.

The term ‘Latino’ is considered to have a community-based origin and has a weaker connotation to Spanish colonial history and a greater emphasison Latin America. For this reason, many people prefer ‘Latino’.

According to an unpublished 2003 study in the Chicago area by the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame, those who prefer the term ‘Hispanic’ are more likely to be college educated, somewhat older (36–60 years old), very interested in politics, and members of nontraditional religions.

Those who prefer ‘Latino’ are generally younger (26–35 years old).

ID, PLEASE:

In terms of identity, a 2002 Pew Hispanic Center survey found that first-generation Latinos are more likely to select their country of origin when asked to describe themselves (68 percent) than second generation Latinos.

The latter also use their parents’countries of origin to describe themselves, but 35 percent prefer the term ‘American’. An equal number of both generations (25 percent), however, use the term ‘Latino/Hispanic’ to express identity.

NATIONS REPRESENTED IN CHICAGO:

In 2006 Latinos accounted for 20 percent of the region’s population, making them the largest ethnic group in metropolitan Chicago. Whites accounted for 55 percent of the population, while African Americans made up 18 percent and Asians represented 6 percent.

Hispanic or Latino 1,722,843 100.00%

Mexican 1,357,353 78.79%

Puerto Rican 153,206 8.89%

Guatemalan 30,332 1.76%

Cuban 18,875 1.10%

Ecuadoran 18,796 1.09%

Colombian 16,482 0.96%

Peruvian 10,796 0.63%

Salvadoran 8,431 0.49%

Honduran 7,927 0.46%

Dominican 4,186 0.24%

Venezuelan 4,090 0.24%

Argentine 3,702 0.21%

Costa Rican 2,064 0.12%

Bolivian 1,901 0.11%

Nicaraguan 1,519 0.09%

Panamanian 1,502 0.09%

Chilean 906 0.05%

Uruguayan 588 0.03%

Paraguayan 392 0.02%

Other Central American 3,139 0.18%

Other South American 1,417 0.08%

Other Hispanic/ Latino 975,239 4.37%

Source: US Census Bureau, 2006, American Community Survey, analyzed by the Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame.

THEY WERE "BOOOOOORN IN THE U-S-A!"

Eighty-nine percent of Latinos under the age of 18 were born in the United States compared to 37 percent of Latinos over the age of 18.

SHOW ME YOUR "PAPERS"

Nearly 69 percent of Latinos in the Region are US Citizens: 55.5 percent are US-born and 12.8 percent are naturalized.

Any estimate of the undocumented population is inconclusive given the unofficial nature of their arrival. However, a 2005 report estimated that at least 200,000 foreign-born Latino residents in the six-county area of metro Chicago were undocumented.

(The 31.2 percent of Latinos in metro Chicago who are not citizens of the United States includes legal permanent residents and those who are legally authorized to live and work in the country, as well as those without authorization.)

‘HOODS:

Eighty-one percent of metro Chicago Latinos lived in the following 25 places in 2000. Information has been updated for 2006 with US Census data, where available. I ordered them by percentage of population:

Cicero 66,299 77.4% 66,389 82.0%

Melrose Park 12,485 53.9% N/A N/A

West Chicago 11,405 48.6% N/A N/A

Waukegan 39,396 44.8% 49,689 56.2%

Carpentersville 12,410 40.6% N/A N/A

Franklin Park 7,399 38.1% N/A N/A

Berwyn 20,543 38.0% N/A N/A

Blue Island 8,899 37.9% N/A N/A

Bensenville 7,690 37.1% N/A N/A

Elgin 32,430 34.3% 40,243 40.5%

Aurora 46,557 32.6% 73,252 40.1%

Round Lake Beach 8,084 31.3% N/A N/A

Addison 10,198 28.4% N/A N/A

Hanover Park 10,233 26.7% N/A N/A

Chicago 753,644 26.0% 774,042 28.2%

Mundelein 7,487 24.2% N/A N/A

Chicago Heights 7,790 23.8% N/A N/A

Wheeling 7,135 20.7% N/A N/A

Joliet 19,552 18.4% 39,226 27.2%

North Chicago 6,552 18.2% N/A N/A

Streamwood 6,108 16.8% N/A N/A

Palatine 9,247 14.1% 9,698 14.8%

Des Plaines 8,299 14.0% N/A N/A

Bolingbrook 7,371 13.1% N/A N/A

Mount Prospect 6,620 11.8% N/A N/A

LADIES AND GENTS:

There are more men among Latinos in the region (53 percent) than among whites (49 percent) or blacks (46 percent).

Forty-seven percent of Latinos are women, compared to 51 percent of whites and 54 percent of blacks.

Female-Headed Households:

In the metropolitan Chicago area women are at the head of 16.1 percent of Latino households compared to 42.9 percent of black households and 8.6 percent of white households.

Same-Sex Households:

Among same sex households in 2006, 3,162 were Latino in Metropolitan Chicago compared to 2,359 black and 14,368 white.

Same-Sex Households in Metropolitan Chicago by Race/Ethnicity, 2006:

White Black Latino Total

Male householders 7,557 1,279 2,264 11,100

Female householders 6,811 1,080 898 8,789

Total 14,368 2,359 3,162 19,889

Source: Data are from the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes 9 Counties: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will.

According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 59 percent of Latino female same-sex couples and 45 percent of Latino male same-sex couples were raising at least one child under the age of 18 in metro Chicago in the year 2000.

"YOU DON’T LOOK A DAY OVER 20!"

US-born Latinos are the youngest in the region with nearly 57 percent of them under the age of 18 compared to nearly 22 percent of whites and 30 percent of blacks in the same age group.

At 53 percent, foreign-born Latinos are disproportionately represented in the 24–44 age

group, when compared to whites (27 percent) and blacks (27 percent).

READIN’ ‘RITIN’ n ‘RITHMETIC

Only 24 percent of US-born Latinos have graduated from college or higher as compared to nearly 55 percent of whites and nearly 28 percent of blacks in the region.

Fifty-five percent of foreign-born Latinos have less than a high school diploma compared to nearly 29 percent of US-born Latinos, 22 percent of blacks, and only about 9 percent of whites.

"WAIT, WHATCHOO SAY?"

The Census Bureau defines English fluency as people in a household over the age of 5 who speak English well or very well.

Nearly 59 percent of all Latinos in the region speak English well or very well and almost 15 percent speak only English.

Nearly 12 percent of Mexicans speak only English compared to nearly 28 percent of Puerto Ricans and nearly 25 percent of Other Latinos.

Nearly 30 percent of Latino households in the region are "Linguistically Isolated" according to the US Census. That is to say, no one in the household over the age of 14 speaks English very well.

English usage increases over generations, and although Spanish use decreases, it does not

disappear. Nationally, first-generation Latinos (foreign born) are Spanish-language Dominant.

Second-generation Latinos (US born) are comfortable in both languages but are more likely to speak English at home and at work.

By the third generation and beyond, more than half (52 percent) say they speak Spanish at least pretty well.

"SHOW ME THE MONEY"

Seventy-one percent of Latinos in the region are currently working or looking for work, compared to 69 percent of whites and 61 percent of blacks.

Retirees, homemakers, and those who are incarcerated are examples of individuals not in the labor force.

Fifty-two percent of Latinos in the labor force worked in the following four occupations in the region in 2006:

• Production

• Office & Administrative Support

• Transportation

• Sales

Median Household Income among Latinos in Metro Chicago, 2006:

Total Latino $49,303

Panamanian $132,817

Costa Rican $90,557

Honduran $87,237

Paraguayan $84,168

Argentine $76,018

Colombian $72,848

Cuban $67,817

Ecuadoran $67,817

Dominican $66,207

Venezuelan $59,365

Puerto Rican $48,297

Peruvian $47,694

Mexican $47,291

Salvadoran $46,889

Guatemalan $45,580

Nicaraguan $42,260

Chilean $36,545

Bolivian $30,186

Uruguayan $25,960

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2006.

"THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE…"

Homeownership:

In the region 60 percent of Latinos own and occupy their homes compared to 84 percent of whites and close to 47 percent of blacks.

It is still unknown what impact the national foreclosure crisis will have on Latino homeownership. However, according to a recent report by the Latino Policy Forum in the

Chicago region, Latinos were 1.5 times more likely to receive high cost loans than whites.

Poverty:

Seventeen percent of all Latinos were at or below the poverty level in 2006, compared to nearly 27 percent of blacks and 5 percent of whites.

As defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation, the poverty threshold for a family of four in 2006 was $20,614; for a family of three, $16,079; for a family of two,$13,167; and for unrelated individuals, $10,294.15

Homelessness:

According to a point-in-time count and survey by the City of Chicago, in January 2007 there were 5,922 homeless individuals.

Six percent were Latino, 75 percent black, and 16 percent white.

Latinos tend to be under-represented in counts of homeless people on the street or in shelters, according to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, because Latino families often live in overcrowded conditions before resorting to the shelter system.

"IN THE JAILHOUSE NOW…"

According to the US Department of Justice, there were 415 Latino inmates in Illinois State prisons and local jails per 100,000 residents in 2005, compared to 223 whites and 2,020 blacks.

In Illinois, while blacks represent almost five times the inmate population of Latinos, that proportion climbs to nine times the number when compared to whites. While the incarceration rate for whites in Illinois is almost half the incarceration rate for Latinos, Latinos in Illinois are as likely to be incarcerated as whites are in the whole country.

Number of Inmates in State Prisons and Local Jails per 100,000 Residents by Race/Ethnicity, June 30, 2005:

White Black Latino

Illinois 223 2,020 415

Midwest 351 2,278 450

Source: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2005."

THEY DID IT EARLY AND OFTEN:

Voter Turnout in November 2004 and 2006: Fifty-nine percent of Latinos were eligible to vote in November 2006, compared to 97 percent of whites and 99 percent of blacks.

More than 40 percent of Latinos over the age of 18 are not eligible to vote because they are not US citizens.

Of those eligible to vote, 58 percent of Latinos were registered compared to 76 percent of whites and 74 percent of blacks.

Of those eligible to vote, 86 percent of those registered exercised their right and cast a ballot in 2006 compared to 93 percent of blacks and 89 percent of whites.

Similar to other groups, about one-fourth of the total Latino population over the age of 18 are not registered to vote.

Given the large number of the population not eligible to vote, only about 30 percent of all Latinos over the age of 18 voted in 2006.

THE BODY AS A TEMPLE:

Physical Disabilities:

The table below shows the percentage of individuals who reported difficulty of vision or hearing, limited mobility, or a limitation with regard to personal care among Latinos, whites, and blacks in the region in 2006.

Physical Disability by Race/Ethnicity in the Region, 2006

White Black Latino

Limited mobility 5.5% 8.1% 3.0%

Personal care limitation 3.0% 4.9% 1.4%

Vision or hearing difficulty 3.5% 4.1% 2.3%

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2006.

Health Insurance:

According to a 2008 report issued by the Gilead Outreach & Referral Center, 26 percent of Latinos in the Chicago metro area17 were uninsured, compared to 21 percent of blacks and 7 percent of whites.

The report also states that 15 percent of Latinos who are US citizens are uninsured compared to 50 percent of Latinos who are not US citizens.

Underinsurance:

Analysis of 2006 American Community Survey data by the Institute for Latino Studies revealed that in the Chicago region between 7 and 37 percent of whites are at risk of being underinsured. For blacks the range was between 4 and 49 percent and for Latinos the range was between 4 and 29 percent.

Although Latinos are more likely to be uninsured, they are less likely to be underinsured.

Nationally, 16 percent of whites are underinsured compared to 17 percent of blacks and 6 percent of Latinos.

Health Status:

Responding to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2007, 86 percent of whites in the State of Illinois said their health was "Good" or "Excellent" compared to 76 percent of blacks and 70 percent of Latinos.

Infant Mortality: According to the Illinois Department of Health, in the six-county region, blacks had the highest infant mortality rate in 2005 at 15.5 per thousand live births.

Latinos and whites were similar at 5.7 and 5.2, respectively.

Immunization:

Among children 19–35 months of age in the State of Illinois, it is estimated that 74 percent of whites had been vaccinated23 compared to 78 percent of Latinos. Data for black children were unavailable.

Substance Abuse: Of the 45,327 individuals admitted to substance abuse treatment programs in the State of Illinois in 2007, 49 percent were white, 45 percent were black and 4 percent were Latino.

Smoking: According to the same CDC report, 21 percent of white adults in the state identified themselves as current smokers compared to 23 percent of black adults and 15 percent of Latino adults.

Whew - you made it!

And if you want four-color charts and graphs, short profiles of each Latin American country's history in Chicago, in-depth profiles of the top Latino populated suburbs, and a full directory of community organizations serving Hispanics, get your very own PDF copy of the Chicago Community Trust’s The Latino Landscape: A Metro-Chicago Guide and Non-profit Directory here. Be sure to look under "News," it’s the second link down.

Enjoy!

Posted at 06:29 AM in African American, Chicago, crime/violence/gangs/poverty, education, Health/Medicine/nutrition, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, smokers/smoking | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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March 16, 2009

Feliz dia de San Patricio! or: Kiss Me, I’m Latin’O

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

This column is dedicated to Patrick Haran, a long-time fan who took it upon himself to make sure we celebrated his namesake St. Patrick’s Day in Latino style. He wrote to me in February:

"I have always been interested in the Latin-Irish connection, but very few people know a lot about this history. For example the ‘San Patricios’ during the Mexican-American War," Patrick wrote, "I'm sure you know about them and also Admiral Brown – he was the founder of the Argentine Navy and was also an Irishman.

"Did you know that 1,500,000 Mexicans claim Irish descent? It’s the fifth largest group outside of Ireland: USA, UK, Australia, Canada, and then Mexico. Argentina and brazil are up there too, amazing!"

Uhhhhhmm, no, I had no idea. Patrick went on:

"Ambrosio O'Higgins was a general I believe in the Chilean Army and his father was an Irishman. Also, Che Guevara's father’s name was actually Ernesto Guevara Lynch and his father was an Irishman."

Patrick’s enthusiasm for this subject flowed forth like the green water splashing on the banks of the Chicago River. Armed with this knowledge, I present to you some interesting Latino-Irish tidbits, with more than a little help from Patrick – thanks, buddy!

Donna de Varona

She is the two-time Olympic gold medalist who swam in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. She came from a Mexican father and an Irish mother. According to Wikipedia, in 1965 ABC hired her as the first female sportscaster in TV history.

She is also the older sister of Joanna Kerns who played Maggie Seaver on the hit TV show Growing Pains.

Rita Hayworth

Was born Margarita Carmen Cansino to an English/Irish-American mother and a Spanish Flamenco-dancing father, according to Wikipedia. Pat added: "she began career touring USA and Mexico performing traditional Spanish dances along with her famous father Eduardo Casino. Hollywood forced her to change her name and dye her hair to appear less Hispanic."

Patrick added: "Also, Soledad O'Brien, Fergie, and Mariah Carey can all claim Irish-Latino descent." He did not, however, editorialize about where these HispIrish ladies fall on his "hottie" scale.

Eamon de Valera

The president of Ireland from June 25, 1959 to June 24, 1973. Wikipedia says, "De Valera was born in the New York Nursery and Child's Hospital in New York City in 1882 to an Irish mother; he stated that his parents, Catherine Coll an immigrant from Bruree, County Limerick, and Juan Vivion de Valera, a Cuban settler and sculptor, were married on 18 September 1881 at St. Patrick's Church located within the Greenville Section of Jersey City, NJ. However, exhaustive trawls through church and state records give no birth, baptismal, or death certificate information for anyone called Juan Vivion de Valera or de Valeros, an alternative spelling. The historian Sean Murphy has listed the long-term search for facts about Mr. de Valera, allowing that he may have come from New Mexico, and was perhaps returning there at the time of his death."

Anthony Quinn

"What a great actor!" Patrick gushed, "born in Mexico, to an Irish father and Mexican mother." Indeed, Wikipedia says Quinn was "a two-time Academy Award-winning Mexican-American actor, as well as a painter and writer. He starred in numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, including Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia, and Federico Fellini's La strada."

Patrick – that green fountain of information – gave so many examples that I can’t fit them in without calling today’s edition, "7,000 Words by Esther J. Cepeda," so I’ll give some blurbs and send you on to link heaven:

Rodolfo Walsh – Pat says: "Just reading up on the Argentine father of investigative journalism named. His "open letter" got him killed by the Argentine government in 1976. Gabriel Garcia Marquez considered it to be a masterpiece of international writing. He was also a leftist that bombed a police cafeteria."

The San Patricios - Mexico's Fighting Irish – In 1846, thousands of immigrants, mostly Irish, joined the US army and were sent with Gen. Zachary Taylor's army to invade Mexico in what some historians have called a war of Manifest Destiny…

William Brown – Brown, William (1777-1857), naval officer and founder of the Argentine navy, was born in Foxford, Co. Mayo, on 22 June 1777.

This from Pat: "I was at the commemoration of a statue to Admiral Brown in Foxford Co., Mayo, Ireland in the summer of 1998. The town was packed with Argentines and also packed with English tourists (as you'll have every summer in Ireland). What made this day so special and so memorable was that Argentina and England were playing in the World Cup that afternoon against each other.

The pub we were watching the match in was very mixed, with most of the Irish rooting for Argentina and the English obviously rooting for their own country. The match was one of the best ever I have seen. I do not recall the details, but remember it going down to the wire and perhaps penalty kicks and Argentina pulling it out when David Beckham missed his penalty kick. What a fantastic day!"

Muchas, gracias, Pat – and feliz dia de San Patricio!

Posted at 09:21 PM in Chicago, culture, Current Affairs, Film, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, Travel | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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March 11, 2009

A South American Penguin Story

600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

It’s been a while since I gave an update on my pal Isai Madriz.

He’s the guy who, on September 12, 2007 hopped on his rickety bicycle to pedal from the ‘burbs of Chicago to Argentina for twenty months to raise money for low-income students to go to college.

I’ve written about him several times (read the last post on him here), chronicling his amazing adventures as he rides 22,500 miles from Montgomery, IL, a tiny ‘burb outside Aurora, to Tierra del Fuego (''Land of Fire'') at the southernmost tip of Argentina.

All because after struggling to pay tuition and board at Humboldt State University in California, he wanted to make it easier on other young Latino students pursuing their college degree.

He’s been chased by dogs, broken a few bones (dislocated others), been bitten by truly horrifying bugs, and gotten several debilitating viruses because he’s been in starvation mode – he’s been relying on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter because a corporate sponsorship fell through before he started his odyssey 17 months ago.

He crossed into South America August 11 and was in Colombia in early September. In February he crossed into Argentina and here is a note he sent me a few days ago.

"Penguin Story

Penguins are the bestest, most adorable, clumsy little creatures on earth. In the refuge (Punta Tombo) there are almost 800,000 individuals and they walk all around you and make congested horn-like calls.

I have to tell you all, the story I told my Danielle over the phone.

Walking around hundreds of penguins, I became so excited to be in such a great place that I decided to enjoy it as much as I could.

In the absence of people at that time, I decided to lay down and I closed my eyes to hear the penguin calls and nothing else.

I laid down on the ground underneath a bush shadow, with my face facing towards the sky. I covered my face with my hat and closed my eyes. After a couple of minutes of tranquility I felt a heavy object fall on top of my stomach, squishing it down. I gently lifted my head and looking through my mesh hat I saw a 44cm, and about 4km male penguin on top of my stomach.

Apparently I was blocking the path that he takes to reach his nest and since the way around was too long, he decided to take the short cut. The little animal started to look around at the weird object underneath him and began to sit down on my squishy tummy. It started to move its little feet in the same place, making himself comfortable.

Lifting his short legs one at the time, rising and falling on my stomach as it moved, made him look like he was jumping. I, all exited of coarse, did not want that to end so stayed still looking through the hat at the magical moment.

The penguin made himself home and started to fall asleep on my stomach. Another individual, looking at the weirdness of the situation decided to take a closer look and moved near where all the fun was. Standing besides my arm, the new penguin began to look at the lazy pinguino on my tummy and with no apparent reason, started to peck the side of the lazy individual on top.

The penguin on top, after feeling the pecking, moved its feet in the same manner as previously but did nothing against the obvious discomfort of its buddy. Before it could sat down again, the pecking continued until he could not take it any more and jumped off and started to walk away in the cutest way that only a penguin can do.

I uncovered my face and looked at the other evil penguin. After ending the greatest moment since "Daniel the manatee" back in Mexico, the penguin just stared at me and started to move its neck to the sides while keeping its eyes on me. That is the characteristic sign that a penguin wants to fight.

With the little trouble maker a few inches from my face I decided to not get into a mess where definitely the penguin would have won. He was so cute and fluffy that I could not stare at him madly. All I wanted was to hug him and squeeze its tummy but I don’t think that would have been a good idea so I got up and moved away.

The little animal did not have enough and began to chase me for a few meters. Moving its cute little body side to side he ran behind me for a few meters until he could not keep up with the chase and turned around.

I hope you enjoyed the story."

I certainly did, and I hope you did too. I hope you enjoyed it so much that you’ll go on his website http://www.isaimadriz.com and donate – either to his odyssey fund or directly to the college-bound students he’s raising money for.

Isai’s fundraising efforts, need help. Aside from a few local donations – and the hospitality shown to him by the people he’s touched on his quest – the fund for other low-income Hispanic students to get a helping hand through college still needs help.

But that never enters into Isai’s equation when he’s on the hot road or under the stars in the mountains. "Education is like planting little seeds, and when those seeds grow everybody benefits."

As Isai continues on his way I’ll share his stories with you in this space. If you’d like to help you can send donations – which will go to the education fund, not Isai’s travel expenses – to: Jesus Guadalupe Foundation, 902 S. Randall Road, Suite C-322, St. Charles, IL 60174. Write "For Isai" on the check.

Posted at 08:59 PM in Chicago, education, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, kids/teens, responsibility, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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March 05, 2009

Mayor Daley's office still mum on "City of Immigrants" translated city service pamphlets

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

It's Thursday, two days since Chicago's City Hall decided to control the bad press from revelations that there were 11 new contracts for public relations work signed during these difficult budgetary times by killing them – and disposing of "non-essential" translation services for City of Chicago publications.

Read all the details in my Tuesday post "Daley cancels "non-essentials" - what will be lost in translation?"

The good folks in Mayor Daley's press office have yet to answer my few simple questions though I've continued to call and leave messages. Those are:

What pamphlets and brochures will now not be translated? How many are there?

Are they for a particular department, program or event?

To what languages were these materials going to be translated and to what communities were they headed?

If the lack of these materials in languages other than English carry the risk of creating a public safety or health issue will they be translated anyway?

In the meanwhile, I've gotten slammed with the sorts of emails you'd expect: hatin' on the 2016 Olympics, hatin' on the sorts of people who'd benefit from translated materials (I'm only concerned about public safety and health/well-being issues, I don't care if the City will no longer translate their puff pieces), and hatin' on City Hall.

Also I've heard from one of the firms involved in the contract-cutting and one interested party with a point of view most life-long Chicagoans who grew up with English-speaking parents wouldn't understand.

I replied to one person who railed on my Huffington Post page that "no one" reads those things: newcomers read those things, and the very people who don't speak English well have a tendency to be the same types of people who also don't have access to high-speed broadband Internet connections.

You can imagine that there's a huge swath of people unwilling to speak out against the Daley administration; they run the gamut from cautiously indirect to flat-out-terrified of screwing up a tender relationship. And so even though I couldn't get the representative from one of the eleven firms affected by the contract freeze to talk on the record, I did have one interested party agree to be quoted anonymously about just how some "non-essential" City of Chicago program publications impact a community.

"So the self-appointed guardians of the public good have decided that the City spends too much on communicating with residents? Really – before the good citizens of this city and their sage elected representatives get the rope and find the tree, think about it:

For most of the 2.8 million who inhabit our wonderful city, City Hall is a mystery – their website even more (should we have access to a computer).

Not only do we not know the right person to call to find information on affordable housing or foreclosure assistance or where to get grants or loans for home repair or where and how to get heating assistance – most of us don’t even know that such services are even available.

Although it would be nice, we certainly can’t rely on the daily newspapers. While their pages are filled with misdeeds and juicy gossip about this insider contract or that bribe – I can’t remember a front page or even noticeable article about the availability of weatherization funding or assistance to home owners.

As to the nightly news – if anyone is watching – a 30 second piece is the most we can usually expect (if there doesn’t happen to be a fire, murder, political scandal or other "news" filling those precious seconds.

And if we read and write in a language other than English (there are I believe 81 languages spoken in Chicago, with Chinese, Spanish, Polish and Russian topping the charts), we are virtually out of luck.

I, for one, attend City Events - when I hear about them. I bring my Xmas tree to a park so it can be recycled. I go to neighborhood housing resource fairs, and I have friends who in these troubled times have turned to City-recommended counselors.

Occasionally I’ve heard about these events on a TV station – usually Fox. Usually, however, it’s been a flier or tv commercial or a billboard or an ad or a poster in a window. I don’t really know how they get there, but I’m glad they are.

Without communications only the insiders can ever know what there is to be known. Who will tell the rest of us?"

Good points, and I'd like to clarify for those who will write to me complaining about people who don't read or speak English. The reality is that most immigrants to this country show up and very quickly learn to get by in the English-speaking world. The smart ones read the papers and watch the TV news in English and can at least follow what's going on. For them, a tip about services available through the city is a good start but to really understand what the benefits of certain vital programs are, they need materials in their native languages.

For those who consume their news in Spanish, Polish, Chinese, etc., it's fine and good for them to learn about City services through those venues but of little help if when they finally make their way to a community center – or even City Hall – there's nothing there explaining to them, in words they can understand, how they can access those city programs.

Either way, we're talking in hypotheticals here because you and I don't know what sorts of information, in what sorts of pamphlets, won't be translated.

This is what I'll say when I finally pin a press secretary down to answer my questions:

While the 2016 Olympic Bid Committee is gleefully promoting Chicago’s diverse, multicultural neighborhoods to the International Olympic Committee, is this really the message that the mayor of the "City of Immigrants" wants to send?

Posted at 07:43 AM in Chicago, culture, Current Affairs, education, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, politics, responsibility | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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March 03, 2009

Daley cancels “non-essentials” - what will be lost in translation?

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

When times are tough, decisions need to be made, and frills understandably go out the window.

But what do you consider "frills?"

How about printed materials – detailing city services – in various languages for those Chicago residents who can’t read English? Let’s re-cap:

A few months ago, the Daley camp took heat for having a wide array of hefty contracts for public relations services even as 50.5 million dollars worth of budget gaps were causing doomsday predictions to fly out of Chicago’s City Hall.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman, in this morning’s story "City still has money for PR," Da Mayerssss people signed yet another $5 million public relations contract bringing the citywide total to 11 firms and $55 million even though "press secretary Jacquelyn Heard insisted last fall that not a penny would be paid to outside spin doctors until Chicago's budget crisis is over."

That eleventh contract, valued at $5 million was signed on Feb. 17 with Cultural Communications LLC, for translation services - to Jackie’s surprise, according to Spielman’s story which quoted Heard thusly:

"A lot of pamphlets and brochures we do are in English. Often, the information needs to be communicated [to neighborhoods] where English isn't the first language," she said.

Spielman then reported that Heard said: "No funds have been expended, and it's highly unlikely any will in this economic climate. Every department is aware of our financial constraints, and these types of services are not considered essential."

Then later in the day, Fran reported in her story "Daley administration cancels 11 PR contracts," that City Hall abruptly canceled them in order to save money – and face – about spending so much money on "spin control."

"We get it. We absolutely get it. We understand that it would seem absurd at a time like this to be using taxpayer funds for this kind of non-essential service," Spielman quoted mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard as saying.

But are they really "non-essential?" Are we talking puff-piece brochures about the Bean and Millenium Park or are we talking about pamphlets telling people how to vote, or giving instructions on how to get electricity assistance from the city?

I don’t know because as of Tuesday evening, the City Hall spokespersons I talked to – and emailed – did not answer my questions. Questions like:

I completely understand budget shortfalls and the need to trim PR costs when budgets are bleeding red ink, but if guides to immunizations clinics and materials on elder abuse help in Chinese and Polish are dumped, is that the best way to save money?

Is the City of Chicago really saying that guides for finding affordable housing, emergency services hotline information, and getting legal help in Spanish and other languages are not necessary to service our internationally-populated town?

I dunno, but I’ll be sure to let you know if I ever get a call back – and some answers – from Chicago’s City Hall.

Posted at 09:12 PM in Chicago, crime/violence/gangs/poverty, Current Affairs, Health/Medicine/nutrition, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, politics, responsibility | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

March 02, 2009

A stunning Obama-Castro flip: new president and Fidel’s bro swap tactics

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Irony of ironies: even as the Republican right is whipping its base up into a froth about President Barack Obama’s expansion of government, Communist Stalwart Cuba is reducing government with an eye toward letting free markets work their magic on their crippled economy.

Earlier today Raul Castro – the ailing Fidel’s brother, who took over about a year ago – cleaned house, dismissing key government figures including a foreign minister, and ministers of trade, economy and planning. He also merged several ministries in an attempt to scale down the government's intervention in domestic affairs, according to Aljazeera.net.

The ousting is being viewed "as a milestone in Cuba's political shift from protectionism to an open market system" according to the report which was based on statements Raul made on Cuban TV.

Who could blame him? In a global economic meltdown desperate measures are called for even if they do signal to the world that, perhaps, like love, Communism isn’t going to put food on the table in the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, back at the White House, our President – who is pouring stunning amounts of money into education, "universal health care"-ish reforms, and the bailing out of many a corporate behemoth, is being hotly criticized. Not for being too black or not "black enough," but for turning pink.

Framed as the anti-Reagan, Obama has been called every shade of lefty, communist, socialist red in the week since his speech to Congress last week by pundits and a fair share of regular Joes, like the ones who ride my train.

George Will called the stimulus package "No Social Worker Left Behind" in Saturday’s Newsweek.com column, and now the one country that has been decimated by the U.S.’ tireless efforts to marginalize it in order to "spread Democracy" is going capitalist.

They said it would never happen – a Black president. But it has.

They also said Fidel Castro would never let Cuban communism slip his grip unless it squirmed free of his cold dead hand, and that’s not quite playing itself out either.

Next up: pigs fly.

Posted at 09:50 PM in Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, politics, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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February 23, 2009

Newbery Honor-winning advice for writers of all stripes from Margarita Engle

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

People often ask me where I get my inspiration; usually it’s from readers who pepper me with their interesting life stories.

On rare and wonderful occasions, inspiration comes from those I read, like Margarita Engle, an internationally published Cuban-American poet, novelist, and journalist who recently became the first Hispanic author to earn a prestigious Newbery recognition.

I knew her work from when I was a teacher, filling long, hot afternoons with writing lessons based on her 2006 book, The Poet Slave of Cuba.

Her latest book, The Surrender Tree- Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom, is a challenging collection of poems about Rosa, a Cuban concentration camp nurse who turns hidden caves into hospitals for those who know how to find her. It’s a painful book that demonstrates the human ability to find joy in sorrow.

A tiny, short excerpt from a poem in "Part Two: The Ten Year’s War":

"Jose and I agree to marry.

Together we will serve as nurses,

healing the wounds of slavery,

and the wounds of war."

Margarita was kind enough to share her great honor with me and you. Following is an edited transcript of our conversation last week.

EJC: Recently, the Newbery Award has come under fire for the lack of ethnic diversity in the books and authors it honors and awards. A recent Bloomberg article titled "Blacks, Hispanics Are Rare Heroes with Newbery Kids Books Medal," the journalist argues that the Newbery medal has traditionally been awarded to books featuring predominantly white characters. "Characters depicted in Newbery winners are more likely to be white, male and come from two-parent households than the average U.S. child, according to a Brigham Young University study. The trend has accelerated even as the U.S. has diversified, with fewer black and Hispanic main characters in the past 27 years than in the Civil Rights era of 1951-79."

However, the themes you explore in The Surrender Tree are international and cross-generational which is what, I think, makes this book such a particularly great Newbery Award winner - it doesn't scream "Latino book!!!!"

For that matter your very name does not scream "Latina!" Perhaps incorrectly, that makes me feel like your award is based on the profundity of your ideas and writing and not on the fact that the Newberys had not previously been "diverse."

So based on all that...how do you feel about being a "first" what does that mean to you and to the book publishing world?

M.E.: Thank you. I am so glad that the timeless and universal themes came through, because that was my intention. I think the inner history of ordinary people is a better way to learn history than memorizing the names and dates of famous figures and celebrated events.

I am comfortable with not screaming Latina, because my mother is from Cuba, my father is from Los Angeles, and I think of myself as Cuban-American, half and half, perched on the hyphen. Engle is my husband's last name. At first, I tried to hyphenate the maiden and married surnames, but eventually I decided that writing under my husband's name is an expression of love and loyalty. I don't feel the need to pose as completely Latina. I am of mixed ancestry, both genetically and culturally.

As a "first," I am astounded and grateful, but I also recognize that I am preceded by a long line of brilliant authors who began writing before the time for recognition was ripe. I share this Newbery Honor with them. I am standing on the shoulders of Alma Flor Ada, Tomás Rivera, Pat Mora, Esmeralda Santiago, Juan Felipe Herrera, Gary Soto, and so many others.

EJC: Tell me what it's like being an author of Cuban descent in a country that, generally speaking, looks at most Hispanics and assumes they are Mexican? What does (or doesn't) that experience bring to your writing?

M.E.: When I was a child growing up in Los Angeles, Mexican-Americans often asked me if I was Mexican, and when I said, "Cuban," some thought I was lying, because Cuba was simply not a familiar place. Now, that sort of generalized expectation would not be a problem. There are large Cuban-American communities in cities all over the U.S., including Los Angeles.

EJC: Your writing for young adults really challenges (it certainly challenged me) and pushes. As a teacher of writing – which you are by default – and as a role model for young writers can you please talk about what the devotion to writing might feel or look like for a young adult?

Do they tell you they're overwhelmed by everyone claiming to be a writer? Or are they excited that everyone and anyone can blog? Do they imagine an economy where they can legitimately follow their dreams or is there too much pressure and too little hope of being the next "Twilight" author or JK Rowling?

M.E.: I think it is wonderful that young people keep in touch with each other through the written word in any form, and I am especially delighted that so many young people experiment with poetry. I'm not sure they really feel like they are all writers. A true writer does not put every word out in the open, for all to see.

Like musicians or dancers, we need practice. We rehearse, writing in solitude, erasing ninety percent of our work, and showing only our best ten percent to editors. If ten percent of that fraction is actually published, that's a pretty good success rate. In other words, you have to love the process.

People often tell me they want to write books, but they don't like to read, and they don't like to sit still. In those cases, writing does not strike me as a realistic goal. It is even less realistic to write for the purpose of getting rich and famous. We write to express our thoughts and emotions.

EJC: How about you - you support yourself as an author...what do blogs, Kindle, iPhone readers, dying newspapers, and fragmented attention spans mean to someone who spends painstaking amounts of time crafting a single poem?

M.E.: I try not to worry about changes in technology. Even if nobody reads, I will still write.

EJC: What do you say to struggling writers who are writing day in and out and can't seem to get published, are pressed into giving their work away for free, don't know how to navigate the publishing world (and it's all changing so quickly) and just feel frustrated and ready to quit?

I spoke to a young woman two weeks ago in just this same position and I was at a loss to offer more than "It'll hurt too much to stop so just keep going."

M.E.: Many beginners send their first short stories and poems to the big, famous magazines. That can be terribly discouraging. I started with small, unknown literary journals, and felt wonderfully excited whenever one haiku was accepted. I think we need to ease our expectations, celebrate small successes, and just keep writing because we love to write.

EJC: The Hispanic community has serious problems with education and there are many excellent reasons for it: poverty, lack of parental time, etc., but do you have any culturally unique suggestions for what Latinos can do to get their kids interested in books, reading, and writing?

M.E.: In Latin America, poetry is a force of nature. Poets have always been respected. They were the leaders of independence movements. Elderly Latinos who went to school in the "old countries" still know long poems by heart. They used to name their children after poets. Even illiterate peasants improvised elaborate verses with complex rhyme and meter patterns, holding poetry "duels" at family gatherings and street festivals.

At one time, it was considered very macho for a man to stand up and declaim a dramatic verse in a powerful voice. Women did the same, with romantic poetry. Perhaps this tradition can be revived, while removing the gender-based stereotypes.

As a child, I loved reading because it was an escape, and at the same time, an exploration. I loved The Black Stallion, and Island of the Blue Dolphins. These were stories about young people surviving in isolated places, in creative ways. I also sneaked into the adult section of the library, where I haunted the travel section, reading about faraway lands, and looking at pictures of exotic places.

I think reading is simply an extension of curiosity. Anything parents and teachers can do to give natural curiosity an outlet may eventually lead children into the library or its online equivalent, searching for answers.

Just going for a walk together is an example. My mother is an immigrant with a sort of parallel universe mentality. She took us exploring in Los Angeles City parks as if they were wilderness. We gazed at bugs and flowers, tadpoles and minnows. It didn't matter that our patch of nature was small. She treated it like the Grand Canyon.

She gave us the chance to be amazed.

Posted at 08:55 PM in African American, Books, culture, education, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, kids/teens, politics, responsibility | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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February 17, 2009

Asian immigration: A family affair

by Esther J. Cepeda

Gross generalization alert: If there’s one thing Hispanics hate is for people to assume they’re all Mexican.

And if there’s one thing Mexican-descended Hispanics hate it’s for people to assume they’re all immigrants – and illegal ones at that.

And if there’s one thing immigrants hate, it’s for people to assume that the issue of illegal immigration is just a "Mexican problem."

And who could blame them? To look at the news coverage, the "broken immigration system" is primarily reported in the context of what it means to Latinos and their extended families, as if every single one of the "12 million" illegal immigrants in the U.S. came from Tijuana.

With the rhetoric heating up yet again I thought I’d talk to someone with an alternative view point on this whole immigration business, which is how I came to meet Karen Narasaki, the Asian American Justice Center’s president and executive director.

AAJC bills itself as the nation's premiere authority on immigration policy as it affects the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, so who better to talk with about what’s going on in immigration land?

Q. Karen, how does the immigration issue hit Asian American homes?

As you know, Asian Americans have a higher percentage of foreign-born residents living in the U.S. so immigration is very much a relevant issue to many families in our community. We did some exit polling [during the November 2007 Presidential election] to find out just how important the issue of immigration was to Asian-Americans and I thought one of the interesting takeaways was that it was very important, and that there were very strong views of how the different [political] parties looked at immigration.

We were looking to see what effect Asian-American votes had on the race and found that 94 percent of Asian-American voters supported increasing programs to help new immigrants learn English and 56 percent of Asian Americans who voted on election day oppose continuing workplace raids. We felt the emerging story on the Asian-American community is that on the economy, healthcare, and immigration, they’re voting for someone with a progressive agenda.

Q. A nice chunk of your polling happened here in Chicago, can you talk a little bit about what you found here?

Tuyet Le, the executive director of the Chicago-based Asian American Institute participated in a tele-briefing posted on our website in which she discussed her findings.

She said that the Chicago Asian American Institute, in conjunction with other groups such as the Illinois Center for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, polled 15 areas in the city and suburbs, though most came from the Chinatown area.

What they found was that [across polling sites] 81 percent of Asian-Americans voted for Obama 16 percent for Sen. John McCain.

Tuyet reported that the top issues were the economy and jobs at 45 percent, then healthcare, and education. Specific to immigration, the top issue in importance was faster processing of family re- unification applications, with 25 percent of respondents favoring a path to legalization.

In terms of party politics, 50 percent of respondents felt the Democrats were very favorable toward immigration reform in contrast to the 46 percent who felt Republicans were unfavorable toward immigration reform. Obviously this debate had a significant influence on how Asian Americans voted and how they perceive each of the parties being responsive to Asian Americans in regard to immigration issues.

In fact, 18-30 year olds overwhelmingly voted for Obama and foreign born voters overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama at even slightly a higher rate than U.S. born Asian Americans. Tuyet said that in Chicago a majority of the survey participants were foreign born which shows that the message is reaching across generations.

Q. What’s the situation with undocumented Asians? We never hear about them. The most recent statistics I found from a March 2006 a report estimated the number of undocumented Asians living in the United States in 2005 was about 1.5 million – 14 percent of the 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and 12 percent of the Asian population. At the time it was estimated that of the 1.5 million 23 percent were Chinese, followed by Filipinos (17%), Indians (14%), and Koreans (11%).

What's been reported largely has been just the issue of the undocumented and therefore people are under the false impression that most illegal immigrants choose to come in undocumented.

People misunderstand how hard it gets to get in the U.S., people believe [illegal immigrants] have a choice to come in legally but don't.

For Asians, a majority came on a student or tourist visa, or temporary employment visa and overstayed so they don't think of themselves as illegal immigrants because they came with documents and a lot of them are caught in the burueacracy to adjust their status.

Because it is a very different kind of immigration on some levels it does make it difficult. For example, the fact that someone's undocumented status tends to be a secret moreso than in the Latino community where, for instance, many undocumented immigrants come from the same family or village. And that’s one of the reasons why it’s harder to organize the Asian community – I think there is more of a stigma in the Asian community about being undocumented.

Asian kids sometimes don't even know because their parents never even told them! We saw that a lot when advocacy began on the Dream Act.

Again that was seen largely as a "Latino issue" but we found out it was an issue in the Asian community but it wasn’t well known – kids didn't discover it until they were going to college.

For instance, there’s a wide preconception that there aren’t many undocumented in the Chinese community but that's probably higher than any other. If I go to talk to a Chinese group about immigration and ask who knows someone who is undocumented almost no one will raise their hand but then after I talk, people will come up to me individually and say, "I have an auntie" or "an uncle," but they would never publicly admit that.

And the reasons for that vary – for instance, some refugees are undocumented but the numbers are lower so when you talk to Vietnamese and Cambodian immigrants about the issues, there can be less sympathy because they largely came here legally and don’t understand [the challenges].

Q. Talk a bit about the "signature" Asian American immigration issue.

It’s the issue of family backlogs. Huge backlogs exist in families where immigrants are citizens and they can bring in spouses, and parents, and minor children from overseas. The backlog grew enormously in part because those who became citizens during the last legalization programs are now finally now trying to get family members over.

In July 2007, 4 million immigrants were in the backlogs and we estimate about half are spouses of legal permanent residents.

So the family concerns flow through all of these issues; the high tech workers, unless they’re already married, they face enormous wait times. And historically extended family immigration [of brothers and sisters] is perceived as being more important to Asians than Latinos.

What’s very important to Asians is that a big part of the backlog is family members where for Latinos there are larger numbers of undocumented living here versus those with a backlog of families waiting – for Latinos that number is only about 10 percent.

Q. So what’s your best prediction about the immigration issue under the Obama administration? Are we going to see any movement this year?

It’s a little early in the game… we know this is an issue Obama had spoken a lot about in the campaign. Most people didn’t notice because it wasn’t an issue they were following but every time he spoke of comprehensive immigration reform he would talk about family backlogs.

The administration knows this is an issue that needs paying attention to but with the economy it’s very difficult to talk about any kind of immigration – people are very skittish about additional immigration.

But I think an argument can be made that solving this issue and helping families come together – especially in times when families need to work together – people will be able to see that if you take care of this issue now it would be helpful to the economy in the long term.

One of the things people tend to look at regarding family immigration is the degree to which it helps that family, but they don’t understand that it’s important in helping all people thrive because immigrants buy houses, buy businesses, send kids to college, and pool their money.

This is why the Asian community has been relatively successful in integrating in the U.S. – they live with other family members who help them get jobs, learn English, and learn the culture.

Family immigration has been at the core of U.S. immigration for about 100 years now. People talk about changing the immigration system [to limit family immigration] but they lose perspective of the role the family plays in helping new immigrants become part of America.

Posted at 09:22 PM in Chicago, Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, kids/teens, politics | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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February 04, 2009

Gypsies- the Hispanics of Hungary

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

It’s really cool to meet someone from far, far away who shares the same struggles, frustrations and sense of accomplishment for a job well done. I got to meet four!

Earlier this week I had the privilege of sitting down with 4 Roma Hungarian journalists who were visiting my fair city through the US Dept. of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, in conjunction with the International Visitors Center of Chicago.

After we exchanged pleasantries through a high-energy translator, we got down to business. These people were here to find out what it was like to be a minority journalist covering minority issues in the U.S.

My main answer: lonely. Oh and also: barely paid.

As I answered questions about the number of Latino journalists working at mainstream media and the differences between coverage of Hispanic issues in Spanish-language media and so-called "mainstream" media, they all chuckled and grinned wide as they related to the translator’s imitative gesticulations of my story.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Roma, they are generally known through Hungary as Gypsy scum – a slur akin to what some here feel when they hear the term "illegal" – they’re the ethnic minority group of Hungary.

Comprising anywhere between 2-10% of the population in Hungary (numbers are sketchy because their government isn’t known for coughing up firm numbers on the dreaded Roma), award-winning, nationally-recognized journalists Laslow, Attila, Norbert and Robert estimate that by 2050 the Roma will comprise 30-some% of the entire population (sound familiar? Hispanics in the U.S. are also on target to comprise 30% by that year).

Though they’ve been around for, literally, centuries, and through forced assimilation a majority of their population (that’ll sound familiar to Native American readers) forgot their native language and assimilated to Hungarian society, their dark features still keep them apart from the majority in a country that is increasingly discriminating against them.

Robert and Laslow told stories about reporting on health care and discrimination issues they constantly cover in order to better the community that get completely ignored by the Hungarian mainstream media. Attila and Norbert expressed frustration that though their numbers are large, regional/cultural differences keep them from effectively banding together to demand their rights.

Much like Hispanics here, the Roma are among the poorest in their country, they have higher birth rates then majority Hungarians and their average expected life span is significantly lower than the national average.

They suffer constant attacks, open discrimination, abuse by government officials, and suffer from widespread discrimination and marginalization.

Though about 90% of Roma children complete primary school, a 2006 Open Society Institute report found that the drop-out rate among Roma is still almost twice as high as among non-Roma.

My Roma journalist visitors, shoe-string-budget-funded by the Hungarian government, were eager to empathize with my stories of being castigated by "my own people" for airing "our dirty laundry," of being forced to report only negative stories and being told that the positive ones were of no interest to anyone. We commiserated over my lamentation that worst of all is that our stories are nowhere to be found in the mainstream media, further alienting us (if you’ll pardon the pun) from the majority we’re soon to eclipse.

Wanting to know how to engage non-Roma in their stories I told them to write and report on the transition generation, the fully-assimilated and the half-breeds who are infiltrating the mainstream society and successfully living bi-cultural lives. Focus on the kids, I told them, the ones with the finer features who pass for "regular" Hungarians; after all, who can resist the scary "they walk among us" story line?

At the end of our conversation they asked for my advice on how to navigate the dreaded journalist pigeon-hole and differentiating between being a "Roma journalist" and a "journalist who just happens to be a Roma." I laughed at our shared experience and told them what I do: I just keep on keepin’ on, working hard to get my stories out there with a knowing that I’m serving the greater good regardless of what kind of label someone tries to slap on me.

Posted at 09:10 PM in culture, international relations, politics, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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February 03, 2009

U.S. makes an official bid to host the World Cup – the Chicago connection

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

OK, rewind back to 1994 and feel it with me: NAFTA went into effect, Tonya Harding mob-styled Nancy Kerrigan, feisty Ecuadorian Lorena Bobbitt got off on an insanity plea after chopping of her husband John’s johnson, the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl and Chicago rocked the World Cup!

I remember it like it was just yesterday; from steamy June 17 to sweltering July 17 across 9 U.S. cities. On five of those days Chicago was the center of the world – and I was in the center of it. I was there with my dad and a slew of co-workers who couldn’t have given a rat’s ass about the game but wanted to enjoy the party. All of us walking through the museum campus, I wore a Striker t-shirt and chatted up the officers who lined the streets mounted on horseback, the fair-haired ones were jovial enough to pose wearing giant sombreros (dad, why can’t you find those pictures?!?!?!)…

It was the first time the U.S. had ever hosted the World Cup and it drew a cumulative attendance of 3.5 million fans, which was a record at the time. That World Cup was also responsible for spurring the creation of MLS- Major League Soccer.

Man was it awesome to be in the center of the city with soccer nutcakes from all over the world. Even Manolo el del bombo – that Spaniard guy with the big drum – was there!

Why am I bringing all this up? Jack Bell, the New York Times’ ace soccer reporter reported in today’s paper that the "U.S. was among 12 candidates on four continents to submit bids to FIFA in the hope of hosting the 2018 or the 2022 World Cup."

Yay! No offense to my friends on the Olympics 2016 Bid committee, but this is so way cooler.

A potential U.S.–hosted World Cup would certainly (I hope) see some Chicago matches and the simple nature of the event stands in stark contrast to the 2016 Olympics which, up until now, has put stars only in the eyes of the few who stand to cash in on it.

In fact, the whole Olympics 2016 has really ticked off many of the minority group members who will be most affected by such a large expanse of Olympic village in their ‘hoods. Hey, even the white people in the suburbs are ticked. For instance, out in traffic grid-locked Central Lake County, the 2016 Bid is seen as the Pain in the Butt of the Decade, should equestrian events be held there.

And, oh!, wouldn’t it be a corner kick to the groin if Brazil – who’s hosting the 2014 World Cup – got the 2016 Olympics?

But that’s neither here nor there, tongues are wagging because, unlike an Olympics where interest is low – until one of its’ stars is caught on tape hitting a bong, that is – a World Cup requires no money for infrastructure and brings pure tourism profit for the host cities.

Plus we have an ace in the hole: one President Barack Obama. As of 8:15pm central time Tuesday, press pool reports had not quoted him as having an opinion either way, but he will surely come out in support, just as he did for the 2016 Olympic bid. He’d surely agree with U.S. organizing Committeeman David Downs who said at Monday’s press briefing: "The United States was founded on diversity. The country has and will always open its arms to the citizens of the world."

Yeah, England, Russia, Qatar, Australia, Mexico, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt and South Korea are eyeing a 2018/2022 opportunity as well but they aren’t international darlings sitting in the middle of Obama-mania.

The deadline for bid paperwork is May 2010. The winning country will be named in December 2010. Esther will buy plane tickets and reserve hotel rooms for U.S. matches shortly thereafter.

Posted at 08:46 PM in Chicago, culture, Current Affairs, Games, international relations, Sports, Travel | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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January 27, 2009

Eli’s Presidential cheesecake trumps Mexi-feast’s world record

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

When I saw the Associated Press’ story yesterday about the world’s biggest cheesecake in Mexico, I hit the roof! Then I immediately blew in a call…

"Hello, this is Marc," said Mr. Schulman, president of The Eli's Cheesecake Company, a temple of mine.

I asked him how, how! could he let those wacky, tamale-slingin’, tequila swillin’ Mexicans beat us out of the Guinness Book of World Record’s world’s largest cheesecake designation. Wasn’t it our birthright?

"Yes, we take a lot of pride in our cheesecakes and we definitely took notice of Sunday’s record," Marc told me on the phone earlier today.

The south of the border pastel de queso was cooked up by both the fine folks at Northfield, IL-based Chicago food giant Kraft Foods, Inc. – presumably to hook the Mexican masses on the deep joys of a finely baked graham-cracker-crumbed cake – and one Chef Miguel Angel Quezada.

He told the fine folks at the AP that "55 cooks spent 60 hours making the world's biggest cheesecake — a 2-ton calorie bomb topped with strawberries." It took nearly a ton of cream cheese, a ton of yogurt, 772 pounds of pastry, 551 pounds of sugar and 331 pounds of butter and yielded 20,000 slices of cakes for the citizens of Mexico City.

Mere child’s play!

Lest you think your Eli’s Corps. was somehow sleeping on the job when the Mexican cheesecake orgy went down, nothing could be farther from the truth. They were busy…

"We were recovering from making a special cheesecake for the Presidential inauguration," Schulman said, admitting the Mexican Kraft promo seemed to come out of left field. "It was 500 pounds and if it had been any bigger, we wouldn’t have been able to get it through the door of the National Building Museum [for the Commander in Chief Ball]."

As noted on CNN, the Ball "was started by President Bush and it's really to honor the members of the armed services, the military troops, the spouses of deployed soldiers are here, the spouses of former soldiers are here. It's a free ball for the military troops. About 2,000 troops are expected here. President Obama is expected to speak here just before 10:00 tonight and that will actually be broadcast on the Pentagon channel to all of the military bases overseas."

The actual cake, seen here in it’s pre-eaten glory, took 100 pounds of cream cheese, 30 pounds of sugar, 25 pounds of sour cream, 126 eggs, 50 pounds of Michigan apples – for an Abraham Lincoln-themed apple layer- and 30 pounds of butter.

It was cooked in specially-made 42-inch diameter pans then assembled complete with a chocolate inaugural seal topping and decorated with the seals of the five military branches, then finished in royal blue fondant, a wave of red and white stripes and gold and white stars. The whole thing was made to feed 3,000 Purple Heart recipients and military families with yummy leftovers for a local food bank.

So yeah, Eli’s was a little distracted by, oh, MAKING HISTORY! to worry about some publicity stunt in a place better known for their pastel de tres leches (three milks cake) than for their steak dinner topper.

Still, there’s braggin’ rights to consider, so I inquired about a possible future cross-border, international-incident-inducing cheesecake smackdown.

"Well, we’re doing a little more research to see if theirs was a baked cake," Schulman said, "but either way we’re definitely looking into it."

Posted at 08:32 PM in Chicago, Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Hispanic/Latino, international relations | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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January 24, 2009

Obama rescinds the Mexico City Policy AKA the global gag rule

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

I was never what you'd call a rabid G. Dubya Bush-hater, but I do remember the day I first went "oh crap, we're all screwed!"

That day was January 22, 2001, G.W.'s first full day in office when he reinstated the Mexico City Policy – otherwise known as the global gag rule – which effectively mandated that no U.S. family planning assistance could be provided to foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that use funding from any other source to perform abortions in cases other than a threat to the woman’s life, rape or incest. That also went for NGOs that provided counseling and referral for abortion; or lobbied to make abortion legal or more available in their country.

That day happened thirty-eight days before I "celebrated" the one-year anniversary of my daughter Wren's birth – and subsequent death – from a major birth defect. I could have elected to abort this unfortunate incident away when I got the diagnosis but I shook the dice; which is just another way of saying hey, I'm not "pro-abortion" but I'm sure grateful to have had the actual choice to make.

Friday I was thrilled that women in Mexico and many other countries around the world will now have a better chance at making that choice, too.

On his third day in office, President Obama sent a quiet, late-Friday afternoon e-mail through his Press Office announcing he revoked the so-called "Mexico City Policy:"

"It is clear that the provisions of the Mexico City Policy are unnecessarily broad and unwarranted under current law, and for the past eight years, they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing countries. For these reasons, it is right for us to rescind this policy and restore critical efforts to protect and empower women and promote global economic development.

"For too long, international family planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue, the subject of a back and forth debate that has served only to divide us. I have no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate.

"It is time that we end the politicization of this issue. In the coming weeks, my Administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world.

"I have directed my staff to reach out to those on all sides of this issue to achieve the goal of reducing unintended pregnancies. They will also work to promote safe motherhood, reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and increase educational and economic opportunities for women and girls.

"In addition, I look forward to working with Congress to restore U.S. financial support for the U.N. Population Fund. By resuming funding to UNFPA, the U.S. will be joining 180 other donor nations working collaboratively to reduce poverty, improve the health of women and children, prevent HIV/AIDS and provide family planning assistance to women in 154 countries," said President Obama.

I was too young to reproduce in August 1984 when President Reagan directed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to expand their limitations to withhold USAID funds from NGOs that provided advice, counseling, or information regarding abortion, and information on lobbying a foreign government to legalize or make abortion available.

When it was rescinded by President Clinton in 1993 I was barely aware of how important his reversing of The Mexico City Policy was, but Dubya's first-day move hit me hard. Right in the uterus, in fact.

For some it's so easy to hate the poverty-stricken, so easy to dismiss them as dirty and uneducated – a scourge which shouldn't be reproducing anyway; so easy to damn them for getting themselves pregnant then damn them for searching out alternatives.

But it's not so easy to be a young, poor and many times illiterate woman in the slums of the Dominican Republic or Mexico City taking matters into their own hands by throwing themselves down staircases or slugging down homemade concoctions of soap, tea, and extra-strength aspirin to poison themselves into an abortion.

Those sorts of very common situations tend to lead to the death of an unborn fetus, anyway, albeit inside the body of a dead mother – not exactly within the spirit of the policy if you ask me.

Obama promises to open up a "fresh conversation" on family planning… it will be ugly, but hopefully, it can lead to less dead babies – and less dead mommies – than during the past eight years.

Posted at 09:27 PM in crime/violence/gangs/poverty, culture, Current Affairs, education, Health/Medicine/nutrition, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, kids/teens, politics, responsibility | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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January 19, 2009

An inauguration for a new nation: Latino media puts a stamp on Obama-rama

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

It’s a brave new world. On Tuesday PEOTUS Obama will go from being "President-Elect of the United States" to being the nation’s first multi-cultural, half-something-half-something-else Chief Everyone Officer.

And what better way to celebrate the nation’s most non-traditional President getting sworn in than by watching the festivities on the internet and in Spanglish?

There will be untold millions "watching" on-line rather than on TV because of work responsibilities. For your enjoyment here is a list of where to watch the inauguration on-line, my pick isn’t on it but well worth visiting: www.terra.com

According to a story in Sunday’s New York Times, "Can the Go-To Site Get you to Stay," Tuesday is going to be gut-check time for the traditional media outlets like CNN and MSNBC who are transforming themselves into 24-hour on-line news entities.

Not so for Terra, which is already dominating that space in Latin America and is making inroads in the U.S. – notably by reaching out to those with a vested interest in the Latino community to spread the word? That’s just another way to say that Angel Sepulveda, Terra’s V.P. of Programming, called me Friday night to talk Obama.

"Terra launched in English in April to provide content not just for the Spanish-fluent audience, but to reach young, Hispanics who live in the U.S. – it’s not the same content," Angel told me as he recuperated from a marathon planning meeting with his DC crew.

He had me at "young U.S. Hispanics" – anyone smart enough to know that I don’t share the same likes and dislikes with other family members who are completely devoted to novelas and soccer is OK in my book.

But the proof is in the pudding: their site is a place I go to catch up on U.S. or Mexican, news, celebrity gossip and sports delivered in a delightful blend of Spanglish that makes me feel, well, at home. I get my Walter Mercado Spanish Astrology fix there (guilty pleasure!!).

Ten-year-old Terra is an on-line only news provider trying to make a name for itself in the United States’ netherworld of struggling media entities to an audience that is largely ignored in mainstream media and incorrectly thought to be lacking access to computers.

Currently, they own the on-line space in Latin America with approximately 60 million unique visitors per month and 8 million unique users per month on Terra TV, with an average of 66 million streams per month and a collection of 250 thousand videos.

That translated to $500 million U.S. dollars in net revenues through their portals in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Perú, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela in 2007.

And Tuesday is going to be huge for them as the Latino world looks to Obama to take us all to a better place – and looks to Terra to be there, shoulder-to-shoulder with CNN, FOX, NBC, the AP, and all the other big guys, reporting the news but with an eye to what it’ll all mean to Hispanics.

"The most pressing issues facing Latinos in the U.S. are the same as for everyone else; the economy, education, social security, and yes, immigration," Angel said. "But the way Obama approached Hispanic folks on the campaign trail was indicative of how important the Latino voters were to him – and he knows what it is to be a minority."

"We are hoping and wishing for the best during his administration," Angel said, echoing the sentiments of just about every other Latino (and non-Latino) person I’ve spoken to in the last two weeks. "We all have to go the extra mile, do our part to help this man take the country to a better place."

Which is, as a matter of fact, what Angel is trying to do for U.S. Latinos, too. "Providing this coverage and this news and information to our people is my passion," Angel said. "It’s so important to elevate Hispanics’ image in this country and get others to understand Hispanics better is what we’re here to do."

"I understand what a huge responsibility it is on my shoulders to get everything that happens leading up to the inauguration, including the inauguration itself, out there for our people to see," Angel said, "it’s important for our people to know that things are going to get better."

You can watch things get better – bilingually no less – starting with the inauguration festivities at their special site http://inauguration.terra.com

Posted at 10:04 PM in advertising/marketing/media/merchandising, Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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January 12, 2009

Obama and Calderon's meeting today: like peas and carrots while dining on tortilla soup

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Today marked a new day in the relations between the United States of America and the United States of Mexico as "PEOTUS" (President-Elect Of The United States, in press pool parlance) Barack Obama broke bread with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

But, since everyone's breath has been held about the appointment to Obama's vacated senate seat by Chicago politico Roland Burris – and not by this historic exchange – I'll give you the blow-by-blow myself, but just the facts, ma'am.

Following are pool reports – specific to Obama's visit with Calderon today – that were filed by McClatchy Newspapers reporter Margaret Talev to the Obama press operation and then transmitted to us, the "press pool," who hang on every word of these day-long missives from Obama-land.

Pool report #1

8:15 a.m. Hay-Adams [Hotel]. Celeb photographer Annie Leibovitz and her entourage (first spotted by Bloomberg eagle-eye Julianna Goldman) emerge from an SUV and slip into a security tent in front of President-elect Obama's hotel. No interaction with pool.

Pool report #2

12:20 pm Motorcade departs transition office, arrive at Mexican Cultural Institute on 16th St. a few minutes later.

PEOTUS and Mexican President Felipe Calderon met privately for lunch

1:53 addressed reporters just before in a large upstairs room decorated with rugs and tapestries. Each made a statement and took no questions.

Obama did not utter the acronym NAFTA. Calderon said their conversation was general but productive. They spoke about organized crime, immigration reform, the financial crisis, energy and other hemisphere issues.

On TARP, Obama said he will refocus the second half of funds to do more on home foreclosures and for small business and consumer credit and increase accountability and transparency. He said he called President Bush to trigger the second half because it would be "irresponsible" to enter the White House without doing so and that "many of us have been disappointed with the absence of clarity," lack of transparency and failure to do enough so far on foreclosures.

Pool Report 2a (lunch continued)

2:40 p.m

The lunch menu for PEOTUS and Mexican President Calderon: tortilla soup, choice of fish or steak with cilantro and for dessert, a coconut cream custard. The leaders lunched first, then made their statements at the photo spray.

Mexican President Calderon spoke mostly in Spanish, which was translated into Obama’s right ear.

In English, Calderon said that "the more secure Mexico is, the more secure the U.S. will be" and that the nations need to work together to fight organized crime "and combine the capabilities of our government in order to preserve the security of our people on both sides of the border ."

He also said, "It will be the beginning of an extraordinary age in the relationship between the United States and Mexico. I thank you for coming, President[sic] Obama."

Obama: "Well first of all it is a tradition that is appropriate that the incoming President of the United States meets with the president of Mexico because we have such an extraordinary relationship between our two countries, one that my intention is to make stronger as the years go on, to build on the commercial ties, the security ties and the cultural ties that exist between the United States and Mexico.

It has been especially gratifying to me to participate in this meeting because I’m such an admirer of the work that President Calderon has done on behalf of this country. Not only has he shown leadership in the economy but he has shown extraordinary courage and leadership when it comes to the security issues, dealing with drug trafficking, dealing with the violence that has existed as a consequence of the drug trade.

So my message today is that my administration is going to be ready on day one to work to build a stronger relationship with Mexico.

As the president indicated we talked about a range of issues. Not only did we talk about security along the border regions, how the United States can be helpful in Mexico’s efforts, we talked about immigration and how we can have a comprehensive and thoughtful strategy that ultimately strengths both countries.

We talked about the current financial crisis and how it affects Mexican as well as United States businesses; and recognized that the continued cooperation of the Mexico and the United States is going to be critical in order for us to strengthen an economy that has obviously has a key leader south of our borders who’s going to be a very important ally in us expanding democracy, human rights, being able to send a message that despite some of the tensions that have (been visited? Inaudible) over the past several years between the United States and Latin America, that we are ready to turn the page and write a new chapter in this story.

One of the things that’s particularly exciting is the leadership that Mexico under President Calderon’s administration has already taken on the issue of energy. ...this is an area of great interest to me, I believe that the future of the economy is going to rest on how we’re able to adapt to a potential crisis with climate change...

The friendship between the United States and Mexico has been strong, I believe it can be even stronger and that’s going to be the commitment of my administration."

Posted at 08:46 PM in Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, politics | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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December 17, 2008

Madre mia! Playboy does Virgin Mother Guadalupe

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Those crazzzzy Mexicans, putting the sacred Virgen on the cover! ‘Ol Lupe made Miss December – now there’s a novel way to say Feliz Navidad!

If you hadn’t heard, there’s an international incident afoot: Mexican Playboy put on its December cover a busty naked woman shrouded in a white habit-type thing in front of a stained-glass window with the headline "Te adoramos, Maria," or "we adore you, Maria" in what is clearly a nod to the Mexican icon of the Virgen Guadalupe.

So what’s the big deal?

Well, to me it’s not that Playboy used a hyper-sexualized image of a revered religious icon to peddle mags – hey, business is bad these days and let’s face it, proud Mary’s lookin’ good. The whole feminist thing… I’m sooooo not going there.

And it’s not that the revered religious icon has such intense meaning to Mexicans…wait let me recap for those who don’t know the story: from December 1st through 12th Mexicans all over the world commemorate the miraculous appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe to a peasant named Juan Diego in Mexico, ending with a big celebration of the Festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

So as I was saying, it’s not that the revered religious icon has such a respectful meaning to Mexicans – I can go down to 26 street in Chicago and get myself some Virgen Guadalupe playing cards, purses, bandannas, thongs, and window decals. Hey, Mexicans are known for their tackiness – fuzzy ball curtains hanging from the windows of the family conversion van, need I say more?

Now, why am I mad at Playboy? Because they’re LIARS!

According to a Reuter’s news report, Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises, Inc "apologized" for any implied heresy in a statement, by saying the Mexican edition of the magazine is published by a licensee, and that the company did not approve or endorse the cover. "While Playboy Mexico never meant for the cover or images to offend anyone, we recognize that it has created offense, and we as well as Playboy Mexico offer our sincerest apologies."

But wait, that’s not the lie part, keep reading. Their statement quoted Raul Sayrols, publisher of Playboy Mexico, thusly: "The image is not and never was intended to portray the Virgin of Guadalupe or any other religious figure. The intent was to reflect a Renaissance-like mood on the cover."

Give. Me. A. Break.

Dude, you put a heavenly hottie on the cover to generate buzz and you got it – don’t act like it’s all some cosmic coincidence that the puritans among us took it to mean that if you buy the magazine you can pretend you’re Juan Diego sneeking a peek at what’s under the Virgen madre’s hood. Ay dios mio!

Playboy: ignore the naysayers and save us from the ridiculous excuses. If you’re going to give the Mexican people an alternative to getting their religious miracle on, just own it.

Posted at 08:57 PM in Chicago, culture, Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, international relations, Religion | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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December 13, 2008

Michael Chertoff’s illegal housekeepers

“600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda”

Seeing as how Illinois has been on wall-to-wall scandal watch for almost a week now, it’s understandable that this nugget didn’t make it on to most people’s radar: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff – the nation's top immigration cop – unknowingly used a company who hired illegal immigrants to clean his home for about three years, starting in 2005.

According to the Associated Press story, which posted last Thursday, “Chertoff

hired Maryland-based Consistent Cleaning Services to clean his home in the D.C. suburbs every few weeks for the past three years until an investigation conducted by one of his department's agencies discovered the company hired illegal workers.”

While Eileen Sullivan’s story does say that the on-going investigation has not proven that any of the illegal workers actually cleaned Chertoff's home, the company’s owner James Reid told her he knows at least six of the employees he had to fire because of their illegal status worked at one time at the Chertoffs' home.

The story went on to say that the company had cleaned Chertoff's home every few weeks for $185 since 2005 and that when Chertoff became aware of the situation in April, he fired the company and stayed out of the investigation, a Homeland Security official said.

Reid, the cleaning company owner, had assured the Chertoffs that all of his workers had their appropriate documents, but when the you-know-what went down, he threw Chertoff under the bus. Asking how he’s supposed to know the difference between a real and fake Social Security card he exclaimed: "I'm not a forensic specialist." He then blamed Homeland Security saying they should be doing every background check possible to make sure situations like these don't happen.

Duuuhhhhhhhhh. Chertoff’s Secret Service people – a division of Homeland Security – are supposed to screen everyone who goes into his house. Apparently Secret Service can’t tell an illegal immigrant from a legal one, either.

But, at least that’s not as bad as the story of Lorraine Henderson, the Boston area port director for the Department of Homeland Security, who not only knowingly employed an illegal immigrant housekeeper, but went so far as to counsel her housekeeper – who was cooperating with federal officials by wearing a wire – on how to evade deportation.

“You have to be careful ’cause they will deport you,” Ms. Henderson is quoted telling her Brazilian housekeeper in the New York Times story. The federal complaint was released Friday December 5 when Ms. Henderson surrendered her badge, was arraigned in the afternoon in federal court and released on $25,000 bond. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

How many ways – or in how many languages can – you say “broken immigration laws?”

On the one hand you’ve got the top immigration enforcer in the United States basically getting bamboozled into having illegal immigrants on his personal payroll for three years (there is no indication Chertoff had any knowledge of the status of his housekeepers though, that really says it all doesn’t it?).

On the other hand you have the top immigration enforcer in the Northeast region knowingly and willingly employing an illegal immigrant and being forthright about trying to get away with it. What the hell is going on around here?!?!

Set aside scattered instances of bald-faced corruption, if the Secret Service – with its required screening regimen of criminal history checks, physical screening and an agent escort while on the premises – can’t keep the Chertoff household illegal-immigrant free, how are businesses supposed to check every single one of their employees’ backgrounds in an environment where it’s been widely reported that the federal system for doing so is both slow and sometimes inaccurate?

Chertoff crowed at an October 23 speech on the state of immigration about DHS’ record year for worksite enforcement cases – which led to more than 6,000 arrests. Then said, "We need to make sure our own house is in order," referring not to his own home, but to the federal government, which now is required to use a federal online database to check whether workers are in the country legally.

Enough of the rhetoric, already. The first step to getting your house in order is to admit that we as a country – from the top down – really do want illegal immigrants in our house.

The minute everyone stops denying it, ignoring it, or wishing it away, this country will finally be on it’s way to fixing its broken immigration laws.

Posted at 07:14 PM in Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations, responsibility | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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December 02, 2008

Obama's dog? A Chihuahua, of course!

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

On election night, in front of the world, newly-elected President of the United States Barack Obama promised his daughters Malia and Sasha a puppy.

It took about 5 seconds for the debate to rage about what type would be best suited to be the First Doggie.

Obama wanted a hypo-allergenic dog, but several Canine experts were quick to point out they don't exist. Then the American Kennel Club and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals decided to throw down about whether the big O's should get a purebred pup or, as Obama himself said, a "mutt like me."

But here we are nearly a month after the historic election and despite fact that the publicists of every four-legged thing that barks have been working their angle for why their full-blood or mongrel is the most presidential – nothing yet.

My automatic response to the canine conundrum is the obvious: Obama needs a Chihuahua.

Let's face it, Obama getting a Chihuahua is the only way we'll ever get a Mexican in the White House! Don't believe me? I give you exhibit A: Bill Richardson.

Never mind Big Bill was kicked out off the Democratic presidential primary dogpile because he couldn't compete with the woman, the black man, the guy who's wife got cancer and because he refused to run as "the Hispanic." And really, no one west of New Mexico even knew or cared that Bill Richardson was Latino.

Then he gets punked on Secretary of State (which he would have rocked at, by the way) for Hillary Clinton – his main woman who he threw under the bus to support Obama!! Editor's note: Richardson was named Commerce Secretary Wednesday morning.

Exhibit B) the "Latino vote." Hispanics voted 2-to-1 for Obama versus McCain on Election Day (duh, I can't believe this was ever in question), offering up two-thirds of their vote for the Black candidate. If you'll recall, some shadowy band of idiots decided to float the notion that Hispanics were too racist to vote for a Black man and the news media were on it like white on rice, but I've digressed…

My point is that some of those Latino voters feel they are "owed" for their troubles and, on the issue of immigration law reform, many have already threatened to storm the capital with marchers the day after Obama's inauguration to demand it.

If Obama gets a Chihuahua – not the prissy kind like the Beverly Hills Chihuahua – a strong, brave one (like the Beverly Hills Chihuahua's gardener's dog!) it'll soften things.

Can't you just imagine the press release? "President-Elect Barack Obama runs for the border with pup pick: Chihuahua brings dog-acity of hope to relations with Latin America."

Now, the fact is that Obama told Barbara Walters he didn't want a "little, yappy, dog…that, like, sits on your lap and things." Well, that's a toughie but if he can't handle all the trash talk coming out of a Chihuahua's mouth, how's he going to broker peace in the Middle East? Besides, there are many other reasons to get a Chihuahua into the White House.

He's already getting heat over there being too much "Chicago" in the White House, Chihuahuas are definitely more L.A. and New York.

They're so small he can get two – one for each daughter.

If he gets two girl Chihuahuas he can buy Sarah Palin's wardrobe and get the White House dry-cleaner to shrink them down to tiny-doggy size – for state dinners and such.

If he get's an (un-related) boy/girl pair, he can be the first black president and the first president to require a Presidential Whelping Box.

But the best reason for Obama to get a Chihuahua is…they perfectly represent Obama: they were mutts of Toltec and Chinese descent, they're frequently cast as the strong and ultimately victorious underdog, and…they're known for getting what they want. Like Obama, they're definitely a mutt above the rest.

A Chihuahua in the White House? – that's my dog-acity of hope.

Posted at 07:08 AM in Current Affairs, Hispanic/Latino, immigration, international relations | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

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November 07, 2008

Berlusconi “slur” against Obama? Give me a break!

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

All right, the first post-election bobbles have occurred, let’s recap.

Friday, during his first press conference as the President-elect, Barack Obama made an off-hand remark about Nancy Reagan’s séances. His comment, "I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances," was only a misstep in that no human really ever expects his fellow man to be so utterly joyless as to suggest the quip is a knock on a presidential widow. Obama’s people immediately released a statement assuring everyone he was "sorry for the careless, off-handed remark."

The best one, though, came a day before – on Thursday – when Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, while meeting with President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia dropped this one-liner; "[Obama] has all the qualities to get along well with you: he’s young, handsome and suntanned…"

And with that the world roared! According to Associated Press and New York Times reports, the Italian press made as much of a deal about Berulsconi’s comment as they did of the news that the first Black President had been elected in the United States.

One Italian journalist remarked that Berlusconi made: "a miserable, vulgar and racist remark, for which he didn’t even have the courage to take responsibility or the dignity to apologize."

Dude, get over it. Since when is it vulgar to imply a guy is hot? Or, for that matter, why would anyone jump to the conclusion that being referred to as suntanned is racist? News flash: dark-skinned people tan, too. It’s November, I’m looking café-au-lait right now, check back with me in August and I’ll be more mocha latte. What’s the big deal?

Honestly, there are enough people out there trash-talking anyone who isn’t white to throw well-meaning defenders of brown-skinned dignity into the mix of slur spotters.

Berlusconi said it best, so I’ll give him the last word: [The Italian left is wrong about everything] "including their lack of a sense of humor. Too bad for them. God save us from imbeciles."

Amen! And now that we’ve gotten the ultra-sensitive silliness out of the way, on to more pressing matters.

Posted at 08:09 PM in African American, culture, Current Affairs, international relations, politics | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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November 05, 2008

Obama at Election night rally: "out of many, one"

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

I guess I hadn’t dared to truly hope – even just as the polls were closing on Election night I wasn’t a true believer.

Not the kind of hope that I saw at Tuesday night’s Hutchinson Field rally where President-elect Barack Obama held court for only about 200,000 of his loyal admirers.

The kind of hope that weeks ago spurred young and old, black and white, men and women, to place massive orders for T-shirts of various sizes, colors, and designs then haul those shirts – and baseball caps and buttons – in large heavy boxes to the corners lining Grant Park to cash in on a piece of history at wh

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