A community radio station in Chicago that provides a unique opportunity for young bilingual Latinos to get free training in radio runs the risk of disappearing for lack of funds.
Radio Arte de Chicago, which began broadcasting 14 years ago in the Latino neighborhood of Little Village, "is a sinking ship," one of the young volunteers that work on its programming said.
Under notice that the funds that keep it going have dried up, and that the financial crisis could seriously affect even the National Museum of Art that has been its owner since 1997, WRTE-FM (90.5) urgently needs to be rescued.
"We need a plan to avoid losing the license and to keep the station on the air," said Jatziry García, one of the volunteers who asked for an urgent meeting with the museum's founder and president, Carlos Tortolero, "in order to know exactly where we are and what we can do."
A solution appears remote since Tortolero announced this week that the cost of maintaining Radio Arte's operations and the building housing its studios was "unsustainable." READ MORE
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The Black Hawk helicopter is a four-bladed, two engine, versatile Army fighting machine—and for Commander Marisol Chalas, it’s her pride and joy.
“Thanks to my persistence, I have touched the sky,” she recalls a statement she holds dear to her heart.
From the first sound of the Black Hawk’s engines, one can feel the reverberations of Chalas’s success story. A-39 year-old Dominican American, and the nation's first Latina National Guard Black Hawk pilot, Chalas has lived her life from the cockpit of this legendary helicopter.
Her twenty-year aviation career in the U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard have given her a breadth of experience that includes flying soldiers and equipment to and from the battle field during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003-2004, to flying four star generals, ambassadors, and Congressmen.
“I am a people person,” Chalas said. “One of the things I like about the Black Hawk is that you are always interacting with the troops.”
Born in 1973 in Bani, Dominican Republic, Chalas recalls her family’s first steps to the United States. In 1978, her father moved to Boston, in search of a better life. He and Chalas’ mother got their green cards in 1980. It wasn’t until Chalas was nine, in 1982, that she and her three younger sisters were reunited with them in America.
“It was cold. I remember running to my mom,” she emotionally recalled. “I remember seeing the snow. We just thought we were in Santo Domingo.”
Her parents are and continue to be her role models. They each worked two jobs at a Hilton hotel, at guest services and housekeeping, while also splitting time at a local Massachusetts shoe factory.
"We learned very young that in order to be successful you have to work hard at it, nothing is handed to you." READ MORE
At the end of May 2007, Jorge Sanchez loaded his cousin's pickup truck and moved his young family from an apartment into a house in Fitchburg. The house was just three years old. Its light brown siding was accented by a bright red front door. A park sat invitingly down the street.
That was six years after Sanchez and his wife, Minerva Abrajan, natives of Puebla, Mexico, arrived in Madison. They're not citizens, but, as permanent residents who pay U.S. taxes, the UW-Madison janitors obtained a mortgage under a new loan program aimed at extending home ownership to people who previously couldn't qualify.
"We wanted a house because we had two kids already," Sanchez said. "We wanted something better for them."
The new program opened a door to home loans to non-citizens, helping usher in a sharp increase in homeownership among local Latinos in the second half of the last decade — shortly before a corresponding increase in foreclosure filings against the same group a few years later.
The loans, first offered through a Wisconsin Housing and Economic Authority (WHEDA) pilot program and later by an array of private lenders, allowed people with individual taxpayer identification numbers, or ITINs, to apply for home loans. But ITIN loans suffered from bad timing and, in some cases, left the intended beneficiaries more downtrodden financially than before they got the loans.
In 2004, when ITIN loans started being issued by a local lender, foreclosures were filed against eight Latinos in Dane County, based on a review of court documents identifying Latinos by what the federal Census Bureau defines as commonly occuring last names. In 2009, that number ballooned to 125 — Jorge Sanchez among them —an increase of 1,462 percent. Total foreclosure filings skyrocketed as well but at an increase of 302 percent. READ MORE
Aida M. Alvarez, a former Clinton administration official, has called the Bay Area home since 2002. Today, as chairwoman of the Latino Community Foundation, she brings her varied experience to the region's leading Hispanic philanthropy.
After graduating from Harvard University, the Puerto Rico native worked as a reporter in New York, then became a banker on Wall Street. Ms. Alvarez later moved to Washington to run the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. She served as head of the Small Business Administration from 1997 until 2001.
The San Francisco-based foundation, launched in 2003, has disbursed around $1.8 million, raised from individuals and corporations aimed at helping needy Latino families. The 61-year-old Ms. Alvarez, an Oakland resident, recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the Bay Area's Latino community and the foundation's work.
WSJ: How are the Bay Area's Spanish speakers faring compared to those in the rest of California?
Ms. Alvarez: According to the 2010 Census, Latinos are now 37.6% of California's population, or just over 14 million in the state. The majority of children in California are Hispanic. In eight Bay Area counties, of 6,737,395 total residents, almost a quarter are Latino, about 1.6 million. And while it's true Latinos rank lowest in many areas, there are also very positive glimmers of hope, especially in the Bay Area. READ MORE
According to the Latin Business Index, low inflation and strong economic growth put Peru in second place among other Latin America countries, reports Andina.
The Latin Business Index measures the business environments in 18 countries in Latin America by five major factors and 32 subcategories, including the macroeconomic environment, corporate and political situation of each country in terms of globalization and competitiveness, and the level of infrastructure.
"The classification is given on the basis of present day Peru and current indicators," the executive director of the Latin Business Chronicle, Joachim Bamru said.
According to the website, expectations are that this year Peru will show the highest economic growth in Latin America (7.5 percent) and the lowest inflation rate (2.7 percent).
Bamrud said it is possible a major change could occur in the Peruvian scene for the next index if the winner of the runoff election implements policies against a free market, restricting economic and political freedoms as we have seen in other countries.
"It will be a shame if it destroys the Peruvian miracle and the great progress that Peru has seen in recent years," he added.
In other indicators of the study, Peru obtained the fourth best corporate environment, which measures factors such as environment and labor taxes, access to capital for entrepreneurs and economic freedom.
Peru also has the seventh best political environment, which measures factors like government economic policy, political stability, political freedom, judicial independence, transparency and private property rights. READ MORE
“I hope the coffee is not too strong for you,” Rejane Brito said. Too strong? This was Brazilian coffee, which she’d especially brought to the office to energize an early-morning meeting.
Like the coffee, Brito hails from Brazil, and for the past year and a half, she’s been bringing her own style of energy to a nonprofit that has been quietly growing in Napa.
Puertas Abiertas — “open doors” — began as a program of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in 2005, with a mission to help underserved Latino congregants become self-sufficient. Offering help with reading and writing in Spanish and English, as well as opportunities to improve skills for living and working in Napa, the organization grew so much they decided it could serve more people by becoming an independent organization, Brito explained.
It’s still housed in a small building across the street from St. John’s and adjacent to St. John’s Hall, but the doors there are open to anyone who can benefit from their services.
“Last year we served 480 families,” Brito said. “We still focus on self-sufficiency, but people come here with all kinds of questions and problems — ‘I’m losing my house,’ ‘My son is using drugs,’ ‘I’m getting a divorce’ READ MORE
ShareDiscussDownloadThe buying power of Latinos in the U.S. has more than doubled in the last 10 years. That economic clout grew even during the most recent recession. But many businesses are still learning how to tap into the Latino market.
The intersection of cultures was recently on display at a business expo in Kennewick, Washington. Jessica Robinson followed one small business owner as he tried to make a good impression.
Let’s face it. There are certain things that most people are willing to do without in an economic downturn.
Dale Haven: “My name is Dale Haven. I do custom ice sculpturing.”
Ice sculptures might be one of those things.
Dale Haven: “Cinderella castles, swans, Honda emblems, I’ve done swans, hearts with fifteens in them. I’ve done fifteens with their names in them.”
Fifteens. That’s the category where Dale Haven has been seeing serious growth. The “fifteens” are for 15th birthdays, which is when Latina girls traditionally throw a quinceañera celebration.
It’s like a debutante ball the size of a wedding, complete with a big cake, fancy dresses, music, and yes, sometimes ice sculptures.
That’s what brings Haven and his glass-like carvimgs to this recent Latino Business Expo -- to meet potential customers.
Dale Haven: “So is this your baby?”
Glenda Moreno: “My oldest one yeah. They’re already ‘Look mom, look mom, look what you can do for my quinceañera!’”
Dale Haven: “¡Sí!”
Haven has learned a few phrases in Spanish for these occasions. Like this one, to describe his work.
Dale Haven: “Mucho bonita.” READ MORE
Antonio Cortez spent his working life picking lemons and onions for minimum wage, joined by his children in the summers to make ends meet.
A farm laborer from Mexico and later California, he had no formal education but made sure his children did.
On Sunday, the youngest of his 10 children will walk across the University of Illinois Assembly Hall stage and receive her doctoral degree, the first in their large extended family to do so.
Antonio Cortez, 84, will stand by her side. Rufina Cortez asked him to take part in her Ph.D. "hooding" ceremony, along with her adviser and a niece.
"For me, it's my gift to him," Rufina Cortez said last week. "This is a big sacrifice, not having me around all these years when I've been away at school. This ceremony is for my family. They deserve it."
At one time, it appeared this day might never happen.
When Rufina Cortez was applying to the UI, her father suffered a stroke while traveling to visit his sister in Mexico. He was deathly ill, and Rufina Cortez considered postponing her plans.
"I didn't know whether he was going to survive," she said.
But he improved, and she moved to Champaign-Urbana in 2004 to pursue her dream of a doctorate in education policy studies. READ MORE
Buck's Shoes has been around a long time.
On an elaborate sign stretching across its front door the business proudly boasts "Purveyors of Fine Footwear and Accessories".
The store fittingly sits on Main Street.
That's Main Street, Fremont, Nebraska.
It's one of America's historic streets - part of a National Trust campaign to hold on and preserve the past, hoping perhaps it will lead to a happier and more prosperous future.
The residents themselves are also caught up in a bitter debate over their town's past and what it's facing in the future.
Two big meatpacking plants on the outskirts of town helped contribute to massive changes in the make-up of the population.
They encouraged Hispanic migrants to move there, about 40 minutes out of Omaha and thousands of kilometres north of the Mexican border.
The population of 25,000, once almost entirely white, is now almost 10 per cent Hispanic.
In such a small town, that's a noticeable shift, and it's caused intense growing pains. So much so, the local voters decided to implement their own immigration laws, banning the hiring or renting of premises to illegal immigrants, after becoming fed up waiting for the federal government to take action.
I sat down with a former city councillor Bob Warner a month ago to talk about the issues facing the town.
"They have taken over the meat packing, they're taking over construction; what's next? Now I understand they're pulling their standard of livings up, but they pull ours down," he told me at his kitchen table.
Fremont is not alone in its turmoil.
Towns and states across this country have struggled to deal with a rising Hispanic population and the benefits and disadvantages that come with it.
There are more than 50 million Hispanics in the US. They make up 16 per cent of the population and are growing faster than any other ethnic group.
But the more controversial part of the debate centres on the illegal Hispanics who live in the US - an estimated 11 million.
Barack Obama headed to El Paso, Texas this week - to one of the busiest border crossings to kick start immigration reform.
"When an issue is this complex and raises such strong feelings, it's easier for politicians to defer the problem until after the next election," he told the crowd. READ MORE
Across the board students are found to be working too many hours to keep up with their studies and a huge proportion (30%) of those surveyed may abandon their studies and hopes of getting a college degree. The lowest income students are now getting a smaller share of the CSU’s State University Grant (SUG) than they received in the past, says the Civil Rights Project study, and middle-income students need increasingly more aid to keep up with rising costs. Although the federal Pell Grant has grown in recent years, the recent budget agreement means that it will not grow as tuition rises in the next several years and it will not be available for summer study after this year.
Although the Master Plan for Higher Education called for tuition-free affordable college for all qualified California students, the fiscal reality of California has led to the abandonment of that promise and rapidly rising tuition and other costs of college. Over the last decade, the Civil Rights Project reports, the California State University (CSU) has sustained a substantial decrease in state general funds and has offset these decreases by increasing tuition and fees by over 166 percent. In 1967 the state paid approximately 90% of a student’s education while today it pays approximately 64%. As costs associated with college rise for students, including housing and books, attending and financing college may become too difficult for students with the greatest financial need, the reports find, particularly the state’s majority of Latino and African American youth.
The first study, by San Jose State University Professor Amy Leisenring, says that due to rising college costs and budget cuts, 86% of students surveyed in the study work for pay while in college, with underrepresented minority students comprising a large majority of students who work while in college. Leisenring’s study explores the impact of recent budget cuts on Latino, African American and American Indian students, their views on tuition/fee increases and the affects of working in paid employment on their academic success. Higher Tuition, More Work, and Academic Harm: An Examination of the Impact of Tuition Hikes on the Employment Experiences of Under-represented Minority Students at One CSU Campus is based on survey data of 163 underrepresented minority students (URM), as well as in-depth interviews with 16 URM students. READ MORE
Ten years ago, Wal-Marts in the Midlands didn’t have entire aisles devoted to Hispanic foods.
For most, Taco Bell was the closest thing to a tacqueria.
There were no art shows or poetry contests featuring creative Latinos.
But that has changed as Hispanics moved to the Midlands by the thousands to take advantage of job opportunities. Those new residents not only filled out the area’s work force, but they brought along families, food traditions, holiday celebrations and other pieces of their culture as they made the area home.
“They came to fill labor-intensive jobs,” said Ivan Segura, a Hispanic advocate in the Midlands. “But it’s just not all about being a good worker.”
So, Hispanics have opened restaurants and hair salons. They have founded churches. And they are promoting their artistic side with shows and contests.
In the past decade, South Carolina posted one of the fastest-growing Hispanic populations in the country, and it grew at a faster-than-expected rate. The 2010 Census counted nearly 236,000 Hispanic residents, which was 9 percent higher than recent estimates had predicted it would be, the Pew Hispanic Center reported. Statewide, Hispanics now make up 5 percent of the population. READ MORE
A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries blood and oxygen to the brain is blocked by plaque or a blood clot (acute ischemic stroke), or breaks (hemorrhagic stroke), destroying up to 1.9 million brain cells per minute. Approximately 795,000 strokes occur each year.
According to the Office of Minority Health, Hispanics between the ages of 35 and 64 are more likely to suffer a stroke than non-Hispanic whites. In a survey of 2,000 women about stroke, Hispanics were less aware of the signs and symptoms of stroke than Caucasians. Furthermore, in a separate study of 25,426 individuals, non-English speaking Hispanic Americans, compared to those who speak English, were also less likely to identify the signs and symptoms of stroke or recognize the need for immediate medical attention.
"Stroke can occur suddenly and without warning," said Juan Fitz, MD, ACEP spokesperson and Assistant Medical Director, Emergency Department, Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, TX, who rushed his own wife Dina Fitz to an emergency department when she began experiencing the signs and symptoms of a stroke. "When my wife's face began to droop and she couldn't speak, we immediately sought medical attention which we believe helped aid in her recovery."
With stroke, time is of the essence, so knowing the six primary signs and symptoms of a stroke is crucial. They include:
•Sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the face or facial drooping
•Sudden numbness or weakness in an arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
•Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
•Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
•Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
•Sudden severe headache with no known cause
"When I had my stroke I knew immediately something was wrong and thankfully I was around others who knew how to respond," said stroke survivor, Dina Fitz. "But often women - especially Hispanic women - have the tendency to ignore warning signs as they put the health of family members and everyone else first. Recognizing that these symptoms may be signs of a stroke is crucial." READ MORE
Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel proposed Tuesday reorganizing the Chicago City Council to reflect the city's diversity by incorporating Latinos into its principal committees.
Emanuel, who takes office next Monday, said in a communique that the changes are a result of meetings he held with the 50 members of the council.
He said the new leadership of the committees will reflect the diversity that exists in Chicago and will help implement the reforms needed for the city to progress.
The alderman of Puerto Rican origin Ray Suarez will have the post of vice-mayor and will remain chairman of the Housing Committee.
Mexican-born Ald. George Cardenas will preside over the Health and Environment Protection Committee, while Puerto Rican Roberto Maldonado is to be deputy chairman of the Human Relations Committee.
Mexican-American Ald. Daniel Solis, who was one of the most influential Latino councilors during the mandate of outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley, will continue to head the Zoning Committee. READ MORE
Henry Munoz III, chairman of the presidential commission that recommended the construction of a Latino museum, wrote that there must be “a living monument that recognizes that Latinos were here well before 1776 and that in this century, the future is increasingly Latino, more than 50 million people and growing.” READ MORE
The spirit of the entrepreneur is the State Farm Agency opportunity. Our country was founded and grown by the American Dream of owning your own business! Over 17,000 agents throughout the United States have been living this dream for over 20, 30 and 40 years. For many of us, having our own business allows us to express our passion, help others and enjoy tremendous rewards.
Throughout the Chicago Metro area, suburbs and NW Indiana, we anticipate an increase in agent retirement but also a need for new agents to service growing communities. State Farm is committed to helping our prospective agents grow their agencies through ongoing training and development, marketing assistance, start-up allowances and office set-up.
State Farm was founded in 1922 and is the largest organically grown company in the history of the world! Over 80 million policies and accounts were grown one policy at a time, not through mergers or acquisitions. We have been through the Stock Market crash of 1929, the Great Depression, World War II, multiple recessions, several major Hurricanes and natural disasters, the dot.com bust and multiple legislative and regulatory challenges. State Farm is still here and stronger than ever! This is the legacy of State Farm!
My vision is to ensure Chicago communities are aware of this wonderful and rewarding career path and the opportunity that is present now and into the future.
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Dr. Juan Andrade, Co-founder and President of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), will receive the Ohtli Award at 6:30 p.m. on May 4. The Ohtli, which means "path", is the highest honor presented by the government of Mexico to a civilian living outside the country for contributions made to the empowerment of the Mexican and the Mexican-American communities in the United States. The award will be presented at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, DC by the Ambassador of Mexico to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan.
Andrade, who was previously decorated at the White House by then President of the United States Bill Clinton "for the performance of exemplary deeds of service for the nation" and "excellence in promoting leadership and civic participation", will become one of only three Hispanics in history to be honored by both the government of Mexico and the government of the United States. He will share this distinction with the late Cesar Chavez and the late Mario Obledo.
As a child and later as a student, Andrade sold newspapers and washed dishes, pots and pans in restaurants. He hoed cotton, cabbage, peanuts, watermelons and cantaloupes and worked in factories, meatpacking plants, and as a custodian. He has earned five college degrees including a doctorate and received five honorary doctorates and three distinguished alumni awards.
Andrade represents USHLI on the Board of Directors of HACR (Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility) and NHLA (National Hispanic Leadership Agenda). Learn more about USHLI
Most would think Americans do more unpaid work than the rest of the world -- wrong. According to the new report, Society at a Glance, by France-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD, in a survey of 34 OECD countries, there is one country that outperforms the rest of the world in doing unpaid work -- Mexico.
Mexicans spend about 4 1/2 hours a day on unpaid work. Who does the least? Korea, China and Japan. The United States falls a little below the middle.
When it comes to working the longest hours, whether for pay or not -- Mexico wins that as well by logging in ten hours a day with Japan close behind at nine hours a day. READ MORE
Each participant is expected to complete at least one script by the end of the five-week session, which will then be read by network executives. Those writers whose scripts show promise will be interviewed and mentored by the network executives with the idea of placing them on a show. A stipend of $250 per week will be given to each participant. Flight, housing, and meals will be provided.
The NLMC Television Writers Program is an intensive scriptwriters workshop to prepare and place Latinos in writing jobs for the major television networks. This project is modeled after the previously successful Hispanic Film Project. The television scriptwriters workshop is designed to familiarize participants with the format, characters and storyline structure of specific shows that are currently on the air. This five-week, total immersion workshop is mentored and guided by former NBC V.P of Script Development, Geoff Harris.
The workshop is conducted in Burbank, CA and a total of 10 writers are recruited nationwide from established network of NHMC chapters, other non-profit agencies, schools, universities, guilds and media organizations. The goal is that the writers garner the skills necessary to obtain employment in the industry. The NLMC Writers Program was created in accordance to part of NHMC’s mission to improve the image of American Latinos as portrayed by the media and increase the number of American Latinos employed in all facets of the media industry. READ MORE
The analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center says that the percentage of the Latino electorate was also larger in the 2010 midterm elections than in earlier midterm votes, totaling 6.9 percent of all registered voters, compared with 5.8 percent in 2006.
The rapid growth in the U.S. Latino population has favored ever greater participation by that community in elections, with the 2010 Census finding that 50.5 million Hispanics lived in the United States last year, up from 35.3 million in 2000.
During the same decade, the number of eligible Latino voters also rose, from 13.2 million to 21.3 million.
However, although there are more Latinos now who never participate in U.S. elections, their representation within the electorate continues to be less than their weight in the general population.
In 2010, 16.3 percent of the U.S. population was Hispanic, but Latinos constituted just 10.1 percent of those eligible to vote and less than 7 percent of actual voters.
Pew says this gap is due to two factors: the youth of the Latino population - nearly 35 percent are under 18 - and the high proportion of Hispanic adults, 22.4 percent, who lack U.S. citizenship.
Thus, just 42.7 percent of the U.S. Latino population may vote, while in the case of whites that percentage is 77.7 percent, in the black community it is 67.2 percent and among Asians 52.8 percent.
In 2010, 31.2 percent of Latinos said they had voted, while 48.6 percent of whites said the same thing and 44 percent of African Americans.
Roughly 31 percent of Latino eligible voters last year were between 18 and 29, while for whites that percentage was 19.2 percent, for blacks it was 25.6 percent and for Asians 20.7 percent.
Only 17.6 percent of young Hispanic voters cast ballots, whereas among those age 30 and up participation was 37.4 percent.
The difference in participation of Latinos in elections compared with other groups is also due to the rapid increase in the percentage of Latinos who could vote, but don't. READ MORE
Water. Rest. Shade. These are three little words that make a big difference for those who work outdoors during the hot summer months.
When I was growing up in La Puente, just north of Orange County, my father worked in a battery recycling plant. He was the union shop steward there. He'd often tell me stories about workers who were injured on the job, doing grueling work at their hot facility. For him, preventing heat-related illnesses and injuries was common sense: "some water and a little time to rest to cool down every now and then."
I'll be thinking about him Tuesday, April 25, when I visit the Republic Services CVT Recycling Center in Anaheim, where workers spend hours, both indoors and outdoors, also doing very hard work. The good thing: The management and employees take heat safety very seriously.
There were nearly three dozen heat-related workplace deaths across the country last year, and thousands more suffer heat-related illnesses every year. Heat can be a real danger for workers in jobs ranging from agriculture and landscaping to construction, road repair, airport baggage handling, even car sales. And the percentage of Latino worker fatalities due to outdoor heat exposure was greater than that for white, non-Latino workers.
My father was right. Heat-related illnesses and injuries can be prevented. It just takes some common sense. The team at the recycling center in Anaheim gets that. So does California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Their efforts to address this issue have provided a valuable platform for federal OSHA – an agency at the U.S. Department of Labor – to launch a nationwide campaign to prevent heat illnesses, injury and death.
This campaign aims to educate workers and employers across the country on the hazards of working in the hot outdoors, and provides the steps necessary to prevent them. The campaign includes a website, public service announcements, and materials for both workers and their employers. We've partnered with scores of organizations to help us get the word out. Training for both workers and their employers is also a critical component. READ MORE
