Home > Somos Austin
SXSW panel to explore engaging Latino audiences
A South by Southwest music cnference music panel will explore how the entertainment industry can expand its audience by engaging Hispanics, the youngest, fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, organizers have announced.
The music panel, “Reaching America’s Fastest Growing Market,” will be held March 19 at 5 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center. Panelists will include Tejano music pioneer Joe Hernandez, Becky Arreaga, president of the Austin-based Mercury Mambo marketing agency; and two veteran Latino marketing experts — Lionel Sosa, a Hispanic media consultant in seven GOP presidential campaigns since 1980, and David Chavez, producer of Premios Deportes, the ALMA Awards and the Tejano Music National Convention.
The panel will be hosted by local publication TODO Austin.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Advertising/Marketing
As it tries to win back Latino voters, GOP eyes worrisome numbers
After faring poorly with Latino voters in the 2006 and 2008 elections, the Republican Party is talking with increasing urgency about how to rebuild their traction with the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, Peter Slevin reports for The Washington Post.
Some GOP strategists think the Party must be more welcoming to Latino voters.
“The numbers don’t lie,” said Whit Ayres, a GOP consultant. “If Republicans don’t do better among Hispanics, we’re not going to be talking about how to get Florida back in the Republican column, we’re going to be talking about how not to lose Texas.”
The story notes that by 2050, non-Hispanic whites are projected to account for about half the U.S. population, down from 69.4 percent in 2000. And the number of eligible Hispanic voters rose 21 percent from from 1988 to 2008 — from 16.1 million to 19.5 million.
“If you don’t go out and bring more Hispanics to our party, the math isn’t there to win, no matter what the other side does,” said (Henry) Bonilla, who has argued the case in meetings with Republican leaders in Congress. “If they’re too blind to recognize that, it’s their own selves doing them in.”
The former Texas Republican congressman from San Antonio lost his seat in 2006 to Democrat Ciro Rodriguez.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Politics
More Texans support legal means for immigrants to stay
Among the interesting findings from a new survey on Texans’ attitudes about illegal immigration is that when broken down along racial and ethnic lines, African Americans gave the most support to giving unauthorized immigrants a path to citizenship.
The Houston Chronicle reports this morning that, of Texans surveyed, almost 40 percent of blacks supported a pathway to citizenship, compared to 32.1 percent of Latinos and 26.7 percent among whites.
“There have been times when people have thought that minorities would be in competition with each other or would not be supportive of each other,” (pollster Mickey) Blum said. African Americans “were clearly supportive of that (path to citizenship). They were not looking to say, ‘Oh, wait, that’s competition for us and send ‘em back.’ … The groups that are in favor of deportation are whites and Republicans.”
The Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News poll found most Texans — 52 percent — favoring allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the United States, through either a path to citizenship or work visas, than favor deporting them — 38 percent.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Immigration
State rep renews call for Perry to promote 2010 census
Representative Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, is joining critics accusing Gov. Rick Perry of failing to do enough to support the 2010 census.
Villarreal, the vice chair of the legislature’s House Redistricting Committee, said this morning he is renewing his call for Perry to direct state agencies to support participation in the census, a request he said he first made in a letter to Perry in October 2009.
Villarreal provided a copy of the letter. In it, he encourages the governor to form a state complete count committee. Villarreal said the governor never responded.
According to the Census Bureau, Texas is not among the 37 states which have formed complete count committees to spread the word that filling out the census questionnaire is important, easy and safe.
“Governor Perry has failed to seize this opportunity to bring more of our tax dollars back home to our public schools, job training programs, hospitals, transportation projects and senior centers,” Villarreal said.
Earlier this month the Latino civil rights organization MALDEF said it had convened a Texas Latino Complete Count Committee in response to the governor’s inaction on the census.
A spokeswoman for the governor said then that Perry supports efforts to get an accurate and complete count of Texas residents.
“We believe it’s in the best interest of our state in terms of representation and our tax dollars flowing back to Texas for every Texan to be counted in the census and we will look at ways to help ensure that happens,” spokeswoman Allison Castle said.
MALDEF — the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund — said it is working with more than a dozen statewide organizations and institutions, including the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project to mobilize Latinos to be fully counted in the 2010 census.
MALDEF said the 2000 Census left an estimated 373,567 people in Texas uncounted, and the state missed out on more than $1 billion in federal funds over the last decade. It said that Latinos, particularly immigrants, students and the working poor, are among the most difficult to count communities.
The census is used to determine how $400 billion in federal funds flow back to local communities each year — for education, public works, transportation, hospitals and other services. The census totals are also used to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The fastest growing state in the nation, Texas is expected to gain at least three congressional seats. States also use the totals to redraw their legislative districts.
The Census Bureau says Americans can expect to receive census forms in the mail beginning March 15.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Census
La Peña’s ‘Toma Mi Corazón turns 18
For 18 years, Austin’s La Peña has invited art lovers to “Take My Heart,” as part of its signature event, the “Toma Mi Corazón” silent art auction fundraiser featuring hundreds of wooden hearts decorated by artists, children, and even the occasional celebrity.
The newest installment is tomorrow (Feb. 6) at La Peña’s gallery space at 227 Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. with a preview party featuring live music by Pati McLean and Crash! Bam! Boom!, food and drinks, followed by the silent auction at 6 p.m. Admission to the preview party is $10, which includes the silent auction. Admission to the silent auction only is $5.
Fans of Toma Mi Corazón know it’s a chance to admire or buy unique, original artwork and to help support La Peña’s arts and educational programming.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Arts
Bilingual education fair in Austin targets parents and students
Feria Para Aprender, the largest Hispanic education and college-readiness event in the region, is designed to help Spanish-speaking parents overcome cultural and language barriers and become advocates in their children’s education.
But as Melissa B. Taboada writes, some critics say such efforts reward illegal immigrants. Sylvia Acevedo, the event’s founder, said ignoring that the population is here only makes it worse.
“Their parents may not be (legal), but (students) are U.S. citizens. And we need them to be as successful as they can be for all of us,” she said.
Tomorrow’s free fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Travis County Heritage and Exposition Center, 7311 Decker Lane.
More than 10,000 students and their parents are expected to attend the event, which will feature more than 100 exhibits by school districts, non-profit organizations, colleges, universities and scholarship groups.
For more information, visit www.feriaparaaprender.org
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Education
Bullock exhibit an ode to Latino musical contributions
When I had the good fortune in 1987 of attending a premiere of the Ritchie Valens biopic “La Bamba” — in Beverly Hills, fancy that — I couldn’t help but be struck by the rousing ovation the film received.
The hundreds of Latino journalists from across the country who were in the audience knew that they had witnessed something rare — a mainstream Hollywood studio release about a young Mexican American — Valens, a rock ’n roller whose life was tragically cut short — and his family.
So it was with more than a passing interest that I noted the news about the upcoming “American Sabor : Latinos in U.S. Popular Music” exhibit at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The exhibit, which opens Feb. 13, is the first interpretive museum exhibition to tell the story of the influence and impact of Latinos in American popular music, said Tim Dillon, the museum’s marketing director.
“It’s really phenomenal. It’s also the (Bullock) museum’s first bilingual exhibit,” Dillon said.
Created by the Experience Music Project in Seattle, the touring exhibit focuses on five major centers where Latino music flourished after World War II — New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and closer to home, San Antonio.
Besides Valens’ Harmony electric guitar and the Mexican-style vest he wore on “American Bandstand” in 1958, the exhibit will feature more than 100 artifacts, including a trombone belonging to salsa star Willie Colón; a gown worn by salsa star Celia Cruz; and congas belonging to Michael Carabello, one of the original Santana percussionists.
The exhibit consists of sections for the five featured cities, which draw visitors into the histories and cultures that shaped the musicians’ contributions. Besides the artifacts, there will be instrument interactives that demonstrate how to play hooks from well-known songs, a mixer that allows visitors to remix songs, a dance floor, listening kiosks and films.
To mark the opening of “American Sabor,” the Bullock museum is hosting “family-friendly” rhythm workshops on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. p.m. The workshops are free with museum admission, but space is limited. For reservations, call 936-4649.
American Sabor runs through May 9 at the Bullock museum. Dillon said a number of other exhibit-related activities, including salsa lessons and a Selena-themed childrens’ birthday party, will be announced at a later date.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Arts
MALDEF blasts Perry’s inaction on census, forms Latino count committee
More than 37 states have formed complete count committees to spread the word that filling out the 2010 census questionnaire is important, easy and safe. But Texas is not among them, spurring a Latino civil rights organization to accuse Gov. Rick Perry of failing to support the U.S. Census.
In a newsletter to supporters last Friday, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s Southwest Regional office said it had convened a Texas Latino Complete Count Committee in response to the governor’s inaction. It said Perry has neither endorsed the census nor created a statewide complete count committee, despite requests by legislators, the Census Bureau and advocacy organizations.
A spokeswoman for the governor said his office had not received a letter from MALDEF or the U.S. Census and that the governor supports efforts to get an accurate and complete count of Texas residents. “We believe it’s in the best interest of our state in terms of representation and our tax dollars flowing back to Texas for every Texan to be counted in the census and we will look at ways to help ensure that happens,” said Allison Castle.
Meanwhile, census officials in Dallas noted Tuesday that the governor’s office has never refused to form a complete count committee.
“We continue to work with the governor’s administration to encourage them to help support the thousands of partners and complete count committees across the state,” said Gabriel Sanchez, the U.S. Census regional director in Dallas.
Census spokeswoman Jenna Steormann said complete count committees in other states generally use their communications channels, such as mailers and Web sites, to spread the word about the census. Some governors film public service announcements, she said.
“Complete count committees know how to reach their communities best,” Steormann said.
MALDEF said the statewide Latino committee would work to mobilize Latinos to be fully counted in the 2010 census.
The 2000 Census left an estimated 373,567 people in Texas uncounted, and the state missed out on more than $1 billion in federal funds over the last decade, MALDEF said. It said that Latinos are among the most difficult to count communities, such as immigrants, students and the working poor.
The decennial census counts are used as a benchmark for the distribution of about $400 billion in federal funds to communities each year — for education, public works, transportation, hospitals and other services. They’re also used to redraw legislative districts and to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. Because of its substantial population gains, Texas is expected to gain at least three congressional seats.
Luis Figueroa, a MALDEF staff attorney in San Antonio, actually noted the Latino complete count committee’s formation during a January visit to Austin for a community event to mobilize Hispanic voters and to raise awareness about the census. He said partners include the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and about a dozen other organizations.
In an interview last week, Figueroa said that the committee has been meeting since early January and that the newsletter was the first broad-scale attempt to get the word out to supporters. A press conference is planned for next week, Figueroa said.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Census
Census debuts Spanish-language site as part of diversity efforts
The Census Bureau has launched a 2010 Census Spanish-language Web site, hoping to persuade more than 34 million Spanish speakers that participation is easy, important and safe.
Like the English version, the Spanish interactive site allows users to preview the 10 questions on the 2010 Census form. It emphasizes that answers are confidential and protected by law. The site presents six videos “of real-life stories in Spanish,” each addressing most commonly asked questions about the 2010 census
In its roll-out, the government is taking what it calls unprecedented steps to reach out to those who speak a number of other languages. For example, for the first time, the Census Bureau will mail 13 million bilingual, English-Spanish forms across the country. The 2010 questionnaire will also be available in four other languages — Russian, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
In addition, a one-page description and a user guide explaining how to answer the census questionnaire is on the 2010 Web site in 59 languages, and the census is using 28 languages for its advertising campaign. (It used 17 languages in 2000.)
“Every decade, the census has to adjust how it reaches out to a diverse and growing population,” Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves said of the new, interactive Web pages. “Our hope is that visitors can relate and understand the importance of their participation in the 2010 Census and how they personally can have an impact on the well-being of their communities.”
Census data are used to apportion congressional seats to states and to distribute more than $400 billion in federal monies to states and local communities.
About 120 million U.S. households will begin receiving the census forms in mid-March. The 2010 census form will be one of the shortest in history; the census bureau says it takes 10 minutes to complete.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Census
Supporters launch ‘grassroots’ bid to register Latino voters
About two dozen community leaders, barrio activists and former and current elected office holders gathered under a gazebo Friday at Plaza Saltillo in East Austin, exhorting Latino residents to make their votes count and to be counted in the upcoming 2010 census.
“This is really a grassroots effort we have here today,” said Marcelo Tafoya, the local League of United Latin American Citizens District 12 director, as supporters launched their campaign to register at least 600 new Hispanic voters in Travis County in time for the March 2 primaries. (Read my Friday story about the campaign, part of statewide efforts by the San Antonio-based Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) to add Latino voters ahead of the redistricting that will result from the census.)
Later, after a few invited speakers had their turns, Tafoya joked that “al estilo Mexicano (in the Mexican tradition) we’re going to open up the mike.” Few were bashful; one by one, virtually everyone on stage stepped forward.
Among them, Tafoya’s son Marcelo Antonio, targeted his message to younger Hispanics. Many, said the 28-year-old Web site developer, don’t bother to vote, yet they complain that East Austin does not receive a fair share of city and county services. “Your voice is not heard,” he said.
Like a number of others, Bruce Elfant, a Travis County constable who is the co-chair of the Austin/Travis County Complete Count Committee, emphasized the importance of the census. The counts are used as a benchmark for the distribution of about $400 billion in federal funds to communities each year — for education, public works, transportation and hospitals. They’re also used to redraw legislative districts and to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Elfant said Travis County is the largest county in the nation without a member of Congress whose job it is to represent only the home county. A complete count could change that, he said. “We’re a large enough county where we ought to have a representative who can spend a hundred percent of his or her time on Travis County.”
Luis Figueroa, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the organization is partnering with others across the state to create a Texas Latinos Complete Count Committee. The committee will work to ensure that the state’s Hispanic residents are accurately counted in the 2010 census.
According to the Census Bureau, 120 million U.S. households will receive census forms in mid-March. The 10-question form is the shortest in the nation’s history and takes about 10 minutes to complete, census officials said.
For more information about the upcoming census, visit www.2010census.gov.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Voting
Austin immigrant advocates hail protections for Haitians in U.S. illegally
Immigrant advocates in Central Texas are applauding the Obama administration’s decision to grant temporary protected status to Haitians who are living in the U.S. illegally, calling the move a compassionate gesture and one which is long overdue.
The administration announced last week that it will allow an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Haitians who are in the U.S. without authorization to stay and work for 18 months because of the catastrophic earthquake in their homeland.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the move would help to continue the flow of remittances to the country in a time of dire need. Earlier she temporarily halted deportations of Haitians, even those already in detention.
The federal government offers temporary protected to status to people from nations experiencing severe crises, such as natural disasters or civil wars. Currently, immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan and Somalia are eligible to apply.
Immigration advocates have been arguing for temporary protected status for Haitians for more than a decade, said Sonia Ansari, an Austin immigration attorney.
“The problem with (temporary protected status) is that it can be very political,” said Ansari, whose firm is handling applications. “If you look at the criteria, it would apply to many more countries than it does.”
Chris Jimmerson, executive director of American Gateways in Austin, which provides legal services to immigrants fleeing violence and oppression, noted that Haiti has been beset by one disaster after another in recent years, including a number of hurricanes — four storms in 2008 alone.
“How do you send people back into the situation that exists now,” Jimmerson asked. “It’s unthinkable to do that.”
It is difficult to estimate how many Haitians are in Central Texas illegally, Ansari and Jimmerson said. “Anytime you’re dealing with trying to get demographics on the undocumented, those numbers just don’t exist,” Jimmerson said. “But I don’t think we’re talking about hundreds and hundreds of (Haitian) cases.”
Temporary protection is available only to Haitians who were already in the country Jan. 12 and who meet other criteria.
American Gateways said it serves thousands of immigrants each year in Central and South Texas.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Immigration
Fight for Tejano monument lasted years, overcame hurdles
The news this week that the first storytelling monument honoring Texas’ Tejano heritage was approved for the State Capitol grounds was hailed by many Austinites, including historian-author Dan Arellano, who for years championed a statue through his work with the Tejano Genealogy Society of Austin.
But Arellano said the monument was long overdue. “It took the state of Texas almost 200 years to finally acknowledge the fact that we exist by erecting a statue on the grounds of the Capitol,” Arellano said today. “The story of Texas isn’t complete if you don’t include our history.”
For the past five years, Arellano headed up publicity for a statewide grassroots effort involving historians, legislators, academics and others advocating a Tejano monument. Others had taken up the cause years earlier, he noted.
On Tuesday, the State Preservation Board unanimously approved the nearly 33-foot-long bronze monument for installation during the next two years along the southern lawn, just east of the Capitol’s main driveways. The monument will feature a vaquero on horseback, a Spanish explorer, a longhorn bull and cow and a couple holding an infant. The monument — part of the design is shown below — was created by Laredo sculptor Armando Hinojosa. Jaime Beaman of Austin is the architect.
Texans have long complained about the lack a Capitol monument honoring the state’s Tejano roots, noting that the dozens of other statues honor most every other group.
Arellano said the struggle endured eight years in the Legislature and at the State Preservation Board, and that supporters eventually got approval for a monument on the northern grounds of the Capitol. They insisted they wanted it where it could be seen, on the southern lawn.
Arellano recalled an e-mail from another supporter, Felix Almaraz, a history professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio who told supporters that placing the monument on the northern grounds was “tantamount to asking us to sit in the back of the bus.”
On May 29, Gov. Perry signed a bill allowing the monument to be placed on the south grounds.
“It is fitting that we should devote space on the historic south grounds of our state capitol to commemorate the contributions of our Latino brothers and sisters throughout the ages,” Perry said then. “This monument captures the essence of our state’s Hispanic history and the independent spirit of our entire state.”
Under State Preservation Board rules, the monument wouldn’t have been allowed, but the bill by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, provided an exception.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: History
Austin group willingly confronts race and other potent topics
It’s Wednesday morning in Austin well before commuters have completed their slow crawls on Interstate 35 but already the conversation is off and running in a business tower conference room just off the highway.
There, a small, loose-knit group called the Kitchen Table — including community leaders, architects, engineers, an attorney and a Municipal Court judge — dives unflinchingly into spirited discussions on topics such as race relations, education, family, leadership, community, reconciliation, tolerance and hope.
The eight Austinites are drawn together not by obligation but because they want to be there, and the conversation flows effortlessly.
Honest, raw, reasoned, respectful, eloquent and emotional, the conversations are the brainchild of 71-year-old Robert Martinez, shown here with Kitchen Table participant David Balch in the background.
Martinez, a longtime civil engineer and community leader, formed the Kitchen Table about four years ago because he thought having people share their stories would lead to relationships in which they could work together to help make Austin a better place to live.
“There is power and energy and something good that comes from sharing in small groups and accepting each other” says Martinez, who has a serene manner, thinning gray hair and a faint gleam in his eyes.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Diversity
In Austin’s Dove Springs, a hope for renewal
To many in Austin, the words “Dove Springs” — the sprawling, working-class neighborhood in Southeast Austin — call forth images of gangs, drugs and violent crimes, vapor from the 1980s and 1990s when juvenile gangs ran roughshod here.
“That’s the old Dove Springs,” says Ofelia Zapata, a longtime neighborhood activist, here walking with grandson Javier Calderon.
In the new Dove Springs, juvenile crime is falling, and there are glimmers of hope that the community can overcome old and newer problems of poverty, unemployment, property crimes and dropouts.
The work for renewal is playing out against a remarkable demographic transformation in Dove Springs — once largely Anglo, it is now the largest and densest Latino enclave in Austin.
To find a comparable neighborhood today, you’d have to go as far south as San Antonio, says city demographer Ryan Robinson, who calls Dove Springs “Austin’s quintessential barrio.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Neighborhoods
Faces of Austin calling on filmmakers
Are you a filmmaker with an eye for Austin’s diverse cultural identity and its unique sense of place?
The city’s Faces of Austin multimedia program is calling for film entries showcasing those very points. Selected short films will be shown in a public screening in City Council chambers during the People’s Gallery exhibit which opens Feb. 19, and then on-demand on City Hall wide-screen video displays and on the Channel 6 Website.
Faces of Austin is a multimedia program of the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, which works to foster development of community-based arts and the music, film and creative industries in Austin. It is responsible for the the city’s Art in Public Places and Cultural Arts Funding programs.
Faces of Austin is a tool to highlight the talents of Austin filmmakers, said Janet Seibert, a spokeswoman. “It showcases their artwork, and at the same time we’re trying to showcase how wonderful Austin is,” Seibert said.
For an application and more information, visit the Faces of Austin website or contact Seibert at 974-7860.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Arts
River City’s Henry Narvaez worked to help young people ‘dream big’
Henry Narvaez wore his showy University of Texas graduation ring with pride — and with purpose.
A long-time fixture at the River City Youth Foundation in Southeast Austin’s Dove Springs neighborhood, Narvaez said he wore the ring to make an impression on the young people he worked with at the center, which provides mentoring, computer instruction and other after-school activities. Most of the kids are Latino and many are from poor families. A retired clinical psychologist, Narvaez (shown here in photo) said he wanted to show them that they could dream big.
“The kids I meet here still see UT as an ivory tower,” Narvaez said earlier this year. “My intent is to show them it’s possible. We’re Latinos, we come from humble families. … Maybe they can become engineers and doctors.”
Narvaez died last week in Austin after a short battle with cancer. He was 58. Funeral services were Thursday.
“Henry was just the most amazing individual. He was such a gem,” said Oné Musel-Gilley, a spokeswoman for the foundation, where Narvaez had been a program manager for the past three years following his retirement and a volunteer for 20 years.
A story in the San Antonio Express-News noted that Narvaez’s mother, the late Lydia Zatarain Narvaez, was well known for her community involvement in San Antonio. “Henry followed in her footsteps,” said his brother, Roy.
Henry graduated from San Antonio’s Edgewood High. After serving in the Army, he earned a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from the University of Texas and Southwest Texas State University.
Mussel-Gilley said Friday that many in River City’s extended family were just learning of Narvaez’s death, crestfallen by the news. A former intern said Narvaez was like a father to her.
Over lunch earlier this year with River City’s founder Mona Gonzalez, Narvaez told me that he had found his calling in working with young people, drawing on his own life experiences to help them achieve. He said he was one of 12 children. Eight graduated from college. Henry was the first.
“It was my parents who were on our case about homework,” Narvaez said, explaining that is why he made it a point to also work with the parents of the students he was trying to help.
Of his work, Narvaez said: “This is exactly what I want to do.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: People
‘Petra’s Pecado’ keeps pulling Reyes back in
As proud as he is of his 1994 comedy “Petra’s Pecado,” Austin playwright/actor/director Ruperto Reyes Jr. has tried putting it to bed more than once. But one thing holds him back: Audiences won’t let him, he says.
“As an artist you want to take on new challenges, but the audience won’t let this go,” Reyes says. “They ask, ‘When are you going to do ‘Petra’ again?’ ”
Currently in its fifth run in Austin and produced by Teatro Vivo — the bilingual comedy about a sin-obsessed grandmother plays through Dec. 20 at the Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Rd. (The photo below is from a 1998 production.)
Reyes says the key to success lies in the story’s appeal to diverse audiences. “It’s a universal story of an older person struggling to remain relevant in our society,” Reyes explains. “One of the things we’re losing in the Mexican American culture is the importance of the elders in our lives. You don’t become irrelevant when you become old.”
Reyes says non-Latino playgoers get the humor and they relate to the story. So do Latinos, who tell him that the characters remind them of their parents, or their siblings — their familia. Many vow to come again, but with family. And they do. Reyes can recall one person who returned five times, each time with different family members.
Reyes was moved to write the comedy after his father, Ruperto Sr., fell off a ladder. “For the first time in my life, I realized how frail he was. I really wanted to honor his age and what he meant to me as a friend and as a parent.” Reyes Sr. passed away two years ago of cancer.
Tomorrow night (Sat., Dec. 12), theatergoers can also take in a free entertainment event at the Salvage Vanguard — Noche de Esperanza. Billed as a celebration of community, art and culture on the feast day of La Virgen de Guadalupe, the event will feature music, dance, a book reading and a market. It runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Curtain time for “Petra’s Pecado” is 8 p.m.
In the play, La Virgen cheekily helps characters resolve their problems. Though La Virgen is a religious icon, Reyes said producers wanted to tie the first-ever Noche de Esperanza to community.
“We see the Virgen as a symbol of the community,” he adds. “I know we’re dealing with a Catholic icon. I think it’s bigger than that.”
For information about the play, tickets and prices visit www.teatrovivo.org
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Arts
With higher demand, Dove Springs toy drive still needs helps
One of the finest joys of this season is watching a child receive a toy.
And for a dozen years, the River City Youth Foundation in Southeast Austin has made it possible for thousands of Dove Springs neighborhood children to receive a toy for the holidays.
The nonprofit organization, celebrating its 25th year helping neighborhood youths and families, continues the tradition Saturday with its annual Merry Memories event, from 12 to 3 p.m. at the Dove Springs Recreation Center, 5801 Ainez Dr.
Organizers say it’s the largest toy giveaway in the sprawling community, where it’s estimated that 85 percent of residents are Latino and large numbers of students are economically disadvantaged.
More than 100 bikes and 2,000 toys will be handed out, said Oné Musel-Gilley, a spokeswoman for River City, which is headed by founder Mona Gonzalez.
But organizers need your help and they’re still collecting toys. About a thousand kids attended last year’s Merry Memories, and River City expects 1,200 this year, amid a 40 percent increase in the number of families seeking food and other basic needs from the organization this holiday season.
“For the first time we actually had school principals contact us asking if we were going to do the event this year. We expanded our outreach,” Musel-Gilley said. She said that to meet demand, River City has also expanded its counseling services during the holidays.
Putting on Merry Memories takes a lot of helping hands. More than 20 companies and organizations — including the Austin police and fire departments, MWM Design, Junior League of Austin, Chic-fil-A, New York Life, among others — are helping with this year’s event. Besides the toy giveaway and picture-taking with Santa, the event is an opportunity to match families with donors for the River City Youth Foundation’s Adopt a Family program.
New this year will be the showcase of winners of a youth artists holiday card contest. See the winning card here.
But, at least for the kids, toys win the day. If you’re interested in donating a toy, you can contact River City at RCYFEventsTeam@gmail.com
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Neighborhoods
South Austin residents want city to expand home size rules
When the Austin City Council decided in 2006 to limit the sizes of new or renovated houses in the central city, council members said they wanted to preserve the character of older neighborhoods.
Now, residents of some South Austin neighborhoods say their communities have character worth saving, too. One of them, Andrea McCartney (in photo) is fighting proposed redevelopment on this lot next door to her home on Red Bird Lane.
Some South Austin residents want the council to expand the boundaries of a 2006 residential design and compatibility ordinance to include their enclaves.
The ordinance limits the size, shape and location of dwellings on urban lots in older, central-city neighborhoods.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Neighborhoods
U.S. Latinos get scant media coverage, report says
Hispanics in the United States receive meager media coverage, and most of what the public learns about Latinos comes from event-driven stories and not through focused coverage, a new study finds.
Released jointly by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, the study found that of more than 34,000 news stories in the mainstream media from February through August, only 57 focused directly on the life experiences of U.S. Hispanics.
A bigger number, but still a relatively small fraction — 645 out of 34,452 stories — contained substantial references to Latinos, according to the report, “Hispanics in the News: An Event-Driven Narrative.”
The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court made up the largest share of Hispanic-related coverage, 39.4 percent, more than twice that of any other storyline. The Mexican drug war was second at 15.1 percent; the outbreak of H1NI flu was third, at 13 percent.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Hispanics/Latinos
Latina youth organization selling art work
Student photographers in the Latinitas youth organization will be selling their works this weekend in Austin and San Marcos.
Latinitas, a nonprofit publication dedicated to building self-esteem among young Latinas through media and technology, will host a Photo Fiesta Show at Progress Coffee, 500 San Marcos St. in Austin, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. A second photo sale will be Sunday, Dec. 6, from noon to 3 p.m. at Wake the Dead Coffee Shop, 1432 Ranch Road 12, in San Marcos.
“This is not just a great resource for holiday gifts, but the Hispanic girls and teens in our programs will see their work appreciated by others than themselves,” said Brooke Maudlin, a Latinitas program coordinator.
Founded six years ago in a University of Texas media class by then-students, now founders Alicia Rascon and Laura Donnelly Gonzalez, Latinitas digital and print editions publish the works of Latina girls, teens and college students online every month on Latinitasmagazine.org and TeenLatinitas.org. They launched their first print edition of the magazine this year and plan a second in 2010.
The organization says it has served nearly 10,000 girls through its outreach and programs, including camps, workshops, a media conference and teen reporter internship. Latinitas magazines’ bilingual content is read by girls and teens across the country, Spain, Mexico and other parts of Latin America, the organization says.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Youth
Latest comments
Austin Music Memorial 2010 Inductees !
A Chip off the ole’ block, Lonnie and Louie are the first father and son to be inducted into the Austin Music Memorial .
Clifford Antone (1949 - 2006)
Martin Banks (1936-2004)
... read the full comment by Sergio A. Guerrero | Comment on River City's Henry Narvaez worked to help young people 'dream big' Read River City's Henry Narvaez worked to help young people 'dream big'
How honored and proud I am to be an American! Dr. Garza, you are a TRUE GREAT AMERICAN HERO! You have dedicated your life to protecting, educating, motivating, and inspiring ALL Americans to believe that our hopes and dreams are possible. Dr. Garza, YOU
... read the full comment by Jennifer Jones | Comment on At Austin school bearing his name, Gonzalo Garza gets his due Read At Austin school bearing his name, Gonzalo Garza gets his due
I wish I was back in Austin to join in on the fun. Thanks Juan for keeping us posted.
... read the full comment by Rosalinda Vargas | Comment on Viva La Vida Fest honors the dead while celebrating life Read Viva La Vida Fest honors the dead while celebrating life
I praise this center for the care that they have given my son. This is our chance and parents and a community to give back to a place that really cares.
... read the full comment by Bia | Comment on El Buen Pastor celebrates 34 years with fund-raising gala Read El Buen Pastor celebrates 34 years with fund-raising gala
See more recent comments