Friday, May 6, 2011

Mahandas Gandhi ..."Be the Change"...










"Be the change that you want to see in the world."

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow."

"Learn as if you were to live forever."

-- Mohandas Gandhi


Friday, April 22, 2011

Carlos Fuentes: A Master Mind

ARRP VIVA posted an excellent article and video on the life of Carlos Fuentes. It's worth sharing. Here is the link: Mexican Novelist Carlos Fuentes: A Master Mind — AARP VIVA http://t.co/BIRlxJV


Friday, February 18, 2011

Indiana Compact

The Alliance for Immigration Reform in Indiana (AIRI) has issued “The Indiana Compact” to Guide Rational Debate on Immigration Policy. Check out the new website at: http://indianacompact.com/

Monday, October 4, 2010

The Longoria Affair on PBS November 9

Felix Longoria
pictured on the left.




The Longoria Affair premieres on the PBS Series Independent Lens on Tuesday, November 9, 2010. Check for local listings.

This is the “story of a little-known Texas incident that helped launch a civil rights movement and changed the lives of millions.” For the story go here.

The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature

In a recent article in the Huffington Post, Joshua Kors writes about the newly released publication of The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature edited by Ilan Stavans. Full story here.

I am eager to read The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature to see how Ilan Stavans merges Spanish and Latin American literature into the frame of Latino literature -- perhaps it’s by redefining it.

Related links:


Univisión: Antología de literatura hispana en EEUU incluye "spanglish"

The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature

Overview of contents of The Norton Anthology Latino Literature

Friday, September 24, 2010

Francsico Mena Ugarte Speaks in Indianapolis Sept. 26

Francisco Mena Ugarte, coordinator for Christians for Peace in El Salvador, and a witness to the many horrors of a conflict that took 75,000 lives from 1980 to 1992, will make a special presentation in Indianapolis on Sunday, Sept. 26, 5 p.m., at St. Mary’s Catholic Church parish hall, 317 North New Jersey Street, Indianapolis, IN.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Campecine Film Festival 2010, September 24 and 25

Campecine Film Festival
Friday, 09/24/2010 7:00 P.M.
Saturday, 09/25/2010 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Indianapolis Museum of Art
4000 N. Michigan Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46208
Event phone: 317-923-1331
Event web site: www.imamuseum.org/

The Latino/a Youth Collective (LYC) holds its Campecine Film Festival on Saturday, September 25 from 1-4 p.m. at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (4000 Michigan Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46208). The festival will feature youth-produced short films exploring poignant social issues such as gender roles, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, immigration reform and sexual identity. Additionally, the festival will include a special screening of Follow Me Home, an award winning film exploring race and identity; the screening will take place on Friday, September 24 at 7 p.m. with introduction and Q&A by director Peter Bratt and actor Jesse Borrego.

Please note the dates and times for Campecine this year are as follows:

7pm on Friday, September 24: http://www.imamuseum.org/film/follow-me-home-filmmaker-peter-bratt

1pm-4pm on Saturday, September 25: http://www.imamuseum.org/film/campecine-film-festival

About the Latino/a Youth Collective: LYC is a volunteer-led organization with the mission to provide resources and opportunities for youth to engage in personal and community development through critical pedagogy, grassroots organizing, and collective action. Our programs include Campecine Film Festival and Campecine Youth Academy in partnership with FIRME.

Cardenas Collection Puts Faces on Immigration Issue

... Cardenas asked his audience to “imagine you are coming here [from Mexico] to work in the underground mode—through an underground system dependent on illegal behavior and violence, through a system you don’t want but is your only way to work.” ... The discussion connected art with immigration at Wabash College. Full story here.

Midwest Premiere of When the Dead Cry (Cuando Los Muertos Lloran)

The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis announces the Midwest Premiere of When the Dead Cry (Cuando Los Muertos Lloran). Conceived and written by former IPS Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas, this multi-media one-woman show is brought to life through narration, photos, video and both live and recorded music, opening Thursday, September 23 in the Frank and Katrina Basile Theatre at the Phoenix and playing for four performances that weekend.

Read more here.

Source: Broadwayworld.com

Saturday, September 18, 2010

"For justice, for human rights, for the economy, for America, please, help us pass the DREAM Act”

Gaby Pacheco
"It's been over two months since Latina Lista joined with Citizen Orange and America's Voice to elevate the voices of undocumented students who are fighting to be recognized as Americans, writes Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista.

…”In this last letter," Treviño writes, " we learn of an extraordinary young woman, Gaby Pacheco, who illustrates why this country would be on the losing end if she was not allowed to become an American citizen."

For full story here.

Action on DREAM Act







Take Action on the DREAM Act Now. Go to DREAM Activist.org to learn more here. DREAM Activist.org main page.


Update: DREAM Activist.org: DREAM Act Recap and What’s Next

DREAM Act of 2010 http://bit.ly/bAxL0X // Bill text

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Fiesta Indianapolis - September 18

(Indianapolis) Join La Plaza for its 30th Fiesta Indianapolis, Saturday, September 18 at the American Legion Mall (downtown Indianapolis, Meridian and North Streets) from noon to midnight. For more information, contact La Plaza

Thursday, September 2, 2010

U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade

September 1, 2010

The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants to the United States was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005, according to new estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

This sharp decline has contributed to an overall reduction of 8% in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the U.S.-to 11.1 million in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million in March 2007, according to the estimates. The decrease represents the first significant reversal in the growth of this population over the past two decades.

These new Pew Hispanic Center estimates rely on data mainly from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and decennial census. The unauthorized immigrant population is estimated using the widely accepted residual method, in which a demographic estimate of the legal foreign-born population is subtracted from the total foreign-born population. The difference provides the basis for estimating the size and characteristics of the unauthorized immigrant population.

The Pew Hispanic Center's analysis also finds that the most marked decline in the population of unauthorized immigrants has been among those who come from Latin American countries other than Mexico. From 2007 to 2009, the size of this group from the Caribbean, Central America and South America decreased 22%.

The recent decrease in the unauthorized population has been especially notable along the nation's Southeast coast and in its Mountain West, according to the new estimates. The number of unauthorized immigrants in Florida, Nevada and Virginia shrank from 2008 to 2009. Other states may have had declines, but they fell within the margin of error for these estimates.

Not counting Florida and Virginia, the unauthorized immigrant population also declined in the area encompassing the rest of the South Atlantic division that extends between Delaware and Georgia. In addition to the decline in Nevada, three other Mountain states-Arizona, Colorado and Utah-experienced a decrease in their combined unauthorized immigrant population from 2008 to 2009.

The report, "U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade," authored by Jeffrey Passel, Senior Demographer, Pew Hispanic Center, and D'Vera Cohn, Senior Writer, Pew Research Center, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
___
Related Articles:

The Atlantic: Illegal Immigration Has Declined: Why?

Washington Post: Pew: Illegal immigration down by two-thirds

Washington Post: Illegal immigration to U.S. down almost 67% since 2000, report says

New York Times: Number of Illegal Immigrants in U.S. Fell, Study Says

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Operation Unity

Operation unity: opposition through action
Friday, August 20th 2010
Indianapolis City Market – 5:30 P.M.

Operation Unity will be a protest against anti-immigrant activities and a celebration of the diversity that makes Indiana a vibrant state. The celebration is free and open to the public and will feature music, speakers and food. It will be held downtown at the Indianapolis City Market on August 20th 2010 at 5:30 p.m.

Related Articles:

WRTV6: TheindyChannel.com: Visit from Divisive Arizona Sheriff Draws Ire

WISH TV: “Sheriff Joe” is coming to town

Fiesta Michiana

Fiesta Michiana Celebration of Latino Culture!
La Casa de Amistad

August 21 & 22, 2010 12:00pm - 11:00pm
St. Joseph County 4-H fairgrounds in South Bend, Indiana

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Unauthorized Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children

August 11, 2010

An estimated 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the United States in 2008 were the offspring of unauthorized immigrants, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

Unauthorized immigrants comprise slightly more than 4% of the adult population of the U.S., but because they are relatively young and have high birthrates, their children make up a much larger share of both the newborn population (8%) and the child population (7% of those younger than age 18) in this country.

These figures are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's March 2009 Current Population Survey, augmented with the Pew Hispanic Center's analysis of the demographic characteristics of the unauthorized immigrant population using a "residual estimation methodology" it has employed for the past five years.

The new Pew Hispanic analysis also finds that nearly four-in-five (79%) of the 5.1 million children (younger than age 18) of unauthorized immigrants were born in this country and therefore are U.S. citizens. In total, 4 million U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrant parents resided in this country in 2009, alongside 1.1 million foreign-born children of unauthorized immigrant parents.

The report, "Unauthorized Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children" authored by Jeffrey S. Passel, Senior Demographer, Pew Hispanic Center, and Paul Taylor, Director, Pew Hispanic Center, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, http://www.pewhispanic.org/.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Source: Pew Hispanic Center

Related Articles:

Immigration Policy Center: Defending Birthright Citizenship

CNN: 14th Amendment is key to the American experiment

New York Times: Births to Illegal Immigrants Are Studied

The Atlantic: Study: 8 Percent of Babies Born to Illegal Immigrants

USA Today: U.S. sees rise in children born to illegal immigrants

USA Today: Where do They Live?

Friday, July 30, 2010

The Latino Digital Divide: The Native Born Lead the Foreign Born

July 28, 2010

When it comes to the use of technology among Latinos, nativity plays an important role. Internet use and cell phone use are much higher among native-born Latinos than among foreign-born Latinos. And among young Latinos ages 16 to 25, the native born are more likely than the foreign born to use mobile technology to communicate daily with their friends. These findings emerge from two new analyses of a nationwide survey of Latinos ages 16 and older by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

Fully 85% of native-born Latinos go online while just half of foreign-born Latinos do so. And when it comes to cell phone use among Latinos, 80% of the native born use one, compared with 72% of the foreign born. Results also reveal that use of a cell phone or the internet among adult Hispanics still significantly lags behind non-Hispanics. Among those ages 18 and older, only 64% of Latinos go online, compared with 78% of non-Latinos. An ethnic gap exists in cell phone use as well--about three-fourths (76%) of adult Latinos use a cell phone, compared with 86% of non-Latinos. These findings are in the "The Latino Digital Divide: The Native Born versus The Foreign Born" report.

A second report that focuses on Latino youth, "How Young Latinos Communicate with Friends in the Digital Age," finds that Latinos ages 16 to 25 use mobile technology to communicate and socialize with their friends more than other technologies. However, the native born are far more likely than the foreign born to send texts (65% versus 26%) and to use a cell phone (55% versus 29%) to communicate daily with their friends.

Both reports are based on the 2009 National Survey of Latinos, which was conducted from August 5 through September 16, 2009 among a randomly selected, nationally representative sample of 2,012 Hispanics ages 16 and older. The survey was conducted in both English and Spanish, on cellular as well as landline telephones.

Hispanics are the nation's largest and youngest minority ethnic group. In 2008, there were 46.9 million Hispanics in the U.S., representing 15.4% of the total U.S. population. Among young people, Hispanics represent an even larger share. Some 18%, or 7.5 million, of those ages 16 to 25 are Hispanic.

The reports, "The Latino Digital Divide: The Native Born versus The Foreign Born" authored by Gretchen Livingston, Senior Researcher, Pew Hispanic Center, and "How Young Latinos Communicate with Friends in the Digital Age" authored by Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center and Gretchen Livingston, are available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, http://www.pewhispanic.org/.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Source: Pew Hispanic Center 7-28-10

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Amid Arizona immigration protests, a new generation dreams of the Dream Act

Another recent article that caught my attention was an article by Marjorie Valbrun, journalist and senior writer at America's Voice, titled “Amid Arizona immigration protests, a new generation dreams of the Dream Act,” published in the Washington Post.

“Among the 10,000 or so protesters," Valbrun writes, "who gathered in front of the state Capitol here last weekend under a scorching sun, one group stood out. Despite the heat, they wore graduation caps and gowns in shiny royal blue and sunburst yellow.”

“They were graduates of American colleges, young people who mostly grew up in the United States , accidental Americans who just happen to be living here illegally.”

Valbrun writes a powerful piece. Definitely a recommended read. Click here for the complete story.

Student Immigrants Use Civil Rights-Era Strategies

In an article for the Associated Press, ”Student Immigrants Use Civil Rights-Era Strategies,” Russell Contreras provides insights on today’s activism by immigrant students. “Students fighting laws that target illegal immigrants," writes Contreras, "are taking a page from the civil rights era, adopting tactics and gathering praise and momentum from the demonstrators who marched in the streets and sat at segregated lunch counters as they sought to turn the public tide against racial segregation.”

This is an excellent article. Read complete story. Click here.