This week I had the opportunity to sit down and lunch with Sylvia Puente, Executive Director of Latino Policy Forum, at the Park City Grill in beautiful Millennium Park. We took a moment for ourselves and over iced tea reflected how hectic the year has been.  Slowing down requires extra effort to squeeze it into busy schedules and sometimes you need to bring everything to a screeching halt to maintain your sanity.

If you are a hyper-busy Latina what do you do to catch your breath?

Speaking of Latinas that are on a roll…

• Performance artist Jenny Priego is getting ready for Adelita Pata de Perro on Saturday, September 11 at the Carlos & Dominguez Gallery in Pilsen and YOU’RE INVITED! Read more…

• Knitting goddess Thelma Uranga and el Stitch y Bitch crew will debut their Día de los Muertos altar at the National Museum of Mexican Art on Friday, September 10.

A voting initiative we came across that we really like is Mujeres Latinas en Acción is now part of a project to register and mobilize new citizen voters. They  are also reaching out to young women through Proyecto Juventud to educate girls about the history of women’s struggle to vote, the voting process and how they can make a difference in their communities when they are of voting age.  Voting is a luxury. Make sure during the next elections that you and your comadres head to the polls.

Other Latinas on the move include:

• Blogger Veronica Arreola (Viva La Feminista) who is seeking guest blog posts for Summer of Feminista!

• Playwright Yolanda Nieves has a new show coming up called Bless Me Madrina opening this month.
• The National Endowment for the Arts announced grants of $20k each to five theaters for work on promising new plays with potential to receive full productions. The five included About Face Theater in Chicago for Tanya Saracho’s “Albert Cashier Project”.

Our prayers and good vibes are with 24-year-old Gabriela Cedillo from the Little Village neighborhood. She was an extra in the filming of Transformers 3 when she was hit in the head while filming the scene in Hammond, Indiana. She is listed in critical but stable condition at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

Remember to tell your hermanas and comadres about Proyecto Latina! You can follow us on Twitter @proyectolatina or sign up for the RSS feed.

As always we are open to story ideas or if you come across news stories about Latinas email us the link at info@proyectolatina.org

Winner of last Sunday’s book raffle for Odalisque in Pieces is Emmanuel Garcia.  (In case you’re wondering I used this nifty tool to pick our winner.)

Someone decided to try and  figure us out–I hope they listen, I mean really listen. Training program director at Radio Arte, Adriana Gallardo is one of three Latino media entrepreneurs that is tapped to demystify the media preferences of the complex Latino audience.  Get a brief scope of Chicago news and events sites,  “Latino indie list” compiled earlier this summer by Gaper’s Block, that happens to include yours truly.

Photo Credit: Yolanda Cardenas M.D.

A recent Domingo Newsbytes pointed out that the Association of American Medical Colleges states there aren’t enough Latino doctors for the growing Latino population in the U.S. Only 6% of medical students are Latino.

As a Latina physician, this wasn’t earth-shattering news to me.   I didn’t encounter many Latino students during my medical training.  I was 1 of 5 Latinos in my class at medical school.  When I finished my residency training, I began to meet more Latino physicians.   This was mainly because of where I chose to practice medicine.

I’ve worked in clinics, which provide medical care to the under-served, uninsured, under-insured and predominantly Spanish speaking populations.  I started to wonder why things haven’t changed much in the last 10 years.  A couple of weeks ago, I also saw another article, which stated that Latinos are less likely to attend 4-year universities.  Latinos tend to attend community colleges.   I think that this trend coupled with a fear of debt is two of the main reasons for the shortage of Latino physicians.    To become a physician, you have to obtain a university degree in order to apply to medical schools.   Not applying to university or choosing not to attend a university is an obstacle towards obtaining a medical degree.

Unfortunately, the problem starts before the university.   Large numbers of Latinos are still dropping out of high school.   No high school diploma means no university degree and no medical degree.  We have to continue stressing the importance of education to our Latino youth.   Excelling in high school is vital for increasing one’s opportunity for scholarships and acceptance to top-notch university programs.

Finances still play a key role in not only attending a university but also in choosing medicine as a career.   I have seen several people decline universities’ offers of admission because they can’t afford the tuition and fees.  Some students (and their parents) are afraid to take out educational loans and decide to attend community colleges because of their cheaper tuition.  Other students take a leave of absence from school in order to work and fund their university expenses.  But this stop and go approach towards a bachelor’s degree can become frustrating and result in dropping out of university.  Medical school is expensive. There are few opportunities for scholarships at this level of education.   If you are serious about becoming a physician, it’s a fact that you will have a monstrous debt when you graduate from medical school.

What we have to realize is that our education is an investment.    For the most part, I avoided student loans at my university but I knew that wouldn’t be the case in medical college.   There was no way my father could afford sending two daughters to medical college.  I’m still paying off my medical school loans.  Do I wish I didn’t have that debt?  Yes, but my investment has paid off.    I am in an honorable profession that teaches me about the human body but most importantly continues to teach me about the human spirit.   One of the things I never expected was that medicine would inspire my art.

Instead of being polar opposites, these two worlds are harmonizing in me.

Nuestra gente needs and wants more Latino physicians.  If you have a love of science and humanity and want to join me in this amazing profession, my advice is always give 100% at school, put aside your fears and make that investment.

© Contents of this site are Copyright 2010 by PROYECTO LATINA. 

Photo via MeanlittleBumbleBee

We had a fantastic Proyecto Latina this past week at Catedral Café featuring guest curator Sandra Treviño who decided to spotlight some Latina artists she was very excited about including:  Elizabeth Colin of Grupo Atroz, Mariel “La Gitana” Zavala, the women of bomba group Buya.  For a full recap we encourage you to read MeanLittleBumbleBee’s blog.

Next month, in light of a special program, we are having an opening night for our first featured visual artists–also our first featured artists via an art exhibit– we will be deviating from our normal Monday night schedule and hanging out on the weekend instead!  So mark your calendars and come out to join us.

Date:  Saturday, September 11, 2010
Why:  Jenny Priego presents Adelita Pata de Perro
Where:  Carlos and Dominguez Fine Art Gallery, 1538 W. Cullerton St.
Get the full scoop here…

I’m working on a piece about anchor babies and it’s made me reflect on moms, fertility and how women of color are often criminalized for it. Michelle Chen, a writer, for Colorlines decided to explore this when she wrote The Right’s Long, Racist History of Calling Moms Criminals .

Also, this week the Southern Poverty Law Center today filed a federal lawsuit against Mississippi authorities who took a newborn baby from a Mexican immigrant mother Baltazar Cruz. Apparently the reason they took the child was because Cruz speaks limited Spanish and virtually no English but she does speaks Chatino, an indigenous language in Mexico.  Turns out that the child was placed with a white couple  and since then Cruz has finally been able to get her child back.

Why is there more focus on stigmatizing Latinas and pregnancy than empowering Latinas to manage their fertility? asks Silvia Henriquez, Executive Director of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. In her write up Latinas and the High Cost of Birth Control she calls for more affordable access to birth control.

Moving on to Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) released a study on Latina bloggers. The report looks like an interesting read so download it today and check out the latest trends in Latina Bloggers!

On a personal note FELICIDADES to the beautiful bride and Proyecto Latina contributor Ericka Sanchez! Yesterday she got married,  we wish her lots of happiness with her new hubby!

Lastly, a little special something for your two cents this Sunday. Anyone leaving a comment on this Domingo Newsbytes post will be  entered in a raffle for a free book.  Its a new title by University of Arizona Press, and debut poetry collection by Carmen Giménez Smith, Odalisque in Pieces.

When leaving your comment make sure to leave a way (email/link to a blog) to contact you in case you win.  Raffle will close on Friday, August 28th, 2010 at 11:59 p.m.  Winner will be announced in next week’s Domingo Newsbytes.

We invite you to join us for  Adelita Pata de Perro by Jenny Priego in celebration of the 2010 Mexican Bicentennial.

OPENING RECEPTION

Saturday, September 11, 2010 from 6PM to 10PM – FREE

CARLOS & DOMINGUEZ FINE ARTS Gallery
Arts of the Americas
1538 W. Cullerton St.
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Questions about this event? Contact Diana Pando, info@proyectolatina.org

About the Artist:
Jenny Priego is a visual and performance artist who draws inspiration from her existence as a feminine being. She uses several forms of media to interpret her self exploration, such as technology, her body, voice and formal fine art technique.

Adelita Pata  de Perro is an ongoing project  based on the Mexican Revolution’s soldaderas.  Priego sees the early 20th century rifle-toting revolutionary as a 21st century Wonder Woman breaking borders throughout the planet.  Using herself to represent this image she intervenes in world spaces from posing at the Royal Palace of Bangkok, Eiffel Tower, and the Coliseum, among others.

The spirit, courage and strength that embodies Adelita lives on in the many women that impact their community through the arts and beyond in Chicago. Proyecto Latina wanted to create an event that amplifies the voices and spirit of those women that fought in the Mexican revolution and the new generation of Latina women in Chicago that are making strides and impacting the city of Chicago.

Free and Open to the public. Q&A with artist Jenny Priego accompanied by an open mic of local writers and poets on the theme of what it means to be a modern day Adelita.

Mil gracias to our Venue Sponsor:

many thanks also to our Madrinas de Vino: Chicago Foundation For Women’s Latina Leadership Council.

© Contents of this site are Copyright 2010 by PROYECTO LATINA. 

Sandra is our first guest curator for our monthly reading series.  I can’t wait to see what has in store for us tomorrow.  Hope to see you there.

I’m going to get a head start on the chisme this week and let you know that:

This week Ragdale announced the recipients of its 3Arts Fellowships for 2010, and one is Proyecto Latina’s very own Coya Paz! Two fellowships were granted in each of the areas of music, theater, and visual arts to Chicago artists,  Fellowships at Ragdale include two weeks of residency, uninterrupted time and space, and a $700 stipend. No excuses now for not bringing new material to the open mic!

Cynthia Nambo hugs a graduate from the class of 2010 at Little Village/Lawndale High School.

I’m still super bummed that the Little Village/Lawndale High School in my neighborhood lost four of its administrators as a result of budget cuts.  Before leaving her post as vice principal, Cynthia Nambo–also one of many key players in the creation of the community designed  school–finally got to attend graduating ceremonies.  She describes hugging a graduate from the school, a dream come true.  As for life after her post at the high school, Cynthia says:

“Turned this budget cut into triumph! Now as Instructional Coach in Area 21, I am ready to create authentic relationships with teachers in North Lawndale, Hyde Park, and the North Side of Chicago. I will be giving teachers the focused support they need to grow exponentially and with vigor. In addition, I was accepted to the School Leadership Program at the University of Chicago. This model is innovative and sustainable. It’s focus is to improve neighborhood schools through training highly effective interdisciplinary administrative teams. Whew that was a mouthful! Most leadership programs train individuals not teams. Both of these endeavors will build my capacity to serve our teachers, our students, our families, and our communities to reach new levels of excellence! Educacion es mi pasion.”

In the news

• For some time now, I’ve been wondering about the lack of Latinas on these day-time talk shows, Esther breaks it down very eloquently as she calls Obama on it and makes a call for Latinas on tv.  And by a look at the women mentioned in this post so far, there is no lack of a qualified person to fill the spot. Maybe someone in tv-land needs to note how Today’s Chicago Woman did it when they recognized a very diverse group of Six Women Changing the World, including Mayra Garcia Guzman, general manager at Chicago Transit Authority for Diversity and Small Business Compliance Programs Department.

• Veronica Arreola launched Summer of Feminista back in June, an experiment on her blog that invited Latinas to address their relationship with feminism through a written submission.  Although, she is still accepting submissions, she posted a summary quoting the best-of what the submissions have turned up so far at Ms. Magazine.  Arreola writes, “A central theme emerged in these six tales: All these women had other strong women in their lives guiding them. Even if those women role models said one thing and did another, the message to be self-reliant shone through.”
• Last Spring, we shared this interview with blogger, Cindy Mosqueda who decided to interview her grandfather and father when the Story Corps bus arrived to her city.  This week an excerpt from the interview with her father was aired on NPR.  Listen to the story of her grandfather un sobador dedicated to easing others’ pain.
• Finally, last but not least the benefits of going to school and pursuing a higher education are sometimes a little less obvious and unexpected.  Students are spared amid an increase in deportations. My personal wish is that the use of that pesky and loaded word illegal be diminished in these news stories.

Have a wonderful week! See you at Proyecto Latina on Monday!

“When I grow up I want to be a classical violin player,” Sandra Treviño, 38, quotes her younger self.

As a young girl in Houston she always knew she wanted to work with music and it has always been a part of her life.  She would go into her room, turn on the radio and listen to two types of music: heavy metal and classical.  She eventually learned to play the violin and participated in her school orchestra for many years.  More recently she’s expressed interest in picking up the accordion.  A band member of the music group she manages, Descarga, offered to let her borrow the one he owns.  So, Sandra has been looking online for instructions on the accordion, from the proper way to pick it up to playing it.

Her Texas childhood also included a very religious upbringing.  When she was a teen the tasks of the sound engineer at her church caught her attention.  She asked church officials if she could help out with those duties, she was informed that only males were allowed to do that job.

“I knew I could do it better,” she explains.  She was persistent and continued to ask about it.  Eventually, a council of church elders came to her home to explain the church policy and warn her about her insubordination.

She decided not to return to church with her parents, instead she began exploring life beyond church regulated music and books and embarked on a journey that eventually led her back to Chicago, the city where she was born.  It was the impetus to her present vocation to music, something she works and sacrifices hard for despite parent disapproval.

That wouldn’t be the last of the resistance she encountered.   On a completely unrelated note she shares the story about managing a station for Autobuses Tornado back in Houston.  She was told to learn to drive a bus just in case there was an emergency one day.  Then the day came that she had to get behind the wheel, and as the passengers boarded the bus the Mexican men began asking, “Who are you?”

“The bus driver,” She responded.   Some of the men made a big fuss about it and ultimately they decided to get off.  She still drove the bus on its scheduled trip from Houston to San Antonio.

******

Upon arriving to the Windy City, Sandra started attending local underground concerts.   She was so impressed with local band Descarga that she was moved to create a fan page.

Sandra Treviño is the Proyecto Latina feature for August 2010.

Band leader, Hector Garcia says, “her fan page was cooler than the one we created for ourselves.” Impressed with her initiative Hector decided to ask Sandra if she would manage the band.

“I told him, I didn’t know anything about managing bands,” Sandra remembers. “He said, neither do I, but we’ll learn together.”

Hector gave Sandra a few names and numbers with instructions on how to get started but it wasn’t until she attended the first band meeting at the old Earwax Café and she heard the band members discussing their agenda and goals that it sunk in.

Hector describes what followed next, like a domino effect, the way managing a band led to producing two television shows and the website, Enchufate.com.  The band couldn’t get air time because there was no television coverage for local Latin alternative bands. Hector put his background in video and film to work and decided, why not create their own show and thus, Errores no Eliminados or ENE was born.

Hector recalls the first episode, “The audio was horrible, the images were bad, but we were the only ones out there–at these local shows– with a video camera.” He also didn’t think twice about teaching Sandra how to plug-in sound equipment or record and edit video.

“I learned how to edit, record, set up sound. When you’re involved in this business you should know how to set up sound systems, cables, lighting,” says Sandra.

For Hector it was about being practical, “If I’m not available you need to know how to edit.  It was about having a more informed team.”

Long gone were the days of exclusive church rules or doubtful male passengers.  Sandra was knee deep in the music world, her hands full with an appointment book, a growing list of contacts,cables and wires that needed to be kept untangled and properly connected. She also began finding herself in front of the camera with a microphone in hand interviewing local acts and later snagging interviews with international bands and singers.

And while she enjoys interviewing musicians because she likes to get to know more about them, she reveals one very surprising fact, “Video and editing is not my forte, I do it, and I don’t mind doing it but it’s not me—I’d rather write.”

She prefers to write longhand and pens poetry and journals about what’s going on around her.  She feels, “Everyone should be keeping a history of what’s going on.”  Her current dilemma is balancing how much to reveal in a book she’s writing about the Latin Alternative music scene in Chicago for the last ten years.  Sandra says, she’s got a lot of stories and has seen a lot in that time.   She expects to have a completed manuscript by the Summer of 2011.

******

After working with Sandra for over ten years Hector learned that, “she puts a magnifying glass on some things others wouldn’t notice.”  She has also kept him accountable, asking about tasks and pushing him and goes on to quote her, “If you say you want something you don’t stop until you get it. You try again tomorrow.”

Sandra says, this attitude got her backlash from the music community, “When I first started I was attacked for asking questions. Now, I don’t care if people don’t like or disapprove of what I’m doing.”

Stephanie Celis, a 19 year-old college student, had a different take on Sandra’s work when she approached her and inquired about an internship with Enchufate and ENE.  “She’s very organized she knows how to execute events.”   One of Stephanie’s first lessons was to always carry a notepad for notes and impromptu interviews if the opportunity presented itself.

Something else Sandra feels passionate about, “I think it’s important that we support each other. We, as mujeres and as people working in a field that is not lucrative and that’s about passion should support each other more.  If I know there’s an opportunity I am the first to knock but I leave the door open so you can follow me in.”

Sandra Treviños is the Proyecto Latina feature and first guest curator on Monday, August 16, 2010–event details and complete bio.

Photo credit: Lea Nuñez

On Friday I strolled over to the Tejer y Poder showcase put together by students of the six-week program led by our very own Irasema Gonzalez and Thelma Uranga at at Dvorak Park in the Pilsen neighborhood. The program consisted of 30 students, both teenage girls and boys, coming together to learn to knit, crochet, and work collectively on fiber arts and learn that both can be used a form of art and protest. I was blown away by the effort the students put into their projects.

It made me reflect on the wonderful things that happen when you give kids an opportunity to put their creative skills to use.  In a time when jobs for youth are scarce this creative After School Matters program gave these students an opportunity to gain new creative skills, empowerment and let them tell their stories through an array of colorful yarn.

We are super excited to hear that Café Magazine is planning to do a story on Thelma Uranga ( photographer, knitting expert, Stitchy Bitch Organizer and Proyecto Latina Team Member).  We first did an interview with Thelma in November of 2009 and we are happy to see other local media getting hip to the awesome work she and the Stich y Bitch are doing.  They are knitting a whole Día de los Muertos Alter for the National Museum of Mexican Art exhibit in September. Imagine knitting a whole altar!

Also, we welcome Sandra Treviño, our first guest curator, for Proyecto Latina this month. Join us on  Monday, August 16th @ 7pm, we are back at Cafe Catedral in Little Village.  Sandra has some musical surprises that are going to take the stage–we will be posting more information on them later this week so check back soon.

And now to Latinas in the news this week…In 2012 my niece is turning 15 and she is considering having a Quinceñera. I’ve already started saving my pennie–just in case or maybe I should consider the Quinceñera contest sponsored by Verizon. I confess I have no idea why folks need to spend $45,000.00 on a Quinceñera.  In my opinion, while Quinceñera’s are a wonderful part of our culture the focus needs to be on education not a $45,000 Quinceñera. Latina high school students can barely make it out of high school!

Maybe, Verizon can create a $45,000.00 fund for education or a program that deters teenage Latinas from committing suicide. Our friend Reyna Amaya over at Gozamos wrote a piece Too Young To Die on the recent spike of Latina teen suicides in our communities. A few months ago we posted some resources for Latinas in case you know of a young Latina who is struggling please share them with others.

And a truly sad story to come across is that of women in Guanajuato Mexico that are in desperate need of resources, advocates and a healthy dose of justice–there are several serving sentences of 25 to 30 years. Their crime: they are convicted of homicide for having abortions.

And finally, an opportunity: The Fire this Time Fund is now accepting applications for funding! Open to Chicago artists, educators and organizers seeking modest support for their creative social change projects APPLY TODAY!

The Fire This Time Fund is Proyecto Latina’s first funder and we thank them for taking the leap of faith. Their funding has impacted our growth and our ability to pay our features and maintain our website.

Have a comment or thought on this week’s Domingo Newsbytes? Let us know we’d love to hear from you. Just drop us a line in the comment section!

While I navigated a huge dusty yard of impounded cars, in my brand new sandals, trying to recover my vehicle, Diana was at the California Clipper posing a very important question, “How many of you have attended a literary event in Little Village, Back of the Yards or Pilsen?”  She tells me no one raised their hand.  I so wish I had been there to be part of the discussion.

But Diana did bring back a very important resource to share with all you poetas out there:  Dancing Girl Press is not only an amazing initiative they also  publish 10-20 chapbooks per year.  Submission guidelines are here, the deadline is August 30th.

There seems to be a business and work theme in the news this week:

image via brownsvilleherald.com

• In Texas, Latina Hope, awards start-up grants to help women launch their home-based businesses by turning hobbies into micro-enterprises.  One of the challenges is teaching the women to value their work and time.
• Melanie Edwards is a blogging Latina mother at modernmami.com, she’s about to launch a website to connect brands with Latina bloggers.  She opens up about the business of blogging in an interview here.
• Avatars to Help Latina Girls Say ‘No’ to Sex My two cents: There is something creepy about the picture attached to this announcement.  And I’m sensing a deep disconnect here.  I feel our girls need a lot more than a video games to stay out of trouble.  Am I ever conflicted about this one.
• Over at the Chicago Sun-Times, Esther Cepeda tackles the issue of diversity in the workplace and hiring based on merit.  There’s skepticism over Mayor Daley’s most recent consideration for chief education officer at CPS.

Finally, some shameless self-promotion: I’ve shared in the previous weeks that Thelma Uranga and me are instructing a six week ASM program, Tejer y Poder at Pros Arts Studio.  Its been an amazing and unique experience, and a privilege to work with 30 talented youth in teaching them knitting and crochet skills as well as encouraging them to take creative risks.  Our final showcase is scheduled for Friday, August 6th, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Dvorak Park–its free and open to the community.  You can find event details here, in the days leading up to the final showcase students will be posting interviews with family and community members that knit/crochet.