Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1983)
Portland Obaerve»r, November 2, 1983 Page 3 METROPOLITAN I ¿unáfrtíne Centro Cultural serves Chicano community by Catherine Setgner Centro C ultural In Cornelius, Oregon, hat won a $3,000 gran from the United Church of C h ris fi Office for Church in Society to es tablish an Hispanic and Anglo women's arts and crafts cooperative through Ccntro’a "V erinas Unidas” project (Neighbor Women United), The project was one o f nine funded Of a total o f SO proposals and the only West Coast project funded. : Natasha Beck, 32, a community organizer and women's studies in structor, is coordinator o f the pro ject, which is headquartered at the distinctive Centro building along with the Petra Perez Senior Center, the Virginia Garcia Health Clinic across the street, and a branch o f Oregon Hum an Development C o r poration (a jo b training program for Spanish-speaking peoples). The Centro is a non-profit organi zation formed about 10 years ago to serve the growing Spanish-speaking population o f rural Washington County by providing social, medical and economic assistance. Along with the Verinas Unidas project, it provides a place for low-income people to have a free lunch, to ob tain health checkups and medical help, and perhaps most im portant, a gathering place to enjoy the com pany o f other Spanish-speaking people. The O ffice for Church in Socie t y ’s goal o f helping form coalitions of church women, low-income women, m inority women and women’s movement groups fits in* well with the purpose o f Verinas Unidas, said Ms. Beck. Its name was originally chosen in formation meetings o f the group’s board mem bers to reflect the "d ifferent types of women working together— low-in come, Anglo and Latina, Church and com m unity,’ ’ she said. The original grant proposal seek ing funding for the project was w rit ten by Robin A a b e rj o f Hillsboro, who had worked earlier at Centro on a bilingual newsletter, £ / G ritp D el Barrio (" T o w n C rier” ). W hen the Church’s grant came through, it was only h alf o f the orig inal $10,000 proposal, said Ms. Beck, so she was hired half-tim e starting last July. Her first efforts were to put together a mailing list and telephone contact list o f those Spanish-speaking women who might be interested in forming the arts and crafts cooperative. She works approximately 20 hours per week, with some assistance from a Pacific University student intern. A local woman and law student, Enedclia Hernandez, helped with the contacts, but the project was waylaid by the big celebration Sep tember 17 o f Mexican Independence Day. The women's project pro duced a leaflet and had a booth at the festival, however, and interests slowly started increasing. M any o f the potential co-op members were busy working as m i grants in the summer. " T h a t’s tradi tionally a hard time to start new projects,” Ms. Beck explained. O n October 8, Verinas Unidas put together a gathering for women to contribute their ideas for the co operative. " W e plan to set up a co op for each person to have a vote and a share, decide what to produce and to share the pro fits,” Ms. Beck said. " M o a t interest was in sewing and embroidery w o rk .” Ms. Beck acknowledges income from the project "probably w on’t be enough to support people,” but looks for progress to be made in the women working together on a com- A Large SunShine Canadian Bacon Pizza for $5.99? Y U M ! Centro Cultural's distinctive building In Cornal- lus, Oragon, opanad In February. 1883 arid w ai^ mada possible by MOO.000 In Community Develop* mant Block Qrant funds. It hous •a tha Vecinas mon goal. Financial concerns are consider able among most Spanish-speaking people in Washington County, Beck rioted. M any are migrant or cannery workers who may earn a good sal-. ary, but usually for only a lim ited* time, leaving them without a steady income the rest o f thé, year. Their average fam ily in c o m e s well below the poverty level and the number in the fam ily to »apport is often large Unidaa project; a Food Bank; the Petra Paraz Senior Cantar, and a branch of Oragon Human Da felopment Corporation. (Photo: Michal Thqpipaon) their work. , Now , however, the group (Artis- tas Indigena, a Pan American Women's A rt Association fow So cial Change) has an ethnic art show currently on display in Portland un til November 18 at Six Directions Gallery. 828 N .W . 23rd. It is titled *'Grandm other M oon: W om en’ s Vision Through W om en’s Hands,” and runs through November 18th. W om en’s .Heritage Calendar^ as a “ unique, multi-cultural g ift” de scribing the contributions women have made to our collective history. ♦ i Ms. Beck has learned women's cooperative arts projects take time. She visited a Native American arts association in W arm Springs, Ore gon, in September, and found that group had to go door-to-door to gain support and encouragement for (average fam ily size is 4.74 persons). M any families are headed by a sin gle parent and average education level is the sixth grade. . There are also cultural biases in-r volved in getting a women's cooper-, ative o ff the ground, Beck said, al though this is mitigated somewhatt L H I1 C I1 . by the fact that many o f the W women, » ime andj already work outside the home ■y trad i-L that arts and crafts are very (ional aspects o f so-called “ worn-. en's w o rk .” Ms. Bnng this coupon to any participating SunShine Pizza Exchange and en(6y a large Canadian Bacon Pizza at a sizzlingly low $5 9 9 Add $1 for-pineapple or tomatoes No substitutions (Our large "Hawaiian Fbrker" normally costs $11 40 you save $4 41') IN -S T O R E O N LY. Take Outs, Bake At Hom e. Pizza Shares, discount coupons and other promotional offers excluded Expiration Date 1 1 /8 /8 3 S u n S h in e pizza E xchange Union Square JOHN C Union Ave JBt m izoai a n 0 1 » Men's good-looking flannel shirts Beck is seeking additional funding for the time when the Church’s "seed money” runs o u t - sometime in January, 1984. The f i nancial problem is one the Centro has had for some time, she said, and although some money comes from United W ay and other sources, solid funding for individual projects is difficult to obtain and often, worth while projects are competing for the same sources o f money. Even with the scarce resources, Ms. Beck finds her jo b rewarding and challenging because o f the peo ple she meets. "T h e people have been so warm and accepting. It helps to make up for the frustra tions," she said. " I have felt a lot o f respect from people.” Top your favorite leans with a comfortable Parma Prest’ shirt Assorted 100% acrylic or polyester and cotton yarn-dyed solids Per manent collar stays Reg $13 99 $15 99 ea Corduroy fashion jeans $5 OFF Comfortable corduroy of cotton and polyester Five riveted pockets Assorted back pocket designs Choice of colors Jeans Fit or Mature Fit Reg $20-$23 1 4 " i .17’ ’ For the future, she is thinking about resources available to the co op such as the kiln and sewing m a chines sitting at Centro unused. " W e could do pottery, for example; it’s there to use. W e just need to get people going on it. Starting sewing classes is another possibility.” M arketing is a challenge for tradi tional Hispanic arts because likely sales markets are in Portland, and “ most people want to stay in the area and not go to P o rtlan d ," Beck explained. In the meantime, between organ izing the local women and seeking additional funding, M s. Beck is planning a Christmas show, plan ning ongoing board meetings for the co-op and getting the women to sell Corduroy sale price* end Nov 12 z //* SAVE N O W ! Men's activewear 6’ ’ ' eech M ultnom ah County Circuit Court Judge Mercedes F. Deiz announced last Friday that she has filed for re- election to another term. Judge Deiz has been on the C ir cuit Court since her election in January, 1973. She was re-elected in 1978. From 1970 through 1972 Judge Deiz served on the M ultnom ah County District Court. Judge Deiz has received numer ous honors during her years on the . Jentren Beach M all 2S3 1814 $4 - $6 OFF Judge Deiz files re-election bid bench, including service as a W ood- row Wilson Teaching Fellow and Lecturer at the Harvard Law School. She currently is a Director o f the National Center for State Vancouver C hkalovD r. R it Pants and tops to mix and match Soft, fleeced separates ol polyester and cotton Reg $8 99 to $9 99 ea a fc b f- r» • • ' ■ $ *7 w A, . . . - A b 14’ ’ LM1.‘ Fleeced warm up suits for sporting com fort Creslan* acrylic knit Elastic waist Sizes S-XL Reg $21 99 Sele end» Nov 12 PORTLAND PHONE 238-2311 M E R C E D E S D E IZ Courts and serves as Chairm an o f its Comm ittee on Research, Educa tion and Central Services. . ■ f * ,» ” ’ * • , N I ORANO et LLOYD BLVD PARK FREE i M . m « , i x > . ■ *» » t m . —ir n w M w » a .< * l e u n wie.MW. n ^ e i l X i « w*»m SaMen.»».» » » ■ • « ** WASHINGTON SQUARE PHONE 820-1610 HIOMW AV 217 et OREENBURO RO RARK E R » Mon 811 «W FNQov *0 6 n » 8o • 8 N» ftewx*»* » S> a U n W in e m » !» « Uree» «ex,»*»<» • • 1 • ... . a ' . • ’ ♦ 1 _ • » «
