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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1996)
r S eptember 11, 1996 • T he B ori land O bserver P age C2 ihiisipank ^©MMIUUNIITY A LIB I» AIR - September is National Hispanic Heritage Month "Bound by Colors" returns to Portland V ic to ry O u tre a c h w ill perform its searing anti-gang production "Bound by C olors" at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, S eptem ber 14, at the New B eginnings C h ris tia n C e n te r, 7600 N E Glisan Street. Adm ission is free. For inform ation, call 256-6050, ex,. 215 or 255. Fiesta! O H D C 's Firs, Annual Fiesta, Friday S eptem ber 20, a, the P o rtla n d C onference C e n te r, celebrates N ational Hispanic Heritage M onth. A U C T IO N ! B U F F E T D IN N E R ! D A N C IN G T O L IV E L A T IN M U S IC ! 6 pm. to I am. Join the O re g o n H u m a n D evelopm ent C o rp o ra tio n and our friends fo r an evening o f fun and fundraising. There w ill be both oral and silent auctions. Food w ill be tasty and p le n tifu l. N o-host bar. A L L PROCEEDS W IL L H E LP O H D C T O PURSUE T H E IR M IS S IO N OF H E LP IN G PEOPLE T H R O U G H O U T O R E G O N ! T h e P o rtla n d C o n fe r ence C e n te r is located a, 300 N E M ultnom ah in Portland. T H IS IS A G R E A T O P P O R T U N IT Y T O N E T W O R K W IT H H IS P A N IC P R O FE S S IO N A LS ON A S T A T E W ID E B A S IS ! Tickets for the dinner and festivities are $35. C all Nadeen at O H D C to reserve your ticket. 245-2600, ext. 200. Nike hosts Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meeting The regular m onthly meeting o f the H isp a n ic M e tro p o lita n C h a m b e r o f C om m erce w ill be held on S eptem ber 24 at N ik e ’ s W o rld Headquarters in Beaverton. C all 2 8 1 -7079 fo r details and to reserve your seat. This event celebrates N ational Hispanic Heritage Month. Minority Business Opportunity day is coming! The 12th Annual M in o rity Business O pportunity Day Trade Fair is com ing to the O re g o n C o n v e n tio n C e n te r on O c to b e r 9 T his event is a procurement conference designed to help W omen- and M in o rity-o w n e d businesses be more successful in this increasingly com petitive economy. For Trade Fair or W orkshop inform ation, call Don Matsuda or Bob Jensen at the S m a ll Business A d m in is tra tio n , at (503) 326-5105 or 326-5102. For inform ation regarding the luncheon, call Zaida K lem at Im p a c t, (503) 245-9253. The O re g o n C o n v e n tio n C e n te r is located at 777 N E M L K , Jr. B lvd . in Portland. M exican -A m erican art An e xh ib itio n o f both recent and retrospective works by M exican- Am erican artist M ax Pruneda w ill be shown at A r t o f the People, located on First Street near Y a m h ill in Portland. The exhibit, title d "T ranslating M em ory,” w ill run through the month o f September. For inform ation, call (5 0 3 )2 2 1 -0 5 6 9 . Pre-Columbian a rt exhibit coming to Portland An e xh ib itio n o f Pre-Colum bian art from M exico, Central and South Am erica w ill be shown in Portland at A b a n te Fine A r t, a private art gallery located on the com er o f Second Street and Y a m h ill, adjacent to the M A X line. For inform ation, call Rudi M ilpacher a, (503) 295-2508. Portland Observador seeks youth photojournalists Straight Shooter becomes 1st Portland Observador Youth Photojournalist A photograph by 16-year old Jorge G arcia o f H illsb o ro , a recent gradu ate o f Straight S h o o tin g - the Youth Photo Project, was selected to kick o f f the Portland O bservador’ s regu lar Y outh P hotojoum alist feature. Straight Shooting is a h ig h ly suc cessful program administered by the Oregon Com m ission on C hildren & Fam ilies w hich strives to redirect the lives o f A t-R is k youth by teaching them photography, s e lf esteem and professional skills. Each spring fo r the past fouryears, Straight S hooting has provided a small group o f young people w ith p h o to g ra p h e r m e n to rs , cam era equipm ent, and instruction in com position and darkroom technology. D u rin g the course o f instruction. Straight S hooting allow s them to explore and fin d expression through the use o f the camera. Some o f the students become very astute w ith a camera, as this series w ill show. “ Straight S hooting is w o rkin g in six counties cu rre n tly,” said A p ril Severeson o f the Oregon C om m is sion on C h ild re n & Families. “ This year, the program involved 32 stu dents aged 12 - 19 from Baker, Clacka mas, M alheur, M a rio n , M ultnom ah and W ashington Counties. Students are trained and gain experience as photographers. M entor relationships serve to break through stereotypes and long-lasting bonds may develop. Some students were feeling trusted fo r the very firs t tim e in their lives.” The program ’ s goals include in creasing com m unity awareness ofthe issues facing youth. F or in fo rm a tio n , c o n ta ct J e ff Nunn, Project C oordinator, at the Oregon C om m ission on C hildren & Fam ilies in Salem at (503) 373-1283. The Portland Observador en courages the developm ent of photojournaHsts am ong the youth o f our community. Send in your work with a self-ad dressed, stam ped envelope to Photo Editor, The Portland Observador, 4747 N E M artin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Port land OR 97211. No more than two subm issions at a time, please. Include somethin}’ about yourself and a daytime phone number. The P o rtla n d O b s e rv a d o r encourages the developm ent o f p h o to jo u r nalists among the youth o f our com m unity. Send in your w ork w ith a self- addressed, stamped envelope to Photo Editor, The P o rtla n d O b s e rv a d o r, 4747 N E M a rtin Luther K in g Jr. B lvd, Portland OR 9 7 2 1 1. N o more than tw o submissions at a tim e, please. Include something about yo u rs e lf and a daytime phone number Hillsboro PHCRC welcomes public comments The H ills b o ro Police H is p a n ic C o m m u n ity R elations C o m m itte e meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday o f each month in the Public Services B u ild in g at 155N . First Street, Room 245. The PHCRC exchang es ideas w ith the public on issues o f com m unity interest and offers problem solving. Contact Nancy A rriaza at (503) 693-4705 fo r inform ation Young Parents Program needs volunteers The O re g o n H u m a n D evelopm ent C o rp o ra tio n is actively recruiting for volunteers to help w ith it's Y o u n g P arents P ro g ra m Volunteers 12 years old and older are needed for help w ith child care in a nursery setting during the w e e k ly support meetings, W ednesdays, early evenings. The program’s goal is to help young parents and pregnant adolescents in the H illsboro area enhance their parenting skills and prom ote the healthy development o f their children. The Y oung Parents Program is funded by the O regon D e p a rtm e n t o f H u m a n Resources, the C h ild re n 's T ru s t Fund, and the W a s h in g to n C o u n ty C om m ission on C h ild re n and Fam ilies. Contact A liso n Peck, C oordinator o f V olunteer Services at O H D C at (503) 640-6349 Hispanic Bar receives grant to recruit high school students The Hispanic National Bar Asso ciation (H N B A ) has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Law School Admissions Council, an entity that supervises the administration o f law school admissions testing, to attract area high school seniors to the legal profession and educate them regard ing opportunities available around the country. A p p ro x im a te ly 25 senior high school students w ill be invited to attend a breakfast on Friday, Oct. 4, 1996, at 8 a m. during the Hispanic National Bar A ssociation’ s annual convention at the Fountainebleau H ilton Resort & Towers in M iam i Beach The $5,000 grant w ill be used to invite Hispanic high school seniors from area schools to a break fast sponsored by Banco Popular and attended by approximately 5(X) ju d g es from across the country. To date, r J * the H N B A has raised more than $ 15().(XX) in scholarships fo r the H is panic National Bar Fund, an organi zation which annually awards thou sands o f dollars in scholarships to deserving Hispanic law students. "W e arc grateful to the Law School Admissions Council lo r their sup port and are confident that it w ill open many doors fo r young Hispan ics looking fo r a career in the legal profession. This clearly exem plifies the theme o f the 1996 convention. Together - The Future," said Alfonso J. Perez, Esq., Convention C hairper son fo r the H N B A and a shareholder with the Miami-based law firm o f Haley, Sinagra and Perez, P.A. M ajor issues particular to the H is panic com m unity to be examined at the Convention include im m igration, Helms-Burton legislation, and Prop osition 187. Photo by Jorge Garcia Little Brother in Our Own Words En Nuestras Proprias Palabras Conrado Hernandez, a 16-year- oldstudent at Sierra Pista I /igh School in Baldwin Park. California, was the first-place winner in this year's stu dent essay contest sponsored by the National Associationfor Bilingual Ed ucation. He came to this country five years ago from Hidalgo. Mexico, where his father owned a general store and his mother was an elementary school teacher When they arrived in Los Angeles in search o f more work, his folks fell on hard times. Conrado and his two little sisters had to help moni and dad make money fo r the rent by picking up cans and bottles from the streets. He says it was hard watching his parents suffer the humiliation o f low-paying jobs fo r which they were overqualified, and he was determined to not let that happen to him or to his own children With his parents ' support and en couragement. he began learning with a vengeance to speak, read and write English, through bilingual classes. Conrado plays guitar in a mariachi group at school, and hopes to become a computer technician In My Own Words BY CONRADO HERNANDEZ “ H ow many o f you know what it ’ s like to watch your parents suffer and face d a ily hum iliation as they search for w ork in a country that no longer has any room fo r people like them? H ow many o f you know what a refuge and salvation bilingual education is to peo ple like us? “ M y fam ily and I were liv in g in M exico, where we had a store. We worked very hard there for many years, but we could not compete w ith the national economy and our business failed. A n uncle came to visit and Photo and article, written by Mandel it del Barco, appeared in Si Magazine, Spring 1996. Source: New York Times News Service. Photo credit: Joe Rodríguez convinced us that life would be better in the United States. We sold what was left o f our business and left fo rC a lifo r- nia, our new home. “ W hen we a rriv e d , m y father w orked w ith my uncle, but since he d id n ’t speak any English, they let him go. He began to look for w ork but all the doors were closed. Finally, he found a factory that offered him a jo b peeling onions, but he w ould have to w o rk at home. The onions came 50-lb. our first December here, m y father became very ill w ith an eye infection. One o f his eyes became infected from the acid that the onions produced when he peeled them. M y mother worked harder, and so did we. “ I tell you this story not to make you feel sorry for me. Out o f this sadness, we learned a lot. O ur fam ily stayed together. O ur love for each other was bags, and he earned $4 for each bag he strengthened. As I shared in my par ents’ suffering and hum iliation, I knew that I w ould have to be the one to live peeled. “ We all worked together: m y fa differently. I w ould have to change this cycle. I would have to become ther, mother, all m y sisters and I. But, educated. “ B ilin g u a l education is the institu tion that gives hope to the imm ¡grant in since the onions were so small, we could only clean about five bags per day. M y parents worked 14 to 15 hours a day, and we worked from the tim e we came home from school until we went to bed. Late at night, we w ould go to the streets, to collect alu minum cans and plastic bottles. “ On this country. As I worked nights peel ing onions, I dreamed o f the next day when I w ould attend m y classes. Inthis wonderful program (at Sierra Vista H igh) I have been able to participate since the moment I entered the first class. M y desire to learn has always been recognized by my teachers. I am learning two languages, and I am com puter literate in two languages, as well. “ The walls we encountered when we came to this country have never been at school B ilingual education has made the difference in my life that w ill permit me to change my fa m ily’ s cycle. I can fight for m y goals with pride and dignity.” In O u r Own W ords (F.n Nuestras Proprias Palahras) xx ill be a reg u la r feature o f I he Portland < Jbserx ador,offering to 11ispanie youth the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings and to deseribe their experiences— as a Latino ill a predominantly Anglo enx ironm eiit. I lie Obserxador encourages o ur young readers to submit their oxxn xxriling and a photograph and xxe xxill try to lind space in o u r pages for you. /