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S eptember 11, 1996 • T he B ori land O bserver
P age C2
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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.
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