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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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