Volume I, Number 6
Serving Portland’s Hispanic Communities
Enough! Ya Basta!
November 20, 1996
N o v iem b re
20th es
El día de Ia
R ev o lu ció n
Portland students march in D.C.
Latino & Immigrant Rights marchers in Washington, D.C. Portland youth offer eyewitness reports in The Observador
by
C ecilia G iron
For the first time in the history o f the
United States, a Latino Immigrants Rights
March, took place in Washington D.C. on
October 12, 1996. Over one thousand orga
nizations and 1/2 million people were present
in the march to protest for equal rights and
justice for all. Three hundred people from
Oregon were present.
I had the opportunity, along with five other
representatives sponsored by the American
Friends Serves Committee, to represent the
Hispanic community in Washington County
Oregon, with a message. The message was
“ Ya Basta”. We have been here for years, and
we are going to stay. We are not going
anywhere.
We were directly through public demon
strations speaking for equal rights. No more
discrimination. No more abuse. We are hu
mans and we all have the right to an educa
tion, health, housing, equal opportunities and
c o n s titu tio n a l rig h ts. T h a n k s to the
Coordinadora 96', and all the Hispanic Orga-
nizations that worked together this march
was a historic event.
I am very proud to be an Hispanic woman.
When I came to this country, one o f my
dreams was to go to Washington D.C. My
dream came true. I feel very fortunate to have
been able to participate in this march because
I not only went for pleasure, but fora mission
El General (Emiliano)
Zapata, by Diego
Rivera. Palacio de
Cortes, Cuernavaca
(Cecilia (¡iron is a 1st generation immi
grant from Oaxaca, Mexico. She is a 19-
year old student at Portland Community
College.)
Immigrants
are the
pillars of
the nation
by
J onathan F rioi . o
On October 12th, thousands o f people
marched on the streets o f Washington D.C.
protesting a bill that would effect immigrants,
¡’legal and legal. What turned out though, was
not a march o f protest, but a march o f unity.
I was there. A young 18 year old male, and
an immigrant. T really have never given a
thought to my official status in America. I’ve
lived in America almost all my life. In fact I feel
just as American as football or apple pie.
Exceptthat becauseofmy Filipino background,
I eat rice and chicken adobo instead o f steak
and potatoes before eating that apple pie.
I was outraged to find out that such a bill
was created. It was as if all the hard work that
immigrants have given to this country meant
nothing to those in power. Because o f blind
ness and fear they are scared to see what
America is really evolving into.
Throughout history, it has always been the
weak and ignorant who have been fearful o f
something new, something different. What
American has become is not a country with
one language, one voice, but a country that
echoes with many voices in many tongues
throughout the nation. Cannot those in au-
OCIIA Conference promotes solutions
by
thority see the larger picture which is right in
front o f them?
If it is true that we are the people, that we
are created equal, and that this is the greatest
nation on earth, should we not continue this
great tradition by helping those who are the
foundation of this country?
It is the sweat, and hard work o f immi
grants throughout history, that has kept the
gears o f this society moving. Could it be
though, and I hope it isn’t, that America is
nothing but a facade where power and control
have replaced human decency and justice. Is
the moral fiber o f this country giving way to
the greed and gluttony o f those too scared to
see what greater future may lie ahead? Is
America damned in its unknowingness to rise
from the shadow o f oppressive ignorance?
There is hope. Many o f those who marched
are o f a new generation o f young, free-mind
ed individuals who see the injustice in front
o f them. It will be these same young people
who will carry America into the 21st century
and beyond. I can only hope that there is still
justice in this nation and the struggles that
many have endured will not be forgotten. The
unity and strength o f today will be the pillars
o f this nation tomorrow
(Jonathon Friolo is a second generation
Filipino immigrant. He is an IS-year aid
student at Portland Northwest College of
the Arts.)
The march made a difference inside of me
L e x , Bot asykeo
As I stepped off the plane and set foot in
Washington D.C., I knew this trip was going
to be one I’d never forget. The smell o f the
crisp, cold air struck my nose like a pile o f
rocks. I finally realized that I was actually in
Washington D C ., the nations capitol, the
place where dreams come true.
But the purpose o f our trip was to fight for
the freedom and basic rights o f all immi
grants, “legal or illegal’’.
The new immigration reform bill hit hard.
All the proposals were really scary and at the
same time ridiculous. They word it as "all the
illegal immigrants are puttinga ‘strain’ on the
economy and its time to do something and do
it now!”
Am I wrong when I ask, who has the right
to tell someone that they are “ legal” or “ ille
gal”? I always thought that “America” was
derived from different cultures and people.
But I guess I was wrong because now there
are people running the government that have.
by
or rather want to, categorize the people o f
America and say that one group, the citizens,
are eligible for alI the resources and aid from
the government and the other group, immi
grants, must qualify and have certain stan
dards they might have to pass to attain those
valuable resources and help. All along I had
the impression that people come to America
to ge, away from these types o f controlled
societies.
But the immigration march that was to take
place was to change all o f that. It was supposed
to be the time when immigrants, including
myself, should have spoken up to tell them, the
people in the government, that we didn't want
to be taken advantage o f any longer, we wan,
equal rights and justice, and were not going to
let anyone step all over us anymore.
And it was wha, happened. That Saturday
o f October 12, 1996, something happened
Something that should have been done a long
time ago Someone did speak up In fact, over
twenty five thousand people did speak up. It
was our time to tell them, enough! enough!
We are here and we re not going any
where. We helped build and shape America
into the beautiful country it is today and no
one can tell us that we have to go through
certain measures and steps to qualify to live
and become citizens of this country.
Marching down all the streets o f D C . I felt
proud, proud to hold my head up high and
say, “ I belong here just like everyone and I
deserve the same kind of treatment o f justice
just like everyone else." That day was a day
I am never going to be able to forget Because
that day was the day I became a part o f
history. I made the first step o f many steps to
fight off all the hate, the dirty looks and
glares, the stereotypes and the ugly claws of
racism. I made a difference for everyone, and
most importantly there was a difference in
side o f me.
(Feng Bouasykeo is a 1st generation Lao
tian immigrant. She is a 19-year old student
at Portland State University.)
S ean C ruz
The Oregon Counci I on Hispanic Advance
ment’s (OCHA) 12th annual conference
brought more than 1,0(X) people together to
discuss trends, methodologies and solutions
to a variety o f issues affecting our communi
ties and our nation.
While the conference was in keeping
with O CH A ’s stated mission “To provide
leadership and support for educational op
portunity, economic development and so
cial justice for Hispanics in Oregon and SW
W ashington,” the scope o f the workshops
and the speakers’ themes were much broad
er and more inclusive, offering important
insights to people o f all colors and ethnic
backgrounds.
Solutions must be multi-ethnic
Dr. Leo Estrada, an expert on racial and
ethnic demographic trends and inner-city re
development, and an Associate Professor of
Urban Planning at UCLA, emphasized the
importance of finding solutions that take into
account the multiple ethnicities that make up
our population.
“Wha, really isn’t understood very well in
our country is how diverse people in a com
munity come togetherand resolve problems,"
Dr. Estrada stated. "Across the country. I am
asked the same question. How do we come
together'.’”’
“In a place like Oregon, nothing will hap
pen unless it’s multi-ethnic," he said, adding
that the time has forever passed for the North
west region to conduct its affairs as if no
significant cultural differences existed
Erroneous perceptions of Latinos
"There is an erroneous perception tha,
people crossing the border are here to take
rather than to give,” said presenter Elida
Chavez, president o f an advertising and pub
lic relations firm based in San Diego. Her
clients include N ike, Coca-Cola and the Unit
ed Farm Workers.
Ms Chavez’ presentation focused on the
U.S -Mexico border economy. “One o f the
first things tha, illegal immigrants do when
they cross over is to contribute to the economy
by buying bottled water or Coke,” she said,
"and they tend to pay premium prices, 50% to
100% more than the prices we are accustomed
to seeing in stores away from the border.”
Ms Chavez added that the immigrants tend
to take the low-paying no-benefit jobs, while
providing benefits free o f charge to their
employers, such as translation skills, and by
teaching them about Latino culture and lan
guage, even how to market to other II ispanics
The US-Mexico border economy
Ms Chavez described the economy that
exists along the U.S.-Mexico border as a
distinct entity in several ways. Border popula
tions and languages are more diverse than
elsewhere in the nation, with a much greater
mixing o f ethnicities.
The Tijuana-San Diego border market is
thethird largest Hispanic market in the nation,
with a population tha, is 5 1 4% Hispanic. This
border area itself is the world’s busiest, with
70,000 crossings daily, both legal and illegal,
and in both directions. The result is an annual
expenditure o f $6.9 billion dollars in San
Diego alone, irrefutable evidence that His
panics offer substantial contributions to the
economy.
Advertising biases
Anna Maria Arias, publisher o f Latina
Style magazine, spoke o f the difficulty His
panic publishers have in gaining recognition
from advertisers, illustrating her points with
examples from the cosmetic industry.
Although studies show,ha, Latina women
spend more money per capita on cosmetics
than any other group, the ads tend to go to
general-circulation magazines like Vogue in
stead o f to periodicals published by and for
Hispanics. Latina Style is a nationally distrib
uted glossy magazine targeting bilingual, En
glish-dominant Hispanic women.
Ms Arias also noted tha, People magazine
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