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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1996)
N ovember 20, 1996 • T he P or eland O bserver P agi B2 hkpank WMMUIINIIITy •S A L E » AR Local poet reads C arlo s Reyes and other local poets w ill read from their work from 7 00 to 10:00 pm Thursday N o ve m b er 21 at A c a n th u s G a lle r y , 120 N W 9th Ave T h is event celebrates the the publication o f T ake Out Press' second edition "Aumento Ya” film shown On Thursday, N o ve m b er 21 at 7:30 p in ., the F ifth A venue C inem a at 5 I0 S W H all St near P S U w ill feature "A u m e n to V a! A R aise N o w !", a film docum enting the June 1995 farm w orker strikes in the strawberry fields o f the W illam ette V a lle y. Film m aker Tom Cham berlain and P C U N organizers w ill be on hand. T icke t information: 228-8866. Latino March on Capitol discussed C e c ilia G iron w ill give an eyewitness account o f the October 12 Latino C iv il Rights March on the nation's C ap ito l on Thursday, N ovem ber 21, at the Northwest Se rvice Center, 1819 N W Everett, Room 201 at 7:00 pm The meeting is free and open ot the public. A Latin Am erican supper w ill be provided at 6:30 for a donation For information: 228-3090. Performance at Miracle Theater "R e g re so a M is S u e n o s" , an o riginal play by Vicente G uzm an- O rozco opens N o ve m b er 21 at the M ira c le T h e a te r, 525 SF, Stark Street For information call 236-7253. Flamenco at Cafe Sol Sueno Flam enco, featuring Rafaela de C a d iz and guitarist V icto r "el A gu a"w ill perform from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Friday, N ovem ber22 at Cafe So l, 620 S W 9th A ve . C a ll 243-2181 for information Hispanic orphans need parents N orthw est A d o p tio n F a m ilie s A sso cia tio n ( N A F A ) w ill conduct an Adult Adoptee panel discussion at Em anuel Hospital's Conference Room on Saturday, N o ve m b er 23rd, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm T h is event is in support ofN ational Adoption Awareness Month. Contact Peggy Lindquist at 621-9776 Manuel Izquierdo Sculpture Recent sculpture by Manuel Izquierdo w ill be shown at the L a u r a R u sso G a lle r y , 805 N W 21st Street, through N ovem ber 30 Born in M adrid, Mr. Izquierdo has gained nationwide stature as a sculptor, and received the Oregon G overnor's A w ard in 1971. C a ll 226-2754 for information. Pre-Columbian art & jewelry exhibit opens in Portland An exhibition o f Pre-Colum bian art and jew elry from M exico, Central and South Am erica w ill be shown in Portland through N ovem ber at A b an te Fin e A r t, a private art galle ry located on the corner o f Second Street and Y a m h ill, adjacent to the M A X line. For information, call Rudi M ilpacher at (503) 295-2508. Bones Flowers Sugars-Altars for the Dead Coininunifg newspaper seeking inclusive solutions tn St vx C hi z T h is issue m arks the sixth printing o f the biw eekly Portland O bse rva dor, and is probably as good a time as any to pause, and reflect on what we have done and not done, and what we are trying to do Fundam entally, we are ( I ) p ro vid in g an informational resource for our readers, and (2 ) de livering an advertising service for area businesses and other o rgan iza tions. We cannot accom plish either task without the support o f the other and. since each group is increasingly d i verse, one should not be too sur prised to find increasingly diverse content in the O bserver; hence, the birth o f the O bservador A multi-cultural model In the absence o f a m ulti-cultural newspaper model to follow or emu late, we are in the process o f creating an original design from our humble offices on M artin Luther K in g , Jr. Boulevard. In short, we don’t expect everything we do or print to please ourselves, let alone a diverse and highly-opinionated readership as is ours. Committed to Reflect Our Cultural Diversity We hope that you w ill agree that we must all strive to get on the same page to forge solutions that w ork for all o f us. H ow can we do that if we all narrowly read different newspapers? I low can we w ork together if we read apart? Strategies that fail to ackno w l edge and respect each ethnicity that makes up our com m unity w ill alw ays fall short. porting is reflecting our growth geo graphically. The owners o f these businesses are as diverse as the comm unities they serve. The Association o f K o re an G rocers wants your business; the E & M Com m unity Market wants your business; A -B o y Plum bing and E lectrical Sup ply wants your busi ness; M e r r ill L y n c h ’s M a u rice V a ld ivie so wants your business, to name a few. These businesses are owned and operated by A sian -A m ericans, A fr i can-A m ericans, A n glo -A m erican s, Latino-A m ericans and Native A m er icans. The y are both our advertisers and our readers, and we encourage you to call them and find out for yo u rself what you have in common. mids in M exico and Central Am erica or the cultures that brought them into being. Most importantly, we were taught nothing about the people who are descended from those Aztec and Mayan and other indigenous societies who populate our communities today, whose native words now form part o f the Am erican vocabulary. The subject was com pletely ig nored except for a brief look at the Spanish conquistadores. The aver age Am erican assumes that names such as Cortez, and Balboa—15th cen tury Spanish and Portuguese names- -are all that is significant about the history- o f this continent. The O bser vador hopes to correct those im pres sions in its own sm all way. Nature abhors a vacuum- and so do our readers T o those who offer criticism d i rected at the circum stance o f B la ck ownership o f a newspaper serving Latino-Am erican interests, consider these several points: The content o f the O bservador is rarely duplicated in local H isp anic- owned papers and almost never in E n g lish ; many H ispanics are not flu ent Spanish-language readers, and thus the O bservador prints m ainly in E n glish for their benefit; there is no com parable alternative resource for non-Spanish-speaking non-H ispan ics who wish to obtain information about H ispanic issues; the spotty dis tribution and coverage o f the Span ish-language newspapers makes it d ifficu lt for any reader to have regu lar access to Latino issues through local print media. There is no single H ispanic com m unity here or anywhere else, and it is beyond the scope o f any single daily or w eekly paper to represent “the H ispanic view .” I don't think that the Observador plus the 4 or 5 Spanish-language papers currently circulating around the Metro area added up together would represent "the H ispanic view or voice," but we do each in our own w ays provide significant and vital forum s for Latino issues. The Portland O bserver has many readers who read the paper closely and regularly, and the O bservador-- and H ispanic causes-are a direct ben eficiary o f that relationship. It is im mensely gratifying to receive the dai ly feedback from you that we do, and to find so many people throughout the city who are w illin g to offer opin ions about something that we did last week or last month. The Observador is proving itse lf to be an effective vehicle in dissem inating information o f importance to H ispanics through out the community. The racial breakdown A community paper A year or so ago, a general survey o f our readership showed that 4 5 % o f the O bserver’s readers were B lack. 4 0 % were White, 10 % were H isp an ic, 2 .5 % were A s ia n , and 2 .5 % marked Other, indicating diversity along broad racial lines. It’s fair to say that 100% o f our readers are interested in issues and view points pertaining to m inority or B la c k pop ulations, or to people o f co lor gener ally, however the labels might fall, and our business is to put that infor mation on the table. The O bservador’s role, as is the Portland O bserver’s, is not to reach any single ethnic group, but to reach our “community” , offering a minority perspective and an inc lusi ve approach. The O bservador w ill strive to pro vide slices o f what is happening in the local H isp anic com m unities and also -e q u a lly importantly--try to whet our reader’s appetites for more infor mation regarding H isp anic culture and history. After all, it is safe to say that none o f us really knows a great deal about the subject. For the three generations that I can safely speak about: mine, my parents’ and my children's, none o f us ever had a full hour o f studies about M eso-Am erican history or cultures offered in our schools. (See the O C H A article at the front o f this section) Diversity in business The businesses that advertise in our pages want to encourage your patronage without regard to the color o f your skin or the language that your grandparents speak (T h is must be why T e xaco hasn't called us). They generally do business in the heart o f Portland, although as demand for the paper is increasing in suburban com m unities, our advertising and our re Look to the pyramids Through our schools we all learned something about the pyramids in Egypt, but virtually nothing about the pyra A word to our critics We all have so very much to learn about ourselves. First and foremost. The Portland O bserver/Observador is a com m uni ty newspaper in the most elemental sense, rising in response to needs unfulfilled by B ig Media. It came into being as a pioneer in Oregon publishing, and remains the oldest and largest m inority-owned newspa rural altar displays. Contact 221-0569. El Vez, the Latino Elvis coming E l V e z w ill perform in Portland on Decem ber 6 at L a Luna, presenting a Latino interpretation ot E l Rey de R o c k and R o ll. For tickets, call 224- 4400 Jefferson High Club Hispano Toy Drive Please help a child enjoy and celebrate this Christm as by donating to Jefferson H igh School's T h ird Annual C lu b H isp a n o T o y D riv e . I he club is seeking assistance so that they can purchase toys priced at about $5.00 each The club w ill have a F ie sta N avid e n a on D ecem ber H I at O c k le y G ree n M id d le Sch o o l, where one o f the club members w ill dress up as Santa C lau s and deliver toys to needy children. For information, call 916-5180. Kids need Spanish Books A ld e r E le m e n ta ry Sch o o l needs donations o f Spanish-language books suitable for children aged 5 to 12 for its dual language program, w hich promotes native language literacy w hile im m ersing students in a second language (either E n glish or Spanish). Contact E v a at 255-4673. Program de Mujeres crisis line P ro g ra m s de M u je re s is a program for H isp anic women victim s o f domestic violence that operates a bilin gu al crisis line M -F 8-12 and 1-5 pm C a li 232-4448 i f you or someone you know is in need o f services. The C ris is Lin e for the Latina W om an and Program a de M ujeres is seeking bilingual volunteers who are interested in supporting survivors o f domestic violence. C a ll 2 3 8 -7 8 3 1 tor volunteer information. Portland Observador seeks youth writers The Portland O bservador is seeking essays by young writers for our In O ur O w n Words (E n Nuestras Proprias Palabras) feature We would like to publish your thoughts, feelings and experiences from a H ispanic perspective. Contact Editor. Th e Portland Observador, 4747 N E Martin Luther K in g Jr B lv d , Portland O R 97211 Please include the name o f the school you attend and a daytime phone number Ci/// (503) 2SS-OO33 now to cu/vertise in PORTLAND ®BSEI^WAE>©I& On the plus side The O bse rve r/O b servad o r has made a committment to serve the youth o f our comm unity regardless o f ethnic background. We believe that the development o f a youth read- ership is vital to our success and, hence, yours. We take their view points, whether expressed in words and deeds or through the lens o f a camera, very seriously. The eyes have it In every issue o f the O bservador we print a photograph taken by one or another o f the hugely talented young photographers developed by the Oregon Com m ission on C hildren and Fa m ilie s’ “ Straight Shooting” : project. We hope to encourage these teenagers and others I ike them to find a path to success through a career in photographyor photojournalism. We named this feature “ Por Nuestros Proprios O jo s” , or “Through O ur Ow n Eye s.” Read! Learn! Act! (Léalo! Apréndalo! Hazlo!) We also print youthessaysinbo th, the O bserver and O bservador. W e, call this feature “ En Nuestras Proprias; Palabras” , or “ In O ur Own W ords ” . O ver the course o f the past six issues, we have printed some rem arkably insightful and striking essays written by M e x ica n , A fric a n -A m e ric a n , Cam bodian, Anglo-European-Am er- ican, Laotian, Filip in o , Puerto Rican and M exican-Am erican youth. One can learn a great deal from these youngsters, and we are grateful to the A lb in a Youth Opportunity School and Latin-A m erica/A sia-Pa- c ific Youth Program for providing us with such wonderful material. I have personally read each o f these essays at least a dozen times and every day I look forward to what the m ail might bring from these and other young writers In Observando next time... A look at the ways the languages o f M eso-Am erica have become as similated into E nglish, and perhaps a continuation o f the role o fT h e Port land Observador. Regreso a mis suenos plays in Portland D ay o f the Dead (D ia de los M uertos) exhibit continues through N ovem ber at A r t o f the People, 8 18 S W First Ave., featuring urban and ext. 213. per in the area The Observer continued its pio- neering tradition when Joyce W ash ington became its publisher Mrs Washington was the only B la ck fe male newspaper publisher on the West Coast The Portland O bserva dor sim ply reflects our recognition o f the changing dem ographics with in the O bserver’s distribution area, and our committment to be part ofthe solution rather than part o f the prob lem as we all strive together to build a comm unity that works. Teatro M ilagro, M iracle Theater's touringcom pany, closes its acclaimed international tour o f “ Regreso a mis suenos" with a short run beginning N ovem ber 22. Regreso is an original bilingual m usical play by Vicente Guzm an- O ro zco , M iracle Theater’s resident playw right. “ Regreso” received its w orld premiere in M e xico C ity earli er this year, and is a collaborative effort with M ila g ro ’s actors and the Do you want to buy a home? Desea usted comprar una casa? Are you confused about how to buy a house? If your income is close to $1,500 per month or more. The Portland Housing Center has Home Buying Classes (Translator available). Esta usted confundido sobre como comprar una casa? Si sus ingresos mensuales son cerca de $1500, o mas, per mes, The Portland Housing Center tiene clases en español sobre como comprar una casa (Hay traductores disponibles). Donde: PCC Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth, Terrell Hall Sala #122, cuando: Sabado Noviembre 16 de 9:00am a 4:00pm. cre ative support o f A cto re s del Método o f M exico C ity. Regreso a m is Suenos continues E l Sueno Am ericano, the story o f a fam ily who left a war-tom Chiapas to settle in the Northwest, \time has passed, and they have grown home sick. Promise o f peace talks and letters from friends bring memories o f their village and a desire to make the journey home. In their travels, they encounter the diversity o f hu man nature and experience a land scape o f emotions. T h e ir arrival in M exico and their final trek to Chiapas returns them to the dreams o f a more hopeful future for their homeland. Teatro M ilagro is the largest arts and culture organization in the North west region o f the United States. Tw o original, bilingual musical plays are created every year addressing important issues o f Latin A m erica and its people T icke t prices are $ 8.00, with dis counts available for students and se niors. M iracle Theatre also offers a season subscription plan. Regreso a M is Suenos w ill run from Novem ber 22-24 with performances on Frid ay and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm at the M iracle Theater, located at 525 S E Stark Street. A silent auction w ill take place after the Sunday performance For inform a tion, call 236-7253. MIRACLE THEAT RE PRESENTS REGRESO A MIS SUENOS NOV. 22 - 24 AN EXCITING BILINGUAL MUSICAL! EES 77 VA L DE NA 1 IDA D DEC 6 - IS A Mi l III 1 I II R i l CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION EOR i l l AGES! O « M ilagro < l i Iwl M iracle - X RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW! 525 SE STARK 236-7253
