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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2000)
May 3, 2000 (Ebu Page B5 ©hseruer n ÍM etro/EL ©OBSERVA®®!^ Cinco de Mayo Calendar of Events Ride Tri-Met and get a free trip home Riding T ri-M et to C inco de M ayo at Portland’s W aterfront Park is a great w ay to avoid • p a rk in g h a s sle s a n d i t ’s a bargain, too. W hen you ride to the celebration, you can get a free ride home. The offer is good during all four days o f festivities, w hich run T h u rs d a y , M ay 4 th ro u g h S u n d ay , M ay 7. A ll th a t’s needed to get a free return trip is to show your T ri-M et receipt at th e f e s tiv a l’s m a in b o o th . T hey’ll give you a ticket that will get you hom e anytim e that day. T here is a lim it o f one ticket per custom erperday. Call 503/238- RIDE. I n t e r n a tio n a l School Celebrates Cinco de M ayo Beginning Friday, April 28, The International School w ill kick o ff a w eeklong celebration o f w orld events and activities that include a traditional M exican fe a st w ith fo lk m u sic an d dancing; Japanese singing and dancing; Italian opera; ballet; a student art show ; and planting flow ers for P o rtla n d ’s R ose Festival. F or m ore inform ation, call T orrence Burrow es, H ead ofS chool at 226-2496. C elebrate C inco de M ayo at C hinook W inds C asino I t’s F iesta tim e at C hinook W inds C asino on M ay 5-7 w ith the C elebration o f C inco de M ayo and three fun-filled days. Friday through Sunday, tickets w ill be given aw ay for the u p c o m in g Ju n e 9, F re d d ie Fender concert. Both Friday and Saturday from 11 am . to 4 pm., the buffet will feature authentic M exican entrees and the Rogue R iver Restaurant & Lounge will have “South o f th e B order” specials as well. O ther surprises will follow. Call Call 541/996- 5815. US Naturalization C erem ony A U.S. Naturalization Ceremony sponsored by Squires & Lopez, A ttorneys at Law (presented by Y oung L aw yers Section o f the M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty B a r A ssociation) w ill be held at the W estern U nion M ain Stage at W aterfront Park on Friday, M ay 5,2000 from N oon until 1 pm. M e x ic a n C r a f ts and Beadmaking T here w ill be an all day face p a in tin g , p iñ a ta b r e a k in g , jew elry and flow er m aking as w ell as balloons given by Joe the Balloon Man from Thursday, M ay 4 until Sunday, M ay 7 at W aterfront Park in the US W est C hildren’s Plaza. O n-Site Soccer C linic A utograph signing by M exican Team m em bers o f the National W om en’s Soccer C up playing at C ivic stadium is sponsored by the O regonian. M eet these w om en on Saturday, M ay 6 at W aterfront Park from 2 pm. and 4 pm. C incode Mayo atThe Viscount Ballroom An evening o f Latin dance and live perform ances. C inco de M ayo at the V isc o u n t w ill include a dance perform ance by S abor L a tin o , m u sic a l perform ances by both Palante and La Comparsita, and our final d a n c e-o ff o f the V isc o u n t’s m o n th - lo n g s a ls a d a n c e competition. It will be an evening o f Argentine Tango music, small Latin-influenced diner menu, free beginning salsa less, Cuban C a r n iv a l, an d a d a n c e c o m p e titio n . T h e V is o u n t Ballroom is located at 722 East B um side. Call 233-7855 or call www.viscountballroom .com . Celebrating Cinco de Mayo Happy Cinco de Mayo Today, celebrating Cinco de M ayo m eans to recognize the rich cultural and individual contributions that people from Mexico and o f M exican-American ethnic background have contributed to the U.S. for centuries. D elicious foods, splendid costum es for folk dances and the w onderful sound o f the Spanish language try to com m unicate to a wider public the cultural riches that N ative A m ericans, Spaniards and M exicans have created during m ore than five hundred years. Just eating M exican foods w ould m ean to m iss the deeper m eaning o f this celebration. Before Cinco de M ayo becam e a celebration o f cultural pride in the U.S., it was a remembrance o f a Mexican military victory over French m ilitary occupation forces that took place near the M exican City o f Puebla. There, on M ay 5, 1862, M exican forces under the leadership o f G eneral Ignacio Zaragoza defeated French occupying troops. Under the leadership ofGeneral Ignacio Zaragoza, a Mexican army o f 2000 soldiers delivered a crushing defeat o f 6000 w ell- equipped professional soldiers com m anded by General Charles Latrille. From a long-term perspective, this single victory w as futile. A fter som e m onths, th e F rench occupation forces o f N apolean III regrouped and forced a new European dictatorship onto M exico. U nder the reign ofPrince Maximillian and his wife Princess Charlotta, once again, Mexico had become part o f European colonial empire, ending alm ost fifty years o f independence. Consulado de Mexico Atención! Trabajdores M igrantes M exicanos en el Estado de Oregon El C onsulado G eneral de M éxico en P o rtla n d O re g o n , s o lic ita co n urgencia la presencia en sus oficinas de las p e rso n a s cu y o s nomferes que el interesado o su fam iliar acudan a la brevedad con una identificación oficial vigente a 1234 SW M orrison St. Portland, O R. 97205., de lunes a viernes de 8:15 a.m. a 1:30 p.m. aparecen en la lista que sigue, o de un fam iliar directo, con el proposito de tr a ta r un a s u n to d e su in te re s personal. Para ello es indespensable En caso de encontrarse lejos del C onsulado, favor de com unicarse a los telefonos 503/274-1442, y 274- 1450. Looking for a good home Understanding the passion of Cuban-Americans The State O ffice for Services to C hildren and Fam ilies have more than 6,000 children in foster homes creating a critical need to recruit more families. O ver 500 o f these children are m inority children ready to be adopted. These children com e to us w ith theirow n experiences and backgrounds. Therefore, w e need fam ilies who can provide love, s ta b ility and sa fe ty to th e se Bv J acob G, H ornbercer Last year, I spent a w eek in Cuba with the official perm ission o f the U.S. Treasury Departm ent and the C uban Interest Section in W ashington, D.C. (the diplom atic agency that is “hosting” Elian G onzales’s father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez). The purpose o f m y trip was to conduct an informal study o f both C uba’s econom ic system and the effects o f the U.S. em bargo on Cuban life. The Cuban authorities arranged official visits for m e w ith various think tanks at the U niversity o f H avana and gave me perm ission to freely interview people on the streets. I have studied com m unism and socialism for m ore than 20 years. I have also traveled extensively throughout Latin A m erica, w here governm ent intervention dom inates the econom ic affairs o f the citizenry. But I was unprepared for w hat I encountered in Cuba. In C uba, the state effectively ow ns all the places o f em ploym ent. All the food-ration stations, service stations, restaurants, radio and television stations, hotels, m useum s, schools, pharm acies, and clinics. Therefore, practically everyone in Cuba w orks for the state. Im agine w hat that means. If a person upsets his em ployer and loses his jo b , he is not able to obtain alternative em ploym ent because, for all practical purposes, Fortunately for M exico, changes in European politics forced N apolean III to w ithdraw his m ilitary occupation forces. A s the num ber o f French soldiers dw indled in M exico, so did the F rench effort to m ake M exico a mere province in its colonial em pire. O nce the M exican nation was reborn as an independent country, the victory at the battle o f Puebla on Cinco de M ayo assum ed new sym bolic significance. The victory in Puebia and over the French in general was reason for national price. At least in this case, the Mexican David had soundly repelled the French m ilitary Goliath and the prince that was put into C hapultepec Castle. European superior technology and strength in numbers had been outw eighed by M exican m otivation and determination to fight. In M exico, this holiday has remained second to the D ay ofN ational Independence on September 16 each year. But M exican im m igrants to the United States brought along this holiday and the spirit o f pride and success. As important, it could be used to instruct Mexican-American children through this im portant lesson about the struggle for pow er in the face o f pressure from outside forces. As ethnic origin becam e an im portant tool for identification, the Cinco de M ayo holiday took on a greater im portance in the United States than in M exico. Today popular disregard for history and an occasional narrow focus on having a good tim e w ith tacos and beer, m akes us forget the achievem ent o f G eneral Saragoza one hundred thirty eight years ago. children. W e urge you to get involved now to help children win the freedom that only being a part o f a loving family can provide. I f you w ould like to adopt a foster child or need m ore information, please call 731-3147, ext. 2247. La oficina Estatal de Servicios para Ninos y Familias tiene have escased critica de hogares de padres de crianza tem porales y padres adoptivos. Pedim os a la comunidad Hispana que nos ayude en esta urgente labor. Si usted esta interesado en recibir información sobre como ser padre de crianza temporal o le gustaría adoptar a uno de los ñiños hispanos que están esperado esperando una familia talvez como la suya, por favor llame a Judy Orellana, al numero de telefono 503/731-3147, ext. 2247. 9 there is none. This w as driven hom e to me by a young w om an who w as surreptitiously show ing m e her national identity card, m aking fun o f it. I asked her why she did n ’t express her ridicule m ore openly, and she replied, “ If I resist, the state (her em ployer) will transfer m e to another city on the other side o f the country - aw ay from the man 1 am engaged to m arry.” A nother young wom an, a law student at the U niversity o f Havana, said that her biggest dream in life was to own her own business. W hen I pointed out to her, “But th at’s not legal in C uba,” she responded, “Yes, I k n o w ...b u t there is alw ays hope.” At an open-air (state-ow ned) restaurant, a group o f (state-em ployed) musicians was performing for the patrons. W hen the musicians approached m y table, I asked them if they would sing “A briendo Puertas” (“O pening D oors”), a song m ade popular by Cuban-A m erican G loria Estefan. They declined to do so. I later learned that he m usicians were not perm itted by their em ployer to sing E stefan’s songs. M y visits w ith Cubans on the streets confirm ed that there is a very real fear for anyone who wishes to display any independence o f m ind or spirit, a fear o f losing o n e’s jo b but also o f landing in jail. Keep in mind that it is a severe crim inal offense for anyone to question or criticize Cuba s political and econom ic system. During my visit, the point w as being em phasized by the crim inal trial o f several C uban dissidents, w hich was being show n on national television on C uba s official governm ent version o f “Court TV .” (The dissidents later received prison sentences Piense: Su hijo es inteligente, saludable y encabeza la lista para ir a la universidad. Le encanta la trayectoria que su c a rre ra h a to m a d o . Está haciendo muchas de las cosas que planeó y hasta otras que oo había planeado. Vivir la vida en plenitud es fácil cuando tiene una familia que lo respalda American Family Insurance. Llame ahora m ism o y p la tiq u e con nuestros agentes amables. o f 3-5 years.) A fter the Soviet U n io n 's subsidies to Cuba w ere term inated, the Cuban authorities reluctantly began perm itting people to engage in a few (licensed) self-em ploym ent enterprises. It w as fascinating to see how C ubans’ entrepreneurial talents and spirit o f independence had surfaced so quickly albeit in a very lim ited way. For exam ple, 1 asked a new ly licensed young bookseller at an open-air m arket, “ How do you know how much to charge for your books?" He responded in the finest entrepreneurial fashion, “ It is my job to know ." An old w om en, about 80, w ho w as selling ice-cream on the streets, told m e that she had to pay incom e taxes at the end o f the year on top o f her licensing fee o f $250per month. I asked her, “How do they know how much you have earned?” Looking around to m ake sure no one w as listening, she sm iled her toothless grin and said, “Yes, how do they know ?” N ot surprisingly, my visits with the officials at the state research centers were quite different from my visits with people on the streets. At the think tanks, people (purport to) continue ardently believing in C u b a 's socialist system. W hen I asked them how they could justify their continued, unw avering faith in socialism in the face o f its horrific econom ic results, their response was to blam e C u b a's econom ic w oes on the U.S. em bargo. It is not difficult to understand the argum ents o f those w ho wish to see a father reunited with his son. On the other hand, appreciating the passionate opposition o f Cuban-A m ericans to returning a 6-year-old boy to a com m unist society requires an insight into a country in which those who fail to conform either d o n ’t eat or end up in prison. Jacob G. Homberger is the president ofT he Future ofFreedom Foundation. His w ebsite is w w w .fff.org. ) sted tiene una familia que lo respalda Comprobará por qué constantemente nos mantenemos en el rango A+ (Superior, según A.M. Best la autoridad en la punctuación de agencias de seguros. Después vaya...sueñe...planee. Usted decida lo que haga enseguida; nosotros estaremos aquí para ayudarle. 4 Toda La Protección Bajo Un Mismo Techo. La póliza que usted adquiera sólo está disponible en idioma inglés American Family Mutual Insurance Company and Subsidiarles. Madison. Wisconsln 53783-0001 wwwamtam.com 1
