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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2000)
Page B4 Portiani) i September 27, 2000 ÿtartlani» (Dbeeruer Metro/ > Sacred Monkey River QkKPET, VINYL Pergo-type laminated flooring & much more! rwwwcnywM comtcm smowhooh Carpet A Vinyl to o * available P o r tla n d Costless Carpet 4816 N. Interstate Ave. 503-2874225 In 199 2 , w riter and o n e-tim e whitewater guide Christopher Shaw stood on a bridge overlooking a high tributary o f the Usumacinta River, in the highlands o f Chiapas, Mexico’s south ernmost state. He realized that from there he could launch a descent o f the entire watershed, four hundred miles to the G ulf o f Mexico, through one o f the last great wild areas o f Central America, through rain forests contested by B \ D iane M c C lellan for T hf P or h and O bserver The num berofH ispanic-ow ned businesses has grow n 232% from 19 8 7 -1997 to approxim ately l .4 m illion businesses in the United States, according the US Small B usiness A dm inistration. O ver the sam e period, revenues grew 417% to $184billion, represent ing one o f the m ost rapidly grow ing business segm ents in our na tion today. In spite o f the record grow th o f new businesses in this m arket segm ent, there is still m uch room for growth. T he H ispanic popula tion currently represents alm ost 11% o f US population and own 4.5% o f all businesses. H ow ever, futurists predict that the H ispanic population w ill grow to be the largest ethnic group in this coun try during this m illennium im pacting the potential for trem en dous grow th o f H ispanic busi- nesses. In order to understand this m ar ket better, one m ust exam ine the term s “ H isp a n ic ” o r “ L atin o ” term s w hich serve has an um brella covering a diverse population- a m osiac o f 22.1 m illion A m eri cans with ancestral roots in 22 S p a n is h - s p e a k in g c o u n tr ie s around the w orld. These labels defy univ ersal ch aracterizatio n because they apply to people o f different nationalities, different races and different dialects w ithin the Spanish language. By 2010, according to the U rban Institute, US H ispanics w ill num ber 39 m il lion o rl2 .9 % o f the US popula tion. Overall, the Hispanic population, according to the 1990 Census, is significantly younger than the rest o f the US population and may figure more strongly in the country’s popu lar culture in the years ahead. His panic women represent more than 53% o f the Hispanic labor pool and 3.8 % o f the total labor pool. This figure is expected to increase to 7% by 2005, according to gov ernm ent studies. W hat does this m ean to m ar keters? Expansion and grow th o f H ispanic businesses will increase jo b s and create higher purchasing pow er for both ow ners and their em ployees. Already m any national and regional firms have created m arketing divisions w ithin their com panies solely responsible for researching trends and develop ing better strategies to attract the H ispanic consumer. This is a chal lenge due to the fact that H is panic people represent a vast di verse population and rapidly as sim ilate into m ainstream A m eri can culture. H ow ever, sm art com panies w ill invest tim e and re sources to heighten their aw are ness o f the attitu d es, interests and opinions o f this grow ing m ar ket o f H ispanic business leaders and consum ers. ■MA we on A Canoe Trip with the Gods By Christopher Shaw W.W. Norton & Company; 2000 M aya rebels in G uatem ala, and past som e o f the greatest ruins o f their classical M aya forbears. His goal w as to “take in the basin from top to bottom , at canoe speed, the speed o f the ancients, and gain a sense o f the step-by-step relations o f d is ta n c e a n d d ir e c tio n th a t u n d erg ird a b asic k n o w led g e o f place.” Early in 1997, Shaw set out on his canoe trip from the highlands to the gulf, and recounts his jo u rn ey in Sacred M onkey River. By then, the insurgency on the G uatem ala shore had subsided, but the Z apatista rebellion in C hiapas, and crim inal enterprises on both the M exican and G uatem alan sides o f the river, had throw n the basin into turmoil. W ith luck and the assis tance o f his local guides. Shaw w as a b le to g a in a c c e s s to th e U su m a c in ta h e a d w a te rs , in the Z apatista heartland. He paddled with rebels and visited their villages, while sim ultaneously contending w ith the hazards o f fluctuating river levels and political forces. Y et he was also able to discern encouraging signs for the future am ong the reg io n ’s people. The river, its num erous tributar ies and nearby lakes form ed a kind o f p re-C o lu m b ian superhighw ay. S h aw 's route, by raft and canoe, fol low ed ancient trade routes that sus ta in e d an d tran sm itte d c la ssic a l M aya civilization. Shaw argues that can o ein g n o t o nly su stain ed the M aya, but played a central role in the original peopling o f the W estern H em isphere. For the M aya, how ever, the river and canoe travel tran scended m igration or sim ple com m erce, constituting a “W atery P ath” at the nexus o f terrestrial geography and divine cosm ogony. As Shaw traverses the watershed’s varied terrain, his chronicle incorpo rated diverse elements o f adventure travel, anthropology, geopolitics, natu ral history and spiritual autobiography. Knowing Hispanic Market Translates Into Sales uponga que esta noche un árbol cae sobre su garaje... ¿QUIÉN LE AYUDARÁ MAÑANA? Assistant Consulate General Rita Maciel (left) and Consulate General Patricia Soria hosted the recent Mexico Independence celebration at the Consulate General de Mexico in Portland. The War on Drugs Rots America Bv S heldon R ichman for T he P ortland O bserver President C linton m ay have found a legacy, and the Republicans in C o n g re ss are b a c k in g h im . H is legacy? T aking the United States into the civil w ar raging in C olom bia by an injection o f $ 1.3 billion in m oney and m ilitary equipm ent, including com bat helicopters, not to m ention hundreds o f A m erican pilots and “advisors.” A nd w hy is he doing that? B ecause, he and his G O P allies say it is necessary to prosecute our do m estic W ar on Drugs. Such is the logic o f the W ar on D rugs - w hich is really a w ar against people. It’s another reason to dum p that policy forthw ith. Colom bia is the scene o f con tinuing violence involving the gov ernm ent, so-called left-w ing gue rillas, and so-called right w ing m ili tias. Peasants, m eanw hile, can m ake a living growing coca, w hich is turned into cocaine for the A m erican m ar ket. E ighty p ercen t o f A m erican cocaine originates in C olom bia. The U.S. governm ent w ants to stop the Usted está dentro de su casa, lejos de la amenaza de la gran tormenta. De repente... ¡b o o m !. ..cae un rayo. Y la siguiente cosa que ve es un árbol que penetra por el techo de su garaje. Para atender reclamos como éste es que existe American Family Insurance. Más de 70 años de experiencia significan servicio rápido y eficiente, y protección de casas en que usted puede confiar. La vida nos da sorpresas. Por eso es importante tener una póliza de seguros para dueños de casas que no lo haga. Si una tormenta hace que un árbol entre por el techo de su garaje esta noche, es bueno tener la confianza de que mañana Family entrará por la puerta para ayudarle. Llame hoy a uno de nuestros atentos y capaces agentes. O vis ite nuestro sitio en la red: w w w .a m f a m .c o m . ¡Averigüe todas las maneras en que “Family” puede ayudarle! MITO HOMÍ BUSMfSS K M T H UFl SS£5t ¡Toda Su Protección Bajo Un Solo Techo! Busque el agente mós cercano o usted en su directorio local Lo póliza que compre esto disponible sólo en inglés ©American Family Mutual Inauranca Company y sus aubsidianas. Oficina Central - Madtaon. Wl 53783 Oficina Centra - Cokimbus. OH 43240wwwamtam com I peasants from grow ing coca on the curious ground that the dem and on A m erican streets w ill dry up if the C olo m b ian supply vanishes. T he guerillas protect poor coca grow ers in return for m oney, w hich finances their activities, w hich in turn stim u lates activity by the m ilitias, w hich profit from drugs through their ties to w ealthy coca growers. The m ili tias w ork with the regular arm y, w hich w ill never w in an aw ard for respecting individual rights. A ccording to The Observer, the "em ergency” pork-barrel-laden bill passed by Congress also included m oney to finance the spraying o f C o lu m b ia’s co ca crops w ith the deadly herbicide Fusarium EN-4, w hich the n e w sp a p e r re p o rts is u se d to m a k e c h e m ic a l w e a p o n s, w ill h arm p la n ts o th e r th an c o c a , an d c o u ld e v e n tu a lly s ic k e n so m e h u m a n b e in g s. Y o u se e , as th e B o ls h e v ik s u se d to sa y , y o u c a n ’t m a k e an o m e le t w ith o u t b re a k in g a few eg g s. “Colom bia is the heart o f the drug w ar, and w e ’d better get on w ith it,” said G O P Sen. Paul C overdell. “ If we lose in Colom bia, then w e lose everyw here.” T h at’s the public line being put out by the president and his R epub lican allies. But there is reason for skepticism because such strategies have failed countless tim es before. A nytim e the U nited States has put pressure on farm ers in one Latin A m erican country, the drug traders have sim ply m oved som ew here else. For that m atter, w asn’t the end o f the notorious C olom bian drug cartels hailed ju st a few years ago? 1 guess th ey ’re back. N o one should rule out that the drug w ar is ju st an excuse for the United States to help the C olom bian governm ent in its civil war. B ut that is no business o f ours. Intervening there is certainly not authorized by the U.S. Constitution. N o C olom bian guerilla threatens the United States. But som e people w ill cling to the drug-w ar rationalization. By now, we should all see through that phony- baloney justification. The Painters of Santiago, Cuba Los Pintores de Santiago de Cuba For the first tim e in the history o f the Bush Bam A rt C enter exhibition program , the Salem Art A ssociation is bringing a com pletely interna tional show to the Salem audience, one in w hich every single participat ing artist lives and w orks outside N orth A m erica. “T he Painters o f Santiago, C uba" w ill open in the A.N. Bush G allery through Oct. 29. T he show is being jointly curated by G allery D irector Julie Larson and Jany A m etller From eta, C uban Specialist in A rts, who has orga nized several group show s o f paint ings in her hom etow n o f Santiago de Cuba. Frometa presented Larson with over 80 images o f paintings by vari o u s artists from the region and Larson selected 36 w orks by 12 artists for the final group. O n the second floor o f the Bush Bam Art Center, tw o other exhibi tions will be on view during “The Painters o f Santiago, C uba" show. T h e F o cu s G a lle ry w ill featu re photo-realist ball point draw ings by Ivan France, who is currently in resi dence at M acLaren Y outh C orrec tional Facility in W oodburn. France is serving a m andatory six year sen tence he received as a juvenile. While in residence at MacLaren, France has discoveredatalent for drawingand paint ing. W ithasimple,stateissuedballpoint pen, he is able to capture meticulous detail and an enormous range o f tonal value and gradiations. The Comer Li brary Gallery will show works by Salem area artist Felix Oliveras which deal with issues o f migrant workers. i
