Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, April 08, 2009, Page 7, Image 7

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    A p ril 8, 2009
Page A7
Haunted Darkness to Freedom’s Light
El Grito Del Bronx Electrifies
M iracle T heatre G roup pre­
sents “El G rito del B ronx,” an
electrify in g story that w ill re ­
m ind you o f the pow er and im-
Visions of Papo
(Matthew Dieckman),
a convicted murderer
awaiting execution,
are brought to life in
the Miracle Theatre
Group's production of
El Grito del Bronx,
now playing at the
Milagro Theatre. 525
S.E. Stark St.
photos by S tephanie
D avis
In an attempt to let go o f their violent past, Lulu (Cristi Miles, right) and her mother Maria
(Marjorie Tatum) visit Papo (Matthew Dieckman) on death row in Miracle Theatre Group's
production of El Grito del Bronx by Migdalia Cruz.
m e d ia c y o f th e a te r to g rab
h o ld o f y o u r e m o tio n s an d
take you on a jo u rn ey far w ay
from the hum drum o f here and
tion o f her youth and the v io ­
le n t le g a c y o f h e r b ro th e r,
Papo.
now.
H er m e m o rie s ra c e fro m
T he play by M igdalia C ruz
a n d d i r e c t e d by A n to n io ch ild h o o d to death row, from
Sonera, opens on L u lu ’s w ed- w hite d resses to oran g e ju m p
suits, from m urder to red em p ­
tion.
E l G rito d e l B ro n x is a
shocking, shout out to hope
that asks: H ow can we face
the future if we c a n ’t release
our ties to the past.
T he play, p resen ted in E n­
g lish , c o n ta in s in te n se la n ­
g u a g e , v io le n c e a n d a d u lt
s i t u a t i o n s , a n d is r e c o m ­
m ended for m ature audiences.
P e rfo rm a n c e s are s c h e d ­
u le d th ro u g h A p ril 2 5 ; on
T h u rsd ay s at 7 :30 p .m .; F ri­
days and S atu rd ay s at 8 p.m .;
and Sunday m atinees at 2 p.m.
T ickets are $20 and $22 and
c a n b e p u r c h a s e d fro m
m ilagro.org or by calling 503-
236-7253.
M iracle (M ilagro) T heatre,
525 S.E. Stark St., has been
d ing day. She stan d s tall in dedicated to bringing the v i­
h e r b e a u tifu l g o w n , g az in g b ran cy o f L atin o th e a te r to
into the m irror. But she c a n ­ th e N o rth w e s t c o m m u n ity
n o t look b ey o n d the reflec - and beyond for 25 years.
Census Challenge: Counting Hispanics Major Drug Arrest
(AP) - An heir to
one o f M e x ico 's
most notorious nar­
cotics empires was
grabbed by police as
he ex e rcise d in a
M exico City park,
I officials announced
when he died in 1997
during plastic sur­
gery to change his
a p p e a ra n c e . T he
U.S. Embassy said
T hursday that the
em battled remnant
of his cartel is still
T hursday, shortly
"one o f M ex ico 's
Carrillo Leyva
b efo re U .S . and
most ruthless orga­
Mexican Cabinet officials met nized criminal gangs, which con­
to coordinate attacks on esca­ trols one of the primary trans­
lating drug violence.
portation routes for illegal drug
Carrillo Leyva allegedly in- sh ip m e n ts in to th e U n ited
j herited a top position in the States."
Juarez cartel from his father
Prosecutors say Leyva, 32,
Amado C arrillo Fuentes, who was second only to his uncle
was nicknam ed "the Lord of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes in the
the Skies" for sending jetlin ­ gang, w hose battles with up­
e rs fu ll o f c o c a in e to th e start cartels have fed a blood­
l United States.
bath that saw 1,6(X) people killed
The father was considered in its ho m e b ase o f C iu d ad
Mexico's No. 1 drug trafficker Juarez last year.
Groups step up for accuracy
(A P) — W hat seem s like a
simple question — How many
H is p a n ic s are liv in g in th e
United States? — has become
surprisingly complex as the 2010
census approaches.
Hispanics and other minorities
h av e
h is to ric a lly
b een
undercounted in the once-a-de-
cade survey. Advocacy groups
are now launching efforts to en­
sure an accurate count, but a
variety o f factors have created
new problems for the painting of
America's official portrait.
Activists and government of­
ficials say fears over immigration
enforcem ent and governm ent
snooping are m aking people
more reluctant to share their in­
form ation. The econom ic and
budget cuts during the Bush
administration has slowed fund­
ing for the census. Millions of
laid-off renters and foreclosed
h om eow ners are also on the
move.
There are m ore im m igrants
here, speaking more languages,
than ever before. Some o f those
immigrants may not know what
a census is, or may come from
countries where such informa­
tion is used against rather than
for the people.
"This country is ju st m uch
more complex now, on many dif­
ferent levels," said Terry Ao, d i­
rector o f census and voting pro­
grams for the Asian American
Justice Center.
T he 2 0 0 0 ce n su s co u n ted
3 5 ,3 0 5 ,8 1 8 H ispanics in the
United States. Hispanic groups
estimate that several million more
were missed. In 2007, the most
recent year available, the H is­
panic population had grown to
an estimated 44,852,816.
T he C onstitution m andates
that every ten years, each per­
son living in the country — re­
gardless o f citizenship or im m i­
g ra tio n sta tu s — m u st be
counted.
The census results are used
to draw congressional districts
and allocate hundreds o f billions
of dollars in federal funding for
schools, roads and oth er ser­
vices. T he data also tric k les
down to state and local govern­
m ents for determ ining ev ery ­
thing from the size of hospitals
to the placement of bus stops.
Hispanic groups are now at
the forefront of a coalition span­
ning politics, social services and
Spanish-language media that is
planning a broad census effort.
They are hoping to partner with
the Census Bureau on com m u­
nity-based programs, public ser­
vice announcem ents and paid
advertising. They also w ant m i­
norities hired to plan the o ut­
reach and conduct door-to-door
surveys in areas with high per­
centages of immigrants and other
hard-to-count populations, such
as black men.
"We're prepared to mount our
own national campaign to count
ourselves," Escobedo said. "We
are g oing to m o tiv ate ev ery
ounce of people power that we
Michael Tillery
Efrain Escobedo of the National Association of Latino
Elected Officials is overseeing a national campaign to get
an accurate count o f Hispanics in the upcoming Census.
have ... to let people know it's so
critical for your child's education,
and for your services in the com ­
munity."
The Census Bureau seems re­
ceptive to these efforts.
For the first time, it will mail
bilingual form s to 13 million
homes this year. It has a more
accurate database o f addresses
and dem ographic inform ation
thanks to the annual American
Community Survey, which began
in 2001. It is soliciting employ­
ees who can speak languages
other than English.
Broker
503.975.8004
In 1990, the census missed an
e stim a te d 8 m illio n p eo p le,
m ostly im m igrants and urban
minorities, advocacy groups say,
and it counted about 4 million
whites twice, mostly college stu­
dents and people w ho owned
two homes. There was less o f a
minority undercount in 2(XX).
The impact o f undercounting
can be significant. For example,
about 838,000 Californians went
uncounted in 1990, which cost
the state $223 million in Medic­
aid and other federal programs,
according to the GAO.
michael@ bridgetownrealty.com
Please call me, your neighborhood
specialist, for any o f your Real
Estate needs. My success is built on
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—
BRÌI 3GETOWN
r R EALTY 1
/ -----------------------------------------------------
Housing Upgrades
Just over a month after Presi­
dent O bam a signed the A m eri­
can R ecovery and R e in v e st­
m ent Act into law, the U.S. D e­
partm ent o f Housing and Urban
announced last w eek that $3
billion will be spent on making
sig n ific an t im p ro v em en ts to
te n s o f th o u sa n d s o f p u b lic
V.
housing units nationwide.
“President O bam a has given
us th e m a n d a te to p u t th is
money to work quickly so it can
m ake a real difference in the
lives o f A m ericans," said HUD
S e c re ta ry S h au n D o n o v a n .
“H UD is w orking overtim e to
get this money to our housing
authorities so they can repair
and produce critically needed
affordable housing, create jobs,
and im prove the quality o f life
for their residents.”
T h e s tim u lu s m o re th a n
doubles the dep artm en t's an ­
nual support o f local housing
a u th o ritie s to im prove th e ir
public housing stock.
T erry F a m ily
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Providing Insurance ano fina n ,il Servîtes
IM tK IA M C I
Bone Office. Bloomington. Illinois IB/111
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Portland, Or 97227
503-249-1788
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4946 N Vancouver Aw n n> Portland. OR 97217
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