May 2013!
Volume 1 Issue 1!
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www.saclatino.com!
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$3.99
School Board Member Diana Rodriguez Seeks 9th Assembly Seat Education Champion looks toward pushing sensable public policy for education
INSIDE: Gloria Torres Vies for Woman of the Year -------Elk始s Lodge Cinco de Mayo Car-Show 2013
Est. 1983 ...serving the freshest juices and licuados in town, nothing frozen or concentrated. Our menu also includes sandwiches, salads, our famous quesadilla, fresh-ground coffee, mochas and other espresso drinks. A nice selection of beer and wine is also offered. Enjoy it all in the comfortable atmosphere of Luna's, one of this area's original cafe galleries. Or call in your order and we will have it ready for take-out. Luna's is available for meetings, fundraisers and catering your office luncheons. Breakfast is served Monday through Saturday. Featuring music and entertainment Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Dinner served starting at 5pm.
(916) 441-3931 1414 16th Street Sacramento, CA 95814
Hours: Monday: 9am-4pm, and 6:30pm-10pm Tuesday: 9am-4pm Wednesday: 9am-4pm, and 6pm-10pm Thursday: 9am-4pm, and 6pm-11pm Friday: 9am-4pm*, and 6pm-Midnight Saturday: 6:30pm to Midnight Sunday: Closed * We are closed for most holidays and Furlough Fridays between 8am-4pm 2!
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Get Noticed! www.pop-9.com
Our job is to get the word out and let the world know about it.
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Editorial - Opinion - Letters
From The Publisher: ! Welcome, welcome, welcome. Our home is your home, mi casa es su casa...as it is said, and we want you to know that this publication is not just for us, it is for you too. ! SacLatino is the Sacramento Valley始s only publication dedicated to news and information about and for the Latino community. But beyond that, it is the only publication to use the full compliment of tools now available to maximize readership. Yes, you can find us in print and online. ! The news and information we provide will be fresh and of crossover interest, meaning we want nonLatinos to also read and learn about the various things happening and the people making the news. We aim to provide news and information other media did not cover, but should have. Table of Contents: ! Hope you enjy our inaugrual issue and Cover Story: Diana Rodriguez seeks 9th please feel free to rovide feedback at Assembly seat info@pop-9.com. Enjoy. " .... Page 8 !
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Profile: Gloria Torres vying for Woman of the Year " .... Page 6 Event: Pocket Area始s ELks Lodge hosts Cinco de Mayo Car Show " .... Page 8
Advertise! Get your word out to the growing Latino community!
Call (916) 396-4053 Today!
ARTS: Fashion Designer Rory Castillo comes back to Sacramento " .... Page 12 Business: Sacramento Hispanic Chamber hosts Small business event " " .... Page 13 La Gente: Out and About " .... Page 14
About SacLatino ! SacLatino and SacLatino.com are published and owned by POP-9 Communications, a private, for-profit public relations and communications business. For comments, information, or submit articles, write to: POP-9 Communications, 2213 Del Paso Blvd, #149, Sacramento, CA 95815 or email us at info@pop-9.com. Any article and/or opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect the views of SacLatino, SacLatino.com or POP-9 Communications, but remain solely those of the author(s). SacLatino and SacLatino.com are copyrighted and its contents may not be copied or used without prior written consent. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. 4!
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Our Kids' Community Breakfast Club A Self-Sustaining Empowered Community Our Kids' Community Breakfast Club (OKCBC) a community engagement model, is designed to improve the quality of life for kids and their families. The program operates during the time when school is not in session on Saturdays. The five program components include: • • • • •
Nutritious Breakfast Arts and Crafts Literacy and Math Activities Parent Education Basic Health Screenings
OKCBC currently takes place on the fourth Saturday of each month from 10:00am-12:00pm at Oak Park Community Center, located at 3425 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Sacramento, CA. OKCBC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Tax ID 27-3502550
contact@okcbc.org DONATE
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Profile - Leadership
Gloria Torres: Winner of Sacramento’s Woman of the Year A one-time cancer survivor and now afflicted again, Gloriaʼs determination makes the whole community proud. !
For many, it is difficult to
understand the passion and determination of a woman who has already given greatly to her community, but insists on giving more. But for those who know Gloria Torres, it is that commitment and determination that theyʼve come to expect from the five-foot dynamo. To expect any less from Gloria would be unbecoming of her and would raise suspicion that there was something wrong. ! Born in the picturesque community of Truckee, California, Gloria grew up in a large family where her father worked for the railroad. ! “It was like a ʻPayton Place,ʼ where everyone knew each other,” says Gloria. “And, growing up with my grandmother and 9 uncles, I learned early to never wait for someone to help.” ! Today, Gloria finds the sound of trains very 6!
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soothing and reminds her of a childhood where family was key. ! “I learned from my family, life skills and the basic skill of helping,” adds Gloria. “We had an altar in our house to honor our passed family members, decorated with flowers and candles and now, my daughters are continuing that tradition.” ! Gloria moved with her family to Sacramento at a young age, becoming a graduate of Sacramento High School, Sacramento City College and finally attending Sacramento State University. ! ! ! ! ! Continued
! Growing up, it became natural for Gloria to volunteer and help groups and organizations with a mission to help the underserved communities. ! “I got involved with family oriented events where I could share my Mexican and Native cultures,” says Gloria. “Educating children through stories is important. I believe the parents provide the molding of a child, but friends and teachers enrich their upbringing.” ! Gloriaʼs volunteerism has not gone unrecognized. Wells Fargo Bank honored her as “Volunteer of the Year” and the Mexican American Hall of Fame acknowledged Gloria for the community work she has donated. And now, Gloria has volunteered again, to get the Sacramento Latino community to give to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. ! “I have gotten to know many people through our ʻCup of Loveʼ project whose lives have been changed because of cancer,” says Gloria. “For me, it has become very important for us to find a cure, especially for the many children afflicted with this disease.”
! In 1999 Gloria was diagnosed with Leukemia, a blood cancer commonly associated with children. But, as an adult, the treatments available are different. Gloria was given experimental medication that helped the cancer go into remission and she was cancer free for 15 years. ! “Last year, I worked on the Leukemia Lymphoma Societyʼs ʻMan and Woman of the Yearʼ and helped raise over $70 thousand for our candidate alone,” says Gloria. “I had a great time, but more importantly we knew the amount contributed would go toward more research. So, I decided I could do more by running for ʻWoman of the Yearʼ this year.” ! Gloriaʼs team began meeting toward late fall of 2012, designing several events for the 10-week campaign scheduled to begin March 1, 2013. But in February 2013, just as the campaign was getting ready to launch, Gloria received a disheartening blow. Her cancer had returned.! ! ! ! ! ! ! Continued Page 15
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Cover Story
School Board Member Diana Rodriguez Seeks 9th Assembly Seat The long-time South Sacramento resident looks toward making public policy to improve the stateʼs education system ! For the many who meet her for the first time, Diana Rodriguez is a very personable woman with a contagious spark of enthusiasm that is fresh and gets results. Her keene attention to detail sets her apart from her fellow Board members on the Sacramento Unified School District Board of Trustees. ! Now on her 5th year as a Board member, including serving as Board President, Diana is seeking to represent the 9th Assembly District, where she can better effectuate education public policy. ! “I fought hard to keep targeted schools open,” she says referring to the recent school closures the Board approved. “The communities most impacted were those with little or no voice on what goes on and thatʼs one of the reasons I decided to run for Assembly.” 8!
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! A product of public schools, Diana grew up between the farming community of Watsonville, California, near her birth town of Santa Cruz, and Sacramento. Her father was a Hewlett Packard employee and her mother a teacherʼs assistant. They divorced when Diana was 10, which created a difficult period for her, resulting in her grandmother being awarded guardianship. ! “I lived between Sacramento and Watsonville, attending schools in both communities,” says Diana. “I went to Luther Burbank High School until my junior year when I decided to stay with my grandmother and finish high school in Watsonville.” ! Upon graduating, Diana moved to Los Angeles to attend college, but quickly ! ! ! Continued on next page
found that without family support, living there was more challenging. So she moved back to Watsonville to attend the local community college. ! Working at her uncleʼs restaurant, renting a room from her grandmother and going to school was what Diana wanted. The last thing on Dianaʼs mind was becoming an unwed mother, but life has a tendency to through the proverbial curve, and she suddenly found herself with an unanticipated pregnancy. ! “I had moved in with a couple of friends, during the pregnancy,” says Diana. “Eventually, I moved back with my grandmother and delivered a healthy little girl, who is now 20.” ! With the responsibility of a child, Diana got a job and continued taking college courses during her lunch periods. ! “One day, a coworker encouraged me to go back to school, so I did and it was a challenge to balance work, school, and raise my daughter, but I was doing it,” says Diana. “I kept going to school even after getting married and having two more children.” ! In 2007, Diana and her family moved to Sacramento, and it was then when she found a need for area children to get a better education. ! “In listening to the parents and kids in my neighborhood and reading in the paper the troubles the Sacramento Unified School District was having, I felt a need to get involved and do something about what I believed to be an atrosity,” she says. ! Around the same time, a former coworker who had also moved to Sacramento, and who was politically savvy, approached and convinced Diana to run for the School Board. Not having any political inclination prior to that day, Diana had to think it thoroughly. ! “My friend Rosa introduced me to several key individuals who all worked in getting me elected,” Diana adds. “It was very hard work - the precinct walking, fundraising, networking and learning everything I could about school issues.” ! Dianaʼs victory was a surprise and many were talking about her achievement. But, it was her work with fellow Boardmemberr, Gustavo Arroyo, on getting the largest Latino participation in the Sacramento census that put her on the radar of political leaders across the state. Since then, she has been invited numerous times to the White House to participate in the Presidentʼs Edu-
cation Hispanic Initiative and was also elected President of the School Board by her peers. ! More recently, Diana was hailed as a champion of the underdogs as the School
L-R: Diana, State Senator Alex Padilla, former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Astronaut Jose Hernandez
Board decided to close 11 schools, due to budgetary cutbacks. Diana fought the closures together with many parents who felt the District had failed to show proof that those schools were losing money. ! Knowing she could be more helpful to education by being at the State Capitol, Diana decided to run for the 9th Assembly District. ! “With the largest economy in the nation, California ought to be first in education funding,” says Diana. “Twenty-first century employers should be able to recruit enough educated and trained workers from right here.” ! Dianaʼs passion to improve education makes her a strong ally of parents and teachers alike, who are looking to ensure their childʼs education comes first. - SacLatino
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Sacramento Car Show May 4, 2013 Hosted By
And Sacramento Elks Lodge #6
Car Club
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Cinco de Mayo Event
“This is such a great event! It reminds me of the old days when we used to cruise Broadway and hang out at Miller Park. It brings back a lot of memories. I think “Tiny” (John Morales) has done a great job with this show.” ! ! - Pancho
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From Page 7 - Gloria Torres
! “On February 22, 2013, I went for my yearly checkup and was told that the leukemia had returned,” says Gloria, wiping a tear. “I was devastated.” ! She informed her team about the doctorʼs findings and told them she was now more committed than ever to raise at least $50 thousand for cancer research. Immediately, the team grew in size and helped launch the campaign with a successful spaghetti feed. More and more volunteers joined the campaign and the creative events brought members of the community from all corners and races. ! On May 11, 2013, the campaign came to an end with a ʻThe Grand Finale Galaʼ that was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Sacramento. By this date, Gloria and her team have concluded the most number of events centering around the Latino community ever conducted in Sacramento within a 10-week period. From film lectures, to fashion shows and from spaghetti feeds to chili cook-offs, there is no doubt Gloriaʼs volunteerism has brought this community together like never before. Moreover, it has brought a higher awareness to the Latino com-
munity about why it is important to volunteer. ! The evening of May 11, 2013, Gloria Torres was named Woman of the Year and was also the recipient of the ʻBobby Dean Awardʼ for expanding awareness of the campaign to parts of the community that have been traditionally unaware. Congratulations! Thank you for making us proud. - SacLatino
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Upcoming Events From Vida de Oro September 28, 2013 - The Vida de Oro Awards Gala In conjunction with Sacramentoʼs La Familia Counseling Center, Vida de Oro will hold an awards program to acknowledge individuals in the arts as well as community leaders. This event will take place at the Lions Gate Hotel Conference Center at McClellan Business Park. !
Features: • Craft and art exhibits • Performances (Musicians, dancers, fashion show, theatrics) • Film Screenings • Lowrider car show and exhibition • Attendance: 3000+ (Admission fee) • Live Streaming: 10,000+
October 5, 2013 - The 2nd Annual Taco Festival Established in 2012 to great reviews and we know the 2013 2nd Annual will be much larger with many more taco makers. The event is tentatively scheduled to take place in an open airport hanger at McClellan Business Park. !
Features: • Craft and art exhibits • Cooking and eating contests • Continuous entertainment • Tequila tasting • Attendance: 3,000+ (Free event except for competitions)
STAY TUNED BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE
WWW.VIDADEORO.ORG