June 2020
Volume 16 No.7
Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
contents
2 Foto del Mes/Photo of the Month
Delmarina López obtains a Juris Doctor from WNEU Law Delmarina is a first-generation college graduate and the first in her entire family to receive a doctoral level degree. During her time at Western New England University School of Law (WNEU Law), she served as President of Alternative Spring Break where she organized a trip for law students to Puerto Rico, and engaged in pro bono public interest work. She served as Co-President of the National Lawyers’ Guild, as Associate Justice on the Judicial Advisory Board, and as Treasurer of the Latinx Law Student Association. Delmarina served as a Team Lead for Just The Beginning - A Pipeline Organization working with underprivileged youth during the Summer Legal Institute. Additionally, she worked in the Secretary of State’s Office, and took part in the Immigration Clinic where she worked on Asylum and SIJ cases at the Central West Justice Center.
2 Editorial / Editorial Cadencia Latina presenta programa de eventos culturales virtuales 3 Portada / Front Page Coronavirus Compounds Inequality and Endangers Communities of Color 5 NO MORE y National Domestic Violence Hotline responden a aumento en abuso doméstico durante la crisis del COVID-19 6 Study reveals that Puerto Rico’s transparency laws are worse than in most countries 7 VA Central Western Mass. Police Officer Bridges Language Gap for Veterans at Clinic 8 Libros/ Books The Kingdom Began in Puerto Rico Compatriotas: Exilio y retorno de Luis Muñoz Marín 9 Cultura / Culture One Million Emergency Relief Fund for the Puerto Rican Arts and Culture Sector 9 Sunbelt Diaspora: Race, Class, and Latino Politics in Puerto Rican Orlando 11 Medios / Media Amherst Media receives Mass Humanities grant for documentary project
12 Educación / Education Nursing Schools Almanac ranks STCC 2-year program among top
Cita del Mes/ Quote of the Month “I am less interested in “giving voice” to marginalized populations and more interested in showing how academic knowledge production is designed to actively exclude these marginalized voices while pretending to listen to them under the banner of “diversity” and “inclusion.” Tweets by Nelson Flores @nelsonlflores · May 27, 2020 Nelson Flores is an Associate Professor in Educational Linguistics at the Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Publish your bilingual ad in El Sol Latino! Call us today at (413) 320-3826
OT TINTA E H INK CALIENTAU RAMOS por MANUEL
In Holyoke, during the recent replacement
process of Dr. Zrike as Holyoke School Receiver, ideas have been publicly debated regarding the continued control of the schools by the state.
FR
The public conversations and debates have centered on the pros and cons of the schools remaining under a receivership. Some Puerto Rican Holyoke residents have expressed their concern that the Puerto Rican community seems to have been kept on the sidelines in this conversation. Taking into account the high concentration of Puerto Ricans in Holyoke, many of whom are Spanish-speaking families with children in the schools, two elements of this community debate should be of concern. 1. The under-representation of Puerto Ricans who are part of either group of retired teachers and administrators that have been raising this issue in the media and in public forums. 2. This debate or conversion has only been taking place in ENGLISH ONLY.
HCC student Mayerlies Díaz selected as national ‘Dream Scholar’
13 Estudiantes y egresados del RUM arrasan con becas de National Science Foundation 14 Ciencias / Science El riesgo de autismo aumenta para niños cuyos padres tienen un hermano con autismo
Founded in 2004
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Volume 16, No. 7 n June 2020
Editor Manuel Frau Ramos manuelfrau@gmail.com 413-320-3826 Assistant Editor Ingrid Estrany-Frau Managing Editor Diosdado López Art Director Tennessee Media Design Business Address El Sol Latino P.O Box 572 Amherst, MA 01004-0572
Editorial Policy
El Sol Latino acepta colaboraciones tanto en español como en inglés. Nos comprometemos a examinarlas, pero no necesariamente a publicarlas. Nos reservamos el derecho de editar los textos y hacer correcciones por razones de espacio y/o estilo. Las colaboraciones pueden ser enviadas a nuestra dirección postal o a través de correo electrónico a: info@elsollatino.net. El Sol Latino welcomes submissions in either English or Spanish. We consider and review all submissions but reserve the right to not publish them. We reserve the right to edit texts and make corrections for reasons of space and/or style. Submissions may be sent to our postal address or via electronic mail to: info@elsollatino.net. El Sol Latino is published monthly by Coquí Media Group. El Sol Latino es publicado mensualmente por Coquí Media Group, P.O Box 572, Amherst, MA 01004-0572.
Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino June 2020
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Cadencia Latina presenta programa de eventos culturales virtuales por MANUEL FRAU RAMOS Importantes organizaciones latinas del área de Boston formaron un innovador proyecto cultural - Cadencia Latina - que consiste de una serie de eventos virtuales con artistas Latinx. Músicos, bailarines y poetas Latinx expondrán su arte a través de las redes sociales. Esta alianza cultural está compuesta por las siguientes organizaciones: Amplify Latinx, Hyde Square Task Force, Boston Latin Quarter, Cojuelos’ Productions y Ágora Cultural Architects. Los eventos se comenzaron a transmitir en vivo el pasado 31 de mayo. Se continuarán trasmitiendo por Facebook todos los jueves y domingos a las 7 p.m., hasta el 5 de julio. • 31 de mayo - Música de Fabiola Méndez y su cuatro. Fabiola abrió las puertas al cuatro, el instrumento nacional de Puerto Rico, al convertirse en la primera intérprete de cuatro en graduarse de Berklee College of Music en Boston. Fabiola ha colaborado con reconocidos músicos tales como Victoria Sanabria, Cucco Peña, Eddie Palmieri, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Danny Rivera, Edwin Colón Zayas, la Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico y Los Rayos Gamma, entre otros. • 4 de junio - Música de Manolo Mairena y Leo Blanco. Mairena es un vocalista y percusionista costarricense que ha tocado en grupos como La Clave Secreta, Mango Blue, Cinco Son y Balatón. Es un intérprete de ritmos latinos como el bolero, la salsa y los ritmos cubanos, entre otros. Se le unirá el pianista y compositor Leo Blanco quien es conocido por su mezcla de música venezolana, afro-caribeña, norteamericana y europea. Blanco es miembro de la facultad de Berklee School of Music. • 7 de junio - Música de Angel Subero y Wilson Vera. Subero, músico venezolano y miembro de la facultad de Berklee School of Music y Longy School of Music de Bard College, tocará el trombón. Angelo Subero ha sido parte de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Boston, Boston Pops, la Orquesta Sinfónica de Pittsburgh, la Orquesta Sinfónica de Islandia, y la Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela. A Subero se le unirá el talentoso guitarrista Wilson Vera. • 11 de junio - La poesía de Yara Liceaga. Liceaga es una reconocida escritora, autora de varios libros de poesía. Es coordinadora de la serie de arte multidisciplinario “La poesía está ocupada” y columnista de la sección Buscapié del periódico puertorriqueño El Nuevo Día. Hoy ofrece talleres de escritura creativa y artes en inglés y español.
• 14 de junio - Folk-Ballet Colombiano de Bajucol. Esta organización sin fines de lucro, fundada por Miguel Vargas en 1995, se dedica a entretener e inspirar a los jóvenes a perseguir su pasión por el folklore y la danza colombiana. Bajucol está compuesto por 20 jóvenes de diferentes edades que se unen por su amor por el baile y para representar su identidad latinoamericana.
• 18 de junio - Danza moderna con Marsha Parrilla. Coreógrafa puertorriqueña, intérprete y directora artística fundadora de Danza Orgánica, una compañía de teatro de danza contemporánea. Danza Orgánica recibió el destacado premio de artes comunitarias en danza debido a sus fundamentos básicos en justicia social, alcance comunitario y su capacidad para difundir narrativas antirracistas a través de la danza. continued on page 4
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Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino June 2020
Cadencia Latina presenta programa de eventos culturales virtuales continued from page 3 • 21 de junio - Salsa, bachata y merengue por Eli Pabón. Bailarina, escritora de canciones, cantante, instructora, educadora y percusionista. Pabón. natural Boston, aprendió a temprana edad a tocar instrumentos de percusión, así como a bailar bailes folclóricos tradicionales y modernos de América Latina, como bomba, plena, salsa y hip hop, entre otros. Pabón es maestra de danza y artes escénicas en la Escuela Ellison Parks en Boston, así como miembro de Artist Collective de MetaMovements. Además, es la fundadora de BOMBAntillana, cuyo objetivo es explorar la cultura y los bailes puertorriqueños tradicionales a través de una serie de talleres. • 25 de junio - Monólogo de Paloma Valenzuela. Escritora, directora y actriz dominicana estadounidense de Boston. Estudió escritura para cine y televisión en Emerson College y creó su propia compañía de producción llamada La Gringa Loca Productions. Desde 2010, La Gringa Loca ha producido varias obras de teatro, cortometrajes, documentales, comerciales, una serie cómica en la web, y videos promocionales. La serie Comedic Web, “The Pineapple Diaries” es una serie galardonada que ha sido ampliamente reconocida. • 28 de junio - Clase de baile con Ana Masacote. Esta es una rara oportunidad de aprender danza de un bailarina galardonada y una orgullosa embajadora internacional de danza y música latina. Con más de 20 años de experiencia, Masacote ha derribado las barreras culturales a través de sus poderosas actuaciones de baile. Ana Masacote apareció en la revista La Voz Del Mambo, la revista Cuerpo, y el periódico Dallas Morning. Ana Masacote cofundó Masacote Entertainment en 2003 y ha difundido su talento a través del mundo. • 2 de julio - Música de Zahili González y su piano. Talentosa pianista y cantante natural de Cuba. Ha viajado por todo el mundo, experimentado con diversos géneros, y colaborado con diversos artistas. Estudió jazz en Berklee College of Music. Actualmente es miembro del Jazz Trio, MIXCLA, cuyo objetivo es representar la unidad global y el multiculturalismo no solo a través de sus diversos antecedentes sino también a través de su mezcla de géneros desde la rumba cubana moderna hasta el Cha tradicional. MIXCLA ganó la destacada actuación de Downbeat Magazine Latin Group en 2017 y la nominación de los Boston Music Awards como artista internacional del año en 2018. • 5 de julio - Música de Andrea Cruz. Cantante y artista galardonado, que creó su sonido único en 2014, una combinación de indie folk con influencias anglo y sonidos latinoamericanos. Andrea se inspira en su trasfondo cultural y crea una experiencia musical única. Su primer álbum en 2017 “Tejido de Laurel” alcanzó las mejores listas en Puerto Rico y desde entonces ha actuado en el famoso festival de música SXSW en Austin, TX. Además, abrió para Kany García en 2019 en Puerto Rico y ha participado en la serie de conciertos Tiny Desk de NPR Music. Hoy está promocionando su segundo álbum, “Sentir no es del Tiempo.” “Llevamos más de un año presentando arte y cultura latinoamericana en Boston; hemos visto la diferencia que hace en las comunidades y extrañamos poder hacerlo de manera segura en los tiempos de COVID-19. Es por eso que nos emociona tanto producir esta serie y volver a conectar con nuestra audiencia,” dijo Beba Rivera, cofundadora de Ágora.
“En Hyde Square Task Force estamos encantados de asociarnos con artistas y organizaciones tan poderosas para traer Cadencia Latina a la comunidad. Como socio gerente del distrito cultural Latin Quarter de Boston, esperamos que al unirnos virtualmente a través de esta increíble formación de artistas latinxs, logremos levantar el espíritu de la gente durante estos momentos difíciles,” compartió Celina Miranda, Directora Ejecutiva del Grupo de Trabajo Hyde Square. La Directora Ejecutiva de Amplify Latinx, Rosario Ubiera-Minaya, también se alegra de presentar estos eventos por su capacidad para aumentar el compromiso cívico. “Nuestros artistas aportan a la verdadera representación del sentir de nuestra cultura y nuestras comunidades. Su talento y la vitalidad de su trabajo nos ayudan a expresar mensajes que resonarán en nuestra comunidad. Estamos entusiasmados con esta colaboración, que no solo sostiene a nuestra comunidad artística, sino que también apoya los objetivos de Amplify Latinx y su compromiso al quehacer civil y la representación.” Para añadir estos eventos a sus calendarios y seleccionar dónde transmitirlos, visite cualquiera de las páginas de los socios participantes: www.facebook.com/culturalagora, www.facebook.com/amplifylatinx, www. facebook.com/cojuelosproductions o www.facebook.com/bostonlatinquarter. • Amplify Latinx es un movimiento colaborativo y no partidista cuya misión es construir el poder económico y político de lxs Latinxs aumentando significativamente el compromiso civil y la representación de Latinxs en posiciones de liderazgo en todos los sectores. • Hyde Square Task Force ( HSTF) tiene como misión amplificar el poder, la creatividad y las voces de los jóvenes, conectándolos con la cultura y el patrimonio afro-latino para que puedan crear un barrio latino diverso y construir un Boston justo y equitativo. HSTF es el socio gerente del Barrio Latino de Boston, que es un distrito cultural, racial y económicamente diverso ubicado en Bost. • Cojuelos’ Productions es una agencia de consultoría que celebra toda expresión artística a través de programación y experiencias creativas, innovadoras, y culturalmente diversas. • Ágora Cultural Architects es una firma de producción y consultoría comprometida con las artes y la comunicación de la cultura latinoamericana.
Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino June 2020
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NO MORE y National Domestic Violence Hotline responden a aumento en abuso doméstico durante la crisis del COVID-19 NEW YORK, NY | HISPANIC PR WIRE | 29 de abril de 2020 - Los informes de muchas ciudades y países indican que la crisis del COVID-19 está provocando un importante aumento de la violencia doméstica, y varios países y ciudades citan haber tenido más del doble del número habitual de llamadas a la policía, a las líneas telefónicas de ayuda y/o a los servicios de apoyo. La línea telefónica National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) está recibiendo muchas llamadas de sobrevivientes de violencia doméstica que indican que el COVID-19 está siendo utilizado por parejas abusivas para aumentar el control y el abuso. Como respuesta directa a la situación, la NO MORE Foundation (NO MÁS) y The Hotline están ampliando significativamente su campaña pública de sensibilización y acción recientemente lanzada.
detener la epidemia de la violencia doméstica, tanto ahora como más allá de esta crisis inmediata”, dijo Pamela Zaballa, directora ejecutiva global de la fundación NO MORE Foundation. “El aislamiento es una de las tácticas más fuertes que puede utilizar un abusador; por esta razón, es más importante que nunca crear una comunidad en torno a un superviviente durante el COVID-19”, dijo Katie Ray-Jones, directora ejecutiva de la National Domestic Violence Hotline. “Para aquellos que conocen y se preocupan por los sobrevivientes o que observan el abuso, usted puede ser parte del plan de seguridad de la víctima. Ya sea que usted sea un sobreviviente o alguien que se preocupa por un sobreviviente, los defensores de The Hotline están aquí para ayudarle a entender las mejores maneras de protegerse a sí mismo y apoyar a aquellos en riesgo”. “Este es un momento en el tiempo que no podemos perder; es un momento para activar la nación para que ‘Escuchen desde casa’ mientras ‘Trabajan desde casa’. Y lo que es más importante, orientar a las personas sobre los recursos de ayuda”, dijo Nicky Bullard, presidenta de la junta directiva y directora creativa de MRM.
Titulada #Listeningfromhome (Escuchar desde casa) y creada por MRM, la campaña tiene por objetivo aumentar la concienciación de las personas sobre la violencia doméstica y alentarlas a obtener ayuda de manera segura si experimentan, escuchan u observan incidentes de abuso doméstico. Además de un esfuerzo ampliado en las redes sociales, la campaña será incluida ahora en más de 300 vallas publicitarias digitales de Lamar en más de 50 mercados de los Estados Unidos. Específicamente, se aconseja a las personas que escuchan hablar de un ser querido o vecino que es objeto de violencia doméstica: • En los EE.UU., llamar The Hotline al 1-800-799-7233 para conseguir apoyo. • Llamar a la policía en caso de emergencia. • Obtener más información sobre todas las formas de abuso en el sitio nomore.org. • Hacer una donación a The Hotline para que pueda seguir prestando servicios vitales y críticos a cientos de miles de supervivientes. Una de cada cuatro mujeres y uno de cada nueve hombres experimentan grave violencia física a manos de su pareja, según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC). Con muchas personas actualmente aisladas en casa para contener la propagación de COVID-19, muchas víctimas de violencia doméstica se encuentran atrapadas junto a sus abusadores. Cualquier factor externo que añada estrés y tensión financiera puede afectar negativamente a los sobrevivientes y crear circunstancias en las que su seguridad se vea aún más comprometida. “Estos son tiempos difíciles para todos, y más aún para las víctimas de abuso doméstico”, dijo Ian Dallimore, vicepresidente de desarrollo digital de Lamar Advertising. “El mensaje de NO MORE es uno muy importante en tiempos como estos. Nos enorgullece apoyar los esfuerzos de la National Domestic Violence Hotline y ayudar a concienciar sobre los horrores del abuso doméstico a través de nuestra red digital”. “Como en el caso del COVID-19, los signos de abuso doméstico no siempre son visibles. Sin embargo, ahora que la gente está en casa, puede que escuchen más de lo habitual lo que sucede en las casas de sus vecinos. Queremos reclutar a estas personas como aliados en el esfuerzo por
NO MORE Foundation se dedica a poner fin a la violencia doméstica y a la agresión sexual mediante el aumento de la concienciación, la inspiración a tomar acción y el fomento del cambio cultural. Con más de 1,400 organizaciones aliadas y más de 40 capítulos estatales, locales e internacionales, la fundación NO MORE estimula el activismo de base, animando a todos -mujeres y hombres, jóvenes y adultos, de todas las profesiones y condiciones sociales- a ser parte de la solución. La fundación crea y proporciona campañas de concienciación pública, recursos educativos y herramientas de organización comunitaria gratuitas para todo aquel que desee detener y prevenir la violencia doméstica. Fundada en 2013, NO MORE ha reunido a la mayor coalición de grupos defensores, proveedores de servicios, oficinas gubernamentales, grandes empresas, universidades, comunidades y personas, todos bajo una marca común y un símbolo unificador en apoyo de un mundo libre de violencia. Durante casi veinticinco años, la National Domestic Violence Hotline ha respondido al llamado -respondiendo a más de 5.2 millones de llamadas, chats y mensajes de texto hasta la fecha- de los afectados por el abuso dentro de las relaciones. Como el único proveedor nacional de servicios que atiende las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana y los 365 días al año a través de llamadas, chats y mensajes de texto, la organización trabaja para arrojar luz sobre la violencia doméstica apoyando y defendiendo a los supervivientes, ofreciendo esperanza en tiempos de crisis y promoviendo relaciones saludables para todos. La línea telefónica de ayuda The Hotline trabaja a todos los niveles para asegurar un futuro en el que todas las relaciones sean positivas, saludables y libres de violencia. Los defensores proporcionan apoyo a través del chat en línea en los sitios loveisrespect.org y TheHotline.org, a través de mensajes de texto enviando el mensaje ‘loveis’ al 22522*, y por teléfono llamando a The Hotline al 1-800-799-SAFE o llamando a loveisrespect al 1-866-331-9474. Fundada en 1902, Lamar Advertising Company es una de las mayores empresas de publicidad exterior del mundo, con más de 360,000 vallas publicitarias en los Estados Unidos y Canadá. Lamar ofrece a los anunciantes una variedad de formatos de publicidad, tales como vallas publicitarias, logotipos interestatales y publicidad en medios de transporte y aeropuertos, ayudando tanto a las empresas locales como a las marcas nacionales a llegar a un amplio público todos los días. Además de su inventario más tradicional de publicidad exterior, Lamar se enorgullece de ofrecer a sus clientes la mayor red de vallas publicitarias digitales en Estados Unidos, con más de 3,500 vallas digitales.
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Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino June 2020
Study reveals that Puerto Rico’s transparency laws are worse than in most countries por ANGÉLICA SERRANO ROMÁN • Centro de Periodismo Investigativo Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en periodismoinvestigativo.com | 15 de mayo de 2020
The recommendation is to create an autonomous entity such as Mexico’s National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data, he said.
Two laws restricting access to public information, passed by the current legislature and signed last year by resigning Gov. Ricardo Rosselló-Nevares, are plagued by ambiguities regarding exceptions, the sanctions and protections system, and have significant gaps in the procedures for making and responding to requests for public information, according to a study by the Center for Law and Democracy (CLD), an entity focused on promoting fundamental rights of democracy, with an emphasis on freedom of speech.
In other countries, these autonomous constitutional bodies don’t charge anything to ensure that there is access to public information. The process does not require hiring attorneys, which reduces expenses for citizens, nonprofit entities and the media that want to access government data.
The report reviews Law 141 on Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information and Law 122 on Open Data of the Government of Puerto Rico.
Mendel added that a defined deadline is important because officials think that, as long as they provide the information, it doesn’t matter if they do so in days, weeks, months or years.
In the Global Right to Information Index (RTI Rating) prepared by the CLD — and which compares access to information in 128 countries — Puerto Rico ranks 87th. The methodology used by this index is recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank. It was developed by the CLD in Canada and its European counterpart, Access Info Europe.
Access laws state that “copies , document mailings, and other related costs” may be charged to applicants. That requirement is unspecific in terms of possible related costs.
The laws that Rosselló-Nevares approved got a score of 73 out of 150 on the RTI scale, Toby Mendel, executive director of the CLD said.
The executive director of the CLD mentioned that the laws do not include a protocol for sanctions and protections. With the current laws in place, the government would not know how to act if an official intentionally refuses and does not fulfill their duty in supplying the information. Nor does it protect the people who do comply.
Toby Mendel / Photo courtesy of organizers
“Puerto Rico’s current laws are much weaker than most of the national laws adopted in the Americas,” he said. As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is not included in the main RTI Rating, which focuses on sovereign countries. But the CLD evaluated the island based on 61 indicators, divided into seven main categories: right to access; scope; requesting process; exceptions and denials; appeals; sanctions and protections; and, disclosure measures. One of the grayer areas of the two laws are the exceptions to deny access to information. Mendel acknowledged that access laws are not absolute because there is some sensitive information that, if made public, could negatively impact the country. However, the government of Puerto Rico was not specific in detailing what those exceptions are. Rather, it uses ambiguous terms such as “privileged information.” An example of a clear exception could be if the information requested affects national security, he said. The study says exceptions to the right of access to information should be carefully limited to specific and established interests that may justify confidentiality. For that reason, Puerto Rico only got 23% of the points assigned to this indicator in the RTI Rating. “This is very important because it’s what tells us what [information] is available and what isn’t,” Mendel said about the exceptions. The attorney specialized in freedom of expression and right to information for the CLD, explained that in some cases certain exceptions could be sidestepped if the information requested is very important because it exposes, for example, a corruption scheme or another situation that merits it. The Puerto Rico Transparency Law should also make it clear that everyone, including foreigners and legal entities, have the right to submit requests for information. Creation of an independent body In his evaluation, Mendel highlighted that Puerto Rico lacks an independent body that can intervene when the government refuses to offer information.
In a virtual press conference, Mendel emphasized that Puerto Rico lacks a clear and complete procedure or protocol to request public information: there is no defined period of time to respond to a request for information, nor does it specify how much that access will cost, nor which institutions will be governed by those laws. “Procedures are very important. The exceptions will always be debatable because some may think that given information should be public while others don’t, but procedures are the correct way of doing things,” Mendel said.
It is also unclear as to whether public government corporations, as well as those that operate with public funds would have to follow the same regulation.
Sources that provide information of public interest should also be protected, Mendel said. “Sources that do so in good faith should be protected.” The expert said that contracts, that typically include clauses banning public employees from disclosing “confidential information”, would not affect the sources if there were protection for the sources within the access laws. Mendel stressed that one of Puerto Rico’s strengths is that access to information is considered a constitutional right. Access to information in the midst of the pandemic The lawyer described as “ridiculous” the provision of Executive Order 2020-031, signed by Gov. Wanda Vázquez, which prohibits third parties to disclose information about COVID-19, since it makes the government the only one authorized to offer data related to the pandemic and censures the disclosure of “false information.” In Puerto Rico, the right to information remains in effect, unlike other countries, such as Brazil, that in the midst of the pandemic has refused to provide data, but government agencies on the island on the other hand, take a long time to provide documents or do not respond to requests for information, Mendel added. “Puerto Rico needs stronger rules to guarantee the right to information if it really aspires to adequately implement this constitutionally guaranteed right,” said Mendel. The Transparency Network, a group of organizations and individuals — including the Center for Investigative Journalism — that promotes the free flow of information and transparency in Puerto Rico, commissioned the CLD’s analysis of the island’s legal framework for access to information. “We wanted an independent entity with an international reputation like RTI Rating to analyze the two laws to access information, approved less than a continued on page 9
Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino June 2020
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VA Central Western Mass. Police Officer Bridges Language Gap for Veterans at Clinic LEEDS, MA | VA CENTRAL WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS HEALTHCARE SYSTEM — VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System Police Officer José Alamo performs a daily duty that goes beyond his calling “to protect those who served,” and extends to assisting Veterans with translating vital medical information concerning their health. “Every day there are Veterans who require assistance in translating the medical information they receive — and now more than ever,” said Alamo, who noted that the Springfield VA clinic where he works saw an increase in Latino Veterans after so many migrated in the wake of Hurricane María in 2017. “I’m happy to do it — to continue to help the people of the island — and not just because I’m from Puerto Rico, but because it’s the right thing to do!” Like so many of his VA colleagues, Alamo volunteered to travel from Massachusetts to Puerto Rico shortly following a hurricane that wracked the island. Working out of the main VA hospital in Puerto Rico, as well as a smaller clinic in a rural area, Alamo said during his time in Puerto Rico he witnessed the VA go beyond it’s scope of caring exclusively for Veterans — as the hospital and clinics also assisted the general public. “For the first week, some staff were living in tents and treating patients in other tents,” Alamo recalled, adding that instead of the typical ‘two-week’ VA disaster relief deployment he initially signed up for — he extended his time an additional two weeks. “We worked out of the VA medical center in Bayamón, and then I volunteered for an extended relief mission to a community clinic in Ponce.” Besides assisting with protecting patients and staff, Alamo said there were occasions when he first started to use his translation skills from Spanish to English, and conversely. “It was a tremendous honor for me to have been there,” Alamo said of his VA deployment to Puerto Rico from mid-October to late November. “Not only did we get to assist and care for Veterans, but the general public was grateful for our presence and it was incredibly humbling to assist them at that time.” Alamo said the care he watched over included treating basic wounds, dehydration, and administering lifesaving medications to Veterans and the general public. “We came together as one VA, and I worked with deployed volunteers from all over the U.S. — and the people of Puerto Rico were extremely thankful that we were there to provide the various assistance we could,” said the grandfather of four and great-grandfather of two. “But I never could imagine that my service to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria would extend to all these years later.”
Air Reserve Base in Chicopee. “I’ve been connected to this area for many years, drilling every month with the military reserves here, so I was aware of the higher population of Latinos and the need for an experienced officer who could also assist Veterans in a way not typical in police work.” Cruz, who was hired as the healthcare system’s police chief shortly after his retirement from the NYPD, said his more than 20 officers are spread across an area of about 100 miles, encompassing 8 VA sites of care to include the main medical center in Leeds, Mass., and outpatient clinics in the central and western cities of Worcester (Lincoln Street Primary Care Clinic, Plantation Street Specialty Clinic, Lake Avenue Clinic), Fitchburg, Springfield, Greenfield and Pittsfield. “To have my officers able to relate to the Veterans who walk through the hospital and clinic doors is a bonus,” said Cruz, who is also of Puerto Rican descent. Long before he was a VA police officer helping on a deployment to his native Puerto Rico, or serving Veterans in the Greater Springfield area, Alamo said he picked up his life in the mid-80s and moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Alamo, who migrated in 1986, said he’s always been in law enforcement and he brought that calling with him. “It’s a family tradition,” said Alamo, who added that his family consisted of police chiefs and detectives, among other law enforcement family-ties. “It was a natural thing for me to go into law enforcement — so I applied and was accepted to the police academy in 1980 after high school and I never looked back.” Alamo said he served as a state police officer on the island for several years before moving to Massachusetts, settling in Springfield, and eventually joining the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “I made the move for better opportunities for my family, especially my two children who are adults now.” The Springfield resident said he spent 14 years with Homeland before transferring within the federal civil service to VA Central Western Massachusetts in late 2016. “I had many people in my family serve in the military, so it felt like a good fit for me ‘to protect those who served,’ said Alamo, who can be found patrolling the exteriors and interiors of his clinic almost every weekday. “I’m always ready to help in any way that I can — and to speak with Veterans or family members of Veterans who need a better understanding of the care they receive.”
At VA Central Western Massachusetts’ Springfield Clinic on Bond Street, Alamo said he first experienced an increase in the number of Veterans who migrated from Puerto Rico in 2018. He was sent to provide police coverage at the clinic, and it was scheduled to be a temporary-duty assignment. During his time there, though, he said his translation services were enlisted along with his usual duties of protecting and serving the Veterans and staff. “After I completed the temporary-duty assignment, I was asked by staff to stay on permanently at the clinic.” Two years later, Alamo remains at the clinic as both a wall protecting it, and a bridge connecting the language divide sometimes experienced by Veterans and staff. “Although many of the Veterans from Puerto Rico and other Latin countries do speak English, sometimes the medical explanations are more comfortable for them in Spanish, and that’s when I’m asked to step in,” he said. VA Central Western Massachusetts’ Police Chief Roberto Cruz said he was aware of the vital service Alamo provides to the VA’s Springfield clinic, and he was a supporter of his officers serving in any way they can. “Our mission is in fact ‘to protect those who served,’ and it begins with ensuring their comfort, as well as their safety,” said Cruz, who is a retired New York Police Department captain and a military reservist stationed at Westover
José Luis Alamo, far left, stands with other VA Police officers in Ponce, Puerto Rico, after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Also photographed with Alamo from VA Central Western Massachusetts is Officer Joshua Driscoll, second from last on the right. (Photo provided by Alamo) Officer José Luis Alamo (Photo provided by Alamo)
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Libros/ Books
El Sol Latino June 2020
The Kingdom Began in Puerto Rico: Neil Connolly’s Priesthood in the South Bronx by ANGEL GARCÍA • New York, NY: Fordham University Press | January 2020 | 336 pages Church in the South Bronx. Campaigns for Description: South Bronx, 1958. Change was coming. Some of it much needed, some inevitable. Guidance was sorely needed to bridge the old and human dignity and social justice played a large part in that process. Angel Garcia captures the the new, for enunciating and implementing a vision. It was a unique place spirit of the era, and the spirit of the man. and time in history where Father Neil Connolly found his true calling and - James Martin, S.J., author of Jesus: A spiritual awakening. The Kingdom Began in Puerto Rico captures the spirit Pilgrimage and My Life with the Saints of the era and the spirit of this great man. Set in historical context of a changing world and a changing Catholic Church, The Kingdom Began in Puerto Rico follows Fr. Neil Connolly’s path through the South Bronx, which began with a special Church program to address the post-war Great Puerto Rican Migration. After an immersion summer in Puerto Rico, Fr. Neil served the largest concentration of Puerto Ricans in the Bronx from the 1960’s to the 1980’s as they struggled for a decent life. Through the teachings of Vatican II, Connolly assumed responsibility for creating a new Church and World. In the war against drugs, poverty, and crime, Connolly created a dynamic organization and chapel run by the people and supported Unitas, a nationally unique peer-driven mental health program for youth. Frustrated by the lack of institutional responses to his community’s challenges, Connolly challenged government abandonment and spoke out against ill-conceived public plans. Ultimately, he realized that his priestly mission was in developing new leaders among people, in the Church and the World, supporting two nationally unique lay leadership programs, the Pastoral Center and People for Change. A timely story about discovering the real mission of priesthood, urban ministry, and the Catholic Church in the United States, author Angel Garcia ably blends the dynamic forces of Church and World that transformed Fr. Connolly as he grew into his vocation. The book presents a rich history of the South Bronx and calls for all urban policies to begin with the people, not for the people. It also affirms the continuing relevance of Vatican II and Medellin for today’s Church and World, in the U.S. and Latin America. Reviews: The Puerto Rican migration after the Second World War challenged the Catholic Church of New York. Through the efforts of priests like Fr. Neil Connolly, they and the other Latinos who followed became the heart of that
The Puerto Rican migration after the Second World War challenged the New York Catholic Church. Thanks to the efforts of priests like Fr. Neil Connolly, as well as the people themselves, the Church rose to the challenge, with good will and on-going discernment. Conducted with the people, organizing campaigns involving other priests and religious and lay church workers of the South Bronx, many were invited into cooperation, solidarity and spirituality by Fr. Connolly…Angel Garcia captures the spirit of the era, and the spirit of the man. - Fr. James Joyce, S.J., former Director of Social Ministries for the New York Province of the Society of Jesus and the past Chair of the Board of Jesuit Social Ministries. The Kingdom Began in Puerto Rico is an engaging study of the dedicated and charismatic Irish-American priest of the archdiocese of New York and the vicar of the South Bronx, Father Neil Connolly, who was widely respected, far beyond the confines of his own faith community, for his efforts in the poorest congressional district in the United States. Pope Francis would have been proud of him because he shared Francis’s values and priorities, especially his commitment to the poor. Angel Garcia offers here a valuable introduction to the role of the Catholic Church in the survival and revival of the South Bronx. - Msgr. Thomas J. Shelley, Emeritus Professor of Church History at Fordham University ANGEL GARCÍA was a community organizer and executive director of South Bronx People for Change, a church-based direct action and membership organization co-founded by Fr. Connolly. Born in Puerto Rico, and a graduate of Regis High School, Princeton University, and Pace University, García is a long-term resident of the South Bronx and has been active on social justice issues and worker cooperatives.
Compatriotas: Exilio y retorno de Luis Muñoz Marín por PABLO JOSÉ HERNÁNDEZ RIVERA (Autor), A. W. MALDONADO (Prefacio) • Publicación independiente | 21 de mayo de 2020 | 315 páginas Este libro trata sobre el exilio voluntario de Luis Muñoz Marín en Europa luego de que el Partido Popular Democrático sufriera su primera derrota en 1968, y su retorno suspensivo y climático a un mes de las elecciones de 1972. Luis Muñoz Marín fundó el Partido Popular Democrático en 1938. Gobernó a Puerto Rico desde 1949 hasta 1964, cuando escogió como sucesor a su mano derecha, Roberto Sánchez Vilella. El PPD arrasó en las elecciones de 1964. Sin embargo, la transición de maestro a discípulo desembocó en una división interna histórica que culminó en la primera derrota del PPD y la elección del primer gobernador estadista en 1968. Muñoz, frustrado con la dependencia del PPD en su figura y deseoso de facilitar la transición hacia una nueva generación de líderes comandada por Rafael Hernández Colón, se exilió voluntariamente en Europa en agosto de 1970. Nadie sabía cuándo volvería, y él debatía si debería. El 8 de octubre de 1972, a un mes de las elecciones, reapareció ante una multitud de 150,000 puertorriqueños en Plaza las Américas para ofrecer lo que sería su último gran discurso político-electoral. Este libro recoge la historia de ese “retorno a la patria”, como Muñoz le llamó.
Pablo José Hernández se graduó de la Universidad de Harvard con una concentración en Gobierno y estudió Derecho en la Universidad de Stanford, donde recibió el Gerald Gunther Prize for Outstanding Performance in Legal Research and Writing y el John Hart Ely Prize for Outstanding Performance in Ethics. Ha editado tres libros: Hacia la meta final: El Nuevo Pacto (2011), Estado Libre Asociado: Naturaleza y Desarrollo (2014) y defiéndELA: Columnas para impulsar el Estado Libre Asociado (2017). Alex W. Maldonado es un reconocido y laureado periodista de los rotativos San Juan Star, El Mundo y El Reportero.
Cultura / Culture
El Sol Latino June 2020
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One Million Emergency Relief Fund for the Puerto Rican Arts and Culture Sector by ROSIRIS RAMOS MELÉNDEZ
Grant sizes will be determined based on the need and size of the organization.
SAN JUAN, PR | FLAMBOYÁN FOUNDATION | April 28, 2020 –– To help mitigate the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and culture sector in Puerto Rico, the Flamboyán Arts Fund has joined forces with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from Broadway Cares, to launch a $1 million emergency relief fund to support individual artists and cultural organizations. The Flamboyán Arts Fund is a partnership between Flamboyán Foundation, Lin-Manuel Miranda, his family, and the Hamilton musical.
The Emergency Relief Fund will also partner with local organizations Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico and Km 0.2 to deploy grants of $600 to over 200 individual artists. These organizations previously launched efforts to provide micro-grants to artists, to overwhelming demand. These additional funds from the Emergency Relief Fund will match these micro-grants and provide funding to even more artists impacted by the emergency who had previously applied. There will also be limited funding available for artists who did not previously apply. Artists of all disciplines can apply for funding through either Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico or Km 0.2.
“In these times of crisis, we have turned to the arts as a source of entertainment, comfort, and education. This Emergency Relief Fund will provide much-needed help for the arts and culture sector, which is suffering from a dramatic loss of income due to canceled events, closure of venues, and inability to sell goods and services. We are honored that the Mellon Foundation and Broadway Cares have partnered with us to bring economic relief and support to Puerto Rico’s artists,” said artist Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“As Puerto Rican artists and arts organizations confront these challenging times, which come in the midst of a decade of economic crisis, significant declines in government funding, and a stream of natural disasters, they continue to remind us of the unique power of the arts to cultivate hope, process collective trauma and grief, create light, and imagine new possibilities,” said Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander. “We are proud to support this vital effort and call on others to join us in investing in the future of Puerto Rico’s vibrant and resilient culture.”
“These grants are designed to ensure that we have strong arts programming to come back to post pandemic. Our commitment to our grantees -and the larger arts community- is unwavering and these funds will ensure that organizations can not only take their programming virtual during this time, but also ensure they can operationally survive this unprecedented health crisis,” said Carlos Rodriguez, Executive Director of Flamboyán Puerto Rico. Emergency relief funds will be made available to support arts organizations and individual artists. These arts organizations can apply through a very flexible process for grants of $5,000 to $20,000 to use toward covering staff salaries, rent, and other basic needs during the emergency. Organizations can also use grant funds to cover the cost of creating or expanding virtual programming, including staffing and technology equipment and services.
To document the impact of the crisis on the island’s arts and culture sector, the Flamboyán Arts Fund conducted a needs assessment survey among organizations currently supported by the Fund. Across 44 arts organizations in Puerto Rico, organizations reported $1.8 million in economic losses since the beginning of March, with projected losses reaching $2.5 million by June. The most pressing needs reported were funds for staff salaries, technology and infrastructure, and funds for operations. “The COVID-19 emergency represents a serious risk to artists and arts organizations, most of whom were already in a precarious economic situation after a decade of economic crisis, significant declines in government funding, and three years of natural disasters such as the 2017 hurricanes and 2020 earthquakes on the southeast coast,” said Rodriguez. “That’s why this Emergency Relief Fund is a crucial measure to protect our arts and cultural sector.”
Puerto Rico’s transparency laws … continued from page 6
year ago. The report in fact confirms what has been long denounced by local organizations that due to the shortcomings of the laws, they limit, rather than guarantee, the citizens’ of Puerto Rico constitutional right to access information,” said Issel Masses, spokesperson for the Transparency Network and founder of Sembrando Sentido. The RTI was first published on “Right to Know Day” on Sept. 28, 2011 and is continually updated. The index measures only the legal framework, not the implementation of laws. ANGÉLICA SERRANO ROMÁN cursa un bachillerato en Periodismo, con concentración menor en Mercadeo en la Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. Está certificada en verificación de datos por el Centro Knight para el Periodismo en las Américas. Su trabajo se ha publicado en el Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), El Nuevo Día, Metro Puerto Rico, Orlando Sentinel, Univision Orlando y CT Latino News. Fue la primera puertorriqueña en ser becada por el Facebook Journalism Project en 2019. Pertenece a la Junta de Directores de la Asociación Nacional de Periodistas Hispanos (NAHJ, en inglés) y labora para el CPI desde 2019. El Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) reconoce que el requisito fundamental para una verdadera democracia es que la ciudadanía esté bien informada y que existan entidades independientes con la capacidad de fiscalizar los poderes que accionan en la sociedad, sean públicos o privados. Si tiene una solicitud de investigación, queja, aclaración, ‘orejita’, prueba, inquietud, u observación sobre alguna información publicada por el CPI, Email: info@ periodismoinvestigativo.com Facebook: Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Twitter: @cpipr Dirección postal: P.O. Box 6834 San Juan PR 00914-6834
Saturdays 10 AM Domingo 7 PM WHMP radio 1400 AM
biingüe arte, cultura, media politics Natalia Muñoz
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Cultura / Culture
El Sol Latino June 2020
Frederick C. Tillis, UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center Director Emeritus, Dies at Age 90 AMHERST, MA | UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS – AMHERST | May 5, 2020 – Dr. Frederick C. Tillis, musician – composer, poet, arts advocate, Director emeritus of the UMass Fine Arts Center (FAC) and co-founder and director emeritus of the Jazz in July program – died at age 90 on Sunday, May 3. Tillis served as the Fine Arts Center director for nearly 20 years but even in retirement remained connected to the FAC, its staff and community. He also continued performing, composing music and writing poetry in recent years. His passion for the arts and commitment to arts education made this community and the lives of all he touched richer and more expansive. UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said, “Dr. Fred Tillis leaves an extraordinary legacy at UMass Amherst. He was a gentle soul who made me feel at once like we had known each other a long time. Fred was proud of the program he built at the Fine Arts Center and was devoted to its long-term viability—a strong advocate for the performing arts and the preservation of cultural heritage.” Current FAC Director Jamilla Deria said, “I did not have the opportunity to know Dr. Tillis well, but I’ve felt his indelible imprint in every facet of our work. From our very first meeting last summer to our many brief encounters at performances throughout the year, it was clear to me that the FAC was not just a place he worked, but was in fact a piece of him.” Due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic, a celebration of Tillis’ life will be planned for a future date. In the meantime, there is a memorial page online at www. fineartscenter.com/Tillis where people can visit for more information, pictures and to leave remembrances. As a composer, performer, poet, educator, and arts administrator, Tillis profoundly shaped the cultural and musical life at UMass Amherst, the Pioneer Valley and beyond. A performer and composer of unusual breadth, his work spans both the jazz and European traditions, and encompassed a wide range of cultural references. His more than 100 compositions include works for piano and voice, orchestra and chorus, along with chamber music and works in the African-American spiritual tradition. As a poet, he published 15 books. Tillis was born in 1930 in Galveston, Texas, and began to play jazz trumpet and saxophone professionally before his teens, known as Baby Tillis. Growing up in a segregated school system, Tillis enrolled at Wiley College when he was only 16, and earned his bachelor’s degree three years later. Immediately upon graduating from Wiley, he began to teach at the college, beginning a long career in music education. Tillis received his master’s degree from the University of Iowa under Philip Bezanson in 1952. After a four-year stint in the Army Air Corps, where he led the Air Force band, Tillis then resumed teaching at Wiley and North Texas State before returning to the University of Iowa to receive his Ph.D. From 1964 to 1970, Tillis taught at Grambling University and Kentucky State University until he was recruited by Bezanson to teach full time at UMass Amherst in 1970. While at UMass, Tillis founded numerous programs and courses of study that greatly enriched the life of music majors and the general student body. In 1978, he was appointed the director of the Fine Arts Center and helped start some of the university’s most successful art initiatives, including the Jazz and Afro-American Music Studies program, the Jazz in July Summer Music program, the New World Theater, the Augusta Savage Gallery and the Asian Arts and Culture Program. He also received many awards and represented the UMass Music Department and the university as a cultural ambassador, performing locally, nationally and internationally with students, alumni and faculty such as Salvatore Macchia, Jeffrey Holmes, David Sporny, and Horace Boyer. Remarking on his experiences with Tillis, Department of Music and Dance Chair Salvatorre Macchia said, “The Department of Music and Dance mourns the loss of our friend and colleague Dr. Frederick Tillis – a gifted composer and performer, talented poet and a formidable administrator. I first met Fred in 1978, and have many wonderful memories of touring Russia with him, playing local jazz clubs, and presenting concerts of new music in a variety of venues. He was then, as he remained for the rest of his life, a kind, caring, and knowledgeable human being. He will be sorely missed.” Tillis was an influential educator, helping to establish the jazz studies programs at both the University of Fort Hare, South Africa and the Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and serving on several cultural boards including the International Association of Jazz Educators and the Massachusetts Council on the Arts, and review committees at the National Endowment for the Arts.
Dr. Willie Hill, former director of the Fine Arts Center and Tillis’ successor, was also a student of his. Hill said, “He has meant so much to me since 1964 when I had the privilege of having him as my music theory and orchestra teacher at Grambling State University for two years. Dr. Tillis was a giant in the music and arts education arenas and a visionary arts administrator. He will be sorely missed for his unselfish contributions to our organization, by the FAC staff, advisory board, friends and UMass community at large.” Upon his retirement from UMass in 1997, Tillis was appointed emeritus director of the Fine Arts Center. The W.E.B. Du Bois Library maintains the Frederick Tillis papers, which document an extraordinary career in the arts and in arts administration as well as Tillis’s role as a composer and poet. The collection includes a large number of his original compositions, including the Spiritual Fantasy series and In the Spirit and the Flesh, two of his most in-depth works, as well as compositions from before his tenure at UMass. Close family friend and Emeritus Faculty and Chair of Afro-American Studies Esther Terry offered, “I loved Fred Tillis. The breadth of his knowledge and the height of his achievement are indeed remarkable; but what I also learned from him over the years was that I was blessed to be in his presence and that neither knowledge nor achievement is worth much if not placed in the service of humanity. We are saying goodbye to this giant of a man at a time when his influence is most needed in our country and in the world. But we will always have his example.” Dr. Tillis is pre-deceased by his wife, Louise, and survived by his daughters Pamela and Patricia; nieces Edna Louise Richards, Janet Levingston-Williams Lawrence, and Glendra Gunishaw-Johnson; son-in law Paul Hammacott; and several great nieces and nephews. Contact: Shawn Farley, sfarlley@umass.edu, 413-992-8389 , Ed Blaguszewski, edblag@umass.edu, 413-695-4522
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Medios / Media
El Sol Latino June 2020
11
Amherst Media receives Mass Humanities grant for documentary project area at that time. These 80 families were welcomed by the Christian residents and aided in their integration into the wider society. The documentary shares individual family stories and how they regained their humanity and strove to give back to their new community.
AMHERST, MA | AMHERST MEDIA | May 20, 2020 - Amherst Media has recently received confirmation from Mass Humanities, the State- Based Affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities that their grant proposal, A House Built by Hope: A Story of Compassion, Resilience and Religious Freedom was awarded $11,250.
Additionally, the grant included funding for a 15 minute video documentary that further develops the stories of the Danielson Holocaust survivors who fought as partisans during WWII.
Amherst resident Dr. Elsie Fetterman, who will serve as Program Director, spearheaded the proposal. The MHC project proposes to develop a teachers guide for middle and high schools to accompany Amherst Media’s finalized thirty-five minute video documentary, previously funded by the Daughter’s of the American Revolution (DAR).
Local Humanities scholars participating in advising on the curriculum guide and participating in (4) scholar-led discussions following the documentary’s community showing include, Dr. James Wald, Associate Professor of History at Hampshire College, and Dr. Jonathan Skolnik, Associate Professor of German at UMass, Amherst.
Simon Leutz, Social Studies Head at the Amherst Pelham Regional High School, has agreed to develop the curriculum. Mr. Leutz brings his extensive teaching experience on the issues of the Holocaust as well as International Relations and Global Issues. He is recognized for his ability in developing high quality inquiry-based Social Studies courses and curriculum.
Upon completion of the teacher’s curriculum guide and 15 minute video, all material will be made available to schools state-wide free of charge.
The 2019 documentary recorded through the stories from children of Holocaust survivors, tells how their immigrant parents relocated to Danielson, CT., many aided by The Jewish Agriculture Society, and started farming the land. Dr. Fetterman’s family was the only Jewish family in the
As the leading hunger-relief non-profit organization in Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is taking proactive steps to feed individuals and families who rely on us on any given day. The coronavirus poses an even greater threat to vulnerable households at risk of hunger.
Please make a generous donation to help your neighbors in need. Learn more about the actions we are taking during this public health crisis by visiting our website: www.foodbankwma.org.
Area schools already agreeing to use the teacher’s guide and videos upon completion include, Amherst Regional Public Schools, Holyoke High School, Frontier Regional as well as Attelboro High School. “This program is funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Como una organización sin fines de lucro y el líder en la asistencia para combatir el hambre en los condados de Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire y Franklin, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts esta tomando acciones pro-activas para proveer alimentos a las personas y familias que dependen de nuestra ayuda cuando lo necesiten. El coronavirus representa una amenaza aún mayor para los hogares que están a riesgo de padecer hambre.
Por favor, haga una donación generosa para ayudar a nuestros vecinos quienes necesitan ayuda. Infórmese sobre lo que estamos haciendo durante esta crisis de salud pública visitando nuestra página: www.foodbankwma.org
foodbankwma.org/donate or mail/o correro
P.O. Box 160 • Hatfield, MA 01038
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Educación / Education
El Sol Latino June 2020
Nursing Schools Almanac ranks STCC 2-year program among top SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | April 29, 2020 –The nursing program at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) is among the top 10 two-year programs in Massachusetts, according to Nursing Schools Almanac. The program at STCC was ranked in a list of the Best Associate Degree in Nursing Programs in Massachusetts: 2020 Rankings. “We are honored to be selected as one of the best in the state,” said Christopher Scott, Dean of the School of Health & Patient Simulation. “I’m proud of our talented faculty and staff who challenge our students to do their very best. Our graduates are prepared to start rewarding careers or transfer to four-year colleges or universities to continue their education.” Students in STCC’s health programs get the opportunity to work on patient simulators in the SIMS Medical Center at STCC, a unique program in the region. “It is a great program,” said Monica Aldrich of Feeding Hills, who expects to graduate in May 2020. “You have to dedicate yourself to the two-year program. It’s condensed and rigorous. They are not kidding when they tell you that you need to apply yourself.” Aldrich praised the professors for their commitment to supporting students. “They’ve all given us their personal phone numbers. That’s not generally done, but it’s vital and important,” Aldrich said. The program has served as a launching pad for successful careers. “I came to STCC, probably not realizing how hard it was going to be,” said Carrie Morgan Eaton, who works as director of Simulation-Based Education at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing and also serves on the faculty.
For its 2020 rankings of associate degree nursing programs, the research team at Nursing Schools Almanac compiled an extensive database of student performance on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Aspiring registered nurses in the United States must pass this examination before they may commence practice. Nursing Almanac compiled data from 2009-2018 and stated the student performance on the NCLEX-RN exam provides an excellent benchmark for comparing the relative quality of associate’s degree programs.
“The nursing program was rigorous. It was the hardest two years of my life. In all of my education, through to my Ph.D., the two years of associate degree were very difficult. STCC prepared me well.
It’s not the first time STCC’s Nursing Program has been named in one of Nursing Schools Almanac’s “best” lists. In 2018, the Almanac ranked STCC’s program as one of the top 75 in New England.
“I think that any student who graduates from Springfield Technical Community College’s nursing program should be incredibly proud,” Eaton added. “It is a wonderful place to receive your education.”
Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333. For more information about STCC, visit www.stcc.edu. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@S_T_C_C) and Instagram (@stccpics).
HCC student Mayerlies Díaz selected as national ‘Dream Scholar’ HOLYOKE, MA | HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE | May 20, 2020 – By her own account, Holyoke Community College student Mayerlies Diaz was once the kind of hopeless teen who struggled in school and hated being there. “I have been angry as long as I can remember ... behind from Day One, kept inside during recess to learn English, never being in school long enough to learn math ... no one wanting to help, putting in no effort. I was the bum buried in the hoodie, smoking a lot of weed, trying to disappear.” She grew up poor, the daughter of a Spanish-speaking, single mother who was often sick and in and out of hospitals while raising two children. Her family moved a lot, sometimes living in shelters, and there were trips to court in pursuit of protection orders against a family member. “I am from the sorrow and confusion that comes from that kind of hurt. That’s how I felt for a long time. I assumed I would live in rage and depression and be behind, forever.” “But somehow, miraculously, I am now from hope. I’m from the miracle that happens when just a few key people actually see you, believe in you, push you and love you.” Diaz offered the comments above in a spoken word poem called “I Am From” that she delivered in February in Maryland at the annual conference of Achieving the Dream, an organization that supports student success initiatives at community colleges across the U.S.
Diaz was the first-ever Dream Scholar from one of Achieving the Dream’s Gateway to College programs. The Dream Scholars initiative is designed to help community college students develop their leadership, critical thinking and networking skills. They share their personal stories during plenary sessions at the conference, participate in panel discussions, and receive coaching before, during and after the conference, which was attended by about 2,500 people. HCC Gateway to College coordinator Vivian Ostrowski
“I am so proud of Mayerlies,” said HCC and HCC student Mayerlies Diaz of Westfield Gateway to College coordinator Vivian Ostrowski, who accompanied Diaz to the conference along with Diaz’s mother, Maribel Perez, and aunt, Raquel Avila. “From the moment we spoke about the application process and the experience, she rose to the occasion with courage, creativity, seriousness, humor, and an incredible openness to the kind of transformative learning that comes from a huge opportunity like this. She was the youngest person at the entire conference, and one of just a handful of Dream scholars who were always in the spotlight.”
The 17-year-old Westfield resident was one of only eight students in the country selected to participate in the conference as 2020 Dream Scholars. In addition to that, she is poised to graduate next month from Westfield High School.
For Ostrowski, the highlight of the conference was the session where Diaz read her “I Am From” poem.
The key to her success, she says, was HCC’s Gateway to College program, which she completed in January 2020 with a GPA of 4.0. Gateway is an alternative high school program in which students take college classes and earn credits toward both their high school diplomas and a college degree. Since 2019, HCC’s Gateway to College program has been part of the Achieving the Dream network.
Diaz plans to continue her college journey at HCC in September 2020 to major either in human services or criminal justice.
“Nothing about my life led me toward college – yet I have been successful there,” Diaz wrote in another speech she prepared for the conference about her experiences so far at HCC. “Gateway to College transformed how I think about school and my future.”
“It was incredibly powerful,” she said. “The room leaned in for every word, then just wept when Mayerlies and her mom embraced at the end.”
“High school wasn’t for me, but college is for me,” Diaz said. “I want a degree so I can get the kind of job where I can help other people see their lives differently, to find their own confidence and power ... I want to be that person for the next kid in a hoodie trying to disappear.”
Ciencias / Science
El Sol Latino June 2020
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Estudiantes y egresados del RUM arrasan con becas de National Science Foundation por Mariam Ludim Rosa | (mariam.ludim@upr.edu) |Prensa RUM MAYAGÜEZ, PR | UPR - RECINTO UNIVERSIRARIO DE MAYAGÜEZ | Abril 2020- La Fundación Nacional de la Ciencia (NSF, por sus siglas en ingles) ) otorgó la prestigiosa beca de su Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) a 13 colegiales: seis estudiantes y siete egresados del Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR). De esta forma, el recinto mayagüezano de la UPR, se convierte en la institución de educación superior puertorriqueña con mayor número de becados en la isla en el cohorte seleccionado del 2020, que incluyó unos dos mil estudiantes de los Estados Unidos y sus territorios. Precisamente, este logro lo compartieron un estudiante y cuatro exalumnos del Recinto de Río Piedras. Del mismo modo, una estudiante y dos egresadas de la UPR en Cayey; así como una exalumna de la UPR en Aguadilla. De hecho, de los 24 becados de universidades puertorriqueñas, 22 son de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 13 de ellos del RUM. El NSF-GRFP otorgó este año una subvención de $34 mil que respalda a los universitarios en sus estudios graduados e investigación en las áreas de ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería o matemáticas (STEM). Los seis estudiantes del RUM que obtuvieron esa importante distinción son: Ashley Ann Del Valle Morales, de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Computadoras (INEL); Indra María González Ojeda y Natasha Marie Ramos Padilla, de Química; Carlos Francisco Rivera López, de Biología; Germán Gabriel Saltar Rivera, de Ingeniería Mecánica (INME); y Ángel Noel Santiago Colón, de Ingeniería Química (INQU). “Ganar esta beca es evidencia de cuán afortunado soy de haber tenido el apoyo de mis seres queridos y de la facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica. Gracias a ellos, al arduo trabajo y la bendición de Dios es que he llegado hasta aquí”, expresó Saltar Rivera, quien cursa su último año de bachillerato en INME y ya fue admitido al programa doctoral de Ingeniería Aeroespacial en la Universidad de Illinois en UrbanaChampaign (UIUC).
También recibieron mención honorífica los estudiantes: Mariola Marie Flores Rivera y Ramón Francisco Padín Monroig. Del mismo modo, los exalumnos Yamilex Acevedo Sánchez, ahora en Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Gabriela Casanova Sepúlveda, en Yale University; Miguel Ángel González, en University of Washington; y Joshua Steve Soto Ocana, en University of Pennsylvania. “Cuando vemos que nuestros estudiantes y exalumnos brillan en foros tan competitivos como lo es NSF-GRFP, nos sentimos más que orgullosos por sus logros, ya que sabemos que son producto de un gran esfuerzo, tenacidad, disciplina y compromiso. Acá en el Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez le llamamos cría colegial, que implica ese espíritu de valentía capaz de alcanzar aquello que se proponga. Celebramos con entusiasmo este importante mérito con la convicción de que la educación que se imparte en la UPR abre puertas”, sostuvo el doctor Agustín Rullán Toro, rector del RUM. Por su parte el doctor Jorge Haddock, presidente de la UPR, resaltó la importancia que tiene la gesta y la aportación que hacen a la ciencia, a nivel global, estos destacados estudiantes y egresados del principal centro docente de la isla. “Mis felicitaciones a todos ellos, quienes con su esfuerzo, conocimiento y disciplina, validan y representan a nivel global la calidad educativa de nuestra centenaria institución. Son un orgullo para la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Nuestros estudiantes representan nuestra isla y muchas partes del mundo y nos prestigian a todos. Son representantes del talento y excelencia de todos ante el mundo. Sus logros cobran mayor importancia ya que con las prestigiosas becas recibidas, de la Fundación Nacional de la Ciencia, podrán impactar significativamente a la población global, la ciencia, la salud y la economía, entre otras áreas de relevancia ante el contexto de la emergencia que se vive por el COVID-19. Nos llena de gran satisfacción ser parte de los logros de nuestros estudiantes y egresados. A todos ellos les deseamos mucho éxito en sus gestiones académicas y profesionales. ¡Nuestra comunidad académica los celebra!”, afirmó Haddock Acevedo.
El joven hizo un recuento de los pasos académicos que lo llevaron a ser becado por la NSF. “Comencé a hacer investigación con la doctora Sheilla Torres Nieves en mi primer año. Esto me abrió las puertas a un Coop y un internado con GE Aviation. Luego, me involucré en un estudio con el doctor Jorge Gutiérrez, en colaboración con Pratt & Whitney. Ese verano tuve un internado en NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Allí tuve la oportunidad de ser becado por el ganador del Premio Nobel, Dr. John Mather. Desde entonces, he ganado dos veces el Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium NASA Fellowship para hacer investigación junto al doctor Guillermo Araya. Además, el verano pasado tuve el privilegio de hacer un internado en Johns Hopkins University”, explicó. Además del NSF GRFP, sus estudios doctorales estarán subvencionados por el SURGE Fellowship, ASPIRE Fellowship, Mavis Future Scholars Fellowship, Stillwell Fellowship y el SLOAN Fellowship. Los siete egresados del Colegio de Mayagüez, en su mayoría de las clases del 2018 y 2019, que también comparten este honor son: Paola Alexandra Baldaguez Medina, ahora estudiante de University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Víctor Gabriel Rivera Llabres, en University of Florida; y Edwin Sebastián Torres Cuevas, en University of Texas at Austin; todos de INQU; Kenneth De Jesús, de INME, en Emory University; Stephanie Marie Plaza Torres, de Geología; Nelson E. Sepúlveda Ramos, de INEL, en Georgia Institute of Technology; y Edmundo José Torres González, de Biología, actualmente en Pennsylvania State University Park. “Para mí, este logro representa libertad académica y económica. La beca me garantiza fondos para estudiar por tres años en mi etapa graduada. Además, me provee la independencia económica y tener más opciones para enfocarme en el tópico de investigación que desee a diferencia de trabajar en proyectos designados. Similarmente, siendo una de las prestigiosas para estudios graduados, me permite ser mentor para que futuras generaciones puedan completar solicitudes competitivas”, indicó Sepúlveda Ramos. El egresado colegial indicó que la educación que recibió en el recinto mayagüezano de la UPR le abrió puertas a los siguientes pasos de su jornada académica y profesional.
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Ciencias / Science
El Sol Latino June 2020
El riesgo de autismo aumenta para niños cuyos padres tienen un hermano con autismo BETHESDA, MD | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development | 18 de mayo de 2020
Aproximadamente del 3% al 5% de los niños con una tía o un tío con trastorno del espectro autista (TEA) también se puede esperar que tengan TEA, en comparación con aproximadamente el 1.5 % de los niños en la población general, según un estudio financiado por los Institutos Nacionales de Salud (NIH, por sus siglas en inglés). Los investigadores también concluyeron que un niño cuya madre tiene un hermano con TEA no tiene muchas más probabilidades de verse afectado, en comparación con un niño cuyo padre tiene un hermano con TEA. Las conclusiones ponen en duda el efecto protector femenino, una teoría que indica que las mujeres tienen un índice más bajo de TEA que los hombres porque tienen una mayor tolerancia a los factores de riesgo de TEA. Los resultados, derivados de registros de casi 850, 000 niños suecos y sus familias, aparecen en Biological Psychiatry. El estudio fue realizado por John N. Constantino, M.D., de la Universidad de Washington en St. Louis, y sus colegas en los Estados Unidos y Suecia. “Los resultados ofrecen información nueva e importante para asesorar a las personas que tienen un hermano con TEA”, indicó Alice Kau, Ph.D., de la División de Discapacidades Intelectuales y del Desarrollo del Instituto Nacional de Salud Infantil y Desarrollo Humano Eunice Kennedy Shriver de los NIH, que financió el estudio. “Las conclusiones también sugieren que la mayor prevalencia de TEA en hombres probablemente no se deba a un efecto protector femenino”. El Instituto Nacional de Salud Mental proporcionó fondos adicionales de los NIH. El TEA es un trastorno complejo neurológico y del desarrollo que comienza en los primeros años de vida y afecta la forma en que una persona actúa, aprende e interactúa con otras personas. Estudios previos han concluido que aproximadamente 3 veces más hombres que mujeres tienen TEA. Se desconocen las razones de la diferencia. Una posible explicación es que las mujeres tienen una resistencia incorporada a los factores genéticos que conducen al autismo. Con tal efecto protector femenino, la teoría sostiene que muchas mujeres podrían tener esos factores de riesgo y no verse afectadas, sin embargo, podrían transmitirlos a sus hijos, que carecen del efecto protector, los cuales pueden desarrollar el TEA. En el estudio actual, los investigadores analizaron datos de registros nacionales suecos de nacimientos y relaciones familiares. Los niños nacieron entre 2003 y 2012. Aproximadamente 13, 000 niños fueron diagnosticados con TEA, aproximadamente el 1.5 % del total. Los hijos de madres con uno o más hermanos con TEA eran tres veces más propensos a tener TEA que los niños de la población general. Los hijos de padres con uno o más hermanos con TEA tenían el doble de probabilidades de padecer TEA que los niños de la población general, un índice que no difería significativamente de la de los niños cuyas madres tenían un hermano con TEA. Según los autores del estudio, los resultados proporcionan la primera estimación del riesgo de TEA en toda la población para los hijos de padres que tienen un hermano con TEA. Esta conclusión desafía la existencia de un efecto protector femenino, explicó el Dr. Constantino, porque si tal efecto existiera, se podría esperar que los hijos de madres con un hermano con TEA tuvieran un riesgo hasta 30% mayor de TEA. Del mismo modo, los investigadores no encontraron un aumento estadísticamente significativo en el riesgo de TEA para los niños cuyos tíos tienen TEA, en comparación con los niños cuyas tías tienen la enfermedad. Bai, D et al. Inherited risk for autism through maternal and paternal lineage. Biological Psychiatry. 2020. Instituto Nacional de Salud Infantil y Desarrollo Humano Eunice Kennedy Shriver (NICHD) lidera la investigación y la capacitación para comprender el desarrollo humano, mejorar la salud reproductiva, mejorar la vida de niños y adolescentes, y optimizar las habilidades para todos. Si desea más información, visite https:// espanol.nichd.nih.gov. Los Institutos Nacionales de la Salud (NIH) es la agencia de investigación médica de los EE. UU., incluye 27 institutos y centros, y es un componente del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los EE. UU. NIH es la principal agencia federal que realiza y apoya investigaciones médicas básicas, clínicas y transnacionales, y que investiga las causas, los tratamientos y las curas para enfermedades comunes y raras. Para obtener más información sobre los NIH y sus programas, visite https://salud.nih.gov.
¡Únase a la Conversación! Las Escuelas Públicas de Springfield solicitan la aportación (input) de la comunidad para ayudar a construir un Retrato de un Graduando (Portrait of a Graduate) - una visión de las habilidades y atributos que los estudiantes de Springfield necesitan para encontrar éxito en la universidad y en sus carreras profesionales. Visite www.springfieldpublicschools.com, busque la sección Portrait of a Graduate y responda a la encuesta comunitaria para expresar su opinión.
El Sol Latino June 2020
Enfrentar el estrés y el temor causados por COVID-19 Cuide su cuerpo. • Comidas saludables y balanceadas. • Haga ejercicio con regularidad. • Duerma lo suficiente. • Respire profundo, estire el cuerpo o medite. Conéctese con los demás virtualmente. Hable con personas de confianza acerca de sus preocupaciones y sus sentimientos.
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Tome descansos de ver, leer o escuchar noticias, incluyendo en redes sociales.
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Hay ayuda disponible: Visite Mass.gov/COVID19 o llame all 2-1-1 Departamento de Salud Pública de Massachusetts
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El Sol Latino June 2020
¿Por qué está cerrada mi escuela?
¡Déjame contarte sobre el COVID-19!
¿Qué es el COVID-19? Es una nueva enfermedad llamada coronavirus. Esta puede hacer que la gente se sienta enferma, como la gripe o la influenza (flu en inglés) . ¡El coronavirus no tiene piernas! Por eso le gusta transmitirse en gotas (gotitas) tan pequeñas que no se pueden ver. El virus puede transportarse cuando alguien estornuda o tose. También puede pegarse a objetos como los picaportes de las puertas o los celulares.
¡Al coronavirus no le gusta el jabón y desaparece cuando te lavas las manos! Creado por COVID-19 Health Literacy Project en colaboración con Harvard Health Publishing Revisado por: Rachel Conrad, MD Gene Beresin, MD, MA Baruch Krauss, MD, EdM Edwin Palmer, MD, MPH Janis Arnold, MSW, LICSW Chloë Nunneley, MD Carolyn Snell, PhD Kristin Barton, MA, CHES Erin Graham
Muchos doctores y científicos están trabajando en tratamientos y vacunas para que el COVID-19 deje de enfermar a más personas, pero por ahora…
¡Tú también puedes ayudar a combatir el virus!
✔Lávate las manos antes de
comer, después de tocarte la cara y después de usar el baño.
✔¡Canta “Feliz Cumpleaños” mientras te lavas las manos!
✔Cúbrete la boca con tu codo o con un pañuelo desechable cuando vayas a estornudar o toser. ✔Quédate en casa el mayor tiempo posible y habla con tu familia y amigos a través del teléfono o por internet. ✔Ayuda a tu familia haciendo quehaceres todos los días.
If you cough or sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with your elbow!
✔Si tienes preguntas, habla con un adulto de confianza y dile que te sientes preocupado. ¡Es normal! Puedes meditar, hacer ejercicio y leer libros que te • No te toques la cara ni ayuden con tus emociones. los ojos.
Si todos hacemos lo posible para estar saludables, hay más oportunidades de que las personas alrededor de nosotros también estén saludables.
• No abraces ni beses a tus abuelos ni a tus amigos. • No te preocupes si te comienzas a sentir enfermo. Díselo a un adulto de confianza y descansa por algunos días hasta que te sientas saludable.
