September 2017 | Vol. 30 Issue 7
San Antonio, Tejas
MujerArtes Studio Grand Opening - September 9, 2017
La Voz de Esperanza September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
Editor Gloria A. Ramírez Design Elizandro Carrington
Contributors
Maria Antonietta Berriozábal, Amelia García Brooks, Antonia Castañeda, Rachel Jennings, María R. Salazar
La Voz Mail Collective
Alicia Arredondo, Emi Bronyei, Clarissa Castañeda, Irasema Cavazos, Ana Christilles, Juan Díaz, Pauline A. Enriquez, Charlie Esperiqueta, Mary Esperiqueta, Arlae C. Gamez, Christina García, Araceli Herrera, Gloria Lozano, Ray McDonald, Angie Merla, Sylvia S. Mireles, Madison Porras, Maria Reed, Blanca Rivera, Mary A. Rodríguez, Alyssa Rogers, Rhett Smith, Yolanda Salazar, Hunter Sosby, Sandra Torres, Alma R. Vecina
Esperanza Director Graciela I. Sánchez
Esperanza Staff
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7•
Elizandro Carrington, Paty de la Garza, Eliza Pérez, Natalie Rodríguez, Gianna Rendón, Natalie Rodríguez, René Saenz, Susana Segura, Amelia Valdez
2
Conjunto de Nepantleras —Esperanza Board of Directors—
Rachel Jennings, Amy Kastely, Jan Olsen, Ana Lucía Ramírez, Gloria A. Ramírez, Rudy Rosales, Tiffany Ross, Lilliana Saldaña, Nadine Saliba, Graciela I. Sánchez, Lillian Stevens • We advocate for a wide variety of social, economic & environmental justice issues. • Opinions expressed in La Voz are not necessarily those of the Esperanza Center.
La Voz de Esperanza is a publication of
Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212 210.228.0201 • fax 1.877.327.5902
www.esperanzacenter.org Inquiries/Articles can be sent to:
lavoz@esperanzacenter.org
Articles due by the 8th of each month
Policy Statements
* We ask that articles be visionary, progressive, instructive & thoughtful. Submissions must be literate & critical; not sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, or oppressive & may be edited for length. * All letters in response to Esperanza activities or articles in La Voz will be considered for publication. Letters with intent to slander individuals or groups will not be published.
Editor’s note: September 11, 2017 is the 20th anniversary of Esperanza’s defunding by the City of San Antonio. As part of the 30th anniversary of the Esperanza in 2017, La Voz is revisiting different aspects of our history. The October issue of La Voz de Esperanza in 1997 reflected on the defunding with many articles and letters related to the 9-11 defunding. The following was written as part of the editorial in October, 1997: On Thursday, September 11, 1997 Christian right-wing groups (with help from gay reactionaries) pressured the San Antonio City Council to eliminate all City arts funding to the Esperanza Center. While all other arts groups receiving funds from the City were cut 15%—Esperanza’s funding was cut by 15% and then totally defunded by being named as a specific cut in the budget ($62,500). There was never any public discussion on the arts cuts, in general, by city council members and no official statements about Esperanza, in particular, during public presentations. When Department of Arts and Cultrual Affairs director, Eduardo Díaz, made his presentation before the council, there were no questions asked and no discussion amongst council members. Little did onlookers know that the matter of arts funding and, specifically Esperanza’s funding, had already been settled… The Esperanza was known as a leader in combining cultural arts programming with a broad range of social justice advocacy including racial and gender equality, peace in Central America and Mexico, Lesbian & Gay rights and issues pertaining to labor, youth and low-income communities. Yet, media and detractors insisted on casting the Esperanza as “a gay cultural arts center” ignoring other arts programming... …only the lesbian/gay film festival (Out At the Movies) that Esperanza sponsored with the Media Project was targeted by people who stood up to speak against Esperanza during budget hearings and deliberations. During a raucous 3-hour public hearing before the budget vote, speakers spoke passionately about the value of arts in the community, freedom of expression and the connections between oppression by race, class, gender and sexuality. Anti-Esperanza speakers decried the “homosexual agenda” and the “filth” being promoted by the film festival and being paid for “with our money.” Esperanza supporters who spoke out at these same sessions easily outnumbered the detractors, but again, the council had already made its decision (behind closed doors). The Christian Pro-Life Foundation, an anti-abortion” crisis pregnancy center” whose director and supporters regularly picketed women’s clinics, began the campaign to defund Esperanza by distributing (“Family Alert”) flyers characterizing Esperanza as a Lesbian and Gay organization that was using tax dollars to target youth and produce a Lesbian and Gay film festival. It exhorted readers to call in and ask councilmembers to not approve the amount recommended for the Esperanza. Gay reactionaries similarly passed out packets and actively worked against the Esperanza. After the defunding (9.18) gay reactionaries sent a letter to Mayor Peak commending him for the defunding of Esperanza. Ultimately, when the question was asked, Why did the Esperanza get de-funded by the City of San Antonio? The answer was much more complex in the larger scheme of things but when it comes to our local city council, it was censorship, homophobia, racism, sexism, closed door/backroom dealings and obstruction of due process. …it was an injustice that needed correction. In filing a suit against the city in 1998, the Esperanza was ultimately vindicated. In 2001, the court ruled against the City of San Antonio in a landmark ruling that empowered the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in years to come. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2017, we will revisit in future issues of La Voz the implications of this and other lawsuits that have been part of Esperanza’s history. —Gloria A. Ramírez, editor of La Voz de Esperanza ATTENTION VOZ READERS: If you have a mailing address correction please send it to lavoz@ esperanzacenter.org. If you want to be removed from the La Voz mailing list, for whatever reason, please let us know. La Voz is provided as a courtesy to people on the mailing list of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The subscription rate is $35 per year ($100 for institutions). The cost of producing and mailing La Voz has substantially increased and we need your help to keep it afloat. To help, send in your subscriptions, sign up as a monthly donor, or send in a donation to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Thank you. -GAR VOZ VISION STATEMENT: La Voz de Esperanza speaks for many individual, progressive voices who are gente-based, multi-visioned and milagro-bound. We are diverse survivors of materialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism, violence, earth-damage, speciesism and cultural and political oppression. We are recapturing the powers of alliance, activism and healthy conflict in order to achieve interdependent economic/ spiritual healing and fuerza. La Voz is a resource for peace, justice, and human rights, providing a forum for criticism, information, education, humor and other creative works. La Voz provokes bold actions in response to local and global problems, with the knowledge that the many risks we take for the earth, our body, and the dignity of all people will result in profound change for the seven generations to come.
EMERGENCE, 1994-2002: The Coalition for Cultural Diversity
by Antonia Castañeda structures of exclusion – not simply reshuffling them to include a certain percentage of those originally excluded due to one or another characteristic while keeping fundamentally the same group in the decision making positions of power. . . The issue is not about some ill-defined notion of ‘cultural diversity,’ but about WHO gets to decide what ‘cultural diversity’ is. .. Let us all clearly understand that these public monies derive from the commodification and marketing of San Antonio’s rich cultural traditions. But most particularly these funds come from the hefty profits generated by the buying and selling of San Antonio’s Mexican past and present to the millions of tourists who flock here year round. Mexican/Mexican American culture and cultural production is one of the two pivotal economic bases of the city. Let us not kid ourselves about what is at stake here. What is at stake is the right, the authority and the resources to define and represent the richly diverse, highly complex, sometimes conflictive artistic and cultural traditions of San Antonio. What is equally at stake in this debate is just and equitable access to public resources and monies by those groups who have been historically excluded and underrepresented based on race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. We rightfully expect elected and appointed public officials to abide by principles of justice and equity. We support their effort to advance this city toward realizing those principles and expect them to honor this public trust.” Esperanza’s leadership in the development of the Coalition for Cultural Diversity, and Esperanza’s continued social justice organizing and public actions in 1994 placed her squarely in the sights of a vindictive City Council. Esperanza was targeted! 1994 was a prelude to the 1997 defunding of the Esperanza! Editor’s note: This text was part of a program of tributes and rememberances of Esperanza’s 30 year history that took place on Saturday, August 12th. Antonia’s presentation focused on the work of the Coalition for Cultural Diversity that ultimately made an impact on the way the City of San Antonio funds arts organizations. A presentation by María Antonietta Berriozabal focusing on the Esperanza’s impact on San Antonio appears on p. 10.
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
1994 was a watershed year for the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center! It was a defining moment in Esperanza’s emergence as an organization that will not be cowed, silenced, or stopped. Kicked out of its first home because of its cultural politics in 1993, Esperanza responded to eviction by purchasing its own building and, with a coalition of cultural organizations and related groups, publically challenged the structures of power and the City of San Antonio’s politics of arts funding, and reframed the debate on cultural diversity to center the issues of cultural equity and justice. The debate revolved around the Cultural Arts Board’s (or CAB’s) recommendation of a 5% cut in the funding of five arts organizations who were not responsive to the requirement to diversify audiences, boards, and staffs culturally. The Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA), however, reversed CAB’s recommendation, and Photo: Joseph Ochoa restored the cuts. To do so, OCA slashed other organizations’ funding, including the Esperanza’s, who lost $3,500 of its original operations grant. Refusing to accept blatant injustice, the Esperanza and other groups issued a call to action to expose structured cultural inequalities and the powers that sustain them, and to hold public arts institutions accountable. We created the Coalition for Cultural Diversity and, on August 29th, held a press conference in front of City Hall and read the statement we collectively wrote. Our statement read, in part: “We reject the nature of the current debate which frames diversity exclusively in terms of ethnicity, ‘culture,’ programming and numerical representation of Hispanics, African American, and sometimes women (meaning presumably Anglo women). We reinsert into the public discussion both the issues that gave rise to the debate in the first place, and the concepts and terms that originally defined it. The pivotal defining issues are oppression, marginalization, and exclusion based on race, gender, sexual orientation, class, and other characteristics for which entire populations have been historically excluded from full participation at ALL LEVELS of the institutional fabric of the United States, including the Arts and Cultural Institutions of San Antonio. The original concepts and terms that defined cultural diversity, centered on justice and equity and on dismantling the
3
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7•
Editor’s Note: As part of the August 12, 2017 tribute to Esperanza’s 30 year history, a special publication, Esperanza: 30 years of Peace and Justice, was made available to folks attending the fundraising event. Tributes written for the publication included Maria Salazar’s reflection on the defunding of the Esperanza in 1997 and the subsequent lawsuit and a poem by Rachel Jennings that follows on pages 6 & 7. Copies of Esperanza: 30 years of Peace and Justice are available at the Esperanza.
4
Brilliant Commu Maria Salazar, Attorney at Law,
On September 11, 1997, the City Council of San Antonio eliminated all city funding to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. When that decision came down, the Esperanza staff, volunteers, board and community members mobilized to determine how to respond. For months, information was gathered, various strategies were explored and we wondered how to best prepare a community for trial. The answer: Have a mock trial. The mock trial generated dialogue allowing the attorneys to discuss the legal issues of a view-point discrimination case and gave the community a place to shape the story of the Esperanza. The community or La Buena Gente shared their knowledge of the power of street art, protest, community dialogue, altar building, theater and story-telling. As the Esperanza prepared for trial, I heard the case discussed in the LGBTQ community and in the faith-based community. I recall hearing the artists of Mujerartes asking the legal team about the mechanics of a trial. The youth from the Esperanza’s media project asked if they could really go to Court at trial. This con- The 2nd floor of the Esperanza served as the venue for the mock trial. servation was a lesson on civic duty, open courts and the Amy Kastely was lead lawyer. Michael Marinez testified. freedom of expression.
María Salazar acted as judge for the mock trial that prepared community for trial in Esperanza Peace & Justice Center v. City of San Antonio filed in 1998.
Multiple press conferences were held before and after Esperanza’s funding fight.
Another organizing tactic used to inform the community was performance by Teatro de las Calles.
Press conferences were held on site at the courthouse where the trial took place. Pictured are Rudy Rosales at the podium and staffmember, Vicky Grise and Petra Mata of Fuerza Unida at right. The quilt was also a project dedicaed to the Esperanza fight.
unity Organizing former Esperanza staff member As part of the mock trial community members like Micaela SánchezDiaz testified as witnesses.
Brilliant community organizing. The best organizing, I have ever seen. I hadn’t been a staff member for long, having just moved from San Francisco earlier that year. The City Council’s decision was devastating but I was overwhelmed with hope from the Esperanza community. So, when I was asked to play the role of judge in the mock trial of Esperanza Center v. City of San Antonio, I took it seriously. I had to honor La Buena Gente. I paid close attention to the legal arguments. I read case law. I asked questions. I made index cards! At the mock trial, I wore the borrowed doctoral robes of Rodolfo Rosales, my political science professor. The legal team headed by Amy Kastely proceeded with Esperanza’s case-in-chief. Witnesses were called including our expert witness of Tomas Ybarra Frausto. The community sat in the galley much like a court room in trial. After each part of a trial, the community asked questions. The attorneys took notes and sharpened their arguments or reworked their questions from this interchange. Brilliant community organizing. The best organizing, I have ever seen.
Brilliant community organizing. The best organizing, I have ever seen.
La Voz announces the Esperanza’s win against the City of San Antonio in 2001 that made national news. The City had rescinded funds from the Esperanza for arts programming violating the Esperanza’s First Amendment rights.
Esperanza’s Teatro de la Calle performs at the Plaza downtown across from the Bexar Co. Courthouse to inform gente about the lawsuit and its significance. Night vigils at the courthouse were held in support of the Esperanza.
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
At the end of the mock trial, I ruled in favor of the Esperanza. I had not gone to law school yet. But after hearing the arguments, the reasoning presented by the Esperanza led to the conclusion that the City of San Antonio had favored one set of views over others, and under the law, that was not permitted. In May of 2001, at the actual trial, Judge Orlando Garcia ruled that the City of San Antonio had violated the First Amendment rights of the Esperanza Center. Furthermore, Judge Garcia found that the City of San Antonio had violated the equal protection clause when the City cut of all of the Esperanza’s funding from the 1998 City budget while maintaining funding for other arts organizations with a 15% reduction. Much like the day of the mock trial, the Esperanza cried out in great joy. Victory!
5
Dale Shine al Westside Rachel Jennings Psst. Psst. Over here, Espe. Look my way, mama. Stuck up? Too good For me? Men called them jotas, marimachas. Y white men? “Ain’t nothin’ downtown but Mexicans and queers.” Espe shrugs. Our streets will not be silenced.
Las Calles No Se Callen The City told women, brown people, working class people not to go in the streets, but Espe took those marching legs into the streets and plazas, too. Espe marched and marched—first, yes, at International Women’s Day, but never stopped marching for free speech; worker and immigrant rights; protection of public water; peace in Iraq, Afghanistan.
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7•
Marching in public, swinging those hips for all to see, Espe got arrested, shoved off the street, told to stay on the sidewalk like a proper lady.
6
International Women’s Day Marches in San Antonio began with a single march in 1985 before Esperanza existed. They did not start again until 1992 when Esperanza began to sponsor the annual IWD marches that continue today. Pictured is the IWD coordinating committee of 1995 wearing the logo, Mujeres Marchando...El Mundo Cambiando/Women Marching...The World Changing.
Rachel was part of the Teatro de las Calles that performed skits to inform the public about the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center v. City of San Antonio lawsuit filed after the city took away funds recommended for the Esperanza’s arts programming.
Yeah, got branded as immodest, denounced as brazen, an exhibitionist. Espe shrugged.
The Free Speech Coalition was formed after the City of San Antonio began to require outrageous fees to march on city streets with unreasonable procedures. The Free Speech Coalition filed a lawsuit that is pending.
Respeto Es Basico
Arte es Vida
An exhibitionist? True enough. No demure wallflower, Espe could put on a show— art exhibits, plays, poetry readings, film festivals.
Esperanza has not always lived at 922 San Pedro. Before its current space, there was that building with sun-ray window panes--el sol, sunrise. Remember? That building on Flores Street? Flores--like flowers. In Nahuatl, the word for poem is flower-and-song, flor y canto.
Then came hate messages on voice mail, a rock through the window. Talk radio invective, comic strip diatribes. After the Closets: Queer Experiences art show, an eviction. After Out at the Movies, defunding. Don’t feel sorry for Esperanza. When authorities pointed to the closet, Esperanza marched.
Defunded? Esperanza knew about rights, freedom of expression-and how to be breadwinner. Above: The banner Stop the War!/Alto A La Guerra! was one of the original banners of the Esperanza used in the 90s at the MLK marches and antiwar marches. Below: The new building at 922 San Pedro was immediately designated, A Pro-Choice Zone, breaking the annual chain on San Pedro Ave. formed by Anti-choice protestors. In 2017, Planned Parenthood moved next door to the Esperanza.
Xochitl Codina stands in front of the doors at 1305 N. Flores site of the Esperanza’s original home.
Esperanza is thirty an’ seen a lot but in one way has not changed or at least has come full circle around the sun: arte es vida, arte es vida Vida es Esperanza Todos Somos Esperanza
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
When evicted from its rented space, Esperanza y toda la gente raised funds for a brick-and-mortar home of their own.
Did you know that poems saved my life? That la poesia is my life?
7
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Virginia Hernández García of Carpa García fame celebrates 93 years by Amelia García Brooks
Editor’s note: I met Amelia García Brooks at this year’s (2017) Paseo por el Westside in May. She told me she had just moved back to San Antonio and had grown up in the Westside. She shared that she was part of the García clan of the Carpa García and that they would soon be celebrating her aunt Virginia’s birthday. Virginia is the last surviving performer of the Carpa García and would be celebrating her 93rd birthday. Graciela, Esperanza director, was able to attend the celebration. Amelia and I connected through email making this article
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7•
Virginia Hernandez García
8
celebrated her 93rd birthday on May 20, 2017 at St. Henry’s Catholic Church Cafeteria. It was a very special day for the Manuel V. and Teresa García family because Virginia is the last living family performer of the famous Carpa García of San Antonio, Texas. The Carpa was owned and operated by Manuel V. and Teresa García circa from 1914 to 1946. They traveled and performed throughout the states of California, Arizona, and south Texas. At the early age of 8 years old, Virginia displayed a unique dancing talent and grace that prompted her Godmother from the Carpa Cubana to enroll her into an Academy of dance and gymnastics. She learned to be a contortionist spending hours and hours of practicing to properly contort her young body. Imagine the discipline an 8 year old child had to have to accomplish this. It was at this Academy that she learned and mastered the latest dances like the Foxtrot, Ballroom, Tango and many Mexican dances. Tap dancing was her favorite, and she entered a contest in the school district and won first prize, which was a trip to dance in Austin, TX. She was also a singer, and while she was appearing at the Alameda and Zaragoza theatres, Manuel and Teresa recruited her to join the Carpa García. As a young lady in her twenties she joined the Carpa García and teamed up with a dancing partner named Carreón. They were billed as the Mexican Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. They were quite a match, she in a lovely long flowing formal gown and him in a top hat and tails. It was at this time that she met and married Raymond García, the youngest son of La Carpa García owner. They were a great team, in that they were both in show business contributing to the arts. She continued performing for years and raising a family and finally settling in San Antonio. Virginia went to Lanier only through the 8th grade; unfortunately, she had to drop out to perform in order to help support the rest of the family. She also worked at the Arsenal here in San Antonio
possible. Amelia commented: It was a pleasure to meet you at the Paseo; my husband and I really enjoyed the day, talking to the people and enjoying the music. I compliment you and your staff for the festival you had, it took me down memory lane because I grew up nearby on El Paso St. next to San Juan de Los Lagos Catholic Church. If you ever have any discussion panels call me, I would love to participate. My husband Dave and I both hope to have an opportunity to attend these types of activities again in the future. Thank you, Amelia, for making this article possible for La Voz. —GAR during World War II, packing ammunition in jackets that were going overseas to our soldiers like many young women of the time, including singer, Rita Vidaurri. Another job that she held was as a Nurse’s Aide at the Santa Rosa Hospital Emergency Room. In later years she and Raymond worked at the voting polls and for several years volunteered to serve turkey dinners to the poor. Most of all, Virginia is a resilient Westside Mexican American lady that has always been ahead of her time. She is proud of all her life accomplishments, but if you ask her, she is the most proud of raising a family of seven, five girls and two boys. Following in their mother’s footsteps three of the girls went into the medical field. Virginia is a great example of a person that knocked on doors and, in perspective, accomplished a lot despite all the obstacles she had to endure. Unfortunately, few pictures of her role in Carpa García exist as one time the caravan of mobile homes while traveling from Corpus to San Antonio were caught in the tail end of a hurricane and possessions went out with the strong winds. My parents lost all our baby albums, etc.
La Carpa Hermanos García,
Note: The minatures of the Carpa García are from the collection of the Hertzberg Circus Museum of San Antonio and have now been in storage at the Witte Museum for many years. It is the family’s hope that funding will be provided for these historic photos, artifacts and models to be on display.
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
known in English as The García Brothers Show, was a Mexican American carpa or vaudeville tent show that was active from 1914 – 1947. Carpa García consisted of performers from several families, including Manuel V. and Teresa García, Manolo and Florinda García, Raymond and Virginia García, Rodolfo García, Consuelo and Pilár García, Esther García Robinson, Esperanza, and Aida García Castro and husband, Alfredo. Teresa García also had three talented children, Rafael, Juan, and Gilberta, from her previous marriage. The Carpa García’s most famous acts were a comedic routine by the character “Don Fito” (above) and a tightrope performance by Pilár García (top left). The carpa was most active in the Southwestern United States, performing in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. While there were other Mexican carpas, La Carpa García is historically recognized as one of the more popular and long-standing Mexican tent shows from the first half of the 20th century. It has been mentioned in several scholarly publications and was featured prominently at Hertzberg Circus Museum in San Antonio, Texas from 1998 – 2002 with a display of a minature handmade model of the Carpa (at left) constructed by Raymond García, deceased husband of Virginia Hernández García, the last surviviing member of Carpa Garcia. For more information, please contact Dr. Monica García Brooks, proud granddaughter of Manolo and Florinda García: brooks@marshall.edu or see http://users.marshall.edu/~brooks/La-Carpa-Garcia-Photos.htm
9
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
Creating Roads of Justice for 30 years
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7•
By María Antonietta Berriozábal
10
Congratulations Esperanza Peace and Justice Center for 30 yearssof courageous work. You have created roads of justice for others to follow from your opening your doors to all from the beginning, to your special welcome to the LGBTQ community as no one had ever done before—to your efforts supporting the gay community at the start of the AIDS pandemic. You continued your innovative programming for a decade but then found yourselves defunded by our city. Rather than simply accepting this action you filled a lawsuit and called on our community to take action. The Todos Somos Esperanza campaign provided opportunities for a robust political and social community conversation so that it would be understood that this grossly unfair action was not just an action against you but it was against all of us. And we won! Your voices were present in Applewhite I, and Applewhte II which were foolish water projects and we defeated them. You worked against the PGA golf course construction saying no to more waste of the people’s money and endangerment of our water. Those struggles are against the most powerful men in our city who are willing to risk our water for money. You continue our message that Agua es Vida! On May first of 2006 you joined an unprecedented over 20,000 people who marched in support of comprehensive immigration reform. However, a year and a half later you saw the San Antonio City Council enact the most stringent parade ordinance in the
nation. With the Coalition for Free Speech you responded with legal action and with the creation of Las Calles No Se Callan campaign where your demand was for protection of our constitutional rights of assembly and free speech. You have been a faithful advocate for protection of our immigrant community whether supporting the people of Arizona in the Todos Somos Arizona campaign as they fought senate bill 1070 or locally supporting our Dreamers and DACA recipients and in other areas. With regards to the City Public Service utility you lead
in reminding government leaders that we must be good stewards of our earth—utility rates must be fair and not bankrupt our low income communities and that nuclear energy harms the earth and risks the lives of its people. As a strong partner of Energia Mía you helped prevent two new nuclear reactors from being built at the South Texas Nuclear Project (STNP). As gentrification has taken hold in San Antonio you have been faithful to the reminder that our older neighborhoods matter, that history matters, that our decades old structures like the
Hays Street Bridge must remain part of our commons. You were there supporting the residents of Mission Trails as they wept when they were about to be evicted by the city and you spoke for them before our elected body. You have pointed out that this, in fact, is the kind of gentrification that is not often understood. Most recently, you helped organize a most diverse group of organizations, including some from outside the city, to oppose the Vista Ridge pipeline that has already shown that it is a burden on our community. On this very special night I thank you, Graciela Sánchez, Executive Director of the
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, all your staff and all the buena gente who make the Esperanza. I thank all those who in big and small ways have contributed to the work of the past three decades. Esperanza Peace and Justice Center your work is needed more than ever today as we see political leaders sanction hate, racism and homophobia. We need your work as bad laws are being passed that are taking our freedoms away and hurting our most vulnerable such as SB4. We need you as our barrios are in danger of extinction. We need you to continue being a strong voice for peace and justice that you have been in the past. ¡Felicidades y que sigua Esperanza!
March 3, 1919 – August 3, 2017
Heartfelt condolences to the family of José F. Tovar who died
at 98 years old surrounded by his loved ones. José loved la politica and los artes and was often seen at Esperanza’s programs, pláticas and press conferences. He immigrated to San Antonio from Sabinas Hidalgo, N. L. Mexico and built a life in the Southside starting a small produce business at Market Square in the 50s and later opening La Nortena Grocery that conveyed a sense of community in the Southside. José was known as a community scholar who loved poetry, music and was always informed about current events and cultural offerings. He and his wife, Aida (deceased) were members of the Club Nuevo León that promoted Mexican artists and poets. His gentle spirit and quiet demeanor belied his great presence. The family requests that donations in his honor be made to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78210. Gracias. QEPD. Note: Thanks to Laura Ehnstrom, Betty Madill, Jewell Ehnstrom, Arthur Molina III & Denise K. Simoneaux who have donated to Esperanza in José’s memory.
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
José F. Tovar
11
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7•
MujerArtes’ New Adobe Home Opens!
12
MujerArtes, Esperstream in through anza’s cooperativa glass pathways prode mujeres with a 22 vided by a pattern year history as clay of recycled beer and artists will finally get wine bottles that the a permanent home! women embedded in Working steadily for the thick walls to let more than 2 years, the in muted sun rays. mujeres have taken El Rinconcito de part in the planning Esperanza, where and building of their the new MujerArtes new studio from the studio will be located ground up adding includes the 100 year their own artistic old Casa de Cuentos touches with imbedin front remodeled MujerArtes artists (front L to R) include Olga Martínez, Grace Gonzáles, Juana Hilda Ruiz, Mary Agnes ded handpainted tiles Rodríguez, Grace Sánchez, (back, L to R) Arlene Martínez, Jina Sambrano, Adriana Netro, Antonia Castañeda, with a hand built throughout the inside Ana Laura Martínez, Teresa Borrego, Amalia Ibarra, Anna Uviedo, Rosa Vega, Patricia de la Garza wrap around porch, and mural like scenes on the outer walls. Imelda Arismendez, the rethe restored 1890s Casita in the rear and Ruben’s Ice House that cently deceased coordinator of MujerArtes prophetically proclaimed: has also undergone renovations. Last year the Esperanza received “Every inch of this building is going to be a work of art.” And, so it is. an award from the San Antonio Conservation Society for achievThe 2,000-square-foot art studio built out of compressed earth ing “the highest level of accomplishment in historic preservation” blocks (CEB) that form 13-foot-high walls will open Saturday, for the restoration of the buildings at the Rinconcito. MujerArtes’ September 9th at 10 am at the Rinconcito de Esperanza located at adobe home fits snugly in the rear perimeter of the property and is 816 S. Colorado St. Las mujeres will be moving from La Casita already considered a model building, being that it may be the first at 1412 El Paso, a 900-square-foot space where they paid rent for adobe commercial structure in San Antonio in over 100 years. more than 20 years. El Rinconcito has been the site of annual cultural celebrations Their new adobe abode will include a studio, a kiln room, of Paseo por el Westside, Día de los muertos and the Christmas a small kitchen and gender neutral restrooms. The building is posadas. It is also the base of operations for the project Fotohisa modern version of adobe construction that was historically torias del Westside and the group, Corazones del Westside that common in San Antonio and the Southwest in the 1700s and meet monthly offering pláticas and workshops on the Westside’s 1800s. This type of building is considered energy-efficient, history and culture. environmentally friendly, fireproof, insect-proof and chemicalThe addition of MujerArtes to the Rinconcito promises to free. It also provides a direct connection to Mother Earth with a bring activities and events to the cultural and historical arts center dirt floor cured with linseed oil and beeswax. Free-flowing air year round! Don’t miss the opening ceremonies and tours of this will naturally cool and heat up the building while sunlight will history-making building, MujerArtes’ new clay arts studio!
Ana Laura Martínez lays a block on the arc as Teresa Borrego looks on.
Jina Sambrano and Ana Laura Martínez imbed a bottle in a wall.
Imelda Arismendez, coordinator (deceased) prepares a surface for more Earth blocks.
¡Gracias! Desde el fondo del corazón, heartfelt thanks to all who made the Esperanza’s 30th dinner celebration a great success. The kickoff to the Sustainability Fund for Esperanza’s next 30 years was announced with a goal of raising $300,000 in Donors
Rodríguez RK Catering Roberto Treviño Susan Aguilar Suzanna Rojas Tanya Mote Xavier & Diana Sánchez Yolanda Salazar Liliana Wilson *30th publication writing
Presenters PLUS Amy Kastely Antonia Castañeda* Antonio Cabral* Arturo Madrid Azul Barrientos Brad Veloz* Elizandro Carrington Elva Treviño* Gianna E. Rendón Gloria A. Ramírez* Graciela Sanchez Jan Olsen* Liliana Saldaña Lourdes Pérez Maria Berriozábal* Maria Salazar* Martha Prentiss* Michael Marinez Nadine Saliba* Rachel Jennings* Roberto Treviño Sarah Gould* Tomas Ybarra Frausto
*30th publication writing
Underwriters
Dignity SA Elena Guajardo Gloria Ramírez Graciela Sánchez &Amy Kastely Jan Olsen & Therese Huntzinger Jeffrey Hons/ Planned Parenthood Joyce Townsend Lloyd and Libby Dogget Louis Escareño Pat Prowse & Sharon Scott PeaceCENTER PFLAG Rosemary Kowalski Ruth Lofgren
in hand! We invite you to help by donating directly online: bit.ly/donatetoEsperanza2017 or by mail: 922 San Pedro Ave., 78212 or call 210.228.0201 and ask about becoming a monthly donor. ¡Mil Graicas! Trinity University, MAS Arturo Madrid & Antonia Castañeda
Advertisments
Aztlán Libre Press Centro Cultural Aztlan Chef Mike Fiesta Youth La Focaccia Graciela @ The Yard Illusions Rentals Law Office of Maria Salazar Law Office of Rosa María González Rape Crisis Center Rosario’s San Anto Cultural Arts Say Si! South Texas Press Temp Tex AC Company Travis Park United Methodist Church Trinity MAS Program and Norma Cantú Urban Farm Stand UTSA College of Education & Human Development
Buena Gente
Agosto Cuellar Alicia Arredondo Amanda Haas Anastasia Cristilles Ana Ramirez Angela López (St. Philips) Angie Merla Baldemar Guerrero (St. Philips) Barbara Renaud González Bernard Sánchez, Dinner cochair Blanca & Jaime Rivera Clarissa Castañeda Clarissa Galindo Corazones de Westside* David Spener* Debra Sifuentes Deborah Weiss (St. Philips) Cynthia Spielman Elisabeth Joy Delgado Elva Treviño Emily Bourgeois Ethan Rodríguez Gloria Hernández Imelda O. De León & daughter Isabel & Enrique Sánchez*
Itza Carbajal Jacqueline Rosas (St. Philips) Jan Olsen, Dinner Co-chair & Therese Huntzinger Jessica Medina (St. Philips) Jessica Rocca* Jesús Alonzo* Jimmy Sifuentes Jose Betancoult (St. Philips) Josie Hernández & Family Kamala Platt* Ki’Amber Thompson Kristel Puente Lamar Keller (St. Philips) Lourdes Pérez & Annette D’Armata* Madison Porras Martha Prentiss Mary Smith (St. Philips) Michelle Brinkley Mike Sánchez Mildred Hilbrich Paul W. Sanders (St. Philips) Pauline Enriquez Rachel Martínez Raquel Centeno Rudy Cortinas (St. Philips) Samantha Minarro (St. Philips) St. Philips College Student Volunteers Susan Morales Guerra* Sylvia Mireles Tom Keene* Tomasa Torres Valeria Pacheco Vanessa García *30th publication writing
Staff
Amelia Valdez Eliza Pérez Elizandro Carrington Gianna Rendón Graciela Sánchez Jessica Rocca Natalie Rodríguez Paty de la Garza Paul Plouf Gloria A. Ramírez René Saenz Susana Segura
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
Alicia Arredondo Antonio Cabral Bill Millers BBQ Brenda Davis Carlos Montoya Carol Rodríguez Chad Ruemann (PFLAG) Chef Mike Davis Cherly Kurtz Chuck Squier Cynthia Spielman Daniel González Dignity San Antonio Donna Guerra Dudley Brooks & Tomas Ybarra Frausto Dulce Benavides Eduardo Juárez Elena Guajardo Elvia O. Myrie Enrique & Isabel Sánchez Gary Houston* Gloria Prentiss Gustavo Sánchez Irma Mouser Itza Carbajal* Jan Olsen & Therese Huntzinger Janet & Bill Grigsby Josie Merla Julius Lorenzi Junda Woo La Foccacia Italian Grill Laura Parra Codina* Laura Rendón Leticia Sánchez Lillian Stevens* Lilliana Saldaña Lucy Dimando Luis Mercado Malena Gonzalez-Cid Manuel & María Berriozábal María Miller Martha Prentiss Michele Brinkley Michelle Dooley Mike Rodríguez & Brad Veloz* Mireles Party Ice Miryam Bujanda & Jerry Poyo Nikki Valdez & Deb Myers Peace Center PFLAG Rachel Jennings Ray McDonald Raymond & Beverly
the next three years. A third of the funds are already
13
People’s Power Coalition meets last Thursdays | 210.878.6751
Bexar Co. Green Party: Call 210. 471.1791 or bcgp@bexargreens.org
PFLAG, meets 1st Thurs. @ 7pm, University Presbyterian Church 300 Bushnell Ave. | 210.848.7407.
* community meetings *
Amnesty International #127 For info. call Arthur @ 210.213.5919.
Celebration Circle meets Sun., 11am @ Say Sí, 1518 S. Alamo. Meditation: Weds @7:30pm, Friends Meeting House, 7052 Vandiver. 210.533.6767. DIGNITY SA Mass, 5:30pm, Sun. @ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1018 E. Grayson St | 210.340.2230 Adult Wellness Support Group of PRIDE Center meets 4th Mon., 7-9 pm @ Lions Field, 2809 Broadway. Call 210.213.5919. Energía Mía: (512) 838-3351 Fuerza Unida, 710 New Laredo Hwy. www.lafuerzaunida.org | 210.927.2294 Habitat for Humanity meets 1st Tues. for volunteers, 6pm, HFHSA Office @ 311 Probandt. LGBTQ LULAC Council #22198 meets 3rd Thursdays @ 6:45pm @ Luby’s on Main. E-mail: info@ lulac22198.org
NOW SA Chapter meets 3rd Wed’s. For time and location check FB/satx.now | 210. 802.9068 | nowsaareachapter@ gmail.com
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7•
Pax Christi, SA meets monthly on Saturdays. Call 210.460.8448
14
Parents of Murdered Children, meets 2nd Mondays @ Balcones Heights Community Ctr, 107 Glenarm | www. pomcsanantonio.org. Rape Crisis Center, 4606 Centerview Suite 200, Hotline: 210.349.7273 | 210.521.7273 Email:sschwab@ rapecrisis.com The Religious Society of Friends meets Sunday @10am @ The Friends Meeting House, 7052 N. Vandiver. | 210.945.8456. S.A. Gender Association meets 1st & 3rd Thursday, 6-9pm @ 611 E. Myrtle, Metropolitan Community Church. SA AIDS Fdn 818 E. Grayson St. offers free Syphilis & HIV testing | 210.225.4715 | www.txsaaf.org. SA Women Will March: www. sawomenwillmarch.org|(830) 488-7493 SGI-USA LGBT Buddhists meet 2nd Sat. at 10am @ 7142 San Pedro Ave., Ste 117 | 210.653.7755. Shambhala Buddhist Meditation Tues. 7pm & Sun. 9:30am 257 E. Hildebrand Ave. | 210.222.9303.
Proyecto Hospitalidad Liturgy meets Thurs. 7pm, 325 Courtland.
S.N.A.P. (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). Contact Barbara at 210.725.8329.
Metropolitan Community Church services & Sunday school @10:30am, 611 East Myrtle. Call 210.472.3597
Voice for Animals: 210.737.3138 or www.voiceforanimals.org
Overeaters Anonymous meets MWF in Spanish & daily in English | www. oasanantonio.org | 210.492.5400.
SA’s LGBTQA Youth meets Tues., 6:30pm at Univ. Presby. Church, 300 Bushnell Ave. | www.fiesta-youth.org
Be Part of a
Progressive Movement in San Antonio
¡Todos Somos Esperanza! Start your monthly donations now! Esperanza works to bring awareness and action on issues relevant to our communities. With our vision for social, environmental, economic and gender justice, Esperanza centers the voices and experiences of the poor & working class, women, queer people and people of color. We hold pláticas and workshops; organize political actions; present exhibits and performances and document and preserve our cultural histories. We consistently challenge City Council and the corporate powers of the city on issues of development, low-wage jobs, gentrification, clean energy and more. It takes all of us to keep the Esperanza going. What would it take for YOU to become a monthly donor? Call or come by the Esperanza to learn how.
¡Esperanza vive! ¡La lucha sigue, sigue! FOR INFO: Call 210.228.0201 or email: esperanza@esperanzacenter.org
Start your 2016/2017 tax-deductible donations to Esperanza today! I would like to donate $________ each month by automatic bank withdrawal. Contact me to sign up.
I would like to send $________ each ___ month ___ quarter ___ six-months
Enclosed is a donation of ___ $1000 ___ $500 ___ $250 ___ $100
___ $50
___ $15
___ 10
___ $25
through the mail. Name _____________________________________________________________________________________
La Voz Subscription ___ $35 Individuals
Address ___________________________________________________________________________________
___ $100 Institutions
City, State, Zip ______________________________________________________________________________
___ other $ _______________
Phone ____________________________Email_____________________________________________________ For more information, call 210-228-0201 Make checks payable to the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center. Send to 922 San Pedro, SA TX 78212. Donations to the Esperanza are tax deductible.
I would like to volunteer Please use my donation for the Rinconcito de Esperanza
Notas Y Más September 2017 September, 2017
Enjoy great Tejano music this summer sponsored by Univision at La Villita with KXTN 107.5 in Maverick Plaza as part of Tejano Thursdays continuing thru September. Gates open @ 5pm until 11pm. FREE! September will offer three Tejano Thursday dates: Sept. 7th, Sept. 21st and Sept. 28th. Check getcreativesanantonio. com Last chance to dance outdoors! Domesticas Unidas ofrece dos eventos sobre El cuidado de personas de la tercer edad: El documental El Cuidado se lleva acabo el 30 de septiembre a las 6 pm. Luego, un taller: Entrenamiento para el trabajo de el cuidado de personas de la tercer edad se presentará el 7 de octubre de 3-6pm con la entrenadora, la enfermera Liliana Rubio Murillo. Los dos eventos se presentarán en las oficinas de Domesticas en 1606 Fulton Ave. en San Antonio. Para mas informes llame la oficina a 210.468.2004 o a Araceli, 210.310.6071 o Irasema, 210.446.8525.
Brief news items on upcoming community events. Send items for Notas y Más to: lavoz@esperanzacenter.org or mail to: 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212. The deadline is the 8th of each month.
2017 Summer Reading!
No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need is a new book by Naomi Klein who wrote The Shock Doctrine. To read a recent interview with Klein go to www. truth-out.org The Barrio Gangs of San Antonio, 19152015 written by Mike Tapia and published by TCU Press, is the most comprehensive academic case study of barrio gangs in San Antonio to date examining the evolution of urban barrio subcultures. Available online. De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century by Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez published in 1998 is being re-issued on July 25, 2017 as part of the Feminist Classics series by VersoBooks.com. Betita is now in her 90s. The book includes a forward by Angela Davis.
Every year Gemini Ink honors a great San Antonio writer with the Award of Literary Excellence at their annual gala, Inkstravaganza. This year Distinguished Scholar,Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, a native of San Antonio will be honored on September 28th at 6pm at the Pearl Stable. Formerly the Associate director of Creativity and Culture at the Rockefeller Foundation, Tomás has received numerous awards including the Henry Medal by the Smithsonian Institution in 1998 and The Order of the Aztec Eagle bestowed in 2007 by the Mexican government for his work in “Rasquachismo: a Chicano sensibility.” Call 210.734.96.73 check geminiink.org
West Side Native Plants/ Gardens
West Side Native Plants/ Gardens is nurturing biologically and culturally native plants on San Antonio’s Westside. In early 2016, we emerged as a group with a name (though we are still trying out our “for keeps” name). We got together word –of-mouth over our interests in nurturing biologically and culturally native plants on San Antonio’s Westside. We applied for a community grant from the Native Plant Society of Texas, San Antonio Chapter, (NPSOT) and received a small grant for a native planting at a nonprofit and for educational activities. In April, we offered a Saturday plática for the Corazones de Casa de Cuentos and hope to do another one in the fall; we’ve been at the Peace Market and at Urban 15’s street fair, Incognito. In late spring, we planted a small area at the front of the Rinconcito near Ruben’s with three types of milkweed, Texas Aster, Turk’s Cap, Inland Sea Oats and others. We use a plant succession strategy so we looked for what desirable plants would sprout from the seeds already in the ground, while removing stickers and other invasive “weeds.” We wanted species that would be attractive for butterflies, bees and other pollinators that help our gardens and trees bear fruits and vegetables. Over the dry summer, as the plants were
developing roots, watering has been an almost daily activity. Saturday, August 19, I stopped to water and discovered that the area had been mowed and all of the milkweed was sheared down to the roots. We don’t know who did this. We don’t know why. We are heart-broken. This was not a “showy” garden yet, although Showy Milkweed was one of the varieties that was about eight inches tall, already, and we had already seen blossoms on some of the volunteer dayflowers, horse herb and others. The milkweeds had been growing for two years in pots before we put them in the soil. Lots of love, there. We realize that although many of our abuelitas are familiar with some of these plants, some folks may think of them as weeds. Many do not know how vital these plants can be for our ecosystems and other communities especially as we face global warming and strive for climate justice. These plants feed animals that help feed us, and in some cases, can be our comida and salud—nopalitos y chili pequin, for example. Look for a follow-up article in La Voz this fall that details more about our native plant project and what we’ve been learning about native plants. For information email: <kamalap@earthlink.net>
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
by Kamala Platt
15
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • September 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 7
Call for Calaveras, Literary Ofrendas, & Artwork for November 2017 issue of La Voz Deadline: October 5th! Día de los muertos issues of La Voz can be perused at www.esperanzacenter.org
Noche Azul
September 23, 2017 • 8pm Doors open at 7pm • $7 más o menos 922 San Pedro Ave. Call 210.228.0201 for more info
Esperanza Peace & Justice Center
922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212 210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org
Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID San Antonio, TX Permit #332
Haven’t opened La Voz in a while? Prefer to read it online? Wrong address? TO CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTION EMAIL lavoz@esperanzacenter.org CALL: 210.228.0201
An Enchanted Evening with a Chili Queen
Join Isabel Sánchez as she shares memories of her great grandmother, one of the last Chili Queens of Market Square in San Antonio. A presentation on the aromatic properties of chili peppers used in the Chili Queens’ recipes follows and concludes with a savory sampling of the historic chili.
Tuesday, 26 September, 6:00-8:00PM 600 Soledad 78205 • 210.207.2500
MujerArtes Adobe Studio Grand Opening
sat u rda y , septem b er 9 , 2 0 1 7 10am-12pm | Rinconcito de Esperanza, 816 S. Colorado (Parking on El Paso St.)