San Antonio, Tejas
April 2017 | Vol. 30 Issue 3
Gianna Rendón
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Monika Landry
A T I O N A L Don Mathis
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Elva Pérez Treviño
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Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before. —Audre Lorde I N S I D E : A L O O K B A C K AT T H E M U J E R C A N T O S E R I E S
La Voz de Esperanza April 2017 vol. 30 Issue 3
Editor Gloria A. Ramírez Design Elizandro Carrington Contributors
Elliot Benjamin, Barbara Renaud González, Rachel Jennings, Tom Keene, Kathy Marston, Don Mathis, Darby Riley, M.E. Sánchez, Marilyn Wallner
Photos
Courtesy of Don Mathis
La Voz Mail Collective
Alicia Arredondo, Tomeka S. Brandon, Olga Crespin, Elisa Díaz, Juan Díaz, Gloria Hernández, Mildred Hilbrich, Gloria Lozano, Don Mathis, Ray McDonald, Angelita Merla, Sylvia Mireles, Elva Pérez Treviño, Mary Agnes Rodríguez, D. L. Stokes, Helen Villarreal
Esperanza Director Graciela I. Sánchez
Esperanza Staff
Imelda Arismendez, Elizandro Carrington, Paty de la Garza, Jessica González, Eliza Pérez, Natalie Rodríguez, Gianna Rendón, Natalie Rodríguez, René Saenz, Susana Segura, Amelia Valdez
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • April 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 3•
Conjunto de Nepantleras
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—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.
In this issue of La Voz de Esperanza, we look back at Esperanza’s programming of Mujercanto—a festival of women artists highlighted over a weekend or two beginning in 1991. The idea was that women, who are the transmitters of culture in a family, usually do not get highlighted in the mainstream media as artists—less so, women of color and LGBT women. As such, the focus on women’s programming was and is the hallmark of Esperanza’s existence. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2017, La Voz will be sharing parts of our history with readers.We also pay tribute in this issue to poets for National Poetry Month. Reflections and photographs about Esperanza’s 30th, guest editorials, articles and letters to the editorcan be sent to lavoz@esperanzacenter.org. It has been some time since we’ve gotten a letter to the editor, but such letters stimulate Ana Sisnett, poet, was part of mujercanto and read at IWD healthy exchanges in a time when we need to be talking to each rallies in San Antonio, RIP. other about how to move forward. —Gracias, Gloria A. Ramirez, editor
Letter to the Editor:
Note: The following is in response to No Plans to Abandon Our Freedom Dreams by activist/writer, Linda Burnham that appeared in last month’s La Voz de Esperanza, March 2017. I was glad you printed and distributed the article by Ms. Burnham—not because it helped me to understand anything, quite the contrary, she states we are in three simultaneous crises. What we are finally talking about is a crisis which has been developing for over 40 years. Capitalism is in a worldwide crisis. The post WWII economic boom was over by the end of the 1960s. We and the rest of the world have been on a downhill grind ever since. All other crises stem from this. Ms. Burnham is concerned with the Democratic Party. They never have nor ever will represent me, you, or any of our friends. She talks about ridiculing identity politics... Divide and conquer is a tactic. The democrats cannot defend themselves, how can they defend us? She warns of a trap and talks of the “master’s house” and the “master’s tools.” I learned a long time ago that political parties represent classes. The Democrats represent the billionaires and millionaires. They don’t represent working class people, never have, never will. To concern herself with the capitalist parties is well beyond just plain wrong. The death agony spiral of the democrats is none of our concern—true, it opens political space for us—but, to try to salvage the democrats is like returning to a burning barn. Forget about them. I have not heard anyone in the news or in the press offer a solution. The only solution would be an immediate end to capitalism and private property. As a society we have advanced too far for private property relations. Our science and technology is not in step with an economic model from the middle ages. The development of private property overthrew matriarchal societies. The time has come for a working class political party which can lead us back to the future. —M. E. Sánchez 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.
Fighting Against the Trump Dictatorship:
An Integrative Perspective by Elliot Benjamin, Ph.D., March, 2017 NOTE: A preliminary version of this article was published in January, 2017 on the Integral World website at www.integralworld.net/benjamin88.html.
Introduction
From Dictatorship to Democracy
My initial motivation to form my group began soon after Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November, 2016, as I re-read the short book From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp3, which includes 198 methods of non-violent tactics to overthrow a dictatorship and replace it with a democracy. I knew that these methods were geared toward authoritarian dictatorships, but I also realized that there was no reason that these methods could not be applied to the ongoing situation we now have in the United States, which felt/feels to me like “president/dictator Trump.” The one particular method that had the most meaning to me was Sharp’s description of getting the dictator’s supporters to sympathize with the plight of the revolutionaries.3 In a section of the book entitled Necessary Sources of Political Power, Sharp said the following: The principle is simple. Dictators require the assistance of the people they rule, without which they cannot secure and maintain the sources of political power. These sources of political power include:. . . human resources, the number and importance of the persons and groups which are obeying, cooperating, or providing assistance to the rulers; . . . intangible factors, psychological and ideological factors that may induce people to obey and assist the rulers;. . . . All of these sources, however, depend on acceptance of the regime, on the submission and obedience of the population, and on the cooperation of innumerable people and the many institutions of the society. They are not guaranteed. . . . Withdrawal of popular and institutional cooperation with aggressors and dictators diminishes, and may sever, the availability of the sources, the rulers’ power weakens and finally dissolves. (pp. 18-19) However, this process is by no means one that will always be successful, or that guarantees no casualties, as Sharp described: Continued on Page 6
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I realize that technically speaking the United States is not a dictatorship, and that we have a president—not a dictator. But I must say that it feels to me like our new President Trump, complete with his cabinet of appointments with unapologetic views against science, the environment, women, Blacks, Jews, Muslims, the poor, and peace, and buttressed by a Republican majority in both houses of congress and an impending conservative majority in the Supreme Court, has all the characteristics of a dictator in power. Of course in the United States any president or would be dictator can hold office for at most 8 years, and this is indeed a blessing. But 8 years of dictatorial power is far more than enough to cause massive disasters to the world, including the abysmal dangers of nuclear war. This, coupled with our egocentric, narcissistic, emotionally reactive, irrational, Ku Klux Klan supported new president who is highly influenced by his reactionary racist leaning chief strategist who presently sits on the National Security Council, is enough to cause much alarm for many U.S. citizens, including myself. In a number of my essays, I have utilized what I have described as an integrative perspective that includes diverse contrary views,1 and I am continuing my integrative perspective in this present essay, but with the focus of finding common ground on one particular issue. The particular issue I have in mind is “hate crimes and discrimination” and the diverse contrary views I am alluding to can be described simply as “Trump supporters and Trump non-supporters.” For the past 2 months I have actively promoted and have been highly engaged in a group which I initially entitled “Trump Supporters and Non-Supporters Against Hate Crimes and Discrimination” in my local community in rural Maine2. However, I gradually learned that the initial flyer to promote my group, which included a rather complimentary picture of Trump2 that I purposely included to try to attract Trump supporters to my group, was labeled as “political” and rejected by my local school superintendents, my local librarian, the director of my local Chamber of Commerce, and even my local American Legion chapter. Consequently I decided to remove the graphics from my flyer and I changed the name of my group to
“Citizens Against Hate Crimes and Discrimination.” The change in response that I received was quite striking, and my flyer was distributed in 3 local school districts and 9 schools, to over 400 teachers. My group had its first meeting on January 23, 2017, and it was a success; but before describing the dynamics that took place in my group meeting and a description of my 3 follow-up meetings, let me backtrack to describe my initial motivation in promoting and forming my group.
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mujercanto
The Mujercanto series began in 1991 highlighting women as writers, dancers, actors, poets, comedians, musicians and storytellers in a festival venue. It celebrated women as creators and inventors of culture—providing overdue opportunities for women artists of all cultures and communities. In 1991 and 1992 the festival took place under blue tarps in the patio at 1305 N. Flores. In 1993, Mujercanto expanded as it attracted larger audiences with the use of alternate venues like the Guadalupe Theater and
collaborations with Jump-Start Theater. This allowed Mujercanto to thrive during a time of transition for the Esperanza. It returned to the Esperanza when the new space on San Pedro Ave. opened its 2nd floor in 1997. The move became necessary because Esperanza was targeted by right wing Christian zealots for our LGBT programming that led toan ouster from our N. Flores home. It also led to the withdrawal of alloted arts funding by the City of San Antonio on September 11, 1997. Mujercanto mujercanto’93
Esther Magaloni Antoinette Franklin Inez Newton & Amy Dolan Mujeres Grandes Marga Gomez Melissa Javors Gertrude Baker (RIP) Ana Sisnett (RIP) Lourdes Pérez Mango Jam
1993 Marga Gomez, Puerto Rican comedian
1994 & 1997 Azucar y Crema, all woman band from San Francisco, CA
1996 Carmelita Tropicana, Cuban comedian
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mujercanto’92
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mujercanto’91
Anne Feeney Gilka Wara & Marta Davids Mariana Sculos (RIP)
mujercanto’94
Margo Tamez Beverly Sánchez-Padilla Kay Lindsey Kitty Williams & Mim Scharlack Melinda Joyce Hernández & Gail Everett Angela de Hoyos (RIP) Ruby Nelda Pérez Belinda Acosta Lourdes Pérez Tina Bustamante
1993 Inez Newton, singer
Root Wy’mn & Sharon Bridgforth Alicia López Valerie Ryals Morris Mary Ganzón Veronica Saldaña & Edna García Lourdes Pérez Beth Ching Alicia Fernández, RIP Deb Garris Azúcar y Crema Garris, Musket, & Wave Xochitl Codina, Micaela Díaz-Sánchez, Becky López & Monica Méndez
Mariana Sculos-Ornelas
Mariana Sculos-Ornelas, a “Greek Chicana,” professor, activist, jazz lover and harpist, passed into spirit on March 6, 2017. Mariana was born in Framingham, MA on September 18th, 1949, to Greek parents. A lover of politics and an accomplished pianist, she read that Willie Velásquez 1991 mujercanto was teaching at Harvard while she was in graduate school, and set out to interview him. Her mother cooked a feast in his honor, and the voting rights
1996 Peggy Pettit, performance artist
champion invited the bilingual Mariana, soon afterwards, to work for the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project in San Antonio. By then, Mariana had already lived in Mexico City and Paraguay, studying the harp with world-class musicians. Mariana sealed her ties to San Antonio as a boardmember of the Esperanza Center, as a neighborhood advocate, and later, as a member of the City’s Zoning Commission—”ground zero” of the city’s targeted real estate— where she saved trees, streets, and neighborhoods for District 1. She was a Humanities Professor at Palo Alto College for 20 years and was central to the development of the Mexican-American Studies program there. Mariana was an only child, and had no children. But she leaves a city that will be forever listening to the strains of the
a celebration of women, song and thought had been scheduled for the weekend of September 12 & 13 of 1997 and it went on with atists leading protests against the city on stage performing with a celebratory zeal that eventually led to a win in court against the City in 2001. That is another story in our 30 year history that will be in a future issue of La Voz. The loss of funds and the focus on a lawsuit impacted Esperanza’s programming for a few years and the Mujercanto festival did not reappear until 2003 for the last time. In this issue of La Voz, 2003 Yolanda Leyva, poet
we pay tribute to the Mujercanto series that provided us with a path to major programming with international stars with a social conscience like Lila Downs and Eugenia León from México and Susanna Baca from Peru who performed in larger venues beginning in 2004 continuing into the present. Our heartfelt thanks to Esperanza staff and mujeres artistas who have made it possible for Esperanza to prioritize women artists for 30 years! mujercanto 2003
mujercanto ‘96
Ubaka Hill Vicky Grise Barbara Renaud González Marga Gómez Mango Tribe Collective María Limón Sharon Bridgforth Nathalie Handal Yolanda Leyva Anel Flores
Irene Farrera Carmelita Tropicana María Elena Gaitán Peggy Pettit
Monica Palacios, Chicana comedian
mujercanto’95
2009 Eugenia León @ the Empire Theater
2010 Susana Baca @ OLLU
mujercanto ‘97
Azucar y Crema María Elena Gaitán
“Che Guevara” song on her harp, and a more humane city because of her efforts. She leaves two cats, “Midnight,” and “Smoky” who will miss her, and legions of friends who she blessed with her advocacy, grace, compassion, and multiculturalism. The Esperanza gente extend our condolences to her surviving family members and many, many friends. In her final weeks of life, politicos, personalities and people of all walks of life stopped by her home to spend time with her day and night. On one evening, Lourdes Pérez and compañera, Annette, dropped by with Graciela and Gloria of the Esperanza and Antonia Castañeda. Among the caregivers that night were Barbara Renaud González and her constant caregiver and longtime friend, Margarita Castillo. The evening was full of stories about Mariana and Lourdes singing Gracias A La Vida to her. Mariana smiled, knowing that hers was an exemplary life. Ironi-
Lourdes Pérez was in mujercanto from 92-95 and had several solo concerts, after. She debuted three CD releases and held an art exhibit at the Esperanza. She also collaborated in concert with Irene Farrera of Venezuela and Lebanese singer, May Nasr.
cally, she and Lourdes had both been performers in the early days of the Esperanza’s Mujercanto series. We visited again the night before Mariana died and Lourdes graciously gave in to a request to sing the lullaby, Duerme Negrito. With that, Mariana closed her eyes and smiled. She will long be remembered. ¡Mariana Ornelas, Presente! A service will be held at Gethsemane Lutheran Church on Sunday, April 2nd, at 5 pm, followed by a Celebration at Bill Haus Arts Center. Contact dcrl901@gmail.com or 703.405.6447 for info.
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Nu Pua O Hawa’ii Dancers Leialoha Garza & Kunipo Brown Nancy Braun Karla Rosales Ana Sisnett Leni Isaacs Lourdes Pérez y Pa’qui Pa’lla
2004, 2009, 2012, 2014 Lila Downs @ Guadalupe Plaza, Sunken Gardens, Trinity University & the Majestic Theater
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Fighting Against, continued from Page 3
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Of course, none of this means that weakening and destroying the dictatorships is easy; nor that every attempt will succeed. It certainly does not mean that the struggle will be free of casualties, for those still serving the dictators are likely to fight back in an effort to force the populace to resume cooperation and obedience. (p. 23)
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But when I re-read Sharp’s book and thought about the current situation in the U.S. with the election of Trump, something pulsated through me. It dawned on me that there was likely a large number of people who voted for Trump who do not condone hate crimes and discrimination, and that if these people could be stimulated to express their disapproval of the related sordid events that were continuously displayed over the internet, perhaps it could have the effect of weakening Trump’s impact that has promoted hate crimes and discrimination. At any rate, these were the motivations that led me to give my ideas a try. And thus, I ceased being an “armchair philosopher” and I decided to try to put my ideas into action—I suppose I could now call myself, at least temporarily, a “practical philosopher.” The idea of diminishing the dictator’s support is actually at the core of a recent political group that has formed to try to combat what they view as Trump’s disastrous policies; this group has the name “Indivisibles.”4 The tactics of the Indivisibles group are intensively political at the local level, putting a great deal of pressure on the congressmen and senators (referred to as “members of congress”) in the region where one lives, through things like continuously requesting town meetings, staging demonstrations and congressional office sit-ins, extensive phone calls to the members of congress, etc. The idea is to persuade the members of congress that they will have trouble getting reelected if they don’t listen seriously to the views of their vocal constituents. There are currently over 5,000 Indivisible groups active in the U.S.4, and the strategy is to evolve a growing powerful effect in a multitude of regions in the country, in a somewhat similar manner to how the Tea Party was able to stimulate tremendous political change in the far right direction, starting off in very small numbers in local living rooms.4 I am an active member of the Bangor, Maine Indivisibles group, having thus far attended 3 of their meetings, and I have played a part in getting the task action on our agenda to contact our members of congress about supporting the congressional legislation to investigate Trump’s business conflicts and possible Russia ties with manipulating the election, and force him to submit his tax returns, all of which I am especially interested in as necessary precursors to the possibility of impeachment.5 In addition, I’m on the listings for two other Indivisibles groups in Maine.
Citizens Against Hate Crimes and Discrimination: The First Three Meetings
The ideas that resulted in the formation of my Citizens Against Hate Crimes and Discrimination group are quite different from the ideas that resulted in the formation of the Indivisibles group, but the goals are similar. The Indivisibles group wants to erode Trump’s power by weakening his support from members of congress, hopefully stimulating a handful of Republicans to think twice about their support of controversial issues that are against progressive values, inclusive of the environment, health care, immigration, and abortion. If my Citizens Against Hate Crimes and Discrimination group develops and expands, my goal is also to weaken Trump’s power, but specifically in the way that it has stimulated an increase in hate crimes and discrimination, and it may possibly overlap with some of the tactics of the Indivisibles group in making contact with members of congress. If I dream big, I would say that I would like to see an impact on Trump himself to much more actively and forcefully make statements against hate crimes and discrimination, though my much stronger preference is to see Trump impeached. But let me get back to nuts and bolts and describe my small successes for the first 3 meetings of my Citizens Against Hate Crimes and Discrimination group. Eighteen people (including myself) attended my first group meeting, which included one person whom I would describe as a mild Trump supporter, and took place in a large meeting room at the Belfast, Maine public library. However, this mild Trump supporter was very vocal, and it led to a number of dynamic interactions with the other members of the group, all of whom I would certainly describe as “Trump non-supporters.” I facilitated the group in a contemporary person-centered way6, listening as non-judgmentally as I was able to, and gently guiding the discussion back to its main theme whenever it invariably lost its focus on hate crimes and discrimination. Many people were emotional in the group and were filled with fear; the group consisted of mostly women (there were 3 men including myself), a few Jewish people, an Asian man, and a Mexican/Puerto Rican woman. The mild Trump supporter said that he knew Trump had his faults, but that he thought he was more accomplished than Hillary Clinton, that he thought Trump has gotten unfair bad press, that people are too sensitive about being called names (as in “sticks and stones. . .”) and defended Trump’s sex tape by agreeing with him that it was just “locker room talk,” and added that Trump was not president at the time. Needless to say, this stirred up some intensive reactions from the progressive thinking anti-Trump women in the group, but things did not get out-of-hand. The group ended on a positive note, and 15 of the participants filled in their contact information, indicating
than it was at the public library for our first meeting; we ended the meeting with a decision to continue to meet every 2 weeks at this same location. Our third meeting continued with similar dynamics to that of our second meeting, and it was attended by 9 people, including the Trump supporter and 2 people who were new to the group. Much of the discussion was centered around understanding people who voted for Trump, stimulated by the book Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right: A Journey to the Heart of Our Political Divide by Arlie Russel Hochschild,8 that one member of the group was reading and strongly recommending that we all read (and which I am presently reading). Aside from this, the dominant part of our discussion was focused on bringing in Republicans/Conservatives to our group, as we still only had our one Trump supporter in the group, but a few people made the commitment to try to bring Trump supporters they knew to our next group meeting. The group atmosphere during our third meeting felt more comfortable with our Trump supporter, who said he was committed to attending our meetings, and joked that he was the “diversity” that I described when he briefly introduced himself at the beginning of the meeting. I was also able to get the Trump supporter to agree that immigrants should be welcomed to the U.S., with the stipulation that they were here legally, and I saw this as a small indication of success for my integrative endeavors to fight against hate crimes and discrimination. However, it was also frustrating to me that the Trump supporter still did not have any problem with anything Trump had done during the first month of his presidency, including his attempted travel ban on immigrants, and was completely against any efforts to impeach Trump.
Citizens Against Hate Crimes and Discrimination: The Fourth Meeting; Conclusion
Some significant developments took place after our third meeting, as it was suggested to me by one member of the group that I have a conversation with a very experienced workshop presenter who has conducted programs related to hate crimes and discrimination all over the world for many years. I had this conversation with the workshop presenter, which went well, and he agreed to attend our fourth group meeting as a visitor.9 In addition, the psychotherapist whose office we were meeting at arranged for someone she had met who had a lot of experience in conducting Continued on Page 11
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that they were interested in having another group meeting. I had to keep my intention clear of maintaining the central focus on hate crimes and discrimination, as one woman suggested that the group become more open-ended, with a focus on negotiating diverse viewpoints. Someone asked the mild Trump supporter if he would be willing to bring other people who thought more like him to our next meeting, and he was agreeable to try to do this. Other people suggested that we all try to bring people with diverse viewpoints to the group, and as I left the meeting I saw the mild Trump supporter continuing to engage in what looked to me like some constructive intensive dialogue with a few of the women in the group. Thus all things considered I think we had a successful first group meeting. Luckily there was a Trump supporter there, and he was both vocal and relatively constructive in his communications, which for me enabled my group to serve as an overture to fighting Trump from an integrative perspective.7 I was motivated to hold a second group meeting, but I felt that there needed to be more Trump supporters who attended the meeting if my integrative perspective of fighting against Trump was going to develop. I knew that this is easier said than done, but I believed in Gene Sharp’s wise counsel about overthrowing dictatorships through getting a segment of the dictator’s supporters to sympathize with the revolutionaries. At our first meeting, I was able to get the mild Trump supporter in the group to agree that it would be a good thing for Trump to be more active and forceful about making statements against hate crimes and discrimination, though it was important to him that I acknowledged that hate crimes have gone in both directions—i.e., committed by both Trump supporters and non-supporters. I have no doubt that there have been far more hate crimes committed by Trump supporters than non-supporters, but this kind of factual detail would have been counter-productive to pursue in the group, and I chose to not go there. Rather, I gave some concrete instances of hate crimes, such as swastikas painted on synagogues, bombing threats to Jewish community centers, and Muslim women threatened to be burned to death if they did not take off their burkas. The mild Trump supporter immediately countered with the recent episode of 4 black youth beating up a Trump supporter, and I had no hesitation to agree that this was equally reprehensible. In the subsequent few days after our first meeting, there was a large amount of e-mail communications between a number of members of the group, a few of whom expressed having much difficulty listening to and interacting with the Trump supporter in the group. Two participants eventually chose to remove themselves from further contact with the group, but some people in the group conveyed that they wanted to meet again soon. As it turned out, we had our second meeting 2 weeks later, at the office of a psychotherapist who was at our first meeting. There were 7 people who attended our second meeting, all of whom were at our first meeting, including the Trump supporter, and a few people conveyed to me that they were still interested in the group but were unable to make it to the meeting. Our dynamic conversations continued during our second meeting, which included some intensive challenging of the Trump supporter by one of the women in the group. However, I felt that the meeting was still basically respectful and constructive, and the atmosphere was much more informal and comfortable in this therapeutic office setting
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April, National Poetry Month — A La Voz Tribute On Friday, February 17, Strike4Democracy coordinated more than 100 strike actions across the country to stand up for democratic principles. The Esperanza opened its doors in solidarity with the National General Strike offering an open mike to local poets that included Don Mathis, Enrique Sánchez, Eliza Pérez, Gianna Rendon, Monica Lantry and Elva Treviño. As part of the tradition of Mujercanto—that included poets—and in observance of National Poetry Month we offer this tribute to poets, some of which are pictured on the front page and some of which have their poetry on these pages. Learn more about strike actions planned at: strike4democracy.com
Anything Helps
Taking the dare He dares us, this rabbi of old, of ever new. “Love your enemies. Pray for those who oppress you.” Inhale the fresh air of freedom from the mire of anger, the ever nagging urges for vengeance.
Tap into our revolutionary roots at the wellspring waters in us all, these ever burning fires biding their time to clarify this befuddlement of who we are and what we can do. —Tom Keene
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I sit, spine straight, eyes closed, breathing. A cell phone rings. I hear “hello.” The voice trails off. At last, silence. My mind drifts to our new leader: confidence man, fear purveyor, greedy Earth-killing clown of hate.
Feel the force where, “Turn the other cheek.” becomes a Judaic Judo, letting the absolute impotence of those who hate trip them up.
It is not enough to resist Trump’s vision. We must also clarify and build our vision of justice and live it out so it catches on. —Tom
Walking back from the red courthouse, I duck in the centuries-old stone cathedral to meditate.
Then a poor man behind me says: “Hey sir, would you have five dollars?” Selecting bills, I say, “Here’s four.” A shy lady walks up and asks: “Can you help me get a cold drink?” I grouse and give her two dollars. Prayer time over, I rouse myself and head to work, to organize. Lord, help us to rescue ourselves.
—Darby Riley
“Attention must be paid” —Arthur Miller, “Death of a Salesman”
I never noticed us before I joined our ranks. I speak of old women and men. They passed me I am sure I hope I was of help if help were needed though I cannot swear to that. Did I stand aside, hold open doors accommodate the hardware that accompanies age: walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, canes? I hope I did I was a Girl Scout after all. Which brings me to medals
of honor and accomplishment awarded to the young for say civic service, photography, camping skills and worn on sashes across prepubescent chests. These sashes then folded away With the memorabilia of youth, to be lost most likely forgotten. I submit that medals Should be struck for us: the old who walk, if lucky And still able, among you. Invisible to all unless you are the sighing loved one saddled with our care. A medal for our forbearance of you when in your baby helplessness
and then, later when you champed at the bit to enter the world we knew all too well would bruise, wound you as it has wounded us. The medal, and it should be struck from substance as strong as we are, would say, “See us and smile because we are what you will be if you are lucky.” —Marilyn Wallner Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Marilyn for her recent donation to Esperanza.
I Hear San Antonio Singing – A Call & Response Poem by Don Mathis, Repeat the title after each stanza (Remembering Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman) The Korean student, wants to study accounting, goes to junior college. The guy from the Congo, got a speeding ticket, takes a Defensive Driving course. The artist, lives with his husband, has paintings in the Smithsonian. The veteran, served in Operation Enduring Freedom, lives in a storage unit. The restaurant owner, doesn’t speak English, but knows how to hire those who do. The little church, now in its sixth location, hasn’t missed a Sunday in 25 years. Puerto Rican poet, runs an open mic, working on his fourth book. Muscular black father, works at the gym, his little boy thinks the world of him. The man from Pakistan, supports his family, works the night shift at the gas station. The divorced dad from the little town, moved to the big city to be near his son. The sports fan from Colombia, accent thick as coffee, works at the radio station. The Arabian girl who wears her hijab – and her pride – to school. The India desk clerk, mops the floor when he has time, also owns the motel. The French cook, she’s a film buff, also a professor at the university. The janitor listens to blues records, drives a Cadillac, put three children through school. The preacher, speaks three languages just returned from the missionary in Belize. El Placazo, helping humanity learn, bringing cultural news to the neighborhood. The Peace and Justice Center, offering Esperanza, part of the community for 30 years. —Don Mathis
Beyond
Beyond the mirror that is always him Beyond the emotional past of mistakes and delusions Beyond the heartbreak and beyond the sorrow Beyond the heartfelt tenderness of love Beyond the ecstasy of unions and units Beyond the orgasm, rose bouquets, and orchid corsages Beyond gold, jewels, money Beyond concrete barriers and emotional armor Beyond midnight dreams and sensual remembrances Beyond years and years of tears Beyond the awe of love Beyond the doubt of Love Beyond him that always seems to claim your heart Beyond the midnight that stretches beyond the horizon Beyond the apparent emptiness Beyond apparent stillness Beyond darkness that envelopes you beyond the light of hope Beyond fervent prayers Beyond the blindness that guides you Beyond the closed heart that hides you
Beyond the selfish pleasure in which you die over and over again Beyond the confusion and disharmony Beyond earth, sky, history and memory Beyond ceremonies, birth and death Beyond rituals, sacrifices and sacrilegious denials Beyond religion and philosophy Beyond science and infatuations Beyond all nights in which you have been turned inside out Beyond this life that seems so real Beyond this wondrous and mysterious world comes this love blessing May you remember who you are: morning glory of risen sun earth and ground to the tree of life wind, water, fire and god gift of love praise moon and dawn, rain and cold, snow and ice praise all darkness and beyond May you always remember who you are a speck of dust a desire, a passion, a poison that cures a passing light a heart beat a breath. —Elva Treviño
—Dedicated to all who are working for social justice to fortify them for the upcoming struggles.
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Beyond Ego and Self-consciousness Beyond fear and gossip Beyond seasons and cycles Beyond categories and phylum Beyond Elysian Fields Beyond valleys and Blue Mountains Beyond where time does not matter Beyond: where the heart and mind are one
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Putting my pen in the wind for justice... with Esperanza
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By Cathy Marston, PhD
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In 1992, I began having pain in my hands, arms, neck and back Nance, who will turn 70 this year, and Sherry Wolf, who is 55. from the inherently injurious duties of copy editing at the Austin Wolf wrote to me that the board approved her for parole 6 years American-Statesman. As an injured worker, society has blamed me ago, only to re-vote and deny her. Margaret Crayton was supposed for my injury. The AA-S held down my to come home in March. Rita Gómez Vásquez hours; and I had to move in with a boywill turn 80 in prison in May. friend. The state’s workers’ comp system Those who are released from prison will face granted me lifetime, medical care. When societal bigotry. Without a job, I cannot afford I left for my doctoral program at the Unihealth insurance. As for my “lifetime,” workers’versity of Iowa in 1994, I left with these compensation-mandated, medical care for my permanent, work-related injuries. Iowa’s work-related injuries: since I moved back to San vocational rehabilitation division bought Antonio in 2014, I have been unable to find a me my first voice-recognition computer doctor that will take workers’ comp for an injury that I named Esperanza. This allowed as old as mine. The workers in that state system me to continue to communicate – albeit keep telling me that it’s my painfully – in a world that privileges the responsibility to keep searching written form. for a doctor – not their agency’s As a person with disabilities, my responsibility to enforce their employers held down my hours. I won a Cathy Marston speaking own order. Doctors vary in their national research award for my work on excuses for not taking workat an Anti-Trump rally in occupation-related injuries and journalists; Austin, Texas ers’ comp – from cumbersome and was an elected official in our journalism educator association. paperwork requirements to Still, employers picked temporarily-able-bodied others for plum minuscule reimbursement for jobs – even if I was more qualified. services. I was on SSI before This bigotry led to me to moving in with another boyfriend, I went to prison, but the state who was a batterer. When I sought help, it’s not that I was in has fought me for more than 2 denial about being abused – as suggested by an interviewer last years to prevent reinstating it; fall. Any battered woman can tell you that many people refuse to Cathy with Dr. Doshie and our current regime is talking Piper, a Nehemiah help you and say, “You need to leave him”—proof that they don’t organizer about drastically cutting its already puny, monthly believe you. If you’re lucky, you find people who are willing to income benefits and guaranteed healthcare. help: they”ll remind you that his conduct is criminal; assist you in I listened to Texas Senator Ted Cruz last month debate with finding stable employment and safe housing; and provide ongoing Senator Bernie Sanders: our own senator argued that healthcare is support. As with my work-related injuries and disability accommo- not a right in Texas or the U.S. When I was a military brat prior to dation, the individual is not the problem: it is the society that needs turning 23, I always went to the doctor when I needed to, because it to be changed. was paid for. I am 49 now and am fortunate that my elderly dad can I served more than 9 years in prison defending myself against afford some healthcare for me when I need it. For-profit healthcare my batterer. In the 1990s, the state’s top, domestic-violence-aware- is immoral; and universal healthcare is the worldwide standard. ness agency, the Texas Council on Family Violence, recommended I have been a regular on “The Prison Show” on 90.1 KPFT 120 persons for clemency under Senate Concurrent Resolution 26. in Houston since Oct 2015 to advocate for the dismantling of the All of those recommended were women, except for one man. The Prison Industrial Complex. In January 2016, the only time that I legislature; TCFV; and the citizens of Texas recognized that there was on the show from Houston, the guy scheduled to go after me was a problem with the police arresting battered women wrongsaw my Free Battered Texas Women T-shirt and snarled, “You’re fully. No one was released under SCR 26. The Board of Pardons getting 15 minutes for THAT? You need to give me some of that and Paroles unanimously recommended one of those women for time!” a pardon at that time: two governors refused to sign the pardon. I had a similar experience at the July 2016 Nehemiah Reentry Many have forgotten this history and the pre-prison reality for Forum in San Antonio, where every woman held to her presentamany of these women who repeatedly called the police on their tion time respectfully, while almost every male went past time. batterers. I listened to a panel this fall telling victims what WE It was also at that “interfaith” forum where I announced that I needed to do, instead of what the police, prosecutors, citizens, and was Pagan. I am on the planning committee for our earth-based, batterers need to do. spirituality circle at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San One of those TCFV recommendees, Shirley Jones, came home Antonio: the Celestial Celebration Circle. I did so in response to last October. Two others were recently denied parole: Sherry a reading calling for the Pagans to be driven out – in a world and
planet that is literally being destroyed by male-dominated religions that promote misogyny and other bigotries. I know the heart of Nehemiah’s organizer, Dr. Doshie Piper, is for a truly interfaith, permanent resource for citizens reentering from prison to San Antonio. I am fortunate that I could address that with her and the crowd, as opposed to death threats faced by Wiccan lawyer Phyllis Curott; Jewish community centers; and mosques. In Summer 2004, I stepped into the Esperanza Center for the first time. Everyone was washing the sins of our country out of our flag. I was too afraid to say that the Austin police had arrested me that January after finding my abusive, ex-boyfriend on top of me subsequent to him smothering, strangling, and beating me for 90 minutes. I told a man about it afterwards, who sneered and asked what I had done to deserve to be beaten. On February 5, 2017, I showed the film Sin by Silence about the successful laws providing clemency for incarcerated, battered women in California – in stark contrast to the failures in our own state. San Antonio police arrest battered woman about 50 percent of the time on a domestic-violence call, according to PEACE Initiative. The phrase “domestic violence offender” has no meaning in a state that wrongfully arrests battered women and refuses to fix the problem it knows has existed since the 1980s. Now we ALL have a president who is a self-admitted groper of women, as well as an anti-immigrant, ableist, classist, racist, journalist-hating thug. It’s time for everyone to accept responsibility for changing themselves, then connect with others to hold accountable our government officials whose salaries we pay. Those in power have a myriad of ways to blame those with lesser power. There is always an excuse for blaming the person at the bottom of a power dualism.
In prison, we incarcerated citizens “put our pens in the wind” to grieve our conditions of confinement and write our own legal pleadings to challenge our holding convictions. On February 13, I spoke from the South steps of the state capital at the Texas Families for Justice Rally sponsored by criminaljustice reform groups. I then met with staff of my district senator, Donna Campbell, and others with whom I have With members of First Universalist Church of San Antonio cultivated relationships. I’ve come a long way since the November 2014 rally, when I was still on parole and too afraid to step into an office! I want to thank Gloria, Graciela, and Esperanza – the Center, although my new computer still has that name – for providing a safe space for me to put my pen in the wind for the past 7 years. By giving me hope, I am able to give others hope. Bio: Cathy Marston, PhD, is founder of Free Battered Texas Women. She was an officer from 1996-1999 in the Media and Disability Interest Group of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Contact her by FBTW’s Facebook; Google Plus; and Twitter or on email at: cmarston. fbtw@gmail.com or call 210/776-7585.
Fighting Against, continued from Page 7 In conclusion, I believe that my initial ideas stemming from Gene Sharp’s3 work in regard to moving from a dictatorship to democracy, are in a process of creative and constructive development as they play themselves out in the group arena that I have been describing. It is satisfying to me that my ideas have taken shape as much as they have, and I am excited and curious to see how far they can develop in the context of the group that I have formed. I encourage people in all areas of our country to form their own Citizens Against Hate Crimes and Discrimination groups, with the goal of forging common ground for this urgent theme with both Trump supporters and non-supporters, i.e., with people of diverse political perspectives—who have a problem with the increase in hate crimes and discrimination that has occurred since the campaign and election of Donald Trump. Note: For footnotes and complete references, please contact La Voz de Esperanza at: lavoz@esperanzacenter.org. Bio: Elliot Benjamin, Ph.D. is a philosopher, mathematician, psychologist, musician, writer, teacher, and counselor, with Ph.Ds in psychology and mathematics.
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conflict resolution workshops, to also attend our fourth meeting. To make things even more interesting, this psychotherapist managed to secure a radio interview spot for herself to talk about our group, the day before our fourth meeting was scheduled, and she hoped that this radio interview might perhaps bring in some more Trump supporters to our group. As it turned out, our fourth group meeting was relatively well-attended, as there were 10 people at our meeting, but once again we had only our one dedicated Trump supporter attending our group. The hate crimes and discrimination workshop presenter was not able to make it to our meeting, though he conveyed that he wanted to come either to our next meeting or the one after that. However, the experienced conflict resolutions person did attend our group, and helped facilitate various conflicting interactions between our Trump supporter and others in the group. Once again it felt to me like a dynamic and constructive group meeting, and a few people, including the Trump supporter and myself, suggested that it would be good for us to start talking about positive actions that we could take as a group. It struck me as especially meaningful and confirming that in the introductions at the beginning of the meeting, the Trump supporter expressed how he felt valued and not judged in our group, and though I must admit that I do have my own judgments about him, I was glad to hear that he felt so comfortable with us. People also started talking about wanting to promote our group to the public, as well as continuing to try to persuade Republicans and Conservatives to join us.
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For María Felix/ by Bárbara Renaud González Watching Juana Rooster On Sunday Afternoons Dallas Morning News, October 2000
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Note: This essay is part of the anthology Las Nalgas de JLo/ JLo’s Booty The Best & Most Notorious Calumnas & Other Writings by The FIRST CHICANA colmnist in TEXAS 1995-2005—by Bárbara Renaud González. A National Book Launch is set for April 28, at the Esperanza. (See back page)
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She strides, a black-skirted she-rooster, gun strapped on her corsetless waist. She doesn’t need one, this dusty campesina, the peasant-woman who has become a ravishing coronela smelling of men’s blood on her boots. The ones that spark the earth once littered with dead revolutionaries like her father and fiancée, Chon. Juana Gallo, they call her. Juana Rooster. In honor of the woman who has led an army to avenge the death of the people she loved most in the world. Her men tremble and cheer when she speaks. Some men are afraid of her. One will die for daring her. But I think most men just fall in love despite everything. Ay, how I love to watch her on Sundays when people think all I do is read The New York Times. Juana Rooster was a legend during the Mexican Revolution. María Felix, the actress who played her in a series of movies as in real life a world-class diva before she died last month. In real-life, La Doña (and nobody else could be called María in her presence) had much more interest in plastic surgery and jewels than the problems of the Mexican poor. But in these famous movies, María depicted a peasant woman fighting for justice against the tyrants who have been Mexico’s destiny like Victoriano Huerta or Porfirio Díaz. Men who looted Mexico’s treasury as ruthlessly as the Americans who stole Texas. According to my mother. Because I was born on this side of the river, my Spanish isn’t as good as my mexicana mother, who never let me forget it. So I tell myself that I watch these movies to learn my language better. Valiente. Brave. Enaguas. Petticoats. Provecho. Benefit. Sangre y fuego. Blood and fire. These movies are from Mexico’s famous golden era, depicting a past that never was, except in my mother’s imagination. A tiempo pasado that was mythologized, romanticized, serving as propaganda for Mexico’s nationalism after the Revolution. Produced in the forties and fifties with the divine chiaroscuro of cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa (Night of the Iguana, Under the Volcano), they were aleady old when my mother took me to see them at the drive-in during the sixties. But they were the only way she had to show me a Mexico we could rarely visit in those days. Even if the Mexico lindo she remembered never existed for her. A Mexico that I keep searching for. And defending. In Juana Gallo, Pioquinto, the faithful (and besotted) assistant, brings her a heavy gold rope of a necklace, a prize of war for the victorious beauty. She has just commanded a surprise attack, you see, that captured the hacienda representing all that is wrong with Mexico. Juana Rooster caresses the necklace, but not in the same way that her
hands lingered over the crosses placed on the graves of her father and fiancé killed by the federales, General Huerta’s troops. The two deaths that took her from plowing the fields as Angela Ramos to a colonel leading an army of men. She falls in love, of course, but with the good bad-guy who is on Huerta’s side, not capitán Cevallos, the chubby Zapatista-type who swaggers and sings his way into her life, conquering every woman except her. A macho who is a revolucionario like her. But Juana is aflame with the cultured and Spanish-educated capitán Valverde, the elegant enemy who prefers death rather than the cowardly option of running when she gives him the chance. Impressed at the bravery that matches her own, Juana lets him go free. In the meantime, Zapata-Cevallos won’t give up. Outside her room, he croons eres buena o eres mala. You give a kiss or you shoot me. It’s the same thing. But the federales retake the hacienda, forcing Juana and capitán Valverde – who has defected to her side – to hide in the tunnel that
winds under the building and cathedral.It rains, there is lightning, and you-know-what happens. Then the bad good-guy Cevallos, who can’t forget her, ingeniously storms the hacienda with his men. Visiting her new queen-size bedroom, he accepts her gratitude but wants more. It seems that the Zapatista has repented, as they always do, since winning isn’t worth much if you can’t surrender your heart. We are at war, he says. Then he tells her: If I’m going to die My luck would be for you to kill me. To be something in your life If only a regret for your conscience. That’s if you have one.
Don’t say that, Juana laughs at his poetics. It’s true she has killed other men, but only when they have stolen from the people, or like those drying into beef jerky because they killed her father and Chon. She’s not like Cevallos, who has killed for its own sake, like so many men do in battle. Cevallos, now a three-starred colonel, knows he doesn’t have a chance, but she is so damn beautiful…though there are no words in English or Spanish yet for this kind of woman. I’ve asked other men to name an American movie star who compares to Juana Gallo, and they are silent.You see, Juana Rooster had the sexual wattage of Rita Hayward with the ferocity of Sigourney Weaver in that movie “Aliens.” Now that’s my kind of Mexican woman. I have saved a little corner for you, the large-sized Zapata-capitán says as he touches his heart. Just for you. Here, inside. Oooh, how many corners you must have, she tosses the words like the
long black braids under her traditional rebozo. Do you say that to all the others? They haven’t even come in. Why would they want to go in that bottomless pit? He is dismissed, and the Spanish capitán with a purer heart and track record tells her that he can’t continue to stay with her – the men are calling him the little chicken. La gallinita wants a transfer. He is a man, after all. Has he been a macho all along? Maybe she’s not good enough for him. She can barely read after all, and can’t walk in high heels, though she begins to practice… The federales come back. After several grueling days at the final battle of Zacatecas, Cevallos is shot. A playboy to the end, he begs Juana for a goodbye kiss. As she looks up from el beso de la despedida, she sees that her ex-lover Valverde has witnessed this last Mária Felix as Juana Gallo scene from the sangre y fuego of war. Or the blood and fire of love. With eyes blazing, he gallops off in heartbreak, jealousy, quién sabe. And the next image is a field of wooden crosses. Juana is alone. Wandering like one of those Juan Rulfo stories of desert, graves, stones and shawls. So much tragedy. All for love of country. For the love of a man. They never learn do they. I ask Juana Rooster. When will they learn. I go to sleep.
Before the human race descends into caves may we not change the emotion that guides us from that of fear to that of love? May we not change our course from building fallout shelters and hydrogen bombs to building understanding among nations and love between peoples? Let us attempt this policy at once... —LaVonne Platt, 1961
LaVonne Platt, a lifelong Kansan, born in 1932, died with her husband, Dwight, by her side in their rural Newton home in February. She joined the Methodist Student Movement while at the University of Kansas where she met Dwight who worked for an American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) village development project in Barpali Thana, Orissa, India where they married on June 21, 1956. While there she researched the effects of the Barpali Project. In the autumn of 1957, as they left Barpali to return to the U.S. she wrote, “This was such a hard day for us. I can’t express how I feel about having been at Barpali, and lived in rural India, but it is so deep in me and so much a part of me that I can hardly pull away from that physical environment even though the spirit and depth of it will live on as part of me.” In 1970 they returned to India with their children where Dwight taught at Sambalpur University and LaVonne continued her work as an administrative assistant, researcher and writer.
LaVonne was a teacher—teaching Home Economics in high school and college; women in a village education program in Orissa, children in Sunday School and conducting workshops on world hunger. She also tested recipes for the More with Less Cookbook; collecting nutrition data for a study on aging. Above all, LaVonne was a prolific writer and editor with publications on farm issues as well as award winning children’s books. She started a publishing business, Wordsworth, in order to publish Bela Banerjee, Bringing Health to India’s Villages (1987) and 20 subsequent books (1988-2009). She also sold books in the Meadowlark Center and at many events. The weft-thread that transverses La Vonne’s life was her desire to seek understanding among people(s) demonstrating this most recently by welcoming refugees to Newton’s community. The Esperanza and staff extend heartfelt condolences to Dwight Platt; children, Kamala and Richard Platt and their extended family and friends. Memorial contributions may be made to the AAUW or to the Mennonite Central Committee for refugee and immigrant aid via the Petersen Funeral Home, 215 N. Main, Newton, KS 67114.
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La Vonne Platt
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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
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Pax Christi, SA meets monthly on Saturdays. Call 210.460.8448
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Parents of Murdered Children, meets 2nd Mondays @ Balcones Heights Community Ctr, 107 Glenarm | www. pomcsanantonio.org. Rape Crisis Center 7500 US Hwy 90W. Hotline: 210.349.7273 | 210.521.7273 Email: sgabriel@ 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.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
To donate now, visit bit.ly/ donatetoEsperanza or visit www.giveoutday.org on April 20th!
Call us at 210.228.0201. #GiveOut2017
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.
SAVE THE DATES and GIVE!
SA’s LGBTQA Youth meets Tues., 6:30pm at Univ. Presby. Church, 300 Bushnell Ave. | www.fiesta-youth.org
Thursday, May 4, 2017
To donate now, visit bit.ly/donatetoEsperanza or visit www.thebiggivesa.org on May 4th! Call us at 210.228.0201. #BigGive2017
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Notas Y Más April 2017
Diosas de la Música Latina, the debut of a MAJOR LATINA THEMED ARTWORK collage with a live concert—produced by Stars Above Texas Music and hosted by Sabinas Coffee House, 2335 W. Commerce St. takes place Saturday April 8th, 6-9pm. For info: TEXT saul barbosa at 210.860.0660; email at sacollectiblesii@ yahoo.com; or facebook saul barbosa. Viva Tacoland features poets: Viktoria Valenzuela, Edward Vidaurre, and Anthony the Poet on April 14th from 6:30-10pm sponsored by Gemini Ink. Also Juan Felipe Herrera, U.S. Poet Laureate will be featured in the 2017 Autograph Series in a free reading May 4th from 7-9pm at the Guadalupe Theater. A ticketed Luncheon will take place at the McNay Art Museum on May 5th at 11:30am. See geminiink.org
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.
¡Ojo! Make plans to attend and dance at the 36th TejanoConjuntoFestival sponsored annually by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center! Dates are May 24-28 at the historic Guadalupe Theater and Rosedale Park in San Antonio.. See:www.guadalupeculturalarts.org/ tejano-conjunto-festival.
A Compassion Vigil takes place on 4th Thursdays (April 27) at Main Plaza in front of San Fernando Cathedral. Sponsored by peaceCENTER sacompassion.net & Interfaith Welcome Coalition. Poetry aficionados! Tom Keene, a frequent Voz contributor now has a site where his poetry is collected. See www.tomkeenesmuse.com
19th Annual Allied Media Conference June 15-18 @ Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
The conference brings together a vibrant and diverse community of people using media to incite change: filmmakers, radio producers, technologists, writers, entrepreneurs, musicians, dancers, and artists that use media, art, or technology to address the roots of problems and advance holistic solutions towards a more just and creative world.The Esperanza will be part of the Disrupting Mainstream History: Memory Keeping, Storytelling, and Community Archives Track. Check: www.alliedmedia.org/amc
Enemy of the People of the Zoning Board, City Council, and PTA. Others read in solitude, plotting who-knows-what in library carrels. Mexican kids who cut class to march for illegals are EOPS. So, too, are black students who stand on the steps of City Hall or encircle the Confederate Monument as they dream of a lift crane. EOPs work as baristas, bartenders, waiters. They demand their share of tips or fifteen dollars per hour. They set up unions, boycott businesses. EOPs skateboard or ride bikes on the Hays Street Bridge or swim for hours at San Pedro Springs Park. They are rednecks in pickups, suburban moms
in Priuses. EOPs join groups with vague names like the San Antonio Sponsoring Committee. They chant in Spanish or English at protests, wear tee-shirts with Spanish or English slogans, plaster political stickers on bumpers: “Ban Fracking,” “Stop Executions,” “End Islamophobia,” “Arte Es Vida.” Enemies of the People, so-called angry crowds, cheer the Lying Press, the Lügenpresse. They dare to read websites like Latino Rebels, NOLA Diaspora. They read periodicals, too, like Middle East Report, Tikkun, The Texas Observer, La Voz de Esperanza.
Yes, entire crowds, whole constituencies, are Enemies of the People or so say those with power to kill, deport, imprison— oppressors who make us an alternative fact. The truth remains: we are the people. No somos el enemigo. Todos somos esperanza. — Rachel Jennings
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • April 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 3
Looking in the mirror at my face, my hair, my clothes, I know myself to be an Enemy of the People. How scary to see an insipid, simpering traitor staring back at me. You know the type. Though they seem obscure, EOPs are everywhere at all moments, stirring up trouble, milking mayhem. EOPs can be spotted at art museums, theaters. They are hipster academics in black turtlenecks, poets munching pita chips spread with hummus. Anyone wearing a hijab, kippah, or habit is certainly an EOP, as is any atheist, agnostic, or liberal Protestant. EOPs attend meetings
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LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • April 2017 Vol. 30 Issue 3
April 9th • 6pm @ Esperanza Candidates confirmed at press time include Ron Nirenberg, Manuel Medina & Rhett Smith. Mayor Ivy Taylor & Antonio Díaz have also been invited. Check esperanzacenter.org for updates or call 210.228.0201.
Paseo Por El Westside Saturday 9-3 May 6 816 S Colorado
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SA MAYORAL FORUM Meet the Candiates • Press the Issues
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Noche Azul
922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212 210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org
April 15
8pm • Doors open at 7pm The life of Diego Rivera exploring Mexico’s surrealism, social realism, socialism, revolution, & Frida in song, plática and images. Join us!
Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID San Antonio, TX Permit #332
Esperanza Peace & Justice Center
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
Diego Rivera
Admission $7 más o menos
922 San Pedro Ave.
Call 210.228.0201 for more info.
National Book Launch Las Nalgas de JLo/JLo’s Booty: The Best & Most Notorious Calumnas & Other Writings by the First Chicana Columnist in Texas 1995-2005 Friday, April 28th • 6-10 PM Esperanza, 922 San Pedro
Free event, donations welcomed Call 210.2280201 or visit www.esperanzacenter.org Bárbara Renaud González for more info.
Fuentes/Sánchez Lanier Scholarship Dance April 22
8 PM - 12 AM @ Esperanza, 922 San Pedro
Funds go to Lanier High School student scholarships.
Tickets: 210.227.6868 210.621.8148 with DJ: El General