Latino Lubbock Magazine Volume 16, Issue 12, December 2022

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Online Calendar www.latinolubbock.net/events

Frank Garcia, Rosario Smith, Luis & Amanda Peralez, Chris Arteaga, Nancy Alvarado, Nohemi Aradillas, Kevin Gonzalez

CONTRIBUTORS En Aquellos Días Rosario Smith

Forward in Christ Pastor Josh Ramirez My College Experience Bailee Alonzo A Teen's View Blaise Martinez

Opinion Pieces

Individuals interested in writing an Opinion piece* may contact news@latinolubbock.net. Please include your name, contact number, and subject.

*NOTE: Op-ed pieces are scheduled one to two months ahead, and are at the discretion of the publisher. Latino Lubbock Magazine is published monthly, 12 months per year, and distributed usually the first and second day of each month. With 100,000 readers per month. Over 300 distributions points in LBK, and in out of town delivery in Plainview, Hale Center, Cotton Center, Abernathy, New Deal, Idalou, Wolfforth, Morton, Ralls, Crosbyton, Lame sa, Slaton, Littlefield, Brownfield, Shallowater, O'Donnell, Tahoka, Anton, Lorenzo, and Levelland. Now in Midland and Odessa. Bilingual (English 60%/Spanish 40%). This publication is Hispanic, woman-owned and locally oper ated.

Copyright 2022 by Latino Lubbock Magazine, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Absolutely no part of this periodical may be reproduced without the consent of Latino Lubbock Magazine. This periodical’s name and logo, and the various concepts, titles and headings therein, are trademarks of Latino Lubbock Magazine.

Editor’s Note: The terms “Latino” and “Hispanic” are used interchangeably by the U.S. Census Bureau and by Latino Lub bock throughout this publication to identify persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, Dominican, and Spanish descent; they may be of any

Quote

On the Cover

"Bolsas de Navidad"

Cover By Christy Martinez-Garcia

Dicho

¡Feliz cumpleaños! Happy Birthday! December/diciembre December/diciembre

Gina Perez 12/1

Robert Escamilla 12/1

Patsy Gonzales 12/1

Evangelina Sanchez 12/1

Mike Pena 12/1

Joe Albiar 12/1

Christy Martinez-Garcia 12/2

Jimmy Briones 12/2

Estevan Salinas, Sr. 12/2

Kristopher Daniel Mendoza 12/2

Abri Cantu 12/2

Enrique Gonzales 12/2

Ismael Daniel Mendoza 12/3

Brian Rodriguez 12/3

Sara Hernandez 12/3

Anita Licon 12/3

Margaret De la Rosa 12/3

Mary Flores Quevedo 12/4

Brian Rodriguez 12/4

Linda Velardez 12/4

Nancy Vidaurre-Alvarez 12/5

Dolores Guerrero 12/5

L J Bordayo 12/5

Thomas Pérez 12/6

Yolanda Magallanes 12/6

Toni Montes 12/6

Vashon Fernandez 12/7

Carolina Beltran 12/8

Pete Gonzales Sr. 12/8

Lori Anna Valdez 12/8

Robert Garza, Jr. 12/8

Jayden Joseph Ortiz 12/9

Lesley Picon 12/9

Antonio Larez 12/9

Teresa Cardenas 12/9

Ryan Ortiz 12/9

Diana Alonzo 12/9

Jacob Herrera 12/10

Sid Gerber 12/11

Araceli Barrera 12/11

Mia Elizondo 12/11

Charles Wallace 12/11

Neil Smith 12/11

Amanda Armenta 12/11

Guadalupe Vasquez Jr. 12/12

Candace Torrez 12/12

Celeste Galindo 12/12

Natalie Ochoa 12/13

Mark Martinez 12/13

Joe Barrera 12/13

Joe Leos 12/13

Gloria Mendez 12/14

Justin Bustillos 12/14

Nick Villarreal 12 /14

Angela Flores 12/14

José B Carrillo 12/14

David Flores 12/15

Noel Ramirez 12/15

Eve Gerber 12/15

Celeste Ramirez 12/16

Debbie Rodriguez 12/16

Ryan Ramos 12/16

Alex Barron 12/16

Larry Salinas 12/16

Tony Vasquez 12/16

Gabriel Zuniga 12/16

Copyright 2022 by Latino Lubbock Magazine

Maria Heredia Lara 12/17

Stephen Esquivel 12/17

Dezirae Alvarez 12/17

Evyn Sophia Vasquez 12/17

Hezekiah Vargas 12/18

Olivia Barron Santoyo 12/18

Ausencio O’Balle 12/18

Bryana Castillo 12/20

Sylvia L. Rios 12/20

Alex Zepeda 12/20

Erlinda Gonzales 12/20

Angel Salinas 12/20

Jason Herrera 12/21

Cruz Alma Licon 12/21

Martin Leos 12/21

Christi Hartin 12/21

Demetrio Orta 12/22

Norma Rios 12/22

Martin M. Barrera 12/22

Kristopher Perez 12/22

Miguel Rodriguez 12/23

Emanual 'Nuno' Cantu 12/23

Alexander Tracy 12/23

Bobby Contreras 12/23

Delia Hilburn 12/23

Jessica Villegas 12/24

Eric Constancio 12/24

Jesus Christ 12/25

Janie Acosta 12/25

Guillermo Licon(Memo) 12/25

Sally Ortiz 12/25

Jessie Villegas 12/25

Karisma Contreras 12/25

Brenda Benitez 12/25

Chris Wade 12/25

Mary Isabell Hernandez 12/25

Juanita Mora 12/26

Michael Hernandez 12/26

Noel Landon Cruz 12/26

Monica Nicole Martinez 12/26

Robert Herrera 12/27

Nayeli Zevaeh Francis Burke 12/27

Tomas J Licon(TJ) 12/27

Leticia Ortiz 12/27

Virginia Faith Licon 12/27

Ophelia Vasquez 12/27

Raymond DeLeon 12/27

Savanna Rios 12/27

Yvonne Lovato-Bonnett 12/27

Amelia Luna 12/28

Michael James Puentes 12/28

Rejino Madrid Jr. 12/28

Jasper Ybañez 12/28

David Estrada 12/28

Toni Jamie 12/28

Armando Lopez 12/29

Dan Salazar 12/29

Armando Lopez 12/29

Lupe Covarrubias 12/29

Cezarrey Faith Bitela 12/29

Mary Lopez 12/30

Mercedez Hernandez 12/31

Susie Villareal 12/31

Susie Segura 12/31

Francis Vasquez 12/31

David Rivera 12/31

This month's cover demonstrates the content of the original Christmas bags given each holiday. While the candy has changed, the concept con tinues including an orange, an apple, peanuts, hard candy, and candy canes. These bags were given after church or at the Pancho Claus event held by the American G.I. Forum. The event has evolved and now includes bike and car clubs, and various groups committed to bringing some Christmas cheer to children. And of course, I include La Virgen de Guadalupe as we also ob serve this special day on December 12th. Dur ing the Posadas we would celebrate with hot chocolate, pan dulce, and receive these awesome bags! Gracias a aquellos que se esfuerzan por mantener la cultura y llevar sonrisas a las familias de nuestra comunidad. Merry Christmas y Feliz Navidad!

Contents

Word from the Publisher Page 4

Political Page 7

Opportunity/Business Page 8-9

Health/Salud Page 10-11 Pancho Clos Celebrates 50 years Page 12-13 Education/Youth Page 14-15

Faith & Religion Page 18 Memorials Page 22

Latino Lubbock Magazine's Mission Statement:

"Provide Lubbock news from a Latino perspective for the emerging voice of Lubbock with objectivity, professional ism, cultural competency and understanding, and accu racy; and, give Latinos a publication by, about, and for them that they can take pride in; as well as the community a tool for better understanding and creating dialogue."

Alíviate pronto... Get well soon Our Prayers are with you

Lupe Ramirez

Jesse Madrid

Anna Brito

Rebecca Bustamante

Juan Contreras

Victor Hernandez

Beatrice Hernandez

Coach Edward Hernandez

Manuel Posadas

Ernest Esparza

Robert Narvaiz

Pinkie Mungia Tray Payne

Eloisa Abeyta

Janie Castañeda

Beto Castañeda Guadalupe Reyna Rene M. Dominguez, Sr. Jose J. Martinez

Evie Williams

To add names, and to keep us updated on the condition of those listed in the Get Well List please call (806)792-1212.

All Rights reserved. December/deciembre 2022, Vol. 16, Issue 12

“So many motions that she’s filed in the past, for her to come and plead guilty now, it takes us com pletely by surprise." ~ Mayra Guillén, Guillén’s older sister responded about the woman who helped hide Vanessa Guillén’s body plead guilty. The murder of Guillen, an Army specialist stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, prompted legal reforms to help and protect victims of sexual assault in the military.

Latino Lubbock Magazine is owned/founded by Christy Martinez-Garcia Certified

“La manera de dar vale más de lo que se da.”

“The way we give is worth more than what we give.” (Meaning, that we should not focus on material gifts, but gifts of sincerity).

Word from the Publisher/mensaje de nuestra fundadora

Querídos lectores...

The month of December possesses many rea sons that I love it. I love decorating for the season and pulling out all of my family heirlooms and sentimental treasures.

First, the holiday memories! I recall decorating my first Christmas tree with my sisters Cindy and JoAnn. Our mom was at the hospital having a baby.

We decorated a silver tree and once we complet ed it, we sat and admired everything about it. We lit the tree and covered the floor in glitter. It was definitely a memory that we could never forget as glitter surfaced for years to come.

December was my grandmama and my birthday month. My birthday was on the 2nd, hers was on the 27th. Every year she would make it special and call and sing to me. One year she gave me a ring with our birthstone. I still recall that mo ment - the memory is one of the best gifts I ever received.

I recall the tamaladas we had. Recently my mom and I shared with some family members about how my grandfather was the one that would take the lead and direct us on how much meat to add, or what season ings to include to perfect that delicious flavor. The stories, conversations, laughing, and reminiscing about past tamaladas, la misa del gallo, and la noche buena in my grandparents, Juan & Fidencia Castro's little pink house.

While many focus on the gifts - I looked forward to the brown little paper sacks filled with fruit, hard candy and peanuts. It's a shared tradi tion of our Latino families. We got them at church after the Posadas. We would also receive them on Christmas morning. I still recall the late Richard Lopez of Guadalupe Economic Services, along with Gilbert Herrera and other volunteers making them to give to various groups, schools and others. And of course the American G. I. Forum prepared them for Pancho Clos, Santa's primo came from the South for his annual visit. Eventually, other volunteers helped including the De Colores Girl Scout Troop.

Regardless, even though the bag was so simple it was a gesture of com munity looking out for each other and assuring the kids had something during the holidays. Community means everything - let's regain what we had and put that unity in community.

And as you prepare for the holidays, give a gift with meaning that will inspire, change and influence the course of someone’s life. For me, it was a camera - and look how it has impacted us both.

I share a Bible verse from Luke 2:11 to remind us all the reason for the season. This verse says, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. He came to this earth to die will ingly for our sins on the cross. He loved us that much and gave us a gift for everyday of our lives! So amid the presents, cookie decorating, and Christmas parties remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!

That said, I hope that this Christmas season you will find it in your heart to give to others, from your heart to those in need; to those who are lone ly, and to those who simply need acknowledgment. Because as you've read, to a child even the smallest gestures make the greatest memories.

In January, Latino Lubbock Magazine will be celebrating 17 years! We are excited! We ask God for continued passion, strength and favor in the upcoming year. Moreso, for continued support from our readers.

Y como siempre, Latino Lubbock Magazine is committed to highlight ing the numerous contributions of our Latino community. Thank you for your support. We are grateful to have 100,000 readers monthly. Please continue to support our advertisers who help make it possible to keep our publication free. Thank you for your support and May God bless you! ¡Gracias por su apoyo! Que dios los bendiga. Merry Christ mas and Happy New Year! ¡Feliz navidad y próspero año nuevo! Be safe!

Sinceramente, Christy Martinez-Garcia

Publisher & Latino Market Specialist

“Latino Lubbock, the Emerging Voice of Lubbock”

A Time of Traditions

BY CHRISTY MARTINEZ-GARCIA FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE

The voices of young and old can be heard faintly in the distance in a collective and time-honored song. Small glowing lights from candles ascend slowly upon the block of houses and harmonize with the reflection from the lu minarias that line the streets and sidewalks of homes and the church.

Participating families wait ea gerly for this Spanish folk drama re-enactment of the time Mary and Joseph searched for shelter in Bethlehem.

The celebration referred to as Las Posadas is relevant to the Inn at Bethlehem in the Nativity story; it begins each Dec. 16 and continues through Christmas Eve.

Spanish friars developed the Posadas celebration as a way to introduce religion to the indig enous people in Mexico.

They used this event to engage them in a very simple way where they could understand the faith and its significance.

Each of the nine nights, the Posa das are observed with religious processions. The tradition varies in different churches and different regions of Texas and New Mexico.

Some churches create live na tivities, which portray the Virgin Mary and Joseph. Church mem bers walk from house to house singing and carrying candles. At each house, they ask for shelter and food. Like in the story, they are refused.

Las Posadas is also a way to help keep the traditions and culture alive. It’s part of a tradition to keep the Christmas story alive.

After a Posada procession, ev eryone returns to the colorfully decorated church hall that is adorned with a star-shaped piñata. The piñata symbolizes the guid ing North Star.

Growing up, I remember going to the parish hall for a celebration after the door to door procession.

The Guadalupanos, a Catholic church men’s group, served bev erages including coffee, cinnamon tea, and hot chocolate. The Guada lupanas, a group made up of many generations of women, served treats and delicatessen made from family recipes, including a vari ety of Mexican sweet bread, and sometimes even tamales.

Even today, the conversations in English and Spanish overlap each other and create a restful feeling.

Loud laughter from the men as they talk and share stories fills the

room, while the children strategi cally anticipate the breaking of the piñata.

“Dalé, dalé,” hollers one of the adults, with that the candy drops.

And as we departed, a small paper sack filled with an apple, orange, peanuts, and candy was given to the children of fruit.

Today many of the traditions are similar. And fortunately, Las Posadas remain as strong.

Posadas will be December 22, 23, and 24th beginning with Mass at 6 p.m. and followed by Posadas from 7 to 9 p.m. each day. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 1120 52nd St, Lubbock.

Important Numbers

Police (Non-Emergency) call 763-5333

Fire (Non-Emergency) call 765-5757

Emergencies call 9-1-1 Program/Service info, call 2-1-1 City services, call 3-1-1 Suicide & Crisis Line 9-8-8

City - call 775-3000. www.ci.lubbock.tx.us

County - call 775-1000 www.co.lubbock.tx.us

OUR OBJECTIVE

LISD - call 766-1000 www.lubbockisd.org

Latino Lubbock Magazine 792-1212 news@latinolubbock.net www.latinolubbock.net

“Strengthening Families, Building Community” Join our efforts and become a member today.

Opinion/opinión

Community & Event Brieflies

64TH ANNUAL CAROL OF LIGHTS more than 25,000 colored lights will illuminate 18 buildings around Memo rial Circle, the Engineering Key, and the Broadway Entrance to the campus during Texas Tech University's Carol of Lights. The Ceremony will be on Dec. 2, beginning at 6:30 p.m. with a carillon concert Admin istration Building’s west tower. The lights will be turned on every night from dusk until midnight through January 1, 2023.

34TH ST. MIRACLES PARADE

Entry is now open for the Miracles Christ mas Parade, Saturday, December 3rd. Go to: www.miraclesparade.com

44TH ANNUAL CANDLELIGHT

AT THE RANCH Dec 9 at 6:30 p.m. –Dec 10 at 9 p.m., at the National Ranching Heritage Center at 3121 4th.

66TH ANNUAL SANTA LAND, December 10-22, 6-10 pm, Free, All Ages, Santa & Mrs. Claus will be out nightly to hear the wish lists of children in Lubbock and the South Plains. Come out and enjoy Santa's village, the 60-foot Christmas tree, animated displays, entertainment, bon fires, snacks, and more! Mackenzie Park, off the East Broadway entrance, 301 I-27.

SANTA PAWS Celebrate the Howli days with Hodges Community Center! Stop by for a photo with Santa, $5 per fam ily. There will be FREE Micro-Chipping @ Hodges Community Center, 4011 Univer sity Ave. on Dec. 3, 2022, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

How Hispanic Americans Think About Work and Identity

I

f we want to understand the evolving role of Hispanic Americans in American culture and politics, one useful on-ramp is studying Hispanics in the workplace.

In a recent AEI survey, Hispanics reported levels of job satisfaction, of a sense of being treated fairly, and of having good relationships with bosses and co-workers that were on par with white workers.

The survey also showed that Hispanic workers, again at levels comparable to white workers, report finding value in work in terms of job interests and skill development, as well as personal identity, meaning, and pride. And Hispanic workers are also considerably more likely than white, black, or Asian workers to report having a close friend at work.

It is important to note that these positive attitudes toward work and the workplace don’t appear to be related to the wages and prestige of the sectors and jobs Hispanics work in. Relative to their total share of the workforce, Hispanics

are overrepresented in “resource” occupations (agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and construction) and “commercial” occupations (retail, delivery, warehousing, wholesale trade, and real estate management), and underrepresented in more socially prestigious and more highly paid knowledge economy and government/nonprofit jobs.

As the introduction to AEI’s recent survey noted, Americans generally spend a lot more time and mental energy on their jobs than their developed-world counterparts do. This goes double for Hispanics. Hispanic workers report being less likely to participate in sports leagues or hobby groups or to volunteer their time to civic organizations. Instead, family commitments seem to dominate their non-work hours at

NEW NEIGH BORS

CLUB

OF LUBBOCK will hold its monthly Meeting / Luncheon on Friday, December 9 at the Lubbock Women's Club located at 2020 Broadway. The meeting will be gin at 10:30 a.m. The program will be the "Caldwell Kids. Lunch will be served after the presentation, and the cost is $20. Res ervations are required by RSVPing to Roni Allen (text) 281-507-4083 or okieroni1@ gmail.com.

JINGLE BELL BALL Wear your holiday dress and come prepared to dance the night away during our Jingle Bell Ball on December 9th at 6:30 pm @ Copper Rawlings Community Center. Refresh ments served, cost is $5 per person, for Ages: 40+. For more information, please call Rawlings Community Center at 806.767.2704.

FREE LEGAL AID FOR THOSE WHO QUALIFY Legal Aid of North west Texas provides free legal services to eligible low-income residents in such areas as public assistance denials, divorce and child support, evictions, foreclosures, domestic violence and consumer fraud. Call 763-4557 or (800) 933-4557 or visit lanwt.org for more info.

2-1-1 NON-EMERGENCY QUESTIONS 2-1-1 is a free help line answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which will link you to health and community services.

Carta Abierta

¿Que Piensas?

We know our readers have a lot to say! Mail letters to Latino Lubbock “Letters to the Editor,” Box 6473 Lubbock, TX 79493, or email them to news@latinolubbock.net. Please include your name, address, and contact phone number. Mailed letters must be signed. Please note that unsigned let ters will not be published. Letters are lim ited to 100 words, depending on space availability, some longer will be included. Writers are limited to one letter per month. Submissions may be edited for clarity or space consideration. Letters are not ac knowledged. Opinions expressed in letters and Op-Ed articles do not necessarily represent the views of Latino Lubbock Magazine.

FIRST RESPONDERS & VETERANS

Great to see so many floats in the Veterans parade on Broadway. It was awesome to see the two fire trucks set up their ladders back to back, and then, joined an American flag to form a bridge for the Veteran's Day parade participants to pass under. It was a great sight for onlookers. Thanks again to all the participants and organizers.

Joe Gonzalez

BEWARE OF PHONE SCAMS

Please let your readers know that there are several phone scammers calling. My grand mother was one of their victims. Let family and friends know not to give personal info or email information.

It seems like this happened last year as well so I hope that people will be aware, and not fall prey to these losers.

Thanks, Georgia Martinez

a level not shared by other racial groups. Despite the investment Hispanic workers make in their jobs, their social ties at work don’t seem to pay off as much as they do for other groups. Although Hispanics are more likely to say they have “close” friends at work, they also indicate less willingness to share “personal challenges” that help cement those friendships. They are also more likely to say they “never” spend time with coworkers after hours (which might interfere with those family commitments). This lower level of workplace social capital shows up in higher levels of workplace anxiety (imposter syndrome), and lower levels of “discretionary effort,” i.e. volunteering to take on tasks and responsibilities outside their normal roles, often an important gateway to promotion. Some of this is probably related to the sectors in which Hispanics are more numerous (resource and commercial jobs) but part of it may also be related to cultural and communication gaps and “bridging” social capital in the workplace that helps workers make their interests, needs, and skills known to coworkers and supervisors.

a complex set of competing demands that is never permanently solved for anyone who takes both work and family seriously. At the same time, working at achieving even an imperfect balance is necessary to develop as workers, maintain a sense of purpose and meaning on the job, and achieve greater degrees of economic prosperity.

THANK YOU

Thank you so much for including my mom in the memorials page.

Rita Garza Hiracheta

PAY IT FORWARD

Recently, my husband and I got a flat tire as we were returning from visiting family in Plainview. A young Hispanic man stopped to help my husband and he was very cordial and helpful. We offered him some money and he refused. I just wanted to thank him. There's a lot of good people, young people and we plan to pay it forward in the future.

Anyway, he had a copy of Latino Lubbock Magazine in his car so I thought i would write this in hope he will read it.

John and Tess Smith

It’s a fact of life that the working world tends to reward eager-beaver, overachieving social extroverts and overlook hardworking, familyfocused introverts. This is a paradox for all workers but especially Hispanics who are notable for both working hard to provide for families but also committed to “being there” in terms of home life. It requires a kind of Houdini-like genius to figure out how to work hard, care for your family, and build the civic and workplace ties that lead to new jobs or advancement in existing jobs. This is

A final thought on the political implications of this data. As I noted last year, Hispanics are hard to define with respect to economic views and preferences. They favor minimum wage increases and child-care subsidies—things that support work and increase paychecks—while expressing greater doubts about policies like a universal basic income that might blunt work incentives. These pro-work, pro-opportunity sentiments are an important reason Hispanics are increasingly open to a GOP message about economic freedom which is always the keystone interest of rising U.S. immigrant groups. For ideological reasons, Democrats want to compete on the ground of multiculturalism, identity politics, and government intervention; Hispanics want what they came here for: opportunity. They resist and resent constraints on their drive and ambition. In the midterm elections last week, Hispanic GOP support rose by 10 points compared to 2018, from 29 to 39 percent. Hispanics are still a Democratic constituency, but they appear to be moving toward “jump-ball” status. Paying attention to their economic aspirations—and not just their concerns or resentments—is likely the key to securing their loyalty in the future.

Brent Orrell is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he works on job training, workforce development, and criminal justice reform.

Navidad!

Copyright 2022 by Latino Lubbock Magazine

Brent Orrell

Pete Aguilar, No. 3 Democrat in the House, Makes History

Rep. Pete Aguilar, a California Democrat, is taking on the highest-level job ever held by a Latino in the House, the party's No. 3 position, with a promise that his party will take back the majority in 2024.

Aguilar was elected by his colleagues in November to serve in

the next Congress as chair of the House Democratic Caucus, a role bumped up to No. 3 position in House leadership, from No. 4. Aguilar, 43, has been serving as caucus vice chair.

Aguilar's job will be to help steer the House Democrats, now in the minority, as they try to push their legislative priorities, keeping members united on issues, conveying the party message and working to take back the majority in 2024.

Part of a new generation of leaders — one that is more diverse and younger — Aguilar said he wishes for a governing style of the past.

Aguilar, will enter his fifth term in January.

Latinos Prove Decisive In Critical 2022 Midterms

The Latino vote was defini tive last night in critical races across the country, up and down the ballot. The National Latino Civic Engagement Table, a group ing of the leading national Latino civic engagement organizations, held a press call to unpack the Latino vote, to dig into how our community made a difference, and explain how our organizations en gaged the Hispanic electorate.

Héctor Sánchez Barba, Execu tive Director and CEO, Mi Familia Vota (MFV) said:

Lubbock

“Mi Familia Vota is committed to building Latino political power; all cycles we have invested in turning out Latino voters. We know our community would be an important backstop against MAGA politi cians threatening our democracy. Last night we delivered 2,514,434 door, phone, and text attempts, 349,335 door at tempts, 825,694 text messages, and 1,339,405 phone calls to turn out our community against extrem ist politicians who sought to silence our voice at the ballot box. We are still waiting for some races to be called, but we are on track to have historic Latino representation in Congress. We are confident that our contributions were felt in the voting booth all over the country. We are building long-term political power to hold all politicians accountable to the policy priorities of the Latino commu nity.”

Clarissa Martinez De Castro, Vice President, Unido sUS Latino Vote Initiative said: “Hispanic voters affirmed their criti cal role in shaping the country’s po litical landscape, and are sending a

wake-up call to both parties. While polling shows a majority of Latinos see their values more aligned with Democratic positions, inflation and traditional midterm headwinds, and uneven or late outreach by Demo crats, allowed Republicans to gain some ground. That said, Hispanic voters nationally largely reflected their historical pattern of two thirds supporting Democrats, and one third Republicans. Democrats have ample room to solidify and expand Hispanic support, but need to en gage these voters more deeply, ear lier, and strengthen their economic message. For Republicans, in addi tion to ongoing outreach, to sustain or increase support with this elector ate they need to remember that their platform is radically out of step with these voters’ priorities in most areas – including abortion, gun violence, health care, and immigration. Uni dosUS is committed to continue its work to grow the political voice of this community of voters, who gen erally reject extremes and the taking away of rights from people, and can be a stabilizing force in our politics.”

Kenny Sandoval, Vice President of campaigns and partnerships, Voto Latino said:

“These election results should put to rest the narrative that Republi cans have made inroads into Latino communities. It’s clear that Latinos remain one of the most important voting blocs in the Democratic coalition–and they deserve to be treated as such. Any successful 2024 strategy will include sustained, authentic investment in the Latino community, and the time to start that is now.”

Thomas A Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF, said: “Latinos voters make the differ ence. This marks at least the fourth consecutive midterm election in which the expected narrative has changed . . . because of Latino vot ers. This great progress came in the face of unprecedented threats to democracy – attempts to deter and prevent participation, particularly by the ever-growing Latino voter com munity. These efforts will not work; political advisers and their clients must update their playbook to move Latinos to the center of the game.”

Yvonne Gutierrez, Managing Di rector of Latino Victory, said: “Latino voters turning out for Democrats and fizzling out the

“red wave” proves once again that Latinos are a powerful force in the Democratic coalition. If we learn one thing from the amount of sup port Latino voters gave to Demo crats in key races, it’s that the Latino vote can never be taken for granted again. We need to set the record straight once and for all that Latinos are the second-largest voting bloc in the country and consequential to our political process, especially for Democrats. With the 2024 presiden tial election on the horizon, the time is ripe for Democrats to start the en gagement and investment in Latinos in battleground states and states with consequential races. Latino voters are delivering for Democrats and are instrumental in key victories— it’s time to deliver for Latino voters with significant investments in en gaging the community.”

Frankie Miranda, President & CEO, Hispanic Federation said: “Election Day has once again ex emplified how the Latino commu nity is not a monolith, but a mosaic of different cultures, ideas, and iden tities. Latinos are not squarely blue or red, they are driven to the ballot box by a variety of issues that affect Americans from all walks of life. It’s time for elected leaders to wake up and realize that mobilizing the fastest growing voter bloc requires time, effort, and a clear plan of ac tion to support Latino families and the community at large. Our work is far from over, and we can’t do it alone. We urge the philanthropic community to double down on sup port for year-round Latino voter en gagement.”

About the NLCET: The National Latino Civic Engagement Table (NLCET) was formed in 2011 by the nation’s leading Latino nonprofit advocacy and civil rights organiza tions working on civic engagement. The National Latino Civic Engage ment Table consists of the Hispanic Federation, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Latino Victory Foundation, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), Mi Familia Vota Education Fund (MFVEF), National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, Voto Latino Foundation, and UnidosUS.

LULAC Voices Its Views on Historic Appointments

W

ashington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued the following statements on two trending national news items. The first concerns arguments the U.S. Supreme Court heard on whether the Biden Administration can mandate which undocumented immigrants should be prioritized for deportation based upon their criminal antecedents. Opponents argue the selective deportation process is too costly and still burdens states for the care, employment, and education of undocumented immigrants who are allowed to stay while their legal case is heard in court.

"We have been closely monitoring the legal case challenging the administration's policy of prioritizing deportations," says Domingo Garcia, LULAC national president. "A court ruling isn't expected until early next year. However, we are closely watching the actions of immigration officials in the meantime to ensure that every migrant has the opportunity to make a case before an immigration court and they are given just due process," he adds.

"Enforcement actions can be disruptive and traumatizing to entire communities," says Lydia

Guzman, LULAC Immigration Chair. "We expect every necessary enforcement action to treat migrants with dignity and respect, and also to care that families and communities, especially where there are children on the scene, to be handled with care to mitigate any emotional trauma," says Guzman.

LULAC also congratulated House Democrats for several historic leadership election victories. These include Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader, the first Black politician to lead a party in either Congressional chamber. Rep. Katherine Clark, Party Whip, and Rep. Pete Aguilar, Caucus Chair.

"These individuals are each worthy of their wins," says Garcia. "They are very competent, experienced, and great champions of the underserved in America, working men and women, who have historically not had a seat, much less a voice at the table of power. LULAC hopes they will find and share in the spirit of bipartisanship on the critical issues ahead, including DACA and implementation of the Vanessa Guillen Act and the Brandon Act, for which we strongly advocated," he adds.

Gutierrez Wins Lubbock Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Seat

The results for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3 race in Lubbock County resulted in a close race with the outcome of Lubbock County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3 at 5,447 to 5,218 (51.07% to 48,93%) vote.

Gutierrez will begin training December 11th in San Marcos, Texas.

Of personal interest to him is unacceptable truancy found in

communities that he said 80% of cases are "OTW (Other than White)."

Incumbent Democrat ChaidesHernández will complete her term at the end of December. She was the first and longest-serving Hispanic to hold judicial office in Lubbock County. She was elected in 1994 and has proudly served the residents of Lubbock County for 28 years.

City of Lubbock Names Gilbert Quant as New Chief Building Official

The City of Lubbock announced Gilbert Quant as the new Chief Building Official. He will oversees the Building Safety Department. The position plans, directs, and supervises the City of Lubbock’s construction permitting and inspection activities as well as developing and administering public relations efforts to keep citizens informed.

Quant has worked for the City of Lubbock Building Safety Department since September 2002. He began his career

as a Residential and Commercial Plans Examiner before promoting to Senior Commercial Plans Examiner and later Assistant Building Official.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering Technology from Texas Tech University, and possesses multiple International Code Council certifications in both the Plans Examiner and Inspector categories.

He will start as the Chief Building Official on Monday, December 5, 2022.

Holiday Season in December is a Good Time to Apply for a Job

Finding a job, or switching to a second career, can be a challenge. Most people on the job market know you have to look for every little opportunity to get your foot in the door — and sometimes timing is everything.

December, for example, appears to be a good month to apply for new positions for a variety of reasons. Some potential applicants are too busy: Now is your chance to outsmart the com petition by just applying! We all know how hectic the holiday season can get, and many people put their job hunt on the back burner. This decreases the applicant pool and can work in your favor.

Employer Budgets: Typically Dec. 31 means the end of the fiscal year for employ ers, so they may be rushing to fill positions that they have in their budget. Managers don’t want to risk their boss eliminating a

position because it’s been unfilled for so long. On the flip side, Jan. 1 means a new budget year for many employers, so they may be looking to hire for new positions that are funded at the start of the year. Yes, some may argue that manag ers aren’t hiring in December because they’re out of the of fice using up their vacation days — but not every man ager!

Recruiters have goals to meet: Just like everyday workers, recruiters have year ly performance reviews and goals. They may be taking a fresh look at applicants in an effort to get them in front of a manager be fore or after the first of the year.

So, while family time is important during the holiday season, you might also just want to set aside time for you — to apply for jobs. After all, studies have found job satisfaction has an impact on your family life.

City Accepting Applications for Various Boards, Committees

The City of Lubbock is now accept ing applications for several boards and commissions. This is a chance for Lubbock citizens to be an active part in their city’s future. The term for these positions start June 1, 2023, and the deadline to submit an application is Saturday, December 31, 2022. If you have previously submitted an applica tion as of January 1, 2021, your application will be considered. It is encouraged that you login and update your application to ensure the City of Lubbock has the most up-to-date information on file.

The boards and commissions with upcom ing vacancies are:

• Animal Services Advisory Board = 2 Citizen Position, 1 Animal Shelter Em ployee Position

• Audit and Investment Committee1 Citizen Position

• Board of Health - 3 Citizen Posi tions

• Capital Improvements Advisory Committee - 1 Citizen Position

• Junked Vehicle Compliance Board - 2 Citizen Positions

• Keep Lubbock Beautiful Advisory Committee - 4 Citizen Positions

• Lake Alan Henry Board of Appeals - 2 Lake Alan Henry Property Owner Po sitions

• Parks and Recreation Board - 3 Citizen Positions

• Public Transit Advisory Board - 2 Citizen Positions

• Veterans Advisory Committee - 4 Citizen Positions

• Water Board of Appeals - 1 Citizen Position, 1 Public Education Position, 1 Water User Position

Applications can be submitted at www. mylubbock.us/cityboards. Summaries and information about the City’s boards and commissions can be found at: https:// ci.lubbock.tx.us/departments/city-secre tary/boards-commissions/list-of-boardscommissions.

Business/negocío Business & Opportunity Updates

FREE PRACTICE EXAMS Study guides for tests Learn-a-Test, a database of practice examinations, is available at the Lubbock Public Library, 1306 9th St. Hundreds of prac tice examinations, including SAT, ACT and elementary, middle school and high school skills improvement tests, plus graduate entrance exams, available.

TAX FORMS AT LIBRARIES they have forms 1040 and 1040-SR in English and Spanish available at all locations. You can also access all available forms and instructions from home at www.irs. gov.

BUSINESS COUNSELING Small business owners and aspiring entre preneurs can discuss their business ventures and get expert advice from the SBDC staff. All information will be held in strict confidence. For a counseling ses sions call (806) 745-1637.

LOW INCOME TAXPAYER

CLINIC The TTU School of Law oper ates a “FREE” Low Income Taxpayer Clinic year around to provide assistance relating to issues involving controversies with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For more info call (806) 834-7972 or toll free (800) 4208037.

DO YOU HAVE NEWS? Submit your business news online at www.latinolubbock.net/have-a-story or call (806)792-1212

Chamber Reveals New Brand Identity, Logo

The Lubbock Chamber of Com merce announced the launch of its new brand identity, redesigned logo, and website. These changes re flect the Chamber’s vision as it moves into the next chap ter of growth.

“When I joined the Lubbock Chamber team 13 months ago, as a newcomer to our community, I quickly realized I had inherited a strong, award-winning organiza tion,” said Kay McDowell, CEO of the Lubbock Chamber. “As we move forward, there is now a need for updated branding that commu nicates our vision for what’s next.”

The newly designed website fea tures easy-to-navigate pages and updated, simplified messaging. The site also highlights services and so lutions the Chamber offers its mem bers.

“We are updating to drive deeper member connection and to repre sent the best of what Lubbock is and what is to come,” says McDowell. The Chamber also announced two new initiatives coming in 2023:

Forged by the Flat lands a new content series brought to you by the Lub bock Chamber & Wundertre. Each episode will feature local business leaders that offer insights and in spiration for the Lubbock business community. Learn more at forged bytheflatlands.com

Renovate to Innovate, a cam paign to reimagine and redesign the Chamber offices into a space members can and will want to use. The project is in the planning and development phase. The Chamber offices are located in the downtown McDougal building at 1500 Broad way.

Call for Nominations for 2023 National Small Business Week

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2023 National Small Business Week (NSBW) Awards. The NSBW Awards recognize the achievements of SBA-assisted small businesses and the contributions they have made to their communities and our nation’s economy. All nominations should be submitted

electronically by 3 p.m. EST on January 11, 2023. The awards will be presented during the NSBW Awards ceremony in the first week of May 2023.

To nominate a small business owner in your area or download related forms, criteria, and guidelines, visit sba.gov/ nsbw.

LAA to Host State of the City Address

Mayor Tray Payne will pres ent the State of the City message on February 28, 2023 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Lub bock Memorial Civic Center. Hosted by the Lubbock Apart ment Association, the annual event will focus on the latest eco nomic data and the status of cur rent City issues & projects. Proceeds from the event benefit an area organization. For any questions or to reserve a spot, please call Lubbock Apartment Association at (806)794-2037.

Open Enrollment Dates for 2022

Mark your calendar on the date, November 1, 2022. Give yourself plenty of time to compare your options and select the best plan to meet your coverage needs and pocketbook before Open Enrollment ends on December 15th.

If you don’t act by December 15, you can’t get 2023 coverage unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. Plans sold during Open Enrollment start January 15, 2023.

Fechas de inscripción abierta 2022

Marque su calendario en la fecha, 1 de noviembre de 2022. Tómese el tiempo suficiente para comparar sus opciones y seleccionar el mejor plan para satisfacer sus necesidades de cobertura y su bolsillo antes de que finalice la Inscripción Abierta el 15 de diciembre.

Si no actúa antes del 15 de diciembre, no podrá obtener la cobertura de 2023 a menos que califique para un Período de inscripción especial. Los planes vendidos durante la inscripción abierta comienzan el 15 de enero de 2023.

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New COVID boosters could prevent death

New COVID boosters could prevent up to 90,000 deaths this fall and winter. If 80 percent of Americans who are eligible for the new COVID-19 omicron boosters get the vaccine by Dec. 31, nearly 90,000 deaths and more than 936,700 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 could be prevented, a new report from the Commonwealth Fund shows. If COVID booster uptake is even equivalent to

last year's flu vaccine uptake, more than 75,000 deaths and 745,409 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 could be prevented. The boosters could also save the U.S. billions in medical costs, the report finds. As of Nov. 21, about 11 percent of the eligible population has received the new booster, CDC data shows.

Contact your doctor or local health department for more information.

Los nuevos refuerzos de la COVID

Los nuevos refuerzos de la COVID podrían prevenir hasta 90,000 muertes este otoño e invierno. Si el 80% de los estadounidenses que son elegibles para los nuevos refuerzos ómicron de la COVID-19 reciben la vacuna antes del 31 de diciembre, se podrían prevenir casi 90,000 muertes y más de 936,700 hospitalizaciones, según un nuevo informe del Commonwealth Fund. Si la aceptación del refuerzo de la COVID es equivalente a la aceptación de la vacuna contra la influenza del año pasado, se podrían evitar más de 75,000 muertes

y 745,409 hospitalizaciones debido a la COVID-19. Los refuerzos también podrían ahorrarle a Estados Unidos miles de millones en costos médicos, de acuerdo con el mismo informe. Una encuesta reciente de Kaiser Family Foundation muestra que alrededor de un tercio de los adultos dicen que recibieron el nuevo refuerzo (5%) o tienen la intención de hacerlo lo antes posible (27%). En cuanto a los adultos de 65 años o más, casi la mitad (45%) dice que ya recibió el nuevo refuerzo (8%) o planea recibirlo lo antes posible (37%).

Seasonal Depression

Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that is triggered by the seasons. The most common type of SAD is called winter-onset depression. Symptoms usually begin in late fall or early winter and go away by summer. A much less common type of SAD, known as summer-onset depression, usually begins in the late spring or early sum mer and goes away by winter. SAD may be related to changes in the amount of daylight during different times of the year.

How common is SAD? As many as half a million people in the United States may have winteronset depression. Another 10% to 20% may experience mild SAD. SAD is more common in wom en than in men. Although some children and teenagers get SAD, it usually doesn't start in people younger than 20 years of age. For adults, the risk of SAD decreases as they get older. Winter-onset SAD is more common in northern regions, where the winter season is typically longer and more harsh. What are the symptoms of SAD? Although your symptoms are

clues to the diagnosis, not every one who has SAD experiences the same symptoms. Common symptoms of winter-onset SAD include the following: a change in appetite, especially a crav ing for sweet or starchy foods; weight gain; a drop in energy level; fatigue; a tendency to oversleep; diffi culty concentrating; irritability and anxi ety; increased sensitiv ity to social rejection; and avoidance of social situations and a loss of interest in the activities you used to enjoy SAD may also include some of the symptoms that are present in other forms of depression. These symptoms in clude feelings of guilt, ongoing feelings of hopelessness and phys ical problems (such as headaches). Is there a treatment for SAD? Yes, treatment is available for SAD. Winter-onset SAD is most likely caused by your body's reaction to the lack of sunlight. Light therapy is one option for treating this type of SAD because increased sun light can improve symptoms.

Your doctor may also want you to try medicine or behavior thera py to treat your SAD.

Depresión Estacional

El trastorno afectivo estacional, TAE (también conocido por su sigla en inglés SAD) es un tipo de depresión que se des encadena con las estacio nes. El tipo más común de TAE es la llamada depresión que comienza en el invierno. Los sín tomas usualmente, co mienzan al final del otoño o al comienzo del invierno y desaparecen en el verano. Un tipo mucho menos común de TAE que se conoce como depresión que co mienza en el verano usualmente comienza al final de la primavera o al comienzo del verano y desapa rece con el invierno. El TAE puede estar relacionado con cambios en la cantidad de luz solar durante las distintas épocas del año.

¿Qué tan común es el TAE? Tan tas como medio millón de personas en los Estados Unidos de América pueden tener depresión que co mienza en el invierno. Otro 10 a 20

% pueden experimentar TAE leve. El TAE es más común en las mu jeres que en los hombres. A pesar de que a algunos ni ños y adolescentes les dé TAE, éste usualmente no comienza en personas menores de 20 años de edad. Para los adultos, el riesgo de TAE disminuye a medida que ellos enve jecen. La depresión que co mienza en el invierno TAE es más común en las regiones del norte en las cuales la estación de invierno típicamente es más larga y más fuerte.

¿Cómo puede saber mi médico que tengo TAE? a pesar de que sus síntomas son claves para el diag nóstico, no todo el mundo con tae tiene los mismos síntomas. los sín tomas comunes de depresión en el invierno incluyen lo siguiente: un cambio en el apetito, especialmente antojarse de dulces o comidas con almidón.

Noticias de salud/ Health

COVID FUNERAL ASSISTANCE If you experience the loss of a family member due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you could be eligible to apply for funeral assistance through Federal Emergency Management Agency. To see if you qualify for assistance and to begin your application with FEMA, call 844-684-6333.

FREE COVID-19 VACCINES, BOOSTERS The City of Lubbock Public Health Department is offering booster shots for all available COVID-19 vaccines will be by appointment only at the health depart ment. They’ll be offering FREE COVID-19 vaccines (ages 5+), boosters, flu shot and regular immunizations. Please call the City of Lub bock Public Health Depart ment at 806-775-2933.

SOUTH PLAINS FOOD BANK To receive a food box from SPFB, you still need to qualify through one of our part nering agencies and receive a voucher. You can call 2-1-1 or visit www.211texas. org to find a local agency that is giving our vouchers. Citizens are still required to bring all documentation needed to see if you qualify.

HEALTHBEAT EQUIPMENT brings the best of the gym to the great outdoors at Buddy Holly Lake of Cesar Chavez Drive The outdoor fitness equipment is available to the public and has 10 pieces of fitness equipment. This is a project of Los Herma nos Familia. FREE.

FREE CLINIC at Lubbock Impact The Free Clinic holds a free doctors clinic every Wednesday at 34th Street and Boston Av enue. Registration begins at 4 PM. Patients must be 18 and older and medically unin sured to receive free medications and doc tors visits. For more info call (806) 799-4320.

FREE SICK CHILDREN'S CLINIC is a free, all-volunteer clinic that treats sick children up to age 15 at 10th Street and Avenue A. Prescriptions at the on-site phar macy are free. Call 762-1805 for more info.

FAITH BASED AA for Lubbock and the surrounding area, Thurs. from 6:30-8:00 P.M. and Sundays from 7-8 P.M. For more info call 806-793.3336.

FREE PARENTING CLASSES

Family Guidance & Outreach Center pro vides free anger management classes and parenting classes. For more information or to register for a class, call 747-5577. Visit us online: www.familyguidancecenterlubbock. org.

Flu or Cold?

Judging by all the people sneez ing and coughing, and the ubiq uitous “Get your flu shot” signs at every pharmacy, it’s obvious we’ve begun the dreaded cold and flu sea son.

So how can you tell if your aches and scratchy throat are a typical cold or a more serious bout of the flu?

A quick rule of thumb is that cold symptoms generally occur from the neck up, whereas flu symptoms take over your whole body.

How to prevent getting a cold: Once the cold season starts, gargle daily and take probiotics. Gargling can lower your risk of getting sick, research shows, and probiotics may also help prevent colds and boost your immune system, a 2011 Co chrane review of research found. Preventive medicine experts also

recommend eating yogurt with ac tive cultures or taking pro biotic supplements. Supplements con taining lactobacillus should have at least 5 billion colony-forming units per daily serving.

Get my flu shot now, or wait? Get it as early as possible — it not only protects you against the flu, recent studies show it can cut your risk of heart attacks and stroke by 36 per cent. Plus, a flu shot protects both children and adults against pneu monia.

When to go to work, when to stay home: You’re contagious even before your symptoms start getting bad, say infectious disease experts, so if you wake up feeling under the weather, the virus is already multi plying. In addition, you remain con tagious for five to seven days after

becoming ill. So do your friends and colleagues a favor — stay home and don’t infect them. Another rea son to avoid the office: Side effects from cold or flu medication can make you too groggy to work.

To prevent flu: Drink green tea, wash hands, wear a mask - Green tea has catechins, a type of antioxi dant, that can help protect against the flu, recent studies suggest. Even more dramatic: A 2012 study found that wearing a surgical mask and regularly washing your hands during the flu season resulted in a whopping 75 percent reduction in flu risk. Need another reason to wash your hands? Viruses survive on surfaces between two and eight hours, so people touch ing those surfaces who then touch their mouth or nose can get sick as the virus enters the respiratory tract.

La gripe o resfriado? Aquí es cómo saber

Ajuzgar por todas las personas estornudos y tos, y los "Obtenga su vacuna contra la gripe" señales om nipresentes en todas las farmacias, es obvio que hemos comenzado la tem porada de resfriados y gripe temida. Entonces, ¿cómo puede saber si sus dolores y picazón en la garganta son una típica pelea más grave resfriado o una de la gripe? Una regla rápida es que los síntomas del resfriado gener almente ocurren desde el cuello hacia arriba, mientras que los síntomas de la gripe se apoderan de todo tu cuerpo .. Cómo evitar contraer un resfriado: Una vez que la temporada de frío se inicia, haga gárgaras diaria y tomar probióticos. Hacer gárgaras puede disminuir su riesgo de contraer, según muestra una investigación enfermos, y los probióticos también puede ayudar a prevenir los resfriados y estimular su sistema inmunológico, una revisión Cochrane de la investigación 2.011 encontrado. Expertos de medicina preventiva también recomiendan

comer yogur con cultivos activos o tomando suplementos probióticos.

Los suplementos que contienen lac tobacillus deben tener al menos 5 mil millones de unidades formadoras de colonias por porción diaria.

Obtener mi vacuna contra la gripe ahora, o esperar? Get it lo más pronto posible - no sólo le protege contra la gripe, estudios recientes demuestran que puede reducir el riesgo de ataques cardíacos y accidentes cerebrovas culares en un 36 por ciento. Además, una vacuna contra la gripe protege a niños y adultos contra la neumonía, un nuevo estudio de la Universidad de Vanderbilt encontró.

Cuándo ir al trabajo, al quedarse en casa: Usted es contagiosa, incluso an tes de que sus síntomas comienzan a conseguir malo, dicen los expertos en enfermedades infecciosas, así que si te levantas sintiendo bajo tiempo, el vi rus ya se está multiplicando. Además, usted sigue siendo contagiosa durante cinco a siete días después de enfer

marse. Lo mismo ocurre con sus ami gos y colegas un favor - quedarse en casa y no infectarlos. Otra razón para evitar la oficina: Los efectos secundar ios de la medicación resfriado o gripe puede hacerle demasiado aturdido para trabajar.

Para prevenir la gripe: Beber té verde, lavarse las manos, usar una máscaraEl té verde tiene catequinas, un tipo de antioxidante, que puede ayudar a pro teger contra la gripe, estudios recientes sugieren. Aún más dramática: Un es tudio de 2012 encontró que el uso de una máscara quirúrgica y lavarse las manos con regularidad durante la tem porada de gripe se tradujo en una re ducción de la friolera de 75 por ciento en el riesgo de la gripe. ¿Necesitas otra razón para lavarse las manos? Los vi rus sobreviven en superficies de entre dos y ocho horas, por lo que las perso nas que tocan esas superficies que lu ego se tocan la boca o la nariz pueden enfermarse ya que el virus entra en el tracto respiratorio.

The Doc or Is In

Advice from our Doctors... Consejos de nuestros médicos

Aids Awareness Month

AIDS stands for acquired im munodeficiency syndrome.

It is the most advanced stages of infection with the human immu nodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is a virus that kills or damages cells of the body's immune system.

HIV most often spreads through unprotected sex with an infected person. AIDS may also spread by sharing drug needles or through contact with the blood of an in fected person. Women can give it to their babies during pregnancy or

childbirth.

The first signs of HIV infection may be swollen glands and flu-like symptoms. These may come and go a month or two after infection. Severe symptoms may not appear until months or years later.

A blood test can tell if you have HIV infection. Your health care provider can perform the test, or call the national referral hotline at 1-800-CDC-INFO (24 hours a day, 1-800-232-4636 in English and en español; 1-888-232-6348 - TTY).

Mes nacional de la prevención del SIDA

SIDA es la sigla del síndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida.

Es el estadio más avanzado de in fección por el virus de inmunode ficiencia humana (VIH). El VIH es un virus que mata o daña las células del sistema inmunológico del organ ismo.

El VIH suele contagiarse a través de las relaciones sexuales sin protec ción con una persona infectada. El SIDA también puede contagiarse por compartir agujas con drogas o mediante el contacto con la sangre de una persona infectada. Las mu jeres pueden transmitírselo a sus be bés durante el embarazo o el parto.

Los primeros signos de infección con VIH pueden ser inflamación de los ganglios y síntomas gripales. Los mismos pueden presentarse y desaparecer un mes o dos después de la infección. Los síntomas graves pueden no aparecer hasta pasados meses o años.

Con un análisis de sangre se puede saber si una persona tiene una in fección por VIH. El profesional de la salud puede realizar la prueba o llamar para una derivación a la línea nacional 1-800-CDC-INFO (en es pañol y en inglés, las 24 horas del día, 1-800-232-4636; 1-888-2326348 - TTY).

Latino Lubbock

¡Celebrando los 50 años de Pancho Clos!

Lubbock is the Home of Santa's Cousin from the South

of the world. On his way to the South Pole, Frank went to Mexico, where he met and fell in love with a beautiful Mexican señorita. They got married and began their life. Along the way they had a son, Frank Jr., or in Spanish - Pancho.

Pancho took pride in his culture and proudly wore his traje (costume) as he assumed the role of Pancho Clos wearing his leather huaraches, a zarape, a sombrero, and a black beard. Instead of reindeer, Pancho Clos had burros.

The American G.I. Forum Christmas Project Robert Narvaiz said that the story was revised to include realistic helpers and to engage families from the community. They invited an organization composed of veterans who were committed to the betterment of families in the community called the American G.I. Forum (AGIF) a congressionally chartered Hispanic veterans and civil rights organization founded in 1948.

“I started with the program from that first year and as we got to understand what we wanted the people to know about Pancho Clos we added to the story,” he said.

In 1971, Pancho Clos along with all his helpers made his first appearance. The very first event was held at Rogers Park, the Saturday before Christmas. They had a little bit of candy; they didn't know what kind of turnout they would have.

convention and how the idea was adopted nationwide.

“They agreed that the project would be beneficial to local communities and would add Hispanic Culture to Christmas,” he said.

Over the years, the story of Pancho Clos evolved, as did the character, which continues to be portrayed by American GI Forum nationally.

At one time, the late Teresa Herrera portrayed the role of Panchita, the wife of Pancho. Although Panchita’s role was soon retired, occasionally she makes a random appearance.

“We take pride that this tradition founded in Lubbock has now become a nationwide project of the American GI Forum,” said Robert Narvaiz, who retired as the Pancho Clos organizer in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

He says that over the last 50 years they have made appearances at churches, schools, and orphanages. They would occasionally meet kids with no shoes and jackets in cold weather.

“There were many kids who were in need and who would go unnoticed,” says Narvaiz, adding that besides the presentation of Christmas goody bags, the group would collect names of families not in a position to provide toys to their children.

Narvaiz discussed another significant aspect of Pancho Clos’ arrival at the annual event - how he would arrive.

Sponsorships are essential to the project. He named various businesses as well as acknowledged the Community Foundation of West Texas which had contributed to them in the past.

He said that they have worked with almost every Hispanic organization in Lubbock to encourage Hispanic community engagement. Some come and go, but they support the project.

They give a brown paper sack that includes an apple, an orange, peanuts, and hard candy.

In 1997, the local Girl Scout Troop De Colores #6073 approached the American G. I. Forum about doing a community service project. The troop leader, Margie Olivarez, said that since then they have volunteered for the last 25 years, they’ve prepared around 1,500 fruit candy bags annually.

The girl scouts earn a Pancho Clos badge. They designed the badge using a photo of Julian Perez as Pancho Clos.

Narvaiz said that a few years ago, some car & motorcycle clubs also collected toys to supplement the bags and to hand out to the children.

The Role of Pancho Clos Since the beginning, Robert said there have been at least 13 individuals who have portrayed the role of Pancho Clos – 10 were American G.I. Forum members.

BY CHRISTY MARTINEZ-GARCIA FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE

Pancho Clos, Santa Claus’ Mexican cousin, will make his 50th visit to the children of Lubbock, Texas, and across the country. The idea for an actual Pancho Clos originated in Lubbock.

In 1970, the late Gus Medina, owner of a small bilingual publication in Lubbock, and two of his reporters, Jesse Reyes and Bidal Aguero, were preparing the newspaper for publication.

It was not uncommon for them to listen to the radio as they worked. That evening they heard a 1956 Christmas song sung by Lalo Guerrero, a famous Latino folk singer, entitled Pancho Clos, which was based on the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas”.

The three men were inspired by the lyrics of the song about a Santa Claus with a black beard. After they

were unable to locate the history of the character, they decided to develop their own that would give Pancho Clos an appearance all his own, creating a costume and an explanation about his relation to Santa.

First, unlike Santa - Pancho Clos is Santa’s cousin and lives in the South. He wears a sombrero and other traditional Mexican attire. He travels in his cart drawn by burros. Instead of shouting the traditional ‘Ho-ho-ho and Merry Christmas’, Pancho hollers “AAAA-Hoooo-Ah! Feliz Navidad”.

When people questioned his relation to Santa, they explained that many years ago, St. Nick, Santa Claus’ father, began to see that he was not able to reach all the children between the two poles. Therefore, his brother, Frank Claus, left the North Pole to go to the South Pole, so he would be better able to get gifts to children in southern parts

They promoted the event on KLFB the first Spanish radio station, along with El Editor, and later in the years, they were on the Si Se Puede Show.

To their surprise, the crowd came out in droves leaving very little parking place in that park.

Mike Torres, a member of the American G.I Forum was the very first member to wear the costume.

Narvaiz said that mostly they just let Pancho Clos engage with the kids and provide their Christmas list to them. He was bilingual and could understand the requests in English and Spanish.

After the event, they decided to make this the G.I. Forum’s annual Christmas project. In preparation, they raised money to buy fruit and candy.

"Little by little we just started adding more to it," said Narvaiz. He explained how the local chapter presented their Christmas project to the entire membership of the American G. I. Forum at the national

“Sometimes he might be arriving on a burro or a low rider. A couple of times he came in a helicopter,” he said explaining how he worked at St. Mary’s hospital and plead with hospital administrators to let Pancho Clos come by way of the helicopter.

He said it was a great sight and a treat for the kids. He added that since Pancho Clos’ inception he also came via a fire truck, lowriders, motorcycles, and any means necessary to see the kids.

The Veteran recalled how the fire department would take them through the neighborhood inviting the neighbors to attend the event.

Volunteers Narvaiz remembered that there were many volunteers and contributors over the years. He named different groups and individuals. Among them was the late Richard Lopez of the Guadalupe Economic Services Corporation who donated lots of fruit because he was a fruit producer.

The first Pancho Clos was Mike Torres. One year Bidal Aguero portrayed Pancho Clos.

Other American G. I. Forum members who played the role of Pancho Clos were Martinez (First name n/a), Gonzalo "Gee" Garza, Edward "Lalo" Quirino Sr., Eusevio "Bevo" Anaya Jr., Manuel Aguilar, Roy Medina, Raul Sanchez, and Julian Perez.

Incidentally, Raul Sanchez took the program to San Antonio where Pancho Clos even served as Grand Marshal of Fiesta de Flores, alongside former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros.

Martin Rivera, a Knights of Columbus member was recruited by Robert through the church. Rivera participated for a few years and said that he and Julian would divide the time and give each other breaks.

“He’d take two hours and I would take two hours and we’d meet almost 1,000 to 1,500 children,” he said.

Our Lady of Guadalupe La Virgen de Guadalupe

BY CHRISTY MARTINEZ-GARCIA FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE

Annually, Catholics and be lievers of the Virgen de Guadalupe the patron saint of Mexico otherwise known as the Virgin Mary prepare for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the story of when she aligned herself with the most common - giving hope.

On Dec. 12, 1531, in Mexico, a poor Indian, Juan Diego, was looking for water for his uncle, when he was surprised by a vision of a beautiful woman who direct ed him to a spring of fresh, cool water. In the same spot a few days later, the vision appeared to Juan Diego again. This time, she told him to go to Mexico City to tell the high church officials to build a church in her name on that site.

The church officials did not be lieve the poor indigenous man, questioning why the Virgin Mary would appear to someone so lowly. They insisted on proof. As such, Diego returned to the hill side to visit the Virgin again and asked her for a sign.

She asked him to pick full bloom roses that normally did not grow in that area or in the winter. He picked them and wrapped them in his rough blanket and brought them to the church officials. When he opened his blanket, the officials fell to their knees in ado ration and amazement, as they saw a beautiful image imprinted on his blanket. It was the image of the Virgen of Guadalupe, just as Juan Diego had seen her.

In Lubbock Hundreds of area Catholic faithful from the Dio cese of Lubbock will gather on Sunday, December 11. Line up will be at a new location - at Stubbs Park off 36th & Ave. L. Buses will run from Our Lady of Guadalupe to the park starting at 2 p.m. The procession com mences South on Ave. L through the residential neighborhood to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church Jamaica Grounds, 1120 52nd St. A Rosary on the Our Lady of Guadalupe Jamaica Grounds will follow the procession. All are invited to walk with us

in prayer and thanksgiving to our holy Mother Mary. For more information, please call the of fice of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, (806)763-0710.

Church Banners are welcome for each church prepared by various groups including the Guadalupa nas and the Guadalupanos, some will feature the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and some will feature a girl who will play the role of the Virgen and a boy who will play Juan Diego.

Members of the Guadalupanas participate in the annual proces sion in her honor during which they pray the Rosary as they jour ney from the designated location in Lubbock to the parish church to serenade her, while Mata chines--“Indigenous Dancers.”

Mass will be celebrated immedi ately after the procession.

Following the celebration of the Mass, the roses will blessed for families to take home. A recep tion after the mass will conclude festivities.

Los Matachines The Matachina dance, or "Danza de Matachines" (Spanish) is explained by oral tradition amongst most Indian Tribes as "The Dance of the Moors and Christians" and is the first masked dance introduced by the Spaniards.

The Matachines dance for a deeper religious purpose since most of them join to venerate Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Dressed in traditional ceremoni al dress and clothing, a chorus of dancers include La Malinche, or Malintzin, the Indian mistress of Hernán Cortés; El Toro, the bull, the malevolent comic man of the play (also symbolizes Satan, or the Devil, according to Roman Catholic religious interpreta tions), dressed with the skins of the buffalo and wearing the horns of this sacred ancestor; Abuelo, the grandfather, and Abuela, grandmother. Much symbolism is seen in these groups. The most basic symbol of the dance is good vs. evil, with good prevailing.

The dances performed by the Matachines have significant sym bolism.

Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe

Annually, on Dec. 12, Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe (The Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe), cel ebrations and processions take place beginning early at dawn, weaving indigenous dances and traditions into the worship of the Virgen.

Thousands of devout worship pers make pilgrimages to the Ba silica of the Virgen de Guada lupe in northern Mexico City. They view the image of the Virgen on Juan Diego’s blan ket and worship with Catho lics from around the world. Pilgrims also visit the shrine that was built on the hillside where Juan Diego first saw the vision.

Celebration of the Patroness of the Americas and Empress of Latin America & Protectress of Unborn Children: Title given by Holy Father John Paul the Great will be held in Lubbock at the following churches on December 12th ▪ Our Lady of Guadalupe starting with Las Mañanitas at 6 a.m. and mass at 7 a.m. ▪ St. Joseph Church ~ Las Mañanitas at 6 a.m.; mass at 7 a.m. ▪ Our Lady of Grace ~ Las Mañanitas & Mass at 6 a.m.

The women's group re ferred to as las Guadalupanas have formed wherever Cath olics have established their faith.

La Sociedad’s duties culminate each year on December 12th, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guada lupe. In preparation for her Feast Day, La Sociedad Guadalupana prays the Rosary and a novena on the nine days leading up to her Feast Day.

On December 12th, in the a.m. new members are installed. Ser enades, like Las Mañanitas, are sung in praise to La Virgen.

For more information, please call (806) 763-0710.

Copyright 2022 by Latino Lubbock Magazine All Rights reserved.

Spanish Spelling Bee Won by FISD Student

For a fourth consecutive year, a Frenship ISD student is headed to the National Spanish Spelling Bee. Last month, Willow Bend Elementary fifth-grader Cesar Guzman clinched first-place in the area contest, securing his spot at the national competition this summer.

On November 5, dozens of elementary and middle school students across the South Plains competed in the 12th Annual Lubbock Spanish Spelling Bee Championship hosted by Texas Tech University’s Sigma Delta Pi, a collegiate Hispanic Honor Society.

After several intense rounds, Guzman, an elementary student, beat out his older middle school counterparts and was named the area champion.

“This is the fifth year a Frenship dual language student has made it to nationals. This speaks highly of the type of bilingual program

Frenship has implemented and the rigorous instruction provided by our teachers,” said Frenship ISD’s Bilingual and ESL Coordinator Senon Cruz.

Cruz says this success is a result of a lot of practice by the students and teachers along with strong relationships built throughout the process.

“Not only am I very proud of Cesar’s hard work and dedication, but also his coach and teacher Robert Nunez and the relationships he establishes with the students and families,” said Cruz. “It goes beyond students studying and knowing how to spell the words. Mr. Nunez builds connections with his students and their families.”

Over the next several months, Guzman and Nunez will continue to practice and study to go head-tohead against students from across the nation this summer.

Education & Scholarship Updates

LOS HERMANOS FAMILIA 2023 SCHOLARSHIPS will accept its next round of scholarship applications on De cember 15, 2022. The application will close on February 15, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. These scholarships are designed to assist area students to obtain a higher education and to encourage retention. For more de tails and to apply go to: www.loshermanos familia.org/university-scholarship

RAIDERS ROJOS CONVOCA

TION is open to TTU Dec. graduates on Friday, Dec 15, 2022, 6:30 p.m., at Merket Alumni Center, 17th & Boston on campus. Register online at wwww.tturaidersrojos. org

SCHOLARSHIP INFO ONLINE

Fastweb.com - This website claims to be the most complete source of local, na tional, and college-specific scholarships on the net. It lists thousands of scholarships. When you sign up, you can get email up dates when new scholarships become available. Good and free resource.

FALLEN HEROES FUND Scholar ship to assist with educational expenses of dependent survivors of service men and women and first responders who have died on active duty since September 11, 2001. Dependent survivors would include spouse, sons, and daughters (biological, adopted or step children). The scholarships are available as supplements to financial aid and survivor educational benefits. The applicant may be registered as a full or parttime student. Use the following link to apply: www.grantrequest.com/ SID_6007?SA=SNA&FID=35040

CHARLES A. & GRACE GUY SCHOLARSHIP for Students majoring in Journalism Office of the Dean, School of Mass Communications P.O. Box 43082, Lubbock, TX 79409-3082

COLLEGE BOARD Fund Finder is an online tool to help you locate scholar ships, internships, grants, and loans that match your education level, talents, and background. Apply online at: bigfuture.col legeboard.org/scholarship-search

love this time of year because I can be with the people I love most. December gives me a chance to give thanks and reflect on the past year as it ends. It gives me an op portunity to recognize how far I've come in 2022 because little did I know that this year would be full of adventures and memories, along with highs and lows. January 2022 started pretty rocky for me, but

things have turned around, and I feel good about where I’ve tread. Sure, it was not all fairy tales this year, and I was undoubtedly chal lenged, but I am thankful for the opportunities and memories I've had. In retrospect, there are always things you can change, but for the most part, I’m grateful for what I've accomplished this year. Thank you, 2022…2023 – Let’s go!

Blaise Martinez - is the new youth Writer for a Teen's View. She is a 10th grader at Lubbock High School. She aspires to attend Stanford University, major in computer sci ence, and pursue a career in computer sci ence and app development. Welcome from Latino Lubbock Magazine!

COLLEGENET A convenient, speedy site which searches scholarships from categories such as ACT and SAT scores, GPA, etc. Apply online at: www.collegenet. com

NATIONAL STUDENT NURSES' ASSOCIATION, Inc. (NSNA) Break through To Nursing Scholarships For Ethnic Apply online at www.nsna.org

CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS INSTITUTE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM www.chci.org/schol arships/page/chci-scholarship-program

AAUW SCHOLARSHIP The Asso ciation of University Women Educational Foundation Apply at www.aauw.org

ADELANTE SCHOLARSHIPS www.adelantefund.org/#!scholarships/crij

Latino Lubbock Magazine Proudly Advocates for Education/La revista latina Lubbock aboga por la educación

I

INTERSTATES DONATION TO SPC: The Electrical Program at the South Plains College Career and Technical Center recently received an equipment donation valued at $4,000 for its students. The tools will be used to assist students preparing for careers as electricians. More than 30 percent of the craft employees at the Texas Regional Office graduated from South Plains College. Shown are, from left, Angel Pena of Levelland, Jacob Woods, Interstates project coordinator; Diana Malone, instructor in electrical and power transmission for SPC; Mike O’Donnell, Interstates regional man ager; and Jacen Rodriguez of Lubbock.

XCEL AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS: The South Plains College Foundation has received a $5,000 grant from the Xcel Energy Foundation to fund scholarships for stu dents majoring in pre-engineering and mechanical engineering at the college. Shown are, from left, Director of Development and Alumni Relations Jordan Flores, Enrique Tarango of Plains, Aaron Trejo of Gruver, Xcel Energy Community Relations Ben Jaime, Emmanuel Trejo of Gruver, James Lucero of Lubbock and Alexander Mejia of Levelland.

TEEN TALK Join other teens Grades 6-12 and let your voice be heard to talk about the things that mat ter to you and to learn life skills on Dec. 8, 2022, from 7 – 8 p.m. Registration is required. Please call the Godeke Branch Library, 5034 Frankford Ave, at 806-775-3362 to RSVP.

MRS. CLAUS IS COMING! Join us and read stories with Mrs. Claus. We'll sing Christmas carols, take pictures, and serve cookies and drinks. This is an all-ages pro gram. The event will take place Dec. 17, 2022, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Patterson Branch Library, 1836 Parkway Dr.

LUMINARIA TEEN CRAFT Join us as we make Luminarias for the holiday season! Ages 12-17. The event will take place on Dec. 19, 2022, from 3 to 4 p.m., at Mahon Library, 1306 9th St.

FAMILY LEGO NIGHT Join us and use your imagination to create items made out of Legos! Legos will be provided. This program is for families with children ages 3 and up on Dec. 19, 2022, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Groves Branch Library, 5520 19th St.

LUBBOCK ISD HOLIDAY WINTER BREAK Dec. 22, 2022 - January 6, 2023.

QUINCEAÑERA CLASS Friday, De cember 30, 2022, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. The young lady and at least one parent needs to attend if you are planning to have a Quinceañera in 2023. Please call the parish office, 806763-4156 to register. Cost: $25.

FREE ONLINE MOVIES

FOR KIDS Did you know you can watch movies online through the library?!? We've got movies for all ages available through the OverDrive App (not Libby) or on the website lubbock.overdrive.com!

LUBBOCK YOUTH LEADERSHIP ACADEMY This group has great service and leadership programs for youth ages 1017 to participate in, focused in North and East Lubbock, but can come from all over the city. Marty can be reached at 806-535-5437 par enthood1@sbcglobal.net

OPEN FITNESS Avoid the unpredictable weather of high winds and too hot tempera tures. Use our fitness equipment to get fit! Treadmill, bikes and more! Ages 13+ (13-16 yrs. needs guardian) 3 p.m., M-F at the Trejo Center. Free.

TEEN HELP: Catholic Charities of fers FREE help for youth up to 17 years old struggling with negative behaviors, loss of self-respect, bullying, etc. Parents may call 1-800-530-4704 and make a confidential appointment.

Bustillos Selected for NASA's HAS Program

Michelle Bustillos, a junior at Levelland ISD High School has been accepted into NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars program.

According to their website the program is an authentic STEM learning experience for Texas high school juniors to engage with NASA’s missions and become the next generation of explorers. It is a yearlong commitment for Texas high school juniors with a four-month online learning experience related to space exploration, Earth science, technology, and aeronautics.

Highest achieving students receive an invitation to a five-day gamified virtual summer experience (Moonshot) mentored by NASA

scientists and engineers. During the virtual summer experience, students work in teams to plan an Artemis-themed mission to the Moon and Mars. Top teams from the virtual summer experience are invited to attend a two-day residential experience at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. HAS is an authentic learning experience for Texas high school juniors to engage with NASA’s missions and become the next generation of explorers.

Michelle is the daughter of Elda Bustillos and Efrain Bustillos of Levelland. She plans to graduate LHS in May 2024, and attend college to major in engineering.

Congratulations on behalf of Latino Lubbock Magazine!

Lubbock Girl Wins BGC Jr. Youth of the Year

The West Texas Area Boys & Girls Clubs held the Jr. Youth of the Year competition in Lubbock last month. Clubs from Amarillo, Permian Basin, Brownwood, Lamesa and Lubbock attended.

Jayda Morales who attends the Optimist Boys & Girl's Club of Lubbock won the West Texas Jr. Youth of the Year!

Distinct from the National Youth of the Year program, Junior Youth of the Year seeks to develop junior leaders ages 10-13 within the Club

environment. The program fosters Club members’ emerging leadership abilities while preparing them for later participation in the Youth of the Year program. In addition to recognizing the leadership achievements of Club youth, Junior Youth of the Year also cultivates their leadership potential, providing the foundation they need for advanced leadership development, academic excellence and postsecondary success. Congratulations from Latino Lubbock Magazine!

Create Your FREE Holiday Reading Digital Library

W

ith the holiday season upon us, if you aren't aware of it by now, let us make it clear to you: We have a reading epidemic in America!

Learning to read is a challenge for more than 40 percent of children.

As you will discover, there is time outside of school, during holidays and week ends, for children to read. One hour a day can make a huge impact on your reading skills.

To assure that all students have access to reading material, myON has partnered with Latino Lubbock Magazine, and Los Hermanos Fa milia to offer a free online digital library this holiday season!

Thousands of online digital books in English and Spanish can be accessed for FREE this holiday

season at www.losher manosfamilia.org.

Follow these simple instructions: Step 1: Go to: www.myon.com/li brary/browse.html Step 2: Enter School Name: Demo Region 12 Step 3: Enter User name: read22 Step 4: Enter Password: myon Step 5: Browse and enjoy thou sands of digital books this holiday and "read to grow!"

This is a free digital library that you can access online anywhere you go, or from home this holiday season. Or visit www.loshermanosfamilia. org/copy-of-read-to-lead-read-togrow for Little Library locations or go to www.loshermanosfamilia.org.

Food for Fines at Libraries

Lubbock Public Library us can pay off late fines by donat ing canned food at any library lo cation. Each can donated re moves a dollar of

your fine. Cans will be accepted at all libraries from Monday, Decem ber 2 through Sunday, December 8 at Mahon Library.

For more information, please call 775-2834, or online at www.lub bocklibrary.com

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS OBSERVED AT SCHOOL: Students at Carmona Elementary enjoyed the school-wide altar and learning more about Día de los Muertos. The students enjoyed learning about the observation.

(continued from p. 12) Pancho Clos Celebrating 50 Years

Passing the Reigns Since 1971, 48 years - Robert organized Pancho Clos. Upon his work retirement, he decided to also pass the reigns as the Pancho Clos organizer. This happened in 2019.

He felt it was important to keep the project connected to the originator’s families. As such, he asked Olga Aguero to take it on. And because Olga was involved in Fiestas del Llano, Inc. they adopted the program.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the normal way of doing things. That year, they did a drivethru turkey giveaway.

In 2020, Olga began a tough battle with cancer. The event was not held to its normal capacity. She passed on March 14, 2022.

The Event Pancho Clos is now preparing for his annual appearance. Annually many children line up with their parents for the chance to meet Santa’s cousin. This year’s visit will be Sunday, December 10, 2022, from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Maggie Trejo Supercenter, at 3200 Amherst St. All the kids can come to see Pancho Clos and get a bag filled with treats.

A special recognition will be read by the City of Lubbock, District 1 representative, Christy MartinezGarcia. In addition, families can expect the treat bags and the gathering of various volunteers to bring the event back to its normal capacity.

One year Olga Aguero invited Frank Garcia, of Latino Lubbock Magazine, to help. He volunteered a couple of times and said it was one of the most exciting experiences of his life.

“I was honored to play the role because I believe in Pancho Clos and I believe in serving the children and the community,” he said adding that

one of the visits was to an orphanage right before COVID-19 struck.

Currently, Vicente “Hos” Jimenez has been wearing the costume and has helped with the event since 2018.

Robert Narvaiz said that he personally never wore the Pancho Clos costume.

"It takes a very special person who is patient and good with kids,” he said.

Consider Los Hermanos Familia for Your End-of-Year Giving

Los Hermanos Familia (LHF) takes pride in its service to the community and holds a variety of events - including the "Vamos a Pescar, Let's Go Fishing" event; offers bilingual financial literacy, placed exercise equipment in a public park, advocates for Veterans, promotes cultural & arts events, and so much more!

"Our objective of Strengthening Families, Building Community is

realized with your support and each donation goes a long way," said Christy Martinez-Garcia, President & Founder. She said that those considering an end of year donation can make it at www.loshermanosfamilia.org/ end-of-year-donation .

"We are truly grateful and look forward to next year's efforts."

To learn more about the many projects and events donors can visit www. loshermanosfamilia.org .

This year, Zenaida Aguerro-Reyes, President of Fiestas del Llano, Inc., and daughter of Bidal Aguero is leading the project. She said that because 2020 and 2021 were not normal years for the event that they would be observing the 50-year anniversary in 2022.

“Last year would have been officially 50 years but since neither 2020 nor 2021 were traditional years, we decided to mark this 50-year tradition this year,” she said.

“This is a tradition that we can take pride in because it started in Lubbock and because it allows children to identify with the character,” said Narvaiz.

He further added that although the Pancho Clos figure has been adopted nationally, he hopes that local efforts will sustain the cultural connection and continue to appeal to the Hispanic community.

“I hope that Pancho Clos never becomes commercialized. I think then it will lose its understanding and impact. More so, we (Hispanics) will lose part of our identity.”

EDITOR'S NOTE ~ Christy Mar tinez-Garcia: I've had the pleasure of recording the history of the Panco Clos program for almost 16 years and I'm excited to share this article in Latino Lubbock Magazine. I have more stories and will continue to record it in years to come. Also, note that "Clos" is spelled correctly according to Robert Narvaiz. ¡Que viva Pancho Clos!

Important Numbers for Senior Citizens

AARP: 888-687-2277

Social Security: 800-772-1213 Medicare: 800-633-4227

TX Area Agency on Aging: 800-252-9240 2-1-1

▪

Latino

¡Felicidades! Congratulations!

Anniversary photos should include headshot of couple, years married, with date. THE FEE IS $25.

▪ Birthday photos can be included with a message.

▪ Birthday dates can be listed at no cost - limited to name and birthday.

▪ Graduation photos will be posted in the June 2023 issue.

▪ Quinceañera photos accepted monthly.

▪ Memorials listed in memorial page.

▪ Wedding Announcement - Please submit photo, name, number of years, and wed ding date. PLEASE, NO CELL PHONE PHOTOS. Anniversary, birthday, or special occasion photos may be submitted online by the 18th of each month, along with payment at www.latinolubbock.net/specialtyads.

Read us online at www.latinolubbock.net

Information and Referral Información y referencia 3-1-1 Information and Referral Información y referencia 4-1-1

Voting Information Información de votación

Latino Lubbock Magazine (806)792-1212 news@latinolubbock.net www.latinolubbock.net

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Maria Ojeda Lara December 17, 1971 May you have an awesome day!

It Feels Like Home

Linda Ronstadt Releases Book and Album

In Feels Like Home, Grammy award-winning sing er Linda Ronstadt effortlessly evokes the magical panorama of the Sonoran borderlands, a landscape etched by sunlight and carved by wind, offering a personal tour of the place where she came of age, built around meals and memories. Following her best-selling musical memoir, Simple Dreams, this book seamlessly braids together Ronstadt’s rec ollections of people and their passions in a region little understood in the rest of the United States. The granddaughter of Mexican immi grants, Ronstadt celebrates the marvelous fla vors and indomi table people on both sides of the bor der in this road trip through the high desert. Written in collaboration with Lawrence Downes and illustrated throughout with stunning photographs by Bill Steen, Feels Like Home features 20 recipes for traditional Sonoran dishes and a bevy of revelations for Ronstadt’s ad mirers, including never-before-seen family photos. If this book were a radio signal, you might first pick

it up on an Arizona highway, well south of Phoenix, coming into the glow of Ronstadt’s hometown of Tucson. It would be playing the old canciones, from a time when the border was a place not of peril but of possibility.

Linda Ronstadt was the first female solo superstar of our time. The first to pack arenas. The first to have five platinum albums in a row. The highestpaid woman in music. The Queen of Rock. When her album Heart Like a Wheel went to No. 1 on the pop charts, in 1974, it did so by overtaking Led Zeppelin and Elton John. When she won her sec ond American Music Award for favorite female pop artist, in 1979, she beat Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand. She had unusual range and crossover ap peal, and she was iconoclastic in her own way.

Her very distinct voice came out of the Sonoran borderlands, steeped in the ranchera music of her Mexican American upbringing. This is partly why, when she decided to try opera, she could hold her own as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. And it’s definitely why her first album of Mexican folk songs, Canciones de Mi Padre, is the biggest-selling non-English album in American history.

Ronstadt, now 76, was struck with Progressive Su pranuclear Palsy (PSP). The disease took her sing ing voice along with her fine motor skills.

The book and this album offer a personal tour of the memories and music of the region where Lin da Ronstadt came of age, and can be found at fine bookstores and online.

'Wednesday' Debuts at #1 on Netflix

Wednesday has summoned a new record for Netflix. The supernatural series drew a whopping 341.23M hours viewed in its first week on the streamer, soaring to the top of the TV charts.

It now holds the re cord for the most hours viewed in a week for any English-language TV series on Netflix.

Impressively, that beats Stranger Things 4, which previously held the title. At its peak, the first sev en episodes of Stranger Things 4 notched 335M hours viewed in their first full week on the service (and second week in the Top 10).

The current all-time record hold er is Squid Game with 571.8M hours viewed in its peak week on Netflix.

Wednesday has made its way into the Top 10 in all 93 countries that Netflix tracks, and it sits at No. 1 in 83 of them — a record

that is also shared with Stranger Things 4. According to Netflix, Wednesday has been viewed in more than 50M households.

Starring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, the series follows the character’s years as a student at Nevermore Academy, where she attempts to master her emerging psychic abil ity, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the murder mys tery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relation ships at Nevermore.

Christina Ricci also appears in the series, as well as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, Fred Arimisen and Isaac Ordonez. Wednesday is directed and ex ecutive produced by Tim Burton, with creators/showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar.

Top Hits for 2022

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022 was a big year for music and music videos, and YouTube officially unveiled on Dec. 1 its top 10 songs of the year.

Leading the U.S.-based list is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from the Encanto soundtrack, which also rocked the Billboard charts as it ruled the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for five weeks back in February.

It was also a big year for Latin music on YouTube, as both Bad Bunny and Karol G had two songs each on YouTube’s top 10 list. Bad Bunny‘s “Tití Me Preguntó” launched in at No. 4 while his Chencho Corleone collaboration “Me Porto Bonito” was No. 6. Karol G’s Becky G duet “Mamiii” came in at No. 7 while her sultry “Provenza” hit No. 9. Lil Baby’s “In a Minute” completes the top 10.

Bad Bunny has enjoyed another massive year across all platforms. The Puerto Rican rapper was, separately, named the top artist in Spotify’s year-end list, and his LP Un Verano Sin Ti was its most-streamed album.

BGC ALUMNI HALL OF FAME: The Lubbock Boys & Girls Club held its 16th Annual Alumni Hall of Fame Dinner November 4, 2022. This year’s inductees included (from l to r) Landon Willess, who attended the John Wilson Club; Joe Landin, former Optimist Boys Club member; and Ronald Givens, former Ted Phea Boys Club member. Congratulations from Latino Lubbock Magazine!

Poinsettias at Christmas

The Poinsettia is a Mexican Christmas Flower. com monly known as the Flor de Nochebuena.

In Mexico, you may see them as potted plants, but you'll also see them as decora tive plants in peo ple's yards, and they grow as perennial shrubs or small trees.

The shape of the poin settia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a sym bol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbol ize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity.

An old Mexican legend about how Poinsettias and Christmas came together, goes like this: There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no pres ent to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked to the chapel, sadly, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.

'Pepita', he said "I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him will make Jesus Happy." Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a a small bouquet. She felt em barrassed because she could only give this small pres ent to Jesus. As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flow ers were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena', or 'Flowers of the Holy Night'.

And on December 12th, we cel ebrate Poinsettia Day.

Forward in Chris

Here is some good news for us all. God is with us! Hope is alive and peace is available to ev eryone! These are gifts for us all through the birth of God’s son. Two thousand years ago, a child came into this world in a unique way. By the miraculous work of God, the virgin Mary conceived and gave birth to a son. This child was given the name Jesus, but he was also called Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” The virgin birth revealed Jesus’ unique nature. He was fully God and fully human, so he absolutely was “God with us” in our life in this world.

Jesus is God, graciously kneeling to meet us on our level in flesh and blood. He is God, humbling himself to come into our world of sin, pain, and brokenness. Emmanuel is God, with us, acting on our behalf, doing what we could not and would not do for ourselves. Having “God with

us” is life changing. Emmanuel is changing the world. Guilt, alienation, shame, and futility have given way to forgiveness, reconcilia tion, hope, and purpose.

Emmanuel has opened the way from decay and death to God’s re demption and restoration. Nothing is the same because God came in Jesus. Celebrate Emmanuel this Christmas: “God is with us”!

Joshua Ramirez is the Campus Pas tor of the Lubbock Dream Center and has been in ministry for 30 years.

Church Bulletins

OUR LADY OF GRACE CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Sat., December 3, 2022, 9 a.m. at the Parish Hall, 3111 Erskine St. To have a booth call (806) 763-4156.

WINTER WONDERLAND St. Patrick's Knights Of Columbus Council #15876, Dec. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. , at 1603 Cherry Ave.

OUR LADY OF GRACE CHRISTMAS SERVICES 3111 Erskine St. Sat., December 24th— Christmas Eve Vigil Mass - Children’s Christmas Play at 5:30 p.m. (English Mass). Sunday, December 25th 8:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

NEW CLASS OF FRANCISCAN ASSOCIATES will begin January 7, 2023, plan to join in spreading the spirit of St. Francis in the Diocese of Lub bock. Call Sister Patricia Esparza at (806) 863-4904 for more information.

ONLINE SAFE ENVIRONMENT

TRAINING Parish volunteers & staff remember you can take your safe envi ronment training through the diocese’s website at www.CatholicLubbock.org/ SafeEnvironment.html

LAS ESTACIONES Presented by Our Lady of Grace Church for per sons 60 years and older, meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Join for prayer, fun and fel lowship.

BIBLE STUDY AT OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CHURCH Father Piña’s Bible Study in Eng lish will be held on Wednes days, at 7 pm. at 1120 52nd St. El Estudio Bíblico en Español con Emilio Abeyta estará los Miércoles, a las 7pm.

YOUTH BIBLE STUDY at Our Lady of Grace, every Wednesday and Friday, 5:30 pm - 7 pm, at Buxkemper Hall, 3111 Erskine St.

DIVINE MERCY Chaplet online at https://www.thedivinemercy.org/mes sage/devotions/novena

PRAY THE ROSARY ONLINE at https://www. cathedralofmary.org/faithformation/resources/pray-therosary-online

UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES online at https:// catholicboard.com/

THE BIBLE ONLINE www.catho lic.org/bible/

EWTN NEWS https://www.ewtn news.com/

LATINO LUBBOCK MAGA ZINE ON STANDS AND ON LINE www.latinolubbock.net

Latino Lubbock Magazine is a Christian owned business

RECRUITING RIDERS: Some members of Los Seguidores de Cristo took time to pose for a group photo. The Christian bike club at Our Lady of Guadalupe invites bikers to join them. Meetings held weekly.

CHECK PRESENTATION: The Knights Of Columbus Council #11807 presented a $1,000 check to (l to r) Deacon Robert Cardona and Deacon Juan Cavazos for the Diocese of Lubbock Deacon Emergency Fund. Also pictured are Knights Mario Her nandez and Ernest Esparza.

FAITH JOURNEY: In celebration of National Vocation Awareness Week, Sr. Olivia Rico along with seminarians shared their stories about their discernment paths at the Snyder retreat.

Treasures of the Church

BY CHRISTY MARTINEZ-GARCIA FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE

An exhibit entitled “Trea sures of the Church” will be displayed at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Lub bock on Thursday, Decem ber 15, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. The exposition will in volve over 150 relics from every period of the Church’s history, including St. Joseph, the Twelve Apostles, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Francis of As sisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Maria Goretti, St. Thérèse of Li sieux (the “Little Flower”), St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope St. John Paul II, and Bl. Carlo Acu tis. The supreme highlight is some of the largest remaining fragments of Wood from the True Cross (the Cross upon which Our Lord died) and a piece of the Veil worn by the

Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Through their intercession and example of the relics, our church community will experience a Heavenly connection,” said Reverend Martin Pina, the priest of Our Lady of Gua dalupe.

He explained that this is a ministry of evangelization of the Catholic Church di rected by Fr. Carlos Martins, and its purpose is to give peo ple an experience of the living God through an encounter with the relics of his saints in the form of an exposition.

“Each exposition begins with a multi-media presenta tion on the Church’s use of relics that is scriptural, catechetical, and devotional, leading to a renewal of the Catholic faith for many people. After the teaching, those in at tendance have an opportunity to venerate the relics of some of their

favorite saints,” he said.

The veneration of relics is a communion with the heroes of our Christian faith, asking for their powerful intercession. Many people have reported out standing blessings and conver sions through this ministry, and many have reported healing. At tendees are encouraged to bring their articles of devotion (such as rosaries, holy cards, etc.) and pictures of ill friends/family members which may be touched to the reliquaries as a means of intercessory prayer.

The ministry travels throughout the world by invitation. To date, it has been hosted in over 200 di oceses in various countries. This is a free event open to the public. For more information, please call the church office at (806) 763-0710, or visit the website at www.treasuresofthechurch.com

Annual Nativity Celebration Community Invited to view over 100 Nativities

The Lubbock community will gather for a non-commercial celebration to start the Christmas season during the 12th Annual South Plains Nativity, to be held December 2-3.

Families from all faiths are in vited to come celebrate Christmas and enjoy music, art, and hundreds of Nativity scenes exhibited at the event. This community experience will start the holiday season of cel ebrating Jesus Christ’s birth.

The Nativity event will feature an exhibit of hundreds of nativities on loan from local collectors, set up in different themed rooms.

As in years past, music will be a large part of the Nativ ity event. Different church, community organizations, and school musical groups will provide live music for the entire fourday exhibit, with evening concerts held from 7-8 p.m. each night. This commu nity event will be open to the pub

lic and free of charge. The South Plains Nativity will be held daily from 1-9 p.m. Decem ber 2-3, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse located at 7014 Frankford Ave. in Lubbock. Parking is free, nothing will be sold, and donations will be accepted.

For a complete schedule of music and activities, visit lubbocknativity. org.

Ven a la Fiesta de la Natividad Anual

La comunidad de Lubbock se reunirá para una fiesta para iniciar la temporada de Navidad durante la séptima anual South Plains Natividad. De 2 de deciem bre hasta 3 de diciembre, las comu nidad de Lubbock de todas las reli giones pueden celebrar la Navidad a través de música, arte original, y cientos de belenes expuestos en el evento. Esta experiencia de la comunidad de Lubbock los traerá juntos para iniciar la temporada de celebraciones del nacimiento de

Jesucristo.

El evento Natividad contará con una exposición di cientos de nacimientos en préstamo de col eccionistas locales, en diferentes salas temáticas. Como en años anteriores, la música será una gran parte de los eventos de la Natividad. Diferentes iglesias, organizaciones comunitarias y grupos musicales ofrecerá músi ca en vivo para la exposición de cuatro días entera, con concier tos de 7-8 pm cada noche.

Este evento será abierto al pú blico y gratuita. La Natividad de South Plains se celebrará todos los días de 1 a 9 p.m. desde el 2 de deciembre hasta 3 de diciembre en La iglesia de Jesús Cristo de los Santos De Los Últimos Días ubicada en la Avenida de Frank ford 7014 en Lubbock.

Para un horario completo de música y actividades, o para in formación, visite lubbocknativ ity.org.

Homeless Person's Memorial & Candlelight Vigil

BY CHRISTY MARTINEZ-GARCIA FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE

In recognition of National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day, a Homeless Person's Memo rial & Candlelight Vigil will be held on December 21, 2022, at 6 p.m., at Dave Freriks Park, located at 16th and Avenue K. The event is held for the city's homeless citizens and affords them the chance to pay their respects to those who have lost their life and to be recognized on the longest

night of the year. More so, the event is organized to bring aware ness to the plight of the homeless in the city.

Each year since 1990 on, or near December 21- not coincidental ly, the first day of winter and the longest night of the year - home less service providers, in more than 150 communities across the country, conduct similar services to recognize the need for political advocacy and efforts to end home lessness.

FHLB Presents HAVEN Check to Local Veteran

U.S. military veteran Angel Flores has traveled the world as a member of the Marine Corps, the Army, and the National Guard before medically retiring in 2014. Mr. Flores’ years of service span 16 years from 1998 to 2014. During that time, he got married and started a family. He purchased a home after returning to his hometown of Lubbock, Texas.

His family, which includes a teenager and two adult children who work and attend school, endured nearly two years of extreme temperatures both hot and cold, without a working central heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system (HVAC).

“We relied on window units and space heaters for years,” said Mr. Flores. “This wasn’t an ideal solution, but that’s what we were

able to afford.”

Now, Mr. Flores has a new HVAC system thanks to a $10,000 Housing Assistance for Veterans (HAVEN) grant from First National Bank Texas (FNBT) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas).

HAVEN assists with necessary modifications to homes of U.S. veterans and active-duty, reserve or National Guard service members who became disabled because of their military service since September 11, 2001. Alternatively, the funds can be awarded to Gold Star Families that were impacted during this time frame for home repairs/rehabilitation.

First National Bank Texas is the sponsor bank. They are located in Walmarts.

SPDDS Gives Update on Dental Treatments

he South Plains District Dental Society (SPDDS) announced that over $47,000 of dental treatment was donated to area veterans through their Everyone for Veterans program and local veteran resource coordinators to help connect Veterans in need, to dental offices who donated their services pro-bono over the course of the year.

The group launched the program last year on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2021, to help close access to care for low-

income combat veterans who do not qualify for VA care.

Among the participating dentist include Dr. Ryan Higley, Dr. Jordan Payne, Dr. Kevin Shively, Dr. Mary Glasheen, Dr. Blake Johnston, Dr. Tanner Gregory, Dr. P'Jay Merrell, Dr. Summer Roark, and Dr. Garrett Chappell.

If you are a veteran and are interested in our program, please contact Norm Bearden, Panhandle and South Plains Veterans Resource Coordinator, at 806.282.1146.

news@latinolubbock.net by the 18th before the preceding month

Veteran & Military Connection

DATES TO REMEMBER

▪ Pearl Harbor Day - Decem ber 7

▪ National Wreaths Across America Day - December 17th, 9 am Wreath Laying, 11 am Ceremony at the Lubbock County Cemetery.

PURPLE HEART SOUTH PLAINS OF TEXAS CHAPTER MEETINGS 3rd Saturday at 110 a.m., at American Legion, 6628 66th St, in Lubbock. For more info call Steve Oien at (707) 592-4598.

VETERAN SUICIDE HOTLINE If you know someone is actively considering suicide, call the veterans' suicide hotline at 1 (800) 273-8255. It's a service rendered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

DISABILITY.GOV This U.S. federal government website gives information on disability programs and services.

It helps find information on how to ap ply for disability benefits, find a job, get health care or pay for accessible hous ing. www.disability.gov

HELP OUR MILITARY HEROES is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the military wounded with fully equipped handicapped vehicles. www. helpourmilitaryheroes.org

7TH ANNUAL VETERAN'S PARADE: Some Veterans Parade particpants took time to pose after the Veteran parade held down Broadway. Their were over 55 participant groups, cars and motorcycles displaying their support for area Veterans including a 21 gun salute, and a the American flag displayed by the Lubbock Fire Department. Thank you to all the volunteers and spectators!

PURPLE HEART RECIPIENTS PARTICIPATE IN VETERAN PA

RADE: Some Purple Heart Recipients Honorees participated in the first Veteran's Day Parade held Nov. 12, 2016. Purple Heart Recipients are honored and commemo rated for their extraordinary sacrifices. Thank you for your support!

NORTH LUBBOCK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION will have a Come and Go Christmas Gathering at 3200 Amherst St. Maggie Trejo Supercenter, Thursday, Dec. 15th from 5:30-7:30 PM. Bring your favorite Christmas snack to share and celebrate the Holidays! All are invited.

HEART OF LUBBOCK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING meeting are the 2nd Monday of each month, 7 pm, at the Hope Shalom, 2005 Ave. T.

2-1-1 NON-EMERGENCY QUESTIONS 2-1-1 is a free help line answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which will link you to health and community services.

NEXTDOOR allows you to keep up with your neighborhood at https://nextdoor.com/ news_feed/

3-1-1 CITIZENS CALL CENTER provides citizens with direct access to Non-Emergency City Services.

NEXTDOOR allows you to keep up with your neighborhood at https://nextdoor.com/ news_feed/

DO YOU HAVE A STORY? NEWS?

Submit your story online at www.latinolubbock. net/have-a-story For more info call (806)7921212.

Heat Your Home

Tips for a Safe, Warm Winter

Most injuries from fires in volving heating equipment occurred when the user was asleep or when a child under 10 was left unsupervised with the equipment, ac cording to data re leased in Septem ber 2009, from the National Fire Protection Associ ation (NFPA). Por table electric heaters should be used according to the manufacturers' instructions so that injuries can be avoided. Follow these simple and important safety tips when using portable electric heaters:

1. Read the manufacturer's in structions and warning labels be fore using your portable electric heater.

2. Do not leave an operating heat er unattended and always unplug heater when not in use.

3. Do not use your heater with a power strip or extension cord. Overheating of a power strip or ex tension cord could result in a fire.

4. String out cords on top of area rugs or carpeting. Placing any thing, including furniture, on top of the cord may damage it.

5. Keep combustible materials, such as furniture, pillows, bed ding, papers, clothes and curtains at least three feet from the front of the heater and away from the sides and rear. Do not block heater's air intake or outlet.

6. Keep flammable materials, such as paint, gas cans and match es, away from the heater.

7. Unless the heater is designed for outdoor use or in bathrooms, do not use in damp or wet areas. Parts in the heater may be damaged by moisture.

8. Check peri odically for a secure plug/outlet fit. If the plug does not fit snugly into the outlet or if the plug becomes very hot, the outlet may need to be re placed. Check with a qualified electrician to replace the outlet.

9. Unplug the heater when not in use by pulling the plug straight out from the outlet. Inspect the heater's cord periodically. Do not use a heater with a damaged cord.

10. Do not plug any other electri cal device into the same outlet as your heater. This could result in overheating.

11. Heaters should be kept away from children and not be placed in a child's room without supervision.

12. Place heater on a level, flat surface. Only use heater on table tops when specified by the manu facturer. Do not place your heater on furniture. It could fall, dislodg ing or breaking parts in the heater. For more information or to order a free portable heater safety bro chures in English and Spanish on line at www.heatersafety.org or by calling (888) 785-SAFE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT: The Purple Heart Chapter of the South Plains joined in as organizers helping Los Hermanos Familia host their 7th annual Veter an’s Day Parade in Lubbock on Saturday, November 6. The theme for this year’s parade was “You Are Not Alone”. Collectively, advocates and participants of all backgrounds united to pay tribute to Veterans and all who have served the community. Make plans to be a part of next year's parade will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2023. For more information, visit www.loshermanosfamilia.org/get-involved.

Clean Hands Save Lives

eeping hands clean is one of the most im portant steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. It is best to wash your hands with soap and clean running water for 20

Kseconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy Birthday” twice through to a friend! However, if soap and clean water are not avail able, use an alcohol-based product to clean your hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast acting.

Manos limpias salvan vidas

Parece que apenas estábamos celebrando el año nuevo y ya esta mos haciendo lo otra vez. Y ape nas acabe de pagar las comparas del año pasado. En aquellos días los chiquitos nos conformábamos con muñequitas y ropita, trasteci tos para cominear, pelotas a mis hermanos, calcetines, guantes para las manos, etc. Ahora ya no hay de eso. Ahora quieren celu lares nuevos, juegos electrones, pantalones todos descoloridos y todos rotos. Si yo hubiera sabido todo esto cuando yo era teenager, hubiera alzado esos pantalones. Pero para nosotros lo que re cibíamos era lo mejor. Ni cuenta nos dábamos de lo pobre que

estábamos. No extrañábamos lo que nunca habíamos tenido. Ahora de adultos gastamos todo en los nietos/nietas, sobrinos/so brinas. Lo que si extraño es que ya no nos reúnenos como antes. Ahora todos tienen sus reuniones con sus familiares en sus propias casas, haciendo memorias de sus familias. Gracias a Dios por teléfonos celulares porque cada familia pueden gravas sus reunio nes y compartir con los demás. Feliz Navidad todos mis famili ares y amigos.

Editor's Note: Rosario Montez Smith grew up en un rancho in Levelland, and enjoys sharing her memories of living in rural West Texas.

Mantener las manos limpias es uno de los pasos más impor tantes que podemos tomar para evitar enfermarnos y transmitir los gérmenes a otras personas. Lo mejor es lavarse las manos con agua corriente limpia y jabón por 20 segundos. ¿Necesita un cronó metro? Imagínese cantar "Feliz Cumpleaños" dos veces a través de un amigo! Sin embargo, si el agua limpia y

jabón no están disponibles, uti lice un producto a base de alco hol para limpi arse las manos. Manos a base de alcohol para frotar a reducir significativamente el número de gérmenes en la piel y son de acción rápida.

Juan Antonio Escamilla, Jr., 66, of Lubbock, went to be with his Lord and Savior on November 14, 2022. Juan was born on July 12, 1956, in Lubbock, Lubbock County, Texas to the late Juan Antonio Es camilla, Sr., and Amalia (Romo) Escamilla. He served two tours of duty with the United States Army, from 1973 to 1976 and from 1978 to 1982, when he was honorably dis charged. While in the Army, he served in the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions, helping protect the border in Germany. He met Estella Contreras, and they were united in marriage on January 1, 1997, in Lubbock.

Juan was a truck driver for 35 years, retiring in 2019 due to ill health He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church.

Survivors include his wife, Estella; two sons, Isaac Escamilla of Lubbock and Eric Escamilla of New Jersey; one daughter, Amii Escamilla of Lubbock; one stepson, Delshan Martinez of Lubbock; one brother, Manuel Escamilla of Lubbock; three sis ters, Linda DeLeon (Porfirio) of Sugarland, Ermelinda Castillo of Houston and Elsa Orosco (Ramon) of Lubbock; five grand children and 2 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.

ISABEL M. LUNA

SR., 96 of Lubbock passed away No vember 1, 2022. He was born November 5, 1925, in Gonzales, Texas to the late Pedro and Simona Luna. He was married to Josep ha Carrion in 1943 she preceded him in death in 2013. He worked for Hamilton Acoustics as an acoustics ceil ing installer for many years. Isabel was a hard worker all his life and enjoyed working in his yard most of the time. He also enjoyed listening to music, especially conjunto mu sic. He was an avid guitar player and en joyed playing along with his friends and rela tives. He also loved his dog by the name of “Orejas” who accompanied him everywhere he went. However, his greatest joy in life was being with his family. He will forever be in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

He is preceded in death by his loving wife Josepha Luna; his parents Pedro and Si mona Luna, a son Ysabel Juan Luna Jr., a grandson Vito Luna; and two great-grand daughters Mena Moseley, Jasmine Luna. Those left to cherish his memory are his two sons, Felipe Guzman and wife Socorro of Aurora, Illinois and Joe Luna and wife Oralia of Lubbock, eight grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and five great greatgrandchildren.

SGT. RAMON LOPEZ FLORES, 66, of Lubbock passed away on November 11, 2022. He was born August 15, 1956, in Slaton, Texas, to the late Pedro and Ali cia Florez. He was a graduate of Petersburg High School. Ramon joined the United States Marine Corps and proudly served his country during the Vietnam War. Ra mon reached the rank of Sergeant during his service and served until his honorable discharge on June 11, 1981. On February 18, 1983, he married Juanita Garcia in Lub bock, Texas.

He was a talented man and had many skills such as being an auto mechanic, carpen ter, electrician, and plumber. He loved life and in his spare time, he enjoyed listening to Tejano music, bowling, and playing pool. His family will always remember how great he was at grilling/barbequing and will miss watching the Dallas Cowboys games with him. He is preceded in death by his parents Pedro and Alicia Florez and twin brother Raul Flores.

Those left to cherish his memory are his loving wife, Juanita Flores; sons Ramon Flores Jr. and Michael Flores; daughters Becky Florez, Cynthia Ramirez, Amanda Falcon, Melonie Falcon, Jennifer Falcon, and Adrianna Falcon; 26 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

PETRA GONZALEZ VALADEZ,96, passed away on November 13, 2022, at the age of 96. She was born December 4, 1925, in Matamoros Tamau lipas, Mexico to the late Felipe and Benita Gonza-lez. On October 12, 1952, in Dr. Gonzalez, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, she mar ried her beloved hus-band, Guadalupe Valadez. They shared almost 67 years of life together before he preceded her in death. Petra was a devoted housewife, fulltime mother, and friend to many. She was a mem-ber of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church where she served as Guadalupana for many years. She was also a Minister of Communion and taught meditation classes for several years.

Petra is survived by her daughters Irma Va ladez Garcia (Mario), Ime Valadez, Norma Valadez Trevino (Jerry), her son Guada lupe Valadez, Jr. all of Lubbock, TX, and numerous grandchil-dren, great-grandchil dren, and great-great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her hus-band Lupe, her parents, and her siblings.

Johnny Joe Martinez, Feb. 17, 1962 to Dec. 22, 2011

We continue to miss you and think of you.

We love you and you are forever, in our hearts.

Always on our minds and in our hearts.

Love Your Family & Friends

MANUEL REY

NA, III, 55, of Lub bock, Texas, passed away on November 6, 2022. He was born February 13, 1967, to Manuel Reyna and Guadalupe Albiar in Lubbock, Texas. Af ter Manuel graduated from Lubbock High School in 1985, he attended South Plains College and later graduated from The Lubbock Police Acad emy. He married Loli Guerra on August 10, 1991. In 1989, he joined the Lubbock Police Department, serving in many divisions and retiring in 2013. That same year he joined the Lubbock District Attorney’s office as an Investigator and later ended his career in law enforcement in 2019.

During his lifetime Manuel was honored with many awards and commendations. Of the many he received, the recognitions reflecting his service to others were the ones he held most dear to his heart. He was recognized as the Big Brother of the Year by the Big Brothers Big Sisters Orga nization in 1999. He received the Unsung Hero Award as the Officer of the Year for the Lubbock Police Department in 2002. Manuel was also selected as one of the Top 20 Hispanics in Lubbock in 2009 by Latino Lubbock Magazine.

In addition to protecting the community, Manuel volunteered, mentored, and served many local organizations such as the local Boys and Girls Club of America, Big Broth ers Big Sisters, Tomorrow’s Leaders, and Open Door. He was a man of great faith, having served as a deacon and youth di rector for Colgate Bilingual Church of Christ for 17 years and continuing to serve the Lord at Quaker Avenue Church of Christ. In addition to his parents, Manuel, Sr., and Guadalupe, Manuel leaves behind his beloved wife, Loli, of 31 years; daughters, Christian and Ashley; a son, Aaron; and a grandson, the apple of his eye, Mason. He also leaves behind two sisters, Mary Alice (Ray) Infante and Sylvia Ann (Raymond) Constancio, as well as his family of inlaws: mother-in-law, Angelica Guerra; two brothers-in-law, Eloy (Gracie) Guerra and Sergio (Kam) Guerra; and sister-in-law, Grace Guerra. Eleven nieces, three neph ews, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins are also left to mourn Manuel.

Edward Lee Hinojosa,58, passed away from this life on November 2, 2022. He married Susie Garcia on August 7, 1982, and they shared 40 years together. He was born July 4, 1964, to Valdemar and Bertha Hi nojosa. Edward was a machine operator at Pavecon Construction. He en-joyed music, Harley Davidson bike riding, and spending time with family. He was a fan of the Denver Broncos and Houston Astros.

Edward is survived by his wife Susie, his father Valdemar, his sons Nathaniel, Ed ward Jr. (Vic-toria) and Estevan Jose (Samantha), his sisters Mary Sanchez, Carmen Hinojosa, and Maycie Badillo, and three grandsons, three granddaughters He is preceded in death by his mother Ber-tha Hinojosa and his brother Refugio Hinojosa.

Rene (Ronnie) Ontiveros Villegas, 52, of Lubbock died on November 24, 2022, after a pro longed battle with COVID-19. Born to Daniel and Mary Lou Villegas Sr., he graduated from Lub bock High School in 1988, and joined the US Navy, and later, served in the United States Marine Corps. Upon honorable discharge, he returned to Lubbock, where he met the life-long love of his life, Jenni fer. After attempting a civilian job, realized that he belonged in law enforcement, fol lowing the footsteps of his father, a retired Lubbock Police Officer. He worked for the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office where he served as a deputy, overseeing the reentry program. He was involved in the Homeless Consortium, Drug Court, and Honor Guard and was passionate about helping people transform their lives re gardless of their circumstances and past choices.

Ronnie is survived by his mother, Mary Lou, his wife, Jennifer, children Harli, Alexis, Monica, and Michael, grandchil dren Bristol, Julia, and Wyatt, as well as siblings Daniel Villegas Jr., Patricia Rome ro, and Dawn West. He was preceded in death by his father Daniel Villegas Sr. and cousin, Frank Valdez.

JOHN LOPEZ HERNANDEZ ,77, died on November 17, 2022. He was born January 19, 1945, in Slaton, TX to Bartolo and Dolores Hernan dez. He married Irene Hernandez on De cember 15, 1996, and they shared 26 years together. He was a machine operator at Farmers Co-Op and a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church. John enjoyed cooking barbecue and being with his family. He adored his grandchil dren and great-grandchildren. He loved music and joking around with everyone. John is survived by his wife Irene; his chil dren Leonard Hernandez (Yolanda), JoAnn Jabalera (Vidal), and Sandra Tijerina; six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; and his sisters Geneva Torres, Maria Tor res, and Pauline Valdez. He is preceded in death by his parents Bartolo and Dolores Hernandez and his brothers Manuel and Jose Hernandez.

In Loving Memory

Fidencia "Frances" Castro Dec. 27, 1928 to Jan 21, 2014

I miss you. I dream of you. I long for the day we reunite. Happy Birthday my darling grandmother!

Love Always, Christy MartinezGarcia

In Memory of Monsignor

Curtis T. Halfmann May 27, 1934 - December 2, 2012

There once was a flock that was lost and afraid It wandered around without direction for days.

But the Lord looked down with compassion from above and sent a good shepherd to lead them with love. He taught them about the blood of the Lamb and about the creator, the great I AM. Thank you for leading the flock Safely into God's Prom ised Land.

Another year, still a tear, remaining in our hearts near and dear. We miss you.

In Loving Memory on Your Birthday

Julia Garcia 12/28/34 to 7/9/14

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky, Hundreds of shells on the shore together, Hundreds of birds that go singing by, Hundreds of dew drops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees on the cotton flower, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over. And you are mine. I miss you mom.

Love, Frank Garcia - your son

December Prayer

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Almighty God, I give honor and praise to express my joy for thy great love in the gift of thy Son, Jesus Christ. With a glad heart I wish all mankind "A merry Christmas," and may I ever remember, where the an gels sang, "Peace on earth, good will toward men." Amen.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. " ~ Isaiah 7:14

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NOTE: American Flag displays that the individ ual was a veteran.

Pic The Gallo ¡Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad!

"Canciones"

Meet Pico the bilingual gallo (rooster). He loves school, he likes to read, play outside and discover ways to have fun and make friends. Now it is time for Pico to enjoy the Christmas holiday with familia (family). His prima (cousin) is visiting from South Texas. Her name is Jita la Gallita (little hen). Together they will enjoy being with family, making tamales, signing Christmas Carols, and listening to cuentos (stories) about past Christmas memories.

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There is always a piñata for the children filled with fruits, nuts, candies and small toys. One after another, blindfolded stick wielders swing wildly until one finally succeeds in breaking it. This custom originated in China, but Christianity added its own meanings. Although they now come in every form imaginable, the traditional piñata was spherical with seven conical protrusions trailing paper streamers which represented the Seven Deadly Sins. Its destruction symbolizes the defeat of Satan himself and the treats are the rewards of that moral victory.

"La Pinata" "Pico Claus"

"Making Tamales"

Jita is ready to continue the family tradition at her their tamalada! Do you help make tamales with your family? Send pictures to news@latinolubbock.net

is ready to deliver gifts to boys and girls.

Jita likes singing Christmas Carols & to the Virgen de Guadalupe on Dec. 12th