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AUGUST 2011
ARIZONA EDITION
Fall Arts Preview
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National Tour of West side Story Photo © Joan Marcus, 2010; ASU gammage
Journal of the American Latino Dream
22
Volume 7
{August 2011}
Issue 12
68
Fall arts preview
Creative forces are coming out of summer indolence to bring Valley residents a plethora of options in the arts
Reshaping the state
Luis Heredia, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party, on the importance of redistricting
42 7 8
From the editor The arts abound in Arizona
41 Movin’ up Lujan joins The Foster Group and ASU Prep
Academy Phoenix; Cárdenas and Molera on board with O’Connor House; Arceo heads up sales and marketing at Casino Arizona
¿Será posible?
The Chastity people are coming to Arizona for old times’ sake
12 LP journal Firefighter for Phoenix City Council; SiTV now
nuvoTV; Arizona missed the wood-to-energy boat; Obama misses NALEO but makes up for it
45 Entrepreneur Alicia Mendoza of LearningBee Products
words and art team up
47 Briefcase Del Rio Area brownfields to go away, with a
little help from EPA; budget cuts threaten DWA; sun and science; HOV wants vets to help vets
21 Rincón del arte Adriana Yadira Gallego, visual artist
51
Career
Police officer Gabe Vasquez, K-9 handler with the Glendale Police Department
57 Education education is a path to prosperity; check AoutSTEM a watt meter at your local library; GCU 61 Health
Bad water is better than no water at all
64 Time out
The Mount Lemmon Marathon is the only uphill run in the U.S. – and some say the toughest
Richard Hansen, associate director in MCC’s Center for Workforce Development, on the national, portable Skill Certification System
On the cover: Alfredo Ramos Martinez, Mancacoyota, 1930. Oil on cardboard. Collection of Andrés Blaisten. Modern Mexican Painting from the Andrés Blaisten Collection at Phoenix Art Museum, through Sept. 25.
Those who serve
scholarships for transfer students
gets creative to inspire kids to read
16 Vibe Mixing it up at TCA; Wickenburg’s memories;
55
67 P.S.
Not forgotten: Rubén Salazar
Coming in September: 7th anniversary issue www.latinopm.com
¡ August 2011!
Latino Perspectives Magazine
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WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP REUNION WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 9-11
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602 462 4795
¡! from the executive editor
August 2011 Publisher/CEO Ricardo Torres Executive Editor/COO Cecilia Rosales, Ph.D. Editor Rosa Cays
Arts and culture for all By Cecilia Rosales, Ph.D.
Art Director Charles Sanderson Contributing Writers Catherine Anaya, José A. Cárdenas, Dan Cortez, Richard Hansen, Luis A. Heredia, Robrt L. Pela, Stella Pope Duarte, Georgann Yara Director of Sales and Marketing Carlos Jose Cuervo Advertising Account Executives Grace Alvarez and Barry Farber Special Events Nicholas Fierro Webmaster Jorge Quintero
Contact Us
www.latinopm.com 3877 N. 7th St., Ste. 200 Phoenix, Arizona 85014 602-277-0130 Advertising: sales@latinopm.com Editorial: editor@latinopm.com Design: art@latinopm.com
Subscriptions For home or office delivery, please send your name, address, phone number, and a check for $24 to Latino Perspectives Magazine at the address above. Subscriptions also available for credit-card purchase by calling 602-277-0130. Visit www.latinopm.com/digital for a free digital subscription.
It may be a while before autumnal weather makes its way into the Valley, but as the leaves on Aspen trees to the north change color, local arts and culture groups are in full gear prepping for another eventful and vibrant season. Our Fall Arts Preview provides a sneak peek at some of the offerings presented by large established arts organizations as well as small community groups. Eclectic, diverse and accessible, the programming ahead evidences the resiliency of our arts community – and the promise of a much-needed, positive impact on the state’s economy. The national organization Americans for the Arts estimates that over 11,000 arts-related businesses exist in Arizona and employ over 47, 000 people. But arts and culture also generate indirect revenue: Even during difficult economic times, people still seek inspiration, entertainment and enlightenment. ASU Gammage reports that beyond the box office, the 2010-2011 Broadway Across America stop in Arizona injected more than $35 million to the local economy. The good thing is you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy a good concert, play or exhibit. Even those on very tight budgets can partake in the arts with free or reduced admissions. If looking for a great deal is a turnoff, do not fret. Culture Pass is back, and showup.com is the energy behind this fantastic project. It allows library cardholders to check out a Culture Pass for free admission for two people at participating venues such as the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona Science Center, SMoCA, Phoenix Zoo and more. Learn more about this opportunity and review participating libraries and venues at showup. com. Enjoy the season!
Latino Perspectives Magazine is published 12 times a year and is selectively distributed throughout Arizona. The entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Latino Perspectives Media, LLC, all rights reserved, and may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher.
www.latinopm.com
¡ August 2011!
Latino Perspectives Magazine
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¡! ¿Será posible?
And the beat goes on, babe By Robrt L. Pela
The Chastity people are coming.
Later this month, a small group of people who are obsessed with the motion picture Chastity – the 1969 stink bomb featuring Cher’s first dramatic role – will descend upon Phoenix, where the movie was shot. They’re coming from as far away as Rhode Island and Florida, but they swear they’re “not just Cher fans,” but rather people who love this B movie after which Cher’s daughter, now her son, was named. “We’re coming to Phoenix to sort of retrace Sonny and Cher’s steps when they were making the movie,” says Bendi Sak, the organizer of this search-for-Chastity adventure. “We’re going to spend the first day looking at all the Phoenix locations from the movie, and then the second day we’re going to hunt down all the locations that we call Fake Mexico.” Fake Mexico. Apparently, the budget for this film – written, produced, scored and bankrolled by Cher’s then husband of sorts, Sonny Bono – was so small that the many scenes that take place in Mexico were actually filmed right here in Phoenix. Shot 15 years before Cher’s real film career began with an Oscar-nominated turn in Silkwood, Chastity bankrupted Sonny and Cher, whose long string of mid-’60s hit records had dried up and who were now trying to break into the movie business. In Chastity, Cher is morose and sarcastic and perfectly dreadful to behold in the title role, yet it’s impossible not to watch her, a captivating stone peeking out from under pounds of grayish makeup and yards of false eyelashes, mouthing Sonny’s
Your thoughts? Tell us what you think. Send your thoughts to editor@latinopm.com 8
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inane dialogue and occasionally bursting into tears. More entertaining than the so-bad-it’sgood movie itself is the fun of watching a pre-rhinoplasty Cher drifting through Phoenix circa 1969. Here she is, abusing some poor slob in front of Macayo’s Mexican Restaurant; there she is, picking up a guy in front of Los Olivos Hotel; hassling a biddy in St. Mary’s Basilica, and ripping off a patron at the Malco gas station at 16th and Roosevelt streets. Although he appeared that same year in an anti-drug documentary, Sonny had to have been smoking something while he penned the chaotic script for this slice-of-psych road movie. Chastity is the meandering saga of a hitchhiking teen, played by a stringy-haired, 23-year-old Cher, who runs away from home and winds up in Phoenix. Chastity, who suffers from schizophrenia and bad dialogue, wanders through town, talking to herself, smoking joints and stealing money from sweaty men. She swipes a car and drives to Mexico, where she visits a Tijuana cathouse. She has a brief fling with the madam (a thrillingly dreadful Barbara London), who dresses Cher in a baby-doll nightie and chases her through Encanto Kiddieland, which apparently looked like rural Mexico to Sonny’s location scout. Chastity returns to Phoenix, suddenly recalls having been sexually molested by her father, causing her to collapse in a heap alongside Dysart Road. The Chastity clan takes all of this very seriously. They’re also more than a little hush-hush about their late-August
Latino Perspectives welcomes feedback from readers regarding published stories or topics of interest. Please include your name and phone number. Mail letters to Editor, Latino Perspectives, 3877 N. 7th St., Ste. 200, Phoenix, AZ 85014. Or, e-mail letters to editor@latinopm.com.
plans, which they briefly made public but now consider a private affair. “We had a Facebook page for awhile,” Sak says, “but we had to take it down, because we were getting hits from all these Cher fans who were, like, wanting to talk about her Vegas show or her new boyfriend or whatever. We’re more about the movie. We’re Chastity fans, not necessarily Cher fans.” They love this movie in spite of the fact that it’s perfectly terrible, bombed at the box office, and almost didn’t make it to the screen at all. But Sonny eventually swung a deal with B-movie schlock house American International Pictures (AIP), which dumped Chastity onto the market in late spring 1969. In an attempt to save the picture after a more-than-slow opening weekend, AIP printed a movie poster with Cher’s head grafted onto the body of a more buxom lass, but to no avail. Even with a bigger bosom, Chastity was dead. Chastity was Sonny and Cher’s final attempt at playing counterculture hippies, an image they jettisoned in favor of the slicker, more network-friendly personas they sold in the ‘70s. It’s amusing to watch them take one last shot at dissidence before packing it in and selling out, and even more fun to watch Cher traipsing through our sunny ‘60s backyard in beatnik threads, pretending Phoenix is Guadalajara – a trend that the Chastity fans who are headed here at the end of this month plan to revive, if only for a weekend. As Sonny Bono might have said in 1969, “Far out, man.”
Editorial mission statement Latino Perspectives creates community, cultivates cultural pride and provokes, challenges and connects Latinos who are defining, pursuing, and achieving the American Latino Dream.
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Conversation starters from the world around us
12 LP Journal
Firefighter for city council; just say “nuvo”; Obama makes up for NALEO
19 Anaya says
What matters most you can’t take with you
21 Rincón del arte
Adriana Yadira Gallego, visual artist
i say... They’re saying I’m single.
—Marc Anthony, jokingly, during a concert in Bogotá, Colombia. He and Jennifer Lopez recently announced the end of their seven-year marriage
Art by Vicente Telles. Image Courtesy of Tempe Center for the arts
Gov. Brewer declares recall election date. The AZGOP stands firmly behind Senator Pearce and his relentless work... —AZ Republican Party Twitter feed on July 13, 2011
Don’t do anything stupid.
—BBC’s newly revised social media guide intended for news reporters, editors and employees
page
16
Mixing it Up: Building a Chicana/o Identity opens next month at Tempe Center for the Arts. Among participating artists is Vicente Telles of New Mexico, whose work is inspired by santos, retablos and comic book heroes. www.latinopm.com
I don’t know if there’s a cloud name for where I am right now. —Christian Lopez, who caught Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit
¡ August 2011!
Latino Perspectives Magazine
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¡¡!!
LP journal
The personal is the political: a handwritten note from Randy Parraz, cofounder of Citizens for a Better Arizona, and an excerpt from Gov. Brewer’s letter in a mass email, with regard to the recall of Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce
Fighting fire with Valenzuela Glendale firefighter Daniel Valenzuela hasn’t said much about the Latino community in his bid for a seat on the Phoenix City Council. If elected, the division manager at the Glendale Fire Department – who’s running against Charlie Ellis, Eric Sloan and Brenda Sperduti – says he’ll put Phoenix neighborhoods first and will focus on issues of employment and public safety. But Valenzuela may not need to stump for Latinos, although his winning a seat would mark the first time two Latinos served simultaneously on the council. If his early support is any indication, Valenzuela is a shoo-in. Recent Phoenix campaign finance reports in his race to replace longtime District 5 Councilman Claude Mattox, who is running for mayor, suggest that the married father of two has raised more campaign funds than his running mates. And a Facebook-driven, door-todoor election campaign is 12
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getting a lot of attention from Valenzuela’s virtual supporters, who like to remind voters that he’s a member of the Maryvale Village Planning Committee, a founding member of the Glendale Firefighter Charities, and sits on the board of the Labor’s Community Service Agency, a Phoenix social service organization that helps find shelter for the homeless. While the candidate isn’t blatantly courting the Hispanic vote, he isn’t hiding his ethnic pride under a barrel, either. Valenzuela is current president of the National Association of Hispanic Firefighters,
Daniel Valenzuela www.latinopm.com
and would be representing predominately Hispanic District 5 neighborhoods in Maryvale and Central Phoenix. Still, Valenzuela is working the concerned firefighter angle rather than focusing on issues of ethnicity. In several Facebook posts, he reminds volunteers to stay hydrated while they’re out campaigning for him in the hot summer sun.
Just say nuvo In what it’s calling a “bid to pursue a wider, bicultural Latino audience,” the Latino-centric, Englishlanguage cable channel SiTV changed its name last month to nuvoTV – as in “new voice.” It’s still too early to tell what sort of difference this expensive change has wrought, especially since the network’s programming has changed very little. The network is banking on a difference of a few million – viewers, that is. While it’s looking to reach 30 million households by the end of the calendar year, it’s already seen
by 27 million. So why go to the trouble for a negligible increase of one-tenth of SiTV’s already established viewership? Here’s why: Because an increase to 30 million viewers would make the network eligible for Nielsen ratings status, and therefore make the channel more appealing to potential advertisers. “We no longer want to convey a sense of exclusivity to our viewers,” Rafael Oller, the network’s senior vice president of marketing, says of the network’s rebranding efforts. “The bicultural Latino audience is broader and it’s made up of a lot of fourthgeneration Latinos.” These are people, Oller says, who are less likely to watch a television network that’s Latino-specific or has a Spanish-language name – even while they’re drawn in by ethnic, culturally relevant programming. And yet the main reason for pursuing an expanded bicultural Latino audience is little more than good marketing sense that will presumably lead to those
LP journal bigger numbers, but not more relevant programming. nuvoTV will target the nation’s growing Latino population, one that’s increasingly more familiar with U.S. culture and less tied to old traditions. Its secondary audience, Latinos born in the U.S. who exclusively speak English, will apparently find something to like in shows like Latino 101, but even this everythingyou-wanted-to-know-aboutHispanics comedy does little to forward the national conversation about the fastgrowing Latino population. It’s too bad that nuvoTV didn’t revamp its programming along with that name change. The network’s lineup continues to be dominated by such shows as the Model Latina franchise, a Project Runwayinspired reality series with four separate versions in rotation, each of them set in a different Hispanic-friendly city. And Adrenalina!, an extreme sports competition that airs three nights a week. Chances are that, with programs like this, viewers of every nationality – at least those looking for something substantial from their television – will continue to say no to the former SiTV.
Service announced its award of close to $3 million in grants to 17 small businesses and community groups. The funds were allocated for the development of new woodto-energy projects by these independent companies and grassroots organizations. The fallout, the service hopes, will be expanded regional economies and new jobs for fuel engineers and other experts. The grantors aren’t at liberty to say whether any Arizona groups applied for the Woody Biomass Utilization Grant, although it scarcely matters: Our foresting industries have suffered such setbacks that a post-Wallow project dependent on anything woody seems unlikely. Awardees whose community isn’t reeling from a colossal forest fire will process woody material removed from their forests in bioenergy facilities to produce
green energy for heating and electricity, and nearly $8 million in matching funds will allow them to plan for future processing facilities. “Biomass is a vital part of America’s clean energy future as we work to decrease our dependence on foreign oil,” according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Projects like these will help grow regional economies, create new jobs and improve and protect our environment. We will need architects and engineers to design these plants, skilled laborers to build them and well-trained technicians to operate them.” And trees. Lots of trees. Which Arizona has fewer of these days.
The return of el presidente? He missed the 28th annual convention of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) this past June in San Antonio, but President Barack Obama may have redeemed himself in the eyes of Latino
Wither thou, woody biomass? It’s a painful irony that Arizona is not among the list of states that recently received grant money from the USDA Forest Service. While the Wallow Fire was still sweeping through Eastern Arizona in June, devastating endless miles of ancient growth, the Forest www.latinopm.com
¡!
voters with an historic, twoday White House conference on Hispanic policy. Neatly titled “Winning the Future: President Obama’s Agenda and the Hispanic Community,” the two-day conference brought together national Hispanic leaders and White House and Cabinet officials for a series of interactive workshops and lectures on how the president and his administration plan to address the concerns of the national Hispanic community. Among the elected officials was Arizona State Rep. Ruben Gallego, who met with policymakers to discuss issues such as better access to quality health care, education reform and updating the national immigration system. “It’s the politics of a loselose situation,” Gallego says, about why it may have taken the Obama administration so long to host a Hispanic-specific conference. “If he doesn’t pay attention [to Latinos], he doesn’t like us, and if he does pay attention to us, he’s pandering. I do appreciate his attention to the Hispanic community. We are being paid attention to.” (Read Gallego’s guest op ed on the topic on page 15.) It’s anyone’s guess what the impact of the conference will be, but coupled with Obama’s May visit to the U.S./Mexico border and a well-received address made in a subsequent trip to El Paso, Texas, it will perhaps go a long way toward calming fears that el presidente will continue to overlook the concerns of the Hispanic community and the pressing need for immigration reform. Time will tell.
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80 paintings by 45 of Mexico’s leading artists drawn from one the world’s most important private collections.
Now On View | PhxArt.org/ModMex
LP journal
¡!
A trip to Washington Obama has not forgotten about U.S. Latinos By Rep. Ruben Gallego
I had the pleasure of attending the first-ever White House Hispanic Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. this past July. The two-day event brought together Latino leaders from across the United States in a wide variety of fields. The cornucopia of leadership was gathered not just to be informed of how great the Obama administration has been to Latinos, but also to hold the administration accountable. Topics covered were as varied as the participants. Latino businessmen, nonprofit leaders, politicians, journalists and union representatives made up the invitees. In my brief time in politics, I have attended many political dog-and-pony shows. I willingly go to the events because in the end, I can glean good information and meet more allies. This one, however, required me to fly across the country (on my own dime) and crash on my friend’s couch. This was not appealing, but my skepticism was quickly washed away after talking to several friends who were also attending the conference. What ensued was the closest thing I have ever seen to political speed dating. In a matter of 20 minutes, we met officials from almost every department of the executive branch. Each official started with an explanation of what programs their departments were conducting and how they affected or benefited the Latino community. After introductions, the officials took questions. Some questions were hostile, but to their credit, while the slings and arrow were being tossed, the department officials kept their cool and answered the best they could. The Hispanic leaders in attendance were clearly action oriented. It made me proud to hear intelligent, thought-provoking questions from a wide array of experts. Intricate questions on housing policy, education and health care made me think that many of the attendants will one day be heading these executive departments. The leading topic among attendants was the Dream Act. We spoke passionately with the administration about the immediate need to pass the Dream Act or anything similar. We acknowledged awareness of the Republican block in Congress, but demanded that the White House continue to push for legislation. Still, many of the Hispanic leaders expressed frustration with
the administration. Some asked the president and his advisors to be more aggressive and advocate stronger for his and our policies. The conference was winding down, but of course, we had to have a closing meeting. At this point, my energy was zapped. I had zero patience for more speeches and platitudes. But that changed the moment President Obama walked into the room. State Rep. Ruben Gallego (D, District 16 The crowd of drowsy Latino leaders quickly leapt to their feet. The president reiterated his commitment to the betterment of the Hispanic community. He recognized the failure of not being able to pass comprehensive immigration reform and the Dream Act, but committed to continue fighting for both. He also asked us to help him in the fight by going back to our communities and lobbying our senators and representatives. The conference goers were energized by Obama’s speech. In 2008, the Hispanic community helped elect the president. From my observation of the 150 leaders at the conference, that sentiment has not gone away. While many are disappointed in the slow progress of the administration, the frustration stems from the high hopes we have from this administration. The White House policy conference was a great way to rekindle a strong relationship between the Hispanic community and the administration. State Rep. Ruben Gallego (D, District 16) sits on the board of Valley Citizens League, the Children’s Museum of Phoenix and South Mountain Community College governing board. Ruben is the son of two Hispanic immigrants, a Harvard graduate and a veteran of the Iraq War. www.latinopm.com
¡ August 2011!
Latino Perspectives Magazine
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vibe
Nuestras memorias
Mixing it up at TCA
The Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce has released
Opening next
month at Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA) is Mixing It Up: Building a Chicano/a Identity. The art exhibit includes the works of over 40 artists. Among them: Maya V.G. got her Green Card by Isabel Martinez González, San Francisco, Calif.; Tlisza Jaurique, West Haven, Conn.; Gaspar Enríquez, El Paso, Texas; Vicente Telles, Albuquerque, N.M. Representing Arizona are Manuel R. Burruel, Mónica Aíssa Martínez, Martín Moreno, Tony Olvera, Larry Yáñez and Frank Ybarra. Also included are works by Mexican masters José Guadalupe Posada and José Clemente Orozco. ¿Qué tal? This exhibit is a collaboration with the Hispanic Research Center at ASU. On view September 17 through January 28, 2012. TCA is located at 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway; admission gratis. Visit tempe.gov/tca for more.
a new book entitled Wickenburg Hispanic Pioneer Families: Nuestras Memorias. The chamber’s executive director Julia Macias Brooks, a fifth-generation Arizonan and descendant of a pioneer family, is the author of the book. The book includes never-before-published vintage photographs and pays homage to the homesteaders who established cattle ranches, worked the area mines, founded the town’s first school and St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. Available at select area bookstores and from the chamber’s visitor center. Don’t make it to Wickenburg very often? You can also order a copy of the book at wickenburgchamber.com. Wickenburg Hispanic Pioneer Families: Nuestras Memorias By Julia Macias Brooks ISBN 978-0-9790814-1-5 160 pages. Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce. $25.
Get more Vibe at www.latinopm.com
Art and words Head on over to the ASU Art Museum in Tempe and
enjoy the family-friendly Words of Art: Selections from the ASU Art Collection. See how the written word is teamed up with visual arts and enjoy hands-on activities for niños y niñas and the young at heart. The show runs through September 3 and admission is free. Go to asuartmuseum.asu.edu for hours and more information. Dugout of the Century by Alfredo Manzo Cedeño, 1999. Papier-mâché, 12-by-42 inches
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Among the works on display is Dugout of the Century, a papermaché sculpture by Cuban artist Alfredo Manzo Cedeño (19642010). In Dugout, the artist depicts Fidel Castro as the manager of a dream baseball team made up of famous ballplayers. Fidel is easily recognizable by his gray beard, but can you identify Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio or Roberto Clemente?
images courtesy of TCA; Collection of ASU Art Museum
¡!
Pocho keen Vibe
Arizona best fest
¡!
photo By Kerrick James; courtesy of city of prescott
Like peachy keen, pero different Get the puck outta here, vato When I was a kid, I thought I was
Best Fests – which one’s the bestest? With the state centennial upon us,
Prescott is in high gear prepping to become the first of the state’s three territorial capitals to host the Best of Arizona festival. The Best Fests will showcase the best of what the state and the respective host cities have to offer. Scheduled activities include educational pavilions around the themes of history, sports, natural resources, science, military and Arizona storytellers; three cultural villages celebrating the rich cultural history of Arizona, specifically the Native American, Hispanic and Western cultures of our state. In addition, the festivals will include the “AZ100 Arts Show,” featuring artisans and crafters from across the state, plus the “Best of Culinary Tour” of local restaurants, wineries, microbreweries and homemade/homegrown edibles. Also in the works is a film festival, a main stage with a lineup of nationally acclaimed local talent and a Family Fun Zone, where kids can have fun and learn about Arizona’s past, present and future. The Best Fest Prescott takes place downtown September 16–18; Tucson’s Best Fest is November 11–13, 2011, and the Phoenix fest is on February 10, 2012. Visit az100years.org for updates, to volunteer or to participate as a vendor. Which one will be the best Best Fest? Place your bets!
going to become a professional hockey player. The moment of clarity, or naïveté, occurred when I scored a goal – and I was the goalie. OK, so it was a shortened, outdoor basketball court at the Peoria Boy’s Club (back in the day before they let girls in). We converted the basketball court into a hockey rink, if you could call it that, and had our own league. When you “checked” someone, they didn’t crash into a wall, they landed on the street, and we would all yell, “Car!” I was ready for the big time at just 11 years old. I worshipped Bobby Orr, the Boston Bruin great. I wanted to be known as Little Bobby Oro. So, I had to hurry up and learn how to ice skate. But growing up in Peoria, Arizona, meant there was one key ingredient of the sport missing: ice. The only places you could find ice were Tastee Freez and the 7-Eleven. That meant I had to save money and trek to Metrocenter – back when it had an ice skating rink and was considered the “it” mall. Once I got to the rink, as I laced up my ice skates, I quickly sensed something was wrong. Standing on blades was not as easy as Orr made it look. I stood up, wobbled and waited for an opening onto the rink as everyone whizzed by me. Most of the skaters were girls! How the heck did they stand, let alone whiz by? Finally, I hit the ice – with my face, my butt, my chest and every other part of my cold, little body. I must have fallen 10 times in as many minutes. I was scared and defeated. The laughter seemed to echo throughout the mall.
Fast-forward to the NHL finals this past June. I was rooting for the Boston Bruins, but felt a huge rush of pride watching Raffi Torres (who is now a Phoenix Coyote) score the only goal in the Vancouver Canucks’ victory in game 1. He almost led the Canadians to their first Stanley Cup. Years earlier, I rooted for Anchorage native Scott Gomez, the only other Mexican American besides Torres playing in the NHL. During the 1999-2000 season, Gomez was voted the top rookie in the league while leading the New Jersey Devils to victory in the Stanley Cup final. Ironically, as a kid, Gomez couldn’t skate either. My fate might have been different if my dad had found work on the Alaska Pipeline in the ‘70s like Gomez’s father had, or if my dad would have kept driving our Chevy station wagon past Arizona and on to Canada, where ice is plenty and hockey is their baseball. Interestingly, both Gomez and Torres faced discrimination on the ice. An opposing player called Gomez a “spic,” and a fan once shouted that Torres should be selling tacos instead of playing hockey. When his father heard this, the fan was checked – hard. Things are different today. More and more Latino kids are playing the sport, even though a lack of access to ice is still a barrier. Today, they have Polar Ice; back then we had concrete. Who knows if Scott Gomez and Raffi Torres would have made it to the NHL if they hadn’t grown up surrounded by ice where hockey rules. If not, I’m sure they would have been great at something, like baseball. Or even floor hockey.
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PLANNING IS YOUR BEST PROTECTION AGAINST THE UNEXPECTED We are in the business of helping our customers get back where they belong when the unexpected happens.
SPECIALIZING IN Life and Business Hablamos español 18
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480.544.5704 Maria Nixon
10443 N Cave Creek Rd. #113 Phoenix, AZ 85020
Vibe Happenings at Phoenix Art Museum
¡!
Anaya says
photograph © 2009-2011 jamey stillings
What matters most
asdf The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge at Hoover Dam
The Bridge at Hoover Dam It is at the intersections of nature and the hand of man that the greatest visual, philosophical, environmental and political energy exists. At these intersections, we discover something important about ourselves and our relationship to the world. —Jamey Stillings Photographer Jamey Stillings first
encountered the bridge at Hoover Dam in March 2009, when he began a multiyear journey of documenting its creation. The Hoover Dam Bypass Project called for the construction of a bridge to improve traffic and safety around the dam and was opened to traffic in 2010, standing as the longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. Stillings’ photo essay provides an intimate perspective of the bridge’s construction in a series of breathtaking photographs. The images are magical in their harsh contrast and dramatic lighting and give the desert landscape an extraterrestrial quality by comparing the structure’s monstrous scale to the construction workers and natural surroundings. This exhibition opens on August 13 at Phoenix Art Museum and is on view through December 4. For admission information and a complete exhibition calendar, visit phxart.org.
By Catherine Anaya
I don’t know if it’s my growing
older or my kids growing taller, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the next 30 years. God willing, that’s about the number of years I unscientifically figure I have left on this earth. Once upon a time, that seemed like an eternity. But when I think about how quickly the first three decades of my life flew, I’m ever more certain the next 30 years will pass just as quickly. I can practically hear time ticking, and I find myself frequently wondering how and with whom I’d like to spend the rest of my life. In the year before he died, my father-in-law would take my then 3-year-old son to a weekly baseball class. Afterward, they would go to the neighboring airpark to watch the planes take off and land. It was their thing, just the two of them. My father-in-law and I were very close. I confided in him and loved him as if he were my own father. He was diagnosed in 2006 with lung cancer, which seemed so cruel, given that he hadn’t had a cigarette in 30 years. He lived eight more months after his diagnosis. He was 70 years old. In his last days, he made sure to squeeze my hand and tell me that he loved me like a daughter, even though his son and I had already divorced. I will never forget that. Nor will I forget the last moments of his life. I don’t know what he and his wife talked about in private, but while I stood beside his hospital bedside, I didn’t hear him brag about the money he made as a
VP of a major corporation. I didn’t hear him recount the places he visited. He didn’t talk about the fabulous dinners he cooked. He asked for his loved ones: his children, his siblings, close friends and extended family. He called out for his “babies,” my children, by name. Often when I start to feel overwhelmed, I force myself to stop and think about that moment and how at the end of this very special man’s life, it wasn’t what he did in life, but whom he had in life that seemed to matter most. Just a few weeks ago, my now 8-year-old son was listening to a country song about airplanes. My daughter said it was her favorite. My son said he liked it, but it made him sad. I asked him why. He replied, “Because it reminds me of Grandpa and how he used to take me to watch the planes after baseball. I loved that. I miss him so much.” He was just 3 years old when they shared that weekly experience! But even at his young age, that precious little time left a poignant, lasting memory. How will I spend the next 30 years? This I know for sure: I will do my best to create memories like those – the only sure thing, I believe, we can take with us. Catherine Anaya anchors CBS 5 News weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 10 p.m. She is the mother of two, a marathon runner and motivational speaker. Reach her at canaya@kpho.com, connect with her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
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rincón del arte
¡!
Liberation, strength and resistance Adriana Yadira Gallego, visual artist
Arizona, Adriana Yadira Gallego has been creating art since 1993. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing, and complemented her studies through the New York Arts Program, Universidad de Guanajuato, the Alternative Museum and Golden Artist Colors Working Artist Program. She shares a studio with fellow artist Claudio Dicochea. Gallego’s work has been in national and binational exhibitions including the National Museum of Mexican Art, Tucson Museum of Art, Museo de Arte e Historia, Mesa Contemporary Arts and Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson. She received the Border-Ford Binational Painting Award and has been published in several books including Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art and Triumph of Our Communities: Four Decades of Mexican American Art. Gallego has received numerous commissions for murals and published works, and has maintained a parallel program of lectures and public speaking engagements. She currently paints in Arizona, where she continues to work as an artist, arts administrator and arts educator.
Describe your art/genre: Ideas about liberation, both at an intimate and social level, have long been a concern in my work. This often leads me to use a visual language that is highly symbolic and deeply connected to a civil rights aesthetic and feminist viewpoint, with sensibilities born out of my upbringing alongside the U.S./ Mexico border: the paintings are representational and tethered to allegory. Growing up in Nogales Arizona-Sonora, I learned early on that la linea stretched beyond geographic boundaries; that in fact, its effects resonated deeply as impressions in the human
spirit and psyche. These early observations on border phenomena led to an examination of power and duality through my work, reconciling spiritual consciousness with physical reality and social constructs. My artwork is a meditation on strength and resistance.
Website:
adrianaclaudio.com
Art that inspires: Many works of art inspire me across all disciplines and time zones. A few contemporary Latina artists whose work I respect include Dulce Pinzón, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, Margarita Cabrera, Sylvia Ji, Ana Teresa Fernandez, Adriana Garcia, Xochitl Gil, Cristina Cardenas, Michelle Angela Ortiz, Gabriela Muñoz and Mary Jenea Sanchez.
At left: Centaura Below: Manifiesto
Artist you want to meet: I want to meet the next generations of brazen Latina artists.
Work that inspires: A solid, good cumbia rhythm is the work of art that best gets me through the day.
images courtesy of the artist
Born and raised in Ambos Nogales, Sonora-
Help us highlight the local arts Send information to editor@latinopm.com. www.latinopm.com
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21
Man
Arts
Childspl
Center ASU
Clemente Oroszco
Rufino Tamayo
Blue
Diego Rivera
music
Arizona
Chamber
Outdoor Friday
Dia
los
de
di
Center
Festivals
Symphony
symphony
Stage
West
Dance
Ensemble
ALAC
Concerts
um
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North
Heard
choir
Opera
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Bravo
Faust
Creole
ummer is winding down in most places in the country, but not in Arizona. It’s still hot and humid, and with school back in session, most family vacations have come to a halt. But not to worry; plenty of art, activities and entertainment are in the works, right here in the Valley of the Sun. The fall season marks the time of year when cooler temperatures serve as a wake-up call for the arts scene, when everyone can finally emerge from hibernation over the inactive summer months and get their creative juices flowing again. Fortunately, the wide breadth and depth of arts opportunities available offers truly something for everyone. Whether the craving is for a Brazilian beat or the bouncy tunes of one of the world’s hottest country crooners, a visual journey of a time past or sampling wine or mercado wares, this fall is packed with plenty of diverse adventures that bid adiós to summer and ¡Hola! to autumn. Latino Perspectives is pleased to share a mere sampling of what the next several months have to offer. >> 22
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Audiences
Mendes
Muertos
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Sérgio
Fiesta
Third
Angelo
Glendale
Dance
Tempe for the arts
Center
Pops
Performing arts
Dance
Music
Readings
Poetry
Art
By Georgann Yara
Gammage
John
Mesa
around the world
activities
Scottsdale
Legend
Arts
Art
Faust
Sant’
art
Group
Teatro
Museum Arizona Poetry Museum
Trumpets from
Chandler
Exhibition
visual
Side Story Theatre Scottsdale Dance xican Museum ALAC Ballet Museum Giorgio
Food Season
Arts
Michael
Christie ALAC
Goodyear
Celebration
Performance arts
Symphony
entertainment
Herberger
Phoenix
Artists
Orchestra
Poetry
Sculpture
Santana
Music
recitals
Opera
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Theater
Scottsdale
Preview
Fall Friday
enix
ALAC Roosevelt row
Pavilion
Frida Kahlo
Desaign
First
Music Fashion Culture
Brazilian Company
hythms
Theatre
Ali Ewoldt and Kyle Harris in West Side Story, coming to ASU Gammage, Sept. 27-Oct. 2
Stage Many twists and turns can be taken with the theatre selection offered this fall, with productions taking a fresh approach to classic tales or finding a way to stay faithful to a tried-and-true tale through a new presentation. Teatro Bravo looks to maintain its prominence in the state’s Latino performing arts by kicking off its season at Playhouse on the Park at Viad Corporate Center with the stage adaptation of the life of Frida Kahlo, Sept. 23, 24, 30, and Oct. 1, 2, 7, 8. This production will feature puppets, an art gallery and the story of the pain and passion of this acclaimed and legendary Mexican artist. The Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) brings a new twist to an old favorite character in Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club, Oct. 1330. This thriller brings the world’s most famous detective to life in a mysterious murder tale. Next up, ATC presents God of Carnage, Nov. 17-Dec. 4. This comedic
Photos, pg. 20: © joan marcus; pg. 21, clockwise from top left: by john kane, courtesy of Scottsdale center for the performing arts; courtesy of phoenix art museum; courtesy of kirsten everberg; courtesy of ASU herberger institute for design and the arts
hit was the 2009 winner of the Tony Award for Best Play. Center Dance Ensemble revives the story of Anne Frank in The Attic, which will headline the program “There is a Time to Dance” at the Herberger Theater Center Oct. 13-16. And the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company honors Arizona’s Centennial on Nov. 1, with Mr. Conservative, the story of Barry Goldwater. Actors Theatre’s season kicks off with A Conversation with Edith Head, an intimate portrait of the legendary Hollywood costume designer, Sept. 16-Oct. 2, followed by last season’s off-Broadway hit Next Fall, Oct. 28-Nov. 13. Both productions will be presented on Stage West at the Herberger Theater Center. For a twist on the traditional stage performance, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts presents Pilobolus, Oct. 21-22. With its origins as an outsider dance company, for 40 years this troupe has amazed audiences with its gravitydefying displays of balance, contortion and illusion. For a healthy dose of political humor, the center will host The Capitol Steps, featuring Washington, D.C.’s sharpest political comedians, Nov. 25-26. Phoenix Theatre presents Spitfire Grill Oct. 5-23. This musical about second chances follows an ex-con who, upon her release from prison, travels to a small Wisconsin town to find a place where she can start over.
ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts presents Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit. Directed by Andres Alcala; opens Oct. 7.
Sant’ Angelo gets his first-ever museum retrospective, Sept. 17-Feb. 12, 2012. This exhibition highlights the late American designer’s ingenuity and includes more than 40 ensembles and accessories spanning the late 1960s through early 1990s, and provides a stunning overview of his influence and legacy.
Pilobolus performs at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 21-22.
In Tempe, ASU Gammage presents West Side Story, Sept. 27-Oct. 2, directed by none other than the creator of this classic book and musical, Arthur Laurents. This Broadway production won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. Next, Gammage hosts the everpopular Blue Man Group, Nov. 1-6, as they bring their dazzling theatrical show combining comedy, music and technology that result in an unforgettable, unique form of entertainment.
Visual
arts
Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder? Maybe, maybe not. However, artists would prefer viewers make that decision for themselves. A variety of exhibitions on the horizon will not only provide a feast for the eyes, but in many cases, will also give the mind something to chew on. The Phoenix Art Museum hosts the U.S. debut of Modern Mexican Painting from the Andres Blaisten Collection thru Sept. 25. Drawn from the world’s most significant private collection of Mexican art, the exhibition presents a stunning, definitive look at Mexican art created in 1910 to 1950. The collection includes works by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo and Clemente Orozco. And in the Ellman Fashion Design Gallery, Giorgio di
Equilibrio by Manuel Gonzalez Serrano, 1944. Oil on cardboard. At Phoenix Art Museum through Sept. 25 in Modern Mexican Painting from the Andrés Blaisten Collection.
The Mesa Arts Center will start the 2011-2012 season with Handlebars & Guitars, Sept. 9-11. The festival will include a motorcycle and car show, food and drink, demos in the art studios and a live performance by World Classic Rockers on Sept. 10. Also at the center, Six-String
Theater (Orpheum) by Kirsten Everberg, 2010. Oil and enamel on canvas. On exhibit in Kirsten Everberg: Looking for Edendale at SMoCA Oct. 29-Jan. 8.
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Masterpieces runs Sept. 9-Dec. 4 and includes contemporary visual arts, tattoo artists and musicians on Dean guitars; Radical Rides: The Art of Motorcycles runs Sept. 9-Jan.9, 2012; and Easy Ridin’ and Hard Rockin’ AZ Style: Arizona Art Inspired by Motorcycles and Music runs Sept. 9-Dec. 18. At the Heard Museum North, California Dreamin’: Reflections on Land and Culture features a wide variety of paintings, etchings and ceremonial regalia and pays tribute to the artists of central and northern California. The pieces featured carry the heritage of many small, diverse bands of indigenous people whose lands were seized by soldiers, colonizers and gold seekers from the 1700s through the 20th century. This exhibition is on display through Nov. 13. Examine how Chicano/Mexican artists are influenced by cultures of both the United States and Mexico with Mixing it Up: Building a Chicana/o Identity, at the Tempe Center for the Arts, Sept, 17-Jan. 28, 2012. This exhibition was produced in collaboration with the Hispanic Research Center at ASU.
Sergio Mendes will perform on Nov. 5 at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts.
Music The triple digits of summer may still linger, but they are not as intimidating to musicians, who start to come around, now that the evenings are starting to cool down. Indoor and outdoor concerts representing 24
Latino Perspectives Magazine
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Arizona Theatre Company presents Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club Oct. 13-30.
just about every genre abound, and lineups provide a multisensory experience for everyone, from the modern music fan to the opera lover. The cool sounds of John Legend and Sade Sept. 2 at the US Airways Center will help chill things out and kick off Labor Day weekend. For those who prefer acoustic music with a little edge and the occasional touch of melancholy, Ray LaMontagne will churn out his latest album, God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise, at the Comerica Theatre (formerly known as Dodge Theatre) Sept. 14. Out west, Carlos Santana is expected to dazzle crowds with his gift for guitar playing, as he has for decades, at the Ashley Furniture Homestore Pavilion (formerly known as the Cricket Wireless Pavilion) Sept. 18. And on Oct. 22, country megastar Taylor Swift will have audiences singing along and tapping their toes at Jobing.com Arena. The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts hosts Trumpets from Around the World, part of the ASU Concerts at the Center, Sept. 26. Also at the center on Oct. 29, the Creole Choir of Cuba, descendents of Haitian slaves who have inspired worldwide audiences with their harmonies and jubilant dancing. Presented in conjunction with La Gran Fiesta: A Celebration of Latin and Hispanic Culture at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, former Brasil 66 frontman Sérgio Mendes will perform
works from his 50-year career on Nov. 5, including tunes from his most recent release Bom Tempo, which highlights his mastery of authentic Brazilian rhythms. For those who prefer the emphasis on the instrumental, legendary flautist R. Carlos Nakai will perform with Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Keola Beamer Oct. 9, at the Music Instrument Museum. At the Chandler Center for the Arts, the Chandler Symphony Orchestra presents its free pops concert Sept. 9. Further west, the Damocles Trio will perform Sonoran chamber music Sept. 11, at the Tempe Center for the Arts. This lakeside concert coincides with 9/11 events being held that day. On the classical side, The Phoenix Symphony kicks off its 2011-12 season with a bang as Virginia G. Piper director Michael Christie conducts Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9,” Sept. 15 and 17, along with Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” in memory of 9/11. Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony takes audiences on a playful romantic journey through the composer’s most popular piece, “Symphony No. 4,” Nov. 25 and 26. The Arizona Opera returns for its 41st season with the production of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci Oct. 7-9. This duo shocked 19th-century audiences with their realistic and gritty portrayal of the
Ballet Arizona’s world premiere of Cinderella, performed with The Phoenix Symphony Oct. 20-23. Choreography by Ib Anderson, music by Sergei Prokfiev.
Photos, pg. 22 left to right: courtesy of scottsdale center for the performing arts; photo by ed flores, courtesy of ATC; photo by tim fuller, courtesy of ballet arizona; pg. 23: courtesy of xico, inc.
Chandler-based Xico, Inc. is expanding its programming and offering a variety of workshops
human condition. And for the first time in more than 20 years, the classic and haunting tale of a man’s battle with the devil for his soul over the basic human emotion of love comes to the operatic stage in Gounod’s Faust, Nov. 11-13.
Youth There is no shortage of family-friendly entertainment opportunities in the Valley, as several productions prove that the theatre and museums are not just for grown-ups anymore. Tempe Center for the Arts is the venue for Childsplay productions that take little ones on wild and humorous adventures right from their theatre seats. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Sept. 11 and Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 17Oct.16, follows a spunky mouse named Lilly who loves her brand new purse, but it gets her into trouble at school. The Sun Serpent, in which new and old worlds collide in this visually stunning story of the conquest of Mexico, runs Oct. 29 and Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 13. A family gets a surprise when they move into their New York City apartment and find a saxophone-playing, juggling crocodile in their bathtub in the holiday production of Lyle the Crocodile, Nov. 19 and Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 24. On Sept. 23, Ballet Under the Stars, also at the Tempe Center for the Arts with no admission fee, showcases
a combination of classical and contemporary works in a casual setting and often features the debut performance of works created as part of the children’s Class Act program. Everyone’s favorite Latina heroine comes to Valley Youth Theatre Oct. 7-23, in Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer Live: Dora’s Pirate Adventure (Musical), with her best buddy Boots the Monkey, her cousin Diego and the rest of her friends as they embark on an exciting trip to Treasure Island. See what’s up at the Art of the Warner Bros. Cartoons exhibition at the Arizona Museum for Youth, Sept. 30Jan. 22, 2012. This colorful collection is a comprehensive overview of the legendary Hollywood animation studio that gave birth to characters that have become part of American folklore, like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. Ballet Etudes continues its annual tradition of Nutcracker at the Chandler Center for the Arts Nov. 25-28, and Dec. 2-4. This popular holiday production features skilled and talented young dancers ages 9 to 18.
Festivals Few events appropriately usher in the transformation to the cooler seasons than a festival. Weekly farmers markets start to reappear, giving shoppers the opportunity to browse and sample in relative comfort. But festivals are events that take this experience to the next level, offering
In November, museums and organizations throughout the Valley will host Día de los Muertos celebrations and exhibits
the casual pedestrian a multisensory experience in one neat little venue. The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts presents an actionpacked weekend of Latin music, dance, food and fun with La Gran Fiesta: A Celebration of Latin and Hispanic Culture, Nov. 5-6. Go on a journey that celebrates the rich vibrancy of Mexico, the Caribbean and South America, all without a passport. Admission is free and includes performances by Arizona’s top Latin bands, activities for all ages, a mercado designed for your shopping pleasure and authentic food and drinks. In Mesa, Día de los Muertos: Spirits Connect takes place Oct. 30-31, at the Mesa Arts Center. This two-day event is held in conjunction with the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix, Friends of Mexican Art and the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens. The event is complete with a community altar, live music and performances, food, children’s activities, and a mercado featuring an assortment of Day of the Dead merchandise that includes jewelry, arts and crafts. Head downtown for the second annual Herberger Theater Festival of the Arts, Saturday, Oct. 1. This afternoon event will feature performances in all three theatres, live music, food, Arizona artists, information booths represented by a variety of arts organizations, interactive activities for children, film festival shorts and more. Get your indie on at the Arizona Underground Film Festival at four different venues in Tucson, Sept. 16-24. This annual nine-day movie extravaganza explores the industry’s edgier side with films representing a variety of genres, including narrative, horror, documentary, experimental, animation and exploitation. For a slightly more sophisticated vibe, there’s the Arizona Wine Growers Festival at the Farm Nov. 18-19. The Farm at South Mountain venue provides the perfect backdrop for two days of celebrating the state’s burgeoning wine industry. Sample and purchase Arizona vino, mingle with winemakers, participate in events and workshops and take home a souvenir glass. www.latinopm.com
¡ August 2011!
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CALA Festival The Arts and Culture of the Americas come to life By José A. Cárdenas
that can be expressed only as stories, or songs, or images.” These words from Dana Gioia, the former chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, capture the essence of what the Celebración Artística de las Américas (CALA) Alliance hopes will happen this September, as the vibrancy of Latin American culture comes to life with the start of the first biannual CALA Festival. Over the course of this two-month, valley-wide celebration, audiences and participants of all ages will be treated to theatrical and musical performances, to film festivals and workshops, to the paintings of some of the 20th century’s greatest artists as well as to delectable culinary offerings and to many other artistic and educational events showcasing the richness of the arts and culture of the Americas. In Tempe, Childsplay will present the “Sun Serpent,” which tells the story of the conquest of Mexico through the eyes of an Indian child. The Phoenix Boys Choir will host the Schola Cantorum, a children’s choir from Mexico. And the West Valley Fine Arts Council will present Alturas, Bolivian musicians playing traditional Andean instruments. Scottsdale’s already tremendously successful Gran Fiesta will provide great Latin music, food and other fun activities. Other Metro Phoenix arts and culture organizations will present works directly related to CALA’s mission, which is to educate and inspire all Arizonans about our rich Latino cultural heritage. For example, the Musical Instrument Museum will present 26
Latino Perspectives Magazine
¡ August 2011!
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Painter Juan Chawuk, a Tojolobal Maya from Chiapas, Mexico will present workshops at ALAC in October.
two events, a documentary film and a concert, focused on the Brazilian composer, the father of bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim. The Phoenix Art Museum will continue to host Mexican Modernism, 80 paintings by some of Mexico’s most famous artists, including Maria Izquierdo and Diego Rivera. Other activities include special screenings in Scottsdale of Latin American films complete with lectures and workshops involving the filmmakers, actors and directors. In fact, education and other outreach activities for children and adults alike are a primary focus. Activities range from school projects such as the Diego Rivera BookPALS initiative to workshops presented by artists, including the multi-talented Juan Chawuk, a Tojolobal Maya from Chiapas, who will be in residence for a month at the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center (ALAC). CALA will also showcase prominent local artists. Renowned mask maker
Zarco Guerrero will unveil two new pieces as part of Xico Inc.’s annual Día de los Muertos festival. The Mesa Arts Center will present playwright James Garcia’s Amexica: Tales of the Fourth World, a look at the complex culture and society that is the U.S.Mexico border region. Teatro Bravo will produce a remounted English version of the Mexican play, “Frida Kahlo,” about the life of the famed Mexican artist. Support for the festival comes from alliance members such as ALAC, Xico and Chicanos por la Causa, and from corporate sponsors, foundations and individual contributions. The CALA Festival will be presented every two years, but in between the major festivals, other performances, exhibits, events and in-school activities will be planned. If you love art, you’ll love CALA. But there is an additional benefit for Arizonans, as we work our way through these difficult times, where so many see cultural differences as something that divides us. The reality – one of the truths to which Gioia referred – is that a shared appreciation for the arts can more easily unite us. As the American authors of the wonderful Out of the Volcano: Portraits of Contemporary Mexican Artists put it, “The arts offer a major avenue by which to approach one another in our halting progress toward mutual understanding.” See you in September. José Cárdenas is senior vice president and general counsel of Arizona State University and a CALA board member. He is also a board member of Xico, Inc., and served as a member of the Maricopa Regional Arts and Cultural Task Force.
image courtesy of ALAC
“There are some truths about life
Stage
Goodyear
Clemente Oroszco
Man
art
Childsplay
activities
Gammage
John
Legend
Blue
Museum
Art
Diego Rivera
Theater
Rufino Tamayo
Bravo
Phoenix
&
Teatro
Handlebars Guitars Auditorium
Scottsdale
Fiesta
Group
Teatro
around the world Season Trumpets from
Symphony Pops
Herberger
Art
Artists
Orchestra
Chandler
art
Piano
Center
Dance
visual
SĂŠrgio
ASU
Diego Rivera visual
Glendale
Ensemble
mark your calendar Audiences
Performance
Goodyear
Exhibition
Stage
Art
Food
Scottsdale
Bravo Santana
Theatre
art recitals
Art
Museum
Pavilion
Theatre
Music entertainment
Celebration
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ALAC Roosevelt row art
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Theater Mendes North Side musicals Creole art Story Dance Phoenix entertainment choir Scottsdale Music Festivals Museum Arizona Pilobolus art Modern Museum Poetry Outdoor Mexican Ballet Phoenix Friday Arizona Theatre Company
celebrate the rich diversity of latin and hispanic culture at the scottsdale center for the heart-pounding soul-shaking toe-tapping high-flying performing arts!
2011-12 the season to see!
G N I N E P O EYEBallet Folkl贸rico de Antioquia Colombia
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see the complete schedule and order your free brochure at
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A Celebration of Latin & Hispanic Culture Free Community Event Nov. 5-6 Music. Dance. Food. Mercado.
Cubano Be, Cubano Bop
Celebrating our 24th Season! Professional Theatre in an Intimate Setting
October 27 - November 6, 2011 What About LUV? Book by Jeffrey Sweet; Music by Howard Marren Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead Musical based on the play LUV by Murray Schisgal
January 26 - February 5, 2012 Dreyfus in Rehearsal by Jean-Claude Grumberg Adapted by Garson Kanin
March 22 - April 1, 2012 The Blessing of a Broken Heart Adapted by Todd Salovey Based on the book by Sherri Mandell
All performances at the John Paul Theatre, Phoenix College 1202 W Thomas Rd., Phoenix
602-264-0402
www.azjewishtheatre.org
LOS BOLETOS TAMBIEN ESTAN DISPONIBLES EN TICKETMASTER y TAQUILLAS DEL TEATRO O VIA TELEFONICA AL 1-800-745-3000 Fechas, funciones y precios de boletos sujetos a cambio sin previo aviso. Precio de boletos sujeto a cargos adicionales en caso de aplicar.
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Producido por Live Nation en Asociaci贸n con
C A L A @ y a d i r f t s r i f n o g n i r u t a e f
september
Painter Juan Chawuk Chiapas, México
october
Wood Carver Jocobo Angeles Oaxaca, México
Galeria 147 | Arizona Latino Arts & Cultural Center “In The Heart of Downtown Phoenix” 147 E. Adams Street | Phoenix, Arizona 85004
november
Printmaker Nicolas de Jesus Guerrero, México
602-254-9817 www.alacAZ.org
MUSIC THEATER
Located in the Musical Instrument Museum
View the full 2011–2012 Concert Season online Sponsored in part by:
Mariachi Mystery Tour
Saturday, August 13 | 7:00 p.m. Tickets: $25–$30
What if you reimagined the music of the Beatles through the lenses of a Mariachi? Led by a National Heritage Fellow from New Mexico, the result is a seamless artistic and cultural collision. The Albuquerque Journal raves, “Mariachi Mystery Tour doesn’t just make classic songs fresh, the group makes them new.”
Flavio Chamis: “Tones of Nature” Saturday, October 29 | 7:00 p.m. Tickets: $25
The “Tones of Nature” program spotlights the works of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ecological opus, led by Brazilian artist and composer Flavio Chamis, and features excerpts from the 1994 documentary Vision of Paradise.
MIMphx
To hear samples of the artists, visit our website. Tickets can be purchased at MIM’s Ticket Office, online, or by phone.
www.theMIM.org
| 480.478.6000
Corner of Tatum & Mayo Blvds., just south of Loop 101 in Phoenix
The Phoenix Symphony
CALAFestival celebrates the
Tickets start at Just $18! AVAILABLE AUG 8
featuring Doc Severinsen and the San Miguel Five
Join The Phoenix Symphony for a program specially selected to celebrate the vibrant musical offerings of our regional Latino community. SEPTEMBER 30 / OCTOBER 1
602-495-1999 p h o e n i xs y m p h o ny. o rg
Stage
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31 Entrepreneur Alicia Mendoza offers fun reading lessons with LearningBee Products
33 Briefcase
Big plans for Del Rio Area brownfields
37 Career
The national manufacturing Skill Certification System
Movin’ Up Lujan takes on two new jobs
Former assistant attorney David Lujan, now managing partner at The Foster Group and principal at the ASU Preparatory Academy Phoenix www.latinopm.com
Former state assistant attorney general and state legislator David Lujan has been named managing partner of The Foster Group’s Arizona office. Lujan joined the law firm, which also has offices in Indiana and California, in January of this year. The attorney will also assume the role of principal at ASU Preparatory Academy Phoenix, a new charter high school in downtown Phoenix affiliated with Arizona State University. Lujan’s extensive record of community service includes
¡ August 2011!
Latino Perspectives Magazine
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movin’ up
coaching the Central High School mock trial team and eight years as a member of the Phoenix Union High School District (PUHSD) board. He served as PUHSD board president for two years. Among other awards, Lujan is the recipient of 2010 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Public Policy Award and the 2009 National Association of Social Workers Legislator of the Year Award. He is co-author of the book Child Advocacy 101: Essays on Child Protection in America.
Arceo moves up at Casino Arizona Peter Arceo has been named senior director of sales and marketing for Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort, two enterprises of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Arceo has over 19 years of experience in the gaming and hospitality industries, including at the Las Vegas Hilton. Aceo has worked his way up the ranks – he began his career as a front desk clerk and later a blackjack dealer.
Valley Leadership announces Class 33 Valley Leadership announced the selection of 56 individuals to participate in Class 33 of the Leadership Institute, its signature leadership development program. Among the members of Class 33 are: Miguel Bravo, APS; Gaby Cardenas, Una Vez Mas/Azteca America; Sam Castañeda Holdren, Equality Arizona; Marco Hidalgo, Hispanic College Fund; Helenmarie Mendoza Slater, Honeywell International;
Peter Arceo
O’Connor House expands board The O’Connor House, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s legacy and civil talk leading to civic action, has added 16 new members to its board of directors. Among them: Richard Boals, president and CEO of BCBS of Arizona; José A. Cárdenas, general counsel at Arizona State University, who will also serve as chairman of the board; and Jaime A. Molera, principal at the Molera Alvarez Group.
America; Julio Herrera, Cox Communications; Steve Macias, Pivot Manufacturing; Bettina Nava, FirstStrategic Communications and Public Affairs; Armando Roman, AXIOM Financial Advisory Group; Lisa Urias, Urias Communications, and Doug Yonko, Hensley Beverage Company. Bettina Nava
UA selects Leadership Institute fellows
Tanya Muniz, Valley of the Sun United Way; Janey Pearl, City of Phoenix, Mayor Phil Gordon’s Office; Jose Penalosa Jr., Penalosa and Associates; Valerie Ramos, Audubon Arizona; Vanessa Valenzuela Erickson, Salt River Project; Nicholas Vasquez, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.
The University of Arizona
Cox hires Retamal Cesar Retamal, who most recently worked for AT&T in California, joined Cox Communications as the new manager of the Spanish customer service and sales center and will oversee sales and retention activity for the Arizona, Las Vegas and Omaha markets.
AZHCC adds 10 new board members, expands to 30
Miguel Bravo
The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (AZHCC) announced the expansion of its board of directors to 30 positions and the appointment of ten new board members: Frank Canez, Fry’s Food Stores; Jaime Chon, Pepsico/Frito Lay; Ed Escobedo, Apollo Group; Carlos J. Gonzalez, Bank of
Movin’ Up Know someone who has been promoted, elected or honored? Send us the news of their achievements! Email movinup@latinopm.com 42
Latino Perspectives Magazine
¡ August 2011!
www.latinopm.com
Erica Corral
announced the selection of 25 emerging campus leaders to participate in its second annual Academic Leadership Institute. Among the 2011-2012 fellows are: Barbara Citera, humanities and sciences division chair, UA South; Erica Corral, professor, department of materials science and engineering; Tony Estrada, professor and department head, department of Mexican-American studies; Norma Mendoza-Denton, associate professor, School of Anthropology; Veronica ReyesEscudero, associate librarian, University Libraries.
As a home, I know it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Especially when what’s on the inside is everything you own. Renting? Get contents-only flood insurance and protect everything you own. Because when you rent, I’m just not really a home without everything you put in me. So ask about a contents-only flood policy today. Whether you’re celebrating a new baby, marriage or retirement, I can help you with your changing insurance and financial needs.
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Creative lessons: making reading fun
¡!
entrepreneur
Alicia Mendoza, LearningBee Products, LLC
Elevator pitch: LearningBee was founded in 2008 and develops and sells literacy games and activities for children learning to read in grades K-3, to teachers, schools and parents who want to teach reading in a fun way. Our products are aligned with the Arizona reading standards. They make it easy for parents to help their children learn to read at home, and are affordable games and activities!
Kudos: Edson Initiative $5,000 Grant Recipient, May 2010; Arizona Republic, “Top 35 Entrepreneurs Under Age 35,” October 2009; AZ Magazine, “Top 35 Female Entrepreneurs Under 35,” October 2009; Advanced Entrepreneur Project $2,500 Grant, May 2009; ASU Advanced Entrepreneurship Case Competition Winner, October 2008
Company you admire most: Apple. They are revolutionizing communication.
To be a successful entrepreneur … You need to be able to create a solid business plan for your venture that takes into consideration all the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It’s also important to be able to collaborate with suppliers, partners and your customers. And finally, you have to be persistent and self-motivated.
Inspirational reading: E-Myth
Historical figure you would like to meet: Jesus Christ. I would ask him thousands of questions and then publish a modern gospel!
Best advice: Don’t give up!
Try new
ideas!
Why I started my own business: I like creating things. The whole process of planning executing and admiring is fulfilling.
Important business milestone: Raising $1,000 in our first Holiday Philanthropic Fundraiser; selling to our first school districts and selling to customers in different states through the Internet.
If you could do it all over again … I would like to start a business with my family.
Advice to emergent entrepreneurs: Create a solid team.
Next steps: Translate our directions into Spanish, and create our literacy games and activities in an electronic form for personal computers.
learningbeeproducts.com
Economic adjustments: Our focus has shifted from manufacturing to marketing.
by Michael Gerber
Suggest an entrepreneur
Send your information to editor@latinopm.com.
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¡ August 2011!
Latino Perspectives Magazine
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update
your life.
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Ojos que no ven... Corazón que no siente Got something to sell? Showcase it at MercadoatlatinoPM.com
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Latino Perspectives Magazine
¡ August 2011!
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:
Beautify the brownfields Del Rio Area planning project gets needed help from EPA Less than four miles south of Chase Field, home
of the Diamondbacks and site of the recent MLB AllStar game, is the Del Rio Landfill. On a Google map, it shows up as the Rio Salado Industrial Recreation Park. Maybe that’s because it’s actually a “closed and capped” municipal landfill – although not capped too tightly. Not long ago, leachate was making its way through the liner when neighboring property owners reported an unfamiliar stench, this according to The Forrestal Group, an environmental appraisal company. But now the landfill, or brownfield, is a high priority for an ongoing redevelopment plan called the Del Rio Area Brownfields Planning Project. So is the vacant land east of the Rio Salado Audubon Center, and a sand/ gravel/landfill site at the southwest corner of Central Avenue and the Salt River. Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot Program, the city of Phoenix has received funding to bring together staff and members of the community, including an advisory board of 11 local business owners and residents, to “vision” and plan what they’d like to see happen in this stretch of semi-blighted land. The 160-acre Del Rio landfill, not far from the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center on Central Avenue, takes up about 25 percent of the Del Rio Area, a 2.5-square-mile stretch east to west from 16th Street to 7th Avenue, and north to south from Rio Salado to Broadway Road. Phoenix was one of 23 entities to receive an EPA grant to come up with a plan to clean up brownfields, areas of previously developed property that can’t be redeveloped without cleaning up pollutants, contaminants or hazardous substances present or potentially present – like old tires, discarded petroleum tanks and construction debris. As stated on the EPA’s website, “reinvesting in these properties protects the environment, reduces blight, and takes development pressures off greenspaces and working lands.” The Del Rio Area Planning Project is in the throes of holding visioning workshops and bilingual sessions with the community to develop a cohesive reuse plan for the brownfields. The goal of the project is to create a plan
for redevelopment, direct the assessment and cleanup of sites, and identify available resources to help with redevelopment, including recreational destinations for residents, access to mass transit and better commercial and business opportunities. The project is depending on public participation and input from citizens who live and/or work in Del Rio and surrounding areas. Rosanne Albright is the brownfields project manager in the Phoenix Office of Environmental Programs, and hopes to come up with a plan that will lead to more grants for the actual redevelopment. “Because this is a new pilot program from EPA,” says Albright, “we hope that our successful preparation of this plan will help us in obtaining future funding from EPA and other federal resources ...” About 3,700 people live in the Del Rio Area, where more than 85 percent of residents are minorities. It’s a somewhat ignored part of the city, although the Audubon Center is a solid example of what can be done to improve the quality of
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¡ August 2011!
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briefcase
life along the riverbanks. It doesn’t help that 80 percent of the land is zoned for heavy industry; recreational facilities for area residents are in short supply. “If they really want to redevelop the area, a park would be nice, but we need to generate money and jobs,” says Margarita Singh-Smith, a member of the project advisory board and long-time resident of the Del Rio Area. She recognizes her neighborhood is a depressed area, but she also sees great potential for it, considering its geographic location. It’s close to Sky Harbor, South Mountain Park and downtown Phoenix, including the Arizona Science Center and the aforementioned Chase Field. “We’re not South Phoenix anymore – American Family Insurance believes thatthat’s an old stigma,” says Singh-Smith. American believes that when youFamily bringInsurance your creativity, energy “We’re Central Phoenix.” Singh-Smith is when you bring your creativity, energy American Family Insurance believes that and experience to the professional dreaming big: she’d like to see someone of American Family Insurance believes that andyou're experience tofor theenergy professional when you bring your creativity, world, bound success andOprah Winfrey’s caliber (and wealth) build when you bringyou're your world, bound forenergy success and and to creativity, the professional greatexperience fortune. That's why American Family an amusement park in that parcel of land and experience to the professional great fortune. That's why American Family world, you're bound for success and Insurance is looking for entrepreneurial,just south of Rio Salado. “There’s got to be you're for success and Insurance is looking forwant entrepreneurial, greatworld, fortune. That'sbound why American Family motivated people who to becomea way to make it work,” she says. “We need great fortune. That's why American Family motivated people who want to become Insurance isAmerican looking for entrepreneurial, Family Insurance agents.to reach out to people who want to see Insurance is looking for entrepreneurial, American Family Insurance agents. motivated people who want to become We'll provide the resources and support something happen here.” motivated people who want to become We'll provide the resources and support American Family Insurance agents. you need to get started. You can take The next community visioning Family Insurance agents. you the need to get started. Youand canother take We'll American provide resources and support advantage of financial support workshop will be held on Tuesday, We'll provide the resources and support financial support and other you advantage need professional to getofstarted. You can take development services.August 16 at 6 p.m. at the Rio Salado you need to get started. Youand canother take development advantage ofprofessional financial Ifsupport success is whatservices. you're advantage of financial and other you'reAudubon Center, 3131 S. Central Avenue. Ifsupport success is what professional development looking for, comeservices. join our family.To reserve a seat, call 602-256-5669 or professional development services. looking for,for come join our family. If success is what you're Visit amfam.com more information. email trudy.merrill@phoenix.gov. For If success is what you're Visit amfam.com for more information. looking for, come join our family. more information about this project, looking for,for come join our family. Visit amfam.com more information. go to phoenix.gov/greenphoenix/land/ Visit amfam.com for more information. brownfields/delrio.
Find Find success success Find success within Find success within within our within our family. family. our our family. family.
Josh Pelligreen Josh Pelligreen Jpelligr@amfam.com Jpelligr@amfam.com Office: (602) 225-3740 Office: (602) 225-3740 Ext. 58007 Ext. 58007 Cell:Web (602) 377-3691 Superuser Cell:Web (602) 377-3691 Superuser
Budget cuts impinge on jobs, water supply
In normal conditions, a human can only last a few days without water and in extreme conditions, just a few hours. Water is essential to life, right? So one would think the Arizona Department We look forward of Water Resources (DWR) would be of We look forward utmost priority. to speaking with you DWR is responsible for securing to speaking with you Arizona’s water future, among other duties, and had a budget of more than $22.3 million in 2008. DWR’s present fiscal year budget is $5.7 million. In four years, from 2008 to 2012, General Fund appropriation American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries Home Office American - Madison, WI 53783 Family Mutual Insurance Company for DWR has dropped 74 percent.
Web Superuser Web Superuser
and its Subsidiaries American Family Mutual Insurance Company
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Office - Madison, WI2011 53783www.latinopm.com and its Subsidiaries Latino Home Perspectives Magazine August
American Family Insurance Home OfficeMutual - Madison, WI 53783Company amfam.com and its Subsidiaries American Family Mutual Insurance Company amfam.com
Regional offices have closed to consolidate services in Phoenix, and 141 less people have full-time jobs in Arizona. Not only is this adding to the unemployment rate, “there has been a loss in the frontline knowledge,” says Sharon Megdal, director of the Water Resources Research Center and professor at the University of Arizona. It’s a loss of expert guidance for the communities and agencies dealing with regional water issues, not to mention the state, according to experts. According to “Impact: Sustaining Arizona’s Water Future” a Budget Trax report written by Morrison Institute senior policy analyst C.J. Eisenbarth Hager, severe budget cuts to the Arizona Department of Water Resources (DWR) could hinder years of progress in water policy and eventually threaten the state’s water supply and sustainability goals. It’s lack of foresight on the part of those crunching the budget numbers. Steve Olson, executive director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, says “DWR’s programs feature very long-term objectives and activities that are difficult to quantify,” which essentially puts them at the front of the line for the budget chopping block. “Arizona is last in line for Colorado River water during times of water shortages,” says Olson. “Those days are upon us and we are collapsing the agency that powers the science to negotiate with neighboring states for water and to make good decisions with the water we do have.” The state gets 34.5 percent of its water from the Colorado River. The Budget Trax report also lists possible solutions, including diversifying funding for DWR and taking a more comprehensive approach to water management and planning. Morrison Institute for Public Policy is part of the ASU College of Public Programs in the School of Public Affairs in downtown Phoenix. Established in 1982, the institute is a leader in examining critical Arizona and regional issues, and is a catalyst for public dialogue. Morrison Institute uses nonpartisan research and
briefcase public outreach to help improve the state’s quality of life. The report can be read at morrisoninstitute.asu.edu.
We need the sun, too Arizona is cut out for storing solar energy, and lots of it. What better place to test solar-energy storage technology than here? Tucson’s Solon Corp. will join forces with Tucson Electric Power Co. (TEP) and the University of Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (AzRISE) to build a solar-energy storage technology research and testing site at the Solar Zone at UA Science and Technology Park. Solon recently built a 1.6-megawatt, single-axis photovoltaic tracking array for TEP at Solar Zone. The research and testing site will be attached to the solar plant, where various energy storage technologies used with grid-tied photovoltaics will be tested. The goal is to provide utilities options for nights or cloudy days, when photovoltaic panels aren’t producing enough energy. The first phase of the project begins this month, when Solon and AzRISE install a compressed-air energy storage system designed and constructed by UA faculty and students. Solon will design and install the proprietary data and control
¡!¡!
system and oversee the project, an “open design” allowing different technologies to be added or replaced, depending on the evolution of the project. This fall, the second phase will test a lithiumion battery storage system, with more technologies to be tested next spring in the third and fourth phases. The Solar Zone at the UA Tech Park is a research and business park, keeping things competitive and on the cutting edge of technology. It’s the largest multiple-technology solar evaluation site in the United States, allowing various technologies to perform side by side, under identical operating conditions, so developers can determine the most efficient and economical systems for the company and Southern Arizona. For more information, visit uatechpark.org.
Veterans needed for veterans Hospice of the Valley (HOV) was founded in 1977 as a nonprofit organization by a group of citizens that shared a vision about a new way of caring for the dying. Today, it’s one of the largest and oldest hospices in the country, employing close to 1,700 doctors, nurses, social workers, nurse’s aides, pastoral counselors and administrative staff, and has a volunteer corps of over 2,200 people. But they need more volunteers, and specifically military veterans, to offer companionship to other veterans who are hospice patients (one out of every four dying Americans is a veteran). Through the HOV Salutes Program, veterans are given special recognition and support, including a “pinning ceremony” to acknowledge their service, contact with other veterans and participation in community events honoring veterans. The organization’s mission is bringing comfort and dignity as life nears its end. Help Hospice of the Valley honor veterans’ service. Free training offered. Call 602-6366336 for more information.
Oportunidad en la era digital
Oportunidad en la era digital How do you become among the most reliable and trusted providers of communication and entertainment services in America? By connecting people with nearly endless opportunities to learn, grow, share and succeed. With Cox Communications, there’s no shortage of possibilities for our customers or our employees. Add your talents to the team that’s advancing communications into the Digital Age. Establish a career connection with a real, and rewarding, future with one of the industry’s most respected and exceptional employers. To learn more about Cox Communications, or to apply for open positions, visit us online. Crece con nosotros.
www.cox.com/coxcareer
Send us your briefcase items
Have a business story idea? Email us at editor@latinopm.com.
EOE
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¡!
Assess your abilities And back them up with the national Skill Certification System By Richard Hansen
Those of us who have lived in the Valley of
the Sun for many years have come to recognize the names of many of the larger companies that manufacture their products here. These include companies such as Boeing, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Intel, Proctor and Gamble, and Snyder’s of Hanover. What many of us don’t realize is that smaller and less recognizable companies employ a majority of today’s manufacturing workforce. What these companies have in common, be they large or small, whether they manufacture computer chips or potato chips, is that they have many of the same needs when it comes to attracting a skilled manufacturing workforce. In spite of what we read or hear, manufacturing is not going away or being exported to China. In fact, manufacturing in Greater Phoenix continues to expand and flourish. Given the area’s skilled workforce, great climate, low cost of doing business and proximity to the West Coast, South America and Pacific Rim markets, the Valley remains an attractive place for technology-based manufacturers to locate. A key to the long-term growth and success of the region’s manufacturing industry has been our ability to provide a skilled and capable workforce. These are jobs that provide a strong boost to the region’s economy, paying 140 to 240 percent or more above the regional average wage. What’s more, many additional career opportunities are available for those who wish to advance. It’s not surprising, then, that I am often asked the following questions: How do I get started? How do I show employers that I have the necessary skill? Well, the answer can, in part, be found in President Obama’s support of a national manufacturing Skill Certification System. As a community college employee, I know that unless a prospective employer knows exactly what is taught in a community college class, they won’t have any idea how much a student knows, regardless of the grade that student receives. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Endorsed Skill Certification System helps us solve that dilemma. The skills certification system is not necessarily about education. Rather, it is about the collective skills or competencies that come from experience, training, education and knowledge. Each of the certification components included
in this system has a method, many times called an assessment, for determining how well the student really knows and understands the required skills. What makes this certification system so valuable is that employers in the industry have said what skills are important to them and how those skills can be assessed. Given that these skill certifications have been agreed to by companies across the country, they are said to be “portable,” which means that prospective employers would know exactly what skills have been mastered with that certification, regardless of where it was obtained. Presently, skills certifications included in the Skill Certification System include those from the American Welding Society (AWS), the Manufacturing Skills Standard Council (MSSC), the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS); the National Career Readiness Certificate, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). Additional information can be found at http://institute.nam.org/page/ edu_workforce_skills_cert. More certifications are currently being considered for adoption. www.latinopm.com
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career
The Maricopa Community College District and our 10 community colleges have long supported the workforce needs of the region’s manufacturing industry. Currently, many of our colleges and skill centers offer classes that provide our students with both the content knowledge and hands-on learning they will need should they decide to pursue most of the certifications mentioned and those under consideration. Additional information can be found at azhightech.com. Richard Hansen is an associate director in Maricopa Community Colleges’ Center for Workforce Development. He is also the principal investigator on a National Science Foundation Advance Technology Education (ATE) grant. Mr. Hansen spent over 18 years in manufacturing with a global supplier of computer equipment and software before joining MCCD in 1997.
Test your skills The American College Testing Program, or ACT, offers a National Career Readiness Certificate, a portable, evidence-based credential that measures basic and necessary workplace skills for different types of jobs. This credential measures the following skills: Problem solving Critical thinking Reading and using written, workrelated text Applying information from workplace documents to solve problems Applying mathematical reasoning to work-related problems Setting up and performing workrelated mathematical calculations Locating, synthesizing and applying information that is presented graphically Comparing, summarizing and
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400 BC
Signs of cancer found on bones from ancient Egypt.
Who uses the certificate? Employers use it to: Identify and interview only those applicants with skills required for a job Hire and promote employees Determine employee’s training and development needs according to specific jobs. Job seekers (students, adults, retires, etc.) benefit by: Standing out among the crowd of job seekers Showing prospective employers concrete proof of skills achieved Determining skill improvement and training needs Improving opportunities for career changes and advancement.
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1946
The term cancer originates.
3000 BC
analyzing information presented in multiple related graphics.
Chemotherapy is developed.
1899
The X-ray revolutionizes tumor discovery.
career
Educators use it to: Help identify gaps between student skills and employment needs Align curricula to meet the job skills employers need Enable students to see a reason to take coursework seriously Improve students’ success in entrylevel and subsequent jobs Provide students with a structured career pathway. (For more info: act.org/certificate.)
• • •
What careers does it encompass? Higher-paying jobs require high job skills, which in turn give access to those highpaying jobs. ACT research shows that occupations that require the lowest applied mathematics skill level usually pay beginning salaries of about $16,000. On
¡!
In spite of what we read or hear, manufacturing is not going away or being exported to China.
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the other hand, occupations that require the highest applied mathematics skill level typically pay beginning salaries of about $30,000. For example, if you are interested in working in the automotive body repair field, the lowest skill level required is 3 in applied Math, Reading Information and Locating Information. On the other hand, if you are interested in working as an accountant, the skill level required in each, Applied Math, Reading
Information and Locating Information, is 6, 5 and 5 respectively. Visit act.org/workkeys/skillsearch. html to find an alphabetical list of job titles and the skill levels required for each one. Source: ACT, an independent, not-forprofit organization that provides a broad array of assessment, research, information and program management solutions in the areas of education and workforce development.
The history of cancer meets a future of hope. Banner Health is teaming up with MD Anderson Cancer Center, ranked # 1 in cancer care by U.S.News and World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” survey, to open Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. Soon we’ll fight cancer like never before with a
powerful combination of groundbreaking treatments, revolutionary facilities, and the world-class expertise of professionals like Medical Director, Edgardo Rivera, M.D. (pictured here). It’s time to expect more in the battle against cancer. Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center – bringing new hope to cancer patients.
2011 Banner MD Anderson Cancer
Opens September 26 at US 60 and Higley Road
Center opens in Arizona.
1976
American Cancer Society recommends mammograms.
BannerMDAnderson.com Connect with us: FacebookTwitter
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Ask the pros... Bonnie L. Booden, Attorney at Law, P.C.
201 North Central Avenue, Suite 3300 Phoenix, Arizona 85004 phone: (602) 252-4880 Fax: (602) 252-1481 email: Bonnie@BonnieBoodenLaw.com
Knowlege is power:
Q:
What is “mediation” and why should I consider it to resolve a dispute?
Build trust and share
A:
your wisdom with
Black’s Law Dictionary defines mediation as “a method of non-binding dispute resolution involving a neutral third party who tries to help the disputing parties reach a mutually agreeable solution.”
the community right here in Ask the Pros.
Mediation helps people resolve their own disputes, instead of having a judge impose a resolution on them. A mediator’s primary purpose is to help the parties reach a voluntary agreement on contested issues. Mediation can be a way to arrive at creative solutions tailored to your specific needs, and to avoid an arbitrary decision made by a judge or arbitrator who does not know you or your circumstances.
Contact a sales rep today! Call 6025-277-0130 ext. 25
The suggestions and opinions of the advertisers on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of Latino Perspectives Magazine
Heart. Mind. It started as a decision of the heart. To do more for my neighborhood … dedicating myself to something I believe in. By helping others, I’m building a business that will last. Imagine what you can build if you put your mind to it.
BECOME A STATE FARM® AGENT. statefarm.com/careers Learn more:
Contact Chris Cruz to learn more about getting your business started: (602)319-7508 or chris.cruz.gukv@statefarm.com
Linda Gomez Dyster State Farm Agent P097044
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To serve and protect with Kaos Gabe Vasquez, police officer, K-9 Unit, Glendale Police Department Years of service: I have been a police officer for
Typical day: As a K-9 handler, I utilize my canine partner to assist officers with apprehending criminal offenders; to provide protection to officers and citizens, and to assist with narcotic detection. On any given day, I might respond to a felony in progress call; assist patrol officers with searching a large building or area after a burglary; assist with tracking/ searching for a suspect; assist with high-risk traffic stops; assist with warrant apprehensions; deploy with SWAT and/or assist officers with a narcotic sniff of a vehicle or building.
photo courtesy of glendale police department
15 years. I started my law enforcement career with the Youngtown Police Department in Youngtown, Arizona, where I was hired on as a 911 call dispatcher. In May of 1996, I graduated the police academy and started my career as a police officer with the Youngtown Police Department. I made my move to the Glendale Police Department in June of 1998, where I continued furthering my law enforcement knowledge. In May of 2008, I was assigned to the K-9 Unit.
Proudest moment: When I graduated the K-9 Academy with my canine partner Kaos.
Inherent dangers you face: Over the last 15 years, I have responded to many types of calls for service. Most of the time, it is responding to crimes in progress, which definitely carry a risk, as you respond to the unknown. As a certified police K-9 handler, calls to service carry an added risk, since my canine partner and I are often called to search for fleeing felons, often violent, who have just committed a violent crime.
On-the-job lesson: Be professional and
Why did you decide to become a police officer? As a child growing up, I always dreamed
Next career move: My goal at this time is to
of becoming a police officer. I would have to say that I continued with this dream because of the positive interaction I had with police officers in my community. I later decided to continue my career as a K-9 officer, because of my love for animals.
respectful to everyone you meet.
Greatest satisfaction of serving: As a K-9 officer, it is when my canine partner and I have successfully apprehended a violent offender so they can no longer victimize anyone.
remain within the K-9 Unit, working with a great team of officers and alongside my canine partner Kaos.
Final word: There is nothing more rewarding than knowing you help make a positive impact in the city, county, state and country you live in.
Nominate a candidate
Help us acknowledge those who serve. Men and women currently in the military or a first responder. Send your info to editor@latinopm.com. www.latinopm.com
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CPLC Career Development Institute
CALL TO REGISTER TODAY! 602-257-0700 The CPLC Career Development Institute offers a culturally relevant management training curriculum focused on developing effective business leaders and managers. The CPLC Career Development Institute looks forward to seeing you at its next educational seminar on:
AUGUST 24th - 26th NOW OFFERING DISCOUNTED RATES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, NON-PROFITS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES For more info including future dates and locations, please contact: blanca.silva@cplc.org nanda.cordova@cplc.org 602-257-0700 www.cplc.org
STEM education Path to prosperity and an app to encourage interest
a new report released last month confirms
that STEM is where it’s at if you want a higher earning, secure career. STEM, as in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Economists at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) surveyed U.S. employment in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The report, “STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future,” looks at workers driving innovation in the United States and how new ideas, companies and industries can improve the country’s standing in the world economy (go to esa.doc.gov and click on reports). In the past 10 years, STEM jobs have grown at a 3-to1 ratio (7.9 percent) compared to non-STEM jobs (2.6 percent), and are expected to grow at a faster rate in the next 10 years. In 2010, 7.6 million people or 5.5 percent of the labor force, held professions in STEM fields. President Barack Obama has advocated for STEM education, encouraging students in the U.S. to strive for top achievement and international leadership over the next decade in science and mathematics; hence initiatives like Race to the Top and the Educate to Innovate campaign. Although the focus in the ESA report is on computer technicians, engineers, analysts and other occupations, jobs in STEM education are equally important. “We need you in our classrooms,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, “[and] labs and key government agencies to help solve our biggest challenges, and that’s why we are investing heavily to promote STEM education.” And of course, the country needs students in the classrooms, too. Among the four STEM occupational groups categorized in the ESA report, the physical and life sciences workforce has the highest level of education, with nearly 40 percent holding a graduate degree, twice as many of those who hold computer, math and engineering jobs.
STEM workers also experience lower unemployment rates than workers in other fields, although STEM jobs are not immune to recessions. In 2007, the unemployment rate for STEM workers rose from 1.8 percent to 5.5 percent in 2009. In 2010, it was back down to 5.3 percent. To push this rate even lower, initiatives, programs, campaigns – and a Facebook app are lobbying for STEM education. At the School of Information: Science, Technology and Arts (SISTA) at the University of Arizona, a team of educators is developing Teach Ourselves, an online community designed to prepare young students for a STEM career by providing a place for learning and creativity. They can even earn points redeemable for goods. The project mission is “to build students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, math and computer science, and to help students understand that they can be rewarded for creative and collaborative intellectual work.” www.latinopm.com
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G O FA R , CL OSE T O H O M E .
Register Now!
Fo l l ow us on www.phoenixcollege.edu
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Some of the things young scholars will be able to do via Teach Ourselves is design problems and exercises, collaborate on projects, engage in competitions, participate in experiments in remote labs and translate materials into underserved languages. One pilot study participant commented, “I learned more than I meant to.” Mentors can also participate in discussions about STEM topics to critique and provide feedback on problems before publishing. Scholars also have the opportunity to earn points for each approved published problem to redeem on rewards, such as a scholarship for college. Those problems are then available for anyone in the system to earn points. Teach Ourselves can be customized toward specific learning objectives. For example, afterschool programs can engage youth in productive problem solving, or students can create and publish problems on their own. The long-term goal is to create a widespread, self-sustaining community through sponsorships with STEM communities, and foster camaraderie, competition and learning. To learn more, go to facebook.com/teachourselves.
Check out a book and a Kill A Watt meter Ever wonder how much energy that lava lamp or extra freezer in the garage suck up and add to your utility bill? Now you can find out by going to a Phoenix library and checking out a Kill A Watt meter. Salt River Project’s Energy Analyzer program has expanded into Phoenix libraries, with close to 500 units in circulation throughout the Valley. SRP has discovered that the more customers know about their energy usage, the more likely they’ll conserve energy and save money on their monthly electric bills. Take home a Kill A Watt meter, plug it into an outlet and then plug an appliance into the meter. The LCD display will show how much energy the appliance uses. Test the fridge, fans, computers and
gaming systems; even coffee makers, stereos and phone chargers – anything that plugs into a 120-volt AC outlet. Once SRP customers have collected their wattage data, they can go online and fill out the Energy Analyzer survey and find additional tips on how to save energy and money at savewithsrp.com. Library cardholders can check out a Kill A Watt meter at these branches in Phoenix: • Century Library – 1750 E. Highland Avenue • Desert Sage Library – 7602 W. Encanto Boulevard • Ironwood Library – 4333 E. Chandler Boulevard • Ocotillo Library – 102 W. Southern Avenue • Palo Verde Library – 4402 N. 51st Avenue • Saguaro Library – 2808 N. 46th Street • Yucca Library – 5648 N. 15th Avenue
Generous scholarships at GCU Grand Canyon University is offering generous scholarships and on-campus tuition freeze to students who transfer from community colleges and other postsecondary schools. Students can be awarded up to $7,000 per year to counter the cost of education. The program is being offered along with other academic and athletic scholarships, making the private institution fiscally competitive with state universities. Here’s a sample scenario: Monica Sanchez, a student at a Maricopa County community college with a 3.5 GPA, would automatically qualify for a $7,000 Transfer President’s Scholarship per school year. If Monica majors in secondary education, she would also receive a $4,000 College of Education Scholarship per school year. Monica’s tuition for the year would be $5,500, rather than GCU’s published $16,500 tuition. Any student transferring to GCU with at least a 3.0 GPA qualifies for a $3,000 to $7,000 academic scholarship for each school year. GCU, founded in 1949, established a tuition freeze in 2009 that is still applicable for current and incoming students. Applications are being accepted for the 2011-2012 school year, when GCU
expects to welcome approximately 2,300 new students, bringing its on-campus enrollment to 4,400. GCU offers traditional campus-based programs, as well as online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs, with equal cost for both in-state and outof-state students, small class sizes, and full-time campus faculty. The university’s curriculum blends academic and clinical stringency with Christian principles. For more information, visit gcu.edu or email campustransfer@gcu. edu or call 1-877-525-6129.
Nominate a teacher for the CPLC Esperanza Latino Teacher Awards Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. (CPLC) is in search of outstanding teachers from across the state of Arizona to honor them with an Esperanza Latino Teacher Award. Superintendents, school principals and fellow teachers are encouraged to nominate someone who: • Inspires students of all backgrounds to learn • Plays an active role in the school and community • Spends the majority of school day in classroom • Possesses a valid Arizona teaching certificate • Teaches at an accredited school in Arizona
MIM field trip for educators Before getting too entrenched in the school year, the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) wants teachers, principals and home-school educators who have not been to the museum to come by on Saturday, August 27, for Educators’ Preview Day. The open-house event will give educators a chance to experience the educational value of a field trip to the MIM, and learn about the museum’s school-tour program for the coming academic year. Educators’ Preview Day will start at 9 a.m. with refreshments and entertainment in the MIM Music Theater, with a special presentation by MIM Education Team members and guest speakers to give attendees an opportunity to ask questions and collect materials to take home. After the presentation, attendees can take self-guided tours of the MIM galleries to get a firsthand view of the exhibits apropos for students of all education levels. Attendees can also enter a drawing to win prizes. Approximately 284 spaces are available and participants must RSVP in advance to hold their spot. Educators can register by sending email to education@ themim.org by August 22 to reserve a spot. Include name, title, school and contact information. The MIM is located at 4725 East Mayo Boulevard in Phoenix. To learn more, visit themim.org.
A letter of recommendation from the school’s principal must also be submitted with the nomination form, which can be downloaded at cplc.org. An independent committee of community members and educators will choose four honorees from all submissions. The teachers will be honored at a special dinner and awards ceremony on Thursday, October 20, 2011, at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown, and will receive a special stipend. Their respective schools will also be awarded a donation of $2,500. Now in its 13th year, the Esperanza Latino Teacher Awards program honors educators who go above and beyond in their classrooms and in their communities. Salt River Project (SRP) and Cox Communications sponsor the awards program, the only one in Arizona that expressly recognizes Latino teachers in the state. The deadline to submit nominations is August 12, 2011. Please email to events@ cplc.org or: Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. Attention: Priscilla Valencia 1112 E. Buckeye Road Phoenix, Arizona 85034 For more information or other sponsorship opportunities, call Priscilla Valencia at 602-257-0700.
Think outside the mailbox.
LPM, sent to your Inbox. For six years, LPM has been the only Arizona magazine focused on the local Latino community. Sign up for the free digital edition: www.latinopm.com/digital
www.latinopm.com
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There’s nothing I love more than taking my the ballgame. When a All family of my out big to plans were put on hold medical exam revealed lifestyle when I thought I had athat badmy cold and had aged my heart by an extra 10 years, it turned out to be heart failure. I was determined to get that time back. After a heart transplant, I feel lucky to But I needed help to change my life. be here. Mywas answer Mayo Clinic. My answer Mayowas Clinic. Adam Janusz, Los Angeles, California Derrick Hall, Paradise Valley, Arizona
At Mayo Clinic, Adam was diagnosed with giant cell myocarditis, a devastating disease that often affects young, otherwise healthy people. He was outfitted with a Bi-Ventricular Assist Device Mayo Clinic’s personalized guidance Derrick change his lifestyle and reverse an the (BVAD) and was able to go physician home to wait for hishelped new heart. Fortomore information or to schedule damage to his visit heart. Mayo’s Heart Health and Performance Program is one of the many innovative appointment, mayoclinic.org/arizona or call 1-800-446-2279. ways that Mayo Clinic provides patients with diagnostic expertise and specialized care. To schedule an appointment, visit mayoclinic.org or call 1-800-446-2279
Water, water everywhere But exactly which drop to drink? By Robrt L. Pela
We’re surrounded by it, we’re mostly made
of it and we can’t survive without it. Water can move mountains, level a small village, and, according to experts, save every one of our lives on any given day. If you’re an athlete, it can improve your performance and replace the fluids your workout has depleted. Whether you’re running a marathon or just getting through the day, water is essential for maintaining every one of your vital processes. While you can endure deficiencies of other nutrients for years, a person can survive only a few days without water. Water comprises 50 to 70 percent of body weight in humans. It’s the major component in our blood, cools us through perspiration and enables the storage of energygiving glycogen in our muscles. It aids in digestion, absorption, circulation and the lubrication of body joints. In fact, experts rank water second only to oxygen as essential for life. And in the summer heat of the desert, it’s nearly as essential as that oxygen in staying alive –or at least well and healthy. Given these powerful properties, it’s no wonder we’re told that drinking eight eight-ounce servings of water every day is paramount. That edict isn’t propaganda from the bottled water industry; it’s a medical fact. Since we lose water constantly through our skin, lungs, urinary tract and bowels, sufficient replacement of it through our foods and beverages is mandatory. About half our water needs can be met through food intake – particularly from water-rich foods like fruits and vegetables – but our glass is still half empty and has to be augmented with consistent chug-a-lugging. “Sixty-four ounces of water a day does seems excessive,” admits Jane Frobose, program director of Family and Consumer Sciences at Colorado State University in Denver. “But we really are just replacing fluids that have been depleted. Every day, we lose about two-and-a-half cups of water from various body functions, and exercise dramatically increases the requirement for water.”
Besides replenishing your body’s lost fluids, water provides small amounts of minerals vital for life, such as calcium (essential to blood clotting and bone formation), sodium, potassium and energy-producing magnesium. And while it’s carrying nourishment to your cells, water is simultaneously carrying waste away from those cells, both crucial chores that become doubly important when we’re down in the mouth. There are other good reasons, according to J. Batmanghelidj, M.D., author of the bestselling Your Body’s Many Cries for Water, for forcing fluids during illness. “When we’re sick,” Batmanghelidj says, “water acts as a means of healing by encouraging our immune system to work overtime. When you consume water, you activate important immune-system chemicals that stimulate germ-killing cells. So you want to make sure, when you’re sick, that dehydration doesn’t unnecessarily heat up your immune system, causing it to shut down.” It’s simple math, Batmanghelidj says. When we’re www.latinopm.com
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“Cancer Treatment Centers of America® gave me a team that stood beside me and was ready to fight. They restored my hope.”
~Beth Gomez Cancer Survivor
Don’t Let Anyone Tell You There’s Nothing More That Can Be Done. When Beth realized there was nothing more that could be done, she turned to Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), where we have been fighting complex and advanced cancer for decades. Beth’s team of CTCA cancer experts worked with her to create a comprehensive and tailored treatment plan that combined leading-edge oncologic medical treatments with naturopathic medicine, nutrition, rehabilitation, psychological counseling, spiritual support and pain management. We are different. At CTCA, we never give up. Call now to speak with one of our Oncology Information Specialists and learn how we fight cancer like no one else.
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ill, lowering our body temperature by drinking water keeps everything functioning and heightens healing. In sickness or in health, we should all be wed to drinking water – and waiting until we’re thirsty may be too late. While thirst signals the body’s need for fluid, some experts believe that the thirst mechanism cannot be considered entirely reliable and that, if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Early symptoms of dehydration include fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of body weight and heat intolerance. Severe dehydration is manifested in muscle spasms, excessive temperatures and total exhaustion. The more athletic among us already know this, and most dedicated athletes and bodybuilders can be found drinking before, during and after a workout. That’s because we require one milliliter of water
as half an hour). Without adequate fluids, you add stress to your heart, your core body temperature rises and your ability to perform suffers. Your body is unforgiving when its water store dips below normal levels, and even slight dehydration will slow you down. Dehydration can also affect athletic performance by exacerbating a condition known as cardiovascular drift, a state that occurs during exercise lasting longer than an hour. Cardiovascular drift is characterized by a progressive increase in heart rate and a corresponding decrease in the amount of blood pumped from the heart with each beat. During prolonged exercise, blood is directed to the surface of the body for cooling to take place. This creates a drop in stroke volume and a reduction in blood returning to the heart.
In sickness or in health, we should all be wed to drinking water – and waiting until we’re thirsty may be too late. for every calorie we burn, according to Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., author of Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook and former director of Nutrition Services at Sports Medicine Brookline. “If your standard workout burns 500 calories,” Clark says, “it should be followed by a minimum of 500 milliliters (about 16 ounces) of water.” Don’t worry, says Clark, that your water intake during exercise will cause cramps. “That’s an old wives’ tale that has no bearing in reality. Drink!” Clark’s is advice well taken, considering that dehydration brought on by exercise can affect not only an athlete’s performance, but can also cause serious illness besides. For every liter of sweat you lose, your heart rate increases about eight beats per minute (depending on the conditions, you can lose a liter in as little
Being adequately hydrated can help prevent cardiovascular drift. While dodging such medical horrors may be as simple as swallowing sufficient fluids, finding the right water to drink can be downright confounding. While we know that our continued good health is dependent on drinking the stuff, we’re confronted with a great Sargasso Sea of warnings about our nation’s water supply. Chlorination, the most widely used method of killing bacteria in water, is known to produce potent carcinogenic residues. Batmanghelidj insists that chlorine, an anti-infective agent used to destroy pathogens like bacteria, is a blessing. “We owe chlorine for making our water safe to drink, and for protecting us from cholera and typhoid,” he insists. Others feel differently.
“Chlorine is a killer,” says Boze Berman, a clean-water activist who lives in Glendale. “It breaks down into a variety of carcinogenic chemicals, and not one of them is good for you.” Indeed, studies have shown that drinking chlorine-treated water doubles the risk of bladder cancer. Chlorination has been linked to clogged arteries and is known to destroy vitamin E in the body, which can lead to heart problems. And published analyses of various municipal water sources have found significant levels of pollutants like lead, mercury, organic solvents and nitrates, which are not removed by our current tap water treatment practices. Even more shocking is the news that drinking fluoridated water breaks down bone collagen, weakening bones and increasing their susceptibility to fracture. Fluoride – long lauded for its prevention of tooth decay – is the most common toxin used in rat poison. A recent study of more than 150 cancer deaths discovered that fluoride accumulates in the body and may cause cancer and other fatal diseases. Half the cities in the U.S. now fluoridate their water, and the only sure way to remove the stuff from your water is through reverse osmosis or distillation. Buying purified water is another alternative; although at least one expert reports that the drinking water we’re buying may not be all it claims to be. “Eighty-seven percent of the stuff that’s labeled drinking water comes from an unmonitored surface water source,” Berman says. “Most of our fresh water has been contaminated with exhaust fumes, sewage, industrial waste, chemical and air pollutants, fertilizer and animal waste.” Yikes. If that analysis is enough to scare anyone off tap water forever, Berman doesn’t mind. He considers spring water the only acceptable form of drinking water, and has devoted his life – and several magazine articles – to this claim. Those who don’t have access to a fresh spring might consider one
of several safe alternatives to drinking from the tap. A home-based distillation plant is a costly but wise option, as is a more economic home water filtration system that cleans with activated carbon, ceramic and UV light. And although they haven’t come into widespread use in the United States, systems using an ozone-oxygen mixture to purify are used extensively in the municipal water systems of European and other countries. To further muddy the waters on what to drink, purists warn that, while filtration systems remove chlorine and unhealthy particulates, they can also remove minerals that provide health benefits. “When we process water,” Berman says, “we leech it of the vital nutrients that are so good for our bodies. In every ground water source, there are minerals that we don’t get from foods, because these foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, have been deprived of this mineral-rich water, too.” Those minerals may not necessarily be present in bottled water, either. In the interest of big business, Berman says, the Federal Drug Administration, which regulates bottled water, writes its bylaws in a way that allows for deception. Many brands of bottled water, he says, are no cleaner or healthier to consume than regular tap water. And the designation “drinking water” on some bottles is merely a deceptive name for surface water that has been chemically treated. Regardless of what kind of water we drink, and despite all the scary warnings issued by experts, it’s important to remain hydrated, particularly in the summer months in Arizona. Batmanghelidj, who says that a simple home filtration system provides sufficiently clean drinking water, says that water is nothing short of miraculous in its healing properties. And Berman, who disdains the bottled water craze and finds most drinking water lacking, has the final word. “Better a glass of bad water than no water at all,” he says.
Make a difference and protect the rights of Older Adults.
Become a Long-Term Care Volunteer Ombudsman and provide support to residents of long-term care facilities.
Learn more by calling the 24-hour Senior HELP LINE at 602-264-4357(HELP) or via email at answers@aaaphx.org Visit www.aaaphx.org www.latinopm.com
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YOU CAN CHANGE A LIFE. REALLY.
More than a marathon
Uphill run presents fresh challenge for runners BE A HERO!
By Rosa Cays
BUILDING FUTURES MENTORING PROGRAM Our Building Futures Mentoring Program is one of our most rewarding services, and we are in desper‐ ate need of mentor volunteers. We have so many great kids, ages 6 to 18, who are at risk due to low self‐esteem, social isolation, family problems, etc., ‐ who just need a friend, a role model. A person who can spend a little time sharing interests, listening and ultimately raising a child’s self‐confidence and outlook on life. You would be amazed at what an afternoon at the ball game or a trip to the park can do for a child in need of adult companionship and guidance. Give us a call or email and we’ll explain how our program works, and how you can change a life. Really.
To learn how to become a Mentor, contact the following directors in your area: Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee Kate Clarno 602‐212‐6179 kclarno@vosymca.org Mesa Susan Long 602‐212‐6186 slong@vosymca.org Carefree, Cave Creek, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale Barb Harp 602‐212‐6289 bharp@vosymca.org Central Phoenix, South Mountain, Chris Town Marta Grissom 602‐212‐6187 mgrissom@vosymca.org Maryvale, Glendale, Southwest Valley Jessica Mena 602‐212‐6192 jmena@vosymca.org Regional Director Robert Neese 602‐212‐6071 rneese@vosymca.org
Youth Development Healthy Living Social Responsibility
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Running is tough enough, but how
about running uphill at an elevation gain of 6,000 feet? It’s the bragging right for the Mount Lemmon Marathon in Tucson: 26.2 miles of paved road that winds through the Santa Catalina Mountains, starting in a desert landscape of saguaro stands and ending up in the midst of a pine forest. Personally? No me antoja, even if the views of – and from – the Santa Catalina Mountains are spectacular (another
four hours. It was her first marathon. Not bad for 25-year-olds.
Prepare thyself So, now are you inspired? You still have time to train for the second annual marathon coming up in October. Hey, no qualifying necessary. There’s also a half marathon, if that’s more your speed. But how to train for an uphill marathon? On the Mount Lemmon Marathon website, you can get a list of common-
The key to marathon training, in general, is to vary the pace. bragging right). I’d rather drive up the General Hitchcock Scenic Byway, gracias. Besides, even if I did want to run the Mount Lemmon Marathon, I’d have bastante training to do before I started, that’s for sure. But for avid runners in Arizona and beyond, the Mount Lemmon Marathon is a welcome challenge. Touted as “the most difficult road marathon in the world,” it’s the only strictly uphill marathon in the United States. Last year’s inaugural run attracted hundreds of runners from across the country, with over 700 finishers in both the full and half marathons, including James Miles, who finished first in less than three hours and 15 minutes. It was his third marathon. Emily McGregor was the first woman to cross the finish line in less than
sense basics and a workout schedule, plus information on a few organized training and racing trips scheduled in August and September – keep in mind they’re limited to 24 and 12 runners respectively. You can train for Mount Lemmon with a run from Wickenburg to Prescott, or Sedona to Flagstaff, and when you’re ready, run Jerome Hill Climb in Jerome. Another way to train is to follow ultra runner Matt Carpenter’s Pikes Peak Marathon plan, the “other” toughest marathon in the states. Carpenter has won ten Pikes Peak marathons and six ascents (the Pikes Peak half marathon). It’s a different kind of tough from the Mount Lemmon Marathon in that Mount Lemmon is strictly uphill, whereas the Pikes Peak
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Last year’s winner jogging up the summit of Mount Lemmon
marathon is flat in some areas, isn’t paved and includes the descent – but it also has an elevation gain of more than 7,700 feet at an 11-percent grade. Carpenter says to train for an uphill marathon, the main emphasis should be on the amount of time on your feet, not so much pace and distance, and to alternate flat running and hill running (specifics at skyrunner.com). It’s also important to train at a similar grade as the marathon. Now’s the time to dust off the treadmill, queridos. Set the grade to 5 percent, the average for Mount Lemmon.
The key to marathon training, in general, is to vary the pace. At an easy pace, you should be able to talk while you run. Tempo running is going at 80 percent maximum effort – you can’t talk, but the pace is comfortable for you. Repeats, or intervals, help to increase your speed, hence your tempo running pace. Long runs give you endurance so that you can do more repeats. As Carpenter describes it, it’s cyclical training, and should be varied depending on individual strengths and weaknesses. October is not far off, you marathon runners. On your mark …
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Go runnin’ up that mountain This year’s marathon has a new race director and organizer, Ott Paul Wischki, who along with last year’s organizer, Lazlo Otvos, feel the marathon captures the essence of Tucson. Wischki says, “The diversity of the changing ecosystems as you head up the mountain gives everyone a perfect and lasting image of the beauty the Southwest has to offer.” Wischki is a longtime member of the Tucson athletic community and a seasoned race manager. “By being part of this event, you are not only giving yourself a great challenge and well-deserved self-respect,” he says, “you are also showing the world that Tucson is a great city with much to offer … [The] fun and beauty of the course will last with you forever.” When: Sunday, October 23, 2011 Where: Mount Lemmon, northeast of Tucson Why: To support Cancer Boot Camp and Sky Alliance Fees: $95 before September 1, 2011; $125 starting on September 1, 2011 Limit: 750 runners for each the marathon and half marathon Registration and more info: mountlemmonmarathon.com
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Note to last year’s participants: The shuttles are going to operate later into the afternoon and organizers are working to ensure that as many spectators as possible have access to the top of the mountain. www.latinopm.com
¡ August 2011!
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P.S.
Stella Pope Duarte
Not forgotten: Rubén Salazar By Stella Pope Duarte
Seething. August 29, 1970, was a day
seething with every passion under the sun, most of it anger at the injustice of so many Chicanos/mejicanos serving in the Vietnam War. The National Chicano Moratorium March had been organized in East Los Angeles to zero in on the disproportionate number of Latinos fighting on the front lines in the jungles of Vietnam. Years later, the Vietnam Memorial Wall would show the truth of what the protestors were claiming that day. Every panel of the black granite chevron in Washington, D.C., is etched with soldier’s names, and interspersed over and over again in the long list of 58,000 names are Spanish surnames – Pacheco, Soto, Gonzales, Garcia. The numbers are shocking and still not indicative of all Latinos who served, as some used a non-Spanish surname acquired through marriage or adoption. As I stood at the wall time and time again in researching for my novel, Let Their Spirits Dance, I never got over the sense that we had suffered our own holocaust in Vietnam. August 29, 1970, was also the day the Chicano community lost a beloved leader. Los Angeles Times reporter Rubén Salazar was killed by a sheriff’s deputy, Tom Wilson, at the Silver Dollar Café. The
attack on peaceful protestors by sheriff deputies, who trailed the marchers in buses that would later be used to transport victims to jail, was unwarranted and brutal. Rubén Salazar knew this, and had explicitly reported on the brutality of the police in dealing with la raza. He had named names and drawn attention to the discrimination and great numbers of raza serving in jails, and not being offered due process or representation by an attorney. My protagonist, Teresa Ramirez, describes the protestors’ approach to Laguna Park, where the brutal attack would begin in the following manner: We were in great spirits as we approached Laguna Park, shouting loud once we saw our destination was near. The crush of so many brown bodies gave me a feeling that I was safe, totally protected. So many of us, thousands… there was nothing they could do to us. We were Aztlán. The power of the ancient world had returned to us, weaving a spell that made us think we were indestructible. (Let Their Spirits Dance, 2002) The sense of accomplishing a peaceful demonstration was to end in tragedy for the protestors gathered at Laguna Park, men, women and children, unarmed, chanting and bearing signs, CHICANO
POWER, RAZA SÍ – GUERRA NO, led by the enigmatic figure of Tonantzin, la Virgen de Guadalupe, emblazoned on a colorful, silk banner. A ruckus began and people’s voices rose like an ocean rushing as moratorium leader Rosalio Muñoz began an impassioned plea for police officers to hold their line. Not heeding the warning, police moved steadily toward the people, clubs in hands, and suddenly tear gas was flung into the crowd. Reportedly, the police were looking for a thief who had burglarized the Green Mill Liquor Store. As sheriff deputies launched their attack, Rubén Salazar, over a mile away from Laguna Park, was shot by a tear gas projectile aimed at his head. People closest to Rubén Salazar related that he knew his life was in danger. Salazar’s co-workers said that he had cleaned out his desk the morning of the moratorium march, as if he was never coming back. Rubén Salazar, the Chicano community’s voice to the nation, was never heard again, and many years later, Laguna Park was renamed Rubén Salazar Park, in an attempt to balance the scales of justice and end death’s bitter memory.
Stella Pope Duarte was born and raised in South Phoenix. She began her writing career in 1995 after she had a dream in which her deceased father told her that her destiny was to become a writer. Her work has won awards and honors nationwide. www.latinopm.com
¡ August 2011!
Latino Perspectives Magazine
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¡!
my perspective on: redistricting
Drawing a new Arizona By Luis A. Heredia Redistricting is a oncein-a-decade opportunity, especially for Arizona Latinos, who now make up close to 30 percent of the state’s population. This single fact will have a large and growing impact on the makeup of Arizona’s congressional delegation and Legislature over the next decade. Every policy issue is affected by who is elected to Congress and the Legislature, and every election for the next decade is affected by redistricting.
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Send us your perspective on whatever moves you. Email editor@latinopm.com.
What is the redistricting process?
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In 2000, Arizonans passed Proposition 106, a citizenled initiative that removed the power to redistrict Arizona’s congressional and legislative districts from the legislature and invested the power into the newly created Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC). The commission is comprised of five members: two Republicans, two Democrats and an independent selected by the four commissioners. The commission must abide by the following constitutional provisions when determining the new district lines: the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act; equal population; respect for communities of interest; geographic compactness and contiguity; respect for visible geographic features, city, town and county boundaries, and competitive districts should be favored, where to do so would create no significant detriment to the other goals. Finally, the AIRC shall advertise a draft map of districts to the public for comment for at least 30 days. The Legislature may make recommendations during this comment period. Thereafter, a final map shall be adopted. The plan must then be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Why it matters Eyes may glaze over when people hear about redistricting. They might wonder how large of an impact it has on their community. I can tell you that nothing, absolutely nothing, is more important to the future of our state than the current redistricting process. The decisions made by
Latino Perspectives Magazine
¡ August 2011!
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the AIRC will have an enormous impact on the future of Arizona. Due to a lack of fair and competitive districts during the redistricting process 10 years ago, extremists like Senate President Russell Pearce are elected by a few thousand Republican primary voters, and they never face a competitive general election. This year, Arizona has the chance to change our political landscape, but we must learn about the process, get involved and engage our community to take an active role in redistricting. This process is currently under attack by an angry set of partisans whose stranglehold on our state is now being threatened. Republicans and Tea Partiers have been organizing protests at AIRC meetings – protests like those seen during the 2000 Florida recount and the 2009 healthcare town halls. More significantly, Republican legislators and Republican Party State Chair Tom Morrissey are pressuring Gov. Brewer to call a legislative special session to remove the independent chair of the AIRC, so they can replace her with someone who will bend to their will. This kind of power play is grossly inappropriate and goes against the will of the voters who passed Proposition 106. There is even a proposal to completely repeal the constitutional amendment that created the commission. Communities that actively participate in the redistricting process will have more power to shape the state than ever before; those that do not will allow others to decide who will represent them for the next decade. The Arizona Democratic Party has initiated the Drawing a New Arizona Project to monitor and protect the integrity of the redistricting process. The project will serve as a watchdog to ensure the creation of fair, competitive districts that respect Arizona’s diverse communities. To learn more about the project, visit http://azdem.org/ action/redistricting or email me at lheredia@azdem.org. We must move forward together and take back our great state. Luis A. Heredia is the executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party. A native Arizonan, Heredia was raised in Somerton. He graduated as a Leadership Scholar from Arizona State University where he also received the Robert L. Pastor Outstanding Undergraduate Award. He resides in Gilbert with his wife of ten years, Claudia, and his sixyear-old son Abraham.
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