ÂĄFeliz Navidad p. 9
I’m Dreaming of a Multicultural Christmas.
Volume III, 8 | December 2011
contact@todoaustinonline.com
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CASA
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(Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Travis County
V o l unteer S pot l ight Susanna Busico was born in Carslbad, New Mexico. Her husband was an Air Force pilot and she and her two daughters moved around often over a 20-year period—including three years in Germany—before ending up in Austin. Now her entire family lives here including her four grandchildren and her mother. Susanna
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taught language arts and journalism for 25 years, and loved working with youth and teaching her favorite subjects. She carries these loves into her volunteer work with the Women’s Storybook Project of Texas as a team leader helping connect children with their incarcerated mothers through literature and as a volunteer advocate with CASA of Travis County. Susanna started volunteering with CASA in February of 2009 and has worked with 10 children. She knows that there are a lot of resources available and feels that she’s the person “who can spend the time to connect children with these resources and ensure that they don’t fall through the cracks.” For her, the most rewarding part is “seeing youth transition from such neglectful situations where their needs are not being met to either a new, more nurturing family, or going back to their original family after healing has taken place. Seeing them finally getting the love and support they deserve is truly a blessing.”
TODO Arts
december --------------------------------------------------Tori Amos - Bass Concert Hall
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Ballet East Dance Company’s “New Beginnings” is presented December 1-4 at the Dougherty Arts Center. Featuring new works by Dixon Mena, Jessica MartinezZamarripa, Juan Pablo Flores, Jeremy Ecker, Hailley Schwartz, and Associate Director Melissa Villarreal. Curtain is 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, with a matinee on Sunday at 2 p.m. General admission $12 adults, $8 children/senior citizens. balleteast.org • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Asian American Cultural Center hosts its annual Asian Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, December 3, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Take a break from your hectic holiday schedule with a relaxing Holiday Tea Time of Asian snacks, and select from a variety of special gifts from the East and West including unique handicrafts and artworks. Asian American Cultural Center. Free. asianamericancc.com • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Red Bench: Interfaith Conversations that Matter are a series of programs created by Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT) to help grow a sense of community in Austin, focusing on issues that are addressed by all of the great wisdom traditions, covering topics like forgiveness, compassion and gratitude. The next gathering is Tuesday, December 6 at the Family Life Center of First United Methodist Church in downtown Austin. interfaithtexas.org • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Nectar Boutique is the place for one-of-a-kind gifts and treasures on Saturday, December 10, from 2-8 p.m. 100% of the proceeds benefit the Amala Foundation. Find imports from India and Medjugorjia, fair trade chocolate, soy delights, candles, winter clothing and accessories, books for children and more. Free treats for the kids and a community lunch at 2 p.m., with ongoing family and kid activities and live music and a bonfire in the evening. Free. amalafoundation.org • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Groundwork Music Project presents a holiday music event featuring a standard canon of grown up friendly songs for kids plus some special tunes (including Hanukkah and traditional Klezmer folk songs) to fit the season at the Winter Holiday Concert at Cherrywood Coffeehouse, Sunday, December 11, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Proceeds from merchandise will go toward providing free music classes in Austin area preschools. Free. groundworkmusic.org • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • A benefit concert for Cedars International Academy’s music program on Sunday, December 11, 7-11:30 p.m. at Jovita’s will raise funds for the purchase of student acoustic guitars and percussion equipment. The Academy is an open enrollment, tuition-free public charter school serving grades Pre K – 8th. On the bill are Right Or Happy, Bluesqueezebox, Austerity Measures, Michael Comiskey and more. cedars-academy.org • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In the hall of one of Austin’s most historic houses of worship, some of the city’s most honored vocalists combine within the extraordinary Schola Cantorum of St. Mary’s Cathedral for Celtic Christmas at the Cathedral, Monday-Tuesday, December 19-20, 7:30 p.m. It’s a night of enchanted wonder matched only by the humble offerings of the Irish and Scottish traditional music, forming a celebration fit for angels and shepherds alike. celticchristmasaustin.com • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Group will host its 23rd annual Holiday Extraordinaire on Friday, December 23, at the Austin Renaissance Hotel in the Arboretum. This year’s community leadership award will be presented to Bastrop county judge Ronnie McDonald. All U Need and DJ Rick Blakey provide the entertainment for the formal evening, with tickets $75 per couple. For more information or to purchase tickets, e-mail leopardprintmedia@gmail.com, or call (512) 924-2529.
photo by Victor de Mello
With more than 12 million albums sold and multiple Grammy nominations, Tori Amos is one of the most successful and influential artists of her generation. A pioneer across multiple platforms, she was the first major label artist to offer a single for download, has had her songs turned into graphic novels, and has produced groundbreaking videos throughout her career. She is renowned for her passionate and broad fan-base, her critically and commercially successful tours, and her ever evolving live show. Amos is also a noted humanitarian and co-founder of the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, an anti-sexual assault organization. Wednesday, December 21, 8 p.m. texasperformingarts.org --------------------------------------------------Shen Yun – The Long Center
The show that has already won the hearts of millions is returning to Austin with an all-new program. Shen Yun Performing Arts presents an exhilarating celebration of China’s traditional arts on Thursday, December 29 (7:30 p.m.) and Friday, December 30 (2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) featuring nearly 100 world-class performers, beautiful choreography, breathtaking costumes, state-of-the-art digital backdrops, and groundbreaking music from a full live orchestra that masterfully combines both Western and Eastern instruments. Shen Yun’s stories of divinely inspired culture, from ancient heroic legends to modern-day epics evoke positive messages about virtue, compassion, and strength of the human spirit, leaving audiences uplifted and inspired. thelongcenter.org --------------------------------------------------The Music of John Williams – Palmer Events Center
Best known for his film scores and ceremonial music, John Williams is one of the most popular and successful American orchestral composers of the modern age. Come hear highlights from your favorite John Williams scores, such as “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Cowboys,” and many more. Part of the Sarah & Ernest Butler Pops Series, the December 30-31, 8 p.m. concert features Austin Symphony Orchestra conductor Peter Bay. You’ll also have the opportunity to have your picture taken with The Star Garrison of the 501st Legion. austinsymphony.org
A child’s future depends on a voice from your community.
C A S A O F T R A V I S C O U N T Y, I N C .
Use your voice. Become a CASA volunteer. www.casatravis.org 512.459.2272
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Volume III, Number 008 Publisher/Editor – Gavin Lance Garcia contact@todoaustinonline.com
HABLA Austin News and notes on current affairs and issues impacting our community from Hispanic advocates and business leaders of Austin. Dan Arellano – Tejano Monument at the Capitol // The unveiling of our Tejano Monument is scheduled for Thursday, March 29 at 10 a.m. at the capitol in Austin. The Tejano Genealogy Society, in conjunction with the Tejano Monument Committee, is working feverishly to put together a conference and a parade. We are planning to have the parade Saturday morning March 31 at 9 a.m.; however we cannot have a parade without participants and we realize that the day is fast approaching. We are working on permits and are trying to work with the city for the waiver of some of the costs involved. Our goal is to have different communities and groups that are interested in participating by sending a float from their community with a Tejano themed float. For example, Losoya could send a float on the Battle of Medina, Casa Navarro House a float on Jose Antonio Navarro, Hebbronville: Vaquero Days, Seguin: Juan Seguin, Goliad: Ignacio Zaragoza and so forth. If there is any interest we need to know ASAP so we can continue; however, we will be having a conference. Our web site will be up soon with more information on the conference. The parade cost will be $50 per entry and the conference will be free and at the Capitol. Paul Saldana – To help the United States, help Latinos lead // From David Gergen, CNN: “Leadership training alone will not close the achievement gap or erase childhood poverty, but it can play an important role. As the next generation of young Latinos grows up, they have the power to shape their future and, increasingly, their country’s future. As the nation’s second Latino astronaut, Jose Hernandez, asked this past year’s cohort, ‘Are you guys going to embrace the opportunity to be agents of change? Because, like it or not, you guys are models – it’s a powerful tool.’” Kathleen Vale - Award-winning Eastside robotics team worried about charter school proposal // In case you missed it, there was a great story about the success of the students at Eastside High School with their robotics program--and their concern that it would not be available to them under the IDEA Charter School model which focus almost exclusively on basic academics, typically not incorporating the richness of extra-curricular activities, such as Robotics (even though Robotics is a STEM-stong
ex-cur.!). From Laura Heinauer, Statesman.com (Nov. 27): ‘For some, plans to install a charter school within the Austin school district’s Eastside Memorial High Schools spark concerns based on philosophical differences over charter schools. For Eastside junior Marcos Montoya, it’s about stability. And robots. ‘We need to have a year where they are like, ‘OK, next year is going to be just like this year,’’ said Montoya, a member of the school’s award-winning robotics team, the Miracle Machines … Since 2008, when the former Johnston campus was closed by the state for poor academic performance, Eastside has been revamped three times. The students said they want people to know that Eastside isn’t home to a bunch of students who can’t pass tests and that Eastside teams, including the robotics team, compete toe-to-toe with some of the top teams in the state … Under an arrangement under consideration by the Austin school board, Eastside would be handed over to IDEA Public Schools, a South Texas-based charter school operator. ‘Why not give the school a year or two where you allow it to flourish on its own instead of constantly messing with it?’ Montoya said.” John Vasquez – Alabama’s shame // From nytimes.com (Nov. 21): “Last week, a manager for Mercedes-Benz, visiting from Germany, was pulled over in his rental car by a police officer in Tuscaloosa near where a Mercedes plant builds sport-utility vehicles. The manager didn’t have his driver’s license with him, and only a few months ago he just would have been given a ticket. But Alabama’s new law, now in effect, demands tougher action against suspected illegal immigrants. The manager was arrested and taken to police headquarters.” Amaury Nora – Lt. Gen. Sanchez on economy and job creation // It seems Gen Sanchez is beginning to lay out his plan. From somostejanos.org (Nov. 23): “The United States government has a responsibility to grow and sustain an economy that provides jobs for our citizens and strengthens our country as a whole. Clearly, it is failing in that responsibility today … America needs to get back to a position where it is economically viable, where it balances the need for encouraging the development of business opportunities for growing jobs with providing the social programs that are desperately needed by some segments of our population. We do not need to sacrifice one for the other. We can do both. And we must do both.”
The 2011 FuturoFund Grantees Announced Latin music and excitement filled City Hall on December 2 as members of FuturoFund Austin, a collective giving effort to make an impact in the Latino community through philanthropy and leadership, gathered to award $40,000 in grants to local organizations. After moving presentations from the six finalists and a very close vote by FuturoFund members, AVANCE-Austin and the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition were chosen as the 2011 FuturoFund Grantees. AVANCEAustin will receive a $30,000 grant to expand its Parent-Child Program to north Austin, strengthening Latino families and providing access to parenting, ESL, and educational toy-making classes. Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition will receive a $10,000 grant to expand its Human Rights Leadership Development Program which provides basic human rights education and promotes and racial and economic justice. Each year, FuturoFund Austin considers grant proposals in five focus areas: arts and culture, education, community development, health and human service and social justice. The finalists were chosen by a 12-member grants committee after a thorough evaluation of each proposal. Twelve semi-finalists were chosen and site visits conducted with all before the committee made their finalist recommendations to the general FuturoFund membership. 04 TODO Austin // December 2011 // TODOaustin.com
photo by Jorge Reyes
FuturoFund Austin was founded in 2008 as an innovative way to leverage the tremendous talent, passion and resources in the Austin Latino community. FuturoFund members commit to investing $500 a year with 100% of the member contributions going to deserving community organizations making a positive difference in the Latino community. Over $135,000 has been raised to support efforts that serve and engage the Latino community. For more information about FuturoFund Austin, visit their website at www.futurofund.com.
Art Director – Dave McClinton www.dmdesigninc.com Executive Editor – Erica Stall Wiggins Senior Editors – Harmony Eichsteadt, Katie Walsh Associate Editors – Sonia Kotecha, Alexandra M. Landeros, Julia Lee, Esther Reyes, Blake Shanley, Yvonne Lim Wilson Contributing Writers/Artists – Pratima Agrawal, Güner Arslan, Mohammad Al-Bedaiwi, Joseph Banks, Stefanie Behe, Adriana Cadena, Jason Cato, Sirsha Chatterjee, Jennie Chen, Priscilla Cortez, Brie Franco, Layla Fry, Mita Haldar, Jillian Hall, Maria P. Hernandez, Paul Hernandez, Gabino Iglesias, Yadira Izquierdo, Nandini Jairam, Chaille Jolink, Jamie Jones, Ryan Jordan, Sushma KhadepaunParmar, Ramey Ko, Vandana Kumar, Callie Langford, Heather Lee, Liz Lopez, David Marks, Jessica Meyer, Lata Narumanchi, Cristina Parker, Kathy Pham, Jorge Reyes, Rebecca Robinson, Paul Saldaña, Marion Sanchez, Hani Saleh, Lorenzo Salinas, Jaya Shukla, Rupal Shah, Sachin Shah, Vinit Singh, Kristina Vallejo, Kuetzpalin Vasquez, Vanessa Valdovinos, Joseph P.A. Villescas, Bowen Wilder, Sait Yavuz Photographers – Raul Angon, Heather Banks, Jenny Fu, Mark Guerra, Mari Hernandez, John M. P. Knox, JoJo Marion, Anna Moreno, Aimee Wenske, Matt Ziehr Cover: photo by Tony Spielberg TODO Austin: Multicultural Media for All of Austin (TODOAustin.com) TODO Austin is a free, colorful print and online journal for all of Austin highlighting our multicultural heritage. Our mission is to promote the concept of community in an ethnically diverse city. TODO Austin’s content closely mirrors the changing demographics of Austin. TODO Austin is circulated throughout Austin, spanning the city from the West Side’s Pennybacker Bridge on Loop 360 to the Montopolis Bridge in East Austin. TODO Austin provides a platform that profiles Hispanic, Anglo, Asian, African American and other individuals, groups and organizations that are representing a positive vision in the community. TODO Austin is published by Spark Awakened Publishing. © 2011 Spark Awakened Publishing. All rights reserved. Unsolicited submissions (including, but not limited to articles, artwork, photographs) are not returned. TODO Austin is a free print and online journal for all of Austin highlighting our multicultural heritage, promoting the concept of community in an ethnically diverse city. Advertising/Submissions/Editorial: Contact@todoaustin. com, 512.538.4115 – TODO Austin - P.O. Box 4142 Austin, TX 78765-4142
YVONNE LIM WILSON (p.6) is founder/publisher of AsianAustin. com and Executive Director of Texas Asian Chamber of Commerce
BLAKE SHANLEY (p.14) is helping build E. 11th though East Village and is committed to wellness, nutrition and holistic healing
Insecure Communities: The Impact of Police-ICE Collaboration on Travis County By Esther Reyes
The week before Thanksgiving, Congressman Lloyd Doggett announced he had signed on to Congressman Jose Serrano’s letter to end the now widely discredited immigration enforcement program called “Secure Communities” (S-Comm), along with dozens of fellow U.S. Representatives. The letter expressed what communities across the country already know: S-Comm undermines immigrants’ trust in the police, thereby making our communities less safe. S-Comm is an immigration enforcement program
launched in 2008 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aimed at identifying “serious convicted criminals” by using local law enforcement resources to enforce federal immigration laws, largely through the data sharing of fingerprint records. More than half arrested through S-Comm have either no convictions or only misdemeanors including traffic offenses. The impact of S-Comm on Travis County residents and has been devastating. On November 6, 2009, Raul Zamora, a 21-year-old Urban Studies Major at the University of Texas in Austin was arrested after being stopped by the University of Texas Police Department for a broken taillight. Despite calling Texas home since he was 10 years old, Raul was transferred to ICE and put in deportation proceedings. Now, Raul must fight to stay in this country to finish his degree and contribute to the country that he calls home. Raul’s story is all too common. The controversial federal immigration screening program, S-Comm, has caused numerous deportations of individuals
who have never been found guilty of any crime or were simply arrested for violation of traffic laws. In Travis County alone, the program has resulted in nearly 1,900 deportations since its inception in 2008, the vast majority for minor infractions.
demonstrated, among other things, that detained individuals are often not afforded a right to counsel and transferred to remote locations for detention, which severely limits their access to resources to help them fight their cases.
If immigrants perceive that local law enforcement are working with ICE, they are less likely to contact the police when they are victims or witnesses of a crime, making it harder for police to investigate crimes that happen in our communities. Such was the case Raul’s relative who preferred not to call the police for fear of deportation when his truck was stolen in August.
Along with Congressman Doggett, a coalition of prominent organizations in Travis County continue to call for the federal government to terminate S-Comm; review the impact of all ICE immigration screening programs on community policing, public safety, and the civil rights of all residents; and respect the requests of local and state jurisdictions seeking to opt-out of S-Comm. The coalition includes: The ACLU of Texas; American Gateways; Austin Center for Peace & Justice; Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera; Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition; Detention Watch Network; Equal Justice Center; Grassroots Leadership; LULAC District 12; PODER; Texans United for Families; Texans for Peace; Texas Civil Rights Project; Texas Criminal Justice Coalition; Texas Jail Project; Texas State Conference of NAACP Branches; University Leadership Initiative; and the Workers Defense Project.
In addition to the impact on local law enforcement, S-Comm funnels immigrants into an unjust detention system that fails to offer due process protections. In October, the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy of the University of California-Berkley, released its report titled “Secure Communities by the Numbers: An Analysis of Demographics and Due Process” on S-Comm. The data obtained for the report
Photo by Jason Cato
FuturoFocus: Education Will public education continue to be the pathway to the American Dream for the growing number of Latinos in the Austin education system? Determined and committed that it will, over 40 people gathered at the Capitol on November 1, 2011 for the second FuturoFocus to learn more how we can ensure that Latino children in Austin receive an excellent education and prosperous future. Presenters included Austin Partners in Education, Stand for Children and Communities in Schools and was led by Representative Mark Strama. While some of the discussion included information we already knew – over 60 percent of the AISD school population are Latinos,
By Brie Franco
the epidemic drop-out rate and high level of poverty among Latinos in AISD – some of the conversation included new information like Latinos communicate best through text messaging, thus school districts should be using this medium as a communication tool with parents. And some of the conversation challenged existing perceptions such as whether Latinos are demanding more for their children’s education or whether the status quo is satisfactory for many families. Other questions included whether more programs and services should be offered during school hours rather than after school programs, when many Latinos have to work, provide child care or have limited access to transportation. Representative
Strama also shared some of the initiatives he is considering at the state level including lengthening the school year and offering summer bonuses to teachers who work during a lengthened school year. The hour flew by too quickly and many left wanting to do more and talk more. The FuturoFocus series will hopefully guide our members to the next steps of addressing the challenges facing our community, and we are just beginning! We want to thank Austin Partners in Education, Stand for Children and Communities in Schools for their time and all that they do for Austin children. We hope our members take the time to learn about each of
these organizations through the links below. We also want to thank Representative Strama for his time, leadership and service to the Austin community, and Representative Donna Howard for reserving the room at the Capitol and staff support. Our next FuturoFocus will be on Healthcare.
TODO Austin // december 2011 // TodoAustin.com 05
Asian Austin: About Town //
Diversity First Awards
By Yvonne Lim Wilson
The Texas Diversity Council recently recognized nine individuals and corporations leading the field of diversity and inclusion. The Texas Diversity Council promotes diversity in the workplace and community and started the awards in 2004. Angeles Valenciano, Vice President of Business Development for the Texas Diversity Council, commented that diversity initiatives are not only good for the community; it’s good for business. “When companies have a diverse workforce, they can better understand their diverse customers, and, in most cases, those customers can become employees. It can really be a cycle,” she said. Individual award winners include: Catherine Crago, Diversity Interactive; Daniel Garcia, John B. Connelly HS; William Hopkins, Brown McCarroll, L.L.P.; Amy Wong Mok, Asian American Cultural Center; and Patricia D. Ortega, UT Austin. Corporate award winners include: Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE) at University of Texas at Austin; Lee Hecht Harrison; IBM and 3M.
Part of the innovation that drives Diversity Interactive comes from quantifying cultural differences and translating those differences to their impact on business performance.
one, or a nice year-end tax deduction,” said Jennifer Kim, a key organizer for the AARC and vice president of the Network of Asian American Organizations.
Upcoming:
“Some interculturalists get offended; they say ‘you can’t quantify culture,” Crago said. “It’s a huge contribution to provide data that employees can react against to make shared decisions using shared terms.”
A limited number of names will be displayed. Translations will be available for Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese; other languages are available upon request.
The Multi-Ethnic Chamber Alliances is hosting the annual MECA Holiday Party on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Goodwill Community Center, 1015 Norwood Park Blvd. Join the Austin Asian American, the Capital City African American and Greater Austin Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, and partners to celebrate the season with food, music, fun and great networking. Free admission with toy donation. Visit www.austinaacc.org or www. txasianchamber.org for details.
Her most recent work addresses how the digital divide affects state governmental agencies ability to connect with citizens, and Crago continues to work to analyze how the changing population will impact businesses’ ability to deliver products and services.
Two Austin-based Asian Chambers Merge
The net proceeds of all donations will fund AARC operations. Cost is $200 per name, with $175 of the amount tax deductible. Personalized donation certificates are also available for gift presentation. Contact the Network of Asian American Organizations at 512-407-8240 x302 for details.
The Texas Asian Chamber of Commerce and the Austin Asian American Chamber of Commerce will be merging to form a new organization dedicated to serving the business community in the Greater Austin area. Members of both organizations voted to approve the merger on Nov. 1.
Austin Korean American Community Gala, Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m.
“The growth and expansion of Central Texas, in addition to both chambers being healthy financially and operationally, were key reasons members wanted to move forward with the intent to merge,” said Ali Khataw, AAACC Chairman. “Plus combining resources, talents and members has the potential of producing a much more vibrant, impactful and valuable organization.”
Brick by Brick for New Asian American Resource Center
Angeles Valenciano (left) and Dennis Kennedy (right) of the Texas Diversity Council with Diversity First award winner Amy Wong Mok
“What is needed is for people to move beyond the idea of diversity as philanthropy and move toward diversity as a brand promise,” said Catherine Crago, managing director and executive producer of Diversity Interactive. Crago was recognized for innovation in the field of diversity.
You can now support the new Asian American Resource Center (AARC) and have your name memorialized on site. The AARC, to be located at 8401 Cameron Road, is starting construction and selling engraved bricks as a way to help boost funds. “As part of our capital campaign, you can have your name engraved on a limestone wall located near the plaza and front entrance of the building. This will make a great holiday gift, a heartfelt commemoration in memory of a departed loved
From left to right: Chiaki Kasahara Stout, Diversity Interactive; Catherine Crago, Diversity Interactive; Carol Thompson, The Thompson Group
“Pioneers from the East” Photo Exhibit Released Online The Austin History Center has released its groundbreaking photo exhibit of the first Chinese families online. Esther Chung, Asian American Neighborhood Liaison, has steadily been gathering documents and photos and first released the exhibit in 2010. To see the photos, visit:http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/ chinesepioneers.htm
Coats for Kids Distribution Day Saturday, December 10 from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Coats for Kids is an annual community project that collects and distributes warm winter coats to eligible children and teenagers in Central Texas. Each year, The Junior League of Austin, Jack Brown Cleaners, KASE 101, and KVUE partner to bring the community together to ensure that the children of Central Texas stay warm. Last year, with the help of its sponsors and 2,600 community volunteers, Coats for Kids distributed 35,157 new and gently used coats to young people in Central Texas. 06 TODO Austin // december 2011 // TODOaustin.com
MECA Holiday Party, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m.
The Korean American Association of Greater Austin presents its annual community Gala on Saturday, Dec. 17 at the Renaissance Austin Hotel, 9721 Arboretum Blvd. Entertainment includes “National Human Treasure” Yi Chunmok as well as local artists. Tickets $40. Contact 512-491-7101 or go to austinkorean@hotmail.com. Yvonne Lim Wilson is founder and publisher of Asian Austin at www.AsianAustin.com, an online news magazine featuring news about Asian American people, organizations and events in Austin. Contact Yvonne at yvonne@ asianaustin.com.
Austin South Asian Creatives Building Momentum By Vinit Singh & Sushma Khadepaun-Parmar
Austin South Asian Creatives (ASAC) organized its fourth “meet-up” on November 16 at Monkey Nest Coffee. ASAC is a public forum that supports and promotes South Asians and encourages them to participate in and create new art, including but not limited to theater, music, cinema, dance and fine arts. It was founded in May, 2010 when a group of 10 friends came together for a table read of a short film. Since then, the group has grown manyfold. Proceedings for the November meet-up were set in motion by a musical rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” arranged by Vinit (guitar) and accompanied by Priyamvada (vocals) and Arvind (saxophone, vocals). Priyamvada is a University of Texas student who sings with River City Pops, while Arvind and Vinit are engineers who occasionally moonlight as blues musicians. After the opening act, Leng Wong took the stage and conducted a “theater workshop.” Leng, a professional producer and actor, graciously volunteered to conduct a series of interactive acting exercises geared to helping people “open up” and lose their inhibitions. Workshops such as these thrive on participant involvement, and
AARC Recognition Wall
the ASAC’ers with their attendant enthusiasm made the event fun and enriching. The evening wound down with several casting and collaboration calls for upcoming projects, which included theater productions, films, and music projects. Earlier this year, ASAC hosted the South-BySouth-Asian Social against the backdrop of SXSW, and brought together artists and techies from all over the country who were visiting the city during the festival. Buoyed by the response at this social, and an increase in public interest and its support base, ASAC expects to top last year’s event in March, 2012. Apart from hosting meet-ups, ASAC also aims to serve as a forum which facilitates discussion of creative ideas and new projects, collaboration between artists, and organizing and marketing of events. For more information on auditions, potential collaborations and upcoming events, please visit the ASAC Facebook page http://www. facebook.com/AustinSAC or contact Sushma Parmar at sush.parmar@gmail.com.
The Asian American Resource Center (AARC), to be located at 8401 Cameron Road north of Hwy 183 in Austin, Texas, is about to begin construction. The project is in need of operating funds. As part of our capital campaign, you can have your name engraved on a limestone wall located near the plaza and front entrance of the building. A limited number of names will be displayed. They will be half-aninch in size. The net proceeds of your donation will fund AARC operations. Cost is $ 200 per name, with $175 of the amount tax deductible. Ordering early is recommended to guarantee a spot. Please forward this to your organizations and friends and family. This will make a great holiday gift, a heartfelt commemoration in memory of a departed loved one, or a nice year-end tax deduction ($175). Free Donation Certificate: We will send you a personalized Donation Certificate for each person’s name. Just email your request with your order, and you will receive a certificate you can print out, frame or gift wrap. Just in time for the holidays! We have translators available for Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Other languages are available upon request. For more info or to get a donation form please contact: donations@ austinaarc.org, Dolly Shiu at (512) 299-7637, or visit www. austinaarc.org
Noah’s Pudding Festival a Seasonal Turkish Delight Noah’s Pudding Festival & Music Fair arrives Saturday, December 10, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Raindrop Turkish House, 12400 Amherst Drive, off Parmer Lane, in northwest Austin. The event marks a special time of year with food, music and so much more.
marbling demonstrations; henna tattooing; unique Turkish handicrafts including Oriental rugs, ceramics and pottery, bags, traditional jewelry, clothing, decorative pillows, throws, towels, other textile products, and more—just in time for holiday shopping.
In the Mediterranean, Noah’s Pudding Festival celebrates life with the preparation and sharing of an elaborate, traditional dessert. This uniquely Austin version of the celebration features many other rich and delicious Turkish dishes as well, not just puddings.
And food! In addition to the many different Noah’s Pudding dishes, there’s kabobs, doner sandwiches, vegetable and meat dishes, salads, borek, baklava, waffles, Turkish delights and other desserts, and, of course, Turkish tea and coffee to remind everyone why Turkish cuisine is considered one of the world’s greatest.
Admission to the fair is free, as are bowls of Noah’s Pudding. Activities, live music and craft items are planned with appeal with for all ages: moonwalks and balloons for children; the Turkish art of water
A panel of judges will award prizes for the best Noah’s Puddings at the festival. This year’s festival sponsors include Raindrop Turkish House,
the Turkish American Women Association and the Austin-Antalya Sister Cities Association. Noah’s Pudding commemorates the common heritage of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the Muslim prophetic tradition, it marks two occasions: the day Moses and the Israelites were saved from Pharaoh’s army and the day Noah’s ark was saved from the flood. Today, in the Mediterranean region, Muslim and Christian celebrants prepare the flavorful desert made from grains, nuts, and fruits and share bowls with their neighbors. The many, varied food ingredients and the sharing symbolize how people from different backgrounds can peacefully and productively co-exist.
TODO Austin // december 2011 // TODOaustin.com 07
How important is “The Nutcracker”? It is such a cultural phenomenon that it has its own field of ethnography. It is likewise a seasonal tradition in Austin as devotees and neophytes make the pilgrimage to Dell Hall for Ballet Austin’s dance ritual. As ballet is seen in some quarters of the city as “high art” created for Austin’s elite, Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” is actually a celebration of world cultures. The second act of divertissements is high folk-dance, so to speak, choreographed to common ethnic folk melodies. There is the Spanish chocolate dance, Arabian coffee dance, Chinese tea dance, Russian Trepak dancers, and French marzipan dancers, followed by the Waltz of the Flowers, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the beloved finale. That is multiculturalism in its essence. “Culturally, these sections are different but the music, costumes and choreography set the stage well, so we don’t need to go over the top with our interpretation of the culture through our gestures,” states Ballet Austin dancer Orlando Julius Canova, a
“When the ballet was first created, composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky included musical motifs and rhythms from the cultures that are included in the second act, and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov included some folk-dance movements from those cultures as well,” she explains. “They took artistic license with the cultural music and dances because they were not trying to replicate the cultures accurately—they were simply attempting to give their audiences the flavors of those cultures. Including divertissements from other cultures was very popular in the Russian Classical period of ballet—other cultures were seen as exotic and thus including them in ballets made the ballets seem more exotic themselves.” Canova, who is dancing in the Russian, French and Chinese sections this year, more bluntly describes Act II as “really, more of a fairy tale about candy than anything else. And the cultures associated with the candy add to the fantasy.” Ballet Austin uses “The Nutcracker” each year as a window on the company, with more than 13,000 Central Texas elementary school students and teachers attending its school shows. The presentations about ballet and ‘The Nutcracker’ that help to enrich the students’ live performance experience. “The Nutcracker” school shows and docent program is one of the finest constructed by the arts community to reach children from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. The 30- to 45-minute multi-media docent presentations fit into one class period, and meet 3rd and 4th grade TEKS requirements for Fine Arts, Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. They include elements such as video excerpts, simple dance activities, examinations of pointe shoes and ballet slippers, actual costumes from past productions, and a Q&A session with students.
photography
Tony Spielberg
California native in his sixth season with the company. “Russian is the closest choreography we have to folk dancing in ‘The Nutcracker,’ but it’s still very much based in ballet. There are subtle differences that highlight each: the Russian and Chinese feature turns and jumps, while the French features more petite allegro, or small, fast jumps.”
mission of these shows is to provide one act of the performance experience at a minimal cost for local elementary-aged students. To enhance the live ballet experience, Ballet Austin also offers an optional in-school pre-performance educational program geared towards 3rd and 4th graders that includes activities for the classroom.
During the era of the stagecoach and locomotive, “The Nutcracker” transported audiences around the world. Although it was panned by critics and audiences at its outset in 1892, its popularity grew rapidly and it is now the most widely performed ballet in the world. It is also the goose that lays the golden egg for Austin’s oldest and largest dance company.
“Ballet Austin believes that the performing arts should be accessible to all regardless of income or background,” said Brown, who leads the school shows and docent programs. “Partnering with schools allows Ballet Austin to provide low-cost opportunities for students to attend a live ballet performance of this professional caliber, with the schools providing the necessary transportation which can so often be a barrier to individual families. Additionally, Ballet Austin Guild members and other volunteers provide free pre-show in-school educational
Ballet Austin’s Community Education Director, Pei-San Brown, can see the cross-cultural value of “The Nutcracker” quite clearly. 08 TODO Austin // december 2011 // TODOaustin.com
“The docent program is offered only to those schools attending ‘The Nutcracker’ School Shows as the pre-performance educational component to those shows,” Brown noted. “Ballet Austin and its Guild and volunteers have been providing this free in-school educational program for students throughout Central Texas for more than 25 years. The docent program helps make a field trip to the ballet a meaningful and enjoyable educational experience for Central Texas students and educators.” The responses to the program from the community have been impressive. “Ballet Austin receives thousands of thank you notes from children and teachers from all schools, and especially from those lower socio-economic area schools,” Brown. “For most of these students, ‘The Nutcracker’ School Shows may be their first and last experience seeing live ballet at a venue such as The Long Center. Responses can be immediate, from children for recently seeing a show, to long-term, such as one received from the principal from Lost Pines Elementary in Bastrop ISD who just wrote to us letting us know that she, as a child of poverty, will never forget how much she enjoyed seeing Ballet Austin’s ‘The Nutcracker’ as a second grader decades ago.”
Rollins Theatre at the Long Center. Admission is $20; $15 for students and seniors. www. teatrovivo.org Southwest Key and East Austin College Prep’s Holiday Posada in East Austin Southwest Key and East Austin College Prep’s Latino Arts Preservation Program students will narrate, sing and dance the audience through a traditional Mexican Posada and multi-media performance of “Shlama” from Proyecto Teatro Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m. at Southwest Key’s Centro de Familia, 6002 Jain Lane. A posada is a Christmas festival that originated in Latin America that dramatizes the search of Joseph and Mary for lodging. Kids can meet Santa Claus and enjoy games, arts and crafts, piñatas, face painting and more. Café del Sol will have extended holiday hours for the Posada. Admission is free and bus riders can use Bus #17. www.swkey.org
benefit Arte Sana, an organization promoting healing and the empowerment of marginalized survivors of gender-based violence for more than a decade. The Winter Mercado will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and Las Posadas Navideñas from 4-7 p.m. The Winter Mercado features handmade items from local artisans, including Rose TwoFeathers. A holiday fixture in the Latina kitchen, homemade tamales will be sold and pre-orders are being accepted. Cash or Checks will be accepted at the event. www.indigenouswomen.org
Alma de Mujer Center for Social Change presents Winter Mercado and Las Posadas Navideñas Alma de Mujer Center for Social Change will host its Winter Mercado and Las Posadas Navideñas, Saturday, Dec. 17 at 13621 FM 969. Proceeds
Dreaming of a white Christmas? While snow might not be in the forecast, Austin has several Latino-themed options this month to celebrate the season. To some, these are traditional events; to others, they may represent something of a more non-traditional, exotic variety. Here are four family-friendly offerings to consider, so ir a verlos.
group decided to adopt the name, Austin Latino Theater Alliance (ALTA) in 2004. Every year a different Artistic Director is chosen so audiences can expect a different show every time. Admission is $15.00 General, $10.00 Students/ Seniors. www.lapastorela.com “Cuento Navideño: Bah Humbug in the Barrio”
Austin Latino Theater Alliance’s “La Pastorela” “La Pastorela,” A Shepherd’s Story, is a contemporary musical comedy based on a traditional Yuletide play from Native-American and Latino communities presented by ALTA, Austin Latino Theater Alliance. The production will run Thursday, Friday & Saturday, Dec. 1-17 at 8 p.m. at the Emma Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River Street. Revered in the Christmas tradition aspect as the Latino counterpart to the Nutcracker, “La Pastorela” is a must see family-friendly, musical comedy this Holiday Season. This year’s play follows a modern day family on their journey with the myriad of challenges in today’s society. On their quest, they encounter obstacles in the form of worldly temptations put before them by crafty devils, but try to resist as guardian angels fight to keep them on their path. Austin Latino Theater Alliance is a group made up of artists and art organizations that come together every year to produce “La Pastorela” in Austin. This unprecedented collaboration became a reality for the first time in 2001. The
Teatro Vivo premieres the festive family comedy “Cuento Navideño: Bah Humbug in the Barrio,” a bilingual holiday comedy, at the Long Center Dec. 8-18. Written and directed by Rupert Reyes and inspired by Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” “Cuento Navideño “(A Christmas Story) takes place on Christmas Eve in a modern, urban Latino community. Evangelina Cruz is the Latina Ebenezer Scrooge, a selfish businesswoman who has lost touch with her culture, her family and connection to her community. An unexpected visit from the ghost of her former business partner, the once equally-greedy Teodora, sets Evangelina on a journey to look closely at her choices. This festive bilingual comedy infuses Latino culture, Spanish language, and Latino holiday traditions in a show to be enjoyed by all of Austin’s familia. Each performance will have surprise stars representing local community leaders, elected officials, celebrities and guest artists who will have a small (but fun) part in the play. Performances are Dec. 8-18; ThursdaysSaturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the TODO Austin // december 2011 // TODOaustin.com 09
Jerry Avila’s ‘Primetime’ Music Celebrates Twentieth Year by David Marks
Music quiz time: What’s the longest running television music show in Austin? Many people, especially those outside the Hispanic community, will be surprised that the answer is Jerry Avila’s “Primetime Tejano.” Airing at 8:00 p.m. every Thursday on channelAustin 10, “Primetime Tejano” is celebrating its 20th season on the air. From its beginnings in 1992 as “Tejano Music Entertainment,” Primetime has developed a loyal following by not only promoting the genre of Tejano music, but by also providing news and information to a community underserved by mainstream media. While the history of Primetime may be clear, the term Tejano is a little more amorphous and broad. The term was used as early as 1824 to describe Texans of Mexican descent. When applied to music, however, lines seem to blur between heritage and style. For example, is a group a Tejano band because the members are Tejano, or because they play Tejano music? The answer depends on whom you ask.
last another five years. We’ll probably make 25 years, and then I’m probably gonna move forward to try and do something a little bit different. I’m looking to work with a lot of the big producers like Austin City Limits.” He spoke of the dream of putting together a show similar to Austin City Limits with Tejano and Latin music, and also of the difficulty in getting exposure, even though the demographics have changed considerably.
“What is, really, Tejano music?” Jerry Avila ponders. “It’s a mixture of everything, combined with what we do here in the United States. Tejano music is Tex-Mex music. Tejano music is American and Spanish music fused together, which is unique to Mexican Americans.” Citing many influences and styles, Avila describes Tejano as a large umbrella. “It’s evolving as we speak.”
“Now we’re at 38 percent. Almost half of the population in Austin is Hispanic or Latin community based. The Austin music community and what we have going on here in the Latin and Tejano community is second to none because of what we do here.”
Few have experienced the depth and breadth of that evolution as intimately as Avila. “A lot of people don’t understand until they hear the music, and what the music’s all about. Every artist has a different story to tell, and you just gotta make sure you listen to their music to know what they’re talking about,” he counsels. Avila is also justifiably proud of the successes of “Primetime Tejano” and the effort to represent the growing Hispanic community. “We had to knock down doors in the back to get to the front. We knocked down a lot of barriers in the Austin area in the last 20 years,” Avila shared. From the struggles to earn a South by Southwest official showcase, to the constant challenges of producing a show every week, Avila knows the turf well. He expresses his continuing commitment to the Hispanic and Latino communities that have sustained “Primetime 10 TODO Austin // december 2011 // TOdoaustin.com
Tejano.” “Once you’re committed and once they know what you’re about, they expect you to be on every week. When you’ve been doing a show that long, you know people are depending on you, so you gotta do it, and that’s been my motivation.” From city issues to community issues, music to sporting issues, “we’ve covered it all,” Avila said. When asked about the shows future, Avila joked, “Every time I say I’m ready to retire, they won’t let me!” Then on a more serious note he offered: “I think that my show will probably
As pride turned to gratitude, Avila said, “I’d just like to thank everyone for their support, from the Hispanic community, to the city officials, to the city council members, to the artists, to the producers, to the directors, and to my family who supported me throughout the years.” “Primetime Tejano” has been voted “Best Variety Show” five times, and once placed in the top ten music TV programs in Austin. The show covers the Tejano Music Awards, the Latin Grammys, Cinco de Mayo and more. By including news and interviews with artists, politicians and historians, “Primetime Tejano” surely has “covered it all.” Happy 20th anniversary!
The Digital
Ten Golden Rules of Lomography 1. Take your camera everywhere you go 2. Use it any time – day and night 3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it
City
4. Try the shot from the hip 5. Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible 6. Don’t think 7. Be fast 8. You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film
Meets its
9. Afterwards either 10. Don’t worry about any rules
Ten Prophecies of the Analogue Future
Analogue
1. Leave the digital grind behind 2. The return of luck, coincidence, contingency, chance, fortune and surprise 3. Expect the unexpected and the excitement of experiment
Future
4. Lomography will bring back overtones, nuances, smells, shades, dirt & dust and real life beauty to us 5. Film & paper ensure originality, authenticity and eternity 6. Look twice
By Harmony Eichsteadt
7. Let loose with lomography 8. The avant-garde is analogue
They’ll be meeting on December 6th to be precise. That’s the day the Lomography Gallery Store Austin will be hosting its grand opening. “The future is analogue,” retorts Cameron Russell, artist, native Texan and southern territory manager for Lomography International. This catchphrase may seem out of place in a city as tech happy as Austin, yet Russell argues that Austin is in fact the perfect place for lomography. The casual yet experimental feel of this film-based art form embodies the spontaneous and down to earth spirit of Austin so much so that it is hard to imagine the movement was born in Vienna. Part of what makes lomography special is the cameras used – they have plastic lenses and let you do things most film cameras won’t, like taking multiple pictures before advancing the film. Lomographers take advantage of these features as well as a host of other techniques, like processing film in the wrong chemicals, loading film backwards, and washing film before use to produce pictures that are saturated and dreamy in quality. “There is something magical about the accidents that happen in lomography,” Russell says. “You just take pictures of your everyday life, and when you get the rolls back you realize that there are amazing things all around you.” The store has opened in familiar territory, as Austin already has a burgeoning group of lomographers, a group to which Russell has considered himself a member since December, 2008. Last summer he had his first solo show. Marshall Foster, another local Austin lomographer,
9. A bazillion fresh analogue tunes await us 10. The analogue future is the home of a whole lot of love, joy, fun, sex and … paradise!
recently won RAW Austin photographer of the year, and is a semi-finalist for the national award. But you don’t need to be a professional photographer, or even know anything about cameras to be a lomographer. In fact, Russell insists it’s actually easier to learn lomography if you aren’t a professional photographer. This is because lomography isn’t about technical precision or careful framing. Lomography is about shooting from the hip, appreciating the beauty in your everyday life, seeing things from new perspectives, and being surprised by the miracle of accidents. It’s because of this philosophy that Austin, though we lead the country on the digital front, is already embracing this avant-garde analogue art form. There aren’t many things more local, more weird, or more quintessentially Austin than making art from pictures of your dog, your best friend, your shoes, and your favorite beer (all popular subjects for lomographers). The Lomography Gallery Store Austin will boast a wall of 4,500 Austin-themed pictures taken by local lomographers, and a lounge where lomographers can hang out, trade rolls and share secrets. There will also be dozens of cameras for sale and workshops almost every week on different aspects of lomography. Ready to get your feet wet? Head to Lomography Gallery Store Austin, 912 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701. TODO Austin // december 2011 // TOdoaustin.com 11
A Teenager’s Suicide Spurs DREAM Activists
photos by: Julian Aguilar / Todd Wiseman
by Julian Aguilar, Texas Tribune
One evening this week on the sprawling University of Texas campus, a small group of DREAMers — the moniker for undocumented college students lobbying for passage of the DREAM Act — solemnly painted posters for an upcoming campaign. The statement on each was simple: “I am Joaquin.” It is the title of a famous Chicano-movement poem of the 1960s. The title character speaks of the minority community’s battles and perseverance in an Anglo-dominated society. Now, after last week’s suicide of Joaquin Luna, an illegal immigrant student from Mission, activists in Texas have adopted the phrase to draw attention to undocumented students in Texas who are unable to gain employment, even if they excel in their studies. Many of those students benefit from an in-state tuition law signed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2001 that allows them, as Texas residents, to pay the lower in-state rates at public colleges. The DREAM Act, first introduced in 2001, would open avenues toward legal residency status for many immigrants who have graduated from high school and have earned some college credit or served in the military. Luna’s suicide has become a rallying point for advocates across the state, including the University Leadership Initiative, a grassroots organization formed in Austin to promote the DREAM Act; United We Dream, which aims to promote higher education for immigrants and natives alike; and the Texas Dream Alliance, an umbrella group that unites individual campaigns across Texas.
High on their priority lists is recruiting activists willing to traverse the Texas-Mexico border in areas like Luna’s hometown of Mission, where they believe outreach and discussion about opportunities for immigrants is lacking. But they face a unique obstacle. “Many of the organizations in Texas have neglected the border, just because it’s so hard for any of us to travel over there because there is always Border Patrol,” said Julieta Garibay, a DREAMer who earned a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin. “But we feel now that, regardless of the Border Patrol, we just really need to get something done.” Garibay said she and fellow members hope to enlist what they call “allies” — legal residents or citizens willing to travel to areas DREAMers can’t — in order to educate potential college students about opportunities to advance their studies. Their plan is to expand activities in areas like Zapata, the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo, historically lower-income and underserved areas of the border where students may not be aware of their post-high school options. Media reports indicate Luna aspired to be an engineer, something Garibay said should have been encouraged. “Joaquin’s story doesn’t need to repeat itself. Maybe he felt alone and like nobody was in his same shoes, and this is something that many of the DREAMers feel,” she said. “If maybe they hear about other people that are going through the process, that are going to college, who are having some part of the American dream, that hope won’t be lost.” Luna’s suicide has also prompted a flurry of movement from Latino political groups. DeeDee Blasé, the outspoken co-founder of the Tequila Party, a self-described independent movement trying to engage Hispanics, called out U.S. senators who voted against
12 TODO Austin // december 2011 // TOdoaustin.com
the DREAM Act in 2010. In a statement, she reminded officeholders and candidates about the projected power of the Latino vote. “We will not allow the story of Joaquin Luna to go away easily,” she said. “We will remember the actions of 2010 when politicians ask for our Latino vote in 2012. It is the responsibility of federal lawmakers to fix the broken immigration system. U.S. Senators get elected to do the job Americans expect of them and to fix broken systems that will benefit Americans and the American economy.” Blasé, who also helped start the Latino group Somos Republicans, left the GOP after the party adopted what she said were “disgusting” and “hate filled” positions on immigration. She received permission to publish Luna’s final essay, called “Fulfilling a Dream in Waiting,” in which the teen wrote about picking asparagus in the fields as a migrant farm worker. “Dedication, effort and hard work has always been with my family, all done for us children in order to survive in this world,” he wrote. “At a young age we were taught to never give up in life and to always keep moving forward no matter the obstacles we face. The toughest job I have ever done was picking asparagus off the fields, in Big Rapids, MI.” In Austin, Loren Campos, who was brought to Texas from Monterrey, Nuevo León, when he was 11 and earned a civil engineering degree in May, said he knows the chances of seeing the DREAM Act passed before a presidential election is miniscule. Instead, he and fellow DREAMers said their focus is to pressure the Obama administration to grant some relief through an executive order. It would fall in line with the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement earlier this year that it would begin reviewing immigration cases in order to prioritize resources on removing criminals and repeat violators of immigration laws.
Prosecutorial discretion, the department said, should be practiced in cases that deal with certain groups in the country illegally, including spouses of citizens and students like Luna. And as much as they criticize the administration’s record deportations (more in three years than the Bush administration deported in eight) they also caution that GOP rhetoric on immigration is as hostile as ever. Adrian Reyna, a government major at UT who is also from Monterrey, said Perry’s instate tuition law has been widely misinterpreted as a compassionate immigration law. “It is not immigration bill. We still can’t work, we still can’t get driver’s licenses, we still are pretty much third-class citizens,” he said. “We are pretty much getting back what we have paid for since we have been here. We pay every single tax that every other Texan pays. That’s why taxes are collected, to reciprocate back to people that pay them. It’s a basic concept.”
Update December 1 Loren Campos said that any new developments concerning the Luna suicide will not affect the DREAMers’ campaign. Media outlets in the Rio Grande Valley have reported that suicide notes Luna left behind made no mention of his immigration status, leading some to question why the teen took his life. Nevertheless, Campos said he still believes students on the Texas-Mexico border need to be reminded there are others who share in their struggles. “Our goal with the campaign is to bring awareness to the undocumented student population, (to tell them) that they are not alone,” he told the Tribune on December1. “We don’t feel like any new developments on Joaquin will deter our campaign’s motives and we will continue moving forward with them.”
TODO Mexico By Katie Walsh
A month ago I was lost. What am I doing? Why am I here? Why doesn’t anything feel right? How have I become so disconnected following what I thought was the right path? Why have I been so selfabsorbed? Why don’t I feel connection or compassion for the people around me? What am I missing? Where did I go wrong? Why do I feel like shit all the time? I took a few days to be alone, to listen to myself, to quiet the constant, maddening, whining chatter of my mind and feel from my heart center. I meditated. I breathed. I watched the sun come up. I opened myself to whatever, whoever, is out there, arms spread wide, head thrown back, crying to the sky, “help me, please hear me, please be with me, speak to me, help me find my way ...” It was in those days that I made a really difficult decision. After a year of excitedly plotting, after uprooting every bit of permanence I once had, after announcing to my loved ones and the universe that I would be moving to Mexico ... I was ready to come back home. A good friend told me that there’s no such thing as turning back, only moving forward. And another, sitting by the shore, told me that everything moves in cycles, so what if this cycle led me back to where I began? There was a moment of shame, of disappointment, of failure...but it quickly washed away, as I accepted that this was the next step, and surrendered myself to whenever, however, whatever happened afterward. So I’d be coming home. I soon became euphoric, at peace, the weight and struggle of trying to make the pieces fit finally lifted. I could be with the people I loved and still stay true to my journey. I could merge the meandering desires of my heart into a happy whole. And so I chose, and so it was, and so I am.
A week later, two of my favorite people in the whole world came to visit me here. Seeing their faces, feeling their love, basking in their presence within my tropical paradise space, the merging began. We talked about home, what we’d do when I got there, all the people I’d see. They offered me a temporary refuge on their couch. We laughed. We jammed. We swam in the ocean and I thanked the sky, thanked the waves, thanked the sand and the wind and the world for the beauty they’d shown me, for the experience they’d offered me. I began to slowly say goodbye to this place that held me tight as I writhed with confusion and revolt, that held up the mirrors and bore the reflections I’d never wanted to see, that cradled me with love as it taught me through pain. The next day was the 11.11.11 gateway, and through a previous encounter and a few friends and developments, I found myself on a bus to Tulum. The trip was symbolic. I was alone, as I had been, as I’d tired of being, with nothing but a backpack and an open mind, wondering what was waiting for me when I got there. I arrived in the dark and followed a torch-lit path onto the beach, where the moon had just begun to rise and a few shadowed silhouettes sat around a crackling fire. I took a seat and waited. As the moon poked through the clouds, its light gradually shifting from a deep golden to a silvery white, I gasped at the image in front of me, motioning for the girl next to me to see it too. In the top left of my vision was that electric moon, casting a cone of brilliance onto the ocean waves. In the bottom right, the fire, its shape a nearly perfect reverse of the moon’s, wide at the bottom, throwing wiry and rounded and dancing flames above. My camera captured it better than any words ever could. I watched breathlessly.
What followed was an incredible fire ceremony, led by a shaman named Carlos (as was my first fire ceremony back home) and joined by Don Gaspar Xiu, known as “the last Mayan King.” He recounted old native wisdom, answered questions about the prophecies, encouraged us to step into a new world with open hearts and love for all of life. Along with folks from Australia, Peru, Canada, Germany, and many other corners of the globe, I befriended a couple from London who seemed to magically and eerily represent a glimpse into my future. They were beautiful souls, open, connected, aware, and also on an open-ended spiritual journey. They ran a spiritual college in London and organized international retreats for like-minded seekers on similar vibrations. In a way, they too were lost. As we chatted on deep into the night, it happened that the three of us, plus Carlos, closed the circle as the last four remaining. We exchanged smiles and looked around at the scene that had enveloped us. Four of us, like the four corners of the universe, an integral part of the ceremony. Naturally seated boygirl-boy-girl; naturally arranged dark skin-light skin-dark skin-light skin. Each from a different path and walk of life. A symbolic moment for welcoming a new age. Back in Puerto Morelos, I began to tie up the connections I’d made and pack up my full suite of belongings once again. I was excited to go home, but I’d miss this place. I felt free and at peace, but also completely transient and chaotic. So many pieces and possibilities showing themselves to me, emerging in front of me, and yet still no clear vision to jigsaw them all together. I spent as much of my last days as I could manage on the beach. In one memorable moment, I sat alone on my beach towel, cross-legged, eyes closed, face craned up toward the sun. The vastness of that moment was overwhelming, and I began to cry. All of those same haunting questions lingered— where am I going? What am I supposed to do? What happens next? I asked if anyone could hear me. When I opened my eyes, I was startled to see a man dressed in all white walking toward me. “Estás bien?” he asked, and I nodded. He gave me a long hug and handed me a mandarin, and then walked on down the beach. “Thanks,” I said smiling at the sky. It was then that something amazing manifested itself. Carlos said that the London
couple asked him to lead a Temazcal, or sweat lodge ceremony, that following Sunday—my last night in Mexico. I’d planned to spend it with my close friend Michelle, who not-so-coincidentally had been saying she wished we could do a Temazcal with Carlos before I left. So it all came together perfectly, and just as it did I checked the time to find, of course, 11:11 AM. It was the best last night I could ever have conjured up. We were joined by a young lady from Finland, who was exactly my age and also traveling alone on a meandering journey through Mexico. I recited a Tupac verse while the steam from the heated magna rocks extracted stresses and toxins from our pores. And afterward, I brought everyone out onto the beach with me, under an intensely thick blanket of stars, to jam and dance and swing glowsticks through the air. Soul family, new and old. A Tupac Temazcal and a last-night light show. My Tejana farewell to you, Mexico, for now, until later, with affection and gratitude for the last step, and openness and acceptance for the next.
TODO Austin // december 2011 // TOdOaustin.com 13
Frame of Reference Let me tell you what is definitely not going to happen. No one is going to show up at your house randomly one day to drop off the neatly packaged contents of your new magical dream life, the one you supposedly are working tirelessly to achieve. That person who wants to introduce you to the investor who will be giving you the $100,000 you need to start your new catering business…he isn’t going to be knocking on your front door anytime soon. That woman of your dreams with flowing locks, infectious laugh and eyes that see through your soul…she doesn’t yet know where you live. That guy who knows the guy who knows the guy who needs someone just like you to design his mansion on the lake…he isn’t going to run into you on your back porch. That girl who has the perfect thing to say to you at exactly the right moment in time, inspiring the brilliant and best-selling subject of your brand new novel…you’re not going to bump into her on your way to the mailbox.
By Blake Shanley
converse with yourself for 8 hours. We have to be out there! Alive and alert. Out there where they can find us. “They” meaning all the people being lined up to help us get wherever and whatever we are wanting to get. We have to keep showing up. To our lives and to whatever opportunities are presenting themselves to us. You have to hit the pavement every day, looking at each person as though you may be carrying a missing piece that fits perfectly into their puzzle, or as though “they” may be one of the messengers of divine information on the next steps in your newest adventure. Go to the museum. The park. The bookstore. The play. The opera. The comedy show. A cooking class. A poetry reading. A live blues show. An art opening. Go drum up some vibration and electricity around you so “they” will know where to find you!! Make some noise! Wear bells. Wear red. Wear a hat. Strike up a conversation. The least that can happen is that your life gets a little more interesting. Yes, please! Here I am! Right here! See me?!
Are you getting my drift? It’s not enough for you to simply put good intentions out there, telling the powers that be what you want, and then plopping your tail on your lumpy couch waiting for the planets to align to deliver your dreams to your doorstep. Or to the local bar you go to five nights a week because the bartender knows your name. Or to your office, where you stare at the wall and
B randi C ow l ey 1611 W. 5th Street 512.473.0700 | brandicowley.com
Caribbean Perspective When I moved to Austin I became an organic and natural junkie. This is not a surprise if we take into consideration all the organic markets that we have. Nevertheless, I had a breakthrough when, after months of dealing with acne, I started to wonder what was in my personal care products. That quest led me to websites like safecosmetics.org, ewg.org and skindeep. org. All of a sudden, I was converted. I use the word converted because some of the books I read have a preachy tone. Actually, I got rid of the ones that were written in a dogmatic approach, their zealot mode made me feel uncomfortable. Although I wanted to learn more and make informed decisions, I did not want to live in a cave and have a naked face. At some point in that search, I found trustworthy places and brands. I managed to find groups and people that are into the recycling, eco-friendly and organic products, but still consider science a great tool for our lives. One of those persons invited me to a lecture about how mainstream cleaning products have been affecting our general health for years. That day I discovered the cleaning properties of some common products that almost every household should have.
By Yadira Izquierdo
I remember thinking, why should I use something that affects my lungs if I have other options? Why should I help these big companies get richer and richer while they contaminate the planet? The answer to those questions was simple: “There’s no reason, and I don’t have to.” I’m free of that lethargy. Now, I challenge things, ask questions, and read the ingredients, because it’s my body and I’m responsible for it. For more information go to: HealthyTmorrow.org or GreenLivingNow. com
The winter holidays are the time of year we spend with our families. But for many people, it’s also the season of airplane travel. From the time I was born, throughout my early twenties, I traveled by airplane several times a year. It wasn’t any different than getting into a car, and I even enjoyed it – ascending into the sky and seeing the buildings and landscape turn to miniatures, surprise deluxe meals and dessert served right to my seat, the roller coaster feeling as we were touching down on the runway. When my brother and I were little, we even got to visit the captain’s cockpit and see all the levers and buttons. Between 2008 and this year, I didn’t travel by plane at all. It wasn’t until April 2011 that I had to go on a plane again, for a work-related conference. And I was nervous about flying for
to get off. On my return flight this last time, from Chicago to Austin, I was extremely exhausted. I had spent two and a half days attending a very busy conference, and then several more days spending time with relatives I hadn’t seen in fifteen years. I fell sleep before the plane even took off, hoping not to wake up until the plane had safely landed. Soon after we received our complimentary beverages, the lady next to me started talking to me. I tried to keep the conversation brief. I wanted to finish my Cran-Apple cocktail and fall back asleep. Still, she kept asking questions and telling me random things about herself. Are you from Austin? Here’s a picture of my adorable grandson! What do you do? I love music! I’m a music teacher. I raised six kids as a single mother. I love
Me with my younger brother, Fernando, eagerly awaiting a flight in 1984
the first time in my life. My flight from Austin to Los Angeles was bumpy. My muscles tensed up, my teeth clenched, and I gripped the armrests each time the plane took a little dip. I wanted to grab the arm of the guy next to me, but he was too absorbed in his laptop. Evidently, he was not afraid of dying on this flight. The next time I had to fly, in November 2011, I was self-conscious about my recently developed phobia of flying. On the car ride to the airport, I was queasy and thought about having a few Bloody Marys for breakfast. But the flight was so uneventful, I felt silly having been so anxious. There’s nothing to it. Airplane travel is safe. You’re more likely to die in a car accident, or of heart disease. The thing is, it’s not natural, being way up in the sky, with no easy way
Austin! Do you have children? Although I was beginning to enjoy the chat and was curious to know more about her, I was fixated on sleeping throughout the rest of the flight. I politely let her know I needed to catch up on rest, since I’d been awake since four in the morning. As soon as I felt myself starting to drift off, the captain announced we’d be ready to land. I stowed everything away, happy to know the flight was almost over.
Chronicles of Undercover Mexican Girl:
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belts and stay seated. We’d be circling for a while. There were five or six planes ahead of us.
had sent me back to Austin with a
The plane shuddered, as if it were made of paper. The ceiling shook from side to side. The engines beneath roared against the fast winds. Then they’d stop, and we’d float like a little leaf in the sky, suddenly losing ground. Hail pummeled the plane like shards of broken glass. I felt as if nothing were holding us underneath. The woman next me, whose name I originally heard to be “Joy”, started to get nervous as well, even though she said she enjoyed airplane travel.
strange telling her so much about me.
At first, she held on to my arm to make me feel better. I was hyperventilating a little, trying to take deep breaths. To distract ourselves from the turbulence, I started telling her stories about my great aunt’s youth in the mountains of Durango, Mexico, where she camped out underneath the stars, during a journey on horseback, and had been caught in a downpour. Suddenly, I began telling her all my greatest fears, doubts, and secrets. How I had rejected my childhood religion of Catholicism, but now felt a bit of security knowing my great aunt
the captain had it all under control,
bottle of holy water. She had told me so much about herself – I did not feel
When I was nearly to the point of tears, she took my hand, the same way my mother would when I was a little girl and we were about to land. Joy’s hand was cold and shaky, and warm and firm, all at the same time. She did not let go of my hand, even when a flash of rationality crossed my mind, and I wondered if it was all in my head – that I was simply overreacting, bad weather happened all the time during landings, and I was being plain ridiculous. Looking back, I’m not really sure if we were in any kind of real danger. But I did walk away with one realization – no matter how tired you are, you should never sleep your way through life. Wake up. You might make a new friend, learn something new, or simply be glad to see the sun.
Then it got darker outside, and the sky became thick with clouds. The energy in the airplane changed. The flight attendants looked preoccupied with something more beyond collecting napkins and plastic cups. The captain announced that “due to the weather,” traffic control instructed us to delay landing for thirty more minutes. He firmly reminded us to fasten our seat TODO Austin // december 2011 // TODOaustin.com 15
Good Times at Güero’s For great tunes and great rita’s! Please join us for live music on our outside jardin stage, every Thursday through Sunday. Thanks to the fans & bands who support us!!! All outdoor shows are “weather permitting”
december Line-up
Taco Bar
1412 S. Congress Avenue • Austin, Texas 78704 Open Weekdays 11am-11pm; Weekends 8am-11pm
To enter a raffle for a Huichol Guitar,
visit to bellasartesalliance.com or contact lramirez@bellasartesalliance.com or call 512.282.9112
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