April 28: Tu'un davi / Español / English : Language Exchange at Cognate Space

Mujeres Mixtecas, CAFE and Cog*nate collective invite you to share in a night of exchange! Mujeres Mixtecas, a female Mixtec sewing co-op will share their language and culture as they will unveil a sewn mural created in collaboration with cog*nate collective, and give a short talk on their history and culture. The event is a way of inciting dialogue between the various ethnic and economic groups at the border.

Saturday April 28
11am - 4pm

Tijuana

There will be music and the co-op will prepare a Mixtec meal for everyone. $7 donation suggested for lunch. Our hope is that each of us will teach a bit of our own language(s) as we learn a bit more Mixtec, Spanish, or English through conversation and social exchange.

Located between the northbound lanes of traffic at the Mercado de Artesanias, Linea in the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Cog*nate Space/Espacio Cognado has hosted various arts and cultural events since its inception last year.

Directions to Cog*nate Space:

The space is located at the foot of the pedestrian bridge on the Mexican side of the border on the median between border car lanes.

From the US:

Crossing the border on foot, continue straight through the turnstiles. There will be a set of turnstiles to your right, DO NOT GO RIGHT. Instead, continue straight ahead until you cross a set of turnstiles that will lead you to "La Concha," a silvery shell-like building that will be on your left. Walk past the building toward the taxis, which should be in front of you. Before reaching the taxis make a left onto a footbridge that will take you to the port of entry. Cross the bridge and walk down at the first exit point as you walk east on the bridge. The market is the set of red stalls on your right.

From Mexico:

Go to the San Ysidro port of Entry and take the pedestrian bridge that goes over the cars west. Exit the bridge before you get to "La Concha". The market is the set of red stalls on your left.

For more information about cog*nate collective's collaboration with Mujeres Mixtecas visit:http://cognatecollective.tumblr.com/

April 21: Free Naturalization Workshop

April 21: Free Naturalization Workshop

Southwestern College

900 Otay Lakes Rd.,Chula Vista, CA 91910. Free Parking.

Register at www.youareamerica.org.

Please register in advance. Walk-ins welcomed.

Bring all of the items listed below to the workshop:

• Money Order for N-400 Application Fee: $680 (made out to U.S. Department of Homeland Security) OR fee waiver documents (see below).
• Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR) card / also known as “green card”.
• Identification Documents: (1) Social Security # and (2) California Driver’s License or ID (if you have one).
• Spouse’s Info: (1) birthdate, (2) Social Security #, and (3) citizenship certificate or LPR card (if immigrant).
• Children’s Info: (1) birthdates, (2) current addresses, and (3) LPR cards or A numbers (if immigrants).
• Marriage Certificates: for ALL of your marriages and ALL of your current spouse’s marriages.
• Divorce Decrees (with date marriage ended): for ALL your divorces AND your current spouse’s divorces.
• Employment History: employer name, address, and start and end dates for ALL jobs in the last 5 years.
• Home Addresses: for last 5 years with the year and month of EACH move.
• Travel Dates: dates and destinations of ALL trips outside of the US (only trips of more than 24 hours).
• Court Papers (charging documents, judgements and orders) for ALL criminal arrests and convictions.
• Men Only: Selective Service # and date registered (if known).

You might qualify for waiver of the application fee:

If you or your spouse receive means-tested public assistance, you might qualify for a waiver of the $680 application fee. Bring evidence of Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Food Stamps, Cash Assistance (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or CalWORKs benefits that you currently receive.

You might qualify for an English waiver:

If you are over 50 years old and have been a permanent resident for at least 20 years OR are over 55 years old and have been a permanent resident for 15 years, you may take the civics test in your native language. Bring addresses where you have lived in the US since becoming a resident.

Chicano Park Day

Organized by the Chicano Park Steering Committee

42nd Annual Chicano Park Day Celebration

April 21, 2012

The 42nd annual Chicano Park Day celebration will take place on Saturday, April 21, 2012, 10 am to 5 pm, in historic Chicano Park, located in the Barrio Logan community, south of downtown San Diego, under the San Diego-Coronado bridge. This family event is always free and open to the public. The theme for the 42nd Chicano Park Day, represented in the poster designed by Victor Cordero, is "Lowriders: Part of Chicano Park's History, Culture, Pride & Future!'

Established by Chicano activists on April 22, 1970, Chicano Park has received international recognition as a major public art site for its commanding mural paintings of the past and present struggle of Mexican and Chicano history. Visitors to Chicano Park Day will experience traditional music and dance, including one of the most beautiful performances of Aztec Indigenous dance, coordinated by Toltecas en Aztlán.

More information

ChicanoPark.Org

April 20: Bring Justice Home

New Eye Witness Video of Beating and Tasing of Anastasio Rojas Emerges

April 20

8:30 pm
Program "Need to Know" 

KPBS TV San Diego

Channel 15 or 11 

 

More than six million people living on the U.S. side of the southern border call this region home. Millions more cross back and forth every day to shop, visit family and do business that fuels our economy. The U.S.-Mexico Border is a vibrant, diverse and unique region.

In the midst of our border communities, the largest law-enforcement agency in the country, the U.S. Border Patrol, operates with virtual impunity. Southern border communities have insisted that the U.S. Border Patrol cannot act above the law.

Since 2010 Border Patrol agents have killed at least seven members of border communities and several others have been seriously injured. The Border Patrol has taken no known action against any of the agents involved. There also has been no investigation made public that will help families understand why their loved ones were killed or injured.

On Friday, April 20th PBS’s Need to Know Program will air a half hour segment that will expose the excessive use of deadly force that has become routine for the Border Patrol.

Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8MJ5W9Yto5Q

April 17: Chile’s Student Protest Movement

AL-JAZEERA FAULT LINES FILM SHOWING:

CHILE RISING

Fault Lines follows Chile’s student protest movement and examines the underlying issues driving the anger—from austerity budget cut measures to privatization.

Is the situation in Chile telling of our future as students here in the US? What lessons can we learn?

When: Tuesday, April 17th at 12:35pm

Where: D-121

What: Film showing and discussion

Brought to you by BEAT and Visionary Feminists

April 14: Tijuana Maquiladora Tiur

 

Come to learn about Tijuana communities and workers' conditions and struggles!

Saturday, April 14 
9 am to 3 pm

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Citizens returning from Mexico should present an U.S. passport. (Otherwise, they need an official ID, birth certificate, and waiting in line when returning to the U.S. for a period of time to be decided by the border gate officer.) More information: the U.S. State Dept. web site:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#entry_requirements

All tour participants must read the US travel alert to Mexico and sign the tour waiver. Please read the attached file.

SCHEDULE 

(THERE MAY BE SLIGHT VARIATIONS FROM TOUR TO TOUR.)

9:00 am sharp- San Ysidro/Tijuana border-bus station. We will walk together to cross the border gate and travel to our locations in Tijuana using chartered buses for transportation.

9:45 am- The crosses at the border: More than 7,000 immigrants have died trying to cross the border.

10:30 am- Otay Industrial Park, Sanyo, Douglas Furniture, other maquiladoras: workers’ labor conditions, labor rights and struggles NOTE: We will visit the Tijuana industrial area but won’t enter any factory.

11:00 am- Community Ejido Chilpancingo-Rio Alamar: industrialization, health, environment, urban development

11:30 pm- Metales y Derivados, a story of struggle and success for environmental justice

12:15 pm- Lunch

1:00 pm- Group dialogue about the experience; time for questions and comments

2:00 pm- Working women in Tijuana are organizing artisan cooperatives and promoting an alternative economy. They will bring their handcrafts to the tour. To learn in advance about these cooperatives, please go to http://www.ollincallicm.blogspot.com/

3:00 pm- Return to the Tijuana bus station

DONATIONS

$30 regular, $20 students, $ 50 solidarity

Donations cover the bus, lunch, and a donation to the workers’ organizations.

To reserve a place, please go to http://www.sdmaquila.org/

If you prefer to use the postal system, or for more information, please contact:

Herb Shore: sdmaquila@cox.net, (619) 287-5535

Sponsored by Colectivo Ollin Calli Tijuana, Colectivo Chilpancingo for Environmental Justice, San Diego Maquiladora Workers' Solidarity Network, Environmental Health Coalition, and Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras

6th Annual A.R.E. Conference

Raza Educators:

¡Aqui Estamos, Educamos, Transformamos y No Nos Vamos!

Attend the largest and most important annual gathering of progressive

Raza Educators in the United States

6th Annual

Association of Raza Educators (ARE) Conference

April 14th, 2012~Lincoln High School~ San Diego, CA

Keynote Speakers:

• Sean Arce: Teacher, Mexican American Studies Program, Tucson, AZ. Sean is currently one of the principle organizers in the fight to save the Mexican American Studies in the Tucson City Schools.

• Maria Reyes: Freedom Writers Foundation, Los Angeles, CA. Maria was portrayed as one of the main characters in the movie, Freedom Writers.

More information
Association of Raza Educators (ARE) Conference

Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero—and Perhaps Less

Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero—and Perhaps Less 

Pew Research center, April 2012

This report analyzes the magnitude and trend of migration flows between Mexico and the United States; the experiences and intentions of Mexican immigrants repatriated by U.S. immigration authorities; U.S. immigration enforcement patterns; conditions in Mexico and the U.S. that could affect immigration; and characteristics of Mexican-born immigrants in the U.S.

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/23/net-migration-from-mexico-falls-to-zero-and-perhaps-less/