Introduction to the Latino Film Festival – Feb 28




Thursday, February 28
9:40 – 10:55 am
Saville Theatre
San Diego City College


Introduction to the Latino Film Festival
By Ethan van Thillo
Executive Director

Alice Walker- Feb 27


Wednesday, February 27, 6:30 pm, San Diego Public Library Wangenheim Room (third floor),
820 E Street, San Diego

An American book discussion – THE THIRD LIFE OF GRANGE COPELAND

 Alice Walker, author of the novel The Color of Purple, presents a new book: The Third Life of Grange Copeland includes themes ranging from  dispossession to education and transformation as expressed through the early boyhood, youth, and old age of an unlikely hero.  Dr. Camille F. Forbes, from the Literature Department at UCSD, will facilitate the discussions.  Read the book and join in!

FREE

San Diego Public Library  820 E Street  San Diego, CA 92101  www.sandiegolibrary.org  SDPL Central Library on Facebook


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In addition:
 
Enjoy Alice Walker´s poem:
Democratic Womanism
(After opening the video, go forward to  51:00 min)

Evening Lecture with Luis Alberto Urrea Feb 26

Tuesday, February 26, 2013
7:00 p.m
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla campus
 


 
Luis Alberto Urrea, best-selling author and professor, is the 2012-2013 Endowed Scholar-in-Residence. Mr. Urrea was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his non-fiction book The Devil's Highway.




At an evening lecture on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 7:00 p.m., at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla campus, he will share his story of transformation from his beginnings on a dirt street in Tijuana to Pulitzer Prize finalist. Though recognized as a writer who concentrates on the border regions of the Southwestern United States, Mr. Urrea says, "Borders don't interest me. I'm really in the business of building bridges." He uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph.

Mr. Urrea, who attended the University of California at San Diego, earned an undergraduate degree in writing, and did his graduate studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder, is a professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.



The event is being presented without charge, but registration is required
and printed tickets will be collected at the door.
 

Get tickets here: Fair-TradeTicketing Company

 

Latin Music USA- February 25



Film Latin Music by  John Valadez
Monday, February 25
9:40 – 10:55 am
Saville Theatre

THE CHICANO WAVE.  It is a history of Mexican Americans told through the evolution of Chicano music. It is the third hour of the four hour nationally broadcast PBS series LATIN MUSIC USA.   The film features Ritchie Valens, Selena, Freddy Fender, Linda Ronstadt, Los Tigres del Norte and Los Lobos among others.  It lays out a hard hitting social history through the lives of Chicano musicians, but in a package that is informative and enjoyable.

Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales

Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales
1928 - 2005



“I shed tears of anguish
As I see my children disappear
Behind the shroud of mediocrity
Never to look back to remember me.

I am Joaquin.  I must fight
And win this struggle for my sons,
And they must know from me
Who I am.”

-- from “I Am Joaquin”
by Rodolfo “ Corky” Gonzales

And so - Rodolfo Gonzales, a political activist destined to take the lead, set the example, and inspire many people, chose his fight: “The Crusade For Justice”. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales was born in Denver on June 18, 1928 to Federico and Indalesia Gonzales. He was the youngest of five brothers and three sisters, Nattie, Beatrice, Tomas, Esperanza, Federico, Severino, and Arturo. Corky's mother died when he was two years old and his father never re-married, but managed somehow to keep the Gonzales family together. The senior Gonzales ruled his household with a firm hand, tempered with love.
The children grew up in the tough eastside barrio of Denver during the devastating Depression. Rodolfo said, "Though the Depression was devastating to so many, we, as children, were so poor that it (the Depression) was hardly noticed."
Corky's father had emigrated from Mexico to Colorado early in life and often spoke to Corky about the Mexican Revolution, Mexico’s history, and the pride of the Mexican people. Thus leaving little doubt in Corky's mind about his own identity - and possibly his destiny.
With the tremendous obstacles that faced Rodolfo from an early age, it is truly astonishing that he persevered in the Denver educational system to earn his high school Diploma at the age of 16. The accomplishment is magnified by the fact that from an early age, Rodolfo worked in the beet fields and at various other jobs that left little time for study. Corky attended many schools including schools in New Mexico as well as schools in Denver, Gilpin, Whittier, Lake, Baker, West, and finally Manual High School from which he graduated in 1944.
During his final year in high school and the subsequent summer, Corky worked hard to save money for a college education. With a keen interest in engineering, Corky entered the University of Denver, but after the first quarter realized that the financial cost was insurmountable. Rodolfo then pursued a career in Boxing. An outstanding amateur national champion Rodolfo became one of the best featherweight (125 lb) fighters in the world. Even though Ring Magazine ranked Corky number three in the world, he never got a justly deserved title shot.
In the mid-1960's, Rodolfo Gonzales founded an urban civil rights and cultural movement called the Crusade for Justice. Soon he became one of the central leaders in the Chicano movement and a strong proponent of Chicano nationalism. In the late sixties and early seventies, Corky Gonzales organized and supported high school walkouts, demonstrations against police brutality, and legal cases. He also organized mass demonstrations against the Vietnam War.
In 1968 Gonzales led a Chicano contingent in the Poor People's March on Washington, D.C. While there, he issued his "Plan of the Barrio" which called for better housing, education, barrio-owned businesses, and restitution of pueblo lands. He also proposed forming a Congress of Aztlan to achieve these goals.
One of the most important roles played by Gonzales was as an organizer of the Annual Chicano Youth Liberation Conference, an ambitious effort to create greater unity among Chicano youth. These Conferences brought together large numbers of Chicano youth from throughout the United States and provided them with opportunities to express their views on self-determination. The first conference in March 1969 produced a document, “EL PLAN ESPIRITUAL DE AZTLAN (THE SPIRITUAL PLAN OF AZTLAN)”, which developed the concept of ethnic nationalism and self-determination in the struggle for Chicano liberation. The second Chicano Youth Conference in 1970 represented a further refinement in Corky Gonzales's efforts toward Chicano self-determination, the formation of the Colorado Raza Unida Party.
During this time Corky and his wife, Geraldine Romero Gonzales, raised a family of six daughters and two sons, Nita, mother of two children; Charlotte, mother of three; Gina, mother of three; Gail, mother of four; Rudy, father of one; Joaquin, father of three; Cindy, mother of two; and Valerie, mother of two. All their children remain in Denver and continue to carry on Corky's fight with his guidance. Corky is proud of his family, especially the twenty-four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Recently celebrating his fifty-sixth wedding anniversary, Corky attributed the closeness and strength of his family to his beloved wife, Geraldine, who has been his most enthusiastic and ardent supporter.
In many ways, Corky Gonzales has greatly influenced the Chicano movement. His key to liberation for the Chicano community is to develop a strong power base with heavy reliance on nationalism among Chicanos. His contributions as a community organizer, youth leader, political activist, and civil rights advocate have helped to create a new spirit of Chicano unity.
Rodolfo "Corky” Gonzales' life has been a collage of challenges that have been met and overcome. He has never wavered in his commitment to enhance the lives of his people in this country, to change what is not fair, what is not right. As long as there are injustices, double standards, racism, and apathy, Corky's dedication, loyalty, and love of the struggle against these diseases of society will serve as an inspiration for all people to act.
In his column in the Denver Post of January 6, 1988, Tom Gavin wrote,
"He’s grizzled now, and gray,
but he stands tall, Corky Gonzales does,
and taller still, Rodolfo "I am Joaquin" Gonzales.
The one was a pretty good boxer, the other is a leader of men."

Justice at the Border Feb 3





JUSTICIA EN LA FRONTERA/JUSTICE AT THE BORDER 

FUNDRAISER! Sunday, February 3, 2013 - 5:00pm until 9:00pm
at the Centro Cultural de la Raza

 
 

Since 2010, 19 people have been killed by Border Patrol agents. Within the last few months the U.S. Border Patrol shot and killed Munique Tachiquin, Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, Guillermo Arevalo Pedroza, Juan Pablo Perez Santillan, and Byron Neftali Sosa Orellana. It is extremely rare for U.S. Border authorities to face criminal charges, but how many more people have to die before these acts of unjustifiable murder are held accountable? The disproportionate use of lethal force is unacceptable under any circumstances.  

It is for this reason that our community and organizations are coming together for a protest at the San Ysidro/Tijuana Border, Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 2:00pm. The purpose of the fundraiser is to raise funds to bring family members of the victims to share their tragic stories and to demand justice for their loved ones.  

Danza Coatlicue
Mariachi Sol de Chula Vista
Ballet Folklorico (FIOB)
Son Jarocho
AfroPaisa
Maldodanz
 
 
Guest speakers:
 
Pedro Rios (AFSC)
Maria Puga (widow of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas)
Felix Garcia (Abajo y a la Izquierda) 

*$5.00 at the door
*We will also be selling Delicious Enchiladas and Tostadas for a donation.
 

Deportation Clock Feb 1


Over 1,500,000 people have been deported since Jan. 1, 2009. At this rate President Obama will have deported more people in six years than all people deported before 1997. This is unacceptable. Please sign up below to tell our leaders to stop this now, and to learn more about what you can do to fix our broken immigration system. After you sign, please share this with your friends so everyone knows what is at stake.
 
 
Barack Obama, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell:
Enough is enough. Every minute you wait to fix our broken immigration system is another minute that someone gets deported and a family gets torn apart. Fix this now.